Title: Mind over Murder
Author: greenrandomness
Rating: T
Warnings: Violence
Summary: A woman Shawn goes on a date with accuses him of stalking her a month later. When the woman is found dead, Shawn is the police department's only suspect and the evidence just keeps piling up against him.
Authors Note: Here's chapter 7, I hope you guys all enjoy it. I want to thank you guys for catching my errors while reading, it helps greatly. I don't' have a beta, and occasionally I miss things (plus my late uploading times aren't conducive to clear thought lol)
Disclaimer: Only the story line and any characters you don't recognize are mine…anything else belongs to the creators and owners of Psych.
Chapter 7- It was Worth a Shot, Pun Intended.
The darkness outside of the building was almost absolute; the lights shinning through the few occupied offices were the only brightness in the area. Gus paced anxiously on the sidewalk as he waited for the others to arrive. He brought his wrist up and punched the light button on his watch, as the neon glow lit its face he was able to read the time.
"9:30…"He mumbled impatiently letting his arm fall back to his side before he began to pace once more. "What's taking them so long?"
Tom was already in the building, waiting for Gus in his office. As luck would have it, he had stayed later than usual today. The officers were taking forever to get here, and it was driving Gus crazy waiting for them. Anything could have been happening to Shawn, and he was just standing around doing nothing.
Suddenly, Gus could see a set of headlights piercing the darkness. A second later he saw a familiar car passing through the glow of a street lamp down the street. Finally! He sighed in relief, stopping his pacing as the car, followed by another, pulled up to the curb and parked. He took a quick step towards the vehicles and waited for their occupants to appear.
"Chief!" Gus exclaimed as she stepped out of the passenger side of Lassiter's car, "We're going to go inside and see my supervisor. I know how we can find Shawn."
"What's going on?" Juliet asked as she climbed out of the back seat. "How do you know where he is?"
"That's what we'd like to know." The first Sergeant Smith interjected as he and his partner joined the group. They were obviously suspicious, and after finding no conclusive proof of foul play in the department, they were grasping at straws.
"Why are they here?" Gus asked in a barely controlled monotone. Frankly, he was sick of Internal Affairs; some may go as far as to say he hated the two men before him. They had questioned him for a ridiculous amount of time, accusing him at every turn while insulting the moral fiber of his best friend. The two men weren't exactly on his Christmas list at the moment, and he doubted they ever would be.
"They are investigating this case also, Mr. Guster." Karen explained, obviously as thrilled with their presence as Gus was. She was only putting up with their intrusion because of the authority they possessed. They could exclude her from the case if she gave them a reason, and she was determined to not give them any openings. She needed to be in on this, she couldn't sit on the sidelines while Shawn was investigated.
"If you can call what they do 'investigating'." Lassiter added under his breath, throwing the pair a smug look. They responded with a glare, but before they could speak Karen's voice was heard again.
"They're here to make sure that we follow standard operating procedure." She continued ignoring the three men and focusing on Gus, who was the one she really needed to listen to. He knew where Shawn was, and she had a feeling he knew what was really happening. No one knew Shawn like Gus did, she was sure that he was the only one who really understood the psychic.
"Right…" Gus grimaced as he turned away from them and walked towards the door. Once he reached it, he threw a look over his shoulder at the group. "Follow me." He announced before opening the door and walking into the dimly lit office building.
Shawn grimaced as Lindsay shoved him out of the alley. The seemingly small push jolted through his body, and he stumbled, almost falling over. His side burned, and he held in a gasp. He was so not feeling his best at the moment.
"Stop stalling." She barked, pointing the gun at his aching head. Her hand was steady and he knew that if she wanted to she could have killed him right then and there. "What was she waiting for? Why not get it over and done with?" He wondered silently to himself.
He slowly straightened up from his half bent position, looking up at her through his eyelashes. The streetlight behind her lit the area, but shrouded her in shadow due to her position. Despite the darkness he could see her gun following him the entire way up. "I just want to get the most out of our time together." He responded once he was fully standing, a half smirk sliding onto his face.
"Just get into the car." She commanded her voice seeming slightly off as she pressed the gun to his forehead. The steel was cold against his skin, and even though he couldn't see her, he knew that she was holding back a smile. Call it psychic intuition, but he knew he still got to her on some level
Shawn crossed his eyes, looking to the gun at the middle of his forehead. A moment later his eyes refocused on her face and he asked, "What car?"
