Lives Ruined, Bloodshed

Chapter 21

Veronica wakes up and tries to pretend that she doesn't want to instantly call Logan. She kicks off her blankets, gets in the shower, and agrees to meet Walsh at the field office. The coroner had confirmed they had their report ready, and Veronica wanted to keep herself from thinking about the night before.

In the kitchen, Keith was sitting at the island counter drinking his morning coffee. He smiled at Veronica as she walked in, but that smile turned into a frown when he noticed her face.

"Did your date with Logan not go well?" he asked.

Veronica shook her head. "It was fine."

"Then how come you slept here?" Keith put down his cup. "You haven't spent a night here."

Veronica grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl. "I had to get up early and didn't want to wake Logan up."

Keith scoffed. "I somehow doubt that."

"Dad, just leave it alone, okay." Veronica stared him down, annoyed that he was pushing it.

Keith sighed. "Fine. But if you two want to make this work, you need to talk to one another."

Veronica knew he was right but didn't bother to respond. She bit into her apple and walked out of the house. She would get to the office early, but Veronica didn't want to sit around and feel her dad watch her as she dwelled, or at least tried not to.

Her phone chimed again as a new message came through. It was from Logan. She had woken up to three missed calls and several text messages, but she hadn't checked them. Between leaving her bed and getting into the car, Logan called another two times and sent three messages. Veronica hadn't wanted to check them; she could imagine what they would say.

Veronica drove to the office, parked in the underground parking, and walked up to the coffee shop to get a drink. She also got one for Walsh. As she waited outside, her phone rang again. Veronica groaned, she couldn't ignore him forever, and it would be better if she could focus on the case and not be distracted by whatever terrible thoughts her twisted mind would come up with.

So she answered. "Hello."

"Veronica, finally." Logan's voice was raw. It sounded like he'd been crying. "I was worried."

"I'm sorry, I just needed—" she stopped. What did she need? Time to find a way to explain how she felt without causing a possible relationship-ending fight.

Logan said, "You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm the one who messed up."

"You were trying to help a friend."

"A friend that I had a relationship with. Someone who I know you're not comfortable around."

Veronica frowned. "I have no issue with Carrie."

Logan said, "Just the relationship I had with her."

She sighed and brushed back her hair behind her ear. "If you two had parted on good terms, then okay, I wouldn't be bothered." She kicked at the ground. "But you broke up with Carrie, and then you tell me that she tried to kiss you yesterday, which tells me that she still has feelings for you. And then, after she sees us at the 09er, she flips out and needs you to rescue her. It looked like she did it on purpose."

"I can understand how it would seem like that."

"I don't want to be the jealous girlfriend. I want to be able to support you when you want to help your friend. But I can't do that when all I can think about is what if next time she does manage to kiss you."

Logan fell silent, and Veronica took a deep breath.

She said, "Logan, I love you. And I don't want to tell you what you can and can't do. But Carrie…she is beyond your help."

"I know."

Veronica's name is called out by the barista. She walked up and took the two coffees, and started towards the office's entrance.

"Can you come over tonight?" Logan asked.

Veronica said, "Yeah. I'll come once I'm done for the day."

"Okay, great. I love you."

"I love you too."

Hanging up the phone, Veronica closed her eyes and took a moment. She didn't know what to think. Logan said he understood her but was he just saying that? Veronica made her way into the building and tried to focus on the case.

Walsh arrived a few minutes after Veronica had taken a seat at Walsh's currently temporary desk. She had logged into the system, brought up their case files and was having another look at everything they had.

Walsh sat down beside her, grabbed the coffee Veronica had bought and asked, "How was your night?"

Veronica cringed. "It started off great. Sex, dinner, dancing."

Walsh smirked. "In that order?"

Veronica let out a huffed laugh. "Yep."

Walsh said, "How exciting."

"It was until we ran into Logan's ex."

Walsh's eyes widened. "Oh."

"Yeah. An ex that I am certain isn't over him and decided to cause a scene resulting in Logan having to save her from herself."

"Ohh."

Veronica nodded and pursed her lips.

"That sucks."

"Tell me about it."

Walsh asked, "Are you and Logan okay?"

"I think so. We talked this morning, but I somehow think it's the beginning of many conversations."

"The main thing is that you talk. Communication was the issue with my ex. Instead of talking, we tried to fuck our issues away."

Veronica looked at her, surprised.

"What? Angry sex was great, at least for a little while."

