Veronica is at Mars Investigations, which has campaign posters and literature all over for Keith's campaign for sheriff. She calls the hospital to find out where Meg is located, and to find out the visiting hours. Julie (Laura Bell Bundy) comes in, asking to hire a detective. Veronica points out they're usually not open on Sundays, but Julie is undeterred; she wants to investigate her fiancee. Veronica takes down his name (Colin), and offers a standard background check. Julie, however, wants more, and saying she wants to know how Colin spends his trust fund. Finally, Veronica offers constant surveillance for the right price, and Julie takes it. Veronica says "Mr. Mars" will be in touch; just then, Keith walks in, and Julie introduces herself on her way out the door to meet Colin. Once Julie has left, Keith tells Veronica to call her back to let her know they can't take her case, as he's too busy with the campaign. Veronica points out she can help, and the money Julie has to burn can help pay for Stanford, but Keith tells Veronica she should be working at Java the Hut instead, and orders her to call. Sighing, Veronica picks up the phone, and pretends to call Julie (even offering Vinnie Van Lowe as an alternative), but in reality, there's still a dial tone. Veronica then asserts she can do the job on her own...
...and a little later, she meets Julie at Java the Hut, telling her "Mr. Mars" thought a woman detective would be best. Julie explains she's rich, but doesn't like to advertise it, and that Colin has been getting calls at weird hours has a framed picture of another woman on his bar. Veronica says she'll get right on it.
At the Fennel house the next morning, Alicia is getting Wallace and Darrell ready for school. Wallace says he'll be helping Jackie with trig, so he won't be working. Alicia goes outside with them and waves goodbye, but freezes when she sees Nathan drive past.
Veronica is taking pictures of Colin running around the track when Julie calls. She mentions nothing's up, but Julie mentions Colin has been called 20 times in the last six days from the same number, and Veronica promises to look into it.
At Mars Investigations, Alicia brings Keith a ham and cheese sandwich, and Keith happily tells Alicia she's fulfilled one of the top ten male fantasies. Alicia then asks if she can borrow a gun, which makes Keith stop in his tracks. Alicia admits she knew the guy in Chicago who called after her (she calls him "Carl"), and that she went out with him 20 years earlier, back when she didn't know any better. She also calls "Carl" crazy. Keith offers to stay the night instead, and not tell the kids...
...so the next morning, as Alicia is cooking Wallace and Darrell breakfast, fretting about her "late start", Keith stops by, claiming he was just in the neighborhood, and brings donuts, which Wallace appreciates.
Later, by their lockers, Veronica asks if Keith did the "fake donut run", which Wallace confirms. Jackie comes up behind Wallace and slaps him on his butt, which Wallace laughs at. He and Jackie walk off as Veronica slams her locker door closed.
Outside the Fennel's, Nathan is looking inside the house when Keith snaps his picture. Nathan turns to go after Keith, but Keith shows his gun. They reveal they know about the other (though Keith calls him "Carl", noting his record for assault and cocaine possession), and Keith tells him to be on the next flight back to Chicago or they'll be trouble. Nathan says he's not leaving until Alicia gives him back what she took from him, and leaves.
At the hospital, Veronica walks into the waiting room, carrying flowers, when she hears Duncan call her. Turns out he's been sitting in the waiting room. As Veronica is about to ask him about Meg, Meg's parents come out of Meg's room. They both yell at Veronica and Duncan; Mr. Manning (Geoff Pierson) wants to know why Duncan comes visiting every day (which Veronica didn't know about) and tells him to stay away, and Mrs. Manning (Katie Mitchell) tells Veronica her very presence is upsetting. Lizzie, Meg's sister, who is more conservative in appearance and dress than the last time Veronica saw her, comes out with another little girl, and when Duncan firmly says he cares about Meg, tries to chime in to support him. However, Mr. Manning isn't having it, and Duncan walks away. Veronica leaves the flowers on a chair and follows him. She tries to ask about why he's there every day, but gives up and says she's going to watch a tennis match for work...
