//

"The Angel of Death had once more come to Riverdale. Midge Klump's gruesome murder had gutted the entire town. And in grief, brought us together..."

The group had been forced to deal with Sheriff Keller interviewing them about the day of the play and then had to deal with Midge's funeral. Ricky was once again back to more nightmares, reliving his trauma and the night of Midge's death.

And now here they were, the Andrews siblings, Veronica, Jughead, McKenzie, and Betty, in a booth at Pop's.

"I have a theory," Jughead spoke once they were settled. "It's a copycat killer. And who coincidentally showed up in Riverdale just after Mr. Svenson was killed? And has been giving off creepy vibes ever since?"

Ricky looked at him. "Chic...Maybe. I mean, he has a temper too."

Betty placed a hand on his leg under the table as she said, "Chic is here because I went to the hostel to get him. And, yes, he's weird, but he didn't know Midge. So moving on..."

"What if Mr. Svenson wasn't the Black Hood?" Archie spoke.

"Archie, we were there when he died

"I know. But just because he was wearing a hood that night, it doesn't necessarily mean he's the same guy who shot my dad and you," he said the last few words looking at Ricky. "And now killed Midge."

"Svenson forced me to bury us alive. He cut off his own finger and sent it to me," Betty replied.

"Maybe the real Black Hood cut it off because he was working with Svenson."

"And Svenson would've let himself be mutilated?" Veronica asked.

"If he was as twisted as the Black Hood, yes," McKenzie answered.

"Look, all I'm trying to say, is the real Black Hood could still be alive," Archie replied. "I looked into the Black Hood's eyes, they weren't Mr. Svenson's eyes."

"Well, that just settled my nerves," Ricky replied sarcastically, finishing off his water. "That's it, I'm gonna get high and hope it's all a bad dream."

As he got up, Betty did as well. "Come on, I'll drive you home."

He nodded as he held her hand. "Thanks."

They walked out of Pop's together when Betty noticed his zoned-out gaze. "I know you're really scared about what Archie said and what happened..."

"It's not that," he replied. "It's just...maybe Jughead was onto something."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, how do we know that Chic had nothing to do with Midge? This is the same guy that killed someone in your kitchen using a lamp."

"Yeah, well, Chic did that for a reason. To protect my mom," Betty replied. "He didn't even know Midge, what motive would he have to kill her?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. But he does have a violent past and associates with equally violent people." She saw a certain thinking look on her face. "I just mean, it won't hurt to check out the theory," he replied, getting in Betty's car.

***

Ricky was in the music room at school, at the piano when the door opened, revealing Betty. "Oh, hey."

"Am I bugging you?" she asked.

"Never." He turned to face her on the piano seat. "What's up?"

"Look, I've been thinking about what you said and how my mom is being right now, maybe we should look into Chic."

He nodded. "You figured out a motive?"

"Not yet. But there is something that could connect him to Mr. Svenson." She walked over, sitting next to him. "It's tenuous, but they both spent time at the Sisters of Quiet Mercy."

"Archie's theory about there being multiple Black Hoods, they could be in cahoots," Ricky finished.

She nodded. "It's a long shot. Mr. Svenson's older than Chic, but he worked there as a groundskeeper for years."

"They might have crossed paths."

"Yeah."

He shrugged. "It's worth a visit."

She nodded. "Okay, when do you wanna start digging?"

He looked at her. "Does now work?"

"Won't your dad be upset about you ditching?"

"He knows this stuff causes me mental breakdowns, that'll be my excuse." He grabbed her hand, standing up with her. "Come on."

***

Betty and Ricky sat across from Sister Woodhouse at the Sisters of Quiet Mercy.

"So we meet again, Miss Cooper," Sister Woodhouse said.

"We need information about my brother, Charles Smith," Betty told her.

"Do you happen to know if Charles' time here overlapped with Mr. Svenson's? He was your groundskeeper," Ricky added.

"I'm well aware of who Mr. Svenson was and what he became," Sister Woodhouse replied.

