What Happened to the School Bus?

Status: Are you kidding me?

"My NAME is CASSIDY!"

He never stood a chance, really. His mother got out early and never looked back, leaving him to be raised by the men of the family. His father, Big Dick, was a cold, calculating fraudster who regularly traded in wives for newer models and judged worth by testosterone. His brother, another Dick, was an empty-headed, amoral, arrogant jerk who relished the privileges that Big Dick's wealth brought him and disregarded the existence or feelings of those less fortunate. When the Dicks, who valued some warped vision of manhood above all other virtues, blessed the runt with the nickname "Beaver," his fate was perhaps sealed.

His father's neglect made him easy prey for Woody Goodman, a Little League coach who liked to think he was taking care of those boys who were unhappy. His idea of love was indistinguishable from that of sexual abuse, and one of his gifts to Beaver was chlamydia. Beaver wasn't the only one on that team molested by Woody. Marcos Oliveres and Peter Ferrer were also victims of Woody's attentions. For a while, they all buried it, telling no one.

Beaver certainly wasn't going to tell the Dicks, giving them more ammunition with which to belittle him. Instead, he did what it would take to prove he was a man — to his family, to himself. And given his teachers, why should he care if this included raping Veronica Mars, the ostracized betrayer of the 09ers who was given to him on a plate by his brother as she lay unconscious? Beaver did the deed, even though it cost him the contents of his stomach. He got away with it too, denying the crime when challenged. His luck held when it was discovered that another came upon Veronica afterwards and had sex with her that night of Shelly Pomroy's party. Beaver's trademark puppy dog eyes did not betray him.

But as Woody rose to political prominence, and as Marcos and Peter began to grow in confidence with who they were, they wanted to expose Woody, to tell the world what Woody did to all three of them. Beaver begged them to leave his name out of it, but they assured Beaver that he would thank them one day.

So what's a kid gonna do?

Beaver killed. In working on the war movies of his friend Hart, he had obtained and learned how to use explosives from Curly Moran, his dad's mechanic and a former stunt coordinator. He made a bomb, to be detonated by the ring of a cell phone. He planted it on the bus, somewhere near the driver (we assume), together with a rat (we assume), the smell of which would drive those who could afford it, including himself and his brother, off of the bus for the return journey. In some manner (we assume), he got Marcos and Peter to go on the school trip to Shark Field but not publicly confront Woody. Something scared Woody though, enough to tell his daughter not to get back on the bus, not wanting her in the vicinity of his three victims.

The bus headed back to Neptune High School with the limo containing most of the rich kids following behind. This didn't include Marcos and Peter, who were on the bus, or Veronica, who was left behind at a gas station. Did the limo pull in at the gas station too? Did Beaver tell the driver to keep pace with the bus, without anyone else noticing? He must have done something to ensure that the limo was right behind the bus because timing was critical. We don't know. We only know that when the bus was in exactly the right place, Beaver detonated the bomb, sending eight people to their immediate or ultimate deaths.

Curly checked out the bus crash scene and was not happy. (We assume) Beaver found out that Curly was investigating and as Curly could tie him into the explosives and method of the staged crash, he planned Curly's end too. He knew that one of the crash victims, Cervando Luna, had made the Fitzpatricks unhappy by hustling Liam out of $3,000 in a pool game. He'd overheard Cervando bragging. Beaver used this, calling some of the PCHers (whose numbers he had, somehow) from Logan's Life's Short party, and telling them that Curly had sabotaged the bus on the orders of the Fitzpatricks to get back at Cervando. It was a clever lie, for Weevil had already been keeping an eye on Cervando in anticipation of the Fitzpatricks seeking revenge. Beaver (somehow) tracked either Curly or the PCHers until they met and watched, waiting for the bikers to kill Curly. Weevil gave Curly a good beating, but one of the bikers spotted Beaver's car and, to avoid detection, Beaver started up the engine, and the bikers ran off. Curly wasn't dead, but he was disoriented and confused, so Beaver ran him down. He was very lucky that Curly's body landed on the hood of the car, as it's unlikely that the slight sixteen-year-old could have lifted or dragged Curly to the cliff. Before sending Curly's body down to the ocean, Beaver wrote Veronica's name on his hand, making it look like Aaron Echolls, with whom Curly had worked as a stunt coordinator, was out to kill Veronica. It was another attempt to steer the investigation into the wrong direction.

(We assume) Beaver kept an eye on the bus crash investigation and when Terrence Cook was under suspicion, he helped things along by (somehow) obtaining access to Woody's hangar where Terrence kept his collection of cars and planted some of the C4.

Now responsible for nine murders, Beaver seemed to gain the strength to hit back on his earliest tormentor — his father. He knew about his father's business and that it was a house of cards. The opportunity came when he found a condom under the couch, the same night Big Dick tormented him yet again for being a wimp. Beaver's dark, tormented eyes hid a maelstrom of feelings as he set Veronica on his father's trail, ostensibly to find out the identity of his stepmother's lover, nudging her in the right direction when she failed to spot a vital clue in the property fraud. He knew she wouldn't hesitate to expose corruption, and he was right. Veronica brought down the Casablancas property empire and Big Dick lost it all, fleeing the country and the law. Beaver played the part of stricken son to the last.

