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VERONICA MARS
10:00PM SHO ch: 340 60min 2009 TV-MA
Emotional Rescue
Veronica and Logan, two emotional
cripples, deserve each other. Discuss
among yourselves.
Veronica: Kristen Bell. Logan: Jason Dohring.
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CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN: "EMOTIONAL RESCUE"
Tues. 2/24/09 evening: South Padre Island, Texas
Logan and Veronica continue to walk along the beach, each lost in their thoughts, worrying about the charges filed against Keith. After a while, Logan asks, "Veronica, what about Hannah's murder? You said you think she wasn't killed by the serial killer."
"I know she wasn't. I got copies of the case files from Mike Fields." She steals a glance at Logan, who frowns at the mention of her ex. She continues, "There are too many discrepancies. Hannah wasn't a habitual drug user, and she didn't have a rap sheet. I don't believe she was really a prostitute. But that's not all. Every other murder besides Hannah's was committed on a night of a full moon. In fact, there's been a murder on every Saturday that was also a full moon."
"You mean the dates of the murders aren't random?"
"Definitely not. But Logan, whoever killed her knew all the details of the serial killers M.O. There were certain things that were held back from the press, and Hannah's killer knew about them."
"So that means..."
"It means someone in law enforcement, or someone who can hack into the FBI's databanks. Mac told me the FBI security protocols are antiquated."
"What's Mac doing looking at FBI computers?" Logan asks.
Veronica sighs. "I forgot, you don't know. The Pi Sigs hired Mac to fix their computers, and she discovered that they had been infected with malware designed to perpetrate identity theft. She was working with another computer hacker, a guy named Rick Picket, on the problem, and they were tracing the incursion back to its origins. And Rick must have discovered something. He was working on the theory that it was Russian mafia, and he was killed. Whoever was behind Rick's murder tried to kill Mac with a package bomb. The FBI put her in protective custody, and she's helping their cybercrime division retrace Rick's investigation. I've had a couple emails from her."
"So I assume the FBI's going to pursue the full moon angle for the serial killer?"
Veronica remains silent.
"Veronica? You did tell the FBI what you figured out?"
Veronica shakes her head 'no'. "If it's someone in the FBI who killed Hannah, this information would alert them."
Logan turns and says, practically shouting, "You can't do this! You've got to stop taking chances like this. Veronica, why are you looking into Hannah's murder anyways?"
She turns away from his angry glare and replies, "I thought you might come home if I solved her murder. Besides, Dad...." She stops herself.
"Dad what? Your dad's mixed up in Hannah's murder investigation too?"
She sighs, knowing she'll have to tell him eventually. "Hannah's mother hired us to investigate the school where Hannah was sent. It's a tough-love school; they use harsh discipline and attack therapy to brainwash the students into becoming complacent little robots. Ms. Denenberg blames them for Hannah's death, because Hannah ran away, and she wants to shut the school down for its excessive practices."
"You mean, she doesn't blame me?" Logan says incredulously.
"No, she doesn't. If anything, she blames herself for letting herself get talked into sending Hannah to the school," Veronica answers.
"...So if Hannah wasn't a prostitute, what was she doing between the time she left Briar Hill Academy and her murder in Los Angeles?" Logan asks.
"That's what I want to find out. Logan, I'm going to go undercover at the school. While I'm collecting evidence about the abuses at the school, I'm going to try to find out everything I can about Hannah's time there. I think someone murdered Hannah to cover up what was going on at the school."
Logan stops walking and faces Veronica, grabbing her arm and forcing her to stop. "Wait, you said Briar Hill was a tough-love school? That's like those wilderness programs where the kids were killed."
"It's pretty bad at the school from everything we found out. We're working with an attorney who will pursue the lawsuit."
"Dammit, Veronica! Once again, you go putting yourself in danger without any thought to the consequences," Logan says angrily.
"I'm going to be wearing a wire so Dad can monitor me at all times, and we'll have another person undercover as one of the security guards. You remember Ryan Kavner right? He's already at the school, laying the groundwork," Veronica explains.
Logan bites off, "I won't allow it, Veronica."
She stares at him furiously and speaks without thinking. "You won't allow it? This from my loving boyfriend who humiliated me by running away and having an impostor pretend to drink and carouse for the benefit of the paparazzi."
"I was trying to protect you!"
"Right, you were protecting me from yourself by abandoning me and embarrassing me! Go to hell, Logan." She spins around and begins to walk away.
"Veronica, wait!" Logan calls. Veronica stops but doesn't turn around. He continues, "I want to help your dad. Keith's been more of a father to me than Aaron ever was."
"It's alright. I'll think of something else to help Dad," she replies, then begins to stride away.
"Veronica, stop!! I said I would help." He hurries after her, limping just a little, and grabs her arm. She finally stops and turns to him. He says, "I'm sorry."
She stares at him.
Logan tries again, "It's hard for me, when you do things that are dangerous. I know, it's who you are, and I know you won't change."
Finally, she replies, "I'm being careful. We're being careful. Dad's being very protective of me."
