Two Days Earlier
Logan wasn't in TJ with Dick and Cassidy like he said he was. His alibi is officially blown. He could have been the one to kill Lilly. It made sense, really. He found out about her and Weevil and he just snapped. Logan probably doesn't even carry the sanity gene. Between his psychotic father and suicidal mother, Logan's family' mental health isn't exactly a billboard for his innocence.
But even with all the evidence against him, I just can't make myself believe he did it. It could just be that my judgment is clouded by the fact that he's my boyfriend but, Logan bashing Lilly's head with an ashtray in her backyard? There just isn't any way I can even wrap my mind around that mental image. Sure, I've seen his psychotic jackass signature firsthand, notably on the LeBaron's headlights. I've even seen him beat the hell out of people before. But, he could never have hit Lilly... could he?
Okay, Veronica, what to do? Talk to him first and risk letting a murderer off on my gut instinct or just turn him in and let the law sort it out? I don't even know if it's even my gut that's telling me to trust him. I don't know what is. My head says he's guilty, that should be enough! That's always been enough before. What the hell is wrong with me? Just call the sheriff and get it over with!
She picked up the phone and dialed the number. By the time Veronica realized that her fingers had dialed Logan's number instead of the sheriff's department (she'd insist to herself later that her digits had been acting completely of their own accord), he'd answered.
"Hey, sugarpuss, what's up?"
Veronica's harsh tone cut across Logan's playful greeting. "Why did you lie about where you were on the day of Lilly's murder?"
There was a long pause before Logan answered. "Dick and Cassidy lied for me. I decided to come home early. I was afraid without the alibi-"
"Did you hurt Lilly?"
"No! I could never have hurt Lilly! I parked across the street from the car wash and watched the two of you for a moment. I had just found out about Weevil and watching her there… I don't know, I just knew it was over. So I wrote a note explaining myself to her, stuck it in the shot glass I brought for her, and left it in the backseat of her car. The car wash was the last time I saw her."
"A shot glass and note?"
"Yeah it said 'I got baked in Ensenada.'"
"The police never found them."
"Well I guess she must have done something with them before her killer got to her."
Veronica remained silent.
"You do believe me, right?"
"Yeah, I do." Veronica was almost surprised that she truly did. "Listen, there's something I just thought of that I need to do later. Want to come with?"
Logan breathed a sigh of relief. "Sure. I'll pick you up around six and we can grab some dinner ahead of time?"
"Okay, bye."
"Bye."
Logan was innocent. She was positive.
Thank God. And if tonight goes as I hope, we should be able to find that shot glass.
xxxx
Veronica was dressed as a member of the wait staff, hiding in plain sight in the Kane's home. She managed to sneak away from the party to Lilly's bedroom and once inside, she went straight for the vent. It had never occurred to Veronica until recently, but the vent was Lilly hiding place for anything she didn't want her parents to see. Veronica knew the sheriff's department would not have looked in an air vent for evidence. Hopeful, she unscrewed the vent from the wall and was surprised to find three small video tapes inside. Logan's shot glass was nowhere in sight. Veronica heard a noise coming from the hallway outside, so she quickly replaced the vent and hid under Lilly's bed.
"Dude, I know you still love Veronica, but don't you think it's time to let her go? I mean, you're dating Meg now." Logan's voice was soft but intense.
"And?"
"And she's a nice girl. But you can't have them both."
Duncan eyed his friend suspiciously, obviously not thrilled at the direction this conversation was going in.
"Look, I didn't want you to find out about this from anybody else, but Veronica and I-"
Duncan started laughing. His laughter held no mirth and it chilled Logan to the core. "Oh, okay so this is when you tell me that you, my best friend, are dating my ex and that it's okay because you told me before someone else could?" His face hardened and he shoved Logan's shoulder.
Logan shoved back. "Don't push me, man."
"So you're just stealing my girl?" He pushed Logan again, harder this time.
Logan saw Veronica sneak past Duncan's door in the hallway and made sure to keep Duncan facing the opposite direction. Logan thought about hitting him again, but held back for Veronica's sake.
"She's hardly your girl,man. Weren't you the one to break up with her?"
"Yeah, so what? It wasn't because I wanted to!" His voice raised in frustration.
Logan raised his right back to match it, goading Duncan. "Then why did you do it?"
Duncan's face contorted with some kind of pain and he brought his fist down on the dresser so hard, Logan was worried he might have broken his hand. "Because she's my sister!" The confession came out in a half-scream, half-sob and Logan was struck speechless. He stared on in disbelief as Duncan started sobbing.
Logan finally found his tongue again. "But, how? She needs to know." Duncan didn't look up at him and Logan, exhausted, turned around and simply walked away.
Veronica was waiting outside in the front seat of his Xterra, eying the tapes she'd found in Lilly's vent.
Logan opened the driver's side door and poured himself into his seat beside her, drained from his conversation with Duncan and the added weight of the guilt over knowing about Veronica's apparent incestuous past while she still had no clue. His tension eased when she fixed him with a triumphant grin, fanning out the cassettes.
"Do you have something we could use to play these?"
"Yeah. No problem." He put the car into drive and drove them silently back to his mansion.
She plopped down on his bed and shook her hair out of its pony tail while Logan searched for the recorder.
Deciding it would be better to have an excuse to avoid her eyes during the conversation as a way to ensure that she could not tell he was hiding something, he blurted out the less-disastrous news while still digging through his closet. "I told Duncan about us."
