Disclaimer: I own nothing. Rob Thomas, CW, and whoever else are in full rights of this amazing show. I do not own the quotes or songs. I do however own a few characters and a Beta fish named Bailey.

Summary: The story is in the future-almost 20 years-and takes place after the events of S2. The rest, well read and find out. Reviews are necessarry since this is my first attempt at VM fanfic.

Author's Note: Ahhh! Work. New job. New house. Lots going on and a new season of VM which I am desperately missing because I live in the middle of nowhere. Thank you---seriously---thank you for all the reviews. I have a lot written, so hopefully I can update sooner. Please for all that is holy and Neptune- keep reading and reviewing. Oh yeah, one last shout out to one of my other favorite shows.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

GRANT HOUSE

My Room

"What in the hell did you do?"

This was Isa's first response as she walked into my room and threw her bag down. She took a long appreciative look at the spacious quarters. I have to say that my room kicks butt. I have a huge antique four poster bed. The walls are pink with black stripes. On my walls are three pieces of "art": Shot of Three, a huge poster of New York City Streets at dawn, and an original theater movie poster of Pretty in Pink. My curtains are pink and black with lights around them. Black shag rugs, antique bookcases, and one huge computer/work area complete it. My Mom keeps the door shut as my room challenges the tasteful décor of the rest of the "mansion."

Whatever.

Isa takes a seat on the bed. She's waiting for my answer. A knock on the door postpones my diatribe.

Enter Alex- complete with state of the art laptop that looks nothing like a computer. Which is good since my parents took mine. He merely nods his approval of the room and takes a seat in my large pink computer chair.

"Is Heathe coming?" Isa asks Alex with an undercurrent of sarcasm.

"You know he's not. He's with Flashback."

"Flashback?" I asked.

"Flashback is what we affectionately call Heathe's resident groupie. She's an upper-middle class wanna-be hippie. Dumber than a brick." Isa flared with attitude. It would appear neither Alex nor Isa approved of Heathe's dating choice. Who am I to not base my entire judgment of a person on two people's perceptions I barely know and the fact I think Heathe is hot? I shrug and return to Isa's original question.

"I am being detained from car privileges, my cellular device, my notebook computer, outside activities and possibly school for the next week. The only reason you two are sitting here is because I convinced my parents you're part of the group of students that helps new students catch-up. As far as they know, we're working on math."

"Yeah, yeah- we got this from your S.O.S.---but what I don't get is how in your third day here you managed almost a life sentence?" She replied, her eyebrow ring rising in curiosity.

I stood up from the rug and I walked over, past Isa, to where the infamous photo hung over my bed. I stood in front of the photo and touched all three persons lightly, finally knowing them, and then turned to face Isa and Alex. "It all has to do with this photo, Keith Mars, and one very bad bad dinner."

"How bad?" Alex asked, finally curious too.

"We went to the Kanes. The whole Kane family was there along with the Casablancas…" I noticed Alex and Isa both grimace at the name. "And as an extra special treat…" Note sarcastic quote marks. "Logan Echolls was there."

"WAIT! Rewind that; the Logan Echolls was at dinner. The Logan Echolls who is a major film producer and newly divorced and on People's 50 Hottest People in the World…." Isa was incredulous. I might even think she was a fan of the person I wasn't so thrilled in meeting.

"That would be the one. Let's not forget drunken moron, too." I moved from the photo and back to my original spot on the rug. I looked at them with a heavy mood. "The photograph over my bed is of Duncan Kane, Logan Echolls, and Cindy Casablancas. It was taken by Veronica M. or Veronica Mars…take your pick. Either way you spin it- she's Keith Mars' daughter. And by Keith Mars, I mean the Keith Mars who was removed from the Cheerleading Case by Duncan and Cindy. Through a meeting with Mr. Mars and the dinner, I was able to deduce that Duncan, Cindy and Logan have a vendetta- of sorts- against Veronica. A vendetta which has spilled over into the Kidnappings."

The room was thick with silence. Isa had turned and looked at the picture. Alex, he was looking at me. He was looking at me very intently with a slightly unnerving look. Did he expect me to say more?

"That's the Lynn Echolls Memorial Graveyard."

I looked to Isa, who was looking at the photograph. She had just matter-of-factly stated the question burning my mind. I looked to her and Alex for more information.

