Chapter 9
After two cups of coffee, Veronica spent the better half of her morning searching for someone who didn't exist. She typed both names into the database. Not one Sarah Kingsley lived on the West Coast. Most were either preteens or highly unlikely candidates of being Connor Larkin's past lover. There was a forty-four year old, married Sarah Caffrey living in San Francisco. She definitely did not fit the bill. The trail of bread crumbs ended there.
Hours later, the energy gained from the caffeine was spent. Veronica slumped in her chair contemplating. A mess of files were stacked haphazardly on top of her desk. A couple of folders already spilled over knocking down a framed picture of Keith, Veronica, and Backup from her senior year of high school. Connor Larkin's investigation had been an intricate puzzle with at least a dozen missing pieces that some of her other casework Keith didn't cover had fallen slightly behind.
Fed up with the zero results, Veronica rose out of her chair and wandered over to Mac who had finished downloading software to alter the video into still frames and enhance the resolution. Noticing Mac had begun to make improvements, Veronica pulled over a wooden chair from against the wall and placed it next to the desk. The computer screen in the middle displayed the figure caught on camera at 11:22 pm.
"I couldn't do much. Pretty sure all things photography is your forte." Mac made a face. "Anyway, I split the video file into a sequence of stills. Lowered the noise and brightened, your basic effects. I think the person is wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and dark jeans."
Veronica squinted her eyes and gazed at the dark image. The face was still too obscured. The little lighting from the lampposts didn't help much either. "Small physique. I'd bet my life it's a woman."
"If this was Guess Who?, you'd have a fifty percent chance of now of winning."
"Thanks. I can also cross out those with glasses." She replied rolling her eyes. "Send me the images, I'll go into Photoshop and see if I can make them any clearer."
Right as Mac pulled up her Gmail, Dick strolled in holding a laptop in his hands. He wore regular khaki shorts and a blue collared t-shirt instead of his usual swim attire he'd sport in the mornings.
"Were the waves too small to paddle out today?" Veronica questioned. "What do you want?"
"Actually, Ronnie, I'm here for Mac."
Mac looked up at Dick with a surprised expression. "Me?"
"I have a virus on my computer I need you to remove."
"Oh." In Mac's mind the task was simple, fit for a chimp. "That'll only take a few minutes."
"Downloading porn videos always leads to trouble," Veronica said mildly amused.
"Some people don't have their own to look at."
Veronica pursed her lips. "Is that why you saved pictures of Dick Jr? I stumbled upon them using your laptop a while back."
"Like you weren't impressed."
"It gave me the urge to throw up. So if that was the intent, job well done."
"Enough you two!" Mac muttered. "Dick leave your computer here. I'll work on it when I have time later today."
"Cool, cool. Thanks." Dick dropped it on the corner of Mac's desk. As he headed out the door, he added, "I'll just let myself out so you two can get back to playing detective."
"We should probably disinfect that before you use it." Veronica joked in reference to Dick's laptop. She figured the likelihood of Dick getting a virus was actually from downloading too many movies and inane viral videos.
"On second thought, maybe I'll just wipe his hard drive completely clean and say it was an accident." Mac pressed a few keys on her super computer. "Anyway, the files are sent."
Veronica chuckled. "Thank you."
"It's what you pay me for, right?"
Veronica smacked her palm against her forehead, the realization dawning on her. "I'll have one done up for you first thing tomorrow!"
"No worries, but it will be nice to afford more than just ramen noddles again."
"Why didn't you remind me on Friday?" Every two weeks, Veronica handed Mac a check for her services and she had forgotten once again. Mac simply shrugged her shoulders. "That's it, I'm treating you to lunch! Anywhere you wanna go. I'll get Wallace to tag along. Maybe some place close to the school? You pick."
Mac beamed. "I could go for some falafels."
*x**x**x**x*
When Veronica came back from lunch, Keith had returned. He sat in his leather chair on the phone with Clifford. Veronica waited patiently to hear updates.
"Did you find her?" She asked once Keith hung up. He had been searching for a fifteen year old runaway for the past few days. The girl's folks, while not prime examples of good parenting, were rapt with panic and guilt.
