Chapter 31: Examining the Evidence

*****The Next Day*****

Logan felt something wet hit his face. He smiled, not opening his eyes. He so loved being married. "Someone's feeling frisky this morning," he said as Veronica's wet tongue hit his chin.

"Not so much," she said, her voice coming from the other side of the rom.

Startled, Logan opened his eyes to see the adoring chocolate eyes of Rover peering down at him.

Veronica's laughter spilled out. "I should've got out my phone and recorded that! It was so priceless!" she exclaimed.

Rover licked Logan again and wagged his tail happily. Logan pushed him away, wiping his face. "Well, it's not my finest moment, but there's worse ways to be woken up, too," he said.

"Really?" Veronica asked, giving him a quizzical look.

"Once when I was eleven, we had a storm in the middle of the night, and the power went out. It turned off the alarm clocks in the house. Dear ole' dad had an important interview with Peoples magazine—their sexiest man alive edition. He overslept. Naturally, it was my fault. Mom was out of town, so I was the only one he could blame. Trina was at a friend's house. He just came into the room and started wailing on me," Logan said, reminiscing.

Veronica worked hard to control the look of horror at the story. She truly hoped there was a hell. The thought of Aaron being there really made stories like this more tolerable. "Yes, I can see how Rover would be a definite improvement," she said. "Tomorrow morning, I'll make sure I give you a really good wake up!"

Logan grinned at her. "I look forward to it!" he said.

"So I have to leave Richie and you this morning," Veronica shared. "There's been another murder."

Logan blanched. "Shit!" he said in disgust. "Who was it?"

"One of the cheerleaders named Jessi Myers. I'm sure she was a friend of Parker's," Veronica said. "I was going to go over and see her before she got to campus or heard it on TV and tell her the news."

"When did it happen?" Logan asked.

"Yesterday evening," Veronica said. "They arrested Joseph for it."

"Seriously?" Logan asked in surprise. "You think he did it?"

"I don't know. I'm going to speak to Eli after finding Parker," Veronica said. She pulled out her phone, sending Parker a text.

"Is Parker missing?" Logan asked as he got out of bed. "Didn't she go home for spring break?"

"I think she either cancelled her flight or postponed it. She's obviously wanting to spend time with Duncan. I just don't want to waste time if she's not at her house," Veronica said.

"Why wouldn't she be at her house?" Logan asked, confused.

Veronica grinned. "She and Duncan are newly back together, so she may be at his house," Veronica said.

"Good thinking," Logan said with a smirk. "I need coffee. My brain is slow."

Veronica's phone beeped, and she checked the message. "Looks like I was right. She's at Duncan's."

Logan got up and gave her a hug. He tried to kiss her, but she dodged his lips. "You have puppy breath!" she accused.

"Love me, love my puppy breath!" Logan said with a grin.

She grimaced but gave him a quick kiss on his lips. "That's all you're getting!" she insisted with a smirk.

He gave her a pout. "But…"

"See you later!" she said with a grin. Then she darted out of his reach.

"This will not get you any votes for wife of the year!" he yelled after her. All he got in response was a giggle.

A short time later, Veronica was at Duncan's. She had sent Parker a text telling her that she was on her way and for her not to leave.

When she rang the doorbell, Duncan answered the door. He looked at Veronica in concern.

"Is everything okay?" he asked as he let her in.

"No. I had some bad news to tell Parker and wanted her to hear it from me before she heard it from anyone else," Veronica said grimly.

Duncan tensed. "Is someone else dead?" he asked.

Veronica nodded. "Yes. It's a friend of hers. One of the cheerleaders, Jessi Myers," Veronica shared.

Duncan was upset at the news. "I know her, too. She has been in at least one of my classes every semester. She's really nice," he said.

"Duncan, it was bad. She died horribly. The killer seems to be escalating," Veronica said.

Parker came to the foyer before he could reply. "Hey, Buffy. What's going on? Why did you need to see me?" Parker asked. She and Buffy were good friends, but they weren't best friends. Parker was not her go-to person.

"I wanted to tell you some bad news in person," Veronica said seriously.

"What's happened?" she said, looking at Duncan who immediately moved to put his arms around her.

"I'm so sorry, Parker, but your friend Jessi Myers is dead," Veronica said without much preamble.

"Oh, God!" Parker said, sagging against Duncan. "What happened?"

Veronica hesitated while Parker's eyes filled with tears as she realized what probably happened.

