Chapter 11- We Take Control
Recap...
LAMB: I got a guy in a holding cell back there says you did favors for gentlemen who bet extensively on baseball.
Jackie runs out of the dance, people laughing at her.
"I feel sorry for the girl," Casey comments.
"I don't. See you later Casey," I say as I walk away with Logan.
NOW
I sat in Logan's lap, waiting for the results of the election. The Grayson's were there, all including the parentals, as was Cliff and numerous other supporters.
I really had hoped Wallace would come back for this. He called to tell us good luck, but it's weird without him. We could have snuck champagne, and make crank calls to Lamb. But no, I'm still waiting for my best friend to realize he belongs here. At least we have the lead. It'd be more if dad let me take that recording to the news station. But then, the Neptune Navigator reported Lamb's blackmail over Terrence Cook, and the local paper took it from there.
"Thank you all for being here. I'm sure we'll win, and polls are open twenty more minutes. We own the straggler vote," dad announces to the entire room.
"The Grayson Corporation gives you our vote Keith. Let's get that incompetent moron out of office!" Mr. Grayson cheers.
The entire room claps in agreement. I get up, and move towards the kitchen. Dad gives me a hug and kisses my head.
"Uh, you're out of cocktail weenies, and I'm out of cocktail," Cliff informs me as I make my way over to him. He hands me his glass.
"We're out of gin," I tell him.
"I'm not particular."
I shake my head and move to get some alcohol, which Mike is holding.
"Give me the JD Mike," I laugh, trying to get the bottle away from him.
"But Jack likes me better!" He jokes as he chugs from the bottle. He stops and hands me what's left.
"Our latest results show Keith Mars in the lead by twenty-two percent. Looks like this is an obvious win for former ousted Sheriff Mars." the TV blares.
"Whatever it is, make it a double!" Cliff calls to me.
Looks like Cliff just found a nice reason to get drunk.
"You are going to get all the dirt now aren't you?" Mike asks, sitting on my counter top.
"And this changes things how?" I retort, pouring Cliff's drink.
It doesn't, but you don't get the pleasure of annoying Lamb at the same time.""
"Oh, just beating him is enough pleasure to last me a lifetime."
I hand Cliff his drink and get back to my spot in Logan's lap, in between JB and Emmett. Logan puts one of those stupid hats on my head and kisses my cheek.
"I'm dating the Sheriff's daughter. Does this mean you can pull a few strings?" he whispers in my ear.
"Don't I always?" I whisper back.
"So, Woody Goodman is officially the Balboa County Supervisor, the position historically referred to as the Mayor of Neptune. And we're officially calling the sheriff's race: Keith Mars regains his title as sheriff!" the news anchor declares.
Cheers and clapping ensue. Dad pulls me off of Logan's lap and gives me a big bear hug. Emmett stands and twirls me in the air, the other two brothers give me hugs and kiss me on the cheek, the elder Graysons hug me, and Logan kisses me full on the lips.
For once, the citizens of Neptune have done something right. The Graysons publicly supported and helped my dad and Lamb's idiotic and jackass ways were brought out. I guess things are going okay. If only Wallace would call.
"Mr. Mars," JB yells over everything. "Can we go to the victory party at Duncan's?""
"Sure, you kids have fun," Dad tells him, shaking hands with many people.
"Thanks. Congrats again sir. You deserve it." "
I say goodbye to everyone and we pile into Mike's green Saturn VUE
It's amazing what money can do. Mike got a 2007 Saturn Green Line VUE Hybrid a few weeks ago. He sold his car, and saved the money, and his parents bought him this, nearly 2 years early. The Graysons are big on not spoiling their kids, so they made sure that Mike sold the car first, and he had to ride with JB and Emmett for a while before they got it for him. They said that they needed to trust him.
We get to the party and it's in full swing. Most of the 09er's are a little mad my dad won.
Huh, I guess getting away with buying drugs and getting drunk is so much more important than catching murders. I see what rich people's priorities are.
"We're gonna mingle V," Mike tells me as he and his brothers scatter.
"I'm going to go look for Duncan," Logan lets me know before leaving.
"Hey, Veronica," Gia Goodman greets me. "That is so great, about our dads. That other guy was, like, a total knob."
"Yeah. Congrats on your old man. Guess that makes you, like, Neptune's First Daughter. Are you ready for all the parade waving and ribbon cutting?" I joke with her.
"I thought I'd go more Bush twin style. You know public drunkenness, sluttiness and minor scandals. Speaking of which, what do you think about Dick?"
Gia seems like a cool person. Even if she's a little too perky for my taste. And uh, I guess Dick is good for public drunkenness and slutty behavior.
"Uh...Casablancas, I presume. Um, well, what can I say?" I look at Dick, pumping a keg for the last of the beer as if it is his life line. "Dick is...just Dick."
We both heard footsteps and turned to look. It was Deputy Sacks.
