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chapter thirty seven
I'M NOT CRAZY!
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"Look, it was right there, and this is where the manic claimed his next victim." Kie explained as they now stood in the constructing sight yet again, though Shoupe was with them with half the police force outside.

"Ugh-Huh. His next victim? How long ago did you say this happened?" Shoupe asked in a unbelievably tone.

"Are you mocking us?" Athena asked in disbelief.

"Forty-Five minutes ago, Shoupe." JJ cut in, looking up from where he was on the floor, looking for any sight of blood.

"Okay. So, Ward Cameron just popped one off and shot him. Execution style?" Shoupe asked them, his large ,but well groomed, eyebrows raised in suspicion.

"Yes." Shoupe looked at Athena for a moment when she spoke, his disbelieving act dropping for just a second before Kiara spoke up.

"We filmed the entire thing." Kie cut in as he looked over quickly, "But we can't show it to you because I stepped on JJ's hand, and then he kicked Pope in the face after Pope dropped his binoculars on Athena, and then they all fell, making Pope drop the camera and it broke."

"We're not lying. Look at this mark on my face." Athena showed the faint red gash in her forehead from where the binoculars hit her, "You see?"

"This is a telephoto, and we needed it for long distance image, and- and I fell, and it broke, so the video is basically unusable." Pope frowned as he held the broken video camera in his palms.

"So the dog ate your homework?" Shoupe questioned them with a long sigh.

"Why don't you believe us we're telling the truth?" Athena asked, scoffing.

"Shoupe, I know it sounds-" Kie began to try and explained.

"Look, I don't know what you kids expect me to do with this. You drag me out here in the middle of the night for a whole lot of nothing." he explained, looking around the constitution area, "Except for some crazy story about how Ward Cameron's out on a killing spree."

"We're not making this up!" JJ shouted at him.

"It's not a random killing spree." Pope added in as he cut in over JJ, "Gavin was his pilot. Okay, he was paying him hush money because he was on the tarmac that day."

"Gavin was blackmailing Ward because he had the gun that Rafe used to kill Peterkin." Kie was close after with her statement.

Then he called him here and tried to pay him off. But it wasn't enough so then he shot him!" JJ was next to rant, turning and noticed Athena staring in the distance, him grabbing her hand to pull her back to the group.

"Athena?" Shoupe asked with a questionable look, "You're quiet."

Athena smiled weakly, "They're telling you the truth. What else am I suppose to say? I was here. It happened."

"How do you know about Gavin?" Shoupe questioned them again as he became annoyed.

"Pope did this thing with his phone, he like, put it in his car-" Kie fumbled over her words.

"I heard the whole conversation!" Pope added in with blown eyes.

"You wiretapped him?" Shoupe asked in shock with wide eyes.

"Is that bad?" Pope panicked.

"Stop. I've heard enough." he said and began walked away.

"What are you talking about?" Kie followed close after, the rest following them.

"All right. There's nothing up there. False alarm. Let's all go home." Shoupe announced to the multiple deputies parked in front.

"No. No, please don't go home. Why would we make this up?" Kie cried in disbelief as she looked at Shoupe, "Can you just do your job for twenty minutes!"

"Hey. I know- I know you're upset. And I know you think your friend was innocent." the shorter man spoke as he held a hand out.

"He is!" Kie defended John B.

"But you weren't there." Shoupe shook his head.

"I was!" Athena exclaimed, stepping in front of Shoupe. "And so was John B and Sarah and no one believed them and look at where that got them. Why would we lie about this? Why would I lie about this? I was there, I watched it. I watched Rafe shoot Peterkin just like I just watched my dad shoot Gavin! Okay, why would I lie and tell you my family is full of murderers if it wasn't true? So why aren't you believing me? Shoupe you know me, you've known me for years. Am I really the type of person to lie about this?"

"You're not a reliable witness." Shoupe stated.

"Why?" JJ exclaimed from behind them angrily.

"Your father has put in an insanity plea making you an unreliable witness. Anything you say is not to be used as evidence. And after everything that has happened with Samuel and John B and Sarah -"

"Don't! You do not get to talk about my sister." Athena interrupted, shaking her head. "Can't I do a test or something to prove I'm not crazy. I'm not crazy Shoupe. I can go to a psych ward and do a psych test or see a therapist -"

"There's nothing you can do Athena." Shoupe told her.

"But I'm not lying, John B is innocent and my dad and Rafe are the killers." Athena begged him to listen to what she was saying.

"Guys, the only actual witnesses, that are above ground, say the exact opposite." Shoupe shook his head as he looked at the trio behind her, "And both of them have a hell of a lot more credibility then any of you right now. I saw your little art project on Wards wall. Do not do that again."

Kie scoffed as Shoupe got back into his car, "Gonna make things a lot harder for both of us. Go home."

"I told you this would happen." JJ threw his arms up in disbelief, "Like, you're the one that had to drop the camera."

"It was your fault!" Kie yelled at him.

"Oh, that was my fault?" JJ asked in disbelief her way, "Why do you always take his side? Why do you never take mine?"

"Shut up!" Kie shouted at him.

"Both of you be quiet!" Athena snapped loudly, the two cutting of their arguing almost immediately to look at her in shock, Athena never shouted.

"Attie are you okay?" JJ asked as Kie stepped next to her, grabbing the blonde's hand as a sign of comfort.

"I'm fine, unless you're talking to my dad then in that case I'm crazy." Athena smiled sarcastically.

"I can't your dad did that." Kie stated.

"Can't you? I mean this man just murdered someone." JJ countered.

"But still, it's his daughter." Kie emphasised the last word in hope that JJ would stop shit talking Ward in front of Athena.

"So, doesn't make him any less of a murderer or a liar." JJ shrugged.

"Oh my god." Kiara huffed, the two about to have another argument had Pope not piped up.

"Hey! We're not out of this yet." Pope said as he turned to look at the trio, "We can still go get the gun."

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𝗜𝗦𝗢𝗕𝗘𝗟 𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗦
um so for some reason like all of the pogues were insensitive to sarah about ward at some point because he was a bad person which i kinda hated but you know...

also not ward telling the police that both his daughters are crazy !!

love angry athena for some reason and next chapter we get more trauma