Disclaimer: I don't own anything. And I promise, once I'm done playing with them, I'll put them back.

Chapter 2/6

XxXxXxX

"Telling Keith"

"Lucy, I'm home," Keith crowed in a bad Desi Arnaz into the apartment, tossing the bag of take-out sandwiches onto the cluttered island. The room was dark. He puzzled at why Veronica hadn't turned on any lights. He knew she was there. He saw her car in the lot and her bag was on the floor.

And, instantly, he knew something was wrong. Veronica never left her bag on the floor. Or any type of clutter anywhere. She was meticulously neat to the point of compulsion. Without even shrugging out of his coat, he sprinted to her bedroom.

His daughter laid sprawled across her bed, staring fixedly at the ceiling fan. With a sigh of relief, he sagged against the door frame. She was present and accounted for. And unhurt. At least physically. "Honey?" he ventured when she didn't look at him.

Still, no movement. He approached her. He could see that she was breathing. He also saw the shiny tracks on her over-pink cheeks. And her red-rimmed eyes. And her blank blue stare.

"Veronica, honey?" he asked again, laying a hand on her arm and sinking down on the edge of the mattress. His weight sent a little ripple through the bed and carried his daughter to the crest of an artificial wave. He gritted his teeth when she didn't look at him. He shook her, "Answer me." Even to his own ears, he was starting to sound panicky.

And, finally, she did. Her voice was dull and flat. And so quiet, he barely heard her. "It's mom."

Keith let go a breath he hadn't even been aware he'd been holding. Lianne. What had she done now? Trying to edit the irritation from his voice for Veronica's sake, he asked, "What is it?

She swallowed hard and turned to face him. Her eyes welled up instantly and she let go one horrible choked sob. Keith bent to gather her to him, rocking her gently on the insanely rolling water mattress. He silently cursed his snap decision to buy the damned thing. "It's okay," he murmured into her hair.

Of course "it" wasn't okay. He didn't even know what "it" was, but he knew damn well that "it" was not okay. But, he had the most important person in the world in his arms and nothing could be more horrible than losing that. So, he could wait until she was ready.

After a few long minutes of miserable half-sobs and clutching arms, she relented and pulled back. Upon seeing her face, he was transported back to the moment she'd seen her best friend's lifeless body next to the Kane's pool. Keith knew that "it" was going to be life-changing.

And it was. "Mom is gone."

They stayed like that for a long time. It could have been minutes or hours as far as either was concerned. Numb. Silent. Still. Occasionally crying, often hugging, never speaking.

Veronica's phone broke the silence. It trilled into the empty kitchen, the ring bouncing off of the hardwood floor and metal appliances.

They pulled apart. "Why would they send a letter?"

Keith shrugged. As a former public servant and current private investigator, he knew the answer. A bureaucratic paper trail. Last known address. Relatives. Release the damn body and get it off our hands, we want to go to lunch, thanks very much. But, he couldn't reduce his estranged wife and the mother of his child to that. And, besides, Veronica knew that answer too.

"Not even a phone call. How do I... we... go and..." she trailed off and sniffed back her tears, physically steeling herself. Keith's heart broke. No one so young should have to know this much pain, nor should she ever have the experience necessary to ask questions about how to collect the remains. But, she was his doing.

"We'll drive to Gila Bend tomorrow. I know someone from the Maricopa Sheriff's Department. I'll arrange for everything."

"Tomorrow?" she asked. Keith fully expected her to balk. All-go, no-questions, let's-kick- ass- now-and-take-names-later Veronica Mars. She'd demand to leave this instant. But, instead, she just nodded wearily and reaffirmed, "Tomorrow."

Keith gathered her close once more, hugging her tightly to him. He bit back the tears that threatened. He felt her body wrack against his chest, but she made no sound.

Later, over a cold submarine sandwich that Keith couldn't even taste and the sound of the kitchen clock's second hand, it dawned on him.

Lianna Mars was really gone.

XxXxXxX