"Could we check Charles' files just to see if the dates match?" Betty asked.

Sister Woodhouse scoffed. "I'm sure you have a court order demanding such a request?"

Ricky rolled his eyes. "I knew it was come to this."

Betty smiled. "No, we don't," she told her. "But I am cousins with Cheryl Blossom, who recently escaped your secret, gay re-education camp, so unless you cooperate, we'll be back with a court order and the FBI to shut you down."

"And I was here that night, and you can bet everything I have that I got pictures of what you've been running here so now they'd be taking our word and the evidence."

Sister Woodhouse said nothing but walked to a filing cabinet making the couple sitting down share a look.

"We make one hell of a duo," Ricky replied.

She smiled. "We do, we should definitely team up more often."

"Just us?"

"Just us."

He grinned until Sister Woodhouse dropped a file on a desk labeled 'Charles Smith' to which the couple immediately opened it up, looking through it.

Ricky hummed, looking at the history. "Apparently, Charles ran away nine years ago. That means he would've overlapped with Svenson for two years at least."

Betty flipped over the page, showing a picture that wasn't obviously Chic. "Oh, wait. Uh, Sister, are you sure this is my brother's file?"

"Yes, dear, Charles Smith. That's his photo," Sister Woodhouse replied.

Ricky and Betty share a look as the blonde said, "That is not my brother, Sister Woodhouse."

"It most certainly is. I never forget my children. Besides, you can see the family resemblance plain as day."

Ricky looked at Betty, grabbing the photo, realizing it was an imposter posing as the long-lost Cooper sibling. "We should go. Now."

***

Ricky and Betty walked into the Cooper home.

"I fucking knew that Chic was off, he was a walking red flag," Ricky mumbled, making Betty sigh. "We should've dug and found this out weeks ago."

"Found out what, Betty?" Chic asked, from the kitchen as he was standing there with Alice.

Betty turned to Alice. "What's he doing here, Mom?"

"I took Chic down to the Sheriff's station to give his statement," Alice replied. "And I invited him back for dinner."

"Great, except he's not Chic."

"Okay, enough with the melodrama, Betty."

"He's not!"

Ricky stepped up right next to Betty. "Mrs. Cooper, I really think you should listen to this."

"Betty-" Chic tried to cut in.

"Shut the fuck up, you fucking imposter!" Ricky snapped at him.

"Richard," Alice scolded.

Betty turned back to her mom. "Ricky and I paid a visit to the Sisters of Quiet Mercy..." She showed her the picture Ricky grabbed. "That is your real son, Mom, not this con artist."

"I...I don't understand," Alice said softly, looking at the photo and then at Chic.

Chic scoffed, trying to keep a neutral expression. "I do. Betty's been out to get me from the start. She never wanted a brother."

"You're not my brother!" Betty shouted at him.

"What's this picture? What does it all mean?" Alice asked Chic.

"That's what we're trying to figure out, Mrs. Cooper, the truth," Ricky replied, rounding the counter towards Chic, glaring down at the faker.

Chic looked down at the cutting board which had a knife. "Chic, no!" Alice shouted as she tried to stop him but he grabbed the knife, cutting her hand, trying to slash at Ricky who backed away.

Ricky managed to grab his arm, hitting it against the counter roughly, making him drop the knife and elbow him in the nose before Betty hit him, knocking him out.

Betty looked at Ricky. "Are you okay?"

He nodded. "Fine." He looked down at Chic with an emotionless look in his eyes. "Bandage up your mom's hand, we can deal with him when he wakes up."

"Ricky."

"I'll deal with him for now," he replied, looking at her before dragging him towards the Cooper basement. "We get the police involved, he's gonna rat all of us out so now, we gotta deal with this ourselves."

***

Ricky had dragged Chic to the basement, tying him down to a chair as the Cooper women and himself surrounded him.

He filled up a plastic cup full of water from the basement sink, walked over to an unconscious Chic, and splashed it on his face, the blonde jolting awake with a gasp.

