The Ghost and Mr. Guster Chapter 4

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Title: The Ghost and Mr. Guster  chapter 4
Author: Noturbaby
Fandoms: Supernatural/Psych
Rating: PG13 (language)
Warnings: none - no slash
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.

Summary: Gus believes in ghosts. Shawn doesn’t. -- Shawn sighed. There seemed to be no convincing Gus of the non-existence of ghosts. “Okay, Egon, let’s say there is a ghost. Since when do ghosts kill people?”




Still inside the Historical Society...

Sam and Dean looked at each other and slowly backed away from the group. Learning the true identity of the ghost was the break they'd been looking for. Now, unfortunately, they realized there was a lot more to the Powers - De La Guerra family drama.

Not caring whether they were noticed by the others in the group, Sam and Dean began to look around the room. Sam tilted his head to signify a brick wall on the far side of the room. Dean nodded and walked over to examine the exposed brick.

Crouching down to rub a hand over the bricks, Dean discovered some had fresh mortar. But near the floor, Dean found an inscription that confirmed his fears. He couldn't make out all the words, but the markings were clear enough. Someone had chiseled symbols of Santeria into the bricks.

The way Dean rubbed a hand over his mouth told Sam that his brother had found proof that they were in more danger than just an angry ghost.

Sam looked around the room, and now that he was looking for them, the signs of Santeria were everywhere. He blew out a breath and wondered how he had missed them previously.

Across the room from them, Gus nervously watched every move the 'agents' made. Something was definitely up with those guys, they were acting worried. If there was one thing Gus knew for certain, it was that if those two were worried, he should be terrified. He turned to his best friend, "Shawn, I think we should get out of here. Let the police do their thing."

Regrettably at that moment, Shawn put his fingers to his temples. "Oh my, the spirits are anxious." Sam and Dean exchanged looks and hurriedly crossed the room.

"No, no they're not, Shawn," Gus corrected.

"Yes," Shawn smirked at his friend. "Yes, they are, Gus."

"Then maybe it's because they want us to leave, Shawn," Gus interrupted, hoping Shawn would get the hint.

Shawn gave Gus a look of exasperation, and turned to the detectives. "Tell me, Lassie, did Ms. Taylor's boyfriend tell you how they met? I'm getting a sense of a club."

Lassiter snorted, "Yeah, if you can call rehab a club. They met at a narcotics anonymous meeting."

Shawn had to fight the urge to smile. He knew he had recognized that chip hanging from the boyfriend's chain. He took out his wallet and pretended it was trying to fly away from him. "I'm sensing the couple had money troubles."

Juliet was astonished. "Yeah, Shawn. Gatner said he was trying to start a DJ business but that no one was willing to take a chance on a former drug dealer."

"In fact, that was his alibi for the night of the break in," Lassiter continued. "He was trying to get a job at some bar."

Juliet looked around and shivered. "Wow, did the a. c. just kick in?" She rubbed her arms. "It sure got cold in here."

Dean nudged Gus and subtly tilted his head towards the exit. Gus nodded to show he understood.

"You're right, Juliet. Maybe that guy from the city can fix it. Let's go ask him," Gus suggested, gently taking hold of Juliet's arm in order to escort her from the building.

Juliet gave Gus a strange look, but then Shawn spoke up. "Yeah, I'm getting incredibly strong vibes that Mr. Campbell did not tell us everything he knows." He had his right hand to his temple, again.

As Lassiter began to walk towards the door, he turned to Shawn. "Are you saying he knows more about this morning's break in?"

"Yes, he knows about the earlier break in, too." Shawn turned to the Winchesters. "Tell me, Agent Watts, did Glenn Campbell ever cover 'Folsum Prison Blues'?"

Dean looked perplexed at the sudden music trivia query. "Uh, I don't know. I don't think so." He quickened his step, hoping to usher everyone from the room. "Why?"

"Because I have a feeling he's about to," Shawn replied feeling quite proud of himself.

Sam lagged behind the others. Once everyone was out the door, Sam poured a salt line on the threshold. He breathed a sigh of relief as he closed the door before De La Guerra's spirit was able to attack.



In the back parking lot, Glenn Campbell was packing his tools hoping to look inconspicuous. He anxiously waited for everyone to leave the building. He was loading the saw horses when Detective Lassiter spotted him. "Mr. Campbell, could we have a word?"

Campbell spoke over his shoulder. "Sure, what do you need?"

"We'd like to ask you a few more questions about the break in," Juliet began.

"Whatever I can do to help," Campbell replied in a tremulous voice.

