DISCLAIMER: I don't own any rights to Veronica Mars. This story is written as a tribute only. No celebrity endorsement is implied by product placements. All real persons' names are used in the sense of "wouldn't it be cool if this person had this gig?" The institution discussed in this fic is not a real institution. All opinions regarding real-life organizations expressed in this fic are the opinions of the characters only. You may or may not agree with the conclusions of the characters, and no harm or insult is intended to these real-life organizations, or to any participant, past, present, or future, in the meetings of these organizations. Again, this fic is not intended for those under the age of 17.
A/N: Beta-ed by Poniesforall, who is also my assistant casting director, and Kazy. All mistakes that remain are my responsibility. If you were confused in the last update as to why Veronica faked an escape attempt, please go back to the last chapter for an explanation.
Previously on Veronica Mars: The Year of Living Dangerously Part Two:
vanessagalore•livejournal•com/53753•htm
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VERONICA MARS
10:00PM SHO ch: 340 60min 2009 TV-MA
You Mess With the Bull
Veronica in restraints; Logan tries to
bond with his fellow employees.
Veronica: Kristen Bell. Logan: Jason Dohring.
Maria: Gina Mantegna. Tony: Romany Malco.
Larry: Ed Quinn. Jim: Adrian Quinones.
Dave: Jason Wiles.
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CHAPTER SEVENTY: "YOU MESS WITH THE BULL"
Tues. 3/10/09 late evening: Briar Hill Academy, Manchester Center, VT
For the first two hours of her confinement, Veronica is elated by her successful ruse to document the egregious punishment. As the adrenaline from the excitement begins to wear off, she realizes that she's becoming very stiff from the forced positioning of the restraints. She stretches her neck and hears a sharp crack as she rotates her head.
I can't imagine how scary it would be to be forced into this punishment without knowing about it ahead of time. Her preparation for the operation was thorough; they talked to as many former students as they could find who were willing to discuss their experiences. Veronica recalls one girl who was plagued by a facial tic. The girl reluctantly admitted that she had attempted suicide three times since leaving the school and her drug addiction was worse than it had ever been before she was committed to Briar Hill. How could a parent possibly think that removing a child from the family home would be a positive solution to a teen in crisis? she wonders over and over again. Some of the girls they talked to were still estranged from their parents, who continued to insist that the school was the best thing that had happened to their daughters.
The girls who claimed that the school had rehabilitated them frightened Veronica far more than the girls who admitted they had been damaged by their experience. One girl spoke glowingly about the hikes, waxing rhapsodic about the joys of marching with a heavy backpack and claiming that the school's withdrawal of her antidepressants and restriction of her food intake was the best thing that had happened to her. Veronica noted the poor grammar of the girl's email as well as the incorrect use of capitalization and was not surprised to learn that the girl had never received her high school diploma. Veronica emailed back, asking what the girl's education plans were, but received no response.
In an even more terrifying incident, another girl had even testified on behalf of the school when her parents tried to sue. The parents' lawsuit claimed a breach of contract on Briar Hill's part when the parents discovered that the credits from the school were not recognized by any college or even transferrable to a high school in their home state. The parents dropped their suit when Briar Hill countersued, claiming that the parents had violated the confidentiality agreement they had signed when admitting their daughter. When contacted by Keith, the parents regretfully declined to participate in any class action suit against the school and said they hadn't had any contact with their daughter in six years, but they had heard that she was now incarcerated in federal prison for dealing drugs.
With all the stories that have been made public, it's hard to believe anyone would find the school's rehabilitation claims to be credible. One of Epstein's constant themes was that the therapeutic boarding school industry had actually expanded, while the government regulations that might have curbed the worst abuses had been simultaneously relaxed. He noted that statistics were very clear that the boarding schools had less of a success rate than family counseling and that previous lawsuits had been largely unsuccessful due to the chilling effect of countersuits and, in at least one instance, a threat that the school would reveal potentially incriminating information admitted by a girl during group therapy. Ruefully straining against the leather restraints on her wrists and ankles, Veronica thinks again, I'm not feeling all that rehabilitated right now.
She sighs. Without any kind of physical stimuli, the time distortion that plagued her in Observation Placement begins to affect her once again. Veronica is certain that only a few hours or less have passed, but she could easily be convinced that it was actually early the next day. Her stomach rumbles from missing dinner, and she wishes hopelessly that someone would take her to the bathroom and fidgets against the restraints.
Dammit! Don't think about the bathroom! She tries to think about something else, anything else. Logan is a pretty good actor. He really seemed mad at me for trying to escape. Wait...was he...could he have been actually mad at me? Veronica reviews the scene in her head. She had screamed at him, "I'm getting the fuck out of here, asshole!", and then she had shoved him hard. He was caught off-balance by her for the second time that night and had stumbled. He grabbed her tightly; she remembered thinking, Too tight, Logan, come on–ease up a little. Then he had looked at her, and for a moment she barely recognized the young man scowling at her.
Logan had yelled back, "You know, we have been pretty tolerant of your wiseass remarks, but you are pushing it! You're going to get hurt if you keep this up!" Was he trying to send me a message? He's worried; I'm pushing them too hard, and he thinks I'm going to get hurt. She shakes her head in disbelief. I just told them this morning that I was okay and wanted to keep going. But then...when they were trying to put on the restraints, he...he really did hurt me. I know, I kicked him, but...No! I must have hurt him. I must have hurt him more than I thought. Maybe that's why he's mad. Maybe he's mad because...because I'm not listening to him...again. She goes over the memory again, trying to reassure herself that he was just acting. But the little voice inside keeps nagging at her. He's really pissed. He's...He's never going to forgive me if I get hurt...if...if I make him really hurt me.
She thinks back to their last big fight, when Logan told Keith that Veronica was planning to use the operation to investigate Hannah's murder. She remembers telling him spitefully, "You're such an ass. You think you can just touch me, and I'll melt and forgive you. It's not going to work...You're a bastard." You're a bastard...you're a bastard...dammit, how could I have said that to him when all he did was worry about me? And then he had said, "Look, Veronica, I don't care if you hate me. All I care about is that you're okay," and she knows: he wasn't exaggerating. He would truly sacrifice her love to make sure she was okay. Is he...has he decided...that it's the only way to get me out of here safely?
He had said, "If you survive, I survive. Even if I have to give you up, or do something that makes you hate me forever. It's crazy, I know. But that's never going to change...You're killing me, Veronica. I can't live like this, worried about you all the time, and then I'm always apologizing for caring about you too much!...You're not going to ruin us. You're going to keep your promise to me. You're. Going. To. Be. Careful." She remembers him fucking her angrily, trying to get through to her, to make it clear that she had to stop doing this to him and to them. And here I am, doing it again. She closes her eyes, hearing his despairing words echoing over and over in her head.
If it's the last thing I do, I'm going to make it up to him...for all the times I took his love for granted. Dammit! How could I have called him a bastard for worrying about me? And then I made him do this; I made him go undercover with me...made him HURT me for god's sake. She begins to cry, for the moment completely unable to focus on the operation and what she's supposed to be doing.
The door opens, and Maria and Tony come in to the room. Maria flips on the light switch and smiles as she sees the tears running down Veronica's face. "Feeling sad?" she comments as she helps the guard undo Veronica's restraints. "You're going to behave, right, so you get to use the bathroom?"
Veronica stay silent, vowing not to let Maria get to her this time. She pushes aside her emotional thoughts and stares back at Maria, nodding her acquiescence.
Maria and Tony each take an arm and force Veronica to stand up. Her legs are asleep, and they give her a moment to recover before they walk Veronica toward the door. "You know, nobody gets out of here unless they accept the program. Nobody, Connie. If you're feeling sad, you have only yourself to blame," Maria says. "And it's completely up to you how long you stay here at Briar Hill."
If you only knew, you bitch, Veronica thinks as they take her to the bathroom. I'll be out of here long before you are.
Tues. 3/10/09 very late: Briar Hill Academy, Manchester Center, VT
After leaving the rented house, Logan sits in his car in the employee parking lot at the school, thinking about control. I've been out of control for most of my life...my dad, my drinking, my...my love for Veronica when she wouldn't...But I've never felt like this. I've never felt so out of control. The desire to punch someone has never been as strong as it is this moment, and Dr. Kinny's sympathy and understanding almost made it worse. I don't think I like him understanding me that well. During the drive back to the school, he felt worse and worse, and when he actually reentered the campus, the oppressive atmosphere of the school itself seemed too much to bear.
He pulls out his cell phone, quickly calculating that if it's midnight here in Vermont, it's nine o'clock in California. Logan begins to dial Dr. Friedman's home number, closing his eyes and praying that she's home.
Suddenly someone raps on the window of his car and Logan starts in surprise. He opens his eyes and sees Tony waving at him. He turns the key in the ignition and lowers the window.
Tony asks, "Everything okay, Roger? You jumped a mile high."
"Ah, yeah. I was just going to call someone I haven't talked to in a while," Logan replies. "Nothing important," he lies. It's all lies, he thinks.
"Some of us from the afternoon shift are heading over to the rec room in the 'C' building–we're going to play some darts," Tony explains, pointing with his thumb over his shoulder. "Do you want to join us?"
