NEPTUNE - BUILDING AT NIGHT
Wallace cleaned another bathroom at another bland office building. "Veronica owes me big", he thought. The mess people leave behind was amazing. His mother was right. Most office workers could care less about keeping the bathroom clean: men or women. Or at least making sure there were no toilet paper and other crap on the floors and walls. This was one of the highest rated companies in America. They wouldn't be if the business reporters visited their bathrooms.
"Not used to cleaning behind the rich a-holes?" Weevil said, coming up behind him.
"No, just marveling at the bad aim," Wallace said, startling a laugh out of Weevil. "And we're supposed to be working the courthouse."
"Patience, Wally," Weevil said. "I have that in hand. In a couple of weeks, we'll be cleaning the place with no one the wiser."
"Why couldn't we ask for that assignment?" Wallace said, ignoring the 'Wally' crack. "I didn't think that your people wanted to be anywhere near the courthouse."
"It wouldn't be hard to tape you up again," Weevil said.
"What? Without your old gang to back you up?" Wallace said. "Last time it was six against one."
Weevil stepped closer with his fists raised. He let out a breath and then said, "We'll continue this conversation after helping Veronica."
"After," Wallace said in agreement, completing the last task. "I'm out of here."
"Can't," Weevil said. "One more job."
"What?" Wallace said. "This was the last job."
"Team 4 didn't come in," Weevil said.
"You people sure love your siestas," Wallace said, pushing pass Weevil.
Weevil slammed him against the wall. "What do you mean by that?"
"Does the word, 'lazy' mean anything to you," Wallace said, not believing he was pushing the ex-gang leader. He didn't even believe what he was saying. He hated that he had to work with a person who was responsible for his most humiliating high school experience. Pictures were still floating around the net and were put up by every basketball team he faced.
"Who are you calling lazy?" Weevil said, slamming Wallace again.
A voice interrupted from the walkie talkie. "Juan 9, get your ass to the Locust Building?" Weevil let Wallace go to answer the company cell.
"We'll be there in ten," Weevil said, the words shot out like a bullet from a gun.
"Thought your name was Eli," Wallace said, rotating his back.
"He calls all of us Juan," Weevil said.
"Jerk," Wallace said, dragging the bucket by the mop. Then he said, "Even the women?"
Weevil snorted, his shoulders loosening as he headed out of the building.
LAWTON – SAMUEL PITT HIGH SCHOOL
"Ronnie, what are you doing?" Logan said, watching her lift the hood and pop the negative battery cable.
"Waiting for them," Veronica said. "Seth's friends."
From the corner of his eye, Logan saw a group of two guys and girls coming their way. "Come on Ronnie. No one is that dumb."
"Roland, what are we going to do?" Veronica said; her voice loud and desperate. "Mom is expecting us."
Logan stepped closer to Veronica. "It looks like the battery cable came loose."
Veronica elbowed him in the stomach. Logan let out a huff in both pain and laughter.
"Hi I'm Gary. This is Johnny, Laura and Karen," Gary said, pointing to his friends as he said their names. "What seems to be the problem?" His dirty-blond hair blowing in his eyes.
"I'm Ronnie and this is my brother Roland," Veronica said. "The car isn't working. The engine runs but doesn't click on."
"Maybe we could try," Logan started but Gary interrupted him.
"My father is a mechanic," Gary said, peering down at the car's engines. "Let me look at it. Roland, start the car when I give the signal."
"Sure," Logan said, realizing that Gary was at a disadvantage. He didn't know Veronica. No one at Neptune High would be fooled by Veronica's helpless act.
Logan got in the car and rolled down the window. He watched Veronica play the damsel in distress. It wasn't natural. But Gary and the rest were eating it up. He could almost read their minds. These Roniers may be city smart but they have no common sense.
Just when Logan was about ready to get out and fix the car himself, "Try it now," Gary said.
"Okay," Logan said. The car started right away. He turned the car off and got out.
"If you didn't come, I don't know what we would have done," Veronica said, looking up at Gary with her eyes filled with admiration.
"Probably starved on the side of the road," Logan said a little put out by Veronica looking at Gary that way. "We wouldn't be found until summer thaw."
"It's September, there is no ice," one of the girls said. She pressed her chest out intentionally at Logan. Logan dutifully ogled her breasts.
"Karen," Laura said, pushing up her glasses.
"Don't be a smart ass Roland," Veronica said, glaring at Logan. She looked up at Gary again. "Sorry, my brother is being a jerk."
"That's okay I have a younger brother too," Gary said in a patronizing tone.
"We're twins," Roland said. "She's only a minute older."
"You don't look like identical twins," Karen said.
Everybody stared at her. "What?" Karen said. "What?"
"Karen, he's cute but lay off the ditz," Laura said, shoving her friend's shoulder with hers.
Karen blushed before saying, "Okay, no more ditz."
"Thanks, we really appreciate your help, Gary," Veronica said.
"Mom is waiting," Logan said, looking back at the car.
"We're having the Last Gasp of Summer party tomorrow," Karen said. "Want to come?"
Veronica and Logan looked at one another then said, "Sure."
"You are twins," Laura said. "Bring swim suits. It's at 15 Maple Drive"
"See you tomorrow," Johnny said. Logan realized this was the first-time Johnny spoke.
"Bye," Veronica said, getting into the passenger seat.
MAC'S HOUSE
Mac finished hacking into Aaron Echolls' computer. She downloaded a program that kept track of every keystroke. She then cleared the history from his computer. In a few more days she would have all of his user ids and passwords.
"Mac, your friend, Dick is here," Mac heard her mom say from the bedroom door.
"Okay," Mac said, closing down the computer. She grabbed the bag that had her beach towel, suntan lotion and book. Now the only thing she needed was Wallace and Weevil to break into the building to get the Veronica's files. The computer copies of the files showed signatures of middle management. No way would they sign off on it without the approval of someone higher up on the food chain. The only reasonably safe time to get those files was at night when fewer, if any, people were around.
"Mac, I know breaking up with Beaver was hard on you," her mother said. "But I don't think you should jump into anything." Especially not with Dick was unspoken but Mac heard it loud and clear. The only family member cool about it was her brother.
"He didn't do anything bad downstairs, did he?" Mac said.
"No," her mother said. Mac sighed a breath of relief. She could imagine all the things he could say that would make her parents go nuts.
"Mom, don't worry," Mac said, throwing the knapsack on. "We're just friends. It will never be anything more."
"Friends," her mother said in a tone that suggested their friendship was even more unlikely than that dog and elephant on the internet. Mac could tell her mother thought of it as some terrible, terrible rebound.