The corners of his mouth curved upwards. "She ran out of cash and ended up using an emergency credit card."
"Where was she?" Curiosity was always a driving force in Veronica's life.
"Tijuana with her eighteen year old boyfriend. Mr. and Mrs. Katz are relieved. Ginger seemed less enthused to be reunited."
"With a name like that, who could blame her." Veronica thought back to the other night of being followed. "Dad, I know you don't like me bringing this up, but we know it was actually the Sheriff's Department who put out that hit on Sacks to shut him up." Sacks, who somehow became the Frank Serpico of the department, only to never get the chance to testify. Veronica could see Keith's cheeks reddening. "I was just wondering—"
"Veronica, how many times do I have to say it? I want you to let that go. Let sleeping dogs lie."
"Even with Lamb gone, the rich are still fighting to rid the town of the lesser class. It's not over. It'll happen again to somebody else."
Keith relented. "If it hasn't already."
*x**x**x**x*
Weevil made reservations at six pm to celebrate Jade's promotion. At last minute, they discovered their usual babysitter was out of town and Jade's best friend unavailable. Weevil eventually asked Veronica to watch Valentina for a few hours. She of begrudgingly accepted having felt cornered and now Veronica stood in his kitchen making dinosaur shaped mac and cheese while the four year old sat at a tiny pink table with three chairs occupied by stuff animals in the living room. She held Veronica's phone in her palm and played a game.
Veronica placed a steaming bowl on the plastic table with a spoon and grabbed her phone back. Unlike the kids she babysat that one time in high school, Valentina was absolutely precious. The spitting image of Jade; she barely looked like Eli besides her ears and the shape of her eyes.
Weevil had a modest house that appeared comfortably lived in. A stain or two on the carpet. A few crayons scattered here and there. Colorful drawings of stick people and broccoli-looking trees covered the fridge. Shoes piled by the front door.
Looking around at the framed pictures on the wall, it was still hard to believe Eli Navarro had become a family man against all odds. It wasn't jealousy she felt but sadness. She understood why he settled. He wanted he family with what little dignity he had left. With the reacquired shop, and funds in the bank, she had hoped Weevil stayed clear of the PCHers. She was let down one too many times. Yet, here she was in his house, doing one more favor for him.
"Thanks 'Ronica!" The little munchkin exclaimed digging into her meal completely oblivious to the troubles of the outside world. "Oh, you forgot to feed Mrs. Perrywinkle, Louie, and Anya!" She pointed to the stuffed elephant, lemur, and monkey. "See?!"
"Your right." Veronica mimed pouring mac and cheese into three imaginary bowls.
"They thank you!" Valentina took two more scoopfuls. "'Ronica?"
"Yes?"
"Daddy says he knew you since high school. That makes you old."
Veronica laughed. "Thanks."
"What was Daddy like?"
In high school or the years where we didn't speak after I transferred to Stanford? "In high school, I guess you could say he was a leader. Although, he wasn't very good at math, so make sure you practice your 123s." Valentina nodded. "And we would help each other out. Even now."
Valentina pushed her empty bowl away and looked up at Veronica. "Why?"
Weevil remained her contact to the underground and seedy world in Neptune. She chose her words carefully. "That's what friends do."
For the next hour they played Go Fish and Hide and Seek before the four year old tired herself out.
When Weevil and Jade arrived home, he waited until Jade was in the other room with a sleepy Valentina. "Any news?"
"It's obvious Deputy Lyles. He has the most arrests out of the entire department."
"No proof?"
"Nothing substantial."
"Thanks for your help V with everything, I know I don't deserve it. I just don't know how much longer the boys are going to sit tight without retaliation."
"It's been a week. Hold your horses. Give me a month at least."
"Alright." A few beats later, "Take care of yourself, okay?"
"I'll manage," Veronica replied before heading out the door.
*x**x**x**x*
Logan and Veronica had made up for the lost years and pure happiness wasn't some abstract concept only the lucky few got to comprehend. Waking up next to him slowly turned into the highlight of her mornings. Yet for every bright rainbow, there was a gray raincloud. Logan left for two-week periods or sometimes almost four on short excursions since his recent homecoming. Weeks, she could handle with aplomb. Entire months back to back were a different story.
