Redeeming LoVe
Chapter 14: Bittersweet Thoughts
Veronica
"Relax, Veronica I'm not going to ask for you to drag the lake, or anything like that. I just know that my mother didn't really kill herself," Logan says as I struggle with wanting to reach out to him.
"Come inside, okay?" I finally say as I back up into the living room to allow him to enter.
"I just have this gut feeling that she isn't dead," he almost whispers as I pull my sweater tighter around myself.
"I don't want to sound rude, but what makes you think that she's still alive?" I question as I watch him stiffen up.
"Oh my God. Why the hell does everyone assume that she's not? I mean, there's no body," he mutters impatiently as I move a step back from him. He looks up from the spot on the floor where he was staring as I did.
"What about the woman who claims to have seen her jump? That little tid bit has been on every channel," I say as I see his eyes for the first time. They were blood shot, but he didn't seem drunk at all.
"I guess in your book, if their on the TV, they must be telling the truth," he mutters sarcastically as he moves from one foot to the other. "Can you explain to me why her credit cards were missing? I mean, doesn't that seem like... I don't know, a clue? You don't jump off a bridge with your platinum card in your hand, he says quietly. He had me there. I mean why would her credit cards be missing if everything else was in the car.
"Logan," I start but the glare his was giving me stopped me in my tracks.
"Let's just say I know my mother a little more than most people would like to think!" he begrudgingly says as I think of what to do next.
"Well I heard she left a note," I say as I move closer to the sofa hoping he would follow me.
"I don't think you understand she wants people to think she's dead. Let me tell you if she was really going to do the deed, it'd be chardonnay and sleeping pills," he mutters sitting down close enough to me to make me feel the electrical shock. "Come on you know, she wouldn't risk being found all bug-eyed and bloated in some shrimp net," he jokes but I can hear the serious undertone in his words as he gives me a half smile.
"I am not going to make any promises, but I'll see what I can find out," I finally say as I see him get up to leave.
"I don't care where she is. I mean I do, but I really just need to know that she is alright. I want to believe that she finally got free," he says wistfully as he opens the door and walks out leaving me staring after him. I wasn't expecting that, but I totally understood where he was coming from. I mean I did the same thing when my mom left.
***LoVe***
I was trying hard not to over think the events from the night before, but Logan was creeping into my mind at every turn. I knew there wasn't any reason why he shouldn't, but I had trusted in him once before and he turned against me. I wanted to believe he was a better person, but there was a small part of my rational mind that prevented me from truly putting my faith in him out of fear.
"Come on girl," Wallace mutters as he sits beside me. We were currently in my favorite class. I hated history but he seemed to bring the dull subject to life. We were actually playing a game to study for our test the next day. I was enjoying myself as I was banging my desk along with my classmates.
"Scholars! Thinkers! You asked for it. You got it. World history review, roundup and death match," Mr. Rooks yells out as we all banged our desks more. I was crazy how involved I was in this one class.
"Woo, waa," I yelled out smirking at Wallace as he just shakes his head laughing along with me.
"I don't know which of you holds the power, but I do know only one of you will reign supreme? Who will it be…" he smirks evilly as he points toward the opposite side of the room, "…the Age of Enlightenment Rock Stars?" he calls out as he does jazz fingers toward them.
"Ooga-booga-ooga-booga!" they all yell out as I join in with our side as we 'boo' them.
"Or will it be the Children of the Industrial Revolution who have been the great winners before," he laughs winking as he turns back to our side.
"Ah-ooga!" I yell next to Wallace as I turn to the right to see Carrie Bishop fiddling with a key in her hand glaring Brooks down.
Our team has gotten the board and has found 3 of the answers by the time Rooks turns back around I notice Carrie trying hard to look anywhere but at our teacher. Mr. Rooks has gone back to the overheard moving the little slips as he begins snapping his fingers while we followed suit. I smile as I realize that there are only two more answers on the board.
"Okay only two more answers. Do my eyes deceive me or is someone trying to hide in the back? Carrie Bishop lay it on me, baby," Mr. Rooks yells out as he gives it his all.
"The answer is I'm not pregnant," she mutters clearly not into the whole thing. The humor of the event is now lost as we all look to her and Mr. Rooks looks down while the room goes silent.
"You can stop ignoring me, keep your damn money. I no longer need it," she snaps as the whole class stares. "One last thing, here's your key back. I won't be needing it anymore," she says tossing the key she was messing around with to him. I watch in shock as he catches the key just as the bell rings. Wow, the day sure is off to a bang!
I waited around while the class all left. Mr. Rooks was one of the few teachers that made Neptune High bearable for me. I had thought he was one of the few who truly understood what his students needed. I was at a loss of words as I waited around.
I tried to get him to open up about what was going on for really, but he had no clues as to what Carrie was talking about. It really bothered me that the school's gossip was trying to ruin a person who was so much better than her. I listened as my teacher explained how he didn't know why she was targeting him or what her plan was. Well I knew one thing that Carrie didn't and that was I was going to do everything in my power to help him, while getting some revenge on Carrie.
I am sitting at one of the covered tables trying to enjoy my lunch as I see several girls going toward Carrie who was seated alone. They seemed to be taunting her while she tried to ignore them, but whatever they were saying got to her as she got up and stomped off.
"Man, that's gotta be rough," he says as he picks at his lunch before turning to look at me.
"Don't look at me for any sympathy. Carrie has had a very long and storied reign as Neptune High's gossip queen, it's about time she got what she deserved," I finally say as I stuff a fry in my mouth.
"Does she get a crown with that," he mutters looking back to where Carrie once sat. The girls have finally moved on.
"Could you do something for me?" I question as I look toward the 09er table seeing Logan among his friends, but no Duncan.
"I hate it when you ask a question when you already know the answer to it. But, let me guess you want her file," he says as I give him a sly smile.
