"Sarah Kramer." "You are gay." "The girl's a mannequin." "She's in my chem. class." "She smells good." "Yeah, she's cute in a Hillary Duff-meet with the galleria-Teen People kind of way." "She's not hot." "Her." "Who, Veronica Mars?" "Yeah, she comes into the video store." "You do know her dad's a private detective." " Seriously?" " No, in a movie." "Yes, seriously." "She works with him." "Eight and a half, that's my final offer." "Dude." "She's that smoking and a private eye?" "That's gotta make her at least a nine." "Guess what I'm doing this weekend." "I'm guessing it involves auto-eroticism." "Close." "I will be cruising the marina in my Dad's Saber 386..." "That's a luxury sailboat." "You know, wind through my hair, Strokes blasting through the speakers, and with any luck, a wide-eyed impressionable vixen by my side." "Impressionable?" "Me?" "Ha." "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." "I said impressionable." "Not you." "You know, you might wanna check your ego at the door, there, missy." "Thanks, man." "The weird thing about going to high school with your ex is they're inescapable." "Everywhere you turn, there they are." "Lazy day, huh?" "Lazy day." "You gonna get off that raft anytime soon?" " What?" " Listen, I was thinking about next summer." "And my friend Ron Curtis, he's an advisor to Senator Rake in Washington." "He's got an internship that is opening in his office." "I think that you should write him a letter and you should express your interest in politics." "You could tell him about your campaign for the student government, you could tell him about all these different things that you do surrounding government..." "So I got a call from your guidance counselor today." "She wants to see me." "Any idea what for?" "Nope." "Have you been playing nice with the other children?" "You know, Dad, I'm Old School." "An eye for an eye." "That's actually Old Testament." "Come on, no help?" "You're not going to give me any idea what to expect?" "Honestly, I haven't a clue." "Can I ask you a question?" "What do you think Mom was doing at the Camelot Motel with Jake Kane two weeks ago?" "I told you to stay away from that case." "I just don't understand." "She's only in Arizona." "Why haven't you been looking" "Veronica, please." "How about those Padres?" "I just want to see him passionate about something." "As long as it's something you're passionate about." "No." "Anything." "He's not going to get into a good college without some defining interests." "I think we could be a little more patient, Jake." "We all lost Lilly, and we miss her." "But that doesn't mean we stop living our lives." "Do we got more liquid soap?" "Check underneath the sink." "I'm going to go to the library, okay, don't wait up." "Where are you going, sweetie?" "Just over to Shelly's." "Okay, well please be back before eleven." "School tomorrow." "Excellent recommendation as always." "Thank you." "Kevin Spacey is so amazing." "And you should check out Body Heat." "These are late." "Rent it if you wanna rent it, I'm just saying I'm not going to watch it." "There's only so many times a girl can watch "Slapshot", you know what I'm saying?" "So is it true your dad's a PI?" "That's what it says on the sign." "And you work with him?" "Sometimes." "Can I talk to you about something?" "Sure." "It's kind of private." "Find me at school tomorrow." "I got the Cowboys too, just in case we need a backup." "Duncan?" "This is me reminding you to take your pill." "Darling, there's absolutely no shame in taking anti-depressants." "I don't know anyone who hasn't needed them at some point in their lives." "I know it's been rough since your sister died, but you've only been on them for, what, six months?" "Just give it a little more time." "Will you be home for dinner?" " Yeah, sure thing, Mom." " Good." "Hey." "What's going on?" "Let's go out." "Finally!" "The girl comes to her senses!" "Hey, did you hook up with Shelly last night?" "Uh, she's a talker." "She's a talker." "Turns out she has conflicted feelings for her new stepmom and the color scheme the woman's chosen for the family" " Man, I hate it when they talk." " Yeah, I know." "Hey, have you noticed that the new kid in town has been all over your trailer-park ex?" "Let it be, Logan." "Okay, nowhere man." "You be the fool on the hill." "See if I care..." "Dude, you don't look so hot." "You okay?" "Never better." "Okay." "That girl is seriously whack." " I don't think I'm supposed to be in here." " You wanna talk?" "Uh, yeah." "Do you think you could help find someone for me?" " Who?" " My father." "He ran out about