With his father out of the way and granted access to his trust fund, Beaver set about making his own fortune. He made Kendall the titular head of his business because he was too young to be able to run it otherwise and he figured her for a bimbo whom he could manipulate. Beaver was smart, but not so smart that he picked up on the reason why he was getting such good bargains on the properties he was buying. They were being sold cheap because once Neptune was incorporated, they would be worthless. Once he understood this, courtesy of his FBLA teacher, Beaver knew he had to do something to stop incorporation.

(For some reason, perhaps later revenge) Beaver had kept an audio recording of Marcos and Peter trying to persuade him to come forward. Editing out his own voice, Beaver sent Woody, the instigator and driver of the plan to incorporate, an email under the title "Kill incorporation or else." Woody complied, sabotaging his own brainchild by setting himself up in a compromising position with a young woman at the Camelot motel just before the referendum. Incorporation, already a contentious issue with the polls too close to call, was defeated. Beaver became rich as the undervalued properties he bought returned to their original values.

When Lucky Dohanic, another probable victim of Woody in his youth and a ringleader in the summer battle between the 09ers and the PCHers, was arrested for stalking the Goodman family and later killed in an incident at the high school, the spotlight was turned on Woody and his former bat boy. (We assume) Beaver must have felt threatened by this, in case the truth about Woody came out, or in case Woody confessed and exposed Beaver's secret, or in case Woody worked out the missing voice on the audio recording. (For whatever reason) Beaver planted two more cell phone bombs to take out Woody — one under his car and one in the plane — knowing they could be blamed on Lucky (we assume).

On the way to setting up his business, Beaver met Mac, herself a shy loner. Her interest in him gave him another chance to prove he was a man, and they slowly embarked on a relationship. They hit a rough patch when Mac started wondering at Beaver's lack of interest in sex but made up soon afterwards and planned a night of passion.

Thus things stood when Veronica realized the truth. Once she discovered that Beaver was on Woody's Little League team and the missing boy from the audio recording of Marcos and Peter, she knew her chlamydia had to have come from the night of Shelly Pomroy's party. It all fell into place for her, and she knew he was dangerous. In attempting to warn Mac, she only alerted Beaver, who laid a trap for her. To ensure Mac didn't follow, Beaver left her naked in the Neptune Grand hotel room where they had been trying, somewhat unsuccessfully, to consummate their relationship. He went to the roof where he had lured Veronica and, for the first time, she saw the real Beaver, the boy who had murdered nine innocents to protect his secret. The real Beaver was a psychopath without remorse, justifying his actions as if the lives he had taken were worthless. As Veronica watched in horror, he took at least three more as he detonated the bomb on Woody's plane, which he knew was in the air, flying the captured suspect back to Neptune. The pilot, a deputy, and Woody died in a ball of flame over the city. As far as Veronica and Beaver knew, Keith Mars was on that plane and perished too. Veronica, devastated and shocked repeatedly with her own taser, fought back, using Logan's arrival on the rooftop to wrest the gun from Beaver. She contemplated executing him for his crimes, but on Logan's urging, she did not turn killer.

Defeated, Beaver had nowhere to go and nothing to live for. Logan, so persuasive with Veronica, couldn't tell the boy that had been his friend what he had to live for, and with a final, defiant plea for his true identity, Cassidy Casablancas stepped off the roof and started his descent to hell.

Oooookay. So, we'd have liked a few fewer "assumes" and "somehows" in there, but we think that's the story. Pretty much. Unless you know different?

Mystery Summary as of 2.22 "Not Pictured"

All summaries: 2.22 2.21 2.20 2.19 2.18 2.17 2.16 2.15 2.14 2.13 2.06 2.05 2.04 2.03 2.02 2.01

Clues for What Happened to the School Bus?

