AN/ WOO. Been a while my friends, but I'm back and determined to finish Veronica and Jessie's story! Hope you enjoy this, this was something I worked on before I went MIA. Comments are the best! xoxo liljuicebox
Chapter 4
Sleep had evaded Veronica the night before and when it finally had come her mind constructed vivid nightmares of dead nannies and Naval ships lost at sea. It was all subconscious, a mish-mash of the worst parts of her day, she knew that. However, the last time she'd startled awake, around five, it'd been enough to keep her that way.
The vision of Casey Cole sinking deep into the darkest parts of the ocean a hand outstretched towards the surface, was still crystal clear, as if it were a memory not a dream. Veronica had watched as her dark hair turned a strikingly familiar dirty blond, her green eyes shifting to blue until Casey Cole was completely replaced by Lily Kane, eternally sixteen. But it hadn't stopped there, no she hadn't been alone, bodies clad in white pristine uniforms accompanied her, drifting into deep blue oblivion. Immortalized against an infinite black.
Veronica's heartbeat thrummed in her ears, as she lay blinking in the early morning. The sky outside her window was shifting to lighter hues of blue, the tell tale sign that the sun would be up soon. She rolled over in bed, careful to not disturb the papers to her left, remnants from the night before.
Her body ached, pleaded for more sleep, but she sat up instead, stretching her arms out in front of her. A crippling yawn rippled through her, and it took everything she had not to fall back onto the mattress and try to sleep again, but she relented. Instead she crawled to the edge of her bed, leaning forward lazily to retrieve her laptop from the desk - opening a blank email.
To:
From: veronicamars
This is probably the perfect opportunity to make a Singing In The Rain reference, but to be honest I'm still pretty peeved that the weather decided 176 days in that now would be the perfect time for a boyfriend delaying-storm. Currently planning a coup, I'll keep you updated.
Her fingers hesitated over the keys, debating the more serious topics. There was always the option of mentioning the conversation with her father or the case, that was now making appearances in her dreams, and she considered it, loftily. Her index finger tapped lightly on the space key, as she watched the little line blink against stark white. Talking about these things would be healthy, potentially beneficial. But then again, she reasoned, with him so far away, already feeling guilty for things he had no control over, there was no need to burden him with her worries about her dad or silly dreams, when there was nothing he could do about it.
Stay safe Echolls, don't do anything stupid, there's not much I can do to save your ass from here. Two to ten days. -Veronica
Then with a single finger click it was off, traveling through wires, cables and weak internet signals to his inbox halfway around the world. The computer redirected her back to the email home screen, near the top was the email Keith had sent her two nights before, the attached documents still unread. On a whim Veronica dragged the mouse to select the file 'JessieColeResume1'.
Jessie's resume was the basic "hire me" speech, claiming her as a 'hard worker' and 'determined' She had attended various high schools but most notably had graduated from Neptune High - of course - and was a criminology major just starting her second year at Hearst. Aside from applying for an internship at Mars Investigations Jessie spent the summer shadowing a detective with the San Diego police, but had opted out for a full internship to be closer to home. Veronica half-heartedly skimmed the recommendations, until her eyes settled on a familiar name at the bottom.
Miss. Cole is resourceful and quick on her feet. She learns fast and I'm sure she'll fit right in and be a great asset to your team. - Detective Leo D'Amato, San Diego Police.
Leo? Leo was involved? A cross between disbelief and betrayal twisted uncomfortably inside her, Veronica brushed it off though, making a mental note to call him later. For the time being it was still five in the morning and her energy was better focused on the dead sibling not the living one. Regardless she reached lazily for her phone.
Wallace picked up on the second ring.
"Girl, you know what time it is? I didn't even know Veronica Mars had a five o'clock setting." his voice was pleasant and alert, letting her know he'd been awake long enough to at least have one cup of coffee, maybe two.
"Don't remind me." She flopped back onto her mattress, readjusting the laptop so it rested precariously on her chest, "But, I could say the same. I didn't peg you as an early morning self discovery kind of guy, next you'll be telling me you drink Green Tea and do yoga on the weekends."
"Early bird gets the worm, Mars and in this case early bird gets to State Championships. Also there's no shame in green tea, it's good for your immune system."
Veronica just chuckled picking at the plastic casing of her laptop charger with her nail, running it along the smooth surface methodically.
"So did you just call to see how I take my tea or..?"
"Oh just wondering what your plans were for lunch this afternoon. My treat?"
Wallace hummed into the phone, she could hear rustling and the soft jangle of keys on his end.
"Huh, is this an actual lunch or is there a favor attached at the end?"
"A favor?" Her voice was sticky sweet and if she knew her best friend at all, he wasn't buying it.
"Yeah a favor," she could practically see him shaking his head at her, "I'm assuming something dangerous, or that could get me fired?"
"Just trying to add a little spice to your life, Wallace. According to Cosmo women love danger on a man."
He mumbled something about stability and lack of murder charges.
"Who's file Veronica?"
She all but punched a fist in the air.
"Casey and Jessie Cole, they're twins? From what I have here it says they graduated from our very own Neptune High."
"Go pirates." Wallace echoed back unenthusiastically, "Casey Cole, I should've known."
"It's only been a year so getting their records shouldn't be that difficult."
It was more an after thought than information she actually thought he needed to know. Veronica pushed herself up from the pillows, relocating the laptop to the unused side of her bed. She stifled a gasp as her feet connected with the cool wood flooring. Bouncing momentarily on the balls of her feet, she fought the urge of jumping back into the warm and safety of the covers. Wallace clicked his tongue at her from the other side of the line.
