A/N: Thanks again to my wonderful beta, Bondopoulos. Thank you all for your continued interest. Thank you thank you!

Chapter 15 Recall

The man named Bunk met them at an intersection in the middle of nowhere and they swapped cars. A young guy who Bunk introduced as Jeremy got into the driver's seat of Mac's car and drove off as soon as she and Dick had taken their stuff out of the back seat. She watched the tail lights disappear down the road and into the darkness.

Turning back to where Dick stood between Bunk and the other car, Mac quipped, "That Smart car's smart enough to not get stolen, you know."

Bunk chuckled. "That's the last thing you need to worry about." He motioned behind him to the dark car that he'd pulled up in. "Echo came with, as a token of good faith."

"Echo?" Mac repeated, squinting to see into the back seat. Sure enough, the form of another person sat in the back seat. She recognized him immediately. There, sitting in the shadows of the back seat was Logan, looking slightly exhausted but freshly showered. He gave her a slight smile and she stood straight up. "Echo still isn't my car, sir."

"Relax, Mackster."Dick balled up his fists and teasingly punched the air between them. "Bunk won't let anything happen to your precious."

She threw her hands up in fists and jabbed back at him. "Would you be saying the same thing if it were your precious zooming off in the darkness?"

"I told ya I would have driven," Dick told her and then to Bunk he said, "That little Mr. Bean ride of hers isn't exactly," he gestured wildly with his hands, "comfortable, if you know what I'm saying, heh heh."

Bunk's response faded into back ground noise as Mac looked back into the car and saw Logan's tired expression. She thought of his injured shoulder and wondered how he was doing. She broke apart from the other two to open the back door, slid into the back seat next to him and slammed the door shut. "You're looking rough."

"Brutal honesty never suited you, Mac," Logan remarked as he rested his head against the head rest "The least you could do is lie to me to protect my vanity. I come from a long linage of narcissists."

"Well," Mac adjusted her bag that she'd pulled onto her lap and set it down between her feet, "in that case, you've never looked better."

"Now, that's more like it. See, that flatters me and makes me feel better all at the same time. Talent like yours is wasted at Kane Software. Hollywood needs you with that kind of smooth talk. Hit me with some more."

"I got nothing," she admitted after a moment of pretending to think about it. "Where's Veronica?"

"Ever the seamless flow of conversation. Impressive."

She shrugged. "I practice in front of the mirror. Be jealous."

"Oh, I am."

They were silent for a moment when Dick and Bunk clambered into the front of the car, with Bunk in the driver's seat and Dick riding shot gun. Once the engine revved to life, Bunk made a sharp U-turn and they set off in the opposite direction of the way they'd come.

Dick twisted in the front seat and gave Logan a huge grin. "Logan, my man! Ronnie hasn't squeezed off your balls yet, huh?" He chuckled obnoxiously and Mac barely withheld her eye roll. "Good to see you in one manly piece."

"Rest assured my man parts are intact."

"While I'm glad to hear you're all in one piece, can you update us a bit as to where Veronica is?" Mac interrupted impatiently.

Sitting up straighter, Logan picked at the knee of his jeans. "She's, uh, at the house. I think looking up some things online. We're not far."

"Has she been watching where the money's heading? I haven't taken any time to look."

"I'm sure of it."

**Break**

The money was moving back into Neptune. Veronica watched the little beacon as it moved across the screen, fascinated by the accuracy of Mac's magical tracker. She'd almost forgotten how great it was to have her own personal Q and how handy it could be.

Once Logan and Bunk had left to go pick up Mac and Dick, Veronica had headed into the office to work. She'd started by finding where the tracking device on the money was headed.

Next, she clicked to a new screen to begin a fresh Google search. She typed in the name 'Larry Morrison' and quickly skimmed the same information she'd already come across a few days earlier. She clicked through a few more of the top articles that the search brought up. The man had worked his way up through the years and was a huge benefactor of the city of Neptune. He owned a fair amount of property in and around the city, plus he had bought into the biotech company that she'd read about previously. Ten years ago, Morrison had been just gotten started with his real estate ventures, and just five short years later, he'd bought into the biotech firm and struck it seriously rich.

