Redeeming LoVe
Chapter 16: Conflicts of Flight
Veronica
I searched for my mother for the better part of a year. I doubt that Clarence Weidman just happened to find her the same night. He didn't know where to find my mother. He knew where to find me, but how the hell did he know this.
Clarence had shown up before I even called Logan, so I know it wasn't his fault. I can't figure out how the heck he knew where to find me unless he was listening in. There has to be a bug in my room. I begin rummaging through things trying to find it until a box catches my eye in the trash can. I pick it up looking it over. I never donated to the Wildlife Alliance, yet I kept that stupid pencil sharpener they sent.
I toss the box back into the trash as I grab the sharpener I kept. I had kept it because I thought it was pretty neat. I try to twist the head part off with no luck so I slam it on the desk corner. The head broke off as a black wire drops out of the panda. So Weidman was listening in as I booked my flight. God, what the hell else has he heard? I should have just gone after the dance, but UI didn't want to look like the Material Girl when I saw my mom for the first time in over a year. I tap my hand on the desk as I stare at the bug unsure of what I planned on doing next.
If Weidman thought he was going to get away with this, he had another thing coming. I struggled to find my mom and he wasn't going to take her away from me yet again. I had seen him out of the corner of my eye as I was wrestling with my mom. She fought me strongly as she tried to get me to leave. I was totally honest with her, but I still wondered if I did the right thing. Luckily for me she finally caved in hugging me tightly to her body.
I look around my room at the chaos I created searching for the damn bug. I needed to clean it up before my dad questioned me on the remodeling. I was upset Weidman has been listening in on me, but maybe that's what I wanted him to do. I would have to remember to keep my business out of my room for awhile. I placed the bug back into the panda's head and replaced it where I had it before I broke it. Yes, I wanted him to hear me from this point forward.
The next morning I decided to catch a little BFF time with Wallace since I was trying to avoid Logan. I wasn't sure where his head was since learning everything he had about my mom. Wallace was smack talking as he tossed the ball around the court. I hated to admit it, but he was pretty darn good.
It was amusing to watch Wallace put people in their places on the court. I t was a whole different side of him. I heard Jack speak up a few times to Wallace, but I couldn't hear everything they were saying as I studied on the gym floor eating my apple.
"Do you need to jump back and kiss yourself? 'Cause I can wait," I smirk at him as he looks like he would like to be anywhere but where he was. He says something to Jack before heading to the locker rooms. I decided to wait for him in the hallway away from all the jocks.
Once Wallace finally joined me he was getting hit on and slammed into by so many people I felt a little jealous he had new friends. "They like you! They really like you!" I say as cheery as I could as I watched a girl walk toward him. She was looking at him as if he was the last guy in the world. He tells me who the hussy was some Nadine or something. I couldn't care less. The jab he mad about me socializing more hit me hard.
"Wait. That's my problem?" I say as I watch another boy coming closer to him.
"Vee, don't take this the wrong way I know this school hasn't always been great to you, but you need to get out there and walk to people," he say as the next kid smacks him on the back walking by us.
"Well you do have a gift for the stating the understatement of the year," I as we round the corner.
"I-I'm just saying…I've met a few people around here. Most of seem pretty cool. Maybe all the kids aren't as bad as you think it is," he says as I stop causing him to run into me. Meg and Duncan were pretty cozy in front of their lockers.
"Man they sure seem quite friendly," I mutter as I turn away from them. As soon as I do I feel someone tapping on my shoulder.
"Veronica Mars, my office now!" Mr. Clemmons snaps as I just huff when I turn back to face Wallace.
"Yep, Wallace I love this school," I mutter moving toward Clemmons office. I wasn't happy being called into his office for absolutely no reason. I hadn't done anything yet to be in trouble. He walked in after me motioning for me to have a seat. I wanted to be a pain and stand, but he looked way too serious for me to do that.
Come to find out I wasn't in trouble at all. Polly the parrot which was our school mascot was missing. I played it off as not too serious making jokes until Clemmons gave me a dirty look. He was absolutely not a joker. It was amusing to find out he had actually wanted to hire me to find the missing bird.
"Veronica I have noticed that you have certain…skills plus as I understand it, you work for your dad in some capacity," he says eyeing me up.
"Sometimes, but my main focus is this hell whole," I mutter as he gives me a look.
"Alright, what do you normally charge for something like this?" he questions as I look down at my nails.
"More than you think, Yeah, it's gonna set you back some," I say smirking at him as he gets the gist of what was going on in my head.
"Okay, I'll play along with your little game, how far back?" he says leaning back into his chair as he looks back at me.
"I want a personal letter of recommendation. I'll write it, you'll sign it. My own parking space and...a different locker, preferably in the east hall to get away from all the rift raft," I say as he chuckles.
