2.04 "Green-Eyed Monster"
Aired Oct 19, 2005
Details
Mars Investigations: Veronica is at her old work desk, making a phone call. She asks if Meg Manning has been moved from the intensive care unit yet and what the visiting hours are. A woman walks into the office and says she needs to hire a detective. Veronica says they aren't usually open on Sundays, but the woman insists that it's an emergency. She says she needs some answers about her boyfriend who is now a potential fiancé, since she found a ring. Veronica says she'll take down the information and Mr. Mars will give her a call. The woman, Julie Bloch, says her boyfriend's name is Collin Nevin. He lives off a trust fund and has a lot of free time. She wants to know how he spends it. She signs up for the "silver package," which includes email monitoring, phone records, surveillance, etc. Julie's phone rings, and it's her boyfriend. He thinks she's at yoga. She hands Veronica her card, and as she leaves, Keith walks in. Veronica introduces them. Keith asks if she's a jumpy fiancé. Veronica replies that she's a jumpy potential fiancé with cash to burn. Keith says she's supposed to be organizing the office, not getting clients. He can't even keep up with all of the cases he currently has, since he's also running for sheriff. Veronica offers to help with the little stuff, but Keith declines, saying she works at Java the Hut. She replies that the tip money won't pay for college. Keith says the Kane Scholarship will, so she should use her nights to study. Keith tells her to call Julie and say he can't take the case. Veronica dials the phone and leaves a message for Julie, telling her that Mr. Mars is unable to take on any new cases at the time. Veronica recommends other detectives, including Vinnie Van Lowe. She hangs up and her VO says that even though her dad is too busy, she's not.
Java the Hut: Veronica meets Julie and tells her that she'll be the detective on the case. Veronica asks her why she thinks Collin is up to something. Julie says she's extremely wealthy, but since money isn't supposed to matter, she's letting Collin think she's regular middle class. She tells Veronica that there have been phone calls at late hours, lame excuses for getting out of the house (the most recent one being tennis), and a framed photo of a woman on his bar.
Fennel home: Alicia asks Wallace if he has to work tonight. He replies that he's tutoring a hot girl in trig. His little brother, Darrell, is also there. Wallace gets into his car and leaves. Alicia waves to Wallace and stops as the man who had been following her drives by.
track: Veronica is taking pictures of Collin running around the track. Julie calls Veronica and says that he's had 20 calls in the past six days from the same number. She already sent Veronica the number and reminds her that Collin has tennis tomorrow.
Mars Investigations: Alicia arrives with a sandwich for Keith. She asks him if she can borrow a gun. He wants to know why. Alicia tells him that the guy who called her Cher in Chicago is her ex-boyfriend. They dated over 20 years ago and he was crazy. He drove by her house yesterday morning. Keith won't give her a gun, since she doesn't know how to handle it. He offers to stay with her at night instead. She laughs and asks what they'll tell the kids. Keith says nothing.
Fennel home: Alicia is making breakfast, telling her kids she got a late start. Keith knocks on the door and says he was out doing some surveillance and bought some doughnuts.
school hall: Veronica asks Wallace if her dad spent the night at his place. Wallace replies yes. She asks if he did the A.M. fake-out doughnut run. Wallace asks if she wants one. Jackie comes up and slaps Wallace's ass. She asks if he's really a basketball star. Veronica replies that he is, just ask him. Wallace, looking very love-struck, walks away with Jackie. Veronica looks after them, angrily.
