chapter seventy — i'm your puppet
[ season three, episode twenty-three ]
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The girls were finally able to visit Spencer in Radley. That's where they are now. "You have visitors." an orderly informed Spencer as she led the girls to where Spencer was. "Spencer?" the orderly asked, getting Spencer's attention, and she did, she turned to the girls. Josie frowned when she saw how bad Spencer was. "I'll be in the hall if you need me." the orderly said to the girls before leaving.

The girls took a seat around the table that Spencer was at. "Hey. You knew we were coming, right? We spoke with your mom." Emily said. "We wanted to be here the first day." Aria said. "But she said you were going to be home tomorrow, so..." Josie trailed off. "She still believes that? She thinks that I'll be able to sleep through the night if I just take a nice bubble bath and lay in my own bed?" Spencer asked.

"I think what she wants is–" Emily started. "I know what she wants, but, they don't make a loofa that scrapes out the inside of your head." Spencer cut her off. "The park rangers found a body." Hanna blurted out, making them face her. "Hanna!" they said, "what? The sooner she knows, the sooner she check out of this place." Hanna said.

"What Hanna is trying to say is we have good news. They found a body in the woods. The police believe it was a camper." Emily said. "It was toby." Spencer said, but Josie shook her head. "No, Spence, it wasn't." she said softly. "This person, he'd been missing for awhile and he was nowhere near where you thought you saw–." Aria started.

"I know what I saw." Spencer said, cutting her off. "It was Toby." she added, confident that she saw what she saw. The girls shared a look. "Hey, so, um, I was thinking tomorrow night when you get home, we could all–" Josie started but Spencer cut her off. "I need to stay here. I need more time." she said blankly.

"Time for what?" Hanna asked. "Hanna." Emily warned. "Shuffling around in Mona's old slippers isn't going to get her any better." Hanna snapped. "Hanna, take a breath." Josie said, but she wasn't listening. "You know what... I would not dine here. If I were you. I had to sneak around in that kitchen, and I saw a roach big enough to wear an apron." Hanna continued. "Moving on." Aria tried. "You are not crazy. This place is." Hanna said. "I'm too tired to have this fight right now, guys." Spencer said before getting up from her seat.

"I feel safe here." Spencer said as she turned back to the girls, who had turned in their seats to face her. "Those bars don't just keep you from getting out, they keep other people from getting in." she said before leaving. "Well, that went well." Josie uttered before the girls stood up and left Radley.

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"So your dad is gonna take me, you, Hanna and Caleb out for a nice dinner?" Richie asked and she nodded. "Yeah." she answered before she sighed. "Okay, what's wrong?" he asked and she hesitated before she started talking. "Hanna donated money to the church the night that me and Caleb's dad got the job at the church, but later that night, he was paying for pizza and he used the same note that Hanna had given to the church." she explained and he furrowed his eyebrows.

"How does she know it's the same?" he asked. "Because she had drawn a pair of dice on it, with a red pen." she explained. "And the note your dad used, it had a pair of dice on it, with a red pen?" he asked and she nodded. "What are you gonna do?" he asked and she shook her head. "I don't know." she said as she approached Aria and Emily at Aria's locker.

"Hey, Aria." She greeted her. "Hi Jo, Richie." she said, greeting the couple before opening her locker. "Can't you just ask your mom for a copy of the coroner's report?" Aria asked, making Josie realize they had missed a conversation but she knew they were talking about the guy that was found in the woods.

"Aria, the report doesn't say 'Not Toby'. It says John Doe. it's not going to change Spencer's mind." she responded before her phone went off, making her look at it. "Who is it?" Josie asked as Richie wrapped his arm around her waist. "Um, Shana." Emily answered. "Why does she keep texting you while Paige is out of town? Is she into you?" Aria asked but before Emily could answer, Hanna joined them, standing beside Josie and Richie.

"Sorry you guys, Caleb had a lot to share." she said before looking at Emily. "Why are you blushing?" she asked her before turning to the others. "Why is she blushing?" she asked. "Shana's cruising her, and I think that she should shut it down before it turns into 'ex and the city'." Aria responded before closing her locker.

