Some of you may very well figure out who the killer is with this chapter. I dropped MAJOR clues. The audience will probably know before the characters do. I hope that's not a disappointment, but I kind of like sharing with you the thoughts of the killer. It's something I've not done before. Enjoy this update.

Chapter 32: A Killer Move

*****Four Days Later*****

The killer was watching Logan and Veronica's beach house from a distance. A long-range telescope allowed him to watch the gathering of people there. It amused him to know that at any moment he could shatter Veronica's entire world. Who should die next? Who was the lucky person? When he started out, it was all to make her and her ex suffer. The random girls were just to fuck with the police. He had been pleasantly surprised on how much he'd enjoyed selecting the girls. Then he'd experimented with all the different ways a person can be killed. That was another way to mess with Keith, who thought he was so superior. They were all chasing their tails. They had no idea he was behind this or why.

As a native of Neptune, he was familiar with its history, especially the history of Logan and Veronica. He turned on the targeting light of his rifle as he viewed the different people through the bay window of their house. He could repeat history right now and shoot her beloved. That would hurt badly. He hated Logan on principle. His bastard of a father had not hired him once for a security detail. Aaron's dismissal rankled all the more when it turned out that asshole was a murderer, who liked to pretend he was better than him. He watched Veronica hold the baby. Would killing the mother of that baby hurt them or would it just give them what they want—their own baby? He watched the door open, and the sidekick come out. Losing Fennel would devastate her. He considered the consequences. The man's stepfather was sheriff and father a former Chicago police detective. Probably not a wise move. He moved the scope.

The Italian boys and the Mexican came out. It amused him to no end that one of them was a suspect for one of the murders. Like those boys had the balls to do what he did. Of course, he wouldn't bother killing someone with their ties. Also, their deaths wouldn't hurt enough. Then again, his sources had revealed that the Mexican had become very close to Veronica. He considered.

The group was still talking by their cars. Veronica stood at the doorway while Kane and his girlfriend walked out. He grinned at the sight of the red dot on Kane's head. The idiot was oblivious. He had no idea how close to death he actually was. Of course, killing him now wasn't part of the game. He had to suffer. He moved the target to the girl then aimed it at her chest instead of her head. It didn't matter if she died or not. Either way, Kane would suffer. A prolonged death was so much better than a quick one anyway. Then again, the more bullets, the greater the fear. Grinning in anticipation, he squeezed the trigger.

Duncan was confused when heard a loud pop, and Parker fell against him. Then he heard another shot and watched in horror as he realized what was happening. Parker had been shot!

Weevil knew instantly what was going on as a strong sense of déjà vu filled him. He scanned for likely places that a shooter would be. "Someone's shooting at us!" he yelled to Jason and Joseph.

Jason dived for the front door, immediately pushing Veronica and the baby back inside. Joseph jumped in front of Parker just as the third bullet was released hitting him in the back.

The killer grinned as he heard shouts and screams. His work here was done. He looked around and calmly picked up the shell casings and brushed away his footprints on top of the neighboring house that was close to a hundred yards away. Now they'd really be chasing their tails.

Logan heard the screams from inside the house as he was picking up the empty pizza boxes. Parker and Duncan had returned from the early funeral of their friend. Their friends that were in town had gathered at his and Veronica's to discuss the case. Logan dropped the leftovers in the box when he heard the shouts. He watched Jason shove Veronica inside.

"What the hell?" he demanded.

"Call 911!" Veronica yelled as she shut the door. She quickly moved without stopping to the room the furthest away and held Richie, keeping him safe. Although she itched to know what was going on, she knew that he had to be her priority.

"Someone's shooting outside!" Jason told Logan as he pulled out his phone. "I think Parker was shot."

His hand shaking at the thought of Veronica and Richie's close call and the possibility of his friend being hurt, he dialed and reported the shooting. After he hung up, he called Keith.

"Logan, are you and Veronica okay?" Keith asked frantic.

"How did you know?" Logan inquired, wondering why he was surprised.

