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Fic: Down Again #3: Answers And Questions (Veronica Mars, Lamb/Veronica)
Title: Answers And Questions
Fandom: Veronica Mars
Pairing(s): Lamb/Veronica
Word Count: 4108
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Wallace needs Veronica's help. Meanwhile, the Theta Betas are having a crisis, and Veronica clashes with Lamb over her involvement in the case.
Notes: Sequel to What Goes Down. Third in the Down Again series. AU from episode 3:2 - My Big Fat Greek Rush Week; potential spoilers up to the end of season three.
Previously: Part 1, Part 2
"Shouldn't you be out partying or something?"
Veronica managed a weak smile as she looked up at her father. "It's Sunday."
"Well then shouldn't you be, I don't know, out holding a bake sale? Hanging out with your friends? Not getting into any trouble whatsoever?"
She put down her pen. She'd been staring at her assignment for the last hour, and it wasn't like she was getting any work done. "What, a girl can't use her weekends for studying?"
"I just don't want you spending all your time cooped up here."
Great. How many fathers of college girls worried that their daughters weren't partying enough? Not many, probably.
"I just have a lot of work to do," she said. Keith looked unconvinced, but he let the matter drop.
She wanted to reassure him that she wasn't spending all her time brooding over Hallie. The truth was, there weren't many parties to go to these days. If the Theta Betas thought the initial restrictions on their social calendar had been harsh, it had only gotten worse over the past week. Security was now everywhere, especially outside the Greek houses, and the dean was personally vetting all requests for social functions. All in all, it didn't really add up to an environment conducive to a lot of bake sales.
She glanced down at her assignment again, still accusingly blank. Even when she could manage to get herself together enough to work on it, it was no good. She had no idea where to start.
That was the whole problem.
Pushing it aside, she got up off the couch. Her assignment might seem to be mocking her, but there were other things she could be working on, and she was determined to do at least something today.
-
The sheriff's department was quiet when Veronica got there; unsurprising, for a Sunday afternoon. She nodded at the weekend receptionist, and made her way through to Lamb's office, smiling at him from the doorway.
He got up when he saw her, greeting her with a quick kiss, and she leaned back against the desk.
"Keeping busy, I see," she said.
"Crime never sleeps," he responded, smiling.
"But apparently it does take a lazy Sunday afternoon nap."
Lamb was looking at her curiously, so she stepped forward, throwing her arms around his neck as she kissed him. He responded enthusiastically, his hands moving to her waist, and after a minute, she pulled free.
"So," she said, and he rolled his eyes.
"Veronica -"
"What?" she asked, trying her best to look innocent. "I just stopped by to see how your day was going."
"You mean, you just stopped by to see how my investigation was going."
She shrugged, and his hands fell to his sides. "What, I can't be interested in your work?"
He just looked at her, and she sighed.
"Okay," she said. "I admit it. I'm curious. Is that so wrong?"
"Only when it means you start interfering with my cases," he said.
Fine. It looked like she was going to have to try a different tactic.
She looked down at the floor, and wondered if wringing her hands would be too much. "Hallie was a friend."
When she looked back up, his jaw was clenched tightly, but she could see him give in. "Fine," he said, his voice resigned. "What do you want to know?"
She had to force herself not to smile, in case he changed his mind. "Do you have any leads?"
"A couple."
"And?"
He hesitated. He wasn't making this easy.
"I'm not getting involved," she promised. "I just want to know."
After a second, he shrugged. "We've been talking to witnesses. Most of them didn't see much, but a few people said they saw Hallie with a group of guys at the party, just before ..."
"Pi Sigs?" she asked, and he nodded.
"Unfortunately, nobody seems to know these guys' names, or even what they looked like. We're trying to get to the bottom of it."
"So you're looking at the Pi Sigs?"
He nodded again, and she took a breath.
"What about the Theta Betas?"
He didn't say anything for a beat too long, and she rolled her eyes.
"Do you think -"
"We're keeping our options open," he said, his face impassive.
"Are you going to pull them in for questioning?"
He shrugged, which probably meant yes. She wondered if he'd warn her before he started moving on the Theta Betas, or if that crossed his self-imposed line of too much involvement.
"What about me?" she asked, taking a step forward so she was right in front of him. "I was at the party. Are you going to haul me in here? Stick me in a holding cell?"
He smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Should I?"
"Only if you think I'm guilty." It was an invitation, sort of, but he didn't take the bait, and eventually she shrugged. "Well, I guess that's my cue."
"Veronica," he said, and she waited. "I don't have to tell you to stay out of this, right?"
She smiled. "I know. It's police business."
"I'm serious."
"So am I," she said. "I'm not going to interfere. I just need some answers."
Lamb didn't say anything else as she left, and Veronica thought she was free and clear until she was almost outside.
"Dick?" she asked, stopping suddenly. There could be any number of reasons Dick Casablancas would be at the sheriff's department, she told herself. It wasn't necessarily related to the case.
Sure. She believed that.
He wasn't smiling as he turned around. "Here for a little afternoon nookie?"
