A/N – Lots of case work in this chapter. I hope the mystery keeps everyone guessing and doesn't become too obvious too fast. Writing mysteries is definitely challenging!
As always, thanks for all the support and for continuing to read along. Please let me know what you think with a review! I really do love to hear what people are thinking of the story. It makes me more excited to work on it when I get feedback from all of you.
Disclaimer: All original VM characters belong to Rob Thomas.
Chapter 17 – Bad Penny
As Logan and Veronica walked off the elevator on the ICU floor, they spotted Tyler sitting in one of the waiting area chairs. Veronica heard Logan take a deep breath before walking over to him.
"Tyler," Logan said with a small nod of his head as Tyler looked up at them. Tyler stood up and reached out his hand to shake Logan's. He gave Veronica a quick nod as the two of them were shaking hands. Veronica could clearly see a great deal of concern in Tyler's expression, but she wasn't sure if it was due to the situation with Alexis or from Logan being there. Tyler had certainly seemed afraid of him when she first saw him at Growlers, although he had seemed a bit more at ease when they had breakfast together the following morning. She assumed though it was probably a combination of both things all blended together.
"Any change yet?" Logan asked with a hopeful tone.
Tyler shook his head before he spoke in an almost timid voice. "At least not when we arrived and first talked with Victor and Maggie. Nessa went back with them about twenty minutes ago. David was just leaving as we arrived and he looked pretty shaken up when he came out of the room with them, so I'm really worried on how hard this is going to be on her."
Logan nodded and swallowed the lump in his throat thinking back to first finding her and then seeing her hooked up to all the machines once she was in the ICU. It was difficult to see someone with as much energy as Alexis, looking so motionless and frail. He glanced over at Veronica for a moment. If anything like that ever happened to her he had no idea how he'd be able to function at all. He pulled her a little closer and kissed her temple. She looked up at him and gave him a grim smile.
"So David left then?" Veronica asked Tyler a bit surprised that he had left already after staying the night.
Tyler nodded. "He said he had something to take care of in LA and that he'd be back tonight or tomorrow morning."
While it would probably be easier on Logan not having him around, she still thought it was odd that he had left so soon. As she was thinking about that, Vanessa and her dad came back out. He had his arm around her shoulder and she was leaning into him as they walked. Obviously the possibility of losing another sibling was as difficult for her as losing another child was to her parents. She didn't seem to notice them at first but as they got to within a few feet away from them a look of realization crossed her face. She still looked extremely devastated but tried to give them a small smile. She stepped away from her dad and reached out for Logan giving him a tight hug.
"Hey sweetie," he whispered softly as he held her tightly for a moment.
"Her mom and I thought she should go get some lunch." Victor said to the small group now all standing in the middle of the reception area. Tyler nodded and reached out his hand for her. She sniffled and took a step back from Logan, taking Tyler's hand and folding into his side as he kissed her forehead.
"Any change?" Logan asked Victor cautiously.
Victor took a deep breath. "The doctor said it's encouraging that she's been breathing on her own. They did put a feeding tube in last night since they weren't sure how long it will be before she wakes up. The tests have been positive so far though." Logan gave him a grim smile and nodded. "Did you want to go back and see her? You could take Veronica back if you wanted to. They don't want more than three people in her room at a time though, so I could wait out here if you two want to go back and join Maggie."
Veronica gave him a small appreciative smile. "Thank you, but you should go back with Logan." She gave Logan an encouraging nod. He smiled at her then turned back to Victor. "I'll be there in just a few minutes."
Victor nodded, and then gave Vanessa another hug, before patting Tyler on the shoulder and turning back toward the patient area.
"I'm so sorry about this Vanessa," Veronica said with a somber expression. Vanessa nodded and gave her a small smile and then wrapped her arm around Tyler's waist again.
"Let's get you and the baby some lunch, okay?" Tyler said softly as he wrapped his arm protectively across her shoulders. She nodded again and they said a quick goodbye and headed back to the elevator.
"Did you get some lunch?" Veronica asked Logan with a concerned look. He hadn't eaten any dinner the night before and had barely touched his breakfast that morning. He may not be sustaining another life, like Vanessa, but he still needed to take care of himself too.
He shrugged. "I grabbed an apple when I dropped Abby off with Mac."
