A/n: I feel like I say this all the time and it's still not enough- but thank you for the reviews and follows. I love reading your reactions. Oh and random shout out to one of my favorite shows, although that particular character would make the worst detective ever.

CHAPTER 4:

"Long time, lover."

Never long enough. Logan flashed a pained smile, his dimples making their rare appearance. "Hey Lilly."

Scarlet lips matched a red dress that stood like a sore thumb in a church shrouded in black. For someone who had recently lost a sibling, Lilly Kane seemed oddly amused by the situation. She raised one perfectly plucked eyebrow towards her companion who nodded in acknowledgement before moving away.

"So what do you think is the etiquette regarding asking someone's name. Like how long do you really have before you realize you've no idea what they're called?" A cloud of perfume surrounded their immediate environment.

"Not an expert here…but if you're banging them, probably before you got in their pants?"

Lilly laughed loudly, head thrown back, the noise jarring most of the crowd that spoke in hushed murmurs and appropriate mumbles, "I missed you Logan." She sidled in closer trailing a nail down his chest. "Maybe we should catch up."

"Nope."

Lilly ignored the loaded 'nope' finally turning her attention towards the man behind Logan, "and this hunk is?"

"Wallace, I'm sorry for your loss Ms. Kane," his partner extended his hand.

Lilly accepted, her much softer hand fitting into a larger, coarser palm. She tucked a stray tendril of hair behind her ear and practically simpered.

"Detective Wallace Fennel," Logan added just in case his ex had any strange ideas. "My partner. Married to a woman who would probably rip your eyeballs out for looking at him."

"Ignore him. He's always crabby when Duncan gets more attention."

Wallace repressed a grin that would have made an appearance had they been anywhere else. Having heard aplenty about Neptune, he had been a little more than healthily curious to meet the rest of the Kanes- the heiress occupying the top of the list. Thus far, she didn't disappoint. She held the attention of the room with little to no effort- a veritable siren in a sea of bottle blonde sex tape stars.

"It's probably killing Celeste that it's Duncan's funeral and not mine," Lilly confided. "Find Veronica yet?"

"The LAPD is on the lookout. There's a warrant out for her arrest." Logan repeated the practiced reply. News of Logan's career in law enforcement and his involvement in the Kane case had spread like wildfire through the social channels and from the time he had entered the church, he had quite possibly repeated the same sentence a hundred times- mostly to people he didn't know. Tinseltown diaries had certainly done its job in keeping him still relevant. "After we requested a meeting with the head of security at Kane software, we were thrown off the case. Should've known co-operation meant jackshit from the Kanes. Thought I might just swing by and see if I could speak to Jake or Celeste."

"And you decided the best way to kiss ass would be to directly disobey orders. You never were submissive, lover or is it that you need a firmer hand?" Lilly teased, her head cocked to the side. "Well don't hold your breath. Mother dearest doesn't take too kindly to putting Duncan in a bad light. And Clarence would just as well swallow his tongue before talking to you."

"You don't seem all that broken up," Logan noted, angling for a fight. Wallace was quick to smooth things over, "people grieve in different ways. Maybe it just hasn't hit you yet."

A wry grin crossed her face her gaze briefly flickering to the dais, "you don't see Celeste shedding any tears, do you? Probably worried that she'd ruin her make up- she was the one that went to the morgue, ya know? Dad couldn't do it."

Logan hummed.

"Between you and me, detective, Duncan was quite possibly the dullest person around- this was the most interesting thing to ever happen to him. And you know what, that probably wasn't his worst quality. It was only a matter of time before Veronica Mars finally realized just how annoying and weak he was before getting rid of him. I'm surprised it even lasted this long."

"And why is that?" Logan scanned the crowd hearing bits and pieces of the conversation between Wallace and Lilly. He had hoped to have a moment alone with Jake Kane, the patriarch of the family or at the very least his trusted head of security, Clarence Weidman. Thus far, no dice.

On the other hand, he did have the number of a Kardashian.

Lilly smiled knowingly, "apparently Dad had this thing for Veronica's mom a long time ago- probably 'cause Celeste was a cold hearted bitch. Anyway, there was some drama regarding Ronica's paternity and for a while, things were bad. Celeste demanded a DNA test, threw a tantrum."

"No way," Wallace exclaimed.

You could say that again.

