Chapter 26: Piecing It Together
*******Sunday Shortly Before Noon********
Madison was driving her sister Lauren to a lunch date she had.
"I can't wait until you finally get your license," Madison said sourly.
"Me, too!" Lauren said enthusiastically. "It's lame having you and mom drive me everywhere!"
"I can't believe you didn't pass your driving test! You're supposed to be the smart one!" Madison said with a snicker.
"Intelligence doesn't have anything to do with driving. I'll pass the test next time! I swear!" Lauren said. She noticed some flashing lights in the window. "Oh, no!"
Madison looked and saw the cop. "Damn it! I am so sick of this bullshit!" she fumed, slowing down and pulling over. "I swear I'm going to kill Veronica Mars if it's the last thing I do!"
Lauren looked anxious. She'd never been in a car that got pulled over before and didn't know what to expect.
The cop waited for Madison to roll down her window. To say she was hostile would be an understatement. "Why did you pull me over? I wasn't speeding," she asked crossly. The deputy was not one she'd seen before. It was a female deputy.
"License and insure please, ma'am," the deputy said. Her name tag red Collins.
"Deputy Collins, this is the fourth time I've been pulled over in a week. I'm about to get my attorney to press harassment charges!" Madison said in annoyance.
"We received a tip that the person matching your description was transporting drugs," the deputy said.
"I need you to get out of the car. Both of you."
"My sister is a minor," Madison said.
Another deputy appeared on Lauren's side of the car. "Madison, what's happening?" a fearful Lauren asked her.
"It's okay, Lauren," Madison said. "Just get out of the car and do what the officer says."
Madison and Lauren got out of the car. Both were immediately made to assume the position and were padded down. Lauren started crying. She didn't understand what was happening. The deputy led Madison to her sister away from the road. Scared, Lauren reached for her sister's hand. "I do not have any drugs on me! Nor do I sell or transport drugs!" Madison told the two deputies.
A second patrol car pulled up. Madison became nervous. This was different than the other times she'd been pulled over. Her eyes widened in real worry when the new officer opened the back door of his squad car and a K-9 drug sniffing dog got out. "What's the dog for?" she asked even though she knew the answer.
The officer ignored her, and the cops began going over her car. After a few minutes, the dog let out an excited bark. The officer reached under the car and pulled something off the car.
"It was duct taped," he said to Officer Collins. He held up a small bag. "Looks like an ounce of cocaine."
Madison looked in disbelief as the officers began reading her and Lauren their rights. Lauren eyes widened fearfully as she was made to put her hands behind her back and was handcuffed.
"Why are you arresting my sister? She didn't do anything. That bag isn't hers or mine! I have no idea how it got there!" Madison insisted.
The cops ignored her and put them in the squad car.
"She's gone too far this time!" Madison exclaimed. Planting drugs and getting her and her sister arrested was crossing the line.
*******Neptune Memorial Hospital********
Duncan went into Jazmin's room to see her. Parker was there with Mac, who was obviously comforting a distraught Parker. When she saw Duncan, Mac looked relieved. The help me was clear in her eyes.
Duncan smiled. "Is there any change?" he asked.
Parker looked toward him and wiped her eyes. "She's still in a coma," Parker said flatly.
"But she's breathing much better now the nurse said," Mac added. "It's a good sign. I'll go see if everyone's here. Mr. Jaleno won't like being kept waiting."
"That man is so scary!" Parker said with a shudder.
"You sound like Dick," Mac said with a small smile. She gave Parker's hand a squeeze and left them alone with Jazmin.
Duncan went to stand next to Parker, looking down at Jazmin. "I can't believe Jazmin's been going through so much and didn't tell anyone," he observed.
"I can't believe that Mac and I never noticed she was so upset," Parker said, her voice laced with guilt. "I'm the worse friend ever."
"Jazmin has a lot of friends, and no one knew," Duncan said. "When she and I were dating, she was so strong. So fierce about things. This doesn't make any sense."
"I'd almost forgotten you and she dated," Parker said.
