Title: Risk Factor
Author: Ella :)
Characters/Pairings: Veronica, Logan, and all of your favorite (and some not so favorite) Marsverse characters.
Rating: T
Spoilers: Everything. It's all fair game.
Word Count: This chapter is 3863 words.
Summary: Not long into the FBI Veronica gets assigned to a case that may just change her life.
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. Sometimes wish I did, though.
Chapter Title: Kin
Saturday 26 February 2011 – House of Raymond & Estelle Wykes, Woodbury, CT – 3:00pm
Sitting in the living room of Kimberly Hutchens' parents, Veronica starts to feel nauseas. The room is filled with family photographs, graduation photographs, sporting awards and trophies, and mounted on the wall above the mantle is a horrendous family photograph. The couches are decorated with a ghastly flower pattern and the entire room smells of English Rose, and yet Veronica's heart aches for the girl who will never be able to return home.
This is always the worst part: bearing witness to the life that was cut short. It seems Kimberly was quite an active young lady. Someone to be proud of. How do you deal with losing someone like that? Honestly, you never really do.
"We had that portrait done on her eighteenth birthday." Raymond Wykes' spots Veronica looking at the portrait and gives a sad smile. "We'd gotten her present custom made and she was so happy. She shocked us when she announced she wanted a picture taken."
Veronica tries to cover her grimace with a smile as Estelle Wykes, Kimberly's mother, places a cup of tea on the coffee table in front of her. "Thank you, Mrs Wykes." Simply nodding in return, Estelle takes the empty seat next to her husband Raymond, and braces herself for the story that's about to unravel.
"You say you have news about our Kimberly?" Raymond's steely voice cuts through the air and Veronica squints as she turns to him, attempting to size him up.
So Ray, you were one of the original suspects. Any chance you killed your stepdaughter, chopped her up, flew across the country and dropped her arm in the McMahon's dog pen?
She spares a glance at Agent Lenovo who shuffles a few papers before setting a manila folder down on the table.
"Mr Wykes, do you know if Kimberly had any friends in California? Or any friends with any ties to the west coast?" Lenovo dives straight into the questioning.
Briefly glancing in his wife's direction, Raymond shakes his head. "Not as far as I know. Most of Kimberly's friends reside in Connecticut and New York. A few of the others have gone interstate for college but none as far as California." The response rolls straight off his tongue and Veronica takes a breath, wondering about the ease of the statement.
"I have an older sister in Oregon." The words are spoken so softly, for a brief second Veronica wonders if she even heard them. "Kimberly spent a few months there just over a year ago." Estelle's eyes never leave the cup of tea in her hands. Lenovo scribbles on his notepad and glances at the next piece of paper.
"What about this Rowan Pike?" Veronica speaks for the first time. "Or James Pickett? Do you know if either of them have ties to the west coast?"
Estelle's head snaps up and her eyes lock with Veronica's. "Rowan Pike was a waste of space. He never cared about Kimberly, all he ever did was hurt her. It would surprise me if anyone had the patience to form ties with the man."
"And James Pickett?" Lenovo doesn't look up from his notebook as the question rolls off his tongue. Veronica turns to him in disbelief, frowns, and interrupts Estelle before she can answer.
"I'm sorry Mrs Wykes. Was?"
"I beg your pardon?"
Veronica leans forward on her chair, ignoring Lenovo's questioning look. "You said 'Rowan Pike was a waste of space'. What did you mean by that exactly?"
"Rowan Pike is dead, Agent Mars." Estelle's confused frown matches the one adopted by Veronica only seconds earlier. "I'm surprised you didn't already know that." Her face falls and the cup of tea once again becomes the most interesting object in the room.
"The bastard died from a heroin overdose two weeks after Kimberly went missing." Raymond explains, his dark brown eyes boring holes in Veronica's face. "Cops rules it a suicide and decided he was responsible for Kim's disappearance. You think he's not?"
