Troy had taken her to prom. It was the talk of the school, Veronica Mars sliding back into the 09er scene. Eli was infuriated. He knew that Veronica had deserved to go to prom, and let's face it Eli was not the tux renting type, so she was bound to go with someone else. But it just had to be an 09er. Someone that really showed Eli how out of her league he really was.
When he heard they were dating, he pulled away. Not that he wasn't there for her in when she came up asking for help finding the 09er's car that got stolen right on this side of the border. Meaning no doubt it had passed through his Uncle's shop. His uncle wasn't happy to see him with her, but he kept it to himself this time.
When he learned that it had already came and went, her first question wasn't where did the car go it was, "Did you ask about the piñata?" Apparently it had been in the backseat when the car was jacked. When he told her that she would get her a new one she replied, "Can you get me one filled with steroids?" What had this tool gotten her mixed up in?
It was two days later he saw her in the hall yelling at Troy, he had told Felix about the odd favor he had done for her the other day, and they had been watching the kids every move. And so far they had nothing. "You got busted for drug possession and trafficking!" She snapped, causing Eli to stop in his tracks and stare at the two. They ignored him, or didn't notice him as they continued arguing and Troy stormed away. Before Eli had a chance to come up to her, another 09er, which Eli thought his name was Luke, walked up and handed her an envelope.
"It's all there. Eight grand and a little piece of my soul." Eli hoped to god Veronica had not gotten herself mixed up in the drug business. If there was one thing he hated it was drugs.
"Woe is you." Veronica deadpanned, before taking the envelope and stuffing it into her pocket. When she spotted Eli, she hesitated before approaching. "Hey ."
"What are you doing?" He didn't beat around the bush, and his tone left little room for her to doubt how serious he was in that moment.
"What do you mean?" She asked, and when he looks pointedly down at her hand, which was still in her pocket clutching the envelope. "Oh, Luke got himself in trouble, I'm handling an exchange." She shrugged. That did not ease his worries. In fact that sounded even more incriminating.
"Exchange." The word sounded hollow coming from him, and her eyes widened at the underlying implication.
"Not like that!" She hissed, "He lost his dealers stash, I made him sell some autographed ball and I'm dropping the money off at 'Zig-Zags'" Veronica was explaining, but Eli cut her off.
"The gym?" When she nodded, "Hank Zigman's gym." Eli knew the juiced out ape, and knew what kind of business he was into. "You ain't going there alone."
"Of course not, I'll have backup." It's not until he's heading to his bike with Felix after school he realizes she had meant her dog, not another actual person.
"God damn it." He seethed when he saw her car already gone.
"What's going on, man?" Felix asked, giving him an odd look for his random outburst.
"Fucking, V." He groaned, "She went to meet with Zigman." Felix looked at him like he had two heads, "She's helping a friend or some shit, she went by herself." Felix didn't need to be told anything else, just followed Eli's lead as he hopped on his bike and speed away. However when he finally made it to the gym, Veronica was already on her way out, a smirk on her lips, and Backup at her side.
"Hey, Eli." She greeted when they pulled up behind her.
"You know it's funny," Eli said, after climbing off his bike and shoving his helmet towards Felix, except there is no amusement in his voice, "I could have sworn you weren't gonna come here alone."
"I brought—", Veronica started, but Eli didn't let her finish.
"Backup." Eli finished for her, "I see that." Veronica stared at him for a minute, waiting for him to continue, "Next time I say don't go alone, grab Felix or me, or hell Hector would have gone with you." Veronica was staring at him in confusion.
"It's not that big of a deal, I just had a chat with Hank," she started to brush off when Eli snapped.
"Do you know anything about that guy?" Eli roared, and Veronica flinched back never hearing him yell like this, "He's been accused of murder and rape, but got off on a fucking technicality." Her eyes widened at the statement.
"I didn't know…", Veronica's voice was soft and hesitant. Eli sighed, before pulling her to him and holding her tight. He couldn't stay mad at her, but damn did she make him crazy sometimes.
"I know," he muttered, "You just scared me, chica." He pulled away from her, his mind screaming in protest, but the reminder of Felix behind him brought him back to reality.
"Well, now that you're here...", Veronica gave a sly grin and both Felix and Eli groaned. Now the girl wants a favor. "Down for a road trip?"
She let Eli drive, as she directed him to the Grille and Diner that was nestled near the border. She didn't explain why she needed to go there, or why she was packaging candy in such a suspicious way, but Eli and Felix were along for the ride.