"It was renamed several years ago when Logan placed a large memorial angel statue in honor of his mother there. That tombstone in the picture is gone. It's where the statue is…right next to the Kane Family Mausoleum. How did they get a tombstone removed?" Isa's statement and question had me floored. The grave was gone. And every person last night, every one that I accused, knew it. Logan had removed…or was it covered-up the very place he once stood- a place of painful memories that had to do with Veronica Mars. My thoughts kept coming back to Keith's daughter.

The fourth call I made at the Kane's was to Keith Mars. I wanted confirmation. I wanted to know I hadn't jumped on a limb for my own misguided beliefs. I told Keith about Logan and how he was in the picture with Duncan and Cindy. There had been a very long pause before Keith said anything. He quickly relayed to me that I was right. The picture was of the three of them and that Veronica did indeed take the picture from a place close by. Nevertheless for my great discovery I was then battered with thousands of questions about Logan Echolls. I answered them as best I could and returning them with "why was Keith" so interested in Logan's return. He said nothing but gave me a strict order to stay away from him at all costs. I made a promise I would…do my best to stay away from him; my best and nothing more. If I accidentally ran into him then that was Logan's doing not mine.

I slumped on the bed beside Isa and looked to the both of them. I continued my story. "We need to add this up. This is like a twisted math equation. We know what everything equals…"

"You're missing a variable." Alex finished for me. He then turned his notebook computer around towards me. On it was a screen of information on three people- Logan, Duncan, and Cindy.

I recognized the screen. That was an information database that very few people knew about and those who did were paid to keep it a secret. It was a database for private investigators. You want dirt, this was a freaking mud pit. But just how did the sweet geek happen on this site? He turned the computer back around and began reading off information.

Most of it, I knew. You could Google about three-fourths of the stuff. It really wasn't anything I didn't know.

"What about Veronica Mars?" I asked.

A minute later, Alex had her file up. It read a mile long and then some. Wow, she had been a definite hell-raiser in Neptune. Her family life was dreadful. That I knew from Keith's books. Drunk mother who runs away and eventually ends up dead in an alcohol overdose. Father who was run out of office and then suddenly POOF beloved by all but not before facing the wrath of the Kane family- whom he really pissed off after accusing Jake Kane of the murder of his daughter. Other than that, Veronica managed to find her own trouble. Alex read on. It wasn't till the later college years did the story get interesting.

"She left Hearst College at semester break and transferred to a college in London. She finished her term there but waited another year before finishing school- which she did in a university in Ireland. After that, she began her photography career- interning abroad for several years before finally making it back to the States. She's been involved in one more murder case since her college days. It was back in D.C. She did crime photography for a special case requested by Agent Seeley Booth. She remained on the move, with temporary residence in D.C., for the last few years."

I mulled the information over. Confident and kick-ass student suddenly leaves nice Liberal Arts college for Europe at the end of the semester. She then moves to London and finishes term before taking a year off. She then takes a year and finishes education in Ireland. There was a piece missing…what happened the year between London and Ireland?

"Alex, is any information given about the year between London and Ireland?"

"Not really. Just an address in London, where she apparently lived. That's it."

"What are you thinking?" Isa finally piped in.

"I'm thinking that it still doesn't make sense for three friends to hate her this much for simply moving away. Duncan Kane wasn't even back in the States when she left, right? What reason would he have to be pissed?" I thought about Logan. He and Veronica had been involved. What if that relationship had gone really sour? "My best guess is that Veronica and Logan had a bad break-up which sent her fleeing the scene; Cindy Mackenzie mad that her best friend had bailed; and Duncan Kane upset that Logan and Cindy were upset."

"Not enough." Alex retorted. "You could ask Mr. Mars?"

Was he serious?!? Ask Keith Mars, "Hey- so why does everyone hate your child? What did she do?" No, I couldn't ask Keith. But truthfully, this case was stymied. The mystery of Veronica Mars would have to wait; the Cheerleading Case needed my attention. I stood up and walked to the other side of the room. I placed on my resolve face. "Now, what do we know about the missing pom-pom girls?"

And with that Isa, Alex, and I began working on the facts of the bigger mystery. Yet no matter how hard I tried, I had a feeling this case would always come back to the large photograph in my room.