A/N: Okay, so I've made adjustments to this chapter. I added the second half on. I didn't want to just add it as another chapter all together so I put it on this one.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Psych but sometimes I wish I did. Okay, almost all the time...
Oh, and I advise you to make the window you're reading this in smaller so it looks better. You don't get the same effect when you can see the next three paragraphs.
6/21/11: This chapter has been edited
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Part One:
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Shawn leaned against the side of the hole breathing heavily. He was starting to feel a little lightheaded. "Prob'ly jus' the pain," he mumbled. Shawn turned his face upward, toward the stars that he couldn't see, "Dude," he said through gritted teeth, "why couldn't you have just lowered me gently into a hole full of pillows and stocked with fresh marshmallows and a mini-fridge?"
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"Oh, come on, McNab! Aren't you done yet?" Lassiter asked for the millionth time.
The younger man didn't even look up from the note he was staring so intently at. He scribbled something down on a post-it and pushed his reading glasses back to their rightful place.
Juliet glanced at Carlton in what might have been annoyance, but it was too well concealed to tell. "Shh, Carlton, he has to get it right." This was true and it made the older detective shut his mouth. For now.
Henry was tapping his foot impatiently and was getting ready to say something when McNab suddenly burst out, "Aha!" The five people around him jumped and he quickly jotted something else on the post-it then he stood. He faced the apprehensive group surrounding him, but before he could get a word out someone's cell phone started ringing.
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Shawn blinked groggily, he heard something. Buzzing? No that wasn't it. It was... voices. Someone was outside the hole! Shawn didn't think that it could be his kidnapper. All he thought was that it could be his savior.
"Hey!" He shouted and he noticed that his voice was hoarse and he was really thirsty. "There's an injured person down here! Hello-oo?"
The murmuring got louder and suddenly Shawn was starting to see little dots of lights. Stars! He was going to be rescued!
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They all watched as Detective Lassiter spoke on the phone. Some of them were just irritated at the delay in the proceedings, others, namely Henry, were on the verge of a furious outburst.
"Yes mother," Lassiter said quickly and quietly into the phone and they all heard a shrill voice shouting from the other end. He listened for a moment before speaking again, "I'm really very busy right now, mother, I have to-" He was cut of by his mother's yelling again, "No I'm not married! I just got divorced, for justice's sake."
For like, two years, now hang up the phone, Carlton! Juliet's inner voice shouted. She wanted to get on with this already. Every minute they wasted at the station was another minute they weren't looking for Shawn. Juliet was tempted to snatch her partner's phone and hang up on his mother, but she refrained from doing so.
Finally he hung up and right away he was back in super-cop mode. He turned back to McNab, who still held onto his post-it. "McNab!" He barked, "What're you waiting for? An engraved invitation? Just tell us what the damn thing says!"
"Yes, sir," Buzz said obediently, "I'm not sure if I got all the words right, because some letters are-"
"Just read it!" Everyone exclaimed at the same time, including the other officers and detectives who'd been eavesdropping.
"It says," The whole room was quiet and everyone listened eagerly, "'Eggs, bacon, soy-"
"You're saying it's a grocery list?" Gus asked in disbelief, the hope draining out of his eyes.
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"Damn," A voice at the top of the hole muttered, "He's still alive. Alex said he prob'ly landed on his head on the way down."
"Guess not," A feminine voice supplied, "What should we do?"
"Get rid of 'im," The other said simply and Shawn felt his heart stop. How many times could his life be threatened in one day? Wait, he thought, how many times has it been threatened? Once? Twice? Eh, I don't remember exactly. He was jolted back to reality when he heard the cocking of a gun.
Oh, great, I hope they don't have night-vision goggles, Shawn thought just as the woman asked, "You brought the one with the night-scope, right?"
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"No..." Juliet murmered. It couldn't be something as stupid as this. It had to be something more.
"What?" Lassiter asked, "If it was a shopping list why is it coded?" Juliet's hopes rose just a little. Lassiter had a good point.
"Detective..." Vick trailed off, she had absolutely no answer. She glanced over at Henry. He was standing stock-still in the same position he'd been in since McNab had started reading the note. His face was a bit paler though. Vick pitied him, she would hate to be where he was right now.
"Uh, guys?" Buzz tried to get their attention, but they were to deep in their own thoughts. Juliet and Lassiter were avidly discussing why the note was coded and if it held any significance, Gus was quietly breaking down, Vick was trying to assure a furious Henry that everything would turn out all right.
Buzz knew he had to take charge. He mustered up all the courage he could and shouted, "GUYS! WOULD YOU JUST STOP AND LISTEN? THERE'S MORE!"
Now that got the whole room's undivided attention. Juliet was looking at him with hopeful eyes, Lassiter was staring at him as if he'd grown another head, Gus finally stopped crying, and the Chief and Henry were just staring. McNab started to feel like they were all burning holes through his skin and shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably.
"Well then, Officer McNab," Vick said, "read it."
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"Aw, shit!" The man exclaimed, "I brought the wrong one!"
"Dammit, Bill!" The woman shouted, "Why do I even bother working with you?"
"Because you love me?" The man, Bill, asked hopefully. Suddenly Shawn heard a resounding crack and Bill swore, "Shit!" And Shawn knew that the woman must've slapped him, and hard.
"There's no way I could ever love a piece of filth like you," the woman said, clearly offended.
"Whatever," Bill grumbled, "But I've got the one with the night-scope in the car."
Oh, crap, Shawn thought, I didn't even get a last word.
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"So," McNab started again, "It says: One: Grab Vic, two: Vic to dump site: Bill's place. Emergency site: 1933 Sycamore, three: R. return to PD, four: Second dump at Steve's Storage house number six, five: Flight to Mexico."
"It's a list," Lassiter stated.
"Thank you, Detective Dipstick," Henry said flatly, using the nickname Lassiter hated. "We really needed you to point out the obvious. Way to go."
Lassiter made a move toward Henry and Henry gave the universal 'bring it on' sign. Juliet grabbed Lassiter's arm before he could make another step though, and Vick whispered angrily into Henry's ear. The elder Spencer's anger soon deflated and he was back to being completely emotionless.
"What does it mean?" Gus asked. His insides were squirming, his friend was out there and now they had a clue. They could find him. They would. Gus knew it with every bone in his body, just like he knew that they'd find him alive. There was simply no other option acceptable to Gus.
"Well," Lassiter thought for a moment, "That first thing on the list 'grab vic' probably means 'grab victim' which in this case would be Spencer."
"That's already been done," Juliet added, she was feeling like they were finally getting somewhere now, "So on to direction two. Where's 'Bill's place'?"
"I don't know," Lassiter thought for a moment. "McNab!" He shouted.
The young man flinched, the older detective had yelled right into his ear. "Yes, sir?"
Henry answered for the head detective, "Find out where 1933 Sycamore is."
Lassiter frowned at the older man but said nothing, instead he thought about the next thing on the list. "'R. return to PD..."
"Lena!" Gus exclaimed, "The nanny returned the kid to the police department! The nanny whose first name starts with R!"
"Somebody get a hold of that nanny!" Vick yelled to the nearby policemen and women in the room and they all scurried off to obey these orders, "And bring her in!" She looked at the remaining four people around her, "Looks like we've got a suspect."
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