"I'll do the letter and the locker, but you're not getting your own parking space," he says as I think over what else I could get out of.
"Then I want out of PE," I say as he shakes his head.
"No, you should have stayed on the Pep Squad for that," he counters as I make a muffled throw up sound.
"What about getting some free absences?" I counter as he rolls his eyes this time.
"I'll let you have one, now do we have a deal," he questions ending the discussion.
"That's not exactly what I was thinking," I mutter as he holds his hand out. "Fine, but remember you're the one who is missing the bird not me.
"Yes, I know that. Veronica this is, obviously, a confidential matter," he says as I stand up.
"Yes, I thought that was whole reason you dragged me in here in front of everyone. Don't worry it'll be our little secret," I say as I walk out of the door going to the secretary to exchange my locker.
I was able to find Wallace since everyone was either high fiving him or smacking him on the back. It made me a little sick to know how popular he really was, but at least he was still my friend. I was able to find him at his locker eating homemade cookies that I was very thankful he liked since I placed them there earlier this morning. I use to love doing Sprit boxes with Lilly, but hadn't had a reason to do one since I was no longer on the Pep Squad.
"I like having you as a locker partner," Wallace smirks munching on his cookies some more.
"Right, this was just the best locker in the school. That was all, nothing to do with you," I say laughing as s few other kids stop to talk to him. Well the secret of Polly missing was out. "Plus on the upside it is so much better for me since it is Wallace Fennel adjacent. I am lucky now since I am close to the all star," I smirk as he just shakes his head closing his locker door.
I watched as Duncan and Meg came around the corner. The only thing I wanted to do right now was run away from them as fast as I could, but I seemed to be stuck in place.
"Man you had such an amazing game the other night," Duncan says as he smacks Wallace on the back. The thing that hurt me the most was seeing Duncan holding Meg's hand. She though didn't look as comfortable as he did. I felt very uncomfortable as well. I mean how could he hurt me like he did, but be okay with Meg. "I mean eighteen points, and eight assists," he continues as I watch Wallace eating up all this fame he has now.
"You know man on the wild streets, we call those dimes," Wallace says as I just roll my eyes. God this want even funny.
"Seriously on the streets! You live on the corner of Pleasant Valley and Marigold," I say as I see Meg move a little closer.
"Veronica, did you get your hair cut?" she asks as I just try hard to think of how nice she is. I try to keep my eyes from wandering down to their entwined hands, but I take a quick peek causing Meg to tense up.
"Actually I'm letting it grow out," I say smiling as Meg quickly lets go of Duncan's hand moving it to wrap around her other arm.
"I didn't mean anything about it, it looks great," she says as I give her a small smile.
"Thanks, Meg," I say softly as Duncan continues talking with Wallace. It was funny to hear him actually talk about something with someone other than Logan or Dick. They began talking about Pan High and kicking their butt in the next school game. After a few more awkward minutes Meg and Duncan move on.
I wanted to hang out with Wallace some more, but I knew I needed to be somewhere else. I couldn't believe how popular he had become. I just hoped I wouldn't lose him. I walked toward my car just as I noticed Logan walking toward his. We hadn't really talked much about what happened in Barstow, but I was very thankful for him just being there for me.
I made it across town to Pan High in record time. To me it was just another school. I try to flatten the frilly pink skirt I has chosen to wear thinking of what some people might say about it at Neptune. I went all out for this undercover situation to look just like a regular high school girl down to the curly hair I use to wear when Lilly was still alive.
Pan High, the Un-Neptune. Just 15 miles away but when those miles are heading inland, there are no yacht clubs and no five million dollar homes with coastal views. The parking lot is full of American-made cars from the nineties and the vending machines don't carry Orangina. I think as I climb the steps to the office only to have my arm jerked quickly.
"What the hell?" I snap as I try to jerk my arm away from the person holding it.
"Awe is that any way to talk to me, lover," Troy sneers at me as he pulls me closer. "Man if I had known you would have gotten all girlie for me. I might have been nicer to you," he says as he buries his nose in my hair. I struggle to pull myself free from his grasp only to stumble and fall on my butt. I see an out stretched hand in front of me as I look up with tears in my eyes.
"Veronica," Logan says softly as I look around trying to figure out where Troy was.
"Damn it," I muttered as he held tightly t me as I brushed myself off. I hardly recognized him as I looked up at him. He had a dark brown wig on with a lot of facial hair. He didn't look like the same boy. "What's all this?" I questioned as I motioned to his head.
"I'm trying to see if people would like me for me and not daddy dearest money," he mutters as I see him look to the hallway away from us where Troy was now standing.
