Chapter One

Shawn Spencer walked into the police station with Burton Guster in tow behind him. He sauntered up to Detective Juliet O'Hara's desk.

"Good morning, Jules," smiled Shawn.

"Morning, Shawn," said Juliet. "You're looking especially chipper this morning."

"Well, I can't help it," said Shawn. "You just have that effect on the room."

Juliet smiled at him. "What are you doing here, Shawn?"

Shawn put a hand to the side of his head. "I had a feeling I was needed."

"Well, you're not," said Detective Carlton Lassiter as he walked up, placing a hand on Shawn's shoulder. "So, why don't you scurry on back to your office and let the grown-ups handle the police work."

Shawn frowned, lowering his hand. "Wow, Lassie, I'm sensing some serious work stress vibes coming off of you."

"The only stress I'm feeling right now is the stress of having you interfering with my investigations," said Lassiter, taking his hand off of Shawn's shoulder and heading to the front of Juliet's desk.

"Ah-ha!" exclaimed Shawn. "So, there is a case you guys are working on. I knew it. The spirits never lie."

"The spirits told you to come?" asked Lassiter.

"Oh, definitely," Shawn told him. "They told me that I would probably be needed today."

"Well, tough luck," said Lassiter with a smug smile. "We have everything under control. Bye, now." He headed over towards his desk.

Shawn looked down at Juliet, frowning. "He's extra cranky today."

"I don't think he got any sleep," said Juliet, shuffling through the papers on her desk. "Hey, Gus."

"Hello, Juliet," greeted Gus.

"Lassiter!" Chief Karen Vick called from the doorway of her office. "O'Hara! My office, now."

Lassiter and Juliet got up from their desks and began to head towards the chief's office. Chief Vick was about to turn around to head back into her office when she spotted Shawn and Gus.

"You, too, Mr. Spencer," said Chief Vick, heading back into her office.

Lassiter froze as Juliet walked into the chief's office. Shawn smiled smugly at Lassiter and headed towards the office with Gus. Lassiter clenched his jaw and walked into the chief's office, Shawn and Gus not far behind him.

"What do ya got, Chief?" asked Shawn.

"We just got a call from the landlord down at Sunrise Apartments," said Chief Vick from behind her desk. "One of his residents has not turned in his rent and has not been answering his door."

"Maybe he's just avoiding him," Lassiter suggested.

"He's been trying to contact him for three days," said Chief Vick. "He won't answer his phone, either. So, he used his key to enter the apartment and found an empty apartment. There were signs of a struggle."

"Wait, if he was missing, wouldn't his work have called when he didn't show up?" asked Juliet.

"He's an author," said Chief Vick. "He lives off of his books. I need the four of you to head down there immediately."

"Will do, Chief," said Shawn. "I'll go check it out." He turned to head out of the office.

"Ride with the detectives, Spencer," Chief told him.

Shawn spun back around with a nod. "That's just what I was about to do."

Lassiter stepped closer to the chief's desk. "Chief, do we really need him? I mean, he's kind of a liability."

"Do I have to remind you how many cases Shawn has helped to solve, Detective?" Chief Vick pointed out.

Lassiter stared at her for a moment. "Right…"

"This is one of Santa Barbara's more renowned citizens," said Chief Vick. "The media will be all over his disappearance. I want as many people on this as possible. Go."

Lassiter and Juliet walked out of the office as Shawn and Gus followed.

"Dude, we gotta solve this case," said Shawn.

"Obviously, Shawn," Gus told him.

"No, I mean, can you imagine the attention we would get when we find this author?" asked Shawn. "The media is already gonna be covering this because he's kinda famous. They'll be all over us when we solve it."

Gus and Shawn walked out of the station and followed the detectives towards Lassiter's car.

"Just promise you won't be overdramatic," Gus muttered.

"Gus, when have you ever known me to be overdramatic?" asked Shawn.

Gus glared at him. "Do you really want me to answer that?"

Shawn shook his head. "No, not really."

They made it to the car, piling into the back as Juliet and Lassiter got in the front. Lassiter peeled out of the lot and headed through the city streets towards the apartment complex.

"When we get there, I want no monkey business from you, Spencer," Lassiter growled.

"What if Clyde kidnapped him?" asked Shawn, leaning up between the front seats. "You gonna let me get down to monkey business then?" He looked at Gus. "Of course, that would make me Clint Eastwood and you Geoffrey Lewis."

"I highly doubt an orangutan kidnapped the guy," said Lassiter.

"Well, how would you know?" asked Shawn. He frowned suddenly and put his hand to his head. "Wait a minute…" He plastered his hand to the side of Lassiter's head.

