Evidence- Chapter 1

1989

"Shawn, come here, I want to talk to you."
"Yeah Dad?"
"Yesterday, I went grocery shopping, right?" Henry asked, turning around to face a nodding Shawn, "I bought milk, bread, and cereal. Can you tell me what else I bought?"
"A box of cookies," Shawn slowly replied, looking at his shoes.
"That's right, Shawn! Now tell me something else," Henry lowered himself to Shawn's eye-level, "why's the box empty?" Shawn slowly raised his eyes and looked at his father, a nervous look on his face.
"W-well you see dad, Gus came over earlier today, asking me for help on his project. He's doing it on, uh…baking. Yeah, so he needed some cookies or something. Luckily we had some so-"
"Cut the crap Shawn. I want to know why you took the cookies." Henry sighed, standing back up again.
"Hey, I never said I took the cookies!" Shawn protested, brows furrowing together. Henry didn't reply, but instead shot him a stern glare. "O-okay fine, I took the cookies-but they looked so good, how can you blame me?" Henry raised an eyebrow. "Alright, I'm sorry. But how did you know it was me?"
"Oh come on Shawn, how could I not know it was you?" Henry asked while rolling his eyes. He walked over to the cupboard, opened the door and took out the box of cookies. "You see here, Shawn? This box was clearly messed with, you didn't even think to make sure it looked as if you hadn't touched it. And look at this," he pointed to the cupboard, "these glasses were not in this position when I put the box in there." He closed the cupboard and looked at the countertop below it. He picked up a newspaper from the edge, and showed it to Shawn. "I clearly remember putting the newspaper here-," he placed the paper in the middle of the countertop, "not here," he moved the paper to its original position. "Also Shawn, you left a stool here," Henry said, kicking the mentioned object to emphasize his point. "So clearly, you had to climb on the countertop to reach the cookies."
Shawn stared apprehensively as his father walked towards him. "Next time you try to pull something like this off, make sure you hide the evidence better."
And with that, Henry picked up the newspaper and his coffee mug, and walked out of the room.


Present

"Gooooood morning, detectives! Lovely day to fill out paperwork, if I do say so myself," Shawn happily welcomed as he made his way around to Detective Lassiter's desk, Gus following close behind.
"Spencer, we really don't have time for you right now," Lassiter growled, not taking his eyes off the papers in front of him.
"He's right Shawn," Juliet apologetically sighed, "we're backed up on paperwork, and we need to get them finished for the Chief as soon as possible." She turned to Lassiter. "Carlton, I finished the stack you gave me, do you have more?"
Carlton pointed to the large pile of paper at the edge of his desk. He looked up at her and tiredly replied, "Help yourself. Oh, and could you tell McNab to make me another coffee, I'm going to need another one."
Just as Jules was about to reply, Shawn jumped in grinning, "Don't worry Lassie, I'll make one especially for you! Gus will pay, right?"
"What! No, Shawn, I am not paying for anything," Gus objected.
"But Gus, remember that one time I wanted another pineapple smoothie, I bought one for you too?" Shawn half-whispered to Gus.
"Yeah, I remember Shawn; you bought it with my money."
Shawn's eyebrows went up in realization. "Oh, right," he muttered.
"Okay enough!" Lassiter practically shouted, glaring at the two of them, "Spencer, I would rather scrape a cheese grater across my forehead than ingest anything you touch, let alone make. Now, leave, the two of you."
Shawn, eyes gleaming with amusement, was about to reply with a sharp remark, when Jules came up to them, worry plastered all over her face.
"Guys, I can't find Buzz anywhere. I don't even think I saw him this morning. I checked everywhere, and it's not like him to miss work without telling someone about it," Jules said, wringing her hands together.
"O'Hara, I'm sure he's fine, probably just sick or something. He'll be back tomorrow. Now go finish your paperwork," Lassiter dismissed, waving her off.
Shawn took this opportunity and sauntered closer to Lassiter's desk. "So, Lassie, can I offer you a coff-"
"Goodbye, Spencer."


"Shawn, I can't believe you walked away from the station that easily," Gus commented once they were back in the car. "I'm impressed."
"Man, Gus, I can be considerate and understanding, it hurts me that you think so otherwise," Shawn pouted. "I saw that Lassie and Jules were stuck with paperwork, so I decided to make it easy on them and leave."
Gus raised an eyebrow at him. "No really Shawn, why'd you leave?"  
Shawn sighed dramatically, "If you really must know, I want to check out Buzz's place, see if he's okay. Jules was right; it does seem odd that he just decided not to show up today."
"And if Buzz was really okay…?" Gus prodded.
"Then I would run right back to the station and ruffle Lassie's delicious hair-come on man, you should know me well by now," Shawn replied, throwing his hands up in the air.
Gus chuckled as he started the car. They drove the short distance to Buzz's apartment, where Shawn hopped out and bounced to the door. When Gus caught up to him, Shawn knocked twice on the cold wood, and waited for the door to open.
Two more knocks.
Three more knocks.
"Hey, buddy! Are you there?" Shawn called. They waited for a few more moments before Shawn tried another knock.
"Shawn, he's not home, he's not opening the door," Gus stated.
"Well thank you Captain of the Obvious, but why isn't he home?" Shawn asked while looking around.
"Beats me. I'll try the window," Gus shrugged as he made his way through the bushes. He pulled up on the window, slowly opening it. Then he carefully jumped through, sliding into the apartment. As he turned around to close the window, a voice coming from inside the apartment startled him, making him jump.
"Dude, that was amazing! Right out of a James Bond movie. I should start calling you Burton Bond, yeah I like the sound of that."
"Shawn! How'd you get in?" Gus demanded, incredulous.
"Oh, through the front door," Shawn replied casually, pointing to the wide open entrance.
Gus glared at him. "The door was unlocked, Shawn? And you didn't tell me?"
"Yeah, weird isn't it? And come on Gus! How many times in a lifetime do you get to climb through someone's window like that-it was totally cool!" Shawn whined.
"Uh, with you around? Every day," Gus countered.
"Touché. Anyway, dude, why would Buzz leave the front door unlocked, when he's not even home?" Shawn wondered.
"I don't know. Maybe he knew he would be back quickly?"
"Back from what Gus? Today's a Thursday: a work-day. He wouldn't ditch the station without anyone knowing about it, let alone take a little stroll on his so called, day off," Shawn argued.
"Well that's just it Shawn, maybe someone does know about it. You left the station before asking the Chief if she knows where he is," Gus pointed out, "we should check back there-"
"Nah, too much time. I'll call Jules, tell her McNab isn't home," Shawn interrupted, taking out his cell phone. He called Juliet and put the phone to his ear.
"Jules! Hey this is Shawn; listen, Gus and I are in Buzz's apartment, the door was unlocked and he's not here. Could you ask the Chief if she knows where he is? Yeah. Okay bye."
Shawn looked up at Gus as he flipped his phone closed. "Jamba Juice?"
"You know that's right."