"Eli just called," Keith said. "I'm on my way. Stay inside and try to get everyone inside."

Logan went to the door, crouching low. He took a deep breath and slowly opened the door. Jason was on his heels. "Who's hurt?" he called out. "Is it over?"

"I think the shooter's done," Weevil said, glancing down at Joseph, who was unusually quiet. He was stopping the blood flow as best he could as Duncan yelled for help. Wallace was kneeling on Joseph's other side, feeling helpless.

"Help! She's hurt bad! We need an ambulance!" Duncan yelled, unable to wrap his mind around what was going on.

"I'll go get a towel," Logan told Jason, who went out cautiously.

Jason took in the scene, noting Joseph's prone figure. "He was hit?" he asked Eli, upset.

"Parker took two shots. He jumped in the line of fire and was hit with the third shot," Eli explained.

"I can't stop the blood!" Duncan yelled, frantic as the blood poured out of Parker. Jason moved to help him as Logan raced outside with towels.

He saw Parker on his walkway, blood all over her chest and trickling out of her mouth. He knew that wasn't a good sign. Joseph was next to her face down with Weevil holding his hands over a bloody wound on his back. Joseph's eyes were closed, blood also coming out of his mouth. He threw a towel at Weevil, who caught it and placed it on the wound. Then he covered Parker with one.

"Where's the blood coming from?" he asked, not knowing where to press down.

"The center of her chest and her left shoulder," Duncan said. Parker was still conscious. She looked at them fearfully.

"It's okay, Parker. The ambulance is on the way. You're going to be just fine," Logan told her, giving her a reassuring smile.

Parker tried to speak, to tell them she felt fine. Her shoulder ached but nothing else really hurt. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing worked. Fear filled her. Was she going to die? The thought terrified her. She wasn't ready to die. There was so much she wanted to do. She looked up at Duncan's beautiful face, his eyes crying. This scene was probably too much like his sister's death. She didn't want him to carry the burden of dying in his arms. He didn't deserve that. They were finally happy. Was this all the time they would get?

Dimly, the sounds of sirens registered. They got closer and louder. When the ambulance arrived, she relaxed. It would be okay.

Duncan panicked as he watched her eyes close. "Help!" he shouted to the paramedics who had finally arrived.

They moved Logan and Duncan out of the way and began working on Parker. Jason yelled, "He's been hit, too!" and one of them moved to turn Joseph.

"Another ambulance is on its way," the paramedic told them. Logan helped move Parker onto the board.

Keith arrived as the ambulance was loading Parker. The other ambulance was right behind him. Grimly, he saw his daughter's friend covered in blood and a tearful Duncan insisting he was going with her to the hospital. He looked over at shell-shocked but unhurt Wallace.

"Where's Veronica?" he asked Logan, who stood back and allowed the new paramedics to work on Joseph.

"She took Richie into one of the rooms in case the shooter was still active," Logan said, scanning the area around the house.

"The shots came from there," Weevil said, pointing to Logan's closest neighbor.

Keith gave some instructions to his deputies who quickly moved to search for the shooter.

"I'm going to go with them," Weevil said to Jason, who nodded absently.

"Is Joseph alive?" Keith asked.

"Joseph hasn't opened his eyes since he was shot," Weevil said. "I think he's alive. I mean, I know he was at first. I don't know now." He put his hand a moment on Jason's shoulder before moving to follow the deputies.

Keith went inside the house, searching for Veronica. "Veronica!" he called. When she opened one of the bedroom doors, he relaxed. "It's okay. You can come out."

She ran to him, holding Richie, who was crying. "I was so scared, Daddy! What if Richie had been hurt? I'd never recover!" she exclaimed as her dad hugged them both.

"Parker and Joseph were hit. The ambulance is taking them to the hospital," he said.

"This is a nightmare! Who would do this? I've not been pissing anyone off in a while," she said.

Wallace had come into the house, worried about his sister. "Is she okay?" he asked, interrupting them.

"I'm fine. We both are," Veronica answered, moving to hug him. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Parker and Joseph are hurt bad. Joseph got shot in the back. He was unconscious. It might've hit a major organ," Wallace said.