"Man, I remember when you were new, and wanted to be accepted into the fold. Wow, good times," I finally say as he shakes his head giving me a small smile. I finally notice Duncan in the corner of the quad making his way toward the hallway. "I owe you," I say as I take off after Duncan.
I was barely able to catch up to Duncan, but luckily for me someone stepped in his path making him stop. I was able to ask him about his doctor so that I could get it. I wanted to check out the medicines he was currently taking. I couldn't just walk into his house to do it, not I had to go another route. After Duncan told me I looked back to the quad and saw Logan staring at me. I shuddered as I knew he was watching me, in a way I was crept out, but this was Logan.
I decided the best thing for me to do for the next few hours was to avoid Logan to keep him from asking too many questions. I had a lot on my plate and at the moment I wanted to keep my sanity for a little longer. I seemed to lose all reason when I was around him for long periods of time. I had just grabbed my books out of my locker and began to head toward my car when I am met by Wallace. He was so bad at trying to blend in when he was doing me favors. I would have to help him be more of a sleuth.
I was thankful as he conspiratorially looks around before passing me the file he had hidden under his jacket.
"I want you to remember if you are caught with this, I will not acknowledge you or this mission you are on. You'll be on your own, Veronica," he says as I just laugh.
"Wallace I'll do the honorable thing, don't worry. I've got a hidden cyanide capsule for emergencies hidden in my cheek. If I'm caught," I joke as he just looks from me to the file in my hand.
"Well all I have to say is it's been a privilege knowing you, Mars," he calls out as he walks away from me.
I was fully emerged in the file and not paying attention to where I was going as I felt a hand on my shoulder which caused me to jump.
"I guess it's a good read?" Logan says as he pulls his hand back. I quickly close the file and look up toward him. "Any news?" he continues as I just shake my head.
"None yet, I put notices on your mom's credit cards, and on her ATM card though," I say as he joins me walking toward the parking lot.
"What exactly does that mean?" he snaps quickly at me causing me to stop.
"It means I have asked for a favor from a friend of my father's. He just happens to also work at the bank where your family has accounts. He has assured me he will alert me if they are used. Then you know that eyewitness that's been tearing up the airwaves?" I mutter out as I see Carrie off toward the far end of the parking lot.
"Yeah, she's an opportunistic hag, if I've ever seen one," he says catching me looking anywhere but at him.
"Right, I heard that she will be giving her statement at the sheriff's department. I'll check her out and let you know," I say trying to end this so I could focus on the matter I was currently looking into.
"I'll go with you," he says quickly moving in front of me blocking me from moving forward.
"I hate to be the person who has to say this, but you can't always use your fists to beat the truth out of innocent people," I mutter as I continue around him. I reopen my file to look it over once more, but Logan once again stops me.
"I'm going," he sneers stepping back in front of me.
"Logan, you're not," I snap as I swat at him with the file in my hand.
"Right, but what are you going to do to stop me," he says as I look from him to the object of my current obsession.
"Logan, please let me handle this," I finally say as Logan puts his hand on my arm grounding me in my spot and forcing me to look at him.
"I just want to be there. I will know if she's lying, okay. You won't," he says as he points at me. I want to argue with him, but he might be right.
"Damn it, fine. I'll make a plan," I finally say as he just laughs.
"Yeah, I'm sure you'll figure it out," he mutters darkly as he finally moves out of my way. I have about a minute to catch up with Carrie before she gets into her vehicle and drives off.
"What do you want Veronica?" she questions sarcastically. "I want to give you a chance to recant your lies before I prove you're lying about the whole thing," I snap at her as she looks past me.
"Why do you even care what happens to him, are you in the sack with him as well?" she sneers at me as I hold my hands tightly at my side so that I don't give her what she deserved.
"I care because there aren't many great teachers here, Mr. Rooks is one of them," I say as she just scoffs at me.
"Right he's such a great teacher. I hope you can look past the facts of him seducing his underage students, gets them pregnant and then demands them to get an abortion," she mutters at me.
That statement was a hard blow, but she needed to remember who she was talking to. "Hey, Carrie? You and all your friends have spent the past year doing just what you are doing to Mr. Rooks. I know you," I snap as she moves to get in her car.
"God, Veronica you're so naïve," she mutters turning away from me.
"Man you pegged me that's me, naïve," I snap bitterly at her trying not to think about the party at Shelly's were I was rapped, but I wasn't about to give Carrie anymore ammo to hit me with.
"Why don't you tell me why Mr. Rooks called your parents in for a parent-teacher conference last September? I mean that doesn't seem like something an alleged boyfriend would do," I say as she looks away from me.
"I don't have anything to prove to you Veronica. I don't care what you believe or not, but the fact that he did this makes me sick. This is the sort of thing you usually would run with, what's holding you back a crush," she mutters at me as I watch her get in her car and drive away. God, I hated her even more now than I did a few moments ago.
If I thought the Carrie scandal was just starting I was wrong because when I got into my dad's office he began grilling me on what kind of a teacher Mr. Rooks was. I was beyond livid when I found out he took Carrie's case against him. I hated to do this, but I was taking a stand against him because I felt that Carrie was lying. There was no way that she was sleeping with Rooks and I was going to prove it.
I was angry with him that he would deliberately take this case even after I told him how she lied. As he went into his office I fell back in my chair sulking. "You can answer your own phone," I snap as he stares out the door at me and shakes his head. I pull my computer out and make a file with all the information I could think of about Carrie and her friends. I knew I should be working on Logan's case, but my dad had gotten me all riled up.
I am lost in a flashback when my dad comes out of his office to get a cup of coffee. I wipe the tear from my eye as I remembered Carrie and Susan talking about me while I was using the restroom at school. The fact that they even talked about Duncan acting crazy after he broke up with me still makes me question the whole thing.
