Previously…

Lassiter squinted at the report. "A Raymond Griffin? It says here he was convicted of–"

"He was convicted of murdering two little girls in Grand Island, Nebraska back in the 70s," Henry interrupted, causing everyone within earshot to stare at him.

"Henry?" Lassiter asked, his voice deceptively calm. "You know this guy?" It certainly wouldn't be the first time that someone from Henry's past went after Shawn.

Henry just looked at him for a moment, but everything about his stance was broadcasting that this was bad – really bad. "Nope... But I know who does."

oO0Oo

Testing, Testing, One, Two, Ouch!

Chapter 6

oO0Oo

Henry explained how he happened to be familiar with the case. "Shawn's mom did the profile that got this guy caught and convicted to life." He shook his head. "This is about revenge."

Lassiter swallowed as he looked over the main points on Griffin's extensive rap sheet. "Henry, this guy's a homicidal maniac - a true psychopath..."

"Oh yeah," Henry agreed, already pulling out his phone to call Maddie. "What I don't understand is why she wasn't informed that he'd been released. He was after her from the moment his conviction came through; they should have let her know as soon as his name came up for parole!" But then his ex-wife answered, and he turned away to talk to her and bring her up to speed on what was happening.

"Henry? What is it?" Maddie knew instantly that something was wrong, just by the tone of his voice.

"Maddie, Raymond Griffin was released." Henry said flatly. "Several months ago."

There was a shocked pause as Maddie processed that bombshell. "No…" She breathed. "He can't be out. Why wasn't I informed? When did he get out?! Henry…"

Henry Spencer had never been one to beat around the bush. "He's got Shawn."

There was no sound from the phone.

He might as well get it over with. "And we think he has Juliet as well."

"No! How… Henry…" Her voice trembled as she whispered, "You know what he will do."

"I know, Maddie. We're trying to follow up on a few leads here, but we may need you."

"No!" Maddie spoke with finality. "Why would he take Shawn? Not because of me… He couldn't know about Shawn. I wasn't even married when he went away. I changed my name. There isn't any way to…"

"Maddie, we have his prints. I don't know how, but he is definitely involved."

When she didn't respond, he continued. "We don't have a lot of leads here, Mads. We could really use your help. No one knows this guy like you do."

"Henry, I can't." Maddie whispered, frightened. "I fought that for years. He got into my head. I went through months of therapy just to get over him. I don't know if I can go through all that again."

Henry pursed his lips and regarded his shoes intently. He deeply regretted what he was asking. "You can do it for Shawn." He said quietly. "You can help us save him... and Juliet... from that monster."

There was silence on the line, but Henry could hear the hitch in her breathing. He knew they were both thinking of the horrific acts this man had committed - things that he might be doing to their son. "You won't have to face him, I promise. Just come down to the station, look at the file and tell us what you can. It could make all the difference, Maddie."

In his mind's eye he could see her steel herself. The shoulders went back, the head went up, and her eyes took on a look of determination that had once been so familiar to him.

"I'll be there in a few minutes." Her voice sounded confident.

He closed his eyes and ended the call.

While Henry was on the phone, Gus, McNab, and Chief Vick who had stepped out of her office to hear the latest were all looking to Lassiter. "What's our next move, Detective?"

The head detective took a deep breath and grasped at the only straw available. "Since O'Hara's car was fine until she picked it up at home earlier today, it's highly likely he was at her house at some point and tampered with it.. We'll go through all the nearby traffic cams… ATM cams… anything we can find that might give us a view of the streets around her home. If we can figure out what he's driving, we'll be one step closer to finding him."

It was a long shot, and everyone knew it.

Gus frowned, thinking. "Is there a chance he was at the Psych office?"

Lassiter rolled his eyes. "I don't know his recent itinerary, Guster. If I knew that, I'd have arrested him already," he said sarcastically, then relented, "Of course it's possible… Why?"

"Shawn installed ridiculously expensive spy cameras at the office a couple weeks ago. They record cars that park out front and anyone who comes inside. I thought they were completely pointless. But now... If Griffin was there, we'll have video of him." Gus was excited with this new possibility.