Her expression became a bit scolding but still full of concern too. "You really need to eat more than that you know?"
He nodded. "I'll run down to the cafeteria later." She wasn't entirely sure if she believed him, but hoped he actually would.
"Did you want me to stay for awhile? Until you come back out?" She asked with a compassionate expression in her face. While he had seemed better when they first met downstairs, she was worried that being back in the ICU with the gravity of the situation highlighted once more, that he was starting to crumble again. She'd caught a glimpse of the devastated expression he'd had on his face the prior night return when he was first talking to Tyler.
He took a deep breath and gave her a small smile. "While I'd love to have you out here waiting for me, I'm sure there's more case work for you to do. I'll call you later if I need some moral support though." He reached up and ran his hand through her hair, looking at her with a soft loving expression. She could tell he was completely conflicted about his answer. While he probably knew logically that having her working on the case was the best thing to do, she could tell that emotionally, he really wanted her there for him too.
"I could stay Logan." She looked up at him with a concerned loving expression on her face. "Norris and the other deputies can go and interview suspects this afternoon and I can stay here with you."
Logan shook his head. "No, I'll be fine. And I'm not alone, since her parents and Vanessa are here too. You know they're like family to me." Even though that's a little painful to hear, I am glad he has people he feels that way about.
She nodded with a grim smile and then answered him a bit reluctantly. "Okay, but I'll check back later and see how everything is going."
He pulled her in for a tight embrace. She tipped her head up so they could kiss goodbye. "I love you," she said softly after the kiss.
He took a deep breath and gave her another quick kiss. "I love you too Veronica. You mean the world to me you know? Please be careful while you're out there working. I couldn't..." A devastated look crossed his face and he didn't finish.
She put her hand on his cheek, "I know. I'll be careful. I promise."
He let out a shaky breath and squeezed her tightly again before releasing her. He gave her one last loving glance before he turned and headed in the direction Victor had gone. Veronica stood there until she watched Logan disappear behind the door that led to the patient rooms. Once he was gone, she walked toward the elevator and pushed the button waiting for the doors to open. She was a little surprised when they did open and a somber looking Casey stepped out and almost ran into her.
"Hey Casey," She said softly as he readjusted course, realizing there was a body in front of him. He looked up a bit confused at first at seeing her there. She could tell he seemed pretty out of sorts and distressed over everything.
"Veronica. Oh hi. I'm sorry. I don't know why I didn't realize it was you at first." He moved a bit farther out of the way of the elevator and she took a step back as well deciding she should spend a few minutes with him before leaving.
"How are you doing?" Veronica asked as she placed her hand on his arm.
"I'm still shocked that this happened, you know?" He shook his head before he continued. "God it's almost like Lilly isn't it?"
She nodded and took a deep breath. She knew Casey and Lilly had been pretty close at times too. They were both in the grade ahead of her, Logan and Duncan and had gone to school together since they were in middle school. She hadn't been particularly close with him at the time of Lilly's murder, but she could imagine it was probably tough for him to lose her too. She was pretty sure that Lilly and Casey had hooked up a few times when she was broken up with Logan, though it was something she'd never really discussed with Logan or Lilly, and certainly not Casey himself.
"At least Logan happened to stop by and was able to get the paramedics there before it was too late." Veronica replied trying to find the positive aspects of the situation.
Casey nodded. "I'd tried to call her so many times since Saturday night. I wanted to apologize and try to explain about that night. Not that I really have any idea why Kennedy did what she did."
Veronica cringed. She didn't want Casey to feel even worse than he already did, and she wasn't sure getting him upset about what Tommy had orchestrated would help matters any. "I did talk with Alexis for a little bit earlier yesterday. I'm pretty sure she had come to the conclusion that it wasn't your fault if that makes you feel any better."
He gave her a thankful smile and nodded. "How's she doing now?" He asked with concern creeping over his face again.
Veronica took a deep breath, "Well she's still unconscious, but there are some positive signs the doctors have noted. They don't know how long it may take for her to wake up though. Logan's back there with her parents right now. They said there could only be 3 people in the room at once though, but I'm sure they'll be back out in a little while since Vanessa is here with Tyler too. They headed down to the cafeteria to get something to eat."