"Guys, I'm not thinking about Shana. We need to help Spencer." Emily said as the five of them walked down the hallway. "No, Em, you saw her face. She's not getting out of there unless we kidnap her." Hanna said, making Richie snicker. "Or we actually take the body there and prove to her it isn't Toby." Aria remarked.

But as she said that, Emily stopped, as if she had an idea. "Em, that's not a real option." Josie reminded her. "No, but, taking a picture of it is. And we've been to that morgue before, what's stopping us from going back?" she pointed out. "Um, do you really have to answer that?" Aria asked.

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Josie sat beside Richie and in front of Caleb as the two couples and Caleb and Josie's dad were having dinner that night at the Apple Rose Grill. "It's got great bones. They built these churches to last." Jaime said. "When do they expect you to be done?" Caleb asked. "I'm going to take my time. I wanna get this right." Jaime responded. Josie sighed softly, taking Richie's hand under the table.

"Oh, before I forget." he said, bending down and grabbing something and handing it to Hanna. "What is this?" she asked. "It's for you. Open it." he answered and Hanna hesitated before opening it, revealing a necklace. "It's an angel. It seemed appropriate." he said. "I don't know what to say." Hanna responded, but Josie noticed she didn't sound happy about it but Jaime's phone rang, making him grab it.

"Oh, I hate these damn things." he complained, referring to the phone. "Let me turn this off," he said. "Actually, it's Pastor Ted. I may have to get this, excuse me." he said before getting up. "Hello?" he asked as he left the restaurant. While he was gone, Caleb put the necklace on Hanna, but other than that it was quiet.

When Jaime came back, Josie could tell something was wrong. "Sorry, guys, I'm going to have to hit the road. There's a problem at work I gotta deal with." he said, grabbing his jacket. "What– right now?" Caleb asked. "I've just been fired." Jaime responded and Josie's eyes widened. "What–what are you talking about?" Caleb asked.

"It seems the wrong bell got hung up the tower... I'm gonna have to go down to the foundry myself and clear this up." he explained. "Do you want me to come with you?" Caleb asked, while Josie looked down, messing with Richie's jacket sleeve. "No, you guys finish your dinner, I'll sort this out. I'll see you later." Jaime said, putting money on the table for dinner before leaving.

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The girls were dressed in candy striper uniform as they rode in the elevator as it took them down to the morgue. Emily wanted to do the plan she had thought of. Take a picture of John Doe's body, and show Spencer that Toby wasn't dead. "Okay, who am I supposed to text If I see someone?" Aria asked, she was going to the lookout. "Me or Josie. Not Hanna, we're using her phone to take the picture." Emily responded but noticed Hanna was on her phone.

"Hanna, pay attention." she said, making Hanna look up at the girls before putting her phone away. "What? I'm sorry my boyfriend and best friend's dad got nailed for stealing." she said. Hanna had told Josie what Aria's mom had told her after the dinner. "Where do you sell a hot bell, anyway?" she asked. "Hanna, focus, please, I don't wanna be in there any longer than we have to." Josie said.

"We find John Doe, we take the picture, and we get out of here." Emily instructed. "Well, If it's bronze, you probably melt it down first." Aria said to Hanna referring to the bell and Josie's mind wandered to the necklace her dad had gifted Hanna. "Melt it into what?" Hanna asked, thinking the same thing. "Why are we still discussing bells?" Emily asked. "Because Caleb thinks our dad is a saint, and Hanna knows he's selling pieces of our church online." Josie said.

"Okay, forget it. Me and Josie will do this." Emily said before pushing the morgue and Josie followed her, Hanna as well. "How are we gonna know which one is John Doe?" Hanna asked. "We have to go through those racks." Emily explained. "Um, no. You two are going through those racks. This isn't a clearance sale, Emily, and I'm freaking out." Hanna responded. "Han, all we've done is walk through the doors." Josie said. "It doesn't matter! I smell dead people." Hanna said before Emily grabbed a step-ladder.

