Chapter 52

In the next few weeks, Logan and Veronica had their mid-pregnancy ultrasound and monthly doctor's appointment, where they confirmed that they were, in fact, having a girl. Veronica also started to seriously jump on the baby train, shopping for swings, high chairs, strollers and anything else that any website told her she would need. Mac and Parker started planning a baby shower, despite Veronica's arguments that she didn't have enough friends to warrant a baby shower. Veronica had also started to grow substantially larger, and Logan had taken to photographing her stomach every day.

"You realize that it doesn't actually happen overnight, right?" She asked on the second week of this. "It takes a little more time than that."

"I don't know. I definitely think you've stretched a bit more since yesterday."

And that was the argument they had everyday.

They had also started looking for a paediatrician. Books had told them to ask their friends, but that really wasn't an option, and the paediatrician Logan and Veronica had both gone to was in jail, so that was a dud. Veronica asked Wallace's mom, but she had never used a pediatricians in Neptune and didn't have any leads to offer, so Veronica turned to the old stand by techniques- looking into the practice records of every doctor in Neptune and finding the one with the fewest encounters with law enforcement. They ended up going with Ryan Schwartz, a young woman who had graduated medical school two years before, top of every class. Logan would have preferred someone old, but Veronica assured him that Dr. Schwartz was the best in town.

At 22 weeks, Logan finally felt the baby kick, and couldn't stop talking about it for a week. This was also around the same time that Veronica started scolding the baby for kicking her at unwelcome times and in unwelcome places.

"Okay, mommy is trying to study." She would say. "So it would be really freaking great if you would stop kicking me in the bladder. Okay?"

It usually didn't work, but she figured it was worth a try.

In that time, Greeks were kicked off campus, and then before they could vacate their houses, were welcomed back by the dean, prompting a massive blow-out party that weekend.

Veronica didn't care about the party, she wasn't exactly in party shape and the way Dick talked about it, there wasn't going to be a lot happening other than excessive boozing.

But then she passed Parker's 'Take Back The Night' booth.

"Veronica, hey! Come here!" Parker waved her over.

"Hey, Parker. What's going on?"

"Have you seen this?" Parker handed her a paper and pointed to a circled ad.

"I'll choose my next victim at the Pi Sig party." Veronica read.

"The rapist is getting cocky." Parker shook her head.

"Yeah, or Nish just wants to scare girls away from the frat blow-out." Veronica offered, not wanting to give the rapist more credit than he was due.

"If that was the plan, I don't think it's working." Parker observed. "We probably had a hundred girls stop by and pick up these." She held up a coaster and handed it to Veronica. "You pour a drop of your drink on them, and they'll turn red if there's any GHB or Rohypnol in it."

"You mind if I take a bunch of these?" Veronica asked.

"Do you really think you should be drinking?" Parker asked, staring at her. "And besides, you can test ten drinks on one card."

"I suddenly find myself with free time and in need of a project." Veronica explained.

"Here, take one of these as well." Parker handed her a pile of coasters and a whistle.

"A rape whistle? You actually think people would come running, huh?" Veronica asked and Parker shrugged.

"You have more faith in mankind than I do, my friend." She shook her head and walked off, heading for the Free Press office. She had an hour to kill before class, why not try to figure out who had posted the ad.

"Hi, I need to talk to whoever is in charge of personal ads."

"Let me guess, you want to know who posted the ad about the rapist." The receptionist sighed. "We don't know who bought the ad space, it was changed at the printer. We had nothing to do with it."

"Would you mind if I heard someone, like, Wilson say that?" Veronica asked.

"The entire paper can recite it for you if you want. I'm in charge of lining up personal ads. Trust me, if someone tried to put that in the paper, I would be on the phone to the Sheriff before he could make it across the street." She assured her, turning back to her computer.

"Okay... Thanks." Veronica turned on her heel and headed for the dean's office.

"Hi, I need to see Dean O'Dell." She smiled sweetly at Cora, the dean's receptionist.

"What's your name?"

"Veronica Mars."

"One moment. Please, take a seat."

"I'll hold off until I know whether or not I'll have to wait. Getting up takes effort, you know." Veronica pointed at her stomach and Cora smiled understandingly. Veronica leaned against the wall, while she called into the office.

"You can go on in." She waved at Veronica.

