A/N If you review, I will give you a pony.

Chapter 10

Veronica

"So nobody dances?"

"Nope."

"I don't know if I buy that."

"I'm telling you," insisted Piz. "No one dances in New York City. Well, okay, I should clarify that. I'm sure people dance when they're out at clubs. But at, like, concerts- nothing."

He and Veronica walked through the food court on Saturday morning, looking for a table. Piz had to catch a flight home in a couple of hours, and they'd decided to meet for breakfast so they could spend a little time together before he left.

Veronica still looked unconvinced, so Piz continued. "I knew it would come to this. You're going to force me to embarrass myself in front of you, aren't you?"

"Why ever would I do that?" asked Veronica innocently. She pointed to an open table and they both walked over and sat down.

"Right," he laughed. "Well I got the chance to play out a couple of times over the summer; I think I told you about that."

"Nope."

"Really? Hmm, maybe I'm too modest. This is the kind of stuff that gets other guys laid, I've been told."

"So you're telling me that you didn't even have to use your 'A' material on me? Are you implying that I'm too easy?" Veronica teased.

Piz made a face at her. "I'm pretty sure making me wait for like, six months qualifies you as officially 'hard to get', actually. Most college guys can't handle waiting six minutes." Veronica laughed and he continued. "Anyway. This girl Rachel, one of the other interns at Pitchfork, she had an in with the guy who books bands for the Bowery Ballroom."

"The Bowery?" asked Veronica. "Now I really am impressed."

Piz laughed. "Well then I probably shouldn't admit that I was, like, the opener for the opening band's opener. On a Tuesday night."

"What, so no merch booth set up?" she teased him. "I can see the poster now… 'Live at the Bowery: Piz!'"

"Ha! Anyway, I took some songs that I wrote for Black Licorice, and tweaked them so I could play them solo acoustically. So I get on stage, and I'm playing my heart out, and everyone is just, like, staring at me. I mean I get not dancing, because it's acoustic and everything, but not even a head bob? I totally psyched myself out and almost just stopped and walked off stage. But then I finished playing and everyone started clapping and cheering." He shook his head, laughing. "It was like that for every song."

"That's bizarre," Veronica said.

"Totally. So I was telling my buddy Mike at work about it the next day, and he just shrugs and goes 'that's a New York crowd' and walks away."

Veronica laughed.

"And he was totally right about it. I hadn't even realized, every time we went out to see a show I was the only one dancing," Piz told her. He held out his hands, palms up. "Commence teasing."

"Aw, Beaverton. You make it too easy. You're such a dork." Veronica smiled up at him and squeezed his arm affectionately. She took a sip of her coffee and absently toyed with her necklace.

"Whatever, Neptune." He took a bite of his bagel. "Hey," he said, gesturing with his coffee cup. "I like that necklace. I notice you wear that one a lot."

Veronica gave him a small smile. "Yeah," she said. "It's, uh, the last thing my friend Lilly gave me before she died. She had one just like it."

Piz studied her for a moment, chewing his bagel slowly. He looked like he had something on his mind. "What was she like?" he finally asked. "You never really talk about her."

Veronica looked at him, a bit surprised. Piz didn't normally ask her questions about her past. It's one of the things I really like about him, actually. He never pries.

"You know what, never mind," he said quickly. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"No, it's okay. You're not upsetting me," she assured him. "Lilly was… a force of nature. She was just this amazing, vibrant, charismatic person." Veronica laughed softly. "She didn't just light up a room- she set the damn thing on fire. She was one of a kind." Veronica looked off into the distance for a minute. "Tomorrow will be four years since she died. I can't believe I haven't spoken to her in four years…"

She looked back at Piz, who was still watching her. His blue eyes were concerned and sympathetic. "I'm sorry you had to go through that," he told her. He leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. When he straightened up, his expression was thoughtful. "You know," he said, "I've never lost anyone close to me."

"Really?" Veronica asked, surprised. "No one? Not even, like, a grandparent?"

