Finally! Some action! *Makes wooshing noises as she fakes karate*
Something cool to share with you guys too! I made a movie trailer for my first story in this series "No Such Thing As Psychics"
Go to Youtube and put this behind it.../watch?v=RNBbW9zneAo
Chapter 4- Dead Ends
Both Shawn and Gus stared at the store in wonder and shock. The place was a dump with a capital D. With an owner whose last name was Price, Shawn expected a lot more lavish digs than a cruddy second hand store. The guy had money. They found out he was a pretty well known procurer of fine jewelry so owning a place like this didn't really make any sense. Unless it was some kind of tax write off.
"Why on God's green earth would anyone want to rob this place?" Gus was apparently thinking along the same lines Shawn was.
Shawn raised his sunglasses to get a better look, "Nope, still shitty."
Gus sighed, This is going to be a dead end. "Let's get this over with. I have a couple more doctors to visit on my route before tonight."
As they went under the police tape Shawn looked back over his shoulder. The street was fairly busy but an old red junker car caught his eye. He could have sworn the occupant had been looking their way for a moment. He narrowed his eyes but another impatient shout from Gus tore his attention away. "Gus! Don't be a broken key-finder that won't stop beeping... I'm coming!"
Inside wasn't any more impressive than the outside was. The store was big enough but it was dingy and not very well lit. Shawn's eyes took in all the important details of the scene. The low light is how the owner could have walked right into the robbers without seeing them. Especially since it was night when the crime occurred. There was obviously a back door and that was how the robbers got in. The lock had been popped out and it left the door swinging freely, unable to latch again.
The main area of the store was filled with a bunch of used items, from old ratty dresses to dusty hats and some of it had been rifled through. Shawn chuckled, "Hey Gus!" As his friend turned to look he held up what had caught his attention. "A raspberry beret!" Gus gave him a blank look, "You know, the Prince song?" More blank looks, "From a second hand-*Tsk*- dude nevermind!" Shawn gave up, grumbling about how his humor is never appreciated.
"I thought the robbers never left anything behind." Gus pointed out, batting at one of the belts hanging from a display.
Shawn went around the counter and looked around. "Maybe they hadn't planned on going after the merchandise Gus." The report said the cash register had been broken into and the cash was taken, but in a place like this it couldn't have been all that much. Not worth it for as professional as this group was. "There has to be something else... Aha!" Shawn exclaimed as he saw a gap in the cheap siding covering the walls. It was a secret door hiding a rather impressive safe that had no business being there. "Gus, I know why they picked this place." He called out.
Gus eyes widened as he came around the counter himself and noticed where Shawn was crouching. "That's a Gem!"
Shawn nodded, "Yeah, Gus, it's a nice safe."
Gus pointed to the series of drawers that pulled out of the safe. "No Shawn G-E-M. They're made for jewelry and they aren't cheap."
Shawn tried to put it all together in his head. "So this Price guy must figure the best place to put his most expensive pieces of jewelry is to put them in the crappiest building he owns. No one would suspect a thing."
"Apparently someone did." Gus stood up, "I wonder how much was actually in here. If the owner was returning on a business trip, it could have been a lot... unless he sold it on the business trip, then it could have been empty." Gus looked down and had an idea. "Why don't you see what you can smell, you might get something."
Shawn glared dubiously, trying to look offended. "I have solved crimes before I was a vampire you know. You mind if I do my thing?"
Gus held his hands up in surrender, "Fine..." He turned around to give Shawn some space. As soon as Gus turned away, Shawn closed his eyes and sniffed. The strongest smell that he could pick up, was the ocean.
Living next to the ocean your whole life you know what it smells like. It isn't like the air fresheners that come in the stores with names like Ocean Breeze, all flowery and nice. It smells like salt and dead plants. Seagull poop and fish guts. It's very distinct and someone who had just returned from a business trip probably wouldn't have left that scent behind. Another clue. Shawn puzzled.