Two years after that, he'd donated a large sum of money to the Sheriff's Department to be used toward new cars, service animals, and body cameras for each officer when on duty. That was right around the time that the whole country had been up in arms about full disclosure, Veronica recalled, with every officer in the nation being constantly questioned about his or her motives. From the tone of the article, it sounded as though the people of Neptune had praised Morrison for his forethought and that he was a valued member of society.

Veronica wanted to retch.

Shortly after that, Morrison donated an even larger sum for the new town hall and Sheriff's Department. The two buildings had been finished relatively quickly, Veronica read. Both had been up and running within eight months of their ground breaking ceremony.

It was interesting how quickly a project could be completed when enough money was thrown at it.

She began a new search and typed in the name Vincent Van Lowe. Time to find out what the smarmy former sheriff was up to these days.

The search popped up a number of articles, but at the top of the search was "Vincent Vanlowe PI." She clicked the page open and immediately saw that it was his company's website. Vinnie Van Lowe still owned and operated his own private PI firm that specialized in small businesses and infidelities. His website touted 'discreet and thorough' investigations that promised 'satisfactory results'. Interesting choice of words, Veronica thought ruefully. It sounds more like a promise that what the client pays for, the client gets. She clicked through the pages slowly, reading the information and began to formulate a plan.

***Break***

Logan had forgotten how well Bunk and Dick got along. His two friends sat in the front seats of the car, chatting it up while he sat in the back and tried to not pass out. Outside, the night was clear and the moon was just beginning to peek through the trees, shining through the window brightly. The hum of the engine, combined with the low tones of conversation in the front seat, made Logan's eyes feel heavy with fatigue.

Next to him, Mac fidgeted with the strap of her bag. She must have sensed Logan needed the rest, because she had ceased trying to talk to him and instead stared out her window to the shadows that bounced off passing trees.

Mustering up the energy to talk Logan eventually said, "You can relax, you know. This whole thing has taken a crazy turn, but you're safe."

"Oh, I'm not worried about that," she reassured him quietly, turning in her seat to look at him. "I just can't help wondering what's gonna happen. You know, with tracking Sean and everything it might bring. I'm thinking this could get ugly."

"I know," Logan agreed.

They were silent again as the car slowed down. They had finally reached the gate to Carrie's property. They waited for clearance from Bunk's hired man before they passed through. Logan sensed Mac taking the property with curiosity. The moonlight had lit it up the entryway up to the drive, and the lights of the house radiated pleasantly through the trees.

The closer that they got to the house, the tenser Logan became. When they'd left, he and Bunk hadn't said good bye to Veronica, so the last he'd seen her had been when she'd sidled out of his room, post kiss. His mouth still burned from it. He wondered if the kiss meant as much to her as it did to him. Finally, they'd had a real moment of connection not based off of anger, fear, or sadness. It had been pure need for him. He hadn't been able to control himself any longer, and he mused about just how far he would have let things go if Bunk hadn't interrupted when he did. Her skin on his fingertips had ignited the fire that still burned for her. This kiss tonight had been the real thing, not something he'd resorted to as a means to shut her up and knock her defenses down. Tonight there'd been not much to break down because Logan knew intuitively that the wall she usually had up was almost all the way down.

Victory point for Logan Echolls.

The car slowed to a stop and jerked lightly when Bunk put it into Park. When Bunk turned the ignition off, neither Logan nor Mac moved. Instead the two of them sat motionless while the others climbed out of the front and headed to the trunk.

Logan grasped the door handle and was about to pull it open when Mac asked, "How is Veronica really doing, Lo?"

He considered the question as he pulled back to regard her. "Well, she saw Keith this morning. That took a lot out of her."

Mac nodded and pulled her bag back onto her lap. "She's been super worried about him. And you."

"Me?" Logan let his hand fall from the handle. "What's to be worried about me?"

She gave him a knowing smile. "As much as she hates to admit it, she still cares a lot about you, you know."

"How would I know that?" Logan asked, "It's not like I ever got a birthday card in the past nine years, or even a 'thinking of you' note. Just deafening radio silence."

"Well, Veronica gives good radio silence, that's true."

"Tell me something I don't know."

Mac turned in her seat and stared at him as if deciding something. After a moment, she said, "Okay. I'll tell you something. You ready? Because I won't be saying this again." At his nod, Mac took a deep breath and continued, "She told me she left for Stanford because she was scared. For you. Scared that you would self-destruct because of her, and that she loved you too much to let you become less than what you were."

