Fall 1992
Heat…flames…sirens going off…Henry looked around in disbelief at what was before him. He had been working on the Santa Barbara bomber case for 6 months now and what he was seeing before him was the bitter end to the previous grueling months he had been enduring. Joe Martin, aka The Santa Barbara Bomber, had been going around and setting bombs off in various locations around town with no rhyme or reason that they could come up with. A few hours prior they had gotten word of Joe's whereabouts and managed to get there right as the building he was in exploded into the night sky. After a few hours and confirmation that Joe's body was inside, Henry felt a bittersweet feeling coming upon him. While he was glad that he wouldn't be able to take anymore lives with his random bombings, he couldn't help but feel disappointed at the fact that he wouldn't be able get the satisfaction of asking him why he did this and getting the satisfaction from watching a cold blooded murder rot in a jail cell for the rest of his days.
"Well I guess that's that," one of the police officers stated as they walked up to Henry.
"Yeah well, forgive me if I don't start dancing," Henry said, walking away.
"Aw come on, Henry I know you wanted to catch him but at least he can't hurt anyone anymore."
Henry suddenly stopped and turned around. "Yeah I know, John, but doesn't it strike you as odd that he's done over thirty bombings and hasn't been around to watch any of them happen, and now all of sudden he "accidentally" killed himself in this last one? It just doesn't make sense. Not to mention he loved taunting us and sending us clues so we could try to figure out where the next bombing was going to be and we got absolutely no clues for this one. I don't know this just all seems too weird to me."
John sighed and put a comforting hand on Henry's shoulder. "Look, I know this isn't the ideal ending that you wanted for this case but we're just going to have to accept it. Maybe this was his plan all along. You know, killing himself and not leaving any clues as to why just so he could torture us from beyond the grave. Come on now, it's been a long six months and now this nightmare is over. We can sleep better now and so can the people of Santa Barbara. I got things here, Henry, why don't you take a much needed night off and spend it with your family? They've hardly gotten to see you these past few months. I'm sure they'll be thrilled to have you back."
Henry sighed. "Yeah I suppose. Let's just hope nothing like this ever happens in this town again…."
Present Day
"And that, my friends, is who did it!"
It was a beautiful fall day in Santa Barbara as Shawn was once again giving his long explanation as to who the culprit was on one of their recent crimes. There had been a string of bank robberies around town for the past month and after doing his "psychic" thing, Shawn finally nailed who had done it- one of the regular bank customers of a certain string of banks who had been denied a loan to start up his own business. So he thought he'd take things into his own hands by robbing not only them, but most of the banks in the area so as not to raise suspicion on himself. He however, didn't know about Shawn, for if he had he might have thank twice before hatching his little plot.
As Lassie took him away in cuffs, a grinning Juliet approached her husband and greeted him with a kiss on the cheek. "Good job, Mr. Spencer."
"Why thank you Mrs. Spencer," Shawn replied, pulling her into a tight embrace. "Maybe you can show me a little of that appreciation tonight."
"Mmmm, well I do have this new lacy nighty that I just purchased. Maybe I can model it for you," she said, giving him a kiss.
"Sounds good. But it may be off longer than it's on…"
Juliet giggled as they both kissed each other, not realizing they had an audience around them.
"Uhhhh, ya know, I should get back to the station. I've gotta do my final reports," Juliet stated.
"Okay but these lips and more will be waiting for you tonight, my love," Shawn said as he gave her a final kiss on her hand.
Juliet smiled as she started to walk away. "Can't wait."
"Oh geeze, I think I'm gonna be sick," Lassie said as Juliet approached him. "Just how long is this newly wed lovey dovey stuff gonna be going on for anyway?"
"Oh Carlton, come on can't you just be happy for us for once? I know you and Shawn may not see eye to eye all of the time, but he's my husband now and I love him more than anything in this world so you're gonna have to accept that," Juliet replied.
"Yeah well, don't expect it to happen anytime soon."
"Oh come on, I know deep down you both must like each other. I mean he's saved you from getting into trouble a few times and you've saved his life quite a few times. Now why would you do that for each other if you didn't like one another?"
"I do it cause you and the Chief make me," he replied as he got in the car.
Juliet sighed and rolled her eyes. The day her husband and her partner got along was the day when hell froze over. "So glad things are working out," she said sarcastically, as she got in the car with him.
"Shawn! What the heck's going on?! I thought we were supposed to go scuba diving?" Gus said as he approached Shawn, wearing a very fit snorkeling outfit.
"Dude, have you looked in a mirror?" Shawn said, looking him up and down.
"Hey, I'm wearing the proper scuba diving gear, Shawn! And I came straight from the beach to here!"
"Wow, I can't believe you actually thought I was serious about doing that," Shawn replied with a smile on his face.
Gus looked taken aback. "Wh- What the hell are you talking about, Shawn?! Are you meaning to tell me that you never planned on doing that with me?!"
"And look like a creepy aqua man? No thanks, man!"
"I'm gonna kill you, Shawn!"