2.01 "Normal Is the Watchword"
There is an ongoing war of attrition between the 09ers and the non-09ers. In one incident, the public swimming pool used by the non-09ers was destroyed. Logan Echolls, Dick and Cassidy Casablancas, John Enbom and somebody named Rams are implicated in that incident.
Before it began its journey, Logan Echolls was hanging around the bus. Was he planning another incident?
As Veronica boarded the bus, Logan told her that he would miss her. What did he mean?
The students on the field trip were 09ers and non-09ers. All were on the bus on the outward journey.
Dick complained that there was a bad smell on the bus. Was there? Had someone put something on the bus to make the journey uncomfortable? Or did Dick need an excuse to avoid the journey back?
Dick organized a limo to journey back to Neptune. Was this because of the smell or was it part of some other plan?
Dick invited the 09ers and Veronica to travel back with him in the limo. All accepted except Meg. Veronica changed her mind and declined in order to talk to Meg on the bus on the return journey. If Meg had agreed to travel in the limo, there would have been no 09ers on the bus.
Veronica's encounter with Weevil at a gas station forestalled her rejoining the doomed bus. Why was Weevil there?
On the curve in the road, signs asked drivers to slow for road works. According to one witness, the bus ignored the signs.
In order for the witness to be able to say that the bus didn't slow down, the limo had to have been right behind the bus when it went over the cliff. There is no obvious sign of damage to the front of the limo.
2.02 "Driver Ed"
The bus's maintenance records are allegedly part of the investigation, but they are never disclosed. Many in Neptune question the district's commitment to providing new, well-maintained buses when only the kids from the poor side of town use them.
The bus driver, Ed Doyle, was the focus of the sheriff's department's investigation. He had a history of mental illness and marital problems. He had an unfilled prescription for anti-depressants. He attempted suicide once.
On finding a note, the authorities have declared him responsible for the bus crash and closed the case. Why has Lamb rushed so quickly to judgment?
The note has another explanation. With a history of marital problems, Doyle was engaged in an affair and, though finding it difficult to leave his two children, was intending to leave his wife. Lamb will not consider this alternative, and more likely, interpretation.
If the bus crash was murder, one of those who were on the bus, or who should have been on the bus, may have been the target. Cervando Perez, a PCH biker, was on the bus. After Felix, he is the second biker to die over the course of a few months. Is there a connection?
Who is Big Al? Was he another biker? Was he on the bus? At the scene of the accident, where a man in a Hawaiian shirt lights a candle, someone's written "Goodbye Big Al." It isn't clear who the man is mourning.
Veronica comes across the man and helps him light the candle by shielding the wick. He expresses gratitude.
The man is still at the scene when Veronica comforts and leaves with Jessie Doyle, the bus driver's daughter. Jessie's outburst at the scene over the lack of tribute to her father is heard by others and would have been heard by the man.
From Veronica and Jessie's exchange at the scene, it may have been inferred by a bystander that Veronica was investigating the accident.
If the man did not know who Veronica was, there were many other people at the scene, some of whom may have known her name.
The man's body is discovered washed up on the beach with Veronica's name written on his hand. The ink is unsmudged.
Veronica's name was not on his hand when he lit the votive candle.
The discovery puts Veronica front and center of the investigation into the man's death. Was that the reason her name was there?
With Keith opposing Lamb for the office of sheriff, will this influence Lamb's approach to an investigation involving Keith's daughter?
2.03 "Cheatty Cheatty Bang Bang"
The dead man is David "Curly" Moran, car mechanic, motorcycle rider, former convict, and the stunt coordinator on Aaron Echolls's first film where he was responsible for sending a truck off a bridge.
Moran was beaten to death.
Moran was last seen alive at the Road Hog, a biker bar up the Pacific Coast Highway.
A square diamond earring was found outside the Road Hog by the sheriff's department investigation Moran's death. Is there a connection?
Weevil was wearing a square diamond earring in 2.01 "Normal Is the Watchword."
Moran lived at the Casabian Apartments. Are they connected to the Casablancas property empire?
Moran's belongings include a baseball bat.
Moran's record included convictions for drug offenses.
Veronica is likely to be the primary witness against Aaron Echolls. If she were dead, Aaron's chances of avoiding conviction are considerably higher in the light of the paucity of hard evidence against him.
2.04 "Green-Eyed Monster"
Meg is the only survivor of the crash. Like everyone who was on or should have been on the bus, she is a candidate for being the target of the saboteur.
Meg is still unconscious. Duncan visits Meg at the hospital every day. When Veronica asks him why, he closes down. What is Duncan hiding? What does Meg know?
Meg's parents are very angry and appear to blame Duncan and Veronica for Meg's parlous state. Mr. Manning goes so far as to say that if it wasn't for Duncan, Meg wouldn't have been on the bus. It is unclear what they know of the events at Shark Field just before the crash, and if it is this to which they refer, or something else.
The Mannings have sent their daughter Lizzie to a new school, one strict at enforcing conformity to a dour image. They did not react so when Lizzie woke up in the swim coach's cabin at summer camp more than a year before. What has happened in the Manning family to merit such a radical response? Has it something to do with Meg? Is or was Meg pregnant? Is that the reason she was so bitter towards Veronica?
The Mannings appear to have care of a younger child, probably another daughter. Her eyes are either exceedingly tear-stained or she has two black eyes. Has the child been beaten?
Lizzie is concerned that information on Meg's laptop, the possession of which she kept a secret, will, if known to her parents, cause Meg harm and asks Duncan's help in removing it. He readily agrees. Is Lizzie exaggerating? What is in Meg's emails that is so damning? Why does Duncan seem to know?
