Previously…

Juliet was chained to a wall in a bare cement room but otherwise unharmed.

"Shawn?" She asked tentatively.

She shook her head at his efforts to put her at ease when he was obviously in a great deal of pain. What she didn't see was the fear that was squeezing the breath from his chest.

The door opened and Mallow strode in triumphantly.

His two prisoners braced themselves and determined to be strong for each other. At least they were together now.

oOo

Lassiter, oblivious to the fear in Gus's voice, responded sarcastically. "No, I always call the partner of the useless psychic consultant when I want to get a hold of a detective! Of course I called her! I got her voicemail – twice. Now where did Spencer drag her off to?"

"Umm. I'll be right there," Gus answered, knowing his words would send Lassiter into a frenzy. He gathered up all his notes and headed out to the Blueberry. Hopefully, by the time he got there, Lassiter, being the excellent detective he was, would have figured out that there was something else going on and would have exchanged his anger for concern. Gus really didn't want to get arrested… or hit… or shot…

oO0Oo
Testing, Testing, One, Two, Ouch!
Chapter 4
oO0Oo

"Guster!"

Gus cringed. He was barely through the door when he heard the familiar roar – although usually it was a different name being yelled.

Lassiter stood at his desk, hands on hips. "Are you ready to tell me what in Sweet Justice is going on?" The head detective was clearly frustrated, angry, impatient – and yes – concerned.

Gus was good at seeing what people were really feeling even when it didn't show on the outside. A lifetime with Shawn had trained him well.

He maintained his calm in the face of Lassiter's ire and summed up the situation as quickly and clearly as he could. "No one has seen Shawn since I spoke to him Thursday night. We weren't worried until he missed picking Juliet up at the airport this morning. We tried to find anything that might tell us where he was and this is all we found." He placed plastic baggies containing the business card and the check on the head detective's desk. The baggies with the jack-o-lanterns printed on them that Shawn had bought last Halloween had been the only ones in the drawer. He straightened his shoulders and silently dared Lassiter to comment on them.
"After we checked every place we could think he might be, we split up. Juliet was coming back here to help you, and I went back to Psych to see what I could find on my own since it hasn't yet been 48 hours." He paused and met the detective's eyes, his own full of worry. "That was almost two hours ago."

Lassie picked up the evidence. He suppressed a grimace as he scrutinized it through grinning orange pumpkins. Holding himself tightly under control he asked, "What have you found?"

Gus was grateful for his response. They really didn't have time for anger and yelling; they had friends to find. He pointed at the business card. "We found both items on Shawn's desk, but I have no idea where they came from. This person doesn't exist. I was able to get in touch with the real Dr. Mallow in Kansas. He's never been to California." Then he gestured towards the check. "That bank account was closed yesterday morning and never had more than a hundred bucks in it anyway."

Lassiter nodded, thinking quickly. "Dobson!" He handed over the bag containing the check. "Find out everything you can about the person who opened this account, and run the check itself through forensics for prints or anything else they can find."

Gus also wordlessly handed over the notes he'd taken earlier while speaking with Dr, Mallow..

A nod and the officer was gone.

"McNab!"

"Yes sir!"

Lassiter jumped as Buzz was standing right at his shoulder.

Lassiter handed him the baggie with the business card. "See what you can find out. I need everything there is to know about this Mallow and any prints that might be on the card. Take a CSI team over to that office and check it out thoroughly."

Gus added his notes here as well, then Buzz was gone.

Lassiter looked at Gus, both of them thinking, 'Now what?'

Gus waited patiently as he understood that police procedures needed to be followed and there was little he could do to help with that.

Lassiter turned on his heel, already walking as he spoke. "We'll put traces on their cell phones – see if we can find them that way. I'll put a BOLO out on O'Hara's car and call her road-side assistance company…" he frowned as he tried to recall which service she used. "I'll get CSI there, once we locate it. It won't take long. Maybe they'll find something." He nodded to himself. "You and I will head out as soon as I bring the chief up to speed."

Gus nodded his understanding, but Lassiter had one more thing to say before he entered Chief Vick's office. With a finger jabbed in Gus' direction he said, "You call his dad."

oO0Oo

"So, Shawn, do you like your present?" Mallow asked.