Casey nodded and looked around the waiting area. Veronica felt bad just leaving him there, but did want to get back to work too. In the end her concern for him won out though. "Do you want me to stay with you until they come back out or Vanessa comes back?"
He gave her a grateful smile. "Thanks Veronica. I'll be fine though. You were on your way out when I ran into you, weren't you?"
Veronica nodded. "Yeah, but I can stay if you'd like."
"Thanks, but I'll be okay." He gestured with his head toward the chairs. "I'll just go and make myself comfortable until someone I know shows up."
She gave him a small understanding smile, then nodded and headed back to the elevators again. She sent Norris a text once she was in the elevator and said she'd be waiting downstairs in the lobby entrance for him. She used the time she was waiting for him to think over the case and decide where they should go next. She wanted to talk with Tommy, Mike Branford and Matt Barone. She also remembered that she needed to compare the necklace Mrs. Bennett had sent her to the one Stacey was wearing in the picture from Stephanie's Facebook page.
It didn't take Norris long to arrive, and she asked him if they could go back to the station so she could check on the necklaces. He filled her in on what the other detectives had learned so far that morning as he drove. "So the cleaning service did confirm that the wave sculpture normally sat on the shelf that you'd pointed out before we left. Other than that, they haven't uncovered much from talking with the people she'd met with the few days prior to the attack. I assumed you'd want us to talk with Tommy, Branford and Barone, so let them know we'd handle those three. They were going to go out and try talking with some of the neighbors again on the off chance that someone who saw something just wasn't around when we were there last night. Oh, do you want me to send them to the various places around town that would have racquetball courts?"
"Yeah, have them start with the Country Club. Logan said she did have a membership there, and that he actually did play racquetball with her when they were in college together."
Norris nodded in reply as they pulled into the parking lot at the Sheriff's office. They climbed out of the car and headed inside. She said she'd just need a few minutes, and then they could head out to see if they could track down Tommy, Mike and Matt. He told her he'd call the other two detectives working on Alexis's case and have them start checking into the racquetball angle.
Veronica walked into her office and opened the file folder with the picture of Stephanie and Stacey from the dance. She opened the picture from Mrs. Bennett and wasn't terribly surprised that it was a match. She sent the picture from Mrs. Bennett to her printer so she could add it to the case file and to show to Leo. She grabbed the print out and the case file, and then headed over to his office.
He was on the phone looking a bit frustrated when she poked her head in the door. He nodded at her when he saw her and gestured to the chair in front of his desk. "Yeah I know… okay I will… yes of course we're working as diligently on it as possible… no I still think that wasn't really a valid tip…" he rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Well we can't always control what the media gets a hold of… Yes I understand… Good bye."
He hung up the phone and shook his head. "Of course Barone talked to one of the media outlets about the fight Logan and Alexis had." Veronica cringed and let out a frustrated sigh. "So now they are putting pressure on Roger about it."
"But you know he didn't do it," Veronica immediately blurted out, feeling extremely defensive and angry.
"I know Veronica. And I swear I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure Roger doesn't try to force us to take any action there. I just wish Barone had kept his mouth shut."
"Well I can't say I'm surprised. He really doesn't like Logan. I also think he's a prime suspect, so unless he has an air tight alibi, the more mud he slings in Logan's direction, the guiltier he's looking to me."
Leo gave her a slightly warning look. "Just don't go after him with an already guilty assumption, okay?"
Veronica gave him a slight eye roll. "I know… I know… I'll be professional about it."
"Good, because if you're not able to, I'll send Johnson and Barton to talk to him instead."
Veronica shook her head, "I've got it Leo. I won't do anything that could screw up the case. Trust me."
He nodded in reply but gave her a warning look for a few seconds. Then his expression became more thoughtful instead. "Do you think we need to give Logan a heads up in case any of the media tracks him down about their fight now that it's out?"
Veronica shrugged. "We sort of already thought it could happen knowing Barone and how the media is in Neptune. I sort of hate to add to his anxiety at the moment if we don't have to. He's dealt with the press enough in his life that he should be okay. You can keep them out of the hospital right? He'll be there most of the day and I can swing back by later and talk with him before he leaves. That gives him some time to not worry about that in addition to everything else."