"Let's go down before he breaks something," Mac said.
"What?" her mother said, hurrying downstairs.
"I'm joking, mom," Mac said. Dick stood at the bottom of the steps. He looked anxious to be on his way.
"Hi Dick," Mac said. Her mother's face shifted from worried to welcoming in a flash.
"Hi," Dick said. Mac could almost see the restraint on both her mother and Dick's part not to say anything offensive. "Let's go."
"Okay," Mac said, following Dick out the door. "Bye."
"Bye," her mother said, her voice laced with false cheer.
Mac waved at her and mouthed as she walked out the door, "Don't worry."
"Your mom doesn't like me," Dick said, unlocking the car door.
"That's not true," Mac said, putting the bag and knapsack in back and then sliding in. "That's just mom's way."
"No, moms don't like me," Dick said as he drove away.
"Probably because you give off a vibe," Mac said, giving up trying to be nice.
"A vibe," Dick said.
"The 'hi can I have sex with your daughter' vibe," Mac said, laughing. Dick joined in.
"Take it from me, every guy who asks you on a date," Dick said. "Helps you out change a tire, picks up your books or listens to you prattle on about computers, they all want that."
"Not everybody is like you," Mac said. "Some guys just like to help people out."
"Sorry to disillusion you," Dick said, reaching over and patting her on the leg. "Most guys are exactly like that. We want sex, and we spend most of the time trying to get it."
"Oh. That's kinda disappointing," Mac said, ready to drop this conversation.
"You shouldn't let it get to you that way," Dick said. "It means that they think you're cute."
LAWTON – LAST GASP OF SUMMER PARTY
Veronica thought that it was a good thing, a jealous ex-boyfriend and a protective brother were virtually indistinguishable or everybody at the party would figure out that they weren't brother and sister. Her distraction vanished when the volleyball headed toward her.
She hit the ball back over the net scoring the winning point. Slightly overbalanced, she bobbed in the water. Logan laughed a little. "Good one Ronnie." Laura said, jumping up and down in the water.
After the winning shot, most of the people got out of the pool to eat some more food. Veronica piled fruit salad on her plate and nibbled at it as she sat down on a beach chair. Logan was across from her talking to some classmate. She envied him his ability to make friends. His seemingly outgoing and open demeanor made it easy for him to get into the top clique. She fitted in nowhere and everywhere if that makes sense.
"Hi Ronnie," a voice came up behind her. She recognized Sarah. She was hoping that Sarah would be at the party. Sarah sat down on the chair next to her.
"Hi," Veronica said, hesitating not knowing how to begin. "Sorry about what I said at school."
"That's okay," Sarah said. "You didn't know him."
"He sounded like a wonderful brother," Veronica said.
"He wasn't," Sarah said. "Not all the time. He was a jerk. I remembered him talking to one of my dates, a guy I really liked a lot, about how my father can kill someone with just his thumb. By the time my father came to greet him my date was a stammering mess. And what's worse is that he never asked me out again."
"What?" Veronica said, remembering her father pesky little criminal background check he did on all her boyfriends. Veronica wondered if Sarah had something to do with Seth's disappearance. "That's awful."
"It's harder remembering him as he was," Sarah said, getting defensive about the negative statements. "Everybody remembers: captain of the baseball team and A student with early admittance at the Academy. Dated Gwen: cheerleader. No one remembers the jerk and date killer." Sarah brushed away her tears.
"I understand," Veronica said, thinking back to her father. "Dad used to do a background check on my dates."
"Really?" Sarah said, her tears disappearing as she laughed at Veronica's statement. "Didn't think anyone could top my brother."
"Dad used to say nothing can turn you into a prude faster than a teenage daughter," Veronica said. "Guess the same goes for brothers too."
"Certainly goes for your brother," Sarah said, glancing over at Logan.
"What?" Veronica said, following Sarah's gaze. He was surrounded by people talking and laughing.
"Saw him earlier when Gary was talking to you," Sarah said.
"Yeah, he worries," Veronica said.
Sarah changed the subject about by saying, "So how do you like the Snakepit?"
"Snakepit," Veronica said, frowning at the statement.
"The school," Sarah said. "Samuel Pitt … Snakepit."
"Fine, everybody is so friendly," Veronica said, thinking the name would be a better nickname for her old school. "Thought it would be harder moving to a new school."
NEPTUNE – WEEVIL AND WALLACE'S WORK PLACE
"Juan 9 … Dwayne," the boss said, pointing at Weevil and Wallace. "Come here."
Wallace and Weevil headed over to the thin, balding man with a skimpy mustache. Neither of them spoke. It worked out better for the janitorial staff if they stayed quiet; the ones that talked usually ended up fired after a month.
"Juan 1 team was busted," the boss said. "You'll join Juan 5 and 7 at the courthouse and all the government buildings. The new Juans will take over your old buildings."
Weevil took the schedule not showing any sign of triumph. Wallace wasn't as good at hiding his emotions but, by then, the boss turned away going after another team.
"Great! We go copy the file and quit," Wallace said. He had reached the end of his patience with this job and most especially the boss.
"No, first we get the lay of the land, then we'll get the file," Weevil said, showing the patience of a cat: silent, watchful and vicious.
At the courthouse, Wallace finished cleaning the bathrooms on the 2ndfloor, and it was a revelation. They were even worse than the businesses. He pulled the mop back to the closet when Weevil whizzed by with the vacuum cleaner almost knocking him over. Wallace flipped him off and headed down the hall. He emptied the bucket and grabbed the huge trash cans.
He went from office to office emptying the trash cans and cleaning desktops. He heard the vacuum coming his way. When he entered the next office, there was someone sitting at the desk. It was one of the judges, still in his robe.
"You're new," the judge said. "Where's Carlos?"
"Don't know, sir," Wallace said. The business etiquette for the janitorial staff is not to clean while people are working, so he turned to leave..
"Come in, it will be a long wait if you wait to clean the office after I leave." The judge said. "I'm part of the night court. Just without Mel Torme." The judge laughed as if it was a joke, but Wallace didn't get it.
"I'm Wallace," Wallace said, not giving the judge his last name. He cleaned everything, working carefully around the Judge.
NEPTUNE BEACH
Mac watched Dick surf for a moment. To her untutored eyes, he looked great but knowing from experience that his new teacher/sponsor would be critiquing everything. And she would be getting the playback on how awful Talbert was. Never a kind word or 'good job'.