"I guess he transferred her," I said as Logan walked with me to the office.
"Yea!" he muttered as he opened the door for me and then walked away. I gave the lady the fake documents to get me enrolled as Betty Reynolds. She smiled at me and passed me my schedule. I was headed toward the cafeteria when I saw Troy again, but he seemed to be busy with a girl who was halfway wrapped around his body.
I picked up a tray of food from the line and began to wander around to figure out where I should sit at. It was strange not sitting out in the open like at Neptune, but this seemed more real to me. I couldn't argue much as I headed to my targeted section where the jocks were all seated. I had to chuckle to myself when they welcomed me into their group with no reservations. It was neat to be invited into something, but that moment changed the second I saw Logan walking toward the table.
"Betty, have you met Landon," the boy who had already introduced himself to me as Richie asks as Logan moves to sit down.
"Yea, he helped me up as some kid shoved me this morning. I didn't catch his name though," I say as I play along. I listened into the conversation amazed how down to earth the teens here seemed to be. It was like some sort of time wrap or something.
It was interesting to hear them all talking about how good Wallace was. God if Wallace could only hear this. Logan seemed to be watching me throughout the whole Horney situation where I told them that at my old school I was the mascot named Horney since it was a rhino. I laughed when he choked on his soda.
"Hey Richie!" some kid yells as Richie was just about to tell of his master plan to win against Neptune. "You're not gonna believe this. They got our goat!" he says as I see everyone at the table stand up muttering.
"What?" Richie yells as everyone in the cafeteria stops what they were doing and looks into our direction. Logan looks to me with a smirk on his face.
"Neptune, man, they stole Billy!" someone yells out as everyone seems to start yelling and talking over one and another. It was strange seeing everyone act some different.
Damn it! A day in the life of a human google. Always in search mode. One moment tracking down the absurd, parrots and goats, metaphors for a school pride I don't possess… I think as I decide to call it a day for the moment I needed to be somewhere else.
As I was waiting for the person I needed to talk to I think back on what went on with my mom and me. I told her how I knew about her and Jake Kane. I even gave her a little mother daughter moment letting her know about the school dance that I left to be here with her. It killed something inside of me when she told me she was sure it wasn't Jake who killed his daughter. That my dad was going after an innocent man. When I questioned her about it; she told me she knew because she was with him. I was beyond livid, but I hid it to keep her from running. I was happy to know that once I left her Logan was waiting for me at the motel. I don't think /I would have fared better if I had done all of it alone.
I knew that Sheriff Lamb left once a year for some stupid fishing expedition or another thing which meant the Sheriff's station wouldn't be on lockdown. I looked around the office as I poured myself a cup of coffee. It tasted like warm dish water, but it kept me busy. I hadn't seen him just yet, but knew if I asked he would help me.
"Just so that you know I always daydream about girls waiting for me," Leo says as he comes up behind me.
"Oh yeah?" I smirk as I twirl my hair around a finger.
"I guess you are here for something," he says as he chuckles looking past me at Sacks.
"I kind of have a big favor to ask of you," I say honestly as he leads me away from the watching Deputies. He pushes me into the corner away from his colleagues before turning back to look at me.
"Please let this favor be something that won't get me in trouble like a parking ticket," he half begs but in honesty I can see the truth in his eyes. I wish life was that easy, but in my reality it wasn't.
"I wish it was. I hope you would get me the tapes form the interrogation during Lilly's murder investigation. I need to hear what my mom and Jake Kane said about that time," I say as I watch his shoulders slump and he sighs. He nods his head slowly before getting up and leaving me alone.
I was looking at one of my case files when my dad questioned me about my bank account. I hated lying to him, but right now he didn't need to know I used my whole life savings to put mom through rehab. I hated that the bank called him, but this wasn't something he could help me with. No I needed to bring my family back together. I had to lie to him which made the whole situation even worse.
I made me feel even worse after he left to know that my mom lied to him. Jake Kane even lied to him so technique my dad was right about Jake, but he probably wouldn't have figured my mom had something to do with it all. What made me even madder was the fact that Celeste Kane seemed to be behind the whole situation. She called my mom about her affair on Jake and threatens me. What kind of a mother does something like that to a child? I always thought Lily was telling stories about the way her mom acted, but to hear my mom's story I began to wonder.
The next day I called Mr. Clemmons to let him know I would be on my stake out for Polly and wouldn't be at school. I also made sure to tell him this wasn't using my reserved absences. He made a remark and hung up the phone. I looked all around for Troy hoping to avoid him, but just as I was getting out of my car he shoved me against the driver's side door.
"I heard the jocks talking about this hot blonde named Betty who just started school here," Troy sneers into my ear as he holds my arms to my sides.
