"When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." -Sherlock Holmes

disclaimer: i don't own psych or clue... even though i havethe psych first season dvd and theclue 50th anniversary edition board game (which btw, is2 billiontimes better than the regular one)...

Chapter 1: Setup

And here our story begins, in the mansion of a one Mr. Boddy...

"I am sure that none of you gathered here know why you are, in fact, sitting in front of me." A man dressed in a pristine butler's uniform was pacing at the head of a very long dining room table.

Shawn took a quick look around said table with his eyes, taking in his bearings. He was in a dining room of some sort. He was the closest to this stranger on the right side of the table. Across from him, he saw his best friend bound and gagged in the same way he himself was. He also noticed a small place card in front of Gus's plate. The name on the card said "Professor Plum." Shawn grinned around his gag. It was a little ironic that his best friend had been wearing a purple shirt today.

Glancing down the line next to his best friend moving only his eyes he saw the chief and Lassiter. Next to Gus was the chief, whose card said "Mrs. Peacock," which made sense since she was in blue. On the other side of the chief was an irate looking Lassie wearing a white shirt… and yes, the tag in front of the head detective's plate read "Mr. White." Without having to read the card that sat in front of his plate, he assumed that he was "Mr. Green" as he had dressed in that color this morning. This assumption made, he logically figured that Jules was on his side of the table and was "Miss Scarlett," which only left "Colonel Mustard" and for the life of him, Shawn couldn't figure out who it would be, and then it hit him. If ol' Lassie-face was demoted to Mr. White, then Col. Mustard must be someone with more experience. The only person Shawn knew who fit snugly into their little group was his father. Great, he thought, my dad is gonna kill me because I have a strong feeling that he thinks this is all my fault.

Although he was probably physically able to look to see who was seated on his side of the table, Shawn feared that in doing so, the butler who had just identified himself as Wadsworth would do something to him. So instead he directed his attention to the crazy man at the head of the table that was in the middle of an award worthy speech, if not for content, then definitely for length.

"The six of you will have twelve hours to solve an incredibly difficult crime. If you are unsuccessful at the end of the given time, one of your number will die. Then,at the stroke of the hour,every additional hour it takes, another one of you will follow, until either all of you are dead… or you solve the case." Shawn looked at him skeptically. He highly doubted this nut job was going to let them go if they managed to solve his little mystery (probably a murder judging by the implication of thenames on the place cards). I mean, really, who puts four cops (retired or not), a fake psychic (with an extraordinary knack for solving crimes), and the pseudo-psychic's best friend (who, after twenty plus years of being friends with said psychic, has developed a few observational skills of his own), all together to solve a whodunit? Plus, if Shawn was right (and as you know he almost always is); the six of them were the newest victims in the most recent set of serial mass murders. This also explained, in the case files,why each group of the deceased had nothing to do with each other. As it turned out, only the members of a group had any connection at all.

"Your twelve hours begin as soon as all of you finish your dinner, which is to be served shortly. In a moment, you will all be released from your bonds. However, if any of you attempt to escape, not only will you be unable to do so, but you will put the rest of your friends in grave danger. Remember this, attempted escape means certain death."

At these words, Shawn looked across the table to his best friend whose face now betrayed absolute fear. He obviously had no faith in the people sitting around him. Thanks for the moral support in us, buddy, Shawn thought with a frown… or as much of a frown as he could manage, with the gag still in place.

"Oh," the psychotic butler said. "There's one more thing. I implore you all to eat heartily as this will most likely be your last meal. And do not worry my dear friends; the food is not poisoned, as there would be no sense to be killing you… yet." With that, Wadsworth, turned and exited the room. As soon as he was through the door, six servers appeared, each carrying a covered tray and a glass filled with wine. Once each tray was placed in front of its respective diner, the butler reentered with two maids in tow. At his word, they unbound each individual.

Once they were all free of their bonds, Wadsworth spoke up once more, "I am certain that each of you will have noticed by now, the place cards in front of you. I'm sure each of you are acquainted with the rules of the game 'Clue', am I correct?" Looking at his "guests" expectantly, all of them nodded. "Good, good. Then I am positive you will all know the layout of this mansion. This also tells me that all of you know that there is only one winner in this game. But for now, I will leave you to your dinners which our chef has most kindly prepared for you. Please, eat! Talk! Be merry, and when you are finished I will return. So, gentlemen, ladies I bid you ado. Bon appétit!"

When he and the six servers had all left the dining room, the six individuals looked at each other ominously. Each knowing what the other was thinking. The odds of all of them leaving this place alive were slim to none.

"We need to find a way out of here," Gus stated.

"Well thank you Professor Obvious," Shawn replied. "How do you propose we do that without dooming everyone else?"

"Shawn," Henry said warning his son to be quiet.

Juliet looked around the table at her dismayed companions, "Well, guys. I suggest we eat up because according to that crazy 'Wadsworth' guy, this will be our only meal for the next twelve hours. And I don't know about you, but I do not want to attempt to solve a case or die on an empty stomach."

"Aw, cheer up Jules. We'll figure out how to get all of us out alive," Shawn said trying to be optimistic but with fear and doubt evident in his voice. And with that, they all dug halfheartedly into the very appetizing meals set in front of them, each lost to their own thoughts.

A/N: i hope you like it. more to come soon! don't forget to review please and thanks.