She took a step back, keeping her gun trained on him, and motioned with her left hand to the car a few meters away. It was just barely beyond the reach of the light cast by the street lamp near the alleyway, but Shawn should have seen it. He wouldn't have missed it under normal circumstances.
Shawn let his mistake go, and chalked it up to his condition. His body felt sweaty and cold at the same time, as if he had just run a mile and then walked into a freezer. His side and back on the other hand felt like there was a band of heat covering them, and he knew that wasn't good. He couldn't even process why it was a bad thing, even though he knew that he knew the reason. His head felt like it was stuffed with cotton that was blaring Heavy Metal loud enough to pop his eardrums.
The only thing he could really focus on was the dull, burning ache that would flare up if he moved the wrong way. It was like he had a red hot poker in his side and ever once in a while it would be turned or pushed deeper in. Overall Shawn felt like shit, and he swore that if he made it out alive he was never getting shot again.
"Ah…that car." He nodded smiling again. He made a sweeping gesture with his arms, ignoring the pull that it caused in his abdomen, and proclaimed "Ladies first." When her gun didn't remove its aim from his head, and when she didn't say anything, he shrugged stiffly, "Or not." and walked towards the car, keeping his hands up like a good little hostage.
Shawn stopped once he had reached the passenger side door, as he began to reach for the handle a sharp jab to his back caused him to stumble forward, hitting the side mirror of the car. He barely avoided hitting his head on the roof as he swiftly bent over right afterwards.
The lurch had caused him to hit the bullet's exit wound on the mirror, and the result was excruciating. It felt like he had been shot all over again. Taking shallow breaths, he tried to quell the dizziness that the incident caused. He heard harsh breathing, and for a moment he thought that Liekin was the culprit. Soon, though, Shawn realized that he was the one making the noise.
Once the pain radiating through his body receded slightly, he straightened up once more, keeping his back to her. "What was that for?" He asked through clenched teeth, the only upside to the pain had been that it had cleared his head a bit. He would have gladly dealt with his fuzzy thoughts if it had mean avoiding the extreme discomfort that had caused.
"Other side." Lindsay informed him, pushing him past the passenger side door. Once he was at the driver's side she opened the door, not taking any chances, and held her gun on him as he slowly sat down.
After making sure he was in, she closed the door. Keeping her eyes and gun trained on him, she opened the door to the back seat and slid in behind him. She closed her door almost silently and put the gun to his right temple. Dropping the keys over his shoulder, and onto his seat, she said, "Drive."
Slowly putting the key in the ignition, he started the car and pulled away from the curb. "Which way?" Shawn asked, keeping his eyes straight ahead as he reached a stop sign. The world spun for a moment and he blinked it away, thanking whoever was listening that he had been stopped when it had happened.
"Left." She told him, and he complied. He was tempted to start speeding, or blow a red light. Sure it might have gotten some cops to follow him, but he had a feeling that it wouldn't have been the best idea. If he did she would force him to lose them, there would be none around, or she would decide he wasn't worth it and shoot him then and there. Keeping focused on the road and her instructions, he drove as carefully as possible, hoping that the police where already well on their way to finding him.
Gus opened the door to Tom's office and then stepped aside, allowing the others to go in before him. Tom was sitting at his computer and when he saw them come in he placed a disk into it. The light from the screen turned his face orange as the program's start up message came on screen.
Once everyone was inside, he crossed the room, going to stand next to his supervisor. "I want to thank you for this." Gus told him graciously as Tom positioned the cursor over the word 'enter' and clicked twice.
"No, problem, I was still here anyways." He responded as it loaded. "I still don't understand exactly what's going on though."
"We all seem to be in the same boat then." Chief Vick announced as moved to stand next to Gus who made room for her behind the desk. A moment later, the other four moved to the other side of the desk, correctly assuming that it was where they were supposed to be.
Gus turned to Karen, "I'm sorry for not explaining sooner…" He began, his tone sincere, "It would have taken too much time to tell everyone separately." Gus paused and pointed at his own name on the screen, "There." He told Tom, before lowering his hand and placing it on the back of the chair.
"What's the point of this?" The second Smith interrupted abruptly as he glared over Tom's shoulder at the Navtrak heading and map on the screen. Carlton, who stood next to him behind the crowded desk, rolled his eyes.
"The point," Gus paused resisting the urge to roll his own eyes, "Is that Shawn has my phone."
"So?" The first smith questioned from his position to the right of Lassiter.
"To prevent the sale of our products illegally, we install GPS on the phones that are provided for our employees. Gus's phone is one of ours." Tom explained as he watched the blinking message that said the satellites where searching.