Duncan didn't say anything. It seemed forever ago. "Speaking of dates, where's Piz?" he asked.
"He's at work," she said.
He nodded in acknowledgment. "Jazmin's a survivor. She'll get through this," Duncan said.
"I hope so," Parker said in a small voice.
Duncan put his arms around her shoulder, and she leaned against him. They stood there in silence a few minutes. Then Duncan said, "We should go join everyone else."
Parker looked up at him. For a moment, something flashed in her eyes that Duncan thought may have been regret and longing. Then it was gone and the two of them stared wordlessly at one another. Now it was Duncan's eyes that filled with longing. He couldn't help it. He missed her and wished that she loved him. His hand moved to cup her cheek.
"Don't," she begged softly.
"Don't what? Don't kiss you? I won't, but it's not easy for me," he admitted. He moved away from her. "We should go." He walked over to the other side of the bed and bent down and gave Jazmin a kiss on the cheek. "We're waiting for you to wake up, Jazmin. Come back to us," he whispered in her ear.
Then they turned and walked out to the ICU waiting room where their friends were gathered. Veronica, Logan, Dick, Mac, Thea, and Wallace were there.
"Where's Weevil?" Duncan asked, noticing his absence.
"He went downstairs to meet the pizza guy," Veronica said.
Jason and Daisy appeared with his Uncle Nico.
"Where's your dad?" Veronica asked.
"He's talking to someone about the room we're going to use," Jason supplied.
"Dude, are you okay?" Dick asked. "Your dad officially gets the scary dad award. Considering Logan's dad was a murdering monster and mine a thief, and Veronica and Wally-World's both carry guns that says a lot!"
"Yeah, well, he can be pretty intense when he's upset," Jason said. "Where do you think I get it from?"
"I like all that intensity," Daisy said with a wicked smile.
Logan snickered. "I bet you do," he remarked.
"TMI!" Wallace said. "We didn't need to know that!"
"I don't remember you being such a prude," Daisy said with a wink.
Jason did not appreciate the reminder that she and Wallace used to be lovers. Wallace looked uncomfortable, so Thea stepped in. "The nurse says your sister is doing better. They may move her out of ICU in the morning."
"I hope so," Jason replied grimly. He looked exhausted. His friends had never seen him less than perfectly groomed. Dick, of course, had to comment on it. "Dude, you can grow a beard in like a day! It's not fair!" Dick complained.
Duncan and Logan exchanged smiles. "I remember that time over the summer before junior year when you tried to grow a beard," Logan said.
"Didn't it come out all patchy?" Duncan asked with a laugh.
"Not even patchy. Just puffs of baby fine hair," Logan said, grinning.
"Beaver kept calling him Patches all summer, so he finally shaved it," Duncan said recalling.
Mac smiled. "You never told me that," she said.
Their smiles were cut short when Jason's dad appeared with his bodyguard. "Come," he said to them.
They stepped in the hall, and Keith was there talking to Weevil. The pizza guy was carrying two pizza bag warmers. He didn't look happy with the delay.
They walked down a hall and turned. Then they stopped, and Michael opened the door. The pizza guy went through first. He sat the pizza down on the table and smiled happily when Michael gave him several bills.
They spread out around the long conference table. Dick found it odd that Jason and Weevil sat far from one another. While the pizza was being passed around, he whispered to Mac, "Are Jason and Weevil still mad? Usually, a good tussle clears the air."
"It was more than two guys blowing off steam, Dick. Until Jazmin wakes ups, they're not going to be able to move pass this," she said.
Keith got out his notepad.
"Sheriff, did you want to start?" Sebastian asked the man sitting across from him.
Keith nodded. "I've talked to the neighbors. The neighbor next door did recall hearing some loud noises Friday afternoon. He said they were brief, so he didn't think much of it. The only reason he even noticed was because the girls next were normally very quiet," Keith shared.
"We're gone a lot," Mac said.
"Was there a car?" Veronica asked.
