Who: Joe Hardy and Veronica Mars What: A P.I and a part timer cross paths When: Early September Where: Shady, sleazy motel Rating/Warnings Lowish, Veronica is spying on a cheating husband and Joe is investigating a murder, so there's talk of that kind of thing Status: Complete!
Veronica was getting used to working again. Most of the cases she decided to take could be done from home. Background checks on the internet, making a few phone calls. She was taking it easy. However she did decide to take on a cheating spouse case. While she was on stake out, Logan could stay home and watch Liam. He rarely worked nights anyway.
She had tailed the man to a motel - disgusting, and was currently parked outside. Camera poised and ready. All she had to do was keep her eyes peeled and wait for that money shot.
It felt weird to be out in the field again. Joe had to keep reminding himself that he was only checking out a lead. He’d been asking questions, trying to find out the identity of the man who’d been shot in the alley next to his favorite bar. So far no one he’d spoken to knew the man’s name, but a regular at the bar had said he thought the guy may have been staying here. If successful, Joe could tell Leon what he’d found and maybe jump start the investigation. Then he could sleep again.
He pulled up to the hotel and all at once a flood of memories came back from his days as PI in New York. How many seedy places like this had he gone to looking for cheating spouses or wayward loved ones lost at rock bottom? Too many to count. Too many to remember. It was always the same though. Same dirty rooms with cheap furniture. Same disinterested staff who were paid to not pay attention to the guests and keep their mouths shut about anything they did happen to see or hear. Joe took a breath as he got out of his old beat up junker. He really hoped he could find something here. A pocket full of Benjamines might loosen a few lips, but there were no guarantees.
There weren’t many cars in the lot that night. One or two cars that looked obviously out of place were parked in front of one of the rooms, a light burning brightly behind two curtains that had been hastily pulled closed. Other than that? Vacant, save for one lone silver cross-over SUV parked a little ways away, a woman seated inside watching the place. Joe smiled faintly to himself. Apparently he wasn’t the only one working tonight.
“You’re not working, Hardy,” he muttered a reminder to himself before entering the front office.
Although Veronica was focussed on the hotel room of the cheating spouse there was something else that caught her eye. Veronica was an observant one. A man entered the front office, with a determined look on his face. He was up to something. Veronica decided to keep an eye on him as well. As long as she got the money shot she could handle observing both.
There was someone manning the front desk, at least in body. The middle-aged man looked as though he was far more interested in watching whatever was on the tiny little TV propped up on the desk than he was in actually helping anyone coming through the door. He barely gave Joe a passing glance. “$50 a night,” he said automatically.
“Actually, I’m not here to rent a room,” Joe started. He kept his voice light and conversational. “I’m looking for som-”
“Don’t know nothing,” the man cut Joe off, again not even looking up from the TV.
Joe frowned. A bribe wasn’t going to work if he couldn’t even get the guy’s attention. His eyes moved over the TV and followed the black cord over the counter and down to where it plugged into the wall. Alright.
“Yeah, sure you don’t,” Joe answered. He took a couple of steps and yanked the plug out of the wall.
Now Joe had the man’s attention. “Hey!” He was on his feet instantly and glaring daggers right at Joe.
Joe had faced down tougher assholes than this guy. He let the corde drop to the floor. “Now that I have your undivided attention, I need a little customer service. “ He pulled a coroner's photo (little gift from the Irvine PD) and one of those hundred dollar bills from his coat pocket. He plunked them both down on the counter. “I know you recognize him,” Joe pointed to the picture of Benjamin Franklin featured predominantly on the bill. “And I’ll be happy to leave this here with you only if you can tell me if you know who is in this picture.” He moved the bill to the side to reveal the coroner’s photo.
Veronica immediately noticed that there was some type of commotion going on in the lobby. She refocused her camera zooming in on the lobby, it would be easier to observe that way. Forget the cheating spouse. This seemed a bit more pressing. She saw the TV get unplugged and the culprit pull something out of his pocket. A photo? It seemed like a photo and some money. She didn’t have the clearest view of it but between what she saw and her gut instinct she concluded the man with the photo was trying to bribe the other man for information about whoever or whatever was in the photo.
Of course Veronica’s curiosity got the better of her. Sorry cheater, she’d have to catch you another time. Camera hanging around her neck, taster in hand (just in case), Veronica jumped out of her car rushing into the lobby. “What’s going on in here?” she demanded to know. It didn’t matter if she had any authority over the situation. She sure as hell acted like she did.