Deputy Sacks? Now that's ballsy: busting the mayor's kid's party on election night. Not to mention you're going to be bosses kid too.
He walks right pass the two of us and stops in front of Logan.
Oh no. That's never a good sign.
"Sheriff would like to have a word with you," he says stiffly, as if Lamb was still his boss.
"Sorry, Sacks, haven't you heard? Your boy isn't Sheriff anymore," Logan retorts, looking at me.
"He still has a few days as acting Sheriff Mr. Echolls. Will you come with me, please?"
"If I'm under arrest, then do me the courtesy of making it all official-like."
Mike and JB are at my side immediately. Emmett stays close to Deputy Sacks and Logan, as if something bad was going to happen, and he was going to stop it.
Sacks pulls out his handcuffs, shaking his head, as Logan puts his hands behind his back. Emmett decides that he'd be better off standing next to me, and he gently asks Gia to move. She leaves to hang around Dick.
"You're under arrest for the murder of Felix Tombs," Sacks begins to read him his Miranda rights, but Logan interrupts him.
"Whoa. I am having the weirdest déjà vu thing right now," Logan snaps.
Sacks decides to try again, but this time the most unlikely person stops him.
Emmett?
"Sacks what you are doing is illegal," Emmett speaks up.
"Holy crap! He speaks!" I whisper to Mike.
"In front of actual people too. Not just us," he jokes back.
"Uh, excuse me?" Sacks asks dumbfounded.
"Logan was acquitted. Under the Constitution, it states that once a suspect has been tried and cleared, they can not be tried for the same crime. And as there can be no charges without a trial, Logan can not be taken into custody. You would be violating his rights. That's illegal, though I'm sure Lamb over looked that fact," Emmett recites as if he was the defense.
Emmett is really, really, smart. I mean, I knew the guy had brains, but not super lawyer brains.
"Whoa. Cool. Alright, so can you take the handcuff of me before I sue your ass?" Logan intervenes.
"I'm sorry Mr. Echolls, I was just following orders," Sacks fumbles, trying to cover himself.
Everyone at once went back to the party, and Sacks heads out, not even bothering to collect the kegs. Logan comes and wraps his arms around me.
"That was fun. Thanks man," Logan nods in Emmett's direction. "How'd you know that stuff anyway?"
"Term paper," he replies bluntly and leaves.
That's the Emmett I know and love. Quiet, soft spoken, and most importantly, to the point. Downside? This party? Not so fun anymore.
"Can we go home? I want to talk to my dad about this," I tell Mike.
"Sure. This party isn't that great anyway," he replies, reaching for his keys.
"You know, drop me off at Mars Investigations. I just want to check some files, do a little research. I'll get my dad to pick me up."
He shrugs and we all head to the Saturn. I give Logan a kiss goodbye and head into the building. I search for my keys when I hear a grunting sound. I look up to see a man slumped against the door.
Great. Apparently we've hired a wino to guard our door.
"Um, I don't think you're allowed to—" I begin, but as he pulls himself up, I stop. That is not just any wino. "Abel Koontz?"
"I need your help," he says hoarsely. I take him inside, but the smell burns my nose. "My daughter, Amelia, she's missing, and I need your help to find her before I die."
Abel Koontz, bloated and reeking from rotgut wine. Surprise!
He talks to me, playing the dying wish card. I couldn't exactly say no, now could I?
I left my Le Baron here. I didn't want the boys to think that I was driving home alone, knowing that they'd refuse. I might as well take the man to an ER.
And I do. I get home and collapse on the couch, ignoring the celebration mess.
"Hey sweetie, was your party as fun as mine?" he asks, smiling his goofy smile.
"No." I tell him about what happened. Well, I leave out the Amelia De Longpre issue. "Do you think you could find out why they were going to arrest him?"
"Sure. We'll look into it."
NEXT DAY
Amelia held up her end of the deal with Jake Kane and vanished completely. Her paper trail dried up on May 27th, but it's been my experience that personal ties don't dry up so easily. And last I saw her; she was tied pretty tightly to a certain boyfriend.
I walk around campus, going into a dorm building. Finding the one I want, I knock. A slightly geeky guy opens the door in a black shirt with FRANCE written in fancy script.
"Hi, are you Derek?" I ask carefully.
He invites me in and we sit down. I ask him about Amelia, and he gets two water bottles out for us.
"I really don't know where she is. Last time I saw here, she was tanning in Ibiza," he tells me, handing me my water.
"You mean like there's-Tara-Reid-passed-out-on-a-beach Ibiza?"
"Yeah. She just came up to me after finals last year and says: I just got a crap load of money!"
"It was a patent settlement. It's complicated," I tell him.
"Well, we went to Europe. Ended up in Ibiza. I mean, we met fun people; we went to the beach every single day, tracked down all these cool parties on this big Ibiza website. It was cool."