It's the absolute last thing Logan wants to do, but he realizes this is another opportunity to bond with the other employees. And, he reflects, maybe I could work on that reputation I have for being a kiss-ass. I can't take the chance that I won't be on the scene when she needs me. He closes his eyes for a minute, trying to dredge up the courage to do this. "I'd like to," he finally says. "I'm just kind of...I don't know, I'm in a bad mood tonight." He steps out of the car and locks the door.
Logan falls in beside Tony as they walk toward the farthest building of the employee's quarters. Tony says shrewdly, "You're still upset about Connie."
Logan nods. "I guess so. I really need this job, but I'm finding it harder than I thought." On the plane ride from San Diego to Boston, Keith stressed several times that Logan should try to stick with the truth whenever possible, just to minimize the number of lies he had to keep straight, and Logan decides that this particular truth is pretty safe.
"Is there something about her in particular?" Tony asks.
Logan almost laughs out loud at Tony's unwitting perception. "I can't really figure it out," he mumbles.
"Maybe there's something about her story that reminds you of yourself. You said you don't drink anymore, right?"
Logan nods.
"Like most of us here," Tony comments. "Did you ever go to AA?"
Careful. "No...I had a medical crisis. It was pretty important that I stop drinking...and I decided that I wanted to live." Only a slight exaggeration, he thinks.
"You just quit without help?" Tony shakes his head in dismay. "You have to come to a meeting. There's one in Manchester Center on Saturday mornings. It'll change your life. I'll go with you."
I hope to hell we're out of here by Saturday. "Thanks. That sounds...well, okay," Logan replies. "Maybe there is something about Connie that reminds me of me. You know, the way she keeps resisting our help. I was a real asshole."
"Well, you know what the guys are calling her, right?"
Logan shakes his head 'no'.
"Connie McConArtist."
Logan is seized by panic. Do they know? He shoots a glance at Tony.
Tony continues, "Typical user...uses drugs, uses the people around her, and uses her anger as a crutch. She's a real manipulator; you can't trust a word she says. We'll have to watch her like crazy. She's not done making trouble."
You have no idea, Logan thinks.
They enter the rec room where three other employees are warming up their dart throws. "Hey Tony," one of them calls. He nudges one of the other men, motioning towards Logan. Logan assumes that this is the guy who's been saying he's a kiss-ass.
"Hey, Jim. You remember Roger right? Roger, you remember Jim...Larry...Dave."
Logan strides over and clasps each hand in turn. Jim grips his hand a little too strongly, making a contest out of it. Logan smiles and allows Jim to try his macho posturing, but all his obsessive workouts while he was hiding in South Padre have left him with the best upper body strength of his life, and Jim fails to intimidate him. Larry barely grasps Logan's hand and seems intent on the imminent game. Dave smiles a little; he's been relatively friendly to Logan since his arrival five days ago.
Larry pulls the darts out of the board and steps back to the throwing line. He throws the three darts in quick succession, achieving a bullseye and two near misses.
"Pretty impressive," Logan comments.
"You played before?" Larry replies.
"A little. Back in my drinking days. I thought I was pretty good, but I actually can't remember much from that time," Logan cracks.
Larry hands the darts to Logan, who sets up and throws the darts carefully. Logan gets close to the bull on his first throw and then makes sure to throw the next two poorly, with one not even scoring a number.
"Ooh, off the island," Dave jeers. "We got a granny in the house."
"I'm just warming up," Logan says good-naturedly. "I got to get my throw back. How d'you guys play?"
"Cricket," Jim replies. "You know, you have to score three each of numbers 15 to 20 and three bulls. Doubles count for two, triples for three."
"Yeah, I've played that way," Logan says.
They throw for a while. At first, Logan makes sure to play no better than Jim, who is the worst player. At one point, he compliments Larry on a successful triple bull, and Larry offers some technique advice on Logan's next turn. Logan considers the advice and pretends to implement it, achieving slightly more success on his next round. He turns to Larry and high-fives him. As the game progresses, Logan begins to resume his natural form and ends up solidly in the middle at the end of match, won, naturally, by Larry, who preens slightly.
They start another round. At one point, when Logan is shooting, Jim asks, "So, how are liking the job?"
"It's okay. I really needed the work. But I'm still struggling," he replies, throwing an 18, a 5, and a double 20.
"Nice shot," Jim comments. "What do you mean, you're struggling?"
"Just, you know, I was raised not to hit girls ever. It's hard to be tough with them," Logan says carefully.
"Yeah, we heard," Larry comments, taking his place on the line.
"You heard?" Logan asks.
"Yeah, we heard that Connie almost got away from you," Dave pipes up.
Logan sighs. "Yeah, she's crazy. Tony said you called her Connie McConArtist."
The other men laugh. Larry says, "Yeah, Connie's a real piece of work. Just remember, she's an addict, and she'll do anything to get out of here and get back to using."
"Sounds like you know what you're talking about," Logan comments.
Larry assesses Logan. "Yeah. I do know. I used to do blow and a little heroin in the eighties. I was in a rehab with Tony. When he needed another guy here, he called me up and asked if I was interested."
Tony agrees, "Yeah, I knew Larry could do the work, no problem. We really went through the shit together at STRAIT. We went from whiny little fuckheads to graduates helping with the newcomers. That's was when Klein was first starting out helping addicts, before he moved here to Briar Hill."
"See, the reason we're asking how you're doing..." Jim says. "We're all depending on you. If you fuck up, one of us could get hurt."
Logan realizes that all four men are looking at him.
"And what we see is that you're not too eager to jump in when you should be," Jim adds. "And that's fucking wrong." Dave looks on, not disputing the others, but not joining in on the attack.
"You need to get over yourself about that fucking redhead Connie. Or we'll tell Klein that you're out of here," Larry says roughly. "You've been a real pussy, trying to get the easy work, saying you have a bad knee, and you can't do this, you can't do that. Getting your buddy Kavner to fight your battles for you."
"Listen," Logan says nervously, "If I screwed up, it's just 'cause I don't really understand how things work here. I'm happy to do whatever is needed, however you guys tell me to do it. I don't have a problem with that redheaded bitch. I really need this job."
Tony adds, "Listen, he did all right with Connie. Bitch kicked him hard, and Roger stepped up and helped me get her under control. Connie's a cunt and a half. I thought Roger handled the situation okay."
"Glad to hear it," Larry says. He turns back toward the dart board and fires off three shots, including a bull.
Logan realizes that he's sweating profusely. He excuses himself and hits the men's room. He dashes cold water on his face and looks at himself in the mirror, thinking, I really didn't need this.
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VERONICA MARS
10:00PM SHO ch: 340 60min 2009 TV-MA
Catalyst
The FBI gets involved; a surprise visitor
to Briar Hill.
Veronica: Kristen Bell. Logan: Jason Dohring.
Keith: Enrico Colantoni. Kavner: Eric Bana.
Tony: Romany Malco. Dave: Jason Wiles.
Agent Lynley: James Badge Dale. Maria:
Gina Mantegna. Guest star: ??
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CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE: "CATALYST"
Wed. 3/11/09 morning: Rented House, Manchester Center, VT
As soon as the clock reads 9:00, Keith puts in a call to the Boston District Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. "This is Keith Mars, calling for Agent Lynley. I was referred by Mike Fields." He drums his fingers on the table while he waits several minutes on hold; finally Lynley picks up the extension, saying, "Agent Lynley."
"Mike Fields gave me your name. My name's Keith Mars; I'm a private detective working out of Neptune, California. I wondered if I could speak to you on a matter of some urgency, Agent Lynley."
"A little far afield, aren't you, Mr. Mars? Mike's one of my oldest friends. Call me Tom. What can I do for you?" Lynley responds.
"Thank you, Tom; you can call me Keith. I'm investigating a private school in Manchester Center, Vermont for an attorney gathering evidence for a civil class action suit. I've uncovered some evidence that the head of the school is making payoffs to the Vermont State Education Commissioner, and I'm hoping the FBI would be interesting in initiating a federal probe."
"A class action suit? What's the cause of action?" Lynley asks.
"Misrepresentation of the school's accreditation; medical neglect of the students; false advertising; and possibly physical and food-restriction punishments that rise to the level of child abuse, so violations of mandated child abuse reporting statutes. My daughter Veronica, who is also a licensed private investigator in California, is currently undercover at the school," Keith summarizes.
"Veronica?" Lynley asks. "As in the Veronica from the internship program that Mike fell in love with last summer?"
Keith pauses a moment before replying, "I believe that is correct. But they're no longer seeing each other."
"Mike mentioned that she had extensive experience in the private sector, an unusual amount for someone her age."
"She's been working cases with me for about five years now. She got her license two years ago," Keith says.
"What's this about payoffs?" Lynley asks.
Keith summarizes the information he has gathered: Klein is probably financing the construction on Commissioner Carl Behr's home in return for lax oversight of the school and early warnings for 'surprise' inspections. "I have some photographs and other supporting evidence that I can email you."
"Can you send that to TLynleyATboston•fbi•gov so I can look at it while we're talking?"
Keith sends his documentation to Lynley; they discuss what Keith witnessed in Montpelier for several minutes before Keith changes the subject. "It's not the only thing we've discovered at the school. There's some evidence that a California State Assemblyman is using the school to conceal his own abuse of his daughter. Assemblyman Frazzino is the sponsor of a Parental Responsibility Act in California and is planning to run for senate."