Lassiter ducked his head away from Shawn's hand. "Get off me!"

Shawn withdrew his hand, looking up at Lassiter. "Oh, I see…You were an orangutan in your previous life."

"Explains a lot," Gus nodded.

"Yeah, it does," said Shawn.

"Alright, enough from you two," said Lassiter. "Just be grateful you're getting to tag along."

"Gotcha, Clyde," said Shawn, leaning back into his seat.

"And don't call me Clyde," Lassiter shot at him.

Shawn frowned. "Can I call you Bubbles?"

"Spencer…" Lassiter growled.

"How about Mighty Joe Young?" suggested Shawn.

"Spencer!" yelled Lassiter. "Clamp that mouth shut and keep it that way for the rest of the drive."

Shawn glanced over at Gus, sharing an amused grin.

Within fifteen minutes, they arrived at Sunrise Apartments, parking and getting out of the car. The four of them walked into the apartment lobby, approaching a door marked "Landlord." Lassiter rapped on the door, grabbing his badge from his belt. The door opened, and a man stood in the doorway.

Lassiter shoved his badge towards the landlord. "SBPD. We need to get into the author's apartment."

"Of course," said the landlord, closing his door and leading them to the second floor.

When they reached the door, Lassiter pulled his gun out, getting ready.

"Is that really necessary?" asked Juliet.

"The perp could still be in there," said Lassiter.

"After kidnapping him, like, a week ago?" said Juliet.

"Can't be too careful," said Lassiter.

Juliet rolled her eyes as the landlord unlocked the door.

Lassiter shoved open the door, aiming his gun everywhere. "It's clean."

Shawn, Gus and Juliet walked into the apartment, taking in the evident struggle.

"Clean is not the word I'd use," said Shawn.

Shawn's eyes swept the apartment, noticing some missing areas on the bookshelves and tables where the dust had accumulated around blank spots. He saw that everything turned over wasn't broken, and it left no scratches on the hardwood. There was a large empty spot on the desk by the window.

As Lassiter and Juliet walked around the apartment to investigate, Shawn leaned over towards Gus.

"Dude, I don't think this guy was kidnapped," whispered Shawn.

Gus frowned, also talking in a whisper. "What do you mean? This place is a mess."

"Yeah, but nothing is broken," said Shawn. "Wouldn't you think that if you were fighting off someone, stuff would get knocked over and smashed or chipped or something? And wouldn't some of the overturned furniture leave scratches on the hardwood? This stuff looks like it was purposely turned over. And look at all the empty spaces on the tables and bookshelf."

"So, he doesn't like to decorate," said Gus.

"There are dust marks," said Shawn. "He obviously kept stuff there, but now it's gone. From the looks of it, they were picture frames. And the desk…" He gestured towards the desk at the window. "Tell me that's not where you'd keep a laptop."

"The kidnapper took it with him," shrugged Gus.

"And took the time to grab all the cords and the speakers and the printer?" said Shawn.

Gus raised his eyebrows, impressed. "You might be on to something."

Shawn and Gus snuck over into a hallway, heading to the bedroom.

Shawn opened the closet, stepping back to show Gus the near empty closet. "And what kind of kidnapper bothers to take all your clothes." He looked back at the closet. "I think guy pulled a McCallum."

Gus frowned. "He kidnapped himself?"

"Well, come on, an author gets sick of the attention, so he fakes his own kidnapping and disappears to a small town where no one knows him," said Shawn. "Come on, let's go tell Lassie."

Shawn and Gus crept up the hallway, peeking around the corner. Lassiter and Juliet were still investigating; they hadn't noticed the guys had disappeared. Shawn and Gus snuck back over towards the door, pretending like they hadn't moved.

"So, you guys got anything yet?" asked Shawn.

Juliet looked over at him. "Not yet. I can't find any blood anywhere, so at least he's not hurt."

Shawn walked closer, stepping right past some overturned furniture. "Well, that's something, right?" He jolted suddenly, clutching at his heart. "Oh!" He frowned, flinging his hand out. "Oh, it's…It's too much! It's too much!" He stumbled over towards the pseudo-fireplace, clutching onto the mantle.

"Spencer, what the hell are you—" began Lassiter.

"Please, spare me!" cried Shawn.

"You're seeing the kidnapper?" asked Juliet.

"Oh, I can't take it!" cried Shawn, falling to his knees.

"Did they hurt him?" asked Juliet.

Shawn's head snapped up, frowning. "No…No struggle."

"No struggle?" said Lassiter, looking around at the mess. "How do you explain this?"