"I'd like to start with your whereabouts the night of the original break in," Lassiter said opening his coat for access to his gun if it became necessary.

Suddenly, Campbell picked up his open toolbox from the back of his truck and tossed it at the detectives, hitting Lassiter with the metal box and Juliet with some of the tools that flew out of it. Campbell turned to his left and began to run. He made it two steps until he hit the immovable object known as Sam Winchester's chest. Dean had come up behind the man, drew his gun, and aimed it at the man's back.

"Dude, really?" Shawn asked as he helped Juliet to her feet. "There are six of us here." He twirled his hand around. "You thought you could just run away?"

Sam held Campbell while Lassiter cuffed him. Shawn, not wanting to go without his dramatic summation, closed his eyes, "I see a club. A very special club." He opened his eyes and looked into Campbell's eyes. "And some seriously misplaced trust."

Campbell's mouth fell open in shock. "How'd -?"

"Are we talking the narcotics anonymous 'club'?" Juliet asked.

Shawn nodded. "Mr. Campbell was poor Ms. Taylor's sponsor. At the meetings, he learned all about her and her boyfriend. He learned about Gatner's failed business attempts, how desperate the young couple's financial situation was. When he found out she was an ex-con, ex-burglar, he thought he'd offer her a chance at a partnership. Probably told her how it was her record that was keeping Gatner from getting his business started."

Gus frowned at the man. "Shame on you. Taking advantage of that girl's trust in you."

Dean and Sam each raised a brow and looked at Gus then at each other.

Shawn nodded. "Gus, couldn't have said it better myself." He turned back to Campbell, "During the renovation work you did here, you discovered plenty of valuables that would be easily sold without being traced to the Historical Society."

"Then you killed your accomplice so no one would know it was you," Lassiter added. "Not bad, Spencer."

"Wait," Sam spoke up, "if that's all true, then why'd he come back? Why was he fixing the door?"

Everyone looked from Shawn to Campbell and back. Much to Shawn's relief, Campbell decided to answer. "I came back to return the stuff I stole!"

The two police officers chuckled. "Sure you did," Lassiter taunted. "Probably trying to recover evidence you left behind."

Sam and Dean looked toward the man's truck hoping to find the missing items. Without caring about police protocol, they began to search through items in the truck bed. Dean opened the man's playmate cooler and using a rag, Dean retrieved a gun. The Winchesters were barely able to suppress their grins. However, their relief was short lived.

"I can't believe it. He's still carrying the stolen property," Juliet exclaimed, peering between the brothers and smiling. "Carlton, we're gonna need some evidence bags." Juliet snapped on some latex gloves.

Dean looked at Sam over her head and mouthed, "Carlton?" Sam shrugged.

Juliet moved the cooler closer. "I think I found the murder weapon," she said pulling a gold chain from the cooler. "Shawn? Do you get anything from this?"

Shawn put his hand around his neck. "Agh, cha, cka," he gasped. Clearing his throat, he said with a smile, "Yeah, Jules that would be the murder weapon. Although, I'm sure your forensic guys can tell you the same thing."

Sam and Dean recognized a charm on the chain but they could only stand by helplessly as all of the stolen artifacts were 'recovered' by the police.

"I didn't do it!" Campbell shouted. "I didn't kill Loni." He looked at the faces of his captors. "The place really is haunted! I ain't lying!" He turned to Shawn and pleaded. "Come on, psychic guy, tell them. Tell them the ghost did it."

Shawn, Gus and the Winchesters exchanged nervous glances. Then, Shawn started laughing. Gus and the others took their cue from him and began to chuckle also. "Ghosts? Don't be silly." He and Gus nudged each other and laughed, "Ghosts."

Shawn suddenly sobered. "The spirits here are benevolent and wouldn't hurt a fly. Let alone kill a girl." Shawn turned to Lassiter, "Book 'em, Lassie!"

Just over an hour later, Dean was pacing in the Winchester's hotel room and Sam was researching like mad on his laptop. "I've checked every cemetery in Santa Barbara. The De La Guerra family isn't in any of them." Sam closed his laptop with a frustrated sigh. "I got nothing."

Dean rolled his eyes. "That's great. What the hell are we supposed to do now?" He sat heavily on the bed. "We've got at least one ghost that is murdering people and no way of stopping it?"

Sam ran a hand through his hair as he thought. Then he squinted at his brother. "Maybe we should talk to Guster."

Dean looked shocked. "Guster?"

"Well, he seemed to be the Powers - De La Guerra family expert I was pretending to be."

Dean mulled that over for a moment then he stood, took Shawn's card from the table and pulled out his keys. "All right, let's go."