They were halfway there when she pulled out her phone and dialed a number, after waiting for a while she answered in a bright tone that did not match the unhappy expression she wore, "Hi, Shauna! This is Veronica" There was a pause, "No, we haven't met I'm a friend of your boyfriend's…Troy?" Eli's head snapped to her, but she ignored him and he was forced to look back at the road, "He forgot something here back at Neptune and I was wondering if you knew where he was, or where I could send it." She was silent for a minute, and a wicked grin broke out over her face, "Thanks so much, bye."
The silence in the car was deafening, and Felix was the first to find his voice, "Is that why we're here? You want us to kill the little bastard?" Veronica laughed at that before shaking her head, "Then what do you need our help with?"
Veronica gave him a weird look before replying, "I don't need help with anything. Just wanted the company."
"So why are we going to this diner?" Eli asked after a minute.
"To steal Troy's drugs he has stashed in the men's bathroom." Veronica grinned, "We're gonna replace his bag for this bag." She held up the suspicious looking candy bag. Eli laughed at that, and continued on down the road.
It was late when they finally got back. They had watched from a far, as Troy got dropped off by a cab and then went into the diner coming out with a bag all smiles. Eli was curious on when he was actually going to realize the switch Veronica made, as they watched Troy drive away in a fancy car. Eli had driven them back to their bikes, and after Felix drove off she mentioned to Eli her dad was staying overnight at his girlfriends. He didn't know what surprised him more, the fact the former sheriff was dating or the underlying invitation in the statement.
He wasted no time following her car back on his bike. She let him inside, and they sat on her couch and watched T.V. in a comfortable silence. It wasn't until he got up to get a drink, and he knocked her bag off the side of the couch that things got weird. Eli bent down to pick up the things that fell out and Veronica launched herself onto the pile of stuff. He watched her scramble to pick up everything, as if she was trying to keep him from seeing something. And then he saw it. The black and white photo that was slid partially under the couch. His hand reached it first and his blood ran cold when he saw it.
It was of her. Her hair was still long, and she was handing a helmet back to Felix as they stood in front of a doctor's office. Whoever had taken the picture had been across the street, and both Felix and her were none the wiser. To make matters worse was the target drawn around Veronica's face. "What is this?" He asked quietly, not being able to take his eyes off the pictures. When he finally looked up he saw her clutching several other photos in her hand. When he took them from her she didn't argue, just stood there rigid as could be. Each one was of her somewhere else, but he was relieved to find all of them were old, she had long hair in every picture.
"The reason my mom left." Veronica admitted. "At least I think."
"What do you mean, V?" Eli demanded, he was beyond worried. The pictures were an obvious threat on her life, but why? Who would want her dead?
"I'm not sure, but they were in a lock box in my moms name." She shrugged, "I think it might have to do with Lily." The last part whispered.
"Lily!" Eli exclaimed, the mention of his dead ex lovers name "What are you talking about?" Veronica looked at him skeptically before walking away and disappearing into her bedroom. When she came back out she was clutching a white laptop in her hands.
"I've been investigating Lily's death." She admitted, throwing him for a loop.
"Abel Koontz killed Lily, V." Eli said numbly, "He confessed."
"Just because someone confesses doesn't mean they did it." She replied, and he knew she was referring to when he copped to the fraud charges to bail out his grandmother.
"Okay, who do you think did it?" He asked.
"Well the only people who have solid alibi's are you and Logan." She shrugged, "Other than that I got nothing."
"I was one of your suspects?" His voice cold but he couldn't hide all the hurt in his tone.
"I didn't realize your connection to her right away." She said, almost apologetically.
"And what's that?" He asked.
"You love her." All the air was ripped from his lungs, and he didn't miss the slight accusation in her tone. Before he could respond she had the computer open and she was fishing through the papers in her bag before pulling out one piece that had been folded and re folded. When she handed it to him the first thing he noticed was the black and white grainy picture of Lily, laughing and smiling behind the wheel of her car. He brushed his thumb over her face, "Look at the date." He did, and his heart skipped. It was a speeding ticket for Oct 3. The day Lily died.
"So?" He tried to shrug, but his voice gave away the pain of seeing the picture. Seeing that smile again. It had been a long time since he had to think about the girl he once thought he could marry. In a world of 'what ifs' he could have loved her. Veronica tapped her finger to the time stamp. 6:03pm. He looked at Veronica in confusion, he didn't see the relevance. Until it hit him…Lily's time of death was just before 4 that day.
"All of the Kane's alibis are ruined." Veronica told him. "They all lied."