She stretched, her one-piece bathing suit stretching with her, before looking back down at the computer screen. Having a major computer company based in Neptune means you can get to the net everywhere in the town, even at the beach.
Flipping through Aaron Echolls's bank account, she saw that most of the money went to normal expenses and trust accounts. There was one that looked like one of his many investments, but that was an illusion. It was similar to the account she had set up for the Purity Test, a shell company. And, unlike hers, it was a very complicated one: she had yet to hit the parent company. The money went in and out of the various companies. It could take weeks if not months to find the actual parent company.
Mac looked up to see Dick and Talbert walking towards her. The two looked more like brothers than Dick and Cassidy. Both were blond and had a swimmer's body.
"Hi Mac," Dick said, sticking his board in the sand and collapsing on the towel next to her. Talbert did the same with a lot more grace.
"Hi Dick … Mr. Talbert, I mean Tal," Mac said, correcting herself. She knew Talbert felt old when she called him that but thirty looked awfully old to her even though he looked great for his age.
"Mac," Talbert said. "I find it so sad that, on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, you're playing on the computer."
"She's my groupie," Dick said. "She's out here for me."
Talbert laughed as Mac whacked Dick on the head. "Show a little respect for Mac, Dick. Most groupies spend their time in bars wearing very tiny bikinis picking up any half way decent surfer."
Mac flinched. Dick stopped laughing as he put his hand on her back before dropping it back on the towel. Talbert changed the subject, "Dick, if you don't practice more, your friends will be living down their friendship with you for generations to come."
Dick scowled at Talbert. "A groupie is never embarrassed by a wipe out." Mac said. Dick perked back up. "As long as you do your best."
"That didn't happen today," Tal said, pointing at Dick. "That's the risk of training someone like you. Everything is handed to you. Nature never hands you anything. It expects your best, and that is what you have to give it every day."
"I'm going to get some water," Dick said, jumping up and walking away. Ignoring the bottles of water sitting next to Mac.
"Are you going to say it?" Talbert said, looking at Mac. She turned back to Talbert. "I'm hard on him."
"No," Mac said. "You're his coach. And he does tend to drift. But he's a better person than he appears to be. Loyal, very loyal. Although, I do wish you wouldn't criticize him when I'm here."
"Why?" Talbert said a little startled.
"Who do you think hears his monologues about what an awful SOB you are," Mac said, bending over wrapping her arms around her knees.
"An awful SOB?" Talbert said with a laugh. "Well, I must be doing my job right." He got up. "I'll see him again on Saturday. Tell him to keep practicing."
"I will," Mac said, leaning back watching the seagulls. They're the beach's answer to pigeons, she thought. Dick came back a few minutes later.
"Ready to leave," Dick said. At Mac's nod, he began to roll up his towel.
SNAKEPIT – LUNCH ROOM
Veronica walked into the lunchroom and glanced over to where Logan was sitting. The rest of Seth's friends were there, the top of the food chain in this school. How typical of Logan.
"Hi," Veronica said, sitting next to Logan. The conversation started back up. Mostly, it consisted of gossip and how awful the teachers were. A blond girl with a killer tan walked up to the table.
"Hi," Gary said, moving over a little. He had the 'Hi; I'm interested' look, "Sit here."
"Ronnie, Roland," Laura said. "This is Gwen. Gwen, Ronnie and Roland."
"Hi," Veronica said. "Nice to meet you. Sarah talked about you at the party."
"What did she say?" Gwen said, obviously agitated. Veronica and Logan straightened up. They looked at each other then back to Gwen.
"That you dated her brother and that you're a cheerleader," Veronica said, hoping to calm Gwen down. It was so much easier to ask questions when the person didn't treat you like the enemy. "That's really cool. Always wanted to be a cheerleader. Tried out for it once."
"The less said about the great cheerleader massacre the better," Logan said, assisting Veronica in charming Gwen.
"It wasn't that bad," Veronica said, groaning theatrically at the memory. At the time, it was the most humiliating event of her life. Thinking back on it, she wished that humiliation was the worst thing that happened to her.
"What happened?" Karen said, leaning forward.
"It was a dark and stormy night," Logan said with a smirk on his face.
Veronica stamped down on his foot. "Oww," Logan said, moving his feet away from the potential damage.
"It was not," Veronica said.
"Considering what happened, it should have been," Logan said. "Anyway, where was I? The sky was darkening; the rain was pouring, and Ronnie decided to try out to be a cheerleader to impress her new boyfriend who was part of the school royalty. So, naturally, to be worthy of all of that royalness … Cheerleading."
"Roland, I didn't try out because of him," Veronica said, lying through her teeth.
The rest of the table laughed at the lie.
"Of course you did," Logan said with an insufferable grin on his face. Veronica remembered this Logan: fun and funny. Like when she, Logan, Duncan and Lilly were inseparable. But Lilly's death destroyed that friendship. And even in reclaiming a new friendship with the ones that survived, nothing was the same.
"You used to write horrible odes to his wonderfulness," Logan continued.
"You did?" Gwen said, relaxing back in her seat; her face easing into a smile.
"No," Veronica said. "Not odes. Maybe an honorable mention in my journal."
"Yes, if by 'honorable mention', you mean an entry that puts War and Peace to shame," Logan said. Veronica scowled at him but, considering Gwen was now laughing, she let him go on with no further comment. "I wasn't there during the tale of woe, but I was told all the details by several reliable sources. To set the scene, the cheerleaders guaranteed a spot were practicing the complicated cheers that ended in the pyramid." Logan paused for a moment for effect.
Several at the table groaned knowing where this was going.
"Ronnie waited for a half hour until it was her group's time to shine. Her enthusiasm knew no bounds her leap was a thing of beauty, or so I was told, but her landing took out 3 of her companions. One unfortunate cheerleader closer to the pyramid fell against the right corner."
The people at the table started laughing. Veronica heard more laughter coming from the other tables.
"The corner girl was knocked from her post. The cheerleaders rained from the sky. The resulting broken bones and bruises, not to mention the three ambulance's arrival, were the talk of the school even to this day. And so ended what would be forever known as The Cheerleader Massacre."
"Jerk," Veronica said in a low voice.
"Several girls were injured but there was a happy ending," Logan said, ignoring Veronica's comment. "Ronnie was banned from being a cheerleader for life. And it was then she decided on a new calling: the pep squad."
"You exaggerated. It wasn't three ambulances," Veronica said. "It was only two."
"To protect my friends, the ban is still on," Gwen said, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. "But you can come to watch us practice."
Veronica would normally never accept that offer but, under the circumstances, "Sure it sounds like fun."
