𝔅𝔬𝔯𝔫 𝔱𝔬 𝔡𝔦𝔢 - Rafe Cameron

①⓪

...

The night was pitch black, with only a few hours left before sunrise. Jazmine arrived at the house, where Kiara was waiting for her on the porch, her arms crossed and an anxious look on her face.

"What's going on?" Jazmine asked, her tone sharp.

Kiara didn't answer immediately. Instead, she grabbed Jazmine's hand and pulled her inside.

The living room was eerily quiet. All the Pogues were gathered there. Cleo stood in the center, her face streaked with tears, while the others avoided meeting Jazmine's eyes.

"What's going on, Kiara?" Jazmine repeated, her voice more insistent this time.

John B stepped forward, his expression tense, and pointed to the floor. Jazmine's gaze followed, landing on the lifeless body of a man sprawled on the ground.

"What the hell is that?"

Pope spoke up, his voice low and heavy. "He... he was a good friend of Cleo's. Someone killed him."

"Here?" Jazmine's eyes widened as she scanned the room. Her hand instinctively went to her hair, pulling it back in frustration. "You're telling me this happened here?"

John B hesitated. "We didn't want to involve you unless you agreed, but Kiara said... she said you might know what to do."

Jazmine let out a breath, trying to process everything. "Okay. Fine."

John B started to explain further, but Jazmine cut him off with a raised hand. "No. Stop. Don't tell me anything else. The less I know, the better."

"Did anyone else see you? See the body? You haven't told anyone else, have you?"

Jazmine wasn't unsettled by the sight of the body itself—what disturbed her was that it was currently lying in her little sister's house. She needed to focus and get rid of it as quickly as possible.

JJ glanced away, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "No, no one else... well, except the killer."

Her eyebrows pulled together, and she let her arms drop to her sides. "What about the cops?"

John B shifted nervously, shaking his head quickly."Absolutely not. They'll think it was us. You want us all thrown in jail?"

Jazmine closed her eyes briefly, pinching the bridge of her nose as if trying to keep her composure. When she spoke again, her voice was quieter but edged with tension.
"Alright."

Kiara's voice broke the silence. "What do we do now?"

JJ spoke up, his voice strained. "Shoupe stopped by earlier, so we had to wrap him in a rug and clean up the blood on the floor."

Jazmine nodded slowly, her mind racing. "Alright... where's the weapon? Do you still have it?"

Sarah gestured toward a table where the gun lay, untouched.

"Good," Jazmine said, stepping forward. "Remove any remaining bullets, wipe it clean, and make sure it's ready to be dumped?"

JJ crossed his arms. "We have to bury him somewhere."