"    

Shawn and Gus sat at their chairs, watching Inga, and eating the pineapple upside down cake Mrs. DuMont had delivered. "Shawn, you've done some irresponsible things with my money, but Inga is not one of them." The partners bumped fists.

"I couldn't agree more. More cake?" Shawn asked as he rose to cut himself another piece.

"Don't mind if I do, Shawn," Gus held his plate out to Shawn only to be rudely ignored.
Shawn gaped towards the outer office. "Shawn?" Gus turned to find the Winchesters staring at Inga. Well, if Gus were to classify the looks, Sam was staring, what Dean was doing was more like leering. "Shawn," Gus hissed, "what are they doing here?"

Shawn looked over at Gus. "Besides hitting on our Inga?" At the sound of Inga's lilting giggle, both Shawn and Gus turned to the window. "Gus, she giggled." Shawn looked in shock from the site of Dean and Inga to Gus. "That guy made her giggle?" Shawn paused in wonder, and then he spoke in a near whisper, "She's barely spoken to me." He wrinkled his brow and turned to his best friend, "There's no way that guy is better looking than me - us? Right, Gus."

"No way, Shawn. Taller, yes, better looking? I don't think so."

Shawn seemed placated by his friend's reply. "Thank you, Gus. They certainly don't have our great hair."

"No, they do not." Gus stalked over to the door. He squared his shoulders before pulling the door open. "Gentlemen, can we help you? Or are you just here to leer at our receptionist?"

Both Sam and Dean looked rightfully scolded. "Actually, we were hoping we could talk to you about the Historical Society," Sam responded.

"Hmpf, well, all right then. Why don't you come in the office so we can talk?" Gus moved away from the door. "Inga, you can go home, now."

Inga sighed in boredom then gathered her things. She sashayed out of the office, oblivious to the four pairs of eyes that followed her.

Dean was the last to look away. When he finally couldn't see her anymore, he pointed at the door and turned to Shawn. "That's your secretary?"

Shawn and Gus looked rather smug. "Yes, Inga is our receptionist," Gus answered. "Is there a problem with that?"

Both Winchesters shook their heads. "No, not at all," Sam answered. "I just think we would have stopped by much sooner if we had known about her." Sam added hoping to dispel some of the tension in the room.

Shawn grimaced, leaned against his desk with his arms folded. He was irritated that he hadn't quite figured out these two guys. Taking in their new attire, Shawn said, "What's with the salute to the Seattle grunge look? I thought you guys were Stones fans."

Sam shot Dean a worried look, but Dean ignored Shawn and Sam. "We were hoping you could help us with the De La Guerra thing," he said to Gus.

"You want our help?" Gus asked as he moved to lean next to Shawn.

"Help?" Shawn began, "With what? The case is closed. Caught the bad guy. Recovered stolen property." He and Gus fist bumped. "What else is there? Am I forgetting something?" Shawn looked at Gus, but Gus just shrugged. "Oh, wait, the break in last night committed by you fake FBI guys. Yeah, I wasn't going to do anything about that since you stopped Campbell from getting away," Shawn said with a glare at Dean that most people wouldn't attempt.

Dean took a deep breath, but Sam decided to speak up. "Look, we were just hoping Gus could tell us where De La Guerra is buried."

"We broke into the Historical Society because you told us the ghost was Powers," Dean said looking at Shawn.

"Our research into Powers' past told us he was killed, rather gruesomely in Mexico," Sam started.

Dean took over. "In order to destroy the ghost, and stop it from killing again."

"You had to bind it to one of its possessions and then destroy that possession," Gus finished, surprising the others immensely. "So, why do you need to know where De La Guerra is buried?"

It took Dean a second to get over his initial shock of Gus knowing about destroying ghosts. "Because psychic boy here was wrong about the ghost. It wasn't Powers, or not just Powers, it was De La Guapa, too," Dean replied.

"Guerra," Sam corrected.

"Whatever," Dean said with an irritated eye roll. "So -"

"Do you guys hear yourselves?" Shawn asked stepping away from Gus and his desk. "Ghosts? There are no ghosts. Let alone ghosts capable of murder."

"You saw it yourself last night, Shawn." Gus was shocked at Shawn's denial.

"Do you think I threw myself into that glass cabinet?" Sam asked defensively.

"A psychic that's a skeptic, that's a new one for me," Dean muttered as he leaned against the far wall.

Sam found it difficult to believe that someone who had witnessed all that Shawn had seen in the past twenty four hours could still deny the existence of ghosts.

"How do you explain what you saw last night or the cold spell Juliet felt today?" Gus demanded. "This morning you said that you thought it was a ghost."

