The Surf Leash Strangler

Chapter 9

Veronica was tired.

Sleep had evaded her, her mind racing and unable to switch off. And it wasn't just Logan; he was a big part of it, but Alice Grace had kept her up as well.

Alice Grace committed suicide three years prior, found by her parents hanging from a rafter in their garage when they returned home from a two-week cruise. The coroner report stated that Alice had been hanging there for two days. A note had been found, left inside on the kitchen bench, explaining that she couldn't take it anymore. There was no allusion to what exactly 'it' was, and no one ever found out. It was an open and shut case, with no signs of foul play.

Jimmy had called Veronica the night before to tell her about Alice. He had sent through a picture, and it was startling how exact she fit their victimology. Alice had long brown hair and blue eyes. Her height was noted at 5'7, and on her wrist was a tattoo of a daisy with the name Courtney etched around it. Since she was a young girl, she had been an avid surfer and had used the surfboard leash from her own board to hang herself.

That was enough for Veronica to believe that she was the woman that their unsub had lost. Alice might have had a friend, boyfriend, or even ex who hadn't coped with losing her. They chose to use the surfboard leash to strangle each victim because when their illusion was broken, they lost Alice all over again, so he killed them with the same tool.

Veronica had sat in her hotel room until 1 AM, going over the details of Alice's case. A boyfriend was mentioned, but he was never located, and a statement was never taken. Her parents had both provided statements claiming they didn't think she would ever do such a thing, and there were a few comments from friends, but no one stood out.

Knowing she needed rest so that she could focus, Veronica tried to sleep. She tossed and turned, thinking about Alice. And when she did drift off for just a moment, she was Logan. He was holding her face, leaning down to kiss her. It was enough to startle Veronica awake.

At five 5 AM, Veronica gave up. She dressed in her running clothes and decided to try and clear her mind. She ran 8 miles before stopping at a coffee cart outside the hotel. She grabbed a coffee before going upstairs and getting ready.

When Jimmy had called her before she had left the bar the night before, she had still been standing beside her car. Logan had come outside after her, calling out her name, and stopped behind her while she was on the phone. When she hung up, Logan had hesitated to press himself against her. His hands sat on her hips, sliding just beneath the bottom of her top and burned against her skin; Veronica wanted nothing more than to sink into his embrace, but she didn't let herself.

Veronica turned around to stop him, but she didn't have a chance. Logan kissed her, his lips feeling just like they had eight years before. Veronica couldn't help but kiss him back, her mouth opening to allow his tongue entrance. She could feel every emotion that Logan was putting into the kiss; love, need, desire and frustration. It was almost too much, and it caused more tears to fall down her cheeks.

Logan broke the kiss, caught her tears and said, "I let you walk away once. I'm not doing that again."

Veronica's heart broke at his words. She wanted so desperately to say yes, to wrap her arms around him, but she couldn't. The voice in her head that told her to run was so loud that she couldn't hear anything else.

"I'm sorry," she said. Veronica turned away and pulled open the car door, and climbed inside.

Logan stood there, tears falling down his own cheeks. "Veronica, please."

She didn't want that. Everything she had done was to protect Logan and keep herself from hurting him again, but she had already done that. Veronica wasn't good for him; she knew that. He just needed to accept that.

Veronica had driven away, only getting a few miles down the road before she had to pull over. She sat in the car and sobbed, letting the pain of pulling herself away from Logan, telling her heart no, take over. It was around ten minutes later that Jimmy sent her the picture of Alice. She had given herself a few minutes to process, and Veronica knew she had a job to do.

Veronica sat in the conference room at the field office and stared at Alice's picture. The woman before her was shining, her smile wide and her eyes laughing. It wasn't the picture of someone who was depressed. Whatever had led to her suicide had happened after the photo was taken.

She rubbed at the back of her neck and sighed. Their unsub had to be someone connected to Alice, but they didn't have much without knowing more about Alice and the people in her life.

The door to the conference room opened, and Pierce walked in with two coffees. He placed one down beside her and said, "I have a feeling you didn't get much sleep last night?"

She shook her head. "Jimmy may have found our unsub's fantasy."

"Yeah, Alice Grace. I read over the suicide report last night; the surf leash is just too much of a coincidence with her appearance for it not to be connected."

"I saw something about a boyfriend." Veronica flipped through the report, trying to find the note. "But there were no details for him."

Pierce said, "No, I didn't see anything."

She nodded. "I think I'll go talk to Alice's parents, Judy and Walter Grace. They might be able to give us something more about the boyfriend or a friend who could be our unsub."

"Did you want me to come?" he asked.

