A/N: Italics are Lamb's thoughts. As always, reviews are adored.
December 7, 2003
12:58pm
Sheriff Don Lamb poured more non-dairy creamer into his coffee. He had been taking his coffee black for years, but had started putting milk into it when he became sheriff. That had only lasted a few days though, before his stomach had rebelled at that too. He had never suffered from lactose intolerance before, or any other kind of digestive problem, but he had barely been able to keep anything down for the last month or so, ever since he became sheriff. Lamb considered, not for the first time, seeing a doctor, but once again decided against it.
Besides, what's some quack going to say, that 'your stomach problems are a psychosomatic manifestation of your guilt feelings at having supplanted Keith Mars, who has been a father figure to you, as sheriff'? I already know that.
Lamb had wanted to cry the day that Keith had cleaned out his desk, but he had managed to hold himself together, at least until he had gotten home that night. He had not wanted to break down in front of the others.
Keith would never have said so, but he'd have been disappointed in me if I had cried. The sheriff always has to appear in control, he always said. Except I'm not supposed to be the sheriff. Keith is.
"This isn't right, Sheriff," Lamb had said to his mentor in private, as Keith was cleaning out his office.
"You're the sheriff now Don."
"I didn't want it, not like this."
I wanted to become sheriff after Keith retired years from now. Except we don't always get what we want. Don't we ever get what we want?
The day Lamb had arrested Abel Koontz for the murder of Lilly Kane, a reporter had asked him how this reflected on Keith Mars. Lamb had given a stricken "no comment" and ended the press conference. That night, he had repeatedly vomited until there was nothing left to throw up, and then had dry-heaved for what had seemed like an hour.
The buzz of his intercom broke Lamb's reverie.
"Sheriff?"
"Yes, Inga?"
"There is someone here to see you, to report a crime." Even through Inga's heavy German accent, the sorrow in her voice was audible.
"Send him in."
"It's a her."
The door opened.
"Veronica? What happened to you? Here, sit, sit." At seeing Keith's daughter, Lamb felt sick to his stomach all over again. She did not look injured, although one of the straps on her dress was torn, but Lamb could tell from the look on her face that something horrible had happened.
"I was at a party at Shelly Pomroy's house," began Veronica robotically. Lamb felt the bottom drop out of his stomach, all his internal organs falling into some strange abyss.
"Someone handed me a drink, I didn't see who," she continued. For the first time, Lamb realized that the expression 'seeing red' could be meant literally.
"It must have been drugged, because I collapsed onto a lounge by the pool. When I woke up, I was in the guest bedroom. My underwear was on the floor, and I—I…." Veronica trailed off.
For a moment, Lamb imagined assembling everyone who was at that party—he could guess who the attendees had been—and mowing them all down with a machine gun.
Keep it together, this isn't about you, Lamb.
"Veronica, I'm so sorry, and I promise you, I will do everything I can to find who did this to you. Now, I also have to give you this. It's a 'victims of domestic violence' card. It has some information on it about counseling, and the laws regarding…situations like this."
Veronica took the card. "This wasn't a case of domestic violence. I wasn't at home." She sounded as if she were discussing the weather in Utah.
"I know. It's just what the law calls it. Now, I know this is going to be difficult, but do you know what a rape-kit is?"
"Yes." Veronica's voice was still flat.
"I need to take you to the hospital so that they can do one. We're especially going to need physical evidence in a case like this."
"Okay."
"Now, you can have a sexual assault victim counselor there if you want, along with one other support person. If you want."
"I don't care."
"Balboa County has a rape victim counseling center. Do you want me to….I'm sorry, the law says I have to ask."
"Let's just go."
"Alright, let me just tell Sacks to secure the crime scene and start searching it, then we'll go, okay?"
"Okay."
Lamb walked down the hall and found his senior deputy.
"What's up boss?" asked Sacks.
"I need you to take, well, take as many people as you need, go to the Pomroy estate, you know where it is?"
"Sure, but what for?"
"It's a crime scene, secure the entire place and start a search. Focus on the guest bedroom, but also check out the area by the pool."
"What are we looking for?"
"Evidence of a rape."
"Oh no."
"Like I said, check the guest bedroom. Also, there was a party there last night, I'm sure there will be plenty of discarded drinks lying around. Have them all inventoried; we have reason to suspect drugs were used. Probably rohypnol. Also, there might still be people there. Take down their information, but wait for me before you start taking statements."
"Of course."
3:02pm
Lamb paced the halls of Balboa County hospital, waiting for the doctors to complete their examination.
How long does it take? I'm going crazy here.
Lamb's stomach shook in protest.
Right, because this is about your feelings, jackass. Imagine what she's feeling.
Lamb decided to call Sacks, to see if anything had turned up at the Pomroys'.
"Sacks, you find anything?"
"Yeah, get this. We found the vic's car in the driveway. Someone had slashed the tires and wrote 'slut' on the front windshield."
"Oh no."
"Get's better. They wrote 'Abel, it should have been her' on the rear windshield."
Once again, Lamb imagined lining every 09er brat in town against a wall and turning machine guns on them.