ten years ago and I haven't heard from him since." "Sounds like a winner." "Are you sure you wanna find him?" "Well yeah." "Maybe." "I just gotta know what happened to him, you know?" "Why now?" "Why haven't you looked for him before?" "Well, my mom got laid off two months ago and she's working these two really crappy jobs, and I'm working too, and we barely get by." "What can you tell me about him?" "Well, I haven't seen him since I was about six or so." "Okay, can you get me a picture?" "Mom destroyed them all." "Last known address?" "I was born in L.A., so we lived there 'til I was about two." "Can you get your hands on his social security number?" "Mmm, no." "Date of birth?" "Alright, the name." "Can we manage that?" "It's John..." "Smith." " Mr. Mars." "Hi." "Thank you for coming in." " Ms. James, yeah." " I was a little surprised by your call." " Oh, I don't want you to worry." "Veronica's an excellent student." "I think she's amazing." "She's got a great mind." "So why exactly am I here?" "Uh, well we've noticed a dramatic change in her over the last year." "She's late a lot, she has attitude with certain teachers, she falls asleep in class, and socially, she seems to be a bit isolated." "Yeah, yeah she's gone through a rough year." "I know." "I know how close she was with Lilly Kane." "I'd say Veronica's doing pretty well given the circumstances." "Where are you going with all this?" "Look, if you find this difficult, and many single fathers with daughters do," "I would be more than happy to talk to her." "No." "No, I can handle it." "Thank you for the heads-up." "Anytime." "A life coach?" "Didn't we just have a discussion about our son's lack of focus?" "No, no, no, you're right." "Let's get him an astrologist, too." "Maybe a past life consultant." "And throw in a Pilates coach if yours can free up some time." "Raise your glasses everyone, I'd like to make a toast." "To Molly." "Molly." "Who's Molly?" "Our old dog." "The lab." "Yes." "Sweet old Molly, God rest her soul, but boy, could that dog catch a Frisbee!" "Huh, if only she had the good sense not to whiz in our flower beds, she'd still be with us!" "Duncan, honey, it's been six years." "When are you going to let this go?" "I'm sure she was placed in a very happy home." "To Molly." "The best friend a boy could have." "You going to study hall later?" "No, dude, I can't." "I'm going to hook up with Veronica Mars." "Yeah, and I'm going parasailing with Halle Berry." "No, I'm serious." "She's working this case for me." "She's going to find my missing dad." "Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't your dad die like seven years ago?" "Well, then I guess it's going to take her a long time to find him." "Hello, you've reached the administration office of the Stanford Summer Program." "No one's here to take your call right now, but leave us a message and we'll call you back." "Sorry." " Keith Mars." " Hi, sir." "Wallace Fennel." "Wallace is a friend of mine." "Take that, high school guidance counselor!" "Ah." "Hello, Wallace." "Now, what's going on here?" "Helping a kid at school locate his deadbeat dad, the somewhat inconveniently named John Smith." "But I've narrowed the field down to 440 John Smiths, so I'm sending each of them a letter addressed to his son, congratulating him on a scholarship." "And I figure if our John Smith has any conscience at all, he'll see the name of his son, open the letter, and call to say he's got the wrong address." "Part of me is proud... and let's just leave it at that." "Oh, I used one of the dedicated phone lines, I hope that's alright." "We're going to trace all the calls that come in." "So how did she rope you into this?" "She promised me all the answer keys to..." "She just promised to be my friend." "I'd've held out for a better offer." "I'll be in my office." "Hey, would you do me a favor?" "Why did all the hair on the back of my neck just stick up?" "It's not that big of a deal." "It's just, the next time you're in the administrations office, could you borrow my permanent file?" "I wanna see what that counselor is telling Dad." "Oh yeah, no big deal." "I can get expelled for that." "Morning, Darling." "Your pill's on the counter." "Don't forget." "Great." "Thanks." "Sofia." "You called your geometry teacher a jackass?" "That was totally taken out of context, let me see it." "Ah, ah." "Hold up, Grabby." "I'm discovering a whole new side of you." "Damn, Ms. Applebaum loved her some Veronica Mars." ""Veronica Mars is a complete angel, and a joy to have in class every day."" "Mrs. Applebaum?" "That file goes to the second