Veronica nodded. "Yeah, sure. Unless you have something else, you want to go over?"

He shook his head. "No, I think I've exhausted every other detail about our other victims. I haven't got the report back about the DNA match between our eight victims and Samantha Whitmore, so I would just be here drinking coffee."

"Alright. Let's go." Veronica stood up, picked up her coffee and walked down towards the garage with Pierce. She gave him the keys, knowing she hadn't had a lot of sleep, and settled in the passenger seat to go over Alice's case file again.

Judy and Walter Grace lived on the beach. The modestly sized home would have been ideal for an avid surface like Alice to grow up in. The home was bright and clean; very little clutter was lying about as Veronica took in the open floor plan. If it wasn't for the family photos on the walls, she might have almost mistaken it for a display home.

Judy Grace had met Veronica and Pierce at the door and had invited them inside. She had looked at them with uncertainty but had tucked a piece of her greying hair behind her ear before agreeing to let them in. Pierce had taken a seat on the comfortable-looking white sofa as Judy stepped over to the kitchen to make them all some tea. Veronica remained standing, her eyes taking in the pictures of Alice and another brunette on the mantel. Alice was hugging the other brunette; they were both smiling and wearing wetsuits.

"That's my other daughter, Courtney." Veronica turned to see Judy placing three teas on the coffee table. "She was the older of my two girls; taught Alice how to surf." Judy sat down opposite Pierce.

"What happened to her?" asked Veronica.

Judy sighed. "She drowned when she was twenty-two. Alice would have been sixteen. She was competing in a surfing competition in Hawaii and got pulled under. They tried to resuscitate her, but it was too late." She picked up her teacup and took a sip.

Veronica took a seat beside Judy. "I am sorry for what you have gone through."

Judy smiled softly. "Thank you."

"And I am even more sorry that I am going to have to bring up even more bad memories for you."

Judy looked down at her tea. "Alice was never the same after her sister's death. I suppose I just thought she was grieving. I never saw the signs that she needed help."

Veronica looked at Pierce and nodded. He picked up the tablet that sat beside him and opened up the images of their victims.

"Mrs Grace, we have been investigating a series of homicides that have occurred over the last few months. Eight women, so far, have been found, and all of them bear a striking resemblance to Alice."

Judy frowned. "Are you saying that Alice was murdered?"

Veronica shook her head. "No." She took the tablet from Pierce and held it so Judy could see. "I believe these women are meant to be your daughter."

Judy took the tablet. "Oh my goodness. They are all so similar." She stopped on the photo of Shelly Pomroy. "Why Alice? Surely there are lots of women who have these features."

"It's not just your daughter's appearance," said Pierce.

"The man responsible for these women's death uses a surf leash to strangle them," said Veronica.

Judy's mouth fell open. She looked horrified at what they had said. She shook her head, put down the tablet and stood.

"I know this isn't easy to hear," said Veronica. "But we believe that someone connected to Alice is hurting these women."

Judy let out a shaky breath. "But why? Who would do such a thing?"

"It is possible that Alice had someone in her life who was infatuated with her. It could have been a friend, boyfriend, even an ex-partner. When she died, they lost her, and they have been trying to find someone to fill her shoes," explained Pierce.

"And when these women fail to fulfil Alice's shoes, he kills them and tries again," added Veronica.

Tears fell down Judy's face.

These were the moments that Veronica hated. Not only had Judy lost both her daughters in tragic ways, but now they were telling her that someone was hurting other people because Alice had died. Veronica hated to push Judy; she could see her despair.

"Are you able to tell us if Alice had a boyfriend? Did she mention anyone who she thought had a crush on her?" asked Veronica.

Judy squeezed her eyes for a moment and then let out a sigh.

The front door opened, making the three of them turn. An older man with a nearly bald head and a perfectly trimmed moustache walked in. He frowned and stopped in the entryway. He cleared his throat. "Judy, love. You didn't mention anyone was coming over." He looked at his wife, his frown darkening at the sight of his wife's tears. "Are you alright?" He crossed over to her and wrapped his arm around her. "What is going on?"

"Mr Grace, my name is Veronica Mars; I'm a special agent with the FBI. This is my colleague, Special Agent Pierce. We are investigating a series of murders where eight women have been strangled," explained Veronica.

Walter Grace nodded. "Yes, I've seen the news reports. What has that got to do with us?"

"They think the person behind it knew Alice," said Judy. She sniffled and wiped her cheeks.

Walter scoffed. "Alice never hung out with anyone who would be capable of such a thing."