"You want some dinner," my dad asks as I close down my laptop and send Logan a message.
"No, I'm meeting up with a friend," I mutter as I pack my things up and leave. I drive to the beach and get out walking toward the only guy who seems to be just as screwed up as me.
******LoVe*********
I told Logan my plan the night before, but knowing just how loose of a cannon he was I was prepared for several different outcomes. The two of us were seated in the hallway of the Sheriff's department with listening devices in our ears while Cliff worked his magic.
"We should do this sort of thing more often," I mutter as I know he is ignoring me smacking his gum like a little child. I knew that someone was headed our way from the footsteps, but unsure of whom it was.
"I want to thank you, detective," a woman says very politely.
"That's her," I say as the woman heads our way. I watched Logan as he took his gum out of his mouth and place it under the chair, but I wasn't sure just yet what his plan was, but I held my arm up to stop him from doing anything just yet.
"Down, boy. Relax, I've got this covered," I say as I spoke into my shirt sleeve to Cliff. I held my hand up to my ear to let Logan know it was time to listen in.
We both listen in as Cliff tries to get info from the white trash. She actually wanted to know what kind of offers he had for her. When Cliff began asking her questions and the woman actually had the nerve to say she would tell him anything he wanted to hear I could tell Logan was ticked off. I wasn't fast enough to prevent him from jumping to his feet and going to the woman shouting at her. All I could do was follow after him.
"What is wrong with you people?" Logan says as I hear those words echo in my head because he told me that same thing after Lilly's crime scene video was released. "What, you couldn't get on "Springer" this week, so you make lies up about my mom? How the hell do you live with yourself?" he yells as some Deputies look in our direction.
"Logan..." I say as I place myself in between him and the woman. He looks down at me and then at her like he was torn on what to do.
"I guess the trailer payments must be high this month, and what with the high price of spam these days…" he sneers at her reverting back to his jackass ways. The woman walks off and he goes to follow her, but I grab for his arms. It is only a moment but he jerks his arms from me in a defeated gesture of "I'm done" as he walks the other way. I just turn to Cliff.
"Thanks, Cliff. You're the best," I say softly as he hands me the devices back.
"Right, sure if by best you mean willing than you're correct, but you owe me kid," he says as he leaves me standing in the hallway as a few Deputies stare at me. I catch Logan leaning against a wall.
"Hey," Leo says as he approaches me.
"Hi," I reply as I give him a small smile as I walk toward Logan. "I have to take care of something. I'll be like two seconds. Stay calm. Finding out what that woman is about is good news," I say as he gives me a small nod. I knew in his mood that was probably the best I would get out of him. I headed back to where Leo was.
"Deputy," I say as I knew I owed him an explanation of what I had done to him.
"What can I do for you, Veronica?" he says stoically.
"Let me explain why I did what I did," I say as he looks up from his papers.
"Right, I don't see what's to explain? You used me. I get it. I was warned about you, but I gave you the benefit of the doubt," he says as he motions to someone.
"Yes you did, but I did it because Lilly Kane was my best friend," I start but he holds his hand up stopping me.
"Right, I know all about your dad and the murder investigation," he mutters as if I was wasting his time.
"Right you know the story that everyone else knows, but it's all a lie," I finally say as I see him look shocked.
"Right, but why would an innocent guy confess. He said he did it," Leo says a little louder than he should since a few guys turned our way.
I pulled him closer to me as I began to explain to him how all the so called evidence that pointed to Abel Koontz being guilty all contradicted themselves. The evidence was all faked or planted. I even told him why I had to do what I did. I needed to find justice for my friend. She needed the closer that was owed to her. I even told him I like him which I did, but then looking up at Logan I felt like I was betraying him by liking Leo.
I decided to end the conversation before I said something that I would later regret. Plus, Logan seemed to be getting anxious having to wait on me. He drove me back to my apartment without any comment, and then left. I felt bad for him learning the fact that yet another person was letting him down. I wanted to get to the bottom of this case to give him some closer. He deserved to know the truth.
*******LoVe*********
After sitting in my room for over an hour I decided I needed to get out of the apartment and I ended up going to Mr. Rooks house. I had some questions for him. I went up to the gate that was on the side of his yard. It was slightly ajar when I walked up so I entered the yard.
"Hello?" I call out as I knock on the small gate. Mr. Rooks is on a small patio area with a little girl. He had a cozy little back yard with a swimming pool and a patio.
"Veronica, I wasn't expecting you but come on in. Olivia here is my daughter," he says as he places his hand on the little girls head. I now found it hard to believe a man who had a daughter would tell another girl to have an abortion. I move to get closer to the little girl.
"Olivia, hi, I'm one of your dad's students. My name is Veronica," I say as I watch her continue to play with her radio controlled boat as she ignores me totally. "She must be going through a shy phase," I finally say as I turn back to him.
"No, not really. She's usually pretty talkative. She must really dislike you," he says jokingly but I wouldn't doubt that he knew the words sounded a little rude, but I let it slide.
"Right, well there is a club of my peers she could join," I mumble as he just shakes his head chuckling. He has her go into the enclosed patio to color while he talks with me.
"I really have some questions for you and hate to intrude on
"It's no problem, what's on your mind?" he says as he moves closer to eh enclosed patio.
"A few months ago, you called a parent-teacher conference with Carrie's parents. Could you tell me why?" I questioned as he eyes grow big with frustration.
"Veronica, how do you know that?" he counter questions as I move to the side away from him.
"I'm sorry, I can't reveal who my sources are," I say seriously hoping he didn't push the matter.
"I appreciate your offer of help, and all but this is an adult matter that should really just be dealt with by those involved," he says as if he was hiding something.
