Hi *nervous wave*. I'm so sorry that it's been so long. But life is hectic and this leap took a lot longer to figure out. I'm still not done with it, but it's gonna be a long one so I decided to post half of it now, and hopefully finish it soon.
This chapter is a cross-over with Psych season 4 after the episode "Shawn takes a shot in the dark". I don't think that you need to have watched the show to understand this.
Enjoy!
Abigail Lytar - 2009 (part 1)
Before Laura is able to take in her surroundings, she hears someone yelp and exclaim, "You shocked me! How did that happen?!"
Laura frowned as she let go of someone's hand and turned to them. "What did you say?"
"You shocked me. Didn't you feel it?" He frowned at her and tilted his head. "Are you okay, Abs?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. What were we talking about?"
"I was telling you about my latest case."
"Oh, right. Continue." She looked around and tried to gather some clues about where and when they were. They were on a pier and she could smell the salt water. By the guy's accent and store signs, she could tell that they were in America, probably California. It was also a bit chilly, most likely December since she saw Christmas decorations around.
"That's it? No, 'You should stop being so mean to Gus' or 'Lassie is going to shoot you one day if you keep that up.' Where's the feedback?!"
Laura smiled slightly as she looked for more clues. "Well, if you already know how I feel, why should I repeat myself?"
"Because the spirits aren't being very helpful right now and sometimes I just need to listen instead of talk!"
"Spirits?" Laura frowned as she looked back at the guy. "As in psychics?"
"Abs, are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah." She took a deep breath and then shook her head. "Actually, no. I'm cold. Can we go somewhere warm? It's freezing out here." She rubbed her arms and tried to look uncomfortable.
"Yeah, sure." He gave her a concerned look as he took her hand and kissed the back of it. "We'll get you inside and warm soon enough."
"Thanks." She smiled.
The guy gave her a bright smile as he led the way down the pier and along the beach. They fell into an awkward silence but Laura did not know what to say. She did not have much to go on yet. The guy kept calling her Abs, which had to be a nickname for Abby or Abigail. She would have to excuse herself to a restroom soon so she could look through her purse. They passed a person who had an iPhone, which told her that it was pretty close to the time she first leaped. "Come on, Uncle Al. Where are you?!" She whispered.
"What was that?" The guy asked with a frown.
"Nothing. I was just…saying that the stars are really pretty tonight." She smiled and looked up at the sky.
He looked up and nodded. "Yeah, you can totally see O'Reilly's belt."
"Orion's belt." She giggled.
"I've heard it both ways." He grinned as he led her to a door that said Psych. "After you, madam." He held open the door and turned on the lights
"Thanks." Laura stepped inside and looked around. It seemed to be a mix between an office and play room.
Shutting the door, he led the way into the inner room and turned on more lights. "Would you like something to drink?"
"Water is fine." Laura replied as she followed and kept looking around. There were two desks with the name Shawn Spencer on one and Burton Guster on the other. By all that she observed of him so far and the pictures around the room, Laura assumed that the guy was Shawn since the desk was messier. According to the front window, this was a psychic detective agency.
"Here you go, one ice cold water for you and a glass of pineapple juice for me!" The guy said as he handed her a bottle of water.
She smiled. "Thanks Shawn."
"No problem." He tilted his head slightly before shaking it and pointing towards the couch. "How about we watch a movie? I have Speed already in the player."
"Sure, sounds good." Laura replied as she sat down and took a sip of her water.
With a frown, Shawn sat his drink down and crossed his arms. "Okay, enough! Who are you and what have you done to my Abigail?!"
She looked at him nervously. "W-what do you mean, Shawn? I'm right here."
"No, you're not Abs. Abigail hates Speed. I don't know why, since Sandra Bullocks and Keanu Reeves are awesome in it! Plus, your whole…" He waved his hand up and down. "person-ness is so not Abigail. Your walk and talk are totally different. Abigail knows I work as a psychic and you sounded like a skeptic earlier when I mentioned talking to the spirits. So tell me now before I call the police to come arrest you!"
Laura looked at her lap and mumbled. "I can't believe that this has happened, especially on my third leap."
Shawn frowned. "Leap? What are you leaping from?"
