Fic: The Year of Living Dangerously (Veronica/Logan, Ensemble) (31-40/50)

[vanessagalore]

Previous chapters can be found here.




********************************************************
VERONICA MARS
10:00PM TFX ch: 92 60min 2008 TV-MA
Minority Report
Wallace, Mac and Leo suggest alternative
theories.
Veronica: Kristin Bell. Keith: Enrico Colantoni.
Wallace: Percy Daggs III. Mac: Tina Majorino.
Leo: Max Greenfield. Richard Rosenthal: Dan
Futterman.
********************************************************

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE: "MINORITY REPORT"

Keith runs the partial plate he got the night before. GYK something. Unfortunately, the system shows that there are several thousand cars with that license plate in Balboa County. When he filters the search by adding the make and model, Ford Taurus, he has twenty-seven hits. He scrolls down the list. To his surprise, he sees a car registered to Stewart Manning.

Wallace, back from his weekend adventures in Los Angeles, enters Mars Investigations. "Yo, Keith, how was your weekend?"

"Exciting." Keith fills Wallace in on the events of the weekend: Duncan's reappearance; Veronica's elimination of DeeDee Bradley as a suspect; Father Patrick's meeting with Vinnie Van Lowe and the car that attempted to run him and Veronica off the road.

"Damn, I thought I had an exciting weekend." Wallace tells Keith about helping Cooper with his internet bimbo, which has Keith in stitches.

"Piz said 'keep the pizza with our compliments'?" Keith laughs.

"That's not even everything. We ran into Logan, he was getting his ass handed to him in a bar fight. We broke it up and got him home."

"Is he all right?" Keith asks, more seriously.

"I guess so, it was a bad scene. That boy has issues."

Keith thinks that he will give Logan a call later. "Don't tell Veronica about Logan, okay?"

"You crazy? I'm not getting involved in that," Wallace swears.

"Wallace, I'm going to follow up on a lead on the car from last night. I have some insurance forms I need you to type up from my notes; those need to go out today. Then I'd like you to check out Richard Rosenthal. It's my impression that he's a long shot; he has no history of violence of any kind, and I don't think it's very dangerous. I'd like you to review all the information we have on him, and just do some routine surveillance, see if there's anything worth pursuing. No taking chances and no overnight stakeouts, please, I have enough to worry about with my daughter," Keith says seriously.

"Mrs. Fennel didn't raise no Chuck Norris," Wallace says wryly.

"Okay, check in with me throughout the day, let me know."

"You just leave it to me, Keith, I know I can tickle the twine."

----------

After her morning classes, Veronica meets up with Mac in the Food Court for lunch. "So how was the big weekend? I can't believe you spent the whole weekend with Dick!"

Mac shrugs. "We had a really fun time. He'll never be a card shark, though."

"No big surprise there. Wait until you hear what happened over the weekend. You'll never guess who the blond guy is...and somebody tried to run me and my dad off the road." Veronica tells Mac the details of her weekend.

"So somebody was upset about seeing either you or your Dad at church yesterday?" Mac asks. "Veronica, this sounds really dangerous."

"So that means we have to work even harder to figure out who had a reason to kill my mom and frame me."

"What if you were just a convenient patsy? I'm sorry, Veronica, but maybe it's not personal. You and your dad are famous in this town. You told me yourself that it's caused some problems with your dad's P.I. business, that he's been too recognizable to really be an effective snoop. And you couldn't go anywhere after the Echolls trial without someone pointing and staring at you."

"Yeah, my STD was not exactly on the down low, right?" Veronica asks sardonically. "Not my finest hour."

"So maybe you should be looking more at why your mother was shot. Her history. You said she was arrested in Texas for drugs. Maybe this was about a drug deal gone wrong."

"But why would Clarence Wiedman care about a drug deal? He's not involved with drugs at all. And we know from the eyewitness and forensic evidence on my mom's body that he killed her," Veronica replies.

"I don't know, I'm just saying, maybe it's not personal. Maybe those threatening letters your dad is getting aren't part of this. It's not like there's only one wacko in Neptune," Mac says reasonably.

"Okay, point taken. But then why try to attack me and Dad last night? Let's see if we can eliminate the Mannings as a suspect. If it is personal, that family definitely hates me. The only strange thing I've found so far is that they seem to be broke. They always had plenty of money when we were in high school, they won a lawsuit, and Mr. Manning hasn't lost his job. There must be a reason why they've seem to lost all their money."

Mac asks, "What about Lizzie? Do you think she would talk to you about her family? In high school she wasn't the biggest fan of her parents."

"Yeah, but she turned into a Stepford Wife after the bus crash."

"I bet that was just for show; her parents probably came down on her hard when they learned that Meg was preggers. You said she was at San Diego State, right? Why don't we go try to talk to her, away from her parents? At the very least, we'll see how much she hates you," Mac suggests.

Veronica thinks. "All right, it's a plan. But I think with everything that's happened I want backup, and I don't mean my dog. Let's see what time Weevil gets off work."

----------

Picking up the phone, Keith says, "Mars Investigations."

"Hey, Keith, it's Leo."

"Leo, I'm sorry about the interview yesterday." Keith had TiVo'd the interview; he was distressed to see Leo squirming about his connection to the Mars family.

"Yes, well...I'm not giving up. Vinnie has a lot more to hide than I do, and the interview just toughened me up a little bit. The worst is over, and my numbers can only get better from here," Leo responds.

"I have an idea about going after Vinnie. I'll be in touch about it later; I have to do a little thinking how to work it first because I want to make sure that your end will be squeaky clean. What's going on in the meantime?"

"Keith, I've been double-checking the Kanes' alibi for the murder of Clarence Wiedman. Unless they hired a hitter, they are clear. They provided security footage from the guard booth to Pemberton Estates for the entire weekend that shows that they didn't leave the estates from Thursday evening to Monday morning. I asked to lab guys to check the encoding on the video; they assure me that the video is time-stamped and hasn't been altered in any way. And I've spoken to several employees at Kane software; Wiedman hasn't been employed there for quite some time, and no one has seen or heard of him since he was fired. By the way, no one seems to know why he was fired, but it's clear that it was over a personal dispute with Jake, and not connected in any way with Kane Software. If the Kanes hired him as a contract killer, they planned this six months ago, fired Wiedman and waited until now to execute their plan. I think that's taking revenge as a dish best served cold to an extreme."

Keith says, "I agree. I've also found out that the Kanes are trying to get amnesty for Duncan, and it seems likely that they wouldn't risk another murder that might ruin that deal. The Kanes have always been willing to do anything for Duncan, and Lianne's and Wiedman's murders just don't fit into that scenario."

Leo adds, "The district attorney mentioned that they are close to a deal that would clear Duncan in Lilly Kane's murder. Apparently, the Kanes' attorneys have made it clear that they would use the prosecution's own case against Aaron Echolls to raise reasonable doubt that Duncan killed his sister, and without Aaron Echolls to testify, it seems likely that the Kanes would prevail. Of course, they still have to get amnesty for Duncan regarding the Manning kidnapping."

"What's happening with that, by the way? Veronica has the crazy idea that the Mannings hate her enough to frame her for murder," Keith posits.

"Well, the Mannings are not the most rational people in Neptune. And on the topic of the kidnapping, they are positively psychotic. Stewart Manning still visits Vinnie at least once a week, asking what progress they've made in the case. You know, I think Vinnie knows something about the kidnapping, he's always in a great mood after Stewart leaves, chuckling to himself."

"That's interesting." Keith makes a mental note to ask Veronica about Vinnie's involvement in the kidnapping. Now that she's told him about breaking in to the Mannings' house, he's hoping she'll finally tell him all the details about Duncan's great escape.

"Keith, I've been working on tracing Lianne's whereabouts after her release from rehab. It seems that she spent some time in Phoenix. Does she have any friends or family there?" Leo asks.

Keith tells Leo about Lianne's friend, Adrianna. While Leo talks about going to Phoenix to talk to Adrianna, Keith thinks about rehab, and wonders if there might be some information to be gained from Lianne's stay there. Perhaps as Lianne's ex-husband, he can convince the counselors to speak to him about her treatment. He sighs internally, dreading the prospect of learning more about Lianne's life since she left Neptune.

----------

Wallace is parked outside Richard Rosenthal's house. Stakeouts always sounded a lot more exciting when Veronica talked about them, he thinks. He's been here parked for hours. Fortunately, he has plenty of engineering homework to keep him busy.

When Wallace is just about to give up and call it a day, Rosenthal exits the side door and gets in his car to leave. Wallace thinks about Keith's prohibition on taking chances and decides following Rosenthal discreetly is well within his directive. He carefully drives behind Rosenthal, at one point allowing another car to get between them by not running a yellow light. He sees Rosenthal parking outside a Frog's Fitness health club and decides that he can risk going into the health club as well. This is one thing I can do that Keith could never pull off. Wallace, finding some workout gear in the trunk of his car, purchases a day pass at the check-in desk and enters the gym. Rosenthal is working on an elliptical trainer and Wallace takes the machine next to him.

"Hey," he says to Rosenthal, and begins to work out. Wallace remembers that Rosenthal was arrested for soliciting a male prostitute and is thinking about how to strike up a conversation when he notices Rosenthal's t-shirt prominently says, 'Harvard'. Isn't that where Wiedman went to college?

After working out for ten minutes, Rosenthal stops the elliptical trainer and says, ruefully, "Man, you're in great shape. Even when I was your age, I never had that kind of endurance."

Wallace is a little concerned about the implications of endurance, but he plays it straight, and replies, "I play varsity b-ball at Hearst, the coach makes us run wind sprints all the time. I'm not tall, so I have to make up for it by running a lot. You know, I gotta run three steps for every one a seven-footer takes."

"Basketball, huh?"

"Yeah, do you follow the game?"

"Well, not so much college ball, but, yeah, I'm a Clippers fan. Hey, do you think you could spot me on some weights?" Rosenthal answers.

"Sure." Wallace steps off the machine and follows Rosenthal over to the weight training area. "So, I usually work out at school, but I've been checking out some of the local gyms instead. Is this a good gym?"

"Yeah, I like it. I'm surprised you would want to pay for a gym when you could work out at school for free." Rosenthal lays down on the bench and begins to work with the barbells.

Wallace is ready for the question. "Well, there's a guy, we had a little thang, and now he's just not ready to move on, and I am." Wallace mentally crosses his fingers, thinking what he knows about gay life would fit in his pinky. He spots Rosenthal as he works out.

"I know what you mean. I had a guy stalking me at Harvard, it got pretty intense," Rosenthal says.

Nodding at Rosenthal's T-shirt, Wallace says, "Harvard? Is that where you went to school? There's not too many Harvard grads on the West Coast, are there?"

"There's actually quite a few Harvard alums at Kane Software. One of my friends from Harvard recruited me, you actually probably read about him in the paper. Clarence Wiedman? It was tragic, somehow he got mixed up in a murder and was killed himself. He helped me with my little stalker problem at Harvard and we kept in touch ever since." Rosenthal cradles the barbell, sits up and allows Wallace to change places.

"You knew Clarence Wiedman?" Wallace doesn't have to act surprised; he can't believe he's actually hit pay dirt. He lays down on the bench and begins to lift the weights.

"Yeah, he was always a really intense guy, but totally loyal to his friends. He spent quite a bit of time in the armed forces, all very hush-hush, I think Special Ops or something. Scary, but in a really sexy way."

"Were you guys more than friends or something?" Wallace can't believe what Rosenthal is implying.

"No, when I knew Clarence he was strictly hetero. But I always wondered. I usually can tell these things. He was bottled up pretty tight. And his divorce was messy. He never gave me the gory details, but let's just say I wouldn't be surprised. You know, he had very limited visitation rights with his son. Judges in Balboa County can be very conservative, you know."

"Yeah, you're right about that. So are you pissed that girl isn't behind bars?" Wallace asks.

"Veronica Mars? No, there's no way. Her dad did some work for me one time, he's a great guy, not judgmental at all. And I remember how she got reamed at the Echolls trial. I think someone set her up," Rosenthal says.

"But they had all that evidence against her. And it was her mother..." Wallace continues. He sets the weights in the cradle and sits up.

"No way. When Clarence got fired from Kane Software, there was something else going on in his life. I'm sure he got in over his head with something; he told me about some of the insane risks he took in the special forces, and I'm positive this was just another example."

Wallace thinks he has to talk to Keith right away. "Listen, man, it was great to meet you."

"You too, I hope you join the gym here. I'm usually here at this time every day, come see me again," Rosenthal says hopefully.

*********************************************************
VERONICA MARS
10:00PM TFX ch: 92 60min 2008 TV-MA
Conspiracy Theory
Mars et al investigate the Mannings; Keith
visits Neptune's 'seedy underbelly'. Veronica:
Kristin Bell. Keith: Enrico Colantoni. Lizzie
Manning: Anastasia Baranova. Angel:
Hector Atreyu Ruiz. Logan: Jason Dohring
Dick: Ryan Hansen. Liam: Rod Rowland.
*********************************************************

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO: "CONSPIRACY THEORY"

Keith is parked outside the Manning house, surveilling. Seeing that he has an urgent message, he checks his voicemail. Wallace outlines what he has learned from Rosenthal: Clarence Wiedman is possibly gay, or bisexual, and was involved in a messy divorce; Wallace says he thinks Rosenthal isn't involved, but rather they need to refocus their investigation on Wiedman's personal life. Keith ponders the new information, and decides to go over it with Wallace the next day.

In the meantime, Keith decides to check in with Logan Echolls before calling on some of Mannings' neighbors. Wallace's story of the weekend's fight has worried him, and he's not confident in Dick's ability to take care of Logan. His call goes directly to voicemail. "Hello, you've reached Logan Echolls with today's inspirational message. 'Chaos is a friend of mine.' Bob Dylan. Leave me a message."

"Hey, Logan, it's Keith. Listen, Wallace mentioned that there had been an incident over the weekend...I'm just hoping you're doing okay. Call me later if you want to talk." Keith sighs as he ends the call.