...but as Veronica follows Colin in his car, she notes he's not going to a tennis court. Instead, he's going to a house, and when he knocks on the door, is greeted by a woman who hugs him. Veronica takes some pictures and calls Julie. She tells Julie about where Colin is, confirms it's the number that shows up on his bill, and asks if she knows who lives at the address. Julie doesn't know, but becomes frenzied. Veronica tells her to calm down, and that she'll call back when she knows something for sure. After hanging up, she gets out of the car and sneaks around the house to take pictures. To her surprise, Colin is getting what appears to be a Hebrew lesson from a rabbi and the woman in the house. As Veronica registers this, she hears Julie's car pull up, and runs back to the front of the house. Julie, whose hair is in rollers, rushes towards the house, and Veronica tackles her to stop her. Holding her down, Veronica tells her what Colin is doing; Julie complains that she's Jewish, not Colin, and Veronica tells her to think about that. Julie gets it, and hangs her head as Veronica climbs off of her.
That night, in her bedroom, Veronica can't sleep; she's still thinking about Duncan visiting Meg every day. Julie calls at that moment, asking if he still loves her. Veronica, distracted, says she doesn't know, but snaps out of it when she realizes it's Julie. Julie's asking about the photo of the woman on the bar of Colin's house, and Veronica realizes she might be feeling the same thing about Duncan. Veronica's not so completely out of it that she can't chide Julie for calling at the wee hours of the morning. Julie, however, is willing to pay more, and Veronica promises to throw Colin a temptation scenario his way. She does warn Julie, however, there's a fine line between looking for a problem and creating one, and hangs up.
The next day, Keith is waiting for Lamb inside Lamb's office. He tells Lamb about "Carl", and adds that he's wanted in Chicago for armed robbery. Lamb says he'll get right on it.
Meanwhile, at Neptune High, Veronica is by her locker, looking for something, when Weevil comes by with a group of PCHers, asking about her visit with Lamb. Veronica makes a joke about his new earrings, but stops when she realizes the earring Lamb asked her about actually belonged to Weevil. Weevil thinks she's spaced out, but Veronica mentions the lost earring, and Weevil dismisses the others. Once he and Veronica are alone, Veronica asks him about it. Weevil denies it, but when Veronica makes a show of calling the sheriff's, he admits he received an anonymous tip saying Curly was behind the bus crash, and was hired by the Fitzpatrick family to get back at Cervando (the PCHer who died in the bus crash). Veronica recognizes the name, as Keith had put away several Fitzpatricks when he was sheriff. Weevil admits Cervando had been bragging about hustling Liam Fitzpatrick out of a few grand, but denies taking revenge on Curly, and says the Fitzpatricks wouldn't blow up a bus to take revenge on Cervando. Veronica borrows Weevil's phone so she can get the number of the person who called Weevil, even though Weevil said he never got an answer when he called back, and leaves.
Later, at Jackie's house, she and Wallace are kissing each other when Veronica calls Wallace. Jackie's face falls when she hears who it is, and Wallace tries to put Veronica off, but Veronica, who tells Wallace she needs someone to take photos while she puts on a temptation scenario, offers to pay him $200 for his help. A little later, Wallace is getting ready to leave, and Jackie bitches that Wallace didn't ask Veronica, "How high?" Wallace tells her Veronica is just his friend, and he's doing her a favor. Jackie says she's going to have to have a chat with "Miss Pixie Stick." Wallace warns her Veronica isn't someone she wants to piss off, and Jackie replies, "Neither am I."
Wallace pulls up to in front of the house where Colin is staying at. Veronica is already there, dressed up in a tight skirt and trashy outfit. As Wallace hands her a microphone, he reminds her he needs to get paid so he can make peace with Jackie. Veronica mentions seeing Jackie with another guy at Java the Hut, but Wallace points out he and Jackie had only gone out twice, so it doesn't matter. He tells Veronica to "go Lolita (your) ass". Veronica lets the air out of her tires and walks up to the house.
