1.07 "The Girl Next Door"
Aired Nov 09, 2004
Details
outside Mars apartment complex: An ambulance with flashing lights is in front of the Sunset Cliffs Apartments, where the Mars family lives. Veronica's VO wonders if this situation could have been prevented and if it was her fault or inevitable. EMTs carry a stretcher down stairs. Keith sees Veronica and looks away.
Opening Credits
Sunset Cliffs Apartments: "One Week Earlier" appears on the screen. Veronica walks to the laundry room and sees Sarah, her visibly pregnant neighbor. Sarah is tearful, and Veronica asks if she's okay. Sarah replies that she is, then tells Veronica that she's enjoying the CD she borrowed from her. Veronica says she can hear the CD through the ceiling, and Sarah realizes that Veronica can hear Sarah fighting with her boyfriend. Veronica asks what the fight was about. Sarah thinks her boyfriend took her diary/sketchbook because he thinks she has a thing for her boss. Veronica holds Sarah's Chihuahua, Killer. Sarah asks Veronica to come with her to a doctor's appointment where she'll get some test results back.
school hall: Vice Principal Clemmons asks Logan to talk to his dad, Aaron, to remind him to donate the boots he wore in a movie to a school auction. Clemmons expects them to bring in a lot of money.
journalism room: An older lady is babbling to Mallory Dent. Mallory introduces Evelyn Bugby to Veronica and asks if Veronica can help do a photo display for a class reunion. At first, Veronica says she doesn't have the time, but Mallory tries to convince her. She shows Veronica a yearbook from the Class of '79 and tells her she can mock the clothes. Veronica agrees to help with the display. Mallory gives her the yearbook and tells Veronica to scan the pictures that are marked. Veronica flips through the yearbook until she gets to a photo of Lianne Reynolds. Her VO says, "Lianne Reynolds: Most Likely to Disappear off the Face of the Earth."
classroom: Students take a test. Logan accuses Weevil of cheating, but he denies it. Both start mouthing off at each other. Mr. Daniels takes their tests and gives them both zeros for talking. Logan smarts off to Daniels and Weevil laughs. Daniels gives them both detention.
another classroom: Logan is playing solitaire while exchanging wise-crack remarks with Weevil. Weevil wants to make things interesting. As they play for money, they talk. Logan asks why Weevil stays in school. Weevil replies it's because he promised his grandmother. Mr. Daniels comes in and confiscates the cards. Logan mouths off to him again, prompting Mr. Daniels to give the boys a week of detention.
Sunset Cliffs Apartments: Veronica hears Sarah and her boyfriend, André, arguing outside of their apartment. Sarah is yelling at André for telling her parents she is pregnant and where she is living right now. André yells back at her and Sarah tells him to stay with Joanna so she'll stop calling them. Sarah goes back into the apartment and André, seeing Veronica watching them, stares hard at her and goes through the gate.
Mars home: That night, Veronica is startled awake when she hears a scream and a loud thud from upstairs.
Mars kitchen: The next day, Veronica asks Keith if he heard the noise. He says he didn't but doesn't share Veronica's concern. She tells him she's taking Sarah to the doctor.
Sunset Cliffs Apartments: Veronica goes upstairs and finds Sarah's apartment locked. Veronica knocks but there's no answer. She calls Sarah's name, and Killer's barking is the only response. She looks in the window and sees that the place has been trashed.
journalism room: Veronica calls Sarah and gets her voice mail. Veronica leaves a message telling Sarah she's getting worried, since she called before, and asks Sarah to call her. While looking through the 1979 yearbook, Veronica's VO says she hopes high school really isn't the best time of her life. She sees the prom page and is shocked to discover that the prom king and queen were Jake Kane and Lianne Reynolds.
boy's room: Felix asks Weevil how it is having detention with the movie star's kid. Weevil replies it's worse than juvenile hall. Felix says Weevil should tell Logan that he slept with Lilly to see Logan's reaction. Weevil gets angry and tells Felix to shut his mouth, because it wasn't like that at all. Weevil walks out, leaving Felix confused about what just happened.
school hall: Veronica catches up with Duncan and tells him about their parents being king and queen of the prom. Duncan barely reacts, saying he didn't know, and walks away. Veronica says in her VO that Duncan can be evasive.
flashback: Her VO says that Duncan broke up with her last year without any explanation. Veronica asks Lilly what's wrong with Duncan, why he's ignoring her. She adds that it's like he broke up with her and didn't even tell her. Lilly isn't worried and tells her to relax because the two of them were meant for each other. Veronica is still upset, so Lilly agrees to talk to him about it.
school hall: Veronica walks away.
parking lot: Logan and Weevil are at a parking space marked "Mr. Daniels." The car is small and blue and certainly not the newest model. Mr. Daniels tells Logan and Weevil that they have to clean the car.
