Story: Serial in Neptune
Chapter Title: "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"
Content: Warning contains violence
Disclaimer: I do not own Veronica Mars or any of its characters
"Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"
September 8
Bang! I jump a little when Vinnie unexpectedly slams his fist on the metal table of the interrogation room one.
I play off my surprise by arching my eyebrow at him. "Now Vinnie, if you can't play nice I'm afraid I'll have to put you in time out," I tell him and wiggle my index finger at him like he's a little kid.
"How about I put you in a cell Ver-on-i-ca," Vinnie Van Lowe shoots back at me. It seems that the position of Sheriff has gone to his head along with his sense of humor. Either that or he's playing at something. I can never really tell with Vinnie.
I glance over at Cliff sitting next to me. I'm over this and I want him to know it. Dad had insisted that Cliff come with me today. It was either come and make sure I keep my ass out of jail, or my Dad was going to try and recreate the Big Dipper on Cliff's face with his fist. Cliff chose to be my legal counsel.
"Listen, Sheriff . . . Veronica has answered all your questions regarding the incident that night. She has given you everything she knows twice now. Either ask a new question or let my client go." Cliff said.
I want to help, but couldn't stand going over the details of that night one more time. I went over it with my Dad twice, once for Wallace and Mac, and now twice at the Sheriff's office. I'm sore and tired and just want to go home. I cross my arms tightly around my chest to block the world out. As it was I couldn't sleep last night. Every time I nodded off Samantha's face would appear. At first she would be smiling and laughing her bright eyes shining . . . and then the scene would change. Samantha's eyes would bleed and then she would become the girl I found in the woods clawing at me begging for help. After waking up Dad screaming the second time I just gave up and watched infomercials until the sun came up. I meet Cliff at the Sheriff's office at six thirty wanting to get this over with.
"Fine, get out of here, but don't leave town!" Vinnie shouts.
I didn't have to be told twice. I shot out of my seat and was making a hasty exit before anyone else could rise from their seats. I kept my arms crossed and my face down trying to break the sound barrier on the way to my car.
"Veronica!" I look up recognizing Leo's voice. I stop in the hallways and turn to him trying to put bitch Veronica away. Leo didn't deserve her wrath just because I was feeling cranky.
He seemed pleased to see me as he jogged over to my side. "Hey, Leo."
"I saw you sprint out of here, and I wanted to see if you were okay." He eyes my bruised face.
"I'm doing fine considering. Have you heard anything about Samantha . . . I was just on my way to see her . . . or at least to try and see her."
Leo shakes his head. "Same old Veronica . . . digging around for information," he said in a light tone teasing me.
I give him my best innocent smile. "Who, me?" I say in a mock shocked tone.
"Yeah, you . . . Samantha is not doing well. Only the police and the family are allowed access to her right now, doctor's orders. The boyfriend is still missing and we're out looking for him."
"Thanks, Leo." He gives me a slight nod and turns to go back to his desk.
I leave the station and head home. I'll give seeing Samantha a shot tomorrow. I wonder if there is any way to get my hands on the official police report. I could ask Leo, but I'd rather save that for an emergency. I've jeopardized his job enough.
September 9
Today, I feel a strange mixture of exhaustion and nervousness. Still, it feels good to be at school and away from worrying people. My Dad keeps hovering over me . . . making up for lost "Father and Daughter" time would be my guess. Plus, he always gets a little smothery after I've had a near miss. If I were a cat I wonder how many lives I have left . . . two? Wallace and Mac also pulled a joint smother session coming over last night to watch movies at my apartment with Dad. Now to top the sundae off I have class today with Logan. I am not looking forward to that confrontation.
"Yo, V!" someone calls out my nickname. I know from the voice who is calling me instantly. I stop and turn as Weevil catches up. The moment he sees my bruised face he stops and a flutter of furry crosses his face before he pushes it down and finishes making his way over to me. I haven't seen Weevil since before summer. He looks the same only now the limp he had before is gone.
"Hey, Weevil . . . what's up?"
He frowns at me. "Don't "what's up" me girl. What happened? Who did this to you?" He gestures to my face. "Did Logan do this?"