Leo nodded, "Yeah, I'd already contacted the security at the hospital even before the leak to be sure no one would be bothering her family or Logan. As long as he's in the hospital it should be fine."
"Great. Oh, and I may have a lead on the jewelry case. I checked with Mrs. Bennett and she didn't loan the necklace to Stephanie and the necklace Stacey was wearing also matches one that Mrs. Bennett owns." Veronica said with a triumphant expression on her face as she handed the pictures over to Leo.
"That's something to go on. If she had a way to get the necklaces out for the dance, she could just have easily stolen it from her later," Leo theorized as he studied the pictures. "Do you want me to get a search warrant before you go to talk to her? The pictures should give us probable cause. I can probably get one for you by tomorrow."
Veronica nodded. "That'll give me this afternoon to work on Alexis's case and then I can go talk to Stephanie tomorrow."
Leo handed the files back to her. "So how was Logan doing this afternoon? Norris mentioned you were meeting him over at the hospital."
Veronica shrugged, "I think he's better than he was this morning, and certainly better than last night. It's definitely a difficult thing for him to have to go through."
Leo nodded in agreement. "Any change in Alexis's status? I did ask the doctor to let us know if she woke up and could tell us who attacked her and haven't heard anything back from him yet."
"She's still unconscious, but there have been some positive signs at least." She replied with a grim expression.
She returned the case file to her office when she was done with Leo and went out to find Norris. She wanted to start with Barone, since she was upset with him about leaking the exaggerated story of the fight to the media. In addition to being on the city council, Matt also ran a mortgage company. They headed over to his office after calling first to ensure he'd be there.
A receptionist greeted them and led them back to Matt's office. Matt was just getting off the phone as they walked in. He gestured to two chairs that were in front of his desk.
"Norris," Matt said with a head nod in his direction. "And Veronica Mars. I'd heard you were back in town." He clearly wasn't pleased to see her again.
"Matt," Veronica said in reply. "We wanted to talk to you about the attack on Alexis Calloway."
"You're investigating that?" Matt said with a tinge of contempt in his tone. "Isn't that a conflict of interest if one of the suspects is your boyfriend?"
"Logan didn't attack her and he's not a suspect," Veronica replied trying to stay as calm as possible. "But we would like to ask where you were yesterday after you stopped by her office."
Matt glared at her and shook his head slightly. "I doubt that you have any actual proof that Logan didn't do it. We both grew up with him and know he's prone to violent tendencies. And he seemed pretty upset with her on Monday, telling her to stay away from another guy. He sounded jealous if you ask me."
Veronica tried not to laugh at his accusation. "Well I'm not asking, and I know exactly why he was telling her to stay away from Tommy and it wasn't for the reason you were thinking, so back to my question. Where were you between 4 and 5:30 yesterday?"
Matt narrowed his eyes a bit at Veronica. "After I left her office, I went home and changed clothes and then I went running."
"By yourself?" Norris asked, apparently trying to interject himself into the conversation to buffer some of the hostility between Matt and Veronica.
Matt turned toward Norris before he replied. "Yes, I went running by myself, but I did talk with one of my neighbors when I came back to my condo."
"What time was that?" Norris asked next.
"I don't remember exactly. Sometime between 5:30 and 5:45 I'd guess."
Veronica had checked on Matt's home address in case they had to check for him there, and found that it was only about 2 miles from Alexis's house. Plenty of time to have attacked Alexis and made it back to talk with the neighbor. Veronica had been watching him carefully as he talked to Norris. She still wasn't convinced that he wasn't the one who had attacked her. "And you don't remember running into anyone else you knew while you were out? Anyone who could corroborate your story that you weren't actually at Alexis's house around 5pm?" Veronica asked trying to keep the anger out of her own tone.
Matt glared at her again and shook his head. "If you're assuming Logan's innocence by the fact he said he didn't do it, then I guess you'll just have to take me by my word as well. Or did Logan actually have someone who could verify his whereabouts when she was attacked?"
The cocky way Matt responded made Veronica want to hurl something at him or get a hold of a tazer. Instead she watched Matt's reaction carefully as she continued with a little bit of a bluff. "Luckily the doctors expect Alexis to be waking up very soon, and then we'll know exactly who her attacker was." She was expecting a flash of worry to cross his face if he'd been the attacker and either he wasn't or he had a much better poker face than she would have expected.