"Wake up, time to talk," Ricky said, leaning on the wall next to Betty.

Chic looked around and down his tied limbs. "What? What's going on?" He turned to Alice. "Mom, why are you-"

"Stop. No more playacting. It's just time for answers now," Betty cut in.

"You can start by telling us your real name," Ricky added.

"I am Chic," Chic said before feigning innocence as he looked at Alice. "Mom, untie me! Please, I'm scared."

"You must've known him. My brother," Betty said, ignoring his antics as he pretended to sob. "When my mom and I went to the hostel and asked for Charles Smith, they sent us to your room so why were you impersonating him?"

"I never said I was Charles Smith, I said I was Chic," Chic replied.

"Then where's Charles? How did you know him?" Alice asked.

"We met out on the streets, then moved into that flop house. He told me about you guys. The Coopers. This perfect family in Riverdale. Who gave him up for adoption. Who didn't want him, never even looked for him. One day, he knocked, and you answered, Alice. You practically slammed the door on his face, you said, 'We're not interested.' You remember it, don't you?" Alice's eyes filled with tears. "Charles went on a bender that night. He OD'd on jingle-jangle."

Alice turned on her heels, rushing out of the basement as Betty wiped away her tear, turning to Ricky. "Can you watch him?"

"Of course, go," he told her softly to which she rushed after Alice into the basement.

Chic grinned, looking at Ricky. "Who knew Richard Andrews, the boy next door, the boy with a heart of gold, would be here torturing someone in the Cooper basement? Looks like I'm not the only pretending to be innocent."

"Keep talking and I will torture you," he replied softly.

"We're the same. You and me-"

"We're not," Ricky immediately cut off.

"We like to put on masks to hide who we really are from people. You like to lead people on to think you're this happy, positive sweetheart when really you're damaged, depressed, and always filled with rage. You've been an imposter longer than I have."

"Fuck you," Ricky snapped.

"And it's moments like this, you show who you really are. The mask falls and you look like you're ready to murder me."

"I fucking will," he snapped, grabbing a wrench from the toolbox, clenching it tightly in his fist.

"But you won't. You may be pissed but you're a coward-"

Ricky turned, hitting the wrench roughly against Chic's leg making him yell out. "Keep talking, your kneecaps are next." He dropped the wrench, punching him roughly before grabbing him by the chin, making the in-pain blond stare into Ricky's eyes. "This is far from fucking over."

Ricky walked upstairs, looking around to see Mrs. Cooper wasn't there until he saw Betty hanging up her cell phone in the kitchen.

She turned to him. "Hey. What happened down there?"

"Just Chic trying to get me mad, didn't really work," he said casually with a shrug. "What's up?"

"My mom left but I was thinking. We need to go back there, Ricky. To where I first found Chic. I don't think he's telling the truth about what happened to my brother."

He nodded. "I agree." He glanced at the basement door. "So we just leave him here then?"

"We're gonna have to. Make sure the basement door is locked so he won't be going anywhere."

***

Ricky and Betty drove to the motel, walking into the lobby and looking at the woman behind the glass who didn't look up but said, "Forty dollars a night for a single bed, twenty for a bunk."

"We'll take a single on the second floor, if you have any," Ricky told her.

The woman looked up between them unconvinced to which Betty moved her arms around Ricky's middle, her head on his chest.

The woman passed them a key to which the couple made their way upstairs before walking down a hallway, stopping in front of Chic's door before knocking on the one across from it, getting no response, and knocking on the next one before a woman opened her door.

"We won't take much of your time, ma'am," Betty spoke. "My brother, Charles Smith, I think he used to live next to you in Room 237." She showed her the photo of him. "Does he look familiar to you?"

The woman smiled. "Ah, yes. He was the nice one. Always said buenos dias. Always carried my groceries. May he rest in peace."

"Oh, my God..." Betty said softly.