So was Carlton, but he wasn't about to let it show. "Go get whatever you have."

As promised, Madeline Spencer arrived just a few minutes after Gus left. She'd already been at Henry's house in anticipation of their dinner with Shawn and Juliet, so she hadn't far to come. Henry had been picking up some groceries when Gus called him, so she'd had no idea there was any trouble. In fact, she'd been wondering what was keeping him. Now she knew: Her son and his girlfriend had been kidnapped by the most evil man she'd ever met, and it was up to her to help the police figure out where he was keeping them.

Henry watched her approach. She appeared strong and businesslike, but he saw her hands tremble as she accepted the file from Lassiter. Henry stood behind her and put a hand on her back in a show of support as she paged through what little information they had.

Soon she cleared her throat. "Griffin is a man desperate for power. All his life he was put down and treated like dirt. Most of his actions now are motivated by revenge for any possible slight. You don't want to cut this guy off in traffic, because he'll be the one to hunt you down and kill you for it." She paused and took a breath. Everyone within earshot was hanging on her every word. "You're looking for a vehicle?"

Lassiter nodded. "It would help."

"He'll be driving something powerful. He may be in a sports car, but due to his small stature, I believe something large and heavy would be more his style. A truck, or an SUV - probably black or at least very dark in color. Anything that would exude power… and anger."

She flipped through the file again to calm herself and then continued. "As for location, he'll want something remote, obviously, as his activities tend to be… rather… loud." Her voice shook on the last word and she had to pause. She swallowed hard and shook her head.

It was not lost on anyone that the noise to which she was referring were screams that the monster might be tearing from her only child's throat.

She steeled herself and continued. "Here too, he will want control and power, but not flash. When he took the girls it was to a remote and abandoned cement factory. Heavy walls, strong doors - an environment that was completely under his control. He'll have Shawn and Detective O'Hara someplace like that."

She looked up at Lassiter with eyes bright with unshed tears. "Does that help?"

He nodded and instructed some of his team to begin looking into possible buildings that fit her description, while others continued to watch video feeds looking for likely vehicles.

Henry led Maddie to a nearby bench and got them both some coffee.

She sipped it gratefully and then stared into space. "This is all my fault." She whispered.

"Mads." Henry protested.

"No." She interrupted. "If it weren't for me, Shawn and Juliet would be safe at home. They'd be at your house having a lovely dinner… laughing-"

"If it weren't for you," Henry stopped her line of thought. "This guy would never have gone to prison. How many families would he have torn apart if you hadn't put him away?"

But she just shook her head. "Not mine." She said, knowing how horrible it made her sound.

"Maddie, we're going to find them."

When she looked at him Henry saw something in her eyes; something dark. He understood. For that matter, he agreed.

"They should have executed him for what he did." She murmured, her voice tight with fear and with anger. "Made sure he couldn't hurt anyone else."

Henry had nothing to say to that. He knew that their own thoughts of anger and revenge would not help them find Shawn, but that didn't mean he didn't agree. He nodded and sat back, his shoulder touching hers.

She gave in then to her instinct and leaned into his shoulder. He put an arm around her and two worried parents waited.

oO0Oo

"Shawn! I've almost got it! Just a couple more turns…"

"That's great... sweetheart... As soon as you... get out of here you have to… to warn my mom-"

"We, Shawn. As soon as we get out of here, you can warn her yourself."

"Jules, you don't get it... He'll be back any second, and if you're not gone…" Shawn didn't have the strength to argue. He let his throbbing head droop.

His face hurt. His thigh burned. His wrists and ankles stung angrily. His muscles ached from sitting so long, a situation compounded by the fact he was pretty sure Mallow had cracked a rib or two. He was so tired. He'd been awake for almost forty-eight hours now and the blood loss wasn't helping, but he tried to explain. "I know you've got mad ninja skills... but I also know what it's like to be drugged by this guy... There's no way you're up to your usual fighting form."

"Shawn–"

"Juliet, please." he begged, his voice cracking. "You have to be gone before he gets ba-."

