"Seriously? Is this some kind of punch line that I just don't get?" Weevil commented as he stood in front of the Science Department public library building, watching as Veronica hid her car under the blue tarp.
"What are you talking about?" Veronica asked, distracted as she kept an eye out for any of the ocean view private security patrol cars that usually circulated around the area. They worked in conjunction with the Sheriff's department, and were probably on the lookout for LeBaron as well.
"We are meeting your little Scooby Gang at the library? Should I start calling you Ms Summers?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.
"If there was an apocalypse I am the last person you should be beeping" she sighed, tucking her blond hair under her black cap.
"Should we not be off helping Giles with his B&E?" Weevil complained, he was less than thrilled to heading towards a place with this many books that didn't benefit him getting to walk across that stage at graduation.
"My Dad, is going to be fine… besides… I need you to look at these files and see if there's a connection between the PCHers and the Fitzpatrick's I might have missed" She explained as they went into the large building and headed towards the stairs. The inside was large and airy, like you might expect to see in a museum, and most of the walls were decorated with Student Showcase art from the local schools and colleges.
"We already know the connection… Thumper" he sighed.
"I don't think it's as simple as that… I mean… why would Aaron have Kendall keep Logan off the bus… just to let the Fitzpatrick's frame him?" she pondered as she walked through the stacks and spotted Mac and Wallace sitting in a study booth in the corner. "Why kill Havier?"
"I think Thumper killed Havier to keep him quiet… he probably lured him in by saying that he wanted to steal Echolls car" Weevil reasoned. "I'm-not-exactly-a-card-carrying member of the Nancy Drew society but I figure that part was obvious."
"We need proof that the Fitzpatrick's are in bed with Aaron Echolls…" Wallace said as they both sat down at the table.
"I haven't been able to find any concrete connections… prison records show that occasionally they shared a cell mate in common, who would have a job rotation around the same prison. This guy… Henry King, he's shared a cell for two years with Tyrone Fitzpatrick and he's doing the same inmate Psychology course as Aaron" Mac said as she pulled up the mug shot.
"So there's no direct contact?" Veronica sighed.
"Not obvious ones… but I'm sure theres others"
"There's definitely others… we just don't know who all the players are… I might have to start pulling on a few threads in this web on my end. See what shakes loose" Weevil told them.
"Your end?" Wallace asked.
"Few of the older PCHers… I could maybe pay Chardo a visit… see how my cousin is coping… see if he knows anything" Weevil explained, referring to his cousin who was currently doing time out in San Quintin for credit card theft and identity fraud. The two hadn't exactly parted ways on the best of terms, and the Echolls were the reason that Chardo had been arrested in the first place after it was discovered that he had been using the stolen cards to romance Caitlin Ford, Logan's girlfriend at the time.
"Would he help?" Veronica asked quietly.
"He doesn't give a damn about that tarado Logan… but he loved Felix. The three of us came up together" Weevil told her. "He'd get me the information that I need… Hijo de puta owes me… he hates the Blood as much as I do, and there's no way he's going to let those Pinche Fitzpatrick's get any more power after the shit they pulled with Gustavio."
"It's a lead… it's more than we had" Mac commented.
"Your dad said that the Sheriff was looking for you" Wallace said in a quiet voice as a tall girl in a pink sweater came to collect some books from the stack beside them.
"I know… they called into Java the Hut. Marian called me…" Veronica replied in a hushed tone, referring to her manager at the coffee shop where she worked.
"You still taking time off?" Wallace asked. Ever since she'd gotten back together with Logan, she had traded away her shifts this week away to Gracey Farnham and Matt Gilbert, her colleagues.
"Well.. I can't exactly solve a murder and supply Neptune with Mocha Lattes at the same time" she sighed. What she wouldn't give for a mocha right now….
"I swear you can't walk two feet in this town without uncovering some conspiracy" he breathed and rubbed the stubble on his chin.
"Every girl has her talents…" she jested as she picked up the files that Mac had printed about the prison records.
"Yeah but yours almost get you killed, girl you have to be careful!" he scolded. Veronica could tell from the deep lines on his forehead that he was worried, and it was getting late.
Didn't he have a shift at the Sac-n-Pac?
"Ah but if I did that I would be putting my superhuman detective mystique at risk" Veronica jested as she bit her lip and took the summary he had written for her. "Have you called your mom?" she added softly. Their parents were dating now, it made them a lot closer than just best friends, they were practically family.