She decided to ignore the question. With Dick, it was usually the safest option. She shook her head instead, and was about to leave when he spoke again.
"You should really learn to keep your boyfriend in line."
"Why, did he haul you and some of your buddies in? Let me guess. Public drunkenness? Being a general menace to society?"
"Hardly," he said, taking a step towards her. "We were just chilling at the house when your boyfriend busts in like he owns the place. Said he had some questions to ask us."
He made air quotes over the word 'questions,' and shot a resentful look back at Lamb's office.
"He hauled me in here, like, I have rights, you know? And this guy starts asking me all these questions, about Hallie and the party and stuff. Like I even care. I mean, yeah, it sucks that she's dead and all, 'cause she was really hot, but it's not like I had anything to do with it."
Veronica wasn't smiling now, either. "And?"
"And what?"
"Did you tell them anything?"
"Yeah, right." He smirked. "Like I'm going to rat out my brothers."
She stepped forward, then, glaring up at him with her most menacing look. "You're not going to rat out your brothers?"
He rolled his eyes, but he took a step backwards, anyway. "It's not like there's anything to rat out," he quickly backtracked. "I didn't see anything."
"Dick."
"Okay, yeah, maybe she was talking to some of the guys. She was pretty wasted, you know? That was kinda the point of the party. I didn't see anything when, you know."
He drew a hand across his neck, and she fought the urge to smack his face into something hard.
"These guys," she said, trying to stay calm. "They have names?"
"I don't know," he said, and when she raised an eyebrow, he held his hands out in front of him defensively. "I swear, okay? I don't know anything."
She frowned, but decided to let it go. She didn't have an especially hard time believing that Dick knew nothing. It was his general state of being.
"Can I go now?" he asked, and she waved him off. She hadn't got anything out of him she didn't already know, but it had been nice to scare him a little.
She didn't know what it meant that Lamb had raided the Pi Sig house. It could mean that the investigation was going well, or it could mean that he was still as clueless as she was.
With a last look behind her, Veronica left, still turning it over in her mind.
-
Veronica guessed that Wallace would already be at practice by the time she got out of class, so she made her way straight to the gym. When she got there, she expected to see him playing, but instead he was sitting on the bleachers, looking forlorn.
"What's up?" she asked, sitting beside him.
He shrugged, his eyes still on the court.
"They do know they're missing their star player out there, don't they?"
He glanced over at her. "Coach said they needed to practise with the team that's actually going to be playing."
"What, so they were serious about not starting you?" She shouldn't be so surprised, but somehow she hadn't actually expected it to come to that.
"Looks like it." He was trying to sound casual, but Veronica had practice at reading his expression, and the anxiety was written all over his face.
"So ..." She paused. "Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but why are you still here?"
He looked at her sharply. "I'm not giving up on my team, Veronica. Just because I'm not playing, doesn't mean I can't come to practice."
"Even though they've given up on you?"
He shot her a dark look, and she smiled apologetically.
"Sorry. Not helping."
"No," he said, but he gave her a small smile. "You're not. So what did you find out?"
"Not much yet," she admitted. "I looked at the game records from last year, and something's definitely off."
He raised an eyebrow, and she shook her head.
"Don't worry, I'm not accusing you of anything. If there's a person here less likely to be involved in point shaving, I'd like to meet him."
"So, now what?"
"Now," she said, "I ask around. I doubt whoever did it is just going to come forward and confess, but maybe I can get something to go on anyway. Ask your teammates if they've seen anything suspicious, see if the coach has noticed any players whose game wasn't what it should have been."
Wallace still didn't look happy, and she shot him what she hoped was a comforting look.
"Don't worry. You won't be sitting on the bench forever."
He nodded, and she got up, making her way around the court. She didn't think it would be looked upon too kindly if she interrupted practice just so she could ask some questions, but there were a few other players sitting on the sidelines, watching.
She approached one of them, and sat down with a perfunctory smile. He glanced over, giving her an uninterested nod before returning his attention to the court, and Veronica rolled her eyes. Maybe she should have worn her old pep squad outfit.
"Mind if I ask you a few questions?" she asked, and he looked wary.
"About what?"
"Point shaving."
He sat up straighter, and started shaking his head. "Look, it's just like I told those guys who came around here. I don't know anything. I'm not even a starter."
"What does that mean?"
"It means," he said, fixing her with a look as if he were explaining something to a child, "that nobody's going to bother messing around with some guy who may not even get on the court. Even if I did play, there's no way I'd be able to shave enough points to change the outcome of the game. It's not worth it."
Veronica nodded. That narrowed down the field of suspects, at least. "Did you play last year?"
He smiled humourlessly. "Two games."
She thanked him, and stood up. She didn't know if there was much point in questioning anyone else who wasn't playing, but Wallace was still watching her, and she felt like she had to do something. So she spoke to two more players; both freshmen, which ruled them out immediately, and made them useless as a source of any kind of information.
When the coach blew his whistle for the end of practice, she waited at the edge of the court, snagging a player as he was on his way off.
