Logan and I kept up our affair for the next couple of weeks. After school, I'd sneak over and we'd have sex. Sometimes we'd kiss and fondle each other in the closets at school -- or in the "closed" women's bathroom that everyone in school knew was "my office," and went in only when they knew I wasn't there.

Lilly'd been right about one thing; Logan satisfied my physical lusts a lot better than Duncan ever had.

Why did I ever go out with Duncan, you may be wondering, if he was so boring and bad in bed? It wasn't the money or the gifts; I could have gotten them from a lot of different '09er boys. No, it was the status once again. Being friends with Lilly got me into the special '09er glee club; dating Duncan Kane helped keep me there. Logan understood why publicly I was still dating Duncan, but he knew that it was he that I "really loved."

Love and the belief in it makes it so easy to manipulate people. Wallace, Mac, Duncan, Logan and Lilly all thought I loved them in various ways, and I got a lot out of them because of it.

It was on one of these visits to his house that I saw Lilly slip in to see Aaron. I got as close as I dared to take those photos, then got out before anyone else knew I was there. I never saw Lynn Echolls on these visits, even when her car was there. My guess is, she was busily drinking herself to death to take the edge off being a lousy mother and apparently so pathetic in bed that Aaron was willing to sleep with a 16-year old girl. Not like I cared except insofar as it affected me.

And it really didn't.

Anyway, it was then that Logan and I made our mistake. One time, he convinced me to go out to the poolhouse, because his father was due home any second and he didn't want to be caught.

Honestly, Aaron probably wouldn't have cared; Lilly would have, but at this point Aaron could hardly have accused his own son of hypocrisy.

It was the next day she came stalking up to me at the car wash, snarling that she "knew a secret. A good one." After the car wash was over, she told me to follow her back to her place.

"Why can't we take your car?"

"I don't want you in it right now," she said.

So I followed her back to the Kane estate and we went up into the backyard, where she held up a videotape.

"God, Lilly, if all you wanted to do was watch a couple of chick flicks, you should have said something."

"Not that kind of movie," she said. "This one features two people having sex."

"Hmmm. Porn, I wouldn't have thought you'd be into that kind of thing."

She snapped out, "It's you and Logan. How could you?"

"It was easy," I said. "First Logan pulled down his pants and took off his shirt. Then I took off my blouse -- he took off my bra, of course, or should I say he ripped it off --"

She slapped me.

"You know what I mean, Veronica Mars," she said. "How could you sleep with Logan?"

"Using the methods you taught me," I said. "And you were right. He is spectacular. Much better than your brother."

She laughed humorlessly. "God, Veronica. I thought you were my friend. I thought you loved Duncan."

In for a penny, in for a pound, as they say. "Wrong on both counts. Obviously."

She looked at me. "When did you become this -- this bitch?"

I shrugged. "About nine months before I was born." She looked confused. Of course she did. Lilly had charm, but she really wasn't all that bright. "It's genetics, moron. I was born this way." Then I said, "So, I'm guessing Aaron had the poolhouse wired?"

"Huh?"

"Don't act dumb, Lilly. You're sleeping with Aaron. I saw the two of you sneak in there the other day and got close enough to be sure you weren't planning Logan's big birthday surprise. I even have pictures. So. Did he have hidden cameras?"

"Yeah," Lilly said. "I found out about it yesterday. Imagine my surprise when the first tape I pop in had you doing it with my boyfriend."

"I can't imagine Aaron was too fond of you finding out about it," I said.

"He doesn't know. I hid this one in my purse. Far as he knows I never even saw it. Not like I'm going to sleep with him again, but he and I both knew it wasn't a long-term thing anyway." She looked at me. "You'll be done at that school when this gets out --"

"When what gets out? That finally your boyfriend had the guts to step out on you the way you've been doing to him for the last year or so? When it wasn't Aaron, it was Weevil. When it wasn't Weevil, it was the pool boy. I mean, Lilly, as far as I can tell the only man around here you haven't had sex with is my father." I narrowed my eyes. "So go ahead. We'll see who's left standing."

She held the tape and said, "You might be able to match me at Neptune High, but I can think of two other people who might be interested to know what's going on. I'll send the tape to your father and mention the photos to Aaron. Between the two of them, you won't last a week."

"Give me the tape, Lilly."

She laughed. "No."

I had to have it. I reached for it and she held it above her head.

Then I pushed her. "Give me that goddamn tape."

She shook her head. "My God. You're crazy." She reached for her cell phone and I knocked it out of her hand; it landed in the swimming pool.

She turned and started to run.

I shoved her before she could take a step. She fell down, dropping the tape as she did so.

Then Lilly rolled over. "Dammit, Veronica, you broke my nose. You are in so much trouble --"

I couldn't let her get me in trouble. Not after I'd worked so hard. Before she could get up, I jumped on top of her and slammed her head into the concrete surrounding the pool. Once, twice, and --

I heard the bones crack and saw the blood. Then I got off of her and picked up the tape.

Then I thought. Had I touched anything besides her?

I'd hit the cell phone, but that was floating in the pool. Otherwise, I didn't think so. She'd opened the front door, she'd opened the back door.

I grabbed the tape, jumped in my car, and went home. Dad picked me up that night after he got home from the Sheriff's office because we were going to go out for dinner, and you know what happened next.

So you see, really, how she gave me no choice. I'd told her to give me the tape and she'd said no. And , if you think about it, it was really a kind of self-defense anyway. After all, she'd threatened me first.

Really, what else could I have done?