Keith grabs his uniform cap and clipboard from the back seat. He's dressed as a security guard; he has decided to pose as a security guard looking into some neighborhood break-ins. He knocks on the door of the house next to the Mannings.

"Hello, Mrs...Ferry, right? I'm with Safehouse Security, and I'm investigating some break-ins that have occurred over the last few weeks. The most recent one was last night. I was wondering if you saw anything out of the ordinary, say between 7 pm and 10 pm. Maybe a strange car, a person walking down the street you didn't recognize."

Mrs. Ferry says, "Oh my goodness. Break-ins? That's awful." She thinks a minute, then says, "There wasn't anything like last night. You know, I live alone, and I guess it makes me seem a little creepy, but I watch what's going on in the neighborhood. Last night, Mr. and Mrs. Manning went out to dinner, leaving Grace with a baby-sitter, so I was watching a little more closely than usual. I worry about her, you know, so quiet. There wasn't any cars last night that don't belong here, and there certainly wasn't anybody walking around, except that Mr. McGeary walking his dog. He's always wearing headphones, listening to music. That can't be safe! He won't listen to me; if you speak to him, maybe you could mention it to him."

"I'll be sure to do that, ma'am. I don't think it makes you creepy to keep an eye out, I think it makes you a good neighbor. So about what time did the Mannings return home? We're pretty sure the robbery happened before 10 pm, so if you know they weren't home, it would save me a trip back here to talk to them." Keith smiles disarmingly.

"Oh, they didn't get back until well after eleven o'clock. Oh, I'm so worried. I've gotten fliers from your company; I think I will be getting a security system now."

"That's an excellent idea, Mrs. Ferry. Thanks again for the information."

Keith returns to Mars Investigations and runs Stewart Manning's credit cards. It looks as though the Mannings went out to dinner to a restaurant not far from El Cajon. The bill for $89.06 seems like an excessive amount for a single person, especially for the tee-totalling Mannings. He ponders: would Mr. Manning really menace him and Veronica with his wife in the car? It's probably just a coincidence that they were out for dinner at a restaurant near the highway incident.

----------

Logan comes back to the beach house. He's glad Dick convinced him to go to classes today; for a little while he didn't think about any blonde women at all and he even managed to forget about duplicitous brunettes in bars. Dick is laying on the couch, still wearing his swim trunks after a long afternoon surfing. "I got your mail, dude. You got something from Ve-ro-ni-ca," he says in a singsong, waving a check in the air.

"And you never considered that it's a federal offense to open someone's mail?"

"So sue me. A check for five grand. But no love note," he says, handing Logan the check.

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't expect a love note from her." When Dick looks at him questioningly, he adds, "We had a big blowout about her taking too many risks, then I dropped a dime on her to daddy dearest. So...."

"So that's what's bugging you?"

"No, it's what you said, she's in the rearview."

"Uh-huh. Mac told me that she and Veronica have a new business venture, it's a website that does background checks for internet dating. They must be making serious coinage if she can send you five grand," Dick suggests.

"Yeah, I hear there's a lot of married men out there on those sites."

"And women with boyfriends."

"What's your point?" Logan snaps harshly.

"Whoa...no point, just being random."

"Sorry...." Logan says. Trying to change the topic, he says, "So you had fun with Mac over the weekend?"

"Yeah, it was awesome. She cleaned up at the blackjack tables. She tried to teach me but I'm hopeless at counting cards. Maybe I could just be her bodyguard." He makes an hourglass shape in the air.

"Sorry you had to cut your weekend short for me," Logan says quietly.

"S'cool, you would do the same for me. D'you think you'll be up for some surfing tomorrow?" Dick asks. "The right break at Breakwater was totally gnarly today. It sucked you missed it."

"How is it that you bugged me to go to class today but you're here surfing instead of going to class at Hearst?" Logan questions.

"I got a freshman Pi Sig taking notes for me. He's going to write a couple papers for me too," Dick replies. "He wants to do an internship with Ahnold and I promised him an interview with step-daddy. Besides, 'Rocks for Jocks' and 'Intro to Music Theory' are guaranteed A's."

"You got it all figured out, dude."

Dick shrugs.

----------

Angel Navarro shakes Keith's hands enthusiastically. "Thanks for coming by. Eli said you'd be able to help me."

Keith says, "It's not so easy as that. I'm grateful for the cars that you loaned us, but auto theft is serious, and I can't get involved if I want to keep my PI license. But I can pursue a different investigation that I think will ultimately solve your problem. In the meantime, we need to beef up your security here. First, you need to have actual guards on duty at night until this is resolved. Dogs won't cut it, the Fitzpatricks will just take them out. Second, we need full security camera coverage, and it needs to be obvious. As far as your business, do you think you could go completely legit for a short time?"

"If I have to."

"Okay. When you get the next call for a payoff, you're going to let me know all the details."

"So you're going to witness the payoff?" Angel asks.

"Not exactly. The less you know the better," Keith replies.

----------

At San Diego State, Eli, Mac and Veronica get out of Veronica's loaned Maxima. They consult the campus map and find the location of Lizzie's last class of the day that Mac had found by hacking into the registrar's computer.

"The magic fingers of Mac come through again, huh?" Weevil says. "If only you would use your powers for good..."

"What would be the fun in that?" she replies.

They sit on the steps of the building waiting for class to let out. Veronica nervously checks her watch. "Do you think they let class out early?" she says.

Just then the door flies open and a large lecture class lets out. The three stand up quickly and look for Lizzie. Veronica gasps as she spies her, decked out in the latest fashion, with a short skirt and heels and plenty of makeup. "Wow, Lizzie, lookin' good," she says, thinking about yesterday's severe outfit in church.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Lizzie snarls.

"Okay, calm down. Vee just wanted to say hello, we're here because I'm thinking of taking some night school classes," Eli says, sticking to their prearranged story.

"And you need Veronica Mars and her geek friend to help you with that? I don't think so. Excuse me, I don't have to talk to any of you."

"Actually you do," Veronica says quietly. She holds up her iPhone. "This gadget is so cool," she says faux-enthusiastically, "it takes two-megapixel pictures and I can email them to your parents right from here! I'm betting that's not the outfit you were wearing when you left the house this morning, and I think your daddy might not approve. It's just a simple swipe of the finger on the touchscreen" she mimics the movement she would have to make "and mommy and daddy see what darling Elizabeth is up to at college."

"You bitch," Lizzie spits.

"Now, now, such language!" Veronica continues. "That actually relates to one of the things I wanted to ask you. I know we were never best friends, but does your dad hate me enough to frame me for murder?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Lizzie, did you recognize me at church yesterday morning?" At Lizzie's blank stare, Veronica continues, "I went to your church yesterday to check on a lead. I'm trying to clear my name in the Wiedman murder case. Then someone tried to run me and my Dad off the road later that day."

"What?? You were at our church? If my dad had recognized you at our church, he wouldn't have waited until later, he would have sacrificed you on the altar during the service. You have a lot of nerve, with everything you've done to us," Lizzie says vituperatively.

"What have I done to you, other than make sure your niece was raised in a healthy home? Which, by the way, you should be in favor of," Veronica retorts.

"You actually are denying that you're blackmailing us?" Lizzie laughs harshly.

"Blackmail?" Veronica asks incredulously. Mac and Weevil look at each other in surprise.

"You've ruined my life. I was admitted to Georgetown, but there's no way I could go, after you bled us dry," Lizzie says harshly.

"Hold on a second...I haven't been blackmailing your family. Really, Lizzie...how could you think...."

Lizzie looks at her quizzically. "You mean...I don't think I believe you. You knew about my dad, and his 'tests'. I heard him arguing with Mom." Lizzie is beginning to calm down a little, but still regards Veronica with hatred in her eyes.

"Someone's been blackmailing your family? So that's why your family stopped pursuing Duncan, and that's why you're attending San Diego as a commuter?" Mac puts in.

"There's no money left at all. It's not like Mom and Dad share with me, but I've heard enough of their arguments the last two years. Someone threatened to send a video of Dad punishing Gracie to Child Protective Services," Lizzie says.

"Lizzie, think for a second. Would I be going to Hearst if I had money to go to Stanford? I don't have any extra money lying around either," Veronica says reasonably.

Lizzie stares at Veronica, then sits down on a bench. "Dad really hates you, Veronica. He blames you for Faith; he says that Duncan wasn't smart enough to figure out how to get out of the country alone. Then when the blackmail started, he thought it was to take all his money so he couldn't hire detectives to find Duncan and Faith. He wanted to sue you and your Dad, but his lawyers convinced him that it would be a waste of his money, and by that time, there was almost no money left. He had to take out a second mortgage to pay for San Diego State; he pulled Grace out of Catholic School, which infuriated him. He blamed the Neptune Public Schools for Meg's pregnancy and the bus crash. It's killing him to have Grace go to school there."

"Lizzie, there's something I've always wondered about your dad. Why did he bail Lucky Dohanic out of jail? What's the connection?" Veronica asks curiously.

"Dad was Lucky's Sunday school teacher; he always felt sorry for Lucky, said his parents never cared enough to supervise him properly. When the details about Woody abusing the kids on the team came out, Dad said, 'that's what happens if you don't control your kids.' He liked Lucky, because he came to church even when his parents didn't. He tried to get Meg to date him, but Meg thought he was creepy and refused....God, Veronica, you are a nosy bitch. Are you looking for more things to blackmail us about?" Lizzie bites off.

Sitting down beside her, Veronica is shocked to see Lizzie's eyes fill with tears. "Lizzie, I swear to you, I don't have anything to do with the blackmail. I was worried about Grace, but I wouldn't blackmail your family. Lizzie, I was worried about you too."

"Really?" Lizzie says sarcastically.

"Really. Lizzie, would your dad frame me for murder? Does he hate me that much?" Veronica asks.

Lizzie pauses, and finally says, "I don't think so."

Not a resounding denial, Veronica thinks.

----------

Keith waits in the dark at Liam Fitzpatrick's house, with his gun in hand. When Liam enters and turns on the light switch, Keith points the gun at him, saying, "Hello, Liam."

"Whoa...Sheriff Mars. Oh that's right, ex-Sheriff Mars. Isn't this technically breaking and entering?" Liam sneers, holding his hands up in mock surrender.

"I could probably make a case for a citizen's arrest. I'm sure you did something illegal today."

"Nah, I'm innocent, I tell ya. D'you mind if I sit down in my own house?" Without waiting for an answer, Liam sits down in an easy chair, and grabs a bottle of whiskey from the coffee table. "You want some?"

"No thanks."

"So what do you want, Keith?" Liam takes a long draw from the bottle and settles back on the chair.

"I'm wondering where you were the night of October fourth. A Saturday night."

"Gee, let me check my calendar..." Continuing to sip from the bottle, Liam says, "Oh yeah, that's the night your darling daughter offed Clarence Wiedman." He laughs. "I have to say I REALLY enjoyed hearing about that. I think the current sheriff might be looking to refile charges. I have a good attorney, if you need one."

"We're not talking about my daughter, we're talking about you and your whereabouts that night," Keith says insistently.

"Keith, you're really slipping. You didn't need to come over here and be all dramatic. I was in the drunk tank over in Imperial County that whole weekend. Of course, my charges were dismissed. The asshole bartender...well, let's just say he decided I wasn't that drunk after all and his nose was broken, let's say, because he tripped and fell. But I'm sure you could check on that, Mister Mars. No need to point a gun at me."

"Actually, I did want to discuss my daughter a little more. If I ever find out you touched her again, I'll tie you to four stakes in the desert and let the vultures kill you bit by bit."

"Oh, daddy-love, it's so cute. You just keep that little vixen out of my hair. She pokes that nose in my business again and I'll do more than touch her." Liam licks his lips.

Keith jumps up. Kicking his leg, he slams his foot into Liam's chest, practically standing on him and knocking the whiskey bottle onto the floor. Standing menacingly over him, he holds the gun to Liam's forehead and says "Stay...away...from...Veronica." He shoves Liam with his foot for emphasis, knocking the chair over backwards. Liam sprawls on the floor as Keith storms out of the house.

********************************************************
VERONICA MARS
10:00PM TFX ch: 92 60min 2008 TV-MA
Broadcast News
Keith, Wallace and Leo investigate; a new
assignment for Leo; a shocking development
from an unexpected source.
Veronica: Kristin Bell. Keith: Enrico Colantoni.
Wallace: Percy Daggs III. Dick: Ryan Hansen.
Logan: Jason Dohring. Leo: Max Greenfield.
Vinnie Van Lowe: Ken Marino.
********************************************************

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE: "BROADCAST NEWS"

Wallace has never been so eager to come in for work. He thought all night about what he had learned from Richard Rosenthal. He's convinced that they've been on the wrong track all along: that the murder in fact is related to the personal business of Clarence Wiedman.

"Wallace, really good work yesterday. You're becoming a skilled operative," Keith says.

Wallace says, "So what's our next step with Wiedman? I think we have to concentrate on looking at his personal life. We've been assuming he was contracted to kill Lianne, but if it's not a contracted job, what was their connection? Did Wiedman and Lianne even know each other? Maybe when Lianne was...seeing Jake Kane?"

Veronica comes into Mars Investigations bearing coffee and croissants from Java the Hut. "What did you say about Wiedman and Lianne knowing each other?" she asks.

Wallace quickly explains about what he learned about Clarence's personal life from Rosenthal.

Veronica starts to speak and stops.

"What?" Keith prods.

"You know that Clarence sent Mom threatening photos, the pictures of me with bulls-eyes drawn on them. I know Mom had some contact with Wiedman. When I tracked Mom down in the bar in Barstow, he followed me. When Mom saw him, she recognized him right away and tried to run," Veronica relates.

"But why would Wiedman kill her now?" Wallace asks.

Keith grimaces. "I still don't see a credible motive. Wiedman was fired by the Kanes six months ago. I don't think this has anything to do with Jake and Lianne. Let's try comparing Wiedman's history with Lianne's, see if anything else comes up in common."

They spend the next hour creating timelines for Wiedman and Lianne, and discover that the only time in their lives that they were in the same city was the period when both lived in Neptune.