"What to do you want?" he asked breathlessly, shooting a look towards the gym doors.
"Just a curious fan. I was wondering what you could tell me about point shaving."
"Are you with those guys who were here before?"
"Nope," she said, and pointed at where Wallace was sitting on the bleachers. "Just trying to help out a friend."
He glanced at Wallace, and then back at Veronica, and shrugged. "What do you want to know?"
"Just anything you can tell me about who might have been cheating."
"Why don't you ask your boy over there?"
She glared at him. "Wallace is innocent. I'm just trying to find out who set him up."
After a minute, he looked away. "I don't know, okay? I told everything to the guys who were investigating."
"Well," she said evenly, "now you can tell it to me."
"I don't know who it was," he said. "If I did, I'd tell someone. It's not exactly something you brag about in the lockers rooms, you know? I don't know if any of the guys needed money, I didn't see anyone suspicious hanging around, and I didn't see anyone playing badly."
Veronica nodded. It seemed like everyone she'd spoken to so far knew exactly nothing.
"For what it's worth," he said, as she turned to leave, and looked at Wallace again. "I don't think it was Wallace. He's a good guy, you know?"
"Yeah," she said. "I know."
"I just can't help you."
Story of her life.
Wallace came down to meet her as the player left, shrugging expectantly. "So? Did you get anything?"
He looked disappointed before she could even speak.
"I'm still working on it," she said. "I only got to talk to a couple of players. Relax. There's still practically a whole team left for me to unjustly accuse."
"Yeah," he said. "Yeah, I know."
She looked around the gym, and then back at Wallace. "And if you'll excuse me, I have one more lead to follow up."
He nodded, and she left, jogging over to where the coach was about to head out.
"Coach!" she called after him. "Can I ask you a few questions?"
He glanced behind her at Wallace, and inclined his head slightly.
"Great," she said. "This will just take a few minutes, I promise. I was just wondering, is there any way someone other than Wallace could have responsible for point shaving?"
"It's possible," he said slowly.
"Okay. And say it wasn't Wallace who was cheating, do you have any idea who it might have been? I mean, did you notice anyone playing oddly, maybe missing a few easy shots, anything like that?"
He sighed wearily, and turned to face her fully. "Look ..."
"Veronica," she supplied.
"Veronica. I don't want to believe Wallace is responsible. I'm hoping all of this is just some big mistake. But if I thought anyone else was behind it, Wallace wouldn't be the one sitting out."
"But you obviously don't believe he's guilty," she pushed. "I mean, you've still got him on the team. So -"
"Look," he said. "I hope Wallace manages to clear his name. I really do. He's a good player, and I won't lie, we could use him on the court. But all I can do right now is make the best decisions I can with the information I have,"
"Of course," she said. It didn't look like he was going to be easily swayed.
"Bring me some hard evidence," he said, "and we'll talk about it. But until then ..."
Hard evidence, Veronica thought as he left. If only it were as easy as that. What ever happened to being innocent until proven guilty?
-
"Hey, stranger."
Veronica smiled warily as Laurel greeted her. She knew she'd been scarce around the house lately, and even with everything going on, she knew she could have found the time to visit. Mostly, she just hated the reminder that she'd gotten nowhere in finding out what had happened to Hallie.
"It's okay," Laurel said, giving Veronica an understanding smile. "Come in. We were just about to start."
Lamb had laughed at her when Veronica had called to say she might be late because of an emergency sorority meeting. The Theta Betas, on the other hand, were treating it like it was a matter of grave importance. Which, Veronica reflected quickly, might be a poor choice of words.
Hallie's death had left the Theta Betas reeling, for two reasons. Firstly, because she had been the Theta Beta social chair, and without a ouija board handy, it was kind of hard for her to carry out her job description. And secondly, of course, because they were still feeling the effects of the college's new restrictions. Now that the mourning period was apparently over, the dearth of approved social events was becoming a major issue, and Veronica wasn't surprised they'd finally decided to do something about it.
Michelle spoke before Veronica even had a chance to sit down; apparently she'd been the last to arrive.
"We need to elect a new social chair." There were murmurs of agreement from the others, and a few sad looks passed between some of the more senior Theta Betas. "I nominate Kelly."
The Theta Betas looked at one to Veronica's right, where Kelly sat, looking pleased but not entirely surprised.
"I second," Siobhann said, and Michelle beamed. Support from the Theta Beta president was as close to a guaranteed victory as it was possible to get.
There was a show of hands anyway, and the position went unanimously to Kelly. Some of the girls looked relieved, now that the most pressing matter had been dealt with.
"Okay," Siobhann said, and it was official. "Now, I guess we should discuss what we're going to do with our social calendar.
The relieved expressions quickly vanished. As if the new restrictions weren't enough to put everyone on edge, this year's pledge class was maybe half what it should have been. By the time voting was held, every freshman who hadn't yet withdrawn her name had been admitted. Sarah, the girl Veronica had spoken to at the luncheon, was among them, as was Belinda, who'd had to be taken home from the pledge party. Parker wasn't, which didn't surprise Veronica in the least.
