XX

"It's really strange ... the cops couldn't find any evidence linking back to the vandal. No fingerprints. No residue. No nothing. Whoever committed this crime knew what they were doing."

Absent-mindedly, I listened to Jughead's frustrated rant, stirring my straw through what was left of my strawberry milkshake.

Betty, Jughead, Archie and I had retired to the quiet confines of Pop's diner to undergo some research concerning the investigation. Jughead was scrolling through the town blog and reading out sections of an article relating to the recent vandalism. Betty was diligently taking notes and Archie was trying to get a hold of Veronica.

"I keep reaching her message box," he pouted like a little child as he dropped his phone into the bag by his feet. "Maybe she's out of town for the day."

"Oh yes! That's right! I can't believe I forgot!" Betty exclaimed, dropping her pen against the table with a clatter. "She told me that Mrs Lodge was taking her to see her dad..."

Jughead's head quickly snapped up and he nudged Betty in the side, shutting her up immediately.

"Why? Where's her dad?" I piped up curiously, having noticed the exchange between the two.

Betty shrugged. "He's back in New York."

"Awaiting trial," Archie jumped in.

"Archie!" both Betty and Jughead yelled at the same time.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Archie threw up both of his hands in mock protest. "I - I'm sorry. Geez. But why does it matter if Mackenzie knows about Mr Lodge being in jail?"

"V didn't want us to tell her," Betty chided him. "She's sick of all the fake pity she gets from Cheryl and her supposed 'friends'. She just wanted a real relationship...for once."

I shrugged. "It won't make a difference. I'm not like that."

"Yeah, well V doesn't know that, does she?" Betty arched her eyebrows at me. "You're from the city, she's from the city. She just supposed that you would act like everyone else."

"Like Mackenzie can pull that off," Jughead grumbled under his breath. "She's a freakin psycho."

"Soooo..." I attempted to get back to the topic at hand. "Veronica's from New York?"

"Yup and she reckons Cheryl's the spoiled brat," Jughead guffawed under his breath.

"Hey!" Betty elbowed him in the side. "Veronica's lovely, Kenz, don't mind your annoying brother over here." Upon hearing this, Jughead just rolled his eyes and huffed as he turned his attention back to his computer. "She's made some mistakes, that's for sure," Betty continued, in a more somber tone. "But, on the inside, she's kind-hearted and good and generous. She's gone through a lot, you know. Having your father in prison can't be easy."

"No," I shook my head as I finished the last of my milkshake. "Why is he in there, do you know?"

Before Betty could reply, Archie spoke up, "Something about embezzlement or something. I don't know exactly."

"None of us do," Betty told him pointedly. "And it's gonna stay that way. Alright, Jug, what have we got on the case, so far?"

"So far? Practically nothing but Betty's useless suspect list," he scowled.

"Well, whose on the list then?" I queried.

"I'm trying to come up with any names that have a relevance to the letter C," Betty told me. "As you said, the same person could be behind both of the threats, but C could stand for anything really, a first name, a middle name, a last name, a nickname, take your pick."

"Oh, just give me the damn list!" Archie leaned forward and snatched the paper away from her. "Okay," he drawled as his eyes scanned the scrawled lines of Betty's handwriting. "So far, we have Sheriff Tom Keller, Cheryl Blossom, Penelope Blossom, Clifford Blossom, Gerald Petite..."

"Wait, whose Gerald?" I butted in.

"Tall Boy," Jughead returned as he shut the lid of his laptop with a loud snap. "To be honest, I would put anything past him. It wouldn't surprise me if he tried to scare you off, Mackenzie. He's hated Mum for as long as I can remember."

"But why?" I pestered. "I don't get it."

"He can't stand bratty, expectant princesses," Jughead slouched back in his seat and glared knowingly at me.

Shrinking back from his steely gaze, I turned my attention back to Archie. "Who else?"

Archie shrugged. "That's it, so far."

"So, now what?" I queried.

"Well ... I've been thinking," Betty tapped a finger on her chin. "There might be a way around this. Since Jug and I write articles for the town paper, we could set up interviews with each suspect and try to catch them in their own trap."

"Say, that's not a bad idea," Archie nodded in agreement.

Jughead's face began to brighten up as I, too, voiced my support for the plan.

"I'll start drafting some questions tonight," Betty said as she took her paper back from Archie and scrunched it up in the pocket of her cardigan.

"Okay, well, that's all I can help you guys with today," Archie muttered as he glanced down at his wrist-watch. "I'd better go. It's starting to get dark and I promised Dad I'd help him fix up the mess in the garage. I hope we end up finding the culprit, for both your sakes," he looked at me, then at Betty.

