3.05 "President Evil"
Aired Oct 31, 2006
Details
Hearst college: Veronica waits for Claire to come out of class. She asks to talk to her, then asks if she could show Claire the ATM photo from the night she was raped. Claire looks and tells her she has no idea who it is. She says that he made her pull her daily limit from the ATM. Veronica points out a logo on his t-shirt and asks if Claire knows what it is. Claire says she doesn't and leaves.
Lecture hall: Tim the TA says that he's temporarily taking over the class because Dr Landry has been called as an expert witness for a trial. He says they will continue with the oral presentations. Veronica stares impatiently at her watch and then at the door. Tim looks around for the next victim and picks Veronica. Veronica looks at the door again and says that she's not ready, just when the door opens and Weevil enters. Moments later, Veronica, with the help of Weevil as audio and visual aid, gives her presentation to the class about socio-economic conditions that lead pre-teens into a life of crime. Some time later, Weevil entertains the class with an anecdote about one of his mischievous escapades. Veronica opens it to questions, and a pretty girl asks Weevil if he could really leave gang life behind. Weevil answers that he's trying, but he does miss the thrill and having money. Veronica smiles knowingly and shakes her head.
Hearst college: Veronica walks with Weevil after class. He comments on her necklace and points out it was Lilly's. Veronica responds she's been thinking about her a lot lately. Weevil asks her what she's doing for Halloween. She says she's meeting her boyfriend at the casino on campus. She explains it's not for her, but that she agreed to gamble in exchange for dressing up and giving out candy to trick or treaters. Noticing the white flakes on Weevil's shoulders, she suggests he switch shampoos. He explains that it's drywall dust from renovating the student union. His attention strays to a pretty girl talking to her friends and giving him the eye. He points out she should keep her boyfriend on a short leash around college. Veronica says that the woman of Hearst aren't close to the top of her worries about Logan. Weevil is shocked to hear she's dating Logan again after how he treated Lilly. Veronica is surprised he didn't know, as he shakes his head and leaves. Veronica looks shocked and confused.
Lecture hall: In class, Wallace and other students get the results back from a make-up examination. The professor points out the re-tests were disheartening. Wallace looks upset by his score.
Outside Mars Investigations: Veronica makes her way to the office carrying groceries and checks out the Porsche parked outside.
Mars Investigations: Whilst putting the groceries away, Veronica calls out to Keith and jokes that they should get the Porsche clamped for parking violations. She opens the door to Keith's office to find Dean O'Dell and his wife having a meeting with Keith. The dean introduces his wife Mindy and says that the Porsche belongs to her. Veronica exits the room before she puts her foot further into her mouth. Keith prompts Mindy to tell him about her ex-husband.
Lecture hall: Wallace asks the TA if he can drop the class. The TA says that he can't because adds/drop period ended last week.
Mars Investigations: Veronica sits at the reception desk and scans the ATM picture into her computer. She sharpens the image, and the logo on the Asian guy's shirt is revealed to say "Camp Waterloo." Veronica searches on the camp's website and phones them. Putting on a Southern accent, Veronica says that she's organizing a camp reunion and asks if they can email her a roster of all the campers for the last five years, with their names, addresses, and phone numbers. The O'Dells' leave the office. Keith tells Veronica to go easy on the dean because his stepson is dying. The O'Dells wants Keith to find the boy's deadbeat dad because it's the child's dying wish to meet his real father.
The Benetian: Bennis Hall: Veronica arrives at the casino dressed as Meg from The White Stripes. She walks across the room, looking at the tables. Shouting from behind her gets her attention. There are two people in U.S. President masks holding guns. The taller one, wearing a Jimmy Carter mask, demands that everyone remove their jewelry, wallets, etc. and put them into Tricky Dick's bag. He then asks Mercer, who is dressed as Alex from A Clockwork Orange for the cash box. Mercer is reluctant, but he gets it. Jimmy Carter asks for the combination, but Mercer tells him to figure it out himself. Carter hits the guy sitting next to him to the ground. Mercer types in the combination as Veronica adds her purse to the bag. The guy in the Richard Nixon mask signals for her to put her necklace in, but Veronica says the necklace is staying with her. Carter shoves her against the wall with his hand against her throat. He asks if she thinks they're playing with her and rips the necklace from her neck. Veronica says he's going to regret it, and the two men leave.
Opening credits - come on now, SUGAR!
