"Guster." Lassiter acknowledged grudgingly as he approached the man standing next to his partner. He nodded his head quickly in greeting. "O'Hara I want you to track down a list of all of Mr. Jordan's employees."
Gus frowned, "You think this was an inside job?"
"This security system is top of the line, and no one tripped it?" Lassie shook his head, "It raises more than a few red flags. Besides, Adam Jordan isn't known for his generous pay; it's possible an employee wanted a bigger payout." Lassiter's imagination started spinning, "kidnapped the girl for ransom."
"That's a great theory Lassie," Shawn announced dramatically from the top of the stairs. All the cops in the room turned and looked at him. Shawn grinned gleefully and slid down the railing, hopping to a stop next to his best friend. Shawn kept his eyes carefully trained on Lassiter, taking extra care to avoid eye contact with Jules. He raised a hand to his head, "But I'm sensing that you haven't received a ransom note." Shawn 'divined'.
Juliet turned to Lassiter, "That's true Carlton." Carlton's nostrils flared angrily as he looked down at her. Juliet shrugged. Facts were facts.
Shawn nodded, still not looking at her. "I'm also sensing that the kidnapper is someone the girl knew."
"We already figured that one out Spencer." Lassiter managed between gritted teeth. "I'm so glad the 'psychic' realm could catch up."
Shawn opened his mouth to retort when a loud shriek pierced through the house. Lassiter and Jules turned, hands reaching for their guns.
"My baby!" The woman shrieked, falling into the arms of a member of the housing staff. Lassiter and O'Hara removed their hands from their weapons. Juliet felt sympathy well up inside of her for the poor woman.
Shawn frowned; "Why is Samantha Jones from Sex in the City on our crime scene?" He paused. Why did he know that? Lassiter ground his teeth, his hand unconsciously brushing back his coat revealing his gun.
"Shawn why do you know who that is?" Gus asked sounding appalled.
"That's the former Mrs. Jordan Spencer. Alexandria Bensen." He hissed. Shawn shrugged and moved towards the woman when Lassiter grabbed him roughly by the shoulder.
Lassiter turned menacingly to Shawn, "Don't you say a word Spencer. If there was ever a situation that did not require your particular brand of humor it's this," he added breathily.
Shawn's face fell. As Carlton moved off towards the woman Juliet gave Shawn an apologetic smile. Shawn looked away. Juliet felt the lump return to her throat. She moved to follow Lassiter.
"What the hell was that Shawn?" Gus hissed to Shawn.
"What?" Shawn asked absentmindedly, watching as the woman moved freely from hugging the red haired balding help to sobbing into Lassiter's arms. Shawn felt a wicked grin spread across his face as he watched Lassiter's face distort in confusion; he always got so panicky when it came to emotion.
"You wouldn't even look at Juliet," Gus continued angrily.
"Oh. That." Shawn said, all traces of levity disappearing from his voice.
"Yes, that," Gus echoed hotly. He paused a moment before adding, "She never went on the trip with Declan. They broke up."
Shawn wheeled to his partner. "You talked to her!" He hissed fearfully.
"Yes Shawn I did. I happen to like Juliet." Gus retorted, rolling his eyes.
"My specific instructions were for you to tackle her to the ground and then run away!" Shawn growled. "Man!" he added, stomping his foot as if to start a tantrum.
"You did not give me any instructions Shawn," Gus rolled his eyes. "You and I didn't even discuss anything. You just looked at me and then faked a vision and ran out of the room!"
Shawn stared blankly at Gus for a second, "Gus you are Magic Head! You just know." He said, as if that explained everything.
"Shawn, I am not a telepath!" Gus hissed. "And as perfect as my head is, it possesses no magical properties."
Shawn puckered his lips and sighed, "Gus of course it doesn't. That would be absurd." Gus nodded, glad they were in agreement, and "You're clearly an extremely powerful mutant." Shawn smirked as he walked off.
"Ms. Bensen, please, sit down," Juliet offered compassionately, pulling the hysterical woman from her partners arms and steering her to the nearest chair where she promptly collapsed. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Shawn and Gus bickering; she was fairly certain Gus had just mouthed her name.
"Where is that bastard?" Ms. Bensen moaned scathingly, drawing Juliet's attention back to the task at hand. She scolded herself silently; her personal feelings had to wait; there was a little girl out there who still needed their help.
Lassiter blinked, "Who?"
The woman lips curled back like an animal, "My ex husband," she bite out the words like a vile curse.
Juliet and Lassiter exchanged looks; the divorce had obviously not been civil.
"McNabb!" Lassiter shouted. "Where is Mr. Jordan?" He questioned the young officer as Buzz jogged over.
Buzz paused and frowned. "Um….I haven't seen him Detective." McNabb finally admitted.
Lassiter shifted on his feet; a wolfish expression appearing on his face as he glanced around the room. He glanced at O'Hara who shook her head. She hadn't interviewed him, or seen him for that matter.
