Charles Smith was the one person Betty opted to call last night. We have work to do. A lot of it. Jughead and I were MIA and at this moment our location doesn't matter.
-
Chapter seventy-one: how to get away with murder

Well, it finally happened. The moment we've all been waiting for. A fire in the woods. Three friends in their underwear, covered in blood. My iconic beanie up in smoke. Driving back to Riverdale, they didn't say one word to each other. They should have. They should've gotten their stories straight.

3 AM
The Pembrooke
"Mija... que paso?" As usual, Hiram Lodge was a step ahead of his daughter, "Where is your sister?"
"And where the hell are your clothes?" Hermione snapped. 
The Pembrooke, 3 AM
Damn it. Veronica Lodge should have known coming home without Nicolette was an immediate red flag. Hiram stared at her intently, sipping his scotch.
"We got separated after getting coerced into an intense game of strip poker." Veronica said coolly, "I lost my shirt... wait, she's not home yet?" Veronica said coolly before stopping and turning back. What she said next was an example of Veronica Lodge's vulnerability, "Just... When she comes home, don't hurt her, Daddy. It was my fault."
"I'll deal with her accordingly, mija."
Veronica sighed, "Daddy..."
-
Andrews Residence, 3 AM
-
Guilt.
Murder.
He didn't murder Cassidy Bullock. He didn't even help cover it up. But he was an accomplice to the assault of Nicolette Cooper-Jones-Lodge and the murder of Jughead Jones. They'd burned his beanie. He and Veronica may have only found Betty and Nicolette with the weapons in their hands but they still willingly helped cover it up. And they willingly left a passed out Nicolette in the middle of the woods behind Stonewall Prep.
cooper-jones house - elm street, riverdale
"Is that blood on your bra?"
Betty headed straight up the stairs.
That's the thing about murder, you gotta have the stomach for it.
-
-
spellman mortuary, greendale
"Why in Satan's name are you covered in blood, sister?"
"I-I can't remember... I think I killed him, Ambrose..." Ambrose Spellman ushered his younger sister inside and locked the door behind them. He carried her upstairs to his bedroom as she was too groggy and distraught to walk upstairs herself.
Especially when all signs point to you.
The next morning...
-
Archie Andrews, Veronica Lodge, and Betty Cooper sat solemnly in their usual booth at Pop's with two to members of their party missing. Well, if you were observant enough to see past a wig and sunglasses unlike most people in this town, Nicolette Cooper-Lodge was also there. The afro latina currently had an earbud in one ear and was practicing for an audition during the conversation. As far as everyone knew, she was dead. Only the trio in the booth were aware of her true status. They all knew her days were numbered, as she'd been getting weaker and weaker since last night's events.
"Toga party, strip poker, and skinny dipping." Betty took a deep breath, "Those are 3 wildly different activities. If our parents compare notes we could be in deep, deep trouble."
"I panicked, Betty. I blurted out the first thing I could think of."
"Me too."
"Me three but this is exactly the type of mistake we can't afford to make. Charles made that very clear."
"I keep thinking maybe Charles wasn't the right person to call." Archie began to protest.
"No, Charles was the right choice. He has experience with..."
"Bodies... Dead bodies."
"As a matter of fact, yeah. He's an expert. Without him we'd all be in jail right now."
"For what? We didn't do anything...! Did we, Betty, Star?"
"When Archie and I found you with Starlet and Jughead..."
"Starlet and I had just found Jughead too!"
"What the hell are you saying, Veronica?" Nicolette whispered.
"You were holding the rock..."
"Yes, I picked up the rock. That was a stupid mistake. My cousin and I played right into their trap. Those psychotic preppies are trying to frame us for murder."
"Why us? They barely even know us!"
"Me then. And even Starlet. They are trying to frame for jughead and nicolette's murder. That had to be the plan. They wanted me to be caught red handed, standing over Jughead's body with Starlet and I's DNA smeared all over everything. It's the only thing that makes sense."
"Okay. We have to be smart about this. We have to take them down. We cannot let them get away with this."
"Betty. Why would they want to murder Jughead and Nicolette?"
"Maybe they got too close to the truth about Chipping's death. More than they'd like or maybe..."
"Maybe what?"
"Maybe this is a game to them. Some sort of fucked up experiment to commit the perfect murder. Hence why I made the precaution to notify cousin Cheryl of my true status. I trust her. I didn't say a word about Jughead. I promise." Nicolette spoke in a hushed tone for the second time that morning.
"If it's a game then it's a sick one."
"Hey guys, what's up? Can I join you?" Nicolette shrank back, stopping the astral projection. Kevin couldn't see her and she was out of energy. Still, the redhead, blonde, and latina proceeded to talk to Kevin.
"Actually, Kev," Archie said, "We're kind of in the middle of something but we'll catch you later."
"Archibald Andrews, that was exactly the opposite of what you needed to do. We have to pretend to be normal. Kev, Archie's just messing with you! Come back..."
Maybe they'd be okay. Maybe Starlet would survive this. Maybe she wasn't suffering a deadly head injury and this was all just a dream. One question remained. Where the hell is Jughead Jones because his death was quite the assumption especially after what happened when Nicolette woke up the second time in the woods.