She took a deep breath. "You're right." She looked at him. "I'm not Abigail. Well, I am, but I'm really not."
"Then who are you and where's Abs?" Shawn demanded but Laura could hear the fear in his voice.
"My name is…."
"DON'T TELL HIM!" Al yelled, making Laura jump. "You know the rules! You'll compromise everything and might not leap home!"
Laura turned a glare on Al and failed to notice that Shawn was looking in the same direction. "What was that?" Shawn asked.
Laura and Al both looked at him. "What was what?"
Shawn frowned as he looked around the room before looking back at Laura. "I heard something, at the exact moment that you jumped, which means you heard it too. But I only heard like a whisper and it wasn't clear enough to understand."
"You don't know what it was?" Laura asked.
Al groaned. "Laura, you're going to get us both in trouble!"
Shawn cocked his head in Al's direction. "There it went again! It's like listening to someone talk underwater."
Laura stood and turned Shawn's head so they were looking eye to eye. "Okay. I'm not Abigail, but I'm not allowed to tell you anything else, especially my name in case you try to find out about me or something."
"Where's Abs?"
"She's safe. I'm here to help. When I'm done helping, then she'll come back and I'll leave."
"What are you helping with?"
Laura shrugged, "I don't know yet. But since you were able to figure out that I'm not Abigail, then you probably have to help me."
Al groaned, "I can't believe that you're telling him anything!"
"And what is that voice that I'm hearing?" Shawn asked.
Laura smiled, "That's my friend and he's gonna figure out what I need to help with. Usually only little kids and pets can see and hear him."
"And the mentally absent." Al said as he tapped on the handlink.
Shawn's eyes traveled all over Laura's face before he nodded. "Okay, I believe you."
"Really?" Laura asked hopefully.
"Yeah, I am psychic after all."
She smiled. "Okay. I need to talk to my friend for a moment, do you mind if I have some privacy?"
"Sure." Shawn stood up. "I think I hear the peanut cart. Would you like something?"
"No thanks."
Shawn nodded and headed for the door. Before he reached it, he turned back and said, "Abigail is really important to me and if I find out that you killed her and are possessing her body, you are going to be in a lot of trouble!"
"I promise that Abigail is alive, safe, and unharmed."
"I hope so." Shawn said before he finally left.
Laura sighed and sat on the couch. "This is going to be interesting."
"You're telling me!" Al said as he hit the handlink. "You are Abigail Lytar, 32 year old kindergarten teacher. That is one Shawn Spencer, also 32 years old, and a psychic detective working with the Santa Barbara Police Department."
"A psychic?" Laura asked with disbelief.
"Yeah. A bunch of baloney if you ask me, but he has been working with the police department since 2006."
"And today is?"
"December 27, 2009."
"About six months behind current Project time." Laura nodded as she stood to pace. "Why can Shawn hear you?"
"I don't know, but there is no such thing as psychics!"
"Before you showed up, he had figured out that I wasn't Abigail."
Al narrowed his eyes as he followed her movements. "What exactly happened?"
Laura shrugged as she played with her hair. "I leaped in while we were walking along the pier, we talked about a few things, came back into the office, and he asked if I wanted to watch a movie. When I replied yes, he started asking who I was! Saying that I wasn't acting like Abigail and that some of the things that I said didn't line up with things that Abigail already knew."
"Well, then he's just very observant!"
"But he could hear you!"
"Not very clearly though. Ziggy has a theory that Shawn's brain waves are very similar to yours, which is why he can… notice me. Kind of like when you're trying to find a station on a radio and you can get a very static sound when off by a few kilohertz."
"Okay." Laura sighed as she stopped and turned towards him. "Do you know what I'm here to do yet?"
"Nope, but I'll let you know when I do. In the meantime, don't tell Shawn anything about yourself or the project! We are too close to the project time-wise and this is making me a bit uncomfortable." Al said as he opened the imaging chamber door.
"Okay. Hurry back!"
"Be good." Al gave her a look as he closed the door.
"Is he gone?" Shawn asked as he peered around the doorway.
Laura jumped as she turned towards him. "You scared me! I didn't hear you come in."