"Oh yes way." There was nothing Lilly enjoyed more than a captive audience. She watched Logan intently as though measuring his reaction, "anyway they reconnected at some 09er party. But her and I…we never…"

"How come?" The words were out before Logan could stop himself. The last time they were all together, Veronica had been stuck to Lilly's side like glue.

Lilly's eyes softened for a brief second her mask of indifference slipping, "you know the usual Hollywood thing- irreconcilable differences. Veronica never forgave me or the Donut for what Aaron did." Her gaze briefly settled over Logan and her voice grew husky, "did to you I mean…I think everyone was surprised when she started dating Duncan again. I didn't think they'd ever get married."

"But they did," Logan glared at his ex hoping she would get the hint about Aaron.

"Not until Keith went missing. It was like she needed someone- she was…what was the word? Lost." Lilly snapped her fingers, willing away any remnants of nostalgia. "You don't think she's dead, do you?"

And then as if answering her own question, "pretty sure Celeste and Clarence will make damn sure she is."

Logan grimaced. They hadn't a clue to her disappearance yet. It was like she had vanished into thin air. So far no news meant good news.

"What did Aaron, I mean Logan's dad do?" Wallace asked curious.

"Well, look what time it is!" Logan interrupted their conversation smoothly. "We've got to get back. We really need to rush considering we haven't even spoken to Jake and Celeste yet."

"But I haven't…" Wallace was confused.

Lilly blew a kiss, her attention already diverted by another guest. "Bye, lover. You'll miss James Franco's eulogy. I hear it has some Klingon in it. Nice meeting you Wallace."

"What was she talking about?" Wallace hissed as they continued to navigate through the crowd. Duncan's political affiliation combined with the far-reaching tentacles of the Kanes had ensured the attendance of nearly all of SoCal.

Well versed in social situations involving throngs of people, Logan deftly stepped aside making his way towards Jake and Celeste when he bumped into a familiar figure. Twice in the same week- if that wasn't a sign he wasn't sure what was. He stopped abruptly causing Wallace to run into his back.

"Son," Aaron was the first to break the silence. "What are you doing here?" His surprise seemed genuine but he recovered quickly. "Oh you yeah you went to school with Duncan. This must be so hard on you."

Logan waved his hand- he didn't need any sympathy, real or faked. "What are you doing here?"

"Duncan and I..err..we were in business together."

Sure they were. Well at least this awkward run-in saved him the trouble of that painful phone call. It was time to face his demons head on. Logan's lips lifted in a crooked smile, "hey dad! Is it OK if I come home to Neptune for the weekend? Quaality time with the fam."

Aaron's jaw grew slack and he took several steps back. In the years since his son had left his home, he referred to Aaron by anything other than 'dad' or its associated synonyms. He swallowed hard and his voice shook, "yeah… I may not be home till Sunday but you know the code."

"You know they say road trips are great for emotional discussions," Wallace leaned back on his seat, his hands cradling the back of his head as Logan sped down the highway.

"Great. Go ahead then. Pour your heart out Fennel."

If looks could kill Logan might have never reached the thirties. With Wallace sitting there practically rubbing his hands in glee at the unexpected opportunity, Logan decided it was best he changed the subject, "so…looks like Celeste and Jake are out for Ronica's blood. Nothing new with Celeste there, but man, I thought Jake might be a little forthcoming…"

"Nope. We aren't talking about Celeste or Jake and whatever they have going on. We're talking about why I'm spending my weekend off with you in the town that apparently re-lives soap operas. And why we're going to spend a weekend with the dad that you hate so much that you'd rather slit your wrists than breathe the same air as him."

With his jaw set Logan looked straight ahead, the sunglasses making it impossible to ascertain his feelings. He ignored Wallace because despite them being 'close', there were certain things that he'd just as rather have no one know- he didn't need that look of pity that most people wore the second they learned of his past. "Neptune is where Veronica's dad went missing. It all starts there. We find him, and I'm pretty sure we'll find Veronica."

This hadn't been the easiest of weeks to get through.

