A Zapping Murder
Based on the TV series Psych created by Steve Franks
1988
"Dad you gotta see this!" I yelled running up to my father, holding a magazine.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Look!" I told him "The new Laser Tag place at the mall has opened!"
He looked at the ad in the magazine.
"I see." He said.
"Can we go?" I asked.
"Sure."
"Yes!"
"If you can tell me if there are any typos on this ad without looking at it."
I sighed and shut my eyes. Then I concentrated and remembered. Remembered, that Laser was spelt with a z, remembered, that the Ridge, in Oak Ridge Mall, was missing a d.
"Laser is spelled lazer, with a z, and ridge is spellled rige, with no d." I told him, my eyes still closed.
"Go get your coat; we're going to Laser Tag." My dad said.
2011
Gus and I were at the old Laser Tag place at the mall when Gus made a startling discovery.
"Quick Shawn, we've gotta get to the sniping spot before anyone else does." Gus told me, now running.
"I'm comin', I'm comin'." I told him.
I ran up and bumped into him.
"Why'd you stop?" I asked.
He just pointed down, and I saw it. The dead body.
(Intro.)
The house lights were up, Jules and Lassiter were there.
The man who was dead had had his throat slit.
"The medical examiner said he's been dead for about twenty minutes." Lassiter said. "The perfect murder." He added. "A dark room, slitting a throat is silent."
I was looking for evidence and was seeing little. Then I saw the dungeons and dragons ring on his hand. Gus had one, you could only get one if you were a member, and you could only be a member if you were part of one of the many clubs. I needed to see if he had a membership card in his wallet. These nerds get pretty cut throat (no pun intended), what if maybe, he had angered one of his fellow nerd buddies so bad, that they wanted to kill him. It was a long shot, but worth trying.
"I'm sensing, dragons!" I shouted "But these dragons are trapped in a dungeon! Trapped by the man with the ring!"
"What is he running on about this time?" Lassiter said, frustrated.
Juliet shrugged.
"I think he's getting a message from the spirits." Gus said, standing far away from the body.
"Check his wallet!" I shouted.
A forensic man checked the wallet.
"All that's in here is a twenty, his license, and a Dungeons and Dragons club Card." said the forensic guy.
Juliet looked at Lassiter for answers.
"So what? He's in Laser Tag, does it surprise you he play Dungeons and Dragons?" Lassiter said.
"I now see, a dragon, being killed. His throat was slit!" I shouted.
"Is he saying that he was killed by someone who he played Dungeons and Dragons with?" Jules asked Gus.
"Seems so." Gus said "Sometimes the spirits get confused, and it's hard for him to translate the message."
"I've had enough of this crap." Lassie said.
Chief Vick walked up.
"I say we put them on the case, let them see what they can find." She said.
"Yes!" I mouthed to Gus.
Chapter 2
The chief recommended we start with Mr. Faller's (The identity of the dead guy) Dungeons and Dragons club. We walked into a store by the name of Just Gamez. We saw his group and walked over to two tall guys, one seemed to be in his late twenties, the other in his mid-fifties with a beard. The younger of two had on a nametag that read Chris.
"Hi," I told them "My name is Henry Ratter, and this is my assistant Richard Weasel."
"May the Parthenon of Fagerbake be with you both in this millennium." Chris said, the older man just shook his head, and then shook my hand. "My name's Ernie, this is my son Chris, he's into all this Ghost's and Goblins nonsense." The older man told us.
"Tis not nonsense father, but more so a lifestyle and emotion." Chris said.
Then I saw the Laser Tag wristbands on their wrists. Saw the chafes on their necks from the vests at Laser Tag.
"You seem to take this Dungeons and Dragons game quite seriously." I said to Chris.
"Not all of us." He replied.
"What do you mean?" Gus asked.
"A man by the name of Mark Faller was not as interested in the lifestyle of DnG as us others." He said motioning to everyone else in the room.
"DnG?" I asked.
"DnG is short for Dungeons and Dragons." he answered.
"Oh." I said "So you didn't like Mr. Faller?"
"No one here did." He told me "He was a disgrace to what we believe in."
Ernie shook his head again.
"Chris," Ernie said "When are you going to move on from this crap?"