"We have to do something," Kelly said, taking over her new role smoothly. "Does anyone have any ideas?"
The Theta Betas, usually gregarious, looked around uncertainly. The usual ideas were all off-limits; parties were out, which accounted for most of the social calendar to begin with, and the remaining options were somewhat less than inspiring.
"We've already got a couple of charity events scheduled," Siobhann said. Predictably, Dean O'Dell had left those alone. "And most of the pledge activities are fine. We just need to fill out the calendar a little."
"We should throw a party," Sarah said. A couple of the Theta Betas looked at her, already shaking their heads.
"No parties," Becky said sadly. "The college will be all over us."
"Which is why we should throw a secret party," Sarah explained. "Come on, think about it. We've got no parties, no mixers, almost no social events of any kind. No alcohol."
A few of the girls grumbled at that, including Belinda.
"It's like prohibition or something. So I say we do it anyway. It'll be our way of sticking it to overzealous campus security. Plus, it means we might actually have some fun."
"Okay," Siobhann said, obviously warming to the idea. Veronica wasn't so sure. "We'll put it to a vote. All those in favour of a secret prohibition party?"
It was a resounding yes. Somehow, Veronica wasn't surprised.
"It's settled, then. How about next week?" Siobhann looked to Kelly, who nodded.
"No problem."
"Perfect," Siobhann said. "Invited guests only. This has to stay under the radar, you guys. If we get caught, we could lose our charter."
The others nodded their agreement, and Siobhann opened her mouth to speak again just as the doorbell rang. Veronica jumped up hurriedly, glad of the distraction from party planning.
"I'll get it," she said. A few seconds later, she opened the door, and took a step back, baffled.
"Hi," she said, as Lamb stood in the doorway. "Are you here to see me? Because you can call me, you know. Or even come by the house, if you don't mind my dad taking a few pot shots."
"Veronica," he said. He looked more anxious than happy to see her, and a moment later, understanding dawned.
"You're not here to see me."
He looked apologetic. "I wanted to ask some of the girls some questions."
"What, and you couldn't just call?" She could feel herself growing mad, and she really didn't want to get into a shouting match in the open doorway. "You could have warned me first."
"I have to do this, Veronica." He sounded resigned more than anything. "Can you please let me in?"
Wordlessly, she opened the door wider, and stepped back to let him past. She threw an angry glare at his back, which wasn't nearly as satisfying as she would have liked. He glanced back a few minutes later, as if to tell her not to go anywhere, and she reluctantly obeyed, hanging around the edges of the room. When he looked over a couple of minutes after that, she deliberately looked away; she wasn't interested in whatever apology he was trying to make.
He approached her after he'd spoken to the rest of the Theta Betas, and she met his gaze defiantly.
"Aren't you going to question me now?"
He sighed. "Veronica -"
"No, go ahead. I was at the party. Why don't you interrogate me? Or better yet, we can go down to the station and do it there."
He glanced around warily; the Theta Betas were still watching them. "Can we do this somewhere more private?"
She rolled her eyes, but followed him out of the house. Once they were outside, she turned on him.
"Well?"
"Why don't we talk when you come over later -"
"When I come over?" she repeated, incredulous. "Are you serious? You come over here and question a bunch of my friends, and now you expect me to keep our date?"
"I just thought we could talk."
"Talk?" she asked. "Fine, we'll talk. If you don't want to ask questions, I will. How did you even -"
She stopped suddenly, cursing herself for her stupidity. Of course it was her fault.
"When I told you I was coming over here for a meeting, I thought I was talking to my boyfriend. Not inviting the sheriff over so he'd have a convenient time and place to interview all his suspects."
"They're not suspects," Lamb insisted, but she was barely listening to him. "They're witnesses."
"Oh, really. And I suppose you have some grand theory on what happened here?"
He looked away, and she narrowed her eyes, waiting.
"Did you know that Hallie was seeing someone?" he asked eventually.
The question caught her off guard, and she almost shook her head before remembering what Kelly had said before the luncheon.
"I didn't know the details," she said.
"What did you know?"
She shrugged. "It was someone older."
"Much older," he said, and she looked at him curiously. "Budd Rose."
The name rang a bell, and after a second, it clicked. "As in, Budd Rose, husband of Selma Hearst Rose?"
"Ex husband," he corrected. "Apparently, he and Hallie broke up. That was about all I could get. Seems like she didn't like to talk about it."
She thought about the way Hallie had changed the subject when Kelly brought it up, and nodded. "Is he a suspect?"
"No," Lamb said, and Veronica was confused for a moment before she realised he wasn't answering her question. "Veronica, this is an official investigation. I don't want you going anywhere near Budd Rose."
Like the way you didn't go anywhere near the Theta Betas? she thought, but outwardly she just shrugged. "Okay."
"I mean it."
"And I said okay." He didn't look like he believed her, but it didn't really matter to her one way or another. "I'll stay away."
He was still shaking his head when he left, and she made a mental note to look up Budd Rose's address as soon as she got home.
