Identity - I am Shawn Spencer (Chapter 1)
Mina
The whole house was dark and silent. Silent save for the screams of the young woman that ran down the stairs, to get away and out. Out to be save. She´d asked the man in, because she´d believed him that he was a friend of her husband. He´d looked honest and she was a trusting person. Now she was scared, no terrified. She had no idea who this man really was, but she knew one thing for sure. If he would get her, he would kill her.
She reached the ground floor and ran for the door. She could hear him, coming down the stairs, after her. But she believed her headstart was big enough to make it. And then she was there, at the door, the one barrier that was left between her and freedom. Safety.
Her hands clung around the door handle. She was sure she hadn´t locked it. It was a save neighborhood. Usually she never locked the door. But in this moment it just wouldn´t open for her. She clung faster around the handle, pulled and tore, but with no result.
A hand fell down on her shoulder and she shrieked. Short, more a breath than a scream. Her pursuer turned her around. Cold brown eyes stared into hers. Eyes she´d considered friendly when she´d seen them first. Now they were the eyes of a devil, a monster.
Her legs gave in and she slid down the door until she cowered in front of him. He went down, along with her, his hand never leaving her shoulder.
“Please.“ she sobbed. “What do you want from me?“
“I think you know that quiet well, Mina.“ the man said.
He looked into her eyes, cold and almost curious, not a bit reacting to her desperate crying. After a while his eyes narrowed a little. A very subtle change, almost impossible to see, but Mina noticed it anyway. She felt the change more than she actually saw it. Something had just surprised him.
“Or don´t you know it after all?“ he wondered, his voice deep and low. A sound she´d learned to fear like nothing else on this planet, within only a few minutes.
His hand touched her forehead and he closed his eyes. Mina could feel something happening inside of her head. Something that didn´t quiet hurt, but it was unpleasant beyond anything. It was like being raped. When he opened his eyes again, it looked as if he was smiling. An amused kind of smile, only visible in his eyes.
“You don´t know it after all.“ he said and this time it was not a question anymore.
“What don´t I know?“ she managed to ask.
But in this moment, he frowned as if he´d noticed something new and closed his eyes again. Again she could feel the penetration of her mind by that strange and merciless force. This time it did hurt. It hurt a lot. When he opened his eyes again, he glared at her, as if he wanted to accuse her of lying.
Mina had no idea why she should call it that, but it was the first thing that came to her mind. She almost expected him to hit her for not telling the truth. Only that she had no idea what kind of truth this could be.
He didn´t hit her though and he didn´t accuse her of lying either. After another moment, his features cleared again. He even smiled at her.
“It´s funny.“ he said, talking more to himself than to her. He gently brushed a strand of hair out of her face and locked it behind her ear. Like a lover would do it with his sweetheart. Mina wanted to scream but she couldn´t. Her voice was frozen in her throat.
“You have no idea what you have in you.“ he told her, talking softly like he would talk to a child. “This is actually kinda sad. But I can´t change that. It´s too late to turn back. I´m sorry.“
Mina wanted to cry out. She wanted to plead, to beg for him not to do it. To let her live. She wanted to tell him that he could turn back if he wanted to. She wanted to say anything, just something to make him stop. But there was nothing coming out of her throat.
His eyes. They were so gentle now and yet so cruel and merciless. Mina had no idea why it terrified her so much when he raised his finger to point at her forehead - until she felt the pain. A pain that didn´t only tear her skin open but also everything that was beneath it. Blood was running down her face.
Still she couldn´t scream. It was as if something kept her from screaming. An invisible hand that clamped around her throat to keep the betraying screams inside. But the screams were there anyway. They were in her head. And they were so loud that she thought her head must explode.
And in the end it did … but not because of her screams.
…..............
It was seven a.m. when Shawn and Juliet entered the diner. The young man hurried to be at the door first, to open it for her. But instead of appreciating it, Juliet frowned, uncertain. The detective in her must have noticed, how much more happy he was than usual.
“I must say, Shawn.“ she spoke, taking her seat next to him, at the counter. “I was very surprised when you invited me for breakfast.“
“Yeah?” the fake psychic asked. “Why that? Is it that uncommon that a guy wants to spend some time with his girlfriend?“
“No. But you are usually still in bed at this time and I wonder what drove you out so early.“
“That is a good question.“ he admitted. “A fair question that deserves an answer. You see … this is going to be the coolest day of my life … okay probably not quiet THE coolest day of my life. That was the day when I met Curt Smith. But it will be surely one of the coolest days I ever had.“
“And why´s that?“ she asked, her chin in her palm.
“Gus and I are about to do something today.“ he said vaguely. “Something we waited for quiet a while now and … I just decided that I want to start this day, or rather top it, by having breakfast with you first.“
“Aaaw.” she smiled, honestly touched. “Shawn, this is so sweet.“
The waitress came over to pour them coffee and a few minutes later they got their breakfast. Shawn immediately started to gobble as if he hadn´t eaten for days. An unmistakable sign for how excited he was.