On September 24th, an anonymous caller told Weevil that Moran was hired by the Fighting Fitzpatricks to crash the bus to kill Cervando over a few thousand dollars. Weevil says he doesn't believe it. The Fitzpatricks' M.O. would be to attack Cervando with a baseball bat. Does the Fitzpatrick brothers' fondness for baseball bats give them a connection to any other baseball lovers? Why would someone tell Weevil this? Is it a diversion and if so, a diversion from what?
When Veronica asks Weevil if the earring held by Lamb is his, and if he was at the Road Hog, the last place Moran was seen alive, Weevil avoids answering directly, telling Veronica instead about the phone call. The implication is that Weevil dismissed the allegation. But would Weevil really fail to follow up or at least talk to Moran about the death of one of his gang?
Veronica traces the anonymous call to one of the numbers in use at the Echolls's residence, a number with which she is not familiar. Where is the phone with this number located? Would a visitor to the house have access?
Logan claims that September 24th was the night of his Life's Short party. Many people were present at the Life's Short party including 09ers, the bikers, and the sheriff and his deputies.
- Also applies to: Who Killed Felix?
Logan claims not to know Moran.
2.05 "Blast from the Past"
Lamb states, in the course of electioneering, that he has the paperwork to prove that Keith Mars, as a deputy, let Doyle off a DUI, opting instead to follow him home. Had Keith followed procedure and charged him, Doyle's record would have precluded his employment as a school bus driver.
Terrence Cook was present at Shark Field, the bus's last lengthy stop before the crash. He was agitated and then calmed by Woody Goodman. Lamb has now uncovered allegations that Cook has a gambling debt of three million dollars and is involved with those with an interest in baseball. Are the allegations true? With Lamb using the knowledge to exhort contributions from Cook, does he have any incentive to connect Cook's proximity to the doomed bus with the allegations? Who are the people behind those pressuring Cook? Are they people like the Fighting Fitzpatricks?
Rhonda, one of the students who died on the bus, called her friend Michelle just before the crash. Michelle didn't pick up and thus has preserved in a message the last seconds of her friend's life.
Just before the crash, there was the sound of a blast. It is unclear as to exactly what the sound was. There then appears to be the sound of the bus hitting the barrier and then the water.
Keith takes the recording to Lamb and asks that he send it to an acoustics lab for analysis. Lamb is reluctant, claiming Keith is seeking to avoid his part in the tragedy to secure the election.
2.06 "Rat Saw God"
Don Lamb is re-elected Balboa County sheriff and continues to be in charge of the investigation of the bus crash.
The bus has been recovered from the water and is in the possession of the Balboa County Sheriff's Department.
According to Deputy Jerry Sacks, they are checking out the front end, the brakes, everything.
Keith is now aware of Curly Moran and his connection with Aaron Echolls. He is also aware that Veronica's name was written on the hand of Moran's body, and that Veronica believes she may have been the target of a staged crash.
Keith visits Aaron. He threatens him. Keith states that, whether or not he was involved with the crash, if anything happens to Veronica, Aaron will pay.
Keith breaks into the site of the recovered bus. He finds a dead rat duct-taped underneath one of the seats. The implication is that it must have been there before the bus crashed.
The dead rat could have been the cause of the smell Dick Casablancas complained of in 2.01 "Normal Is the Watchword." The smell was the reason given by Dick for arranging the limo that got most of the 09ers off the bus before the accident.
How committed is Lamb to the investigation? Keith's discovery of the rat after the bus had supposedly been checked out may suggest the answer to that is "not very."
2.07 "Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner"
Woody assures Keith that Lamb is pursuing the investigation into the bus crash.
Meg was indeed hiding something on her laptop. Duncan shows Veronica some emails he downloaded. What made Duncan look at Meg's files? Did he show Veronica everything he found?
Meg was engaged in correspondence with Child Protection Services regarding a boy she babysat. Was this correspondence the reason for Meg's anger? Or for the bus crash?
After investigating, Veronica and Duncan conclude that Meg was disguising the subject of her correspondence, and that it was not a boy who was at risk. It was her own sister, Grace. This conclusion is substantiated when they find tomes of Grace's writing "The path to God is paved with righteousness" over and over, and by their finding Grace locked in a small space behind the closet in her bedroom. The implication is that the Mannings are, or have become, religious zealots. However, neither sweet, balanced Meg nor fun-loving, swim-coach-hugging Lizzie seem to have be subjected to the same treatment. Are we being misled?
Grace is reluctant to leave the closet at the behest of Veronica and Duncan because she is not ready to be "tested."
In the course of the investigation, Duncan takes an envelope from Meg's hiding place. He ensures that Veronica does not see him. What is in the envelope? Is this what Duncan was looking for when he looked at Meg's files? Is this why he visits Meg at the hospital every day? Is this why the bus was sabotaged?
Grace may not have been Meg's only secret. Meg was a regular babysitter for a number of 09er families, including the Fullers. Stuart Fuller tells Veronica about the fun he has on his boat. Are the Fullers part of the Boatloads of Fun Corp? Might Meg have overheard information about them that would motivate them to silence her?
2.08 "Ahoy, Mateys!"
Marcos Oliveres was one of the students who died on the bus. His alter-ego, Cap'n Krunk, was a shock radio DJ who habitually railed on the students and teachers at Neptune High.
It was not widely known that Marcos was Cap'n Krunk. However, it took only a cursory investigation for Veronica to discover that fact and others may have been able to do so.
The Oliveres family were the only ones not to settle with the school board over the crash, until the events in 2.08 "Ahoy, Mateys!".
The school is being represented by a big firm of lawyers, Simon & Stern.
2.09 "My Mother, the Fiend"
Keith took the rat from the bus. It now resides in the freezer at Mars Investigations. Such an action may seriously compromise any investigation and/or attempt to prosecute the guilty party. As a former sheriff, Keith would know this, so what was his motivation? Was it solely his conviction that the bus crash is not being investigated as it should be?