"Shawn has my phone, and Tom has the technology to find him." Gus explained with perfect timing as a small green dot appeared on map.
Shawn drove silently; ever aware of the weapon trained on him, but when the buildings were replaced with trees and grass 15 minutes later his curiosity won out. "Where are we going?" He asked, knowing that he recognized the area. He had been this way before, but everything looked so different at night; he couldn't quite place it.
"You're psychic, why don't you tell me?" She responded sarcastically; he could hear the smirk in her voice.
"Having a gun to my head tends to mess with my clairvoyant Chi," He replied before inquiring, "Left or right" as they came to a fork in the road.
"Right." She informed him, a second later she continued, "And did you honestly expect me to lower my gun for your 'Chi'?"
"No, but I figured it was worth a shot, pun intended." Shawn informed her with a small smile, a second later he sighed dramatically. "The Spirits would have still been out of whack either way." He continued, pretending like he actually wanted her to drop the gun for his 'abilities' sake.
"Oh, and why is that?" She asked, playing along. She knew he wasn't psychic. She didn't believe in them, and she had a feeling he didn't either. Although, she decided that if he could pretend, so could she.
"Psychically…you're dead to me, Lindsay." He told her, still looking ahead. "You have been since I discovered the real you." This time the sigh that escaped his mouth was a genuine one. His words were almost identical to the ones he had said the last time they had seen each other, and it still hurt just as much to say them.
He had really liked her in the beginning, although he had never really believed her 'psychic' act. It's not like it really mattered anyways; he was pretending to be psychic too. If she hadn't been a thief and a murder, maybe it could have worked out between them.
His words seemed to strike a cord with her also because suddenly she was tense again, he could feel her hand shake slightly as she gripped the gun tighter. "If you don't shut up and drive, you're going to be the dead one in this relationship."
Shawn wisely complied and shut his mouth, moments later he saw a familiar sign. DRA Aviation was emblazoned above the gates of the small airport they had arrived at. She had brought them back to where he had ruined her plans, and that couldn't be a good thing.
"There he is!" Juliet exclaimed, her loud voice in his ear caused the first Smith to grimace as she pointed at the flashing dot. "Thank god."
"Detective," Karen turned to Lassiter, "Call the station, and have them send a couple of cruisers to pick him up."
"Wait!" Gus cried, causing everyone to look at him with mild shock. "He's not going to be alone."
"What do you mean by that, Mr. Guster?" Asked the first Smith, his eyes alight with suspicion.
"Just spit it out already Guster." Lassiter scowled crossing his arms. "You had us all rush here, and now you're just wasting time."
"The woman who framed Shawn is with him right now. I don't know who it is, but I'm pretty sure she's not stable." Gus told them, "She's not going to give him up easily."
"Why the Hell should we believe that he is being held against his will?" Asked the first Smith, his brown eyes cold and disbelieving. "The man is obviously guilty."
Juliet clenched her fist at the man's words; she was seething on the inside as his partner added his own 'wise' thoughts to the conversation. She saw Carlton's jaw tighten, and watched as the chief's eyes grew hard.
"For all we know, she's his accomplice." The second added smiling a humorless grin, "We know you don't want to believe it, but let's face it Shawn Spencer is a murderer."
Gus, fumed on the inside, and made a fist. He was about to attack the man beside him when suddenly Karen's voice shattered the short silence in the room.
"That's it!" She raged, her words loud in the quite room, "If either of you even whisper another derogatory remark about anyone in my department, I swear to god I will kill you myself." She paused, taking a deep breath. "You are by far two of the most disrespectful and unintelligent officers I have ever seen. All you have done during this 'investigation' of yours is accuse my officers and insult my leadership."
"Chief—" The first Smith tried to interrupt.
"Don't." She stopped him, holding up a hand. "From this point onward, you are to do nothing more than observer. If you so much as touch anything or anyone involved in this case, there will be dire consequences. Shawn Spencer and Burton Guster have solved every case that we have given them. If they say this is a frame, then it is. Do I make myself clear?"
"We—" The second Smith began.
"Yes or no, Mr. Smith." She informed him, her tone as cold as his eyes. "Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Crystal." He replied begrudgingly as he looked her straight in the eyes.
"And you?" She asked his partner, swinging her gaze to the tall dark man.
"Yes." He responded, his eyebrows drawn together in resentment. The look in her eyes was the only thing that stopped him from disagreeing.