"I'm sensing an until coming..."
"Well, one night we're at this club, right, one of these places that drop this foam crap on you at midnight. So we're there, we're hanging' out, they drop the foam, and...That was the last I saw of her."
"Did you check under the foam?"
"I had to call my parents to fly me home. It basically kind of sucked."
"Well, at least you got to go to Europe."
"And all I got was this lousy t-shirt."
"So you're not...worried?"
"She ditched me, whatever. The girl's got three million bucks to keep her company. If she's really in trouble, she took all my phone cards, she could call me. But...I kind of doubt that's going to happen."
Okay. Boyfriend ditched in Ibiza. Maybe Amelia's old roommate got the behind-the-scenes on that.
I get the calling card numbers and leave. Her roommate, Dawn, didn't know much. Just that Amelia didn't seem the type to go to Ibiza. I decide to check the numbers on the calling card and check where that lead is.
I am now in my room with my laptop on my desk. I check out this website of forums about parties all over the world.
My old 09er relations pay off. Lilly and I would surf this website every time she would head out to a new foreign city or country. It's a wonder she didn't hit Ibiza before her murder.
Flashback
3rd Person
"So," Veronica began as she flopped onto Lilly's bed beside her friend. "Where are you off to this break?"
"I'm thinking Milan, or even Barcelona. I'm in the mood for a Latino," Lilly laughed as she turned on her laptop.
"Why don't you hit Ibiza? Party central, and you haven't been there yet. I'm sure there are Latinos there."
"What are you talking about Veronica Mars? Ibiza must be hit after graduation. It's wrong to hit the place without enough experience. The federals will arrest us!" Lilly joked as she typed in her web address in the Planet Zowie search box.
"What's with the search box?" Veronica asked lightly, taking a sip of her lemonade.
"Celeste is being a snoop. I can erase it from my search box and history, but not the web address box."
"I see. Very cover ops of you. Mind me asking what's so horrible about this website?"
"It's a forum sweetie. Like the ones those trekis have? Only it's about parties everywhere. From here in Neptune to Pluto."
"Lilly, I doubt there is a city called Pluto."
"Who ever said I was referring to a city?"
End Flashback
You had to love Lilly.
I turn my attention back to the screen.
It's time to see if any of the party people of Europe know where Amelia Delongpre might be.
I take out my cell phone and call Cliff.
"It's Cliff," I hear.
"Hey Cliffy, I need a favor," I greet blunt and honest.
"No can do, I'm in the middle-"
"Come on cliff, you owe me."
"I owe you?" he sounded offended. "Who un-confiscated all your college IDs?"
"Who got the Lincoln out of your ex's name?" I retort.
"Who helped out that lien against Lee's Walk-In Donut?"
Low Blow! Fine then, I'll just have to get him back.
"Who proved that stripper was color blind?"
He sounds flustered as I hear shuffling of papers.
"Okay, who am I calling and what am I giving them?" he relents.
"World Telecom," I inform him. "I texted you the number I needed run. Nothing warms a operators heart like an overwhelmed Fred MacMurray. You're a stud Cliff."
"Right," he hangs up.
I wait, but end up deciding to take the wait time and do some homework.
Senior year and they still don't cut us any slack. At least I don't have Mr. Daniels. The man needs to get laid.
After a little bit, I check my email.
Cliff comes through again. But the calling cards don't tell me anything I don't already know. Ibiza….Ibiza….Ibiza… Neptune? Last Week?
NEXT DAY
I am currently outside of a payphone. Being a private eye is all about connecting the dots. Sometimes, that's difficult.
Sometimes it's not. Did I mention this payphone is across the street from Kane Software? When a girl goes missing after taking hush money from Kane Software, and then reappears to use the payphone across the street, there's only one person to talk to.
I walk in and act casual. I manage to sneak around to Weidman's office and slip into his locked office. I sit in his chair and prop my feet up on his desk. I look at all the cameras and see that Weidman is coming up. Not too long after, he comes into his office.
"What are you head of again?" I ask sarcastically when he spots me. I move to the front of the desk and he goes to his seat. "This is it? I would've thought that helping your billionaire boss cover up his daughter's murderwould have snagged you a better office. Or at least a plaque."
"What are you doing here?" he asks snappishly.
"Looking for someone? Maybe you've seen her? Amelia Delongpre?
"Why would I know where she is?"
"Maybe because you're the one that bribed her to disappear?"
"If by that you mean track her down at the motel where you hid her so she could sign paperwork for a legal settlement—" he says dutifully.
"Or maybe because she popped up last week to make a call from the payphone across the street," I retort obnoxiously.
"Not to me. And what business is it of mine where she makes her phone calls? I have no further interest in Amelia Delongpre. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to work and you have to get back to minding your own business."
"Or do I need to, uh..."
"No need to call yourself to escort me out. You know I know the drill," I raise my hands and leave.
This is so not over.