Veronica believes the rat was a message for her. Keith is open to the possibility that it may have been meant for someone else. Veronica has apparently not recalled nor informed Keith of the smell on the bus that led to the 09ers travelling back independently.
Keith is persuaded and admits that the investigation into the bus crash is not in safe hands. Is Keith conducting his own investigation?
Meg is awake. Can she shed any light on the events on the bus?
2.10 "One Angry Veronica"
Meg is dead. Veronica learned nothing from her about the bus crash. Did anyone else? Both the sheriff's department and Keith would have been interested to interview Meg. Somebody called Keith to inform him of her passing, so his interest was known. Did either or both have that opportunity?
2.12 "Rashard & Wallace Go To White Castle"
Keith has obtained tapes of interviews made as part of the investigation into the bus crash. It is unclear when the interviews were made, although the references to Curly Moran are strong indicators that the interviews were after the discovery of Curly's body. It is unclear if these were the only interviews done with these witnesses.
Dick Casablancas told Lamb that he arranged the limo because of the bad smell on the bus. His statement is supported by his brother, Cassidy.
Dick Casablancas told Lamb that he knew Curly Moran as the mechanic who worked on his father's Aston Martin.
Cassidy Casablancas told Lamb that he knew Curly Moran as the mechanic who worked on his father's Aston Martin, although he infrequently accompanied his father to the garage where Moran worked, his father more usually being accompanied by his brother.
Gia Goodman told Lamb that the reason she did not go on the bus for the return journey was because her father, Woody Goodman, told her not to do so. She ascribes it to his having a psychic moment.
Gia Goodman told Lamb that she knew Curly Moran as the mechanic who worked on her Fiat.
Terrence Cook knew Ms. Dumass, who died on the bus. They were photographed together in the background of a restaurant by Mars Investigations.
There is video that shows Weevil beating up Curly Moran. It is not known why, when, or the circumstances in which the video was shot. Weevil told Veronica that he received an anonymous phone call from someone saying that Curly had been hired by the Fitzpatricks to cause the bus crash and that Cervando Perez was the target. Weevil told Veronica he dismissed the call.
Lamb has brought Terrence Cook in for questioning about the bus crash. It is unknown if this is as a result of the photograph discovered by Mars Investigations, but the timing of Lamb's actions supports that view.
2.13 "Ain't No Magic Mountain High Enough"
Lamb did not pull Terrence Cook in for questioning as a result of the photograph in the possession of Mars Investigations.
Lamb's forensics experts have found cell phone and baseball fragments embedded in the bus driver's body.
Lamb's current theory is that Terrence planted a bomb and cell phone in a bag bound for the bus and detonated the bomb by calling the cell.
Terrence had the opportunity to sabotage the bus when it was at Shark Field.
Terrence is an active supporter of Woody's plans for incorporation.
Terrence was involved, reluctantly, with the journalism teacher, Leslie Dumass. She stalked him, moving to Neptune to follow him, told his fiancée that they were lovers, forcing the end of the engagement, and blackmailed him into continuing her relationship with him.
Terrence has a long-standing and serious gambling addiction. As a player, he threw an important game to wipe out his debts at the time. This is the knowledge that Leslie Dumass used to blackmail him.
Leslie Dumass's death benefits Terrence, for it removes her and the risk of her revealing his secrets.
Terrence is in debt to the Fitzpatricks. Terrence has already been shown to be easily coerced into acts he would otherwise not do, such as throw a game, make a significant campaign contribution to the fund to re-elect Sheriff Lamb, MC a bachelor auction, continue a relationship with a woman he does not love, and, perhaps, supporting a move to incorporate Neptune.
2.14 "Versatile Toppings"
Terrence Cook's debts are not to the Fitzpatricks, who visited his home to collect. The Fitzpatricks were working for someone else, for Leonard Lobo, who owns the Seven Rivers Casino and several others.
The time of the bus crash has moved. It is now alleged to have occurred at 7:03 on Tuesday 13 September. (And not on a Wednesday at 4:20 as investigated by Veronica in 2.02 "Driver Ed."
Leonard Lobo has produced photographic evidence to show that Terrence Cook was in the casino at 7:01 and at 7:06.
Keith has been informed that the casino jams cell phone signals so that Terrence could not have used his cell while in the casino.
Veronica has found some sort of explosive and detonators in a metal cupboard in a hangar owed by Woody Goodman and used by Terrence Cook.
Peter Ferrer was the fourth student to be identified as having died on the bus. Peter told fellow posters on gay chat board that he had the "outing of all outings in Neptune" but died before he disclosed what he knew.
2.15 "The Quick and the Wed"
The explosives found in the locker in the hangar that Terrence uses to store his car are the same type as were used in the device on the bus.
As a result, a warrant was issued for the arrest of Terrence Cook, charging him with eight counts of murder in the first degree.
The eight counts are most likely in respect of the seven victims who died on the day of the bus crash and Meg, who died several months later, although it is unclear when Meg's death was confirmed to be as a result of the crash.
Terrence was apprehended when he was shot in the course of breaking into the house of Leslie Dumass's family in San Francisco by her father.
Keith learns that Terrence had a regular car detailer who was due at the hangar on one of his monthly visits the day after Veronica found the explosives and that, but for Veronica's discovery, would have been the one to find the explosives in the same cabinet in which Terrence kept the special chamois he insisted were used on the cars.
The detailer confirmed that Terrence was always aware when the cars were due to be detailed and would complain about any lateness.
2.16 "The Rapes of Graff"
The old stadium at Shark Field is due to be demolished shortly. Woody Goodman will push the plunger on live TV together with the student who wins his county-wide essay competition on the subject of freedom.