At the door, Colin (Michael E. Rodgers) answers. Veronica, in full ditz mode, flirts with him and then tells him she's got a flat tire. Outside, as he tries to fix it, Veronica continues to flirt and show herself off. Colin says he's willing to call a tow-truck, and Veronica asks to borrow his computer as well, which he agrees to. Inside the house, Veronica gushes about it, and Colin mentions he has a girlfriend. Veronica practically throws herself at Colin, but he firmly, if gently, puts her off, and shows her the computer.
Outside, Wallace, who is listening in, is having problems hearing because of the reception, and acts concerned.
Inside, while Veronica surreptitiously copies files on Colin's computer, she notices the movie posters for such movies as City of Angels. Colin admits he's house-sitting for Nicolas Cage, which Veronica thinks is hot. Back outside, Wallace decides he can't wait anymore, and rings the doorbell. Colin answers, and Wallace, stumped, pretends to be selling pens and candy for charity. As Colin offers to buy a couple of boxes, Veronica, having finished copying Colin's computer, thanks Colin and races out.
That night, at Duncan's hotel suite, he takes a call from Veronica, who asks what he's doing. He mentions cramming for a test, and mentions he's tired of room service. Turns out Veronica is at his front door, holding up a bag of food and offering "Dim Sum and then some." Inside the room, Veronica mentions Keith is out with Alicia. Duncan wants to know if they can proceed right to having sex. Veronica laughingly considers this, but wants to ask Duncan a question first. Duncan replies, "Yes to costumes, no to props", but Veronica actually wants to know why he didn't mention visiting Meg so often. Instead of answering, Duncan says they should eat the food.
A little later, Duncan is lying in bed while Veronica is sitting up in bed looking at her laptop. She grouses about Duncan being put off sex by Veronica's interest in Meg, and tries to take her mind off of that by looking at the files in Colin's computer. She finds out Colin already knew about Julie's money.
Later still, Veronica and Duncan are both asleep when there's a knock on the door. Veronica panics, thinking it's Keith, but it turns out to be Lizzie. Duncan asks Veronica not to follow him, and she angrily assents. Duncan opens the door, and Lizzie, walking in, tells him the school called Meg's parents and gave them permission to go through her locker. Lizzie shows Duncan Meg's laptop, and says Meg might have personal stuff on there that she doesn't want her parents to know about, and Duncan has to find it tonight because her parents know about the laptop. Duncan says he doesn't know how to do it. Lizzie opens the bedroom door so she can use the bathroom, and finds Veronica. Veronica admits she heard the whole conversation, and also says she knows someone who can help...
...and a little later, Mac is in the hotel room with the three of them. She mentions how glad she is she still knows how to sneak out of her house undetected, and then breaks through Meg's password. Mac copies Meg's e-mails to a flash drive, and hands it to Duncan.
The next morning, Veronica comes out of the bathroom. As Duncan goes in, Veronica notices the flash drive sitting in the lounge. She plugs it into her laptop, but is interrupted by her cell phone ringing. It's Julie, who wants to know what happened. Veronica tells her Colin behaved like a gentleman throughout, and didn't give into temptation. Julie admits she's being a jealous freak. That hits home for Veronica; she tells Julie she'll call her back, pulls the drive out of her computer without copying it, and puts it back where she found it, but looks conflicted about it.
A little later, Keith comes out of the Fennel house, only to notice wheel clamps around the wheels on his car. He calls Lamb to complain, but Lamb is pissed off because "Carl" is Nathan Woods, a Chicago police detective.
