Chapter Forty-Three
Back inside, Keith and Cliff had taken turns asking follow up questions and getting more details from Luke regarding what he'd told them so far. It turned out that Cobb and Carrie had concocted a list of several acquaintances of Carrie's who used the firm that Luke worked at for their finances. Luke had been asked by them to go in and manipulate their holdings files to match what they'd been able to find that Logan had invested in. They had wanted to keep track of what those investments were and how they were doing. Somehow Carrie believed that having an inside line on Logan's money would give her an inside line on him.
It was nearly a fluke that they'd found out about the Casa. Luke had gone into Avi's office to try to fish for information regarding the other accounts and had made a comment about Logan's connection to the club. Avi had responded with how surprised and impressed he'd been with the various things Logan had become involved in lately, particularly the charitable organization he had founded.
When Luke had passed that information on to Carrie, he said that Carrie seemed to believe she'd found her 'in'. He was about to begin sharing how Carrie had influenced her acquaintances toward donating to the Casa when Logan and Veronica came back inside.
First thing Luke said as the pair came close to join them, taking seats that were now surrounding the desk, was, "Dude, she really did care. She - "
Logan stopped him coldly, "Don't. I have no interest in what she did or didn't do. If she wasn't already dead, she'd be dead to me still."
Luke shrugged while Veronica squeezed Logan's hand. Keith gave Veronica a questioning look and Veronica told him with her eyes that Logan was better but was nowhere near great. Keith nodded and turned back to Luke, "So she found her 'in' through the Casa. Then what?"
"Then she got kinda conflicted," Luke explained, looking back and forth between Keith and Logan. "Ever since Susan Knight...well, anyway, she's had a soft spot for kids like the ones the Casa was involved with. She started to really dig Logan and what he was into. In fact, Cobb got crazy jealous. He's always had a thing for Carrie. Super protective, all that junk," he paused for a moment to look between them.
"Anyway, we'd barely seen Carrie in ages until Veronica came back to town," Luke continued.
His words caused an instant rise in the level of tension in the room. Logan and Veronica looked at each other, their eyes communicating with silently with a level of intensity that only the two of them ever shared.
Keith looked concerned as he watched the couple. He glanced at Cliff and saw his friend shared his sentiment. Then he turned back to Luke and said, "Go on."
"Well, she called us together not long after she found out that Logan had seen Veronica. She was furious that V was interfering in her relationship and said that if Logan didn't get his head out of his ass, she'd make him pay," Luke replied, his nearly apologetic gaze on Logan and Veronica.
"Sounds like her," Logan said bitterly.
"Hmm," Veronica agreed, adding, "I saw what she was capable of with that back in high school. All the rumors she made up about me. Not to mention her dramatic calling out of Mr. Rooks."
"Anyway," Luke continued, "She said she had a plan. Something she was going to put into play at the reunion if things didn't go her way. She never told me what it was, though. Not sure if she told Cobb or Sean." He paused before he leaned in and said with concern, "I think whatever it was that she set in motion is what got her killed. Last I saw her at the reunion was apparently right after Logan got up to go talk to Veronica. She was in hardcore bitch mode. Said it was time," he sat back and spread his hands in a gesture that said he didn't know anything more. "Time for what, I don't know."
The room was silent. Logan ran his hands through his hair, still trying to process and take everything in. Veronica's mind was racing as she imagined all the possibilities of what Carrie could have done. Keith continued jotting down notes, looking grim. When he lifted his eyes, his met Cliff's, a clear question in them.
Cliff seemed to understand what Keith was asking without needing any type of verbal communication about it. He turned to Luke from where he still sat on the corner of the desk and said, "Whatever the result of this, you've got immunity, Kid."