Author note: It sure has been a while... but I guess quarantine is good for something.
Henry lead them out to his truck and watched as Shawn struggled to get in. The truck was old and although reliable it wasn't that safe looking. Yes, Shawn had been in it before but he definitely didn't like it. Henry started the truck and started driving, it wasn't a long drive to the hospital and Henry stuck under the speed limit, noticing that whenever his foot touched the accelerator he seemed he tense, unused to the fast speed.
When Henry pulled up in a parking space, Shawn sighed a massive sigh of relief and grinned at his father.
"We're here" Shawn pointlessly explained with a smile.
Henry nodded, "Yeah, let's go"
Shawn bobbed his head as he exited the vehicle and allowed his father to lead up to the reception desk area. After finding out where they needed to go Henry led them to the lift.
Shawn wanted to say something but at the same time didn't want his father to see him as some sort of wimp after the way he acted in the truck, he hadn't been good at hiding his nerves. The doors opened revealing an empty lift and Henry entered by himself. Shawn couldn't bring himself to move and instead stood frozen, his mouth slightly agape as if he were trying to say something but his mouth just wasn't responding.
"Shawn?" Henry paused, leaving the lift again and allowing it to close behind him. Henry instead spotted the signs for the staircase and he put his hand on his son's shoulder causing him to seize up and focus on him.
"Let's take the stairs then" Henry asserted, leaving no room for discussion.
Shawn hung his head in shame, "I'm not scared" he admitted, "People die in those contraptions, it's like a death shute, they kill 26 people a year in the US, I'm not about to be added to that statistic"
Henry frowned and decided not to comment on the passion in his son's voice instead commented on the number of stairs.
Shawn nodded, "That's fine, I get plenty of exercise. We have a running track at West Haven you know"
Henry nodded and led the way up the stairs. When they reached level six Shawn wasn't even out of breath, Henry was slightly but he was very fit for his age and if Shawn wasn't ready to take the lift then he wouldn't either. He would stay with his son. They found the room fairly easily, after all it was being guarded by two men in uniform and Henry was surprised to see Buzz sitting in the chair outside the room.
"McNabb? What are you doing here?" Henry asked , squinting his eyes at his appearance. It looked like he hadn't slept in a week.
"I thought I'd keep my eye on her" Buzz explained, "I couldn't really do much to help. I let another girl be taken"
Henry's mouth drew together tightly.
"Dude, that's not your fault" Shawn quickly shot at him.
Buzz looked at him astonished.
"Don't take this so personally, we'll find him trust me and he will pay for what he has done" Shawn spoke passionately.
Henry smiled and looked at his son with the proudest expression on his face and looked back at Buzz triumphantly, remembering how he had called his son a sociopath.
Buzz seemed a little taken aback by his impromptu little speech but quickly smiled back at him.
"It was you that made me check the nightclubs you know" Buzz informed him, "Now we know another woman's been taken"
Shawn nodded, "We'll find her, there is still time. Jules is tracking the taxi which Sawyers ordered and I think Lassie is looking into the new victim"
Henry had to stop himself from laughing at the nickname his son had given the detectives. Jules? Lassie? Oh, Lassiter would hate that, so much.
"You want to speak to her?" Buzz asked, looking through the window. "She's conscious but extremely weak. The doctor said we have to keep her calm. She can't talk as she has a tube in to help her breathe. I stayed with her for a while but I think I was just making things worse."
Shawn frowned, if she couldn't talk then it might make this more complicated. But they had to try.
"We'll keep it short, won't we Shawn"
"Yeah, don't worry Buzz"
Buzz smiled in relied and gestured for them to head on through, the guards by this point knowing who they are made no attempt to stop them.
Shawn slowly crept round one side of the bed and Henry took in the surroundings before examining his son carefully.
Shawn approached and drew a chair, watching as her eyes widened from the noise.
"Hi" Shawn began, watching as she tensed up at the stranger in the room with her.
"You don't know me but I'm here with Detective Spencer, we're trying to catch the guy who did this to you. Blink once for yes and twice for no, ok?"
The woman blinked.
"Why did he choose you?" Shawn asked rhetorically. Henry walked over to join his son, ready to step in if need be as that question wasn't the best first question to ask when he had just asked for yes or no answers.
The woman blinked back tears.
"Did he target you? Or think you were someone else?"
The woman blinked.
Shawn's eyes widened, "He thought you were someone else"
Henry couldn't believe this might actually be going somewhere.
"Another woman's been taken so I doubt you are in any danger now" Shawn explained.
This didn't help calm the woman who was silently crying.
"Shawn" Henry quietly murmured, "I think that might be enough"
Making all three of them jump, Henry's phone went off suddenly and after saying goodbye they left the room so Henry could answer the phone.
"Gus? Yeah, Shawn's here" Henry answered, before handing the phone to his son.
"Shawn? Hey, so I just finished the presentation. Didn't go that well to be honest but oh well. Where are you?"
"We're at the hospital" Shawn answered honestly.
"What! I leave you alone for a few hours and you're in hospital? How bad are you hurt! I'm coming right now!"
"Gus, we're just visiting a patient, I'm not hurt"
"You're not hurt? God Shawn, don't scare me like that!"
"You shouldn't jump to conclusions, I thought I was meant to be the paranoid one" Shawn smirked.
"Very funny Shawn. Shall I meet you back at the station?"
"Sure, We're heading back now, see you soon"
Shawn hung up the phone and gave it back to his dad who pocketed it silently.
