Mengele 2
Title: Mengele
Chapter: 2/?
Fandom: Rookie Mistake
Ratings/Warnings: PG, later possibly R
Disclaimer: Puce belongs to Foxyfire, the cast of Psych is copyright of GEP productions, NBC Universal Television, Pacific Mountain Productions and Tagline Pictures
A/N: Santa Barbara is not as quiet as you would like it to be
Chapter 2
Santa Barbara was a nice place, Lilac decided as she cruised around. The moment she had landed, she had been given the message that there was a rental car waiting for her, all paid in advance. This included a room in a motel, which was where she was headed for. There, she would rest up and then plan her next step.
The motel itself was in a business neighbourhood. Or at least it looked that way, as she passed several places along the way. There a take-out place, there a baker, and there a...
Lilac had to pause the car. Did that window actually read Psych? It did. And from what she could guess, it was something that belonged to a private investigator. Two guys were standing out front, bickering over something. The one on the left, a black and bald man, was telling “Shawn” that he had work of some kind to do and did not have time for the others hijinks with “Lassie”. The other, who had to be Shawn, was telling “Gus” that if they went to the station now then they could possibly get a lead on this case!
“Besides, Lassie seems all wound up about this Mahila Mundane..”
“That's Mengele Murderer, Shawn! I'm not going after some psycho who was named after a Nazi Doctor! I don't want details on the *hows* while we're at it!”
Had Lilac been born with cat ears, they would have perked up. Well well well...
“Excuse me!” She called out. When the two men looked to her, she flashed them a friendly smile. “I was wondering if you could help me? See, I'm from out of town and I need to find the police station?”
From the way the two acted after that, both practically racing each other down the car, it was clear that they were friends. Friends that competed as much as possible. Especially when it came to women.
The one called Shawn got there first, but that was mostly because he had pushed Gus who now caught up with them, giving Shawn a nasty look. Shawn grinned at Lilac.
“Hi, Shawn Spencer, psychic detective.” He gave an odd sort of twitch with his head at that. Lilac figured it was something that made people believe he was 'connecting with the spirits' or something. Gus was giving him this annoyed look that made it seem like that anyway.
Lilac just perked a brow.
“A psychic detective?” She said, feigning surprise. “Really? That's interesting.”
“Isn't it though?” Shawn said. Gus looked about to say something, but the other cut him off. “And you must have a connection with the Mahila Mundane case right?”
“That's 'Mendele Murderer', Shawn!” Gus cut in, agitated. Lilac could tell it that it was clearly on purpose that Shawn was saying things wrong, possibly to rile up his friend so that he would follow him around. Lilac on her part decided to humor Shawn.
“Why yes I do!” She said. “How did you guess? Oh!” She slapped her forehead. “That's right. You're a psychic!” She flashed another smile at Shawn. “But please, do go on.”
“Well, first of there's your rather.. ruffled state.” Shawn said, indicating her clothes. “They tell me you have just been on a flight. The airport is quite a bit from here, so you must be looking for the main police department itself which in Down Town Santa Barbara. Your watch is also off by a few hours, so it shows you have gotten off a long flight, possibly East Coast. Your accent suggests somewhere near the southern line, perhaps North Carolina or Georgia.”
Lilac was grateful for her police training. It made it so much easier to resist the urge to burst out laughing.
“Finally, there is the filecase you got in the back.” Shawn concluded. “I know that the FBI is alerted about the 'Mengele murderer'..” Shawn flashed a grin at Gus who just scowled at him. “And your professional outfit, rumpled as it is, suggests that you are a government type. You are here to help our dear friend, detective Lassiter, in order to solve the case.” Again, he flashed a grin, this time directed at Lilac. “I'm sure you will get along with Lassie. With you and him being able to swap cop stories and all.”
Lilac was silent, nodding slowly as she took the information in.
“I'll bite.” She finally said. “How did you know about me being a cop. Or rather, a former cop.”
“You remind me a lot of Lassie.” Shawn said with a shrug. “You're all business and no pleasure.” He leaned in with a smirk. “Though I'd be glad to tempt you into lacking the 'no'..” He leaned back, and then stood nonchalantly as if he had never done so. “Your attitude is also a hint. The way you asked for the way to the police department and your tone suggested that you knew exactly *which* one you wanted, despite being from out of town. You want the main one where you can find the big cheese, where everything else is going on! It tells me you have done this before. Sometimes the spirits get a bit vague on details, but I figured... 'She's a cop or a former one, who has moved up in the ranks.' And there you have it.”
Lilac leaned back in the carseat with a small smile. “Well you got most of it right.” She said. “I am indeed a former cop. I am also a government type, and I am looking for the main police department where I am indeed looking for detective Lassiter. He has some files I need to review as part of the Mengele Murderer case. I worked on that some years ago, and now that the guy has popped up again, I was asked to aid in the case and maybe find some clues that have been missed.” She then smirked.