"Well I guess we'll find out then if Logan is guilty or not." Matt replied without hesitating at all.
"Excluding Logan, is there anyone else that you think would have wanted to hurt Alexis?" Norris interjected. Veronica tried not to protest about Norris's choice of wording about Logan, but knew why he had said it and let it go.
Matt looked thoughtfully between the two of them. "No, not that I can think of."
Norris nodded before he continued. "Can we also get the name of the neighbor you talked to so we can verify your story?" He asked in a casual tone.
Matt looked a bit annoyed with that request, but nodded and took out a notepad to write the neighbor's name and number down for Norris after he got the contact information out of his phone.
"Well if you think of anything else, please let us know and thanks for your time, Matt," Norris said as he stood up and extended his hand to shake Matt's. "We may contact you again with some follow-up questions.
Matt turned back to Norris and nodded as he also stood and shook his hand. "I really do hope that she wakes up soon so you can arrest the guilty party. Which I assure you, wasn't me."
Veronica stood as well, and then headed toward the door with Norris following right behind her. "Welcome back to Neptune, Veronica." Matt called out in a sarcastic teasing tone, right before the door closed behind them. Veronica let out an annoyed sigh and shook her head. She mumbled 'asshole' under her breath and caught Norris smirking as he walked up next to her.
As they got into the car, Norris turned to look at Veronica for a moment before he started the engine. "You know I don't think Logan did it right?" She gave him a small smile and nodded. "I know he's not the guy he was in high school any more. Neither of us are. While Matt may still be an arrogant 09er asshole, Logan's not like that anymore. I've seen him do really great things during his time as Mayor."
"Thanks," Veronica said as she gave him a grateful smile, "I know you're not the same guy either."
"So where to next?" He asked as he turned the key in the ignition to start the car.
"Let's see if Mr. Branford is at his real estate office since it's near here," she replied as she buckled her self in. He nodded and pulled out of the parking space and headed to the realty office. While they drove over, Veronica called to check in with Johnson and Barton to see if they'd learned anything yet at the Neptune Country Club. Johnson let her know that Alexis did have a standing court time every Thursday evening, but the way the courts at the club worked, if you didn't show up 15 minutes after the reserved time, anyone could use the court. They didn't actually keep track of who had shown up to use it besides the reservation system, so they didn't have any way to verify if she was there every week or not. They could request security footage if it was necessary, but they wanted to check in with her and Leo before they went that far. Veronica let them know that they'd see how the visit with Branford went first and then they could decide.
When they arrived, Mike's receptionist said he was just finishing up with some clients and should be available in 5 to 10 minutes. They took a seat in the reception area and a few minutes later, a young couple came out of the office, saying a quick good bye to the receptionist and headed out the door. The receptionist let them know they could go in and directed them back to his office.
"Well it's nice to see you again, Miss Mars," Mike said with a leering smile. "I don't believe we've met." He held out his hand to Norris, "Mike Branford," he said as they shook hands.
"Deputy Norris Clayton," Norris replied with a nod.
"Does your visit mean you've had some success with the jewelry case?" Mike asked turning his attention back to Veronica.
Veronica shook her head, "Sorry, not yet, though I may have a new lead we'll be following, so hopefully I'll have some news soon. This is actually about the attack on Alexis Calloway yesterday. I'm sure you've heard about it by now."
Mike took a deep breath and nodded. A sad expression crossed his face, replacing the almost inappropriately flirty look he'd been giving Veronica. "Yeah, absolutely horrible."
He took a seat at his desk and gestured for them to sit in the two chairs across from him.
"We learned from her secretary that the two of you play racquetball every week," Veronica said, watching Mike's reaction carefully. She noticed a slightly guilty expression cross over his face before he replied.
"Yeah, when I helped her find her house after she and Mr. Echolls separated, we discovered that we both enjoyed playing racquetball and started our weekly matches." Mike explained. "My wife doesn't like to play, so I was excited to find a partner to play with." I'm sure you were. Veronica couldn't help but pick up the unintended innuendo in his reply.
"And your wife was aware of your weekly games?" Veronica asked curiously.