Frowning, Veronica points at the computer screen. "What about Wiedman's divorce?"

Wallace says, "Rosenthal told me it was a messy divorce and said that Wiedman only got limited visitation rights. He implied it was something to do with Wiedman being gay."

"What I'm wondering is why Wiedman got a dishonorable discharge from Special Ops," Keith says, pointing to another line on-screen. "Those files are classified. I don't think even Leo can get those."

"What are you thinking?" Wallace asks.

"I'm wondering if Lianne was financing her bad habits with blackmail," Keith says.

"But how would she know Wiedman's history?" Veronica asks.

"I don't know. Let's order the court transcript for Wiedman's divorce and see if there's anything in there."

----------

Late that afternoon, driving on Interstate 8 from Phoenix to Neptune, Leo answers his cell phone.

"Keith, what's up?"

Keith explains about the information Wallace has obtained about Wiedman. "Leo, in your investigation, were you able to get any information on Wiedman's dishonorable discharge from the special forces?"

"No, that information was classified, with the highest clearance level. I do know that Wiedman was previously a highly decorated officer, with several commendations and a Purple Heart. I can try again; I'll put in another request with the military. Keith, I'm actually on my way back from Phoenix. I was interviewing Lianne's friend Adrianna."

"Adrianna?" Keith thinks a moment, remembering a slightly scattered blonde woman.

"Lianne stayed with her for a while after rehab. Phoenix is actually her last known whereabouts before she was seen with Wiedman in Neptune. She checked in with a parole officer in Phoenix and gave Adrianna's address as her temporary residence. Adrianna was supposed to keep the courts advised of her address and to be employed as a condition of her release. She had applied for several waitress jobs but hadn't secured employment as of her last meeting with the parole officer. Adrianna said that Lianne was very secretive, and Adrianna believes that Lianne wasn't really trying to get a job."

"Then what was she doing?"

Leo continues, "Lianne talked about Veronica the whole time. Adrianna said that Lianne swore she was going to 'make it up to my daughter if it's the last thing I do.' Lianne wasn't drinking or drugging at all. When Adrianna asked her how she was going to make it up to Veronica, Lianne just smiled and said 'it's better if you don't know.'"

"That fits with our blackmail theory. Lianne never did have any sense."

"That's what I think. Adrianna said she dropped off Lianne at the public library a few times. The librarian remembered Lianne, said she used the computers extensively. Lianne asked for help with the library's databases for searching old newspaper archives. Unfortunately, it was too long ago and we can't reconstruct her computer history."

"It's okay, I think we're finally on the right track, Leo. Obviously, Lianne somehow found out that Wiedman was having an affair with someone, probably someone who can't afford to have their homosexuality outed because of their family or career, and she blackmailed them. Wiedman decided to silence her, permanently. Maybe then his lover didn't want to take the chance that his involvement with Wiedman would come out and he murdered Wiedman, deciding to frame Veronica since she has an obvious motive."

Leo adds, "Adrianna said that one time Lianne laughed and said 'it's amazing how the solution can just fall in your lap'. I think she came upon this information by accident."

"This affair was obviously very well hidden. Someone has an awful lot to lose."

----------

Back at the Neptune Sheriff's office, Leo enters his office to find Sheriff Van Lowe going through his desk. "Hey, Sheriff, can I help you find something?" Leo asks nervously.

"Deputy D'Amato. Where have you been? Inga wasn't sure what you were up to today. I think the usual procedure is to log your appointments with her in case your superior, that's me last I checked, needs to get in touch with you," Vinnie says, peeved.

"A witness became available in Phoenix, and I wanted to talk to her as soon as possible. I hurried out there first thing this morning."

"A witness? For what case?"

"The Wiedman murder," Leo replies.

"Really? Well, it's too bad you made a trip for nothing. A new witness has turned up here in Neptune and I think we'll be able to refile charges against your old girlfriend any day now," Vinnie smiles.

"What witness?" Leo says.

"Don't worry about it, the district attorney has it under control. I've decided that you're not going to be working on that case anymore because of your ties to the suspect. I have another project in mind for you. Follow me." Vinnie stands and beckons Leo to follow him down the hall to another room.

As they enter the little-used room at the end of the hall, Vinnie continues, "When Don Lamb was killed, there was quite a bit of unfinished business. Since Keith Mars was running for sheriff when he took over, he didn't make cleaning up Lamb's messes a priority. Consequently, there's a bit of filing that needs to be done. Your assignment is to file all the paperwork in these boxes. It might take you a while." Vinnie motions to the stacks of boxes. "But I think an organized sheriff's department should be one of my priorities. It might even be part of my campaign platform."

"Sheriff, this is ridiculous. I'm your best investigator, I should be working on cases, not filing," Leo exclaims, unable to hold back his anger.

"If you don't want to have disciplinary charges filed against you this close to the election, I think you're going to do whatever assignment I give you." He checks his watch, and continues, "You've got about an hour left on your shift. I'll check back in an hour to see how you're doing."

As Vinnie leaves, chuckling to himself, Leo looks in dismay at the boxes stacked haphazardly around the room.

----------

In Venice Beach, Logan and Dick crack open two beers and settle in to play Grand Theft Auto 4. Dick says, laughing, "Guns don't kill people, videogames do."

Logan mock-points a gun at him, saying, "Little Jacob can hook you up, dude."

Dick thinks, Logan seems a lot better today, surfing was good for him.

After playing the game for awhile, Logan's phone rings. He pauses the game and checks the screen; seeing that it's Enbom, he answers.

"Logan, turn on NBC. Right now," Enbom says frantically.

"Dick, turn on Channel 4," Logan repeats.

"What the fuck..." Dick turns off the videogame and turns on NBC.

"'Dateline'?" Logan asks Enbom.

"Just watch," Enbom says, and disconnects.

"Tonight, we examine the unsolved murder case in Neptune, California." In a smarmy voice, the anchorwoman continues, "It's a sordid case of revenge murder. The victim, Clarence Wiedman, was ex-Special Forces, a decorated military veteran, a loving father." As she intones the words, photos of Wiedman flash on the screen. "The suspect? A young woman, practically a teenager." Veronica's high school graduation photo appears on-screen. "But not your average teenager. Veronica Mars is a skilled private investigator, who has received extensive firearms training, and recently applied for a carry permit. Her father, disgraced former Sheriff Keith Mars, is rumored to have protected her in the past for her frequent misdeeds. He himself was removed from office for pursuing a vendetta against one of the town's leading citizens, billionaire software developer, Jake Kane. We now go to our correspondent, Carolyn Murray, for...'Murder in the Real O.C.'" A flashy graphic, featuring 'Murder in the Real O.C.' over an image of Neptune replaces Veronica's photo; the graphic disappears, revealing a blonde female reporter standing in front of the Neptune Sheriff's Department.

"Carrie?" Logan whispers, his face draining of color.

----------

Wallace bangs loudly on the door of Veronica's and Mac's dorm room. Veronica flings open the door. She sees his panicked face and says "Dad called, we know."

They sit on the bed. Wallace puts his arms around Veronica. Mac, looking worried, holds Veronica's hand. They watch as the TV shows the 'Murder in the Real O.C.' graphic, and then cuts to a reporter. Mac gasps. "That's...that's Carrie...she was with Logan. She was with him in Vegas, I think they were dating."

"Logan was dating a reporter?" Veronica asks.

"No, she was supposedly a UCLA student. She must have been undercover, doing research for this story." They look at each other with dread.

They listen to the report.

"Veronica Mars, college student and vigilante detective, grew up in Neptune as the daughter of the local Sheriff. Never wealthy, she managed to gain entree into the lives of the rich and famous by dating the sons of local wealthy families, first the son of Jake Kane, Duncan Kane, and later the son of tragically murdered Aaron Echolls, Logan Echolls. Pursuing a vendetta against the elder Echolls, she accused him of murdering her best friend Lilly Kane, the sister of Duncan, continuing the family tradition of accusing suspects without proper evidence. When her lover, Logan Echolls, was accused of the stabbing death of a gang member, Ms. Mars was instrumental in securing the dismissal of his murder charge. It is rumored that she then helped Duncan, her on-again, off-again lover, to kidnap his love child and flee the country. She has not been prosecuted for her role in this crime. She then escaped prosecution for falsely accusing Aaron Echolls, who was conveniently murdered by an unknown assailant before Ms. Mars could be brought up on charges. Veronica Mars lives in a tangled web of murder and wealth, in a town where justice can be purchased at the going rate." The screen shows a picture of Veronica, laughing, in the center, with pictures of Logan and Duncan on either side. "When we return: Veronica Mars' mother is killed, and Ms. Mars takes action." The television, jarringly, goes to a commercial for hot dogs.

The three friends look at each other in despair.

----------

In his beach house, Logan jumps up violently from the couch.

"Dude, it's okay...it's the same shit they used to say about your dad, they're just bottom feeders..." Dick says, scared at Logan's agitation.

"My girlfriend...set me up...to take down Veronica," Logan bites off. When Dick stands up, intending to try to calm him down, Logan pushes him away harshly and heads for the bathroom.

Dick, panicked, paces around the room, wondering who he can call for help. He hears the water running in the bathroom. He picks up Logan's cell phone and scrolls through the numbers, trying to think, when he hears a loud crash from the bathroom.

*****************************************************
VERONICA MARS
10:00PM TFX ch: 92 60min 2008 TV-MA
Crash
The Dateline expose and the aftermath.
Veronica: Kristin Bell. Keith: Enrico Colantoni.
Wallace: Percy Daggs III. Mac: Tina Majorino.
Dick: Ryan Hansen. Logan: Jason Dohring.
Carrie: Amber Heard. Vinnie Van Lowe:
Ken Marino.
*****************************************************

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR: "CRASH"

Dick runs to the bathroom. He flings open the door to find Logan sitting on the floor, cradling his right hand in his left. The glass shower door has shattered; there is glass shards and blood everywhere. "Dude, what the hell?"

Logan says weakly, "It's just...everything is...it's like I can't breathe. I can't get any air in. If I didn't break something, I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest."

Dick hears the television in the other room returning to the Dateline program and wishes he had thought to turn the TV off. He hears faintly, "Logan Echolls' first brush with the law was when he organized and videotaped a series of bum fights." Dick realizes they are rerunning the Smoking Gun footage that was tapped for Tinseltown Diaries. Kneeling down, he looks at Logan's hand. "Can you stand up? We gotta put a bandage on this." He gets Logan to stand and runs water over his hand. Removing the larger pieces of glass still embedded in Logan's hand, Dick is appalled at the size of the cut and the amount of blood that is flowing copiously, especially from a large cut on Logan's wrist. "Dude, you need stitches. You might have broken your hand. Let's go."

"No, come on, I can't face an emergency room tonight. Just put a bandage on it."

Dick says strongly, "No. We're going." He finds a washcloth, wraps it tightly around Logan's wrist, and says, "Put pressure on it, let's go."

Logan complies. Dick pulls Logan into the living room, grabs the keys to his cars from the counter and they head out. As they open the front door, they run into a mass of reporters, taking flash photographs and shouting questions. "Did you pay off the witnesses for your girlfriend?" "Did your girlfriend kill your father for you? Are you protecting Duncan Kane?"

"Get off me, you scum!" Dick shouts. He puts his arm around Logan and begins to force his way through the reporters.

----------

Mac says, "Poor Logan. This is as much a hatchet job on him as it is on you."

"Are you sure that he didn't know she was a reporter?" Veronica queries.

"Positive. He said she was a fashion major in the design school. She hardly talked, just looked at Logan adoringly."

"Obviously, she was listening and observing. Were they sleeping together?"

Mac is silent for a minute. Then, she shrugs and says, "I would assume so, from what I saw. Seems pretty unethical for a reporter to sleep with the subject of her report."

"I agree. She certainly hasn't disclosed that she had a personal relationship with Logan."

Wallace, who has been quiet up to now, says, "I don't think she's going to either."

The show continues with an in-depth review of Logan's legal troubles, from the bum fights, to his arrest in the murder of Felix Toombs, to his purchase of the Lilly Kane videotapes, and finally to his arrest in the vandalism of a police car. Mac sneaks a peek at Veronica. She's pretty sure Veronica had heard the gossip about Logan's being arrested in order to beat up Mercer but they have never talked about it. Mac sees Veronica wipe a tear from her eye. Logan's mug shot comes onscreen as the report concludes, "Logan Echolls, perennial bad boy, now living in Los Angeles and pursuing a career in the film industry, used his financial resources to assist Veronica Mars with her bail and legal representation. We'll continue our report with a look at the facts of the case against Ms. Mars, including an in-depth interview with Neptune's sheriff, Vincent Van Lowe."

"I want to talk to Logan," Veronica says. She looks up the number on her cell and dials, but there's no answer. She hangs up on 'This is Logan Echolls with today's inspirational message', having no patience for Logan's poem-of-the-day at this point.

Wallace and Mac exchange a glance, thinking about the events of the past weekend. Wallace says, "Why don't you try to call Dick?"

"What's going on?" Veronica says suspiciously.

"There was...an incident over the weekend. I think Dick might be up visiting Logan," Mac says. She speed-dials Dick, but, again, there is no response. Mac leaves a message to call right away.

----------

At the Sunset Cliffs apartment, Keith sits and watches the television grimly. He has poured himself a drink, thinking that your only daughter being eviscerated on national television is just about the best excuse there is to drink alone.

As the show returns from the commercial break, Keith is disgusted to see Vinnie's smug face. "I admit, some of the evidence in the initial indictment was a little weak. But we are convinced that some of that evidence was actually planted by the suspect, Ms. Mars, at the crime scene or possibly was added to the crime scene evidence in the sheriff's department storage room by one of her father's longtime friends. The evidence was planted in order to create a double jeopardy scenario, whereby if she was apprehended in the investigation, she had a way to create reasonable doubt and ensure a not guilty verdict."

Pretty convoluted, Vinnie, Keith thinks.

Carolyn Murray asks, "But isn't it true that a new witness has come forward in the case?"