"How was she in the pep squad?" Karen said to Logan.
Logan sat up, his face suddenly serious. Veronica shook her head. She knew what he was thinking. The loss of Lilly ended Veronica's pep squad days and their innocent fun. And knowing what she now knew about Logan's home life, that was a huge loss. "She was great: surprise boxes of cookies and school spirit items in boxes. She seemed to know every guy's favorite cookie, cupcake and even cake."
"You know what mom said about the way to a man's heart," Veronica said.
"Well one of them," Johnny said.
The group laughed again at the statement.
NEPTUNE COURT HOUSE
Wallace went through the family court's files until he came to the one for Veronica. He slipped it in his company shirt. He took deep breaths to calm his nerves and then headed out. He and Weevil talked calmly as they went about their normal routine, until they reached the copy room where they could use the printer / scanner to send it to an email that mimicked one of the court's e-mails. Weevil kept a look out.
NEPTUNE HIGH SCHOOL - LUNCH
The next day, in the school cafeteria, Weevil watched as Veronica's friend Mac walked over to where he was sitting. Now that he had left his gang, he had acquired a new set of friends from the neighborhood. He regretted the loss of the gang: the walking down the halls and people stepping aside. They still did that but being hung up and beaten makes you realize your limitations. However, everyone knew that he still was nobody to mess with.
For a brief moment, Weevil saw her look over to her right. He saw Cassidy walking away with a girl at his side. Weevil turned back to Mac. She straightened up and headed towards him. He admired her for not letting Cassidy destroy her spirit.
"Mac," Weevil said. He knew that she found something. "What's up?"
"Can I talk to you?" Mac said.
"Here? Now?" Weevil said, not making it easy for her. He didn't want her to know that he saw her pain.
"Over there," Mac said, pulling him toward an empty table at the far end of the cafeteria. She waved Wallace over and sat down.
"Weevil, didn't know you were tapping that," a small guy called out amid all the hoots and hollers. "Don't tell Nylsa."
Weevil glared back at his friend, "Shut it before I shut it for you."
The table went silent. Mac ignored the statement in her excitement and opened up her laptop.
"What?" Wallace said when he came over.
"I found it," Mac said to them, "Aaron Echolls' hidden company."
"What about it?" Weevil said at Mac's pause.
"He paid off several people in the jury," Mac said, pointing at the screen. Weevil wasn't surprised. Everyone in Neptune suspected what had happened.
"All of these people are on the jury," Wallace said.
"No, not all. There's a few here I can't figure out," Mac said. "These three were on the jury. These four I still can't figure why he's paying them. And there is something about a business just across the border, in Mexico."
"You want me to investigate that?" Weevil said.
"No, Veronica wants to look into the company before sending you down there," Mac said. "It could be dangerous and she doesn't want you to get hurt."
"Let me know when she wants me to go down there," Weevil said.
"That's strange," Wallace said, pointing at the second deposit going into the account. "What's this?"
"Mayor Woody," Mac said. "I think Mr. Echolls is blackmailing him."
"What?" Weevil said, surprised for the first time. "What does he have on the Mayor?"
"Don't know. Maybe his restaurants' special sauce," Mac said. "Have you and Wallace quit the job yet."
"No," Wallace said, his voice showing his despair.
"Great! I need you and Weevil to download all his work and personal computer files into these," Mac said, pulling out 2 USB drives.
"His work will be no problem," Weevil said. "How will we get his personal stuff?"
"Veronica suggested Wallace can ask Gia out on a date," Mac said.
"WHAT?" Wallace said. "That is beyond the call of duty."
"It will only be a couple of dates," Mac said.
"Yes, it will only be a couple of dates," Weevil said. Wallace glared at him.
"Don't know which one is worse," Wallace said, giving into the inevitable. "Gia or the job."
"Take it from me, Gia," Weevil said.
"If she was gay, I would ask her myself," Mac said.
"No, you wouldn't," Wallace said.
"Well, for Veronica I would," Mac said.
"Veronica owes me big time," Wallace said.
NEPTUNE – DICK'S HOUSE
Mac arrived in what Dick called a cocktail dress. He had taken her to a store to get the dress and helped her pick it out. He had surprisingly good taste. She thought she would end up looking like a hooker.
"Is he here?" Mac said.
"Yes," Dick said, guiding her into a larger room. "Cassidy suspects though."
"Well, that's to be expected," Mac said, looking around at the house. Her love for Cassidy was a worry that seemed to never end. If Veronica wasn't distracting her with this investigation, she would be eaten up by depression.
They just want to help him, she thought. Why was he fighting Dick and her? They loved him and wanted what's best for him.
Several hours later Mac had had enough of cocktail conversations. No wonder they served cocktails at these business functions. You needed the alcohol to endure hours of insipid conversation. Except for one bright spot, when Mac talked to the Kane Vice President of Development, the conversations were a complete waste of time.
"I need a drink," Dick said, coming up to her with a huge exaggerated yawn.
"Me too," Mac said, laughing.
Cassidy came over to them. "What are you doing here?" he said to Mac.
"She's my date," Dick said, putting an arm around Mac.
Mac thought it best not to deny Dick's statement. She hoped this work. Cassidy seemed to be getting worse. He appeared more confident actually dating several girls at school. From what she could tell, these girls were shy wallflower types, similar to the way she was last year. Now that she was looking in from the outside it appeared that they were a cover. Not because Cassidy was gay, but he was hiding something: Something so terrible that he told no one, not even his family.
A bell delicately tinkled. Mac snorted at the pretension of it all. Beaver grinned at her. She felt that old connection. It was the same feeling she had before the attempted rape. She now knew why some women go back to an abusive relationship. That old feeling was seductive, and she wanted it back but she would never put herself in a position to be hurt again by Cassidy.
"Let's go in," Dick said, guiding her into the next room.
The rest of the party trickled in. Cassidy was sitting across from Mac and Dick. The table filled up with people, and the dinner portion of the party began.
What seemed to be an eternity later, the conversation turned to where Mac and Dick hoped it would go. The older man on one side of Cassidy talked to the woman beside him.
"I've read about your work with young cancer patients, Dr. Lester," the older man said. "It's most impressive."
"Thank you, Dr. Williams," Lester said. "It was hard work."
"I understand the burnout rate is high," Williams said, picking up the clue that she no longer worked with cancer patients.
"Yes," Lester said, her face drooped at the corners making her look old and tired. The expression was brief and then she continued. "Now I mostly do court cases. Helping children that were victims of crimes. Appears like you're in the business, too."