The case against Logan for Felix's murder has collapsed again. This is a matter of common knowledge around Neptune.
Cliff's briefcase is stolen for reasons unknown. The contents included the files on the case against Logan and a key to a storage locker that contained "everything else" that wasn't in the files. However it also included files on cases of a drunken assault, lewd conduct, a fraud, and a divorce, any one of which may have been of more interest to the instigator of the theft.
In relation to the Logan Echolls murder case files, Cliff describes one of the keys that was stolen as being the one to "their storage locker." Is the "they" the Echolls? What is in the storage locker and why would anyone want to access it?
- Also applies to: Who Killed Felix?
Lamb is having a relationship with Madison Sinclair.
Dick Casablancas refers to himself and Logan as "High-plains drifters, life takers, and heart breakers" and encourages him to care about no one.
C4 is kept at Shark Field in preparation for the demolition of the stadium. Access to it appears easy.
Danny Boyd, one of the Fitzpatricks, works at the site.
2.17 "Plan B"
Logan won the essay contest with an essay that was lifted from the film Easy Rider. Woody was surprised when he saw that Logan was his intern.
Curly Moran, while being beaten by Weevil, said that he was not responsible for the bus crash but that he knew who was.
Before Curly could tell Weevil anything more, Weevil ran off when warned of the presence of an occupied car.
Curly was alive when Weevil left him.
There is a cliff behind the Road Hog.
Woody's plan for incorporation has its opponents, including Father Patrick Fitzpatrick.
Woody asked Keith to use his best efforts to clear Terrence Cook.
Terrence Cook has been on suicide watch.
Logan showed Woody a DVD which he said arrived anonymously in the mail he was sorting into pro- and anti-incorporation. On the DVD was footage of Woody and his family inside their home. Woody asked Keith to investigate.
The DVD showed a clock, pictures on a wall of some Little League teams, and at least Woody and Gia at the family dining table having dinner.
From the time shown on the clock, Keith deduced that the intruder took the film in the previous November or December, long before his plans to incorporate Neptune were made public.
Woody was alarmed by this information and, having made up a story to explain it, insisted on the return of the DVD and for Keith to cease his investigation.
At the ceremony to detonate the explosives to bring down the Shark Field stadium, Woody welcomes unrecognizable worthies.
2.18 "I Am God"
The identity of the final bus crash victim is Betina Marone.
Peter Ferrer posted the details of his unrequited love, or "yellow fever" as he described it, on the Pirate S.H.I.P.
From the files transferred from Meg's computer, Veronica has learned of Tommy "Lucky" Dohanic, a creepy friend of her parents from church. The Mannings approved of the Bible-quoting ex-soldier for their daughter. Lucky is a former soldier who spent four months in Iraq before suffering a minor injury and being sent home.
Meg was not complimentary about Lucky in her files, describing him as a janitor in the high school from which he graduated (Neptune High) who buys beer for guys like Logan to hang on to his glory days.
From Logan, Veronica is reminded of an incident in the summer when Lucky, a former Army Ranger, was inciting Logan to take action against others as payback.
Michelle Thompson's friend Rhonda Landers left Michelle a message at home before making her final call, the one that recorded the explosion. In this first message, the students on the bus were laughing at the sound of Dick Casablancas, who could not have been on the bus.
This leads Veronica to the bus where she finds a CD in the player. It contains copies of messages Dick left for Betina.
Whilst on the bus, Veronica finds graffiti on the back of one of the seats. The graffiti is of nine tombstones and the words "I Am God." Veronica concludes that as the bus was new and there was no other graffiti, that it was drawn by one the bus victims celebrating the power to put him or herself and his or her classmates in individual coffins. She subsequently abandons this conclusion when she realizes that "I Am God" is a song and the drawing is of the artwork from the cover of the disc.
Veronica interviews Dick about Betina. He admits that she was his booty buddy. He used her as a secret sleeping partner as her social status was such that he would not have it known. He believed he was safe because she was on the pill. However, when Veronica interviews Betina's friend Maureen, it transpires that this was not the case. Betina was actually trying to get pregnant with the intention of exposing their relationship.
On the day of the crash, Dick gave Betina "a Sharks premium ticket package, my Sharks memorabilia gift bag." Veronica points out that the tickets were a raffle prize that Dick didn't win. He explains that he saw the gay kid who did win throw the tickets in the rubbish and rescued them. Note that it is not entirely clear whether the tickets and a bag were the raffle prize or just the tickets.
Maureen describes Dick Casablancas is the bastard child of Satan.
From Wallace, Veronica learns that Rhonda Landers was hell on wheels. She and her sister Natalie were in Clemmons' office all the time, always in trouble for huffing paint, stealing, fighting, anything to reinforce the poor white trash stereotype.
Veronica attempts to interview Natalie, who blows her off. However, her sudden apparent wealth as indicated by her bling and her Corvette causes Veronica to ask Keith to pull the financial records of the families of the bus-crash victims. Keith ascertains that none of them benefited from the crash. However the Landers won a separate lawsuit with a two million dollar payout from Woody's Burgers, apparently in respect of a finger found in Mrs. Landers' ribwich.
Veronica breaks into the principal's office and takes the permanent files of the bus-crash victims. In Peter Ferrer's file she reads of an incident with Mr. Wu. Veronica interviews Mr. Wu, who confirms that Peter had feelings for him which he declared at Possibilities, a gay bar. Mr. Wu, who is not gay, let him down gently him and reported the incident to Clemmons.
It occurs to Veronica in a dream that maybe the question she should be asking about Peter, who threw away the raffle prize, was why he was even on the trip in the first place.
Veronica's perusal of the permanent files show Cervando's average weekly trips to the principal's office was nearly as high as his high G.P.A. One such incident occurred during summer school and involved Beaver.