"That's correct. The district attorney's office has kept this witness secluded while their testimony is being corroborated. We expect to refile charges within the week," Vinnie states.

Just as Keith jumps up angrily, the phone rings. "Hello!" he barks into the phone.

"Keith, it's Cliff. I assume you're watching? I have just received notice from the district attorney's office that Veronica is to surrender herself into custody on Friday at 4 p.m., just in time for a perp-walk on the evening news, but after judges have left for the weekend. This announcement was planned down to the second. The process server was at my door one minute before Vinnie announced it on national television."

"This is intended to cause the maximum amount of pain to me and Veronica," Keith says bitterly.

"No doubt. But I can petition the court to interview the witness as to their credibility before we have to surrender Veronica. I'm still the attorney-of-record, but I'll be calling on the attorneys that Logan secured for us before. After this mountain of manure that just aired, he'll be gunning for revenge as well; I'm sure he'll have no objection to helping us again. Call me after the show is done, so we can plan our next step." They hang up; Keith glares at the television, wondering what could be next.

After the commercial break, the show continues. "What of Veronica Mars' other longtime lover, Duncan Kane? Duncan was best friends with Logan Echolls. As two emancipated minors, they roomed together at the ritzy Neptune Grand Hotel, living a life of luxury that most teenagers can't even imagine. Still wanted for questioning in the kidnapping of Faith Manning, purportedly his love child, Duncan hasn't been seen in the United States for two years. His family's net worth is reportedly in the billions. Rumors have it that Duncan Kane is living in South America and has undergone extensive plastic surgery.

"But the real shocker is that Duncan is possibly the true killer of his sister Lilly. In the Aaron Echolls trial, DNA evidence was found on the murder weapon belonging to Duncan Kane. The evidence was strong enough for the jury to render a verdict of not guilty for Aaron Echolls. If Duncan was the true killer, he had to have help. That help could have come in the form of his father's chief of security, Clarence Wiedman. If Wiedman had something to do with the Lilly Kane murder cover-up, his murder could have been committed to tie up loose ends in order to finally clear Duncan of his sister's murder. Veronica Mars has been willing to go to any length to help Duncan in the past. Could Wiedman's murder have been a conspiracy between the three longtime friends and lovers to clear Duncan once and for all?"

----------

Veronica's cell phone has vibrated constantly with calls with blocked i.d.'s. Assuming they are calls from reporters, she sends each call directly to voicemail; she refuses to turn the phone off, hoping that Logan will call.

The show continues. "Veronica Mars has been willing to go to any length to help Duncan in the past. Could Wiedman's murder have been a conspiracy between the three longtime friends and lovers to clear Duncan once and for all?

"What of Ms. Mars' criminal record? She was cited, but not charged in a break-in at the Neptune Sheriff's Department in 2005; in the Echolls trial, it was revealed that, one year later, she broke into the home of upstanding Neptune residents, Stewart and Rose Manning. Again, she was not charged, possibly due to her father's connections. She was arrested in 2007 for aiding and abetting the escape of yet another fugitive from justice. These charges were not pursued, subsequent to her father's reappointment as interim sheriff. A short time thereafter, she reportedly broke into the home of Jake Kane and stole cutting-edge computer software. It is believed that damning video footage of Ms. Mars was destroyed by her father, still serving as temporary sheriff, though not for long after this information was revealed by the Balboa county district attorney. Throughout her vivid career, Ms. Mars has managed to avoid prosecution until now."

"Can you say 'taint the jury pool'?" Wallace comments disgustedly.

"Isn't this slander?" Mac says.

"You mean libel. I don't think so, they always say 'possibly' or 'it is believed'. This show works this slimy territory all the time, I'm sure they have full-time lawyers vetting the scripts for actionable libel. Besides, they're not lying, I did all those things," Veronica says, distractedly. Her phone vibrates again, she reads, "Fields, M." and takes the call.

"Mike," she says, despondently.

"Veronica, are you okay? This is outrageous. I want to help. I'm going to take time off from the bureau and come down there. I'm worried about you," Mike says passionately.

"What about your wife? I think that's a bad idea," Veronica replies.

"Veronica, my wife and I split again...but I know it's over for us as well. Right now, you need help so you have a future. Please let me help," Mike pleads. "I still care about you as a friend. You don't deserve this. I should have given you an alibi right away, this is all my fault."

"Please don't come, Mike. I promise to let you know if there's anything you can help with."

----------

Dick finally gets himself and Logan through the crush of reporters and into his Infiniti. Logan's face is white and he's quiet, too quiet, Dick thinks. Dick helps Logan put on his seat belt, and tries to pull out. The reporters swarm the car and Dick begins to honk the horn furiously. He steals a look over at Logan and sees him slumped against the car door. He shakes Logan's shoulder, saying, "Wake up, dude! Shit! Shit!" The blood has soaked through the washcloth they had wrapped around Logan's hand, and now that Logan has stopped the pressure, the blood is dripping onto the floor of the passenger seat. Dick slams the car into gear and pulls out slowly, not caring if he takes out a reporter. They jump back, swearing at him.

As he pulls out into traffic, one of the reporters jumps in a car and follows him. Checking his mirrors, Dick sees the car gaining on him and Dick speeds up, making a left onto Main Street, heading for the Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center. The following car jockeys for position, ignoring the honking cars on the busy street, trying to pull next to Dick's car. Dick turns right onto Pico Boulevard, with the reporter directly behind him, veering right, then left, trying to overtake them. The oncoming traffic honks and swerves.

Dick approaches the intersection at Lincoln Boulevard. Seeing the left turn signal flash green, he accelerates to make the light. The reporter keeps pace. Dick barely gets through on the yellow arrow, but sees a panel truck moving fast from the right. The reporter's car smashes into the Infiniti which plows uncontrollably into a light pole. The air bags deploy, and Dick blacks out as he hears a siren.

*****************************************************
VERONICA MARS
10:00PM TFX ch: 92 60min 2008 TV-MA
While You Were Sleeping
After the accident.
Veronica: Kristin Bell. Keith: Enrico Colantoni.
Dick: Ryan Hansen. Logan: Jason Dohring.
Dr. Crouch: Sean Maher. Betina Casablancas:
Kate McNeil.
*****************************************************

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE: "WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING"

Veronica and Keith hurry into the reception area at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center. Keith tells the receptionist, "I got a call saying that Logan Echolls was injured in a car accident."

"Are you the father?" the receptionist queries.

"No, I'm...apparently he had me as his contact person in case of emergency," Keith answers.

Veronica adds, "We're his friends. Is he alright? Can we see him?"

The receptionist looks at her computer screen. Veronica, frantic after driving for two hours with no news, tries to be patient, then bursts out, "Please, is he okay?" Keith puts his arm around her.

The receptionist finally says, "Third floor." She motions to the elevators but Keith and Veronica are already moving.

The elevator doors open on the third floor, and Veronica recognizes Dick's mom, the former Mrs. Casablancas. "Mrs. Casablancas, I mean...what happened? Is Dick all right? What happened to Logan?" she cries.

"It's Betina. Dick's ok, just a mild concussion and a sprained wrist. Logan was in surgery, but he's out now. They're saying he's in critical condition."

"Dad?" Veronica says tremulously.

"Hold on, honey, wait 'til we talk to the doctors," Keith reassures her.

A doctor strides in. "Are you Keith Mars? You're the contact person for Logan Echolls?"

"Yes, I'm Keith Mars, this is my daughter, Veronica. Doctor, what's going on?" Keith answers.

"I'm Doctor Crouch, I'm the neurologist in charge of Mr. Echolls. Mr. Echolls was in the passenger side of the vehicle, which made contact with a light pole. Fortunately, there was an ambulance nearby and the two passengers were brought in here relatively quickly. He suffered a compound fracture of his leg and a severe concussion. However, he had apparently previously injured his hand, and they were already on their way to the emergency room when the accident occurred. Two fingers were broken, but more seriously the wrist had a major laceration and Mr. Echolls lost a great deal of blood on the way to the hospital," the doctor explains.

"His hand, or his wrist?" Veronica asks worriedly.

"His wrist. His friend, Mr. Casablancas, said he broke a glass shower door. That's all I know. Right now, Mr. Echolls is stable, but critical. I'm concerned about the loss of blood and about the concussion. More seriously, we picked up a small subdural hematoma on the CT scan. This type of injury is a common complication of a head trauma; it's bleeding between the outer covering of the brain and the inner layer known as the meninges. If the hematoma were larger, there would be no choice, we would have to perform a craniotomy, which would be very dangerous right now with the loss of blood that Mr. Echolls has sustained."

"So how are you treating it instead?" Keith asks.

"I'm recommending that we wait to see if it increases in size. We'll monitor the hematoma and allow the body to heal itself. In the meantime, we can continue to transfuse, and see if Mr. Echolls' condition improves. If the hematoma increases in size and becomes acute, we will have no choice and have to operate. Is Mr. Echolls an alcohol abuser?" the doctor asks.

Veronica looks at Keith, who replies, "Yes, I think he's had some struggles with alcohol."

"This type of injury is more common in alcoholics. You can see him for a minute, but he's not conscious."

"Doctor, do you think..." Veronica starts.

"I think Mr. Echolls is a strong young man, and he'll pull through this crisis. Mr. Mars, if you could follow me, there's some paperwork I'd like you to fill out."

----------

VERONICA

I sit down, shakily, in the waiting area. Why are these rooms always like this? They have a smell that I can't place, and the atmosphere--it's like worry and stress and dread and fear, mixed together.

"Forget what I said about you being allowed to worry about me...Forget what I said about you being allowed to worry about me...."

Is that going to be the last thing I said to Logan?

"This type of injury is more common in alcoholics...he's not conscious...he's not conscious...hematoma...craniotomy...he broke a glass shower door...he's not conscious...."

I can't help it, the words keep playing over and over in my head. I start to weep. My dad comes over and puts his arms around me and I sob.

----------

Dick, his forehead bandaged and his left arm in a sling, comes into the waiting room. Veronica sits up from leaning against her dad.

"Dick, what happened?" she asks.

"You saw the Dateline report? That reporter was Logan's girlfriend for about a month. When he saw her on the television, he realized she set him up," Dick says, sitting down next to them.

Veronica frowns, thinking about the timeline. When did she start going out with Logan, exactly?

Dick continues, "He freaked. He broke the glass shower door in the bathroom. He cut his wrist really deep, there was blood all over."

"Was he trying to...cut his wrist on purpose?" Veronica asks, shakily.

"No, I don't think so, he said he couldn't breathe, he felt like he had to break something. When I saw how bad it was, I told him we had to go to the emergency room for stitches. But there was like a million reporters outside. I finally got him into the car, but one asshole reporter followed us, trying to get pictures. He was weaving in and out, trying to get beside us. I don't really remember the accident, but the ambulance guy said a truck smashed into him and he smashed into us. The reporter was killed, his car was crushed. I think we were lucky, my car has great air bags. Well, had great air bags." Hesitating, he adds, "Veronica, I'm so sorry, I didn't know what to do, I just thought it would be best to get him to the hospital for stitches. They told me about the hema...hematoma thing," Dick says, stumbling over the terminology. "What did they tell you?"

Keith answers, "They think it's best to wait and see if Logan's body can heal itself, rather than do brain surgery."

"Wait and see..." Veronica echoes, despondently.

"Veronica, Logan is young and strong, he'll be okay," Keith reassures her. "And we'll be right here when he wakes up."

"I want to call Mac again. I talked to her a little while ago, I was worried she might hear about it on the news," Dick says. "I'm going outside to use my cellphone. I'll tell her about Logan."

"Ask her to tell Wallace for me too, okay?" Veronica says. She and Dick stand up and she hugs him, carefully avoiding his sprained wrist. "Thanks, Dick, none of this was your fault; you did a great job getting Logan to the hospital."

Dick doesn't respond; Veronica knows how close he and Logan are and she realizes Dick is struggling with the same feelings of worry and guilt that she has. Dick walks to the elevator and presses the down button, glancing over his shoulder at them as the elevator doors open.

"Dad, did you know that Logan made you his emergency contact person?"

Keith shakes his head. "No, but it makes sense. He has some distant relatives on the East Coast, but they were estranged from Logan's parents, and Logan barely knows them. Trina is out of the country shooting low-budget films; he's not close with the Kanes obviously, and Mr. Casablancas is back in the Caymans."

"Dick Senior would be the worst choice, even if he was around."

"That's my opinion too. Veronica, Logan and I have been corresponding since last January. He asked me not to tell you. I wasn't happy about that, but he reached out to me as a responsible adult, and I felt it was important to respect his wishes," Keith explains.

"Corresponding? You mean letters?" Veronica asks.

"Email mostly. He was depressed after the holidays and needed someone to talk to. In the beginning, I was just being polite, but as he opened up to me I realized that he was making a serious effort to grow up a little and I became more sympathetic. He told me about his family, and I have to tell you that I respect his strength in having survived his experience with them. He had absolutely no guidance or love from his parents. I'm not excusing all his actions in the past, but I've come to like Logan."

"What was the project you were helping him with?" Veronica asks curiously.

"Let's let Logan tell you about that when he wakes up. Honey, he's going to be just fine and you can ask him these questions."

---------

The nurse comes to find them about a half-hour later. "I can take you in to see Mr. Echolls now. You can talk to him, but it's better if you don't touch him just yet. A lot of doctors believe unconscious people can hear what their relatives say, and that's been my experience as well, so tell him that everything is okay and to wake up soon."

Keith and Veronica file into Logan's room after the nurse. The beeping monitors contrast with the eerie silence of the room. Logan is completely pale; there are monitors attached to his chest, an intravenous drip, and bandages on his head and right hand and wrist. His right leg is elevated, in a cast from thigh to ankle.

Keith clears his throat, and says in a gruff voice, "Logan, we're here for you. We're going to make sure that everything's okay. Concentrate on getting better for the people that care about you."

Veronica says, with tears in her eyes, "I love you, Logan; please get better so we can talk soon."

Keith looks at his daughter and takes her hand in his.