Fennel home: The stalker tries to break into the Fennel home. Keith appears from around the corner and takes pictures of him. The man starts to approach him but Keith pulls his jacket back to show his gun. The man says, "Keith Mars. Former sheriff, detective, author." Keith replies with the man's name, Carl Morgan, and says he was in jail for assault and battery and cocaine possession with intent to sell. Carl says he expected Keith to become a problem at some point. Keith replies that there is a flight to Chicago at 4:45 and Carl should be on it. Carl replies that Keith's old lady took something of his and he isn't leaving until he gets it back. He walks away.
hospital: Veronica walks in with flowers. Duncan is sitting near Meg's room and notices Veronica. She's surprised to see him and asks how Meg is. Before he can reply, the door to Meg's room opens and her family comes out. Her father sees Duncan and yells at him, asking why he comes there every day. He says they never want to see him again and to stay away from his daughter. Meg's mom, crying, asks Veronica how she can even be there. Duncan says they care about Meg. Lizzie, Meg's sister, comes out with Meg's other little sister. She tries to say something, but her dad tells her to be quiet. He tells Duncan that if he really cared about her, she wouldn't have been on that bus. Duncan and Veronica leave. Veronica starts to say that Duncan didn't tell her about... Duncan interrupts her, saying, "What, that Meg was important to me?" Veronica says she meant about Meg's parents. Veronica looks upset. Duncan asks if she wants to go eat, but she replies that she has to work by watching a tennis match. She leaves and Duncan looks puzzled.
outside: Veronica follows Collin's car. He stops and goes up to a house and knocks on the door. Veronica takes pictures. A woman answers the door and hugs him. Veronica plugs her camera into her laptop and loads the pictures. She calls Julie and tells her to check her email because she's sending her some pictures. She also asks if she knows anyone who lives at 8520 Primrose Lane. Julie doesn't. Veronica replies that Collin is not at tennis. The number that showed up on caller ID 20 times belongs to whoever lives here on Primrose Lane. That's where he goes instead of tennis. Veronica asks if she got the photo yet and if she recognizes the woman. Julie starts to flip out. Veronica tells her not to panic and that she'll call her as soon as she knows anything. Veronica goes up to the house with her camera to take pictures. When she looks in the window, she sees that Collin is in the middle of a Hebrew lesson. She turns when she hears a car screech up to the house and stop. Julie gets out and storms toward the house. Veronica tells her to stop but Julie doesn't listen, so Veronica tackles her. She tells him that Collin isn't cheating on her, but is with a rabbi. Julie says Collin isn't Jewish, she is. Veronica wonders if she gets it yet. Julie finally does.
Veronica's bedroom: It's 2:25 A.M. Veronica's VO says that Meg's dad said Duncan has been at the hospital every day. She wonders what Duncan is doing at the hospital. Her cell phone rings. Julie asks if Veronica thinks he still loves her. Veronica replies that she doesn't know, then stops and asks who this is. Julie tells her and says the photo of the woman on the bar must be an ex-lover. Veronica's VO wonders if she's crazy too, since she's wondering the same thing about her boyfriend. Veronica tells her that it's early in the morning and the silver package doesn't include girl talk. Julie asks what comes next. Veronica replies the gold package, which includes three months of internet history, heavier surveillance, and the setup of a temptation scenario to see if he responds. Julie says she'll take it and for Veronica to find out who the woman on the bar is. Veronica tells her that there is a fine line between looking for a problem and creating one.
Sheriff Lamb's office: Keith walks in and Lamb isn't happy to see him. Keith gives him information on Carl Morgan so Lamb can arrest him. Carl is a drug dealer who is currently wanted in Chicago for armed robbery. Lamb says it's not even his birthday. Keith replies that it's his job. For now.
school hall: Weevil approaches Veronica with several of his bikers in tow. He says he heard that she was brought into the sheriff's department for questioning. She notices his hoop earrings and asks why he's wearing them. Then she realizes something.
flashback: Lamb holds up an evidence bag with an earring in it and asks Veronica if she's missing an earring.