Next: Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7
Fandom: Veronica Mars
Pairing(s): Lamb/Veronica
Word Count: 4108
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Wallace needs Veronica's help. Meanwhile, the Theta Betas are having a crisis, and Veronica clashes with Lamb over her involvement in the case.
Notes: Sequel to What Goes Down. Third in the Down Again series. AU from episode 3:2 - My Big Fat Greek Rush Week; potential spoilers up to the end of season three.
Previously: Part 1, Part 2
"Shouldn't you be out partying or something?"
Veronica managed a weak smile as she looked up at her father. "It's Sunday."
"Well then shouldn't you be, I don't know, out holding a bake sale? Hanging out with your friends? Not getting into any trouble whatsoever?"
She put down her pen. She'd been staring at her assignment for the last hour, and it wasn't like she was getting any work done. "What, a girl can't use her weekends for studying?"
"I just don't want you spending all your time cooped up here."
Great. How many fathers of college girls worried that their daughters weren't partying enough? Not many, probably.
"I just have a lot of work to do," she said. Keith looked unconvinced, but he let the matter drop.
She wanted to reassure him that she wasn't spending all her time brooding over Hallie. The truth was, there weren't many parties to go to these days. If the Theta Betas thought the initial restrictions on their social calendar had been harsh, it had only gotten worse over the past week. Security was now everywhere, especially outside the Greek houses, and the dean was personally vetting all requests for social functions. All in all, it didn't really add up to an environment conducive to a lot of bake sales.
She glanced down at her assignment again, still accusingly blank. Even when she could manage to get herself together enough to work on it, it was no good. She had no idea where to start.
That was the whole problem.
Pushing it aside, she got up off the couch. Her assignment might seem to be mocking her, but there were other things she could be working on, and she was determined to do at least something today.
-
The sheriff's department was quiet when Veronica got there; unsurprising, for a Sunday afternoon. She nodded at the weekend receptionist, and made her way through to Lamb's office, smiling at him from the doorway.
He got up when he saw her, greeting her with a quick kiss, and she leaned back against the desk.
"Keeping busy, I see," she said.
"Crime never sleeps," he responded, smiling.
"But apparently it does take a lazy Sunday afternoon nap."
Lamb was looking at her curiously, so she stepped forward, throwing her arms around his neck as she kissed him. He responded enthusiastically, his hands moving to her waist, and after a minute, she pulled free.
"So," she said, and he rolled his eyes.
"Veronica -"
"What?" she asked, trying her best to look innocent. "I just stopped by to see how your day was going."
"You mean, you just stopped by to see how my investigation was going."
She shrugged, and his hands fell to his sides. "What, I can't be interested in your work?"
He just looked at her, and she sighed.
"Okay," she said. "I admit it. I'm curious. Is that so wrong?"
"Only when it means you start interfering with my cases," he said.
Fine. It looked like she was going to have to try a different tactic.
She looked down at the floor, and wondered if wringing her hands would be too much. "Hallie was a friend."
When she looked back up, his jaw was clenched tightly, but she could see him give in. "Fine," he said, his voice resigned. "What do you want to know?"
She had to force herself not to smile, in case he changed his mind. "Do you have any leads?"
"A couple."
"And?"
He hesitated. He wasn't making this easy.
"I'm not getting involved," she promised. "I just want to know."
After a second, he shrugged. "We've been talking to witnesses. Most of them didn't see much, but a few people said they saw Hallie with a group of guys at the party, just before ..."
"Pi Sigs?" she asked, and he nodded.
"Unfortunately, nobody seems to know these guys' names, or even what they looked like. We're trying to get to the bottom of it."
"So you're looking at the Pi Sigs?"
He nodded again, and she took a breath.
"What about the Theta Betas?"
He didn't say anything for a beat too long, and she rolled her eyes.
"Do you think -"
"We're keeping our options open," he said, his face impassive.
"Are you going to pull them in for questioning?"
He shrugged, which probably meant yes. She wondered if he'd warn her before he started moving on the Theta Betas, or if that crossed his self-imposed line of too much involvement.
"What about me?" she asked, taking a step forward so she was right in front of him. "I was at the party. Are you going to haul me in here? Stick me in a holding cell?"
He smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Should I?"
"Only if you think I'm guilty." It was an invitation, sort of, but he didn't take the bait, and eventually she shrugged. "Well, I guess that's my cue."
"Veronica," he said, and she waited. "I don't have to tell you to stay out of this, right?"
She smiled. "I know. It's police business."
"I'm serious."
"So am I," she said. "I'm not going to interfere. I just need some answers."
Lamb didn't say anything else as she left, and Veronica thought she was free and clear until she was almost outside.
"Dick?" she asked, stopping suddenly. There could be any number of reasons Dick Casablancas would be at the sheriff's department, she told herself. It wasn't necessarily related to the case.
Sure. She believed that.
He wasn't smiling as he turned around. "Here for a little afternoon nookie?"
She decided to ignore the question. With Dick, it was usually the safest option. She shook her head instead, and was about to leave when he spoke again.