Veronica continues, "I'm sorry for everything...please...wake up so you can worry about me some more. I promise to...I promise to be careful the way you want me to. I love you, Logan," she repeats.

Keith squeezes his daughter's hand and smiles wanly at her. They exit the room; as the door shuts behind them, Veronica begins to cry again and allows her dad to fold her in his arms.

*******************************************************
VERONICA MARS
10:00PM TFX ch: 92 60min 2008 TV-MA
Memory
Logan wakes up; Leo finds a clue.
Veronica: Kristin Bell. Keith: Enrico Colantoni.
Dick: Ryan Hansen. Logan: Jason Dohring.
Leo: Max Greenfield. Vinnie Van Lowe: Ken
Marino. Dr. Crouch: Sean Maher. Deputy
Sacks: Brandon Hillock. Inga Olofson:
Seraina Jacqueline.
*******************************************************

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX: "MEMORY"

Veronica starts awake to sun streaming in the windows in the waiting area. She fell asleep against her dad's shoulder around five a.m., after the nurse told them that Logan's condition was the same, and that that was good news. The nurse told them that Logan might wake up sometime that day and after morning rounds they could spend some time in the room if they were quiet and didn't disturb him.

Veronica thinks that she won't stop being scared until Logan is snarking at her again. She sits up from her dad's shoulder gently, knowing that he didn't get much sleep either and hoping not to wake him.

Feeling the absence of his daughter's weight, Keith wakes up. "Hi, honey, has there been any news?"

"No, I just woke up. I was going to get some coffee."

When Veronica returns with two large coffees, she sees that Dick has returned after spending the night at Logan's beach house. She had promised him last night that she would call immediately if there was any change at all in Logan's condition. Dick looks a little better this morning, although it's obvious he didn't get much sleep overnight either.

The nurse comes over to them. "Mr. Mars? We've had a lot of calls about Mr. Echolls, mostly reporters, and of course we've turned down all their requests for information as you requested. One woman has been very persistent though, says her name is Dr. Friedman, asked me to tell you to call her. She got a doctor here at the hospital to vouch for her."

Dick pulls Keith aside and says quietly, eying Veronica, "That's Logan's shrink, you know. He likes her a lot. You should let her know what's going on."

"Okay, I'll call her." The nurse hands Keith a slip of paper, and offers to let him use the phone at the nurse's station.

----------

Leo sighs. Apparently in the three years that Don Lamb was the sheriff, he never filed any of the papers that crossed his desk. Most of the boxes contain duplicates of paperwork that was already filed in long-term storage. Leo has started by separating papers by date and status, pending or closed.

Inga pokes her head in. "How'ss eet goink, Leo? I told heem, thees ees stupit. We never let Don haf any oreeginal paperwork, eet's all copies."

"Stupid is as stupid does," Leo replies.

"Ja, that's for sure," she agrees.

"See you later, Inga," he calls out as she walks back down the hall.

As he gets to the bottom of one box, he finds a box of staples. He is about to set it aside, but realizes he hasn't seen any other office supplies in the boxes and is curious. He opens the box and finds a bank safety deposit box key in a small envelope under the staples.

----------

The nurse has allowed Keith and Veronica to sit in Logan's room, and has given them permission to talk quietly. In whispers, they use the time to go over everything they know about Wiedman.

Veronica starts by telling Keith about investigating the photos she found in her mom's safety deposit box. She tells him about identifying the restaurant from where the photos were taken, obtaining the credit card slips, and identifying him as the head of security for Kane Software.

"Good PI work, honey."

She continues by telling him about confronting Jake about the photos.

FLASHBACK: At the Christmas party at the Echolls house, Veronica confronts Jake in the library in the Echolls house. Veronica says, "I've got a question for you...Does your Head of Security make it a habit of taking photographs of high school students and drawing bull's-eyes over their faces or am I special? Clarence Wiedman took pictures of me. Surveillance pictures. He drew a target over my face and sent them to my mother. Why?"

Jake, truly confused, replies, "You're not making any sense...I have no idea what you're talking about."

Veronica says, angrily, "Why would you want my mother out of town?...Why didn't she tell me or my father about the pictures instead of hiding them in a safe deposit box?"

Jake shouts back, "I don't know!"

Veronica tells her dad sotto voce what Duncan had said at Waterside Park, that to assuage Celeste's fears, Clarence had threatened Lianne not to tell Keith that Jake's alibi was false.

FLASHBACK TO WATERSIDE PARK: Blond Duncan tells Veronica, "Clarence tried to force her to remain silent by sending her the threatening photos, but your mom just ran away. My dad was furious when he found out what my mom and Clarence had done--he thought it would only make your dad more suspicious."

"What else did Duncan say about Wiedman?" Keith whispers curiously. "I think you're holding something back."

Veronica is silent. She looks down, not wanting to meet her dad's eyes.

"Out with it, Veronica!" Keith's voice raises a little, and Veronica shushes him, pointing at Logan. He glares at her.

"Okay, okay," she whispers, glancing at the hospital bed. "Duncan told me that he hired Wiedman to kill Aaron Echolls."

Keith is completely stunned. "I thought...I don't know what I thought. Veronica, this makes the Dateline reporter's theories more plausible. Does anyone else know?"

"Duncan said his parents know."

"What if Lianne found out, and blackmailed Wiedman? Wiedman could have gone to the Kanes for help raising money and then decided just to get rid of Lianne. Then the Kanes could have had Wiedman killed to cover up Duncan's involvement," Keith whispers excitedly, happy to have finally uncovered a plausible motive.

"Duncan was too calm, I don't think so. And how would Mom have found out about that?" Veronica deflates Keith's hopes. "We're not going to out Duncan's involvement in Aaron's murder."

Keith whispers forcefully, "Damn it, Veronica, if that's what it takes to get you acquitted, we're telling."

"I must be in hell," a weak voice says from the bed.

"Logan?" Veronica says, whirling around to look at the bed.

"I died, and I have to spend eternity like this, with you two discussing murder theories," Logan says again, his voice cracking.

----------

Leo uses his lunch hour to identify the bank for the safety deposit key. He gets a copy of Lamb's death certificate from the Bureau of Vital Statistics and finds a judge to sign a warrant to open the box. Knowing that this judge is a longtime friend of Jake Kane who hates Keith Mars, Leo says he believes it may contain vital evidence to support the Mars indictment. The judge acquiesces, saying, "I hope she fries, the little bitch" as he signs the warrant.

Leo returns to the sheriff's department and finds Vinnie in his office. "Sheriff, I cracked a tooth at lunch. My dentist says he can see me at 2:30; is it okay if I leave early?"

Vinnie smiles, and magnanimously waves his hand 'okay'. "No problem, deputy. You gotta stay away from the nuts."

Leo replies, "You're right, sheriff. I'll see you tomorrow morning, okay?"

"You're making good progress on the filing, Leo. With my guidance, you just might make a good deputy after all," Vinnie smirks. "See you tomorrow." He mockingly salutes Leo.

Leo goes to the front desk and finds Deputy Sacks. "Jerry, I need your help. Can you meet me at First National Bank of Neptune in half an hour? Don't say anything to Vinnie."

Jerry Sacks, still smarting from Vinnie's latest gibe about his mustache, looks over his shoulder towards Vinnie's office and says, "I'll be there."

----------

Dr. Crouch finds Keith, Veronica and Dick in the waiting area. "He's doing very well, much better than I expected. We repeated the CT scan and the hematoma seems to shrinking in size. He's not completely out of the woods yet, but I'm upgrading his status to guarded. You can go in to see him again, but please don't upset him. The nurse said he was muttering something about murder. He needs to stay calm right now."

Logan's friends file in to see him. Dick speaks first, "Hey bro, it's good to see you awake, we were pretty worried."

Logan says distantly, "What happened? The doctor said there was a car accident, but I don't even remember getting in a car. The doctor I might not ever remember it."

Dick glances at Keith, who says, "Logan, Dick told us you broke a glass shower door and hurt your hand. He was driving you to the hospital for stitches when there was an accident."

Dick adds, "You were totally white, and then you passed out. You bled all over the Infiniti, dude."

"Sorry..." Logan replies.

"It's cool, she's totaled anyways," Dick says. "The Seductress is no more."

"It's all so far away, like a dream," Logan muses quietly. "I don't remember breaking the shower door, did I fall or something?"

"Don't worry about anything, just concentrate on getting better," Veronica says. "We'll take care of everything."

"Dr. Friedman called," Keith says. "She was worried about you."

"How did she hear about the accident?" Logan asks.

The three friends exchange a glance, and decide not to tell Logan that he's the first story on page one of the newspaper again. "Not sure," Keith finally says.

"What?" Logan asks. "Tell me."

"Please don't worry, Logan, everything's going to be okay," Veronica says, reaching for Logan's relatively unscathed left hand.

He pulls his hand back weakly, avoiding her touch. Veronica, upset, turns away.

Keith says calmly, "Logan, there was a ridiculous news story, and some paparazzi were at your house looking for a reaction. One of them caused the car accident. I'm sure you'll remember everything eventually. It's very frightening to lose a memory, but the doctor wants you to avoid stress right now. You have to get stronger physically before you can work on your memory."

"Can you ask Dr. Friedman to come visit me?" Logan asks Keith.

"Of course," he replies.

The nurse comes in and says, "You're tiring him out, you have to leave now," and shoos them out of the room. Dick says, "Stay golden, dude," and Logan gives him a little smile.

As they leave, Veronica looks over her shoulder and meets Logan's eyes. He immediately looks away, and she chokes back a hiccupy-sob. She thinks, He hates me...it's too late...he hates me....

*******************************************************
VERONICA MARS
10:00PM TFX ch: 92 60min 2008 TV-MA
Dangerous Liaisons
They investigate Carrie and the new
eyewitness; the safety deposit box.
Veronica: Kristin Bell. Keith: Enrico Colantoni.
Dick: Ryan Hansen. Leo: Max Greenfield.
Wallace: Percy Daggs III. Deputy Sacks:
Brandon Hillock.
*******************************************************

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN: "DANGEROUS LIAISONS"

Dick lets himself, Veronica and Keith into Logan's beach house. Dick convinced them that it was ridiculous to rent a hotel room when there was plenty of room at Logan's just fifteen minutes away from the hospital. Veronica wanders around the house, touching things, thinking that this is Logan's life, and she's not a part of it, and she doesn't know anything about him anymore. At the end of a hallway, she sees an unfamiliar framed black-and-white photo. She does a double take, and realizes that the shadowy, barely recognizable figure in the photo is herself, sitting on the beach near the Sunset Cliffs apartment, with Backup laying at her feet. She looks at it closely, and realizes from the short hair cut and the outfit she's wearing in it that it was taken in junior year of high school, possibly from before the first time Logan kissed her. She swallows hard, thinking about that moment at the Camelot motel when she realized that he cared for her and how it changed everything forever.

"Veronica, do you want to jump in the shower first? Dick's mom cleaned up all the glass and blood and bought a shower curtain to use temporarily before she took off," Keith calls to her.

Poor Dick, Veronica thinks. His mom barely stayed long enough to make sure he was okay. Dick's been quiet all day; I know he blames himself for Logan's condition. But if Dick hadn't been here, Logan might have bled out on his bathroom floor. She walks out to the living room. "Go ahead, you can have the first shower, Dad. Dick, why don't you see if Mac can come up here to be with you?"

"I didn't want her skipping classes for me," he mumbles. "I told her not to come."

"Dick, this has been really tough on you too. I'm sure she wants to be here with you. She's a great student, she can afford to miss a class or two," Veronica says, persuasively. I can't believe I'm worrying about the Dickster. "When you call her, let me know. I want to ask her something."

Dick looks up at her gratefully, almost like a bad puppy who expected to be swatted and got a pat on the head instead. He follows her with his eyes as she walks over to Logan's laptop on his desk.

"I'm just checking my email," Veronica explains, feeling Dick's gaze on her. She logs on, quickly trashing all the emails from reporters, and reading the messages that are important. There's an email from Eli, complaining that her voicemail inbox is full, and he's been trying to call her to find out how Logan is doing, and what the hell was that stupid story on Dateline, anyway?

There's a long email from Cliff, telling her about the witness who's turned up in the case against her. Cliff has a meeting set up with the district attorney and the judge tomorrow to go over the witness's story, and says that Veronica is still expected to surrender herself into custody at 4:00 on Friday afternoon. Her arraignment is to presided over by Judge Cramer. Cliff explains that by scheduling the arraignment at 4:00, the judge will have no choice but to dismiss for the weekend and resume on Monday morning, forcing Veronica to spend the weekend in jail. On Monday, Cliff expects the new witness to testify that he saw Veronica outside Wiedman's hotel room, just before the murder was committed. The witness has been named as Daniel Mulvaney. Veronica is sure she's never heard that name before.

There's also an email from Mike that Veronica doesn't even open. There are a couple emails from professors containing assignments. Veronica doesn't even skim them, thinking that she can't deal with college right now. She logs off her account, and can't help thinking that she could find a lot of information about Logan on this computer. Disgusted with herself, she shuts down the computer and walks over to sit down with Dick on the couch.

"You didn't want to check out Logan's email?" Dick says.

In a small voice, she says, "I'm trying to be a better person. Logan's life is none of my business."

Dick looks at her in surprise.

"I know...I blew it with him a long time ago. I kept pushing until I found something I couldn't live with, and then I got to be the righteous one who dumped him," she says.

"You mean, the thing with Madison? I was pretty pissed at him, too, you know."

It's Veronica's turn to be surprised. "Why do you think he slept with her, Dick? He never seemed to even like her."

"All he ever says is it was the stupidest thing he ever did, and he wishes he could take it back. Logan will never say it was because he was drinking too much, but Enbom told me he heard Logan was basically passed out when she started in on him."

"I'm not sure that makes me feel any better. The doctor said that Logan's drinking might have contributed to the subdural hematoma," Veronica says shakily.