"It was the serial killer, wasn't it? She was the latest victim?" Parker asked.

Veronica nodded. "Yes. I'm sorry," she said. "It happened yesterday evening. They arrested the last person she was with, the one who found the body—Joseph."

Parker frowned. "Joseph? You think Joseph did this? How?" Parker asked.

"I don't know if he did or not. I'm going to talk to Eli before and find out the details. Dad didn't call me last night," Veronica said, obviously disgruntled by that fact.

"How-how did it happen?" Parker choked out.

"You really don't want to know," Veronica said with a wince.

"I'll hear it on campus or on the news," Parker replied flatly. "I want to know now, so I'm not surprised."

When Veronica still hesitated to tell her, the tears fell fast. "Please, tell me, Veronica," she begged.

"She was beat to death with a bat," Veronica shared.

Both Duncan and Parker looked horrified. "How is that possible? How did no one hear?" Parker asked.

"Most of the dorms are empty for spring break. There probably wasn't anyone around to hear," Veronica said.

"It's hard to believe that someone we know would do such a thing," Duncan murmured. "I know what happened with Jazmin, but Joseph was drunk and has seemed genuinely repentant."

"I don't know," Veronica said. "I won't until I talk to him myself."

"I saw them together at the party. He seemed genuinely interested in her. Easy with her. Not like he had something nefarious planned," Parker said, wiping her eyes.

Veronica reached out and grabbed her hand. "I promise you that we'll find out who did this. We'll make them pay!" she vowed.

*****J & E Investigations*****

Veronica went to Weevil and Jason's work, hoping to find out the details of the murder. She went into the office and found Weevil in deep discussion with Nick and Jason.

"So boys, what's the news?" she asked.

"I guess you've heard about Joseph?" Weevil asked.

"Yea. Leo called me. Not you guys, not my dad, but one of the deputies!" she complained.

"I figured your dad would've told you," Weevil said. "Sorry."

"So what do you think? Is Joseph the serial killer?" Veronica asked.

"Of course not!" Jason said crossly.

"What's with the offense?" Veronica asked. "He's not a good guy. He physically assaulted your sister. He's charismatic and intelligent as well as manipulative."

"One, he was a drunk teen when that isolated incident happened with my sister," Jason said. "I've known Joseph my entire life. I know that he isn't capable of this kind of thing!"

"Your dad called me to the scene," Nick added. "It was too gruesome and brutal. No Italian I know would ever treat a woman so badly."

"How long had the girl been dead before Joseph arrived?" Veronica.

"Not even long enough for the body to be cold," Nick said grimly. "That's why they were so quick to arrest Joseph. The assumption is he stored some clothes and changed before calling the police to make himself look innocent."

"That's a possibility," Veronica pointed out.

"There's no way he could've done the others. And there's no way this is another isolated incident," Jason said grimly.

"V, you need to go talk to your dad. Get his real take. Because of our connection to Joseph, he's not going to be as forthcoming to us," Weevil said.

"Weevil, you got good instincts. You don't like Joseph. Do you think he's good for this?" Veronica asked.

Weevil didn't say anything for a minute. He'd been wrestling with it ever since he'd heard. He hated Joseph. He had been looking forward to him leaving. Thinking that someone evil had once been loved by Jazmin disturbed Weevil greatly. "I don't know. I really don't. I do know he's a manipulative bastard," Weevil said. "I hate to think that Jazmin could've loved someone that sick."

"Jazmin is an angel with a forgiving heart. I don't know that we can trust her instincts," Veronica said.

"Well, then you can damn well trust mine!" Jason fumed. "Joseph didn't do this. No way!"

"It's true that we know he couldn't have done the others," Nick said. "So do we have three killers? Max, Joseph, and an unknown?"

"That seems unlikely," Veronica agreed. "When's his bail hearing?"

"At eleven," Jason said. "It's doubtful he'll get out on bail since he's not from here with no ties to the community."

"Not even house arrest?" Veronica suggested.

"His attorney will do his best. David Lee is the best. If anyone can, he can," Jason said.

*****Courthouse*****

The killer sat in the courtroom ever watchful. He smirked. They thought they had him; they had no idea.

Veronica had been close to a killer before, so she knew she was in the presence of evil. When she went into the courtroom where Joseph was, she paused. Frowning, she scanned the room. Nothing popped out at her. However, she felt something malevolent. No one was really looking at her with malice, so she wasn't sure why she felt that way. Shrugging, she took a seat with Jason and Nick. Weevil stayed behind to watch the office.

