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vanessagalorePrevious chapters can be found here.
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VERONICA MARS
10:00PM TFX ch: 92 60min 2008 TV-MA
The Good Mother
What happened next.
Veronica: Kristin Bell. Logan: Jason Dohring.
Keith: Enrico Colantoni. Leo: Max Greenfield.
Mike Fields: Michael Trucco. Carrie: Amber
Heard. Vinnie Van Lowe: Ken Marino. Jake
Kane: Kyle Secor. Celeste Kane: Lisa
Thornhill. Special appearances by...??
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EPILOGUE: "THE GOOD MOTHER"
One week later....
Leo D'Amato rings the doorbell at the Kane mansion in Pemberton Estates. Jake Kane answers the door personally, saying, "Deputy D'Amato. I guess congratulations are in order. It looks like you'll be winning the election tomorrow."
"Well, with Vinnie Van Lowe indicted for racketeering, I'm running unopposed. Unless there's a significant write-in vote...." Leo shrugs.
"What can I do for you? Now that Clarence Wiedman's murder has been solved, I wasn't expecting to hear from you again." Jake Kane ushers Leo into the living room, where Celeste is already seated.
Leo takes out a package and hands it to Jake. "This is evidence that Stewart Manning was abusing his daughter Grace. He was being blackmailed and I came into possession of the blackmailer's...assets," he finally concludes. "I think it might be helpful in your son's kidnapping amnesty deal. Your lawyers will know how to use this to your advantage. But you didn't get this evidence officially." He stands up to leave.
Celeste says, "Thank you, Deputy. This is very...generous of you."
"Don't thank me. I was going to destroy it. But Veronica Mars convinced me that Duncan has suffered enough for what was basically a courageous act, and suggested I give the evidence to you," Leo explains.
Celeste asks, "Veronica?", looking at her husband, who is completely flummoxed.
----------
In a sleazy bar in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco, Carrie Murphy carelessly wipes down a table with a bar rag while watching the news on the television. The report concludes with a statement that all charges against Veronica Mars have been dropped, due to the evidence that has surfaced regarding Neptune socialite, Harmony Chase. The report shows Veronica leaving the courtroom, with her dad's arm around her. A reporter shoves a microphone in Veronica's face and asks what's next for the detective. Veronica simply says, "We're just trying to move on. I'm trying to catch up on my classes at Hearst College. I'm thankful that my dad and my boyfriend and I are unhurt."
The reporter queries, "Are you planning to sue Dateline and Carolyn Murray?"
Veronica shakes her head no, and with her dad, pushes through the crowd of reporters.
Carrie vows that someday Veronica will know the humiliation that she's feeling right now. She scowls and begins clearing empty glasses from the tables.
----------
Veronica has been asking Logan if she could read one of his stories, and finally, one day when they are hanging out in her old bedroom, he acquiesces. He opens the file on his laptop for her and, using one crutch, goes into the Mars' kitchen to make some coffee while she reads.
When he returns to the bedroom, she looks up in puzzlement. "Are you sure about this, Logan?"
"It's the only thing that makes sense," he replies, sitting down next to her.
"But..."
"Can you think of another explanation?"
"No...." Veronica admits. She reads aloud from the story, "'The deputy received a call from the accused murderer awaiting trial. He offered two millions dollars if the deputy would arrange to take all copies of the videotape evidence from the evidence storage room.'" Turning to Logan, "I thought Leo was going to sell the tapes to a tabloid."
"But then why would he need to steal ALL the copies? He could have stolen only one copy to sell to the tabloids, and the case wouldn't have been jeopardized; Aaron would probably be rotting in jail right now. No, Leo had to have stolen them for Aaron, to destroy the evidence," Logan concludes.
Veronica turns on the television, and they see a news broadcast, with the banner reading, 'Neptune elects new sheriff, Leo D'Amato'. "So our new sheriff is...."
"Let's just say, the more things change, the more they stay the same, at least in Neptune," Logan finishes for her.
----------
"Agent Fields, thanks for coming in today," the gray-suited bureaucrat says.
Mike Fields takes a seat nervously. He looks at the two forbidding gentlemen seated on the other side of the desk, perusing several file folders. Mike fiddles with his tie and says, "Chief, what's going on?"
"We've been examining your record vis-à-vis the Mars case. It has come to our attention that you unofficially used bureau resources to help Ms. Mars," the chief replies.
Mike responds hesitantly, "Yes, I did. She needed help, and she wasn't getting it from the local authorities. You know that the local sheriff was arrested for racketeering? They added criminal conspiracy charges as well..."