"Gus, come on lighten up. I was just getting ready to go get a chilly dog and watch 'The Bachlorette' marathon that I recorded. Now if you'll waddle behind me you can join me."
"It's hard to walk in these floppy shoes, Shawn!"
"Sure excuses, excuses. So wait, how on earth did you drive here?"
"I may have ya know, removed them while I was driving," Gus replied slowly.
"You drove barefoot?! Dude, that's disgusting! Now the car is gonna smell like feet!"
"Well how else was I supposed to get here? I couldn't exactly waddle all the way over here, Shawn!"
"Gus, does the word sneakers mean anything to you?"
"Well I changed at home so I forgot- Oh just shut it, Shawn!" he said as he "waddled" off towards the car.
Shawn stood there for a moment as he watched him and shook his head. "Man, I so should've brought my camera!"
A couple weeks later, Shawn and Gus, minus the waddling, entered the police station to check and see if the chief had any new cases to give to them. As they approached, they found it oddly quiet and noticed that everyone seemed to have disappeared somewhere.
"Dude, where is everyone?" Shawn said, looking around.
"I don't know, but this is eerie," Gus replied.
They then heard laughing coming from the Chief's office and saw that practically everyone in the department was surrounding that area. As they approached it, Shawn got more curious as the laughing continued.
"Hey, Buzz what's going on?" he asked, as he walked up to McNab.
"Oh hey, Shawn," McNab said turning towards him. "We have a new detective and she was just telling us some of the funniest stories of some collars that she's had during her career."
"Uh oh. I smell competition here. Gus, quick go get my ventriloquist dummies. It's time she saw what real funny is!"
"Shawn, those weren't funny when we were eight and they sure as hell aren't gonna be funny now," Gus replied.
"But you haven't seen my act since I've updated it, Gus. I even have a new dummy that looks like Lassie now. It was hard finding someone who could make the ears that big though."
As Gus glared at him, the Chief and the new detective started to laugh even louder. Then as soon as the crowd had cleared up Shawn and Gus then finally got to see what all the fuss was about, and they were both taken aback as the new detective turned around and smiled at them. She not only had a nice smile but was gorgeous as well. Something that defiantly didn't go unnoticed by either one of them.
"Oh, hi guys," the Chief said as she finally noticed them. "I'd like you to meet the newest member of the SBPD, Detective Angela Stone. Detective Stone, this is my head psychic detective Shawn Spencer and his partner, Burton Guster."
"Pleased to meet you," she said holding out her hand for both of them.
Before Shawn could say or do anything, Gus stepped in front of him with a flirty grin as he grabbed her hand and shook it gently. "Hello."
"Hi. Nice to meet you Mr. Guster," she replied as she shook his hand.
"You can call me Gus, beautiful lady," he said as he gave her his famous flirtatious grin.
"Really, Gus? You couldn't have at least waited a single minute before hitting on her?" Shawn asked.
"Shut up, Shawn! I can't help it, when I see someone this beautiful it's hard to control myself," he said, giving her another grin.
"Well try, Mr. Guster," the Chief interrupted. "Cause we want to make her feel welcome and not scare her off the first day that she's here."
Gus nodded slightly as he took a step back, still continuing to grin at her, as if he were in a trance.
Looking a bit uncomfortable, Detective Stone took a step back. "Uh,, I think I'm gonna just go finish up my paper work that I have to do if you don't mind, Chief. Nice meeting you both," she said as she quickly walked out the door.
"Dude, do you think you could not be creepy for once in your life?!" Shawn asked as he smacked Gus across the arm.
"It's called flirting, Shawn! Something that I'll always be better at than you!"
"Yeah, you're right. So then what is your single flirty self going to be doing tonight while I'm making hot passionate love to my wife?"
Gus looked away for a minute as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "Shows what you know. I already planned on doing something alone tonight so you can kiss my black a-"
"Uh gentleman, can we please change the subject?!" the Chief said suddenly.
"Yes let's please do before Gus starts writing little love notes and starts singing his rendition of, 'Isn't She Lovely'", Shawn replied.
"Hey I only did that one time for Katie Morris in the eighth grade and she loved it, Shawn!"
"Gus, she punched you in the nose and poured your milk over your head!"
"Mr. Spencer, is there a reason you're here, other than wasting my time?!" the Chief chimed in.
"Well of course, Chief. Other than to see your always smiling face….uh or your face, we were wondering if you had any cases for us, cause my psychic spirits are getting a little restless. They need a challenge, they need to be worked up!"
The Chief nodded slowly as she stared at him. "I see. Well sorry Mr. Spencer but you're going to have to tell your psychic spirits that there's nothing for them right at the moment. I'll let you know if there is though, as always. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some work to do. Oh, and stay away from our new detective you two. Especially you, Mr. Guster."
Shawn burst out laughing as Gus got an offended look on his face. "Dude, you actually got scolded by the Chief for once instead of me! This is the greatest day ever!"
"Shut up, Shawn!" Gus replied as they walked out of her office.
