"You want proof?" Veronica asked; a slight tremble in her voice. "Here's your proof." Veronica laid her phone onto the phone. Lamb looked at the phone. "You gonna call the wizard?" he asked sarcastically. Veronica touched some buttons and the voice of Beaver filled the interrogation room. The two sat in silence listening as the recording of last night played. Veronica refused to admit defeat and stayed staring at the phone. But the events kept playing through her mind. She hadn't wanted to resort to the tape. She knew that Lamb would hear Beaver's rape confession; he'd hear her crying – so close to losing control; being saved by Logan. But he needed proof the Cassidy had blown up the plane, crashed the bus. And that was her job, solving crimes. So here she was. Lamb closed his eyes, just another thing to add to the 'crap that's happened to Veronica Mars' list. Hadn't she been through enough? His head snapped up at the mention of the rape. He stared at Veronica but she dodged his gaze. He remembered her that day; her party dress on, hair all scruffy, mascara down her face. She had come to him, out of all the people she could have gone to, and he'd told her to go see the wizard, get some back-bone. That day; the last he saw her dressed in dresses; the last time he saw her looking naive, innocent. Then she chopped off her hair, became jaded and suspicious. He'd been wrong, again, and this time Veronica had been hurt by it. 'Worst decision I ever made' Veronica thought as she too remembered that day, thinking that he would actually care, she'd been so stupid. The tape finished playing but still she avoided his eyes. Lamb sighed, "Veronica?" He said it in a way that sounded like maybe he gave a crap; his voice was soft, questioning, and remorseful. She didn't need that. She'd been through too much shit. She didn't need pity, not anymore. Maybe once, when her best friend died; when her mum left; when her boyfriend had a kid with someone else. But not now. She grabbed her bag from the floor and walked out casually. Lamb just stared at the seat she'd been in. And pressed play again, Beaver's voice now surrounding him.
Veronica and Back-up ran for an hour before returning to the house. Keith was out, working a case. The fabulous life of fighting crime never stops. Not even for a daughter tottering on the edge of a breakdown. She'd had offers for tonight; parties, movies, shopping. Veronica half wanted to go to the party, get drunk, and let some guy bring her home, but all she could think about was 2004, the rape. So she did what Veronica Mars does best – distracted herself with work.
Lamb sat in his apartment. He'd decided his troubles would be less lonely with a bottle of scotch. But it wasn't really working. He couldn't stop thinking about Veronica. She'd been raped and he hadn't believed her, she'd been hurt and he'd ignored her, she came to him and he let her down. He thought about how much Veronica had changed. She was no longer the girl who played soccer and was on the dance-team. She didn't laugh with him anymore, only at him. She didn't smile whenever she saw him. Now she was the tainted, apprehensive PI. She was tough, and she'd never admit she needed help. And it killed him to realize that even after Lily's death, up until the rape, she'd been the naïve girl he'd known. It was the rape that changed her.
Lamb stood at Veronica's door. He'd been knocking for five minutes. Her car was out the front, and Lamb knew she must be in there, but she didn't answer. Lamb turned and left, and Veronica watched him from the window. He'd changed too. His once really short hair was longer now, and his eyes were harsh and cold. She hadn't seen him smile, non-sarcastically, since Lily's murder. Veronica knew she should have answered the door, but that would only lead to questions and memories she wasn't sure she was ready for.