Shawn slowly stood up, stepping slightly away from the fireplace and putting his hands to his head. "Wait…He…He did it himself?"

"Why would he do this?" asked Juliet.

"He…He kidnapped himself?" said Shawn.

"What?" asked Juliet.

"The spirits say that…that there was no kidnapper," said Shawn. "They say that he…he staged this whole thing."

"And why would he do that?" asked Lassiter.

"Hey, how should I know?" said Shawn, lowering his hands. "The spirits only give me a little at a time."

Something collided hard into Shawn's back.

"Ow!" Shawn exclaimed, turning around and seeing a small stone beagle toppled over. He looked back at the others. "Who threw that?"

Gus, Juliet and Lassiter's eyes were all wide.

"No one did it…" said Juliet.

"What?" asked Shawn.

"It just flew up and hit you…" said Gus, staring at the stone dog. "By itself…"

"I think it's safe to say that I'm maybe starting to believe your whole psychic story," said Lassiter in shock.

Shawn glanced down at the dog and back up at Gus. "Really?"

Gus gave him a look. "Yeah…"

"But…that's…" began Shawn.

Shawn suddenly cried out in pain, grabbing at his chest and quickly falling to his knees. "Ah! Gus!"

"What is it, Shawn?" asked Gus, playing along. "Another vision?"

Shawn looking up at him, real fear in his eyes. "No, Gus, not a vision!"

Gus seemed to get that something was wrong. "Oh, my God…"

Shawn cried out again, falling onto his side.

"Shawn!" Gus cried, rushing over to kneel next to his friend. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know…" Shawn gritted out. "It feels like…I'm being stabbed."

Lassiter and Juliet kneeled down on Shawn's other side.

"Is that what happened to the author?" asked Juliet.

"I'm really sure that this has nothing to do with the author," said Shawn, clenching his jaw in pain. He grabbed hold of his collar and pulled it down, ripping the top few buttons on the shirt.

They all stared in shock at Shawn's chest. Just above his heart, a word was carved into his skin: "FAKE."

"Fake?" asked Juliet. "What does that mean?"

"I don't know," said Shawn, staring in alarm at the word.

Lassiter frowned at him. "Are these 'spirits' implying that you're a fake?"

Shawn looked up at him. "No. It's gotta be something else. I am definitely not a fake." He cried out in pain again as another stabbing pain exploded on the right side of his chest.

Shawn ripped the right side of his shirt down, and they watched in horror as another word was currently being carved into his skin. When it was over, they stared in confusion:

"LIAR."

"Well, someone says you're lying," said Lassiter, still staring in shock at the word.

Shawn looked up at Gus, sharing a freaked look with him.

"Spencer…" growled Lassiter.

Spencer rolled his eyes and looked up at the empty room. "Thanks a lot!" He looked over at the detectives and sighed. "They're right…I'm…not a psychic."

"What?" said Juliet. "But all those cases you've solved…"

"Just good old-fashioned detective work," muttered Shawn. He smiled. "Really good detective work."

"But how?" asked Juliet. "You know things that no one else does."

"I'm like a modern day Sherlock Holmes," said Shawn. "I pick up on details and patterns, putting things together to come up with a conclusion. I'm just good at observation."

"But how did you become such a good detective?" asked Juliet.

Shawn rolled his eyes. "Have you met my father?"

"He trained you to be a detective?" asked Lassiter. "And you've been lying about it this whole time."

"Don't you even give me that look," Shawn told Lassiter. "I told you the truth the first time, but you wouldn't believe me. What was I supposed to do? Let you throw me in jail for telling the truth?"

"But…you sent me to the holding cell where that guy had taillight shards in his shoe," said Lassiter.

Shawn sighed. "I came into the station to pick up my commendation, and the secretary sent me to sit next to him on the bench. I saw the shards on his sleeve and pointed them out to him. He brushed them off right into his shoe, so I didn't say anything. Someone like that deserves to go to prison."

"That's what it's been this whole time?" said Lassiter angrily. "You notice things and then pretend to have visions."

Shawn shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. Maybe I really am getting visions from the great beyond."

Something stabbed through Shawn's head, lighting up his brain with fire. He shouted as he grabbed his head, writhing on the floor in unbearable pain. It felt like something was rooting around in his skull, rifling through his brain.

"Shawn!" exclaimed Gus, grabbing hold of Shawn's shoulder. "Shawn!"

"Oh, my God…" said Juliet.

They watched as blood began streaming from Shawn's ears and nose.

"Shawn!" Gus shouted, trying to get through to him.

Shawn gave a loud yell as the pain spiked to an excruciating level. White light exploded in front of his eyes, and he blacked out.