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vanessagalorePrevious chapters: Ch. 1-3 | Ch. 4-7 | Ch. 8-10
Ch. 11-13 | Ch. 14-17 | Ch. 18-20 | Ch. 21-24
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VERONICA MARS
10:00PM SHO ch: 340 60min 2009 TV-MA
Chasing the Storm
Veronica helps Wallace with Candice's missing
brother; Mac goes boldly into a new frontier;
Veronica demonstrates her gastronomic
prowess; Logan tries to heal.
Veronica: Kristen Bell. Wallace: Percy Daggs III.
Mac: Tina Majorino. Mordroc: Gabriel Tigerman.
Hans van Dornward: Kenny Johnson. Logan:
Jason Dohring.
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CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: "CHASING THE STORM"
Wed. 2/4/09: Mars Investigations, Neptune, CA
Veronica is sitting lost in thought about Logan's possible whereabouts at the computer in Mars Investigations when she hears a key in the lock. She looks up, expecting to see her dad, but it's Wallace and Candice instead.
Candice says, recognizing Veronica, "Wait, this is the girl who dumped my lunch tray."
Veronica steps out from behind the desk and says, "Nice to see you again, Candice. Wallace has told me a lot about you."
Candice turns to Wallace and comments, "So that was a setup?" She gives him a stony look.
"C'mon, don't be that way. I just wanted to give you a chance to appreciate the mad flava of Fennel." He grins at her, and she relents, smiling back. "Veronica, I'm glad you're here. Candice...well, Candice needs your help with something."
Candice, urged on by Wallace, explains to Veronica that she is trying to locate her half-brother Shawn, missing for a year, and last seen at Hearst College in December of 2007.
"You talked to the roommate, and he didn't know anything?" Veronica asks. Candice nods, and Veronica continues, "What about other friends?"
"I think Shawn had some friends at the Alpha Rho Nu fraternity. The roommate said they didn't hang out at all; the roommate is premed and Organic Chemistry was kicking his ass that semester. He said he was at the library until closing every night and hardly saw Shawn," Candice replies. "Shawn didn't do sports at all, so there aren't any teammates to talk to, and I haven't really been able to find out who his friends were at all other than the guys at the fraternity."
Candice looks at Wallace for support, and he nods to go on. "Veronica, Shawn was pretty messed up on meth when he was younger. My dad and uncle saw what was going on and got him into a rehab, and he seemed like he was clean. My dad tried to convince Shawn to stay in Atlanta for college so he could have the family to lean on for support, but Shawn really wanted to come to California. Shawn took a year off before college and earned money to help pay for his education to prove to my dad he was mature enough to leave home. Then when Shawn got great financial aid here, my dad relented and let him come to Hearst. The first three years, Shawn did great. But the school sent us his final report card after Shawn went missing, and it was...well, two incompletes, an F and 2 C's. He'd been a solid B student before that."
"So you think he started using again?" Veronica asks. Meth...shit, that means the Fitzpatricks.
Candice nods unhappily. "Veronica...I have the feeling that Shawn is dead. No matter how much he was tweaking, he always stayed in contact with me. But I have to know what happened to him." Wallace rubs her shoulders, trying to comfort her.
"Candice, I think the first thing to do is to check John Does in neighboring towns to see if there were any unidentified bodies in the time period just after your brother's disappearance. Sheriff Van Lowe should have done that for your father, but it's likely that he didn't bother." Seeing Candice's stricken expression, Veronica adds gently, "Candice, he's probably okay...maybe he got in trouble and didn't want to face your family. We just need to eliminate the possibility."
Veronica turns to Wallace, saying, "I'll help you get started on the John Does. And you should check all the databases, Wallace. Maybe he's in prison and was too embarrassed to contact the family. Check the court transcripts; see if there's any possibility he changed his name; vital statistics should be able to tell you if he applied for a marriage license; contact the county welfare office to see if he applied for welfare or food stamps; and DMV can tell you if he renewed his driver's license. Don't forget to check the credit reports: I'm assuming you have his social security number." Candice nods, looking vaguely relieved as Veronica lists all the places they can check for Shawn.