"Logan? Where would you ever get that idea? Logan would never hit me."
"Veronica . . . just give me a name."
I shake my head. I used to be so independent. How did I get so many overprotective people in my life? I'm a little surprised by Weevil's immediate conclusion that Logan was who decided to rearrange my face. I knew they had a "hate" and "somewhat less hate" relationship, but this is ridiculous.
"If I knew who did this I would gladly give you a name and then sleep at night like a baby . . . but I don't know who did this. I was on a case and stumbled on something else. The guy who attacked me was wearing a mask. All I know was that he was tall, but not abnormally tall."
"Where did this happen?"
"Summerland Park"
"Stay away from that place Veronica. What were you thinking? That place isn't even safe during the day anymore. I used to be able to take my niece there . . . now the kids playground is littered with used needles."
I nod. "I know I was going down there to bust the lead dealer. It won't help though. Someone else will just take his place."
"V, when you figure out who hit you, do me a favor and don't go in bustin heads by yourself. Call the police or somebody to go with you, and I do mean someone and not just your dog." Weevil gives me a hard look trying to convey how much he means it.
"Of course, I'm not stupid Weevil."
He shakes his head. "No, you're not stupid, but sometimes I think you're too smart for your own good. I'll see you V, I got a broken pipe to fix."
I could have gone to Biology class late . . . or even better skipped it all together. But, I didn't want to miss two days of school and this purple bruise that looked strangely like an upside-down heart was going to be staying with me for a while. It was better to have this out with Logan sooner rather than later. I knew that if I was late, Logan would have no problem causing a scene in front of the whole class.
So I arrived early as always knowing Logan would show up soon. Was it sad that I was nervous or conscious of my bruise? I'm not vein, but I also didn't like looking as if I got the crap beaten out of me. Logan enters the room quickly and silently; stalking straight towards me eyes zeroed in on my face. Crap . . . someone beat me to telling him. Great, that means he's had time to stew.
He charges up to me and stops next to my seat. I glare up at him ready to meet his challenge and anger. I expected him to yell. I was prepared from Logan to scream about me getting myself killed and how reckless I am. I wasn't prepared for his eyes staring down on me . . . his gaze so hot I thought I would melt. I am shocked when he gives my whole body a once over sending a flash of pleasure through my entire being. His intense brown eyes finally rest on my bruised face.
Logan reaches out and gently touches my cheek despite how taunt and ridged his body is teetering on the edge of violence. His jaw twitches as he runs his hand from my check to cup the back of my head. My heart betrays me, pounding away wildly in reaction to his touch. I can't tear my eyes away from his even though I want to. Quickly . . . so fast I couldn't track the movement, Logan's other arm wraps around my forearm, yanking my upward out of my seat and into his arms.
He buries his face in my neck making the hair on the back of my neck and arms stand up. His breath is warm against my pulse as my heart now threatens to burst right out of my chest. I try not to think about our bodies flush against each other or my rising desire. It's been a long time since I've been held like this or felt like this. I want him to kiss me . . . I want him in a carnal way so bad my teeth ached.
Before I can act on the impulse Logan is pushing me away. "What the hell were you thinking, Veronica? Tell me what happened." His tone is demanding inviting no argument. "Veronica," he says my name in warning and exacerbation when I don't immediately explain everything to him.
I don't know how to tell him. When telling my Dad or Vinnie . . . it was all about the facts. I was telling them the clues and evidence I had. It had been clinical like and not at all about emotion or how I felt. Telling Logan wouldn't be anything like that.
"I . . . Cliff asked me to try and clear this client of his from drug trafficking charges. I went to the park to get the evidence since that's where his client's boyfriend was selling the drugs. After I got the video was when I heard something in the woods. I saw a strange looking shadow moving ahead of me and went for a closer look. When I saw it was a man putting a girl on the ground . . . I just reacted. I charged at him and knocked him over. I didn't even think about my taser until he was on the ground. I had dropped it and went to grab it while he was down, but before I could taser him he hit me." I pause not really wanting to keep going.