“So now tell me.“ Juliet demanded. “What is it? What will you guys do today that is so cool?“
“Ahh just … something we used to dream about when we were kids.“ Shawn said with a tiny wave of his hand. “You know. Boys stuff. You´ll probably laugh about it.“
“Why should I laugh?“
“Because … it´s kinda childish.“
Juliet raised a brow. “Shawn. You´ve been childish since I first met you and you haven´t changed ever since. Why should I treat this different than all the other stuff you guys came up with over the years? It can´t be more childish than the plan to ride a dolphin.“
“Good point.“ he admitted. “And just for the record. If it wouldn´t be forbidden by law, I would have trained that dolphin, to jump with me over the sea wall, just like Free Willy. And I would have called it Fury.“
Juliet frowned. “Fury was a horse.“ she pointed out.
“Right.” Shawn affirmed. “And he let a little boy ride him without a saddle.“
“She.“ Juliet corrected. “Fury was a mare.“
“I knew that.“ Shawn claimed, startled. “And a very educated mare for that matter. She could operate mechanical devices that would ask too much of a chimpanzee, she was able to stenograph and solve highly advanced mathematical formulae by raising her hoof.“ He imitated the movement with his hand, to underline his statement.
“That´s true.“ Juliet agreed. “But you still haven´t told me where you and Gus are heading today.“
“I haven´t?“
“No, you haven´t.“
“Well, that might be because of the …“
“Shawn, are you embarrassed?“ she interrupted him.
“Embarrassed?“ he asked, his voice slightly higher than usual. “Pfft. Why should I be embarrassed? No. I´m just … Gus!“ he cried out, relieved when he spotted his friend entering the diner. “Buddy!“ he almost cheered, waving at him. “What are you doing here?“
Gus frowned, his dark face highly irritated at the question. “You asked me to pick you up at half past seven.“ he recalled.
“Ah, yeah.“ Shawn said. “I remember.“
The pharmaceutical salesman stepped up to them, uncertain. “Shawn, are you feeling all right?“
“I was wondering that myself.“ Juliet agreed, gazing at Shawn, waiting.
“Sure.“ he said. “Why shouldn´t I?“
Gus looked at him, just for a moment. “Can we go now?“ he asked, dismissing the former talk. “They open at eight and I don´t wanna be late.“
Shawn nodded, quickly and got up. Juliet turned to Gus though, asking innocently: “What opens at eight?“
All of Shawn´s desperate gestures to keep Gus from answering, were ignored.
“The Transformers Convention.“ Gus told Juliet proudly, glowing with excitement, his hand wiping over his head as if to fix some not existing strands of hair.
“You two go there?“ Juliet cried in disbelieve, turning back to Shawn as if Gus had just told her he was secretly married to a Chinese illegal immigrant. “I tried to get tickets for that.“
“You did?“ Shawn just couldn´t believe it.
“Why didn´t you guys tell me that before?“ she turned back to Gus. “How did you get the tickets?“
“I know the guy who sells them.“ Gus told her, completely startled over the course this talk had taken.
“You do?“
“Yeah.“ he shrugged. “You wanna ticket too?“
“Are you kidding? Of course I want.“
“You do?“ Shawn dropped back into his seat, still not able to believe what he was hearing.
“Shawn! I loved Transformers when I was a kid. I always wanted to meet Bumblebee. And when the movie came out, I almost died. I can´t believe you didn´t tell me that you´re going to the Con.“
“Wow.“ was all Shawn managed to bring out. “I … I don´t know what to say.“
“But I do.“ she said, turning back to Gus. “Guster, I want this ticket.“ she demanded. “And as soon as my shift is over you two will come and pick me up and don´t you dare to be late.“ She halted in her talk, eventually hitting the counter with her arms. “Oh, dammit, I hate you guys.“
Shawn exchanged a glance with Gus, giving him a signal to wait outside. Gus signaled in return that he should hurry, that he still didn´t want to be late. Shawn answered with a furious face and even stronger signaling, telling him to get his ass out of here already.
Of course Juliet could see all of this in the corner of her eye. She was biting the inside of her cheek, so she wouldn´t grin, reminding herself that she was ought to be mad. At last Gus left the diner and Shawn turned his attention back to her.
“You know that I have to work files at the station while you guys will have fun at the Con.“ she said in her best I´m-pissed-voice before he had a chance to speak.
“I really didn´t think that you´d like Transformers.“ he said.
She glared at him. “You were wrong.“
“Obviously. And I was never so happy about being wrong my entire life.“
At this she just couldn´t help herself any longer. He´d said it so serious as if it was about life and death. God she hated him … and loved him, just because he was the one that he was.