"Yes, mostly family crises," Williams said.
Mac thought he was disarming in a grandfatherly type of way. His suit with a vest really pulled it off.
Mac saw Cassidy straighten up. He glared at Mac and Dick.
"I would think that kids would want to hide a problem like that," Mac said.
"It shows through at odd times," Williams said, Lester nodded her head in agreement. "If the children trust the parents, they tell them."
"Sometimes they're too ashamed to tell their parents," Lester said, disagreeing with Williams. "They feel that they brought it on themselves, especially in abuse situations. And if that shame and anger aren't dealt with, it can fester in a child and come to fruition in the adult."
"Agreed," Williams said. "Sometimes the issues are a bit more knotty and complicate."
The conversation went on from there. Cassidy sat still not even pretending to eat.
NEPTUNE – DICK'S HOUSE LATER
Dick jerked awake when he heard someone in the room. He turned on the light and saw Cassidy staring down at him.
He would never admit this to anyone but, at that moment, Cassidy creeped him out. As he got up he automatically put the bed between him and Cassidy. "What do you want?"
"Stop what you're doing," Cassidy said; his voice no louder than a whisper.
The slight rasp of the voice made Dick's hair stood up on end. "Already stopped. I'm awake."
Cassidy scowled at him before saying, "Not that. Stop sending emails about therapy, stop arranging meeting with psychiatrists, and stop seeing Mac. Or else."
"Or else," Dick said, laughing at the implied threat. "You're my brother. I know you won't hurt me."
Cassidy smiled at him. His eyes bothered Dick: they reminded him of a wild coyote that crossed his path when walking back to his father's apartment after a night of clubbing. The street light that night was behind him giving a clear view of the coyote. Its eyes had the same darkness like the pupils of the eyes had swallowed all the surrounding color. He couldn't believe this was his geeky younger brother. When had he changed? "Yes but Mac isn't."
"You won't harm Mac," Dick said. "She's …"
"Won't I?" Cassidy said.
Dick jerked back as if Cassidy had punched him hard. He was tempted to force the issue, but he couldn't risk Mac being hurt. "How can you threaten her like this? She loves you."
"This is what you're going to do," Cassidy said. "You're going to tell Mac I'm thinking about seeing someone professionally, and then you're going to stop seeing her."
Dick frowned, "No."
"What?" Cassidy said, showing his surprise.
"Alright for the first but not the second," Dick said.
"Not good enough," Cassidy said, stepping closer to Dick. Trying to intimidate him.
"Remember our bet," Dick said. Cassidy nodded but didn't say anything. "Remember what you said. Never pay unless you have to."
"Yes," Cassidy said, drawing out the word.
"Didn't dad tell you about the downside of welshing on a bet," Dick said.
"What's that?" Cassidy said, a sneer twisting his face until he looked like a stranger.
"Trust," Dick said. "I no longer trust you."
Cassidy took a deep breath that almost looked like a flinch. "What?"
"I. Don't. Trust. You," Dick said.
Dick and Cassidy looked at each other without blinking. Dick wasn't going to back down. Not on this. Cassidy finally said, "I don't want to see one more pamphlet about Happy Time Clinic or Village of the Cured."
"Agreed," Dick said, stepping from around the bed. "Now, get out!"
Cassidy backed out of the room. Dick closed the door and placed a chair under the knob. He sat down on the bed, wishing that Logan was here. Logan would know what to do about Cassidy or at least help him protect Mac.
LAWTON – LOGAN AND VERONICA'S HOUSE
Logan lounged back in the lawn chair for his much-deserved rest from the grill. Lots of people from the neighborhood and Snakepit were there. It was one of the rare warm days of October. The weather was on the cusp of being uncomfortable for swimming.
Veronica made sure the door was locked to 'mom's room', or as they called it, Veronica's office. They didn't want anybody to find out who they were and what they were working on.
"Sorry your mom couldn't be here," an older man said, sitting next to Logan.
"She is too," Logan said, looking around at the people splashing about in the pool and wandering in and out of the house. He wiped his hand across his forehead. "She was looking forward to this. I hate…. She loves parties. Especially pool parties."
"Jonathan Garber," Garber said, holding out his hand. Logan refused to wince at the tight grip, "Sarah's father. Nice to meet you."
"And you," Logan said, relieved that his hand came back reasonably unscathed. "Sorry about your son."
"Me too," Garber said. "It is hard knowing he's dead but not having a body to bury."
Logan blanched at the statement, thinking of his mother. "What do you mean? You know he's dead?"
"I don't know what happened to him, but I know." Garber said. "It's like a cold wind going through you. You don't see it, but you feel it."
Garber talked about Seth for several minutes. The usual: he was a good kid, good grades, always tried to do what's right. The conversation turned to when Seth was a kid.
Sarah came over and sat next to her father. Garber turned to her and said, "Remember the Fort."
"You mean the Enchanted Castle," Sarah said, laughing. "Me and Seth argued about that for a whole summer."
"Yes, I know," Garber said with a wry grin. "Building that thing was one of my biggest regrets of that summer."
"It wasn't that bad," Sarah said.
Garber laughed but didn't say anything. The laughter stopped and the sadness of the loss of a son crept back in.
"It doesn't get much use now," Sarah said. "I guess Seth and I outgrew it. Danny doesn't care for Forts or Castles."
"Seth used it when he was wrestling with a problem. Last time I saw him, he was sitting up there, thinking. Well, I'd better go. It looks like your mother is in need of rescue." Garber said to Sarah, getting up and heading towards an older woman talking an ear off a younger woman.
"I'm going to see if Ronnie needs any help," Logan said, heading towards the kitchen. He checked around the party to see if anybody looked hungry. Not finding anybody, he went off to search for Veronica.
After finding everybody but Veronica, he wandered through the rest of the house. He found her and Gwen in the den. He was about to enter but thought better of it.
"Sometimes I go to our house," Gwen said.
"Your house?" Veronica said with a puzzled expression.
"Well it is really a broken-down cabin. We used to talk about what we'll do in college…the Academy for him…marriage. Our future. I know he's coming back."
"Of course he will," Veronica said. She looked up and saw Logan. With a subtle motion, she waved him away.
Veronica tied off another trash bag from the party. She heard the Logan complain again about the lack of maid service. But underneath it all, there was an excitement like he found out something. She knew better in pushing him to spill. He was not one to be pushed by anyone, including his father, as his father so richly found out.
About an hour later the house was as clean as it was going to be tonight. They collapsed on the couch in the family room.
"Found out anything, Ronica," Logan said, sprawling across more than half of the couch. He put his arm around her.