They still fought on more than one occasion. Stubbornness being the root of their arguments. Mild sparring usually about the disparity in income or how to handle the monster in the back of Veronica's closet known as her student loans which had barely shrunken in size. How to deal with the dangerous aspects of their careers without the pressure that comes from separation anxiety.
Regardless, they couldn't remember a time they felt as complete.
For all their ups and downs on their proverbial see-saw, Logan and Veronica seemed to have finally struck a balance. A balance that could be potentially shot to hell every time Logan had sea duty or Veronica stuck her neck out too far.
Late Tuesday evening, Veronica crossed off another date in her Gnome Sweet Gnome calendar. Flipping through the months, Veronica landed on September. Last Day written large in ink with Veronica's handwriting filled the 30th square. Placing the calendar back at the correct month, her eyes then shifted to the image of the mooning gnome which usually got a chuckle out of Veronica. Instead, her lips formed an impenetrable hard line. Logan entered the kitchen a couple of minutes later to grab a water bottle from the fridge. "You know if you stare at it long enough, Gnome Chomsky will start talking to you."
"I could use the advice."
"Anything I can do?"
"Yeah," Veronica turned to face Logan. He stood barefoot wearing brown shorts and a green tank. "I wanted to ask you something."
"If it's about Friday, I promise to behave myself if you agree to one dance."
"Debatable." She suppressed a smile. "I.." Veronica's mouth suddenly ran dry. Was she really that incapable of expressing how she genuinely felt? She took a deep breath and sat down in a chair at the dinning table a few feet away. He followed suit dragging a chair close to hers.
Logan's eyes widened as he took in Veronica's pale complexion. "Oh no. You have that look."
"What look?"
"Like you rather be digging a hole straight to China."
"Why when you could simply fly me over?" Her voice trailed off. "Logan."
He got the inflection right. "Ah, we're being serious? Okay, I'm all ears."
"After this next deployment, you only have about two years left in your contract."
"Nothing passes by you. What are you trying to say?"
"Are you…uh, what are your plans…." Toughen up, Veronica. You can do this. She tried her best to remain calm but her heartbeat quickened. She now dreaded his answer.
"I think that's been clear for quite a while. Veronica," Logan paused observing her discomfort, "seeing you is always the best part of my day. I'm man enough to admit the ball has always been in your court, though."
"I worried about you constantly. Still do." Veronica blurted out loud. She felt like she had been reduced to an emotionally stunted thirteen year old in attempts to finish this discussion. Her breath hitched.
"And vice versa; join the club." He smirked. "The first month's membership is free."
"But, what I want… I can't, I can't ask you to give up something that you love." A quality she clearly picked up from her mother, selfishness. Although, the great qualities instilled by her father had a way of cancelling out some of the other less appealing ones.
"Like you when you gave up becoming a lawyer and refused to take the bar exam?"
The change of subject gave Veronica her needed composure. She shook her head vehemently. "I didn't love it, just seemed like the road I was expected to take. I was Pod Veronica. Invasion of the Body Snatchers Part 2. We've been through that."
"No, that had been roughly a two minute conversation two years ago. You were too preoccupied with Keith's recovery to really consider your options back then."
"Not true! I guess I remember it differently."
"In any case while we're on this topic, have you thought about taking the exam?"
"Excuse me?" Where was this coming from? Veronica accepted a long time ago she was meant to roll around in the mud, not wear designer suits. Mars Investigations took top priority.
"Veronica, it's not like you to waste all that schooling and not finish through to completion." Veronica opened her mouth but suddenly closed it letting Logan continue. "All I'm saying is that maybe a big shot corporate lawyering job in New York wasn't the right fit. Doesn't mean you cant defend the underdogs on the side with your P.I. business or if I'm ever in another tight jam. If Lamb-chop ever takes office again, I'm sure he has a plan to accuse me of something as we speak."
Veronica's brows furrowed in consternation. "I don't know. To juggle both would be crazy."