The San Diego County Medical Examiner's office was a twenty-minute drive away from the field office. Veronica and Walsh braved the traffic and made their way down to meet Mitchel Brown. Walsh hadn't dealt with Dr Brown much; apparently, he had only taken up the role of medical examiner three months prior when the previous medical examiner got fired.

Mitchel Brown turned out younger than Veronica had expected. He was around thirty years old, tall and had black hair that was tied back. He greeted Walsh warmly before she turned to introduce Veronica.

"Special Agent Mars, a pleasure to meet you."

Veronica took Dr Brown's hand. "You as well, Dr Brown."

"Mitch, please."

Veronica noticed that Mitch held onto her hand a few seconds longer than she would have liked, and his smile seemed different. She slid her hands into her back pockets as Mitch led them into the morgue and over to the bodies of Tristan and Mandi Kimberley.

"This was a brutal one," said Mitch. "Mr Kimberley was the first one to die. The forensic tech was spot on, with the estimated time of death being at midnight. The bruising on his wrist is from his bindings, as well as the bruises on the upper arms; there is additional bruising to his chest area, and after X-rays, I was able to confirm that Mr Kimberley suffered from multiple fractured ribs."

"Before or after he died?" asked Veronica.

Mitch said, "Ribs were broken before. If you look past the stab wounds, it shows a very severe beating. A lot of strength was behind it, and I would say he was most likely kicked, repeatedly."

Walsh asked, "What can you tell us about the stab wounds?"

"The stab wounds weren't all done at once. The first two were done earlier, about an hour or so before he died."

"It sounds like our unsub tortured him."

Veronica said, "Could be torture or payback. If our unsub had a grudge against Tristan, they could have wanted him to suffer before they killed him."

"So our unsub attacks Tristan, beats him, ties him up and then attacks Mandi while he watches?" asked Walsh.

Veronica sighed. "Possibly. What can you tell us about the wife?"

Mitch explained, "Mrs Kimberley had a very different treatment. There was no bruising that indicated she was bound at any point. The bruising around her throat is from the strangulation that killed her; her time of death is about 2 am. Most of Mrs Kimberley's trauma is vaginal tearing."

"How bad was the tearing?"

"It was extreme. Your killer was rough, and I would say he used more than his penis."

"Pardon?" asked Walsh.

Mitch scrunched his nose and said, "The tearing in Mrs Kimberley's vaginal canal would suggest a foreign object was roughly inserted into her. There was also indications of the same object being pushed into her anus."

Walsh's eyes widened. "Shit. So our killer is male?"

"I would say so. The strength needed to break Mr Kimberley's ribs and strangle Mrs Kimberley is something a man would possess. A female would have to be incredibly strong to achieve the same result."

"What about the semen?" asked Veronica.

"Surprisingly, that belonged to our male victim."

Veronica frowned.

"So what, before our unsub killed Mr and Mrs Kimberley, they had sex?" asked Walsh.

Veronica said, "Probably before our unsub arrived. The happy couple gets carried away before their guest's arrival. Maybe it's possible he stumbled upon them, and it set him off."

"Jealousy is a powerful motivator," said Mitch.

"Why keep her alive for so long after killing Tristan? I mean, if the goal is to torture him, wouldn't he have also killed Mandi in front of him?" asked Walsh.

Veronica said, "Unless it wasn't just about Tristan. It's possible Mandi was the subject of the unsubs rage, maybe even both."

Walsh nodded. "What do you say we speak to the ex that Brooke Henley mentioned. Maybe he can give us something."

Veronica nodded. "Yeah, sounds good."

Walsh's phone rang. "Give me a minute; it's my babysitter." She turned and walked out of the room, leaving Mitch and Veronica.

"So," said Mitch, "how long have you been with the FBI?"

Veronica said, "Four years."

"How long have you been at the San Diego office?" he asked.

Veronica sighed and said, "Just the last week; I was loaned out by Virginia headquarters for a case."

"Does that happen a lot?"

She shrugged. "Some. I normally work in a team; we go all over the states to help out with cases."

"Sounds exciting."

"It can be."

They step out of the morgue, and Mitch walks with Veronica back towards the entrance.

He said, "I don't get much excitement here."

Veronica widened her eyes and sarcastically said, "Really? You don't? I'm shocked."

Mitch laughed. "Well, I do my best, but apparently, all my ideas fall on dead ears."

Veronica cringed.

"Yeah, okay, that was bad."

"Nice try."

"Thanks." He smiled. "Maybe this works better. How'd you like to get a drink with me?"