“There's one thing you've missed though. I have never been near Georgia or North Carolina. In fact..” She flashed Shawn a grin. “Have fun guessing.” With that, she gassed up a bit so that Shawn would move away from the car. He did so, and watched as the woman dressed in purple drove off.
“She'll be back.” He said confidently.
“What makes you so sure?” Gus asked. “She didn't seem so impressed about your 'psychic'-” he dotted the air with his fingers, “powers.”
Shawn gave a dramatic sigh, draping an arm around Gus' shoulders.
“Oh Gus, Gus, Gus.” He said. “Have just a little bit of faith in me? Clearly, she could sense that aside from my psychic abilities, I am worth having around when it comes to being a reliable source of information!” The cat-got-the-cream grin returned.
“Besides, she forgot to ask for directions.”
Gus gave him a dry look.
“Ever heard of something called a 'phonebook' Shawn?”
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The first thing she did when she arrived at the motel, was to get to her room. She perked a brow when the owner told her that some “big ass guy” had been around and had left something for her in the form of a big package, and a few more questions confirmed the description of Cassius. When Lilac got to said room, she settled the package on the bed and opened it with her pocket knife. It contained a note telling her that with a few strings pulled, Purple had managed to gather these files, and when looking through said files, Lilac paled.
The files were from other police departments in other states. She counted at least 5 states, each with at least 6 murder victims, and all had the same thing in common. Doctors or nurses who worked with mental patients, had been brutally or 'gently' murdered depending on the institution in these five different states.
“Son of a bitch..” She whispered as she paged through them. “This guy has been goddamn busy.. What's your beef? Why do you do this? What have these people ever done to you?” As she read through the files, she got out a notebook and began to write. All the questions running through her mind, all the connections these people had so far..
Things had just gotten a lot more complicated, and she hoped that looking at things here in Santa Barbara could help it in some way. At least a bit.
When she looked up from her work, she saw that that the clock unsurprisingly had moved from 4 in the afternoon to 11:30 evening. Lilac sighed, stretching out weary muscles who had been begging for a break without her paying attention. 'Oh well..' She thought to herself. 'You won't get anything solved if you don't get some sleep. Best thing to do is to go to bed and then start at the police station tomorrow morning.'
With that, she packed up the various files that she knew would be needed in the morning. Then she got out of her clothes and climbed into bed. Tomorrow was another day and it was going to be a long one.
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The woman was bound to a chair with electric tape, and no matter how hard she twisted and turned her hands, she couldn't get free. The tape over her mouth kept her from calling for help, and she couldn't help a sob as she struggled.. If only she could maybe tip over the chair or something, then maybe people in the apartment downstairs would hear the noises and come to see what was wrong. She rocked back and forth and then suddenly the front of the chair seemed to lift itself and she tipped over backwards, a loud crash sounding along with a muffled wail as the woman had pretty much landed on her bound hands. She was certain she might have broken her pinky fingers, but she wasn't certain.
“You're wasting your time.” A mans voice called out. “There is no one at home downstairs. Believe me, I checked.” She froze, her heart feeling as if it was going a mile a minute in terror. She hadn't seen her captor as he had sneaked up on her with a chloroform soaked rag which had knocked her out pretty quickly. She struggled, a muffled whimper sounding from her as footsteps got closer. Questions milled through her head. Who was this man? Why was he doing this to her? What had she done to deserve this?
Suddenly, strong hands were on the chair, putting it back in an upright position. The man smiled as the woman's eyes widened with recognition.
“I suppose you are wondering why I am doing this?” He asked calmly. The woman just stared at him. He flashed her a grin. “Go on. Nod or something.”
Slowly, she gave the tiniest of nods. The mans smile turned into a scowl.
“I feel.. that you have been meddling quite a bit.” He said, his tone unpleasant. “You see.. You know about my.. problem. And as annoying as it is, I can't just get rid of it. But the way things are, the problem would overcome me instead. And I really don't want that.” A knife flashed briefly in the light from the window before it reached out, gently caressing the woman down her cheek.
“And that is why you are here now.” The man said, the look in his eyes making the woman feel as if someone had poured ice into her veins.
“With a bit of luck?” He said with a soft purr in his tone, “you'll pass out before we get to the good part.”
When she woke up, it was 6 am. It suited Sheila just fine, and she got out of bed and went to take a shower. Feeling nicely clean and refreshed, she knew she was ready to face the day. A grumble from her stomach reminded her that breakfast was in order too. Looking at the watch, she saw she had plenty of time, and wondered if there were any 24/7 diners in the area.
Opening the door, Sheila blinked when she saw Puce.
“Uhh, good morning?” She said, perking a brow. The other copied the motion.
