Chapter Forty-Six
"Mac?" Veronica said into her phone as Logan drove them around near the pier fairly aimlessly.
"Yeah, Veronica?" Mac answered on the other end of the line.
"We need to know where and how to find Sean Freidrich. Do you have that info?" Veronica asked, her eyes taking in the scenery around them appreciatively.
"I'll have to look it up," Mac replied, "Give me a few and I'll call you back when I have it."
"Ok, thanks, Mac. You're the best," Veronica said with a grateful tone before hanging up to wait her out. "It'll be a little bit," Veronica explained, looking over at Logan.
"Yeah, I caught that. You hungry? We could get lunch while we're waiting," he suggested.
"Sure," Veronica agreed before asking, "Where are you taking me?"
"Little Italian place I recall you used to know and love," he replied, eyes twinkling as a smile played at his lips.
"Luigi's?!" Veronica explained with a gasp of surprise, "It's still here?"
"Of course it's still here," Logan answered smugly, "Can't let go of the best Italian place on the good part of the bad side of the tracks, right?"
Now it was Veronica's turn to smirk. She rolled her eyes and shook her head, "You're hopelessly nostalgic, you know that?"
"I do," Logan grinned, "And I don't care. Lasagna or fettucine?" he asked.
"Hmmm. One of each?" she asked hopefully, "Then we could split."
He laughed and shook his head, "Now who's hopeless. You and your food, Veronica!"
About halfway through their meal, Mac called back with the information on Sean. Veronica recorded it in her notepad and went back to eating.
Out of nowhere, or so it seemed to Veronica, Logan asked her intently, "Do you trust me, Veronica? I mean, of all the things that could or have changed, is you being able to trust me one of them?"
Veronica was silent for a few moments. She knew what her immediate gut response would have been but she wanted to make sure she really processed the question. It deserved some serious thought and he deserved the most truthful answer that she could provide.
Her clear blue eyes were open, honest, guileless, and vulnerable when she replied. "Yes, Logan. I trust you."
His dark eyes gleamed and the smile he produced was like none she'd ever seen. "It's about damn time," he responded, making her laugh.
She reached across the table to take his hand and give it a squeeze, saying affectionately, "I love you, Logan."
Lifting her fingers to his lips to kiss her knuckles tenderly, he returned, "I love you, too, Veronica." He continued holding her hand while he went back to eating and asked casually, "So where are we off to next?"
"Well, apparently Sean has an apartment down by the Bay. Mac couldn't find any particulars other than that so I guess that'll be where we start," Veronica responded as she finished up the last of her lasagna and reached with a grin to twirl some of his fettucine onto her fork for a taste.
Shaking his head, Logan said with affection, "You and your food. Are we almost ready?"
"Yeah," Veronica stated, snagging one more forkful of the noodles, "As ready as we're gonna be."
Along the way, Logan turned to look toward Veronica and asked her curiously, "So once we've caught the bad guy and this is all over. What are you gonna do then?"
"Well…" Veronica began thoughtfully, "I'm not sure. The only thing I'm really certain of is that I won't be returning to New York. What it does mean, I don't know. I guess I'll see about taking the bar exam here. Check out some firms between San Diego and LA." She paused and looked toward him meaningfully as she said, "Whatever I do, I'll be with you. That's not going to change."
A look of relief washed over his face and she realized he'd been terrified of her leaving again. She reached for his right hand and held it between both of hers before saying softly, "I'm done running. All it ever did was make us both miserable."
The raw emotion and overwhelming vulnerability in his dark eyes caught at her heart. In a tone filled with all her love and devotion, Veronica said, "We'll get all this sorted out and then we can sit down and figure out what we're going to do next. We move on together or not at all."
He nodded as he pulled into the parking lot connected to Sean's apartment. When he stopped the car, he took several deep breaths, his eyes focused out on the water. Then he leaned over, cupping Veronica's face in his left hand as he placed a tender and gentle kiss full of passion and promise on her glistening soft lips.
"Thank you," he murmured softly against her lips before he pulled away. Tucking a few wisps of her blonde hair behind her ears, he added lightly, "Does that mean that if you forget what you just said and do try to run, I'm allowed to chase after you?"
Veronica laughed and nodded, giving his hand a squeeze and placing a sweet peck of a kiss on his lips, "Yes. If I run, feel free to follow."
"I'll remember that, Veronica Mars," Logan said with a grin, "This moment is going to go down in history. The moment that Logan Echolls got an uncoerced commitment from Veronica Mars that was relationship-related."
Laughing again and rolling her eyes, Veronica just shook her head and said, "Come on, let's go find Sean."
