A/N – Sorry about the late update. Australia Day kind of got in the way. And of course, since I live in sunny Queensland it rained all day and we got flood warnings. Our Australia Day was spent listening to Triple J's Hottest 100, which we were quite surprised (in a good way) that Bernard Fanning beat out Foo Fighter, Gorillaz, White Stripes and Franz Ferdinand to number 1. Okay, if you don't come from Australia you probably won't know what I'm talking about, so just ignore everything you've just read. I'm just pretty much explaining why it's taken so long to post up part 6. Enjoy!
VI.
"Okay, you've got to start eating at more classier establishments," Keith said to Charlie as they once again hopped into the car. "At least ones that have surveillance video. There is absolutely no way of finding out who used your phone." Charlie took a bite out of the burger he had gotten while Keith had been asking questions.
"So what? Someone plays a prank on you. You get over it and go back home."
"I would just like to know why someone wanted me in Vegas."
"Have you ever thought that maybe they just wanted you out of Neptune?" Keith shrugged his shoulders.
"I've considered it, but there's too many other factors.
"Like what?" Charlie asked as he scooped up some ketchup that had escaped.
"Well, take the bounty for the credit card guy, for instance. How many of those idiots have we seen?" Charlie shrugged his shoulders.
"Thousands. There's nothing weird about that."
"Yeah, but he scammed his victims out of $8,000. His bounty is $15,000. I didn't care before because I was only thinking about how much the money would help Veronica and me. But now that this has happened, I think I want to take a closer look at this guy's past."
ooooooooooooooo
Logan and Veronica stood at opposite ends of the kitchen bench eating lasagna. Veronica was focused on eating her meal while Logan was focused on her. He began tapping his fork on the counter top and Veronica looked up.
"I didn't poison it, you know. I have dreamed of hurting you, but I thought you would give me enough credit to come up with something more inventive that run-of-the-mill arsenic." She waited for the trademark Logan comeback, but it never came.
"Don't you want to know?"
"Know what?" Veronica asked as she began to move her lasagna around with her fork. Logan pushed away his food and walked over to the couch.
"Don't play dumb with me, Veronica. That's one thing I know you're definitely not." He sat down and waited for her reply.
"Fine," she said as she walked over to him and sat down. "You've got a house with a lounge twice the size of my whole apartment and you're staying at the Camelot. I don't get it." Logan looked straight at her with disbelief on his face.
"Come on, you're smarter that that. The Camelot is a palace compared to a house full of memories of a mother that's dead and a father that should be." Veronica studied him and knew that the last thing Logan wanted was pity.
"But why the Camelot? You've got money, you can afford better."
"No one knows me there, and if they do they're too busy with their own sordid affairs to pay any attention to me." Veronica placed her hand over Logan's but he quickly moved his away. She tried to ignore the sting of rejection and continued.
"Have you...considered selling the house?" Logan smirked at Veronica's question.
"Yeah, right. Legally, I can't and even if I could, my sister has no intentions of moving out." He looked down at the ground and nervously scratched his neck. Veronica couldn't believe the change that had come over Logan. A month ago they wouldn't even be having a conversation. Now he just looked so exhausted and empty. She wanted to see a spark of the old Logan but didn't think he would be showing up any time soon.
The longer Veronica remained silent, the more restless Logan became. He got up off the couch and headed in the direction of the bathroom.
"I'm really tired. I'll just have a shower and hit the couch."
"Logan..." Veronica said as she tried to get him to talk more, but he continued on as if she had said nothing.
"Just leave me a pillow and I'll be fine. I'm sure it'll be a busy day tomorrow, and with you as my slave driver I need as much sleep as I can get. Good night." He took one last look at her and then closed the door behind him. Logan felt like he was falling apart, but he wasn't used to openly sharing his feelings. Especially with Veronica Mars.
'But she has got a way about her,' he thought as he remembered the feel of her hand on his. Logan waited to hear her close her bedroom door, then he walked over to the sink and stared at himself in the mirror.
ooooooooooooooo
A new day had finally fallen on Neptune. Madison Sinclair woke feeling a little groggy. She removed her night mask, got up and made her way to the bathroom to wash her face. As she faced the mirror, a strangled cry escaped her throat. Madison shakily raised her hand to her roughly chopped off hair. Tears streamed down her face.
ooooooooooooooo