"If there's one person in the world who could..." Logan averted his eyes recalling something to mind. "And to answer your question, you know I love it. Flying. Feeling like I'm doing something of worth with my life. Never before had I ever considered going AWOL. I've been tempted, because I love you more..." Logan was always the more vocal one of the two. He didn't shy away from his feelings and years later with lessons learned, Veronica tried to do the same though not as successfully.
Veronica bit her lip hard. Her insides turned to mush. Images of Hunter, Weevil with Jade and Valentina, and Logan's navy buddy who had a wife and two kids flashed in her mind reminding her what her heart already knew. "Let's just take it day-by-day?"
"Isn't that what we've been doing? You were the one who always swept this conversation under the rug. Just the other day when I brought it up to an extent."
Veronica's hands twitched in her lap. He was right, of course. She remembered her words perfectly from Friday, but she hadn't been entirely honest. "Truthfully, you must know I've thought about it all. I've never been more positive in my life...I want to be here in Neptune…with you. I've stuck by my choice." She felt sick from word vomit.
Logan grabbed her left hand realizing it had begun to shake.
She glanced down at it and in a small voice, she added, "I wish I didn't have to stay goodbye to you for months on end. Just know, I-I'm in it for the long haul no matter what. Eventually down the road, I'm sure I'd even want the whole family size package."
"Is that the one that comes with extra drumsticks?" Logan flashed a toothy smile in hopes of getting Veronica to relax.
"Jesus Logan, after everything we've been through; the relationships I've witness implode, the scandals,...this isn't easy for me. I feel like a ten year old sitting on another kid's shoulders, wearing an over-sized coat pretending to be an adult."
"You're doing a fine job at it." It scared the living shit out of him just the same. "I'm right there with you."
"What I'm trying to say is I'm not against the idea."
As vague as it all sounded, Logan knew what she meant. In the silence that followed, he leaned in and kissed the top of Veronica's forehead while his other hand not holding hers caressed her cheek. He pulled back and smiled. "Anything else, Bobcat?"
Veronica exhaled audibly. While she had more to consider, a substantial weight lifted off her shoulders. They could move on from here starting on the same page. Out the corner of her eye, she spotted a large bag near the kitchen. A grin stretched across her face. "Don't forget to take out the trash tonight."
*x**x**x**x*
On Wednesday, Veronica leaned back at her desk looking over a file when Marcie called. "First off, I spoke with Alex. He remembered the damn girl. Sarah McCauley. She's from Los Angeles. From what he told me, Sarah worked on a daytime soap at the time."
The woman in question existed after all. Veronica typed her name into the database while Marcie kept talking.
"Also, that guy Greg usually gets his stuff from? He's a music video producer and director. Alex said his name is Sean. Hopefully that clears up some stuff and you can make sense out of it."
Veronica's mouth dropped open. Sean. She hadn't answered for more than a minute. Her eyes went back to the screen where she read Sarah McCauley was now Sarah Wakefield married to a Thomas Wakefield two and a half years ago. She had a house in Neptune within the 90909 zip code. A squeaky clean record, Sarah hadn't even received one parking ticket.
"Hello? Are you there?"
"Yeah, sorry." Veronica finally said while picturing what she would do on Friday. "It's just a small world."
Author's Note: I felt like I've been so focused on driving the mystery forward that I wanted to write a chapter with mostly interactions between main characters. I did drop a reveal at the end which will play largely in next update. Really hope you like the conversation between Logan and Veronica; that was hard to write. So please let me know what you thought in a review or I may go back and rewrite it five more times.
P.S. I read Pilots and Naval Flight Officers serve eight to ten years so I thought okay, TEN years. I would say Logan did 4 years at Hearst, graduated, maybe even looked into the navy beforehand or completed the officer school thing after and then scored high on the Aviation Selection Test Battery since he was always intelligent if he applied himself. Did all the necessary training, etc. Read that the first 18-36 months of a Navy pilot's career is focused on turning him into an aviator... So it's been over seven years since he went down the path to become a pilot. That's where I got around two years left to serve unless he reenlists. Also, I didn't have Logan bring up anything about the navy benefits etc because lets be honest, Veronica knows; she researched it all. If I am incorrect with any of this navy stuff please let me know too.