"Duncan?" There's no way this is a coincidence.

"Yeah it's me. I need to talk to you. I know you're looking for me."

"How-,"

"Clarence. He keeps me updated."

"What? I just saw him. He's helping your dad."

"That's what Dad thinks. Look you've got to stop looking. Dad can't know where I am. He says he just wants to find me to come to me, but I know that's crap. I don't trust him. Not after what he did to Abel Koontz and your family."

"What if he's telling the truth?"

"Do you think he is?"

I thought about it long and hard. I don't doubt the sincerity I saw on Jake's face, but no, I don't trust the guy any farther than I can throw him.

"Duncan, he's blackmailing me. I have to find you, or I die."

"What?" I had to hold the phone away from my ear he yelled so loud. "Why is he threatening you? Why now?"

"Duncan, do you know anything about The Castle?"

He was whispering now. "Yes."

"Well, so do I."

"Veronica…"

"I know, I know. I have a knack for finding things I wasn't looking for."

"And what exactly were you looking for that you came across The Castle?"

"I'd rather not say. It's something embarrassing and stupid."

"Fine. Keep your secrets. But you have to let me keep mine. I'll talk to Clarence. Dad's not going to be threatening you anymore."

"I don't trust Clarence either. Why is he going by your orders and not your fathers?"

"Clarence killed Aaron Echolls, under my orders. It may not seem like much, but if Dad were to find out that Clarence was in contact with me, I think he'd a way to do without Weidman."

"That's it? That's all you're holding Clarence by? Duncan, your dad knows he did it. He told me so today. He also knows it was you who told Clarence to do it. He knows Clarence was in contact with you."

There was silence on the other end.

"Duncan?"

"I'm still here."

"Duncan, are you sure you can trust Clarence? Are you absolutely sure?"

"No, but I don't have any other choice right now Veronica!"

I looked down at my watch. Two minutes. Long enough to track this call.

"You can track this call all you want Veronica, but I'm boarding a plane tonight. You won't be able to find me."

Damn. "Duncan, I can't stop looking. I can't. Do you understand that? I have to keep looking for you, or I lose everything."

I heard him exhale loudly. "Give me a week. If something hasn't changed with this in a week, I'll let you find me."

The call ended and I was left standing in the middle of the hallway, completely dumbfounded.

"Veronica?" Piz's voice pulled me from my daze. "Yeah. Hi. Piz."

"Are you alright?"

Am I? I just got off the phone with my ex-boyfriend who's on the lam with his infant daughter who's father is threatening me with life or death to find said ex. Am I alright?

"Yeah. I'm fine. It's you I'm worried about. You okay? You sounded sad on the phone before."

That's it Veronica. Distract yourself with the lesser of two evils.

"Well, uh, I was going to just talk to you tomorrow. I was really hoping for tomorrow."

"Piz, you're scaring me. What's going on?"

He refused to look me in the eye. That's never a good sign. "Veronica, I think we should break up?"

Oh. Can't say I saw that coming.

"You think we should break up. You think we should break up? Nope. No matter how many times I say it, I don't understand it."

I really don't. The look on Piz's face suggests breaking up is exactly the opposite of what he wants to do.

"I just think it's for the best Veronica. I'd rather do this now, before I'm completely in love with you, then later on down the road."

His words make me think of something Logan said one of the thousands of times we broke up. He'd rather spare himself unbearable heartache by breaking up prematurely. Why on God's green earth am I thinking of Logan right now? Piz. Piz is breaking up with you Veronica. Pay attention.

"Piz, I-,"

"Don't Veronica. Just don't. I see the way you look at Logan Veronica. I can't stand around, hoping you'll look at me like that."

"Piz what are you talking about? What happened between yesterday and today?"

He threw his hands in the air. "I didn't want to do this in the hallway! Veronica, I just can't date someone who's not here. I can't date someone who's mentally off with some other guy. I can't."

