The Other Detective - Book 3 (Riverdale Season 3)

The Dark Secret of Harvest House - Part 2

"What are you doing down here?" Jughead asked as Ethel sat on the bed, a blanket wrapped around her.

"Hiding. From the Gargoyle King. I... I'm terrified he's gonna kill me for failing my mission."

"Mission? What mission?" She was silent, wrapping the blanket tighter around herself. "Wait-"

"You told Ricky to send the letter during prom," Aminity realized.

Jughead scoffed. "You led Betty right to the Gargoyle King and the Black Hood? I thought you quit G&G after Betty saved you from the Sisters of Quiet Mercy."

She shook her head. "She saved me from the Sisters' false king, yes, but then I rejoined the true king in the woods after. When I came back to him, he put me in charge of his Lost Boys."

"That Lord of the Flies gang that just chased us through the woods with spears?" Jughead raised his voice. "Ethel, you're playing G- Alright. You're gonna tell me now, right now, who the Gargoyle King is," he walked closer, pointing at her.

"I can't. I can't betray his trust."

"You think hiding from him isn't betraying his trust?" Aminity stepped closer.

"You just said he's trying to kill you!"

"He's... He's beautiful. Despite it all, I love him." A tear ran down her face and the Jones' sighed as they glanced at each other.

"It's okay," Jughead told her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "But you and the Lost Boys can't stay in these woods. You have to end this game. Will you?" he held out his hand. She looked at it for a minute before putting her hands in hers. They stood and walked our of the bunker, the troops' spears pointed at them.

"Stand down, Lost Boys," Ethel commanded. "The Hellcaster and Princess are on our side and they've come bearing good news. Our quest is complete."

"Where's Ricky?" Jughead asked.

"He just took off," one of the boys said.

"He's probably reporting back to the Gargoyle King and the Black Hood," Jughead whispered to the girls.

"Jack? Where's Jack?" Ethel asked.

"He went back to the bus to get his carving knife," the same boy answered.

"We can't leave Jack behind," Ethel turned to the Jones'. "He's the youngest."

Jughead sighed, glancing at his sister. "Okay. We'll find him."

"He's never gonna trust you on your own," Ethel stopped them.

"Well, then, come on."

***

"Jack?" Ethel asked as they walked up to the bus in the junkyard. "Jack? Maybe he's on the bus. Jack, are you here?" she asked as they walked inside, his head popping up over the seats.

"I can't find my knife."

"Okay. I'll get you a new one, but right now we have to go."

"Why'd you bring the hellcaster and princess?"

"It's okay, you can trust them." They went to leave when they heard a loud sound as if metal was scraping metal. They glanced out the window to see a figure with a black hood walking closer to them slowly, a metal hook on his hand as he scraped a nearby trailer.

"Get down, right now," Jughead pushed them down. "Don't say another word," he ordered quietly while he covered Ethel's mouth. The sound came closer as the book scraped a nearby car before the front of the bus. Suddenly, there was a loud bang as he hit the hood of the bus. "Go, go, go!" Jughead pushed them to the back of the bus. "Get the back door! Back door!"

"It won't budge," Ethel glanced back at them as she tried to pull on the lever, Aminity coming over to help.

"Ethel, open the back door," Jughead said as he looked at the front of the bus.

"It won't budge."

"Ethel, open the door!" he yelled as the Black Hood stepped onto the bus.

"Move!" Aminity pushed Ethel out of the way before kicking the door twice, finally getting it to open.

"We gotta go."

"Go! Go!" Jughead yelled at the same time as Ethel, all of them hopping out the back of the bus, Jughead slamming the door shut as Aminity grabbed a nearby door, prying it under the handle so it wouldn't open. The Black Hood glared at them before moving back to the front of the bus.

"He's going to the front!" Ethel yelled and they all ran around the side of the bus, slamming the doors shut, Jughead grabbing a pipe and sliding it through handles on either side. The Black Hood pounded on the doors which were already starting to buckle. "That's not gonna hold him! We have to go!"

***

"Excuse me, Mr. Jones," Ethel said as they sat in FP's office, "but where are the Lost Boys?"

"We've assigned a deputy to them. They'll be under our care until the Gargoyle King and the Black Hood are caught." They turned as there was a knock at the door. "Excuse me for a minute," he sighed as he walked out and joined one of the deputies.

"See? We're safe," Jughead put a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, Ethel. And we're going to find Ricky too. I promise."

"I have to call Septimus. I'll be right back," Aminity told them before walking out of the room and into the hallway.

"You can't just hang up on me like that!" Septimus yelled as he answered.

"I'm sorry. We had to go though." Septimus sighed and she could picture him biting his lip.

"Is Ricky okay?"

"As far as we know, yes. He's missing, but we're looking for him. And we'll find him soon."

"How do you know he's okay if he's missing? Those don't exactly add up."

"We found him before he went missing and saved him from making a mistake. He's fine. I'll keep you updated, okay?"

"Okay," he sighed. "And Aminity?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. For saving him and calling me."

"No problem." She hung up and gave Ethel a small smile as she walked out of the sheriff's station, being escorted home by a deputy. "What's up?" she asked as she saw Jughead's face as he stepped out of the office.

"Ethel told me who the Gargoyle King is."

"Who?"

"Jason Blossom."

***

"Looks like our night isn't over," Jughead sighed as he walked back into the office after getting off the phone with Betty.

"What now?"

"We have to see if Jason's really dead."

"And now we're gonna commit a federal office and dig up a grave aren't we?" He only shrugged and she sighed. "Why not?"

***

They were covered in dirt, the only light coming from a flashlight and Jughead's bike's light. They dug until Jughead's shovel hit something. They glanced at each other, throwing their shovels onto the sides and digging the rest of the way with their hands until they came to Jason's casket. They glanced at each other and took a breath before Jughead ripped the top of the casket open, both of them freezing.

"Oh my God," Jughead let out.

"So Riverdale has zombies?" Aminity asked, looking at her brother. "What next? We become Beacon Hills?"

Not to toot my own horn, but the past two chapters have had awesome ending lines, if I do say so myself. Which I did, so... You know... Anyway, only two chapters left! Hope you enjoyed!