“I was informed that you might need a partner on this case.” He said in his usual calm manner. “Mauve is occupied at the moment, so I was sent in his stead.” The female agent thought over that for a moment, then nodded. “Alright then.” She said. “But you do know what it means, right?” When Puce didn't answer, she continued. “We're going to be working hard. Purple sent me some updated files, and if the guy is as ruthless as it seems he is, then we got a lot of work to do. Not just to trace him down, but to try and see if we can find his next victim before he gets to him or her.”
"I will assist however you wish," he said with a small bow. "Unfortunately, I do not know much of this variety of investigation."
"This variety?" she repeated. "How do you normally find things out?"
"I go into the suspect's homes, go through papers, download the contents of their computers, and see what is kept in the wall safe."
"Rrright.." She said slowly. "Well, I hope you brought a lot of patience with you because some of these things will have to be done legally and that takes time." Another complain from her stomach cut off whatever she had wanted to say next. ".. But first, I need to get something to eat. Haven't eaten since lunch yesterday. You?"
"Unacceptable," he scowled. "A single meal in a period greater than twenty-four hours will lead to lack of energy, mental clarity, and physical strength and endurance. We will eat."
Sheila on her part, managed to look embarrassed. "I meant to eat, but then.. the files. You're gonna have to remind me of it when we get to work, because.. Well I forget things when I get caught up in something."
"If necessary, we can check Jostaberry's latest trans-dermal nourishment system," he suggested, grinning slightly. "I believe he stated that it will successfully deliver an entire day's worth of nutrients. However, it does leave a strange aftertaste in the mouth."
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Head Detective Carlton Lassiter was having a terrible morning. It was one of those days where everything just seemed to go wrong. Chief Vick was in horrible mood because of the Mengele Murderer case, and Spencer butting in constantly did not help a single bit. And now they had been alerted that some high rank official government type of person was coming by to “help” with the investigation. As if the whole shenanigan with Special Agent Lars Ewing wasn't bad enough.
So when two random women (oh wait, one was a woman, that was obvious, but the other.. eh, he'd better ask beforehand, some people were so damn touchy these days) dressed in purple entered, he stood up from his desk with a scowl.
“Can I help you?” He asked, his tone stern and wary. The last thing he needed was for some random civilian (or worse, a government agent) to think he was soft in his own domain. The woman, who kept her brown hair in a ponytail, gave him a calm once-over. Then, she calmly offered her hand for a shake.
“Agent Lilac.” She said. “I was told you had been informed of my arrival? I am here to work on the Mengele case.”
Lassiter stared at her, then at her outstretched hand as if it was a foreign object that might turn into a poisonous snake if he went to grab it. Slow, he reached out and shook her hand. The woman's hand was rough and her grip was strong. It was the hand of a strong worker and when he looked up at her and into her eyes, his instincts told her just what he should think about this woman. She was a cop, and she knew the deal.
“Head detective Carlton Lassiter.” He said. “And yes, I had been informed about your arrival.” He gave Sheila's companion a look. “I was only informed of one though..” Lilac gave a shrug.
“Last minute decision from my superiors. They decided a partner would be a good idea. And considering the nature of this case, one can hardly blame them.” She gave a nod towards the other next to her. “This here is my fellow agent Puce. Like I said, he's my partner on this case. I'll warn you at once though. He has his own working methods.”
Lassiter perked a brow at the names, and then thanked his instincts that he hadn't immediately thought of the other as a woman. Because judging from the mans expression, one would regret it if they made that mistake.
And then the bomb fell.
“Heyy, Lassie!” An all too familiar voice burst out, and there came Spencer, grinning like he had just won the lottery. He gave the newcomers an appreciating once-over. “What's this? Having a girl's night out, and you didn't invite me?”
Lilac placed a hand on her partners arm, but not before Lassiter had seen Puce's muscles tense. Puce looked at Lilac who just perked a brow. Years ago, Lassiter had been a rookie himself. He had been an upstart, the kind you could easily pick a fight with. He had been under the tutoring of a stern sergeant who Lassiter had learned to read like a map when it came to his body language. Right now, the woman was giving her partner a calming look. 'Easy now, he's just an idiot', her look said. Gus, his survival instincts as always ahead of him, pulled Spencer to the side, hissing something low to his friend as Puce gave them both a cold look. Spencer on his part didn't look too fased about whatever Gus was telling him.
“Agent Lilac, Agent Puce.” Lassiter said, cutting through the tension. Both Puce and Lilac, and unfortunately Spencer and Gus, looked to the detective. “This is our local..” Lassiter grimaced as if he'd just tasted something bad. “Psychic, Shawn Spencer and his friend, Burton Guster.”
“We met yesterday.” Agent Lilac said calmly. “If it helps, he didn't impress me.”
Lassiter had the feeling this was going to be the start of a good partnership.
“Now.” Lilac said, perking a brow. “The case?”
“Of course!” Lassiter exclaimed. “If you will follow me, please, then I will introduce you to my boss, Chief Vick. She will give you an update on the situation.”