"So, Sawyers thought she was someone else? That doesn't make sense. He scopes his victims first" Henry spoke aloud.
Watching his son he had to ask, "I can see you thinking…. What are you thinking?"
Shawn tilted his head in concentration, "Did Sawyers have a wife?""
"Not that we know of" Henry responded.
"Well he was obviously searching for someone…. The question is who?"
It was only mere minutes after they left that the alarms in the room went off. A few minutes after that, the woman lay dead on the table.
Henry drove his son back to the station slowly and parked his truck in his designated space.
"You still got your pass kid?" Henry confirmed, climbing out of the truck.
Shawn nodded before giving an answer in the affirmative verbally as well and he clipped the visitors pass to his jeans.
Juliet spotted them the moment they entered and came over with a small file.
"We've tracked down the taxi rental service. He paid cash and gave a fake name which doesn't really doesn't get us anywhere. I spoke to their management though and forwarded a picture so if he uses the same company again, we'll know" Juliet informed them.
Shawn smiled at Juliet, she was sexy when she was acting all authorise like that.
Juliet glanced at Shawn and her eyes twinkled with amusement before her attention went back to Henry, "Did you find anything out?"
"Motive" Shawn stated simply. "Elliot Sawyers thought your victims were someone they were not… he's looking for someone particular"
Henry nodded, "Have we got any evidence to suggest a wife? Or an exwife? Girlfriend?"
Juliet blinked, "Not to our knowledge but it's possible. We may have a name but according to our systems he doesn't exist."
"You only looking in the one place?" Shawn scoffed, "contrary to popular belief, not all information is accessable from the internet"
The words came out extremely rude, not that Shawn noticed.
Henry's eyes squinted apologetically but Juliet remained calm and nodded microscopically to prove to Henry that she understood. In that split second, Henry knew why he brought the young detective back from Miami with him.
Shawn carried on oblivious, "Look if we don't find him soon, he'll soon realise that Emma Jameson isn't who he thought and she will end up burnt just like the other girl. Is this how your normally solve crimes, just wait for the next body to turn up?"
"Shawn" Henry reprimanded.
"Where's the computer" Shawn asked.
Henry sighed, "Use mine"
Shawn immediately strolled over.
"Sorry" Henry apologised.
"It's fine" Juliet smiled back, "It's frustrating. We don't want any more victims but we haven't got a lot to go off"
Shawn glanced over at his father as his fingers continued to work at the keys. He could tell that Henry was apologising on his behalf so instinctively he realised he must have done something, but whatever it was seemed to be resolved and they walked over to join him.
Before either detective could ask what he was doing, Shawn broke the silence.
"How old would you say Sawyer was from his pictures?"
"Mid-thirties?" Juliet guessed
Shawn continued to enter information into the searching database.
"What you searching for son?" Henry asked, almost getting down on one knee to have a better view of the screen.
"I'm looking for a dead woman in her late twenties to early thirties who died in a fire"
Neither detective spoke.
"He's had three previous victims; they all died from severe burns. All women in their late twenties to early thirties… Our latest victim is the only one who he didn't kill"
Shawn turned to look at her, "Who he didn't kill? "He remarked scathingly, "That woman was practically dead, Sawyers didn't spare her and I wouldn't call surviving luck"
Shawn didn't let that sink in "When was the first woman abducted?"
Henry opened the file to double check, "22nd of last month… he's moving quickly"
"Hmmm…" Shawn remarked, typing in the data, "Something must have set him off"
The computer suddenly pinged and they all looked at the screen but before any of them could read any of the information and flurry of noise was heard in the station, led by Detective Lassister.
"Spencer!"
Henry's eyes narrowed and realised the detectives attention was not on him… but his son.
"Lassiter" Henry grumbled lowly as a warning.
Shawn spun round on his chair and quickly found Lassiter looming figure standing over him threateningly.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY TO HER? SHE'S DEAD" Lassiter took a deep breath. "If I found out you did anything to her… I will arrest you for murder"
With that declaration Lassiter stormed off.
Shawn didn't even blink he just stared into the distance. He didn't kill her? Did he? There wasn't any way they could pin them on him, could they? He didn't even know her personally…. But he didn't know many people. It was just a coincidence that he just happened to be the last person to have seen her alive. Though he was seen asking to speak to her. Oh God…. What if his father got caught up in this? No, he was already involved….
Henry stared at his son with concern, "Shawn"
He got no response and Juliet knelt down concerned. Unsure of what she could do to help she stoody back up,
"I'm going to talk to my partner" she told him angrily.
Henry nodded and watched her walk off before returning his full attention to his son. His eyes just seemed to stare blankly.
"Shawn?" Henry repeated softly, "Come on son, listen to my voice… come back to me Shawn"
Henry kept repeating those phrases, looking into his eyes searching for a sign of recognition. After a couple of minutes Shawn blinked and looked at his father, with the light in his eyes.
"They…." Shawn stuttered, "They can't put this on me! I didn't kill her, I swear Dad!" Shawn blurted panicked.
"Shawn!" Henry blurted back, trying to get his son's full attention. "I know you didn't kill her, you aren't in trouble, calm down. Breathe"
Shawn closed his eyes and breathed just like Charlie had taught him. After a few moments, Shawn opened his eyes and gave a weak smile to his father.
"Can we go?" Shawn asked quietly.
Henry just nodded, "Let's go son".
Author note: Well that's it for today. Simply because I haven't written anymore.
I would like to give shoutout to "From: A thankful fan (Guest)". The review you left was so lovely. Thankyou :) I really appreciate it