"Stealth mode." Shawn smiled as he walked over and handed her a bag of peanuts. "So, I'm guessing you're not allowed to tell me anything?"
"No, sorry."
"Not even your name?" Shawn smiled brighter.
Laura blushed and looked down. "I can't."
"Aw, come on! I won't tell anyone! I promise! I'm very good at keeping secrets."
"Laura." She smiled as she looked back Shawn. "My name is Laura."
"Well, Laura. What can the great Shawn Spencer, psychic detective, do to help you?"
Laura laughed. "Well, since my friend left…."
"Uncle Al." Shawn mumbled.
"What?!"
Shawn held a finger up to the side of his forehead "I'm sensing his name is Al but you call him Uncle Al, even though he's not your uncle."
"Oh, yeah." Laura laughed. "That was kind of impressive. Maybe you do have psychic powers."
"It's one of my best features, after my hair of course."
"I think you could try a buzz cut."
Shawn gasped and ran a hand through his hair. "You're just jealous of its awesomeness!"
"Whatever lets you sleep at night." Laura smiled.
"I'll let your comment slide since you're not from around here. So, do you want to watch a movie?"
"Oh, I don't know. Like I said, Uncle Al didn't really tell me much. I was hoping he'll give me Abigail's schedule."
"Well, I can help you with that!" Shawn smiled as he led her back to the couch. "Tonight is Sunday, a couple days after Christmas, and Abigail and I were going to spend the whole week together."
"The whole week?" Laura blushed.
"Yeah, pretty much. But believe me; I will not try anything on you. I can even take you home, to Abigail's apartment if you want."
"Well, I'm supposed to do whatever the person that I am was planning on doing. Within reason, obviously."
"So, if you had turned up while Abigail and I were, you know, in bed, would you have… kept going?"
She blushed deeper and looked away. "I, I um. I-I don't, don't know. Probably n-not if I could help, help it."
"You don't like me?" Shawn pouted.
"Yes, I mean no! I mean!" Laura took a deep breath. "I believe that making love is what you do when you really love someone and want to express it. I've only just met you so I can't really be in love with you, yet."
"Makes sense." Shawn nodded then laughed. "This is weird. A bit like Freaky Friday mixed with Being John Malkovich."
"It's definitely more like Freak Friday than Being John Malkovich, which was a weird movie."
"So what you're saying is that you and Abigail have switched places."
"Yes, but you can't tell anyone! I'm already going to get into so much trouble for telling you what I have!"
"Alright, but one more question!" Shawn exclaimed as he held up a finger. "Are you really here to help?"
"Yes, I am. I promise." She said sincerely.
"Okay, then! What movie should we watch?"
Laura laughed as she leaned against the couch. "You are taking this very well."
"I am a psychic; I can tell that you're telling the truth. You wouldn't believe half of the things that we've investigated over the years."
"Oh yeah? How about you tell me some of them?"
"Sure, but after I find my copy of Freaky Friday." Shawn grinned as he stood up.
When the movie was over, Laura looked at the clock. "It's getting late."
"Yeah. Do you want me to drive you home?" Shawn asked as he tossed his trash at the garbage can, barely making it. "Score!"
"I don't know. What would you and Abigail do?"
"We're at that stage where we spend almost every night together."
Laura blushed. "Well, I guess you can come back to my, I mean Abigail's place."
"Are you sure?"
"Like I said, I have to do whatever my host was going to do; I don't want to mess the timeline up too much."
"Okay. Let me clean up first. Gus would kill me if I left a mess again."
"Alright, I'm just going to the bathroom."
As Laura was washing her hands, she heard the imaging chamber door open. "Before you start, Uncle Al, I didn't tell him anything about the project!" She explained as she turned around. "Oh, Ari! I'm so glad that you're here! I thought Uncle Al was about to yell at me some more about saying too much."
"Yeah, he seemed a bit pissed and Mom had to ban him from the control room until he got his temper under control again." Arianna shook her head. "I was just sent to check on ya; see if you need any more info."
Laura shook her head. "Shawn filled me in already. Do you know what I'm here to fix yet?"
"Not yet. Ziggy decided that it was more important to prove that Shawn is not a psychic instead of researching what happens in the next few days." Ari rolled her eyes as Ziggy protested.