"No, there was not. No unusual cars or trucks at the house the past few weeks. Only Dick's loud truck engine according to the older lady across the street," Keith said.
"Well, yesterday we worked on a timeline," Veronica shared. All eyes turned toward her. "Weevil said it was three weekends ago when Jazmin first started acting strange."
"Yes. That was the first time I saw a bruise on her," he added. "It was a slight bruise on the cheek like the one she has now."
"My daughter was hurt, and no one called me?" Sebastian asked, his eyes ablaze.
"She told me she'd knocked into the door and laughed about it. I had no reason not to believe her. She'd never lied to me before," Weevil said sourly. "But she was really clingy that weekend. Unusually so. Said she wasn't feeling well but wanted me to hold her. That's when I told Jason something weird was going on with her because it was so unlike her. I knew something was wrong."
All eyes looked toward Jason, who looked pained at the reminder. However, he nodded. "I went to see her before Daisy and I went out that same evening Eli told me," he said. "She seemed perfectly normal. Insisted that she'd had an usually bad cause of PMS and that Eli had never seen her that way before. She laughed about Eli overreacting."
"PMS is no laughing matter. Sometimes, Mac can't leave her room when Aunt Flo comes for her monthly visit," Dick said with a knowing nod.
When everyone looked at Mac, she wanted to die. "Dick, I swear to God, I will kill you if you say another word," she whispered frantically. Dick flashed her a guilty look. Sometimes, he just didn't think before he opened his mouth. He hoped Mac wouldn't get sick of his bad habit and leave him. He reached for her hand, but she glared at him and pulled it out of his reach. Then she turned her gaze away from his sad puppy-dog eyes.
Weevil felt sorry for the big mouth and Mac, so he jumped into the silence. "Jason believed her and didn't give her another thought even though a week later I told him I was still worried," Eli said, giving Jason an angry glare. Eli didn't see a point in telling her dad about the pregnancy scare. Not unless he had to anyway.
"My sister has never lied to me our entire lives. She promised me she was fine. I had no reason to not believe her either," Jason said defensively.
"You should've trusted me. I know my woman! I knew something wasn't right!" Eli said heatedly.
"Enough!" Sebastian said.
"We need to focus on the day her behavior changed," Veronica said. "We know something's been going on with her. She told me when she was questioned that she she'd slept with another guy. Now we know there's definitely more to the story. Someone has been hurting her or hurt her recently. Maybe manhandling and harassing or maybe more. Or there could be two separate things going on here."
"So three Fridays ago, what all was going on?" Keith asked.
"I don't remember anything special," Wallace said.
"That's when Piz flew in, remember? You picked him up at the airport that afternoon," Parker said.
"Oh, yeah, that's right. I was running late and couldn't find my keys. David found them for me, but I ran off without my phone," Wallace said ruefully.
Thea remembered that week. "That Tuesday, I ran into Jazmin in the school cafeteria," Thea shared. "She was sitting with David."
"Yeah, so?" Wallace asked.
Thea frowned. "I didn't like the way he looked at her. He's obsessive when he shouldn't be. He asked her out even after she turned him down and began dating Eli," Thea said. "One of my sisters had a problem with a guy like that. It got pretty ugly."
"David's got a crush. He hasn't been talking about her in a while. He's moved on," Wallace said not liking her implication.
Sebastian, however, listened intently. He looked at Jason, who was sitting at his left. "Did I not tell you the last time I was in town to keep an eye on that guy? I didn't like the look of him either," Sebastian said.
"You guys can't be serious?" Wallace asked incredulously.
"Jazmin hadn't made any complaints about him to me," Mac said.
"Me either," Parker said.
"So has there been any other guy besides David that has asked her out lately?" Keith asked.
"Not that she told me," Jason said.
"She only has eyes for Weevil," Veronica said.
"Wasn't David really ugly to her when he found out a few months ago that she and Weevil were dating?" Dick asked, remembering. "We were at the ice cream shop. I texted Weevil so that he'd come 'cause technically she was there with David. He had a game. They won, and we were celebrating."