"I understand, yet right now, Carrie's parents have a hired private investigator running a background check on you and from me to you it's my dad. He's the best there is. I hate to tell you this but there's going to be a hearing. If the school board believes Carrie's allegations, you'll never teach again," I say as serious as I can. He looks from me to his daughter before speaking again.
"This totally off the record, she was upset about the grade I had given her on the midterm, so her parents called a meeting. They wanted to know if there was a way to keep the C or in their words black mark off her transcripts. They were worried it would keep her out of Cornell," he says laughing.
Her parents came to see me about her grades. I gave her a C on her midterm paper. She thought it was unfair that the black mark on her transcript would keep her out of Cornell.
"Of course the only reason an 09er would have a parent conference. They would be worried their spoiled child wouldn't get into their Ivy League school. Do you think this is why she went after you?" I ask as he shrugs his shoulders like he had no clue why she would be doing this at all.
"I couldn't tell you, honestly," he says as I look up at his daughter who seems to have gotten bored with her coloring.
"Okay, well I don't want to keep you much longer, but do you have a union rep to represent you at the hearing in front of the school board," I finally ask as he points back at himself.
"You're looking at him, I got the part when I was hired," he mutters giving me a tight smile before walking up the steps to his patio leaving me to let myself out. I give him one small smile as I exit the gate.
I found myself back at my dad's office after talking with Rooks. I felt like there was something he was holding back, but I didn't think he was guilty of what Carrie was claiming he did to her. I was trying to do some digging into Lynn's financials to see if there was anything out of the ordinary, but couldn't find anything. I was about to call it a day when I heard the office door open.
"Hey, sweetie any messages?" he asks as I just give him a cold hard stare. I watch as he takes his jacket off and moves toward my desk. "Honey, I know you admire this teacher, and I want to encourage you to stand up for your convictions when what you think you're doing is right, but this Rooks character is a bad person. I don't want you getting hurt when the whole story comes out," he says as he stares right at me.
"Dad, I'm sorry. I believe him, so keep your opinions to yourself," I mutter as he looks at me more intensely.
"I shouldn't be telling you this but Carrie kept a very detailed diary of her affair with him. It's full of times and dates. She is very detailed with all of it. I have looked into some of his bank statements and some of the places match where he was," he says as I just scoff at his ramblings.
"So, I mean I could do the same things? That doesn't prove anything. Just because I write it all down to the finest detail it makes it no truer than me sitting here with you," I snap as he holds out the statements.
"These are his statements," he says as I see highlighted notes on them. "All of the charges I marked match Carrie's diary," he continues.
"Right, okay she could have followed him. You don't know her like I do. She is a stalker and a liar," I snap shoving the papers back at him.
"Sweetie, it's very specific. And I don't want you seeing any fictional boys without my prior consent," he says getting up from his seat leaving me alone once more. I can't worry about his right now as I pick up the phone sighing loudly. I am dialing the number as I watch my dad out of the corner of my eye.
"Good afternoon this Dr. Levine's office," an older woman says.
"My name is Veronica Mars," I say as I look over a paper before continuing, "I was wondering if I could get an appointment as soon as possible to see the doctor. I would prefer it toward the end of the day since I have band practice right after school," I lie as I get a pencil out of my holder.
"I can squeeze you in at five o'clock," she replies as I hear the patter of keys being hit.
"Five is great. Thanks," I say as I drop the receiver into its place and place the pencil back in its spot.
"I'm no doctor…" I hear Logan say as I whirl around to see him casually standing in the room," but I'm pretty sure Penicillin will clear up any problem you might have," he says winking at me.
"Well I can't really say I was expecting you, but Logan what can I do for you," I say trying to even out my breathing.
"Well I do tend to avoid buildings with that have stained glass," he mutters pointing to the windows behind my desk.
"Really is that why you haven't come to visit me sooner," I say in the best girlie voice I could until I realized he was here not too long ago. He slaps a paper he was holding onto my desk. "Thanks for the reading material, but I would like to go back to your comment about stained glass," I say as I push the paper aside slightly.
"Veronica focus there's a woman who claims she saw my mom get out of her car, and get in a van with a strange looking guy," he says slightly excited. I know he is hoping to find her, but everything so far has pointed to her being dead, but I couldn't crush his feelings right now.
"Logan, it's a tabloid, it also claims that there's a jungle tribe that worships Donald Trump's hair," I say mocking his only words to get a smile from him.
"What, so the girl with the pig arm can't really bowl?" he gently says as he sits down across from me. I had missed this with him. I truly hoped he got good news, but I wanted to also be realistic about it as well.
"I just don't want you to get your hopes up if this doesn't go the way you're hoping for it to go," I say as softly as I could.
"Veronica pay attention I'm not paying you to worry about my hopes. I'm paying you to follow any leads you might find. I'm a big boy," he says very harshly.
"Okay jackass Logan is back. I wasn't aware you were paying me," I say honestly as he slides his hands through his hair.
"This isn't a favor, Veronica it's a job, you know. I mean, we're not…" he stops talking and holds up his hands, "…exchanging friendship bracelets or anything. I mean we haven't been that in a while," he says a little more cautiously as I try to remember why we were trying to be friends once again.
"Right, don't worry I'll stop braiding," I mutter as he shakes his head chuckling.
"This woman made comments about how my mom was laughing and looked like was having fun, can you do your sleuthing thing and track her down," he says as I am reading the story.
"I guess since you asked nicely," I mutter trying not to sound offended by his comments. "It says here her name Sondra Bolan of Sunset Springs. Really how am I ever going to find her?" I question as I pick up the phone and make a call. I get her number telling Logan I'll add any charges to his bill; he gives me a glare for the comment. He waits leaning against a filing cabinet as I make arrangements to meet with the lady this afternoon. She agrees, but Logan demands to be there yet again for the interrogation.