Logan nods and looks downward, avoiding her gaze. He repeats, "It's hard for me. I just...I want you to be safe."
She says, "I know. I promise, I'm being careful."
They walk in silence for a few minutes, each of them unwilling to express what's on their mind. Finally, Logan asks hesitantly, "Are you...did you get a hotel room?"
"Not yet....I didn't know how you would react to me," she admits.
"You can stay with me, Veronica," he says.
Not–please stay with me, she notes. "All right, I just have a small bag in my rental car."
After they retrieve Veronica's bag, they walk the short distance to Logan's motel. When they enter the room, Veronica wants to tease him about 'slumming it', but she hesitates, feeling the distance that seems to exist between them. She uses the bathroom, and when she returns to the bedroom she's relieved to see that Logan has already undressed and gotten into bed and has turned the light out. She quickly strips to a t-shirt and panties, then pauses, not knowing if she should get into bed with Logan or use the other double bed.
"What's the matter?" he says.
"Did you want...Logan, I don't know what to do. I want to throw my arms around you, but you've barely talked to me since I got here," she says nervously.
He folds the covers back on the bed, and she takes the hint and gets into bed with him. Veronica lies down and stares at the ceiling, maintaining a physical distance from Logan.
He turns on his side and regards her. "I've missed you so much, Veronica."
You don't act like it, she thinks.
Logan continues, "But I'm just not sure...it still seems like the women around me always get hurt, and I don't ever want...." His voice trails off, and he rolls over onto his back.
"Do I get a say in this?" she asks quietly. "You could look at it that all the people around me always seem to get hurt. Maybe I'm the catalyst."
"Veronica, it's not just that. I didn't realize...I never said..." he starts hesitantly. Finally he says it, quickly, like ripping off a band-aid, "I've realized that I'm still angry with you. For leaving me for Duncan senior year–"
"I didn't!" she protests.
"For deserting me when I needed you so MUCH, I was so alone and then...you rubbed my face in it with Duncan and...what the hell is it that you love about him so much anyways?"
"You're still pissed about Duncan? More than three years ago?" she asks angrily.
"Are you telling me he hasn't tried to get back together with you? I saw the way Duncan looked at you in L.A. And he just assumes that you'll put your whole life in jeopardy to save him again. I saw you at the press conference. I saw you holding hands and hugging."
Veronica reflects that now is not the time to mention Duncan's recent fumbling attempts to seduce her. "You scared me back then, three years ago. You still scare me sometimes. It's always so intense with you."
"I can't help the way I feel about you," he says bitterly, raising his voice. "It is intense. We've been through so much."
Veronica's brain is screaming, Ineedyou Ineedyou stop pushing me away.
He continues, "You're not really understanding. I forgave you for dumping me like that; I tried again with you, and you treated me like crap. You were suspicious and distant, and you pushed me away. You looked for a reason to hate me until you found one."
She hesitates, trying to hold back, then cries helplessly, "Dammit, Logan, I thought we were past all this!"
"You were past all of it. You know what's crazy? I'm still totally in love with you; I'm angry as hell but I still love you. And I'm scared to death that you're ashamed of me, of what I did to Hannah; I'm terrified you're never going to forgive me for that."
She stays silent, looking up at the ceiling with her heart pounding in her ears and her eyes welling up.
"I'm sorry, Veronica. I've just been...thinking about that whole year way too much. That year was about anger and retribution and...shit, damnation. Christ, I tried to corrupt a girl! I'm just...I've been regretting so much, and I know I shouldn't be so angry now, but it's all I've been thinking about." He pauses. "Dr. Friedman said that I never processed these emotions before because I always drank so much to push them away."
"So what are you supposed to do with all these emotions? What does 'processing' them mean?" she asks. "Are you ever going to be able to get past this?"
"I'm trying. I'm...I'm actually doing better, I feel like...I feel like maybe I'm making progress." He's desperate to keep his recent suicide attempt from her, and in truth, since that night, he has felt a little more hopeful. Somehow the clarity of her voice when he was so close to letting go of life has sparked a feeble optimism that has begun to slowly take root for him.
"No. I just panicked. I had to get away, and I needed to know you were safe. I knew if you were with me, you'd be a target. Dr. Friedman wants me to come back and deal with this, deal with you." He looks at her. "I'm sure you figured out that I've been communicating with her by disposable cell phone."
She admits, "Yes." She keeps silent until finally she adds tentatively, "Logan, do you think you could stand to hold me in your arms? I've missed sleeping with you, so much. I...I need you to hold me."
Logan's heart breaks to hear her beg for his embrace; he remembers accusing her of never needing him, and he knows how hard it is for her to admit her vulnerabilities. He's helpless to deny her this small request, and he reaches for her and folds her into his arms.
Veronica suppresses a sigh of pleasure, worrying that she is pressuring him too much and will lose this small bit of progress.
When Logan feels her relax against him, he is surprised to feel his body suffuse with warmth and calmness, feelings unfamiliar in their long absence. He pulls her tightly against him and allows himself a small measure of hope.
Chapter Thirty-Eight