Standing he realized he wasn't going to be able to get much more, and Juliet would want to know what he'd found. "Okay bud, we're done here." They exited the store, ducking underneath the crime scene tape and back out to the sidewalk.
"I'm starving. You mind if we hit a burger place before I bring you back to Psych?" Gus was waiting for an answer but he noticed Shawn wasn't listening.
Shawn was looking across the road again. That car he'd noticed when he entered hadn't moved and the guy had been staring at the shop again. Uneasiness crept through him and he put on his sunglasses approaching the car.
Just as Shawn thought, the man inside panicked and quickly put the car into gear, speeding off.
"What the?" Gus watched the vehicle swerve into traffic and his friend take off after it at top vampire speed. "SHAWN!"
Shawn paused as the car turned left and headed down a one way street, the wrong way. By the driver's reaction he knew that the person in that vehicle either had something to do with the robberies and murder, or knew who did it. He looked to his left and saw an empty alley. I might just be able to cut them off at the pass... He turned and headed down the alley.
The alley wasn't exactly empty, it was full of garbage cans, cardboard boxes and other forms of refuse that would have impeded his interception, if he wasn't an awesome vampire. He'd practiced stuff like this a little, now was the time to put it to use.
Shawn could feel his vision tunneling to acute sharpness. Instinct and training kicked in and he knew just where to plant his feet or push off with his arms to get maximum lift and propulsion. He hopped over a trash bin before kicking up onto the wall and taking a few steps on the bricks, dodging a large dumpster. He ran across the top of said dumpster before swinging off a clothes line and coming to a perfect stop at the mouth of the alley. He then sped down the street to cut off the car.
He was breathing heavily, not from exertion, but from the adrenaline. He was on a hunt, and it felt really good.
Imagine the driver of the car's surprise when the guy he thought he left in the dust was suddenly standing on the sidewalk in front of him. The driver screamed and hit the gas, squealing to the right, heading towards a young boy walking his dog.
Shawn saw what was about to happen and jumped at the kid. "LOOK OUT!" He grabbed the boy who in turn kept a hold of the leash and dragged the dog with them, out of the way of the fishtailing car. Tires screeched and people screamed as the vehicle came within inches of hitting Shawn as he curled protectively around the boy.
They landed hard and Shawn glanced up. The car was driving off again, but not before Shawn noticed something about the tires, mud. It wasn't just any mud though. There was only one place in all of Santa Barbara that had mud like that. It had a distinct red tint to it and came from a few storage facilities that surrounded a lagoon near Goleta. He had a location!
"Shawn!" Gus ran up. Shawn was just getting to his feet, helped by a few bystanders who were patting him on the back for his quick save. "Are you okay?"
He nodded, "Yeah, more than okay. That was awesome!" The adrenaline hadn't worn off quite yet and he was still buzzing from the excitement of the chase.
"Thanks." The kid looked at his savior sheepishly, gripping his dog's leash tight.
"No problem little man. Wasn't your fault." He gave the kid a wave and followed Gus back to the Blueberry.
Gus looked Shawn up and down as they walked. He had seen what Shawn had done to get down the alley before the car. It would have been incredible if not for the fact that it was probably the freakiest thing he'd ever seen Shawn do.
Over the years Gus had come to terms with the fact that he and Shawn weren't twenty-eight anymore. They were, or at least in Shawn's case had been, getting older and slowing down. They were still young men but the case with the vigilante about a year ago made that glaringly obvious they weren't in the best of shape. Shawn had just turned thirty-five when he was turned and Gus was only a month away from his own thirty-fifth birthday. So it was pretty mind boggling seeing his best friend pull of those moves, even as a vampire.
"How did you do that?"
Shawn's eyes turned shifty, "Do what?"
"C'mon son! How did you get down that alley that fast? It wasn't just running and jumping, you were doing some pretty complicated moves."