***LoVe****
I was a little miffed that Logan wouldn't let me do this on my own; yet again I think a part of me would be acting the way he was right now. I sat down in one of the oversized chairs in the middle of the Hut. The lady in question Sondra was sitting opposite from me sipping on her very own latte.
"I have a very tight budget on what I am allowed to spend for interviews, so I can't pay you for this interview at the moment, but I would like to still interview you about Lynn Echolls," I say as I tap my pen on the spiral notebook I had in my hand.
"It's alright; I wasn't paid for the last interview. I felt that the world should know the truth since that evil woman was on the talk show lying," she said smiling up at me. I looked past her to where Logan was sitting on one of the barstools with a cup of coffee as he stared at me intently.
"I'm just glad you would be willing to talk with me. Is there anything you remember about the vehicle that took her away or maybe you got the license plate as they drove off," I asked as I kept my eyes locked on Logan for the moment since I knew he was listening in on the conversation.
"Not really sorry, honestly, I was just so excited to see Lynn Echolls out there. At first I thought they were filming for something when everything happened," she says sadly.
"Have you seen Mrs. Echolls before this encounter?" I questioned as I felt like something was way off with this lady.
"Only once, it was at the premiere of "Delta Blue Bombers." She had shown up there with Aaron on her side. I totally loved that movie and probably saw it more than 100 times," she exclaimed as I shook my head.
"Really you saw that film a hundred times?" I questioned as I got the inkling that she was high or something when she looks to her bag.
"Well I'm not sure, but I can check if you want," she says as she pulls out a huge scrapbook. It was clear to me that this was a stalker fan of Lynn's and that she might not be all there at the moment. I decide to let her count her stubs another time so I decide to ask another question.
"In the interview you gave to the tabloid you said the van was blue, could you give me more details," I ask as I tap my pen once more on my notebook.
"Well sure it was the van from "The Pursuit of Happiness," she was in that film with Aaron. I believe it was the exact van," she says as she flips through her book as if she were looking for something.
"Are you telling me it was an exact model?" I asked trying to keep Logan's eyes locked on mine, but I could tell he was on the verge of losing it.
"No sweetie, it was the actual van from the movie. Lynn and Aaron met on the set of "The Pursuit of Happiness," you know. They were so young then," she began to prattle on as I saw Logan just shake his head. I didn't want to be right, but I knew he understood that she was just a deluded fan who pulled at the last hope he had. I watched as he chucked a few bills on the table and got up. I gave the woman a small smile before taking off after him.
"Logan you did nothing wrong, I would have done the same thing if I was in your shoes," I say as he pauses leaning against the glass wall separating the open space with the entrance.
"Done what?" he snaps more harshly than he should have, but I let it slide.
"I would have held out hope for it if it was my mother. I still hold out hope that mine was coming back," I mutter as he just wipes at his eyes before stumbling up the stairs to the exit and out the door. He shoves Weevil on his way out causing him to stumble himself.
"Hey! Manners, Opie!" he sneers as he shoves back. "God, rich white people they think they own everything," he snaps as I just can't believe it.
"Weevil, sometimes I think you need a reality check," I muttered as I looked up at the exit door before continuing, "He just lost the last hope he had for his mom being alive," I snap as I take off after Logan. I barely catch him looking stunned by my outburst.
I was at my wits end as Logan dropped me off at my apartment. I would have walked home if I had known he was going to brood and then hit the gas the moment I was out of the SUV. I wasn't in the mood to deal with my dad either. I knew he thought he was protecting me, but he was hurting me taking Carrie's side. The moment I walked into the apartment and saw him actually cooking made my stomach drop. He must have been able to dig something up or he was asking for forgiveness for turning on me. I was hoping for the later.
"Well either this a 'honey I have bad news dinner or a please let me make it up to you dinner'," I say using air quotes as I watch him chop carrots and toss them into a salad bowl, as I lay my book bag and things on one of the barstools. "Is that lasagna I smell?" I say as I pause knowing the answer to my own question.
"You got that right, it's the Keith Mars' secret recipe," he says as he waves his hands out in front of him.
"Dad, the secret is out all you do is double the cheese. No one is going to steal your secret. I am guessing this is pity food, you have more bad news," I mutter as he loses the grin he had on his face replacing it with a frown.
"Um, maybe it should wait until after dinner," he says as I sit down opposite of where he was standing. Okay, I think trying to brace myself if he wanted to wait until after dinner it must have been bad, really bad news.
He was right the news was horrible, but I wasn't going to let it determine how I felt. I thought he was a really decent guy. He made history fun for me, and the idea that some gossip freak was getting her way ticked me off. I was even more made when my dad told me he was fired due to complaints from two different girls' parents. I mean it wasn't out of the ordinary for girls to get crushes on teachers and turn them in when things don't go their way. The fact that my dad wouldn't let me see Carrie's diary made me a little madder. He tried to make up for it with my favorite dessert, but my appetite was pretty shot by now.
Somehow I ended up at dad's office after running to Logan's only to find him not home. I was pacing his office trying to work up the nerve to open up his safe. I tried to unlock it, but he had changed the combination on me. I searched high and low for the random numbers he would use. It was totally like him to pick strange combinations to keep people out of his safe.
I knew my dad wasn't that careless to just leave the numbers written on a post it or plastered on his bulletin board but I looked anyway. I spotted an enter for February 10: 12 1663. I was praying that the numbers worked as I went back to his safe and turned the knob. It opened up. I peered into the small space to see all his files gone and a single steel box. I pull it out setting it on his desk. I don't see any lock so I open it to only get a squeak out as blue dust explodes from inside the box. I am covered in blue dye. 'I suspect there's also a lesson to be learned here'. I think as I sneeze since I got some dye in my nose.