Instead of pushing him away Veronica leaned up against him with a sigh. "Other than Seth is a paragon of virtue, no. But I'm getting closer to Gwen."
"Gary has a thing for her," Logan said.
"He talks about her?"
"No. The opposite, he doesn't. He's working up the nerve to ask her out."
"You think he had a 'thing' for her even before Seth disappeared," Veronica said.
"Oh definitely," Seth said with a smirk. "He has it bad for her."
"Hmm," Veronica said. "Maybe Gary wanted his chance with her, and Seth was in the way."
"Doesn't sound like Gary."
"Try getting closer to Johnny," Veronica said.
"What?" Logan said, turning his head toward Veronica. Wondering where that came from.
"He's a watcher," Veronica said. "That's what dad used to call them. They observe friends, enemies, everybody. Like they are only here to collect information."
"He is quiet," Logan said. "Maybe he's a seething cauldron of repressed feelings waiting to explode." He finished with a maniacal laugh.
"Well, in that case, be careful," Veronica said.
"I talked to Seth's father," Logan said. "He thinks Seth is dead."
"Me too."
"Yeah," Logan said. "He also thinks Seth was troubled by something."
"What?" Veronica said, pulling away from Logan.
"Mr. Garber built a tree house when Seth and Sarah were younger," Logan said. "Seth used to go there when he had a problem. The last time Mr. Garber saw Seth was in that tree house."
"Between the time getting early acceptance and the disappearance something happened. Probably involving someone close to him."
"Looks like."
"Promising. Now I'll look through newspapers and police reports."
"That reminds me, have you figured out why dad is sending money down to Mexico?"
"No. The business seems like a makeshift hospital," Veronica said, stretching out. "It could be some sort of charity."
"No," Logan said with a bitter grin. "Dad likes his charity out in the open. For all to marvel over his generosity."
Veronica hesitated and then said, "Yeah, I didn't buy it either. My next thought drugs to sell on his movie locations."
"Could be," Logan said. "Heard all about his misspent youth before becoming a 'family man' with a picture-perfect home life."
"I'm going to have Mac hack into the business computer system," Veronica said. "And I'll also look into the four people. If we look into them maybe we can find out why your father is bribing them."
NEPTUNE - BEACH
Mac pulled out the binoculars to watch Dick. Although he tried to explain the different moves, it was all blah, blah, blah to her like the adults in a Charlie Brown cartoon. She supposed it was poetic justice. She spent enough time trying to explain hacking to him.
If the pattern held, after a whole day of surfing, they would crash at her house to watch the video Talbert made trying to figure out what was done right and what was done wrong. A figure came out of the water with a surf board. At first, Mac thought it was Dick, but it was Talbert.
"Hi Tal," Mac said, opening into the small cooler beside her. She held out a cold bottle of water. "Want some?"
"Sure," Talbert said, taking a sip. "Is everything alright?"
Mac was silent for a moment then said, "Sure. Why wouldn't it be?"
"Don't know. Dick is different," Tal said. "More focused...disciplined."
"Isn't that a good thing?" Mac said, her forehead wrinkled. "Isn't it what you want?"
"Yes, but he's troubled," Talbert said. "Worried."
"You want me to talk to him?"
"Wouldn't bring it up if I didn't."
"I'll talk to him after dinner."
"After dinner?"
"Yes, we'll … well mostly him … watches his daily surfing video on the big screen. We do homework, eat dinner, and then he goes home."
"Every night," Talbert said.
Mac sat up, put her arms around her knees, silent for a moment, "No, not every night, sometimes he goes out with his latest girlfriend. But most nights..." She left it hanging.
LAWTON – SNAKEPIT HIGH SCHOOL
Logan and Sarah waited for Veronica by the car. He saw Gary and Gwen heading their way. Gary's head leaned over Gwen's. "So do you want to go to the party?" They heard him say.
"Sure, it will be fun hanging out with Ronnie and the rest of the gang," Gwen said, missing the way Gary's face fell.
"Yes, fun," Gary said, trying to mask his disappointment. "Well I'll see you on Saturday at 7:00pm."
"Great," Gwen said, looking towards Logan and Sarah. "Hi."
"Hi, see you at the party," Sarah said a bit awkwardly.
"See you," Gary said with a strained smile on his face. Gwen and Gary moved on.
"Wow," Sarah said. "That's even worse than being shot down."
"Spoken like a person that has never been shot down," Logan said. "But it is pretty bad."
Logan puts his arm around her like a sister, a sister that he liked unlike Trina.
LAWTON – VERONICA AND LOGAN'S HOUSE
Veronica collapsed on her bed, glad to be home. She was surprised at the sentiment. She realized that she now considered Lawton, with her new friends and Logan, as home.
She frowned at another dead end in both cases. Mac looked through all Lucky's e-mails but couldn't find anything that anybody would kill for. However, she thought, that might change with Weevil heading down to Mexico.
Logan burst in and lay down beside her.
"What are you doing?" Veronica said, trying to push him off the bed.
"I'm here to stop you from sulking," Logan said.
"I'm not sulking," Veronica said, in a sulky manner. "After all our hard work, I don't think Seth's case can be solved."
"Sulking," Logan said with a smirk. "Solving two murders, closing down the middle school drug ring and recovering a kidnapped girl are nothing to sneeze at."
"But not my dad's murder, not Seth's disappearance," Veronica said, turning away from Logan. She felt Logan wrapped an arm around her. She thought he would go further, but he just held her close. She took his hand and laced her fingers with his. "Gwen still thinks he's alive."
"Really, I thought that hope would be dying."
"She talks about them being together and raising a family."
"That's sad."
"Yeah, Laura and Kelly aren't sure. And poor Gary," Veronica said, yawning her eyes closing.
"I'm sure it was hard to compete with Seth when he was here. But dead or missing must be 10 times harder."
"What about Johnny?"
"He holds his cards pretty close to the vest on that score. So what's your next case?"
"Hit and run on Mountain Road. A father and son coming back from a fishing trip, another car … a black car...ran them off the road. Literally. Both died."
"That's a dangerous stretch of road."
"And the quickest way into the city," Veronica said, nodding at the first statement. Her eyes closed and she felt herself drifting off to sleep.
MEXICO - CLINIC
Weevil rushed into the hospital. With his tattoos covered up he looked like a frantic family member. His camera glasses completed the transformation from gang member to a person looking for his family. He snuck up some steps and went down a hall looking into each room. He was ignored until reaching the third floor.
"What are you doing here?" a huge man said. His voice and his manner were threatening.