"Are you implying that Frazzino is paying off the school to protect his reputation?" Lynley queries.
"That's what appears to be happening."
"That's a pretty serious accusation. What's your proof?"
"We have two men on the inside. One was able to access the files of the headmaster, Peter Klein, and photographed the files of several students. Of course, any of the evidence we've gathered so far within the school might have admissibility problems in a criminal prosecution."
"You have three people undercover?" Lynley asks.
"My daughter is portraying a student, and two men are working as employees. We have an audio bug on my daughter, video surveillance in the group therapy room, and an additional audio bug in Klein's office...In addition to possible RICO violations, many of the students are from out of state and are transferred against their will..."
"...So there might even be Mann Act violations." Lynley is silent, thinking about the situation. "Would you be willing to meet me in Montpelier? I'd like to present this to the Vermont Attorney General and a federal district judge."
"Absolutely. We're eager to assist in a federal probe because it will strengthen any civil case we can bring against Klein and the school," Keith says.
"I'm very interested, Keith. You've managed to procure solid evidence so far. I'll give you a call back when I've set up something with the Attorney General." Lynley disconnects and calls his assistant into his office. "Can you find some information for me on a Keith Mars out of Neptune, California? And get Mike Fields in the Los Angeles office on the phone for me."
Wed. 3/11/09 morning: Briar Hill Academy, Manchester Center, VT
At breakfast in the employee cafeteria, Dave makes a point of sitting down next to Logan. He jokes, "Recovered from getting your ass handed to you last night?"
"Does the Pope shit in the woods?" Logan replies. He had made a point of coming in dead last in the final tally and had hit up Larry for more advice on his game, and after a couple of hours of play, the four employees seemed to be generally more accepting of him.
Dave chuckles under his breath. "Listen, I told Tony you and I would take care of Connie later. I'll show you the ropes. There's a few tricks to handling the girls when they're in restraints."
"Hey, I appreciate that," Logan replies. "To tell you the truth, she does scare me a little. You never know what crap she's going to pull on you. I don't want to let you guys down."
Dave nods and focuses on his scrambled eggs. Logan looks out the window toward the parking lot and notices a blonde woman walking with Tony. Dave follows his gaze and says, "Ten points if you can nail the hot chick."
Logan starts to laugh but loses his breath when the young woman turns around. FUCK!! It's Carrie. Shit fuck damn! He recovers and mumbles, "Yeah, she's a babe. What's she doing here?"
"Think she's some kind of a reporter. She's doing an interview with Klein," Dave replies, completely disinterested.
Logan watches as Carrie, accompanied by Tony, disappears into the main building. He finishes his breakfast and stands up to bus his tray. Dave says, "What's your hurry?"
"I have some PT exercises to do, you know, for my knee," Logan explains weakly. "Like you guys said last night...I don't want to let you down. I got to focus on my rehab a little more when I'm not on shift. I've been slacking off since I started working here, and maybe it's making me a little tentative."
Dave scoffs. "Ah, come on. Don't take Larry and Jim so seriously. You're doing okay. Just, you know, keep it in mind that we all need to be tough with the girls."
"Yeah. All the same..." Logan comments, slightly distracted. "I'll catch you later."
When he leaves the building, he catches sight of Kavner. Logan hurries over and tries to act carefree, smiling and extending his fist for Kavner to bump. He makes sure to keep his back to Carrie. In a soft voice, he says to Kavner, "That blonde woman with Tony? That's a fucking paparazzo who's been targeting Veronica and me for months. She knows something."
Kavner glances quickly at the woman, who's walking around the grounds, escorted by Tony. Carrie appears to be looking around inquisitively and asking animated questions of Tony. "Are you sure? There's been a bunch of reporters interviewing Klein; there's been a lot of interest in the school since the story of Hannah Griffith's murder broke. And Klein talks to them all, stressing the tragedy that Hannah escaped before he could put her on the straight and narrow...it's a lot of free publicity for the school. Klein always get a fucking tear in his eye, saying how sad he is that he couldn't save Hannah from herself."
"Her name's Carrie Murray, and there's no way it's a coincidence. I'm going to call Keith, but if you could..." Logan nods toward the reporter across the way.
"Yeah, I'll try to stick close, see what I can find out. At least Veronica is locked away in restraints; there's no way Klein would show her to a reporter so that's one thing we don't have to worry about," Kavner replies. Logan begins to walk off, and Kavner changes his mind and stops him. "Actually...tell Keith...I'll follow her when she leaves the school. There's an errand I need to run for Tony. I can use it as an excuse and follow her. Keith can pick her up and decide what to do about her."
"Okay," Logan agrees. He heads for his room quickly. Once in the room, he turns on the taps on the bathroom to make sure he's not overheard and dials Keith to fill him in on the situation.
Wed. 3/11/09 morning: Briar Hill Academy, Manchester Center, VT
Veronica has realized that she can keep track of time by noting her bathroom breaks; it appears that they are taking her every six hours. So it must be the middle of the morning, Wednesday. Several hours ago, Maria and Kavner took her to the bathroom; they also gave her some food to eat before they locked her back up in the restraints. When Maria turned away, Kavner looked at Veronica questioningly. She said quietly, as if reassuring herself, "I'm okay, I'm okay."
Maria turned back around; Kavner replies, in character, "Shut up, Connie, this is punishment. If you don't straighten up, you're going to be doing this a lot." Maria stares at Connie for a long moment before turning again to leave. Veronica nods slightly at Kavner, who follows Maria out the door. They turn out the light, shut and lock the door, and Veronica is left alone again with her aching muscles and her thoughts. She assumes that Kavner was wearing a video recorder, and it has now been documented that the school uses restraints as a punishment. She should be rejoicing over yet another successful documentation of the school's abuses, but somehow it doesn't seem to matter.
She wasn't able to sleep much overnight; she was just too uncomfortable, and she kept thinking about Logan. Her only contact with him in the last two and a half days was her 'escape attempt' last night; somehow, she had imagined that she would have him around all the time and be able to communicate with him while she was undercover. But the reality of the situation means that he has only limited contact with her, and, when he does, he is usually unable to speak freely.
The more she thinks about his behavior last night, the more she is convinced that he is truly upset with her. She is hoping desperately that he somehow will find a way to get in to see her this afternoon when he comes on shift. Can't he understand? If I don't provoke them, this will have to go on for a month. I'll go crazy if I don't get out of here soon.
She despondently thinks again about poor Hannah, who spent three months here before somehow managing to escape. How the hell did she get through this? Tara reminds me of Hannah in a way: a girl who got in trouble because of her boyfriend and now is being told that she is flawed and addicted for hours on end. Veronica shivers, imagining the tales that Hannah must have made up to satisfy her inquisitors in group therapy. I suppose she told them stories about drinking and drugging with Logan...maybe even wild sex stories, although from what Logan said, she was a virgin when she came here. Maybe Hannah even told them about Logan's arrest for Felix's murder. Veronica suddenly grins, realizing that Logan's bad behavior in high school is a perfect source for tales of debauchery. You gotta love a bad boy.
She remembers that Dr. Kinny told her to focus on good memories when she needed mental courage, and Veronica thinks back to the day she met Logan. She was muddy, bruised and bloody from a skirmish on the soccer field, with her hair pulled back in a messy ponytail. Lilly dragged her over to meet her brother's new friend, declaring that he was really interesting.
Even at thirteen, Lilly was very precocious; she had just barely escaped getting into serious trouble with an older man who had convinced Lilly to join him in his motel room at the Camelot. Lilly pointed him out to Veronica several weeks later, and Veronica frowned at the man, in his late thirties with a beard and mustache and attractive in a low-class, dangerous way, who worked at the garage where the Kane vehicles were maintained.
"How could you go off with him? He's so old!" Veronica had asked.
"He was fun. He told me I was beautiful; we started drinking together in his car, and he invited me up to his room." Lilly was just barely virginal at that point, having done almost everything with her current boyfriend except actual intercourse. Veronica knew that Lilly was flattered by the man's attentions and chafing under Celeste's attempted restrictions.
A few weeks the man was arrested for statutory rape, and Lilly under pressure from Veronica admitted that she had run and locked herself in the bathroom when the man suddenly shoved his hand down her pants and tried to force her down onto the bed. The man managed to calm her down, and Lilly let him into the bathroom. He apologized and tried to kiss her again; she flinched and hit her head on the towel rack. Crying, she ran out of the motel room and got the man behind the front desk of the motel to call her a cab. Veronica saw the tears in Lilly's eyes, but she also saw that her best friend was excited by her narrow escape. "Lilly, you can't do that. Promise me you won't do that again!"
Lilly smiled and said, "Of course not."
But when Lilly met Logan that day on the soccer field, Veronica noted that same excitement in Lilly's eyes and recognized that here was the danger Lilly had been looking for–just safe enough, but thrilling in a way that Lilly seemed to crave. Veronica had stolen a glance at the new interesting boy, good-looking and tall for his age, and wished for a moment that she had Lilly's courage.
Lilly had flirted shamelessly with Logan that day on the soccer field. A few days later, the four of them were hanging out on the beach, drinking booze that Logan had stolen from his father, and Logan had admitted that he had 'gone all the way' more than once; he had even hinted that he had been taught how to pleasure a woman orally by an older actress friend of his father's. Lilly never looked back; but Veronica never noticed that when Lilly wasn't watching, she was the one that Logan was eyeing.