I place the box back into the safe where I found it at and decide to head home. My dad was lucky he wasn't home when I got in. I was livid he was thinking a step ahead of me this whole time. I was in the kitchen sink scrubbing my skin as he walked into the apartment as if nothing had happened.
"Sweetheart. Would you like to discuss what you have been doing lately?" he questions a little amused as he chuckles slightly as I turn to give him a glare.
"Well I sure would like for you to tell me where to put your father-of-the-year trophy, 'cause right now there's some place special I'd like to jam it," I snap barely holding back the bit in my voice.
"I guess it's a good thing I didn't go with the big bear trap," he jokes as I slam down the bottle of soap I had just squirted onto a rag to wipe my face.
"God, dad this isn't some game, Rooks if being framed by Carrie. I need to see her diary to prove she's as much a lair as she is a bitch," I snap as I can see his disapproval written all over his face at the word choice.
"Veronica, I know this is serious, but there's no need for you to get all blue in the face," he says as he takes a picture using his phone.
"Would you get serious for a moment? You're patronizing me, and it's not nice?" I snap as I toss the blue covered rag at him.
"Well sweetie to be honestly fair, I am your patron," he laughs once more as he tosses the rag back at me. I went on to explain just how the Bishops were going to use all the dirt he gathered up to bury the one teacher that made my school day. I begged him to let me just see dates and times. After a lot of begging and maybe my signature head tilt and I might have thrown in a very low blow he allowed me to see what I asked for. He didn't give me anything more.
I wasn't feeling the love as I woke up. The only thing I wanted to do was turn back over and go to sleep, but I had two things on my plate for today and neither one of them involved staying home in bed. I had just left Clemmons office as I saw the trophy case that I have walked past numerous times, but never took the time to pause and stare at it. I wasn't surprised to see the many names linking awards to the majority of the 09er population, but one award photo stood out to me because I saw Carrie Bishop in the middle of it.
"What are you staring at now Blondie. If you want to see awards of the best people in the school you should come back to the shop. My trophy is out there for all to see," Weevil says as he walks up to where I was standing.
"Really, I didn't know you could medal in doing a lube job? No, wait its fro stealing the most hubcaps?" I say back to him as he chuckles shaking his head.
"Aw, you wound me what do you take this to be 1970? No, it's all about the Rims, baby," he says blowing kisses my way.
"Are you telling me you got a trophy for a rim job? Is that what you're getting at, because I'm on a tight schedule vato," I snip at him still a little peeved about his attitude about Logan from the Hut.
"Alright, forget about that. I got some information for you that might help you with a certain case of yours," he says still halfway chuckling.
"It's about time for me to get my very own a Deep Throat. I've been trying to find one, but no one would come with me," I say in the best Lilly girlie voice ever.
"God, I don't understand why you don't have more people hanging around you, but for what it's worth I'm not going to touch that one. I heard about this kid I believe he's a freshman. He has been going around telling people he has a video that will make him millions proving Lynn Echolls jumped," he states seriously as he leans in as if to drive his point home.
"Do you know who the kid is?" I question as serious as I could, but Weevil shakes his head.
"Do you want me to find out?" he asks as I know he already knows my answer, but he wants conformation.
"Keep up vato, like you even need me to tell you. You knew the answer before you asked the question," I mutter as he smirks at me.
I couldn't keep in the news that I had learned from my dad about Rooks being fired from his last job. So in Veronica fashion I just went to the source and asked him about it. I don't think he was all too happy for me to be asking him about it. I know he was sure surprised by the whole thing, but considering who my dad is and what he does for a living shouldn't be too surprising that I would pick up some little tips.
He muttered something about needing to pay more heed to the teachers' gossip in the staff room when they talk about you. It sounded like he was under estimating me, but I wasn't sure just yet. The way he described me was better than what most teachers would say, I mean at least he started with me being unique, but I wasn't too happy with him describing me as unsettled. I knew I was different from my own life experiences, but to hear someone else who really didn't know the real Veronica kind of made me stand in uncharted territory.
His explanation about his firing seemed okay for me, but I knew my dad and he would find some sort of hole in his explanation. I mean I knew how the public influenced popular demand, and the fact that he was a rebel teaching at an all girl's school was very understandable explanation as to why he was fired. I just needed to find Carrie now and get her to confess to her lies.
I didn't have to go far to find her, no she was actually at her locker. I tried to reason with her, but she was too wrapped up in her own lies to hear reason. It kind of made my blood boil with her lodging this complaint against him, but she was still in his class. I mean if there was any real facts to her story why would her parents allow her to stay in her abusers or rapist's class.
Her story was that she needed his class to graduate, but she could have switched out to the other history teacher. I did feel a little bad for her when I realized as she was telling me how she was somewhat of a pariah with her friends for standing up to the guy for his actions, but I pushed it to the farthest part of my mind. She was the enemy. The details she gave me to his language, his mood music and even his sheets made me feel even more hatred for her. I mean she must have been a real sicko to make up all this stuff over a stupid 'C' grade. I felt a tad bit better as I left her unsettled when I found the flaw in her story because she was in Sacramento on the 23rd of April when she had claimed she met him in a hotel. The one thing I guess she wasn't betting on was me actually finding out that little bit of news. She looked as if she could bore a hole in my head as I walked away with the most satisfaction I've had in a while.
My smirk didn't last long as I was parking in front of Duncan's Doctors office. I really didn't want to have to go through with this, but how else could I get what I needed. I didn't have to sit in the waiting room very long, but was not looking forward to being in a room alone with the guy. I changed out of my shirt and put on the gown they gave me. I was thankful to be able to keep my jeans on. I held onto the gown as if my life depended on it.
"I'm sorry to keep you waiting for so long. The end of the day is my busiest time," he says as he sifts through the papers in front of him. "I do have good news for you though; those sniffles you have are just light allergies. They aren't that uncommon this time of the year," he says as he looks anywhere except at me.
