Chapter 43: He Strikes
*****Two Days Later*****
Sebastian shared his distrust of Dan with Nick only. Nick agreed to keep tabs on the man. Sebastian had not followed up on his suspicions of David, and his daughter had paid the price. He was determined to not make the same mistake again. So far, the man hadn't been observed doing anything suspicious, but Sebastian wasn't about to ignore his instinct a second time.
His daughter was making dinner at the house she was almost murdered in. Sebastian and his bodyguard walked up the steps. One of the guards hired for the girls was on the porch. "Are one of you inside?" he asked.
"Yes, sir," the guard replied.
"I know it's probably an overkill, but my daughter was almost murdered less than a year ago in this same house," Sebastian told them. "One of you can take the backdoor. Anytime you need to take a break, I want both exits watched. My son and his partner are inside with the women. We will keep them safe."
"Yes, sir," the guard said. His bodyguard went around the back while he rang the doorbell.
Daisy opened the door. Her saucy grin greeted him. This girl would keep his son in knots for many years. Sebastian smiled warmly. "How are you, my dear?" he asked as he stepped inside.
"Good. Are you settled into the apartment?" she asked.
"Yes. It's very small, though," Sebastian said.
"It's plenty of room for one person, Dad," Jason said, grinning as he walked up and greeted his dad.
"You're young. You don't need much room," Sebastian said.
"Where's Nick? I thought he was coming with you?" Jason asked.
"He's working," Sebastian said, unwilling to explain.
Eli came out of the kitchen carrying some dishes of food. "Jazmin says that you can sit at the dining table. She's pulling the lasagna out of the oven now," he said.
"Did she use her grandmother's recipe? No one cooks like my mother-in-law," Sebastian announced.
"Of course, Dad," Jason said. "She knows how much we love it."
"I never could figure out how your mother couldn't cook a dish to save her life," Sebastian remarked with a fond smile.
"She never cared enough to try," Jazmin said as she sat down the pan of lasagna onto the dining room table.
"Maybe she didn't think she could compare to her mom and didn't want to fail," Jason pointed out.
"Do you cook?" Sebastian asked Daisy.
"Is that a requirement for the woman Jason' marries someday?" she asked with a coy smile.
Jason was drinking his wine when she asked that and choked. "What? I've never said that!" he choked out.
Daisy giggled. "You know I don't believe in marriage, right?" she said, looking at Sebastian to see how he'd react.
"What?" Sebastian demanded.
"Quit teasing him," Jason admonished.
Daisy laughed again. Sebastian shook his head. "You are a true minx," he observed.
"Yes, sir, I can cook if the mood strikes me. I like to bake sometimes," she answered.
"Eli brought his grandma's favorite cake. You'll love it, Daddy," Jazmin told him.
"You should've invited your grandmother. I would like to meet her and your brothers," Sebastian said.
"You can come to dinner after Sunday mass. My grandmother loves feeding people," Eli said.
Jazmin was just glad to have a nice dinner with no talk of death or murder. She liked having her dad around, but she couldn't forget why he was in town. Surely, the killer had to be caught very soon.
******Neptune High School******
Lauren was at lunch sitting next to Scott with Brad and Ryan and Kristen across from her. Kristen was talking all about the Spring Fling that was happening next weekend. After Veronica's graduating class's successful prom alternative that ended in a suicide by Dick's brother Cassidy, the school had decided a Spring Fling instead of a junior and senior prom would eliminate the need for a prom alternative. This would allow the teachers and parents to participate and supervise. Since all grades were invited, sophomores could go to the very formal dance.
"We should go in together and rent a limo," Kristen was saying. "Who are you taking, Brad?"
Brad shrugged, not really interested in going to a dance with anyone that wasn't Lauren. "I've not thought about it. Both Nicole and Amanda have suggested I take them, but I'd rather go stag," he said, rolling his eyes.
"Wait, the dance is this weekend? I thought it was next," Scott said anxiously.
"We've been distracted," Lauren excused. "Not a big deal. Do you have other plans this weekend?"
"My sister's getting married in San Francisco this weekend," Scott said regretfully.
"So you can't go to the dance?" she asked.
"I'm sorry," Scott said. They'd been out a few times, and he really liked her. He knew how important dances were to girls.