Uncalled for. How many times do I have to tell Piz there's nothing with me and Logan? Ignoring the fact I was crying, I yelled back at him.

"I'm not mentally off with some other guy Piz! God, I told Logan to back off. I told him I wasn't going to be friends with him. I told him we were done! For you! I gave up my friendship with someone I have known for years, years Piz, for you! So don't sit there and tell me that I don't care! I do care! I care more about this than you know apparently!"

Piz was shaking his head. "I'm not saying you don't care Veronica. I'm saying you're still in love with Logan, whether or not you realize it."

Piz leaned down and kissed my forehead. "Veronica, I can't."

And just like that, I was single.

I find it funny how I thought getting down to the bottom of what was bothering Piz would be the lesser of two evils. Give me missing kidnapping ex-boyfriends over a breakup any day.

What's worse about this whole thing is that I'm not crying any more. In fact, I don't even feel all that sad. What does that say about me? How can I not be sad about this?

Maybe because I knew Piz and I weren't soulmates. I'm more of an eye for an eye kind of gal. Piz is such a great guy though. He's not violent and the boy has more patience in a day than I could muster up for a lifetime. Contrary to popular belief, a girl like me doesn't need someone to calm her down. She needs someone to be right there with her, kicking butt and taking names.

As always, my phone rang. It has such a knack for doing that at the most inappropriate times. I don't even get to say hello before the caller starts talking.

"Veronica, I need you to come to me tomorrow. It's about…well, you know what it's about."

"Fine," I respond. Without saying goodbye, I snap my phone shut. Nothing like a late night Jake Kane phone call to set things in perspective.

When will my life be normal? An ear piercing scream echoes throughout the hall. Piz flings his door open, looking terrified. "Veronica? It wasn't you? Oh thank God," he says.

"Nope. Not me." We both take off down the hall, searching for whoever's in trouble. I turn my head at the sound of a door closing. The door that leads outside. I sprint for the exit, praying I catch whoever it is before they're gone. Lucky me, I tripped over something. No, someone.

"Parker?"

Parker's on the floor, shaking.

"Oh my God Parker! What happened?"

The door opens again and I see Weevil come through it.

"I lost them. They jumped into a van and took off."

This is just too bizarre. When Piz joins us, Parker's calmed down enough to talk.

"I was on my way back to the room when someone grabbed me from behind. They had something cold pushed against my back. I think it was a gun. I screamed, and then, Veronica, you're friend showed up and the guy let me go."

What was Weevil doing here this late? I know he'd gotten his job back after he was proved innocent in the account of the fake student I.D.'s, but still. Maintenance didn't run this late at night.

"I didn't get a license plate or anything. All I saw was a white van."

Despite the mystery of his reasons for being here, the genuine look of concern on Weevil's face tells me he isn't involved in whoever tried to take Parker.

"Thanks Weevil," I say.

"Weevil? Thank you. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't shown up," gushes Parker.

I take note of the look Weevil quickly grants my way. A look of guilt? What does he have to be guilty about?

"Parker, did the man who grabbed you say anything? Anything at all?"

"No, but he was reaching for my purse."

For the first time, I notice Parkers purse slung around her waist. So this was an attempted mugging? Coincidental how they chose Parker, the girl who was raped. Parker's probably one of the only girls qualified to handle this sort of situation. She's not going to sit idly by and give in to whatever demands her perpetrator may have had. Most of the school knows that too, after her reaction with Mercer. That makes me think whoever did this, doesn't go to Hearst.

Once the campus police arrive and take our statements, Weevil, Piz and I go our separate ways. Weevil, still with a look of guilt and Piz with a sadness in his eyes. A breakup, a mugging and the missing persons case of a lifetime all in one day. When will my life be normal? I don't think it ever will.

At the Neptune Grand

Whoever was banging on the door, they weren't hitting it hard enough to wake Logan Echolls out of his sleep. Unfortunately for him, they weren't above breaking and entering.

Logan's eyes flew open as the chloroformed rag covered his face.