"Come in," Vick called as she heard a knock at her door. She looked up as the door opened; her brows rose as she asked, "Detective O'Hara, don't you have paperwork to complete?"
"Um, yes Chief," she responded sheepishly, "but I can't find Buzz anywhere, and Shawn just called: said he wasn't home and the door was unlocked. I was wondering if Buzz told you he would be gone."
"No, Detective, Officer McNab hasn't spoken to me about missing work," Vick replied, concerned, "I'll look into that. As for you, you need to finish paperwork, I believe?"
"Yes ma'am, getting right on it," Jules answered. She turned around, reaching for the door, and suddenly turned back around, her words coming out in a rush, "I'm worried about him, Chief, what if he's hurt or something I think we should search for him we can't lose an officer it might seem like I'm overreacting but-"
"Detective O'Hara," Vick interrupted in a firm voice, "I assure you, I will look for Officer McNab, but you know the protocol, I cannot send a search team until he's been missing for at least 24 hours. We'll wait to see if he shows up tomorrow, understand?"
"Yes, ma'am," Jules replied, gazing towards the floor.


"Alright Gus, Cranium or Monopoly?" asked Shawn as they entered the Psych office, pineapple smoothies in their hands.
"Shawn, I don't have time to play games, I have a job, you know," Gus sighed. "Besides, shouldn't you be working on this whole Buzz-gone-missing problem?"
"Okay first of all," Shawn started holding up a finger at his best friend, "we don't even have to finish a whole game- dude, who doesn't want to play a good game of Cranium?" Shawn walked further into the Psych office, continuing, "And second, I'm frantically putting all the pieces together in my head as we spea-"
"Shawn, Shawn what's up? Why'd you stop?" Gus called from the other room. He cautiously made his way to where Shawn was standing, his back away from him as he stared at a red vase sitting on top of his desk.
"Shawn, what's this doing here?" Gus questioned, pointing at the vase, "I don't remember it being here yesterday."
"It wasn't," Shawn replied in a low voice, still staring warily at the object, "but I know where it came from."
"Where?" Gus demanded, facing Shawn.
Shawn met his gaze and softly said, "McNab's place."


Shawn swiftly jumped out of the car once they arrived at McNab's apartment. He ran to the door and pushed it open, Gus following close behind him. Shawn stopped for a second in the living room, trying to remember where he saw the vase. Looking around, he spotted a small coffee table beside a soft, leather sofa.
"Dude, look over there," he said to Gus, pointing at the table. A small, folded up piece of paper sat where the vase used to be. Gus and Shawn both made their way towards the table, scrambling to unfold it. Their eyes quickly scanned the page; as they were reading, Gus put his hand over his mouth in shock, and Shawn looked as if he was going to be sick. They looked at each other, fear spread across their faces, despair in their eyes.
"Oh, no."


"Done," Lassiter breathed as he collapsed into his chair. Jules walked over to him, a large grin plastered on her face. He lazily looked up at her and gave her a high-five. "Good work O'Hara. Just make sure to get these papers to the Chief, I need to get another coffee."
Lassiter stood up, holding his mug in one hand, ready for another caffeinated beverage. He stopped dead in his tracks, however, when he saw a certain brown-haired psychic and his smooth-headed friend striding hastily toward him.
"Aw, hell Spencer, I thought you were gone," Lassiter groaned. To his surprise, though, Shawn and Gus walked right past him, not even sparing him a glance.
"What's that all about?" Jules questioned, confused. She looked up at Lassiter and met his equally confused gaze. They came to a silent agreement and followed Shawn and Gus, who were heading toward the Chief's office.  
They opened the door just as Shawn slammed the paper down on the Chief's desk, not saying a word. The Chief stared at him, surprised, and then reached for the paper. Her slightly narrowed eyes widened as she skimmed the paper two, three times. Looking up at them, she whispered, "Oh my God."
Lassiter grabbed the paper from her hand and read, "Shawn, Shawn, come out and play. I made up a new game and I'm sure you'll love it. Perhaps after this, we can finally be friends. You know I've always wanted that. This time I don't want anyone else to play, because those other people aren't my friends. Only you are, Shawn. Remember? That last time? You said it yourself, of course you remember," Lassiter slowly looked up, his eyes hard, "you are the Yin to my Yang."   

End Chapter 1