"That's when Jazmin told him she wasn't interested in dating him because she liked Weevil," Mac clarified. "He did get really angry."
"Called Weevil a wetback or something," Dick recalled.
Keith frowned, not liking the way this was sounding. "So he was rejected and angry?" Keith asked.
Wallace looked at Thea, feeling helpless. "There's no way my roommate hurt Jazmin! He just wouldn't do it. I live with the guy! I'd know if he was capable of that!" Wallace insisted.
Thea reached over for his hand and gave it a consoling squeeze. "Wallace, you haven't known him long. Some people are really good at pretending," she said quietly.
"Where is David right now?" Keith asked. "I can at least ask him a few questions."
"So can I," Sebastian said icily.
"I will take care of this. You focus on your daughter," Keith said with a warning look.
Sebastian didn't say anything. He just glanced at Nico, who got up and left the room.
"I hope he didn't leave to 'cause problems," Keith said.
"Nico has a business to run," Sebastian said dismissively.
"It doesn't matter. David's not in town," Wallace announced. "We only have two more days of class before Thanksgiving break starts. David hasn't missed any classes, so he got a ticket to leave for home Friday night. I had a game, but he said goodbye Friday morning. Told me that he'd be back next Sunday."
"So he was in town Friday? He could've ran into her before he left town," Keith remarked. "I think I'll start talking to some of his football playing friends. Guys on a team sport talk a lot in the locker room. Maybe he said something about Jazmin."
"So is David the only one who we can think of?" Veronica asked.
"You're in her photography class," Duncan said. "Any guys there hitting on her?"
Veronica thought about it and shook her head. "She's beautiful in that untouchable way. Guys aren't rushing to hit on her. I think she intimidates them."
"Totally can see that," Dick said.
Wallace nodded. "Absolutely," Wallace said, smiling a little.
"I will go talk to her professors tomorrow and see if I can find out more," Keith said.
"Don't forget to question the football team," Veronica said. "If David is our prime suspect, one of his friends may know something."
"Not my first day, sweetheart," Keith said with a dry smile.
"I can't believe you guys," Wallace grumbled.
"If you let a predator in my girl's life, I will not be pleased," Sebastian said with a pointed glare at Wallace.
He cringed and looked at Thea, who let go of his hand to rub his leg soothingly. "You didn't pick David as a roommate. If it is David, you're not responsible," she told him confidently. She flashed Sebastian an annoyed look. Wallace had the best heart. The fact that he saw the best in everyone was one of the things she loved the most about it. She didn't enjoy having anyone try to make him feel bad about that.
Veronica remembered something and turned to Mac, who was sitting next to her. "Did you remember to grab Jazmin's phone from your house?" she asked Mac.
"Oh, yes! It's in my bag," she said. She reached down and rifled through it before pulling the phone out and handing it to Veronica.
"Maybe this can tell us something," Veronica said. She looked through the contacts. Nothing recently but calls from those Veronica would expect. She went through the text messages. She skimmed the ones from Weevil, feeling guilty for reading the naked emotion in some of them. Weevil had really been going nuts.
"Anything?" Logan asked impatiently.
"There's a lot. She hasn't cleaned it out in a while," Veronica said, frowning as she scrolled through the messages.
"Just go back three weeks if you can and move forward," Keith advised.
Veronica nodded and did that. She looked up at Wallace. "Wallace, the day you picked Piz up from the airport did you talk to Jazmin?" she asked him.
He frowned and shook his head. "No. Not that I can recall. Why?" he asked.
"She has a text from you saying that you need to talk to her about Piz and Parker. You asked her to come to your room," Veronica said.
Wallace held out his hand. "Let me see," he said. The phone was passed down to him. Keith looked at it and wrote down the time before handing it to Wallace.
Wallace got a sick feeling as he read it. He had forgotten and left his phone in his room and went to pick up Piz. "I didn't send that," he said somberly. "I left my phone in my room because I was in a rush, running late. I couldn't find my keys and forgot my phone."
