A/N I don't own Psych.
"Nine hours until what?" Shawn asked aloud for what must have been the seventh time in as many minutes. Minutes that were ticking away. It had taken Vick and Juliet's partner, Detective Warner, too long to contain the scene, without making a scene. Communication was slow. Vick went to tell Jules what happened. Detective Warner went to round up other officers that were in attendance to alert them to the situation. Henry was running damage control with the guests, who would likely be upset without answers, and they couldn't give them answers.
Shawn had been nominated to break the news to Marlowe. That had been awkward and painful. Marlowe had volunteered to call her sister-in-law Lauren, and she and Lily had disappeared into the venue's child care playroom.
After that, Shawn wasn't sure what to do with himself as time continued to pass, and had eventually made his way back to the bridal room.
He paced the halls, throwing anxious glances now and then at the door Karen Vick had disappeared behind to break the bad news to Jules. He'd tried to needle his way in, insisting that today was not their wedding day anymore, so it would be fine to see Jules in her dress. Shawn had never taken Vick to be the superstitious type, but she wouldn't budge on going in alone. He slid down the wall, wondering what was happening on the other side of that closed door.
He didn't have to wonder long. As soon as his butt hit the floor, the handle turned and the door swung open. Karen stared down at him for a moment, then pulled the door closed behind her. Her phone was against her ear, but she wasn't talking into it.
"I'd join you on the floor, but I paid a lot for this dress," she joked without cracking a smile. "Juliet is getting changed into something a bit more practical. I think it's time to tell you about-Yes, I'm still here."
She held up a finger as she said the last bit into the phone. Shawn watched her retreating back as she disappeared around a corner to finish her call in privacy.
"Well, the good news is your hotel was able to postpone your honeymoon, with a hefty fee, of course. And if you don't call them within 10 days, to reschedule they'll charge you whether you go or not. But it's something at least. The bad news-"
"Wait? That was the good-"
"The bad news," Henry spoke over his son, "is you've got a bunch of irate wedding guests. But at least they're finally leaving."
Shawn took the hand his father offered and rose to his feet.
"Thanks, dad," he said in a seriousness that his voice rarely held, "really. I don't know if I could have faced them. What did you tell them?"
"I didn't, Detective Warner took care of that while I played travel agent. It's hard to explain away the obvious police presence. Even at a cop's wedding. I thought we should tell them that someone called in a bomb threat. Fastest way to clear a building. But Detective Warner told them there was an altercation in the parking lot and that for their safety they needed to vacate the premises."
"Did they buy it?"
"I don't care. They're leaving." He glanced down at his watch and frowned. "Now we can quit wasting time and find them." Henry was clenching and un-clenching his fists, bouncing subconsciously from the balls of his feet. "Where is the chief? Is she still talking to Juliet? Have you figured out anything more about that phone and note?"
Shawn wondered if this is how his dad had acted when he had been kidnapped. Then he remembered how unpleasant Lassiter had been the weeks following, and knew that he must have. Henry Spencer was a doer. He didn't like to be idle. Shawn secretly hoped he inherited some of that. Maybe he could channel it into finding his friends before the deadline.
"Nine hours until what?" Shawn asked again, stealing a glance at his own watch, and then amending, "Eight hours."
Henry shook his head in defeat.
"We need to talk," Karen said, taking brisk steps towards them, Detective Warner in tow. She knocked lightly on the bridal room door, "O'Hara, are you decent in there? We're coming in."
The four of them shuffled in. Juliet was sitting on a plush sofa, no longer in her wedding gown, but wearing a very pretty sundress that Shawn had never seen before. How beautiful she looked was quickly lost as he took in the silent sobs that wracked her body. Her face contorted as soon as she saw him, he'd never seen such despair in her countenance. Shawn quickly stooped to the ottoman next to her and rubbed some rebellious mascara off of her wet cheek. His other hand closed around her folded hands on her lap.
"We'll find them," he promised, his eyes searching hers. Juliet matched his gaze, and he could see more tears threatening to spill over the moment she shut her eyes.
She sniffed and shook her head adamantly, "I don't know Shawn. There's something you don't know."
And now that she mentioned it, Shawn recalled what Vick had been saying before she answered the phone-that it was time to tell him about something.
"What is it?" He asked, turning to look up at the chief, "What don't I know?"
"Officer Hagin," Juliet said in a voice barely above a whisper.
"The Officer that died in the swimming accident?" They'd gone to his funeral last month. He hadn't even been killed in the line of duty, but the fact that he was an officer of the law was enough to effect the whole community. Flags with thin blues lines were still being flown in his honor all over the city. The community had rallied around his young wife and daughters. The whole ordeal had been heartbreaking, and was a tragic reminder that everything can end at any time. Juliet had taken it pretty hard, the entire department had.
"We have evidence that suggests that it might not have been an accident," Karen answered.
"What kind of evidence?" Henry asked.
Detective Warner held up a plastic bag. The two Spencer men leaned in to get a better look at its contents. It held a slip of paper with the words "Nine Hours" written in untidy script. Just one glance was enough for Shawn to tell that although this note was written by the same hand as the one he had found himself, it was indeed a different note. The message was closer to the top, the "e" a little flatter.
"We found this under the wiper on Officer Hagin's patrol car the day after we found his body on the beach," The detective explained, "Though nothing about his death looked like foul play at the time, the Chief thought it was odd enough that we shouldn't immediately discard the note. Then the autopsy came back, saying that he had drowned in fresh water."
"Why didn't you tell that to the media? Why did you say it was an accidental drowning? Why didn't you bring in Psychfrancisco?" Shawn demanded. There was a cop killer out there, and most of his friends were in law enforcement. And now two of those friends had been taken by the same person who had killed Hagin.
"We still couldn't definitively connect the note to his death. We needed more information before we brought mere speculation to the public," the chief answered.
"More information? So, you were just sitting around waiting for someone else to be taken? Waiting for another note to show up and prove your hypothesis? Waiting to find more bodies on the beach? Bodies of your friends?" Shawn could feel his face getting hot, his heart racing as he spat out his inquiries.
A hand on his elbow instantly calmed him, and he looked down at Juliet as she said his name. That one syllable carried the weight of he world. His anger melted away leaving only scared desperation in it's place.
"Sorry," he said, looking up to meet the chief's eyes, "I just... These are our friends and we have no idea what is happening to them right now."
"We're going to find them," Chief Vick vowed, knowing that she shouldn't make promises, but the hope was for herself as much as for the others. "Last time we didn't know we were on a clock. We didn't even know Officer Hagin was missing. This time is different."
"This time is different," Henry cut in, "this time they took two people. I hope that doesn't effect the time limit."
That grave statement hung in the air for a few moments, and then, as if compelled by some unseen force, they all moved as one to get to work to bring Gus and Lassiter home.