The Flip Side of Normal

Part 1

"You're not trying to burn a hole through a stack of paper using only the power of your stare again?" I say upon entering Mars Investigations to find my father staring at the papers on the coffee table.

"Hey sweetheart, have a seat a minute; I have to talk to you." The tone of his voice worried me a bit, but I sit on the couch and face him none the less. "I met with Celeste Kane today."

"She's paying you double and sponsoring our club membership?" I say trying to lighten the mood.

"Well, she actually agreed to pay up but only if you sign this contract that says that you'll never sue them again. She wants you to wave any claim on the Kane fortune."

I pick up the document and a pen, there is no doubt in my mind, no matter what my DNA might say, that Keith Mars is my father. Dad just watches me.

"What? Was I supposed to sign in blood?"

"Do you know what you just signed away?" Dads choked up, his voice hesitant, like he doesn't want to tell me something.

"There's nothing that I want from them." Dad gives me a sad smile and hands me the test results which he had under the contract. It takes me some time to make sense of what it says, I'm a Kane, and there is no doubt about it. I can feel the tears falling down my face, but I ignore them and launch myself into my father's arms. "Just because my DNA says one thing doesn't mean that my heart agrees."

"I know, sweetie." He hugs me fiercely before letting go.

"I hate to sign over millions in inheritance and run, but there's someone else who needs to see this."

"I'll be here when you get back."

"Yeah, you will. I love you dad."

"You too, daughter."

I wait until I get to the car before I start sobbing. I only let myself go for a few minutes before wiping my eyes and starting the car.

The Kane Mansion was always intimidating, though today it wasn't the size that was intimidating, but the what if's. I could hear the ringing of the door bell though the door, echoing thought out the house. When Duncan answered the door I wasn't sure if I should be relieved or throw up, I chose neither, instead I started to cry again. Duncan just watched in confusion as I broke down. After a few minutes I wiped my eyes.

"Can we go sit down somewhere?" My voice was thick from crying and my eyes stung. Duncan continued to look a bit shocked but nodded his head.

"Yeah, we can head to my room." I must have looked as uncomfortable as I felt because he quickly changed his mind, "or Lilly's?"

"Lilly's," I confirmed.

We walked down the hall in silence, the kind where no one is comfortable, where you can feel the tension crawling up the back of your neck.

Duncan opened and held the door for me, then followed me in, closing the door and leaning on it. I sat down on the bed and took a few deep breaths.

"Well?" Duncan looked unhappy, not only about me being there, but by the way I wouldn't look at him.

"I want to apologies about the way you found out about Logan and I." I looked up from the floor, letting my eyes gaze at him about mid chest. "We wanted to be the ones to tell you, not the way you found out."

"Is this why you came over here, to say your sorry?" Duncan crossed his arms over his chest and stood over me. "Couldn't you have done this over the phone?"

"Yeah, I could have." I looked into his eyes then, he was standing so close it was hard to look, but I felt that I should. "But, I couldn't show you this over the phone." I handed him both envelopes, the one with the contract on top. While he read them over, I looked around Lilly's room. My eyes caught on the vent and it triggered my memory, Logan opening the vent in his pool house. Something struck me as odd about Lilly's vent. I stood up from the bed and walked over to it, momentarily forgetting that Duncan was there. I dragged the desk chair over to the wall and stood on it, bringing the vent to eye level. One of the screws to the vent was missing. I fingered the remaining screw and it came away easily in my hand.

"This can't be true." Duncan's exclamation brought me out of my trance, but I finished opening the vent anyway and put my hand inside. I pulled out a bad full of videotapes. Not knowing what else to do, I showed them to Duncan. "I have something that can play those, but afterwards, we talk."

"Deal."

Duncan puts the first tape into the camera and presses play. The pool house at Logan's comes onto the screen. "Where's that?"

"Logan's. The pool house." Duncan gives me a look that says he doesn't want to know how I know this. I shake my head, then nod back to the screen, right as Lilly appears. "That's her pep squad uniform. This… this is the day she died."

One the TV Lilly is talking, "Come here, lover. Time to earn your keep." Lilly flops back on the bed and a look of curiosity comes over her face. She stands up on the bed and looks directly into the lens in the fan. Then the tape cuts out.

Duncan looks confused, "what?"

"Let's see the other tapes."

Duncan swaps the tapes then comes back to sit beside me. "This one is dated October first." He points the remote at the TV, hitting play. We see Lilly lying on top of someone in the bed. Duncan shifts uncomfortably, but continues to watch. After the camera angle switches a few times, the other person's face appears on the screen.

"Oh, my god." I want to vomit, but before I do my mind starts racing, I vaguely hear Duncan exclaim "Mr. Echolls?" Duncan pauses the tape on Aaron Echolls' face, the man clearly knew that he was being taped.

I remember back to what Lilly said to me the day she died, "I've got a seciret, a good one."

"Veronica?"

"I know what happened." I tell Duncan what I'm thinking, about Aaron killing Lilly over possession of the tapes, about how she found the recording equipment like I did, how she swipped the tapes then drove back here and hid them, how Aaron hit her with the ashtray when she would give them back.

"Could he really do that?" Duncan looks at me in disbelief.

"He's psychotic. I watched him beat a guy into a bloody mess and then ask Logan how his school day was. He beats Logan, you know?" Duncan just nods. "Oh god, I have to call dad, he's going to turn over evidence on Logan's blown alibi."

"What?"

"I'll explain in the car, we have to go to the office."

"Don't think that this changes the fact that we have to talk."

"Catch Lilly's killer now, talk about incest later, okay?"

"Sounds fabulous." Sarcasm simply dripped from Duncan's voice.

Dad answered the phone after only one ring. "Mars Investigation."

"Dad, don't go to Lamb with the 'Baked in Ensinada' information, I've got a new development."

"It's too late, sweetie, they already picked up Logan."

"Meet me at the Sheriff's department. I know who did it, and I have proof. It's not Logan."

"Where are you, I'll come get you, we can go together."

"I'm at the Kane Estate, I'm with Duncan, and we'll meet you there in ten minutes."

"Be careful." The phone went dead in my hand and I shoved the cell in my bag.

"Let's go, they already picked up Logan, he's going to be pissed." I walked out the door without looking back. "Bring the files too. I don't want to just leave those around." I would hear Duncan shuffling around behind me. With the tapes safely in my messenger bag and Duncan holding my documents, we headed out to the La Baron.