Laura sighed and looked back at the mirror. "Tell Ziggy that it doesn't matter whether or not Shawn is a psychic. I need to know what is going to happen so I can change it."
"But if he is a psychic; shouldn't he be able to tell you what is going to happen?"
"Most psychics can't see into their own futures, or at least that's what they claim." Laura said as she fixed her hair. "Besides, if he could, he would have known that I was coming."
Arianna shook her head. "Okay. I'll get dad to kick Ziggy into gear. In the meantime, please be careful."
"I will." Laura smiled at Arianna before leaving the bathroom.
"Everything alright?" Shawn asked from his desk.
"Yeah, everything is fine."
"Good." He nodded as he stood. "Can I have the keys to Abigail's car?"
"You don't have a car?" Laura asked as she grabbed Abigail's purse and started looking through it.
"I have a motorcycle but I haven't been cleared yet to ride it."
"Why? What happened?"
Shawn shrugged as Laura handed him the keys. "I was shot in the shoulder and kidnapped. I finally got the sling off a few days ago, but they want me to wait another week before I get back on the bike."
"But you're okay to drive a car?"
"Yeah. It was my left shoulder and most of the car's instruments are on the right side. I'll be fine."
"Okay." Laura smiled uneasily as they left the office.
When they arrived at Abigail's apartment, it didn't take Laura long to realize that there was only one bed.
"I'll just, grab a blanket and pillow and let you do whatever it is women do before bed." Shawn said as he went into the bedroom.
Laura followed and stopped in the doorway. "You don't have to."
"What?" He asked as he picked up a blanket.
"We can share the bed. That loveseat looks too small for even me to be comfortable."
"Are you sure? I don't want you to do anything that you will regret later."
Laura laughed. "It's just sleeping. We are two adults. We can sleep in the same bed without anything sexual happening. Right?"
"Right."
"Or else you can go sleep in the car."
Shawn raised one hand in the air and put the other over his heart. "I swear on everything good and pineapple-y that I will not try anything fresh with you."
"Good." Laura nodded. "Now, did you want to use the bathroom first?"
"Sure." Shawn smiled as he went into the bathroom.
Laura sighed as she walked over to the dresser. "This is going to be an interesting leap."
"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!"
Laura jerked awake at the loud voice.
"If I wasn't a hologram," Al shouted. "I would drag his fake psychic ass out of that bed and into the street and then get my gun!"
Laura groaned and covered her head with the blanket as she felt Shawn stir behind her. "Is that your Uncle Al?" Shawn mumbled.
"Yeah." Laura whispered.
"YOU TOLD HIM MY NAME?! LAURA!" Al yelled, causing Laura to flinch. "Get out of that bed at once! We need to talk!" Al huffed as he hit some buttons on the handlink before disappearing.
Laura sighed as she turned to Shawn. At some point during the night, they had ended up spooning and Laura was pretty sure she knew what Al was upset about. "I've got to talk to him. Feel free to go back to sleep."
"Okay. Yell if you need me." Shawn mumbled as he turned over onto his stomach and hugged the pillow. "But please don't need me."
Laura laughed as she got out of the bed and grabbed the robe that was hanging on the back of the door. As she entered the living room, she found Al pacing the floor, ignoring all the furniture that he was walking through. "So, to what do I owe this lovely visit at…7:23 in the morning?"
"Don't get smart with me, young lady!" Al reprimanded as he continued to pace. "You're in a lot of trouble!"
"Because I offered to share the bed?! The loveseat looks barely big enough to sit on, let alone sleep on! Plus, he's recovering from a bullet to the shoulder." Laura explained as she sat on the aforementioned loveseat.
"I know his type! The lazy drifter who sleeps with any woman they can trick into going to bed with them."
"You told me yesterday that he's been working with the local police department for over 3 years, that's not exactly a drifter."
"He still moves every few months, and not always into actual apartments. His current place is a dry-cleaners and he's about to move into an old law office." Al argued as he checked the handlink.
"So he likes a change of scenery!"
"This is the longest relationship that he's had with a woman; probably since he could walk."
