Jake Kane

Jake Kane is Neptune's resident software billionaire, a beloved member of the community, and a respected family man. Half the town owes their fortunes to his streaming video software company. When Sheriff Mars accused Jake of being involved with Lilly's murder, the townspeople stood behind Jake, and threw Keith out of office.

Jake has a deep, abiding love for his son. All Jake wants is to see his son happy (preferably that happiness involves graduating from Stanford... Law School...summa cum laude.) We don't know really how he felt about his wild-child daughter, but he did cry at the press conference after his interrogation and at the dedication of Lilly's memorial fountain.

However, how much do we really know about him?

Was Jake involved with his daughter's death? Keith Mars seemed to think so, and that was without knowing that Jake was with his own wife Lianne at the time they all thought Lilly died. Jake was far from convincing with the lie he did tell, of being in bed with his wife at a hotel for a few hours. In fact, Keith was so convinced of Jake's guilt that he risked everything to prove it. And failed.

According to his wife, Celeste, Jake had — and was having — an affair with his high school sweetheart, Lianne Mars. Was it to the extent that he could be Veronica's father? Lianne doesn't even know for sure, but does Jake? Certainly, he seemed upset when Veronica told him about the threatening surveillance photos taken by his head of security, Clarence Wiedman, Jr.. He all but accused his wife of putting Wiedman up to it. Innocent and a fool, abettor and a coward, or clever and a killer?

What's a detective to think?

Everything Jake Kane did, he did for the love of his son. He appeared guilty of Lilly's crime himself because he was involved in covering up what he thought were Duncan's actions. He did not kill his daughter, but he believed his son had. Because of his actions, the real killer got away with murder. He was arrested for obstruction of justice, but will the billionaire really have to serve jail time? Because of his actions, everyone who loved Lilly was denied peace and closure for a year and a half.

Now that the truth has come out, will Jake Kane be able to find peace himself?

It doesn't appear that he has. Reduced to living in a subdivision with his security guard playing manservant, Jake has the haunted look of a man who will never find peace. When Veronica accidentally steps back into Jake's life, his anger with her is fierce, and his rage at Keith is frightening. In her quest for revenge against a secret society — a society of which Jake happens to be an elder — Veronica steps into a hornet's nest when she steals the Holy Grail of Castle confessions from Jake. Despite her return of the hard drive and attempt to blackmail Jake into not pressing charges against herself or her father, it is too late for Keith to keep his job. Jake Kane has, for a second time, been a part of Keith's loss of status as sheriff.