"The people who are capable of these types of crimes aren't ones you would expect. The person we are after would have been a fixture in Alice's life. A boyfriend, perhaps. He would have appeared perfectly normal to you. But when Alice took her own life, he was left empty. He is trying to find someone to take Alice's place." Pierce stood from where he sat and picked up the tablet.

Walter looked down at his wife. "Alice was dating a boy. We never met him; Alice thought I would scare him off." He sighed. "All of her friends that we knew were girls. On occasion, we see them; Alice's best friend, Bethany, stops by every other week to say hi. She might know someone that we don't."

Veronica nodded. "That's helpful, thank you."

Pierce took down the details of Alice's friends and then stepped out of the room to contact Jimmy. Hopefully, the girls were close, and they could go and see them. Judy excused herself and headed upstairs, leaving Veronica standing with Walter. She had turned to look back at the picture of Alice with her sister.

Walter said, "I take it that there is more connecting our daughter to these women than just a surf leash?"

Veronica nodded. "There are a few details, yes."

"Do you think this man hurt our daughter?" he asked.

Veronica shook her head. "I can't answer that. If you want to know if he killed her and made it look like a suicide, then no. Alice did take her own life. But without knowing what went on between them and what their relationship was, I can't say."

Walter nodded. "I would appreciate it if you would let us know what you learn."

"Of course."

"Losing Courtney was hard, but my wife blames herself for Alice. Thinks there was something we missed. That we could have done something to help her."

Veronica nodded in understanding.

Thanking the Grace's for their time, Veronica met Pierce out by the car. He was hanging up the phone as she approached.

"Bethany King lives five minutes away. Did you want to go talk to her?" asked Pierce.

Veronica nodded. "Definitely."

Pierce drove away from the Grace's house, and Veronica felt a little more on track. She had felt uneasy since last night and was glad to have found her focus – at least somewhat. They were making progress, and hopefully, Bethany King would be able to give them a name.

Veronica's phone rang; Hitch's name flashed on the screen. They had only spoken briefly since they had left Virginia, nothing more than a quick update, and she hadn't expected to talk to him until they wrapped up the case. Veronica glanced at Pierce, who in turn noticed the name and went a little pale. She sighed heavily and answered the phone. "Hitch, what can I do you for?"

"Just checking in," he said.

Veronica frowned. "Checking in or check up on?"

"Both. Is there a reason I should be concerned?"

"You are the one who asked me to come to California, you tell me."

Hitch let out a small chuckle. "I don't believe I asked; it was more of an order with a side of please."

"Next time, you can shove your orders up your ass."

Hitch didn't laugh, but he also didn't tell her off like he should have. Veronica knew that if he was any other agent above her, she would be written up for insubordination, but Hitch knew more about her than anyone else.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Veronica swallowed. "I'm sorry, just didn't sleep well."

Hitch said, "It's alright. I didn't think going back would be easy on you."

"Then why send me?" she asked.

"Because you are good at this, Veronica. As much as you hate all the red tape and paperwork, you are unlike any other agent I've had the pleasure to work with."

Veronica glanced out the window as she thought about the case. She was good at it, working her way through all of the cracks until she found the weak point. But Veronica knew that she was only good at it because she faced the ugly side of humanity was long before she should have. Lilly's murder, being drugged and raped, almost being burned alive, Meg dying, and watching Cassidy jump off the Neptune Grand, the Hearst rapes. It had all led her to where she was today.

"I wish I wasn't."

Hitch sighed. "No one wants to be good at what we do, but someone has to do it."

Veronica squeezed her eyes closed; she didn't want to let any tears fall.

"Did you see Logan?" asked Hitch.

Her eyes snapped open.

Throughout her training, seeing a therapist to make sure you are fit for duty was a requirement. It had been one of the things that Veronica hated most, opening up to a stranger about what had happened in her life. But she did what she had to do. Veronica spoke with Dr Annabeth Jillian and went through her life. Seeing her best friend dead by the pool, digging to find the truth that led to the arrest of Aaron Echolls. She went through the bus crash and the Hearst rapes. She didn't mention Logan, her own rape, or that she watched the teenage boy who had raped her commit suicide after thinking he had also murdered her father. Dr Jillian had seen through Veronica's walls, and after their few sessions, had encouraged her to find someone to open up to. Hitch became the person she shared things with. He had seen enough horrors to listen to her story and not be shocked. Hitch was the shoulder she leant on, but normally only after a few beers.

"Veronica?"

She sighed. "Yeah, I did. But it doesn't matter."

"Veronica—"

"No," she cut him off. She did not want to talk about Logan or her emotional problems. She wanted to stay focused on the case. "I'm fine, and I have work to do. I will call you once we make an arrest." Veronica ended the call and clenched her fist. She wanted to hit something but reframed from turning to Pierce and knocking out a few teeth. Instead, she kept it simple. "Pierce?"