Years later, he admitted that he had found her irresistible at the time, but he had finally given up on her when she appeared uninterested. He had settled for Lilly, who threw herself at him, making it clear that she wanted Logan, the exciting new boy in town, who was experienced and almost as rebellious as she was, to be the one to take her v-card. Somehow, Veronica and Duncan ended up together as the odd pair in the foursome; it seemed natural when Lilly and Logan were off screwing each other behind a sand dune that the two quieter kids would shyly experiment with soft kisses and fumbling caresses beneath their clothes. Once high school started, it was apparent that Veronica was the envy of every other freshman girl because of her relationship with Duncan. Sometimes she imagined that Logan was looking at her in a way that wasn't appropriate for the boyfriend of her best friend; when she realized junior year that it wasn't her imagination after all, her entire world view shifted, and those innocent memories became twisted, uncertain, and confused. She knew during the entirety of Lilly's and Logan's relationship that neither was capable of being faithful to the other; Lilly always wanted more–more excitement and more danger–and Logan wanted...at the time, she never could understand what it was that he wanted.
What if...what if Lilly hadn't been there that day when I met Logan?
Veronica suddenly realizes: she's just as much under the spell of Logan's dangerous and exciting side as Lilly was. She admits to herself that she can completely relate to Lilly's addiction to danger, despite their outward differences; she has merely managed to subsume her addiction into detective work. But Logan–Logan satisfies some unacknowledged need for her as well. She's completely enthralled by Logan's emotionality and unpredictability...and his dangerously thrilling passion for her and her alone. And if she is completely honest, she's felt that way since she met him.
She sighs, wishing he could somehow come in to see her. She wants him to reassure her that they're okay...because she's quite certain that they're not. She wriggles her fingers and toes, trying to prevent them from falling asleep. She moves her head in a circle, attempting to stretch her neck and to keep as relaxed as possible. The stress of her situation is overwhelming, and, even worse, she keeps obsessing over her worries about her relationship with Logan.
Wed. 3/11/09 midmorning: Briar Hill Academy, Manchester Center, VT
When Carrie Murray drives off the campus, Kavner follows her. He hits 'send' on his cell phone; when Keith picks up, Kavner says brusquely into his headset, "She's on the move. She's turning right on Route 30, heading for the center of town."
"Okay," Keith replies tersely. "Get in front of her as soon as you can. I'll pick her up when she passes Fox Lane."
Kavner guns it and passes Carrie's rental car as soon as possible. Once he's a mile ahead of her, he slows to her approximate speed.
Keith says, "Okay, I got her. I'm on her tail."
Kavner begins to slow down; in a heavily wooded area with no buildings, he stops the car and turns in the other direction. When he sees Carrie's vehicle, he aggressively drives toward her, forcing her to swerve to the side of the road. He pulls off the road directly in front of her as Keith stops behind her, effectively blocking her from driving off. Keith exits his car with his gun drawn and approaches Carrie's car. "Get out of the car with your hands up," he yells, pounding on the car window. "I'm not fucking around." He tries to open the locked car door.
"You're not a cop. And you definitely don't have jurisdiction in Vermont," Carrie screams back, trying to hide her nervousness.
"You're interfering with a federal investigation, Ms. Murray," Keith says, hoping that he's not exaggerating. "And as a former peace officer, I'm making a citizen's arrest."
"Bullshit. I'll say you forced me off the road and kidnapped me–it's your word against mine," she says sarcastically. "There's still freedom of the press in this country, you know."
"It's two against one; and I think the local police are going to listen to me when I refer them to the FBI. Get out of the car now." Keith waits while Carrie fidgets in the car. He sees that she's getting a cell phone out of her purse and adds, "Get out of the car, and I'll make sure you have an exclusive story on this. That's what you're looking for, right, a story?"
Carrie bites her lip, thinking. She puts the phone down and unlocks the car door. Keith opens the door, and Carrie steps out cautiously. Keith grabs her arm and escorts her to his car. With Kavner standing by to help if Carrie tries to run for it, Keith pushes her in the back seat and gets in the driver's seat; he engages the child-protective locks on the car as Carrie fumes. Keith holsters his gun and turns in the seat to stare at her. "What are you doing here, Carrie?" Outside the car, Kavner nods at Keith and gets in his own car, driving off.
"I've been watching your office. I think there's something going on with Logan Echolls; I think you're helping him cover up his involvement in Hannah Griffith's murder. I haven't seen anybody at Mars Investigations except that kid Wallace for a week. So I had a friend of mine at American Express run your latest charges. Seventeen hundred and fifty dollars charged to Continental Airlines and seven hundred dollars at Avis in Boston. Then some charges in Manchester Center, gas and groceries it looked like. I realized Manchester Center was the location of the school where Hannah Griffith was, and I decided to check it out," Carrie explains.
Keith stays silent, wondering what to do with her. Finally, he comments, "Pretty good detective work for a civilian."
"I'm an investigative reporter, and I'm good at my job," she shoots back.
"Funny, I thought you were just another paparazzo, digging up mud on my daughter's boyfriend."
"Where is Logan Echolls, anyways? I don't think he's in Madeira or Paris. That seemed like a set-up for the media's benefit. Did you and your daughter help him with that?" Carrie snipes.
"You know, you're in some trouble here. You're not a licensed investigator, and I don't think you obtained my credit information legally," Keith replies.
Carrie snorts. "You can't prove it."
Keith stares at her, wondering why the hell she's being so persistent. He comes to a conclusion and nods. "It's killing you that Logan got back together with my daughter, isn't it?"
"That has nothing to do with it," she denies. "But I don't like seeing a creepy guy like him get away with murder."
Keith sighs. "Logan's leg was in a cast when Hannah was murdered. He's been completely cleared of all charges. This vendetta has to stop. Each time you put out a ridiculous story to hurt him, you end up losing more of your credibility."
"I have a ten thousand dollar advance from 'The Instigator'," Carrie states flatly. "People want to know what Logan's connection is to the serial murders."
She's not going to give this up. She's going to do something...something that could expose Veronica and put her in danger. Maybe I should just cancel this whole operation; maybe what we've got is enough...but that means–no criminal prosecution. Klein will just change his name again and start a new program, and he'll probably sue me and Veronica...goddammit. He taps his fingers on the dash, trying to think of a solution to this new mess. I want to get this bastard–put him behind bars for the rest of his life.
Keith comes to a decision. "I'm prepared to offer you an exclusive interview with my daughter, and I will guarantee you a story on a prominent politician that will make the Larry Craig sex-in-a-bathroom scandal (14) look like a walk in the park in comparison. There's no real story on Logan. But there is a big story here, and you can have it, if you agree to drop it until I give you the go-ahead. And my daughter's going to be big news as well when the story breaks, and you and only you will have access to her and her story." He looks at Carrie seriously. "Take it or leave it. But if you leave it, I am going to call the federal agent I'm working with and ask him to pick you up on suspicion of bribing an employee at American Express for confidential credit records." A total bluff, but I need to use the carrot and the stick here. And if she doesn't go for it...I'm not going to let her put Veronica in danger.
"I want more information on the politician," Carrie says impulsively.
"No way," Keith says. "Do we have a deal? This is a career-making opportunity for you, Carrie. You can get past the humiliation of being fired from Dateline. You'll be bigger than Geraldo."
Carrie flushes at the word 'Dateline'. She sputters, "I have a lawsuit against Dateline for wrongful termination."
"Yeah, how's that going for you?" Keith asks.
She stares at him then blurts out, "I want more. I want to document your investigation as it happens. Exclusive access, on the scene."
Keith sighs and passes a hand over his forehead. She'll be underfoot, but at least I don't have to worry she's nosing around somewhere putting Veronica in jeopardy. "You'll still have to do what I say. There will be times you can't be on the scene because of your own personal safety. You will do as I say at all times," he repeats sternly.
"Absolutely," Carrie agrees. She smiles. "I always knew you were a reasonable man, Mr. Mars."
"There's two more things. We're working in conjunction with a civil lawsuit and a federal investigation. You will have to clear any story with the lead attorney on the civil case and the federal agent in charge, and I'm going to have to make sure that our deal is acceptable to them."
"I'm sure you can work out the details," Carrie replies. "What's the other thing?"
"My daughter's identity will be completely obscured in your reports. You will not use her name or her image. This is nonnegotiable."
Carrie hesitates, then reaches a hand forward, and Keith shakes it.
I've made a deal with the devil, Keith thinks. He unlocks the child locks on the car doors and tells Carrie to follow him back to the rented house and the monitoring team. As he drives, he calls Kavner and apprises him of the situation. "You're going to have to let Veronica what's going on. She needs to know that we might have to extend the operation for a few days to let the feds gather what they need for their prosecution, and she should know everything we've learned about Klein and Maria. You or Logan need to go over all the details with her. Including this new development...she has to know that Carrie's involved now. Make sure she knows...we didn't have a choice, and I'm sorry."
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
VERONICA MARS
10:00PM SHO ch: 340 60min 2009 TV-MA
L.O.V.E.: Letting Go of Virtually Everything
Logan gets Veronica up to speed
on the operation; Dave shows Logan
the ropes.
Veronica: Kristen Bell. Logan: Jason Dohring.