The Benetian: Bennis Hall: Veronica stands looking upset, her hand where her necklace used to be. A guy dressed as The Dude from The Big Lebowski walks out of the room and the on-campus security man asks where he's going. He says it's a waste of time being there, and the security guard points out that they need statements. The guy points out the security guard is not a real cop and leaves. Mercer tells the other security guard there was about ten thousand dollars in the lock-box. The security guard asks if Mercer expects them to help when they told him twice to shut the place down. Mercer says he doesn't expect them to help; he was just answering their question. Logan walks in dressed as Jack from The White Stripes. He asks what happened and Veronica asks where he was. Logan points out he was in class, which they talked about. He parrots their conversation about less gambling, more class. Veronica tells him two guys held up the casino with guns and took the necklace Lilly gave her. Logan's attitude immediately changes as he hugs her. Lamb walks in, pointing out they are illegally gambling, underage drinking and (to Logan and Veronica) engaged in public displays of affection. He asks for everyone's ID, and Veronica points out their wallets were all stolen. The security guard says to Lamb they've asked them to shut down the casino on more than one occasion. Lamb interrupts to say the Sheriff's office is taking over now. Logan sarcastically says to Veronica they'll get the case solved. Veronica angrily says she doesn't need their help. She's pretty sure she knows who did it.
Hearst dorms: Wallace sits at his desk trying to study. A guy, Mason, walks in and teases Wallace for being so studious. Unamused, Wallace tells Mason that he's failing mechanical engineering, and it's a problem since he's always wanted to be a mechanical engineer. In addition, he's never failed anything before. Mason says to Wallace that he needs to chill and that they're going out.
Mars Investigations: Keith phones the dean and says that he's found Jason's biological father, Steven Batando. The manager of Steve's apartment let Keith in, and it appears that Steve is making a living as a voiceover actor. Keith says that he has a plan to for the O'Dells to meet with Steve.
Weevil's apartment: Weevil arrives home to find Veronica and Backup waiting for him. Veronica asks directly for Lilly's necklace. Weevil says he doesn't know what she's talking about. Veronica angrily claims that after she told him about the on-campus casino, it was robbed by two guys wearing masks and covered in drywall dust. She implies that this can't be a coincidence, especially after he just told her class that he missed the life of crime and asked her about Lilly's necklace. Weevil says that after all they've been through, he can't believe she thinks he did it. Veronica remains steadfast in her accusation. Weevil bitterly says that this is the reason she doesn't have more friends, and tells her to leave.
Mars Investigations: Veronica arrives late, and Cliff and Keith are waiting for her. Keith asks if she remembers what she has to do, and she says she has to impersonate a secretary. She sarcastically wishes she has some life experience to draw from. Cliff practices his TV voice-overs as Keith and Veronica laugh at him.
Outside Mars Investigations: A man, presumably Steven Batando, arrives at "Mars Advertising Media Solutions".
Hearst campus: In the car park, Weevil sees Logan writing something on a piece of paper and giving it to some girl, who then leaves. Weevil approaches Logan, and they begin their snarkfest. Unfortunately, Lamb arrives and cuts their bonding short. Moments later, Sacks searches through Weevil's car and finds some jewelry matching items reported stolen from the on-campus casino. Lamb cuffs Weevil and takes him away, but not before Logan gets to mock Weevil and Lamb snarks that he'll be back for Logan later.
Sheriff's department: Veronica sits in the Sheriff's department, reading a magazine. Lamb walks over to say he's been told she's there to see Weevil. He asks her if she's planning on helping him beat another rap. Veronica says she's actually there to get her necklace back. Lamb says he doesn't understand Veronica believing the bad guy did the crime. He does the robot dance, saying her answer doesn't compute. Veronica looks on in disbelief. Veronica asks if he got a tip about the watches in Weevil's car. Lamb explains he used one of the stolen credit cards to order a pizza and had it delivered to his own apartment. Veronica goes in to see Weevil and asks for her necklace. He says he doesn't have it; he was framed. He explains that a prepaid pizza was delivered to his apartment, but he didn't order it. Veronica asks whether she'll find he didn't order a pizza when she looks into it. Weevil says she could take his word for it and just believe him. He laughs, knowing there is no chance.
Hearst dorms: Wallace sits at his table studying when there's a knock on his door. He opens the door to Mason and two hot girls, there to pull Wallace away from his books. Wallace weakly protests that he has to study, but Mason, anticipating this, gives him a number for a tutor and says that this guy is a miracle worker who got him through a course last year. Giving up, Wallace invites them in.