"Yeah?"

"Next time, stay the fuck out of my business." Her voice was harsh, but she didn't like it when overs tried to involve themselves, no matter how good their intentions.

Pierce swallowed and nodded. "Sure."

The drive over to Bethany King's home was silent. Veronica spent the ride trying to shove everything back into the corner of her mind by rereading case notes that she was starting to memorise. Pierce seemed tense in the driver's seat, his jaw clenched, but he kept his eyes on the road. Veronica knew that she probably shouldn't have snapped at Pierce; the guy was only showing concern. She would have preferred if he had just been direct with her; then again, she isn't the easiest person to talk to.

When they pulled up to the Bethany King's house, they could hear the music from the road. Cars filled the driveway, and from the sound of screaming and laughing, it seemed they were throwing a party. Getting out of the car, Veronica didn't wait for Pierce before she walked to the front door. It was sitting wide open with people coming in and out, so she let herself in.

It was your typical college/high school type of party. Drunk people, dancing, socialising, and the occasional couple that were so intently making out that they may as well as be fucking in front of everybody.

Veronica frowned as she looked for someone who might be able to direct her to Bethany and stopped a redhead in a bright green bikini who walked past.

"Yeah?" the girl asked, "Do I know you?"

"No. Can you point Bethany Kind out?" Veronica asked.

The redhead rolled her eyes. "She's the one dry humping her boyfriend." She pointed towards the living room. The couple she pointed to was, in fact, humping one another rather aggressively.

"Holy shit," mumbled Pierce.

Veronica frowned but approached the couple. "Excuse me."

The guy who was squeezing, supposedly Bethany's ass, tried to shoo her.

Veronica grabbed a half-drunk beer and poured a few drops onto them. The girl shrieked and pulled back.

"What the fuck?" she glared at Veronica.

"Bethany King?" asked Veronica.

"Yeah, and who the fuck are you?"

"Special Agent Mars, FBI. Let's talk."

The pissed look on Bethany's face faded. "Oh, right."

Veronica and Pierce walked with Bethany out into the driveway. The music wasn't as loud, and Bethany seemed to need some fresh air. Bethany leant against a car, leaning forward enough that she was showing her cleavage to Pierce – whom she winked and smiled at.

"Miss King," said Veronica, "we wanted to ask you a few questions about Alice Grace."

Bethany ran her tongue across her teeth. "What about her?"

"Before she died, was she seeing anyone?" asked Veronica.

"Yeah, I think so. She wasn't big into sharing."

"Not even a name?"

Bethany shrugged. "She called him Ryan. Said he was a delivery driver."

"Were they dating long?"

"Three months, I think. Alice seemed excited when she first met him; she gushed about him even. Then she kind of just stopped. I'd ask about him, but she wouldn't really say anything."

"Would you have a photo by chance?"

"No. I only met him once, and it was for like a second. Alice said he wasn't big into socialising." Bethany rolled her eyes. "Sounded like a weirdo to me. Tried to convince her to dump him, but then she just started to ignore me. Next thing I know, she killed herself."

Veronica frowned. Some friend. "Thank you for your time, Miss King." She held out a card with her details. "If you think of anything else, give me a call."

Bethany took the card, smiled and turned to walk back inside.

"At least we have a name," said Pierce.

"And a possible job. Do you think the last places our victims were seen would all get a similar delivery?" she asked.

He nodded. "It's possible. I can compare the locations when we get back to the field office."

As they made their way to the car, Veronica wondered how else they might be able to find more information about their unsub. Bethany seemed to make out that Alice hadn't been much for sharing her life; maybe there was something she didn't want anyone to know. The boyfriend's reclusiveness didn't bode well, he could have been abusive and tried to separate Alice from her family. It would certainly fit with their idea of their unsub being obsessed with Alice.

Veronica climbed into the SUV as her phone buzzed.

LE: I'm sorry about last night.

She locked her phone and leaned her head back against the headrest; this was not wanted she wanted to deal with. Another message came through.

LE: Please, Veronica.

LE: I just want to talk.

Veronica's jaw clenched as she stared at her phone.

LE: I love you.

Shaking her head, she put her phone back into her pocket and wiped at her cheek as a tear escaped.

"Are you alright?" asked Pierce.

Veronica looked at him and nodded. "Fine, just drive, please."

Pierce nodded, biting his own tongue and started the car.

There we go.

I would love to hear what you think. Even if it's as simple as a 'can't wait' all feedback is appreciated.