When Shawn only glared, Mallow turned and went to kneel in front of Jules, careful to stay just out of her reach. "Your boyfriend is fascinating! I didn't spend nearly this much time with the others. They were worthless. They had nothing to give me – but Shawn? Shawn might actually be worth something to me! I might be able to use him." He grinned again. "I am almost certain he holds the answer to The Question."

Both Juliet and Shawn heard the capital letters in Mallow's voice and wondered what it meant.

Then Shawn interrupted, trying desperately to bring attention back to himself and away from Jules. "Hey Jules! Is he doing the maniacal thing? I mean, seriously, next to maniacal in the dictionary is a picture of his grin. Am I right?"

Juliet recognized what he was doing and tried to counter. "Yup, Shawn! It's maniacal alright. He's crazy."

But Shawn had succeeded and Mallow came back to him. The man roughly grabbed Shawn's chin, making Shawn gasp at the sudden pain. He was pretty sure the doc had broken something because he could feel things grind painfully in the side of his face and that really wasn't cool.

"I really did a number on you, didn't I? Can you see out of that eye at all?" He twisted Shawn's face in his grip. Shawn tried to swallow his whimper and failed miserably, but he was glad Mallow wasn't near Jules anymore.

"Well, that's only the beginning." The doc gave a final vicious twist and let go, returning to his own seat near the door. "Wait until you see what I've got planned. But first! Let's show off for your girlfriend, shall we? From what I understand about your captivating story, she doesn't know what you can do, does she?"

Shawn just looked at him. This was good. If they could get back to the talking part, there would be less pain – at least as long as Mallow kept to subjects about which Shawn could talk.

If Shawn knew anything, it was that Mallow wanted something. First off, he obviously wanted power over his victims, but there was something else, something specific. He wanted it desperately enough to go through all this trouble to find it. He believed Shawn knew it, and he would stop at nothing to find it. Why he didn't just come out and ask was a mystery. But as long as they kept talking, they were giving Lassie and Gus – and the rest of the SBPD now that one of their own was also missing – time to find them.

"So Shawn," Mallow's sickly amused voice pulled him back from his musings, "tell me what you remember about the day you met Detective O'Hara."

Shawn raised his eyebrows at that – at least – he raised one of them. If he himself could have chosen a memory to relive, he couldn't have done better. He could go on and on about that day and he wouldn't mind a bit.

He smiled softly with the side of his mouth that would move. "Ahh, Jules. That day… Y'know, my dad says moments happen all the time. Moments that can change lives. That one changed mine.

"I got bored." He smiled ruefully and shook his head. "Who knew that the decision to go out and get a newspaper would change everything? When I came back to my seat there was a beautiful woman sitting in it." He closed his eyes and sighed. This was a memory he had played back so many times in his head it was a pleasure to relive it again – and he could use a little pleasure right now. "You were incredible. With your golden hair and that sweater… it was, what? Not orange. Not peach. Gus would know. But it had that tiny bit of lace around the edges that was so…" His fingers described the lace as his voice trailed off. "But it wasn't even that you were the most beautiful woman on the planet, although you are... You laughed at my jokes… That's one of my favorite qualities in a woman. Beautiful… kind… smart…

"And you were a good detective even then - brilliant... And on your first real case. You were calmly talking to some idiot at the diner like nothing was going on. I had no idea until the perp walked in. You'd picked the perfect vantage point, used your newspaper for cover, had control of the layout – you'd think my dad had trained you–"

"'No idea...' he had no idea!" Mallow chortled. "For him to miss something like that is truly noteworthy. But enough of this. I want details." Mallow demanded. "How did she do her hair?"

Shawn glared at him for interrupting his lovely memory but tried to keep him talking, "It was long, wavy–"

"Accessories?"

Shawn's voice held less animation now, "Gold. Hoop earrings, gold watch. Tan purse with gold accents–"

"Pants?" Mallow asked, becoming impatient.

This wasn't fun anymore. "Skirt."

"Color?"

"Charcoal."

"Tight? Short?"

Shawn didn't answer – the lecherous tone Mallow had adopted shut down any chance of him describing Juliet any further.

"C'mon, Shawn, you were having such a good time telling Juliet how beautiful she is… don't stop now."

Shawn just glared at him with his one good eye. "You have no right to even be in the same room with her…" he growled. "You– Augh!"