"You should really learn to keep your boyfriend in line."
"Why, did he haul you and some of your buddies in? Let me guess. Public drunkenness? Being a general menace to society?"
"Hardly," he said, taking a step towards her. "We were just chilling at the house when your boyfriend busts in like he owns the place. Said he had some questions to ask us."
He made air quotes over the word 'questions,' and shot a resentful look back at Lamb's office.
"He hauled me in here, like, I have rights, you know? And this guy starts asking me all these questions, about Hallie and the party and stuff. Like I even care. I mean, yeah, it sucks that she's dead and all, 'cause she was really hot, but it's not like I had anything to do with it."
Veronica wasn't smiling now, either. "And?"
"And what?"
"Did you tell them anything?"
"Yeah, right." He smirked. "Like I'm going to rat out my brothers."
She stepped forward, then, glaring up at him with her most menacing look. "You're not going to rat out your brothers?"
He rolled his eyes, but he took a step backwards, anyway. "It's not like there's anything to rat out," he quickly backtracked. "I didn't see anything."
"Dick."
"Okay, yeah, maybe she was talking to some of the guys. She was pretty wasted, you know? That was kinda the point of the party. I didn't see anything when, you know."
He drew a hand across his neck, and she fought the urge to smack his face into something hard.
"These guys," she said, trying to stay calm. "They have names?"
"I don't know," he said, and when she raised an eyebrow, he held his hands out in front of him defensively. "I swear, okay? I don't know anything."
She frowned, but decided to let it go. She didn't have an especially hard time believing that Dick knew nothing. It was his general state of being.
"Can I go now?" he asked, and she waved him off. She hadn't got anything out of him she didn't already know, but it had been nice to scare him a little.
She didn't know what it meant that Lamb had raided the Pi Sig house. It could mean that the investigation was going well, or it could mean that he was still as clueless as she was.
With a last look behind her, Veronica left, still turning it over in her mind.
-
Veronica guessed that Wallace would already be at practice by the time she got out of class, so she made her way straight to the gym. When she got there, she expected to see him playing, but instead he was sitting on the bleachers, looking forlorn.
"What's up?" she asked, sitting beside him.
He shrugged, his eyes still on the court.
"They do know they're missing their star player out there, don't they?"
He glanced over at her. "Coach said they needed to practise with the team that's actually going to be playing."
"What, so they were serious about not starting you?" She shouldn't be so surprised, but somehow she hadn't actually expected it to come to that.
"Looks like it." He was trying to sound casual, but Veronica had practice at reading his expression, and the anxiety was written all over his face.
"So ..." She paused. "Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but why are you still here?"
He looked at her sharply. "I'm not giving up on my team, Veronica. Just because I'm not playing, doesn't mean I can't come to practice."
"Even though they've given up on you?"
He shot her a dark look, and she smiled apologetically.
"Sorry. Not helping."
"No," he said, but he gave her a small smile. "You're not. So what did you find out?"
"Not much yet," she admitted. "I looked at the game records from last year, and something's definitely off."
He raised an eyebrow, and she shook her head.
"Don't worry, I'm not accusing you of anything. If there's a person here less likely to be involved in point shaving, I'd like to meet him."
"So, now what?"
"Now," she said, "I ask around. I doubt whoever did it is just going to come forward and confess, but maybe I can get something to go on anyway. Ask your teammates if they've seen anything suspicious, see if the coach has noticed any players whose game wasn't what it should have been."
Wallace still didn't look happy, and she shot him what she hoped was a comforting look.
"Don't worry. You won't be sitting on the bench forever."
He nodded, and she got up, making her way around the court. She didn't think it would be looked upon too kindly if she interrupted practice just so she could ask some questions, but there were a few other players sitting on the sidelines, watching.
She approached one of them, and sat down with a perfunctory smile. He glanced over, giving her an uninterested nod before returning his attention to the court, and Veronica rolled her eyes. Maybe she should have worn her old pep squad outfit.
"Mind if I ask you a few questions?" she asked, and he looked wary.
"About what?"
"Point shaving."
He sat up straighter, and started shaking his head. "Look, it's just like I told those guys who came around here. I don't know anything. I'm not even a starter."
"What does that mean?"
"It means," he said, fixing her with a look as if he were explaining something to a child, "that nobody's going to bother messing around with some guy who may not even get on the court. Even if I did play, there's no way I'd be able to shave enough points to change the outcome of the game. It's not worth it."
Veronica nodded. That narrowed down the field of suspects, at least. "Did you play last year?"
He smiled humourlessly. "Two games."
She thanked him, and stood up. She didn't know if there was much point in questioning anyone else who wasn't playing, but Wallace was still watching her, and she felt like she had to do something. So she spoke to two more players; both freshmen, which ruled them out immediately, and made them useless as a source of any kind of information.
When the coach blew his whistle for the end of practice, she waited at the edge of the court, snagging a player as he was on his way off.
"What to do you want?" he asked breathlessly, shooting a look towards the gym doors.