He started to interrupt, but Mac stopped him. "No. Listen. Listen to me. Veronica's spent the past nine years telling herself lies to keep herself from running straight back here. Because that's exactly what she's wanted to do—this whole time. I took Psychology; I know the classic symptoms. But I'm also not stupid. She thinks if she can believe that you are the same jack-ass that you were the year after Lilly died, screwing up and getting into trouble, taking risks and boozing and schmoozing, that she will stop loving you. She's created an even harder shell around herself when it comes to Neptune, you, and all that it represents. But I'm telling you, the reason is because she didn't want to blame herself when you ended up dead." Mac paused. "And leaving had a lot to do with getting out of Keith's way, too, because she royally fucked up his chances for sheriff. She's never forgiven herself for that, either."

"It doesn't matter, Mac, it's all history now anyway." Logan pulled at the handle and the door popped open.

She reached over and touched his knee. "It may feel like history to you, Logan, but when she Skyped me right after your car blew up…God, Logan, I don't think I've ever seen her that scared in a really long time. I mean, last week with her dad, she was freaked out, yes, but this…she was afraid for you. She was determined to keep her dad safe, yes, but the underlying current was obvious that she was and is more worried about you. It may be that she doesn't even realize how obvious it was to me."

"You're presuming to know her feelings based on her facial expressions over Skype?" Logan scoffed. "Veronica didn't look that worried to me, and I've been with her in person."

"Maybe not, but she's more guarded around you," Mac reminded him. "She always has been. You told me that yourself, years ago. Veronica is careful when she doesn't want to expose too much of herself to someone. I remember many drunken dinners with you bemoaning that very fact."

He flushed. "That hasn't happened in years."

"True, but you'd moved on." She sighed. "Look, I'm probably being a terrible best friend to Veronica right now by telling you this. My ticket to Hell is probably being printed as we speak. But you're my friend, too, even as little as we see each other. I can't help but wonder how the past few days alone with Veronica have gone for you. I'm tired of keeping her secrets when it's so apparent that she's barely lived without you. She's just not Veronica without you."

"She's been a bitch to me up until today."

Mac sat back and folded her arms in satisfaction. "Well, there you go. Caustic indifference. Clearly a reflex for her, just like always. What is it that Wallace always says?" She scrunched her face up in concentration. "Tough candy shell, but inside she's just a marshmallow, waiting to bake something. Has she been baking up here yet?"

He chuckled. "Hardly. She's been snooping around the house, trying to figure me and Carrie out."

She grimaced. "Ooh, here I've been going on and on about Veronica and you, and I forgot all about Carrie. I'm so sorry. That was insensitive of me. How are you doing, being here in her place? It's full of memories, I'm sure."

Not wanting to get into it, Logan shrugged. "It's been fine. Carrie and I were hardly up here together."

"No, now I feel horrid. You aren't ready to hear this about Veronica; what was I thinking?" She covered her face. "I've been girling out, thinking about the two of you alone up here…and you've probably been thinking of Carrie non-stop; I am going to Hell. Shit!"

"Mac. Seriously. It's not like that at all. Carrie and I…" he struggled for the words, surprised that his inclination was to tell the truth. Finally, he settled on, "We weren't as serious as the paparazzi suggested, is all. It's fine." At her doubtful expression, he reached over and placed his hand on her knee. "I mean, I was devastated by her death. And I did hire Keith to investigate her murder. All of that is true. But Carrie…well, there was never a real future there."

Mac pursed her lips. "I don't pretend to know anything about your relationships, Logan, but—"

Her sentence was cut short by a sharp rapping on her window. They both jumped. Dick's face loomed suddenly through the glass and he looked a tad impatient. "You two coming in or are you telling Logan all our steamy secrets, Mac?" The glass made his voice sound far away. "You know if you kiss and tell, I will too!" Dick placed his mouth on the glass and kissed it dramatically and then pulled away. "Come on," he whined, drawing the words out, "It's my turn to tell."

Mac rubbed her eyes. "You two think you've had it rough? Look who I've had to deal with!"

**Break***

Sitting in the office, Veronica knew the instant that the others came in through the kitchen. The clattering of feet and Dick's raucous laughter filled the house and boomed down the hallway and through the office door. Knowing that they would all likely join her soon, Veronica chose to keep plugging away at her research instead of venturing from her cave.