Shawn rubbed the back of his neck shyly. "Well, I've been practicing a bit. Vampires have a weird negative gravity thing anyway and I remembered watching some videos of people jumping off buildings, running up walls, and catching ledges and figured I could do that."
Gus eyed him skeptically, "You seriously learned how to do parkour?"
"Don't make up words. Plus it's not as easy as it looks." Shawn complained as they each got in the Blueberry. "I broke my arm the first time I tried that monkey grab thing."
Gus snorted, Yeah and it probably healed in less than a minute. "And when do you find the time to do all this?"
Shawn frowned. "I can't sleep sometimes and need to unwind."
Gus understood what Shawn was getting at. The dreams. They were getting less frequent but Shawn had terrible nightmares. It was his mind's way of dealing with things.
"On a different note," Shawn quickly changed the subject as they pulled away from the curb, "I'm going to need you to come with me to-niiight!" Shawn sang out the last word. "I got a lead on the guy in the car. He might know something about the robberies."
"Of course you did." Gus huffed out a breath. He wasn't going to be able to make it, he had… plans. "Why don't you take Jules and Lassie this time Shawn, I'm a bit busy tonight. Coraline and I are going over a few things. We've made a bit of progress on the cure front."
"Again!? Dude this is like the fourth time this week." Shawn shook his head, "We're on a case, a case we really need. So, go on your date tomorrow. We're going on a stake-out."
Gus' hands tightened on the steering wheel, "It's not a date Shawn. How many times do I have to tell you that? I'm doing this for you!" Sure it was nice spending time with Coraline, but they actually were getting work done on the cure and how to remanufacture it. His knowledge of pharmaceuticals was actually paying off.
"Oh really, you hang out with a hot vampire chick all night for me? Gus, you shouldn't have." Shawn quipped dryly.
"Fine, believe what you want Shawn!" Gus was getting really angry and Shawn was pretty taken aback by just how angry. "You go and joke around all you want. But me, I'm trying like hell to find a cure for you because all I want, in this entire world, is to get my friend back!"
All the blood drained from Gus' face. That had come out totally wrong. He'd meant to say get his friend "back to normal" but he didn't, and knew Shawn would take it the wrong way.
Sure enough, when Gus glanced at Shawn, his eyes were a the freaky shade of silvery white he'd almost gotten used to seeing, but now it was accompanied by such a look of betrayal and hatred he never thought his good natured friend was capable of.
Shawn knew it. He felt sick. His best friend of all people thought of him as a freak that needed to be cured so the real Shawn would come back like nothing had happened. Just like his mom. Probably just like everyone. He could feel his rage grow and knew he needed to get away from Gus before he did anything he'd regret. "Stop the car."
"Shawn, you know I didn't mean…" Gus started.
"STOP. THE. CAR." Shawn growled quickly pulled over and Shawn slid out of the Blueberry, slamming the door.
"Shawn! It's the middle of the day! Get back here! I'm sorry!" Gus yelled out the window as Shawn stormed away, not even bothering to put his sunglasses back on. He just kept walking. Then before he knew it he was running. Holding back the urge to tear apart the first thing he came in contact with. He ducked into an alley as the Blueberry whizzed by him at a slow, "Gus must be searching for him" pace.
He rested his head on the brick wall and punched it, hard, trying his best to quell one pain with another. How could Gus say that? Part of him knew that it was probably a slip of the tongue but he knew enough psychology to realize that Freudian slips were usually the true thoughts a person has coming out unexpectedly.
He spun around and leaned against the side of the building, clenching hand and wincing as the bones popped back into place. Soon there was no physical evidence of his outburst than some lingering blood and a cracked brick wall.
His phone chose that time to ring. He glanced at the screen, it was Juliet. He groaned. Not because he didn't want to talk to her, but because if he didn't get it together quickly she would know something was wrong. Even over the phone. Which was a bummer because had wanted to stay mad for at least another five minutes or so. I deserve it dammit. He answered on the third ring, trying to sound chipper. "Jules! What's shaking?"
