"Good morning Jules." Shawn said smiling brightly. Lassiter and Jane were sitting around the junior detective's desk. It looked like she was walking them through the information they'd received over night. "Lassie, Jane, the pancakes were amazing. Would have been better with blueberry syrup or even better pineapple filled," He let his gaze wander around the room as he thought about pineapple pancakes.

"Pancakes?" O'Hara asked confused.

"I had some unexpected breakfast guests." Lassiter said glaring at Shawn and Gus. "Have you heard back from Centremark?" He asked O'Hara getting everyone's focus back on the case instead of pancakes.

"We made an appointment with Madison Roth for nine this morning and we're heading back to Mintark this afternoon to question some more employees." Juliet said.

"Can we carpool?" Shawn asked as everyone headed for the door. "Gus has been driving an awful lot and it's more economical and environmental."

"It isn't exactly healthy," Lassiter snapped. Shawn tilted his head to the side.

"because Lassie will probably shoot you if you're in his car." Jane finished, trying to fight back her laughter.

"Well, we wouldn't want that. It would break my record." Shawn said decisively.

"What record?" Gus asked.

"My record of never being shot."

"You've been shot at plenty of times." Gus objected. "You even got me shot at."

"Yes, but they never hit us. My dad made a bet that I'd get shot before the age of forty. I expect him to pay up, although I never expected to get that old." Shawn looked over at Jane whose laughter from just moments earlier had disappeared. "What now?" Shawn asked.

"Nothing, just don't count your chickens before they're hatched." Jane said avoiding Shawn's gaze and getting in the back of Lassiter's car. Lassiter rolled his eyes and got in the car with O'Hara. They left the parking lot before Shawn thought about getting into Gus' car.

"Dude, that was creepy." Gus said to Shawn.

"Yeah, you're telling me. C'mon let's head out and meet this Madison Roth."

"Aren't you going to wait for Lassiter to get to Centremark before we head over there?" Gus asked. Shawn shook his head.

"He didn't have any coffee this morning. He'll need to swing by and get some. He only gets coffee at Scooter's and O'Hara will take ten minutes to decide whether she wants a coffee too. That, combined with the five minutes Lassie will take debating if he should offer Jane coffee, gives us thirty minutes to scout out the place before Lassie shows up." Shawn laid out for Gus.

hcyspsych

Lassiter sped through the streets of Santa Barbara. He was ready to get this case closed so he could avoid Spencer until the chief made him call the psychic in again. He could also figure out Jane. There was no way she could be psychic, he knew that much, but it didn't explain all the stuff she knew. He hadn't told her to grab a gun when he had alerted her of the intruders that morning. She had known where it was. Lassiter never told people where he kept his guns. He had told her about the intruders, so that if he ended up shooting someone she wouldn't be freaked out. Women tended to scream when Lassiter shot people. He glanced back in his rearview mirror. Jane was staring and her hands in her lap. He almost wanted to ask her what she meant when she told Spencer not to count his chickens, but she was probably making it up just to scare him. Since, after all she wasn't psychic.

O'Hara glanced towards the back too. She felt a little out of the loop with everyone else knowing about pancakes that morning. She hadn't meant to ditch Lassiter the night before, but she had felt disgusting and getting home was more than a luxury it was necessary. She wasn't sure why this Jane girl was freaking everyone out as much as she was either. She hadn't said anything to O'Hara that made her seem weird or stalkerish, besides the cat comments.

"Do you think the murder was done for personal or business reasons?" Jane asked.

"Aren't you supposed to be the psychic?" Lassiter countered. Jane remembered she was supposed to be keeping up that charade. "It could be either one at this point." Lassiter continued. "We still don't know if Hudson was involved with someone in the office. If he was it could very well be both." Jane winced as the seatbelt dug into her shoulder as Lassiter made a sharp turn into the parking lot of a coffee shop.

hcyspsych

"Do you have a plan to get us in Centremark?" Gus asked as he and Shawn strode into the Centremark building. Unlike Mintark where everything was low to the ground and Earthy feeling, Centremark was a twelve story building with stainless steel accents.