"My grandmother … she was just brought in," Weevil said. "Please … her name is Maria Ramos."
"If she just came in she would be downstairs," the man said.
"I looked there," Weevil said, opening a door beside him. The man's hand clenched around Weevil's upper arm and pulled him away.
The man dragged him downstairs. He motioned to the security guards. An elderly woman came up to them.
"Eli," she said. "I told them not to call you."
The man released his arm. Weevil wrapped his arms around his grandmother. "You had chest pains."
"Gas."
"Thank God," Weevil said, walking out to the tattered parking lot. "Let me take you home." They climbed in an ancient car he rented from a friend.
"How did I do?" his grandmother said.
"Perfect. You're a natural," Weevil said, driving back across the border.
LAWTON – VERONICA AND LOGAN'S HOUSE
Logan came into the garage where he saw Veronica raise a large hammer aiming it towards the car. "I know the car isn't much but what are you doing?"
"The hit and run," Veronica said as if that explained everything.
"And because our car is sort of black … well dark blue. You decided to hammer it in vengeance for the death of the father and son."
"Roland," Veronica said, hitting the front grill of the car. She looked at her phone. Logan came beside her and saw a picture of a dented car. She hit again carefully mimicking the damage to the other car. After the car's damage looked similar to the one in the picture, she stopped.
Logan lounged back against the side of the garage thinking that Veronica looked sexy in a Xena Warrior Princess kind of way. "Now that you're done, can you please let me know what brought on this mad case of car abuse?"
"A deer came out of nowhere," Veronica said, pointing to the car.
"Really?" Logan said. "How unfortunate."
"Roland," Veronica said with a put-upon air. "I want to find out if anybody was in an accident around that time."
"What about checking everybody's insurance? Does our poor car have to suffer?"
"Already had Mac check. Nothing." Veronica said.
"Why don't we ask them if they were in a fender bender?"
"They might get suspicious," Veronica said. Logan grinned at her. She continued, "Shut up."
Logan drove to the school. Veronica sat straight up. Her eyes lit up, gearing up for the chase. He breathed in relief that she would never go back to that dark apartment.
LAWTON – SNAKEPIT LUNCHROOM
At lunch, the usual group, Laura, Gary, Gwen and Karen, were sitting around a table. The normal conversation sprung up.
"Saw your car," Sarah said. "What happened?"
"We were driving back from seeing mom," Veronica said. She struggled a little thinking about her own mother. How different her made-up mother was with her bravery in the face of illness. But imaginary mothers had a way of being perfect. "A deer came out of nowhere on Mountain Road and hit us. And then ran off into the woods."
"Wow," Laura said, pushing up her glasses. "Hope the deer is alright."
"It happened to my father several years ago," Karen said. "You're lucky. Dad almost ran off the road dodging the deer."
After a brief lull in the conversation, Laura said to Gwen, "You hit an animal last year, remember?"
Gwen shifted in her chair before saying, "Yes."
Veronica perked up, "Really, well at least I'm not alone. Roland said after that incident, he's doing all the driving. The nerve. Did Gary's father fix it?"
"Yes," Gwen said. She flicked her fork between her thumb and fingers.
MAC'S HOUSE
Mac watched Dick watching the surfing video. Talbert was right there was something different about Dick.
"Is everything alright?" Mac said. "With Cassidy?"
"Sure, why wouldn't it be?" Dick said. He saw her doubtful expression. "Cassidy had a rough session. You know."
"Do you think maybe I should go over there?"
"No! He's in therapy now. He doesn't want to be crowded."
"Crowded?"
"Smothered."
"Oh … Okaay."
VERONICA AND LOGAN'S HOUSE
Logan saw her sitting at the dining room table with an open file and a magnifying glass. How Nancy Drew, he thought.
"What's this?" Logan said, snatching the file away. "Umm...a car bill and pictures of a car." Veronica tried to snatch the bill back but Logan held it over his head.
Veronica hit him in the stomach and grabbed the file when his hand came down.
"Veronica," Logan said, rubbing his stomach. He then reached out and kissed her.
Veronica pulled away from him and opened up the file. And laid the pictures out in front of her. "Look at this. The car was sideswiped."
Logan sighed before saying, "An animal could run right into the side of the car. Happened to me once."
"No," Veronica said. "Different type of damage. See these scratches?"
"In the middle of that crushed-in door?"
"Here," Veronica said, holding up the magnifying glass. Logan took it and peered at the picture.
"This is so much better on the computer," Logan said, pulling the magnifying glass back and forth. "Scratches. Like the car scraped against metal."
"Yes," Veronica said. Her face a mixture of triumph and sadness. "Gwen was in a hit and run. Killed the father and son."
"And Seth was either there or Gwen told him what happened. Coming from a military family: Protect and Serve. He would want to the right thing."
"That's the theory. And soon after, he disappeared."
"Gwen wouldn't kill him," Logan said. "She loved him too much. Maybe Gary knew about it."
"And he killed Seth to protect Gwen."
"Could be. We'll test out the two theories."
SNAKEPIT'S PARKING LOT
Logan put his hands in the pocket of his coat as he waited in the parking lot until he saw Gary walk out. "Hi, struck out again?"
"Don't want to talk about it."
"I wouldn't either. Thanks for giving me your father's number. The estimate is low. And he hooked me up with a rental," Logan said, tapping the bland beige car that Veronica insisted on getting.
"You're welcome."
"Ronnie told me Gwen was in an accident too. Her car was side swiped?"
"No, she hit a deer or some animal that came from the woods," Gary said.
"And your father 'fixed' the damage." Logan said, implying that something was up.
"Oh. You mean the deal."
"The deal," Logan said puzzled.
"My father gives my friends cost plus half the usual labor."
"Yes, thanks again," Logan said. He knew then that Gary couldn't be the killer. If he was he would have known the truth about Gwen's accident and would have tried to protect her.
SNAKEPIT'S GYM
Veronica watched from the bleachers as the cheerleaders, in the bright yellow and black outfits, practiced their cheers. She thought that they might be even better than the Neptune High cheerleaders. An hour later, she saw Gwen climbing towards her. Suddenly, Veronica felt tears roll down her face, crocodile tears.
"Ronnie, are you okay?" Gwen said.
"Thinking of dad," Veronica said. "I guess it's a delayed reaction from the accident."
"What?" Gwen said.
"My dad died in a car accident," Veronica said, wiping her eyes. More tears and she started crying for real. She realized that she never cried for her father not really. "I guess some days are harder than others."
