Chapter Fifty-Three
"Mac," Veronica stated into the phone as soon as she saw who it was and hit 'talk'. "What have you got for us?"
"Well," came the voice on the other end of the phone, "I wasn't able to sharpen it enough to make out who it is, but there are definitely three people in that corner under the stairwell at the club. You might want to go check it out."
"Thanks, Mac," Veronica responded, reaching to touch Logan's hand before whispering, "Change of plans. Head to the club."
"Oh, Veronica," Mac said tentatively, "Just remember, withholding evidence is a crime. And if the sheriff finds out you went to the scene first, well, you've got your law degree. You know what'll happen."
Rolling her eyes and grumbling, Veronica said, "Fine. Meet us at the club with the footage. I'll call dad and the sheriff. They can meet us there as well."
"On it, Bond," Mac said with a smile in her voice before she hung up.
Looking amused, Logan glanced at Veronica and asked, "What's that scowl for? I thought her finding something would be good news."
"It is," Veronica answered, then frowned in annoyance, "But not so much when we have to bring the incompetent sheriff into the mix."
"Ah," Logan responded, complete understanding in his tone before it switched to a teasing lilt, "What's the matter, Mars? Don't like Lamb 2.0 any better than you liked the original version?"
"He threw you in jail," she scoffed, "For murder. And didn't really bother to look into any other possible suspects. Of course I have a problem with him!'
"To be fair, " Logan returned lightly, a twinkle in his dark eyes that she wasn't able to see since they were focused on the road, "I'm pretty sure I remember you accusing me of murder a time or two as well."
She glared at him, then laughed before admitting, "You're right. I did. But at least I admitted my mistake and haven't done it again!"
He glanced at her, his nearly black eyes intense with meaning and purpose as he said, "No. You haven't. You did a 180 and started defending me instead. You've stood by me and hunted relentlessly for the real bad guy, to clear my name." He paused, squeezing her hand and giving her a crooked smile, "Thanks for that. It feels good to finally have someone in my corner."
Her eyes softened as her heart fluttered. She bit her lower lip for a moment, studying him in profile as he turned back to the road so that they wouldn't crash. "Yeah well," she said softly but dismissively, as if what she'd done weren't as big a deal as he was making out, "Except for that year or so after Lilly died when you decided to torture me, you've always been in my corner as well. Figured at some point I'd have to get around to returning the favor."
"Oh no, uh uh," he grinned, shaking his head as he tapped his right index finger playfully to the tip of her nose, "This has nothing to do with returning favors. Never has. Never will. That's you and Weevil you're thinking about there." He listened to her small grunt of protest with a chuckle before adding, "You and me? We're like oil and vinegar. We may separate but we're always better together than apart. Lost without each other. You're there for me. I'm there for you. That's just how it is."
Thoughtfully, Veronica tilted her head for a few moments before slowly starting to nod. "You're right, I think. It is just how it is. I'd forgotten that," she eyed him out of the corner of her eye before adding sincerely, "I'm glad I remember now, though."
They pulled into the parking lot of the club and saw that Keith and Mac were already waiting. Keith strode toward them as they exited his car and said, "When Lamb and his men get here, I'll have them sweep the car as well as whatever we find inside. Even if Lamb doesn't do anything about it, if anything is found, we can make sure it gets checked out on our own."
Logan glanced at Veronica and saw her nod so he quickly confirmed with a nod himself. "Alright, sounds like a plan. How long till Sheriff Dipshit gets here?"
"Right. About. Now." Veronica replied tersely as she saw the man over Logan's shoulder. "Brace yourself," she said through gritted teeth, "This could get ugly."
"Sheriff," Keith acknowledged with a single nod as Dan Lamb drew closer, "Good of you to join us this morning."
"I just hope this isn't some kind of bullshit hoax, Mars," Lamb warned as he looked warily at the four people scattered around him. "So what's the deal? Why am I here?"
"Several reasons," Veronica began, stepping forward to take the lead. "First, we'd like you to sweep this car," she gestured toward the look-alike of Logan's convertible.