Dave: Jason Wiles.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO: "L.O.V.E.: LETTING GO OF VIRTUALLY EVERYTHING"
Wed. 3/11/09 early afternoon: Briar Hill Academy, Manchester Center, VT
It is just an hour after her last bathroom break by Veronica's estimation when she hears the locks on the door being opened. She catches a glimpse of Kavner keeping watch outside the door, and then Logan enters the room, quickly shutting the door behind him.
He doesn't turn on the light; she breathes, "Logan."
He turns on a small maglite flashlight, holding it in his teeth, while he works quickly to remove her restraints from her wrists. She massages her arms as he moves to her ankles. Once he releases her, he turns off the flashlight and sits on the floor. He begins to massage her feet and speaks quietly. "Veronica...we're taking a big chance to talk to you. We have about ten minutes. Neither Kavner nor I are supposed to be here, so...just let me tell you everything that's going on."
"Okay," she whispers back. She can't help adding, "I'm glad you're here."
"Right," he replies. "I got into Kavner's office and got photos of Maria's, Tara's, Hannah's, and your files. And I put an audio bug in there."
"That's great."
"Maria's father is Assemblyman Frazzino from California, the one who sponsored the Parental Responsibility Act. It looks like her father was abusing her and sent her here to prevent anyone from finding out about it. She probably was getting into trouble, trying to embarrass him."
Veronica knows what Logan is leaving out, 'just like me', and she frowns, worrying about him dredging up old vile memories of Aaron's abuse.
Logan continues, "Frazzino's using a secret account to fund Maria's fees here, and apparently she's going to be transferred to an offshore school, Serenity something, that's even worse than this one, to keep her locked up after she turns eighteen."
"Serenity Bay?" Veronica gasps. "That place makes this one look like a country club...Poor Maria." No wonder she's such a bitch.
"Your dad followed Klein the other day. He's making payoffs to the Vermont Department of Education Commissioner, and Keith was able to photograph the transfer through a third party. He's asked the FBI to initiate a federal probe into the school."
Veronica is stunned into silence.
Logan adds, "He talked with Mike's FBI friend in Boston. Apparently, Keith's evidence is strong enough that Mike's friend thinks a judge will sign a warrant to authorize a phone tap..."
"And they'll use our surveillance devices as well. But they might not be able to use any evidence we've already collected," Veronica finishes for him.
Veronica feels Logan nod rather than sees him in the darkness. "It means we're going to try to keep the operation going for at least a day or two longer. Epstein said you've done great so far."
Veronica reaches for his hand massaging her foot and grabs it. "What about you? How do you think I'm doing?"
"Yeah, you're doing great," he replies briefly.
"Logan, are you okay? Are we okay? I'm sorry about last night. I didn't mean to–"
"Veronica, I get it. You have to provoke them. Epstein is ecstatic," he says, not answering her question.
"Logan, I should never have asked you to do this," she tries.
"No. Come on; it's good that I'm here to help," he answers brusquely.
"Logan, I love you so much. You've been right all along–"
"Veronica, will you listen? That's not everything."
She is shocked into silence by his harsh tone.
"Carrie Murray somehow found out that your dad was here in Manchester Center, and she figured out it was something to do with the school. I recognized her this morning; she was interviewing Klein, sticking her nose in where it doesn't belong as usual." He pauses. "Carrie didn't see me, and of course she didn't see you, because Klein would never show off a student being held in restraints. Your dad intercepted her. He got her to agree to leave it alone in exchange for an exclusive interview with you and first dibs on the Frazzino angle. She asked for complete access. Carrie's documenting the whole investigation from this point forward."
"So she's..." Veronica whispers.
"She's listening to us right now," Logan concludes.
"Shit," Veronica can't help commenting.
"Are you going to be okay to keep going for a couple more days?" Reluctantly, Logan adds, "Your dad said he hated to ask you to do it, but it would be rock-solid evidence if you could be forced to stay in restraints for at least another day, and then, you know, get some more evidence of the attack therapy in group. The federal warrants won't be signed until tomorrow morning at the earliest, and apparently there's a real concern that some of the evidence we've collected might not be admissible in a criminal case." (15)
Veronica stands up, a little shaky, and pulls him into her arms. She feels him tense against her. "I can do it. Of course I'm not happy about it, but I'm all right. And I'm pissed as hell about all the girls who had to suffer through this. The real question is, do you think you can do it? I see how upset you are with me."
"I'm not upset with you," he lies, resting his head against hers.
She strokes his cheek gently. "Liar," she whispers in his ear. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you to do this. I shouldn't be doing this." He starts to protest again, and she places a finger against his lips to silence him. "Please forgive me," she breathes into his ear. "I want us to be okay."
She feels him nodding, but his reticence is disturbing. Finally he whispers back, "You're right. It's awful what they do to the students here. You were brave to want to do this for them and for Hannah." More loudly, he says, "Please be careful, Veronica. I can't always get assigned to be with you. Some of the guys were pissed at me; I have to try to go with the flow a little more, or they're going to get me tossed out of here. If that happens, I won't be able to protect you at all."
He starts to pull away, but she holds on tightly and whispers in his ear, "I love you."
Logan pulls away. "You better get back in the chair." She sits down. He clicks on his flashlight again and begins to strap her into place. He carefully tightens the restraints to exactly the way they were when he came in. Veronica closes her eyes, trying to send him a message of love and gratitude. She feels his lips on hers, pressing clumsily in the dark, and then he leaves, as quietly and quickly as he entered.
Veronica thinks morosely, Since when am I the one saying 'I love you' without a response?
Wed. 3/11/09 early evening: Briar Hill Academy, Manchester Center, VT
Logan and Dave are in the cafeteria, watching the girls eat their dinner. Logan jokes, "You know, half of the girls would probably be on a diet anyways if they weren't here at the school."
Dave laughs. "Yeah, I know. And there's always some fucking liberal do-gooder hassling us that we're being too tough on the girls. Did you hear what Blondie said in group today?"
"No," Logan replies. Blondie's what the guys call Tara.
"She finally admitted she's been stealing from her parents for years, sneaking out and getting high with some older guy who turned her on to ecstasy. And she said she was lying about the guy who got arrested with her; it was all her idea to break into the house–said she wanted to get high and have sex in the jacuzzi. Man, that girl is fucked up," Dave says, laughing. "She got here just in time."
Every story she tells sounds less like the truth than the last one. He thinks about the tales that Hannah must have made up to try to satisfy her inquisitors. Then he morosely thinks that a boyfriend accused of murder, wearing an ankle monitor and prone to fighting with gang members, would have been deliciously interesting to these fucks. A boyfriend with a statutory rapist slash accused murderer father...they probably criticized her endlessly for pursuing a bad boy like Logan Echolls. Logan tries to say offhandedly, "What's the craziest story you've ever heard here?"
"Oh, you should have heard the bullshit Maria used to spin when she got here. She used to claim that her father was a big deal politician who used to rape her and beat her when she threatened to tell about it. Can you believe it, she even said her father forced her to have an abortion when she got pregnant. Maria showed us some scar on her arm and claimed that he put out a cigarette on her when she tried to meet with a reporter to expose her father."
"Her dad's a politician?" Logan repeats.
"Yeah, that's what she said in the beginning, but after a few months in and out of Observation Placement, she finally admitted that her father wasn't a politician and she was making up the whole thing for attention. Maria confessed that the burn scar was just an accident with a hot crackpipe when she was high."
Yeah, I bet. "So you've been working here a long time? Maria's an oldcomer, that means..." Logan says leadingly.
"Yeah, I've been here about five years."
I have to try to get him to talk about Hannah somehow. "Don't you get burned out on this? I don't know, discouraged, because all these girls are so screwed up?"
"No, come on man, it's great when someone as fucked up as Maria was turns it around and begins to help a new girl like Connie McConArtist. Maria's totally taken responsibility for her life; she's going to graduate soon, and I think she's going to make it. She's embraced the program. ...Hey, speaking of our little con artist, we got to go let her out. Remember what I told you. Follow the procedure to the letter, and don't engage her verbally. Ignore her, and she'll shut her yap eventually." Dave walks out of the cafeteria with Logan close behind.
Logan begins to hyperventilate; I'm really not ready for this.
Dave unlocks the door, and Veronica starts awake, obviously half-dozing although Logan sees that she looks very uncomfortable. "Hello, Connie," Dave says. "I'm expecting you to behave yourself. I know you want to get out of those restraints as soon as possible."
"I see you brought your pet nazi," Veronica replies. She smirks, "Going to try to cop a feel again, you pervert?"
Dave notices Logan's distress and warningly shakes his head 'no'. He says, "Okay, Roger, remember, we start with the feet."
"Oh my god, I get it now, you're the new guy. Is that why you roughed me up last night, you fucker?" Veronica spits. "You're twice my size, asshole. You didn't have to be such a douchebag."
"Connie. Keep your mouth shut, or we'll shut it for you," Dave says menacingly. "And don't forget, I have some input on how long you're in these restraints."
So much for not engaging her verbally, Dave. Logan huffs out a breath and thinks, It's just a role I'm playing. This is just like back at UCLA in acting class, and this is just a role. And Veronica's playing a role too: she's just making sure she stays in restraints until the court order is in effect. It's got to be hard–it's got to be fucking impossible–to continually lash out at them knowing that... But she must be okay, or she would have stopped this before when I talked to her.