Mama Mia Pizza: Veronica addresses Danny, the guy behind the counter, and asks for the manager. Danny says in awe that she's Veronica Mars and that she went to his high school. He excitedly rattles off about all the awesome things she did at Neptune High. Taking advantage of her one-man fan-club, Veronica says that she's on a case and needs his help. She asks if they have caller ID for their orders and gives him Weevil's address. Danny says that they do but soon realizes that Weevil's pizza was an Internet order. She then asks if there's any way they can find out where the order came from. Danny says only the manager can check Internet orders, but he's away. Veronica smiles and suggests that they play "pretend to be the manager." Sometime later in the manager's office Danny, with Veronica providing moral support, makes a call in a German accent and gets the Internet order traced.
Hearst college: Veronica looks at the email Danny sent her with the IP address of the computer the pizza order was sent from. Unfortunately, the computer was just forty feet from where Weevil was dry-walling, so he remains a suspect, but so do the hundreds of other people that pass through the area every day. She stands up, only to find she's sat in some purple gum. Disgusted, she tries to get it off her pants until she notices a young girl sitting nearby blowing purple bubbles with her gum. Veronica walks over and asks how the gum got from her mouth to the chair. The young girl stands up and says she thought Hearst was supposed to be a good school, and Veronica should be smart (and figure it out herself). Veronica looks at her in outrage as the girl walks into the campus security office.
Mars Investigations: Keith and Cliff chum it up over lunch as Cliff tells Keith one of his delightful client tales. They are interrupted by Lamb and another man, Detective Sanchez from the LAPD. Sanchez holds up a business card and asks if it's Keith's. Keith says it is. Sanchez says that the card has Keith as a building inspector by the name of Adrian Monk and that Keith entered Steve Batando's apartment under false pretence. Keith unconcernedly owes up to the impersonation, but Lamb says that they are investigating Steve's disappearance and that Keith is the leading suspect. Lamb and Sanchez interrogate Keith about what he was doing at Steve's apartment. Cliff steps in and tells them to back off if they're not charging his client and to call him for an appointment if they would like to question Keith further. Cliff offers his business card, but Lamb refuses and says that he knows Cliff's number from his bus bench ads: "Call Cliff and get off." Cliff starts singing his radio ad jingle which scares away Lamb and the detective. Keith thanks Cliff, but he just shrugs it off with another ad joke. Some time later, Keith gets off the phone and says that Jason O'Dell was discharged the day before. Cliff asks if Keith thinks that the O'Dells kidnapped Steve and forced him into donating his bone marrow. Keith says that's what he suspects and asks Cliff to do some research whilst he goes and finds the dean.
Hearst college: Keith bursts into the dean's office and finds O'Dell sitting behind his desk. Keith yells at him, asking him where his wife, her ex-husband, and his stepson are. The dean relents and says they're in Mexico and that they are moving forward, and his wife's brother is helping them. He also tells Keith that he's afraid he'll lose both his stepson and wife. Keith says he'll track him down. The dean offers to come along for the road trip to keep his wife on the phone so that Keith can trace her location.
Sheriff's department: Veronica arrives back at Weevil's cell, saying he phoned her. Weevil explains that another maintenance guy found the masks and guns that were used in the hold-up in a dumpster. He went to Weevil because he wasn't sure if it would hurt Weevil's case or help him. Veronica says she can track the ownership history of the guns and see where it leads. Weevil tells her the guns were fakes.
Hearst college: Veronica approaches a group in the theatre department, all standing in costume looking unhappy. She asks them to point her to the props department, and a girl in the group named Jenny says she's the prop department. Veronica explains about the hold-up and says they used fake guns. Jenny snottily says the theatre department doesn't do guns. One of the guys says they probably belonged to the film department. He asks Veronica to tell them they loved their little opening night present. The film department sprayed cooking spray all over the stage, so they couldn't go out without falling over, and this was all because they scheduled their opening night on the same evening as the film department's short film festival. Veronica jokes it's possibly their way of saying break a leg. They aren't impressed, and Veronica makes a hasty exit, saying she's there all week, mocking the theatre obsessives.
Hearst dorms: Wallace knocks on "tutor" Max's door. Max opens the door, and Wallace explains that someone sent him. Max knowingly asks for the instructor and class. Wallace tells him that it's Winkler, engineering. Max invites him in and says that Winkler used the same test for the past three years. He then gives Wallace a folder which contains the "study guide" and says it costs $100, and the answers cost an extra $100. Wallace tells him to keep the answers and pays him $100 for the test.