"I should've chosen a different career, something you'd have no use for, like a chemist or," he stumbled, "a-a nature hike guide."
Veronica laughed.
"Hey I enjoy nature just as much as the next guy." She teased, but Wallace's only return was another long groan.
"Oh, you owe me big time Mars, and I'm not just talking lunch. Big. Time."
"I'm adding an extra page to our friendship scrap-book as we speak." and then a bit softer, "I really appreciate it Wallace."
"Yeah, yeah," he chided, "see you at noon and no skimping on the lunch."
"Okay Papa Bear, I'll make sure to add extra peanut butter to your sandwich, no crusts."
"Oh don't eve-"
She disconnected the call before he had a chance to finish.
The heat from the shower did wonders for Veronica. She stood in the spray for what seemed like a small eternity, letting the warmth of the water loosen the knots in her back and neck, taking the edge off of her looming anxiety. However the steam and pressure from the shower head had no effect on her brain and the tangled web of thoughts that was starting to collect there. As she squirted shampoo into the palm of her hand, working it through her matted hair, her mind shifted back to the case.
So Leo was in on the internship, that wasn't too much of a shocker. When she'd gone to question him about Carrie Bishop and Susan Knight, he'd briefly mentioned to her that despite the nine years and the relocation to San Diego he still made a point of making it to Neptune every now and then to share a drink with her dad, sometimes catch a game. At the time she'd dismissed it, thought it was cute even, that they had kept in contact all these years. But, to say she was skeptical, now, would be an understatement.
Was their friendship strictly limited to a beer and baseball or had it crossed over to cases? Would her father really share details of this investigation with Leo and not her? Had Jessie's internship been a careful rouse to shift her attention?
Veronica's stomach flip flopped as she struggled to remind herself to slow down. Aside from a recommendation from Leo on Jessie's resume, there was absolutely no evidence linking him to her father's private affairs, and yet there was a nagging feeling, inching its way into her consciousness.
Stop it Veronica, just because Leo landed you with an intern doesn't mean they're conspiring. But then again, Leo had more than enough motive..
She exhaled on a low whimper. She wasn't going about this logically, it was one thing to accuse someone, it was something else entirely to accuse without evidence.
Sure Leo had been screwed over by Neptune's finest more than once and Sach's had been a colleague, a friend, but in the brief time they'd spent talking he seemed happy, like he was finally living the life he wanted to, the one he deserved. Would he willingly just throw that all away? For what? For vengeance? Loyalty?
Despite the heat surrounding her she shivered, instinctively bringing her arms closer to cover her chest, she looked up, blinking into the heavy stream of water. Hadn't she just done the same thing? Rushed home to the defense of a man she hadn't talked to in nine years. Veronica cupped her hands to her face, pushing the water away. It was too much, too much at once.
With a steady hand she turned the shower knob until all that was left was a small trickle dripping down the tile wall. The chill air of the bathroom bit at her skin as she retrieved a towel from the wrack in the corner, wrapping it firmly around her center. She moved to the tiny mirror above the sink, wiping at the steam that had gathered there, a bleary version of herself blinked back.
The way she saw it she could spend her day obsessing over her father's every move, boxing herself into corners with crazy theories and speculation or she could focus her energy on things that could be changed.
Lamb was an idiot but his theory about the 'home invasion gone wrong' was believable at least it would be to the public, in fact it practically wrote itself. However that being said something didn't sit right. It was too clean and the missing boy complicated things.
Was this a domestic dispute gone wrong? Or was there more at play. Possibilities swarmed Veronica and they were truly endless.
While the background work that Jessie had provided had been helpful it lent more to the kind of person Casey was, or at least the kind of person her sister thought she was, not why someone would want to murder her, or abduct a little boy under her care. Casey Cole wouldn't be the first girl who had had a rug swept out from under her feet, maybe she found herself in something a little too deep and paid for it with a bullet.
Had the hit been for Casey or had the boy been the target all along? It struck Veronica as odd that a kidnapper would take one child and leave the other behind. While the thought left a sour taste in her mouth, she found herself hoping Lamb was right and that Adrian Baxter had just gotten spooked and ran off, that he was safe somewhere.
Since the Aurora Scott scandal last spring and the discovery of her six year old half brother Hunter, it was as if all of her nerves on the subject had been electrocuted and were now incredibly sensitive. He'd spent two months with Keith and herself while their mother was awaiting trial. It'd been awkward at first, getting used to each others quirks, but eventually things warmed up and they'd fallen into a nice pattern. He'd even joined in on a few skype calls with Logan, who was surprisingly very accepting of the new man in her life. It was difficult adjusting back to life after Lianne's acquittal, when she swooped back in, whisking Hunter back to Arizona and the fragments of the life they had left there.
As she quickly went about the rest of her morning routine she fought the urge to call, just to check up on him, it was an hour earlier in Arizona, he'd be getting ready for school about now. It would be just a quick call, she reasoned. See how he was doing, check and make sure Lianne was staying sober. She cringed at the thought of Hunter handling their drunk mother alone, and wished more than ever that he was closer, that they'd decided to stay in Neptune.
But, there was nothing she could do about that now, like Leo's possible involvement with her father's case, and Logan's extended deployment, it was all out her hands. There were so many elements in her life completely out of control, the only thing to ensure her sanity remained in tact would be to focus, again, on the things she could.
It didn't take her long after retreating from the bathroom to gather her things, and Jessie's folder, simultaneously texting Mac to meet her at the office in an hour.