“Sweet!” Shawn exclaimed. “A briefing with Chief Vick means bearclaws and donuts!” Gus gave him an appalled look. “Shawn, is food seriously all you think about?!” He exclaimed.
“Not true Gus, sometimes I take the time to think about others as well..” Spencer gave Puce a once-over. “Especially the good looking others..”
“One, she's a he.” Lilac cut him off. “Second, he's taken. Third..” She shook her head. “You're asking for it.” With that, the two agents followed after Lassiter while Spencer and Gus stood behind. Somehow, it gave Lassiter a great sense of pleasure to see Spencer all befuddled.
He quickly got to his senses and practically careened across the floor, right before Lassiter closed the door to Chief Vicks office.
“Chief!” He exclaimed, grinning at the older woman. “You're looking lovely today!”
“Spencer.” Chief Vick said, a cool expression on her face. “For once, this is not a case for you. Get out.”
“But wait!” Spencer started, throwing out his arm in an exaggerated gesture while holding his other hand flat against his forehead. “The spirits.. they come to communicate with me!” A hiss of air sounded as he drew in a breath between his teeth. “Nnn, it's hard to see, but I sense.. I sense..” He suddenly leaped up and pointed at Lilac. “I sense this man has killed before!” He then twitched his upper body. “Once.. twice...”
Lilac arched a brow as the man jumped around in spastic jerks. Lassiter and Chief Vick watched as if this wasn't a new scenario. Lilac figured this routine for them. Puce had his eyes lightly narrowed, the only thing evident that he was getting annoyed. He leaned over, as Spencer continued jumping around, crying out random numbers and states (oddly accurate at that, but Lilac didn't think about).
"The noisy one, he knows more than he lets on.” Puce muttered so that only Lilac could hear him. “He is trouble."
Lilac gave a snort. "Gee, you think?"
"I will deal with him."
"No Puce.” She replied. “He's an overenthusiastic moron, but he means well."
Puce arched a skeptical brow "...Are you certain? It seems to me that he merely means to be the center of attention and grab the glory."
“I've seen this kind of attitude before.” Lilac muttered. "One of his parents must be a former cop who had all sorts of expectations for him, and when he failed those, they got very disapproving. Thus the whole circus monkey routine. It's either to spite them or to make them approve in one way or the other."
“SHAWN!” An elder males voice bellowed out, and an older man in a green and white patterned Hawaii shirt came storming in. Shawn immediately stopped his movements, looking like a kid who had gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
“Aaand there you have it.” Lilac said.
“Dad, so great to see you!” Shawn exclaimed, as if he hadn't just been doing an odd spastic parade in the entire office. “What.. exactly are you doing here?” The older man gave Shawn a look.
“I came down here to renew my license plates.” He scoffed. “And what do I hear? That you have started butting into the Mengele Murderer case! Shawn, what the hell do you think you're doing!?”
“.. My job as a psychic?” Shawn asked. Sensing a bit of a family dispute coming in, Lilac gave a discreet cough. Spencer senior spun around and squinted at her as if he only now had just noticed her. Which, given the situation, was probably the case.
“And you are..?” He demanded.
“Agent Lilac.” She replied. “And I hate to sound rude but.. Chief Vick was about to inform my partner and I about the case.”
Spencer Senior frowned for a moment, then his eyes widened in sudden realization.
“I know you!” He exclaimed, pointing at Lilac. “You're Officer Sheila Peterson! The press had a field day about you and your partners, after the case blew in San Diego!” He straightened up, a hand smoothing over his half-moon scalp as if suddenly embarrassed about his appearance. “I mean.. geez, and then there was that madman who shot you into a coma..”
Lilacs brows went skyward. “That was over one and a half year ago, Mr. Spencer.” She said. “I have moved on since then.”
“I can see that.” Spencer Senior said with a frown, looking her up and down. When Lilac just gave him a look, he recovered himself quickly. “And if you will excuse me, I have something I need to discuss with my son.” He looked to Shawn, narrowing his eyes. “In private. Outside. Now.”
“Oh, but dad..” Shawn tried, whining as if he was a kid who had just been told he couldn't go on the rollercoaster for the bigger kids. Instead of answering him, Spencer Senior grabbed him firmly by the arm and pulled him outside. Puce shut the door behind them, then gave Lilac a look.
“Former cop.” Was all Lilac said. As if that explained everything, which it probably didn't, Puce just shrugged in response and settled into a neutral position by the door, ready to prevent anyone from entering.
Chief Vick gave an exasperated sigh as if she had just finished another days hard work.
“Now that that's out of the way..” She said, leaning on the desk as she looked to Lilac and Puce. “Let's get started. How can I help you, agents?”
“Begin at the beginning, and when you reach the end, stop.” Lilac said. When Chief Vick arched a brow, the female agent just shrugged. “In short, start by telling us who our guy has gotten so far.”