Dave points at Veronica's legs, and Logan unties one restraint; keeping his body weight pressed against the free leg, he unties the other and then holds it firmly in place as well. Dave checks that Logan is ready, then he unties her left arm. Logan takes the free arm, still maintaining his body weight on Veronica's legs.
"You're hurting me, you fucker," Veronica protests, struggling a little against Logan's weight on her legs. Dave stares at her; he suddenly puts his hand on Veronica's chest and pushes her viciously backward against the chair. Logan almost loses his grip on her arm by the violence of it.
Veronica is surprised by the maneuver, and the wind is knocked out of her. She starts to cry; Dave moves his grip to her neck and tightens his hand enough that Veronica feels some pressure on her windpipe. "Shut the fuck up, you little con artist. We know all your tricks here. We've seen 'em before, and we know how to handle them...Gonna control yourself, cunt?"
Logan flinches a little at the word, but keeps concentrating on 'it's just a role, it's just a role' as he holds her in place during Dave's speech. Veronica, her eyes squeezed shut, nods her head slightly in response to Dave.
Dave keeps his hand on her neck and unties her remaining wrist one-handed. He nods to Logan, and Logan cautiously releases Veronica's legs. "Roger, the closet outside. Get the bucket." Dave holds Veronica tightly by her neck and wrist.
Fuck! What's he doing now? Logan gets the bucket from the closet and returns to the room. He looks at Veronica, whose eyes are still closed tightly; she appears to be breathing shallowly against the pressure on her neck from Dave's hand. Dave points at the floor with his chin, and Logan puts the bucket in front of Veronica. Dave lifts Veronica out of the chair; she stumbles on her numb limbs and falls. Dave catches her under her armpit and pulls her up to a standing position. Veronica is sobbing loudly.
"You act like an animal, you get treated like an animal." Dave releases Veronica's neck but maintains his intimidating stance. He points at the bucket, and Veronica shakes her head 'no'. "Let's go!" He roughly pushes her again, and Veronica stumbles to the floor.
Dave reaches for her neck again, but Veronica cowers, putting up her hands to try to protect herself. In a small voice, she whispers, "Please. I'll behave." She slowly gets up and looks from Dave to Logan and back. With the bleakest look Logan's ever seen on her face, she pulls down her sweatpants and squats over the bucket. Dave keeps his eyes trained on her; Veronica catches his glance and whispers, "Please...don't look." Her voice drops even lower, repeating, "Please."
Dave laughs. "You stupid cunt. Like I want to look at your snatch! You're filth, a fucking animal. You're not even worth looking at."
Veronica has desperately needed to pee for hours but is finding it difficult to release her bladder with the two of them staring at her. She can't even look at Logan. I feel so ashamed. Why do I feel so ashamed? Finally, she manages to empty her bladder; she knows her face is blazing red with humiliation, and the sound of her pee hitting the bottom of the plastic bucket seems loud in the tensely silent room. After she finishes, she stays squatting for a moment, keeping her face lowered away from Dave's stare. She stands up slowly, trying futilely to pull up her sweats to cover herself as soon as possible. She looks at Dave's face and, without saying a word, goes back to the chair and puts her arms and legs in position for the restraints.
Logan is completely unable to look at her face. Dave's powerful control of the situation is palpable; the room reeks of testerone and fear. He desperately wishes that Dave will be the one to retie the restraints, but Dave just motions with his chin, and Logan moves to the chair and begins to tighten the straps around Veroinca's limbs. Dave checks the tension on the wrist straps and shakes his head disapprovingly; Logan reluctantly tightens the straps more than they had been before. Veronica's head droops, her eyes still tightly shut with tears streaming down her cheeks. Logan finishes tying her ankles and straightens up; he moves to take the bucket, but Dave shakes his head and mutters, "Leave it for her to smell all night long...so she remembers."
The two men shut off the light and leave the room. Dave doublechecks that the door is locked behind them. He says, "I see why she was getting to you. It's always the smart ones who are the toughest; they think they can manipulate us, but they just make it harder on themselves. You got to remember; the girls like Connie need the program the most. They're never going to accept that they're addicts without our help. What we did, what she made us do to her...it's really the ultimate gift to help someone understand their flaws. When she accepts our love, she'll finally get on track." He claps Logan on the back. "You did great. The next time it'll be easier."
That's what I'm afraid of, Logan thinks.
When the door shuts, Veronica allows herself to react emotionally. She cries, sobbing and shaking. She tries not to let the smell of her urine bother her but fails completely.
Then she remembers that Carrie was listening to the whole scene, and in fact is listening right now to her mental breakdown. She takes several deep breaths; she remembers that she has an escape if it gets to be too much, and even more importantly, she remembers that another girl in this situation wouldn't have her escape options. Veronica knows that her dad is probably discussing her mental state with Dr. Kinny at this very moment, and her old nemesis is probably gloating at Veronica's humiliation and distress. She takes one more deep breath, shaking a little as she tries to calm her adrenaline-ravaged body, and then begins to perform the breathing exercises that have gotten her through this so far. With each long controlled breath in, she thinks, I'm going to put every one of these fuckers in prison, and with each breath out, she thinks, No girl will ever go through this again.
With each repetition of the breathing exercise, she regains a measure of control. Finally, when she knows her voice will be completely steady and unwavering, she announces, "I'm all right. I'm all right. Don't you dare stop this now. I'm going to nail these fuckers. Dad, I'm fine. There's not going to be a jury in the country who won't be able to see how fucked-up this is. They are messing with the wrong bitch this time."
I'm only lying a little, she thinks.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
VERONICA MARS
10:00PM SHO ch: 340 60min 2009 TV-MA
The Black Hole
Weevil and Wallace on a stakeout; Veronica
gets special attention; Duncan stands idly by.
Veronica: Kristen Bell. Keith: Enrico Colantoni.
Carrie: Amber Heard. Eli: Francis Capra.
Wallace: Percy Daggs III. Duncan 2.0: Chris
Carmack. Klein: Clancy Brown. Epstein: Scott
Grimes. Dr. Kinny: Dan Castellaneta. Agent
Lynley: James Badge Dale. Dave: Jason Wiles.
Father Patrick: James Joseph O'Neill.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE: "THE BLACK HOLE"
Wed. 3/11/09 early evening: Rented house, Manchester Center, VT
When the silence is broken by Veronica's speech declaring her intention to keep going, the entire room breathes a sigh of relief. Keith notes that Carrie, who originally chattered incessantly when she first joined them in the house, appears to be completely shocked by the audio drama that they are listening to.
Epstein for once has not been pushing Keith to continue the operation. It is the newest arrival, Agent Lynley, having arrived just in time from Boston to hear the sick scene, who is encouraging Keith to keep it going. "Keith, this is serious stuff. This is institutionalized child abuse. Some of these schools are being recommended by state juvenile authorities as alternatives to incarceration. Your daughter is doing an incredible job. The Bureau really screwed up, letting her get away."
You got that right, Keith thinks, but if I have anything to say about it, she's not going to have the FBI in her future. He's incredibly proud of Veronica despite his concerns for her safety, and every distressing scene that plays out on their audio or video monitors makes him even more committed to gathering the evidence to put Klein and his employees behind bars.
Carrie watches the exchanges between the four men; she takes out a notebook and begins scribbling notes, documenting the emotional conflicts between the team. Lynley gave his conditional approval to her involvement when Keith explained the deal he had made with her. The agent called his assistant in Boston and asked for a legal agreement to be drafted between Carrie and the FBI, ensuring her cooperation and preventing her from publishing until arrests are made. It's obvious to everyone in the room that Carrie is completely convinced that this will be a career-making story; Keith hopes it's enough to keep her from causing more problems for Logan and his daughter.
Wed. 3/11/09 early evening: Paddy's Car Parts and Used Car Emporium, Neptune, CA
Weevil and Wallace sit in a nondescript vehicle borrowed from Weevil's Uncle Angel down the street. Wallace watches through binoculars while Weevil cracks open a forty.
"Amateur," Wallace comments.
"What?" Weevil says crossly.
"Any professional detective will tell you you don't want to drink a beer on a stakeout. It just means another bathroom break when you might miss something."
Weevil scoffs. "So I'll fill the bottle right back up if necessary."
Wallace makes a disgusted face, and Weevil continues, "How did you ever get a girlfriend anyways? Veronica's got you completely pussy-whipped, and you're not even sleeping together. I suppose you had to get Veronica's permission to even go out on a date."
Wallace flushes, remembering that he did get Veronica to check out Candice before he asked her out, and of course, Veronica had assisted him with a bump-and-dump to simulate a chance meeting. "I'm not ashamed of my friendship with Veronica. She's got my back, just like she's got yours. I seem to remember you running to her for help when you got accused of making forged campus ID cards."
Weevil wisely remains silent, not wanting to explore the topic and inadvertently reveal that he still has one of the card encryption devices. "Hey, uh, good job in the game last night. Nice dunk at the top of the half...pretty good for a hobbit like yourself."
"You know, the girls appreciate a guy who tries a little harder. You might keep that in mind, next time you wonder why the girls aren't coming back for more."
"There's nothing a 'little' hard about me, motherfucker, and if they don't come back for more, it's 'cause I wore it out." Weevil laughs and mimics a pelvic thrust.