He shook his head. "Nope. They're all still alive."

God, Veronica thought. I can't even imagine what that's like anymore. Lilly, Meg… Mom, Duncan… She looked back at Piz, who was still watching her intently. He's so undamaged. It's kind of refreshing. Everyone else I know is so screwed up. Especially me.

"Well I'm glad, and I hope you never do," she finally said. And it's kind of nice to have one normal person in my life.

"I hope I don't either," Piz said quietly. "So," he continued, taking both of her hands in his, "I assume you'll be spending tonight safely at home, pining away for me."

I was hoping this wouldn't come up. But you made a promise to yourself, girl. No more lies. Veronica had been straight with Piz about everything, including Logan, ever since she'd lied about meeting up with him at the Grand. And there's no reason I should lie about going to a stupid party. "I'm actually going to a party with Mac," she told him. She smiled at him sweetly. "But I'll be pining away on the inside."

"Oh, yeah," Piz said, not returning her smile. He pulled his hands away. "Wallace mentioned a party to me. Is this the one that Logan is throwing?"

"Logan and Dick, yeah," Veronica clarified, choosing to ignore Piz's tone of voice. "Mac is kind of forcing me to come with her. This guy she's crushing on is gonna be there so..."

Piz nodded, but he still wasn't looking at her. "So, you and Logan are friends again, huh?"

Well, I knew this was going to come up, sooner or later. "Uh, yeah," she replied, keeping her voice casual. "We're getting along okay." There, that's the honest truth. We are getting along okay.

Veronica chewed on her thumb nail. He doesn't need to know that Logan flat out told me that my outfit turned him on last week, or that he was undressing me with his eyes the whole time we were out together that day… Or, she admitted to herself, that I liked knowing that I still had that effect on him… And he doesn't need to know how upset I got when Logan was on the phone with that girl, Heather.

She looked around the food court, trying to clear her head from thoughts of Logan before she continued her conversation with Piz. A brown-haired guy at the table next to them was reading the Neptune Tribune. As he held it up to turn the page, Veronica saw the headline. "Fire at Mosque Claims Three Lives".

Her breath caught in her throat, and she felt a cold anger trickling through her veins. That makes twenty-six people. Twenty-six. When is the FBI going to do something already? This has gone way too far. I can't just sit on the sidelines any more…

"Hey, are you okay?" Piz asked her. He put his arm around her and rubbed her back gently. "Are you still thinking about Lilly?"

Veronica looked at him, not answering. Her mind was racing. Clarence said it would be easy. No one would suspect him, not in a million years. He's over there, like, three times a week. "I'm fine," she said, managing a smile. "So how are things going with the new band?"

Piz, who was used to her abrupt subject changes, didn't even blink. "Really well, actually. Tristan wrote a couple of songs that are pretty brilliant. And Emily is just, amazing- I mean, she's an amazing musician."

Veronica couldn't help noticing his faint blush and the way he suddenly wouldn't meet her eyes, but she tried to ignore it. After what I'm about to do, I can't begrudge him a little crush, can I? Veronica took a deep breath before she continued. She made herself give Piz a bright smile.

"Speaking of Emily, there's actually this favor I've been wanting to ask you. God, it's such a small world sometimes, isn't it? It turns out that my dad is working on this case, and Emily's father, Mr. Watson, is like this guy's accountant. Anyway, he's a pretty bad guy- the one we're investigating I mean, not her dad. Obviously. So do you think you could maybe do something for me?" Veronica kept her smile frozen on her face as she looked at him. Well, your promise not to lie lasted a grand total of two weeks. That's got to be a Mars family record.

"Sure," Piz said, a note of excitement in his voice. "What would you need me to do?"

"Is there any chance you'd be able to get into his office to copy a file? It would really help us out."

"Yeah, no problem. I've actually been in there a couple of times. I don't think he keeps it locked or anything," Piz agreed readily.