The chief holds up his hand. "Agent Fields, that's all I need to hear. You're admitting using your bureau connections in an unauthorized investigation performed by a civilian." The chief looks at his colleague, who shrugs. "We don't have a choice here. You can accept a two-week suspension without pay and a demotion, or we can terminate your employment immediately."
Mike swallows, and says, "Of course, I'll take the demotion. Sir...what about Ms. Mars? She's been in the internship program for two years now; is she in trouble as well? She's a fine investigator, and I think she'll be quite as asset for the FBI."
The two bureaucrats exchange a glance, and the chief replies, "We're not sure Ms. Mars is cut out for the FBI. We have a particular way of doing things. We like to follow the rules. Perhaps she would be more suited for the CIA; they have a reputation for being cowboys and acting without constraints in foreign countries. Veronica Mars' file is under review at this time. We'll be in contact with her directly, of course."
----------
Katerina Beversdorf, formerly Kendall Casablancas, nee Priscilla Banks, sits on a chaise longue on a private tropical island off the coast of Venezuela. She is reading the International Herald Tribune, which has a short story summarizing the recent murders and arrests in Neptune, California. Reflecting, Katerina twirls a strand of her beautifully highlighted blonde hair; with her long manicured nail she fingers the scar on her scalp. She wonders what Keith did with the painting of the 'Two Lovers'. Katerina considers whether the time might finally be right for her to return to Neptune to take care of unfinished business, now that Liam is behind bars.
----------
"I got your message that you wanted to see me. I gotta tell you, Vinnie, I really don't even want to look at your ugly mug," Keith says.
Behind bars at the Neptune Sheriff's Department, Vinnie Van Lowe says, "I told Cliff that I needed you to help with my defense."
Keith rolls his eyes. Cliff loves to play both sides. He would represent Satan himself if the opportunity presented itself. "Vinnie, why did you target my daughter for Wiedman's murder? What the hell did the Mars family ever do to you?"
"It was Liam's idea. Let's just say that...the Fitzpatricks know where the bodies are buried. They know a few not-so-nice facts about the Vinman," Vinnie explains.
"So Liam told you to go after Veronica?" Keith asks.
"Yes. Liam saw how distracted you got when Veronica was first implicated and he wanted to make sure you weren't looking too closely at our..uh...activities."
"So tell me, Vinnie, why the hell should I help you with your defense?"
"Because I'm the one person that can testify to Veronica's role in helping Duncan Kane flee the country with his daughter," Vinnie says smugly. "Quid pro kid, or whatever it is they say, Keith. You scratch my back, and I don't talk about the Neptune Babynappers."
Gory Sorokin reads about the Neptune murders in the Newark Star-Ledger over his breakfast. He gets angrier and angrier, reading about the bitch and her asshole boyfriend and their narrow escape from a crazed madwoman. He looks at the picture of Logan with his arm around Veronica's shoulder and stabs it, viciously, with his fork. He fumes about Veronica and Logan, until Gory realizes that Veronica has nothing to hold over his head now that his father and uncle are both serving life prison terms for murder. He smiles and thinks how nice the weather is in Southern California this time of year.
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Veronica and Keith enter the vault area of the Phoenix Savings and Loan. The bank officer accompanying them prattles on, "When the box rent is thirty days overdue, we try to reach the renter. In this case, the address she gave us was fraudulent, so we contacted the state, who told us that Lianne Mars was deceased. Then we contacted the next-of-kin listed on the agreement. Of course, you know all that." She uses her keys to unlock the large box numbered 5620. Then she uses a master key to unlock the lock that would normally be opened by the box renter's key. "Sign here, please." Keith complies with her request. The bank officer then opens a cubicle at the rear of the vault area and ushers Keith and Veronica in, placing the box on the desk in the small room. The bank officer leaves, shutting the cubicle door behind her.
Keith motions that Veronica should do the honors. She opens the box and sees numerous bundles of cash. She looks at her dad. They are not greatly surprised; when they found out about the safety deposit box, they suspected that it might contain cash and blackmail evidence. But to their shock, they also see an envelope marked 'Veronica'. Veronica opens it and reads aloud.
Dearest Veronica,
If you are reading this, I have died, probably in some gruesome way, and I have caused you misery yet again. Darling, I have taken up a despicable career as a blackmailer. I am not proud of my actions. When I was a patient at Wonderland, I came upon some information about a man who had caused me great pain in the past, Clarence Wiedman. I discovered that he had been conducting an illicit affair with another man who was also a patient at Wonderland. I am ashamed to say that I realized I could blackmail this man and Wiedman to try to earn money to pay back you and your father for the money I took from you.