Laura sighed. "Uncle Al. He is a nice guy and nothing happened last night. It got cold and I guess we subconsciously moved closer so we could warm up."
"Trust me; it wasn't just his subconscious that was directing his movements."
"That doesn't even make sense."
"Of course it makes sense! He's a guy!" Al snapped before looking at the ceiling. "Can it, Ziggy! I'm fine!"
"Uncle Al! You are going to give yourself another arrhythmia." She sat cross-legged on the loveseat and ran a hand through her hair. "I'm a big girl; I can take care of myself. I am proficient in jujutsu, kickboxing, and wrestling. Shawn might be a few inches and pounds more than me, but I am definitely more in shape. Besides, I can tell that he's a good guy."
"He lies to the police!"
"You have no proof that he is lying about being a psychic! Besides, he helps solve cases and put people behind bars. He's on our side. Can we change the record, please?"
"What all have you been telling him?!"
"Nothing much." She shrugged.
"How does he know my name?!"
"It slipped out just after I leaped in and he made the connection later on."
"What else does he know?"
"My first name."
Al shook his head. "This is a bad idea. We need to get you out of here! If only Sam had a chance to look over the retrieval system before he left."
"Dr. Beckett left?" Laura asked, eager to change the subject.
"He went to Indiana to visit his family."
"Oh good, I'm glad."
"But as soon as he gets back, I'm having him look at the retrieval program!"
"Okay. So, any info about this leap?"
Al took a deep breath as he looked at the handlink. "Ziggy says that sometime on December 30th, Abigail Lytar disappears and Shawn is charged with involuntary manslaughter. Her body is never found."
Laura was shocked and it took a minute for her to find her voice again. "W-what?! I don't believe that! What other information is there?!"
"According to the police report, on Wednesday, just after dusk, Shawn calls Detective Carlton Lassiter of the Santa Barbara Police Department, claiming that Shawn and Abigail had gone for a walk in the mountains. At some point, someone supposedly jumped out of the trees and pushed them both over the edge of a cliff. Shawn managed to grab onto a branch and pull himself back up. He was scratched up pretty badly with a torn arm muscle and a concussion, but otherwise was fine. When they couldn't find any evidence of a third person, they charged Shawn. He was sentenced to a year in prison."
"Then we won't go for a walk on Wednesday."
"If Shawn is the murderer, then he'll just find some other way to kill Abigail."
Laura shook her head. "I don't believe that Shawn is capable of murder. Ask Ziggy about the odds of Shawn telling the truth that they were pushed over the cliff."
Al entered it into the handlink and waited a minute. "63.7%"
"See! Shawn didn't do it!"
"Of course not!" Shawn said as he entered the living room. "Why would I kill anyone? I don't even like hitting someone unless they hit me first. Except Gus, but best friends should be anticipating hits."
Laura laughed. "Sorry Uncle Al, but I'm going to have to believe Shawn, unless you can give me solid proof."
Al looked between them before saying, "I say you ditch him, and enjoy a mini-vacation while staying as far away from him as possible."
"Bye Uncle Al." Laura smiled as she stood and headed for the kitchen. Once she heard the Imaging Chamber door close, she glanced back at Shawn. "Any preference for breakfast?"
"I feel like I missed a lot." Shawn shook his head as he followed Laura.
Laura laughed as she opened the fridge. "Yeah. Don't worry, we'll change history and everything will be fine. So, breakfast?"
"Yes. But first I must ask: Can you cook?"
"Well, I can follow recipes. So as long as the recipe makes sense and doesn't ask me to improvise, then we should be fine."
"Can you make pineapple pancakes?" Shawn asked as he held up a whole pineapple.
"If you can find me a recipe and you cut up the pineapple." Laura smiled as she pulled out the eggs and milk.
"One pancake recipe and sliced pineapple coming up." Shawn smiled as he pulled out a box of pancake mix and a container of pineapple pieces.
Laura laughed, "Even better."
Shawn spent that morning telling Laura everything that she needed to know about Abigail. While they were eating lunch, Shawn's phone rang. "Hello Chief! How are you this fine morning?" Shawn answered with a smile. "A murder? Yes, I can be there soon….Jules will send me the address?…Great! Bye Chief." He ended the call and looked at Laura. "So, ever seen a dead body before?"