Veronica interviews Beaver, who confirms Weevil's story that Cervando was boasting about hustling Liam Fitzpatrick out of $3,000, as Beaver heard him doing it. After Dick sprayed bleach on Cervando's new jeans, Cervando threatened Beaver, a circumstance Beaver describes as the story of his life.
Veronica considers the crash and how the detonation would have had to have been timed properly to send the bus over the cliff. This leads her to wonder about Weevil's presence.
Keith considers the kids on the limo who should have been on the bus and learns that three days after marrying Kendall, Big Dick insured Dick and Beaver for significant sums. Both were worth more dead than alive.
2.19 "Nevermind the Buttocks"
Richard Casablancas was using the life insurance that he'd taken out for Dick and Cassidy as a tax shelter.
The payout on Dick's and Beaver's life insurance policies is over eight figures and the beneficiary of Dick's and Beaver's life insurance policies should both brothers die simultaneously is Kendall Casablancas.
Mac has a cell phone interceptor which she intends to use to eavesdrop on Beaver's calls. Veronica knows she has the interceptor.
Clemmons has changed the lock on his office door. Veronica can no longer enter at will.
Clemmons always has bus circle duty after the last bell of the day. Presumably, this would include on the day of the bus crash.
A copy of The Anarchist's Cookbook was confiscated from Weevil's locker, #333, the first week of school and kept in Clemmons' office. In it are instructions on how to make a basement bomb.
Logan was supposed to be on the bus the day of the crash. His comment then to Veronica, that he was going to miss her, may relate to his not going on the trip.
Veronica theorizes that Weevil and Cervando planned to blow up the 09ers, who were meant to include Logan. They planted the rat to drive the 09ers into the limo and a bomb in Dick's goodie bag. It was detonated by Weevil, who was following them and did not know that Dick gave his bag to Betina. Weevil denies this.
Logan got three calls from Kendall on the day of the crash.
On the day of the crash, Kendall had Logan leave before 7:03, the time of the crash.
There are no green Barricudas registered to owners in Neptune.
Gia saw a green Barracuda with a sticker in the side window on the Pacific Coast Highway moments before the bus crash. The car passed the limo. It is unclear whether the Barricuda was travelling in the same or the opposite direction as the limo.
One of the Barracuda's occupants mooned Gia, who was the only one to see it, as the others were facing away from the incident.
Gia was on the phone to Woody a few minutes before the bus crash. He wanted to know where she was to make sure she would be able to pick up her brother from his piano lesson.
The Fitzpatricks have used violence on the PCHers for failing to make sufficient payments to them for drugs they are selling. Arturo, a young PCH biker, got a cigarette lighter in the face.
Kendall's name is assumed. She was born Priscilla Banks and went to Handley High School in Shelby, Tennessee. She was a senior there when the real Kendall Shiflett was a freshman.
The real Kendall Shiflett was killed in a single-car accident when the driver, Priscilla Banks, lost control and drove into a ditch. Kendall, who was not wearing a seat belt, was thrown from the car. Priscilla suffered only minor injuries.
Prior to the accident that killed Kendall Shiflett, fourteen students from Handley died in a fire at an underage-club and wounds from that tragedy were still fresh at the time of the accident, according to the newspaper reporting Kendall's death.
Priscilla Banks spent six months in prison for wire fraud in what appears to be 1999.
Veronica finds a green Barracuda, which belongs to Liam Fitzpatrick's grandmother. He uses the car.
Weevil was following the school bus. He was covering Cervando's back because Cervando had been bragging about hustling Liam Fitzpatrick, who was looking for him.
Kendall Casablancas has a house on the northwest corner of Satsuma and Chandler. When she sees the flashlight of an intruder, she contacts Liam Fitzpatrick, who comes to her aid.
Liam Fitzpatrick finds Keith in Kendall's house. Liam is prepared to murder Keith and is only prevented from doing so by his gun being unexpectedly not loaded, Veronica having removed the bullets when she found the car.
Liam tells Keith that he has met Veronica and that he will keep an eye on her after he kills Keith.
Kendall thinks Keith being in her house is bad but that Liam going after Keith would be worse.
Kendall is the partner-in-fraud of Cormac Fitzpatrick, Liam's older brother who is in San Quentin. They were grifters working the long con with Kendall as the roper.
Keith believes that the Fitzpatricks owe Kendall for taking the rap for Cormac and saving him a third strike.
2.20 "Look Who's Stalking"
Veronica has been informed that she is infected with the sexually transmitted disease, chlamydia. The only person with whom she has knowingly had sexual relations is Duncan. (She has no memory of events the night of Shelly Pomroy's party.)
Veronica described the visit to the doctor as one where Keith had his money's worth, inferring that the doctor was expensive and possibly not her usual doctor.
As far as Logan is aware, Duncan's only sexual partners were Veronica and Meg.
Woody Goodman called Keith to help him when a girl he took to the Camelot Motel passed out. Keith took the girl to hospital. He, Woody, and the girl were photographed exiting the Camelot, and the pictures appeared in the newspapers the day before the referendum on incorporation.
The incorporation vote is too close to call in the days before the referendum.
Woody attempted to deflect the negative publicity of the photos onto Keith, alleging that Keith had been engaged to discover the source of a leak in the incorporation campaign and had overstepped his authority by getting the girl, who Woody said was a campaign staffer, drunk.
The girl checked herself out of hospital and disappeared prior to receiving treatment.
On the day of the referendum, Keith's version of what happened was published together with the additional allegation that the girl was an escort paid out of campaign funds.
The plan to incorporate Neptune failed when the majority voted against it in the referendum. Commentators point to the incident at the Camelot motel as the deciding factor.
Woody hired a security firm to protect Gia without her knowledge. He told Gia that it was just normal election precautions but that he dismissed them when she told him that she was disturbed by it.