Before Veronica can answer, Lenovo pipes up. "We're not sure of anything at the moment, Mr Wykes. We're just reviewing Kimberly's case in light of new evidence."
"What evidence?"
Veronica's been observing Mr Wykes since the start of the interview and decides now is the best time to question him as to why he was a suspect. "Mr Wykes, you were also a prime suspect in the disappearance of your step-daughter. Could you tell us why the local PD suspected you?"
A chuckle escapes through his lips and Veronica's momentarily taken aback. Raymond blinks rapidly, as if trying to quell tears. "Kimberly's never liked me. She sees me as a replacement for her father and insists on acting out."
"Kimberly's father, David, died in a trucking accident almost ten years ago." Estelle swipes furiously at her tears. "And although I only got remarried two years ago, Kimberly didn't believe eight years was a sufficient enough mourning period. She believed that when you married, you married for life."
Oh, how naïve. If only that girl had grown up in Neptune.
"She never approved of your marriage?" Lenovo questions, having momentarily stopped scribbling. "Did that make you angry?"
A flash of anger swept over Raymond's face. "Absolutely not!" The outburst was over as fast as it had started. He simply shrugged. "I guess I was hoping someday she'd approve."
There's a moment of silence as Lenovo returns to his writing and Veronica continues to observe Kimberly's parents. They both look genuinely upset and worried, and Veronica feels saddened as she notices the glimmer in their eyes. Hope.
How you tell someone you found their daughters arm in the mouth of a cattle dog?
The silence is broken when Raymond speaks. "You said you had new evidence. What is it?"
"Mr and Mrs Wykes, do you recognize this tattoo?" Lenovo slides a photograph of the butterfly tattoo towards the distraught couple. Veronica remains silent, observing their faces for reactions.
"That's Kim's tattoo." Estelle states definitively. "She got it done about a year ago." Her face crumples as she takes in the pale skin tone. "Where did you find her?"
"In the yard of a California farm." Lenovo's response is abrupt and Veronica turns to him in annoyance.
How did this guy get into the FBI?
Estelle's tears spill over and she lets out a strangled sob, burying her head in her husband's chest. Veronica shoots a glare at her partner before turning back to the weeping mother.
"I'm afraid Agent Lenovo is misunderstood." The words come out much firmer than she'd anticipated and she once again ignores the look Lenovo is sending her. Only this time it isn't questioning, its pure outrage.
"What my partner mean is…" she pauses, hoping for the right words to suddenly exit from her mouth.
Is what, Veronica? That you didn't find the girl, you only found part of her?
"…Have you ever heard of George Sanders?" Her voice wavers only slightly and she makes the mistake of glancing at Lenovo. His eyes are wide, in a warning, his mouth set in a thin line, his head shaking ever so slightly.
"No." Estelle and Raymond reply simultaneously.
"Six years ago George Sanders was wanted on drug trafficking charges, and was presumed dead after a team of forensics discovered his leg in the remains of a car explosion. Two years ago George Sanders was spotted leaving a convenience store in Albuquerque." Raymond cuts her off before she finishes.
"Are you saying that you only have a part of our daughter?" The disbelief lacing his voice caused Veronica to shudder.
Uh…
"Her left arm, yes." Veronica's voice doesn't falter and she's filled with a sudden sense of pride.
"Are you saying my daughter is still alive?" Estelle's tears have dried and her entire face lights up. Veronica's heart skips a beat as she realizes what she's done.
Nice one, Mars. You just gave them the idea that Kimberly's still alive when you, and your entire team believe she's dead.
Lenovo, who's clearly seething, smiles sadly and leans toward the couple. "I wouldn't get my hopes up."
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Saturday 26 February 2011 – Outside the House of Raymond & Estelle Wykes, Woodbury, CT – 4:35pm
Veronica and Lenovo aren't even down the front steps of the Wykes house before she puts her game face on and prepares for battle. She knows she broke procedure and she knows what she said was wrong, but she wasn't going to lie and tell them that the FBI had found Kimberly when, in fact, they hadn't. She also knew better than to tell them they're daughter was still alive. Either way, she couldn't help herself.