"Good." She finished turning her attention to the computer screen. "Where is he, Tom?" She asked her tone calm again as if her outburst had never occurred.
Shawn stopped the car, and looked at the entrance before him. He should have known they were coming here. Looking at the already open gates he realized that she must have been here earlier to open them, he didn't even want to know what she must have done with the guard.
"Hurry up, Spencer." She ordered, pressing the gun harder against his temple. He grimaced at the pressure, his head was pounding and he suddenly felt dizzy again. Blinking his eyes he pressed the gas pedal down and slowly drove through the opening.
They traveled silently for a few minutes; he didn't even bother to ask where he should turn. He knew which runway they were going to. She had already brought him this far, she was apparently bringing him to the same place as before.
Soon they reached a very familiar airstrip, and he knew he had to do something. The police were coming. He was sure of that, he just wasn't sure if they would make it on time. He couldn't wait for them. He had to at least try to escape; he had to try to stall her.
Lindsay opened her door and got out, keeping her gun trained on him. Once she was out, she reached toward his door opening it slowly. Unexpectedly, he shoved against it hard. Slamming it into her with as much force as he could.
She stumbled backwards, cursing, her gun briefly trained elsewhere as she tried to stop herself from falling. Shawn saw his opening and lunged out of his seat. He flew through the air as time seemed to slow down, and he prayed that she wouldn't right herself before he hit. If she gained her balance before he had time to act, he was dead. Tackling her to the ground, he landed on top of her with a thud that knocked the air from both of their lungs.
Shawn gasped, as the landing put pressure on his wound, but he managed to raise himself slightly off her, so that there bodies weren't touching. By the time he had done so, Liekin had regained her equilibrium and began to struggle. Luckily the gun had skittered a few feet away, and it was now out of reach. Shawn reached and grabbed both of her hands, holding them above her head with his own.
"I'm sorry it had to be this way, Lindsay." He whispered, looking into her hazel eyes from his position leaning over her. His face was even with hers just like it had been the night before he had gotten her arrested.
"No, Shawn, I'm sorry." She responded, confusing him like she had intended to.
"Why?" He asked, but the subsequent head butt to the forehead that she provided was all the answer he needed. Shawn released her hands out of instinct and grabbed his forehead. The world was spinning; he closed his eyes against it. Falling sideways, he groaned as his aching body impacted the pavement. Rolling onto his back, he held his head as he tried to get himself to focus.
A second later agonizing pain erupted in his right side, as Lindsay's foot connected with him. He could feel the blood flowing again as the pain splintered outward through his body like a shock wave. His nerve endings felt like they were on fire, and the world started to go dim.
He could hear her grabbing the handgun off the asphalt as he tried to blink away the darkness. Squinting, he saw her standing above him with the gun pointed at his heart.
"I really do like you Shawn." She whispered, a sad smile on her face.
The next thing he heard was the sharp crack of her gun, and then all that he felt was fiery pain.
"It looks like he's at DRA Aviation…It's an—" Tom informed them, but he didn't get to finish because another voice interrupted him.
"Airport." Lassiter supplied, mentally choosing the name of Spencer's kidnapper from his list of suspects.
"Okay, O'Hara you call the station and tell them what is going on, have them send us backup. We'll meet them there." Karen commanded, as she walked away from the computer.
Juliet pulled out her phone, intending to follow the Vick's order, when suddenly the screen caught her attention. The dot was gone. "Where did he go?" Juliet asked, her voice panicky. "Why is the dot gone?"
Karen Vick rushed back over and joined the others in there staring. Hoping that she had misheard Juliet, but she hadn't. The dot was gone…Shawn was gone.
"I don't know." Tom replied, his voice soft. "It could be a glitch in the system or something."
"I don't think so." Lassiter replied, his voice even. He knew that everything the dot disappearing could mean did not bode well for the 'psychic'.
"This can't be good." Gus whispered, his eyes clouded with worry as he crossed his arms in front of himself. "We have to go. Now." He announced stepping away from the computer.
"He's right, we don't have any time to waste. All we can do is hope that he'll still be at the airport when we get there." Karen informed them, and they all left the room quickly, realizing the truth in her words.
Tom remained in the room, staring in shock at the map in front of him, he didn't know what he had just witnessed, but he knew for a fact that something had gone terrible wrong. Closing the program, he sighed and placed his head in his hands.
Cue Dramatic Music and Fade out (:D)
Author's note: Well there's the 7th chapter, I hope you guys all liked it. If you find any errors be sure to tell me, and definitely be sure to tell me what you think :D.