"Shawn, Carlton and I got done talking to Woody and came up empty on the body. Could you and Gus come down to the station to let the chief know what you guys found at the store?"
"Uh," Shawn tried to think quickly. Showing up without Gus during a case would raise some red flags, but he knew his friend would feel guilty enough to not call him or anyone else for at least a couple hours so the jig wouldn't be up right away if he told a little fib. "Gus has something going on tonight and had to head out, but I can stop by."
"Great! We'll meet you there. Can't wait to see you."
Shawn made the usual kissy noises in the phone before hanging up and dialing for a ride. His dad's house wasn't too far away and he needed to talk to him anyway. He sure as heck wasn't going to get far in the sun and he needed to get to Psych and get his car.
"Hello?" Henry answered.
"Um, hey dad. How are... things?" Shawn asked unsurely.
Shawn heard the sigh from his dad's end of the phone and knew his mom must still not be ready to talk. "Now's not the best time Shawn. I'm going to take your mother out to supper and see if I can get any further, but she's still pretty shaken up."
"Oh.. . I see." His dad wanted to spend some time with his mom. Why can't he just say that and not jerk me around? "I hope you two have a good time." Shawn did nothing to hide the scorn in his voice.
"Shawn! Your mother and I have a lot to discuss. She's just not ready kid. It's a lot to process and forcing it on her isn't going to help matters."
"Yeah, you go discuss things." Shawn hung up and growled. A couple passing the alley heard him and quickened their pace away. This day just kept getting better and better.
After hanging up with Shawn, Juliet was sure something was off but she chalked it up to things with his mother. Juliet didn't envy her boyfriend's position and figured he was taking it as well as could be expected. She busied herself with some paperwork until he decided to show up.
Shawn arrived twenty minutes later, disheveled and a little dirty. "Shawn!" Juliet waved her boyfriend over to her desk. "Are you okay?" She noticed his haggard appearance but his features were happy so she didn't worry about it much.
He nodded before giving her a quick kiss on the lips and a rub on the stomach. Getting down to business he asked. "What's the good word Jules?" Shawn looked around, "Where's Lassie?"
"Talking to the chief." Juliet waved off the question. She really needed to know if they found anything at the store. "Tell me you got something. We keep coming up with dead ends."
Shawn was wary of what he should tell her. These people were seeming more dangerous by the minute. Anyone who would risk running over a kid and his puppy were pretty bad in his book and he didn't want the woman pregnant with his ONLY chance at a child to run head long into danger. Plus, he needed some time alone.
After the admission from Gus and his mother's refusal to speak to him, he was really unhappy and didn't want to subject Juliet to his moping. A walk and a stake-out was just what he needed to clear his head, but he had to give her something. She would never believe he of all people came up empty. "Well, we found out why the store was targeted. The dude had the idea of the year to hide his most valuable stuff at a dump."
Juliet nodded, "That's something at least. I'll let the Chief know and we'll go check for prints later."
Shawn combed a hand through his hair. "I'm going to give my dad a call and see how my mom's doing. See if she even wants to see me." The lie felt sour on his tongue.
Juliet rubbed his arm comfortingly. "Do you need me to come with?"
"Nah, I need some alone time to talk to her. I probably won't be home till late too." That should give me some time to do a bit of investigating. Shawn reasoned. He saw Carlton coming out of the chief's office and figured he should cut their conversation short lest the detective's super hearing pick up on the bullshit he was spewing. He felt bad about lying to Juliet, but once he figured it would be safe enough for her to approach the bad guys, he would let her know. "I'll catch you later sweetie." With one more peck on the cheek he jogged back out of the Sheriff's Office.
Carlton walked up never seeing that Shawn had been there as his attention was immersed in a case file. However, he stopped in his tracks after catching a distinct scent. "Are you okay O'Hara?"
Confused by her partner's question she replied, "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"
"Well, if it isn't you, someone around here is pissed as hell." He snorted and shook his head, trying to get the unpleasant odor out of his nose then leered around for the culprit.
