Loading ...Six weeks after Dean O’Dell’s death, his wife is looking for closure in the form of a murder investigation headed by Keith. Because the sheriff declared O’Dell’s death a suicide, his life insurance won’t pay out the money his wife needs to take care of her family. Keith doesn’t agree to take the case but [...]
Six weeks after Dean O’Dell’s death, his wife is looking for closure in the form of a murder investigation headed by Keith. Because the sheriff declared O’Dell’s death a suicide, his life insurance won’t pay out the money his wife needs to take care of her family. Keith doesn’t agree to take the case but offers to look around and make a decision based on what he finds.
Meanwhile, Mac is called in as tech support for a lab computer that was sabotaged in an apparent animal rights assault on the lab’s animal testing. Additionally, whoever destroyed the computer also stole several rats and “#25,” a monkey. Naturally, Mac directs the researchers, Gil and Pauline, to Veronica, who takes the case when one of them admits that the monkey can play the piano (although that’s not the focus of their research). Pauline tells Veronica that the heist was obviously pulled by P.H.A.T. (People for Human Animal Treatment), an animal rights organization.
Veronica and Mac make plans to take advantage of a P.H.A.T. recruitment meeting when she runs into her father, who is looking to question Weevil about the dean. He admits that he doesn’t buy into Mindy’s idea that the dean was murdered but is investigating anyway for reasons unknown. While he looks into the situation, Mac, Veronica and Parker are propositioned by an R.A. to pick a country to represent in an international hall party that two of the three aren’t entirely interested in taking part in.
At the P.H.A.T. meeting, Veronica and Mac meet Bronson Pope, the chapter president, but he denies any involvement with those incidents. Instead, he insists that P.H.A.T. is about education and invites Veronica to be part of the group’s letter writing campaign. They take him up on the offer the next day, but Veronica uses the time to get with a girl who suggested that they picket a rock concert. After slaving away at stuffing envelopes for a while, Veronica is approached by Sam and Darla, who have apparently split off a kind of extreme splinter cell. They tell her and Mac to do something to “catch their attention” as initiation. Veronica asks Piz to try and book Ed Argent onto his radio show as part of his plan. When Piz succeeds, Veronica tricks Argent into wearing a sweater with “Meat is Murder” stitched into it and has Parker take their picture.
The stunt gets them noticed by the splinter group, which leads them into a dorm room with Sam, Darla and a photography rig. They’re handed “No Fur” signs and told to strip and pose for “the calendar.” Mac and Veronica look horrified and mull over whether or not to do it, but are saved when the curtain is pulled down and the nude calendar angle was actually a big prank. They ask Bronson to come to the international party, where they’ve been assigned the country of Canada. He eventually shows up, but Mac blows the moment where he tries to kiss her. However, Parker attempts to make things work out again by stealing Bronson’s ID and going to his house to give it back to him. They’re invited inside, but Mac and Veronica discover the missing lab rats. He claims that he didn’t steal them and that they appeared on his doorstep in a box. Despite his claims, Veronica goes back to Pauline with this info and she calls the sheriff.
While cleaning the hard drive, Mac discovered leaves in the casing. With this evidence, she tipped off Bronson about the raid and told Veronica about the leaves. Veronica took this lead and followed it back to Gil Thomas, who stole the monkey in the first place because he developed a bond with it. Veronica decides not to turn him in and returns Pauline’s check, but looks horrified when the professor for the class mentions that they can just order a new one that will be there in six days.
That night in a bar, Keith attempts to covertly coax information out of Professor Landry, but Landry isn’t fooled by Keith’s attempts. Keith later tells Mindy that he’ll take the case, possibly because of Landry’s insult to him. Meanwhile, Veronica has a chat with Piz and is spurred to get back together with Logan, much to the disappointment of Piz.