"Well, she knew we played occasionally, but she has a standing book club meeting that night of the week as well, so she wasn't terribly concerned about what I was off doing." Mike replied offhandedly. Veronica couldn't help but wonder if her book club was fictional as well. What a great pair the two of them make.
"And did you two spend time together alone, other than on the courts?" Veronica asked next, wondering how much he might be willing to divulge. He almost seemed like the cocky kind of guy, who would hang himself before he even realized what he'd let slip.
"Sure, sometimes, I guess. We mostly just played racquetball, but sometimes we weren't quite feeling up to it or whatever, and so sometimes we'd just grab a bite to eat and catch up instead of playing." Mike replied, looking down at his desk a bit more than he had been before. He's probably worried that if we check into the club surveillance we may find they weren't always there.
"And your wife was fine with that? If we were to check with her about it, that wouldn't be a problem for you?" Veronica asked, hoping the slight hint at spilling that little bit of information to his wife would be enough.
"Look, I don't know why the two of us spending time together is relevant to your case. I certainly wasn't the one who attacked her. I was busy showing a couple around all day yesterday. We started at noon, and didn't wrap up until almost 7pm after we looked at houses and then had dinner together. I'd heard the attack happened around 5:30 from the news report," Mike said, suddenly seeming a bit concerned at the prospect of them discussing that with his wife.
"And would your wife have an alibi too?" Veronica asked, her eyes narrowing slightly at Mike.
"Well, I'm…" Mike started to speak then, hesitated. She could tell that realization was just hitting him that perhaps his wife had found out about their little affair and gone after Alexis. "I'm pretty sure she was at home with our daughters last night. But like I said, I was working until later and didn't make it home until almost 8pm by the time I finished up here at the office."
"I'm sure you'll understand our need to verify her whereabouts with her," Veronica replied with an almost smug smile.
Mike's expression changed to be almost horrified. "I'm sure Vicky didn't have anything to do with what happened to Lexi. I don't see what good it will do to talk to her." Veronica could sense the panic in his voice now. If his wife didn't already know much about their weekly meetings, being questioned about Alexis's attack was sure to set off all sorts of warning bells for her. Even if they said it was just because her husband played racquetball with her, she seemed like a smart enough woman to realize why that would lead them to question her.
"We'll try to be as indiscreet about our need to verify her alibi as possible, but I'm afraid we'll still need to talk to her." Veronica said with a compassionate expression on her face.
"Oh, well… Thank you I guess." Mike's anxiety was getting worse, and it was pretty evident that he had every reason to worry about his wife figuring things out.
"You don't happen to know anyone else who would want to harm Alexis do you? If you two spent a lot of time together, perhaps she mentioned something that could help us. Of course if we can find the real perpetrator, then we wouldn't need to talk to your wife," Veronica continued on curious to see what he might actually know and be willing to share to save himself.
His expression became thoughtful as he looked around the room nervously before responding. "She did mention something recently about being surprised to see someone that she hadn't seen for a while again."
Veronica gave him an intrigued look. "Did she happen to say who this person was? Whether it was a man or a woman?"
Mike shook his head, "No she was rather mysterious about it when she mentioned it. I remember her joking about bad pennies turning up though. She sometimes would say obscure little idioms like that, rather than actually telling me what she was talking about." Mike thought for another moment. "I think she said something like she thought she'd seen the last of that particular annoyance for a while, but apparently she hadn't. I really didn't think it was that big of a deal and wasn't paying that much attention to her though. I can't recall if there was any mention of it being a man or a woman."
Veronica nodded in reply. Apparently pillow talk must not have been something he was all that interested in when they were together. "Did you get the feeling that she was afraid of this person? That she thought they would want to hurt her?"
Mike shook his head, "No, nothing like that. She seemed more annoyed that they were around again, rather than worried about it at all. I do remember getting at least that sense from our brief conversation about it."
"Any idea how far back in her past this person may have been? I do know she grew up in LA, and then went to UCLA for a while before transferring to Hearst and living in Neptune."
Mike shook his head again.
"Well if you think of anything more specific that could help us narrow down this person, please get a hold of us." Veronica replied with an appreciative smile.
Mike nodded and looked a bit more hopeful that maybe they wouldn't be going immediately to talk to his wife. They thanked him for his time, and headed back out to Norris's car.