"What the hell were you thinking, Mars?" The words are short and clipped, and Veronica knows this is only the start of an argument. "You can't tell the victim's family she may still be alive."
"Why not?" Veronica counters, whipping around to face him. "We don't know that she isn't. For all we know she could be sipping margaritas on a beach in the Bahamas. For all we know, that isn't even her arm."
"You heard them." Lenovo nods his head towards the house. "They ID'd the tattoo."
Veronica shakes her head in annoyance. "So? How do we know it's her arm? I could march right in to Sparky's Tattoo Parlour and have that tattooed on my arm right now. You know, I'm beginning to wonder how exactly the FBI goes about investigating things. We should have had the forensics team run a DNA test on the arm and see whether or not it matches Estelle. And what the hell does BH stand for? Her name begins with a K, her mom's with an E, and her dead father's name was David. For that matter, is BH even a person?"
Lenovo's face reddens in anger. "Where the hell do you get off judging the FBI, Mars? I've had five years of experience. Five! And this is your first major case!" He takes a step towards her. "We handle investigations a certain way and so far no one's complaining. That arm belonged to Kimberly Hutchens and she is dead. You had no right instilling a sense of false hope into those poor bastards." His arm flings out as he points behind him. "We'll get the fuckhead that did this and we'll do it according to procedure. If you don't like it then get the hell of this case and the hell out of the bureau!"
Veronica's eyes momentarily fill with tears of anger and she takes another deep breath. "I'm not criticizing procedure, Agent Lenovo." She's mocking him and she revels in the fact that he knows it. "Unless I'm mistaken the 'I' in FBI stands for Investigations, and I'm sorry if my more in-depth methods get in the way of yours but I did more investigating in my junior year at high school then you've done in your entire five year career with the FBI. I've been a licensed PI for almost four years and I worked with one for a lot longer." She pauses at the surprise in his eyes. "And this case is not my first major case. That was the murder of my best friend. I was seventeen." She steps towards the rental SVU. "And I solved that one." Without giving him a chance to respond she jumps into the passenger seat and slams the door.
Staring at the petite blond in the car, Lenovo is speechless. He's read Mars' file. He knows the cases she worked on. Hell, the most recent one had her working with three members of his team: the Fitzpatrick-Navarro case. Deciding not to inflict any more damage on the strenuous partnership as there already was, he slowly walks to the driver's side of the car and climbs in. He remains completely silent until they reach the US-6, headed for their overnight stop in Southbury.
"It's good to know we've narrowed down the suspect pool. What with Rowan Pike being dead and all."
She doesn't turn to face him, offering only a simple nod and so he tries again. "I don't think the step-father's guilty."
Veronica's head whips around so fast for a second she's sure she's suffered whiplash. She squints slightly, studying his face before she answers. "Me neither."
"I think it's safe to say that, with our combined 'investigatory experience', he's officially not a suspect." He spares a glace her way in order to gauge her reaction to his statement.
Once again, she simply nods her head. She turns and faces on the view out the window, having not forgiven his outburst, but with a small smile on her face.
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Saturday 26 February 2011 – Along the I-84, Pootatuck Park, CT – 5:10pm
Agent Brooke Lorraine Swann, only twenty-seven years old, had already cracked open three major cases over her last three years in the FBI but it never got any easier. Her first case was especially difficult. She, along with an intern, worked with Sheldon and Laidlaw to bring down a major drug trafficking ring along the entire Californian coast. Three of her own college friends had been involved. It was during this case that Brooke went undercover as the girlfriend of an Irish mobster, and it was during this case that she met Veronica Mars, the only other member of this team that Brooke actually got along with, and one of three that she respected.
After spending the afternoon with Hodgkinson, questioning Kimberly Hutchens' boyfriend, Brooke had come to the conclusion that this case was going to be bigger than originally anticipated. Call it a gut feeling, but there was something more going on here and she could feel it with every fiber of her being.