She was too engrossed in her findings as it was. After bookmarking Vinnie's website, Veronica had begun a search on Sheriff Dan Lamb. So far, she'd discovered one of the first publications that had been released when the man had run for sheriff. It was a fluffed-up piece about how Lamb was a good family man who came from a loving home of four boys, one of whom had died in the line of duty…blah blah blah, Veronica quickly became exasperated by the sob story. The way the article had been written, Veronica could see that it had been a blatant attempt to pull at the heartstrings of the voting public. Evidently it had worked. Dan Lamb had been elected Sheriff of Balboa County three years prior, which was when Vinnie Van Lowe had taken early retirement from the position.

Early retirement.

She stared at those words. When Vinnie had run against her dad right before she'd left Neptune, he'd been cocky and sure of himself. He'd also been under the influence and, she suspected, the payroll of the Fighting Fitzpatricks. For Vinnie to retire at such a young age caused alarm bells to go off in her head.

Pulling up a new search, Veronica typed in 'the River Styx'. She was surprised to read that the infamous bar had been torn down during all of the renovations of the southern part of Neptune. It had not been relocated because the Fitzpatrick's only surviving child, Liam, was in prison for life.

Hmmm. She typed in 'Danny Boyd'. The search brought up a police log. He was in prison as well.

It appeared that having Vinnie Van Lowe in their pocket had not worked out so well for them. Reading through all of the reports she could find, Veronica found that both Danny Boyd and Liam Fitzpatrick had been involved with a mass murder plot in San Diego but had been caught in an undercover operation after an informant had tipped off the police. A lot of money had been involved, she read, millions actually, and two people had been murdered. Neither Liam nor Danny had been able to squeak their way out of guilty verdicts.

That had been three years ago. It had happened right around the time that Vinnie had announced his retirement and Dan Lamb had announced his intention to run for Sheriff. There had been two other candidates, neither of whom Veronica had ever heard of, but Lamb had taken an early lead and then had won by a landslide.

She sat back. Keith had not mentioned a race for the office of sheriff three years ago, but she knew why. Essentially, Veronica had ruined any chance her dad had of getting his position back when she'd broken into the Kane's estate and stolen Jake Kane's hard drive. Her dad had knowingly and voluntarily destroyed the evidence that linked her to the crime, and he'd been caught. He'd sacrificed his future for hers.

She still had not forgiven herself for putting him in that position in the first place.

Not wanting to think about it anymore, and reasonably satisfied that the Fitzpatrick's were not involved, Veronica closed out of that search. No need to drag up dirty laundry.

There was a knock at the door before she heard the latch turn.

"Are you in here?" Mac's tentative voice came and she poked her head around the door.

Veronica swiveled in her chair and bolted out of it and straight into Mac's arms, hugging her friend tightly. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you."

They broke apart and Mac nodded tightly. "I can guess."

"It's been a long couple of days," Veronica admitted.

"Tell me about it," Mac laughed. She looked around the room. "Doesn't this look just like your old room used to."

Veronica followed Mac's gaze to the bulletin board, where she had pinned all the various articles and pictures she'd printed out over the past two days. She turned to inspect it as if it hadn't been she who had tacked it all up there. "Nosiness is in my bloodline, what can I say?"

"You can take the investigator out of Neptune, but you can't take Neptune out of the investigator," Mac commented drily. She strode over to the computer and read what was still pulled up on the screen. "Sheriff Dan Lamb, huh? Getting to know all about the fine man in blue, are you? I bet you're feeling pretty good about not have had to deal with that pile of mess for the past few years."

"The whole sheriff's department has been a bigger circus than I would have thought possible," Veronica agreed. "What I don't understand is how the majority of the city voted to put another Lamb into office."

"Well," Mac said slowly, "when he ran, I remember the media bringing up how Don Lamb died and how Dan Lamb planned to carry on his brother's legacy."

"Legacy, please," Veronica scoffed, rolling her eyes. "More like embarrassment. Don Lamb's clown shoes should have been retired and burned the day he died; not set aside to be filled at a later date by his buffoon big brother."

Mac shrugged with a grimace. "The good people of Neptune don't exactly think things like that through, even after all these years."

"So I've discovered."

"Well, what else have you found out? Anything good with the tracker?"

Veronica sat back down and swiveled her chair toward the desk. She clicked back through her searches to the screen that showed Mac's fancy tracker app, blinking through a map of Neptune. "I know who has the money and it isn't Sean…not anymore."