"Just trust me dude." Shawn said. As they walked in the lobby, Shawn noticed it was just as modern as the outside of the building, but something was different. There were several ceiling tiles that didn't fit and paint was peeling. Clearly the company hadn't been putting a lot of time into the up keep of their lobby. Shawn spied a woman in her early to mid thirties leaning against the reception counter. Her long dark hair was gently curled and her clothes were stylish. She looked good and she knew it. Shawn sidled over to her before Gus could flip his jackal switch.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" The woman asked looking them up and down. Her voice sounded bored and she gave a small hair toss. Shawn gave her a charming smile.

"Yes, we're here to see Madison Roth." He explained. "Would you be able to tell him we're here?" The woman laughed, Shawn felt the hair on the back of his neck rise.

"Do you have an appointment?" The woman asked, her eyes continuing to appraise Shawn and Gus as if they were slabs of meat at the market. Shawn slowly shook his head.

"No, we just thought we'd drop in. Ian Hudson said Madison was the man to ask about printers." Shawn waited for the woman's reaction to him name dropping Hudson. Even a secretary would be aware of a buy out of the company and they definitely would recognize the name of the man in charge of it. The woman laughed again, but it was still the same laugh that made Shawn think she didn't think what he said was that funny.

"Apparently Ian didn't tell you enough. I'm Madison Roth." The woman said. She didn't hold out her hand for them to shake and just continued talking. "I'm afraid Ian didn't tell me he was referring my services to friends. I'm sure he would have."

"I'm sure it just slipped his mind." Shawn assured her. "My name is Shawn Spencer and this is my partner Chef Boyardee. You may have heard of our business."

"Everyone eats pasta, Mr. Spencer." Madison Roth said her voice icy.

"No not the pasta business, the psychic detective agency. I should have added my title when I introduced myself, Shawn Spencer Head Psychic for the Santa Barbara Police Department." Madison's eyes flickered with a hint of amusement.

"I was not aware the police employed such untested forms of investigation. I can't help but wonder if you're here to investigate me?" Shawn gave a small laugh.

"Why would we be here to do that? Chef?" He turned to Gus. Gus' face was one of curiosity and fear. Shawn elbowed him in the ribs.

"For crying out loud Spencer!" Lassiter's upset voice rang through the lobby. Echoing more in the stainless steel environment then it had in the Mintark lobby. Shawn turned to see Lassiter once again striding over to them. O'Hara was behind him with Jane who was carrying a paper coffee cup. Shawn smiled a little that the detective had offered Jane coffee after all. Lassiter flashed his badge and addressed Madison Roth. "We need to speak to Madison Roth and anyone else involved with the Mintark/Centremark merger."

"I'm Madison Roth," Roth said in the same calm, calculating voice. "What is this about? There's nothing illegal about a merger between two companies." Lassiter glanced around the empty lobby.

"Miss Roth,"

"Ms. Roth," Madison corrected him. Lassiter almost glared at the women before remembering he was supposed to be telling her about a death.

"Ms, Roth, Ian Hudson was found dead in his home yesterday morning. There is evidence to suggest that his attacker may have been someone he knew. With this merger being the forefront of his work load, we're talking to everyone involved, on both sides." Unlike Paula Ross from Mintark who had been visibly shaken by Hudson's death, Madison Roth didn't bat an eyelash when Lassiter gave her the grim news. She did take a step back and slowly sink down onto the reception desk.

"How?" Was all she asked. Shawn watched her hands, which weren't shaky. Her lips sported a dark lipstick, maybe a magenta? Yes Shawn would call that a magenta.

"We understand that this is a difficult time for you Ms. Roth." O'Hara said stepping forward. "You worked with Mr. Hudson during your time at Mintark and now you've been working closely with him to secure the merger between the two companies." Madison nodded.

"Ian was one of the few friends I had in the business. I just can't believe he's gone." She covered her mouth the cover a small sob. Shawn raised his hand to his temple.

"Ian wasn't just a coworker friend. You two saw each other during office hours as well as time away from work." He said closing his eyes.

"Yes, we had a lot of similar interests. Theatre was one of them. We went to The Marriage of Figaro the other week." Madison grabbed a kleenex from behind her on the desk.