"Has anybody here seen Mr. Jordan!" Lassiter shouted to the room full of cops.
Shawn and Gus strolled up and stood behind Lassiter, intentionally invading his personal space bubble. A small smile grew across Shawn's face as Lassiter became angrier.
"He's…he's at w-work," the red haired man who had been holding Ms. Jordan offered quietly, his voice stuttering slightly.
Ms. Bensen shot up, renewed anger pulling her from the chair like a puppet, "He did it! He hurt Millie!"
Lassiter sighed. "McNabb!" He shouted, pointing to Ms. Bensen, ordering Buzz to restrain the frantic and furious woman.
Juliet turned to the red haired man, "I'm sorry, you are?"
He extended his hand shakily, "J-Jeffery Grant. I w-work for Mr. Jordan."
Ms. Jordan was sitting again; Buzz McNabb's hand was resting on her shoulder, ready to restrain her again. "Jeffery has worked for us for years; since before Millie was born."
"Grant." Lassiter paused, "You're the one who filed the report."
Jeffery nodded nervously. "Yes s-sir. I went to wake up M-Millie and," he swallowed, "-and she wasn't there."
Jules put a comforting arm around the man as he tried to compose himself.
Shawn frowned as he surveyed the man. "You wouldn't happen to be the butler?"
Gus elbowed him hard in the side, Shawn glared at Gus, and the two proceeded to have a whispered argument as Lassiter's face turned an angry red color.
"Spencer!" Lassiter hissed. Shawn and Gus promptly stopped.
"Detectives…who are these two…people?" Ms. Bensen asked, having watched the best friends hissing slap fight with a mix of disbelief and horror on her face.
Jules felt her face flush, biting back an excuse for Shawn's behavior. Shawn brushed passed her and introduced himself.
"My name is Shawn Spencer." He grinned, "This is my associate Charles Xavier."
"Are you still on that?" Gus hissed. Shawn shrugged.
"Their idiots Ms. Bensen," Lassiter cut in with a grin. "And they won't be bothering you anymore." He added with a menacing glare aimed at the two consultants.
"Actually Lassiter, Mr. Spencer officially hired us on this case this morning." Gus informed them. Lassiter growled.
Jules rolled her eyes; at this rate nothing was ever going to get done.
Later: SBPD:
"Shawn, where have you been!" Gus yelled as Shawn waltzed through the front door, soaking wet. Shawn looked at him in confusion. "You've been gone almost an hour!"
"I went to get another smoothie Gus. With this weather it took longer to get back then I expected," Shawn said, obviously not concerned, shaking his head like a dog to get rid of some of the rain water. He took another sip. Gus glared at him. "Don't worry, I got you one too." Shawn added holding up another smoothie. Gus kept staring at him. "Ok, I may have used your credit card to buy it, and I may have taken a sip of it on the way over to help make mine last longer, but it's the thought that counts." Shawn elaborated.
Gus shook his head, grabbed the smoothie, and walked away.
Shawn stared after him, "What?" With a role of his eyes he followed after his partner.
"They are interviewing Ms. Bensen in a few minutes."
"Lassie and Jules learn anything yet?"
Gus shook his head. "No one has been able to get a hold of Mr. Jordan at his firm."
"Firm?"
Gus nodded, "I knew the name sounded familiar, but I didn't place it right away. Adam Jordan is the defense lawyer from Baker, Jordan, and Neal. They are some of the most powerful lawyers in all of Santa Barbara."
"But Chief!" Lassiter whined. Shawn and Gus spun around, seeing Lassiter and Juliet get chased out of the Chief's office.
"No Detective."
"But we have our guy. " Lassie nodded, "I know it." He added empathically. Juliet stayed silent at his side.
Chiefs nostrils flared briefly before she answered-seriously, was that a cop thing? He'd have to ask his dad about it later. "If Mr. Jordan is in fact responsible, then I do not want his defense team exploiting any loopholes. We look at all options Carlton."
Lassiter growled. "O'Hara, get me that list of employees who might have had access to the house. Cross check the list for anyone with a criminal record." Lassiter sighed, "Doing that is a waste of time Chief," he added as she closed her door. He spotted Shawn and Gus sipping their smoothies and watching the exchange and growled again. "And for the love of God, keep these two out of my investigation."
Lassiter brushed passed them towards the interrogation room muttering under his breath. Shawn grinned, "You know, I don't think he'd ever admit it, but I think he likes us." Gus nodded, and as if they had coordinated it, they spun on their heels and raced after Lassiter, shouting his name at the top of their lungs. Jules shook her head and went back to her desk to file the requests Carlton wanted.
Interrogation Room:
"Now, Ms. Bensen before we begin-" Juliet said as the interview began.
"I always knew that he was an ass, but," she laughed, staring off into space," I can't believe he would go this far."