Veronica shows Wallace how to run a search for deceased John Does and leaves to change for her dinner with the paparazzo photographer, Hans van Dornward. She purposely selected the most expensive Italian restaurant in San Diego, vowing to at least make the photographer pay monetarily for his indiscreet photos. On the way to San Diego, she calls Weevil, asking him if he'd be free for a trip to Los Angeles. Weevil agrees to go with her on Friday.
Wed. 2/4/09: Hearst College, Neptune, CA
Mac finishes her studying for the evening and gets her cell phone. I don't know why I'm so nervous; this is ridiculous. Finally, she gets up her nerve and dials Rick Picket.
"Hi Rick, it's Mac."
Rick/Mordroc replies, "Hey, what up, Mac?"
Mac clears her throat. "Well, there's a showing of 'The Empire Strikes Back' at the Film Forum on Saturday. I was wondering–"
"I'd love to go," he breaks in. "Can we meet for dinner first? At the Diner maybe?"
Mac smiles as she feels her nervousness dissipate. "Absolutely. How's it going with the flirt-bot investigation? Have you made any progress?"
"Well, thanks to your help, I think we're getting close. The Cult is hoping to have something to take to the FBI soon. There's a few of us working on the problem now, and we had a breakthrough last night. The program has much more widespread distribution than we thought. Any more incursions on your site?"
"No, it seems clean so far, thanks to you."
"I'm glad you called; I'm looking forward to Saturday. Do you want to meet at 6:00 at the Diner?"
Mac agrees, and as they end the conversation she smiles, anticipating a fun evening.
Veronica has dressed carefully for her dinner at the restaurant with the paparazzo. She is hoping that wherever Logan is, he'll see her picture and decide to come home. At the same time, she wants to avoid an overtly sexy appearance, thinking, I've been overexposed as it is. She settles on a sky-blue dress with cap sleeves and a fitted bodice; she knows Logan loves the color on her but the dress is not too revealing. Veronica adds a simple strand of pearls that Logan gave her for Christmas. She is careful to apply her makeup with subtlety and spends ages on her hair, trying different styles; she finally gathers her hair into a loose chignon with a few hairs strategically wisping around her face.
When she arrives at Trattoria Acqua, the paparazzo is waiting for her at the entrance. He notes her appearance appreciatively and asks, "Ms. Mars?"
"You must be Mr. van Dornward."
"Hans, please," he says, extending his hand for a handshake.
"Hans, could we possibly shoot the pictures before we eat? I tend to be...well, let's say a 'hearty' eater, and I'm afraid I might spill something on my dress," Veronica says with her most winning smile. I haven't eaten since breakfast...I hope Hans has a high credit limit on his Amex.
Hans escorts her to the patio in the rear of the restaurant, and he takes a series of photos before they head into the restaurant.
Veronica spends a moment discerning the priciest options on the menu, then settles on Aragosta Fritti (lobster with an avocado and strawberry salad) for her appetizer and Filetto di Bue (Filet Mignon, with puréed squash, sautéed spinach, and smoked bacon, in a reduction sauce) for her entrée. Chuckling internally at van Dornward's expression, she finally takes pity and orders a relatively inexpensive Cappellini al Pomodoro for her pasta selection. "Sparkling water to drink, please."
Hans rouses himself from his stunned price calculations and asks quickly, "Are you sure you don't want wine? They have a great wine list here. Or maybe something from the bar."
Not a chance in hell I'm going to drink a drop around a reporter. "No, that's okay. I'm really not a drinker," she replies, flashing her most winning smile.
Hans orders Penne con Ragu Piemontese, one of the more economical options, and begins to raid the bread basket as Veronica is served her appetizer.
As the meal progresses, Hans watches in amazement as Veronica eats every bite of her order. She restrains herself from moaning in delight at the exquisite flavor combinations, but she is enjoying her petty revenge on the photographer as much as possible.
After the pasta course, Hans asks Veronica some questions about Logan. "Did you know that Logan was going to leave the country?"