"We're looking for a file. It would be under the name 'Josephine'. It'll probably be on a computer in his office. All you'd have to do is copy that file onto a disc or a flash drive. Do you know how to-" Veronica stopped abruptly. What the hell am I doing? I can't put him in this kind of danger. These people are murderers. She thought about how Wallace had looked, after the Castle had gotten done with him. I swore I would never, ever put anyone I cared about in a position like that again. And here I am, doing it to my own boyfriend. What the hell is wrong with me?

Piz was giving her a strange look, clearly confused. "Do I know how to what?" he urged.

Veronica fought back tears, the reality of what she'd almost done fully hitting her now. "Nothing. Just forget about it, it's too dangerous."

"Mr. Watson's an accountant Veronica; how dangerous could this be?" Piz asked, amused.

"Very dangerous. You'd be breaking the law, okay? I'm not getting you into that kind of trouble. We have enough of a case against this guy without it. Really, we don't even need it."

Piz threw up his hands. "Then why did you bring it up in the first place? Listen, I don't mind helping you guys out. I can be stealthy too," he said, giving her a little smile.

Veronica looked at him, expression serious. She wished more than anything that she could go back in time to five minutes ago. "Drop it. Okay?"

Piz looked at her, plainly frustrated. He rolled his eyes. "Fine," he finally said.

"Good," she replied, relieved.

He crumpled up the uneaten part of his bagel into a napkin and, without getting up, tossed it into the open garbage can behind Veronica. Piz was no longer smiling, or even looking at her.

Veronica sighed. Better he be annoyed with me for a couple of days then me have to worry about him risking his life. She felt awful about what she'd almost done, and she couldn't stand the way Piz was avoiding looking at her. She stood up, suddenly in a hurry to get out of there. "I'm sorry, I just remembered- I have to head over to my dad's office to drop something off." She took a couple of steps over to him and put her hands on his shoulders. After a few seconds, he looked up.

"Okay."

"So have a safe trip, and please call me or text me when you get there. I'll pick you up on Tuesday. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Can I get a hug?"

His face softened, and he stood up too. "Okay," he said quietly. He kissed her gently on the lips, and then pulled her to him for a hug. Veronica closed her eyes and pressed her face into the soft cotton of his t-shirt. I can't believe what I almost got you involved in. I'm so sorry. She looked up at him and gave him another kiss. Then, without a word, she walked away quickly.

xxXxx

Veronica was lost in thought as she walked across campus towards Benes Hall; she was still shaken up over her conversation with Piz. As she approached the outer door of the dorm, she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder, and it made her jump. She spun around to see who had frightened her.

Her eyes narrowed. "Ratner."

He rolled his eyes. "I prefer Jeff."

"Okay, Jeff. Is there a reason why you felt the need to sneak up on me like that?" she asked.

"Well," he said, "as nauseated as it makes me to admit this, I need your help with something."

"You might want to lead with something less insulting next time, if you expect me to actually listen any further," Veronica suggested. She continued walking towards her building.

Jeff followed her, clearly undeterred by her demeanor. "So, Tina told me you're helping her brother out with something. That you're like, a private investigator, or whatever? I was wondering if I could, kind of, hire you."

Veronica stopped walking and faced him, confused. "Wait, Tina told you? Explain to me how you didn't already know that I was a P.I.?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I don't know. I just thought you were nosey."

Veronica stared at him, incredulous. "What about when I solved the Dean's murder in front of our entire class?" she demanded. "Didn't that maybe give it away?"

"You're a teacher's pet. I thought you were looking for a better grade."

"By accusing the teacher of murder? That doesn't even make sense. I mean, I detailed how the entire thing went down, right there in front of everyone."

Jeff looked back at her, expression bland. "Your dad was Sheriff at the time. I thought he figured it out and told you, so you could look all important in front of people."

Veronica stared at him in disbelief. "So, basically, what you're telling me is that you think I'm some spoiled rotten rich girl, whose daddy would spill details of an open murder investigation just so I could impress some people in one of my classes? Are you freaking kidding me?"