"Go on, what happened next," Logan prods. I look up into his eyes, and see him teetering on the edge of violence. I know that look on his face. It was the same expression he wore before he mopped the floor with Gory. It scares me sometimes . . . the violence he is capable of . . . the violence I can push him into. I know Logan can't stand the thought of anyone hurting me. "Veronica," he says my name softly this time. He pushes back the anger and I can see the struggle in his eyes.
"When he hit me I was knocked unconscious. When I woke up . . . the girl was crying. I never heard a human being make sounds like that before. She was bound and blindfolded," my voice wavers as the tears spillover my eyes. Slowly, Logan takes me back into his arms and holds me. "I removed the blindfold and her eyes were sown shut. He removed her eyes, Logan. There was blood all over her face. She was crying and crying. I was scared."
Finally admitting how afraid I was out loud feels good. Somehow acknowledging the fear takes some of it away. I stop holding back and let myself melt into Logan's embrace; clutching him as tight as I can knowing I'm safe in his arms. I'm always safe with him. It was one of the few truths in my life.
We stand like that for a few minutes. Eventually, I calm down and the tears stop. I had forgotten how good Logan smells . . . his colon and under that the scent that's just him. Why couldn't things have worked out between us? Why did everything have to always fall apart? I have missed being this close to Logan. No one else has ever been able to make me feel safe and at home.
I realize that we have been standing holding each other in the middle of Bio Lab for quite some time. How has no one walked in on us yet? I don't relish the idea of someone walking in on this vulnerable moment I'm having, so I pull back. Logan doesn't let me go and keeps his arms on my shoulders.
"Thanks," I tell him.
"No problem, that's what I'm here for." Logan smiles down at me. I love that smirk. Logan leans in towards my face . . . leaning in to kiss me. I yank away from him panicking. "I can't do this . . . I'm sorry," I say. I grab my bag and run out of the classroom as fast as I can ignoring him when Logan calls after me.
Michael Hunnington looked like a simple enough guy. When people pass him on the street they never look his way. One word described him perfectly . . . average. He had plain ash brown hair with bits of steel grey at the temples. His eyes were a murky brown and his face was neither handsome nor ugly . . . it was simply average.
He cultivated his mediocrity striving to blend in from his clothing to his choice of car, which was a gold Honda. Even his wife matched him, plain girl who taught second grade at the local public school. Michael learned from his father that in life it was easier to blend in and do what society expected of you. So far, he has followed that to the letter. He was a decedent student in high school and then in college. He never won awards, but wasn't at the bottom of the barrel either. He got a job as an accountant and married, Susan from his church two years out of college. A year into their marriage they bought their first house. Soon after, Susan became pregnant with their son, Mathew.
Michael liked his life orderly and predictably. He followed the same schedule every day with no deviations. Like all other things in his life, his exercise routine was just as regimented. Every day he ran through the park two blocks from his house. He chose the same path and kept a steady pace while jogging and listening to his ipod.
Normally, Michael watched where he was going. But for a few moments he closed his eyes and jogged blind knowing that he knew the path like he knew how to get to the bathroom from his bed in the middle of the night. He knew exactly when the bend in the path was. He briefly wondered what it would be like to be someone else.
In that moment his feet connected with something on the path and Michael fell face first into the cement scrapping his face in bright hot pain. That's what he got for wishing something more from his life. He slowly picked himself up and took a good look at what he stumbled upon. The instant he did all the color drained from his face and he just let go. He screamed and was barely aware of the warm and wet sensation on his pants as he quickly scurried away from what was in front of him. He could hear people running to him answering the call of his screams as he stared at the body in disbelief.
first, thank you to my reviewers. I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know what you think. So, what do you think of this chapter? I promised some Logan and Veronica time last chapter and I delivered. So . . . did you think for a moment that Michael was the serial killer? anyways, soon you'll be getting clues as to who the killers is while Veronica works on solving the case. Next time: who's body was found in the park? Veronica tries to see Samantha and wonders what to do about Logan. Please keep reading and please review. Let me know what you thought. Oh, and if any of you were wondering the chapter title is from an oldies song. Just thought it worked here.