Shawn shook his head. "Yes, I did Gus, but that was before I went back there. There was a surveillance camera that wasn't there the day before. They could have set it up to project that image. And that guy," Shawn pointed to Dean, "could have cranked up the air conditioning when he was on the other side of the room. We were almost directly under a vent."

The others in the room stared blankly at Shawn for a moment.

Gus was the last to look away. He shook his head then turned to Sam and Dean. "The entire De La Guerra family is interred at the Santa Barbara Mission." Shawn's mouth fell open at his friend's betrayal.

Sam smiled, "Thanks, Gus."

Dean nodded. "Uh, wait." He dug his keys from his pocket. "The one by the warehouse district or the -"

"The other one. The historical one with the bell towers, across the street from the Historical Society," Gus answered confidently.

Again, Dean nodded, "Thanks." The Winchesters started to the door.

"Wait. Everybody just stop," Shawn nearly shouted. "Gus, we can't let them go there. You saw what they did to the Historical Society. You can't have them destroy the Mission, too. You don't even know who they are." He turned to the Winchesters. "I won't let you destroy the Mission. I'll call Juliet. I'll even call Lassiter."

The Winchesters stopped. Dean turned to Shawn and smirked, "Fine. Call 'em. The case you closed up so neatly will get thrown out. I don't think you want that."

Shawn didn't take the bait. He narrowed his eyes, daring Dean to continue.

"I'm not sure, my brother, here, is the law expert, but I think the fact that we were part of the arrest might be enough for a good lawyer to have the case thrown out." Dean watched Shawn lose a little ground. "Then there's the Campbell guy's story. Somebody - or something - hit him." Dean chanced a look at Gus who seemed to be approving of Dean's tactic. "Why would he fake getting hit? Why didn't Campbell leave?"

Sam's face began to brighten. "And why did Campbell call the cops, when he still had the things he stole on his truck?"

"Because he had to get them back in there," an excited Gus answered. "Whoa, why did he have to get them back in there?"

"Because, they're cursed," Dean answered brusquely.

"Cursed? Oh, so now there are curses, too?" Shawn asked, not sure any longer what he could believe.

"The De La Guerras practiced Santeria," Sam said plainly, assuming that would make everything clear to Shawn.

"The song by Sublime? That doesn't make any sense." Shawn seemed confused as he looked at the others in the room.

"Santeria is like Voo Doo, Shawn," Gus said bluntly. Then he sank against the desk as the realization of his words dawned on him. "The stuff the police took into evidence, it's cursed?" Sam nodded. "Does that mean the police are in danger?" Gus asked with obvious concern.

Sam sighed. "We aren't sure. The best we can do is get rid of De La Guerra's ghost and restore whatever binding spell was holding Powers."

"The De La Guerra's used Santeria to keep Powers spirit from harming them and others. When renovations were made to the brick wall, the workers broke the spell. Now, Powers and De La Guerra are duking it out all over again," Dean said before turning to Shawn. "That's what I was doing when I was at the wall, not playing with the thermostat."

Shawn was astonished. It was rare to feel like the only same one in the room. "So there are two ghosts and a curse. Do I hear three? Will anybody give me three?"

Gus shot Shawn a disapproving look before asking more questions. "How is Powers haunting the place? Wasn't he killed in Mexico and fed to a herd of pigs?" Shawn looked at Gus incredulously. Gus raised a brow. "What, Shawn, some of us do our own homework."

"Dude, that's just so," Shawn made a disgusted face.

Dean nodded his agreement. "Yeah, but it's also an easy story to fake."

Sam took over the explanation. "We're not sure what happened exactly, but we're sure Powers, or part of Powers, is buried under that wall."

While Gus took a moment to let Sam's statement sink in, Shawn could only shake his head. "How do you know that?" Shawn asked.

"His gun," Dean answered. "The paperwork we got from Mrs. DuMont said the gun was recovered during the renovation." Dean could tell from the looks on Gus's and Shawn's faces that he'd have to explain more. "Well, would you go anywhere without your gun?"

"I don't carry a gun," Shawn said simply.

"I carry a phone," Gus admitted.

"Two phones," Shawn pointed out.

Gus nodded, "That's right, two phones, no gun."

Dean was forced to close his eyes for a minute and take a deep breath. Seeing his brother's exasperation, Sam decided to continue. "What my brother is trying to explain is that, back then, a guy like Powers, who was known for carrying a certain gun, wouldn't leave Santa Barbara without it. He wouldn't just get a gun anywhere. Powers' life depended on his gun, he had to trust it."

"But the pig story?" Gus questioned.