Veronica paused. She couldn't remember the last time someone she had just met had hit on her. She certainly hadn't expected it from the Medical Examiner, and she felt caught off guard.

"I'm leaving you speechless already. That must have been good," Mitch smirked.

Veronica shook her head and bit her lip. "You just surprised me."

"Is it shocking that I find you attractive or shocking that I would be so bold to ask you out?" he asked.

"Mainly the second one."

"Well, I am told that spontaneity is my thing."

Veronica nodded slowly.

"So, what do you say? Dinner?"

"I'm sorry, Mitch, but I'm in a relationship."

Mitch nodded, his smile lessening. "Of course you are. The best ones always are."

Veronica feels awkward now and moves towards the door. "Thanks for the details; if you could send your findings to Walsh, that would be appreciated."

Mitch nodded again. "Will do."

Veronica turned to walk away.

"If you do find yourself single, you know where to find me!" Mitch called after her.

Veronica made it outside and found Walsh hanging up the phone. She wasn't sure what to make about the conversation that had just happened, but it made her want to go see Logan.

"You okay?" asked Walsh.

"The medical examiner just asked me out," said Veronica.

Walsh smirked. "Wow."

"Yeah."

"Anyway." Walsh turned towards the car. "I just spoke, Ollie."

"Whose Ollie?" asked Veronica.

"Oh, right. Olivia Frank, she is a Tech Analyst. She just got back from leave. I had her locate Frederick Hammond, Mandi's ex. He isn't too far, so I got Ollie to contact him and have him meet us back at the office."

Veronica nodded. "Great, let's go."

Frederick Hammond wouldn't be able to get to the office until later that afternoon, leaving Veronica with not much else to do. They didn't have enough information yet to have any viable leads. While she still thought they needed to talk to Jenson Kimberley again – regarding Brooke's claims about him kissing Mandi – she wasn't ready to approach him yet. Veronica wanted to have a better understanding of what was happening in Mandi and Tristan's lives.

So, with her spare time, she rang Mac. One, because she wanted to talk to a friendly face, but two, Mac understood everything that had happened in Veronica's past and would hopefully help her work out what to do regarding Logan.

Mac met her outside the office. They sat on one of the benches just outside the buildings main entrance and drank the coffee Mac had brought.

"Have you spoken to Logan today?" asked Mac.

Veronica nodded. "Yeah, this morning."

"What did he say?" she asked.

Veronica said, "We both apologised. Me for running, him for putting me in that position."

"And?"

"He said he understands why I left."

"But you don't think he does."

Dropping her face into her hands, Veronica groaned. "I don't know, not for certain. I wish I was able to look at what happened with Carrie last night and shrug it off, but it's not just a friend helping a friend. Logan and Carrie were together for a year, he loved her, and then he broke it off. And all I can see is that Carrie is making excuses to get Logan to go running so that she can find a way back in."

Mac frowned. "You think Logan would pick Carrie over you?"

"I don't want to think it, but the thought has crossed my mind."

"Logan loves you, Veronica."

"I know that. But I also did a lot of damage when I left."

"Yeah, alright. You both left scars on one another, but what happened with you and Logan is very different to Logan and Carrie."

"She didn't destroy him like I did."

"No, she did worse."

"What do you mean by that?" Veronica looked at Mac, confused.

"Did Logan tell you why he broke up with her?" asked Mac.

Veronica shook her head. "He mentioned the drugs and the alcohol but didn't specifically say why."

"Carrie cheated on him with Sean Friedrich."

"Seriously?" Veronica's heart dropped.

"Yep. Logan walked in on them when he got back from his last deployment."

"Fuck."

Veronica felt a little stupid worrying about Carrie stealing Logan away from her. There was a lot of shit that Logan could forgive; hell, he had forgiven Veronica for all sorts of ridiculous crap. But not cheating. Logan, like Veronica, saw cheating as the ultimate deal-breaker.

"I feel stupid now."

Mac sighed. "It's okay to get jealous, Veronica."

"Is it?"

Mac nodded. "I get jealous, so does Dick."

"Dick being jealous; never seen that before."

Mac smirked. "I have. It's kind of a turn on when he goes all caveman."

Veronica cringed. "Ew."

Mac laughed.

"Thanks, Mac," said Veronica. She wasn't sure what she would do without Mac.

"No problem, Bond. Just know, when the day comes, and you have to name your child, don't choose Cindy." Mac smiled brightly.

Veronica laughed and shook her head. "I make no promises."

Thank you so much for reading.

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