He shrugged again. "So listen, here's the deal-"

Veronica laughed. "Oh, there's no deal, Sporto." She started towards the door again.

"You've accused me of, like, ten crimes that I didn't commit," Jeff called after her. "You owe me one."

Veronica stopped walking and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. He has a point. And I did try to get the guy fired, once. She turned back towards him and crossed her arms. "Ten? Um, hardly. Try two."

Jeff took a few steps forward so that he was standing next to her again. "Also," he said, "I should probably mention that I can't afford to pay you. But I'll owe you one."

Veronica gave him a withering look, but her mind was running. It might not be the worst thing in the world, being able to call in a favor from someone who works at the Grand. Some of my seediest clientele wind up at the Grand. Ratner would be like an all-access pass. She chewed her bottom lip. And Logan still lives there.

She sighed. "Fine. But make it fast, I'm in a hurry."

Jeff hesitated. "I can trust you to be discreet?"

She resisted the impulse to roll her eyes. "Of course," she said, struggling to keep the exasperation out of her voice.

"Okay. Basically, I want you to find out if someone I know is smart or not."

Veronica looked at him with some confusion. "I'm sensing I'll need a little bit of back story on this one."

"Well… There's this girl, Diana. And I really like her. But when she's around her friends, she acts like- well, kind of like an idiot. Then, when she's around me, she's just amazing. And she seems so smart… I mean, I like her, but I don't want to date her if she really is, you know… stupid." He had the good sense to look slightly ashamed of himself.

"Wow, Ratner. That's incredibly shallow of you."

Jeff gave her a look. "I thought you weren't supposed to say things like that to clients."

"Maybe not to paying clients," she agreed.

He rolled his eyes. "It's all about money with you, isn't it?"

Veronica furrowed her brow. "And I'm helping you why?"

Jeff opened his mouth and she held up a finger. "It was a rhetorical question." Veronica sighed. But she grudgingly took down all of the information that he had about the girl, as well as his phone number, and promised to call him when she had something for him.

At least this one won't take me long, she thought as she continued upstairs to her room. I'll ask Mac to work her magic, so we can access Diana's student records. A quick look at her grades should give us our answer. When Veronica stepped inside her room, it was empty. Mac is probably getting her nails done for her big date with Casey tonight.

Veronica smiled to herself at the thought of her friend doing something girlie like that. On second thought, she's probably over at Wallace's playing World of Warcraft. She kicked off her shoes and lay down in bed. Let's see if we can get this sleep thing that I've heard so much about to happen. I'll need my wits about me tonight when I go to the 09er lion's den. She pulled her blanket up over her head and closed her eyes.

xxXxx

The man's face is in shadow, but she can feel menace rolling off of him in waves. They are at a deserted train station, and she is watching helplessly as he ties her father to the railroad track. The man hums to himself happily as he wraps the rope around and around the rail. Her father is gagged, but his expression says everything to her: he is terrified.

Veronica is also tied up, but not to the track. She is bound to a bench on the platform of the station. She struggles futilely with the rope that holds her down, but that only causes the rope to dig painfully into her bare skin. She is crying, and pleading, and bargaining with the man, but he ignores her. He begins to whistle a tune to himself as he finishes up his task. Seeming satisfied, he moves aside. He looks up at Veronica now, and smiles. She still cannot see his face.

And then Veronica hears it, in the distance. The whistle of the train. She doesn't want to look, doesn't want to confirm that this is actually happening. But she has to. She sees the shiny black engine, speeding down the track towards her father. And she is helpless to stop it. "No! No! Why are you doing this? Please, you have to help him! I'll do anything you want, anything! Just please…" She sobs, staring into her father's eyes just as the train is about to strike. "I love you! I love you, I'm so sorry…Dad!"