school hall: Veronica asks where Weevil's normal earring is. He laughs and says it's probably in some chick's shag carpet. She replies that she thinks it's in an evidence bag at the sheriff's department. Weevil dismisses the bikers. Veronica says her question, and probably Lamb's, is what was Weevil's earring doing outside of the Road Hog, which is the last place Curly Moran was seen alive. Weevil won't tell her anything at first, but she starts to call the sheriff's department, so he tells her. Weevil says that a couple of weeks ago, a few days before Curly beached, he got a phone call saying that Curly was behind the bus crash. Veronica asks if she knows who it was and he doesn't. The person told Weevil that Curly was hired by the Fitzpatricks to get back at Cervando. Veronica asks if he means the "Fighting Fitzpatricks." Weevil nods and Veronica said her dad put about five of them into Chino. Weevil says that they're Irish-Catholic, which means for every five you put away, there are ten more at home. Cervando had been bragging how he hustled Leon Fitzpatrick out of five grand. Veronica says that's a lot of info for an anonymous call and what he did. Weevil says nothing. The Fitzpatricks are meth-head lunatics, but they wouldn't kill a busload of kids. Their method would be with a baseball bat in an alley. Veronica takes Weevil's cell phone and copies the number. He wants to know if he should be expecting a visit from Lamb. She hands Weevil his phone and leaves.
Cook home: Jackie and Wallace are making out. Veronica calls him. She says she needs an AV man for a scenario at 4 P.M. Wallace declines, but Veronica says she'll pay him $200. A few minutes later, Wallace is putting his shoes on. Jackie is angry at Wallace and jealous of Veronica. He says it's not like that, that he and Veronica are only friends. Jackie says she may have to have a chat with Veronica. Wallace doesn't recommend it, saying Veronica isn't someone to piss off. Jackie says that neither is she.
street: Veronica, dressed provocatively, meets Wallace outside Collin's house. They prepare a microphone for Veronica to wear. While putting in the accompanying earpiece, Wallace tells her he needs the $200 tonight, in order to mollify Jackie. Reluctantly, Veronica tells him about Jackie visiting the Java the Hut with a date several weeks ago, but Wallace brushes her off, claiming that he and Jackie weren't an item at that time, and that she wouldn't be seeing other guys now. He leaves a tool next to Veronica's car, and Veronica lets the air out of her front tire.
Collin's frontdoor: Collin opens the door to Veronica. He asks if he can help her, and after ditzily bantering about his Scottish accent and the sexual charisma of non-American men, she asks if he could give her a hand with her flat tire.
street: Collin looks at the tire, while Veronica babbles suggestively about why she was unable to change it herself.
other side of the street: Wallace films Veronica's and Collin's encounter.
street: Collin politely points out to Veronica that she has a smudge of oil on her forehead and lends her a monogrammed handkerchief. She uses it in front of her side mirror, striking an exaggeratedly seductive pose.
other side of the street: Wallace is wildly amused while filming Veronica's antics.
street: Collin tells Veronica to keep the handkerchief and suggests that they could go back to the house and call a tow truck for her. Thinking fast, she asks if he has a computer she could borrow, claiming to be a UCSD student who needs to hand in a midterm paper in ten minutes. He consents, and they leave for the house.
other side of the street: Wallace is still amused and still filming. As Veronica and Collin enter the house, the connection between her microphone and his earpiece is interrupted.
inside Collin's house: Veronica, still in her role, is insistently hitting on Collin, who still doesn't show much reaction apart from staying polite. Noticing the fine interior of the house, she calls him the catch of the year and claims that her alleged dormmate "Paige" would love the place. She then hints about lesbian undertones in her and Paige's relationship, and invites Collin to party with the two of them, as they are "double the fun." Collin, still politely, rejects this notion, as he is not into parties. Veronica claims that he seems like a wild caged animal, to which he firmly replies that she would have to ask his girlfriend about this.
other side of the street: Wallace still can't hear a thing and looks perplexed.
inside Collin's house: Veronica is now seriously violating Collin's personal space, and she sits down close to him while asking if he finds her gorgeous. He moves away from her, and tiredly replies that he thinks she knows she's gorgeous, but likes to hear it anyway. He then reminds her about her midterm paper. Veronica seems somewhat put out when she realizes that he is definitely not reacting to her seductive allure.
other side of the street: Wallace paces nervously and looks at his watch.