"She knows where I am… some deputy showed up on my door step looking for you…" he told her. "I called in sick… but we got to figure out what is going on... because this is getting out of hand"
"We've got to get something to eat soon… I'm starving" Mac said as her stomach grumbled. "Even though the autopsy updates from the coroner's office makes me want to puke"
"There's a place not far from here… and I think there's a vending machine on the third floor" Wallace offered.
"I haven't got any cash on me" Mac sighed.
"It's on me" Veronica promised, glancing in dismay at the lack of available obvious evidence in the prison rosters. There was a piece missing… this just didn't compute. Once again her stomach dipped and swirled, and she tried to push aside the panic that she wouldn't solve this in time. She couldn't quite explain it, she felt like net was slowly closing in around her, like time was running out.
"Have you heard from Cassidy?" she asked Mac.
"Yeah, he and Dick are staying with Duncan… I haven't really had a chance to get more information yet. I think he's in shock" Mac replied quietly, her friend's apprehension was tangible now, if the look in her friends pale-blue eyes could be used as a barometer.
I should call Duncan…find out what Dick has told Lamb…I'm not ready to be taken off the board just yet…
"What do you think Lamb want's you for?" Wallace asked, breaking the silence.
"Nothing good…" Weevil commented.
"Ritual sacrifice?" she mused. "I have to turn myself in. I'm going to call Cliff and have Leo meet me here… there's a rot in the Sheriff's department, and I'll be able to find it quicker if I'm right in the belly of the beast" she told them finally, taking a second to consider if she was making an epic-quality mistake.
"I'm trying to hack into the Balboa County Sheriff's server host… it should contain the IP address of whoever brought down the system…" Mac protested.
"On a scale of one to ten, that's in the high thirties for being a really dumb idea" Weevil warned.
"That's a horrible plan" Wallace told her firmly, his tone implied he wouldn't let her out of his sight.
"Actually… it could be a useful plan…." she sighed, holding up a bug. "I need eyes and ears in there… someone is pulling his strings"
Why oh why hadn't she just made those fake passports when Logan joked about them earlier? They could be on a private island someplace away from all this craziness…
"Well it isn't the Fitzpatrick's. They hate cops." Weevil observed. "They'd be more likely to drop him off the end of a pier than do business"
"You sure?" Wallace asked.
"He's a scavenger… if he got anything on them, then he'd squeeze them for it. This would be too much like leverage, they'd never trust him" Weevil told them. "And he's the kind of slippery asshole wouldn't take a deal with the Fitzpatrick's without some hell of a leverage… if he was involved, he'd just turn around and sell the information to the Kane's. I mean... who would you deal with? Those meth'd up lunatics.. or the billionaires who helped finance your election campaign?" Weevil scoffed.
Money talks… and Lamb was dirty and conniving enough to go with the highest bidder.
"There's no way the Kane's would be working with the Fitzpatrick's to frame Logan… I mean, for God sakes… Duncan and I were supposed to be on that bus.." Veronica said shaking her head.
This is getting us nowhere…
"Well if not them… then who?" Wallace sighed.
"Echolls" Weevil proclaimed. "He's the only one who benefits the most out of all of this"
"You think they are all working for Logan's dad?" Mac swallowed as she visibly paled.
"And what about Kendall and Richard Casablancas? Where did they fit into all of this?" Wallace asked as he ran his hand through his hair.
"It's possible that what happened to the Casablancas' isn't even connected" Mac interrupted and they turned to look at her.
"What do you mean?" Wallace asked.
"The pictures you sent me? I cross-referenced them with the timeline for Bag Man and Kendall? Those properties are all listed in the Casablancas Enterprises portfolio… except they look nothing like the brochures… I think Mr Casablancas was up to something… illegal" Mac said, shifting uncomfortably.
"Show me" Veronica said as she slid her seat next to her friend and Mac started to point out the pictures. Who was the bag guy in the photos? "I wish I could run facial recognition" she sighed.
"I kind of already did… he's local authenticator for some property review board…" Mac admitted guiltily.
"Where did you get access to facial recognition?" Weevil asked incredulously.
"When I hacked the state police departments and prison systems servers?" she told him sheepishly.
"And folks think I'm the criminal" he mused shaking his head.
"Review board… you think they were paying him off?" Wallace suggested as he stood behind Veronica.