At Mars Investigations, Veronica tells Julie Colin is clean. She also mentions about him house-sitting for Nicolas Cage, and that the picture on the bar is of Lisa Marie Presley (Cage's then-wife). Julie, however, is more concerned about the fact Colin was checking up on her. Just then, Keith walks in, and is pissed to see Julie there. He asks to speak with Veronica alone, and when Julie leaves, chews Veronica out for taking the case behind his back. Veronica apologizes, but said she thought she could handle the case and that she needs the money. Keith angrily tells her she can't handle it all, nor can she get away with everything, as she knows about her sleeping with Duncan. He storms out. Veronica looks distressed, but notices something on her laptop referring to Colin's files. She calls up Julie, who tearfully tells Veronica she's broken it off with Colin. Veronica tries to point out Colin was trying to find Julie's father to ask him permission to marry her, but Julie isn't interested, and hangs up.
At the Fennel house, Keith enters, asking for Alicia. Once he confirms no one's home, he goes into a desk and pulls out a blue folder.
At the Mars Apartment, Veronica is folding laundry when she notices Colin's handkerchief (which she had borrowed), which is monogrammed. She realizes she recognizes the label, goes to Keith's liquor cabinet and pulls out a bottle of Scotch with the same monogram, "Loch Nevin". A little later, at Julie's house, Julie opens up a box addressed to her, and finds the handkerchief, along with an advertisement for Loch Nevin Scotch. In the accompanying note, Veronica tells Julie Colin is heir to the family fortune, but like Julie, didn't want to flaunt it. Veronica adds that while both Colin and Julie said they wanted to be loved for themselves, it turned out only one of them meant it. Julie looks at the handkerchief sadly.
Back at Mars Investigations, Keith pulls a picture of Nathan off of the printer. He gets a call from a client, but when he goes through the stack of files on Veronica's desk, takes the wrong file by mistake. He corrects himself and laughs.
That night, at the Mars Apartment, Keith concedes Veronica can still come to help him out a couple days a week. Veronica guesses, correctly, that Keith won't tell her what led him to change his mind. As Keith walks out of her bedroom, Veronica turns her attention to tracking down the number of the person who anonymously tipped Weevil off about Curly Moran. She discovers it came from Logan's house.
The next day, in the school lunch area, Veronica tells Logan about the phone call, and mentions Curly's connection to Aaron. Logan denies knowledge of it, though he does say the call must have happened during his "Life's Short" party. He also says Weevil and his PCHers crashed the party, and Lamb and his deputies broke it up. Logan walks off as Veronica ponders what he said.
At Mars Investigations, Keith calls up someone to track down Alicia's past history, and is not happy with what he hears.
Later, at the Fennel house, Wallace is washing his car when Nathan comes up to him. When Wallace asks who he is, Nathan shows him a photo of him and Alicia, and says, "I'm your father." Wallace is stunned.
This episode contains examples of:
- Artistic License – Gun Safety: Well averted by Keith when Alicia asks for a gun to deal with her ex.Keith: There's no way I'm letting you take a gun you don't know how to handle to a house with a seven year old. I'll give you something safer you can cuddle up with.
- Call-Back: The earring Lamb found near Curly's body. Also, the Kane scholarship.
- Foreshadowing: The Fitzpatrick family and Meg's parents (and younger sister) become very important later.
- From the Mouths of Babes: Even though Wallace has been using one Double Entendre after another in talking about his relationship with Jackie, it's still a bit disconcerting for him (and Alicia) to hear his little brother Darrell ask, "Are you hitting that?"
- Green-Eyed Monster: This episode is basically this trope up to eleven.
- Love Makes You Crazy: Julie may be the Ur-Example.
- Secretly Wealthy: Both Julie and Colin.
- Shout-Out:Nathan: Your old lady took something of mine. I'm not leaving 'til I get it back.
- Also, at the hospital, a "Dr. Godot" is being paged.
- Jackie disparagingly calls Veronica "Goldilocks".
- Younger Than They Look: Parodied:Julie: Aren't you a little young to be doing this?Veronica: It's amazing; I never get tired of that question.