Veronica awoke with a start. She struggled to get out from below her blanket. It had somehow gotten wrapped around her arm in her sleep. She panicked a bit as she tried to rip her arm free. Finally, she managed to disentangle herself. Veronica sat up and put her face in her hands, trying to regulate her breathing. The nightmare was always the same- only the players changed. Sometimes it was her dad, sometimes her mom… Wallace, Mac, Lilly, Logan… It didn't matter who was cast in the role, the end result was always the same- she had to sit there and watch helplessly as someone who she loved faced their death.

Veronica heard footsteps approaching and looked up. Mac was walking towards her, a bit hesitantly. "Hey," she said. "Are you okay?"

She nodded and gave her friend a weak smile. The terror of the dream was starting to fade. She brushed her tangled hair out of her face. "What time is it?" she asked.

"12:30," Mac replied.

"Damn, really?" Veronica yawned. "I didn't mean to sleep so late. I have to get to work."

"I wasn't sure if I should wake you or not. You were out cold. Were you doing tequila shots for breakfast again?" she teased.

Veronica laughed, appreciating Mac's attempts to cheer her up. "You know me! Hey, do you mind if we swing by my dad's office on our way to the party later? I need to grab something for this case I'm working on, but I'm not gonna have time to get there now."

"Sure, no problem. Is this the blackmail thingy? With the professor?" Mac asked.

"Yup." Veronica scooted onto the edge of her bed and started to put her shoes on. "I gave him a tape recorder in case she brought it up to him again, but she hasn't approached him yet. I kind of want to move things along."

"So what's the new plan?"

"Well, Weevil still has a buddy who works in the maintenance department here. So he's gonna plant a bug in this girl's room for me. I'm hoping we can catch her bragging to someone about her evil little scheme." Veronica stood up and walked over to her dresser. She grabbed her hairbrush and started working through her tangled hair. "Hey, can I ask you for a favor?"

"Of course. What do you need?" Mac asked.

Veronica pulled her hair up into a ponytail and turned to look at her. "Do you think you can take a peek at someone's school record for me?"

Mac looked uncomfortable. "Actually…no."

"Oh, okay," Veronica said. She's probably right not to do it. I shouldn't have even asked. Something like that could get her expelled. Veronica had a sudden flash of Piz from earlier that day, looking at her enthusiastically as she rashly asked him to do something that could have lead to him getting seriously hurt, or even killed. She looked at Mac, who was biting her bottom lip. "I'm so sorry Mac. I should never have asked."

"Huh?" Mac asked. Then she laughed shortly. "Wait, no, I'm not having like, a moral dilemma here or anything. I mean that I actually, physically, can't get into the records. They're too well protected," she explained. She looked slightly embarrassed.

"Oh," Veronica said, surprised. Mac had never come up short before, and Veronica could see now that it was bothering her. "So you're telling me that you just can't hack it?" she teased.

Mac made a face at her. "Very punny. Believe me, I wish I could. I got a 'C' in Intro to Philosophy my first semester. Stupid Plato. I wish I'd known Max back then."

"So you could get a 'study guide'?" Veronica asked with air quotes.

"No," Mac laughed. "He was a philosophy major."

"Aha," said Veronica. She looked around the room. "Now, where did I put my Poe…?" She started moving things off of the top of her dresser, looking for the book. They had moved on to what Professor Jayne referred to as the "Dark Romantics" in Lit class. Veronica had to read Edgar Allen Poe's short story Ligeia for an essay due on Tuesday. Although reading Poe is probably not gonna help with my nightmare situation.

As she continued looking for the book, Mac sighed and flopped down onto Veronica's bed.

"It was these moronic kids a couple of years ago," Mac said. "They hacked into the records, but they were really sloppy about it. They got caught, and Hearst beefed up their security system. You should see it, it's ridiculous. I've never seen anything like it bef-" Mac stopped. "I mean, I've heard."

Veronica laughed. "You couldn't resist, could you?"

Mac smiled ruefully. "I had to try. It's sort of an addiction. Anyway, I'll crack it one of these days. But if you need to get in there any time soon, I'm afraid I can't help you. Sorry."