"You can go stag and ride in our limo," Ryan said to Lauren. She shrugged, not really upset or disappointed. It was hard to work up real enthusiasm for anything. Her primary thought was her sister would never get to dance again.
They never noticed the PCHer that was sitting in the table next to them. He grinned. It hadn't escaped anyone's notice how intrigued their leader was with the cancer chica. Maybe it was time for the PCHers to crash a school dance.
By the end of the day, Lauren had five guys ask her to the dance. In bemusement, she said no to all of them. A part of her thought the invitations were given out of sympathy or pity. She and Scott weren't quite an official couple, but she wasn't really interested in going to the dance with anyone but him. She'd given up her dreams of Brad in the past few weeks. She was dating another guy, and he seemed okay with that. Having him as a close friend was probably all she would ever get. Since he'd shown himself to be a terrific friend, that was okay.
Lauren was walking out of class with Brad when Jesus came up to her. "Hola," he said, smiling. "How are you today?"
"I'm fine," she said.
Brad said nothing but stepped a bit away to give them the appearance of privacy.
"So I hear you're in need of a date for the Spring Fling," Jesus said with a grin.
"I don't need a date. I can go on my own," Lauren said.
"How about you let me take you? We'll have fun," Jesus said.
"A PCHer would go to a school dance?" Lauren asked in surprise.
"For you, I would. You deserve to have a good time," Jesus said sincerely.
Lauren gave him a considering look while Brad listened in disbelief. She was considering taking the gang banger up on his offer. No way in hell!
Brad stepped forward. "Well, you're too late. I'm taking Lauren to the dance, right Lauren?" he said, giving her a look.
"Really?" Jesus asked in disbelief.
Lauren was looking at Brad in surprise, but she nodded. "We're sharing a limo with Ryan and Kristen," she said, which was true.
Jesus gave her a searching look before saying, "Save me a dance." Then he walked away.
Lauren turned to Brad. "What was that? You don't want to go to the dance with me. Why did you do that?" she asked him.
"Of course, I'd be happy to go to the dance with you!" Brad insisted. "Besides, did you really want to go to the dance with him? What would Scott think?"
"Do you really care about what Scott thinks?" Lauren asked bluntly.
"I just want you to be happy, Lauren," Brad said quietly. The bell rang. They were late to their next class. He reached for her hand. "It'd be my pleasure to take you to the dance." He held her gaze a moment before heading to class.
Lauren's heart pounded. What did he mean? Was he just being a friend or was he ready for more?
*****The Beach House*****
Logan and Veronica just finished having dinner with Mac and Dick. Dick usually ate with them once a week. Most of the time Mac was with him. Sometimes, though, he came by himself. It was good that married life hadn't changed the couple too much. Dick didn't act much differently, though. He did knock and wait for them to open the door, however. Mac had managed to get him to do that since the wedding. It was a small concession to their status change.
"Have you heard from Trina and little dude?" Dick asked as they moved to the living room.
"Yes, she and Mary are staying at the hotel. After her brakes being cut, I'd rather she not move into her new home until we catch this guy. Trina is getting movers to furnish their place without their involvement. She's using pictures of the room. I guess she found a pretty awesome assistant," Logan shared.
"You should Skype with her. Richie's old enough to focus and see you on the computer," Veronica said. "It's not the same, but it's better than waiting months to see him."
"We want to go with you when classes are out to New York," Mac said.
"That'd be great," Veronica said. "We can take in a show while we're there. Last time I went, Dad left me by myself for three days. It's more fun with company."
"So how's Lauren?" Logan asked Mac.
"As well as can be expected," Mac said. "She's keeping busy with school. Yesterday, I went with her and the moms dress shopping for the Spring Fling Saturday. Both moms were in tears before the shopping trip was over. Madison loved shopping, and it was hard not to think about her. Lauren was looking a bit stricken before the night was over, but she and I talked. I reminded her that Madison would've loved her going to a dance with Brad."
"She's going with Brad?" Logan asked in surprise. "I thought she was dating that other guy."
"My boy finally made his move," Dick said proudly.
"Not exactly. It seems that the current leader of the PCHers has shown an interest in Lauren. When word got around that Scott had a wedding out of town to go to, the guy Jesus asked her," Mac shared.
"So Lauren's got her very own Weevil?" Logan asked with a smirk.
Veronica rolled her eyes. "I never had Weevil. We were just friendly in high school," Veronica clarified.