She laughed. "No."
"Do you want to?"
"What?! No!"
"Aww, come on! It'll be fun!" Shawn exclaimed as he jumped up.
"Seeing a dead body is fun?" She asked skeptically.
He grinned, "It's all about your perspective. Come on!"
As they exited the car, Shawn said, "Okay, so the main people that you need to know are Lassie and Jules. Lassie, aka Detective Carlton Lassiter, is the tall, grumpy guy that looks like he's been sucking on lemons. Jules is the blonde detective who…"
"SPENCER!" They heard someone yell as they entered the small house. "Why are you bringing a date to a crime scene?!"
Shawn bounced up to the tall and lanky detective, and grinned. "Well, Lassie, you know that I'm on vacation with Abs, you shouldn't have called me if you didn't want her to tag along!"
Lassiter crossed his arms and he glared at Shawn. "I didn't call you, the Chief did. I would never call you!"
"Aw, come on Lassie! We both know that that's not true! I bring the fun in fungshey and the happy in happening."
"Neither of those make sense."
"Of course they do!" Shawn exclaimed as he looked around the room. "So, what do we know?"
"You're the 'psychic', you tell me!"
"Wow, air quotes, Lassie? Really? What are we, back in elementary school?"
"You are the one that seems stuck in childhood." Lassiter growled as he walked down the short hallway.
"Shawn. Was that really necessary?" Laura asked as they slowly followed Lassiter. "He looks like he was about to hit you."
"Aww, relax. Lassie hardly ever hits. Besides, he is all bark and no bite!" As they neared the bedroom, Shawn stopped her. "You can wait outside if you need to."
"I'm okay, I think." Laura whispered as she tried to breathe through the smell of decaying flesh. "I'll leave if needed."
Shawn smiled before turning back to the room. "So Jules, what can you tell me?"
Juliet smiled uneasily at Shawn and Laura before looking at her notes. "Not much yet. Victim's name is George Hamilton. A neighbor walking their dog reported a suspicious van in the driveway this morning, no plates. It was gone by the time police arrived. When officers did a perimeter check, one of them noticed some blood leading from the driveway to the backdoor. They entered and found the victim in this room, blinds closed. Preliminary reports were unable to determine the time of death, although it looks like the victim had bled out somewhere else."
Lassiter rolled his eyes. "It's obvious from the lack of blood here that the victim bled out somewhere else. We need to track down the van. From the looks of the body, it hasn't decomposed too much, so our victim was most likely killed within the last 24 hours."
"Come on, Lassie! You're just thinking in 2D! You gotta think in 3D with time being a huge factor!" Shawn exclaimed.
"Actually," Laura interrupted. "Time is the fourth dimension, so you should be looking at things in 4D, not 3D."
"This is not a sci-fi book!" Carlton snapped.
Laura frowned at him. "No, it isn't. Physicists count time and space as the fourth dimension. You need to determine not only the exact location and position in which the victim was found, but also the time at which the body was left here. Time is a huge factor in determining how the victim was killed. The killer had to time it just right for everything to come together the way it did, or else they got really lucky, which is highly unlikely."
"Well, we're detectives, not physicists. We have to find our evidence first."
"Maybe that's why you have such a hard time with cases and have to call in a psychic."
The room was silent as Laura and Lassiter glared at each other. Finally, Shawn coughed, "I think my psychic powers have passed to Abigail and she is channeling a scientist. Excuse us as we try to straighten out our problem." Shawn gently tugged on Laura's arm.
Laura broke eye contact with Lassiter and slowly followed Shawn.
"What was that?!" Shawn whispered once they were outside.
Laura shrugged. "I was just trying to help. As amusing as your conversations are, I felt like I needed to intervene. Besides, I may not be an expert with dead bodies, but I can recognize frostbite and the affects of defrosted meat, or flesh in this case. "
Shawn nodded as he closed his eyes and held a finger to his forehead. "The spirits are telling me that he was most likely held in a freezer after he was killed, possibly even as he slowly bled out."
"The spirits can't be more specific?" Laura asked skeptically as they walked towards the car.