Veronica shrugged. "No biggie. I'll just have to go old school, maybe do a little B and E. I like a challenge." She opened up her backpack and began to rifle through it. She glanced at her alarm clock. "Shoot, I have to go soon. I need to find this stupid book. I'm hoping it'll be a quiet day at the library so I can work on my essay."

"Isn't it always a quiet day at the library?" Mac joked.

It is unless Logan comes to visit. Veronica, who was still kneeling down next to her backpack, stopped her search abruptly. What the hell just made me think about that? That happened, like, a year ago. God, that was one of the craziest things I've ever done. She smiled to herself, remembering…

Veronica takes Logan's hand and steers him towards the stairs. They walk with their arms wrapped around each other, oblivious to everyone else. She has just confessed to him that she's still struggling to learn how to trust. His easy acceptance of her apology, and of her imperfections, has made her feel closer to him than ever. I never want to let go…

She leans against Logan, not watching where she's going. She trusts him to lead the way safely. It takes them awhile to get to the top; there are three flights, and they kiss the whole way up. There is a spot in the back right corner of the top floor, where the overhead light has burned out. Veronica has passed it many times, daydreaming that Logan would surprise her at work one night and they'd end up back here.

He sees where she is headed and takes the lead. Before they reach the spot, he grabs her and pulls her to him, spinning her around until her back is up against the bookshelf. They kiss each other almost feverishly, overtaken with desire. They tug at each others clothing, unbuttoning and unzipping, until Logan's pants drop down to his knees and hers fall around her ankles.

Veronica feels cool air on her bare legs, and the reality of what they are doing hits her. She is about to protest, when Logan begins to suckle a certain spot just below her ear that drives her mad. He lifts her up onto his hips, and she wraps her legs around his waist without hesitation.

And then he's inside of her, and all thoughts of protest are gone. Veronica closes her eyes. She knows that this is insane, but right now she doesn't care. Logan is kissing her neck, softly at first and then with more pressure. He bites down lightly and she gasps, tugging at his hair. Their movement becomes more urgent.

Suddenly, there is a loud crash and something hits her in the shoulder. Veronica's eyes open wide. Books are falling down around them. "Oh my god," she says. She is certain that they'll get caught now.

Logan laughs into her hair, and refuses to let her go. He pulls her face to his and gives her a bruising kiss that leaves her breathless.

"Oh my god," she says again, in a much different tone…

Veronica took a deep breath, happy that Mac couldn't see her face. Those books made such a racket; I was so sure we'd get caught. And Logan couldn't care less, of course. He just laughed and kept going. Typical. But it was totally worth it… She shook her head, trying to recall what she and Mac had been talking about.

"Very funny," she finally said. She opened up the top drawer of her end table, and saw her book. "Found it!" When she lifted the book out of the drawer, something else caught her eye.

She pulled a GPS tracker out of the drawer. "Huh. I thought I lost this!" She glanced over at Mac, who was looking at her with an unreadable expression.

"Hey, Veronica," Mac began slowly, "I need to ask you for a kind of weird favor. And I need for you to not ask me what it's for. But… I know that's the kind of thing that could potentially make your head explode. So I apologize in advance."

Veronica studied Mac, extremely curious. "Hmmm. Explode? No. But it might implode." She stood up straight and looked down at her friend, who was still sitting on her bed. "What do you need?"

"Can I… borrow that?" Mac asked, pointing to the item in Veronica's hand.

Veronica looked down. "The GPS tracker?"

"Yes." Mac hesitated, then continued. "And, also, some sort of bug."

Wordlessly, Veronica handed the tracker to Mac. She bit her lip. "Listen, you don't have to tell me what it's for, obviously. But, if you're in some kind of trouble, please just-"

Mac held up her hand. "It's nothing like that. And I promise to get this back to you as soon as I can."

"Take your time," Veronica said. "I already told my dad I lost it, so he'll never miss it. I'll grab a bug for you when we stop over there later."

"Thanks. So, um, what's a good place to put it where it won't be noticed?" Mac asked.