"Well I guess that is good news then. So I can put my shirt back on?" I question as he looks up at me before nodding his head. I watch as he slips back out the door. I quickly pull my shirt back on and toss the flimsy gown in the trash. I wait for a few minutes until the receptionist is busy. I then slip into the bathroom to wait until everyone leaves.
"Goodnight, Nancy," I hear the doctor say as I climb unto the small crapped cabinet under the sink.
"Goodnight," she replies. I am about to get out of my space when I hear keys in the door. I move back into my space as I hear the door open and see the light turn on and off from hi inside my hiding place.
I make my way out into the resepction area and start flipping through the files as I feel a hand on my shoulder. I have my taser out about ready to give the person the best jolt of their life as I turn around to find Logan standing behind me.
"What the hell are you doing here?" I snap as I shove Duncan's file behind the file on Koontz.
"I followed you here," he says as I shove past him to the copier. I take the papers I was looking at and start to copy them. Logan went to follow me, but I held my hand up.
"Is this for a case?" he asks as I stand between him and the pages I had copied.
"Yes," I say as I begin to put the pages back into their files. I see a flicker of light outside the main office. "Crap," I mutter as Logan follows my eyes. I quickly shove the files back in their drawers and pull Logan with me to the patient room I was in before. I quickly shut the door and pulled a gown out of the cabinet. "Turn around," I snap as I pull my shirt off and pull the flimsy gown back on.
"Right," he mutters as I flick the light on. Logan was about to say something more when the door opens startling both of us.
"Wha-?" she starts but stops as I look at her while Logan takes a step forward.
"I have been sitting here for a long time, is the doctor going to see me anytime soon," I snap as Logan looks from me to the cleaning lady. She looks puzzled but explains everyone has left, but for me to leave my name. I tell her I'll just call in the morning. She lets us out as I feel Logan laugh beside me.
"I think you should try your hand at acting, my god Veronica does your dad know half of the shit you do," he asks a little icy.
"No, but I bet he wouldn't believe you even if you told him," I smirk as I get into my car and leave him.
I felt this odd sensation every time Logan and I were in a room alone. I mean it wasn't like this strange feeling, just this electric shock that made me forget who I was with. It left me feeling drained and on edge. I wanted to be there for Logan still, but it left me feeling too open and vulnerable in case he reverted back to his jackass ways.
I wasn't too happy about cutting school just for nothing so I talked Ms. Dent into allowing me to cover the School Board meeting between Mr. Rooks and Carrie Bishop. She wasn't too happy about it, but in the end thought it was something the students would like to read about. I walked into the room taking a picture of the view from the back of the room.
I sat behind Mr. Rooks as Mr. Clemmons sat behind Carrie, but I didn't see many people really in her corner. She was sitting there all alone except for her parents and maybe a lawyer. I was thankful that my dad wasn't in the room supporting her. Mr. Rooks talked how this experience was ruining him. I just listened to the complaint and the exchanges trying to remember that I loathed Carrie.
I knew when the chairman of the school board began asking him about what Carrie was like as a student I looked at my phone where Logan had texted me to see if there was any news. I wanted to text him back about his attitude but left it alone. I remember what he was like after Lilly's death before he turned on me. He had his ups and downs, but he would always turn to a friend to keep him from doing something stupid. I just hoped that he would still do that.
In the end after I proved that text messages could be sent from one phone to another easily Carrie's claims that he sent her messages was thrown out. I had a smirk on my face as I watched her whole case crumble in, but as fulfilling as it was I found it hard to not find it somewhat faltering that she tried to do something like this. As Mr. Rooks looked back at me while the chairman decides against firing him, but allowing him to continue on as the history teacher I take my leave to see where Logan was.
I looked everywhere for Logan, but couldn't find him. I needed to do a few things, and I found myself at Rooks house once again and decided I should return his cell phone I had borrowed earlier at the board meeting. I knew he was glad he got to keep his job. I wanted to see how he was doing. I was surprised as he opened the door to find him eating pizza.
"I know it's late and all, but I felt really bad for leaving before I gave you back your phone," I say as I hand him his cell phone.
"Thanks for your help today. I guess you are more than a pretty face," he says as he takes his phone from me.
"I made sure to get it password protected to keep any unwanted hands from doing your phone harm," I say as I smile at him. He invited me for pizza and I accepted his invitation. I was searching for the bathroom when I stumbled on his bedroom. I couldn't believe it, but it was just as Carrie had described it. I wasn't paying attention to the music but that was the same as what she wrote about as well. I felt cold chills go down my spine as I realized I had helped a guilty man get away with his crime. I quickly made and excuse to leave and left.
*****LoVe*******
I had a hard time finding information as to why Duncan would be taking the medicine in his file. I was googling it when he interrupted me. I found it hard to make small talk with him after knowing he was medicated, but not knowing why. I asked him questions about Carrie and this speaking competition. I was not happy when I saw the actual person who was referred to as 'sweet knees'.
After finding out that it wasn't really Carrie, but her longtime friend who hasn't been in school for some time now. I started putting two and two together. I got the listing for her address and decided to pay her a visit. I found it strange to be driving to the out skirts of town when the Knight family was a very rich 09er family. It struck me odd to know that their daughter was hiding in the little house in front of me.
"Veronica Mars?" she exclaims as she opens the door.
"The story Carrie is saying is true, but it wasn't her story but yours," I blurt out as she moves out from behind the screen of the door to show that she was in fact very much pregnant. I was surprised as I took a step back to balance myself. I hated that it was true and Carrie had actually stood up for her friend even though she was now being shunned.
"Yeah it is, my parents disowned me. They thought it was some stupid boy who got me pregnant. I couldn't tell them it was Rooks. It would have ruined me and him," she says softly as I realize that he had taken advantage of her. "I couldn't tell them because they would have wanted to press charges, and I didn't want that to happen," she continues as to why Carrie did what she did.