"I've got it!" And the triumphant jingle announced that, while the cuffs on her wrists were still connected by the chain, the chain was no longer connected to the wall. "Let's get you out of here." She knelt next to him and began to examine the wires.

"Go. Juliet. Please."

Then there was no more time to argue because at that moment, they heard the locks on the door.

Juliet sprang to take a position next to the door where Mallow wouldn't see her immediately and waited for him to enter the room.

She threw the chain around his neck as soon as he stepped over the threshold. He managed to get a hand between the chain and his airway, though, and the two struggled.

Shawn was terrified. There was nothing he could do. He shouted encouragement that meant nothing and probably wasn't heard.

Mallow threw his head back and struck Juliet in the nose, forcing her back into the hallway and out of Shawn's sight.

"JULES!"

oO0Oo

"Lassie! Lass- Detective Lassiter!" Gus ran into the station.

Lassiter looked up from where he was sitting with Henry, watching endless useless footage of cars going through intersections.

"He was there. At Psych…" Gus waved a disc in his direction. "He pulled up in front and picked the lock. He looked around, but whatever he was searching for, he didn't find it. He left without taking anything." He handed over the disc. "Look!"

Lassiter growled at him but put the disc in and watched.

"See?" Gus pointed at the screen. "The truck - late model Black Ford F-150! That's him!"

The detective leaned closer. "Can you get a plate?"

Gus scowled. "No. Shawn tilted the camera so he could watch for the Japadog cart. It doesn't point where it should."

Lassiter growled, but was already in motion, calling for a BOLO on the truck. Several possible sites had been compiled by his officers and he had them cross reference those sites with any potential truck sightings.

Gus was still watching Griffin walk through Psych on one monitor while Henry watched traffic cam footage on another. "It's creepy… knowing he was in there…" But their search was energized. It felt good to have some traction.

Less than ten minutes later, Lassiter approached Maddie. "Mrs. Spencer, we could use your help."

She put her shredded tissues in her purse, stood and followed him.

"Patrols have spotted black trucks near three possible locations. Can you give us an idea of which one might be most likely?"

She glanced at Henry who nodded encouragingly, and then looked down at the photos Lassiter had spread on the table.

Soon she spoke. "You realize I have no way to know for certain. I am not psychic."

Lassiter grimaced at that since he didn't believe anyone was, but he nodded for her to continue.

She pointed to one of the photos. "This is your best bet. Since this storage facility is converted industrial space, it will have far sturdier walls and floors than the others." as she spoke, her voice became more confident. "It will be more secure as well. He's here. I'm as sure of it as I can be."

"You heard the woman. Let's go, people!" Lassiter shouted. "Move it!"

There was a flurry of activity, but Henry paused next to his ex.

"I'm staying here." She told him. "You keep me informed, okay?" Then she grabbed his arm. "Get that… that monster... And if Shawn's…" She couldn't say the word. "Don't you hesitate to…" She stopped.

Henry could see the muscles in her jaw working as she grit her teeth. He met her gaze evenly, knowing what she was asking. Then he nodded once, and followed Gus out the door.

oO0Oo

Shawn listened helplessly to the sounds of the struggle outside the door. He heard his beautiful Juliet cry out in pain more than once. He heard Mallow grunt as well, but it did not encourage him. Though the man was short, he was deceptively strong. He'd obviously taken advantage of thirty years with nowhere to go but the prison gym. And Juliet was still recovering from the effects of the sedative and was hampered in her movements by the heavy chain between her wrists. It was not a fair fight.

But there was nothing he could do about it.

Absolutely nothing.

Crashing furniture – bodies hitting walls and floors – In his head he prayed that Juliet was kicking this guy's butt, and he shouted words to that effect at the top of his lungs, but the truth was he had no way of knowing what was happening on the other side of that doorway.

And then the worst possible thing happened. It got quiet.

The fight was over.

Shawn stared at the doorway as if he could melt it with his brain. "C'mon, Jules, c'mon..." he murmured.

But it was Mallow who walked through it.

"No…" Shawn whispered.