"I hope so too," Jughead mumbled as he stuffed his laptop into his computer bag and got to his feet. "Here Betty, I'll walk you home."

Betty sent him a small smile of appreciation as she, too, scooted out of her seat. "See ya, Kenz," she whispered as she pulled me in for a hug.

"Goodnight Betty," I murmured into her hair. "And again, I - I'm sorry about dobbing you in to Sheriff Keller."

Betty shrugged as she leaned back and grasped me by the arms. "To be honest, if it is him, he'll probably think it suspicious if I didn't report that threat. What you did probably saved my ass so it's all good. We're all good."

I let out a small sigh of relief. "Thank goodness for that. Well, I guess I'm walking home ... alone. See you there, Jug."

Jughead didn't reply; he just walked out of the front door of the diner having either not heard me or pretending that he couldn't.

I watched as the three of them dispersed; Archie's flaming red hair reflected in the light from a single lamppost as he headed down the street his house was on and Betty's blonde head and Jughead's darker one as they set off across the granite road towards the Coopers' white cottage situated a couple blocks away.

Allowing a shaky breath to escape my lips, I spun around on my heel and started down the road winding away from the Northside and spiralling into the gathering shadows of the night.

As I walked along the white lines painted in the middle of the hard, grey rock, I started to realise how dark and how creepy this back road really was. Goosebumps broke out along my arms and I started rubbing at my bare skin, attempting to warm myself up. I glanced around frequently, checking on my surroundings and trying to qualm the anxious feeling piling up in my gut.

It's okay, Kenz, you're just taking a nice little stroll back home. No need to over-think things. No one's here. You're all alone ... walking ... in the dark ...

CRACK.

Inhaling sharply, I whirled around and scanned the darkness behind me. "H-hello?" I called out in a wavering voice. "Is - is somebody there?"

Only a shrill whistle of wind, as it rustled through the tree-tops bordering the road, met my statement.

Slowly, I turned back and started walking again. Clasping my arms around my waist and biting down on my lip, I swallowed hard and tried to steady my rapid stream of breaths. I couldn't describe what I was feeling but, amidst the fear crushing my mind, I knew ...

I wasn't alone.

CRACK. CRACK.

Without thinking twice, I broke into a run, praying, begging, pleading that whoever was following me wasn't the Riverdale murderer.

"And where do you think you're going, little girl?"

A harsh, mocking, masculine tone pierced the misty evening air surrounding me, making me stop stock-still.

Gasping and spluttering for air, I frantically looked in every direction but I couldn't see anything or anyone.

Oh God, help me, please, help me, please!

"I asked a question, dear. I expect you to answer it."

Turning my head in the direction of the voice, I spotted, amongst the shrouds of thick, blinding fog, the large, luminous figure of a man ... standing right in my path!

I screamed.

As the figure stepped forward, I stumbled back, my heart pounding in horror and my head spinning with terror.

Suddenly, being the dork that I was, I tripped over my own two feet and landed, smack bang, right in the middle of the road on my bum. I tried to get up, I really did, but my body was paralysed with fear and refused to comply.

A tear traced its way down the outline of my cheek as I stared, wide-eyed and trembling, at the figure who was advancing towards me.

With a burst of gusto, the darkened outline of the man broke through the fog layered across the ground and, for the first time, I had a good look at my attacker.

He sported a curly mop of unruly, black hair and a large moustache. He was extremely tall and wore a huge, baggy shirt that was ripped around the hem. He had wiped black paint across his face, making his dark eyes look even darker.

Something bright and shiny glinted from the end of his sleeve and, to my horror, I realised that he was holding a knife!

"Aw, what's wrong, little girl?" the man sneered. "Are you scared?"

I gulped and blubbered, but no words would come out of my mouth.

"I think she is scared," the man threw his head back and roared with laughter. Then, sobering down, he glared at me and purred, "Perrrfect."

In response to his announcement, peals of deep, mocking laughter rang throughout the air. Scrambling back across the hard floor, I caught glimpses of other shadows protruding from within the mist.

Quickly, my eyes snapped up and travelled across the bold words lettered across the forefront of his shirt.

I froze.

This guy was a Ghoulie ... and he wasn't alone.

Gif: Mackenzie as she sits in the diner discussing the case with Jug, Betty and Archie.

*PLEASE REMEMBER to give this chapter a vote if you enjoyed and I'd love to hear any feedback from my readers; so pepper me with questions. If you're confused, I'll try and clarify it for you. If you want more information on a certain point, I'll do my best not to give you spoilers. If you just wanna chat 'bout random stuff, then I'm in*

Q: What do you think the Ghoulies want with Mackenzie? Do you think that they were responsible for the vandalism? For Jason's murder? What would you have done in her situation?