Veronica laid back on the bed trying to relax, or at least sound relaxed. "How'd he take it?"
"Not so great." Logan responded, his tone strained.
"Was he mad at us?"
"Not at you. Just at me."
She sat back up and watched him curiously. "Why just you?"
Logan had long since realized that he had loaned his father the camera a while ago for one thing or another, but he continued to dig through things, giving Veronica his back. "Oh, you know, the whole 'my best friend betrayed me by dating my ex' drama. He's such a girl."
"Girl nothing. Meg is my friend and I didn't get all mad at them when she and Duncan started dating."
"Yeah, but Duncan's just screwed up." He felt her hand on his shoulder and decided to abandon his pretend search and turn around to face her. He stood up.
She was smiling at him. It was a forced smile, but Logan knew it was in place to reassure him and that knowledge made him feel better. "My dad must still have it. I loaned it to him a while ago."
Veronica nearly laughed at the apologetic look on his face. He looked a little lost as he drug his hand through his short hair. She rose on the balls of her feet and laid a chaste kiss on his mouth. "I've waited this long, I can wait one more day."
Logan grinned and she smiled sweetly at him, laying her hand on his cheek. Her tone was soft and reassuring, her characteristic snark absent for a change. It was almost like she used to sound in the days before Lilly was killed and Veronica suddenly stopped being so innocent. He captured her face in his hands and kissed her back passionately. He wrapped his arms around her as they melted to their knees on the hardwood floor.
It was pitch dark outside and the only the light in the room issued from a small lamp on Logan's nightstand. It was peaceful and comforting and all the things that had been foreign to them for the past year. They finally broke apart and Veronica smiled a small smile and her cheeks were tinged with pink.
Logan grinned at her. "See? The one thing that can make it all better." His hand was still buried somewhere in her hair, sifting the soft blonde locks through his deft fingers.
She pulled out her cell phone to check the time. Almost midnight. She needed to get home. She made to stand and Logan held her tighter.
"Where are you going?"
"I'd better get home. I turn into a pumpkin soon." She met his eyes, genuinely sorry that she had to vacate her spot on the floor.
"Oh, yeah, I forgot about your fairy godfather. I'll drive you." He started to rise but was stopped when she grasped his shirtfront and pulled him back down to the floor.
"Wait! I forgot! He's out chasing a case again. He won't be back until tomorrow afternoon." She lifted her brow with a grin."I guess I can stay a little while longer before going home."
He smiled and kissed her. "Well, why don't you just stay over then? It's got to be better than going back to a dark, empty apartment alone."
Veronica withdrew from his touch the tiniest bit but it didn't escape Logan's attention. "I mean, not to…we could just-"
She let out a breath that she had been unaware she was holding. "Okay. Drive me home in the morning?"
"Sure." He stared at her for a moment before deciding to put in a movie to break through the tension that hung between them. He sat forward and found the remote beneath the things he'd been shoving carelessly around during his hunt for the recorder. The Fast and Furious was playing and he left it on. For a while they just vegged out on their stomachs on the foot of his bed watching the movie. After the first half, their conversation drew their attention away and Logan finally just turned it off.
They talked about everything. Memories of growing up together, their experiences with Lilly (though Logan left out the more x-rated bits of his memories), the case, what might be on the tapes she'd found, even the inconsequential things, like favorite brands of potato chips. They talked for hours and hours, both completely engrossed in what the other had to say. It was rare for their conversations to last longer than ten minutes before they tumbled blindly into each other's arms. It was equally rare for either to have anyone to confide in. They found themselves insatiable and they wanted to know as much as they could about each other.
They each knew the other well, each having been the romantic bit players in the Kane family saga. Beyond that, they learned how much each had changed since Lilly's death. And, in the intervening year, things had happened that neither of them ever imagine telling the other person. One event in particular came up: Shelly Pomroy's end of the year party. By the time it came up, they were laying under the covers, facing each other. By the time Logan processed what Veronica was telling him, she was nearly in tears and he felt like someone had hit him in the head with a crowbar. He let her finish as he knew it was a hard confession for her before he admitted to her about being the one that brought the liquid ecstasy.
Veronica didn't think twice about forgiving him. That alone almost brought Logan to tears. And, with her confession came the realization of why she'd changed so over the past year.
"Does it scare you? I mean, that you can't remember it?" Logan asked after Veronica's breathing had evened out.
"Yeah, kind of. I don't know who it was or even if it was just one person or exactly what all they did. But I guess some things are better left in the dark."
His first time with Lilly flashed into his mind. It wasn't exactly deep and loving, but it had been a lot of… would fun be the best word to describe it? He wasn't too nervous, Lilly never gave him a chance to be. But at least he could remember it.
That horrible night had been Veronica's first and only time. Veronica Mars, the girl that didn't fit any definition of the word 'innocent,' the girl who was lying there with him in his bed, was a virgin. Emotionally, at least, if not physically. He suddenly became very aware of how odd even just this must be for her and became somewhat nervous.
He got even more nervous when she actually started to ask vague questions. "Does it… I mean, if your not… would it still hurt?"
He hazarded his best guess. "It probably would for you since it's been so long and you're not used to it. But most girls say that the pain turns into something good after a while."
Logan suppressed a grin as Veronica's cheeks flushed a deep crimson. Logan was hyper-aware of the fact that she was clad in only his tee shirt and her underwear. She didn't move from her position facing him under the blankets and yet, her next words affected him more than any touch could have.
"Can you show me?"