inside Collin's house: Veronica puts a CD in Collin's laptop drive and thanks him for helping her, stating that she owes him a favor. She continues talking to distract him, while copying his chat and search history files and burning them onto her CD. She mentions some of the film posters hanging on the wall, urging him to name his all-time favorite movie. Collin admits that he is just housesitting the place for a friend, which prompts Veronica to point out that his friend seems to be a great Nicolas Cage fan. Collin smiles and deadpans that his friend is Nic Cage. Veronica tries to be appropriately impressed but seems to be more interested in his laptop.
other side of the street: Wallace finally moves into action.
front door of Collin's/Nicolas Cage's house: Collin opens the door to Wallace, who just is about to start saying something, when Veronica handsigns him that she is not finished yet. Collin asks Wallace if he is selling something, and Wallace uses his question to come up with a hasty cover story about selling candy and pens for the hungry, while Veronica hurries back to the laptop. Collin agrees to buy something, while Veronica grabs the finished CD and her handbag. Wallace is trying to sell an already open candybox to Collin when Veronica comes running out of the house, hastily thanking Collin, and dragging Wallace away with her. Collin is left in his doorway, looking perplexed but a little amused.
Duncan's hotel suite: Duncan is sitting on the couch, his cell phone at his ear and the remote control in his hand. He is talking to Veronica and claims to be studying for a test in Latin. There is a knock on the door. Veronica cheerily asks if Duncan had dinner, which he answers in the negative, claiming that he is tired of room service.
outside Duncan's hotel suite: Following the knock on the door, Duncan opens to find Veronica outside with a bag of Chinese food. She suggests eating and sex, to which Duncan chuckles.
Duncan's hotel suite: The food has been laid out on the table. Veronica is eating. She implies that it's okay for her to stay overnight with Duncan, since her dad stays overnight with Alicia. Duncan, in cuddly mood, sits down next to her and suggests going for the making out first and eating later. Veronica considers it but inadvertently destroys the mood by first asking Duncan why he never told her about his visits to Meg. Duncan seems to dislike this question, as he immediately drops Veronica's hand (and his makeout mood) to turn to the food instead.
Duncan's hotel suite: bedroom: Sitting in bed next to the sleeping Duncan, Veronica goes through Collin's search archives, warily reminding herself that you shouldn't mention your partner's ex when expecting to fool around. She discovers that Collin has researched Julie's family on the net.
Duncan's hotel suite: bedroom: Duncan and Veronica are both sleeping when an impatient knock on the door wakes them up. Veronica panics, thinking that it has to be her father. Duncan asks who is there, prompting the late night visitor to identify herself as "Lizzie," claiming that she urgently needs to talk to him. While Veronica still wonders what Meg's sister might want at 2 a.m., Duncan signifies her to stay in the bedroom. Offended, Veronica angrily asks if she is supposed to hide like a hooker. Duncan half-heartedly shrugs while closing the door in front of her.
Duncan's hotel suite: Duncan opens the door to Lizzie, who is dressed far less conservatively than in the hospital. She apologizes and claims she didn't know where else to go. While Veronica listens on in the bedroom, Lizzie tells Duncan that her parents will be cleaning out Meg's school locker the next day. She shows a laptop to Duncan, saying that it belongs to Meg, and that someone at school mentioned it to her parents. Knowing the Mannings' disregard for their children's privacy, Lizzie is convinced that they will snoop around in Meg's files, and what they might find in there will prompt her parents to pull the plug on Meg. She needs help to bypass Meg's password and secure the files, and she figured that Duncan, being the son of a software genius, should know how to do this. While Veronica still ponders these developments, Lizzie asks for permission to use the bathroom and opens the bedroom door before Duncan can refuse.
Duncan's hotel suite: bedroom: Lizzie is stunned to find Veronica, who hastily admits that she overheard the conversation and offers to bring in someone to solve the problem.
Duncan's hotel suite: Veronica's mysterious expert is revealed to be Mac, who successfully hacks Meg's laptop and copies the files to a jump drive, which she then presents to Duncan.
Duncan's hotel suite: It's the next morning. As Duncan brushes his teeth, Veronica is preparing to leave. She catches sight of the jump drive and for a moment is tempted to copy Meg's files to her laptop, but she receives a phone call by Julie. Even when Veronica tells her about Collin's gentlemanly behavior, Julie is still convinced that she bears bad news. Veronica seems to make a decision and, promising Julie she will call her back later, removes the jump drive from her laptop's port.