"Could still be what happened to him, in the end," Dean suggested. "But, we're pretty certain he was murdered in the Guapa homestead."

"Guerra," Sam and Gus corrected in unison.

"I've heard both ways," Shawn muttered quietly as he thought about the story. The pieces were beginning to fit together in his mind. It now made sense to him why the father's watch chain was the weapon in Loni Taylor's murder, not the necklace as he originally thought.

"So, Theresa and Powers were all set to run away together, but Daddy De La Guava finds out. When he tries to stop them, he finds that Theresa had already turned Powers down. Powers being the 'if I can't have you no one can' type of guy, kills the poor girl, just as Daddy shows up. Daddy kills Powers. Guava can't go to the sheriff because the law, at the time, is notorious for hating the Mexicans, especially the wealthy ones." Shawn paused and looked at the brothers. "But just like now, enough money can buy a cover up."

"Exactly," Dean sighed. "The rich daddy De La Guerra sends some boys down to Mexico pretending to search for Powers and they come back with the pig story. There would be no way to prove it anyway."

"Believing in Santeria as they did, the De La Guerra family would have thought Powers would come back as an angry spirit," Sam explained. "So, they did what they could to prevent it."

"And it worked until the renovations broke into that wall," Gus added enthusiastically.

Sam and Dean nodded and made to leave. "If you guys could see your way so that we're not arrested until we put the spirits to rest, we'd appreciate it," Dean said with a look toward Shawn.

"Wait," Gus called out stopping the Winchesters. "How are you going to stop both De La Guerra and Powers?"

Sam turned back to Gus. "Uh, well, I guess we'll go stop De La Guerra and then go to the Historical Society and stop Powers."

"When are you guys doing this?" Shawn asked quickly.

Sam and Dean exchanged looks. "Not until nightfall, obviously, but we'll do it tonight."

"Good. That gives us time to get something to eat," Shawn said. "Who's up for fries quatro queseo dos fritos? Gus?"

Gus nodded, "Definitely." He grabbed his keys off his desk.

Sam and Dean were momentarily stunned into silence. Dean stuttered his reply, "Hey, uh, no, guys. Thanks, but you're not coming with us. It's too dangerous."

"Yes, we are. That thing tossed Gigantor there around like he was nothing. Now, you're saying there's a curse involved. You guys need us." Shawn shook his head slightly. "You guys can't be in two places at once. We're going with you." He began to walk to the door, then he turned, "You were talking about the ghost thing and not the food thing, right? 'Cause we're totally doing the food thing. No one can put souls to rest on an empty stomach."

Sam and Dean could only look hopelessly at each other. Shawn watched as the brothers had a complete conversation via nonverbal head movements and eye rolls. Then Shawn tried to hide his smirk, as he saw the decision fall in his favor.

"Fine, you can come with us," Dean relented. "But, you have to do what we say."

Gus and Shawn bumped fists. "Of course, Mulder, you guys are the experts. We'll just have your backs," Shawn added happily. "So, fries quatro, right?"

Sam chuckled, "Yeah, but I'm Sam and he's Dean. Not Scully and Mulder."

"And I'm driving," Dean said with a nod to Gus.

After devouring their orders of fries quatro queseo dos fritos, which even Sam had to agree were 'awesomely delicious', Sam and Dean discussed who was going to handle the De La Guerras and who was going to face Powers. When it came to the set jaw versus the bitch face, Dean held out his fist. Sam nodded, agreeing to let rock paper scissors determine their assignments. Dean pulled scissors, Sam, rock, but Shawn rushed over and threw his hand in palm up fingers waving. "Fire. Beats both rock and scissors so I win."

Sam and Dean turned to him unamused. "Fine," Dean bit out. "What do you win?"

"I pick partners." Shawn looked at Gus. "Gus goes with Sam, I go with you. Where're we going?"

Dean turned to his brother. "You guys get the Mission." Sam's mouth fell open, but Dean ignored it. Looking at Shawn, he added, "We get the homestead."

Sam grimaced but Shawn nearly grinned. "Good," he replied as he followed Dean towards the Impala before yelling, "Shotgun!"

Sam laughed, "What? I don't think so."

Shawn gasped and looked to Dean. "I called it."

Dean shrugged, "Sorry, Sammy." Dean pointed to Shawn. "He called it." Sam rolled his eyes and slumped his shoulders as he folded himself into the back seat of the car.

"Yeah, Sam, the rules of shotgun are clearly well established and universally accepted," Shawn said with a smile as he took his 'rightful' place in the front seat.

Chapter 1,     Chapter 2,      Chapter 3,     Chapter 5