The room was silent as the implication rocked through the room. Sebastian felt a white, hot rage fill him. He didn't trust himself to speak and got up to leave the room. The door shutting behind him and his bodyguard seemed to release the rest of them.
"It was David. It has to be!" Veronica declared. She looked at Thea, who nodded in agreement. It didn't make her feel good to know her suspicions were right.
"God, I am the worse judge of character in the world!" Wallace moaned in self-loathing. He covered his face with his hands.
Jason, however, was devastated. His dad had warned him about David. His father had instincts Jason didn't have. He knew that, but he hadn't seen a monster when he looked at David. He hadn't even had any suspicions. Nothing would ever make him forgive himself for this. Daisy reached over and grabbed his hand in sympathy. Jason's pain-filled eyes made her heart break. She hated seeing him like this. He had such a sense of responsibility. Daisy found herself in the unusual position of wishing fervently that Jazmin would wake up and start taking up some of Jason's time again.
"Do you think this guy raped her?" Weevil made himself ask Veronica.
Veronica looked at her dad for help. Keith spoke up. "We can't jump to any conclusions until she wakes up, and we talk to her. Everyone needs to take a beat. Not to mention cell phones aren't always 100% reliable. Text messages can be delayed. Dates could be wrong," he said calmly. He would say whatever it took to keep any one of these young people from trying to dish out vigilante justice. Both Duncan and Jason had the means to fly to Texas easily. "No one in this room needs to say a word to David. Is that clear? If he is the man who hurt her, we don't want to tip our hand until we gather evidence. Is that understood?" He met the gaze of everyone in the room until they nodded. He got to his feet. "I'll begin looking at his life very carefully. I promise you."
No one said a word until Keith left.
The group looked beaten and incredibly sad. No one knew what to say. Everyone was feeling a certain measure of guilt. No one but Thea had thought David was someone to be concerned about. And Thea was feeling guilty for not saying something more. Maybe she could've shared her sister's story with Jazmin that day in the food court when she grew suspicious of David. It had been just a few days before the text was sent.
"How could he have hurt Jazmin?" Veronica finally said.
"If our suspicions are correct, he didn't just hurt her once, but he hurt her again this past Thursday or Friday," Logan said thoughtfully.
Weevil got to his feet, sick and angry. He couldn't listen to this anymore. He wanted to break something or hurt someone. The thought of that big white football player putting his hands on Jazmin made him want to commit murder. He decided to go see Jazmin. The nurse was checking her vitals when he got to her room.
"How is she?" Weevil asked.
The nurse smiled. "She is doing better. Her blood pressure and breathing have improved. There's also been some volunteer movement," she said.
"She's waking up?" Weevil asked hopefully.
"It's looking good. The doctor hopes she will soon. Tomorrow, we'll be moving her out of ICU," the nurse said. She left him to visit in private.
Weevil was so relieved to hear some good news that he collapsed in the chair next to her. "Please, baby, wake up," he said to her. He reached out and grabbed her hand. Lifting it to his lips, he kissed it. "Princess, we are going crazy here. Wake up and tell us what happened to you, please. Tell us who hurt you!"
Weevil didn't understand how Jazmin could've been hurt and not confided in him. Why hadn't she told him? He leaned closer and kissed her. "I love you so much, Jazmin. Don't leave me. Don't shut me out anymore. Wake up and talk to me! Please!" he begged. His eyes filled with tears. "Ah, baby, please come back to me." He'd lost Lilly, and she hadn't really ever been his. Another man violently ended her life. Now someone in their life had hurt the last woman he thought he'd ever love. Someone may be hurting her so extensively that she wanted to die to end her suffering. That thought ravaged him. How can he protect her from someone no one saw as a threat? If it wasn't David, who else could it be? What exactly had been done to her? Not knowing was torture.
Weevil got to his feet when Jazmin's hand moved. "Jazmin?" he asked, his heart racing. Was she waking up? When her eyes fluttered open, he had his answer.
*******Chapter End*******