"You mean kidnapping your daughter?" Lassiter asked from his position leaning against the wall near the entrance to the interrogation room.
"The bastard only got custody of Millie because of my…" Ms. Bensen bristled, "alleged extramarital activities."
"Alleged?" Juliet questioned, one eyebrow raised.
Ms. Bensen smiled, "We had a lot of pool boys," she supplied in way of explanation, a nostalgic and not at all innocent grin appearing on her face as she allowed her implications to sink in.
Juliet smiled with her lips closed the way she often did when she didn't believe what she was hearing but wasn't about to push it. Shawn grinned; it was absolutely adorable. He frowned. He couldn't be thinking that. He shook his head slightly, trying to expel the thought-the image-from his mind, but he couldn't. Instead he was bombarded by flashes of memories; all the times he had seen that smile. At the coffee shop when they had first met all the way through to when he had told her that Declan must just have had an enormous sweet tooth and that he'd finished off three crème brulee dishes all by himself. He winced, unable to control the flashes. It was giving him a massive brain freeze. He raised a hand to his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. Putting his other hand against his head he remembered he still had a delicious pineapple smoothie. Oh. That might have been causing the brain freeze. Well, one mystery down at least.
"I'm currently speaking with a lawyer about attempting to regain custody though," Ms. Bensen added as an afterthought.
Juliet and Lassiter exchanged silent cop talk glances. That right there was what they liked to call motive. Shawn shook his head disbelievingly. Sure it was the best lead anyone, himself included, had on the case. But it didn't feel right….psychicly. Shawn shrugged, easiest thing to do was disprove their theory.
"Let's go Buddy," Shawn said, nodding his head towards the door.
Gus raised an eyebrow, "Are we headed to Jordan's office to crack this case wide open?" Gus grinned, inching towards the door slowly, as if Lassiter and Juliet might see them leaving through the one way glass.
"Nope, we're going over there to impersonate lawyers and send Lassie back to the drawing board," Shawn said dryly, sipping his smoothie as he walked out of the interrogation room.
Baker, Jordan, and Neal Law Firm:
"Hello I'm Shawn Spencer and this is my associate-"
"I don't care." The receptionist said dryly, filing her nails. Shawn's eyes widened, flabbergasted. He was never interrupted while introducing Gus, and if there was one thing that happened even less then never it was Shawn getting shot down that quickly by a single twenty something. He touched his hand briefly to the top of his head, was his hair really that bad today?
"Um, we are here to see Adam Jordan," Gus supplied helpfully, shooting his friend a confused glance.
Now the receptionist gave them her full attention, "Mister Jordan is unavailable right now."
Shawn laughed lightly, "Well of course he is. We're his one o'clock; he's expecting us." Shawn grinned.
Gus rolled his eyes, "It's three thirty Shawn."
"Well then we really must be going; his office is this way right?" Shawn said, heading off down one of the firms two hallways.
"Um, no…its not." The receptionist remarked, sounding suspicious. "And Mister Jordan is out for the day."
"He hasn't been in at all?" Gus asked, his brow furrowing. The receptionist shook her head.
Shawn puckered his lips. Now they really needed to see that office. "Where is the little boys room?" He asked innocently. Without looking up from the computer screen the receptionist pointed down the other hallway.
Shawn grinned. He loved sneaking into places. Gus followed after him.
"That could have gone better," Gus said, relief evident in his voice.
Shawn nodded, "I know, and I had such a cool name for you too." Gus patted his friend on the arm.
Jordan's Office:
"This place is so cool!" Shawn whispered. "Are indoor waterfalls even legal in Santa Barbara?" he asked Gus as he took in the floor to ceiling Zen garden in the corner of Jordan's office.
Gus pulled his nose out of the file cabinet he was snooping in and glared, "I don't know Shawn. But maybe the answer is in one of these files."
Shawn scoffed, "It's highly unlikely Gus." As he turned to look at his friend Jordan's desk caught his eye and he paused. He walked over to it purposefully.
Gus, use to his sudden silences, followed him. "What?"
Shawn frowned, "I'm not sure." There was a credit card lying on the table; Jordan's name on it. Something white and flakey was on the edge of it. Next to it was a load of case files; a pamphlet on drug recovery on top. He glanced up; there was a picture of Millie on his desk; blue teddy bear in hand. Glancing at the other side of Jordan's desk Shawn saw a fast food cup. The straw had been pulled out of the drink and had a similar white and flakey substance on the edge. "Dude."
"What?"
"I don't think Jordan knows that his daughters been abducted."
"But if you think he's innocent then where is—"
Shawn grabbed the pamphlet. "I think he's here; at the," Shawn flipped the pamphlet back towards him," Santa Barbara Sanctuary and Rehabilitation Center."
I'm glad people are enjoying this! Reviews are greatly encouraged! :)