"So it worked?" Mac asked excitedly, leaning over the back of the chair to get a better look at the screen. "We were successful? When you left the races, I was reasonably sure you must have figured something out. We watched Manny Rose for a little while, but he kind of got boring. We decided to come here instead once the race was over. He didn't seem to be up to much."

"I don't know what Manny's true purpose was today, but that aside, we were successful enough." Veronica clicked to a new screen that showed a large picture of Larry Morrison that had been taken for the biotech company's website. In an expensive suit, Morrison looked friendly enough, as if he were someone who knew all the right things to say at the right time. His thick salt and pepper hair was combed smartly back and his white teeth gleamed brightly. "Do you recognize him?"

"Larry Morrison? He's kind of big deal, so yeah, I know who he is."

"Big deal in Neptune, you mean?"

"Well, that, sure, but Sweitzer, his biotech company, is a client of Kane Software. So we see Morrison once in a while."

Veronica mulled that over. "What kind of client?"

"Nothing too serious, Kane Software has a medical division. Sweitzer commissioned us to work on a microchip that measures blood flow or white blood cells or something for one of their projects. I'm not on the team; I only know the bare minimum. It's pretty hush-hush, so I'm sure only a select few know the extent of the contract."

"Hmmm…okay."

Slowly, Mac said, "But…are you saying that he's who Sean made the drop with? Larry Morrison is the drug lord?"

Veronica looked behind her at her friend. "It's looking that way."

"But…why? The guy is a bazillionaire. What could his reason be for stooping into the cess pool of druggies?"

"To control them."

Veronica's tone seemed to still Mac. "You sound like you know more than you're telling me."

Hesitating, Veronica clicked through her bookmarked pages and found the one she was looking for. "His name sure pops up a lot. From medical breakthroughs to donating exorbitant amounts of money, Morrison is all over the map. He's buying up property when the market dips and selling high when it spikes. Plus," Veronica sighed, "people seem to love him. Warning bells are ringing."

"Ever the cynic."

"I like to think I'm just the right proportion of cynicism and hope." She paused. "But I can't deny what Logan told me about the guy and what I'm finding out on my own. I don't like the guy. He's too slick."

"What did Logan tell you?"

"That when he and Dick bought the property for the 09er, they found out Morrison had paid off city officials to ignore serious building violations so that he could make more of a profit from the buildings later."

"So you found out, too, that they own the 09er?"

"Yeah."

"I didn't know until I went there last night," Mac admitted. "Dick told me that the city had the previous building condemned."

"Only because he and Logan discovered what a hazard it was and forced the city to intervene or be exposed as corrupt."

"Wow." Mac was silent for a moment. "So, how are we going to catch this guy?"

"I'm working on it."

***Break**

Having Dick in the house lifted Logan's spirits considerably. It was nice to have his happy-go-lucky, impulsive sidekick who never watched his mouth and could care less about what anyone else thought. As soon as they entered the house, Logan directed Mac down the hall to the office where he knew Veronica was and then offered Dick a beer. Dick took the proffered bottle like a man thrown a life line, popping the top off and guzzling half of it down immediately.

"Whoa, man, it's not going anywhere," Logan chuckled, taking a swig of his own beer. "Mac has you that desperate after just two days?"

"Shit, man, no woman has me desperate." Dick rolled his eyes. "I'm just thirsty after the long drive."

"Hmm…" Logan grinned. "Maybe not a woman, but what about a lady?"

"Puh-lease…" Dick dragged out, "Not even."

"He doth protesteth too much," Logan remarked. "Seriously though, how has it really gone?"

Dick downed the rest of his beer. "How has it been for you?"

"Touché." Logan took a gulp. "How about the reunion?"

"Ehh, same old jazz, different day. Madison Sinclair looks like a whore."

"Well, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck. Must be a duck."

"Touché." They clinked their bottles together.

They walked outside and stood on the porch, looking out to wilderness around them. The sky was dark, and the stars hung brightly above them. The trees were lit up from the light of the moon and the leaves rustled gently in the slight breeze. Logan, enjoying the natural quietness, set his beer on the rail and leaned against it.

Logan heard the crunching sound of boots on gravel just before Bunk stepped the three steps up onto the porch to join them. "The ladies inside?"

