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CHAPTER TWENTY TWO. for whom the bell tolls
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FOLLOWING THE STARTLING revelation that her brother wasn't as innocent as she originally thought, Nova Van Kirk found herself diving deep into a dark rabbit hole of endless mysteries and wonder. She had to know the full truth and not the truth told by one other person who probably doesn't know the full story. Nova trusted John B and his word, but she needed proof before she turned to the authorities for help. She had to know why her brother and Ward Cameron were together the day John Routledge was murdered. She had to know if Riley had a big part to play in the gruesome killing, or if he was innocent just like she had hoped all this time.
That was why Nova spent every waking minute last night trying to find any proof that showed the full story behind John Routledge's death, and not just what she had heard from the word of mouth. She had retrieved the suicide note left behind by Riley, going over it again and again in hopes of finding something that could prove Ward Cameron was a killer, but also something that could prove Riley's innocence. Nova even went as far as rummaging through her brother's room. It had remained untouched ever since Riley died ( at least that's what she thought ) and she believed he had to have left something else — anything that proved he was not the vicious murderer Nova was beginning to see him as.
However, Nova had reached a dead end once again, nothing, not even a speck of dust being left behind. No matter where she looked, no matter what she found, it wasn't enough to prove a horrific crime had occurred all those months ago. It wasn't even enough to place Ward Cameron, Riley Van Kirk, and John Routledge in the same proximity as each other. So how was Nova suppose to prove a crime had taken place with zero proof? God, she wondered how Sheriff Peterkin was so damn good at her job because there was no way she could solve a puzzle like this one.
But that question would have to remain unanswered for now, especially when a loud and urgent knock at the front door of her home snapped Nova out of her dazed state, her concentration fading when she realised someone was at her door. This caused for Nova to jump off of the bed and leave Riley's room, the girl making her way down the stairs and towards the front door, before she wrapped her hand firmly around the doorknob and pulled it open to reveal none other than JJ Maybank standing on the other side of the door.