Chapter: 2/?
Fandom: Rookie Mistake
Ratings/Warnings: PG, later possibly R
Disclaimer: Puce belongs to Foxyfire, the cast of Psych is copyright of GEP productions, NBC Universal Television, Pacific Mountain Productions and Tagline Pictures
A/N: Santa Barbara is not as quiet as you would like it to be
Chapter 2
Santa Barbara was a nice place, Lilac decided as she cruised around. The moment she had landed, she had been given the message that there was a rental car waiting for her, all paid in advance. This included a room in a motel, which was where she was headed for. There, she would rest up and then plan her next step.
The motel itself was in a business neighbourhood. Or at least it looked that way, as she passed several places along the way. There a take-out place, there a baker, and there a...
Lilac had to pause the car. Did that window actually read Psych? It did. And from what she could guess, it was something that belonged to a private investigator. Two guys were standing out front, bickering over something. The one on the left, a black and bald man, was telling “Shawn” that he had work of some kind to do and did not have time for the others hijinks with “Lassie”. The other, who had to be Shawn, was telling “Gus” that if they went to the station now then they could possibly get a lead on this case!
“Besides, Lassie seems all wound up about this Mahila Mundane..”
“That's Mengele Murderer, Shawn! I'm not going after some psycho who was named after a Nazi Doctor! I don't want details on the *hows* while we're at it!”
Had Lilac been born with cat ears, they would have perked up. Well well well...
“Excuse me!” She called out. When the two men looked to her, she flashed them a friendly smile. “I was wondering if you could help me? See, I'm from out of town and I need to find the police station?”
From the way the two acted after that, both practically racing each other down the car, it was clear that they were friends. Friends that competed as much as possible. Especially when it came to women.
The one called Shawn got there first, but that was mostly because he had pushed Gus who now caught up with them, giving Shawn a nasty look. Shawn grinned at Lilac.
“Hi, Shawn Spencer, psychic detective.” He gave an odd sort of twitch with his head at that. Lilac figured it was something that made people believe he was 'connecting with the spirits' or something. Gus was giving him this annoyed look that made it seem like that anyway.
Lilac just perked a brow.
“A psychic detective?” She said, feigning surprise. “Really? That's interesting.”
“Isn't it though?” Shawn said. Gus looked about to say something, but the other cut him off. “And you must have a connection with the Mahila Mundane case right?”
“That's 'Mendele Murderer', Shawn!” Gus cut in, agitated. Lilac could tell it that it was clearly on purpose that Shawn was saying things wrong, possibly to rile up his friend so that he would follow him around. Lilac on her part decided to humor Shawn.
“Why yes I do!” She said. “How did you guess? Oh!” She slapped her forehead. “That's right. You're a psychic!” She flashed another smile at Shawn. “But please, do go on.”
“Well, first of there's your rather.. ruffled state.” Shawn said, indicating her clothes. “They tell me you have just been on a flight. The airport is quite a bit from here, so you must be looking for the main police department itself which in Down Town Santa Barbara. Your watch is also off by a few hours, so it shows you have gotten off a long flight, possibly East Coast. Your accent suggests somewhere near the southern line, perhaps North Carolina or Georgia.”
Lilac was grateful for her police training. It made it so much easier to resist the urge to burst out laughing.
“Finally, there is the filecase you got in the back.” Shawn concluded. “I know that the FBI is alerted about the 'Mengele murderer'..” Shawn flashed a grin at Gus who just scowled at him. “And your professional outfit, rumpled as it is, suggests that you are a government type. You are here to help our dear friend, detective Lassiter, in order to solve the case.” Again, he flashed a grin, this time directed at Lilac. “I'm sure you will get along with Lassie. With you and him being able to swap cop stories and all.”
Lilac was silent, nodding slowly as she took the information in.
“I'll bite.” She finally said. “How did you know about me being a cop. Or rather, a former cop.”
“You remind me a lot of Lassie.” Shawn said with a shrug. “You're all business and no pleasure.” He leaned in with a smirk. “Though I'd be glad to tempt you into lacking the 'no'..” He leaned back, and then stood nonchalantly as if he had never done so. “Your attitude is also a hint. The way you asked for the way to the police department and your tone suggested that you knew exactly *which* one you wanted, despite being from out of town. You want the main one where you can find the big cheese, where everything else is going on! It tells me you have done this before. Sometimes the spirits get a bit vague on details, but I figured... 'She's a cop or a former one, who has moved up in the ranks.' And there you have it.”
Lilac leaned back in the carseat with a small smile. “Well you got most of it right.” She said. “I am indeed a former cop. I am also a government type, and I am looking for the main police department where I am indeed looking for detective Lassiter. He has some files I need to review as part of the Mengele Murderer case. I worked on that some years ago, and now that the guy has popped up again, I was asked to aid in the case and maybe find some clues that have been missed.” She then smirked.
