Chapter 11

Logan took a breath and let out a deep sigh, taking a moment to compose his thoughts. "Carrie and I have always had an on-again-off-again relationship. Partly because my tours of duty with the Navy took me away for long periods, and Carrie wasn't strong enough to handle it. Partly because she would drift in and out of drug use."

"I've been sober for about eight years – ever since I got my life together and joined the Navy. And Carrie was sober too, when we met and started dating. But then, I went away on a tour and came back to a very different Carrie."

"I don't remember Carrie doing drugs when we where in high school?" Veronica commented.

Logan shook his head. "No. It all started to spiral out of control for her when Susan Knight died."

Veronica nodded. "Dick told me that she died in a boating accident and that Carrie was there."

Logan closed his eyes. "Yeah. But what everyone doesn't know is that it wasn't an accident. She was murdered. She was murdered by Carrie, Gia, Luke, and Cobb."

"What?"

"One of the last big blow-outs she and I had, I kept pushing her to tell me why she felt the need to fuck things up all the time with her drug use. That's when she told me the story of how Susan really died that night."

Veronica put her hand over Logan's heart. "Tell me." She said, quietly.

He took her hand and kissed it, placing it back on his chest. Then he began. "They all got really messed up on the drugs that Cobb brought to the party and, at some point, Susan passed out on the couch down below. Well, Carrie went to check on her and thought that she had stopped breathing. She started screaming and everyone came down to see Susan, lying pale and lifeless on the couch. They tried to revive her, but she wouldn't wake up."

"So, Cobb convinced them that they will all go to jail because Susan O.D.'d on their watch. They would take the fall. Everyone was still so fucked up that they believe him. So they decided to get rid of the body and say she must have jumped when no one was looking."

Veronica met his eyes. "Dick told me that Susan's baby was stillborn and she never got over it. Pretty messed up."

"Yeah, well, this is even more messed up." He said as he shifted uncomfortably. "Gia, Luke, Carrie, and Cobb dragged Susan upstairs, tied an anchor around her ankles, and tossed her into the water. Except….she came back up. She wasn't dead and the cold water revived her and she was flailing and screaming for someone to help her."

Veronica pulled back from him, covering her mouth. "I'm gonna be sick."

"I know. It's pretty gruesome." Logan raised a hand to her cheek for comfort. "And we weren't even there."

Logan gave Veronica a moment to collect herself. When the colour returned to her face, he continued.

"Carrie told me that her fighting lasted for maybe a few seconds before Susan succumbed to the weight of the anchor and slid under the water for good. Before they could do or say anything, Cobb gunned the boat and they took off from the site."

Veronica puts her face in her hands. "They wouldn't have been charged with murder if she O.D.'d. If Cobb was the dealer, he would have gone down for it."

"Exactly. And it gets worse. Cobb took pictures of what happened and has been blackmailing them ever since. Of course, none of the photos have him in them, just the others tying up Susan and dumping her body off the boat. Carrie has to give him 10% of her royalties as one of her 'Managers'. Luke is always doing behind the scene deals for Cobb with land titles and the like. And Gia is…how do I put this…his sex slave; she has to put out for him whenever and however he wants."

"Ugh. There is just so much that is terribly wrong about it all. So Carrie told you and now they want you dead?"

"Pretty much. A few days before I disappeared, Carrie showed up at the Beach House. She was sober and said she wanted to talk some more. She convinced me to come home with her to talk about what happened and discuss her going to rehab again. While we were talking upstairs, Cobb, Luke, and Gia showed up, not knowing that I was over. I snuck downstairs and overheard that Gia was trying to get her to slip a vile of GHB in my soda at some point in the next few days. They were going to drug me, and toss me under the Coronado Bridge to drown. Make it look like I jumped, just like my mom did. Except Carrie wouldn't do it because she was sober and thinking for herself. So while she was arguing with them, I used my finely tuned Navy skills and escaped from a second-story window. By the time I walked home, I had a plan in place to fake my death so I could stay alive long enough to find some evidence to convict them of Susan's murder."

"Wow. I'm….just…wow." Veronica was at a loss.

"I know. It's a lot to take in. I also think that Cobb thought that I was going to leave all my money to Carrie because we were together, on and off, for almost five years." Logan reached for Veronica and pulled her into an embrace.

"Who is your money going to, then, if I may ask?"

Logan laughed. "Dick. I'm his next-of-kin and rightful heir to the Cassablancas estate. And he is mine…along with a bunch of charities. I had to put someone down when I joined the Navy. Better him than no one."

Veronica rolled her eyes. "The bromance continues. I think we need to come up with a plan, to bring Cobb to justice, then meet with your boyfriend Dick, and Mac too, and see how they can help."

Logan glanced at the alarm clock that stood on an old dresser on the other side of the room. "It's only 2:00 pm. We shouldn't leave until after dark. Think it will take that long to come up with a plan?"

Veronica arched one eyebrow and swiftly threw one leg over him, trapping him under her again. "Well, we have a box of condoms, a plan to hatch, and nine years of our lives to catch up on. What do you think we should do first?"

Logan gave her a lecherous grin and nuzzled his beard into her neck. She squealed with delight.