"You know, he quit drinking for awhile, after...after...." Dick stops, and Veronica looks at him quizzically. "Veronica, you probably guessed, Dr. Friedman is Logan's shrink. Logan stopped drinking after he started seeing her. He was actually doing pretty well when he was dating that reporter girl Carrie, she seemed to be really good for him. She dropped off the face of the earth without a word a couple weeks ago, and Logan's been in a tailspin ever since," Dick admits.

Veronica can't help herself. "Do you think he was in love with her?"

"No, not at all, but he always said she made him feel normal, and he liked that feeling. He couldn't understand why she just disappeared, they never even fought. He was just really down about it, and then he fought with you and got even worse. When he saw Carrie on Dateline, he was totally shocked. He was the most upset I've seen him since Lilly's funeral."

"When did he meet Carrie? Do you know if it was before Wiedman was killed?"

"When was that again?"

"October 4," Veronica says.

"I think he met her in the beginning of September, at UCLA."

"Even before my mother was killed, you mean."

"I guess so, what's the difference?"

Veronica ponders for a second, then says, "She must have originally been going to do a story on Logan, then when the murders happened and she realized she had an inside track to that story, she changed her focus." Changing the subject, she asks, "Did Logan ever go to AA or rehab?"

"No, I think the shrink suggested it, but he seemed to be doing okay without it until Carrie dumped him."

Veronica thinks, Carrie will pay for this; I don't know how, but she will pay.

----------

At Leo's apartment, he and Sacks are looking at the contents of Don Lamb's safety deposit box. They inventory the items at the bank, putting each item into a plastic bag with a Neptune Sheriff's Department sticker.

Five (5) black journals
Two (2) videotapes
Twelve (12) compact discs
Paperwork, detailing bank accounts in the Bahamas
Bearer bonds, totaling $500,000

When they see the last two items in the box, Sacks whistles incredulously. "Sheriff Lamb always acted as if he had no money at all."

Leo comments, "Maybe he was shooting for an early retirement."

Now they are planning to go through the journals, tapes and CDs. It's obvious to them that Lamb had been blackmailing Neptune's wealthy scions. Sacks has agreed with Leo that it's far too dangerous to let Vinnie Van Lowe see this evidence; they both felt Vinnie would just take over blackmailing where Don Lamb had left off. They split the journals up and begin reading and taking notes, intending to compare their impressions. Leo instructs Sacks to let him know immediately if he reads anything about Wiedman, Lianne, or Veronica.

----------

At Mars Investigations, Wallace is running the background checks that Keith and Veronica had asked for: Daniel Mulvaney and Carolyn Murray. Wallace is slightly nervous to be responsible for this information; investigating a slightly sleazy basketball coach is one thing, but this investigation could determine the result of Friday's arraignment. He decides to start with Carolyn Murray; she's probably just a reporter, with no big secrets to hide. Using the databases as Keith and Veronica have taught him, he finds her address, cellphone number and social security number. He downloads her cellphone records and runs a search on her social security number.

Well, well, he thinks. Carolyn definitely does have her secrets. She's slightly older than they had presumed; she was kicked out of journalism school at USC several years previously. Wallace is unable to determine the reason for her expulsion, but is willing to bet it was for plagiarism or some other ethical violation, given her recent behavior. "She's a beautiful woman, I bet there are still people at USC who would remember her and why she was expelled," he muses aloud.

He looks at the personal information he has obtained. Father: Charles Murray; mother: Sandra Murray, nee Baker; previous marriage to James Phipps, divorced 1984. The name "Phipps" nags at him; he runs the name James Phipps and discovers that James Phipps is the father of Norman Phipps, currently employed at Vanity Fair magazine: the reporter Veronica caught impersonating Logan's brother Charlie two years ago. When Wallace runs Carolyn's employment history, he discovers that after a series of low-paying waitress jobs, she has recently been on unemployment compensation until two months ago, when she appeared on the payroll at NBC.

He takes a look at her cellphone logs and discovers that Carolyn checks in with her half-brother Norman at least daily. There are numerous calls to Vincent Van Lowe's home number as well.

Wallace summarizes the information and sends it in an email to Keith, cc'ing Veronica and Cliff. He adds a note that he intends to go to USC the next day to investigate Carolyn's expulsion unless there is a different assignment for him.

Next, armed with a new confidence from his discoveries, he begins to check out Daniel Mulvaney. Mulvaney only moved to Neptune a short while ago. His address locates him squarely in Fitzpatrick territory, but he has no definitive connections that Wallace can find to anyone they have been investigating. He does find out that Mulvaney just finished a two year sentence in Salinas Valley State Prison for burglary and fraud, and before that he was convicted of several other petty crimes, serving time in other state or county facilities. He picks up the phone and dials Leo.

"Leo, it's Wallace Fennel, Keith Mars' assistant. Have you heard anything about this witness who supposedly saw Veronica near Clarence Wiedman's hotel the day he was murdered? Keith asked me to run a background check on him, and the only information I'm finding that seems interesting is that he was just released from Salinas Valley State Prison." Wallace asks.

"Vinnie's been keeping me out of the loop lately. Let me ask Deputy Sacks, he's right here, helping me with something else." Leo covers the phone and Wallace hears mumbling dialogue. "Sacks said the witness just walked into the department and asked to see the sheriff, saying he had important information about the Mars girl."

"He sounds like a career criminal to me; wouldn't someone like that save that kind of information to trade in case he needed a bargaining chip?" Wallace asks.

"Yes, I agree he doesn't sound like an upstanding citizen that would volunteer his testimony willingly."

"I'll let Keith know. Maybe he has a contact at Salinas that can look into Mulvaney's background. Thanks for your help, Leo," Wallace says.

"Sacks and I will keep our ears open," Leo replies.

*******************************************************
VERONICA MARS
10:00PM TFX ch: 92 60min 2008 TV-MA
Witness for the Prosecution
They investigate Carrie and the new
eyewitness; the safety deposit box.
Veronica: Kristin Bell. Keith: Enrico Colantoni.
Dick: Ryan Hansen. Logan: Jason Dohring.
Leo: Max Greenfield. Dr. Friedman: Lorraine
Bracco. Vinnie Van Lowe: Ken Marino.
Wallace: Percy Daggs III. Dr. Crouch: Sean
Maher. Mac: Tina Majorino.
*******************************************************

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT: "Witness for the Prosecution"

"Veronica, you must be starving. You fell asleep on the couch last night and I couldn't wake you up, so I carried you to bed, figuring you needed sleep more than food and a shower," Keith explains, sipping his coffee.

Veronica stretches. "Is there any news about Logan?"

Keith says, "I called this morning. The nurse said he had a quiet night and they've upgraded his status again to 'good', because he's doing so well." He smiles broadly. "The doctor asked me to meet him in Logan's room at 11:00am to go over a treatment plan."

Veronica hugs her dad.

Dick says, wrinkling his nose, "I think you need a shower, Ronnie. Seriously, help us out here."

Veronica makes a face at him and pads off to the bathroom.

----------

Back at the Neptune Sheriff's Department, Leo makes a show of starting to work on his filing project. When Vinnie pokes his head, Leo removes his headphones, and says, "Hey, Sheriff, I hope you don't mind, I'm listening to a little music to make the job go faster."

"No problem, Leo. Glad to see you're making the best of your assignment," Vinnie chuckles.

Vinnie leaves, and Leo puts his headphones back on, turning on his portable CD player. While pretending to file, he's actually planning to spend the day listening to the CD's he found in Lamb's safety deposit box, which turn out to be recordings of phone conversations that Leo is sure were illegally obtained.

----------

Keith and Veronica are discussing the information they read in Wallace's emails.

Keith says, "I'm going to track down Mulvaney's old parole officer and a contact I have at Salinas prison to see if I can learn anything about this witness. I told Wallace that it didn't make sense for him to come up here to L.A., we need him to stay in Neptune running the investigation there, so after the meeting with the doctors I'm going to head over to USC and see if I can find out anything about Carolyn Murray."

"You don't think she's involved in the murder, do you?" Veronica asks.

"No, but that publicity is very damaging to your case, and we may need to respond by discrediting her report," Keith replies.

"Doesn't Cliff always say a bell can't be unrung?" Veronica says hopelessly.

"Yes, but he can argue for a change of venue and a sequestered jury if it comes to that. Her phone calls to Vinnie can also be used to lessen the impact of his testimony. We can show that he was not an impartial investigator," Keith answers.

"Dad, I had an idea about Cliff's meeting with the judge. You caught Judge Cramer accepting bribes, remember?"

Keith nods.

"Well, I have some other information about him."

FLASHBACK: Wendy, aka Fiona, aka Chelsea, Max's first love, tells Veronica about being a hooker. "That's the thing about being a working girl. Easy to break into, not so easy to get out of. It's not like I'm one of the big earners, but I have this client, a judge....He is the kinkiest out of all my clients. No sex, he just likes to sneak me into his office at the courthouse....All he wants to do is have tickle fights and walk around in my shoes."

Keith sighs. "Really wishing I hadn't taught you the P.I. business, Veronica. It's risky to try to influence a judge."

"I just want Cliff to push for a little time before they arraign me; I think we're close to solving this. If it backfires on us, how much worse could it get?" Veronica argues.

"I suppose. Talk to Cliff about it, see what he says."

"The other thing is...Mike offered to help. I want to ask him to see if he can find out about Wiedman's dishonorable discharge. He must have a contact in the military who can snoop around."

"That's an excellent idea," Keith concurs.

----------

VERONICA

To avoid leaving a trail on email servers or cellphone logs, I leave the beach house and find a working pay phone in a small market. I call Max, asking him to hand-deliver a copy of Wendy's photo to Cliff. Somehow I knew he'd still have a copy. Then I call Cliff, telling him what I know about Judge Cramer. Cliff catches on immediately, and makes some suggestions for a script. I just can't help it, I guess I have a thing for blackmail. The evidence seems to suggest I inherited my proclivity from my mom.

I return to the beach house, and call Mike. He's sweet to me, which annoys me, but I keep my cool and ask him to pull out all the stops, and to find out everything he can about Wiedman's military record as soon as possible.

----------

Keith checks in with Wallace again, and is surprised to hear that Angel Navarro has left a message. With everything else, I forgot about the Fitzpatricks and Navarro's junkyard.

Wallace says, "Angel said the payoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. Friday."

Keith frowns, and wonders if the time is a coincidence. Maybe someone wants to do this when I can't possibly be available. "$5000 again?"

"That's what he said. How do you want to handle it?"

"Tell Angel to get the money together, it should look like he's completely cooperating. Remind him that he has to keep his business and employees strictly legit. Tell him not to worry, this will be over soon. What else is happening?"

"Wiedman's divorce decree came in. There's not much there. I forwarded it to you and Veronica. His wife claimed that he was unfaithful throughout their marriage and Wiedman declined to dispute the charges, so no corespondent was named. Wiedman agreed to a severely reduced custody arrangement for his son. He was also paying a huge amount of alimony and support."

Keith comments, "The alimony was probably based on his salary at Kane Software. It must have been a stretch after he was fired."

"There's a notation that a request for alimony review was scheduled for November 1, but was canceled due to the death of the petitioner," Wallace adds.

"It's sounding like Wiedman was in a desperate situation financially."

Wallace agrees to check back in the office after his classes and to make sure that Keith is updated.

When they disconnect, Keith dials an old friend in the US Attorney's office in San Diego. "It's going down tomorrow at 4:00 pm," he says. "I owe you."

----------

Keith and Veronica knock gently on Logan's door. "Okay to come in?" Keith says, peering around the door.

The nurse says, "Come on in. Mr. Echolls is a little cranky, but the visitors will do him good. I'll let the doctor know you're here."

"How are you feeling today?" Keith asks.

"Everything hurts. They've cut back on painkillers, said it's important to help my brain heal," Logan grouses. The IV and supplemental oxygen are gone, and Logan appears to be much better, except for the snarky expression on his face.

"That's correct," Dr. Crouch says as he comes in the room. He walks over to the bed, pulls out a light and examines Logan's eyes, then turns to the visitors. "Mr. Echolls is doing much better today. It appears that the hematoma is healing well, there have been no symptoms such as loss of consciousness, seizures or vomiting that would cause us concern. That coupled with the most recent CT scan means that I'm willing to say that Mr. Echolls' brain injury is no longer a grave concern. He's not out of the woods yet, hematomas can recur after a head trauma, especially during the first two weeks. He'll need to be in a supervised situation during that time. I understand he lives alone, and there is no family, so I'm recommending a rehabilitation center, where he could also do his physical therapy when he's ready. We could be releasing him as soon as Saturday."

Appalled at the thought of Logan alone among strangers, Veronica bursts out, "He could stay with us in Neptune. Would that be okay?"

Logan glares at her. "It's not okay."

"What was it you said to me about my bail? Oh yeah, 'I'm not going to argue with you about it. You can owe me, or whatever. You are going to accept help, from me.' You're not the only one who remembers everything," Veronica says, returning his stormy gaze.

Keith asks the doctor, "Would that be okay? We can get a nurse in to help at the beginning. Logan's best friend, Dick, lives in Neptune. It seems like it might be good for Logan to have his friends around."

The doctor replies, "I agree. Mr. Echolls, this really does seem to be a good solution. I'm concerned about your drinking before the accident." Logan flushes deep red. "You need a support system, and if most of your friends are in Neptune, then..." he shrugs.

"I wasn't drinking-I mean, I just had one beer before..." Logan says angrily.

"Before you smashed a glass shower door in anger," the doctor finishes for him.

Logan is silent, simmering.

Before Logan can pull his hand away again, Veronica grabs it, and pleads with him. "Please, Logan, let us help you, let us take care of you. I'd still be in prison if you hadn't helped before. If you don't want me around, I'll stay away. But if you stay with my dad, Dick and Enbom can come visit whenever they want, and I'll know that you're okay." Let me help you, she pleads with her eyes. His eyes meet hers, and he seems to resign himself.

"I'd like to talk to my psychiatrist about it, she's coming for a visit later today," Logan finally says, almost mumbling.

"Of course," Dr. Crouch says, a little confused at Logan's reluctance.

