LATER THAT morning, the Pogues headed to the Police Station to hand in the murder weapon- that Kie almost died to retrieve. Rory prayed that Shoupe would understand, they worked too hard to get this.
Shoupe raised his eyebrows in disbelief, "So, y'all are telling me this is the firearm Rafe Cameron used to kill Peterkin with?"
"Exactly." Pope nodded, "And the exact same firearm that Ward just used to kill Gavin."
Shoupe sighed, "And where's that corpse again? I checked the hospital. I went by his house. He was out."
"He was out?" Kiara scoffed.
"No shit!" JJ blurted out frustratedly, "Cause he's dead!"
"Just because he's not home, doesn't mean he's a victim of a homicide." Shoupe reasoned.
"You gotta be kidding." Rory breathed, as a smile of frustration grew on her face. She chuckled angrily, "We fucking saw it happen, but you know, just because Ward fucking payed you assholes to be on his side, the truth suddenly doesn't matter!"
Kiara raised her voice, "Are you at least gonna send it in for ballistics and shit, or are you just gonna sit on your ass?"
JJ brushed his hair in frustration, "He'll sit there and wax that god damn moustache. Is that even real?"
"Hey!" Shoupe stood up and quietened the group, as he stormed over to the door and held it open.
"Shut up, JJ!" Pope shushed the boy from going too far.
"I'm sorry, did I hurt his feelings?" JJ mocked sarcastically.
"Get out. I'm serious." Shoupe said sternly, "Y'all are smelling up my office."
Kiara was the first to stand up to leave, tears filling her eyes and she asked shakily, "Did Ward bribe you? This doesn't make any sense."
JJ stormed out, following Kiara, "You ain't gonna do shit."
"Out!" Shoupe snapped at the boy, then his eyes darted to Pope and Rory, as he watched the girl kick his desk angrily, mumbling cusses under her breath.
Shoupe gritted his jaw, "I said out!"
"Rory, go." Pope placed his hands on her shoulders, guiding her out of the station to make sure she didn't do anything that she would regret. He turned to Shoupe, "We brought you the murder weapon. There's no logical reason for you to not send it in."
"Peterkin would've believed us." Aurora mumbled as she stormed outside.
***
The next day, Kie and Pope had to literally drag Aurora to school. The whole school idea made the girl feel vulnerable. Rory was behind in every class, which the school did not fail to notice. The School Councillor found her skipping her History Test in the restrooms. She just wanted things to go back to the way they were.
The school councillor sighed, "I'm aware of what's happened in the past few weeks, but that does not excuse you to skip classes, smoke, or not even try. You have a gift, Aurora, don't waste it."
"A gift?" Aurora scoffed sarcastically, as she slouched in her chair, "And what would that gift be exactly?"
The councillor hesitated, before letting out a sigh, "I'm here to help you, Aurora. Let's just start our session with something simple... Why did I find you in the toilets when you were meant to be in History?"
Rory shrugged sarcastically, "Maybe because you looked for me. If you don't wanna find me, don't look. Simple."
"It's okay not to be okay, Aurora." The women sighed, "That's what I'm here for... So, why did I find you skipping class? Do you struggle in that lesson? Is it a pupil you don't particularly get along with? Is it overwhelming for you to suddenly be back at school?"