"Well that depends. Is this a male someone or a female someone?"

"Female."

Veronica was surprised. She had kind of assumed that it had been for Max, for some reason. "Well, a piece of jewelry is always good, if you can get access to it. A watch would work well, or a necklace."

Mac looked thoughtful. "Thanks," she said vaguely.

Veronica scratched her head and looked down at Mac again. What is she hiding? And why doesn't she want me to know about it? "You know this is killing me, right?"

Mac laughed. "I know." She looked at Veronica, smiling gratefully. "But thanks."

"Yeah, yeah," Veronica said, waving her hand dismissively. She looked down at her watch. "Gah, I have to go. So I'll be back around six and we can start getting ready for the party." She put her hands on her hips and spoke in her Valley girl voice. "You can totally borrow my black halter top. And I have, like, the perfect nail polish color for you. It's called 'Harlot'."

Veronica smiled sweetly at Mac. She'd been teasing Mac about her "big date" with Casey all week. She ducked as Mac threw a pillow at her, laughing as she hurried out the door.

xxXxx

Weevil whistled suggestively as she and Mac walked through the door of Mars Investigations that evening. "Damn, look at you two. All dolled up on a Saturday night. I hope the guys you're trying to impress are worth it."

"I can tell you, with confidence, that they're not," Veronica said. "Is my dad in?"

"Nah, he took off about an hour ago. There was some kinda emergency involving Breyer's vanilla ice cream and Fritos." He shrugged. "You women are a mystery to me."

Alicia must be having cravings. She wondered if her dad had told Weevil about Alicia's pregnancy yet. She decided not to say anything to him, just in case. That's the Mars rule of thumb. When in doubt, say nothing. "Well, just let him know I have to borrow a couple of bugs. I'm meeting your buddy Nelson tomorrow morning."

"Sure," he replied, leaning against the side of Veronica's old desk.

She walked over to the cabinet, hoping he wouldn't ask her what the other bug was for. Mac sat down on the couch, looking uncomfortable. Veronica had talked her into wearing a dress. Mac had already asked her twice to go back to the room so she could change. Veronica had refused. Mac looks awesome. If Casey doesn't drop to his knees and proclaim his undying love for her tonight, then he's a fool.

"Hey," Weevil said, "Let me get your professional opinion on somethin'. I'm working on this case where my client is sure his wife is cheating. The only problem is, we can't seem to catch her in the act. I think she knows that he's onto her. Any suggestions?"

Veronica took the bugs out of the cabinet and stashed them in her bag. "Let me see the file."

He passed her the file and she flipped through it. There were photographs of the woman sitting on the beach, walking her dog, talking on her cell phone… Wait a second. She looked back through the pictures and noticed that there was a white poodle in every picture. "What's with the dog?" she asked Weevil.

"Oh, she loves that thing. Takes it with her everywhere she goes."

"Hmmm." Veronica thought for a minute. She smiled as the solution came to her. "Easy. Put a bug in the dog's collar."

Weevil looked skeptical. "I don't think she takes the dog with her when she does that."

Veronica rolled her eyes at him. "I read an interesting fact online the other day. Something like 60% of pet owners admitted to telling their secrets to their dogs and cats. If you can't catch her in the act, maybe you can get a confession." She closed the file and handed it back to him.

"It's humbling to be in the presence of such greatness," Weevil said, bowing his head.

"Please," Mac spoke up. "Don't feed her ego. If her head gets any bigger, I won't have room to move."

Veronica made a face at her. "Good luck," she told Weevil. "Let me know what happens."

"Yeah, alright. Thanks for the tip. Now go break some poor, unsuspecting guys' hearts," he said, gesturing towards the door.

Veronica turned towards Mac, who was looking slightly green. "What do you say?" she asked. "You ready to rock and roll?"

Mac sighed and nodded. "Let's go before I lose my nerve."

Veronica smiled, and the two girls headed out the door.

A/N Okay, so I can't really afford to buy you all a pony. But please review anyway :)