“There's one thing you've missed though. I have never been near Georgia or North Carolina. In fact..” She flashed Shawn a grin. “Have fun guessing.” With that, she gassed up a bit so that Shawn would move away from the car. He did so, and watched as the woman dressed in purple drove off.
“She'll be back.” He said confidently.
“What makes you so sure?” Gus asked. “She didn't seem so impressed about your 'psychic'-” he dotted the air with his fingers, “powers.”
Shawn gave a dramatic sigh, draping an arm around Gus' shoulders.
“Oh Gus, Gus, Gus.” He said. “Have just a little bit of faith in me? Clearly, she could sense that aside from my psychic abilities, I am worth having around when it comes to being a reliable source of information!” The cat-got-the-cream grin returned.
“Besides, she forgot to ask for directions.”
Gus gave him a dry look.
“Ever heard of something called a 'phonebook' Shawn?”
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The first thing she did when she arrived at the motel, was to get to her room. She perked a brow when the owner told her that some “big ass guy” had been around and had left something for her in the form of a big package, and a few more questions confirmed the description of Cassius. When Lilac got to said room, she settled the package on the bed and opened it with her pocket knife. It contained a note telling her that with a few strings pulled, Purple had managed to gather these files, and when looking through said files, Lilac paled.
The files were from other police departments in other states. She counted at least 5 states, each with at least 6 murder victims, and all had the same thing in common. Doctors or nurses who worked with mental patients, had been brutally or 'gently' murdered depending on the institution in these five different states.
“Son of a bitch..” She whispered as she paged through them. “This guy has been goddamn busy.. What's your beef? Why do you do this? What have these people ever done to you?” As she read through the files, she got out a notebook and began to write. All the questions running through her mind, all the connections these people had so far..
Things had just gotten a lot more complicated, and she hoped that looking at things here in Santa Barbara could help it in some way. At least a bit.
When she looked up from her work, she saw that that the clock unsurprisingly had moved from 4 in the afternoon to 11:30 evening. Lilac sighed, stretching out weary muscles who had been begging for a break without her paying attention. 'Oh well..' She thought to herself. 'You won't get anything solved if you don't get some sleep. Best thing to do is to go to bed and then start at the police station tomorrow morning.'
With that, she packed up the various files that she knew would be needed in the morning. Then she got out of her clothes and climbed into bed. Tomorrow was another day and it was going to be a long one.
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The woman was bound to a chair with electric tape, and no matter how hard she twisted and turned her hands, she couldn't get free. The tape over her mouth kept her from calling for help, and she couldn't help a sob as she struggled.. If only she could maybe tip over the chair or something, then maybe people in the apartment downstairs would hear the noises and come to see what was wrong. She rocked back and forth and then suddenly the front of the chair seemed to lift itself and she tipped over backwards, a loud crash sounding along with a muffled wail as the woman had pretty much landed on her bound hands. She was certain she might have broken her pinky fingers, but she wasn't certain.
“You're wasting your time.” A mans voice called out. “There is no one at home downstairs. Believe me, I checked.” She froze, her heart feeling as if it was going a mile a minute in terror. She hadn't seen her captor as he had sneaked up on her with a chloroform soaked rag which had knocked her out pretty quickly. She struggled, a muffled whimper sounding from her as footsteps got closer. Questions milled through her head. Who was this man? Why was he doing this to her? What had she done to deserve this?
Suddenly, strong hands were on the chair, putting it back in an upright position. The man smiled as the woman's eyes widened with recognition.
“I suppose you are wondering why I am doing this?” He asked calmly. The woman just stared at him. He flashed her a grin. “Go on. Nod or something.”
Slowly, she gave the tiniest of nods. The mans smile turned into a scowl.
“I feel.. that you have been meddling quite a bit.” He said, his tone unpleasant. “You see.. You know about my.. problem. And as annoying as it is, I can't just get rid of it. But the way things are, the problem would overcome me instead. And I really don't want that.” A knife flashed briefly in the light from the window before it reached out, gently caressing the woman down her cheek.
“And that is why you are here now.” The man said, the look in his eyes making the woman feel as if someone had poured ice into her veins.
“With a bit of luck?” He said with a soft purr in his tone, “you'll pass out before we get to the good part.”
When she woke up, it was 6 am. It suited Sheila just fine, and she got out of bed and went to take a shower. Feeling nicely clean and refreshed, she knew she was ready to face the day. A grumble from her stomach reminded her that breakfast was in order too. Looking at the watch, she saw she had plenty of time, and wondered if there were any 24/7 diners in the area.
Opening the door, Sheila blinked when she saw Puce.
“Uhh, good morning?” She said, perking a brow. The other copied the motion.