As Hodgkinson stops at a gas station in Pootatuck Park, Brooke decides to call Veronica and update her on the happenings of the afternoon.
"Mars." Veronica drops her duffel on one of the two single beds in the hotel room and kicks off her shoes.
"Hey Veronica, it's Brooke." She tries for upbeat but is certain she fails.
"Brooke." Veronica takes a seat on the end of her bed. "How'd the interview go?"
Brooke smiles at Veronica's direct approach. "James Pickett is an absolute sweetheart. Denies having anything to do with Kimberly's disappearance. In fact, he was going to propose to her. Even showed me the ring." She glances out her window and sees that Hodgkinson has paid the gas attendant and is on his way back to the car.
Veronica frowns, "Propose? Kimberly's only nineteen. Isn't Pickett only twenty? That's a little young."
Brooke shifts in her seat as Hodgkinson climbs back into the SUV and starts the engine. She mouths the word 'Mars' to him before replying to Veronica. "He wasn't planning on proposing now, he was planning on proposing when she graduated."
"In four years?"
With a nod of her head Brooke confirms it. "Yep. Does that sound like someone who would murder his girlfriend and chop her into tiny pieces?"
Veronica shrugs. "Stranger things have happened." She pauses for effect. "I dunno Brooke, what does your gut tell you?"
"That he's innocent." Her response is quick. "What about you? How'd it go with the parents?"
"Lenovo and I believe the stepdaddy's innocent. They're grieving, but refusing to believe she's dead." Veronica trails off.
Brooke pulls the phone away from her ear and checks the connection. Upon seeing it still intact, she comes to the conclusion that there's something Veronica's not telling her. "But…"
Veronica sighs. "I may have given them the idea that their daughter is still alive."
"You what?"
"I didn't mean to, exactly. They looked so distraught, and I wanted to keep them hopeful."
"Veronica. You know the chances of Kimberly being alive are…" she searches her brain for statistics "…a billion to one. What were you thinking?"
"I don't know." She doesn't offer anything else and Brooke decides not to push her.
"Did you question the ex, yet?"
"The ex is dead. According to the parent's he died a few weeks after Kimberly went missing. Lenovo's on the phone now seeking confirmation. He's also requesting DNA analysis on the arm to prove it is Kimberly Hutchens'."
"Uh huh." Brooke smiles wryly. "His idea or yours?"
"His. Although, I may have placed the idea in his mind."
"Interesting." Brooke leans back in her seat and sighs. "We just pulled off the I-84. We'll be at the hotel in ten minutes."
"Can't wait."
Brooke disconnects the call and, at Hodgkinson's questioning glance, begins relaying the case information gathered by Veronica and Lenovo.
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Saturday 26 February 2011 – Crowne Plaza Hotel, Southbury, CT – 9:15pm
Veronica stretches out on her single bed and switches the television on, hoping to catch the news. Wrinkling her nose at the realization that the Finance Report is on, she pops a handful of M&M's into her mouth and sighs.
Brooke exits the bathroom, towel-drying her hair and frowns at the pile of papers at the end of Veronica's bed. "What's all that?"
"Hodgkinson dropped it off while you were in the shower. Sheldon faxed over the reports from the crime scene, as well as everything gathered by the other half of the team while they've been there." She grabs another handful of M&M's. "He also said he wants us back in LA by tomorrow night. Our flight leaves at ten in the morning."
Letting out a sigh, Brooke drops her towel onto her bed. "No sleep in for me, then."
Smiling, Veronica nods her head. "We're flying out from Waterbury-Oxford Airport. It's only ten minutes away. You can sleep in until nine-thirty."
"Now that's what I'm talking about." Brooke grins, stopping only when Veronica shushes her and turns up the volume as the Sport Report appears on the television screen.
