Dead and Buried (Sequel to 'Hunted')

Chapter 11

Chapter 11:

"He's not gonna show up with people loitering," Andy said as he walked into the kitchen, Crow behind him as usual; that cat hardly ever left his side. "I'm pretty sure he's smart enough to have already thought ahead of time; he'll wait it out."

"Trying telling that to Vic and see what he says," I said in response as Crow jumped up on the table as came over to me, sitting down just in front of where I was.

Andy just gave a bit of a shrug, hands in pockets as he watched me and Crow.

"I think I'd be the last person he'd wanna talk to Juliet," he said, shifting his position and crossing his arms across his chest, making me glance at him. "I'm honestly s'prised he hasn't said anything yet..."

He trailed off, staring off into space as his mind started to wander. I sighed as Crow continued to watch me from where he was.

"He promised he wouldn't say anything," I said, Andy still off in his own world and not really hearing what I was saying. "He said if you gotcha self caught he wasn't gonna stop it."

Andy gave a mindless nod and continued to think about whatever was going through his head at this point in time. A knock on the door snapped him back into reality and he looked to me, a slight hint of worry on his face.

"You think it's him?" Andy asked with his voice down. "You go answer it."

I just rolled my eyes and sighed; he was worrying over nothing. With the cops stationed everywhere outside, mostly unseen, there was no way Johnathon was about to just stroll straight up to the front door. Andy indicated towards the door as the knock came again.

I just shook my head and got up, heading over to the front door. I looked over my shoulder to see Andy just watching me with that worry on his face, still in the same position at the table.

Coming to a halt at the front door, Andy watched as I unlocked it and glanced at him before opening the door so I could see who was out there. Vic looked back at me and I just moved out of the way to let him in. Vic gave me a nod as I closed the door once he was inside, Andy looking away and back to Crow who happily took the attention.

I re-locked the door and turned to face Vic who was basically ignoring Andy now; maybe he couldn't even look at him now knowing what he'd done.

"Everything ok Vic?" I asked, crossing my arms across my chest and shifting my position, glancing over at Andy as I heard him quietly talking to his cat.

Vic looked at me for a few seconds before glancing at Andy who continued to talk quietly to Crow. Vic looked back to me before speaking.

"Ashley's convinced Kellin to re-open the case," he said, making me look down and sigh with annoyance. "Johnathon hasn't been seen either."

"So what's this mean? Why're you telling me this?" I asked, the annoyance evident.

Vic's expression remained unamused as he explained it to me.

"Even though we're sure Johnathon's been doing the latest killings," he began, glancing over at Andy who just looked over his shoulder for a few seconds before looking back to his cat. Vic looked back to me. "Ashley's been obsessing over this case since he got here and now he won't give it up; Quinn's re-opened it."

I just shook my head and continued to look down, so Vic continued on.

"We haven't seen anything to do with Johnathon since we stationed the cops; Kellin's gonna wait another two days before calling it off and going back to tracking him and looking through the re-opened case," he said. "So if I were you, I'd keep a low profile so your boyfriend over there, doesn't get himself arrested."

I looked over at Andy who was still playing with Crow, but I could see that he was listening in. I looked back to Vic.

"Alright, well thanks I guess," I said as Vic went back over to the door, unlocking it.

Vic gave a shrug. "It's my job Jules; don't getcha self caught."

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"I'm so fucked!" Andy said with frustration as he continued to pace back and forth, running his hand through his hair nervously for the hundredth time. "They're gonna trace it back to me no matter what!"

"Look Andy, just calm down, ok? You know I won't let anything happen to you," I tried, Crow catching my gaze as he followed Andy around the room, basically pacing with him.

Andy halted, the expression on his face showing just how freaked out he really was.

"What if this time, you can't? Hm?" he asked seriously. "What if there's nothing you can do Juliet? What then? What happens when I get caught and locked away? I won't survive in jail!"

"You're not going to jail!" I snapped back as Andy started up with the pacing again, Crow meowing at him from where he was now sitting and watching Andy pace back and forth. "Just give me some time to think this through and I'll do everything I can to stop them tracing it back to you; I promise I won't let anything happen to you Andy."

Andy halted and looked to me, the look in his eyes softer now; it wasn't as aggressive.

"You mean that? You're gonna help me?" he asked, his voice kind of quiet.

"Of course I mean it; yes I'm gonna help you," I said with confusion. "Why wouldn't I?"

Andy gave an unsure shrug and smiled at me, making me smile back. He came over to where I was sitting on the sofa, Crow following him and jumping up on the arm as Andy sat down closely next to me.

"Thank you Juliet; I knew I could count on you to help me," he said quietly, a smile on his face still.

I smiled back and Andy leant forwards a slight bit, gently kissing me. I heard as Crow meowed at us both, clearly wanting the attention back onto him. Andy just ignored the cat's gesture for attention and broke away, giving me another smile as he rested his hand on top of mine.

"Can I ask you something Juliet?" he asked, his expression serious now. I gave a nod and he sighed, his gaze going to the floor. "What's gonna happen if I do get locked away?"

"You won't," I reassured, shifting my hand and gently holding his, seeing as his gaze switched from the floor to our hands.

"But what if I do?" Andy asked, looking up at me, that sadness in his eyes.

I just returned the sad look.

"Andy, I promise you, there's no way I'm letting you go to jail," I said, holding his hand a bit tighter. "I'm not gonna let anyone trace it all back to you; I promise."