"You were always saving his bacon," Logan pointed out.
"I was always fighting for justice," Veronica countered.
"I don't think Jesus is Weevil, but he has shown some chivalry or rather manners," Mac said. "He was picking on Ryan after my attack. Cracking jokes. Lauren went off on him and shamed him into an apology."
"A PCHer publicly apologized? He must be in love!" Logan said with a grin.
"So how did Brad end up her date? Did Jesus ask her?" Veronica asked.
"Yes, but Brad was there and insisted he was taking her when they both were basically going to go stag," Mac said.
"My boy obviously was too jealous to let that one go," Dick said with a grin.
"He can handle her with Scott but not this Jesus?" Logan asked knowingly.
"It seems so," Mac said.
"So how about we volunteer to chaperon this dance? I want to see this drama unfold," Dick said eagerly. "'Cause you know there's going to be drama."
"I think we lived through enough high school drama," Mac replied, patting his leg. "Lauren would not appreciate my presence at the dance. There's been too much publicity about my attack. It'd put a damper on things."
Dick looked disappointed but nodded.
"You never went sober to any of those dances anyway. I think you'll survive hearing the scoop later," Mac pointed out. His friends laughed in agreement.
Veronica's phone rang. "Hello?"
"Veronica. This is Dan Lamb. I've been reading journals my brother kept, and I think I've found some things that will help lead us to the killer," Dan said.
"Really?" Veronica asked excitedly. Finally, a break in the case!
"I just got off the phone with your dad. He's going to meet me at a warehouse down by the loading docks. I'll text you the address. I'm heading there now," Dan said.
"Great! I'll see you soon," Veronica replied. She hung up and called her dad.
"Dad, are you on the way to the warehouse? Dan just called me," Veronica said.
"Yes, I'm on my way. Sacks is with me," Keith said.
"I'll be there, too," Veronica said, standing up as her husband and friends listened.
"No, I don't want you directly involved, Veronica. You're pregnant," Keith reminded her.
"I'm pregnant, not dead," Veronica said in annoyance.
"I'll fill you in as soon as I finish meeting with Dan," Keith said.
Veronica mumbled an annoyed, "Fine," before hanging up.
"What's going on?" Logan asked.
Veronica looked down at her phone. Dan had sent the address. "Dan has uncovered something that's going to open up the case. Don kept journals of his cases. I guess I'm in some of them. He told Dad that he'd keep combing through them. He's got a location on a place that could help lead to the killer," Veronica said.
"That's great!" Mac said. Dick agreed. They were all ready for this to be over.
"Your dad doesn't want you to go, I take it?" Logan asked.
"Yes," Veronica said glumly.
"Why don't Logan and I go?" Dick suggested. "We'll get back to you right away with the info."
Veronica brightened. "That's a great idea! I know Dick won't try to keep things from me for my own good, right Dick?" she asked, giving Logan a pointed look.
"Why would I do that?" Dick asked confused. He got up.
Veronica and Mac both gave him a fond smile. Logan bent down to kiss Veronica. "Be back soon," he said.
"Call me as soon as you find something out!" Veronica said.
"I will. I promise," Logan said as he led Dick out the door.
*****The Warehouse*****
Dan Lamb had been planning this moment over a year. Things weren't perfect, but some people were wanting to drag this theatre out even longer. It was time to act. Killing Keith was his main goal anyway. Making Veronica suffer was just icing on the cake. He hadn't decided if he'd kill her and make Keith watch or the other way around. He knew she was pregnant, and he didn't want the image of her pregnancy to mar his perfect moment. Right now, her baby could be legally aborted, so it wasn't really a life. He sent out his texts and turned his phone off when it got several beeps indicating replies. He knew what they'd say anyway.
He stood hidden inside the warehouse with a view of anyone that would approach. A police car was coming. He grinned in anticipation, his gun ready. Keith got out of the car. Naturally, the idiot wasn't alone. Sacks was with him. No dead body could be left outside the warehouse, so Dan waited until they were inside.
"Dan?" Keith called out. "Are you here?"
"Yes," Dan said, stepping out of the shadow and shooting Sacks in the head, killing him instantly.
Keith automatically reached for his gun.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Dan said with a grin.
"It's you? It's always been you," Keith said in dawning awareness.