"What do you want?" I snap as I felt his fingers digging into my wrists.
"I want to know where the hell my drugs are," he snaps as he pushes harder into me as I feel his clear expectations in his lower parts brushing up against me. I wanted to do nothing but give him a good knee, but I was stuck.
"Probably halfway to the ocean by now," I say as he kisses me violently moving one hand to hold both my arms in front of me as he moves the other hand under my shirt. I began to panic as I see flashes of Shelly's party.
"Get the hell off of her," Logan snaps as he pulls Troy away from me. I quickly slump down. I could see the war in Logan's eyes as he struggles with hitting Troy or coming to me. He decides I am more important as he bends down to eye level. I throw my arms around his neck pulling him closer.
"Thank you!" I mumble into his neck as he pulls me closer burying his nose in my shoulder.
"I should have been here sooner. I got held up at home," he mutters as I pull away.
"I'm just glad you showed up when you did," I say as I shudder at the thought of what Troy might have done. I looked around to see the parking lot still pretty empty. "Come on I need to work on my case," I say standing up as Logan moves away from me.
"How's your mom doing?" he questions while we walk into the school. I tell him I hadn't heard from her yet. We separate to go to classes as I see Troy standing off to the side with another girl.
I was thankful the lunch bell rang when it did because I was starving. I barely made it to the cafeteria as I watched the jocks from the day before entering agreeing over something. Richie the head player tells me that Zeke the other boy beat money on Neptune instead of Pan. So they were arguing over the game and money. I understood after hearing the logic behind his bet. This would have made Wallace's day hearing that some player at Pan bet on him.
"…and from what I hear, everyone from Neptune and everyone here are gonna go out there and put money on Neptune," Zeke continues as Richie shakes his head. Logan had just joined the table.
"What's Rest Stop 15?" I ask really unsure why I hadn't heard of it before.
"It's middle ground, Rest Stop 15 is halfway between here and Neptune. It overlooks the ocean, people go there to park. Plus guys sell stuff out of their trunks. You can get your hands on anything – beer, weed, porn, car stereos. That's what I'm told," Richie says as I look back to Logan who just nods his head. I would have to ask him about it later.
Our discussion was interrupted by some student named Wilson. It seems this Wilson kid says he is behind the kidnapping of Polly. Everyone is shaking his hand and high fiving him. Even Richie went to him saying something about Pan Pride. It seems Wilson had a photo of him and Polly in her cage.
Things go from bad to worse. Yep the crap has hit the fan. I was following the guys out when someone delivered a pallet of goat meat. Evidently Neptune is now responsible for killing the Pan High's mascot. Yeah, this is totally bad. I really hoped that this was a joke, but it was hard to say.
I needed to catch up with the boy who said he took Polly. I found him outside by his lockers as I turned the corner. I had to act like I cared about what this kid did was alright. He shows me the cell picture as I watch him open his locker. I could tell just how nervous he was. I was probably the first girl to ever talk to him. I ask him to tell me the story of how he got Polly. I made plans t meet him at Rest Stop 15 at four o'clock. I then waited for him to leave to get into his locker.
As soon as it's car, I open Wilson's locker. I search the jacket and grab his phone. She finds the picture. I send the photo to my phone and delete the message from him to me. Then I call a buddy of mine to handle the situation.
I make my way to the Rest stop just before Wilson does. I move to where Weevil was standing as he motions for me to get behind a car.
"Hey there, buddy. Looking for love in all the wrong places?" I hear Weevil say as I look through a glass window.
"Who, me? I'm a no one," I hear Wilson stutter clearly shaking in his boots. Luckily for me Weevil was able to get him to confess he lied about having the bird. He just wanted people to like him. Wilson took a photo of a bird in a pet store. It was pretty smart actually. I then watched as Weevil began to take bets for the basketball game. I was noticed by one of the Pan jocks as Weevil turned to me giving me a strange look. I was then asked to leave. Lucky for me I have business of my own to attend to. I think as I walk toward my car.
I enter my dad's business and fall onto the small couch in the outer office. Family business. When Dad lost his job as sheriff, he announced to my mom and me that we were going to stay in Neptune and he would try to make his living as a private investigator. That was the last straw for Mom. This was the final nail in the coffin for my mom.
I think back to what she told me while we were having coffee. "What happened with Jake?" I demand as my mom tried to get back to the bar for a beer.
"I don't know, I just, I convinced him to make her back off," she mutters looking around shaking. I stand my ground with her.
"How did you convince him?" I demand a little louder.
"It's very complicated Veronica, I don't know how to explain it to you or have it make any sense…" she says trying to brush past me like I was still the same girl I was before I saw my best friend lying in a pool of her own blood.