"Just a curious fan. I was wondering what you could tell me about point shaving."
"Are you with those guys who were here before?"
"Nope," she said, and pointed at where Wallace was sitting on the bleachers. "Just trying to help out a friend."
He glanced at Wallace, and then back at Veronica, and shrugged. "What do you want to know?"
"Just anything you can tell me about who might have been cheating."
"Why don't you ask your boy over there?"
She glared at him. "Wallace is innocent. I'm just trying to find out who set him up."
After a minute, he looked away. "I don't know, okay? I told everything to the guys who were investigating."
"Well," she said evenly, "now you can tell it to me."
"I don't know who it was," he said. "If I did, I'd tell someone. It's not exactly something you brag about in the lockers rooms, you know? I don't know if any of the guys needed money, I didn't see anyone suspicious hanging around, and I didn't see anyone playing badly."
Veronica nodded. It seemed like everyone she'd spoken to so far knew exactly nothing.
"For what it's worth," he said, as she turned to leave, and looked at Wallace again. "I don't think it was Wallace. He's a good guy, you know?"
"Yeah," she said. "I know."
"I just can't help you."
Story of her life.
Wallace came down to meet her as the player left, shrugging expectantly. "So? Did you get anything?"
He looked disappointed before she could even speak.
"I'm still working on it," she said. "I only got to talk to a couple of players. Relax. There's still practically a whole team left for me to unjustly accuse."
"Yeah," he said. "Yeah, I know."
She looked around the gym, and then back at Wallace. "And if you'll excuse me, I have one more lead to follow up."
He nodded, and she left, jogging over to where the coach was about to head out.
"Coach!" she called after him. "Can I ask you a few questions?"
He glanced behind her at Wallace, and inclined his head slightly.
"Great," she said. "This will just take a few minutes, I promise. I was just wondering, is there any way someone other than Wallace could have responsible for point shaving?"
"It's possible," he said slowly.
"Okay. And say it wasn't Wallace who was cheating, do you have any idea who it might have been? I mean, did you notice anyone playing oddly, maybe missing a few easy shots, anything like that?"
He sighed wearily, and turned to face her fully. "Look ..."
"Veronica," she supplied.
"Veronica. I don't want to believe Wallace is responsible. I'm hoping all of this is just some big mistake. But if I thought anyone else was behind it, Wallace wouldn't be the one sitting out."
"But you obviously don't believe he's guilty," she pushed. "I mean, you've still got him on the team. So -"
"Look," he said. "I hope Wallace manages to clear his name. I really do. He's a good player, and I won't lie, we could use him on the court. But all I can do right now is make the best decisions I can with the information I have,"
"Of course," she said. It didn't look like he was going to be easily swayed.
"Bring me some hard evidence," he said, "and we'll talk about it. But until then ..."
Hard evidence, Veronica thought as he left. If only it were as easy as that. What ever happened to being innocent until proven guilty?
-
"Hey, stranger."
Veronica smiled warily as Laurel greeted her. She knew she'd been scarce around the house lately, and even with everything going on, she knew she could have found the time to visit. Mostly, she just hated the reminder that she'd gotten nowhere in finding out what had happened to Hallie.
"It's okay," Laurel said, giving Veronica an understanding smile. "Come in. We were just about to start."
Lamb had laughed at her when Veronica had called to say she might be late because of an emergency sorority meeting. The Theta Betas, on the other hand, were treating it like it was a matter of grave importance. Which, Veronica reflected quickly, might be a poor choice of words.
Hallie's death had left the Theta Betas reeling, for two reasons. Firstly, because she had been the Theta Beta social chair, and without a ouija board handy, it was kind of hard for her to carry out her job description. And secondly, of course, because they were still feeling the effects of the college's new restrictions. Now that the mourning period was apparently over, the dearth of approved social events was becoming a major issue, and Veronica wasn't surprised they'd finally decided to do something about it.
Michelle spoke before Veronica even had a chance to sit down; apparently she'd been the last to arrive.
"We need to elect a new social chair." There were murmurs of agreement from the others, and a few sad looks passed between some of the more senior Theta Betas. "I nominate Kelly."
The Theta Betas looked at one to Veronica's right, where Kelly sat, looking pleased but not entirely surprised.
"I second," Siobhann said, and Michelle beamed. Support from the Theta Beta president was as close to a guaranteed victory as it was possible to get.
There was a show of hands anyway, and the position went unanimously to Kelly. Some of the girls looked relieved, now that the most pressing matter had been dealt with.
"Okay," Siobhann said, and it was official. "Now, I guess we should discuss what we're going to do with our social calendar.
The relieved expressions quickly vanished. As if the new restrictions weren't enough to put everyone on edge, this year's pledge class was maybe half what it should have been. By the time voting was held, every freshman who hadn't yet withdrawn her name had been admitted. Sarah, the girl Veronica had spoken to at the luncheon, was among them, as was Belinda, who'd had to be taken home from the pledge party. Parker wasn't, which didn't surprise Veronica in the least.