grade?" "Kindergarten." "Ooh, sweet." "You wrote your teacher a poem." "Okay, yes, I was a kiss-ass." "You've outed me." "Now can I see it?" " So, uh, any leads yet?" " We should know something by next week." "Oh, hey I got something for you." "I just burned a few songs for you." "It has the new 311 on there." "Thanks." "You know, I just thought if you were on a stakeout or something, you might need something to get you through the night." "Yeah, okay." "Later." " He brought you a mix tape." " Shut up." "Hey, do me a favor." " Please be kidding." " Get me his file." "Then we get the idea to make it onto America's Funniest Home Videos with this fake shark plan." "Oh my God, I remember that." "That was you?" "The plan was to cut off the dorsel fin, nail it to a board, strap the board to my back, and have me swim around the public beach." "And Duncan's going to stand on the shore and videotape the mob scene." "But it never happens." "I'm swimming out there for like fifteen minutes, no one even notices." " You guys were idiots." " Yes, yes we were." "Finally, the life guard, he spots me." "The clod pulls out a rofle." "Okay, lucky for me, Duncan spots him." "He goes sprinting toward the lifeguard tower." "He was bawling his eyes out, I might add." "So he's running, he's shouting, "No, no!" "Don't shoot!" "That's my friend!" "That's my friend!"" "He saved my life." "That's one way of looking at it." "I'm kinda tired of this song." "I would've expected sex, had that worked." "Had that worked, you would've gotten it." "Try it again." "Check?" "Let me see your phone." "What are you doing?" "It is now Booty Call enabled." "In case I need a little late night action?" "Action." "Investment advice." "Whatever." " So..." " I should really get home." "I'd invite you over but it's a school night and my dad owns a handgun." "He says he can look into a guy's eyes and tell his true intentions, which I know sounds like a myth, but I" "Aah, okay, then." "And a good night to you." "How was your date?" "Oh, you know." "Lousy conversation, but the sex was fantastic." "That's not funny." "I don't know." "I'm pretty sure it was." "Brain?" "Check." "Dead sexy?" "Check." "Devilish charm?" "Check." "Formidable scrabble opponent?" "Who cares." "What's wrong with you, Veronica?" "What are you waiting for?" "Veronica..." "What did you just call me?" "Justin's permanent file." "You might wanna take a look at that." "Why?" "Is it gonna self destruct in five seconds?" "I need to talk to Justin." "Alone." "See you guys." "Explain this." " My evaluation from first grade?" " Yeah." "Read it to me." ""Justin shows talent in his finger-painting and other arts and crafts projects."" "Further down." ""For the past several months, Justin has been moody and withdrawn." "This behavior is not surprising in light of... his father's recent death." "Oops." "Everything you told me was a lie, Justin." "You wasted my time." "That drives me crazy." "And you owe me $150 in postage." "Excuse me, are you Justin Smith?" "Yeah." "This came for you." "Thanks." "It's the scholarship letter that you sent out." "And there's a note." "It's from my father." "Someone to see you." "Describe this someone." "White male." "Pint-size." "Desperate." "Not having a good day." "Hey." "So, I bicycled all the way over here." "I just wanted to say I'm sorry." "You could've save it 'til tomorrow." "So, I showed my Mom the letter." "She got all mad." " Made me promise not to try to find my dad." " So he really is alive?" "My mom actually said I was better off this way, thinking he was dead." "Maybe you were." "I have a dad somewhere out there in the world." "How can I not try to find out what happened to him?" "It would kill me." "Let me see the letter again." "The letter Justin received from his dad bore a San Diego postmark." "Of the 440 John Smiths out there, only three were in San Diego." "Come in." "Hi." " I couldn't help but overhear." " Yeah, sorry." "No, it's not that." "It's just that I never want you to think your mom's the villain in all this." " Isn't she?" " No, it's not that simple." "Yeah, it is." "The hero is the one that stays." "And the villain is the one that splits." "I don't think that's a healthy perspective." "It's healthier than me pining away every day praying she'll come home." "The truth was, I'd figured out exactly where my mother was staying." "But I wasn't about to tell him that." "Wait up!" "Don't run, Veronica." "People might think that you're desperate." "That would be a step up, reputation-wise." "I guess that all depends on who you're asking." "Go Pirates!" "Hey, I thought your boy-toy Troy