“I was informed that you might need a partner on this case.” He said in his usual calm manner. “Mauve is occupied at the moment, so I was sent in his stead.” The female agent thought over that for a moment, then nodded. “Alright then.” She said. “But you do know what it means, right?” When Puce didn't answer, she continued. “We're going to be working hard. Purple sent me some updated files, and if the guy is as ruthless as it seems he is, then we got a lot of work to do. Not just to trace him down, but to try and see if we can find his next victim before he gets to him or her.”
"I will assist however you wish," he said with a small bow. "Unfortunately, I do not know much of this variety of investigation."
"This variety?" she repeated. "How do you normally find things out?"
"I go into the suspect's homes, go through papers, download the contents of their computers, and see what is kept in the wall safe."
"Rrright.." She said slowly. "Well, I hope you brought a lot of patience with you because some of these things will have to be done legally and that takes time." Another complain from her stomach cut off whatever she had wanted to say next. ".. But first, I need to get something to eat. Haven't eaten since lunch yesterday. You?"
"Unacceptable," he scowled. "A single meal in a period greater than twenty-four hours will lead to lack of energy, mental clarity, and physical strength and endurance. We will eat."
Sheila on her part, managed to look embarrassed. "I meant to eat, but then.. the files. You're gonna have to remind me of it when we get to work, because.. Well I forget things when I get caught up in something."
"If necessary, we can check Jostaberry's latest trans-dermal nourishment system," he suggested, grinning slightly. "I believe he stated that it will successfully deliver an entire day's worth of nutrients. However, it does leave a strange aftertaste in the mouth."
-------------------------------------
Head Detective Carlton Lassiter was having a terrible morning. It was one of those days where everything just seemed to go wrong. Chief Vick was in horrible mood because of the Mengele Murderer case, and Spencer butting in constantly did not help a single bit. And now they had been alerted that some high rank official government type of person was coming by to “help” with the investigation. As if the whole shenanigan with Special Agent Lars Ewing wasn't bad enough.
So when two random women (oh wait, one was a woman, that was obvious, but the other.. eh, he'd better ask beforehand, some people were so damn touchy these days) dressed in purple entered, he stood up from his desk with a scowl.
“Can I help you?” He asked, his tone stern and wary. The last thing he needed was for some random civilian (or worse, a government agent) to think he was soft in his own domain. The woman, who kept her brown hair in a ponytail, gave him a calm once-over. Then, she calmly offered her hand for a shake.
“Agent Lilac.” She said. “I was told you had been informed of my arrival? I am here to work on the Mengele case.”
Lassiter stared at her, then at her outstretched hand as if it was a foreign object that might turn into a poisonous snake if he went to grab it. Slow, he reached out and shook her hand. The woman's hand was rough and her grip was strong. It was the hand of a strong worker and when he looked up at her and into her eyes, his instincts told her just what he should think about this woman. She was a cop, and she knew the deal.
“Head detective Carlton Lassiter.” He said. “And yes, I had been informed about your arrival.” He gave Sheila's companion a look. “I was only informed of one though..” Lilac gave a shrug.
“Last minute decision from my superiors. They decided a partner would be a good idea. And considering the nature of this case, one can hardly blame them.” She gave a nod towards the other next to her. “This here is my fellow agent Puce. Like I said, he's my partner on this case. I'll warn you at once though. He has his own working methods.”
Lassiter perked a brow at the names, and then thanked his instincts that he hadn't immediately thought of the other as a woman. Because judging from the mans expression, one would regret it if they made that mistake.
And then the bomb fell.
“Heyy, Lassie!” An all too familiar voice burst out, and there came Spencer, grinning like he had just won the lottery. He gave the newcomers an appreciating once-over. “What's this? Having a girl's night out, and you didn't invite me?”
Lilac placed a hand on her partners arm, but not before Lassiter had seen Puce's muscles tense. Puce looked at Lilac who just perked a brow. Years ago, Lassiter had been a rookie himself. He had been an upstart, the kind you could easily pick a fight with. He had been under the tutoring of a stern sergeant who Lassiter had learned to read like a map when it came to his body language. Right now, the woman was giving her partner a calming look. 'Easy now, he's just an idiot', her look said. Gus, his survival instincts as always ahead of him, pulled Spencer to the side, hissing something low to his friend as Puce gave them both a cold look. Spencer on his part didn't look too fased about whatever Gus was telling him.
“Agent Lilac, Agent Puce.” Lassiter said, cutting through the tension. Both Puce and Lilac, and unfortunately Spencer and Gus, looked to the detective. “This is our local..” Lassiter grimaced as if he'd just tasted something bad. “Psychic, Shawn Spencer and his friend, Burton Guster.”
“We met yesterday.” Agent Lilac said calmly. “If it helps, he didn't impress me.”
Lassiter had the feeling this was going to be the start of a good partnership.
“Now.” Lilac said, perking a brow. “The case?”
“Of course!” Lassiter exclaimed. “If you will follow me, please, then I will introduce you to my boss, Chief Vick. She will give you an update on the situation.”