"Oh, yeah," Dick said. "Macster forgot all about us when Logan said 'Veronica' and 'computer'. We probably won't see the whites of their eyes till morning. It would have been an awkward threesome if I had followed, so I decided to keep Logan company."

"You weren't invited anyway," Mac retorted as she opened the screen door and held it open for Veronica. The two women stepped out onto the porch as the screen door slapped closed behind them.

All quips and retorts fell mutely on Logan's ears when he turned to take in Veronica. She was dressed in leggings of an Aztec print and a gray tunic, the long sleeves rolled to three-quarters length. Her blonde hair was loose and hung past her shoulders with a slight curl, still damp from the shower he knew she'd taken. He couldn't see her eyes clearly in the dim light, but he was certain they were burning into him and he pushed away from the rail to step toward her.

It felt as if the world had fallen away when he looked at her, leaving only the two of them. He curled his lips in a smile. "Hey."

"Hey."

"You get a shower?" he asked, immediately feeling stupid.

Veronica nodded her head. In the dimness, he could now see that her eyes were in fact locked on his. "Yeah, I did."

Beside Veronica, Mac cleared her throat. "Uh. So, the nine o'clock news is on in ten. We were wondering if you three wanted to see what the report says tonight."

Now alert, Logan tore his gaze from Veronica. "Of course we want to watch."

"Hell, yeah," Dick piped up, rubbing his hands together, "I'll make the popcorn! This is going to be classic!"

The five of them piled back into the house. Logan led the way down the hallway and to the living room, where the large flat screen was already queued to Channel Nine. Dick backed out of the room and returned just as the others had gotten settled in the various armchairs and couches, brandishing a large bowl of freshly popped popcorn.

Logan watched with interest as his friend settled in on the large couch beside Mac and offered her the bowl. "First dibs?" Dick asked with a large smile.

Mac smiled back and dug her hand into the bowl, cupping the large handful of popcorn carefully in one hand. She still had on the dress she'd worn to the race, Logan noticed, and seemed overly cautious not to drop the buttery white puffs onto the fabric. As soon as she popped a piece into her mouth with small thanks, Dick turned and offered the bowl to the others.

As Logan leaned over and took a handful, he said, "You actually found popcorn? Are you sure you've never been here before? How'd you know where to look?"

"No," Mac snorted between bites. "He bought it at the gas station when we stopped earlier."

"That makes more sense."

"Shhh…it's on," Veronica shushed them. "I hope they show Lamb's face when he realizes he played right into the hands of 'Martina Vasquez'."

On the screen, the anchor was giving the overview of the story that had been released earlier in the day, which was the original report they had watched while at the hospital.

"However," the anchor was now saying, "We received some conflicting pictures that we brought to you this evening on the six o'clock news, and we've done some additional investigating. Martina Vasquez has the latest."

The screen flashed to Martina Vasquez, looking stoically into the camera. "Thank you, Bill. This afternoon, we received an anonymous email that contained photographs of Logan Echolls' vehicle before the explosion. The pictures depict what appears to be an unidentified male planting a bomb into the back of Echolls' BMW convertible." The screen filled with the pictures that Veronica had forwarded to the reporter. "We approached Sheriff Lamb with this information this afternoon." Again, the screen flashed to what Veronica assumed to be the new Sheriff's Office. Martina Vasquez, brandishing a microphone, was following a pissed-off looking Lamb, calling out questions. Abruptly, the sheriff turned around and belted out, "The only comment I have is that you, the media, are releasing information that has not been verified by our department. You're spreading wild speculation. Logan Echolls is a person of interest with whom we want to speak to. He is still considered a suspect, and these 'pictures'," Lamb air-quoted, "could easily have been falsified or might even be of a different car. They could have even been taken on a different day. I have yet to see these photographs myself," Lamb's expression hardened. "And I would appreciate it if and when your office receives items like this that you bring it to us before airing them on your program. That is all I have to say." With that, Lamb sneered at someone off camera and then stomped into the building. The screen flashed back to the anchor, who then wrapped up the story and moved on to the next report.

Bunk reached over and pressed the Off button on the remote. The others were silent until Veronica piped up, "He's spooked. He knows that the media isn't on his side this time; he's floundering. This is good."

"Dude," muttered Dick.

Logan looked away from everyone and swallowed. "You really think that the sheriff's office still seeking me is a good thing?"

"They still don't have a warrant for your arrest. He's making everything up."