"Hey guys," Juliet said walking up to them. "What are you doing here? Did the Chief give you a case?"
"No, but she told Gus where to go," Shawn replied with a grin.
"That's it, I'm leavin," Gus stated as he turned around and walked off.
"Gus! Come on I'm kidding! Hey I thought we were supposed to go on a taco run!"
"What happened?" Juliet asked, looking confused.
"Oh, Gus was flirting with your new hot detective and-"
"Wait, our WHAT?" Juliet asked as she folded her arms and gave Shawn a stern look.
"Uh….your NON hot new detective," Shawn replied nervously.
"Mm hm, Nice save, Shawn."
"Aw honey, you know you're the hottest woman on the planet to me!"
"Yeah well even though I'm a woman I can tell when other woman are, ya know… semi pretty too. But word of advice, if I ever catch you smiling, flirting or doing anything in her direction other than talking then you're sleeping out the front lawn from now on! Got it?!"
Shawn nervously swallowed as he stared at her finger that was pointing in his face and nodded. "Loud and clear, my darling."
"Good. I'll see you at home later. Love you!" she stated with a smile as she walked away.
As Shawn stood there with a blank expression on his face, Henry came walking up behind him with a pat on his back.
"Hey, son. Whatcha up to?"
"Uh, nothing dad, just uh… Hey uh can I ask you something?" Shawn replied.
"As long as it's not for money, then shoot," Henry said, sitting down at his desk.
"When you were with mom, did she ever get these crazy mood swings out of the blue?"
"Uh oh, what'd you do to make Juliet upset this time?"
"Now why do you always think I did something?"
"Cause I know you and I know Juliet. Enough said."
"Well if you must know, Mr. Know It All, I didn't do anything. I was just mentioning that I met that new detective and she started getting all angry when I mentioned her!"
Henry glared at him. "Mm hm. And what did you say about her exactly?"
"Well ya know nothing much, I just may have accidentally stated how hot or not hot she may have been…"
"And you wonder why she got upset? You know son, if I were you I would start using your title as psychic detective loosely. And on another note, you're in a very delicate situation here. You work with your wife, so she's gonna be noticing everything you do from here on out. So if you see a woman that you think is even slightly attractive you divert those eyes quicker than anything or your ass is grass. And even if she's not, she's always right."
Shawn chuckled, "Oh come on, dad! What ever happened to open and honest communication?"
"I'm serious, Shawn. Trust me, I've had a lot more experience with woman than you have."
"Mm hm. Yeah so tell me why did mom divorce you again?"
Before Henry could come up with an answer, everyone suddenly started going towards one area of the station surrounding the TV. Curious as to what was going on, Shawn and Henry looked at one another and then got up and went to see what the commotion was about. As they squeezed their way through the crowed they looked at the TV screen, only to see a news reporter and a burning building behind her.
"…The explosion happened just after 10:00 am. As of right now there's no word on how many survivors there are, but crews are working very hard as you can see right behind me. We'll continue to update you on this story as the day goes on. Steve, back to you…"
"Alright everyone can I have your attention please?!" the Chief shouted as she walked into the area.
Everyone in the station then turned to look at her as she cleared her throat and continued. "Now as you all probably know by now, there was an explosion about an hour ago at that coffee shop on first street. Now I don't know if it was accidental or intentional but until I hear word of which one, absolutely no one is leaving! I'll also be sending some of you over there to help out with keeping the crowds under control. Now I need you all to return to what you were doing and I'll update you as soon as I find out anything. Dismissed!"
Everyone scattered except for Henry who kept staring at the TV. He had been a cop for many years but ever since he had dealt with the Santa Barbara bomber case, explosions no matter how big or small, always haunted him.
Noticing the look on his father's face, Shawn spoke up. "Dad? What's wrong?"
Henry shook his head as he held back his emotions. "Uh, nothing. Just a sad situation, that's all," he replied as he quickly started to walk back to his desk.
Looking confused, Shawn followed him. "Come on dad, I know you too well and I can tell when you have a look of where you know something's not right."
"Look it's nothing, Shawn, just drop it okay?"
"Hey Henry, you got some mail," McNab said as he threw a manila envelope on his desk.
"Thanks," Henry said as he started to open it.
"Dad, come on. Would you just talk to me? Obviously that explosion means something to you," Shawn pleaded.
Henry held up a finger to signal Shawn to be quiet as his eyes grew bigger with each word he read on the mail he had just received.
"What? What is that?" Shawn asked, confused.
Without saying a word, Henry put it on his desk and Shawn slowly took it. It was nothing but a blank piece of paper with letters from magazines cut out to form the words and Shawn's eyes grew bigger as well as he read it:
TIK TIK BOOM. YOU THOUGHT I WAS GONE BUT YOU WERE DEAD WRONG. UNTIL YOU FIND ME THE NIGHTMARE BEGINS AGAIN. CATCH ME IF YOU CAN DETECTIVE SPENCER…
"Dad…What's going on? Who sent this?"
"I don't know. All I do know is that bombing was no accident…."