"So now we're looking for a bad penny," Veronica said thoughtfully as they walked down the sidewalk back toward the car.
Norris nodded in agreement, "Do you think he was just leading us on? Trying to keep us from talking to his wife?"
Veronica shook her head. "No I think she really did mention something to him based on his reaction in there. It's too bad he didn't actually spend more time listening to her and less time doing whatever else it was he was doing." She mentally cringed for a moment, wishing she hadn't gone there. "It would have been nice if he'd been at least able to tell us if it was a man or a woman." She let out a frustrated sigh, "Between Logan, her sister and David though, maybe one of them might be able to help us figure out who it might be. Although from what I've observed about her, there could likely be a huge list of people she'd consider annoying bad pennies that she'd rather not have around." A small laugh escaped her. "I'd probably be near the top of that list myself actually."
"You, a bad penny?" Norris asked sarcastically and chuckled.
"Hey now!" Veronica protested.
"Well you're the one who started it."
"Fair point, but you didn't have to agree so quickly!"
Norris chuckled as they climbed into his squad car. "So time to track down Tommy? From what I can tell, he doesn't seem to have a steady job, so he might be a little trickier to locate if he's not at home."
"Yeah, he could be at the gym too. I got the sense he spent a fair amount of time there."
The gym was closer to where they were than his apartment, so they headed there first. Veronica recalled her first visit there when she went to see if Logan had retreated there when she'd told him about Leo's offer. As they walked in, she scanned the gym for Tommy, with her eyes quickly landing on one of the boxing rings with two men fighting in it. As the one man turned his back toward them, she caught a glance at a familiar clover tattoo on his shoulder. She gestured to Norris with her head in his direction. The two of them walked over to the ring, which captured the attention of both fighters and they stopped boxing.
Tommy took off his headgear and took out his mouth guard. He nodded at Veronica then told the other guy he needed a few minutes and climbed out of the ring.
"Well I can guess what you're likely doing here," he said as he looked between Veronica and Norris.
Veronica nodded, "Yeah, we're working on Alexis's attack." Tommy nodded in reply.
"Any leads?" He asked curiously, not seeming the least bit concerned that he might be one of their suspects.
Veronica shrugged. "We actually came to see where you were yesterday between 4:00 and 5:30."
Tommy smiled in reply. "I was here actually. Working out and then doing a bit of boxing. Got here about 4:30 and left at 6:00. There's security cameras if you need proof, as well as the guys I was working out with and boxing with. Between 3:00 and 4:30 I had stopped by The Clover and chatted with Molly for a little while before I drove over here. I'm sure you could get her security footage if you need it as well."
The guy he'd been boxing with walked back over toward them carrying a water bottle and a towel. "Hey Dominick," Tommy called out to him. "What was I doing yesterday at 5pm?"
The guy he'd called out to laughed before he replied. "Kicking my ass in that ring," he said pointing behind Tommy.
An older guy walked up as Dominick answered and slapped him on the shoulder. "You can say that again. He clocked you a few good ones." He looked at Veronica and Norris, "Hi, I'm Reggie, the gym's owner. Can I help you two with anything?" Reggie looked like a retired boxer, probably in his early 50's but still in very good shape. Even with his muscular build, he had very friendly green eyes and a face covered in freckles. His red hair was cut fairly short and was thinning a bit on top.
"Deputy Norris Clayton," Norris said as he reached out his hand to shake Reggie's. "And this is Veronica Mars. She's a consultant for the Sheriff's department."
"Nice to meet you both," Reggie said with a smile. "Is there something I can do for you?"
"We actually came to talk with Tommy about the attack on Alexis Calloway." Veronica explained with a friendly smile. "Partly to find out his whereabouts during the time since we know he's an acquaintance of hers."
Reggie nodded. "I can verify that Tommy was here yesterday between at least 5 and 6 and can get you video footage if necessary." Veronica figured he must have heard Tommy as he'd walked over. "I'd arrived right at 5 when Tommy and Dominick had started boxing and watched them fight for a while. And such a horrible thing that happened to that nice lady. I remember she used to come down sometimes with Mayor Echolls and watch him work out and fight. She even did a little sparring herself." Veronica noticed Tommy try to hide a small grin. Apparently Tommy liked watching Alexis spar back when she was with Logan too.