"Boss, why didn't you tell us the victim was—"
"Hey! Keep a lid on it. If she wants anyone else to know, she'll tell. Did you find anything else?"
"Yeah, we did. In the guest bedroom, we found stains on the bed sheet."
"Stains?"
"Semen, blood, vaginal secretions."
"Blood?"
"Yeah, I guess…."
"Oh God. If Keith finds out…."
"It'd kill him."
Don't cry. The sheriff has to set an example.
"You sent the sheets to the lab?"
"Of course."
"You find anything else?"
"This just keeps getting better," said Sacks bitterly.
"What?" Lamb struggled to keep the dread out of his voice.
"Lying on the floor beside the bed, we found a condom package, unopened."
Lamb saw red for the second time that day.
I'm going to kill the bastard who did this. I will find him, and I will kill him.
"Is that all?"
"We found plenty of alcohol, plenty of discarded drinks; we sent it all to the lab. The only person here was the Pomroy girl, Shelly."
"Alright, let me know if anything else turns up."
"Will do."
Just then, the doctor came out to see him. "Sheriff?"
"Yes?"
"We've completed our exam."
"And?"
"Definitely evidence of penetration. The victim seems to have been a, a—"
"Yeah, I know. My deputies found blood on the sheets."
"It's always horrible, but, for your first time…."
"Just please tell me you found plenty of evidence for me to use."
"We did. We found semen and some foreign pubic hairs, brown. We've sent both to the lab for DNA typing. We also took a blood sample; we should have the tox-screen back in a few hours, so if she was drugged, we'll be able to tell with what."
"What about, you know, STDs or pregnancy?"
"Those won't show up for on any tests this soon. I can prescribe the morning-after pill though, and a drug cocktail, in case she's been exposed to HIV. I'll have to talk to her about that though."
"Okay, well I guess you should do that. Let me know as soon as you get those results from the lab."
"Of course."
3:43pm
Lamb was driving Veronica back from the hospital.
"Veronica?"
"Yes?" her voice was still completely robotic.
"I'm going to need to start questioning people who were at the party to find out what happened. What I wanted to ask you was, well, let me put it this way: when I was in high school, there was this girl Karen, she always, you know, knew everyone else's business. And I hate to say this, but it's possible that people are already gossiping about what happened. We found your car you see, and well—"
"Carrie Bishop."
"I'm sorry?"
"Carrie Bishop. She's the gossip queen of Neptune High."
4:20pm
"Sheriff?"
"Mr. Bishop, I'm sorry to bother you on a Sunday afternoon like this, but I need to see your daughter Carrie."
"Is she in trouble?"
"No, I just need to ask her a few questions."
"What about?"
"I'm afraid that's confidential. All I can tell you is that she may have been a witness to a crime."
"Maybe she should have a lawyer present."
"That's her right, but I can assure you that she's not a suspect. I just need her help."
"Alright, I'll go get her."
A few minutes later, Sheriff Lamb was talking to Carrie in the Bishops' backyard.
"Carrie Bishop?"
"Yes, what is it?"
"Were you at Shelly Pomroy's party last night?"
"Sure."
"You didn't happen to hear about anything…happening, did you?"
"Happening? Like what?"
"Like anyone…hooking up, at the party."
"Why do you want to know?"
"We're investigating a crime."
"What crime?"
"I'm afraid I can't tell you that, but we could really use your cooperation if you heard anything."
"Well, I heard that Logan Echolls left early with this really skanky freshman named Cindy."
"Anything else?"
"Well, there's one other couple that hooked up, but I didn't hear about it." Carrie was grinning.
"What do you mean?"
"I saw it for myself. In fact, I practically walked in on them."
"What happened?"
"I was walking past the guest bedroom and the door was opened, and you will not believe who I saw going at it hot and heavy." Her voice rose in pitch with that last phrase.
"Who?"
"Duncan Kane and Veronica Mars. Can you believe that?"
"What did you see exactly?"
"Well, Duncan was lying on top of her with his shirt off, and he was pulling her panties down, and—"
"I need you to come with me to make a formal statement as to what you saw." Lamb's voice was cold.
"Why?"
"You're a material witness to a crime. I need you to come with me now."
December 8, 2003
6:16pm
Lamb and Sacks sat in their Sheriff's Department cruiser outside the Kane estate. Finally, Sacks broke the silence.
"You know boss, the way the Bishop girl said it went down, it didn't sound non-consensual. I mean, maybe—"
"That doesn't matter," Lamb cut in coldly. "You saw that tox-screen report. There was so much GHB and alcohol in her system, she couldn't have consented."
"So what are we waiting for then?"
Lamb sighed. "Sacks, promise me something?"
"What?"
"Two months from now—if it takes that long—when you're sheriff, promise me that you'll follow cases wherever they lead."
"I promise."
"Alright. Let's do this." They got out of the car and crossed to the massive doorway; Lamb rang the bell. Jake Kane answered.
"Mr. Kane."
"What can I do for you, Sheriff?"
"I need to speak to your son."
"What about?"
"We have a warrant for his arrest." Jake Kane went deathly pale.
