CHAPTER THIRTY: JOHN B IS INNOCENT

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once john b was gone, we had no clue of where to go from there. were we just supposed to return to how life was before? no, that's impossible when we're missing one of us.

as pope and kie talked about who-knows-what, i turned to jj, who was running his hands through his hair.

"you okay, j?" i spoke in a quiet tone, resting a hand on his cheek.

"yeah, yeah. i'm, fine," a small smile came from the corner of his mouth as he pulled me in for a hug, his chin resting on the top of my head. "shit, darlin, you're bleedin. does that not hurt?"

"oh, my head's pounding, jj, but it's okay," my voice was muffled as i spoke into his chest. "can't go anywhere to get it taken care of. we're assistants to a fugitive."

"hey, look," he tapped my shoulder lightly as we looked in the direction of our other two friends, who were... kissing? mixed signals much, kie?

"no shit," i let out in a small whisper as the sound of sirens became louder.

"hey guys, i'm sorry to ruin the party," jj spoke awkwardly, "but we gotta go right now. come on!" we began to run to the car, but it was only a matter of moments until cops swarmed us. right away, jj, kie, and i all raised our hands into the air, but pope was just walking closer towards the police who were holding guns.

"pope! pope, hands," kie instructed him as he finally listened.

"we're too late. he's gone. goddamnit!" shoupe said to the other policemen. "bratcher, have your guys stand down. let me talk to these kids. all right, where the hell is he? where the hell is he?! jj, elizabeth, i see you two are living up to your names." i lowered my head when he said my name. shoupe was aware of everything i underwent as a child. but, he also knew the trouble i tended to get myself into from time to time again. "pope, how about you? this isn't a fucking game! you can do the right thing right now! where'd he go?"

i silently hoped to myself that pope wouldn't spill, and luckily, he didn't. thank god.

"we're gonna take you down for questioning, all right?" shoupe commented.

"sheriff?" i began, catching shoupe's attention. "i was there. at the airstrip where it all went down. and i have proof as to who shot peterkin."

jj eyed me with a look in his eyes that i couldn't quite place; maybe it was anxiousness, or admiration?

"alright, kid. i'm going to take you in as soon as we get there, okay?" he seemed intrigued. thank fuck i was going to get john b out of this. and then, he could come back after ward and rafe were put into jail. "okay, now you two," shoupe pointed to jj and i, "get in that car. and kiara, pope, you two go into that one."

doing as he said, we hopped into the back of the car. no fear or anything of the sort consumed us. we both knew; hell, we were practically positive that this would all be over in the next 24 hours. with that thought in mind, we simply looked at one another with emotionless faces.

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after a bit, we made it to the tents that were dedicated to this case. and the worst part was, they were looking for the wrong guy. the guy that actually killed the sheriff was right under their noses, but they weren't seeing past the money that the cameron family hid behind.

we began to walk, but dozens of people were gathered around. there were numerous news outlets taking photos and asking to question one of us. many random citizens shouted rude remarks. my fists clenched, wanting oh so desperately to curse right back at them how fucked up they were for making assumptions about a situation they knew very little about.

"you four, right to your left here," shoupe signaled to a few chairs. "sit down, don't move. we got a lot to talk about. keep an eye on these kids. elizabeth, i'll get back to you in a moment." my teeth gritted at the name he called me. it didn't even seem like my own.

with my head still throbbing, i looked at jj with an uneasy look. being there, and seeing everyone who was working to find our best friend really made me come to realize just how big this entire thing was.

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"all right, waters. i'm gonna take you back, okay?" shoupe came up to me, and i stood up to follow him back to where the other sheriffs were. "so, you're trying to tell me that john routledge didn't do it?"

"yes, sir. here. look at this," i handed him my phone, which barely had any battery at this point. pressing play, numerous cops and i watched the video of the exact moment. once it got to the point where the gun was pointed at ward, i had to explain to them, "peterkin was accusing ward of being guilty for killing big john."

"all right," shoupe let out, his eyes lazered onto the screen. suddenly, the distinct gun shot went off, and sheriff peterkin fell to the ground. the camera pivoted slightly, revealing rafe holding a gun. the video continued displaying the situation in front of shoupe's eyes. finally, it ended with me running away, rafe now shooting in my direction.

"see, rafe beat me up because he knew i had this video," i felt the back of my head, showing the blood on my fingers. "and you know what he did to me before, sheriff."

"why wouldn't you come forward with this evidence before, elizabeth?" he inquired, still using the goddamn name.

"elsie, please," i corrected him, "and don't you think i tried? you probably heard. john b and i went to the station the night it happened. but two sheriffs held guns at us. they threatened to shoot. ya'll have made a big mistake. it didn't click when ward cameron changed his mind on my involvement, did it? he didn't want this video getting to you. that's why rafe nearly killed me for it. you gotta make this right, sir. both of the camerons are guilty of killing people. and rafe, he's done other shit too. john b is just an innocent kid."

"follow me," he said, leading me towards another tent with ward cameron, who was speaking into a microphone. he seemed frantic.

"oh, for fuck's sake," i groaned, not wanting to be in his presence. him hearing my voice, ward looked up, and his eyes turned stone cold.

"ward cameron. you are under arrest for the murder of big john routledge," one of the cops spoke, forcing him to stand up so they could put handcuffs on him.

"kid, they're going into a storm they won't survive in," shoupe began, "ward couldn't get through to them. but now that ward and rafe cameron are guilty, john b's free. you gotta talk to em."

"elsie. for my daughter!" ward yelled as cops pulled him away.

"okay, i'll try my best," i replied. in no way was i doing this for ward. i was doing this for john b. and for sarah.

we were on the final stretch of making this right.

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