Joe had the desk clerk’s attention. Or he did until a woman barged in as though she owned the place. Dammit! Just as it looked as though the clerk was actually going to be helpful, too. Instantly the man clammed up, his attention on the woman now standing just inside the lobby. “Nuthin’,” he answered her, but in a way that wouldn’t have convinced a toddler, much less a full grown adult with any observation skills.
Joe watched as his one and only potential lead evaporate and his temper flared. He whirled around on the interloper, ready to let the person have it when he noticed it was the same woman he’d spotted outside in the SUV. Joe swallowed his anger. Maybe she could be even more useful than the desk clerk.
“We’re just having a chat,” Joe told her nonchalantly. “I saw you outside earlier. Are you on the job?”
Another time Veronica would have laughed at the clerk’s response. It was hilarious that he thought that was believable. But now was not the time. Something was going down and Veronica wanted answers.
Her attention was no longer on the desk clerk, however. It was on the man that had caused the commotion. Now that she was closer she had a better view of the photograph, clearly of a dead body. The man was clearly investigating a death. Whether it was for the right reasons or not wast still to be determined.
“A chat about what, exactly?” Veronica asked ignoring the guys question. She knew what he meant, but she wasn’t ready to give up that information just yet. “Who’s the guy?” she nodded at the photo in his hand.
Despite popular opinion, Joe Hardy was a patient sort. When he needed to be, anyway. One had to be as an investigator. Things didn’t happen all wham-bam like TV liked to portray it. There was a lot of grind work that needed to be done when one was looking to get the truth about something. No one knew that better than Joe. So if the lady here wanted to be cagey with him, so be it. It wasn’t as if he owed her any answers.
He raised a brow at her, taking the photo and the $100 off the counter and putting them back in his pocket. Out of the corner of his eye he noted the look of disappointment on the desk clerk’s face. That was probably more money in a single shot than the poor S.O.B. had seen in his entire life. Sorry, pal. You snooze, you loose. This money went to those who earned it.
“You’re kinda nosey, aren’t you?” He answered the woman, turning his blue eyes on her and her alone. “I saw you out in the parking lot earlier with that camera of yours,” he motioned to the camera around her neck. “Snap any good photos? I’m sure the motel would just love to have whatever publicity you’re trying to drum up for them.” He looked over his shoulder at the desk clerk, “What do you think? Will your boss like having folks camping in the parking lot snappin’ photos of all your guests.”
The desk clerk was looking at the woman now too. With the money literally off the table, he seemed to have noticed her camera as well. “What? You can’t do that! This is private property! I should call the cops on you for trespassing!”
Well, there was no need for that. “Relax,” Joe waved him off. “There’s no need for that. I’m sure she’s just doing her job, just like you. Right?” He looked at the woman. “In fact, I bet there’s a way we can all do our jobs and help each other out, huh? Whaddya say?”
Go ahead. Call the cops. Veronica’s boyfriend/the father of her child happened to be a cop, as well as two of her best friends. She wasn’t worried in the slightest. As for this other man? Veronica narrowed her eyes at him. Hadn’t he heard of professional courtesy? You didn’t just out another PI, even a rival one.
“Go for it,” Veronica replied to the clerk. “I’m sure they would be happy to hear about whatever business this man has here, and why he was asking about a dead body.” Just because the guy had outed her didn’t mean she had to screw him over. Because Veronica was professional, and dead body topped cheating spouse.
The clerk’s eyes were darting between the two people in his lobby. He didn’t want anything to do with either of them and just wanted to get back to his shows. But considering how Joe was standing between him and the plug in the wall, it didn’t seem as though he was doing to be able to do that. “If I tells you what I know, you’ll gimme that $100?” He asked Joe hopefully.
“If what you tell me is useful,” Joe responded. “And, if she asks, you tell our new friend here what she wants to know about that couple in room 103.”
“Ugn,” the clerk gave a noise that clearly expressed his discomfort of the situation. Again his eyes darted from Joe to the woman and back again. “What if I don’t know anythin’?” He asked.
“Well, then we’re both wasting our time,” Joe shrugged. “She’ll go back to her car to snap her photos and I’ll take my money somewhere else.” The threat of police didn’t seem to phase the woman at all. Joe was impressed by that. A P.I. worth her salt, clearly, even if she was taking naughty pics. We all had to pay the bills somehow. “So if you don’t know anything…” he trailed as he took a few steps towards the door.