"Veronica, what can I do for you?" The dean asked, waving at a chair.

She sat and pulled out one of the coasters she'd gotten from Parker, handing it to Dean O'Dell.

"Okay... What's it do?" He asked, turning the coaster in his hands.

"It turns red if there's a date-rape drug in the drink. You should require the Pi Sigs provide them to everyone at the party tomorrow."

"I will." Dean O'Dell nodded, putting the coaster aside and yelling out the door. "Cora! Track down Chip Diller for me!"

"I also poked around at the newspaper office. Nobody there knows how the ad got into the paper. They think it was changed at the printer."

"You are a credit to the college, my dear." O'Dell praised her happily.

"Well, aren't you warm and cuddly for the most reviled man on campus?" Veronica raised a questioning eyebrow.

"My life doesn't begin and end at the university. My wife's back from Sacramento tonight, and I have something special planned." He beamed, not noticing how Veronica's face dropped at the mention of his cheating wife.

"Well, I've got class." She started heaving herself out of her chair.

"Thank you, Ms. Mars." Dean O'Dell smiled, waving the coaster she had left.

Landry's lecture was as boring as boring could be for someone like Veronica, that day. Forty-five minutes on fingerprints. Veronica could have taught that lecture from the time she was eight.

"And now the part you've all been waiting for." He smiled, shutting off the projector. "I've had a very enlightening weekend. You learn a lot about people when you read their "Plan A Perfect Murder" papers. I must say, I'm a little scared to appear before some of you today, and it's not just because a good half-dozen of you offed me." He looked through the crowd, narrowing in on one of the students in the second row. "A chainsaw. Really, Biggles?" The boy shrugged and Landry kept going.

"Let's see. We got rid of a full score of ex-girlfriends and boyfriends, the local sheriff bit the dust..." Veronica smiled at the acknowledgement of her paper.

"And several of you decided to turn yourselves into only children. As to how perfect your perfect murders were, eh, the results fell pretty naturally into a bell curve. Didn't even have to adjust."

As he spoke, Tim handed out the papers, finally handing Veronica hers. An 'A' on the front, along with a note to see him after class.

"I will be posting the three A papers on the class website so you can see an example of what I am looking for. For those of you who got A's, congratulations. You can get away with murder."

The class ended and Veronica made her way down the hall to Tim's office.

"Tim?" She knocked and poked her head inside, but he wasn't there.

Fine, she thought, if you're gonna make me wait I'm gonna pore over your creepy rape-investigation wall to amuse myself. She stepped inside and flicked on the light, moving to the cork board. He had added pictures of the entire Pi Sig house, three of them were circled- Chip, Dick and another brother that Veronica didn't recognize.

"Can I help you find something?" Tim asked, finally joining her.

"What's with the circled Pi Sigs? Are you onto something?" Veronica asked, wondering why he was so interested in Dick.

"Did I miss something?" Tim asked, confused. "Are we working together now? Are we Starsky and Butch?"

Veronica grinned back at him. "Cagney and Pastey." She amended.

"I think I'll keep my findings to myself." Tim continued, sitting down at his desk. "When I catch him, I want Dr. Landry to know where credit's due."

"And here I thought you were trying to protect girls."

"Huh. Then you want to share your working theory with me?"

"I'm not following the rape-investigation anymore." She smiled. "It's not exactly safe, in my condition."

"Well, less competition for me." Tim smiled. "Now, about you paper, I wanted to give you the opportunity to fix some of these syntax and book marking errors before I post the papers online."

As he spoke, Veronica could hear approaching steps behind and Tim smiled at someone.

"Ah, Veronica, have you met my girlfriend?"

Veronica turned to see Bonnie Capistrano, the girl who had gotten Dick his SexQuest points.

"Hi." She smiled, then seemed to recognize Veronica. "Have we met?"

"I don't think so." Veronica shook her head, deciding not to make a scene, and made a quick exit, heading for Wallace and Piz's room.

"Howdy, boys." She sauntered in, passing Moe and facing Wallace. "Anyone up for going to a Pi Sig blow-out? Beer and ladies and music and other stuff guys like, I'm sure."

When the boys didn't respond, she continued trying to sell the party.

"Fast cars, loose slots, electronic gadgetry, televised sports, pornography. Nothing? None of this grabs you?" She demanded, lowering herself onto Wallace's bed.

