When Veronica took down their Christmas tree, she found a present wrapped in red and green plaid paper far in the corner, hidden. Her name written on the package. She figured that if it was from her father, he would've dug around until they found it.
Unwrapping and opening the box, Veronica found a pair of sparkly red high heels in her size and exactly like Judy Garland wore in The Wizard of Oz.
"Go see the Wizard."
She shivered. Whoever's idea this was of a sick joke was going to pay. It reeked of Logan, maybe Weevil or Dick. It was hard to believe that Lamb had snuck in to stick a present under the plastic boughs of the Mars' tree.
The next day at school, Veronica swore that she heard Logan whisper, "Hello, Dorothy" and she turned around, swinging at him.
Logan easily blocked the punch with his arm. "Jesus, Veronica. I expect bongs in my locker, but not violence."
"Dude, I'm sure she hits like a girl," Dick said.
"Last time I checked, I am a girl," Veronica huffed as she turned on her heels, her brown boot heels, and went toward English class. It didn't help when Ms. Edelstein started comparing Shakespearian Sonnets to the work of Pink Floyd, which in turn reminded her of Duncan talking about smoking pot and Wizard of Oz set to The Dark Side of the Moon. Veronica thought about stabbing the Tin Man in his non-existent heart.
She stopped Weevil in the hall. "Is it some kind of joke, breaking into my house and leaving these there?" Veronica pulled the ruby slippers from her backpack and thrust them into Weevil's face.
"Whoa. Feet aren't my style, Veronica. I'm more into-" Weevil stopped and made a rude gesture with his tongue and forefingers.
Veronica's hand curled around the plastic string that held the pair of shoes together, saving Weevil from a girly punch. "Men." She ignored the hot blush rushing up to her face and mentally counted how many more attendance slips she still had. Enough to get her through the day anyway.
"Hey." Wallace ran up to her. "I thought you could be my favorite math study buddy."
"Later. I've got important things to take care of." Veronica kept on going and out power walked Neptune High's star basketball player to her car. She'd call him later to apologize, but for now she was going to see the Wizard.
Veronica didn't even want to think about what Lamb expected to accomplish with his little gift. Though she did relish the thought of what her father would do when he found out about Lamb's misplaced affections. Keith had once joked that all those years solving crimes taught him where to hide the bodies of Veronica's would-be boyfriends.
She didn't stop to chat with Inga as she beelined to Lamb's office. Veronica already knew that the Sheriff was in.
What she didn't expect was Don Lamb shirtless, sweaty, lifting weights, and admiring himself in a full-length mirror. Damn, he had a nice six pack. Which was so incredibly wrong. She picked the shoes from her bag and tossed them toward Lamb's image in the mirror. The glass shattered at the impact of the heel, but Lamb had already seen her in the reflection.
"Seven years bad luck, Mars," Lamb said as he turned around.
Veronica heard her flight response kicking in, along with the stupidity of her closing his door. Surely Sacks or Inga had heard the glass breaking. She swallowed. "Isn't that about how long a jail sentence for harassment is?"
"Why don't you go see the Wizard?"
"Because I'm looking right at him."