“Wait!” The man called. Joe paused next to the woman and looked over his shoulder, brows raised.
“I-I might know something ‘bout that guy in the picture,” he admitted. He glanced at the woman, “and something ‘bout the man an’ woman you’re lookin’ at too.”
Veronica was slightly impressed by the other P.I. Even if he had sold her out. At least now he was actually helping her out. Although a cheater would be easy to catch. Veronica had done it a hundred times already. The blonde had to make her money, yes. But justice was the most important thing to her. She had a feeling the victim in the photo deserved some justice.
“Well,” Veronica said at the man’s words. Usually this would be where she pulled out the taser, letting a spark in the air to threaten the man. But clearly the other P.I. was more for the bribery route. “Spit it out, we don’t have all day.”
The clerk shifted uncomfortably behind the counter. He looked back at Joe and motioned to see the photo again. Joe exchanged a look with the woman next to him, then stepped back to the counter and pulled the picture out and put it back on the counter. The clerk looked at it again, a little more closely this time. He chewed at the nail of his thumb thoughtfully a moment before nodding. “Yeah, yeah,” he tapped the photo. “He was here. I rented a room to him for a few days. Paid in cash every morning. Haven’t seen him recently.” He glanced up. “This picture. Is he...is he dead?”
“Unfortunately,” Joe said. “What’s his name?”
“I dunno,” the clerk snorted straightening from the counter and looked at Joe hard. “You a cop?”
“No.”
The clerk looked confused.
Joe pointed at the man in the photo again, drawing the clerk’s attention back to the matter at hand. “I’m looking for a name. You have a sign in book, don’t you?” The clerk nodded. “Good, I’d like to have a look at that.”
The clerk hesitated a moment, but ultimately must have decided that he’d rather have the promised money. He held up a hand. “Hang on a moment. I gotta get an older book.” With that he scurried off into the back office.
Joe leaned up against the counter and looked back at the woman. “How long have you been chasing after the cheating spouse?”
Veronica had to admit she was impressed with how the other P.I. was handling the clerk. She watched their exchange not having much to add. Although she had to admit she was curious what the deal with the man in the photo was. And she intended to ask her fellow P.I. once the clerk went into the back but he beat her to it.
“Not long.” Veronica replied with a shrug. “Took on the client,” as in the wife “about two days ago.” Cheaters were usually easy for Veronica to catch. Which was why it was one of the only types of cases she was taking on at the moment, being a new mom and al..
“What’s the deal with the dead guy?” she asked wanting answers too, and yeah she wasn’t exactly tactful about it. But before the other man had a chance to reply the clerk returned with the older guest book.
Joe was a little disappointed. His victim had been murdered weeks ago. Joe had really hoped she had seen his victim while he was still alive and could give him any information, but that didn’t seem likely now. He still owed her an explanation, though, especially after outing her. He was just about to do that when the clerk came back.
“Here,” the clerk placed the book on the counter. He opened it up and leafed through. “I think he first checked in...uh...June?” He stopped at a set of pages and ran a finger down the columns. “Maybe it was May...hang on..” He flipped another few pages. He ran his finger down each of them until he found the entry he was looking for. “Aha! Here it is!” He declared triumphantly and flipped the book around. “Right here. Knew I could find it. Weird name, right?”
Joe slid the book towards him. Sure enough, there was a written entry dated in May. The penmanship wasn’t that great, but Joe was able to get a name: Fedir Evanko. Finally Joe had a name for the man who had died in his arms.
“This is good, right?” The clerk asked eagerly. “What you wanted, right?”
Joe glanced up at him. “Yeah,” he said. “Just one more question. Did Mr. Evanko check out?”
The clerk shrugged. “Dunno. If he did, it was during the day. I only man the desk at night. He didn’t have much stuff. Only a bag and I haven’t seen it.”
Joe frowned. It would have been great if he could get his hands on Fedir’s belongings. He might have gotten more information about him. Why was he here? Who was Iliana?
“But this is useful, yeah?” The clerk asked, cutting into Joe’s thoughts.
“Yeah,” Joe agreed. “Here,” he pulled the bill out of his pocket and had barely gotten it on the counter when the clerk snatched it up greedily.
Veronica definitely hadn’t been working back in May. She was a little busy popping out a human. She did find it a bit odd that the other P.I. didn’t seem to know the man’s name and was still investigating his death. But then she didn’t know the circumstances of the case. She would find out later. Probably.