was going to join us for Happy Hour this afternoon." "You don't suppose he got way laid by Veronica, do you?" "Ohh, Grasshopper to slow for Kung-Fu Master." "If you can take the flask out of my hand, then you will be the new master." "Wait, wait, wait, guys." "Check it out, guys." "Six guys." "Bleachers." "Jump in when you're feeling this, okay?" ""Summer lovin', had me a blast..."" " What has gotten into you, man?" " Hey, check it out!" "Crazy guy!" "I think I might have given you the wrong impression." "I had a really great time, I just" "It's just that you need more, and you know, you get to fill in the blank here:" "a) time, b) space, c)" "You okay, man?" "What was that, a triple klutz?" "He needs to go to the hospital." "Hey, Duncan, open your mouth!" "This'll help." "Come on..." "Death-defying stunts?" "Gushing head wound?" "You are the man, brother." "And, I almost stuck the landing." "You sure you don't want some help?" "No, thanks I got it." "Put your seatbelt on." "Hold the towel tighter!" "Remember how things used to be?" "You mean between us?" "Or before Lilly died?" "Or two weeks ago before your friend took an interest in me?" " Veronica?" " Not really, no." "Do you want your girlfriend to stay in here with you?" " Oh, I'm not his girlfriend." " Yeah." "Yeah, that's cool." "Well, here you are." "Veronica, we meet again." "What are the odds." "Veronica brought me in." "Thank you, Veronica." "I think I can handle it from here." "Okay, I have stuff to do anyways." "Jeez." "Off a bleacher?" "Well, everything is fine." "There's no fractures, and nothing that a few stitches won't fix." "I still don't understand how this happened, Duncan." "What possessed you to jump off a set of bleachers?" "Dad?" "Can I talk with Dr. Levine for a minute?" "By myself?" "Yeah." "Fine." "Of the 440 John Smiths out there, only three were in San Diego." "My mission: find and photograph them." "Of course, Justin hadn't seen his father since he was six." "There was no guarantee he could I.D. him." "Hey, are you sure you don't have any pictures of your dad?" "Nah, I don't think so." "My mom cut him out of all of them." "But, um, I could take a look." "Excuse me?" "Um, can I call you back?" "Yeah, just bring me whatever you have." "Bye." "Last time I was in, you mentioned Body Heat." "Do you have that on DVD?" "Looks like I'd have to special order it." "Alright, sounds good." "Ultimately, it is your decision and you should do what's right for you." "But I have to warn you, going cold turkey off anti-depressants can have some serious side effects." " You're likely to feel nauseous." " Yeah, plenty of that." "It's also possible that you'll suffer from hallucinations and particularly vivid dreams." "And this can go on for weeks." "Some people find that unnerving." "It's worth it." " Hey." " Hi." "Thanks for making the time to see me." "I owe you an apology." "I was abrupt and defensive the other day." "Well, on a defensive parent scale of one to ten, I'd say three." "So don't worry about it." "And you were right." "I think, I think Veronica does need someone to talk to and I'm afraid that in this case I'm, I'm not equipped to be that person." " I would be happy to talk to her." " Thank you." "Yeah." " I'm sorry." "I'm so sorry, would you mind?" " Sure, yeah." "Can you hang on?" "I'm going to take this." "Oh!" "Um, hi." "Can I call you right back?" "Fine." "I got it." "Oh, gee, thank you so much." "I'm a coffee addict." "Thanks again." "Sure." "Sheriff Mars?" "You always had my vote." "I picked up all the John Smiths at the addresses and followed them until I got good shots." "Here's the first one." "He's a veterinarian and married, and there's a swing set in the back, so I'm guessing he's got kids." "No, it's definitely not him." "Okay." "John Smith number two." "He's single and he coaches basketball." "No, it's not him either." "Mom always turns off the radio when they play "Brown-Eyed Handsome Man"" "because it reminds her of Dad." "And these guys' eyes are green." "It's not him." "Finally, John Smith number three." "Yeah, that could be him." "Do you have any pictures without the sunglasses?" "He had them on the whole time." "So, what does this guy do?" "I followed him from the junk yard to the pawn shop to the race track." "Sweet." "My best guess would be petty criminal." "Well, can we go back there?" "I mean, I know if I could see him up close I could I.D. him." "I don't think so." "Come on, one way or the other, I'd know." "Give the kid a break." "Alright, fine." "Meet me at my car after school, but remember, I'm the one in charge and you'll do as I say." "You