"God, mom just tell me the truth for once! How did you convince him?" I say desperately. I could tell she was wavering.
"I told Jake that if Celeste tried to contact you again, I'd have a paternity test done and take him for millions," she admits as I hear Abel Knootz words ricocheting in the back of my mom. I couldn't do anything but stare at her. This was just too much to handle.
"Then you know, are you sure that test will prove that Jake's my father?" I ask as my voice begins to break. She stops what she is doing and looks at me.
"No," she admits as I begin to see her in a new light. I was halfway disgusted with her. My dad might not be my dad. I knew this was a possibility but I figured everyone was just saying this to hurt me.
I am pulled out of the little flashback by footsteps and a loud knock on the door. Leo is walking in with a wrapped box in his hands. He sits beside me sighing as I realize he probably came to ask me to leave him alone.
"How's that for inconspicuous? They don't teach you this at the academy by the way," he says smiling at me as I open the box to see it's filled with tapes. He asks me on a date. I would have gone to dinner and a movie, but he so under thought the idea of black mail.
He seemed a little let down about just getting dinner, but I changed the topic to ask him about sports. I was going to ask Logan, but Leo was here. He explained a little to me, but it all seemed foreign to me. When he told me that the bookie might know something the betters didn't made me think the game might be rigged.
I didn't want to sit alone today so I decided to sit closer to the basketball players table as Wallace sat down with me. I couldn't help but feel a little ticked off by the attitude of the players as none of them even talked to me. I would have to discuss this with Wallace at another point in time. Jack was rambling on about something as Wallace began to gather up uneaten food. This had me piqued as to wonder where he was going and to do what.
I decide that the moment he takes the food and begins to leave to follow after him. One thing I knew was that Wallace was up to something. I try my best to be sneaky, but as I watch him weaving behind the school buses I barely see him turn around.
"Why are you following me?" he questions as I stumble slightly from stopping all of a sudden.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I always walk toward the parking lot. Wallace you say following as if it's a bad thing. I think I am walking with a friend here. I'm just curious to know where you're going with the apple, the potato chips and the raisins that you snagged from your buddies," I smirk as he shakes his head frowning at me.
"Seriously, here I thought I was getting away so easily. I forgot about that third eye you have right here," he jokes as he points to my forehead.
"I think that's the most awesome thing anyone has ever said to me," I gush as I put my hands up against my chest.
"Vee, trust me on this, you don't really want to know," he says seriously.
"Now I need to know," I say as he stops at the back end of a brightly painted van. I watch him closely as he opens the back doors to a bleating goat chewing on the sofa. I have to keep the laughter from coming out as the goat continues to chew the things in the van. Wallace though looks like he wants to rip his hair out as he climbs into the back of the van.
I had to laugh because Wallace was trying hard to hide the mascot goat for Pan High. I thought my day couldn't get any better, but seeing the mess this animal has been making I laugh. Yep, this is one time I am glad I don't have to worry about Wallace doing something dumb. That train already left.
"Veronica a little help," Wallace asks as I close the doors for him. "Veronica," I hear him yell as I begin to walk away from the whole silly thing. I mean why would he even resort to such petty games. 'Veronica this was all Jack's idea. PLEASE come back and help me,' Wallace sent me a text message. I laugh as I shake my head. I wasn't getting involved with that little dirty mess.
I had made it home without anything bad happening to me for not helping Wallace out. I decided that I could relax a little and listen to the tapes while I make Wallace some fresh Snicker doodle cookies. I wasn't paying attention to anything but my batter and the tapes as I sprinkled the rolled dough with some cinnamon. It was amazing to hear how frustrated Jake Kane seemed to be. My dad was grilling him pretty well. I just didn't understand why they didn't come clean. I mean if they were all together than there was no reason to lie. Mom was meeting Jake and Celeste barged in on them. Just tell the truth. I guess that was why mom was so mad at dad for busting Jake's chops; he knew they were lying, but didn't know why.
I was placing a try of rolled and cinnamon covered dough balls into the oven. As I grabbed for the already baked pan I noticed someone standing in the door of the apartment. I turn expecting Wallace, but see Logan instead.
"I didn't see you this afternoon," he says as he walks into the area closing the door behind him.
"I decided to stay at Neptune. I really didn't want another encounter with Troy," I muttered as I began rolling dough once again.
"Whatcha doing?" he asked as he pointed to the trays of baked cookies.
"I was baking," I say as my front door opens once again and Wallace walks in this time giving me a questionable look as he looks from me to Logan.
"Hey, I left my algebra book over here last night," he says as he grabs his book off the shelf by the hallway.
"How's the goat?" I asked as he pulls out the chair across from me and sits. Logan looks from me to Wallace puzzled. "The basketball guys took Pan's goat," I say as Logan laughs.
