Author's Note: Veronica says something in this fic that may be considered a touch on the controversial side. Be warned.

Disclaimer: Rob Thomas created Veronica Mars and I have twisted her almost beyond recognition.

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Well, so the best way to do this was probably to make a list of the advantages and disadvantages.

The advantages of framing Duncan: Most of the public evidence already points towards him; his father tried to cover up his family's involvement in the case by paying off someone else to take the fall; and everyone already thought he was guilty.

Disadvantages: That was pretty much all the evidence we were going to get, unless I wanted to try to forge some; his family was still rich and would hire the best attorneys on the west coast to protect him; and Clarence Weidman would move heaven and earth to stop it.

Clarence Weidman. If anyone in Neptune actually worried me, it was him. Oh, sure, Aaron Echolls was a physical brute, but he wasn't very smart. Clarence Weidman, on the other hand, would do anything for his employers.

Advantages of framing Weevil: No rich lawyers to get in the way, and while Cliff McCormack was a lot better than his income level and lifestyle would make you think, he was no Wolfram & Hart; he'd been dating Lilly and was, as a widely known petty criminal and gang member, certainly no stranger to violence; and, like with Duncan, his reputation preceded him.

Disadvantages: His motives weren't clear (he and Lilly had been broken up when it had happened, and it's a long enough trail from ex to obsessive ex that I wasn't sure a case could be made for it; his reputation was as a fairly petty criminal, not a murderer; and I actually kind of liked him. He was smart, showed me respect without trying to kiss up to me, and had been tremendously useful when I'd either needed petty crimes done or needed to know who'd done them.

Advantages of framing Aaron Echolls: He apparently would sleep with anything that moved; he was fanatically devoted to his public image; and he was certainly prone to violence. I'm sure Logan would testify to the beatings, if I asked him nicely enough. And there were tapes of him, somewhere

Disadvantages: Only one, really, but it was a doozy: Not only would Aaron Echolls able to afford rich lawyers, but he was a major movie star. I don't know the last time a celebrity took the hit for a crime worse than a DUI or traffic violation. Rich got you off, famous got you off. Aaron Echolls was both. It'd probably be easier to prosecute the President.

There were two places I needed to get into to begin my "search": the Echolls poolhouse and the Kane residence. If Lilly had any evidence of her relationship with Aaron Echolls, I know exactly where she would have hidden it: in the vent in her room.

That meant I had to talk my way into both the Echolls' poolhouse and Lilly's bedroom. Hell, I knew the Kanes hadn't touched the place since Lilly'd died other than to keep it clean. It was set up as a shrine to their precious, darling Lilly. A laugh, of course, since Duncan had always been the family favorite.

Incidentally, the Kanes were endowing a scholarship in her name, which would be awarded to the valedictorian of each Neptune High senior class. This was the funniest thing I'd heard in a long time. Setting up an award for academic achievement and naming it after Lilly Kane was like setting up an award for chastity and naming it for Paris Hilton.

This was widely viewed as a publicity move, but the Kanes still had enough influence and money in Neptune, even with Jakey currently languishing in prison, that the school didn't dare refuse it.

This was good for me. I could use the money. I mean, Hearst was a nice enough school, don't get me wrong, but I was planning to apply to Stanford and Harvard and places like that, where my academic achievements, good as they were, probably wouldn't be enough to earn me free tuition, much less the complete ride that the Kanes were planning on giving out.

Also, the irony would be overwhelming.

Anyway, getting inside the Kane residence would be harder. Not that Duncan would be the problem. He was still obviously in love with me, and since I was one of the few people who weren't treating him as though he were something vomited up by their cat I could waltz in anytime I wanted to.

No, the problem was Celeste.

Celeste Kane had always hated me. I didn't know why until I found our about Jakey and Mom's affair way back when. Obviously she'd thought I could have been Duncan's sister, and oh my God, what would people think if they found out . . . (not, of course, that I would have recoiled in horror if I had been. I realize I would have had to stop dating Duncan, because of society's rules, but you do know that the only real reason for willing partners not to commit incest is genetics, right? I mean, once you've taken care of the possibility of you and your lover making little mutant babies, as far as I'm concerned, you can go to town. Not that I'm going to be making that my campaign slogan or anything.)

I'd put an end to that a long time ago, by anonymously mailing her a copy of the test results. Not that I was trying to make her feel better, just make sure she didn't get in between me and Duncan.

Even with that, she didn't like me much. I suspect the focus of her hatred had shifted from "possible incest" through "not good enough for my son" to "bitch who dumped my son just when he needed him, and anyway she's the daughter of the man who put my husband in jail."

Alright, the last one isn't catchy. But you try to make it shorter.

So I had to make sure Celeste wasn't there, and still try to figure out a way to sneak into Lilly's room and not let Duncan know what I was up to. I suppose I could always simply break and enter, but that would be really hard to explain away if I got caught.

Anyway, that problem was for later. Since it would be easier for me to get into the Echolls' poolhouse, that's what I'd do first.

And what was I going to do there?

Find a particular videotape, of course. And plant that videotape in Lilly's vent, if I had to.

I took out my cell phone and made a call. "Logan. Is this a good time to come over . . .?"