He never noticed Juliet's head turn towards the precinct doors with apprehension. Was Shawn that upset? She hadn't noticed, but he was always very good at hiding his real intentions or emotions. When he got back home from talking to his mom she'd have to see what was the matter. For now, she had a murder to solve.
As soon as it was dark, Shawn set out for the Goleta storage yard near Devereux Lagoon. He'd actually had enough time to plan ahead, since he didn't have to wait for Gus' complaining or preening beforehand. Till Gus wasn't there, Shawn had never noticed how much time that took up. Despite that fact he would have liked his best friend there. It just didn't feel right without him.
Shawn parked his vehicle a good ways away from where he wanted to be. His car wasn't all that inconspicuous, being hot green. The Psych logo on it was also kind of a dead giveaway who it belonged to. Not conductive for sneakiness.
The storage yard was not huge, but it wasn't small. Buildings of every size littered the fifteen acre plot of land with different purposes. He knew it well because his dad used to use storage there when he was a kid, and he used to complain about the red dirt ruining his shoes.
There was movement in a couple parts of the property, that is where his disguise came in handy. The homeless bum he once labeled "Soup Can Sam" lived again. Or at least the beard did. No one was really around to ask him who he was trying to be, so he hadn't been creative enough to come up with a name for this incarnation.
He slinked around the side of a few buildings, looking for the beat up red vehicle from earlier that day, while listening to the conversations going on around him.
"This shipment needs to be out by 9am guys!" Shawn heard a man shout. This sounds promising. "Bring in the truck, we need to get the stuff in quick before it thaws!"
Never mind. The thieves weren't dealing in frozen goods. That he knew of anyway. He halted his progress forward and closed his eyes, concentrating…
"Zack this is getting dangerous." A slightly Hispanic accented voice scolded. "The cops are onto us. We gotta lay low or get the hell out of here."
"Bingo!" Shawn exclaimed quietly and moved closer to the building, spotting the red car parked next to it.
"You had to kill that guy didn't you!" The same voice yelled at Zack.
"He was supposed to be outta town. It was your screw up. Not mine. I was just the only one with the stones to take care of the problem Carlos."
Shawn had names, and a place. That was all he needed. He backed up around the corner of the building and was about to turn and get the hell out of there when he noticed another man standing by the back door, smoking. He'd been seen, too wrapped up in listening to one conversation he forgot the basic teaching his father had instilled from almost birth. Count the number of hats, or in his case… heartbeats.
"Hey! Who are you?" The man shouted, snuffing out his cigarette and moving towards Shawn menacingly. The man was short, but agile looking with very jerky and mousey movements. If anything in this gang, he would be the lookout.
Getting into character, Shawn held up his hands. "Hey mista, you got any spare change?" He used his best gravelly voice that would have done Batman proud. He stumbled forward drunkenly, grasping the guy's clothes as if he tripped, sneaking his hand inside the guy's pockets in the process. If he could get a driver's license, the cops would have them dead to rights.
Shawn was pushed back violently, "Get off me man!" The mousey guy pulled out a knife as Shawn covertly pocketed the man's wallet.
Okay… they are serious. Even though a knife wouldn't exactly hurt him much, it showed a lot about the character of the people he was up against. Jules is definitely staying home for this one. "Sorry, my mistake man…" Shawn backed up and realized something was wrong. More scents filled the air, the guy's back up was coming. Before he could turn around a cold barrel was shoved up against the back of his head.
He was expecting a "Don't move." or the cliché, "Hands in the air." Just that one second of distraction where he could use his vampire speed to get the hell out of there or his charming banter to talk his way out, but it didn't happen.
As soon as he felt the barrel, the gun went off and he fell limply to the ground and remained motionless.
END NOTES: *Gasp* Yes I can be that mean to Shawn, and it's going to get a lot worse. From this point on, the story is gonna get darker. :)