"We were already planning on going." Piz told her, looking amused at her attempts to sell.

"I think everybody at Hearst is gonna be there."

"Awesome. Then you can help me out."

"Suddenly it sounds like a lot less fun." Wallace observed. "And, I thought you weren't going to parties, seeing as you can't drink and you're, well, large..." He seemed to start second guessing himself as he spoke, noticing the way she was glaring at him.

"What about you, Moe? Are you going?" She turned to the R.A.

"Sort of. I'm driving the Take-Back-The-Night cart for the early shift."

"Give me your phone." Veronica demanded, holding out her hand. "Here's my number. Call me if you pick up any girls who are beyond drunk or shady guys lurking around."

"Sure." Moe nodded, then took his leave.

"Excellent. Meet you boys out front at nine, tomorrow. I really appreciate it." She added, skipping out of the room, leaving a very confused Piz and heading for Mac's room.

"Mac, my best friend, what are you doing tomorrow night?" Veronica demanded, letting herself into the room.

"Hiding from the apocalypse."

"Not anymore." Veronica sat across from her, smiling broadly.

"Are you freaking kidding me?" Mac asked, catching onto Veronica's thought wave. "The Pi Sig mega apocalypse?"

Veronica nodded, but Mac wasn't done.

"Hump the furniture, party back to the Stone Age, fifty keg bacchanalia?"

"Sounds fun, right?" Veronica beamed, but Mac glared.

"Will they even let us in?" Mac asked. "I think all the glitter has fallen off my porn star tube top. And you don't exactly scream party girl, right now."

"Please, Mac? I could really use your help." Veronica pleaded.

"Resistance is futile." She muttered unhappily.

Veronica grinned.

"What did Logan say about this?"

"I haven't told him yet... But he'll be fine with it." Veronica assured her.

"I'm sure." Mac nodded.

"I'm meeting him for lunch in a few minutes. Want to come?"

"So you have a buffer when he threatens to murder you?" Mac asked.

"No! So we can hang out. It feels like we haven't talked in weeks!"

"Fine, but if Logan decides to go nuclear, I'm out of there."

"Deal." Veronica nodded and got to her feet.

They met Logan in the food court and Veronica informed him of her plans as they ate their fries.

"So, we're going to the Pi Sig party tomorrow." She threw it into the conversation between baby shower plans and term papers.

"No, we're not." Logan told her. "What do people get you for a baby shower?" He turned to Mac.

"Yes we are." Veronica nodded.

"Veronica, did you see that paper?" Logan demanded.

"Why do you think we're going? Logan, we're going to catch the rapist tomorrow."

"No, you're not."

"Logan-"

"Veronica, you're six months pregnant. You are not going to jump a rapist while he's trying to kidnap or rape his next victim."

"That's why I've called in some reinforcements." Veronica waved towards Mac, who was sitting with her head in her hands.

"Mac is your muscle?" Logan demanded.

"No, Lars is my muscle. I will take him with us, I promise. I called on Wallace and Piz to help."

"Oh, good!" Logan smiled bitterly. "Piz is helping."

"Leave Piz alone." Veronica scolded. "He's a sad puppy and you scare him. There's nothing you can do about it, so stop picking on him."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Logan tried to look innocent, but Veronica could see the smirk that he was hiding.

"So I'm going to the party, and you can come or you can stay home. But the only way you're going to get me to stay home, is if you knock me unconscious, so..."

Logan grimaced, but didn't argue and Veronica smiled.

"Alright, good talk. And people buy you baby stuff, like, blankets and toys and that kind of crap. Right?"

She looked at Mac for confirmation, but she was just staring at them in shock.

"Mac? You okay?"

"You just had an adult discussion about going to a party, which Logan forfeited- without yelling at you- and then moved on to baby showers in under a minute." She gaped. "That is not normal. What is wrong with you two?"

"Nothing is wrong. He just knows when he's lost." Veronica smiled, patting Logan's head like a dog's.

"And who's Lars?"

"His name is Mark." Logan sighed, as if this was something he said a lot. "And he's the guy I hired to follow Veronica around and make sure no one tries to kill her until the rapist is arrested."

"And you, just, let that happen?" Mac asked Veronica.

"No, I put up a very good fight. I was vetoed." She grumbled.

"This is so weird..." Mac looked between the two of them, then smiled. "Nice... but weird."