"Probably" she sighed. This was her fault… Cassidy had taken those pictures, he'd probably noticed the same thing but went to ask their FBLA teacher what it meant. "That could explain why Mr Pope shot and killed Mr Casablancas"
"You think he had motive?" Mac asked.
"He was supposed to be retiring in a few months… he'd put almost everything into Casablancas Real Estate… if this was a Ponzi scheme and he found out?" Veronica replied.
"Then Mr Pope would be wanting to have a little Come to Jesus talk with Mr and Mrs Casablancas" Weevil pointed out.
"So it's possible that this was about Mr Casablancas… and had absolutely nothing to do with his wife and the fake witness, the crash, or the Fitzpatrick's" Wallace stated as he stood back and surveyed the table.
"Well, just because she's dead, doesn't mean she still isn't a lead. The Fitzpatrick's have several properties in Kendall's name" Veronica told them, handing over the list she had in her bag.
"Your dad's gone to search house now" Mac said, turning to stretch, her stomach rumbling.
"The Fitzpatrick's are probably using it as a safe house… a place to lay low, store things. A dead drop for packages" Weevil told them.
"And of course… if the police ever came calling… they wouldn't be looking for Kendall Casablancas, they'd be looking for Pricilla Banks" Veronica nodded, frustration gathering like a storm cloud inside her. She just wanted to scream in frustration. "Can you get into the City's CCTV grid?" she asked Mac.
"You thought of something?" Wallace asked.
"When I drove over to Logan's I stopped to get gas… the station opposite the Camelott.. there's got to be footage of me there" she said.
"Which mean you was in an area nowhere near the Impound lot" Weevil noted.
"I need to make sure I have a copy of that footage, before our delightful Sheriff's department misfiles it or there's any more computer glitches" Veronica explained.
"There's a few camera's in the Thai food place that overlook the pumps" Weevil told her. "We could get some footage from there" Wallace gave him an unamused glare, the first time they had ever met, Weevil and the PCHers had duct taped Wallace to the school flag pole stark naked because of the security tape footage in the Sac-N-Pac that Lamb had confiscated the night that Hector Esposito and Mateo Sanchez had robbed it. "I make it a point of knowing where potential problems could be for me and my boys… if I isn't doing something legal… I at least try to make sure I do it smart… they will have footage… and you can bet your ass that Lamb won't think to check there"
"And they say Crime doesn't pay.." Veronica smiled.
"I'll get the footage" Weevil promised.
"And maybe we could get some curry?" Mac suggested as her stomach gargled again.
"I think I'm going to take a trip out and bring back something to keep us going" Wallace replied as he picked up his jacket and turned to Veronica.
"Great… oh and some red vines…." Mac added.
"Do not leave until I get back…" he warned.
"I won't I promise" she nodded. "Besides… I really want to know what we are dealing with…"
Seemingly satisfied that something had caught her attention, Wallace left to go to his truck to collect some supplies. They could be here a while. Looking at the report for the fake witness, Veronica found herself looking at the smiling picture of Dr Tom Griffiths more intently. Exactly how had the Fitzpatrick's or Aaron Echolls gotten a seemingly decent pillar of the community under their thumb enough to be willing to lie under oath?
Leverage…. They had something on him, but what exactly?
"You have that look" Weevil commented as he watched her blue eyes glow intensely at the photo in her hand.
"What look?" she said, meeting his espresso-brown gaze.
"That same look my sister's cat gets when it catches the scent of something" he responded, a slight tug on the side of his mouth.
"Just wondering how the Fitzpatricks and Echolls could have caught a guy like this with his pants down long enough to twist his arm into making a false statement" she muttered.
"Pants down… well wouldn't that be this place?" Mac offered, holding up a picture of The Rusty Knot strip joint.
"Too bad we can't just walk in and start asking questions… according to my dad.. this place is super seedy… girls have gone missing from this place. We can't risk it… and it's practically owned by the Fitzpatricks" Veronica sighed.
Or at the very least… was owned by the now deceased Pricilla Banks.
"The Knot?" Weevil said, taking the picture from Mac, a grin spreading over his face.
"Why am I not surprised that you know something about the local strip club?" Veronica smiled.
"Not me personally… you remember my friend Daisy…" Weevil started.
"The bartender from the Road Hog?" Veronica interrupted. They had been there earlier that evening before they left to bug the chapel.
"Yeah… she's a regular there… works the bar sometimes for the manager Sal" he continued.
"You think she'd help us?" Mac asked.
"Felix's older brother was her boyfriend" Weevil said grimly.