Fennel home: Keith prepares to leave, as he finds his car booted on all four tires.
Sheriff Lamb's office: Lamb receives a call from Keith, who complains about the car. Lamb alleges that Keith wanted to make fun of him by notifying him about Morgan; he has found out that the man following Alicia is really Nathan Woods, a well-respected cop from Chicago, information that was only one phone call away. Stunned, Keith hangs up on him.
Mars Investigations: Julie enters, expecting awful news about Collin. Veronica assures her that Collin seems to be loyal and committed to her, has no criminal record, and that friends and ex-girlfriends hold him in high regard. Julie is still not convinced, and she sees her concerns verified when Veronica mentions that Collin doesn't own the house he currently lives in and that he researched Julie's family. Julie explains that Collin told her he had a trust fund, and she is deeply upset that he apparently lied to her.
Before Veronica can calm her down, Keith enters the room and asks coldly if he can have a word with Veronica. Julie leaves in distress, and Keith berates Veronica for taking cases behind his back, even though he told her not to do this.
Veronica tries to argue, but Keith is not having it, telling her that she cannot handle everything at eighteen, and that she is not getting away with secretly playing detective nor with staying overnight with her boyfriend. He assures her that she is not as clever as she thinks she is, enters his office, and slams the door shut behind him.
Veronica turns away in annoyance and catches sight of Collin's search history, which is still visible on her computer screen. She notices something and picks up the phone.
street: Julie is in her car. She is called by Veronica, who excitedly tells her that Collin researched her family after buying the engagement ring, speculating that he probably wanted to find Julie's father in order to ask permission for Julie's hand. This has no effect on Julie however, who confesses to having broken up with Collin via voicemail, since she feels that her own deception about her wealth weights far less than his. Veronica sarcastically tells her that she gets it now, money apparently matters. Julie agrees on this, not getting Veronica's drift.
Fennel home: Keith enters, calling for Alicia, who is not there. After assuring himself that no one is home, he searches through her papers.
Mars home: Veronica folds the laundry. She finds Collin's monogrammed handkerchief. His initials seem familiar and, together with an old bottle from her mother's liquor cabinet, trigger an idea.
flash forward: Julie's house: Julie opens a package containing an advertisement for Loch Nevin malt whiskey, a bottle of said whiskey, the handkerchief, and a letter from Veronica explaining Collin's backstory. Apparently, he is an heir who does not like to flaunt his wealth or his celebrity friendships and loved Julie for herself. Julie is floored.
Mars Investigations: Keith prints out a picture of Nathan Woods and is about to leave when the phone rings. A client calls to inquire after his missing uncle; after he mixes up several case files, Keith is able to give him the information.
Veronica's room: Keith enters and admits that he could use her help at Mars Investigations. They agree on her working two days a week, keeping the job at Java the Hut, and getting a raise.
After her father leaves, Veronica continues her research, pondering about the mysterious phone call Weevil received, and what the number connected to it might reveal. To her astonishment she finds out that it is registered under Aaron Echolls and leads to the Echolls family home.
Neptune High school yard: Veronica confronts Logan about the phone call, telling him about Curly Moran and his connection to Aaron. Logan makes fun of Veronica and sarcastically informs her that he does not know Curly. He then notices that the date of the phone call is familiar to him, since it was the day of his "Life's Short" party. He mentions that not only the initial party guests were there, but that Weevil and the PCHers crashed the party later, prompting in turn Lamb and his deputies to appear, restore order, and make off with the kegs.
Mars Investigations: Keith is on the phone, going through a case file he picked up at Alicia's house, and trying to get information on her former life as Cherie Parker Saunders Woods.
Fennel home: Wallace repairs his car, as Nathan Woods approaches him and calls out his name. When Wallace asks who he is, Nathan shows him a picture of a younger Alicia and Nathan, and claims that he is Wallace's father.