should have seen her before charm school." "I promise." "Wait, I brought you the best pictures I have of Dad." "In this one, you can actually see his hand." "Wow, your mom really hated him, didn't she?" " Yeah." " Cool cars." "Mom says he was obsessed with them." "Hey, what did John Smith 3 drive?" "Sebring convertible." "Alright, I'll see you guys after school." "That's him, right in front of the Honda." "There he goes." " You're gonna lose him." " I'm not gonna lose him." "Lay low." "Try not to look too conspicuous." "Hey!" "Excuse me!" "Excuse me!" "Hey!" " You need something, bro?" " No." "I'm sorry." "I just thought you were somebody else." "It's not him." "Dang." "What are you doing?" "Let me see the letter again." "It's the exact same handwriting." "Yo, Bro." "How could you watch this crap?" "It could not be more boring." "Oh, what the hell?" " Lilly?" " Yeah, what?" "You forgot about me already?" "Wh-what are you" "You know, it makes absolutely no sense." "My disappearance." "Murder." "Whatever." "How it supposedly went down." "So bogus, right?" "Hey, here's the thing." "The truth is gonna come out." "What are you talking about?" "Clue in, Donut." "It doesn't add up!" "You know that, deep down inside." "I wish you'd just admit it to yourself." "Break out of your stupor." "Wake up!" "What's this?" "It's a taser and it's dangerous!" "Put it back." " I'm coming with you." " No." "I need you to stay in the car." "Hmm." "A classic car perhaps?" "A Hyundai Sonata?" "I don't think it qualifies as a classic." "What the hell are you doing?" "Stay right there." "I'm calling the police." "You're not going to do that." "I followed you and I know what you do." "What I do?" "I'm a parole officer." "What?" "Why would you be following me?" "I'm a friend of your son's." "He just wants to see you." "I don't have a son." "Don't move." "Are you trying to tell me you're not John Smith?" "Justin." "Dad?" "Oh my God." "You're a woman." "I don't believe this." "This is hard, I know." "I wish I could've found a way to tell you." "Did you also know I thought you were dead since I was eleven?" "No." "I'm not surprised." "Your mother threatened she would say that." "And your little visits to the video store?" "What's that all about, huh?" "I wanted to see you." "Can you understand that?" "I wanted to see for myself that you were alright." "Well, I'm not, actually." "Okay?" "I'm not." "Turns out my Mom's a liar." "And my father is a circus freak." "Justin, maybe we should go." "This is something I had to do." "This is who I am." "Come on, Veronica." "Let's get out of here." "It was nice meeting everyone." "Ninety miles." "What's ninety miles?" "It's the distance your dad travels every week to see you for a few seconds." "Look, my Mom's been missing too, and honestly, I would give anything to feel that she cared about me enough to do that." "She wasn't going to find me." "I was going to have to find her." "I've decided to drive to Arizona after school." "If the roads are clear, I can make it there in four hours." "Tragedy blows through your life like a tornado, uprooting everything." "Creating chaos." "You wait for the dust to settle and then you choose." "You can live in the wreckage and pretend it's still the mansion you remember." "Hey." "How's your head?" "It's better." "Or you can crawl from the rubble and slowly rebuild." " Hey!" "I didn't know you came here." " Yeah, I just discovered this place." "Yeah, me too." "So how've we missed each other?" "Hey Justin, did you special order Body Heat for someone?" "Because after disaster strikes, the important thing is that you move on." "Right." "Hello?" "Julia?" "It's Justin." "Hey, listen, that copy of Body Heat you wanted came in." "No, that's fine." "Yeah, I work here every Saturday." "That's great." "Okay." "I'll see you then." "Bye." "But if you're like me, you just keep chasing the storm." "Mom?" "Mom?" "Mom?" "Can I help you?" "I'm looking for Lianne Mars." "Veronica?" "Oh!" "I'm Adrianna." "A college friend of your Mom's." "I feel like I know you, your mother talks about you all the time." "Where is she?" "She left a couple weeks ago." "Well... did she say where she was going?" "No." "Don't lie to me!" "I need to know." "Where is she?" "She thought your father might come looking for her and she knows I'm no good at keeping secrets." "Doesn't she care about me?" "You're all she cares about." "Mark me down as skeptical." "The problem with chasing the storm is that it wears you down." "Breaks your spirit." "Even the experts agree." "A girl needs closure." "Hi." "I'm outside your house." "It's about time."