Wallace chuckles and puts the binoculars up again to surveil the scene. "Tell me again what you heard."
"My uncle heard that Liam was taking delivery on three cherry Beemers...all totally tricked out and ready for 'repurposing'," Weevil says sarcastically.
"And your uncle heard this..." Wallace says leadingly.
"Okay, you got me; my bad, Wally. My uncle tried to get 'em, and Liam outbid him. It's not like you don't know that we got this from a chopshop," Weevil retorts, motioning to indicate their current ride. "I wish I could get Veronica to take one of his cars, something with a little more cojones than that vanilla Saturn."
Wallace snorts. "I think Logan's taking care of the cojones department."
"He likes to think so, but we all know who wears the pantalones in that relationship," Weevil replies, laughing.
Still chuckling, Wallace looks through the binoculars again and interrupts Weevil's mirth. "Hey, shut up. It's going down."
"What's happening? Give me the specs." Wallace passes over the binoculars. "Shit, I hate that fucking mick. I just want to pound him into the ground every time I see him. He's got that cock-sucking, shit-eating grin on his face like usual. I'm really looking forward to sending him to Chino, where Emilio and la Eme can give him the big picture. ¡Rifamos!"
Wallace isn't quite sure what 'rifamos' means, but the context is clear: revenge. He steals a look at Weevil's determined face and wonders just what the hell he's gotten himself into. How did I get from finding Shawn's murderer to a Latino beatdown?
Wed. 3/11/09 evening: Briar Hill Academy, Manchester Center, VT
Veronica hears the door being unlocked. She is a lot calmer now, having spent the last few hours doing mental arithmetic exercises and relaxation techniques. I don't think six hours have gone by...Logan? she hopes.
Peter Klein walks into the room and flips on the light switch. He pulls in a chair from the hallway and, placing it squarely in front of Veronica, sits down and looks at her without speaking.
Veronica stares back. She knows that Klein probably heard about what happened during her last bathroom 'break' and assumes he will expect her to be upset. She thinks about how frustrated she is, how furious she is at Klein and the school, how sad and worried she is about Logan, and she lets her face exhibit her raging emotions. She thinks about poor Hannah, killed viciously after suffering through this nightmare, and Maria, probably warped for life by her experience here, and Veronica begins to cry.
"Feeling a little out of control, Connie?" Klein says abruptly.
Veronica drops her eyes, trying to appear upset. Her voice quivering, she spits out, "You decided to send in the big guns?"
Klein continues to stare at her without speaking. "It's probably the first time in your life you couldn't exploit the situation to your advantage. Right, Connie? How do like the smell of your urine? If you want, we can eliminate the bathroom breaks all together."
Careful, Veronica! Then she thinks, Fuck it! and she says calmly and spitefully, "Fuck you...When my dad hears about this, he's going to have you arrested."
"Now that's funny, Connie. I just called your dad. I told him your problems were more serious than we thought, and we're recommending no contact with family or friends for at least six months. He was pretty upset when I told him you've been physically assaulting the guards here and using foul language non-stop."
"You FUCKER! Six months!! SIX FUCKING MONTHS!!" she screams.
"You just proved my point about the foul language. Of course, if you'd like, you can spend the whole six months in that chair," Klein says calmly.
Veronica swallows. He means it.
Klein watches her for five minutes, seemingly daring her to speak again. Finally, he says, "I'd like you to tell me what you're thinking, Connie."
Under her breath, she can't help but say, "I'm thinking this is fucked-up."
"Couldn't hear that, Connie. But I bet it was more bullshit," Klein replies. "Try again."
Veronica ponders her next move. I need to stay in restraints for another twenty-four hours. But no longer...and I don't want...I can't do something that will make him...eliminate my breaks. The thought of sitting in her own feces is too much for her, and she decides to take the chance that acting out before was enough to continue the restraints.
"I don't know," she says.
"First honest thing I've heard out of your mouth, Connie."
"Can you tell me," she says hesitantly, "How is this supposed to help me?" She flinches at Klein's angry expression and rushes to add, "Please don't!...I mean...I want to know how to do better. How is," she swallows again, "how is this going to help me?" Come on, say it for the wire, fucker.
Klein leans toward her. "You're an addict, Connie. You're addicted to everything about using: the thrill of planning how you're going to get high, the excitement of shoplifting to get the money to buy your drugs, the orgasm you feel when you get away with it again. Every time you use someone, every time you lie to get high, it almost, but not quite, fills up the black hole inside of you...that gaping hole where most people have a conscience. But you don't have a conscience, do you? You just do whatever the fuck you want, whenever you want, and you expect everyone to just tolerate it. And it feels like something. You know it's not right, but it's the best you can do, so you hang onto it. You use again and you hurt everyone around you, because their hatred and disgust at your behavior feels better than that big hole inside of you. The hole gets a little bigger every time you get high, so it's even harder to fill it up. So you work harder to fuck up your world, so that the hole feels filled, just for a moment, before you have to start working again to find your next fix. And then you realize that no one loves you anymore, and you've made it worse. So you start all over again."
"My dad loves me," Veronica says tremulously. "I know my dad loves me."
"Not any more," Klein replies, shaking his head.
"What? I know my dad loves me."
"No. He told me he can't love you anymore. All he can do is try to keep you from hurting other people. He's given up on stopping you from hurting yourself; he just doesn't want to see it. So he's locked you up here, sort of a last ditch effort, hoping maybe, just maybe, he's wrong about you...that there might be something worth saving after all."
Klein stands up and paces around the room. Even knowing he's lying, lying through his motherfucking teeth, Veronica begins to cry profusely at the thought of her dad giving up on her, the thought of anyone's dad giving up on their daughter. 'You played ME, Veronica...I don't know how I'm ever going to trust you again.' She tries desperately to focus on Klein again.
"You need to accept that we're the only people who love you anymore, and we're the only people who have any answers for you, because we've been through it. I know about your black hole, because of my black hole. It's what every addict's soul is like. There's no hope for you unless you accept the program. Think about it, Connie."
Klein picks up the chair, shuts off the light, and leaves the room. Veronica hears the door lock behind him and closes her eyes, allowing the tears to stream freely down her face. It takes an hour for her thinking to clear enough to realize that she's succeeded in being restrained for yet another day.
Wed. 3/11/09 evening: Paddy's Car Parts and Used Car Emporium, Neptune, CA
After an hour of tense waiting, Weevil and Wallace see a large semi truck approaching. The truck stops in the parking lot of Paddy's, and several men begin to unload a vehicle. Watching through the binoculars, Weevil confirms that it's a BMW. He nods at Wallace, and Wallace hits the speed dial on his disposable cell phone that he preprogrammed with the number of the Neptune Sheriff's Department. He puts on a thick Jamaican accent and says, "Ya, mon, I'd like to report a crime. The used car dealership on Third Avenue, Paddy's. I tink dey might be stealin' de cars or dealin' de drugs. I know I saw guns. Better be gettin' here quick, mon, look like dey be arguin' now." Wallace terminates the call before Deputy Sacks can ask for details.
Weevil rolls his eyes. "Jamaican?"
"Shut the fuck up, will you? Let's get over to St. Mary's," Wallace replies crossly. He starts the car and drives off. When they cross over the Coronado Bridge, Wallace opens the window and tosses the cell phone into the water. Weevil waves 'bye-bye' as Wallace guns the car's accelerator.
Wed. 3/11/09 late evening: Briar Hill Academy, Manchester Center, VT
Several hours later, Dave and Logan come into the room again where Veronica is being held. Without incident, they release her restraints and take her to the bathroom.
Veronica is overwhelmingly relieved that she will be allowed to use a proper bathroom again. She makes no attempt to look at Logan directly. Dave watches her closely, expecting an outburst or physical resistance; at one point he nudges Logan when she pulls down her sweats without even trying to hide herself.
Logan doesn't even notice her immodesty; all he cares about is that Connie doesn't fight him and she keeps her mouth shut. He's completely exhausted by the stress of the day; Dave had kept him on duty several extra hours to take Logan through the procedure of the restraints again, and all Logan can think about is getting some sleep and some distance from the situation.
Veronica is returned to the chair for another long night, grateful for the solitude and darkness of the room.
Wed. 3/11/09 late evening: St. Mary's Church, Neptune, CA
Wallace opens up the Sonic Snoop program on one of Mars Investigations' laptops and accesses all the bugs he had located when he visited here the day before. Weevil watches in amazement as video feeds showing Father Patrick's office, the confessional booth, and the main altar of the church open up. "Shit, Keith wasn't fucking around. He's got the whole church covered."
"And the rectory," Wallace adds. "There are plenty of audio bugs too." On his own laptop, he doubleclicks on the icon for Mac's Bluetooth program.
"What's that?" Weevil asks.
"It's a program Mac wrote. It clones a computer using a Bluetooth keyboard to the screen here," Wallace explains.
"You mean, we can see whatever he's typing? Damn, that's good."
They settle in for what they hope won't be a long wait. Wallace calculates in his head; they called the Sheriff's department half an hour ago; it would have taken at least ten or fifteen minutes for a cruiser to respond. Assuming an arrest was made, the booking process might take as long as two hours. Wallace is betting that Liam won't want to spend the night in jail, and he'll contact his brother as soon as he's given the opportunity.
