"I still can't believe you got back together with Mr Tall, Dark and Wonderful" Weevil said in disgust as Veronica parked up on the street beside St Mary's Chapel.

"Cor ad cor loquitur" she replied absently.

Heart speaks to heart.

"We are probably going to hell for this" he sighed as she picked up the camera and receiver she was planning on putting into the confessional booth.

"God's are fragile things… they can be killed by science or common sense. I choose the latter" she muttered as she pulled on her jacket. "You ready for this?"

"They tried to bury us, but they didn't know we were seeds… those Fitzpatrick's killed three of my boys… and Thumper helped them… I have to know why" Weevil confirmed.

"Drugs… it's the only explanation" she told him and she watched as he turned that information around in his mind. She knew that Weevil had a personal hatred of drugs after the death of his mother to an overdose when he was only 12. He'd done his best to disrupt the supply in Neptune High school by encouraging his gang to boost cars and petty theft instead.

"But without proof they won't listen. He's got so many of those Latino Blood guys in the group since the summer… after the Community Pool burned down, we made a few friendships with some guys who worked with my Uncle. Extra muscle mostly, especially after those 09er assholes started having more illegal raves down in our neighbourhood. What I didn't know… is that they liked to carry" he told her simply.

"Carry?" Veronica questioned, tucking a few loose strands of her hair behind her ear.

"Guns, Knives… I mean, I don't like that kind of shit… Gun's change the rules… you have to be pretty desperate to invite that kind of chaos…" he reasoned, his brown eyes betraying the ghost of a memory. His cousin Charlo's father being gunned down outside his house when he was only 6 years old. It was a line he'd always promised himself he would try never to cross. He needed to get the proof quickly, because the thought of having to spend the next few days, weeks, however long this took, worry about the dagger at his throat was something that he couldn't tolerate.

Patience wasn't one of his virtues. Either the law would handle Thumper… or he would…

Neptune had changed after the 09ers and PCHers had declared war on one another. The polarization had been cemented after Logan had won his hearing during the summer before Dr Tom Griffiths came forward to provide a false alibi. Tensions had run high, the new metal detectors in the school had been a sure sign of that. Neither side willing to back down, things were escalating.

Hell is empty and all the devils are here…

"Okay… so proof it is" she agreed as she looked at the church.

"You know, you are so good at all this private investigating I'm surprised you aren't Latina" he said, a small smile curling up one edge of his mouth, he looked at the marks around her neck and felt a twinge of guilt. He hadn't meant to hurt her. She could act tough but she built was fragile, soft… like Lilly.

Don't mistake a biker's kindness for weakness… he could choke you with the same hand he'd fed you with…

"You trying to ask me to be your Ride or Die bitch?" she joked.

"No you ain't got the attitude… but I do think you should head in first… for appearances. You blonds tend to get noticed" he pointed out.

"You got my 6?" she swallowed as she picked up her small bag.

"Don't I always?" he nodded.

Okay… here we go…

Thankfully the confessional had been empty, and the cameras were placed without much hassle, she tucked the receiver under one of the benches at the back. Hopefully Thumper would be feeling the need to be purged of his sins soon, for Logan's sake. Veronica was convinced that it was Thumper who had killed Havier… no one else would have been able to get as close to him unless it was someone he trusted. She was exhausted, she missed Logan. She was worried. She had never been particularly religious, but standing in front of those glass windows, she found herself praying for help.

"Hello?" Keith Mars answered.

"Dad?" she said as she lit the candle, her phone pressed to her ear.

"Honey" he said in a relieved tone.

"Did you find out anything?" she asked.

"Not much… the paperwork was a dead end. The Deputy's didn't log their dispatch records for when they picked up Dick… but the good news is that the bullets used to kill the Alonso boy didn't match the one's for the pistol found in Logan's car" he told her.

"Finally some good news…" she sighed.

"Apparently Sheriff Lamb is wanting you to come in for questioning… Cliff's at the New Saturn café, if you get picked up give him a call and he will be right there" her dad warned.

"I tried to make a statement but they wouldn't listen" Veronica replied, leaving the church.

Don't panic Mars… anything can be achieved with a good cup of coffee and cute outfit…

"Yea well I don't know what game they are playing sweetheart, but I think we are going to have to tread careful on this one" the former sheriff told her.

"I know… did you find anything else out?" Veronica asked as her hand rested on the car door.

"No, I'm going to go and see what I can find out at Pricilla Bank's house before the Sheriff's department catches up and realises she isn't who she said she is" her dad replied, he sounded just as tired as she was.

"I'm surprised they haven't run her prints through AFIS yet" she replied as she got in beside Weevil.

"There was gang shooting over on 23rd and Oakland. My contact Greg Burns over in the morgue has tried to delay it as long as he can… but I can't wait much longer. It would be quicker, if I did this part alone" he stated firmly. From his tone, Veronica knew that any disobedience on this part would not be tolerated, her father was angry with her for keeping him in the dark about the full scope of the investigation. "I think Lamb is trying to get a warrant to search the Echolls estate… we can't keep investigating here"

Veronica cursed. "I'm with Weevil… I was going to bring him back to Logan's and show him the files…"

And to call Dick, Cassidy and Duncan to try and fit all these pieces together…

"No… and you can't take them home either. Mac and Wallace have taken everything to the Neptune Science department public library…" he advised her.

The Science Department was a public branch of the Environmental Agency responsible for the marine life in the coastal waters around Neptune, it also hosted a public library open to students and professionals 24 hours a day. The perfect place for them to hide their files from the Sheriff's department.

"Okay… I'll meet them there… and dad? Be careful" she pleaded.

Pity unlike the Echolls estate it doesn't have a fully stocked wine cellar… she could use a drink right about now…

"You too, I love you Honey" he said simply.

"I love you too dad" she breathed before disconnecting the call and casting a glance at Weevil.

"It's okay.. you don't have to love me" he mused as he clicked on his seat belt.

"Bite your tongue!" she smirked as she put on her own.

"My dad's breaking into the Fitzpatricks house on his own" she sighed, her voice thick with worry.

"Want me to go with him?" Weevil offered but she shook her head.

"You have priors" she replied. Besides, she needed him on the outside, free to get the PCHers off Logan's back or her little Big Brother set up in the confessional booth was for nothing.

"I'm not a thief… I'm just very good at acquiring things that aren't mine" he chided as Veronica started the car.

"By the way… Lamb is looking for me" she cautioned.

"I'm with you V, for better or worse" he told her sincerely.

"Not the kind of thing you should be saying this close to the inside of a church" she advised sarcastically.

"I knew I always would be the day I met you" he admitted, as Lilly's best friend. Weevil would always have her back.

"It'll probably be worse" she noted quietly.

"I like to think of myself as an outcome engineer" he grinned.