Veronica heard the D.A.'s predictable argument on why bail should be denied. No surprise. Then David Lee began to speak. Not only did he demand bail, he demanded an evidentiary hearing because he insisted there was no evidence outside of the bad luck of finding the body. The judge ruled that the issue of bail would be postponed until the afternoon where the D. A. would be forced to lay out his evidence.

Veronica moved to speak to Joseph before he got dragged away.

"Did you do it?" she asked bluntly. Joseph looked more unkept and unsure than she'd ever seen him. It was a bit unsettling, but she still asked.

"No, Veronica, I didn't beat the girl I was sleeping with to death with a bat," he said warily. "Nor did I kill the others." The guard came up to handcuff him. "You didn't see her, Veronica. I've never seen anything so awful in my life! Jessi didn't deserve that! No one did!"

His sincerity struck her hard as he was led away. David Lee had observed the exchange. Recognizing Veronica, his eye took on a predatory gleam. "Veronica Mars. That's your name, right?" he asked. When she nodded, he held out his hand. "David Lee. Since you're a friend of Joseph's, maybe you can help."

"Friend would be using the term loosely," she said sarcastically.

"You have a reputation for seeking out answers and demanding justice. Now I can't often say this, but in this case, my client is innocent. Have you seen the photos? What was done to that poor girl required a level of rage and hate that my client just doesn't possess," David said.

"I haven't seen the photos," she said.

He handed Veronica his card. "Maybe you can go have a chat with your father. See if they have any real evidence, so I'm not surprised in a few hours," he said.

"I'll see what he says," she said. If her dad had hard evidence, she'd never betray him. However, if there really wasn't more than David said, it would do no harm to confirm that.

A short time later, she was at the sheriff's station. When her father spotted her, he said, "No, Veronica. You can't see the case files!"

"But, Dad, I just want to know if he did it or not!" Veronica protested.

"He's the only one we have that is good for it," Keith replied.

Veronica's eyes widened. "Seriously? Because he was there, he must've done it? Did Lamb come back from the dead and possess you?" she asked incredulously.

Keith gave her a disapproving look. "Not funny, Veronica," he said. "You know I have nothing to do with filing charges. I just follow the evidence and turn it over to the district attorney. Joseph is a logical suspect."

"No physical evidence at all. No motive. All you have is opportunity," Veronica pointed out.

Keith didn't say anything. He just looked grim. "I'm not discussing this with you, Veronica. You are close to Jazmin, who is close to Joseph," he said.

"You don't have anything else, do you?" she asked, watching his face carefully. He remained impassive.

When he wouldn't answer, she asked, "Do you think Joseph also killed the other girls?"

"We know that he couldn't have. He has alibis for all the others," Keith said. "You very well know that Max is being tried for the third one."

"So you think Neptune suddenly has three killers roaming around Hearst?" she asked, a note of sarcasm in her voice.

"Neptune's been diseased for years now, Veronica. You know that better than anyone," he replied.

"Have you found a murder weapon? Do you know what was used to kill her?" Veronica asked.

"No, we haven't located a murder weapon. However, the ME believes that it's most likely a bat," Keith said.

"All the dorms have cameras in their entries. Did he have a bat when he came into the dorms?" Veronica inquired.

"No, but that doesn't prove anything," Keith said. "He could've planted one days earlier or saw one in the dorms and went back and got it."

"Anyone could've done this, Dad. Joseph couldn't possibly have been the only person around the dorms yesterday," Veronica said.

"Don't you have things to do besides bother me?" Keith asked with a sigh.

"Nope," she said smugly. "That's what you get for having an only child."

"You and Logan don't have any spring break plans?" he asked.

"Just taking care of our little munchkin," Veronica said. "I'm trying to catch a killer in my spare time."

"Why don't you leave that to me?" Keith suggested.

Before Veronica could continue to argue, they were interrupted. "Sir, the district attorney is on line one."

"I have to take this, Veronica," Keith said, trying to get rid of her.

"Fine. But this isn't over!" she announced, standing up.

Keith gave her a look of fond exasperation, but said nothing as he picked up his phone.

Veronica left. It was what they suspected. No hard evidence that Joseph did this.

*****Courthouse******

Everyone was shocked when the judge agreed with David Lee. There wasn't sufficient evidence to charge Joseph. The judge ordered him released.

Joseph looked over at Jason in surprise. A smile broke out as he realized he was free. He got to his feet and held out his hand for his lawyer.