"Laugh it up," Wallace mutters as he grabs a cookie from the tray juggling it from hand to hand as he takes a bite. He looks from the cookie he was eating to me as if a light bulb just went off in his head. "Are these snicker doodles? You're the one who's been making my spirit boxes?" he says as I give him a smile. Logan reaches for a cookie and begins to eat it. He gives me a smile as he finishes it.
"I was on the pep squad, once upon a time, remember?" I say as the two of them look at me.
"Yeah, but you're not really the peppiest person I know. Don't take this the wrong way, but you think this is all a waste of time," Wallace says as he motions toward all the cookies I had baked.
"Yeah, I know, but you don't," I say quickly as I roll a few more dough balls through the cinnamon as Wallace goes to grab another cookie I slap his hand.
"Wallace man I even knew to keep my hands off. Veronica is a testy little thing about her food," Logan jokes as I swat at his arm.
"Really, do you want to open your locker tomorrow only to have it empty," I say as I knew I was going to cave the moment I looked up into their faces. They both are giving me the saddest puppy dog face they could muster. "Fine, but only one," I snap as I watch them both grab for their cookie.
"So Logan what brings you here," Wallace says in between bites.
"I was just checking up on Veronica. I saw her and she looked upset," he says as if he was unsure if Wallace knew what I was doing. I nod my head as he stops.
"Girl you sure can bake," Wallace says as he finishes the cookie looking at the trays with more on them.
"That she can," Logan says as he turns around to face the opposite side of the room.
"Wallace, are you going to be picking your mom up from work today?" I question as Logan turns to look at Wallace.
"Yeah," he says unsure of what I was about to ask him. I go into details of what I wanted him to do with a potted plant. I had snuck a listening devise into the plant. I needed it to be put in Weidman's office to listen in on him. He smiled as he took the plant and grabbed for another cookie rushing out the door before I could reprimand him.
"I wasn't sure what you told him, and I all…" Logan started as I cut him off with my hand.
"You did fine. I haven't told him anything. I definitely haven't told him about Troy," I say as he sits back down. I go back to making the cookies as he just sits with me. It didn't even seem weird. I was just taking the last batch out of the oven as I looked to the clock to notice I was going to have to shower and get ready for my date with Leo.
"Logan," I start as he looks up.
"I should get going," he says softly as I reach behind me for one of the containers I filled with cookies.
"Here," I say as I hand him the cookies.
"Veronica," he says as I hold them out for him.
"I made plenty and I know Wallace doesn't need them all," I say smiling.
"Thank you," he says as he pulls his jacket on and walks toward the front door just as my dad opens it. "Mr. Mars," he says as I begin to look anywhere but at my dad.
"Logan thank you for this afternoon," I say as he turns to look at me.
"Call me if you need help with your problem," he says as he walks out the door and my dad closes it.
"Logan and you," my dad asks as I shake my head not wanting to have this sort of conversation with him at this precise moment.
"I've got to get ready," I mutter as I see him wandering into the kitchen area. "Don't you dare eat all those cookies?" I call out as I head for the shower. I really needed to get ready, and I wanted to listen to the tapes a little more. It was the fastest shower I had in a long time, but after getting dressed I was able to listen to Celeste's interrogation. It really wasn't any better than Jake's.
She was more worried about why she was being interviewed apart from Jake. I guess they hadn't really made all the right decisions yet. I was kind of upset listening to her ramble about the events when she wasn't really being truthful. There were so many holes in her story; unsure how long they were at the hotel, didn't know what they watched on TV nor did she give many details to help the investigation.
"Honey grab your lip gloss, don't forget the pepper spray, your date's here," he says in the most annoying Bogart impression. I take the headphones off and give him a smile. He really was doing his job right, but the powers that be felt he wasn't the right man to be Sheriff.
"Leave the cookies alone," I say as I walk toward Leo who was standing by the door. He looked like he was ready to bolt. I hated when my dad went all Sheriff and daddy on my dates.
Leo didn't give much away as to where he was taking me, but it was nice to just be out on a date. I haven't been on one since Troy and he is still stalking me. We enter into a small cozy Chinese place. I had been here once or twice with Lilly and the guys, but not since then.
"Okay this might sounds strange, but in my culture, Chinese food is always followed by gelato," he says smiling at me. He wanted to follow dinner with dessert. It was time to call the shots.
"I don't think you mentioned anything about a dessert stop after dinner. I mean you lucked out on the movie, but I think your taking it too fast thinking about dessert when you haven't even fed me yet," I joke as I watch him roll his eyes,
"Well the tactic I was working on was dinner, and then some dessert followed up by a little talking," he says softly as I kiss his lips. "Whoa, there was no kissing agreed upon," he jokes as I smack his arm.