"I can't believe this!" Veronica exclaimed. She looked down at the upset baby and tried to soothe him. "It's okay, sweetie. Everything's fine." She rubbed his back and tried to calm him.

"I think you should take Richie to Alicia," Keith said. "Cops will be all over this area for hours. Plus, there's no guarantee the shooter is done. We don't know who the target was."

"I can take Richie," Wallace offered, glad to have something to do. "You and Logan should be there for Duncan."

Veronica nodded. "That's a good idea. I'll get his diaper bag and a bottle," she said. Wallace held out his arms, and she transferred Richie to him. "Put him in his carrier. You can take my car. It's Richie-ready."

When she went to get the diaper bag, Logan came in, covered in blood. "The ambulances are on the way to the hospital. Joseph was unconscious," he said.

"I'll catch up with you all later," Keith said. "Stay safe." He went out the open door.

"I'm going to take Richie to my mom, so you guys can go to the hospital," Wallace told Logan.

Veronica came back into the room, blanching at the sight of Logan blood stained. "Please, wash up, Logan. I hate seeing all that blood on you!" Veronica exclaimed.

He gave her a grim nod, and then he quickly went to their bedroom to get cleaned up. When he reappeared, she went into his arms, hugging him tightly.

"How do I tell Piz about this?" Wallace asked.

Veronica pulled back and turned to him. "I think you should wait until we get to the hospital and find out how she is," Veronica said. "I'll call you as soon as I find out something." She kissed Richie as did Logan. Then the three of them headed out.

*****Neptune Memorial Hospital*****

Duncan paced in the waiting room, fear choking him as they waited for the doctor. Jason, Logan, Veronica, and Nick were there.

A doctor came in, and everyone stood expectantly. Duncan sagged a bit when he said Joseph's name and not Parker's.

"I'm sorry. Joseph is gone," the doctor told Jason.

"What? He was alive in the ambulance, right?" Jason asked in dismay. This entire thing was a nightmare. They were just having a nice evening with friends, discussing the case. How could Joseph be dead?

"The bullet pierced his lung and nicked his heart. By the time, we were able to open him, he was too far gone," the doctor explained. "I'm sorry for your loss."

The doctor left the stunned group. Nick was the first to speak. "I'll call your father. He should be the one to break the news to Joseph's parents," Nick said.

"I want to see him," Jason said grimly. The truth was hard to accept. Joseph had been a part of his life since he and Jazmin were very young. He was their constant companion. Now he was dead. It didn't make sense. He wasn't even twenty-one yet.

Logan went to ask a nurse if Jason could see Joseph. The nurse led him to the body. He was in a room covered in a sheet. The nurse moved the sheet down so that his face was revealed. His eyes were closed. Someone must've wiped the blood from his mouth—there had been some. He looked so still, almost peaceful. A burning anger grew inside Jason. This wasn't right. Joseph shouldn't be dead on that bed. He shouldn't even be in Neptune.

Jason bent down and kissed his forehead. "I'm so sorry, Joseph. You'll always be my best friend. I'll see you on the other side," Jason said. Whatever Joseph's faults were, he died saving someone's life. Surely that would wipe all his failings clean and allow him into heaven.

When he made it back to the waiting room, he felt numb. Veronica stood up and moved toward him, drawing him in for a hug. Wallace had arrived. He gave Jason a look of sympathy, unsure what to say. He'd spent a lot of time with Joseph since he worked with them part-time. Wallace's easy-going nature had made it hard to hate Joseph like everyone else. The guy had always been cool with Wallace. They'd had a few good times together working on cases. Joseph had worked hard to gain Jason's forgiveness. Wallace had to respect that.

"I'm so sorry, Jason. I know what he meant to you," she said.

Jason was too frozen to return the hug. He pulled away and sat down in one of the chairs. Wallace sat down next to him.

Keith and Eli came into the waiting room ten minutes later.

Eli went to Jason. "How's Joseph?" he asked.