----------

A little while later, Dick and Mac come by Logan's room, finding Veronica sitting quietly in the room, flipping through a magazine without actually reading anything. Keith has left, saying he was going over to USC to look into something, and looking meaningfully at Veronica.

Mac asks, "How are you, Logan? We've all been so worried."

Logan shrugs. "I guess I'm doing as well as can be expected. My leg and hand are killing me. I'm starting to remember some things from the night of the accident."

Mac hands Veronica her laptop and tells her that she brought some clothes for Veronica and left them at Logan's. Noticing Veronica's silence, she thinks, Uh-oh, the atmosphere's a little chilly in here.

"Dude, I brought your iPod and the speakers in case you wanted to listen to some tunes, and some DVDs so you don't have to watch reruns all afternoon," Dick says, hoping to cheer up his friend.

"Let me help with that," Veronica says, taking the iPod. She busies herself with wires and connections, and puts the iPod remote next to Logan. She turns on the iPod and looks through the playlist, reading song names out loud. "Let's find something to listen to. 'Breathe 2 AM', 'You're All I Have', 'Lost Cause', 'What If', 'Worn Me Down', 'A Long Way Down', 'Letting the Cables Sleep', 'Waiting'." She looks at Logan in surprise.

After a moment of silence, he admits, "I've been working through something."

"If I looked on your TiVo, would I find Grey's Anatomy?" she can't help teasing him.

"Even worse," Dick says, "Gilmore Girls."

Veronica starts giggling, then they all begin to laugh. Logan turns red, and mutters, "What? Lauren Graham is hot, and I really think she should be with Christopher." They laugh harder, and finally Logan smiles a little with them.

There's a knock on the door, and a dark-haired woman pokes her head in.

Logan says, "Hey guys, can you give me a minute? This is one of my doctors, I want to talk to her alone, please."

The three friends look at each other and exit the room, shutting the door behind him. Veronica hovers outside the door. She realizes that this must be the shrink, and the desire to eavesdrop is driving her crazy. Just then, the door opens, and the woman said, "You must be Veronica. Logan asked if you could please respect his privacy."

Veronica flushes and turns to walk away as the door closes in her face.

----------

Dr. Friedman finds Veronica in the waiting room a half-hour later. "Hello, Veronica, I'm Dr. Friedman. Logan has given me permission to talk to you about a few things for him."

Veronica dutifully shakes the doctor's hand. I don't know why I'm so scared of this woman.

"Logan is terrified because he can't remember everything from the evening of the accident. He knows that there was a national news story about your murder trial that implicated him and he knows that at one point he blacked out from blood loss after he broke a glass shower door. He doesn't really remember breaking the door. He says he's reluctant to stay at your dad's house because he feels some pressure from you." Veronica starts to interrupt, and Dr. Friedman raises her hand to stop her, and continues. "I'm not saying you're putting pressure on Logan, but it's true that he feels pressured. We talked about rehab options and he finally decided that he would rather go to Neptune than stay up here by himself. Just be patient, my dear, he truly cares about you, whether he can show it now or not. Let him heal a bit before you try to talk. Let him think things over and get stronger. Whatever may happen between you and him, I think in some ways you are family to each other and always will have a connection, because of your past."

Veronica breathes out, and realizes she has been holding her breath, afraid what this doctor would say. "Thank you, Dr. Friedman."

----------

Listening to the illegal phone recordings while pretending to file paperwork at the Sheriff's Department, Leo suddenly stops dead in his tracks. He realizes how Lianne could have gotten the information to blackmail Wiedman.

********************************************************
VERONICA MARS
10:00PM TFX ch: 92 60min 2008 TV-MA
Analyze This
The eyewitness' Neptune connection; Carrie's
past; Leo's idea; Logan finds out about
Veronica's arraignment.
Veronica: Kristin Bell. Keith: Enrico Colantoni.
Logan: Jason Dohring. Leo: Max Greenfield.
John Enbom: Scott Michael Foster. Judge
Cramer: Sam Anderson. Cliff: Daran Norris.
Mulvaney: Kenny Johnson. Professor
Holdredge: Armin Shimerman. Mac: Tina
Majorino. Dick: Ryan Hansen.
********************************************************

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE: "ANALYZE THIS"

After Dr. Friedman leaves, Veronica peeks into Logan's room. Seeing that his eyes are closed, she realizes that he must be tired and decides to let him sleep. She returns to the waiting and tries to get some schoolwork done, but thoughts of pressure...be patient keep intruding. Veronica looks over at Mac and Dick, and is surprised to see that Mac is helping Dick with his schoolwork. I suppose if she could get Weevil to pass that math class, she could tutor anyone...if Dick keeps going out with Mac, he might actually graduate. She watches Dick and Mac interacting, and observes the easy rapport that they seem to have developed. Their history is just as disturbing as Logan's and mine; why can't it be as easy for us? They don't seem to ever needle each other about the past, and god knows Dick was certainly an asshole to her. Actually, he was an asshole to everyone. Dick whispers something in Mac's ear and she blushes and looks over at Veronica. Veronica smiles back, and looks down at her schoolwork.

----------

Keith finally reaches his friend at the Salinas prison and asks about Mulvaney.

"Mulvaney? That guy always had some scheme going, his parole was denied twice because of infractions," Keith's friend, the deputy warden at Salinas, says.

"I'm trying to find a connection to Neptune, he's testifying that he witnessed my daughter just outside the scene of a murder here," Keith explains. "I know my daughter wasn't involved, so why would this guy show up out of the blue saying he saw her? Is this guy connected to the Fitzpatricks by any chance?"

"Hold on a sec, let me look something up. That rings a bell," the deputy warden says. Keith hears computer keys clicking. "His cellmate for the last six months was Danny Boyd, sound familiar?"

"Very." Keith thinks about busting Boyd, a Fitzpatrick flunky, for gun-running with Vinnie's 'help'. "I think I got what I need."

He terminates the cell connection; thinks a second and then dials Weevil. "Eli, I have a job for you. I'd like you to tail someone and see if you can get evidence that they're connected to the Fitzpatricks."

----------

Leo can't believe what he's found out by listening to Lamb's surveillance recordings. He realizes that Lamb had been blackmailing half of the town's most prominent people. It's a good thing Lamb's death was clearly an accident, otherwise I'd have fifty potential suspects for a murder case. Apparently, Lamb began by blackmailing the current town supervisor, who has carried on a long-term affair with a younger woman who works in his office. No wonder Lamb got the mayor's endorsement in that race. Next, Lamb began blackmailing the Manning family; he has audio and video of Stewart 'testing' the children while Rose stands by approvingly. His success led him to dig up dirt on several philandering trophy wives, who all seemed to have a thing for the tennis pro at the club. He branched out into some financial investigations, discovering some tricky bookkeeping and shell corporations.

The town incorporation real estate scandal gave Lamb several opportunities as well; it looked as though Lamb had begun to target Cassidy Casablancas as a potential victim, but was thwarted by Beaver's untimely demise. Leo has a sickening sense of power, having gained this sordid knowledge in one fell swoop.

While listening to the recordings and perusing the other evidence, he has searched in vain for mentions of Wiedman, Lianne and Veronica; Keith's name has come up a few times, but only as an investigator. But one recording has convinced him how Lianne came to be a blackmailer: Victor Hammer, a prominent film director who resides in Neptune, mentions how 'helpful' the group therapy was at the Wonderland Treatment Center, the same drug rehab Lianne attended.

----------

Still exhausted from the events of the past few days, Veronica has fallen asleep in the hospital waiting room. She is awakened by shouting, and sits up quickly, realizing the angry voices are coming from Logan's room. "What's going on?" she asks Mac and Dick. They shrug, looking confused; Veronica jumps up and runs to Logan's room and peeks in.

Logan and Enbom are fighting. "What the hell are you talking about, arraignment?" Logan says angrily.

"I told you, she is bad news, you have to cut her loose, Veronica just causes trouble for you. She's a murdering slut. Hopefully they'll put her away forever and maybe you can actually move on this time," Enbom snipes.

"Get the hell outta here!" Logan roars at him.

"I can't believe you, bro's before ho's, dude, that's the rule." Enbom leaves, shaking his head. He pushes past Veronica, glaring at her.

"What happened?" Veronica asks.

"Veronica, are you being arraigned tomorrow?" Logan says through gritted teeth.

"Yes, well maybe not, Cliff is meeting with the judge..." Veronica starts to explain.

Logan is furious. "What the hell are you doing here? You and Keith should be in Neptune working on your case, not here fussing over me! Did you contact the lawyers I got the last time?"

"Yes, Cliff contacted them. They are helping him; Cliff is trying to get the arraignment postponed until Monday. Please calm down, I'm worried you're going to hurt yourself...."

"Fuck, Veronica, stop worrying about me and worry about yourself for one goddamn minute! I want to see that Dateline story. Can't you get it on your laptop so I can watch it? From what that asshole Enbom said, they made both of us look like murderers," Logan shouts.

The nurse comes in. "What's going on in here? If you're going to upset the patient, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. Perhaps Mr. Echolls shouldn't have any visitors, he's still at risk of a relapse, you know."

Logan calms himself perceptibly. "It's okay. I just...I just got a little excited when I heard some bad news. I promise we'll be quiet, and I won't get excited. Veronica and I are just going to watch a little TV."

The nurse looks at Veronica. Veronica says, "I promise not to upset him," glancing at Logan, who nods that he will behave. The nurse exits the room after making a note on the chart, saying, "Any more commotion, and I'm going to call the doctor."

Veronica gets her laptop and brings it to Logan's bed. She finds the Dateline website and cues up the video, turning the laptop screen so Logan can see it. She herself has watched the video several times, and the images and words are burned into her brain. Logan watches the show, seething. At times, he grabs at the sheets on the bed, twisting them in ineffectual frustration. When his mug shot comes onscreen, his face turns an angry red.

"Logan, it's going to be all right...." Veronica starts, but Logan shushes her, intent on the screen. When the video ends, Logan grimly starts it again from the beginning. His despair is palpable.

----------

In Judge Cramer's office, Cliff asks if he can ask the eyewitness a few questions. The judge waves his hand magnanimously, and Cliff extracts some small photographs from his briefcase. He first shows the photos to the district attorney, saying he wants Mulvaney to repeat his identification with a new photo array. The district attorney nods that the photo array is acceptable to him.

"Mr. Mulvaney, could you pick out the woman you saw from these photos?" Cliff says, unctuously.

"Of course, I know what I saw, I mean who I saw," Mulvaney replies, a little uncertainly, worried that this is a trick. He scans the photos, sees Veronica Mars right away and points to her. "This is her, I'm sure of it." He sits back in his chair, relieved.

Cliff takes the photos to the judge, saying, "I'm sure you want to examine this array as well, your honor." He puts the photos out one at a time for the judge to examine, taking his time with the fourth photo, which happens to be a photo of Wendy, the judge's favorite hooker. The judge looks up immediately at Cliff, who smiles and nods, saying, "Just a random of selection of blonde women, of course."

Cliff picks up the photos again and puts them down again in front of Mulvaney. "What...tickled...your memory, Mr. Mulvaney? This was several weeks ago, and yet you just came forward now." Cliff glances at the judge, and is pleased to see by the judge's expression that the word 'tickled' did not pass unnoticed.

"Well, I saw her picture in the newspaper, and it like...uh...triggered a memory," Mulvaney answers, obviously relieved to remember his coaching.

"But your memory didn't surface when Ms. Mars' photos were featured prominently in the news when she was first arraigned? You didn't think to come forward at that time?" Cliff asks, sarcastically. "Perhaps your criminal background had something to do with the timing of your renewed memories." Addressing his next comments to the judge, "This witness appears to be suffering from recovered memory syndrome. I submit that this eyewitness adds little to the prosecution's case. The defense respectfully requests additional time to investigate this witness before my client is arraigned, solely on the basis of this disreputable testimony."

Judge Cramer glances at the photos again, then meets Cliff's eyes. "Motion granted. Defense request for more time to investigate the eyewitness before arraignment is so ordered. Arraignment to take place at 2:00pm Monday afternoon."

"Thank you, your honor. Always a pleasure," Cliff says, putting away the photos and snapping his briefcase closed.

----------

At the Annenberg School of Journalism at USC, Keith tracks down the head of the journalism department. "Professor Holdredge? My name is Keith Mars. Do you have time to speak with me? I'm a private investigator in Neptune and I believe you may have crucial information in an important case." He shows the professor his credentials, and takes the seat he is offered.

"How can I help you, Mr. Mars?" Professor Holdredge asks.

"Do you remember this student, Carolyn Murray?" Keith gives the professor a photograph. "She may have gone by Carrie Murray, or Carrie Phipps."

The professor's face darkens in fury. "Of course I remember her. She was nothing but trouble and the worst student I can remember in recent history."

The professor relates that Carrie was caught plagiarizing, not once but twice; when confronted with her misdeeds, she responded by trying to seduce her professor, who rebuffed her advances. She then claimed that he offered to give her an "A" in return for sex. Luckily, another professor happened to witness the seduction attempt, and backed up the professor's story. Holdredge adds, "When we investigated her further, we discovered that she had falsified her high school transcript, and had inflated her grade point average substantially. She was brought up on these charges to the disciplinary committee, which voted unanimously to expel her."

Keith asks, "Would you be willing to testify to that in court if necessary?"

"Absolutely; the professor she tried to seduce is one of my best friends. The accusations that Carrie made caused him a great deal of embarrassment, and hurt his marriage. I assume that this has something to do with the story she reported for Dateline? You can't believe a word that Carrie reports, and I'll certainly testify to that," the professor asserts.

----------

Logan, furious, watches the Dateline video conclude with Carrie summarizing Veronica's criminal exploits. How could I have let her into our lives? He keeps glancing at Veronica, feeling guilty about his role in this debacle.

"Veronica Mars has been willing to go to any length to help Duncan in the past. Could Wiedman's murder have been a conspiracy between the three longtime friends and lovers to clear Duncan once and for all?" Carrie says salaciously.