I love you, Veronica, with all my heart. If I could make up for what I did to you I would. I am trying with every fiber of my being to stay sober in hopes that someday I will be worthy to come back to you.
All my love,
Mom
Veronica looks at her dad with tears in her eyes. "Why didn't she just come home? That's all I ever wanted from her."
Keith hugs her. Stroking her back, he says, "Lianne was trying the only way she could figure out. She loved you, honey, she loved you to death."
THE END
A/N: So...I really put Logan through the wringer in this one, huh? In one week, he got beaten up in a bar fight, broke a glass door with his hand and broke his leg in a car accident (not to mention menaced by a psychopath, and of course an alcoholic binge). Veronica got off with just a cut on the forehead. But...did you notice, who was the only one who actually figured out the mystery? It was Logan. Veronica made it all personal, like she always does, and got sidetracked, thinking it was one of her old enemies.
I really wanted more Wallace. He's the heart of the show in many ways. But even with him working at Mars Investigations it was hard to keep him around. I also wanted more Weevil!!
There were a few things in my story that I am not sure people noticed. At least not many people commented. I guess I was more subtle than I thought, or you all think my little shout-outs are dumb.
All the names I used were writers or crew members who worked on Veronica Mars (just like the real writers did) with a couple notable exceptions.
• Keith's fictional characters are obviously the characters from Roswell, because without Roswell and Buffy, there would have been no Veronica Mars.
• Mac's gambling aliases are: Maggie Murphy, who according to 'Neptune Noir', was the UPN exec who originally green-lit the pilot; and Gail Simone, a comic book writer who coined the term 'Women in Refrigerators', a literary conceit regarding the plot device of a female character in peril. (See 'Neptune Noir', a collection of essays about Veronica Mars, for more information and lots of fun stuff.)
• Katerina Beversdorf is just a fun porn name.
The sign 'Simi Valley Road, Next Left' that Veronica sees on the PCH is a 'Big Lebowski' reference: it's the sign on the road just before the Dude tries to pay the kidnap ransom.
CREDITS:
Jimmy C, my mechanic and car crash consultant
Babushcka, my Spanish cursing consultant
VMLoVeR87, who previewed my smut and reassured me
Team Nitpicker (which is still taking applications for membership):
Kou Shun'u, Candlewaxdreams, kwatchingoverme, poniesforall
InigoMontoya, the incomparable transcriptionist at twiztv.com
MarsInvestigations.net, for their superb character database and knowledge of all things Veronica
UrbanDictionary.com, my dialog coach
imdb, my movie title source
MapQuest, my travel agent
Wick E. P. Dia, my consultant on everything else
A big thanks to Kazy, who insisted that I had to put more clues in.
My solution: I added that the anonymous letters were made up of DVD inserts from the noir movies that Harmony saw with Keith; I also stressed a couple other clues that were already there: 1) the fingerprint from the break-in not being from any of the suspects we had been looking at, and 2) no pick marks on the lock at the break-in, indicating the vandal had keys to the office and must be someone who was personally involved with one of the Mars. Of course, Harmony was at church the day Keith and Veronica were menaced on the road. Theoretically, you can figure it out from the clues. I liked making the DVD insert clue, because it also goes along with all my chapter titles, which are mostly noir-ish as well.
So if you were wondering, this is the primary difference between what I originally posted at Fanfiction.net and what I posted here. The mystery was a little more "what the frak" there.
THANKS TO:
Mrs. Brunswick, my 10th grade English teacher, who would probably be appalled ("Prolix!!")
John D. MacDonald, my favorite author in the hard-boiled genre
Rob Thomas, Diane Ruggiero, Phil Klemmer, et al, who wrote a great TV show but need to stop watching 'The Big Lebowski'
All the actors, writers and crew who made the show great and who will hopefully not sue me
Thanks for reading!! My goodness, 103,000 words. You all deserve a medal.
AND...just because everyone was so nice and left comments that really made me feel great, I started writing a sequel. You can find it here! I hope you enjoy it!
YOLD
Date: 2016-04-04 08:58 pm (UTC)It was fun seeing Veronica and Keith try to figure it out. Keith was the one that really messed up, though.
I still think Veronica deserves some actual guidance or structure in life, certain Logan and Keith don't count, and she never does get a Psychiatrist of her own. It is too bad about the fbi, it seemed like that might have been it. She really does follow orders pretty well, or she wouldn't be such a good student.
I'm not sure I believe Logan could have had sex at that point?
--Summergoose