"Thanks," Norris replied and pulled out a card. "Can you email the footage, or do you need a flash drive?"
"I can have my security company email it to you if you'd like," Reggie said with a smile and a nod.
Veronica turned her attention back to Tommy. "Do you have any idea who may have wanted to do this to her?" She noticed him glance almost nervously at Reggie and shake his head.
After pausing for a minute he did offer a suggestion. "Actually, maybe it was that Casey fellow? He didn't seem too happy with how things went at the club on Saturday night."
Veronica narrowed her eyes at him. The incident you helped orchestrate. "Casey was out of town and has a sound alibi. Any one else?"
Tommy shook his head again.
"Well if you think of anyone else, please give us a call," Norris replied and handed another card to Tommy.
Veronica couldn't help but feel like something was a bit off between Reggie and Tommy and as they started to head toward the door to leave the gym, she turned back to Reggie again. "Sorry, I didn't catch your last name," she said with a curious expression on her face.
"Reggie O'Reilly," Reggie answered with a smile and a nod.
Veronica smiled and nodded in return, and then shot a quick look at Tommy, who suddenly found his feet extremely interesting. She gestured with her head at Tommy, "Walk out with us for a minute?" she said in a tone that clearly expressed it wasn't optional. Tommy nodded and started walking toward her.
Once they were outside the gym Veronica turned back to Tommy. "So anyone else that you think might have been involved that you didn't want to rat out in front of her father?"
Tommy gave her a sheepish look and shrugged. "Okay, so maybe Kennedy."
"Why do you think Kennedy would have attacked her? Obviously not jealousy over the two of you since she's with Gavin." Veronica replied curtly.
"Not jealousy, no. But she still didn't like Alexis. Never has. Ever since Alexis came between her and Logan… or maybe even before that. She completely blamed Alexis for the two of them breaking up. I get the feeling they may have known each other even before she dated Logan. I think Kennedy took some classes at Hearst and had met Alexis there. I never heard the entire history between the two of them, but I know she really doesn't like her." Maybe we'd better get Kennedy's alibi now just to be sure, although if it is Gavin, I'm not sure how reliable that is if they are dating.
"Anything else?" Veronica asked with a serious look on her face.
Tommy shook his head. "Can I go back inside now?" he asked as he tipped his head back in the direction of the Gym. Veronica nodded and he gave her a small smile, and then headed back inside.
"At least we'll have video proof for him," Norris said as he looked questioningly at her, apparently trying to figure out what she was thinking now.
Veronica nodded. "Yeah, I can have Mac verify that it seems legit and that it's time stamped appropriately too. Although I have a feeling he's telling the truth and was here. But I'd rather be safe than sorry."
"What about Kennedy?" Norris asked next.
Veronica let out a sigh, "She's still a viable suspect. I'm guessing her alibi is going to be Gavin and even if he wasn't with her, given they're dating he'd probably lie for her and say that he was. Although if we can verify he was somewhere else then that might prove she's hiding something. Maybe we should get the video footage from The Clover to see if Gavin was there with Tommy." Or I could ask Troy if he was there too. "I think it's a good idea to work on that and then we can ask Kennedy for her alibi and see if she goes with Gavin. If Tommy thinks the tapes from The Clover are to save him, then we shouldn't have a hard time getting them from Molly. With any luck Gavin will have been with Tommy and will be on the footage. We could also check with Gavin's mom to see if he was home at the time. We'd better validate his whereabouts before we go back to Kennedy so that Gavin can't tip his mom off too. I'm sure that being connected to both the Sorokin's and Fitzpatrick's, she wouldn't be above lying to help out her son."
They slowly walked back to his car. "I really should head back over to the hospital to check on Logan and see how things are going there. Hopefully Alexis will wake up soon and then we'll be able to find out who the perpetrator was, or at least wasn't, if it was a stranger that she didn't know."
Norris nodded as they climbed in the car. He took her back to the station so she could retrieve her car. He said he'd work on getting the information they needed to figure out Gavin's whereabouts next. She stopped in and gave Leo a quick overview of how the case was progressing before she headed over to see how things were going at the hospital.