"Hey, it's a gift to be able to communicate with the spirits. Sometimes, it's hard to interpret what they have to say."
"You know, I have a theory."
"About the case?" Shawn asked as he leaned against the car.
"About you." Laura said softly as she stepped closer.
"Really? That I'm addicted to pineapple and all things 80s? Because that's not exactly a secret." Shawn grinned nervously.
Laura shook her head as she looked around. There were a few officers near the house, so Laura stepped right into Shawn's personal space and whispered, "I'm not stupid. In fact, I'm smart, scary smart. When I was 8, they said my IQ was almost 200. I could have graduated high school by age 10, except my momma wanted me to be as much of a real kid as possible, so instead I graduated at age 15. In 5 and a half years of college, I completed three degrees and mastered four languages. Besides being scary smart, I'm also good at reading people. I can tell when someone is lying. I can even tell when they are recalling something from memory or using deductive reasoning. So please, don't insult my intelligence and I won't spill your secret!" Laura threatened the last part and continued to glare at Shawn as they stood in silence.
They both jumped when they heard clapping. "Woo! Right on girl!" Arianna exclaimed. "You tell him!"
Laura blushed as she stepped back. "Ari! Please stop!"
"That was so hot." Shawn whispered.
Laura tsked and shoved him off the car door. "Of course you would find that hot. But you ain't getting anything sexual from me!"
Shawn rubbed his arm. "I know! Abs would kill me if we did. Plus, are you even of age?"
"Yes! I'm even old enough to legally drink." Laura replied as she got in and shut the door.
"Not by much, I'd wager. Right, Ari?" Shawn asked as he walked around to the driver's side.
"I am not a part of this." Ari said as she repositioned herself so she was sitting in the backseat.
"So, Ari." Laura asked as she turned slightly so she could see Arianna out of the corner of her eye. "Do you have anything useful?"
"Not much." Arianna shrugged as she checked the handlink. "The odds of you two being attacked while on a hike have gone down, but Ziggy is still predicting that Abigail is going to die."
"Then why are you here? Not that I don't love seeing you! I miss you so much!"
"And I you! The project isn't the same without you! Even Ziggy…Oops! Can Shawn hear me?" Arianna asked nervously.
Laura frowned as she looked at Shawn. "I don't think so. Shawn, can you hear Ari?"
"Nothing more than static." Shawn shrugged as he started driving. "I think your Uncle Al is clearer, although I still can't understand what he says either."
"Anyways," Arianna began. "Dad wanted to make sure that you two were not getting into trouble. He would have come himself but he still hasn't really calmed down from earlier. Mom and Aunt Donna are threatening to ban him from the control room for the rest of the leap."
"Wow. Tell him not to worry, I can handle Shawn."
"Pssh!" Shawn interrupted. "You've only just met me! You totally can't handle me."
"Really? Do I need to have a talk with some detectives about their fake psychic?"
"I can turn you in too!"
"Who would believe you?" Laura challenged.
"Gus! Except he's in non-communication mode right now."
"So, you've got nothing?"
"Basically."
Arianna laughed and checked the handlink when it beeped. "I gotta go, apparently Dad wants to talk."
"Good luck." Laura flashed Arianna a smile before she left. Turning back to Shawn, she asked, "So, where to now?"
"Psych office. We need to research the victim."
"You mean you didn't 'psychically' figure that out already? Because I already know."
"Okay, smarty pants. Where does the victim work?"
"Howard Hanna real estate." Laura replied with a smile.
"Good job. Maybe I should have you as my business partner. I bet you would be a lot more helpful than Gus, especially since you didn't scream and run away from your first dead body."
"As tempting as that offer is, I think that I would strangle you within a week, which would be the end of your practice, and probably your life too. Although, I do have the perfect way of hiding from the cops. So you better be careful before you wind up dead and your girlfriend in jail, although I would probably hide her before I leave."
Shawn glanced at her with concern. "It's scary how calm you are right now."
"Thank you!" Laura grinned as she turned on the radio. "Oh! I love this song! This was like my theme song when I started college."
"Whatever you say, Avril."
"Dude, this is Kelly Clarkson, although Avril Lavigne did co-write it."
"I've heard it both ways." Shawn shrugged.