"He's dead," Jason said grimly. He gave Keith Mars a dark look as he stood up.

"Seriously?" Eli asked with a wince. He couldn't stand the guy and wanted him dead more than once. However, he had grown used to him and knew how much history he had with the twins. He was important to both of them.

"I'm sorry," Keith said with sympathy.

"Yeah, I bet you are," Jason said bitterly.

Veronica narrowed her eyes at him. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.

"If your dad hadn't been dumb enough to arrest him for killing Jessi just because he was unlucky enough to find her body, then he'd been back home in Chicago. He wouldn't be lying in that hospital bed dead!" Jason fumed.

"That's not Dad's fault, and you know it!" Veronica said, offended.

Logan put his hand on her arm to calm her. "Veronica, his friend just died. He has the right to blame anyone he wants," Logan pointed out.

Jason didn't say anything more. He took out his phone. "I'm going to call Daisy and tell her about Parker. She'll want to come home," he said. She was in Santa Barbra visiting her family. Wallace and Eli walked out with him.

"Veronica, it's okay," Keith said soothingly. "He's not wrong. This is an ugly mess. I wish the D.A. hadn't been so quick to push Joseph's arrest. I wasn't for it, but there'd been so much bad press with the deaths. He jumped the gun."

Duncan finally spoke. "I despised him. When I found out what he did to Jazmin, I wanted to kill him myself," Duncan said. "But this evening, he saved Parker's life. If he hadn't jumped in front of her, I know she'd be dead—if she's not already."

Veronica went to him, hugging him. "She's going to be fine. Shoulder wounds are never deadly. Right, Dad?" she asked, looking to her dad.

"I've never known anyone to die from one," Keith said easily.

"It's not the shoulder wound that I'm worried about," Duncan said.

"In a waiting room, no news is good news, right?" Logan pointed out. "We heard about Joseph pretty fast. Hearing nothing about Parker means they're fixing her up."

Duncan sat down in a chair, his head in his hands. "I hope so," he said, trying not to despair. Veronica sat down on his right, her arm on his back. Logan sat down on his other side. Keith walked out to speak to Nick, who was about to reenter the room. The two men stepped out into the hall to discuss what Keith knew about the shooting.

No one said anything for five full minutes. Then Duncan turned to Logan. "Is this my fault? Do I deserve this?" he asked.

"What?" Logan asked in dismay. "Why would you say that?"

"I've taken lives. I never took up for Lilly with my parents and look what happened to her. She pushed the limits until she went too far. I never took up for Veronica, and we know what happened to her. I ruined Meg's life. She wouldn't been on that bus if I had been able to let Veronica go. No choice I ever make is right," Duncan said hollowly, a look of self-loathing on his face. "Now I could lose Parker. We just got back together. She's finally mine. She's the one, Logan. I've known since the beginning. What if she dies? What will I do? She was going to be a great mother to Lily. She loves her."

Logan didn't know what words could comfort his best friend weighed down by so much guilt and self-loathing. He wished desperately that Dick was there. Dick would say either the wrong thing and distract everyone or say the most perfect thing. Logan put his hand on Duncan's shoulder and met his gaze.

"You will do what you've always done. Be the best son, friend, and father you can be," Logan said simply. "You can't start thinking she's not going to make it. She needs all the positive energy she can get right now. She's tough. She'll get through this. You gotta believe it, dude, because I do."

Duncan held his gaze a moment as if trying to find something in Logan's eyes that would give him strength or faith. Then he nodded. "You're right. She's going to be fine," he said.

"Yes, she is," Veronica added, wiping her eyes. Duncan's words broke her heart. She loved Parker. They'd grown closer every semester. However, she knew that both Jazmin and Mac would be devastated even more if something took her from them. She said a silent prayer that God would pull through for Parker like He had for Logan.

Down the hall, the surgeons were doing their best to be God's instruments. They were working frantically to stop the bleeding.

"She's coding!" the nurse called out.

The surgeon looked up and watched the monitor flatline. He moved quickly to grab the bullet before it was too late.

*****To Be Continued*****