"We have to do something," Kelly said, taking over her new role smoothly. "Does anyone have any ideas?"
The Theta Betas, usually gregarious, looked around uncertainly. The usual ideas were all off-limits; parties were out, which accounted for most of the social calendar to begin with, and the remaining options were somewhat less than inspiring.
"We've already got a couple of charity events scheduled," Siobhann said. Predictably, Dean O'Dell had left those alone. "And most of the pledge activities are fine. We just need to fill out the calendar a little."
"We should throw a party," Sarah said. A couple of the Theta Betas looked at her, already shaking their heads.
"No parties," Becky said sadly. "The college will be all over us."
"Which is why we should throw a secret party," Sarah explained. "Come on, think about it. We've got no parties, no mixers, almost no social events of any kind. No alcohol."
A few of the girls grumbled at that, including Belinda.
"It's like prohibition or something. So I say we do it anyway. It'll be our way of sticking it to overzealous campus security. Plus, it means we might actually have some fun."
"Okay," Siobhann said, obviously warming to the idea. Veronica wasn't so sure. "We'll put it to a vote. All those in favour of a secret prohibition party?"
It was a resounding yes. Somehow, Veronica wasn't surprised.
"It's settled, then. How about next week?" Siobhann looked to Kelly, who nodded.
"No problem."
"Perfect," Siobhann said. "Invited guests only. This has to stay under the radar, you guys. If we get caught, we could lose our charter."
The others nodded their agreement, and Siobhann opened her mouth to speak again just as the doorbell rang. Veronica jumped up hurriedly, glad of the distraction from party planning.
"I'll get it," she said. A few seconds later, she opened the door, and took a step back, baffled.
"Hi," she said, as Lamb stood in the doorway. "Are you here to see me? Because you can call me, you know. Or even come by the house, if you don't mind my dad taking a few pot shots."
"Veronica," he said. He looked more anxious than happy to see her, and a moment later, understanding dawned.
"You're not here to see me."
He looked apologetic. "I wanted to ask some of the girls some questions."
"What, and you couldn't just call?" She could feel herself growing mad, and she really didn't want to get into a shouting match in the open doorway. "You could have warned me first."
"I have to do this, Veronica." He sounded resigned more than anything. "Can you please let me in?"
Wordlessly, she opened the door wider, and stepped back to let him past. She threw an angry glare at his back, which wasn't nearly as satisfying as she would have liked. He glanced back a few minutes later, as if to tell her not to go anywhere, and she reluctantly obeyed, hanging around the edges of the room. When he looked over a couple of minutes after that, she deliberately looked away; she wasn't interested in whatever apology he was trying to make.
He approached her after he'd spoken to the rest of the Theta Betas, and she met his gaze defiantly.
"Aren't you going to question me now?"
He sighed. "Veronica -"
"No, go ahead. I was at the party. Why don't you interrogate me? Or better yet, we can go down to the station and do it there."
He glanced around warily; the Theta Betas were still watching them. "Can we do this somewhere more private?"
She rolled her eyes, but followed him out of the house. Once they were outside, she turned on him.
"Well?"
"Why don't we talk when you come over later -"
"When I come over?" she repeated, incredulous. "Are you serious? You come over here and question a bunch of my friends, and now you expect me to keep our date?"
"I just thought we could talk."
"Talk?" she asked. "Fine, we'll talk. If you don't want to ask questions, I will. How did you even -"
She stopped suddenly, cursing herself for her stupidity. Of course it was her fault.
"When I told you I was coming over here for a meeting, I thought I was talking to my boyfriend. Not inviting the sheriff over so he'd have a convenient time and place to interview all his suspects."
"They're not suspects," Lamb insisted, but she was barely listening to him. "They're witnesses."
"Oh, really. And I suppose you have some grand theory on what happened here?"
He looked away, and she narrowed her eyes, waiting.
"Did you know that Hallie was seeing someone?" he asked eventually.
The question caught her off guard, and she almost shook her head before remembering what Kelly had said before the luncheon.
"I didn't know the details," she said.
"What did you know?"
She shrugged. "It was someone older."
"Much older," he said, and she looked at him curiously. "Budd Rose."
The name rang a bell, and after a second, it clicked. "As in, Budd Rose, husband of Selma Hearst Rose?"
"Ex husband," he corrected. "Apparently, he and Hallie broke up. That was about all I could get. Seems like she didn't like to talk about it."
She thought about the way Hallie had changed the subject when Kelly brought it up, and nodded. "Is he a suspect?"
"No," Lamb said, and Veronica was confused for a moment before she realised he wasn't answering her question. "Veronica, this is an official investigation. I don't want you going anywhere near Budd Rose."
Like the way you didn't go anywhere near the Theta Betas? she thought, but outwardly she just shrugged. "Okay."
"I mean it."
"And I said okay." He didn't look like he believed her, but it didn't really matter to her one way or another. "I'll stay away."
He was still shaking his head when he left, and she made a mental note to look up Budd Rose's address as soon as she got home.
Next: Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7
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I wonder if there's a 12 step program.
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update soon :)
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