Chapter One
"Veronica? Veronica, is that you? I can't hear you." Keith Mars pulled his cell phone away from his ear and looked at it in frustration. This was the first time Veronica had called in at least a month, and now he couldn't even hear her.
"Dad? Coming…home…two…weeks." Keith could barely make out Veronica's words before the call was cut off. But from what he could understand, Veronica would be home in two weeks after being away for the last six years. He, above anyone else, could understand why she had stayed away, and because of that, he couldn't imagine what in the world would be bringing her back to Neptune after all this time.
"Dad? Are you there, Dad? I'm coming home in two weeks." Veronica shook the phone before hitting it against her desk. She shook her head, muttering. They were working on upgrading the phones in the office and consequently, the phone system was all messed up.
"Ronnie, are you sure about this? I mean, you haven't been home in six years. What if they figure out why you're really going back? And what if it turns out that Logan is somehow involved? Will you really be able to do what you have to?" Veronica paused in the packing up of her desk and looked at Jason.
"First of all, don't call me 'Ronnie'; second, I'm really good at keeping secrets, so how would they find out why I'm really there? And third, no one but my dad actually knows what I do now, so there shouldn't be any questioning of my motives for going home."
"Okay, Veronica, say all this works out like it should; Logan's not involved, you get your man, and things are great. What then? Will you come back here? Will you stay there?" The look Jason gave her was almost too much.
"Don't look at me like that, Jase. You know how much I want to go home and why I haven't in all this time. I don't know what I will do. All I know for sure right now is that I need to make this arrest. I need this case closed. And if it's Logan, I'll do what I have to do to make sure he never does this again. And if it's not, then…" Veronica remembered her last days in Neptune like it was yesterday. She'd said her goodbyes and never really looked back.
She still kept in touch with her dad, Wallace, and Mac, but no one else really. She didn't really have any reason to. Once her freshman year was over, she moved to Virginia to finish college and work on getting into the FBI. She talked to Parker and Piz a couple times in the year she left, but after that, she didn't really make the effort; neither did they. Last she knew, the two of them had gotten married and moved away from Neptune. As far as she knew, Duncan and Lily were somewhere in the States. They had finally come back after Meg's parents had died in a car crash and Duncan petitioned for full custody of Lily. As for Logan, the only thing she knew about him was the information in the case file on her desk. He had fallen off the map for awhile after that one year of college, and as far as she knew, never finished school. He was now back in Neptune, doing Heaven only knew what to make money.
"I know how much you need this case closed, Veronica. I don't know that you will be able to rest until it is. Whatever you need, I'm here to help, V. You know that. Just pick up the phone and let me know what you need." The look on Jason's face was one of empathy. He and Veronica had been friends since the academy. At first they had gone on a couple dates, but decided they would be better off as friends. Over the years, Veronica had told him about Lily, Aaron Echolls, Duncan, Meg, everything. He was the only person that knew about anything from her old life. He was her best friend.
She thought she was done with everything from Neptune until this past year. When this case came across her desk, she knew she would do everything in her power to solve it. And when the trail led to Logan being the prime suspect, she realized that she would have to go back to Neptune and her past to solve the case. This case was a repeat of Lily's murder. Aaron Echolls was dead, so she knew he had nothing to do with it, but every detail was exactly the same as the circumstances surrounding Lily's death; right down to the fact that the girl was murdered at the Kane home, by the pool.
"All I can say is that Neptune better watch out, because whether it winds up being Logan or someone else, I will figure it out." Jason looked at Veronica and almost laughed at the steely glint in her eyes, then thought better of it. It was best not to mock her when she got like this.
"Watch out, Neptune, here comes Veronica Mars. She's back and better than ever." Jason looked at Veronica with a wry grin, and then shook his head. I feel sorry for them. They don't have any clue what they're in for. Veronica had changed since she was in Neptune last. She wasn't about to take any crap from anyone. He just hoped if Logan Echolls was guilty, she could handle it and do what she had to do.