"…in the final quarter, leading the Seattle Supersonics to a 48 point win over the Toronto Raptors. With star shooting guard, Wallace Fennel, off injured, it was sure to be an interesting game. Imagine our surprise when Coach Ryan put him on the court in the third quarter. That decision by Ryan is the reason the Sonics won the match. Just last Monday, team doctor Peter Word announced that Fennel would be out for the next two games. As rumors of Fennel's engagement to college sweetheart Suzanna Brown surfaced, it's believed Fennel's remarkable recovery is attributed to…"
Brooke smiles slightly as she catches a glimpse of Veronica. Leaning forward, a wide grin her face, the blonde bounces a little on her bed in excitement. "It's not a rumor." Her tone is matter-of-fact. "They've been engaged for three months."
Frowning, Brooke turns to Veronica. "How could you possibly know that?"
"He's my best friend." Veronica shrugs. "I just saw him a couple days ago. I didn't mention it?"
Brooke shakes her head. "No, you didn't." She knows Veronica doesn't like to talk about her past or the people in her life, but after knowing the girl for two years you'd think Brooke would know who the best friend was. At Veronica's confused face, Brooke decides to let it slide. "Besides, I thought I was your best friend?" She feigns hurt.
Snorting, Veronica throws an M&M at Brooke, before handing her the packet and reaching for the files Hodgkinson had left earlier. She waves them in Brooke's direction. "You wanna review with me?"
Brooke shakes her head. "No thanks. I'm hitting the hay. You know how I am without my full twelve hours of sleep." She crawls under the covers and lays her head on the pillow.
Nodding, Veronica smiles. "Bitchier than me."
There's a snort as Brooke turns off her lamp and rolls over. "Please. Like that's possible."
As her smile widens, Veronica pulls out her laptop and immediately accesses the Internet. Logging into the FBI database, she opens the folder on her bed and glances at the documents.
After skimming the entire file, Veronica shakes her head as Brooke's snoring fills the room. Leaning across her bed to grab a bottle of water from her duffel, she freezes. She grabs the files and flips open to a transcript of Leesa McMahon's statement.
'I was worried about Tess because she's always out of the pen, rummaging through the neighbor's garbage. I think I would have preferred that to what I actually found.'
Neighbor's garbage, huh?
Veronica skims the remainder of the transcript.
According to Mc McMahon, she has no ties to anyone in Connecticut and I highly doubt a young mother with two kids under the age of five would be responsible for the disappearance of a nineteen year old. She does, however, have ties to the entire town of Montara, courtesy of her dog, Tess. So what if Tess found the arm in the neighbor's garbage?
It's ten minutes before Veronica's accessed the San Mateo County records. Another two hours before she has a list of names – all the residents within a two mile radius of the McMahon's property.
Okay. Let's see which one of you thirty-three people could be responsible for Kimberly Hutchens' disappearance. Bachelor number one: Rupert Auwines.
She runs his name through the FBI's criminal database. After a full sixty seconds she gets a result. No hits. She opens up another window, and logs into PryingEyez using her old password. After typing in Rupert Auwines, and his address, she waits for a result. Once again, no hits.
It was naïve of me to think I'd get a result right away. Okay, bachelor number two: Sarah Auwines.
She follows the same procedure and once again gets no hits. With a sigh, she gets into a more comfortable position, preparing for a long night. Granted, thirty-three people didn't seem like an awful lot, but when suffering from a lack of sleep, a lack of caffeine, and a slow internet connection, it was obvious that Veronica was going to be searching for a while.
It's three hours later before she finally gets anything substantial. For the most part the only criminal activity by the residents of Montara stretched about as far as not paying a parking ticket. That is, until she entered the name Paul Geoffreys.
The second she tapped the 'Enter' key, the computer beeped and a rap sheet filled the screen.
Paul Geoffreys. Lives two miles along the same road as the McMahon's. Thirty-two years old. Up until ten months ago he called Lompoc State Penitentiary home. Currently out on parole after serving nine years for…
A cold shiver runs up her spine and her eyes widen in horror.
...the rape and murder of a sixteen year old girl.
Veronica bolts up out of her bed and grabs her cell phone.
I've gotta tell Sheldon.