Once it was our turn to be seated the waitress led us toward the back of the restaurant where I immediately saw the Kanes eating dinner. I felt like I had been suckered punch watching them be so carefree when they were all liars.
Meg noticed me as she stood up and introduced herself and the Kanes to Leo. I gave her a halfway hug unsure of what to really do in a situation like this. Duncan gets up and shakes Leo's hand before I introduce him to his parents. Jake makes small talk with us, but I felt so uneasy being around them. Once we move closer to our seat Leo asks me if I wanted to go somewhere else. I decided not to let my past dictate my life. We had a wonderful dinner. I learned that Leo became a Deputy to help pay for his sister's bills. It was neat to learn about him. I gave him the generic version of my life.
All through dinner I had the uneasy feeling Celeste was watching me and when I would turn to see she was. I couldn't push the nagging feeling out of my mind that things between her statement and my mom's just didn't add up, 'The way my mother tells it, she was there for twenty minutes, tops. So what if Celeste saw my mom in the lobby? What better way to control my mother than have Clarence Wiedman take photos of me framed in a rifle-sight? Maybe it wasn't a paternity issue'.
I hated the strange group of kids I was forced to visit with to see if they had anything to do with Polly's disappearance. I would have to thank Duncan for this crappy assignment. Yep, the ex shacked me up with a bunch of animal lovers. I was talking with one of the girls when another one tried to cut the fake fur lining off of my vest. As I was taking my vest the TV came on revealing a pair of sneakers next to a bird cage with a bird that looked like Polly. The hooded man said Wallace couldn't play in the game against Pan High or Poly would be killed. That was just wrong making demands over a dumb game.
"Weevil, man how's our feathered friend?" I questioned as I sat down above him at lunch.
"Blondie say what," he says looking up at me.
"Seriously you took the parrot, didn't you? You're taking even money bets on a team everyone thinks will win. Why would you do that unless you knew that Wallace, our best player, wouldn't play?" I snap halfway insulted that he was playing around with me. I mean who else would take the bird.
"Wow, Vee, I thought you had something for me, but it never occurred to me it would be for my brain," he says.
"Um, no and I am totally gagging," I snap as he chuckles a little.
"Veronica. Do I look that smart to you? I'm just a simple bookie, I handle the bets and take kids money from them that's all," he says smirking up at me. I can't help but roll my eyes at the thought of him being just simple. No there was more to Weevil than what met the eye. He says something else, but I am hardly listening to him as I see Troy across the quad smirking at me. Weevil decides to leave as I am still staring at Troy.
I quickly look around for Logan, but decide he is probably at Pan so I was on my own. I quickly made it into the hallway to find Wallace. I had to laugh as I watched him slam his locker shut and slid down the locker to sit on the floor. I felt bad for him this game meant a lot to him.
"This just totally sucks big time," he says as I join him on the floor leaning next to him.
"I hate to admit it but it really does," I say honestly as he looks over at me. Wallace didn't deserve this at all. I felt even worse for him when he said that the Coach called him into the office and told him he should still play, but I knew that Wallace wouldn't do it if it meant that Polly would be hurt. He wasn't a vicious person at all. I asked him how I could make him feel better and he gave me an evil smirk as he told me to take the goat back to Pan. Right, he was going to pawn the demon off on me. I would do it for him though.
I realized that I needed some help with how the person got onto the TV broadcast in the first place. I went to find Meg since I knew she was in charge of that. I found her in the computer room looking at the computer screen as I entered the room.
She told me she would help me in any way that she could. I asked her about the broadcast and how it could be interrupted like it was. Then she helped me look at a still of the video. It wasn't until I was about ready to give up did I see the tiny number on the shoe. If it wasn't for that I wouldn't have solved my case of who took Polly.
"We just actually kinda just had a conversation," Meg says smiling as I take a deep breath unsure where she was going with this. "See, that's what you do now. You take a deep breath like you're preparing for battle or something, Veronica but you're not," she continues as I just want to roll my eyes at her, but don't.
"Meg, you're looking into it too much I was just breathing," I say abruptly as I decide to leave before I say something I might regret. Meg was actually a very nice person.
"I want everything to be okay between us like it was before," she says as she looks down. Right, like it was before she began dating Duncan who just ended things with me without even explaining it to me.
"It is. We just- we run in different circles. We have different friends and do different things," I say as she nods her head.
"Yet, It doesn't have to be like that," she says softly as I turn around to face her.
"I'm sorry Meg but it does. I'm not programmed to jus forgive and forget. I can't just start hanging around with the same students who've ignored and mocked me for a year. That's just not me how I work" I say as softly as I could without snapping at her.
