Susie Q

"The killer is clearly trying to destroy your egos first, Barry was attacked in his gym, and Helen got her hair cut off the day before her show, he knows you guys well enough and he will try to use the moment where you'll be the most comfortable to try and catch you off guard."

"For the parade, you three should be enough, I am sure he wouldn't attack you mid-day, in front of all the people attending the parade." Jaxon said pointing at Ray, Helen, and Barry "And for your Pageant we will all be there, if I am correct he should show himself and we can catch him there."

Looking at Jaxon's casual demeanor when he's talking about their life Barry couldn't help but feel his anger resurfacing again, "You find this funny? This is all a game to you, right?"

Jaxon chuckled, running his hand through his hair. "Not exactly funny, but hey, you guys continuously insist on digging your own graves, so I am trying to use your enthusiasm to help my case. Besides, it's not every day I get to play detective with a group of scared teenagers."

"Teenagers?" Helen scoffed, "Do you even know how old we are?"

"Don't know, don't care..." Jaxon stood up, "Do things as planned, keep my number and 911 on speed dial, if any of you see anything, don't go all macho and start following the killer on your own."

"Are you seriously going to leave?" Barry said, "Aren't you supposed to protect us, and yet you're telling us to fend for ourselves before you decide the right time to help us."

"Oh! She's the one paying me so I am protecting her." Jaxon grabbed Julie's arms, dragging her away with him, "If you're that scared, hire some bodyguards and put Daddy's money to good use for once!"

Driving away to their next destination, both of them stayed quiet, hoping for one of them to break the silence. Finally having enough, Julie sighed as she turned towards Jaxon,

"Was it really necessary?" Julie asked as Jaxon shrugged, 

"I couldn't stand the useless conversation for longer than that," Jaxon said, "I know they're your friends but I just don't like them. Imagine telling someone that a killer is out to kill them, and they still insist on attending a pageant. I can understand acting out of fear but not stupidity."

"She... I don't know." Julie shook her head, "She was the 'cool' girl throughout school if you know what I mean. After the accident, we all lost touch, but I heard she went to New York to continue her studies, so imagine my surprise when I came back to see her working in her father's shop."

"I guess, the accident impacted all of her differently."

"Meh! Do you want to know what I think?" Jaxon said as Julie nodded, "I think out of the four of you, she was affected the least from the accident, Barry is paranoid, Ray seems a bit broken on the inside but Helen, it seems she is just suffering from the severe case of 'Big Fish Small Pond.''

"The Pageant winner, the Queen, believed herself to be the most beautiful girl in the world living in a small town, so wanting to expand her wings further and bless the rest of us with her looks she traveled to New York and the realization set in, that moving to a bigger ocean she wasn't the biggest fish around, in fact, she was the smallest."

"So she came back around hoping to snatch any relevance she has left in this small town, but the life isn't high school and her beauty doesn't matter much, and now finally an opportunity came where she can grab the attention of people again, so no matter if her life and her friend's life are in danger, she doesn't care."

"That's a long analysis, is it that detective brain of yours?" Julie asked letting out a smile,

"No, I just have personal experiences with people like her," Jaxon replied as a couple of memories from his previous life flashed before him, "I've seen it time and again. People cling to the past because it was their peak, their defining moment. They can't move forward, so they try to recreate what they had dragging everyone around them into their delusion. It's sad, really."

Julie nodded thoughtfully. "I suppose you're right. But it doesn't make it any easier to deal with her now. We have to find a way to protect everyone, including Helen, whether she likes it or not."

"I'll think about that," Jaxon shrugged,

"By the way, are you a psychology major? Better yet, how did you become a private detective in the first place?"

"Criminal Justice, that is what I studied and I did dabble a little into criminology and that's about it." Jaxon replied, "As for the job, let's just say I like to have a lot of legroom when I am working."

"You chose this profession just so you could have some free time?" Julie laughed, "You're one weird guy."

"Sure, if you want to put it like that," Jaxon smiled as they reached the docks where several fishing boats were lined up, bobbing gently with the tide. The salty breeze from the ocean filled the air, bringing with it a sense of calm.

Getting out of the car, Julie looked around the familiar place and she asked, "So why are we here?"

"To check out my number suspect," Jaxon said, "Ben Willis, the father of Susie Willis. If anyone would want to kill David and blame him for his fiance's death, it would be him. And he just so happens to be a fisherman as well."

Julie gulped as she got serious, "What if he's the one?"

"Then we catch him, bring him to the police... Oh god! I really hope he'll be wearing his fisherman garb just so I can take it off and the police would be like, 'Ben Willis, is that you!' and he will say something like 'I would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for you meddling kids'"

"Stop joking!" Julie urged rolling her eyes at him, "Focus, this is really serious!"

"Sigh! Fine..." Jaxon slumped his shoulder like a wounded puppy teasing her further, "Geez! okay, let's go."

Jaxon led the way, his demeanor shifting from playful to professional as they approached the docks. The sunlight cast long shadows on the weathered planks, adding an eerie atmosphere to the scene. Julie stayed close to Jaxon, her eyes scanning their surroundings nervously.

The scent of saltwater and fish grew stronger as they neared a cluster of boats. Most were small, simple vessels so it was already hard to distinguish most boats from one another let alone find a specific one with no information.

"How will we ever find him or his boat?" Julie asked, "Should we ask around, some of the fishermen may know him."

"I doubt it!" Jaxon said, "He doesn't fit the description of someone friendly, not to mention, what if his partner in crime happens to be around as well?"

"So we just walk around?"

"That's the plan for now, if we find nothing, then we should start asking around!" Jaxon and Julie continued exploring the dock until something caught his eyes, "Susie Q"