Gwen put her arms around Veronica. Veronica buried her head on Gwen's shoulder. "Sorry," Veronica said, wiping the tears from her face. "Didn't mean to break down on you."
"That's okay," Gwen said. "It must be hard to lose someone. I can only imagine."
"More than imagined."
"What?"
"Seth, he just got into the Academy. Everything was going his way. No way would he run away. Something happened to him. He's gone. He's dead."
"No! He's coming back! I know it." Gwen ran back down the bleachers.
"Wait," Veronica said, running after her. "Sorry. Of course, he's coming back."
Veronica followed her out to the parking lot. Logan was waiting in the car. Gwen got into her car and zoomed out of the parking lot. She jumped in and they followed behind Gwen.
"Almost feel sorry for her," Logan said.
Veronica said, "She killed three people."
"I know."
Gwen stopped at a scenic view parking area and leaped out of her car. Then she ran down a trail. Logan and Veronica followed. They lost her briefly but found her by catching glimpses of her bright cheerleader outfit.
A good ten or fifteen minutes later, they came across a cabin. They didn't see Gwen anywhere. They walked into the cabin. The light shining through the door made the shrine visible on the rain worn stone fireplace.
"My God," Logan said.
Veronica looked around and then hurried over to the corner of the room. She brushed off some dirt.
"What do you see?"
"A shirt," Veronica said, pulling it gently. "A bone poked through the dirt."
"What are you doing here?" a voice came from the doorway. Gwen looked frightening. She wore a mask of tears and mascara. Both of her knees were skinned and dirty.
"I was worried about you," Veronica said. "You ran off."
"You shouldn't be here," Gwen said. She ran forward carrying a long piece of corroded metal in one of her hands. It looked like one of the fireplace irons. She raised it above her head and swung it at Veronica.
Logan jumped in front of Veronica, taking the brunt of the blow. He fell onto his side. Veronica heard a crack like a bone breaking. Veronica took out her stun gun and zapped Gwen who dropped her weapon and then fell to the floor, not moving.
"Are you alright?" Veronica said worried.
"Yeah, but I think my lighter might have bitten it," Logan said, pulling his mother's lighter out. He flicked the lighter open, and the top came off. He put the lighter and top back in his pocket.
"Give me your shirt," Veronica said.
"Okay," Logan said, taking off his shirt.
Veronica tied Gwen up using Logan's shirt. He put his coat back on. "Call the cops."
What seemed like moments later, the cops descended on them. Logan and Veronica were whisked away to the police department along with Gwen.
Veronica and Logan sat in two chairs at a table in a windowless room with a locked door.
The door opened and a large man dressed in a brown suit entered. He had a gold badge hooked on his belt.
"Hi. I'm Detective Wharton." He sat down on the one empty chair.
"I'm Ronnie and this is my brother, Roland Ronier."
He stared at them for a second.
"Can you tell me what happened?" Wharton said.
"Gwen was upset," Veronica said. "We were worried about her, so we followed. She led us to the cabin. I found the shrine and the body. I think it is Seth Garber's. She attacked us but we subdued her, and then called you."
The detective asked a few more questions and then took their information.
VERONICA AND LOGAN'S HOUSE
Logan had just finished making eggs and bacon when Veronica staggered in. "You know I was the one hurt. You should be making me breakfast."
"Aww poor baby."
Logan loaded up a plate for Veronica and sat down. He took out the broken lighter and frowned. "This lighter survived a POW camp."
"We can go to a jewelers shop today," Veronica said. "I'm sure they can fix it."
"What about school?"
"I'll call in. Tell them we're not coming in today."
30 minutes later they went into Ornett's Ornate Jewelers. Mr. Ornett looked at the broken lighter.
"Interesting," Mr. Ornett said. He turned the lighter around. Veronica looked at Logan, and he shrugged. "Interesting." He took the top of the lighter out. "Interesting."
"What?" Logan said.
"The joints of the lighter were filed down intentionally," Mr. Ornett said.
"What?" Veronica said.
"But that's not all," Mr. Ornett said. "Look at this."
He brought out a large magnifying glass and showed them the inside of the lighter. Veronica saw three lines of numbers.
"Can you fix it?" Logan said.
"Sure," Mr. Ornett said.
Veronica pushed her phone making it ring. "Hello mom. Alright … alright we'll be there right away." She hung up the phone and took the lighter back. "We need to go home." She bolted for the door. Logan followed her out. "What was that all about?"
"The numbers … the weakening of the lighter." Veronica said, giving the lighter back to him. "I think it is a message from your mother. Check to see if there anything else engraved on the lighter."
Logan turned the lighter all around until he reached the bottom. "Laerte."
Veronica opened her phone and went onto the net. She put Laerte in Bing. And several names came up including a bank by that name. "Is the first one nine digits?"
"Yes," Logan said. "How do you know that?"
"It's a routing number," Veronica said.
"Routing number?"
"All US banks have nine digit routing numbers," Veronica said with a glint in her eyes. She was getting closer to find out why her father was murdered. "I used to pay all the bills at dad's office. The companies ask for them when paying by phone."
"Why didn't you use the net?" Logan said.
"I met Mac The Hacker," Veronica said.
Logan laughed as he thought of how easily Mac broke into his father's computer. Veronica had a point.
When they reached the house, they turned the computer on and entered using the second line as the account and third as the password. All the information popped up.
"She set up the account in New York," Veronica said. She flipped through the other information screens.
"Under her maiden name." Logan pointed out. "A safety deposit box."
"We'll go to New York and then contact Mac after we see what's in it."
NEPTUNE HIGH SCHOOL CLASS ROOM
Mac, Wallace and Weevil reviewed the video of the hospital but didn't see anything earth shattering. The only things they saw were patients in the hospital beds. No drug labs or anything other than regular hospital drugs, which could support petty drug dealers but hardly enough to interest Aaron Echolls.
"There's nothing there," Wallace said. "We need to go back and check the second floor."
"You're wrong," Weevil said. "I went through two floors and saw nothing. Soon as I hit the third floor, a man came out and dragged me back to the first floor. What does that say to you?"
"You're disturbing the patients," Wallace said.
"Guys, one more time," Mac said about to lose her patience.
"Hi guys. Which one of her movies are you watching?" Dick said, leaning over the laptop, startling all of them. They hadn't heard him come into the classroom.
"Here," Dick said, rolling Mac out of the way. He reversed and stopped the video. "There," he said, pointing at the face in one of the rooms.
"My God, it's …"
"Lynn Echolls," Dick said. "Logan's mom."
NEXT UP RESOLUTION