Another video, taken of Rodney and Gia at one of Rodney's soccer games, appears at the Goodman home. This video was taken by Lucky, who has an axe to grind with Woody.
Lucky has a large scar on his abdomen that he claims he received in Iraq as the result of a roadside bomb.
Lucky has a number of dangerous materials in his janitor's room at Neptune High. He also has a large serrated knife that he claims to have taken from a dead Iraqi.
Lamb is not happy or willing to let Keith talk to Lucky about Woody Goodman. Once Keith handcuffs himself to Lucky, Lamb makes continued efforts to separate them. Those efforts interrupt Keith's efforts to get information from Lucky.
Lucky is bailed out by Stewart Manning. Keith, who had been handcuffed to Lucky since his arrest, was unaware of this, indicating that it was not Lucky who informed Manning of his arrest.
Terrence Cook states that he broke into the Dumass family garage because Leslie had told him that she had written a tell-all about his gambling, payoffs, and throwing a game. He was concerned that her parents would find it and that he would be ruined if it was made public.
The press report that Terrence threw a game. Jackie does not inform him.
Kendall has not reported Keith's burglary to the police and will not do so if Keith returns her hard drive. She has ensured he can do so without leaving a paper trail.
Jackie claims to have learned about the birds and the bees the hard way.
No girl at Neptune wants to date Dick Casablancas.
2.21 "Happy Go Lucky"
Lucky, having been fired from his job as janitor at Neptune High, threatens students with a gun loaded with blanks. He is shot and killed by an armed security guard.
Lucky was a bat boy for the Sharks in his teens.
Woody claims that Lucky was fired from his job as bat boy because some of the players complained about his job performance.
Lucky sent numerous emails with attachments to Woody, all from different email addresses.
Amongst the names that Lucky used to email Woody are "wrongvsright," "katchinup," and "misterclean221."
One of Lucky's emails to Woody reads: "Time is the timeliness of the present. You should respond. I've left you so many presents. If you don't find them, they'll find you." On Veronica's information that Lucky referred to a roadside bomb in Iraq as a present, Keith warns Woody that he believes Lucky planted bombs in his house.
Woody threatens to ruin Keith if he should make public the allegation that Woody molests boys.
Logan observed Lucky washing his feet in bleach, believing that he had contracted gangrene. Lucky was wearing only jeans and a catcher's mask.
Lucky wore the catcher's mask whenever they were going into battle in the summer.
A large painting behind the Woodman dining table features a stylized catcher's mask. Keith believes that it pinpoints the location of a bomb that Lucky left as a present for Woody. He reports this to Inga at the sheriff's department.
Lamb searches the Goodman home. He tells Woody that there was a bomb planted underneath his car and that his stalker meant business.
The same type of phone-activated bomb that was used on the bus was found under Woody's car.
Lamb tells Keith that Lucky blew off work the day of the bus crash. Keith ascertains that this was because he was in a padded cell at the V.A. hospital.
Amongst Woody's emails is one from Carlos Rodriguez, wanting to speak to him after practice.
An email sent to Woody by the name "22679088" has the subject line "Kill incorporation or else." That name was not on the list of the names that Lucky used.
The email sent to Woody under the subject line "Kill incorporation or else" included an audio attachment. In it, two boys are heard saying that they have to tell what Woody did to the three of them, that it has to come out some day. One says a couple of the Sharks had to know about it and will come forward because things like this don't stay secret. The other boy calls Woody a pervert and sick, saying that what he did to them was wrong because they were just kids. In the background, there appears to be a French lesson going on. Keith believes a third voice was edited out of the recording.
The email is dated 10 May, 2006. Based on the Alterna-prom being on 13 May, this dates it to just before the referendum on incorporation.
Veronica notes that in the video sent to Woody's office, pictures on the wall can be seen. Two of the pictures are of Little League teams and Veronica realises that the Little League teams are also called the Sharks.
The first picture shows eleven boys on the team. The second picture shows twelve boys on the team, suggesting that there is one boy not pictured in the first picture.
Veronica recognizes two of the boys in the ten-boy team as Marcos Oliveres and Peter Ferrer. She verifies that they are the two speakers on the audio file.
Lamb dismisses Keith's theory that Woody put the bomb on the bus to kill Marcos and Peter.
Lamb agrees to arrest Woody, but is too late. Woody has fled in his private plane.
Leonard Lobo comes forward to give Terrence Cook an alibi for the bus crash, telling Lamb and Judge Ferris that Terrence could not be responsible because he was with Terrence, along with Lobo's corporate attorney and Chief Financial Officer. His evidence is that Terrence did not use a cell phone at the time of the bus crash.
Lobo admits to Terrence that his evidence was false and that he does not know where Terrence was at the time of the call that caused the crash. However, his evidence was a form of investment to force Terrence to work at his casino until his debt is paid.
Terrence tells Jackie she should go to Paris. When Wallace arrives to see Jackie, Terrence tells him that she has gone and passes him a note.
Information of the incident when Veronica and Duncan broke into Meg's house and found Grace, and of Leo's disciplinary record — including his suspension for allowing Veronica to access the records room — has been passed to Aaron's lawyers.
Someone has scratched "Amber is a bitch" on Beaver's car.
2.22 "Not Pictured"
Woody Goodman's medical records indicated that he had been treated for chlamydia.
Woody did molest little boys. He targeted the sons of abusive and neglectful fathers.
Beaver was on the same Little League team as Marcos and Peter. He was not present when the team photo was taken and thus not pictured.
Veronica links her chlamydia with Woody's via Beaver who she realizes did rape her at Shelly Pomroy's party.
Veronica speaks to Hart and learns that Beaver was in charge of the explosions he used in his war films.
Veronica concludes that Beaver was responsible for the crash, to keep secret that he had been molested by Woody.