"Thank you so much!" he said.

"This doesn't mean you're not a suspect. You can't head back home until they're no longer considering you a suspect," David said. "They'll keep looking for more evidence until they can pin this on you."

"There isn't any evidence! I didn't do this!" Joseph exclaimed.

Veronica had come up to him, overhearing his remark. "If that's true, then we still have a killer to catch," she said.

"Let's get to work," Nick said, leading them out of the courthouse.

Several hours later, Veronica made it back home. When she came into the living room, she saw Logan on his hands and knees next to Richie, who was also on his hands and knees.

"Come on, Richie! Let's race!" Logan urged. Richie laughed and hit his hand on the carpet and took off. Logan egged him on, crawling on his hands and knees. Rover was following their progress, wagging his tail.

"Looks like my guys are having fun without me," Veronica observed, getting their attention. Rover barked in joy to see her.

Richie looked up at the sound of his voice, beaming up at her. He stopped and raised up, holding out his arms to her.

Love gripped her as she gazed down at her little redheaded nephew. He was so perfect. She bent down to pick him up, kissing his cheeks. "My sweet boy," she murmured. She looked at Logan. "So when are you going to give me one of these?"

Logan leered at her. "It'll be my very real pleasure!" he enthused. He got up and sat next to Veronica on the sofa. He kissed her. Richie didn't like not being center of attention and slapped their faces with his little hand, causing them to break apart and laugh at their nephew.

"Someone's jealous!" Logan said.

"Someone's acting like their momma, wanting all the attention," Veronica said, smiling at Richie and kissing him. She stood him up on his legs on her lap. "So when are you going to walk?" she asked Richie, who just grinned and bounced on her legs.

"Not long. Just a few more months and we'll wish he was still crawling," Logan said, grinning at the baby, who loved standing.

Veronica looked sad. "We won't be there when he takes his first step," she said with a sad sigh.

"We might be," Logan said, hopeful. "You know Trina won't stay away from Neptune."

"She's never had to be the only one caring for him, Logan. She won't have any help there besides Mary," Veronica said.

"I'm just glad Mary agreed to go and be the live-in nanny," Logan said. "That'll be good for everyone."

"Yea," Veronica said, laying her head on his shoulder. "So today was exciting."

"What happened?" Logan asked.

"Joseph's attorney demanded a hearing to air the evidence. The judge agreed that there wasn't sufficient evidence to charge him, so they had to release him," Veronica said.

"Do you think he's innocent?" Logan said.

Veronica was silent a moment. Then she said, "I think he was truly horrified by what happened to Jessi. He told us what he saw when he found her body. I just don't think he could be that good of an actor."

"Even after knowing my dad?" Logan asked.

"Joseph is much younger and not a trained actor," Veronica said. "I don't think he's lying. He didn't seem worried that there'd be any more evidence against him."

"Did you make any headway?" Logan asked. She'd spent all day working on the case with the guys.

"Not so much. We're going on the assumption that there's one killer. We can't rule Max out, though. We went over his alibis again for the other two murderers. One of his alibis was that he was with Autumn, who is dead and can't verify," Veronica said.

Logan winced. "That's bad luck," Logan said. "What about with Jessi's death? Does he have an alibi?"

"Fortunately for Max, he does. He was with his parents the entire window," Veronica said satisfied.

"Window?"

"Window of time that the murder probably took place," Veronica explained.

"Ah," Logan said, nodding. "Did you have dinner?"

"Yes, the guys ordered pizza," Veronica said. "Did Richie eat?"

"He had fun eating and then throwing it at me," Logan said, smiling fondly.

"He does that when he's not very hungry," she said. "Looks like you already gave him a bath. Not much for me to do."

"Why don't we get ready for bed and play with him on our bed until he's ready to sleep?" Logan suggested. "I'll take Rover for his last walk."

"Why don't we join you?" Veronica said. "I could use some fresh air."

"Sure," Logan said. He got up to get Rover's leash. He didn't have to have one, but they were trying to train him to use one.

They walked on the beach with Richie, enjoying each other, Rover, and their nephew. When they let Rover off his leash, they sat in the sand watching his antics in the water. There was still just enough light to see.

Logan put his arm around Veronica as they watched their dog, and Richie played in the sand inside the V of Veronica's legs. It was moments like this that made him forget all about the ugliness of the world. He could just focus on his family and the sheer joy and simplicity of the night.

*****Chapter End*****

I hope my LoVe fans enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for reading.