"No, what are you talking about? That's impossible, you already arrested Koontz, he confessed—"
"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to step aside."
"Sheriff—" Lamb pushed past him.
"Honey, what's going on?" asked Celeste Kane from within the house.
"Duncan!" yelled Lamb.
"No," said Celeste.
"What's going on?" asked Duncan as he came down the stairs.
"Duncan Kane," began Lamb, "you are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to have an attorney present during questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney," at this, Lamb found it impossible to keep the sarcasm from his voice, "one will be provided for you at no cost. Do you understand these rights as I have read them to you?"
"Yes, but what's—"
"Please turn around and place your hands behind your back." Duncan did so, and Lamb handcuffed him, then, after patting him down, began walking him out to the car.
"Dad? What's going on?"
"Duncan, don't say anything, do you understand? Not one word! I'll have our lawyer there as soon as possible."
7:01pm
Duncan sat in an interrogation room. Lamb sat across from him. Sacks stood by the door.
"You know, kid, I can understand why you did it."
Be cool, Don. Let him think you're on his side.
"I didn't do anything."
"No really, I mean, the two of you went out for what, like two years? And you must have dropped some serious change on that girl, am I right?"
"What are you talking about?"
"I mean, she's living like a princess, getting to hang with the cool crowd, but she didn't get how the arrangement was supposed to work, did she?"
"Is this about Veronica? What does she have to do with anything?"
"For what, two years, you treat this arkie chick like royalty, but she just does not give it up, does she? Didn't she understand that you're Duncan Kane? That you could have any girl you wanted? I mean, you would have been doing her a favor, am I right?"
"Stop it."
"And your buddies are probably starting to laugh at you behind your back at this point, right? So you finally wise up, kick her to the curb. And then what happens? Her father has the gall to accuse your dad of killing your sister. Can you believe that?"
"That had nothing to do with us."
"I mean, maybe it runs in the family, right? The Marses just don't seem to get how things work in this town do they? Anyway, so then she shows up at the party the other night, and in that white dress too. Just to advertise to everyone, Duncan Kane never got any. Must have pissed you off."
"No."
"So you figure, you'll put her out of her misery."
"What?" Duncan went white. "Did something happen to her?"
"So you slip some GHB into her drink, you take her to the guest bedroom, you do her, is that it?"
"GHB? What? No, it wasn't like that."
"The one thing I can't figure out though. You took the condom package out, but then you just threw it to the floor. What was up with that? Was it just to rub a little salt in the wound when she woke up, was that it?"
"What? What condom package? I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh come on, Duncan. We've got an eyewitness who saw you on top of her. We've got DNA samples that I suspect are going to be a match to you."
"Yes, okay, she and I made love, but I'd never hurt her. Is she okay?"
"I know you'd never hurt her. The GHB was probably just to help her loosen up, right?"
"What GHB? I didn't drug her."
"Well, something made her pass out on the lounge by the pool."
"I didn't do it. I could never hurt her. I love her."
"You love her?"
"Yes."
"Which is why you dumped her."
"No, look, you can ask anyone: yes, she was passed out on the lounge, and Logan and some of the other guys were doing body-shots off of her, but I rescued her."
"You rescued her?"
"Yeah, I helped her up, I told Logan to leave her alone. I'd never hurt her, I—"
"Wait, you helped her up?"
"Yeah."
"And you told the other guys to leave her alone?"
"Exactly." Duncan was relaxing a little now; Lamb seemed to understand that it was all just a big mistake.
"Now, when you say you helped her up, was she having trouble standing?"
"Well, yeah, I mean, I had no idea that someone had drugged her. I had no idea about any GHB or anything, but you could definitely tell she was seriously out of it."
"But you helped her?"
"That's right."
"Well, I think that's all we needed to know."
"Can I go now then?"
"Not just yet." Just then the Kanes' lawyer barged into the room.
"Duncan, I trust you haven't been saying anything."
"Actually, I'm afraid your client just admitted that he knew the victim was so out of it that she couldn't possibly have consented."
"What?" both Duncan and his attorney shouted together.
January 3, 2004
10:41pm
Duncan and Logan sat beside Logan's pool, both holding half-empty beers.
"Man, it's good to have you back Duncan."
"Thanks."
"Must feel good to be free."
"I'm not free Logan. I can't leave California, and I have to check in constantly with my parole officer."
"Still, must be good to be out, right?"
"Yeah."
"So what are you going to do now?"
"I start at school again after the break. I'm only a year behind."
"Well, it'll be good to have you back."
"Thanks. Tell me something: you haven't heard from Veronica at all, have you?"
"That bitch? Are you kidding? She and her dad left town right after, well, right after you did."
"Don't call her that, alright?"
"Yeah, alright."
"I still don't understand how I could have done that. I loved her so much, how could I have hurt her like that?"
Logan did not answer. He just looked away for a moment. They were interrupted just then.
"Logan, you and Duncan out here?"
"Yeah Dad."
"Hi, Mr. Echolls."
"Duncan, your mom called, she wants you home before 11:30, okay?"
"Okay. Thanks."
The end.