"Fine, just get your phone ready, okay?" Emily asked and Hanna nodded while she stood beside Josie, as they watched Emily use the step-ladder to get to the top rack of body's. "I'll hold you, but you have to aim it." Hanna added as Josie moved to hold the step-ladder in place so Emily didn't fall. "I just want to close my eyes." she added as Emily reached the top and Hanna looked at the tools.

"God, this is so wrong." Josie muttered, they really shouldn't be looking for 'Toby' in the morgue. "Yeah, you spend your whole life doing crunches, getting rid of tan lines, not eating that second pudding." Hanna continued as Emily got off the step-ladder and looked around the morgue. "And then in the end you're just a stale loaf of bread lying on a rack ." Hanna said as Emily and Josie looked at the second rack of body's.

"Um, maybe you can help me and Josie with this loaf, we can't find the tag." Emily said, looking at Hanna before turning back around. "Wait." Josie said as Hanna walked up to them. "Em, what if it really is Toby in there?" she asked. "It's not. And Spencer needs to know that." Emily responded and Hanna and Josie shared a frown. "'Kay, but just in case I don't know If I can handle seeing his face. So can we just look for his tattoo, or something?" Hanna asked

"It's not Toby!" Emily exclaimed before she turned around, grabbing the zipper of one of the black body bag, Hanna getting her phone ready before she slowly unzipped one of the bags and opened and they gasped back, seeing a face but once they looked, the body had a mask on.

The girls breathed heavily, before Emily took the mask off and showed someone who wasn't Toby, and Emily sighed as Hanna's phone rang, it was Aria. "Em someone's coming. Come on, we have to go." Hanna said and Emily grabbed the mask before zipping the body bag back up. "Em, come on!" Josie hurried and Emily dropped the mask on the morgue table before they left.

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Josie and Richie were at Hanna's with Caleb and Hanna. Hanna needed more of her stuff, since she was staying at Emily's while her mom was in New York. Richie watched as Caleb was on his phone when Hanna and Josie came into the kitchen. "Have you heard anything yet?" Hanna asked, knowing Josie hadn't. "Nope." Caleb responded. "For all I know, he's already skipped town." he added and Josie sighed before walking over to Richie who was beside Caleb.

"Well, I spoke to my mom–" Hanna started. "Han, it's not up to your mom or you, to dig our dad out of this." Josie said softly and Caleb nodded in agreement. "Is this everything?" he asked, grabbing the bag in Hanna's hand. "Yeah, mostly. Just to find my English book." Hanna responded. "All right, I'll be out front." Caleb said and Richie followed him to the front door while Josie stayed with Hanna.

"Would it be in the living room?" Josie asked as Hanna's doorbell rang, making them look in the direction before looking back to where Hanna was looking. "Maybe." she uttered, answering Josie's question. "Hey." they heard Jaime say as the door closed and Hanna found the English book.

"I was on my way to your place and I saw your, and Josie's car, out front." he said, and Josie and Hanna walked into the entryway, seeing Jaime, Caleb and Richie. "Where were you?" Caleb asked. "Oh, making phone calls... hey." he said, noticing Hanna and Josie joining them. "Was trying to track down a guy who helped me with the dry wall and see if he can help... uh." Jaime said but Caleb cut him off.

"Help with what? Back up your story? What's his cut?" Caleb asked and Josie shifted her stance, uncomfortable with the fighting. "What?" Jaime asked, confused. "Caleb, don't do this right now." Hanna said, noticing Josie's uncomfortable stance.

"Hey, you should listen to your girlfriend." Jaime said. "I am. And I believe her when she says this isn't the first time that you've stolen from that church." Caleb responded. "What are we talking about here?" Jaime asked as Richie moved and held Josie's hand. "We aren't talking. We are done." Caleb shouted. "Last night, you were my defender. What happened?" Jaime asked, confused.