"Oh yes, Shawn," Mallow replied breathlessly. He was bruised, his shirt was torn, and he was bleeding from several cuts and scratches, but the thing that troubled Shawn the most was the wide streak of blood across the front of his shirt. Blood that obviously wasn't his.

"What did you do?" He couldn't help asking, in spite of the fact that every fiber of his being was screaming that he didn't want to know. He was terrified that the words about to come from Mallow's mouth would destroy his life forever.

"Oh… Shawn… I'm sorry." Mallow slowly crossed the room towards him. He was calmly cleaning the bloody blade of his knife on his shirttail. He stood in front of Shawn, their knees almost touching. He put his hands on Shawn's forearms and leaned in, knowing the psychic couldn't move. "I killed her, Shawn. She's dead."

"No. She's not. She's…"

"She's dead, Shawn."

"She's not dead. Jules is not dead. Never. She's always okay. She's okay. She escaped. You're just–"

"SPENCER!" Mallow roared, leaning even closer, holding his knife against Shawn's throat to prevent any thought of another head-butt. "She's dead. I killed her. This is her blood!" He grabbed a handful of his stained shirt as if to show it to Shawn. "And now you will tell me about my profiler. I know you know. I know you remember. I know you will tell me. I know this because I will hurt you, and keep hurting you until you do."

Shawn wasn't listening. His eyes wide with desperation and pain, he fought the utterly unbearable idea that Jules was gone.

He couldn't stand it. His world was falling apart. It was as if his brain simply refused to process the thought. Instead it spun madly in every direction, searching for something solid.

Then Mallow's words registered, and he knew what to do.

He smiled humorlessly because he realized he still had one way to beat this guy. "You're wrong; dead wrong. I won't tell you where your profiler is. I won't ev-er tell you. You think I will. You think you can make me, but you're wrong. You see, I know something you don't. And it changes everything."

Mallow straightened slightly, frowning. "What's that?"

"Your profiler… is my mother," Shawn growled breathlessly. "Didn't see that coming, did you? I don't care what you do to me. There is no way that I will give you her name or where she lives or any single thing about her. I won't tell you what you want to know."

Mallow froze, staring at Shawn. He stayed that way for a long moment.

It was clear that he was absolutely furious, but he was also surprised. He hadn't seen that coming – not at all.

Then, as if making some sort of internal decision, he stood and brought his knife up to wave under Shawn's nose.

When he spoke, he was eerily calm, his voice conversational. "I suppose you're right about that, Shawn. I don't suppose you will give me your own mother. Especially after I killed your girlfriend... That's too bad." As he spoke, he touched the tip of his knife to Shawn's chin and began to draw a thin red line down his throat and onto his chest. Shawn gasped and tried in vain to jerk away. The knife followed, cutting through his shirt as he went.

Mallow chuckled quietly as he placed the point of the knife against a spot between his ribs. "It's okay, though." His voice was fearfully mild. "Because you're a fairly famous guy…"

He made a shallow slice.

Shawn whimpered.

"I don't need you any more. Although I do so wish I had time to turn you into a work of art."

Another shallow slice. Another whimper.

"Oh well."

Shawn gasped each time the tip of the knife cut into him.

"You see, I don't think I'll have any trouble finding Shawn Spencer's mother."

Mallow looked very calmly into his victim's eyes and then he smiled. He put his weight behind the blade and slowly and purposefully drove it deep into Shawn's chest, right to the hilt.

Then he straightened, regarded his handiwork for a second, nodded to himself, and left in a hurry.

Shawn knew he should be screaming. He certainly felt like screaming. But for some reason, no sound beyond a pitiful whimper would be forced from his throat. He couldn't even breathe.

The pain was unbearable. Blood ran down his stomach and pooled in his lap. He knew he was going into shock and prayed he would pass out soon. But the worst part of it all was that he had done the very thing he'd fought so hard to avoid. The very thing Juliet had died trying to prevent.

He'd given Mallow his mom.

TBC…

A/N - before you yell at me, :-D it is possible to survive a stabbing like that - really! I already killed Shawn once- I won't do it again. As for Juliet - remember who we're dealing with. Are you really going to trust him?