"What of Ms. Mars' criminal record? She was cited, but not charged in a break-in at the Neptune Sheriff's Department in 2005; in the Echolls trial, it was revealed that, one year later, she broke into the home of upstanding Neptune residents, Stewart and Rose Manning. Again, she was not charged, possibly due to her father's connections. She was arrested in 2007 for aiding and abetting the escape of yet another fugitive from justice. These charges were not pursued, subsequent to her father's reappointment as interim sheriff. A short time thereafter, she reportedly broke into the home of Jake Kane and stole cutting-edge computer software. It is believed that damning video footage of Ms. Mars was destroyed by her father, still serving as temporary sheriff, though not for long after this information was revealed by the Balboa county district attorney. Throughout her vivid career, Ms. Mars has managed to avoid prosecution until now."

Each word is like a knife to Veronica's heart; she has never considered the sum total of her misdeeds before the expose. She has never realized how each risk she takes adds up to a sordid resume. Along the way, she has never regretted or reconsidered anything she did, but for the first time she has doubts. Her eyes well with tears and she tries valiantly to hold them back, but soon begins to sob, thinking of her many missteps along the way. She thinks about accusing Logan of Lilly's murder, which drove him onto the bridge to be arrested that night; she regrets her actions that cost her dad the sheriff's election; she mourns the friendships that she put on hold in order to pursue justice single-mindedly. And she is terrified about the arraignment, despite the easy confidence she has displayed to Logan.

When Logan notices her sobbing, he exclaims, "Shit...please stop crying...Veronica!" When she doesn't answer, he tries to get out of the hospital bed, knocking over his water pitcher on the bedside table.

She looks up at the noise, and sees him getting out of bed. She wipes at her eyes and walks over to him, saying, "What are you doing? You're not supposed to be out of bed."

"Then you have to stop crying. I can't stand to see it...I have to hold you and comfort you," Logan says, his voice breaking. "Veronica, please, we'll help each other...just...please don't cry. It's my fault that Carrie found this stuff out." The thought of his warrior Veronica sobbing is too much for him to bear. He struggles again to get out of the bed to go to her.

"Stop, you'll hurt yourself!" Veronica makes up her mind and sits on the bed next to Logan. She urges him back to a supine position. Carefully avoiding all of his injuries, she stretches out, laying by his side, and putting her hand gently on his chest. "What the hell are we going to do, Logan?" she says, despondently.

"I don't know, Veronica," Logan says, thinking, even in his distress, how much he has missed hearing her say his name. With his uninjured hand, he strokes her shoulder, quieting her sobs.

********************************************************
VERONICA MARS
10:00PM TFX ch: 92 60min 2008 TV-MA
Logan's Run
Logan strikes back; Leo's on a roll.
Veronica: Kristin Bell. Keith: Enrico Colantoni.
Logan: Jason Dohring. Leo: Max Greenfield.
Victor Hammer: Arye Gross. Mac: Tina
Majorino. Dick: Ryan Hansen.
********************************************************

CHAPTER FORTY: "LOGAN'S RUN"

When Keith returns to the hospital room, he is surprised to find Veronica curled up next to Logan on the bed. The two of them are sleeping soundly, and he is reluctant to wake them up. He knows Veronica is exhausted and emotionally distraught, despite her brave front, and of course Logan is still recovering from an incredibly traumatic accident. Keith sits down and wonders what precipitated Veronica's position on the bed after the standoff in the morning. He sees the laptop, still open to the Dateline website, and realizes that they watched the video from the show.

Veronica opens her eyes; she sees her dad, and sits up quickly, embarrassed. "We were..."

"You watched the Dateline video," he finishes for her, with a sympathetic look.

Veronica gets off the bed, and Logan wakes up as well. "Logan wanted to see it," she says. Suddenly remembering, she checks her watch, then asks, "Did Cliff call? What happened with the judge?"

"Worked like a charm, the arraignment is postponed to Monday at 2:00." Keith chuckles. Mock-sternly, he adds, "I don't want to hear about you trying to influence a judge ever again."

"Don't worry, I think I'm giving up the private detective business after this," Veronica says somberly.

Keith and Logan snort simultaneously. "That...will never happen," Logan snarks.

"Did you find out anything about Carolyn Murray?" Veronica asks, ignoring Logan's remark.

"Yes, she was expelled for plagiarism and for propositioning her professor to try to improve her grade. The department head is eager to testify against her if it comes to that," Keith relates.

"Testify?" Logan asks.

"Well, if this thing goes to trial, we can use this testimony to get the venue changed or the jury sequestered, and possibly we can show a conspiracy by Vinnie to fabricate evidence against Veronica," Keith explains.

"Are you thinking that Vinnie is responsible for the original forensic evidence against me?" Veronica cringes internally, thinking about Vinnie Van Lowe obtaining her menstrual blood.

"I didn't think so, but the phone calls between him and Carrie and the timing of the subpoena are making me wonder. I wouldn't put it past him to try to use this case to put him over the top in the sheriff's election."

Veronica is aghast. "Dad, I know you and Vinnie were always rivals, but I can't believe he'd send me to prison just to win the sheriff's race. He saved me that one time in the River Stix."

"Well, maybe it has to do with the Fitzpatricks. They seem to have a hold over him," Keith muses.

Logan adds, "I think Vinnie's afraid of you, Keith. I would bet he's trying to keep you from working on something else he's involved in, or at least keep you busy until after the election." He pauses, then continues, "I had an idea how we can turn this publicity around. I want to see if my attorneys can arrange an interview with 20/20 or Larry King, a rebuttal."

"Logan, no! You hate publicity and reporters. Don't do this...." Veronica pleads.

"Veronica, it's the only way. We have to get the public on our side, show that we are not monsters. And I have a bombshell that I can reveal," Logan continues.

Keith nods, agreeing with Logan's assessment. "Absolutely, that's a great idea."

"Bombshell?" Veronica echoes.

"Do you remember Neptune's new battered women's shelter, 'The Bridge'? Well, I'm the anonymous benefactor. I created it as a tribute to my mother," Logan explains quietly.

Veronica stares at him, shocked at his benevolence and humility. She recovers and says, "I'm really proud of you, that's a beautiful way to honor Lynne" and move past your own abuse, she adds mentally. "Take that, Carrie Murray, you bitch!" she says, exultantly.

"Not exactly the reason I did it," Logan reminds her.

"Still...let's get your attorneys to set it up. The sooner the better," Keith says.

----------

Leo rings the doorbell at Victor Hammer's palatial mansion, in the heart of '09'er territory. Hammer opens the door himself, a little puzzled to see Leo. "Deputy D'Amato, how can I help you? I hope you're not looking for a campaign donation."

"I'm here about a different matter," Leo explains. "I'd like you to listen to this CD." He holds up the disc. "I assume you have a stereo we can use."

Hammer looks at Leo balefully, then leads him to the back of the house to a multi-media room, with an oversize plasma television screen, several comfortable seats with cupholders, and more electronic equipment than the Sheriff's Department computer room. There are framed posters for several movies, including Hammer's most famous, 'Vector Force Ten'. Hammer takes the CD and inserts it into a slot, and presses a button. They hear Hammer discussing his therapy at Wonderland, and then making a drug deal.

"So you're taking over for Sheriff Lamb? What took you so long?" Hammer says bitterly. "I guess I'll be making a campaign contribution after all."

"You misunderstand. I'm not a blackmailer. I came upon Don Lamb's illegal activities by accident. I'm investigating the Clarence Wiedman murder," Leo explains.

"Oh right, I saw that interview. The Mars girl is your old girlfriend. You're looking to get her off."

"I'm proving her innocence by finding the real killer," Leo corrects him. "This has nothing to do with my relationship with her; I'm trying to solve the case. All the evidence against her was manufactured. She has an alibi."

"So what can I do for you?"

"Tell me about Wonderland Treatment Center, especially about the group therapy. Lianne Mars, Veronica's mother and Wiedman's victim, was there, and I think she starting blackmailing people who were there when she was," Leo replies.

"If you're a drug addict, and you're anybody famous, that's where you go. They have a reputation for the strictest confidentiality agreements, so celebrities flock there. And the group therapy is intense. The therapist in charge practically breaks you down, in order to get to the root of your addiction. People spill the juiciest secrets. It's practically the 'Perverted Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous'. And since everyone has something to hide, everyone keeps everyone else's secrets."

"Seems risky for all the celebrities who have so much to lose," Leo comments.

"Well, it's mutually-assured destruction, if you rat them out, they can rat you out. Plus, when you leave, you feel like you went through so much with the other patients that they're almost like family. It's actually an amazing place. It almost worked for me," he says regretfully.

But Lianne didn't have much to lose at that point, and everything to gain, Leo thinks.

----------

While Logan picks at a particularly unappetizing dinner and Keith and Veronica eat an equally disgusting meal of sandwiches from the hospital cafeteria, they watch the six o'clock news, which runs a report on the postponement of Veronica's arraignment.

"I can't believe they care about this in Los Angeles," Veronica sulks.

"You're national news now, baby. Welcome to my world; this is what it feels like to be a celebrity," Logan snarks.

She glares at him.

Keith intervenes, saying, "Let's focus on the good news. We have the whole weekend to try to find something to question Mulvaney's credibility. Without any new evidence, I don't think the arraignment will proceed."

The phone by Logan's bed rings. "Hello?...Thanks for getting back so quickly. Is there any interest?...You're kidding....That's great. Go ahead and set it up. Thanks again." He hangs up and turns to Keith and Veronica. "20/20 wants to do a live interview with me and Veronica, tomorrow night. They're preempting their regular show to do a live feed from the hospital. It'll broadcast live at 10:00 eastern time and on tape delay here. They agreed to allow the lawyers to vet the questions ahead of time so there will be no surprises. They're also going to air an interview with the USC journalism professor that you found, Keith."

Veronica high-fives Keith, and grins at Logan. "Now we just have to figure out how to answer the questions."

"Veronica, don't try to massage this. Be truthful, let them know how hurt and devastated you are by everything that's happened. You need to let your guard down for once," Keith says.

"Tomorrow's going to be crazy. We'll meet with the attorneys, then they'll conduct a pre-interview, and then we go over it again with the attorneys," Logan explains.

"Don't forget you've got the session with the occupational therapist also. If she clears you, we can take you to Neptune on Saturday," Keith says.

"Knock, knock?" Mac peeks her head in. "Eww, hospital food. I made Dick take us to a vegetarian restaurant, I was pretty sick of cereal and french fries."

Dick whispers to Logan, "I'm gonna get a burger later."

"How are you doing tonight? When we looked in before, you guys were sleeping so we decided to get dinner," Mac says.

"I feel okay, still pretty tired....Veronica showed me the Dateline video. We decided to retaliate by doing an interview on 20/20. It's going to air tomorrow night, live on tape delay," Logan explains.

Dick raises his eyebrows at Logan. Logan shrugs, and says, "I know. But it seems like the best option, we have to get people on Veronica's side."

"On our side, you mean," Veronica amends. "You took a beating on that video along with me."

"And we found out that Carrie was kicked out of journalism school for plagiarizing and propositioning a professor. I just wish I had some photographs of her and me together to prove that she was unethical in her investigation," Logan says regretfully.

"You never took any pictures of her?" Veronica asks.

"I did, but my computer crashed a while ago, and I hadn't saved them on disk and I lost them all. I was lucky I had saved all my writing," Logan explains.

"I have a picture of her and you," Mac says. "You guys looked so gorgeous dancing in Vegas, I took a picture with my cell phone. I'm pretty sure it's still on my phone." She looks at Veronica, trying to say sorry with her eyes. Mac takes out her phone and scrolls through the saved pictures. "You know, Logan, I bet Carrie crashed your computer on purpose before she left to cover up her tracks." Mac emails a copy of a photo to Veronica's laptop and Veronica opens the file. Logan and Carrie are dancing, Logan in his tux, Carrie in her gold, shimmering gown. They are gazing into each other's eyes, smiling; Logan is brushing a strand of hair off Carrie's face. Veronica looks a little sick and Logan avoids looking at her.

"Mac, this is fantastic. We'll forward this to our attorneys right away, this proves that the Dateline report was a setup. I'm sure they'll want to use this in the interview tomorrow," Keith exults.

"Fantastic," Logan mutters.

Dick clears his throat. "Uh, do you guys think it would be okay if Mac and I go back to Neptune tonight? Mac has a class tomorrow she doesn't want to miss, and um...I'm thinking of going to my classes too." He looks at their stunned faces. "I'm tired of being a fuckup."

"You're not a fuckup, you got me to the hospital when you needed to," Logan replies.

"Yeah, and crashed the car," he says morosely.

"I think you're a hero, Dick," Veronica says, going over and hugging him. "It's a good thing you were there for Logan."

Keith says, "Dick, can I catch a ride with you and Mac? The more that I think about it, I'd like to get back to Neptune and take charge of the investigation into Mulvaney. And Leo sent me a text message that he wants to meet with me as soon as possible. Veronica, you can drive Logan back to Neptune on Saturday. I'd like to be here with you two tomorrow, but I have the feeling that I really need to be working on the case. You'll have the attorneys to advise you every step of the way, and I'm only two hours away if you need me."

Veronica looks at Logan, thinking about two hours alone in a car with him. That used to be her idea of heaven, but his mercurial moods of late have her worried. "Okay," she says finally. "We'll be in touch by phone."

Chapter 41

Comments

YOLD

[(Anonymous)]

I really like the idea that Lamb let Duncan and Veronica go because he wanted to blackmail him. Of course they thought it was Veronica. In general the blackmail issue makes a lot of things about Lamb fall into place.

I suspect, on consideration, that Logan's attitude towards Veronica at this point is what causes problems for her in YOLD2, which is a nice bit of continuity looking forward. Also, I react to these characters asthe canon characters, so the voices must be correct.

I thought Veronica had seen some of her missteps at the end of the 3rd season and grieved for them? Also, teenager. Keith makes as many mistakes that are not presented as moral failings. I guess in the show, too, everything was veronica's fault and responsibility. Perhaps it is just her nature, and how people can hurt her.

I'm glad Dick isn't presented as a moron. I always figured he was smart enough, just not as smart as Cassidy.

--Summergoose