"Were you and the victim involved in a relationship?" Lassiter asked pulling out his notebook. Jane watched as Madison Roth blushed, turning her pale complexion almost the same shade as a tomato.

"Ian and I….." She trailed off. "We flirted in the past, but we weren't involved currently."

"Do you know if he was seeing anyone, seeing as how you're such good friends?" Lassiter probed further.

"Ian was married to his job." Madison said, echoing the words of Paula Ross from the day before. "If he was seeing someone, it was very rare and she would've been the most patient person on earth. Ian liked to take work home with him, or he would just live at work. When we saw the opera last week it was the first time he'd been out for fun since Centremark proposed the merger." Gus' eyebrows rose.

"Centremark initiated the merger?" He asked, his voice full of surprise. Madison nodded. "That's new to me. The way the publicity is being handled by Mintark makes it seem like the more successful company is taking a damaged company under it's wing and caring for it."

"That's the good PR image. Centremark did take some hits from their recall, but by in large people recognize our brand on the east coast more then here. It was a way for Mintark to reach people across the country." Madison explained.

"Is there anyone who would have wanted to hurt Ian?" O'Hara asked. Madison shook her head.

"Everyone got along with Ian."

"What about for business reasons? Would anyone gain anything by delaying the merger?" Lassiter countered.

"I don't know about Mintark's clients, but our largest account was Dynovision Electronics."

"Wait, dinosaur TVs?" Shawn interrupted. Lassiter rolled his eyes and motioned for Madison to continue.

"Dynovision is the largest electronic distributer in the city and supplies most of the local government offices with televisions, computers and any of the high tech electrical equipment. However, they don't make office products, which is why they currently have a five million dollar contract with Centremark." Lassiter raised an eyebrow and glanced at O'Hara. Their four years as partners gave them the ability to convey thoughts with out conferring with words.

"Thank you for your time Ms. Roth. I'm sure we'll be in contact with you again." Lassiter said closing his notebook. Shawn and Gus both waved good-bye to Madison before heading out the door on the heels of the detectives and Jane. When they got outside the lobby Jane had to half jog to keep up with Lassiter's long strides.

"Wait, that wasn't all she knew about the case." Jane said almost slamming into Lassiter and spilling her coffee when he stopped to unlock the car.

"We can't just solve a case based on what one witness tells us. What do you think this is, the Mentalist?" Lassiter snorted in amusement.

"If it was the Mentalist the police consultant wouldn't have hair like this." Shawn ran a hand through his hair. "Nor would they have the psychic capability of this." He raised a hand to his temple. Now it was Jane's turn to snort in amusement.

"Spencer, you get babysitting duty now." Lassiter called out as he got in the car with O'Hara. Jane backed up as Lassiter pulled out of the parking space and left her standing there staring at Shawn and Gus.

"So psychic," Shawn addressed Jane. "what kind of reading slash vibe did you get in there." He jerked his head back towards the door. Jane thought back to Madison Roth's behavior.

"She wasn't telling everything about her relationship with Ian Hudson, maybe because Ian Hudson didn't feel the same way about her." Jane thought back to the driver's license photo attached to the case file. Ian Hudson had been a good looking man in his late thirties. Any woman he wanted, he probably could have gotten if the circumstances were right, or the woman was dumb enough.

"She can't be the murderer, Shawn." Gus objected. "It's too easy, she's definitely got motive, means and opportunity."

"That's why she can be the murderer," Shaw said confused. "unless today is magically opposite day."

"I think Gus means that Madison Roth is the red herring." Jane said.

"I thought women like her were called black widows."

"A red herring is a person who seems to be the culprit but then isn't. Think about any Scooby-Doo episode you've watched."

"Well, thanks for explaining that, Velma." Shawn said sarcastically. "Lassie's headed over to Mintark by now and he won't be stopping for coffee this time. There's only one thing to do."

"What's that?" Jane asked.

"Visit the dinosaur." Shawn said holding out his hand for the keys.

"No way Shawn, you can't even remember that it's called Dynovision. I'll drive."

"Shot gun!" Jane yelled, remembering how squished the backseat was. Shawn grumbled at her, but climbed into the backseat.

"Don't get too comfortable up there. I get my seat back after the next stop." He reminded Jane.