“Sweet!” Shawn exclaimed. “A briefing with Chief Vick means bearclaws and donuts!” Gus gave him an appalled look. “Shawn, is food seriously all you think about?!” He exclaimed.
“Not true Gus, sometimes I take the time to think about others as well..” Spencer gave Puce a once-over. “Especially the good looking others..”
“One, she's a he.” Lilac cut him off. “Second, he's taken. Third..” She shook her head. “You're asking for it.” With that, the two agents followed after Lassiter while Spencer and Gus stood behind. Somehow, it gave Lassiter a great sense of pleasure to see Spencer all befuddled.
He quickly got to his senses and practically careened across the floor, right before Lassiter closed the door to Chief Vicks office.
“Chief!” He exclaimed, grinning at the older woman. “You're looking lovely today!”
“Spencer.” Chief Vick said, a cool expression on her face. “For once, this is not a case for you. Get out.”
“But wait!” Spencer started, throwing out his arm in an exaggerated gesture while holding his other hand flat against his forehead. “The spirits.. they come to communicate with me!” A hiss of air sounded as he drew in a breath between his teeth. “Nnn, it's hard to see, but I sense.. I sense..” He suddenly leaped up and pointed at Lilac. “I sense this man has killed before!” He then twitched his upper body. “Once.. twice...”
Lilac arched a brow as the man jumped around in spastic jerks. Lassiter and Chief Vick watched as if this wasn't a new scenario. Lilac figured this routine for them. Puce had his eyes lightly narrowed, the only thing evident that he was getting annoyed. He leaned over, as Spencer continued jumping around, crying out random numbers and states (oddly accurate at that, but Lilac didn't think about).
"The noisy one, he knows more than he lets on.” Puce muttered so that only Lilac could hear him. “He is trouble."
Lilac gave a snort. "Gee, you think?"
"I will deal with him."
"No Puce.” She replied. “He's an overenthusiastic moron, but he means well."
Puce arched a skeptical brow "...Are you certain? It seems to me that he merely means to be the center of attention and grab the glory."
“I've seen this kind of attitude before.” Lilac muttered. "One of his parents must be a former cop who had all sorts of expectations for him, and when he failed those, they got very disapproving. Thus the whole circus monkey routine. It's either to spite them or to make them approve in one way or the other."
“SHAWN!” An elder males voice bellowed out, and an older man in a green and white patterned Hawaii shirt came storming in. Shawn immediately stopped his movements, looking like a kid who had gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
“Aaand there you have it.” Lilac said.
“Dad, so great to see you!” Shawn exclaimed, as if he hadn't just been doing an odd spastic parade in the entire office. “What.. exactly are you doing here?” The older man gave Shawn a look.
“I came down here to renew my license plates.” He scoffed. “And what do I hear? That you have started butting into the Mengele Murderer case! Shawn, what the hell do you think you're doing!?”
“.. My job as a psychic?” Shawn asked. Sensing a bit of a family dispute coming in, Lilac gave a discreet cough. Spencer senior spun around and squinted at her as if he only now had just noticed her. Which, given the situation, was probably the case.
“And you are..?” He demanded.
“Agent Lilac.” She replied. “And I hate to sound rude but.. Chief Vick was about to inform my partner and I about the case.”
Spencer Senior frowned for a moment, then his eyes widened in sudden realization.
“I know you!” He exclaimed, pointing at Lilac. “You're Officer Sheila Peterson! The press had a field day about you and your partners, after the case blew in San Diego!” He straightened up, a hand smoothing over his half-moon scalp as if suddenly embarrassed about his appearance. “I mean.. geez, and then there was that madman who shot you into a coma..”
Lilacs brows went skyward. “That was over one and a half year ago, Mr. Spencer.” She said. “I have moved on since then.”
“I can see that.” Spencer Senior said with a frown, looking her up and down. When Lilac just gave him a look, he recovered himself quickly. “And if you will excuse me, I have something I need to discuss with my son.” He looked to Shawn, narrowing his eyes. “In private. Outside. Now.”
“Oh, but dad..” Shawn tried, whining as if he was a kid who had just been told he couldn't go on the rollercoaster for the bigger kids. Instead of answering him, Spencer Senior grabbed him firmly by the arm and pulled him outside. Puce shut the door behind them, then gave Lilac a look.
“Former cop.” Was all Lilac said. As if that explained everything, which it probably didn't, Puce just shrugged in response and settled into a neutral position by the door, ready to prevent anyone from entering.
Chief Vick gave an exasperated sigh as if she had just finished another days hard work.
“Now that that's out of the way..” She said, leaning on the desk as she looked to Lilac and Puce. “Let's get started. How can I help you, agents?”
“Begin at the beginning, and when you reach the end, stop.” Lilac said. When Chief Vick arched a brow, the female agent just shrugged. “In short, start by telling us who our guy has gotten so far.”