A.N: If you're reading, please, please review. Drop a line or whatever, it means a lot.
Veronica is sitting on the desk in the library, looking at newspapers.
Her phone starts ringing.
"Hello?"
"Veronica Mars"
"Vinny?"
He laughs an extremely fake, raucous laugh. "That's Sheriff Van Lowe to you."
Ugh.
"Anyway, my little private eye, imagine my surprise when a drug dealing kid comes in confesses, and then asks his one singular call to be to you. I didn't know you did that sort of thing."
Veronica is pretty shaken. "Ali confessed?"
"Yeah, he did, I've got it all on tape. So having a bit of a seventies nostalgic moment are we?" he asks amusedly.
She hangs up.
Cut to the county jail.
Veronica is leaning against the bars while Ali is pacing.
"So, what happened?"
Ali looks nervous. "The Irish man called. He said something about the Irish and their temper. He said he didn't have the patience to wait for the whole forty-eight hours. He said to forget it, and confess. He said if I didn't, he would turn me in, and he would also tell my parents."
Veronica is silent for a moment.
Then she looks at him. "Do you have your cell phone?"
Ali shakes his head. They took my stuff when I came in.
"Who took it?"
"A guy? A guy-man?"
"A little more descriptive please?" she asks impatiently.
He suddenly points behind her. "Its him" he says triumphantly.
Veronica turns around slowly.
"Told you it'd be like old times"
Veronica is talking to Leo.
"Come on Deputy Dawg" she pleads.
Leo holds up his hands amused.
"Come on Veronica, that's evidence. I could loose my job"
She does the puppy dog eyes.
He shakes his head, giving in.
"This one's for your dad okay" he says.
She claps her hand with glee.
"No idea how much like old time's it'd be." He mutters as he walks away to get the cell phone.
Veronica is sitting with Mac on the computer.
"So, Q, are you getting closer" Veronica asks eagerly.
"I thought Bond was supposed to be cool" Mac says rolling her eyes. "Its going to take a little more time before we can get this guy's shit."
"How are things in the land of Max?" Veronica asks flopping down on Mac's bed.
"Okay, I suppose. How's Piz?" she asked casually.
Veronica winced.
Really, how is Piz? She wondered dryly.
Mac's phone starts to ring.
"Can you please get it?" Mac asks, looking at her phone lying next to Veronica.
Veronica sighs. "Sure"
"You have reached Mac. Please state you name and purpose of the call and you'll be put through" she says in a high pitched voice.
Mac rolls her eyes. "Lame Mars, very lame"
"Uh, hello?"
"Logan?" Veronica asks as Mac studies her expression.
"Veronica?" the voice asks thick with confusion.
"Yeah"
There is awkward silence for a whole minute. She can hear his strong, regulated breathing over the phone.
"So, is um Mac there?" he asks her, finally breaking the ice.
"Err, hold on." She gives the phone to Mac, with what's-going-on written all over her face.
"Hey. Yeah. Okay"
She hangs up and looks at Veronica, as if waiting for her to say something.
"Um" Veronica starts weakly.
Mac smiles at her. "I'm helping him with a project"
Veronica smiles back. "Okay"
"He's not a bad guy you know" she adds as an after thought returning to her desktop.
I know.
"Got it Bond" she says as Veronica leans over to the screen.
Veronica is talking to her dad in their apartment.
"Dad, it all adds up" she says impatiently. She hands up a piece of paper "Here's a list of twenty people who confessed; the same thing happened to all of them, and the mysterious conversation. You have to admit, it seems fishy." She says persuasively.
Her dad nods. "Honey, there's something I should tell you. A couple of months ago, a couple of Fitzpatrick's were having their idea of fun." He said with distaste. "An old woman got knocked down and she died."
"Yeah, and Vinny covered it up" Veronica said matter-of-factly.
"Sweetie," he looks at her delicately. "The woman was Mrs. Van Lowe. Vinny's been doing some under cover work since then."
Veronica's chin starts trembling. "Mrs. Van Lowe?" she asks unsteadily.
Her dad nods sadly.
"That shook Vinny up pretty badly. He's been trying to get evidence since then, and then he started to get deeper. They've gotten a pretty great case now." Her dad leaned in to hug her.
"Well, that's good right" she says, as her dad heaves a sigh of relieve.
"It's a great thing, honey"
Veronica is asleep. Her phone starts ringing.
"Hello?" she says, groggily.
"Veronica"
"Piz, hey" she mumbles drowsily.
"Can we talk?" he says urgently.
"Mm, yeah, sure"
"I'm not coming back."
There's a moment of silence.
"What?" Veronica wonders out loud.
Piz takes a deep breath.
"I'm staying here. In New York. Pitchfork media offered me a permanent job, and I can go to school here."
Veronica is silent.
"Uh, so that's good? But where does that leave us?" she says, her voice shaking.
"You already know that" he says, sadly. "We're not right for each other, we're not meant to be, we never were. I thought we could be, but we can't, not when you're already in love" he states.
Veronica gives a nervous sob/laugh. "In love?"
"Yeah" he replies matter-of-factly. "I just had to a thousand miles away from you to figure that one out." He says wryly.
"But I love you" she says.
"Yeah" he says forlornly. "You're just in love with somebody else."
"So, that's it?" she asks.
Piz laughs. "We're still friends, and you're still Veronica Mars. This isn't goodbye, its more like, see you later than sooner"
Veronica smiles softly to herself. "Be cool, Soda Pop."
A.N: The beautiful, beautiful people who reviewed, thanks a bunch. I'll write individual replies soon. You guy's make my day, really.
