It took less than five minutes for Shawn to arrive at the garage. As he walked past the gas pumps, the mechanic looked up.

"Ah, Mr. Spencer. Checking on your bike, I presume?"

"Yeah," Shawn replied. "Is it about done?"

"Well …" the man drew the word out, as if trying to postpone the news.

Shawn sighed. "It's going to take longer, isn't it?"

"Well … yeah. I had to end up ordering a part for the engine, and it won't be here until at least tomorrow afternoon."

"Great." Shawn ran a hand through his hair. "This is, uh, more than a little inconvenient. Is there any way to speed it up?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Spencer; there isn't. If you have important business back in Santa Barbara, we could work something out, I'm sure."

"No, I don't need to be anywhere soon," Shawn told him. "But it should be ready tomorrow evening?"

"Pretty sure."

"All right. Thanks."

As Shawn turned to leave, he noticed Sheriff Hayden coming up to speak to the mechanic. The man looked at him, and Shawn couldn't help wondering how much he had heard of their conversation. Sol didn't give him more than a friendly smile, but Shawn was almost sure there was something else behind it.

WMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

All that day and the next, Gus found himself glancing eagerly at the caller ID every time the phone rang. Each time, he hoped it would display his friend's name, but it never did.

When the phone rang that evening, Gus stopped after seeing SPENCER, snatching up the device in his excitement.

"Shawn!"

"No, this is Henry. Don't you have caller ID, Gus?"

Gus's shoulders sank. "Yes, sir."

"Then use it. It's there for a reason," Henry instructed before switching topics. "Have you seen my son?"

"Not recently."

"I've been trying to get a hold of him since this morning."

"Well, I've been trying since yesterday when I called you."

"You mean you haven't heard from him in almost two days?"

"That's right. I think he left town," Gus said, wincing in anticipation of the reply.

"What?"

"I went to his apartment, and he wasn't there. Neither was his backpack or bike."

Henry sighed. "It's just like him to run away from problems."

Gus could imagine the older man running a hand over his head in frustration.

"This is about the Masters' case, isn't it?"

"Yes," Gus acknowledged.

"You're not telling me everything," Henry stated.

Why did he have to be so observant? Henry Spencer had been a splendid detective when he was on the force, and his skills apparently were still with him.

"Well?" Henry prompted.

Sorry, Shawn, Gus thought. "No, there's more. It's partly the guilt, but it might have to do with the lawsuit."

"The what?"

Gus put the phone back against his ear. "Shawn didn't want anyone else to know. I don't think he would've even told me if it didn't involve the whole Psych agency."

"How can he keep something like that a secret for long?"

"I don't know. I just know he didn't want to tell you or anyone else."

"Who's filing against you boys?" Henry wanted to know.

"Who else? The Masters."

"For what?" Henry scoffed. "Would they be suing the police department if they'd gone to them instead of a private detective agency?"

"I don't know," Gus replied, rubbing his face. "All I know is we got a notice at the office the other day letting us know a hearing had been scheduled."

"Pain and suffering?"

"Yeah."

"Hmmph. Like Shawn didn't have enough from the incident as well. Any judge will be able to see that."

There was a slight lull in the conversation before Henry spoke up again.

"Any idea where he went?"

"Only that it's somewhere within driving distance. I went to check the airport lot, and there was no sign of his bike."

"And we have nothing else to go on?"

"No, not yet," Gus sighed. "Do you think I should call Juliet?"

Henry sighed. "Much as I'd like to, there's no reason. He ran off, far as we can tell, and there was no foul play. The police don't have time to check into these sort of cases. Shawn may not act like one all the time, but he's an adult. He makes his own choices."