"Now why would I want to do that?" Lamb crossed his arms over his chest and smirked.
"Because," Veronica said pointedly, "Having accused Mr. Echolls here of murder, wouldn't you want to sweep his vehicle for clues or evidence?"
Reluctantly, Lamb gave a grudging nod before Veronica continued, "Then he would like to fully cooperate in your investigation in every way. He'll provide you with the details of his vehicle while your men do the sweep."
"Fine," Lamb replied dismissively, "But that doesn't explain what I'm doing here. That could have just as easily been done down at the station."
"True, but we figured you'd appreciate the two birds, one stone approach," Veronica said smugly, briefly taking in her father's stance with his hands in his pockets as he listened to her proudly. "Mac?" she asked, reaching a hand for Mac to provide the security disc she'd been working on from the club. Once it was in her hand, she offered it to Lamb, saying, "Take a look at the southeast stairwell the night of the reunion. All we could make out were three figures but we thought you might like to be here with us when we go check it out and see if we can find anything."
Narrowing his eyes, Lamb scowled, "Those stairwells were cleared by the fire department. They were stomped and trampled repeatedly that night and who knows who's been there since then. What makes you think it's a good idea to waste my time looking into this now?"
From behind him, Keith spoke up, stating boldly but blandly, "Because it's your job, Dan. Might as well get paid for doing it."
The direct jab brought a matching smirk to Logan and Veronica's faces. Lamb glared at them all before finally relenting, "Fine. But when nothing comes up, I'm billing Mars Investigations for my time."
Rolling her eyes, Veronica began to lead the group toward the far side of the building, opposite where she had come out that night after the reunion. When she reached the emergency exit door, she stepped aside and allowed Logan to step up and unlock it. He then held it open while the group of them moved single file to enter through the door.
Going directly to the area under the stairs, Veronica's gaze sharpened as she squatted down to inspect every last inch of the floor. Her father came to kneel beside her and the others stood back, watching and waiting.
Logan was leaning, propped against the wall when something small and black caught his eye. He pushed off from the wall with furrowed brow and moved toward it. Whatever it was had been jammed on a smallish ledge between the floor and the backside of the bottom step.
"Hey, what's this?" he asked as he approached, poking and pointing at it from a couple feet to the left of where Veronica was hovering.
Turning her head, her eyes narrowed and she moved down the wall to take a look. With effort, she was able to dislodge the item from where it was stuck and found it to be a wallet. Frowning, she handed it to Lamb who opened it and said, "Mr. Sean Freidrich."
Mac, Veronica, Logan and Keith looked at each other as if that name alone was proof of something. Lamb's next words, though, made them realize they still had a long way to go.
"If I remember right, Mr. Freidrich just recently reported this wallet stolen.," he flipped it over in his hands and said dismissively, "It doesn't appear to have anything to do with Ms. De Ville's murder."
Veronica wanted to strangle the man. Logan and her father both thought they may need to restrain her. It wasn't necessarily, however.
Instead, Veronica simply hissed through clenched teeth, "Take that damn thing back to the department and have the lab run forensics on it. Unless, of course, you have some reason for not wanting to find Carrie's REAL killer."
Lamb glared at her and shrugged, "I'll have the sweepers go over this stairwell, too. Will that satisfy you?" he sneered.
"Yes!" Veronica burst out explosively before her eyes widened and she realized that speaking to law enforcement in that tone, even incompetent law enforcement, was not acceptable and could be punishable in a court of law. Exasperated, she tried again, "Yes, Sheriff Lamb. Please sweep this stairwell, send that wallet to forensics, and check out Logan's car. I think you'll find that it's not actually his."
His eyes showing confusion for a brief moment, Lamb quickly covered his surprise and nodded his head. Grudgingly, he informed them, "With some of the things that have been coming up on this case over the last few days, I've requested a detective from San Diego to be brought in to assist. I'll get him in touch with you as soon as he arrives." With that, he turned and strode right out the door, not even noticing the looks of shock and surprise he left in his wake.