"I woke up, and I realized that this isn't the first time that you've screwed me over." Caleb responded. "Oh, I see. I'm still that person, huh? Somehow he managed to forgive your mother's sins. Don't suppose it's got anything to do with that fancy car she tossed at you." Jaime asked. "That has nothing to do with this." Caleb scoffed.

"Maybe not, but it's got to be easier to point a finger at someone with a rusty pick-up and no permanent address. Isn't that all the proof you needed?" Jaime asked, reaching for the doorknob and opened the door but Caleb shut it. "All the proof that I needed were the ratty hand-me-downs that I had as a kid. Remember the winter coat that ended at my elbow? And the unsigned permission slips? And-and the social workers, and the foster families who slammed doors in my face when they were tired of looking at me? That is my proof!" Caleb exclaimed.

Josie teared up, hearing about how her brother grew up. "And let's not forget your daughter. My sister. I've been in that house and I see nothing of you and Josie. Not one photo. Nothing. It's all Jennifer and Josie. You've screwed her over too, not just me." Caleb finished. "Yeah." Jaime said after a moment. "Wow, when you put it that way... uh... I guess I wouldn't believe me, either." Jaime said before leaving, and Josie didn't hesitate before reaching and pulling Caleb into a hug, to which he hugged her back, tighter.

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After that, Hanna and Richie had decided to take the siblings out, and now they were sitting down in front of the Brew. Josie had her head resting on Richie's shoulder. "Do you want to take a walk or something?" Hanna asked Caleb. "I feel stupid." Caleb responded, shaking his head. "You're not stupid." Josie said, turning her head to look at him.

"Josie's right. You gave someone a second chance. That's never stupid." Hanna said. "We talked about this road trip we were gonna take. Ride bikes, go out west." Caleb explained with a sigh. "I was already mapping it out," he added. "We can take a trip sometime. I know it's not the same, but–" Hanna started. "It would be better. Because I'll be with someone who I know is looking out for me" Caleb said and Josie smiled at the two of them.

Hanna and Caleb shared a kiss before the pull away. "I'll get up refills. Jo, Richie?" he asked but Richie shook his head 'no' that they were fine so Caleb took his and Hanna's cups and walked into the Brew and as soon as he did, the church bells went off before Hanna's phone went off, making Josie lift her head and look at Hanna before she pulled her phone out. Josie leaned over Hanna's shoulder and read the text.

BLOCKED ID
Hear that? It's the sound of your
mistake. When you want the bell
back, gimme a ring!
⎯ A

Josie and Hanna shared a look before Josie noticed Caleb behind Hanna, who had read the message, making her sigh.

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Richie had dropped Hanna and Josie off at Aria's, while Caleb took his car and went to find Jaime. "So basically 'A' was framing Jaime the whole time? Do you think that bill from the collection box was–" Aria started as she passed Hanna her phone back as Josie sat on an armchair beside them. "Don't you?" Hanna asked. "Caleb is never going to forgive me." Hanna complained. "Yes he will Han." Josie responded, looking over at her.

"Where is he now?" Aria asked. "Trying to find Dad, but I don't know what he's gonna say to him." Josie answered. "He may have to just find a way to tell him the truth. Caleb's familiar with the working of 'A'" Aria responded. "So is Ezra. Do you plan on telling him who bought this kid a big, fat balloon today?" Hanna asked.

Aria didn't have a chance to answer when someone knocked on her door before it opened and Emily rushed in, in a panic, making the others stand up. "Em?" Aria asked. "It was the wrong body." Emily said, and Josie frowned, confused. "What?" she asked. "The John Doe, the one in the mask. It was the wrong one." explained. "Emily, you're not making sense." Hanna said. "They just found a body tonight. In a shallow grave out in the woods." Emily continued. "Where?" Aria asked. "Exactly where Spencer said it was, they found her purse close by." Emily explained.

⎯ AUTHORS NOTE
new chapter <3 | i love the sibling bond between josie and caleb already | countdown till season three is over: one chapter !!!