"I just don't understand why Carrie would tell your story, though," I say as I see her blink a few times.
"Carrie thought what he did was wrong. She was disgusted when she learned he offered me $500 to take care of it. It drove her insanely crazy that he was carrying on with his life while I was hiding. I'm just not as brave as she is," Susan says softly as she sits down on the bench outside her home.
"Yeah, only people didn't take to kindly to her coming out as to what he had done," I mutter as I see her look of confusion.
"Carrie told me people were supporting her," Susan says as I just shake my head.
"No, they weren't…we weren't," I say as I get my cell phone out to do the right thing. I knew I liked Mr. Rooks, but the truth was he was a monster who needed to pay. I couldn't stand idly by and watch as a rapist got away with a crime because I turned a blind eye. "Susan, Carrie just went to the mat for you can you return the favor," I ask as I punch in the chairman's number. "All you have to do is make one phone call," I say as I pass the phone to her. She takes it and begins to tell her story of seduction and rape.
****LoVe****
"I went to see Susan last night. I'm sorry I didn't believe you," I say as I approach Carrie who was eating her lunch alone away from the 09ers.
"It really doesn't do my any good now, does it," she mutters as I see Weevil motioning for me.
"Yo, V. Here's that freshman. The one telling stories about Logan's mom," he says as I see the frightened boy look up at me. I had seen him around a few times hanging out with Beaver.
"Thanks. I hope you have the energy to tell that story just one more time," I say as I send a text to Logan. I lead the way to the computer lab for the kid to show me his video.
"Pixie dust you paged?" he gripes in a slightly annoyed voice. I looked him over once as he shook his head at me. I motioned for him to join us at the table.
"Well you're in time it seems Weevil's new friend Hart here has something to show us, so spill," I say as I point at him to begin.
"Well my friends and I were editing our film "Storm on the Beach." It's just on high def, but it's pretty cool. It's these two brothers who get sent to war and-," Hart was explaining but I could see Logan get tensed up.
"We don't care about all that just get to the point," I snap as the boy flinches. I could see guys dressed up and the bridge in the background. I vaguely saw something in the corner of the video fall from the bridge, but could swear by it.
"Did you see it, right there," Hart asks as he points to the corner of the screen.
"Only thing I saw was how the film sucked," Logan mutters darkly.
"Logan, Hart rewind it. Maybe play it frame by frame," I say as he slows it down.
"Right there, see the right side of the bridge," he says as I now can focus in on the area as what seems to be a body falls from the side of the bridge.
"Holy shit, man..." Weevil mutters as I look over at Logan who has this petrified expression on his face. I close my eyes for a second as I realize this was shattering his last ounce of hope.
"I'm sorry, the video's time stamped 4:37 pm. It clearly is the time when..." Hart begins but turns to look at Logan before continuing, "…she supposedly jumped" he finishes.
"Hart if you know what's good for you this video will never make it out of this room," I say as I see Logan flexing his fists.
"I don't think we have to worry about our boy here, do we Hart," Weevil asks as he places his hand on the boy's shoulder. "He knows what might or could happen to him if it does," Weevil ends as I watch him walk away with Hart following him. Logan moves closer to the computer screen to look more closely at it. I wait a minute bore moving closer to him.
"Logan, I'm sorry," I say as I reach out to touch him, but he flinches away from me.
"Yeah, me too," he says so soft I almost didn't hear him as I drop my head. He turns around quickly and walks out of the room. I was about to sit down when I got a text from my dad's friend at the bank where Lynn had her credit cards. I made my way out the door running to catch up with him.
"Logan!" I call out as he turns around just barely catching me as I run into him.
"Veronica, I'm not really in the mood," he mutters as I hold my hand up for him to listen.
"Your mom's missing credit card was just used," I say as I tell him that they'll call me with the details. I watch as a small flicker of hope flashes in his eyes. I tell him I would let him know the moment I heard something more. HE thanked me and headed home. I was able to let it go for the moment. I still had questions for someone else, but I had promised I would take Logan as backup, but didn't want to worry about fighting with him over it.
I hated watching Rooks pack up his desk, but he had to pay for what he did. I didn't like it, but it was something that had to be done. I shared a brief nod to Carrie as she watched him go with a huge smirk plastered on her face. I didn't like having to admit to my dad later either that he was right all along. He did give me some encouragement when he said if he was ever in trouble he'd want me on his side. I hope he never finds out the real reason behind all the 09ers turning on me was in fact because I stood by him and not them.
"Veronica you don't have to do this," Logan stated from the driver's side of his SUV. I had kept my promise and told him about the revisit to Koontz. He wanted to go in with me, but I was adamant he waited in the SUV. He didn't like it, but he gave in to me.
Koontz was waiting for me on the other side of the glass when I walked up to the window. He motioned for me to pick up the phone. I did so.
"What can I help you with today, Veronica Mars, intrepid girl reporter?" he smirks at me.
"Actually nothing, this time I just wanted you to know that I knew the truth," I say as I hold up his medical files. "You're dying, Abel," I say as I watch his stupid smirk wash away from his face.
"How did you?" he begins but I hold my hand up.
"You knew all this when you confessed. You felt like you had nothing more to live for since you were dying. You didn't kill Lilly Kane, hell you didn't even know her. You're just the Kane's patsy," I snap as I hang the phone up and yell for the guard.
"Hey, are you alright," Logan questions as I get closer to him. He was waiting outside of his SUV for me.
"For the first time I think so," I say honestly as he helps me into his SUV. "Thank you!" I say as he gets in and we head back to Neptune the town full or corruption, and the place where a murderer thinks they got away scoot free. I was going to find Lilly's killer even if it ended everything I knew.