As for Veronica’s job. There wasn’t much that could be done. Sure she could bribe or threaten the clerk to let her into the room, but if the couple wasn’t in the middle of doing the deed it wouldn’t do much good. Not to mention it would just tip them off and then she might never get the money shot.
“Great,” Veronica added even though her opinion wasn’t really needed. “Now that that’s all settled I’ll just be heading back to my car.”
The clerk glanced up, a little surprised that the woman wasn’t going to demand to see the register book for her target as well, but then shrugged. Not his problem. He wadded up his newly acquired money and stuffed it in his pocket. Then he looked at Joe, “mind pluggin’ in the TV before you go?”
Clearly Joe’s business was finished here. He’d gotten all the information he was going to get and Joe doubted even if he tried with another $100, the clerk didn’t know anything more. With a grunt he plugged the TV back in and headed for the door.
He headed outside and once he was alone with the other P.I., he answered her question. If he was honest with her, maybe she could get him in touch with some resources he no longer had access to. “The dead guy was a John Doe who was shot to death in the alley next to my favorite bar,” he told her. “I didn’t see the murder itself, but I found the guy afterward. He had no ID on him and the local PD doesn’t have any leads. So I decided I’d look into it myself. Help out. The guy has a family out there somewhere. Even if they are half a globe away, they’re still probably missing him. I need to do something to bring them some answers.” It wasn’t entirely personal, but Joe had experienced something similar and he would be damned if he let it happen to anyone else.
A case he wasn't hired for? Interesting. Although to be honest if Veronica had witnessed a miree or the aftermath of a murder she would probably do the same thing. “Seems like you're making progress.” Veronica knew that finding out who a John Doe was could be impossible. “At least you have a name now. I know some people in the PD. I can have them run it for you,” she offered wanting to help find justice for the man now too. She was invested.
Joe sighed. Technically this was a victory. He had come to this sleazy little motel with nothing and was walking away with a name. The man’s name was key in finding out who would want to kill him and why, provided, of course, Fedir Evanko was the man’s actual name and not an alias.
He had a couple of contacts on the force as well, but he wasn’t going to turn down the woman’s offer. He could use all the help he could get. “I’d appreciate that, thanks. This is the first case I’ve had since...well, it’s been a while.” He reached into his back pocket for his wallet and from it produced one of his cards. It showed him as owner of Rainbow Motors, not a P.I., but that was what he actually did for a living. “I’m Joe Hardy,” he introduced himself as he handed her his card.
Veronica examined the card in hand, eyebrows rose. “Rainbow Motors?” That didn’t exactly scream private detective. More like mechanic. However he did mention it had been awhile since he had a case. P.I. turned mechanic turned P.I. again? Possibly. It was the most logical explanation at least, and Veronica was pretty damn logical.
“Veronica Mars,” she said introducing herself extending her hand to shake the mechanic/P.I.’s. “I’ll be in touch if I hear anything,” however she reached into her bag to pull out her cars as well, slipping her teaser back inside in the process. Unlike Joe’s her’s actually said Private Detective on it. Mars Investigations. In the dreams that was the name of her dad’s business. Here? It was all hers.
Joe nodded. He realized how weird it must have looked, a mechanic of all things looking into the murder of a John Doe in an ally. Veronica looked confused, at least. “I used to be a detective,” he explained. “In New York. I’m not technically licensed in California, but…” he trailed and searched for the best way to explain himself. “There was something about the man - Fedir’s murder that just wouldn’t leave me alone. The police are already overworked and I didn’t want this guy to become just another cold case so…” he shrugged. “I thought I’d look into it.”
He looked at Veronica’s card and smiled a bit to himself. His agency’s name had been something similar, just Hardy instead of Mars. Joe put the card away in his wallet. Veronica may turn out to be a valuable ally in the future. “It’s good to meet you Veronica. I appreciate any help you can give, and I’m sorry if I cost you your money shot.” He motioned towards the room where it seemed Veronica’s target had been partaking in his extra marital activity. “If there’s anything I can do for you, let me know.”
Ah, well that explained it. As for the not having a license thing, Veronica didn’t really care. For the majority of her dreams she she hadn’t been licensed. Hell, she’d been in high school, and yet she was taking on cases and solving murders left and right. She was also well aware of how overworked the PD was and everyone deserved justice.
“Don’t worry about it,” she shrugged. “Knowing him, he’ll be back tomorrow.” It just meant a second night away from Liam, but Logan could deal. “And if you ever need help from a licensed P.I.,” she smirked. “Feel free to give me a call.”