Encore of Neptune Clothing Store: Veronica walks in and asks Nathan, Sarah's boss, where Sarah is. Nathan doesn't know because she hasn't shown up for work either. He says this is unusal and suggests Veronica talk to Sarah's boyfriend, André. Nathan complains that Sarah talks about him all the time, but André has a temper and the couple are always arguing. Sarah stayed at Nathan's one night when there was a bad storm because she didn't want to drive home in that weather. Sarah and André got into a huge fight on the phone.
art studio: Veronica walks in and André wants to know why she's there. She tells him Sarah is missing but André isn't worried. He says she disappears whenever things get difficult and knows she'll turn up. When prompted by Veronica, André tells her that Sarah hadn't told her parents that she was pregnant and hadn't spoken to them since she left Ohio. When André told them, her parents wanted to come see her, so she freaked out and ran away. Veronica says she heard a thump and André is sarcastic with her. He tells her to mind her own business, in so many words. Joanna comes out and poses nude for him. Veronica leaves.
Veronica's bedroom: Veronica hears Killer barking. She goes upstairs and climbs into the apartment through the window. She picks up Killer and has a look around the apartment, using her flashlight. Meanwhile, André has returned to the apartment complex and approaches the apartment. Veronica finds Sarah's cell phone with several unanswered calls on it, including a couple from her doctor. She also finds a gun in the same drawer she found the phone. She hears a key in the lock so she goes into the shower and hides. André calls for Killer who barks. Veronica flushes the toilet and comes out of the bathroom holding Killer. André isn't happy to see her and tells her to stay out of his business. Veronica hands Killer to André and leaves.
school: reunion photo display: Evelyn is busy setting up a display for the reunion. Veronica asks her about Lianne Reynolds, stating that Lianne is her mom. Evelyn sees the picture of Jake and Lianne at the prom and starts talking about how they were the perfect couple and that everyone expected them to get married. Veronica walks away, saying in a VO that she was part of a perfect couple, but perfection is fleeting.
flashback: Veronica reminds Lilly that yesterday, she said Veronica and Duncan were made for each other. Lilly responds that she doesn't want to get in the middle of this. Veronica wants more details, but Lilly won't budge and tells Veronica to move on. She says it's not Veronica but that Duncan needs time alone for a while. Veronica wants to know what is so horrible that Lilly won't tell her. Lilly asks Veronica to trust her and that it's for the best. Veronica runs into the bathroom, crying, which transitions back to the hall in the present with Veronica watching herself.
English Room: Mr. Daniels tells Weevil and Logan to alphabetize the books and leaves. Weevil tosses some books; Logan kicks one. They discuss revenge. Weevil tells Logan he has a plan, if only he thought Logan had the cojones to pull it off. Logan tells him not to underestimate the size of his cojones.
parking lot: Mr. Daniels finds his car is gone. He looks around.
Sunset Cliffs Apartments: Veronica hears André talking to Sarah's parents, Emily and Randall, who are on their way downstairs. Once André leaves, she gives them Keith's card, telling them that he can find missing people.
school: Mr. Daniels arrives at school, having received a ride from Mrs. Murphy. He notices a large crowd gathered at the flagpole. As he gets nearer, the students part and he sees that his car is impaled on the flagpole. He yells at the students to get to class.
hall: Clemmons asks Weevil to step into his office, saying he has a witness to Weevil's flagpole artwork. As the security guard is leading Weevil away, Logan comes out of a classroom and sees him.
Clemmons' office: Mr. Daniels and Clemmons try to get Weevil to say who helped him but Weevil refuses to tell them. Clemmons tells Weevil that he called his grandmother to inform her that Weevil is expelled.
lunch outside: Duncan tells Logan that he overheard that Weevil got expelled. Logan doesn't look happy about that.
Mars Investigations office: Veronica and Keith listen to Sarah's parents. Emily tells Keith that Sarah changed during her senior year. She became secretive and picked fights with Emily. Emily thinks Sarah was mad at her for marrying again after her father died. One day, Sarah just left without saying goodbye or finishing high school. Later, once Sarah's parents have left, Veronica talks to Keith about the case. He tells her she cannot do anything more on the case because these cases don't usually end well.
girls' room: Veronica's VO says that she convinced Keith to let her work on the case as long as she stayed away from André. She makes a call, saying that she is Sarah Williams, and asks for the test results. It was a DNA test, and the results prove that Sarah is not carrying André's baby.