"And I'm pretty sure we'll get our asses handed to us for deliberating entering an investigation that we've been told to stay away from." Wallace did not want to bring this up but considering they were on the subject. "Listen if this is about Veronica. You got this history, but there are plenty…"

"Not everything is about Veronica," Logan muttered softly, the tone a stark difference from the rage he currently felt building up. If Wallace hadn't been paying attention or the radio had been turned up, he might have missed it completely. "You want to know why I fucking hate Aaron? He beat the shit out of me from the time I was eight. Eight Wallace. There. Now you know. Hope you're fucking happy." He was breathing hard, gripping the steering wheel with white knuckles when he forced himself to breathe through the nose- a calming technique trotted out by his 500$ an hour shrink.

Wallace held his breath in, stunned into silence. Ok, that came out of nowhere.

"Sorry. We're not going to talk about any of it. It's not about Veronica, it's about Keith. I owe it to him man. He helped me get the hell out of Dodge. I wasn't there three years ago," Logan shook his head. "I'll be damned if I'm not here today. "

It was mostly true- this wasn't completely about Veronica.

"Okay," Wallace acknowledged awkwardly. For someone as intensely private as Logan, that confession had to be hard- the man must've been on edge, barely holding it together before he snapped. Wallace had come from a less than stellar neighborhood himself, had even pulled a few shifts at special victims- it should have been easy to recognize the adult manifestations of abuse- Logan's intense reactions in cases that involved children, his inability to trust, the way he took things personally, his rebellion against authority, the way he had to fucking see through the end of every case. Wallace replayed scenes that were dead giveaways to his partner's past. He should've known.

The rest of their ride to the Echolls' Neptune home was spent in silence, occasional rock music and static filling the car. Logan changed stations easily, teenage memories deeply imprinted in the pads of his fingers.

Wallace let out a low whistle as Logan punched in the key code to open a large sliding gate. "Man, and I thought your LA home was all that."

Logan rolled his eyes. "Yeah well, we can trade any day of the week. Just say the word."

"Hey Logan," Wallace began. If he didn't say it now, he probably would never bring it up. "I'm sorry, man. Truly."

"Look what the cat dragged in."

Logan and Wallace entered the second floor office of the stained glass building that forever been utilized for one purpose- Mars Investigations. The building was relatively easy to find considering it housed the only PI office in town. Despite the fact that a Mars hadn't sat in the leather-backed chair in over three years, Eli Navarro could not bring himself to change the name on the front door.

"We're here to see an Eli Navarro?" Wallace ventured looking doubtfully at the tattoo-covered man behind the desk. They had decided to take a chance on visiting Keith's colleague- perhaps he could at least point them in some direction. Any information would help at this point.

"Got 'im," a wide smile spread over his face and Logan groaned.

"I thought your name was Weevil."

"Well hello to you too, pretty boy."

"You think I'm pretty?" Logan preened. It was probably something in the air, but teenage hormones seemed to run rampant in the face of his once nemesis. He remembered a time when daily wrestling matches had been a part of his life, particularly with paco here. His hands fisted by his sides and Logan rocked back on the balls of his feet, body primed to throw the first punch.

"Hey, hey!" Wallace quickly assessed and tried to diffuse the situation before it blew up in their faces. "No flirting. We're here to ask a few questions about Keith Mars."

"And who's askin?" Weevil drawled.

"LAPD Homicide, asshole."

"Logan!" Wallace shushed him loudly and Weevil smirked again. Oh what he would give to wipe that look off his face.

"Man's been dead. We ran the PI business together. You know cheating husbands, whorish wives- plenty of fish here in Neptune. Only PI shop up here too. Kinda spreading myself thin, doesn't leave much time for the ladies," Weevil scratched his chin thoughtfully.

"We're not here officially," Wallace spoke quietly hoping they could get through to this man. He believed in Veronica's innocence in about, as much as he believed in the tooth fairy, but if it were important to Logan then he'd at least make an effort. He glared at his partner hoping he would knock off the cocky rich boy persona that he wore like armor.

"Duncan's dead. And 'Ronica, the only suspect at the moment, the last person to see him alive is missing," Logan added.

The fight seemed to leach out of Weevil and he pointed at the chairs around the office, "I heard. Well saw on the TV anyway." A lone 90s television set had been installed in one corner of the waiting room. "Keeps the clients from getting all jumpy or mopey. Make them watch Maury or Jerry Springer- they see someone else always has the shittier end of the deal. But yeah…the Keith thing, how much time do you guys got."

"I'm all yours, Romeo. Dazzle me!" Logan smiled brightly, his chest puffing.

"Ignore him," Wallace all but ordered. "Take as much time as you want though."