Mallow had once again driven a fist into Shawn's ribs. Something cracked.

"Shawn!" Juliet cried. "Stop it! Leave him alone! What do you want?"

At that, Mallow turned to her, leaving Shawn gasping.

Shawn sipped at the air because, while he desperately needed to fill his lungs, it was incredibly painful to do so.

Ignoring her question, the doctor knelt once more in front of her.

Mallow interrupted. "As enjoyable as this is, we need to get back to things I can verify. And there is no real record of your first meeting… unless… Detective?"

Juliet was still staring at Shawn.

"Detective!" he shouted, spittle flying in her face. "Is that the way it happened?"

Juliet swallowed. Her voice, when she spoke, was soft with wonder in spite of the monster in front of her. That was seven years ago! If she hadn't been so nervous about the case she'd been working on – her first with Lassiter – she wouldn't have remembered much at all, certainly not what jewelry she'd worn that day - but Shawn obviously did. "Yes… that's what happened."

"Hmm," Mallow chuckled. "It's fun to watch him, isn't it? With the right motivation, he's like a trained seal. But I really need to get back to things I can check. Can't have him faking, you know. Because you and I both know how good he is at faking, don't we?"

Juliet tore her eyes away from Shawn to stare at their captor. How did he know so much about them?

"Oh, Detective, I know we've only just met, but you will soon find out that I have taken a great deal of time to learn about Mr. Spencer. His years pretending to be psychic? Not really all that hard for someone like him."

'Someone like him?' Juliet looked back at Shawn. She'd told Shawn and Gus she didn't want to know how they solved cases, but she suspected she was about to find out.

Mallow stepped out of the room for a moment, and when he returned he was holding an old, worn scrapbook. "Recognize this?"

Shawn looked at it through his one good eye and gasped.

Mallow was also playing with a switchblade, but the book caused far more fear in Shawn than the knife.

Juliet recognized it a moment later, and her skin crawled when she realized what it meant.

Mallow just chuckled. "Yes, I stopped by your house earlier and picked up a few things." He looked at Juliet. "You almost caught me, coming home to look for Shawn. I didn't expect that. That's when I tampered with your car, as well, in case you were wondering." He sat down and casually opened the book on his lap. "So, Shawn. Tell me about your fifth birthday."

When Shawn had moved in with Juliet, his dad had insisted that he take some of the boxes from the attic. Henry had said that he shouldn't have to store Shawn's old things anymore now that his son had his own storage space. One of the boxes had contained scrapbooks of Shawn's childhood that his mom had meticulously put together. The box hadn't been opened in over twenty years.

Juliet had been thrilled to get a glimpse of Shawn as a boy and had wanted to sit down and go through them with Shawn immediately, but he had insisted they were boring. And then something had come up and they'd never gotten back to them. Seeing one here, now, in Mallow's hands meant that he had definitely been in their house.

Shawn was desperate to stall Mallow for as long as possible, so he began to describe, with as much detail as he possibly could, the Spiderman party he'd had that year. He described the cake, the games, and the guests for as long as he possibly could.

Juliet listened and watched. She was well aware that Mallow was watching her listen as he played with his blade, just as closely as he was watching Shawn. It creeped her out, but she was more invested in trying to understand what, exactly, Shawn was doing – he couldn't possibly remember that many details about the party. How could anyone remember what shoes the girls at their fifth birthday party had been wearing and whether or not they matched the clothes? But Mallow was checking what he said against the scrap book, and he seemed satisfied.

Shawn finally ran out of random facts about his guests and their antics that day. Knowing exactly what was in the scrapbook helped. All he had to do was describe what was in one picture after the next. Suddenly he was very thankful his mom had been so thorough.

He was just starting on the presents he'd received, describing the wrapping paper first in order to waste more time, when Mallow interrupted. He'd been waiting for Shawn to get to the gifts. "But Shawn, what about the gift you didn't get? The one you were so sure your dad had gotten you?"

Shawn's unfocused-lost-in-memory gaze suddenly focused. He tensed. "The remote control car?"

Mallow smiled and nodded slowly. "Tell me about that."

Shawn stared at him for a moment.