Clemmons' office: Logan tells Clemmons that he's mad because Weevil is getting all of the credit for the car prank and that he wants his share of the credit. Clemmons tells him he can't get away with this. Logan says he didn't think he could and puts his feet up on the desk. Clemmons stares at Logan's feet because he is wearing the boots from Aaron's movie that Clemmons wanted donated to the school auction.
Encore of Neptune Clothing Store: Veronica asks Nathan if he knows who the father of Sarah's baby is. He says it's not his but maybe the guy who raped her is the father. Veronica finds it surprising that Sarah would tell Nathan that she was raped. Nathan says that he and Sarah spend a lot of time together, but that Sarah didn't say who it was that raped her. Veronica goes to leave and stops when she realizes something. She goes back to Nathan and accuses him of taking Sarah's diary. He says he doesn't know what she's talking about. Veronica says he took the diary the night Sarah stayed at his place to see if she had a thing for him. Veronica says she wants the journal but Nathan insists he doesn't have it. Veronica excuses herself and makes a phone call, asking for a favor. Later, Nathan sees that Veronica is still there, sitting on her car hood and reading, outside of the store. Weevil's gang pulls up. He hits fists with Veronica in greeting. The bikers walk in and start throwing clothes everywhere. Nathan asks what they want. Veronica comes in and stands next to Weevil. She asks Nathan if he happened to have found the diary yet.
art studio: André loads some suitcases into his car and he and Joanna take off. Keith takes his gun out and follows them.
train station: Keith asks André where he's going, saying that this is a bad time for him to leave town. André says he's just dropping off a friend. "All aboard" is announced, and André and Joanna walk toward the train. Keith says he'll be waiting for André to return. André says he will be back.
school: Clemmons hands paint rollers to Logan, telling him and Weevil that they're getting off easy. This will go on their permanent record, but they are lucky that they weren't expelled. Weevil mockingly asks if the fact that he was un-expelled will also go on his permanent record. Clemmons warns him not to push it and leaves. Weevil and Logan begin to paint over the graffiti-covered walls. Logan sees a tattoo of Lilly's name in a heart on Weevil's back. He angrily demands to know why it is there. Weevil says it's his sister's name and never to touch him again. Logan is still angry.
Mars Investigations office: Veronica reads Sarah's journal, looking for clues. Veronica says in her VO that there are no details of the rape in the journal, just of the aftermath. Veronica sees a picture in the journal labeled "paradise."
"paradise": The "paradise" picture in the diary transitions to the real place as Veronica takes a picture of it. Veronica's VO tells us that that Sarah didn't handle things well. She couldn't talk to her mom or her friends so she ran away from home and lived in her car for a while. Veronica sees a car with an Ohio license plate and when she peers inside, it's obvious someone has been living in the car. Veronica's VO continues as she looks for Sarah. Apparently Sarah met André in an art class and followed him to Neptune. Veronica sees Sarah and calls her name. Sarah asks if her parents are here and Veronica tells her they are.
Mars home: Keith comes home. Veronica tells him she found Sarah, but Keith has already heard. She asks if he thinks she has a future in the business. Keith says he doesn't want Veronica to think about being a detective; he wants her to do something normal with her life.
upstairs: André tells Sarah that she needs to talk to her parents. She doesn't want to, but realizes André is right when he says she'll have to deal with them sometime. André goes out to walk Killer.
Mars home: Veronica says she still doesn't trust André. Keith says André knows about the paternity test and that it doesn't matter to him. Veronica thinks that is weird. Keith then makes the comment that a man has to be committed to a woman to raise another man's child, causing Veronica to stop and stare into space. Keith asks Veronica who the real father is, waking her out of her daze.
upstairs: Sarah approaches Emily and Randall and says she has something to tell her mom.
Mars home: Keith asks Veronica why she didn't tell him Sarah was raped. Veronica says she just found out. Keith hears Sarah yelling, "He raped me!" Emily yells that Sarah is lying, but Sarah tells her to shut up and that her husband raped her. Keith tells Veronica to stay here and goes upstairs.
upstairs: Randall tells Sarah to stop, but she points a gun at him. Keith knocks on the door, giving Randall enough of a diversion to knock the gun from Sarah's hand. They both dive for the gun but Randall grabs it and knocks Sarah over. He raises the gun and is about to hit her when Keith fires his gun, hitting Randall in the shoulder. Randall falls over and Sarah and her mom cry.
Sunset Cliffs Apartments: Veronica runs up after gunshot. She sees Keith lower his gun and walk toward the door. Later, a stretcher is being placed into an ambulance. Veronica asks Keith how Sarah is. Keith says she's resting. Veronica assumes she's grounded, but Keith says he'll let it slide this time. He puts his arm around her and Veronica's VO asks if she can let herself slide. She wonders if some things are better left buried.
Closing Credits