Weevil demeanor seemed to change almost instantly, at least when he addressed Wallace. It was the Echolls kid that brought out the nasty in him- never could stand that boy. It figured that a bully like him would end up being a cop. "You guys got a clue on Vee yet?"

The familiarity with which Weevil addressed Veronica grated on Logan's nerves. Keep in touch with the local hoodlum but don't reach out to your friend. "Nope. If we did, we'd be out there getting her."

"Yeah I heard it's bad," Weevil cleared his throat. "They say she tried to kill Duncan earlier- failed and ended up shooting some other guy."

Wallace leaned forward on his seat. Since his partner was intent on playing bad cop, he was going to have to really lay it on thick. "Not gonna lie to you Eli. It doesn't look good. CSI found some blood and hair in the backseat – consistent with a struggle and both possibly belonging to Veronica. She's pretty much the only suspect we've, they've got. They have APBs out on all train and bus stations, borders and airports so it's going to be pretty hard for her to get around," Wallace said, not adding what everyone was thinking. If she's alive.

"That blows," Weevil voiced the general sentiment in the room. "You guys find anything else in that fancy car?" Having been in the PI biz for several years now, he had more questions but the look on Logan's face told him that it was best he back off until later. "Well it started almost a year before Keith went missing, but we had a bunch of parents come in to report their missing children. Girls between ages 14-17. They were from," Weevil paused and rubbed the back of his neck, "my side of the tracks. Tried Lamb at first, but you know how much he cares."

Logan nodded curtly. Incompetence did not begin to describe the failings of the local sheriff.

"Lamb of course waved it all away with his magic wand. The parents were terrified, some because of their immigration status and others because they didn't want to attract any more trouble."

"If there were minors, shouldn't the FBI have been involved," Wallace inquired.

As if reading his mind, Weevil spoke, "no formal reports were filed. Most were seen as runaways. I mean there are bunch of 02 girls missing, no one but their parents spoke up. There was very little to go on – no witnesses, or hostile witnesses. We just couldn't seem to catch a break not until Keith received that phone call."

Logan tapped his foot in time with the jumping pulse in his neck, a telling sign that he was fast spiraling out of control. "How many?" He asked quietly.

"Till about now? About 6 from Neptune, closer to 24 missing from the county."

"What about this phone call?" Wallace asked, bringing them back to track. Logan needed to focus on the details and not the victims.

"Right, so the night Keith goes missing, we were talking about how we can't find anyone who had seen the girls after they left home for school. The old man got this look on his face- like we had hit jackpot. Shortly after, he received a phone call that left him rattled. He rushed out and that was last I saw of him."

"That's it? He didn't say anything else?" Logan looked suspicious. "Who made that phone call?"

"Beats me," Weevil shrugged. "I've been over that night several times. Repeated it to Vee a bunch of times too, but really that's it."

"Do you have any of Keith's files or notes?" Logan inquired.

Weevil shrugged, "blondie came by and picked them all up when Keith went missing. Decided she could do a much better job than the local yahoos."

"And you let her?"

"Hey man, Vee had this job before I did. She was pretty good at it too. Taught me all about stakeouts and money shots the first couple of times I decided to give the straight and narrow a try."

"This phone call, when was this?" It only took one look at Logan's hardening face for Wallace to step in. This was precisely what made them good partners.

But before Weevil could answer a jaunty ringtone interrupted their conversation. Though his initial reflex was to ignore the call, Wallace glanced at the caller ID and picked up holding up a finger in apology, "Fennel."

Logan stared down Weevil for a few brief seconds past fights neither forgotten nor forgiven. "So," he cleared his throat, "these girls…find any of them yet?"

"Not one." Weevil fought to keep the emotion out of his voice. "Worst part is having no answer for their parents. Some of the moms, they stop by sometimes…"

Fucking hell. Nothing was worse than the not knowing- had seen several parents who mourned missing children year after year, terrified of the pain they might be going through. It reminded Logan once more as to why he was in this fight, why his job had become his raison d'être. He started to say something when Wallace re-entered the room. He looked between the men and took in a deep breath.

"That was Pete Campbell," Wallace said, referring to their coworker. "I had asked him to keep an ear out for you know," he looked meaningfully at Logan who stiffened. "Mr. Navarro, Eli, could you hold on for a few? I'd like to speak with my partner. Alone."