Exiting the car, they headed toward the apartment whose information Mac had provided. There was no answer but as they turned to head back to the parking lot, Lou Cobbler seemed to come out of nowhere. He had obviously not expected to see them there and demanded, "What the hell are you doing here?!"
"Looking for Sean," Veronica replied easily, "But had we known we'd find you, too, you certainly would have been on our 'to find' list," she assured him. "Any idea where Sean is by chance?" she asked.
"Out," Lou responded coldly, "Other than that, it's none of your business."
Veronica felt Logan beginning to maneuver around her a bit, trying to take his usual protective stance. However, Veronica reached to touch his arm, not quite ready for him to get between herself and the obviously volatile man.
"So, Lou," she began conversationally, "The night of the reunion. Where were you when the sprinklers went off? Did you see who it was that had a gun?"
Clenching his jaw, his eyes flashing with rage, Lou responded gruffly, "Was with Carrie and my boys. Seeing as your boy there had already blown her off."
"Oh that's right!" Veronica exclaimed as if this was completely new information. Then she looked at him with feigned innocence and utter confusion on her face, "But, I thought you would have been happy that Logan blew her off. I mean, after all, you've always had a thing for Carrie yourself, right?"
Logan was tense behind her. She could feel his muscles on alert, ready to pounce. Cobb, however, only had eyes for her. His anger and hatred were aimed completely at the petite blonde before him with not even a hint of recognition in his eyes that there was anyone there but the two of them. That was good, Veronica thought. Just the way she wanted it.
Cobb didn't answer right away so Veronica continued, amused and speculating without showing the slightest bit of affectation in regards to his threatening stance. "Of course, she's never felt the same about you, has she, Lou?" She took a slight step closer and continued needling him, "And now it's too late. Now you'll never get your shot with her. You're stuck with knowing that the last thing she was determined to do was date Logan. Not you. Logan," she reiterated. "Must suck to be you!"
His fist struck out but rather than connecting with her or with Logan, it pounded into the outer painted block wall of the apartment. He hit it again with the other fist and then a few more times until his knuckles were bloody. Finally, he spoke in a rough and raw tone, "Carrie took me for granted. She used me. She manipulated me. And I let her. The night of the reunion, she was pissed off. She came over to Luke, Sean, and I after pretty boy here left her behind for you. She said she wanted to make him pay. Said he needed to know what a mistake he was making running back to your arms yet again."
Veronica glanced up and behind her at Logan with concern and saw his face was a mask. She could tell, though, that there was anger simmering just below the surface. Cobb had still not turned back around to face them, but Veronica encouraged regardless, "Go on. How was she going to make Logan pay?"
Cobb laughed bitterly, turning slightly to angle toward them. His arms now crossed over his chest, he answered with narrowed eyes, "She had several ideas. First, she had found out that somehow, Sean had acquired a gun while at the reunion. None of us knew how or why or what it was supposed to be for but Carrie asked him to fire a shot at the ceiling to cause a distraction. Then she was going to go pull the fire alarm while people were already panicking. She figured she could set it up to where she'd either really get trampled when people ran to the exits or she could make it look like she did."
Obviously disturbed by the way it appeared that Carrie's mind had worked, Logan exclaimed, "What the hell?! How was getting herself trampled supposed to be payback toward me?"
Cobb met Logan's eyes for the first time and was calm as he explained, "She wanted to play on your guilt. She knew you'd dive for cover and save Veronica. So she thought that if she could show that your lack of attention or care toward her had caused her to be trampled, you'd be guilted into leaving Veronica alone and staying with her."
Her mouth now gaping open and her eyes bugging out, Veronica cried in disbelief, "Are you serious?! That's the most messed up thing I've ever heard!"
"Messed up but true," Cobb shrugged, most of the fight gone out of him now as he took in the tension and rage in Logan's stance now.
"So wait," Veronica started again, "Did it work?" she demanded, "Did she get herself trampled and accidentally killed or what?"
"I don't know," Cobb replied, sounding more honest than he had since the moment they'd met him at his office, "That's why I'm here. Sean was supposed to take care of her. Make sure that things went according to plan but didn't get out of hand. I haven't been able to get in touch with him since we split up the night of the reunion."
Logan and Veronica shared a look. When Veronica turned back to Cobb, she ordered, "If you see or hear from Sean, contact us immediately. Like it or not, Carrie was playing with fire and it sounds like she got herself burned. The only person now who can give us the answers we need is Sean. We find him, we find out how it came about that Carrie died."
Cobb nodded grimly, a look of utter misery on his dark features. Resignedly, he said, "The moment I know where he is, you'll know."