"I think you and I have different definitions of 'good,'" Logan said dejectedly. "This is really bad."

"Look," Veronica pointed out, "The public is seeing a different side to this story as of tonight. Plus, we can prove you were supposed to be at Dad's house the night of the accident; we can prove someone shot you this week; we can prove why you were at MI in the first place when the bomb was planted without your consent or design. Lamb has only let certain bits of information out, but we have all of it." She paused to let what she said sink in. "Vinnie Van Lowe is their puppet. They feed him the lines and he spews it out at the right time. AndI have the case files to prove it." Again, Veronica paused. Sensing she had something more to add, Logan bit his tongue and waited. She drew in a long breath before she met his eye again. "I think it's time for you to go to the police."

Objections from all around the room had Veronica raising her hands to signal silence. "I've given this a lot of thought."

As much as he didn't want to go to the Sheriff's Office, Logan could tell that Veronica had a plan up her sleeve. The determined set of her jaw was both familiar and endearing, and he could practically see the wheels turning in her head. "Enlighten us then, why don't you?"

"If we go to Lamb, his claim that you are evading police can't be validated. I say we get all of our proof and then go to Lamb. Once he sees it, he'll have to drop his case against you. Lamb thinks he's smarter than us, but we have all of the aces."

"What if he arrests me?"

"He won't." She took in a breath. "I want to topple these people to the ground, Logan. One by one. Lamb is just the beginning. And…it's more than just you now. I talked to Cliff while you were gone. Eli Navarro was arrested last night for attempted murder. But this is the clincher—he was the one who got shot and he is claiming he doesn't even own a gun. Cliff said Weevil's in hospital recovering before the police can take him into custody. It's obvious he's being set up as well."

"Weevil got shot?" Mac repeated.

"Well, this is old Weevs we're talking about." Logan shook his head at Mac's glare and shrugged indifferently. "What? Ese tipo was the head of a biker gang when I knew him best. In fact, I'm pretty sure I recall him ordering his cronies to kidnap me on one occasion, so…his innocence might not be so debatable."

"He was at the reunion last night, though," Mac argued. "He looked so good and like he'd cleaned up his life."

"Hmm, should I be jealous?" Dick piped up beside her, grinning broadly. "I didn't know you had a thing for the former bad boy."

"Shut up, Dick," Mac threw a piece of popcorn at him. "Weevil was there with his wife. Wallace was the one who talked to him, not me, anyway." She turned back to Veronica. "I hadn't had a chance to tell you yet, Veronica. He told Wallace that he's got multiple friends who have been set up. When did this shooting happen?"

Veronica, who had been watching the exchange between Mac and Dick, shrugged when everyone looked back at her, waiting for her response. "According to Cliff, Weevil had just dropped of his kid's babysitter when he came upon a situation and got shot. He says he was being a good samaritan and Celeste Kane shot him."

"Celeste Kane?" Logan was incredulous, an ominous feeling overtaking him. "She's involved?"

Again, Veronica shrugged. "All I know is that Cliff spent half of his day at the hospital with Eli and his wife, and the other half trying to get the documents from the sheriff. Busy little place, that office. Apparently, Celeste Kane's car had broken down and there were some bikers harassing her when Weevil came upon them. When he approached her car to see if she was all right, Celeste shot him. That's his story. Her story is that he came up to the window, brandishing a gun. She's claiming self-defense, and that he was going to shoot her."

"So what does this have to do with me?"

Veronica looked at Logan tightly. "If we can prove that the Balboa County Sheriff's Office is repeatedly throwing around their weight to arrest whoever is convenient, we can prove they're crooked. The more evidence we have, the better. Look," she said to the room at large, looking at them each one by one, "I have a plan, but it might seem a little crazy. But if you're not in, I need to know. Logan needs to go to Lamb tomorrow. But I have other things I need you guys to do. If you'll do it."

Mac, who had finished her popcorn, dusted off her hands. "Veronica, I wouldn't have come here tonight if I wasn't all in. I have some PTO I can take. I'll do whatever you need."

Beside her, Dick nodded. "Ditto for me. Except the PTO part. You know, because I own the joint. I can do whatever. But while that cat's away, the mice will play, so I might have to check in once in a while, but it's all good. I'm rarely away." He rested his elbows on his knees. "But if we go undercover, I get to be the hot one."

A/N Thanks again!