Logan Echolls did his best to make idle conversation with his reluctant passenger, his best friend Duncan Kane that morning on the way to Neptune High School. The relationship between them both had been frosty at best ever since their revelation about Logan's budding romance with Duncan's ex-girlfriend Veronica. He doubted Duncan would even have accepted the lift if his mother Celeste Kane hadn't interceded Logan's call asking for an alibi for his whereabouts if his parents should ask and suggested Logan collect Duncan to drop him off to school because his car was off getting repairs.

"You wanna get something from the drive thru for breakfast?" Logan asked quietly but Duncan just shook his head and continued to look out the passenger side window.

Zombie Duncan was back… but for an entirely different reason. Word had started to spread slowly amongst the 09ers that Veronica had regained most of her memories as a result of the intimacy between Logan and herself on Homecoming. He wasn't sure how the information had gotten out but it wasn't a secret anymore and he was certain that a lot of Duncan's glacial attitude towards him was because he knew.

He hated this wall between them; he wanted to be able to open to him about the things he had found out in Veronica's journal, the revelations about Lilly's murder, about Abel Koontz and the cover up. They were best friends but Veronica had advised against it, and she had a point. The Kane's had paid Abel Koontz to confess, so they were protecting someone... that meant that he couldn't risk saying anything in case it put them on the radar of whoever they were tracking.

Although if Duncan knew something, surely he would have told him? Confided in him?

Lilly was his sister…

Something was really bothering Duncan, it couldn't just have been that he was dating Veronica. They'd been broken up for over a year now, he had never cared much about who she had dated before. After Shelley Pomoroy's party last year, Duncan had done everything in his power to completely avoid her… They hadn't even been that serious, he was sure they'd never gotten passed third base.

He surely would have mentioned that to him?

"Are we ever going to talk about it?" Logan sighed.

We are friends Duncan… it's not my fault I fell in love with her…

"No… just don't use me to cover for you again" he replied, his blue eyes were so much like Lilly's sometimes he wasn't sure whose disapproval he was really seeing, his friends, or the ghost of the girl he loved.

"Okay" Logan agreed. He didn't want to lose his best friend over this, but he couldn't be sorry over the decisions he was making. Veronica had brought him back from the edge, he'd been going down a very dark self-destructive path and he didn't want to think what would have happened had he stayed on that road. Before her, life hadn't been worth living.

She was at a hospital appointment that morning and wouldn't be back in school until later after lunch, he was eager for news. Her recent resurgence in memories had taken them both by surprise last night; the constant changes in her health had him feeling anxious. He'd felt like he'd been on a roller-coaster the last few days, she hadn't replied to his texts other than the one she had sent saying good morning. He'd feel better when he could see her at school. They couldn't spend much time together today, her father wasn't on a stake-out tonight, and his parents were home from their whale watching cruise. His mother had arranged an Echolls family sit down meal for them this evening, Trina was going to be home for the next few days.

Fun Fun Fun. Cold War in the Echolls Family Estate.

Logan had paid the hotel this morning in cash that he'd won during the last poker game he hosted, so thankfully there wouldn't be any credit card bills, as far as his parents knew, he'd spent the night at Duncan's, but as he could tell that option wouldn't be available again.

He hated going home when his father wasn't on location; the guy hadn't taken a new project on in about four months, which meant he was in the house, concentrating all his time on trying to drum up interest in his "brand" aka dragging Logan and his mother around on family excursions to improve his public image.

Why couldn't he just turn 18 already so he could have an excuse to move out on his own? He couldn't wait to get his own place, then he could invite Veronica over as often as he wanted.

"Let's go to Starbucks" Duncan finally relented.

Veronica stood in line at the Java the Hut as Daisy squinted at the chalk board with the service options.

"Can I have a Frappuccino please?" she asked and the barista smiled and took her money. "What are you having?" Veronica asked Daisy.

"Coffee… black… like my soul" Daisy smiled as she picked up a packet of ginger biscuits and placed them onto the tray.

Veronica felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, it was a number she didn't recognise but it looked like one of those government department extensions, like the ones her dad got her to call up sometimes for checks on ID's.

"Hello?" she answered cautiously as she watched two guys wander by the counter and ogle Daisy's ass as she bent down through the sandwich counter as she browsed through the options.

"Hi, is this Ms Veronica Mars?" a gentlemen's voice asked.

"Yes, speaking… how can I help?" she asked.

"This is Gerald Mathews from the Neptune Balboa County Births and Deaths Registry… its regarding your request for Family History and Birth Records acquisition number 150084FBB" he informed her.

"Yes… the Abel Koontz records I sent in for last week" Veronica confirmed.

"Unfortunately due to the on-going legal proceedings and the nature of the public records, we will not be able to release those to you" he told her regretfully.

"Unable to release them… but I've already paid the fee" she said incredulously, and it was then Daisy gave her a quizzical look as she took the two drinks from the barista and nudged Veronica towards her seat.

"Unfortunately as I have stated, the nature of the public records for this particular individual because of the on-going legal situation with Mr Koontz.. unless you were a law professional involved in his case, or a direct relative we would not be able to release that information to you. We are happy to credit your account with a refund if you would like to come down and fill out the appropriate paperwork, we are more than happy to assist you" he said finally.

"This is for a Story for the Neptune Navigator… a follow up piece for the Abel Koontz story… are you sure there's no way that you can help me?" she pleaded.

"Unfortunately as I have stated the on-going legal situation…." He repeated.

"That's fine… thank you for letting me know" Veronica interrupted before ending the call.

Son of a Bitch! She had been counting on getting those records to help establish motive for why he would have accepted a bribe.

"Bad news?" Daisy asked.

"It's the Neptune Registry… they won't release the family history files I asked for on Abel Koontz… apparently because I'm not a law professional they won't give them to me" Veronica sighed bitterly as she took her coffee from Daisy.

Now what was she going to do?

"I could collect them" Daisy offered. "I am still Cliff's legal intern… and he was Abel Koontz court appointed public defender"

"You would do that?" Veronica asked.

"What are friends for? I also didn't get you that visitor pass to visit the man in person out in San Quinten like you were asking me to before the Big O with your new Beau made you forget all about me and my fabulous talents" Daisy smiled as she finally slid her dark glasses up onto her head like a hair band, her green eyes smiling conspiratorially as she handed Veronica her iPod with all the recordings in it from the Homecoming Bug downloads.

"You ever need it, I will be giving you one hell of a reference" Veronica smiled as she began to scroll through the list of tracks.