Film Department: Veronica and Logan walk into the short-film festival. Veronica suggests he gets seats while she gets popcorn and grills the film geeks. Logan points out the film on the screen which shows two people in masks holding up a store. After the festival, Veronica speaks to the guy that filmed it, as everyone else packs up. She tells him about the robbery. He isn't interested in talking until he spots Logan. He asks Logan if he'd ever invest in — He doesn't finish his sentence as Logan point-blank says no. Veronica steps back into his eyeline, telling him to shmooze later. He explains the props were stolen a week ago, but the campus police tracked all the stuff down except for the guns and the masks.
Hearst dorms: Wallace struggles with his practice test. He purchases the answers from the "tutor" for an extra $100.
Mexican hospital: Keith hurries through the corridor with the dean in tow. Keith tells him to try to call his wife again, but O'Dell tells him that she's not going to pick up. Keith gets a call from Cliff, and it's not good news. Keith finds out he's been led on a wild goose chase, since O'Dell's family was actually at the Sister of Mercy Hospital in San Diego. Mindy's oncologist uncle was doing the operation. Keith confronts the dean, but he is unapologetic and says that it's his son and that he and his wife were left with no choice.
Lecture hall: Wallace finishes the exam early, gives it to the teacher, and leaves. The teacher seems impressed until he opens the paper and begins reading.
Neptune: Veronica, accompanied by Backup, knocks on the door of a house. Harrison, one of the rent-a-cops, answers and asks her who she is. She says that she's the one he stole the necklace from and asks for it back. He plays dumb and pretends that she's trying to sell him Girl Scout's cookies. She tells him how he and his partner tried to pin their crime on Weevil, whom they saw every day outside their office doing renovations and knew to be an ex-con. This, she says, explains why they had drywall dust on them. She continues and says that they got the idea after finding the masks and fake guns in the film department's van. Harrison says she's got no proof. Veronica pulls out a plastic bag containing the masks and says that there's plenty of DNA in them. She offers to trade the evidence for her necklace. Harrison hesitates but says he'll need a day to get the necklace. They then hear police sirens. Veronica smiles and pulls out the microphone she's wearing.
Sister of Mercy hospital: O'Dell pleads with Keith not to stop the operation because it would kill his stepson. Keith says that if he doesn't stop it, he'll be responsible for Steve's death. The dean says that they're not planning to let Steve die and asks Keith what he'd do if this was Veronica. This gets Keith's attention and he pauses to consider.
Neptune: Lamb comes out the building, and Veronica asks if they found her necklace. He says they didn't but found lots of the other items. He says it's possible that the other guy has her necklace, but they have a car on the way over there now. The local news arrives, and he excitedly goes to greet them. Veronica gets in her car, looking jaded and depressed. A school bus pulls up, and as it drives away, Veronica sees the security guard get down on his knees and talk to the little girl who was chewing gun at the college. The girl sees Veronica and comes storming towards her, shouting at her. Veronica winds down the window casually, leans forward, and rips Lilly's necklace from her neck. The girl gasps as Veronica puts the window back up and drives off.
Heart college: Wallace opens the door, and the TA gives him a note. He goes into the lecture hall, and walks up to the professor.
Sheriff's department: Weevil is let out of jail.
Hospital: The O'Dells watch over their son as he lies in his hospital bed healing.
Sheriff's department – one week later: Lamb sits with his feet on the desk when Keith and Steve Batando enter his office. Keith introduces Steve to Lamb. Steve explains that there's been a misunderstanding, and that he had gone camping for a week without telling anyone. Lamb gives Keith a questioning look, but Keith just stands there looking innocent.
Sheriff's department – outside: Steve says to Keith to tell his wife he doesn't owe her anything now. They're more than even. Keith says it's been made clear in the documents he signed. Steve gets into a snazzy, obviously new, red car and drives away.
Hearst College: Veronica checks her email and finds a message from Camp Waterloo.
Neptune: Veronica, Logan, and Backup walk along the street. Logan asks what makes her sure it's the guy. Veronica explained he was caught in an ATM photo with the fifth victim, Claire. She looked like she'd already been roofied, but she still had her hair. She was with an Asian guy. Logan asks if they are knocking on the doors of every Asian guy in San Diego. Veronica explains he was wearing a Camp Waterloo t-shirt, and she got a list of everyone who has attended in the last five years. He was the only Asian guy in Southern California. She knocks on the door, and a white guy opens it. He says that Wang is in class. She asks when he'll be back. Veronica holds up the ATM photo and says she wants to know because he raped the girl in the photo. The guy looks surprised and says he doubts it because Claire is the guy's girlfriend. Veronica looks stunned.