Veronica pats her mouth delicately with her napkin and gives her carefully considered reply. "Logan has been understandably upset about the death of Hannah Griffith. He mentioned to me that he needed a change of scenery and an opportunity to relax away from the crowds of Los Angeles, so I wasn't surprised that he left. He knows that I am unable to take time off from my studies due to the requirements of my scholarship and was therefore unable to accompany him."
"But did he tell you where he was going?" Hans presses.
"Logan was concerned that his phone and email were not secure. There was an incident recently where his privacy was violated, so I'm sure he was being careful about telegraphing his intentions to the media." Veronica muses that perhaps she could have a career as a publicist if the private eye thing doesn't work out.
Hans asks, "So you're not upset with him?"
"Of course not. I love Logan, and I look forward to seeing him again as soon as possible. I'm sure that the FBI is going to have a break in the case soon, and everyone will see how ridiculous these allegations were." Careful, Veronica.
"Are you investigating the serial killer? Are you trying to clear Logan's name?" Hans asks excitedly.
"Of course not. Logan is not suspected of any crime, and the serial murders are an investigation that needs to be left to the professionals," Veronica says, crossing her fingers under the table, thinking about her ex-boyfriend Mike Field's reluctant promise to get her copies of the pertinent information from the FBI's investigation.
Their server comes to the table and inquires as to their dessert selection. Hans proclaims that he is stuffed. Veronica smiles and says, "I was considering the dessert sampler, but I think I'd like the Cappicino semifreddo instead."
Hans looks at her as if she's a circus freak. When the luscious chocolate mousse arrives, Veronica digs in and can't helping moaning a little at the transcendent perfection of her dessert selection.
After terminating his cell phone conversation with Dr. Friedman, Logan sits thinking for a long time. They spent an hour discussing his anger; Logan is truly bewildered by the demons raging inside him, especially his anger toward Veronica, but he again refused to try anti-depressants. At one point, he asked helplessly what he could do to feel better without the drugs, and Dr. Friedman suggested finding a place to do volunteer work. The therapist told Logan that volunteering combining with physical exercise could help a lot, but she still wished that he would consider the anti-depressants.
To Logan's surprise, Dr. Friedman then offered to contact Logan's professors and arrange extensions on his schoolwork. Logan has admitted to her that despite his hatred of schoolwork in high school, he has come to enjoy the screenwriting program at UCLA, and he is missing the discipline of his classes. Dr. Friedman stressed to him that he won't feel better unless he continues the work he has begun on his own mental health, which includes his studies. Logan accesses the UCLA Film Department website on his laptop and looks at the assignments his professors have posted since he left Los Angeles.
She didn't say it–she never says it, she's great that way–but I know the good doctor thinks I'm running away from my problems. Dammit, it's just not FAIR. I'm so goddamn angry about EVERYTHING. I had enough problems for ten lives already; I was just barely holding it together. Why did Hannah have to die? Maybe...maybe...maybe it's not my fault, like the doctor says. I just don't understand why it had to happen when things were finally going pretty well, finally things were almost okay. Then Duncan shows up, sniffing around Veronica again, then Hannah...I can't seem to escape the shitstorm. I can't bear to think that Veronica is ashamed of me. She's probably sobbing on Duncan's shoulder right now, regretting that she ever started up with me again. When do I get to be happy? Fuck, I'm not even asking for 'happy'; when I do get to feel OKAY?
He thinks about Dr. Friedman's response from their phone call: "You have to decide to be happy, Logan. You can't choose how the world treats you, but you can choose how you react to the world. I guarantee you that if you decide to be unhappy, you will be unhappy. You can't live outside the world forever; you need to find a way to live in it and survive. Maybe even learn how to thrive in the world." Logan wishes it was that easy, to just decide to be happy.
Logan looks again at the posted assignments, realizing that he can use a story he has written about Hannah for one of them. He cringes at the thought of exposing the rawness of his emotions, but after reflecting for a long time, begins to edit his story, taking out some of his most personal thoughts, in order to submit the story as his assignment.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
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Date: 2008-03-24 09:16 pm (UTC)