Juliet couldn't see Shawn's eyes, but she read something subtle in his position. She was sure that he had just realized something very important and he was trying fiercely to hide it from their captor. She jumped in to help distract Mallow. "You got a remote control car for your birthday? I always wanted one."

Shawn wished he could send her a grateful look. He swallowed and continued. "I didn't. That's the point."

"What do you mean?" she asked, playing along.

"I thought my dad was giving me the RC car. I'd seen clues. I'd heard him talking about it on the phone with someone. I saw a magazine on his bedside table open to an ad for one. There was other stuff, too, but the clincher was when I saw a bag from that same store smushed into a corner of the recycling bin. I was so sure."

Juliet wasn't sure if she should pursue this line or not, but she was genuinely fascinated now. "You were following clues when you were five?"

"You've met my dad, right?" Shawn asked with a bit of sarcasm as Mallow roared with insane laughter.

Shawn just kept talking, kept desperately delaying, because this situation had just become infinitely worse than anything he had imagined it might be.

He knew now what 'The Question' was.
And worse, he knew what the answer to The Question was.

"I threw a fit." His voice shook. "Right there at the party. I'd gotten all these great gifts from my friends – and from my parents – and I threw a fit because I didn't get that remote control car. I was such a brat."

Mallow continued to laugh, tears streaming down his face.

Juliet felt sick. And she didn't even know what connection Shawn had just made.

Shawn felt dead inside.

The doctor pointed at Shawn with his blade and looked at Juliet. "He figured it out! He knows!" he cackled. "He knows what I want! And he knows what I will do if I don't get it." And then, once again he crossed the room in one stride and grabbed Shawn's chin painfully. Spittle flew as he growled into Shawn's face, "Don't you? That incredible mind finally worked it out, didn't it?" But it wasn't a question. "And since you now know who I am, you have already seen what I will do if you don't give me what I want." And, apparently to reinforce his point, he suddenly flipped the blade around in his fist, jammed it deep into Shawn's thigh and left it there.

"Shawn!" Juliet cried as he shouted in pain.

Gritting his teeth, "I'mokayI'mokayI'mokay" he gasped to Juliet, panting. Then, unable to move due to the razor wire, he turned his head to glare up at Mallow, his face contorted with pain.

Mallow only smiled. He had all the power now, and he knew it. He reveled in it. "Not so smart now, are you? You will give me what I want. And I want you to think about that for a while."

He stopped at the doorway and turned, grinning. "This is really very exciting! I have been searching for this answer for months! And now, Shawn, you will tell me what I want to know. This is very exciting!" Then, giggling, he left, slamming and locking the door behind him.

Shawn and Juliet were both left breathless. Shawn's chin dropped to his chest as he forced himself to breathe through the pain. He had to think. He had to find a way to get Juliet out of there.

Juliet tore her eyes from the blood soaking Shawn's jeans and spreading across his thigh and broke the silence. "Shawn?" she whispered.

Dazed, in pain, and filled with a horrible dread, Shawn's mind was working, spinning swiftly through everything he had just learned and trying frantically to find a way out… a loophole… a bluff… something.

"Shawn!" Juliet knew only one thing: she needed to know what was going on!

Shawn twisted hard in his seat to look at her, grimacing when he realized he'd forgotten to grab his armrest.

Juliet's eyes widened when she saw the cut opened on his right wrist. Like Shawn, she'd assumed he was restrained by one of the usual means and hadn't really looked. She was just now seeing the razor wire.

But Shawn was looking at her with his good eye. "We have to get you out of here."

Juliet met his gaze evenly. "Um, we both need to get out of here, Shawn. You don't have to prot–"

"No!" Shawn interrupted, almost shouting. His voice cracked and she stopped. He'd never spoken to her like that before. "I know what he wants." His voice was now a scared, desperate whisper. He swallowed and Juliet saw his terror. "He's right... I know who he is." He continued softly. "He's going after my mom… Jules. And he'll use you - he'll hurt you until I tell him where she is."

She stared back at him, and she couldn't help it – her detective's mind wanted to know how he had figured it out.

"It doesn't matter what happens to me," he continued. "If you're here…" he paused. "If he hurts you…" His voice dropped once again to a whisper. "I'll give him anything he asks." He turned away from her. His voice was flat, his body slumped. "And then he'll kill my mom." Everything about him shouted hopelessness.

TBC…