"I know, but maybe we can have our own circle without them," she says as naïve as it sounded. I knew she would leave her friends to hang out with me but that wasn't something I wanted her to do.
"Maybe," I say as I walk out the door to take care of the person who really snatched Polly and the goat that needed to be given back to Pan.
I felt strange walking into school with both the parrot and the goat. I was able to get Polly without any issues and brought the goat to give back to the guys of Pan High. Someone called me Betty as I reached Clemmons as he raised an eyebrow at me.
"Who is this Betty?" he questions as I hand him the evidence and the parrot.
"Beats me. There's Polly and bonus mascot. And those are some photos for Coach of the student behind this whole situation," I say as he looks down at me.
"Who had Polly?" he questions as I see Richie entering with his team. I ask for a moment as I make my way to Richie.
"Betty, you made it" Richie says smiling at me as I notice Logan off to the side.
"Richie, you really are one of a kind. I wished I had a friend like you at my high school. Hey watch out for Wallace Fennel he is a killer on the floor," I say as I smile walking away from Richie leaving him more confused than he already was.
"You better warm up, Fennel," I say as I walk toward him noticing he wasn't in his jersey. I see the boy wonder right next to him.
"Did you get Polly back?" he questioned as I smiled and nodded my head. I even busted Jack with his beating scheme and how he was going to control the scoreboard for Neptune to lose. The Coach called him out on his bull and Wallace got to start. I watched as he took his jacket and pants off before heading into the auditorium.
"Veronica," Logan asks as I walk toward him.
"Hey," I say smiling as he laughs.
"Are you going into the game?" he questions pointing to the still open doors. I look from him to the door and shake my head.
"I'm not really into that," I say as he laughs once more.
"Yet, you spent all afternoon one day making that kid cookies," he joked as he walked toward the doors. I looked from him to my escape and decide he was right. I should enjoy this. I followed him toward the doors.
"I'll stay, but you're buying me my food," I say as he chuckles.
"Wouldn't have it any other way," he says as he leads me into the gym.
It was later that night after the game did I reflect on the ordeal of my mom and her rehab. My dad would kill me if he found out I spent my whole life savings on it. I wanted her to get sober, but at what cost. I had enough for four years at San Diego State, a year at Stanford and a semester at the Sorbonne. Let's hope it's worth it. I knew Logan wanted to pay for it for the way he treated me the last year, but I couldn't take his money from him. I wasn't that kind of a girl. I knew he wouldn't let it slide either. I found a shoebox a few days ago addressed to me with money in it. I knew it was from him, but wouldn't call him on it. Right now it was hidden in the bottom of my closet.
It breaks my heart as I remember how hard she fought me about going to rehab, but the reality of it was I really wanted my mother back. I needed her, so as I think about it I just hope it wasn't for nothing. I wipe the tears out of my eyes as I look at my empty checking account. "Dad, can you come in here for a minute?" I yell out as he enters my room standing in the doorway.
"I need to get you a bell like a cat to know where you are," he jokes as I shake my head. He holds up the paper showing me how Neptune wiped the floor with Pan High.
"Right, I want you to answer me something, honestly," I say as he looks at me.
"Honey," he says as he moves closer to me sitting in the chair by my desk.
"Please don't get mad and don't blow me off, just answer me as honestly as you can," I say as he nods his head. "Why would a person agree to confess to a murder he didn't commit?" I ask as I can see him tense up.
"Veronica," he mutters raising his voice a little. I try to plead my case with my eyes as he sighs. "Money, a lot of it," he admits.
"Right, but what good is money to you if you're not going to be around to spend it," I ask as he looks at me.
"My best guess would be there's someone else. Someone you care about that will be around after that person dies," he says as I ponder this for a moment. He gets up and walks out of the room as I pick up the bug.
"Wait, Dad," I say before staring my plan. Now we'll learn how well Wallace follows instructions if my special rubber tree plant was delivered to the desktop of my choice. I pull the up the file for the bug. I can hear Wiedman.
"Lois. Get me Amelia DeLongpre on the phone," he mutters as I smile. Gotcha! I pull up a search engine and type in, "Amelia DeLongpre" and "Abel Koontz." What was the connection?I get an obituary announcement. Out of the whole World Wide Web there is only one document that links them together. The entry is from the Neptune Register, dated May 23, 2001 concerning Stella Koontz, aged 78. "Stella Koontz died Sunday night after a long battle with cervical cancer. She leaves behind son Abel Koontz of Neptune and granddaughter Amelia DeLongpre." Abel Koontz has a daughter? Yep! That would be a big incentive to admit to a murder you didn't commit. Dad was right this was all about money.