"And you finally get it!" Dan said laughing. "God knows you never would've figured it out. I mean, God, Keith, you had me helping you find the killer! Talk about high entertainment!"
Dan walked closer and held out his hand for Keith's gun. Glowering, Keith gave it to him. Dan put it in his waist and grabbed Keith's arm, keeping the gun pointed to him. Then he led him to a beam and handcuffed him to it. "Now, we'll sit back and wait for your daughter," he said.
"Is that what this is about? Veronica?" Keith asked, stalling for time. He thanked God that he'd told her not to come.
"My brother recorded every humiliation your daughter ever gave him. Managing to humiliate him in front of the FBI and helping Duncan Kane escape with the Manning baby was the final insult," Dan said. "My brother deserved so much better! Your daughter is a criminal that got away with breaking the law over and over," Dan said.
"So you decided to kill a bunch of innocent girls and a guy that had nothing to do with Veronica?" Keith asked.
"Well, Joseph was not planned. He basically killed himself by jumping in front of the bullet meant for Parker. Parker is the woman Duncan Kane loves, so she had to die. I never considered watching his girlfriend suffer would be such torment, but it's turned out great, don't you think? I'm considering letting her live. What do you think?" Dan asked with a wink.
"When did you become insane?" Keith asked incredulously. How did he not see this in the man? He always considered himself a great judge of character.
"I'm completely sane. Only a sane man could plot and plan so well," Dan said smugly. "But you, Sheriff, deserve the best or worse—depending on your perspective."
"Why? I never harmed Don. In fact, I was his mentor and hired him as my deputy years ago," Keith pointed out.
"Yes, and you're the one who let him die!" Dan said, losing his air of joviality. "What kind of back up were you? He's dead because of you. Now it's your time to suffer. I've thought of a great way to make you pay." Dan walked over to the corner and pulled a gas can out of the shadows. He whistled while he poured it around the building. Then he poured a circle around Keith.
"Do you think I wanted your brother to die? I was his friend, his colleague. I would've saved him if I could've!" Keith exclaimed.
Dan put the gas can against the wall. "News flash: you suck at your job," Dan said coldly. Then he brightened. "Now in case you're wondering, I didn't douse you with gasoline because I want you to watch the fire get closer and closer. Remember when you jumped through the flames to save your precious daughter from Echolls? Let's see if your daughter returns the favor!"
Keith felt sick. Dan was truly a monster. He had to find a way to warn Veronica. A car engine was heard. Surely, she hadn't ignored him? The knowledge that his daughter rarely listened filled him with terror and dread. He couldn't lose her. Anything but that!
Dan grinned eagerly and held up his gun. "Show time!" he exclaimed. The two men watched the door as footsteps approached. Keith sagged with relief when he realized the footsteps were too heavy to be his daughter's. However, when Logan and Dick appeared, fear filled him anew.
Logan noticed the gun right away, and his eyes went to Keith who shouted, "Run!"
Dick looked confused and the panicked as Dan stepped forward with the gun aimed. "Run and get a bullet in your back!" he warned.
"What's going on?" Logan asked, not running. Dick remained next to him unable to believe that Keith was tied up and the man who saved Mac was now pointing a gun at them. His eyes took in the sight of a dead deputy nearby. His heartbeat sped up in fear. This was very bad.
"He's the killer," Keith said sourly.
"What?" Dick asked in disbelief.
"Killing two entitled 09ers who got away with a whole lot of shit will only add to my pleasure," Dan said in satisfaction. "Both are related to murderers. Their death won't be a real tragedy. Unlike my brother's!"
"You killed Maddie? Why? What did she do to you?" Dick asked, trying to warp his mind around the scene he'd walked into. He'd never had a gun pointed at him. It seemed like a dream.
"She seduced and then spurned my brother. The bitch had it coming," Dan said with a smirk. "Adding to the pain and chaos of the people in Keith and Veronica's life only made it all the better."
"You're sick!" Dick said.
"Yeah, well, you're dead," Dan said, firing his gun and shooting Dick in the stomach.
Logan looked on horrified as Dick fell to the ground.
"Your turn," Dan said, pointing the gun at Logan.
*****To Be Continued*****
Now Dan being this bad may seem farfetched, but I think making Gia Goodman a killer like the movie did was more so. Dan Lamb struck me as being much more corrupt than Don ever was in the movie. Since Sacks died in the movie, I figured he was a logical next victim.