Ricky looked at the woman. "Did he have a drug problem? With jingle-jangle?" he asked her.

"I don't know about any drugs but they fought all the time, those two...Nasty fights... It was scary. And then, one day, there was only one. The bad one. Later when I took my trash out, I saw bloody sheets and pillows in the dumpster."

Ricky sighed, grabbing Betty's hand to comfort her before turning to the woman. "Right, thank you for your time."

***

Ricky was back in the Cooper basement with Chic and Betty.

"We know you murder my brother," Betty said as soon as they saw him.

Chic looked between them. "Come on, are you guys serious?"

"Your neighbor heard you fighting. She saw blood. Lots of it. Admit what you did, Chic."

"I admit...Your brother was a junkie," Chic replied to which Ricky punched him roughly, his fist connecting with his nose as Chic continued to say, "Go ahead, hit me all you want. You won't kill me because you're scared. You won't let me go because you're worried I'll rat about the Shady guy."

Betty walked over to him, grabbing him by his throat. "Tell us the truth about my brother."

She let go of him to which he looked at her. "I already did, Betty. Or maybe I didn't. You'll never know."

As Betty left the basement, Ricky looked at him with disgust. "You are such a piece of shit."

He chuckled. "You're pretty sexy when you're pissed."

He rolled his eyes with a head shake and a sigh. "Go to hell."

"Already there with you."

Ricky hit him again roughly, wiping off his bloody knuckles.

Chic laughed. "Come on, Ricky. Just kill me already, I know you want to." Ricky looked at him. "I know what you're thinking. You want to do it so the Cooper family and yours will be safe from anyone ever knowing about the Shady guy but on the other hand, your entire family would hate you if they knew what you did and you'd go to jail for a long time...." He looked at Ricky. "Yeah, that's what I thought. You're weak. And you're gonna die this time. If the cops don't come for you, then the Black Hood will-"

Ricky saw red after that, he punched Chic repeatedly before kicking him in the chest roughly, making the blonde fall back with the chair.

Ricky picked up the wrench again, raising it in the air above Chic's head when a hand grabbed his wrist, making him turn and face the person, which was FP.

"What the hell are you doing?" FP snapped, grabbing the front of his shirt.

He slowly snapped out of it. "I-I'm getting him to talk," Was all he said, now realizing what he was about to do.

"The hell you are!" FP looked at the wrench in his hand. "Drop it."

Ricky let the wrench fall onto the floor with a clang before FP pulled him out of the basement, past Alice and Betty.

Ricky tried to push him off as FP pulled him out of the house. "FP, get off!"

Once they were across the street in front of his house, FP finally let go of him. "It's not your business, boy!"

"Are you kidding me?! We helped them cover up a murder and now it's not our business? We're just gonna leave Betty and Alice alone in a house with a potential murderer?"

He tried to walk past him but FP grabbed him again. "You listen to me, you hear me!" He let go of him. "I saw what you were gonna do in there. After what I did to Jason Blossom, I can't...I won't have someone who is like a second son to me near that." Ricky's face fell, looking at FP, any previous rage gone. "It's not our house, Richie. It's not our place. They need to decide what they want to do, how to end this and then we will help."

Ricky sighed. "You're right." He looked at FP. "I honestly don't know what came over me in there, FP. I...just wanted him gone."

"I know, I know," FP said softly. "And he will be. All right? It'll get dealt with. I just want you to worry about you now. This isn't our problem yet."

He nodded. "Okay."

"Go inside and clean yourself up."

He nodded, heading up to his porch as he watched FP start to walk away. "FP," he called out, making the man turn to him to which Ricky walked over, hugging him. "Thanks. If you didn't get there, I would've..."

"I got you, Richie. It's okay," he reassured him, holding onto Ricky.

"Some prisoners aren't bound by chains or locked in cells. Both Archie's and Ricky's prison was built with his own ambition and rage. And the eldest Andrews sibling just handed Hiram Lodge the keys...While, across town, the past was proving to be a cruel jailer."

***