"Moving on is for those who are not strong enough to finish!" Chris declared.
"Well then," Gus said. "Mr. Ratter and I are going to head on are way."
"You think he did it?" Gus asked.
"I'm not sure." I told him "But he does seem suspicious, let's go talk to the chief."
Chapter 3
We walked into the police station where the chief was talking to a young woman, who Gus was staring at.
"You're getting creepy again." I told him.
"What? I'm watching the chief interview the psycho guy's sister." He replied.
"How'd you know it's her?"
"When I called and told the chief we were coming she told me that that's who she'd be interviewing."
"Oh, well stop staring at her, you're being creepy."
"I'm not being creepy."
"Then go talk to her."
"Right now?"
"No, tomorrow. Yes right now!"
"Uh, alright, yeah, I'll go. I'll go right now."
Gus walked over to talk to her as the chief left. It was then that I saw the dirt on her shoes. Saw the cuts on her leg. Another long shot, but the back entrance of the Laser Tag place is guarded by a chain link fence, complete with pointy things (Yeah, that's right, pointy things. I dare you to say it.)
Also the back area is just a dirt road, what if this girl went into the Laser Tag place and killed Mr. Faller. Again, it's another long shot, but it could work.
"Her name is Kim and we're going out to dinner after all this over." Gus said.
"Good job, Burton. But I solved this murder. I think." I replied.
"Well then let's tell the chief." He said.
"No, I don't have enough evidence; we have to wait for her to confess." I told him.
"Her?" He asked.
"Yeah, the girl you're going out with."
"What?"
"Yes, she is the murderer, now all we have to do is catch her, and what you're going to do is have a hidden camera and microphone on you. Then you can try to get her to confess, and when she does I'll run in and tase her!"
"You don't have taser!"
"You'd be surprised by what I have."
Chapter 4
Now, what happened next is all what Chris, Ernie and I heard from Gus's dinner with Kim (Which took place in the Psych offices, we were in a van outside) I figured that if their daughter and sister was a murderer, they should know.
"So, do you like Laser Tag?" Gus asked.
"Not really." Kim replied "But my Dad does."
"Your dad?"
"Yeah, my brother used to, but then he got over that whole Harry Potter stuff."
"But, some friends of ours just talked to him, and he seemed really into it."
"Only if my dad wants him to, my dad gets really into it, but uses Chris as sort of an excuse so he doesn't look weird."
"So you're saying, your dad would get upset if someone didn't take it seriously?" Gus asked.
"Oh, he would come home from tournament and just be very upset about the Faller guy, apparently he wasn't obsessed with it."
"Gus," I said into the mic which would go into his earphone "Drop it, we were wrong."
Just then I felt a gun to my head.
"Dad what are you doing?" Chris exclaimed.
"He knows too much!" Ernie shouted.
"Gus, pull. Out. Now." I said.
"It's too late for help now Spencer!"
"Dad, you've lost it." Chris said.
"Shut up!"
"I've gotta agree with your son, you seem to be a few tools short of a shed." I told him.
"You're pressing your luck Spencer!"
Then I heard a gunshot and the van door busted open and Jules and Lassiter were out there both holding guns.
"Drop your weapon Wheatley!" Lassiter commanded.
"I don't know what's going on here, but I'm glad Gus called us." Juliet said.
"I'm sensing that Ernie, not Chris was obsessed with DnG, and when Faller crossed him one to many times Ernie snapped." I said.
"If you want to keep breathing, you won't sense anything!" Ernie said.
Then Chris hit Ernie over the head with one of the control boxes, knocking him out.
"Well that was certainly an ordeal." I said catching my breath."
Chapter 5
We were at the police station when Kim came up to us.
"Sorry about having to call the cops on your dad." Gus said to her.
"It's okay; I think anyone would've done the same." She said jokingly.
"So would you like to maybe try again tonight, without any killers nearby?" He asked.
"I'd love to." She said kissing him on the cheek.
"I'll pick you up around seven?"
"That'll be perfect." She said, then she left.
"See Gus," I said "You get the girl sometimes."
"Yeah, I guess I do."
"Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go check on Jules." I said.
I walked away leaving Gus shaking his in the realization, that while he may have gotten the girl, I got one first.