Weevil turns on the radio at one point, yawning in boredom. At Wallace's expression, he turns off the radio and begins to play with the Sonic Snoop interface, switching from one camera view to the next. "I bet we could get some pretty interesting video in the confession booth."
"Not exactly our priority," Wallace mumbles.
"Good porn is always a priority," Weevil retorts. "Especially if you know the girl."
"You're sick, okay?"
"You ain't seen nothing if you haven't watched a horny Catholic schoolgirl coming on to a priest," Weevil laughs. "And I'll bet Father Patrick loves to take confession from the Mexican girls. 'Ay, mami, chúpame, chúpame. Now say ten Hail Marys; all is forgiven.'"
"You kiss your mother with that mouth?"
"Not any more," Weevil replies shortly. Wallace looks over, realizing he has hit an unintended nerve.
They hear a phone ring from the speakers on the laptop. Wallace turns up the gain, and they listen. On the video, they see Patrick enter his office, clad in pajamas. Patrick picks up the phone and listens.
'Patrick...I've been arrested. I'm the guest of the fine gentlemen of the Neptune Sheriff's Department. Call that shyster lawyer and you-know-who. It's a bullshit charge, receiving stolen goods. I need to get out of here by morning. You got it?'
Wallace and Weevil exchange a glance.
Father Patrick hangs up and makes another call. They listen to a short conversation between Patrick and Stephen Tramser, a local attorney well known to Mars Investigations as one of Neptune's most competent but completely immoral criminal defense attorneys.
"Do you think it's this guy?" Wallace asks doubtfully.
"No, Emilio said it was a cop for sure," Weevil says.
They wait, watching as Father Patrick hangs up and boots up his computer. Wallace turns his attention to the other laptop running Mac's program.
ctrl N
roastbeefmanATyahoo•com tab tab Re: LF tab tab L arrested tonight by NSD, receiving stolen goods. Need you to intercede if possible. return alt S
Wallace looks at Weevil. "Roastbeefman? Any clue who that would be?"
"Hell no...If you were Mac, what would you do to find out who roastbeefman is?"
Wallace ponders. "If we were the cops, we could try to get the internet service provider to tell us what address that was sent to. Of course, it's a yahoo address. It could be accessed from any computer. There's no identity verification required to set up an account like that."
"We could watch the Sheriff's Department...see if anybody shows up," Weevil suggests.
"I think they're smarter than that. Hell, they got Liam off for racketeering before. That's some serious pull."
"Still, what else do we got? Let's set up near the Sheriff's Department. We can follow Liam when he gets released."
Wallace nods in agreement, not knowing what else to do.
Thurs. 3/12/09 early morning: Duncan Kane residence, outskirts of Neptune, CA
Duncan wakes up before the alarm again. He glances at the clock and rolls over, trying to get some more sleep. He gives up twenty minutes later. Today's meeting with his attorneys to prepare for the hearing next week is too important for him to sleep.
The new house doesn't feel like home yet. When Duncan isn't working on his custody case, he tries to keep himself busy by doing little projects around the house. Yesterday, he spent the entire day painting a pink-flowered border around the walls of his daughter's room. At least, I hope... He resolutely pushes the thought aside. I'm going to get custody. No judge could think that Rose Manning is a suitable mother, and...they're going to see that I didn't have a choice. I had to run with Lilly! He walks around his daughter's bedroom, trying to imagine her sleeping in the bed and himself coming in every morning to wake her up for school, maybe even getting mad at her for acting like her Aunt Lilly and running around with bad boys like Uncle Logan.
He takes a shower and dresses carefully for the meeting. His attorneys have suggested that he do an interview with the local paper, trying for some sympathetic publicity before the hearing, but Duncan is leery of exposing himself and his daughter that way and extremely nervous that the tactic will somehow backfire. He pours some cereal and gets the morning paper from the front door.
He unfolds the paper to scan the headlines. The lead story, in the largest point size ever used by the Neptune Register, reads, "Woman found murdered in Waterside Park." Next to the article is a large photo, obviously taken from a passport, of a beautiful blonde woman. The caption reads, 'Katerina Beversdorf'.
Kendall...why the fuck didn't you get out of town when you could?
Duncan reads the article. Sheriff D'Amato is quoted as saying that the woman was using apparently an alias, and that the department was expecting confirmation of the woman's true identity from the FBI.
Duncan thinks about the photo still on his cell phone of Kendall meeting with someone in the playground. He gets his phone intending to delete the photo immediately–'fuck her'–but hesitates. I never talked to Veronica. He dials Veronica's home and cell phone again with no answer.
Duncan drums his fingertips on the table, trying to decide what to do. His thumb hovers over the 'delete' option on his cell phone. He snaps the phone shut, then reopens it, debating what he should do. I don't want to get involved with this with the hearing coming up next week. The last thing I want is to explain how I know 'Katerina'. Fuck, I don't even want to explain how I know 'Kendall'.
"L.O.V.E. or Letting Go of Virtually Everthing" is an actual slogan used by Alcoholics Anonyous.
la Eme-Mexican Mafia, a Mexican prison gang ("Eme" is the letter M in Spanish).
give him the big picture-to 'hit' someone, implying a permanent solution in this case
Rifamos-We control, we're down for anything, and we don't give a fuck.
chúpame-suck me
(14) Larry Craig is a U.S. Senator who was arrested for 'lewd conduct' in a public bathroom (basically, solicitation).
en•wikipedia•orgSLASHwikiSLASHLarryUNDERSCORECraig
(15) More legal stuff for the picky reader about the admissibility of evidence collected by Veronica and the rest of the team at Briar Hill: I've read a lot of articles about the legality and admissibility of evidence collected by a private citizen, such as a private detective. Again, please note, I am not a lawyer, and I did not consult an attorney, just various web sources of varying degrees of accuracy. If any attorneys are reading this and I've gotten it wrong, please let me know right away; I'll try to fix it and salvage my future plot twists.
It sounds to me that the 'exclusionary rule', based on the U.S. Constitution's Fourth Amendment that guarantees protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, which is a common plot device in American crime television and fiction, is primarily applicable to government employees. Police officers and federal agents are not allowed to gather evidence without prior authorization based on 'probable cause', in other words a judge must determine that there is reasonably sufficient evidence to presume that a target should be investigated and their property and personal belongings searched, unless a felony or misdemeanor in progress is actually witnessed by the law enforcement person. Electronic recordings without the permission of the person being taped would not be properly be admissible if conducted by a law enforcement person: "in strict cases, when an illegal action is used by police/prosecution to gain any incriminating result, all evidence whose recovery stemmed from the illegal action–this evidence is known as "fruit of the poisonous tree"–can be thrown out from a jury (or be grounds for a mistrial if too much information has been irrevocably revealed)."
en•wikipedia•orgSLASHwikiSLASHExclusionaryUNDERSCORErule; accessed 7/29/08
This exclusionary principle does not apply to civil proceedings, such as a class action lawsuit like the one originally being pursued by my character, the attorney Epstein. In general, the rules of evidence are less strict in civil cases than in criminal, and the burden of proof is lower (witness for example, the criminal acquittal of O.J. Simpson for the murder of his ex-wife vs. the successful civil judgment against him, see en•wikipedia•orgSLASHwikiSLASHO.UNDERSCOREJ.UNDERSCORESimpson; accessed 7/29/08.
However, a private citizen, such as a private detective, can give evidence, including unauthorized recordings, in a criminal proceeding, generally without fear that the evidence will be excluded. From the same Wikipedia article, "Evidence unlawfully obtained from the defendant by a private person is admissible. The exclusionary rule is designed to protect privacy rights, with the Fourth Amendment applying specifically to government officials." The private person is, however, subject to tort remedies, i.e., Briar Hill Academy could sue Keith for damages subsequent to the violation of its reasonable expectation for privacy. Also, in a civil case, unauthorized recordings can also be used as rebuttal evidence against witness testimony; for instance, if Klein testifies in a civil proceeding that restraints are not used as a punishment, Epstein can introduce the videotaped evidence that Veronica was held in restraints.
I'm basing my plot on Keith preferring to bring in the government to prevent any allegations of misconduct on his and Veronica's part and also hoping to ensure that any evidence is irrefutable by the defendant's claims of illegal wiretapping or surveillance. If a federal judge signs a warrant and federal agents supervise any evidence collection, Keith has some protection against a retributory lawsuit, and a federal agent will ensure that the 'chain of custody' is unbroken (i.e., the evidence is maintained securely and continually by a law enforcement official). Of course, a federal prosecution against Klein and Briar Hill Academy has more chance of successfully shutting down the school and possibly leading to better legislation regarding private schools.
Note that private investigators cannot tap phones legally and are not allowed to access an individual's criminal record, and they are not allowed to use information gained by unauthorized recordings to blackmail (which is considered a violation of racketeering statutes) or to commit corporate espionage. There was a recent case of the so-called 'Private Detective to the Stars', Anthony Pellicano, a Los Angeles private detective who was found guilty on charges such as these. (You can find the article by googling 'Private Detective to the Stars' and New York Times; fanfiction won't allow this kind of url, no matter how creative I am with '•' and 'SLASH'.) Both Veronica and Keith, as licensed private detectives, and Keith as an ex-law enforcement official as well, would be aware of these fine points of criminal law, and Epstein as an attorney would certainly be aware of the difficulties of evidentiary rules.