“You could wait for me and not enter the Con before we can go in together.“ she suggested, when she had her laughter under control again.
“Are you crazy?“ he cried. “That´s the Transformers Convention. Gus and I will be VIP´s.“
Juliet bit herself again. She hadn´t expected anything else but dammit, she didn´t want him to see her laughing. That was so not fair.
“But I promise, I´ll wait for you for the rest of the week.“ he said. “And I´ll organize an autograph from Shia LaBeouf for you.“
She didn´t answer, just pressed her hand over her mouth so he wouldn´t hear her giggles. His begging face was just killing her. His eyes were worried, asking if they were all right again, but she just couldn´t answer. Her giggles were keeping her busy. At last she managed to nod.
Behind them the door of the diner got opened again and Gus called for Shawn to stop the sweet talk and hurry up.
“I don´t wanna be late.“ he shouted so loud that everybody in the diner turned around to him.
One of these guests was a man, sitting alone in a corner booth. His face was half covered with a cap, hidden in the shadow beneath it. When Gus noticed the general reaction to his shouting, he blushed and turned on his best apologetic smile.
“Please hurry up, Shawn.“ he asked, sweetly.
Shawn stood up, wiping his hands on the handkerchief. “Well, if you´ll excuse me, darling.“ he said in a nasal voice. “But as you can hear … the voice of my master is calling.“ He lay down some money to pay his part of the bill. “I then say farewell, my lady.“ he chanted and bowed down to kiss her goodbye. Then he turned around, performing a bow before Gus. “At your service, master.”
“Just let´s go.“ Gus replied, still uncomfortable about all the eyes that lay on them.
The man in the corner booth watched them go. But compared with all the others, he was not angry about the shouting. He couldn´t care less about that. He turned his head just a few inches to look after them, before returning his attention back to Juliet, watching her finish the rest of her breakfast. Slowly he reached out his hand, for the mug of coffee on the other side of the table. It slipped over the table directly into his hand, like a well behaved dog that reacted to the call of its master. He would just sit here and watch for a while before he would go on. There was no reason to rush.
“You didn´t tell her that the Autobots will drive in for the opening of the Con, did you?“ Gus asked Shawn, when the two of them walked to the parking lot.
“God no, Gus.“ Shawn replied, almost shocked and threw a checking glance over his shoulder, to make sure Juliet was nowhere in hearing distance. “Jules would hate me if she knew what she´ll miss.“
“She sure will when she finds out.“ Gus stated.
“Don´t worry. I plan to record everything with my cell phone. She´ll understand that.“
As if on cue, Shawn´s cell started to ring, interrupting their talk.
“That´s chief Vick.“ the fake psychic found, when he checked the display and immediately answered the call. “Chief.“ he greeted the head of the S.B.P.D. in his best what-can-I-do-for-you-tone.
“Get down here now.“ was all the chief of police said, no ordered, and named an address for him. Eventually she ended with a strict: “I´m not asking.“
After that she hung up.
Shawn looked down on the cell in his hand, startled. He´d barely ever heard her that distressed. On none of the cases, he and Gus had worked for the S.B.P.D.
“That´s weird.“
“What is it?“ Gus asked, a very very worried look on his face. He guessed something bad. Something that would shatter their plans to go to the Con. When Shawn stopped and looked ahead at Gus´ blue company car, sighing, his fears were affirmed.
“It seems we have to delay Optimus Prime after all.“ Shawn shook his head.
…..............
When they reached the crime scene, Shawn couldn´t help himself. Something about this place was dead wrong. And it was not the yellow crime scene tape around the house and the many police cars - one of them a blue Crown Vic that was only too familiar to them. Though it was a little weird that there were so many cars for just one crime.
Gus seemed to have the same idea, because he stopped in his tracks, hesitating to come closer to that door and to what might be behind it.
“Oh, my god.“ he exclaimed. “Shawn. This is the Manson family.“
“The what?“
“I´m sure of it. They murdered a whole family in there. Or the participants of a cocktail party. Ten people at least. I don´t wanna go in there, Shawn.“
“Don´t be silly, Gus.“ Shawn said, walking on. “This is just another crime scene we will walk in, no more and no less. We go in there, we have a look around, I fake a vision and tell them who the killer is and we´ll be on our way to Optimus and Bumblebee before you can say …“
But in this moment, he´d spotted the nameplate at the front door. The name read Singh.
Shawn frowned. Was that just a coincidence? It had to be. There was just no way that this was the house of …
Gus grabbed his arm. “Oh, my god, Shawn.“ he exclaimed. “Do you think …?“
Shawn wanted to say something but had to learn that he couldn´t. In this moment, he suddenly felt the same fear as Gus. That he would see something more cruel in there, than he would be able to stand. Not because he couldn´t stand to see dead bodies. But this was the house of some friends of his and entering this house could not lead to any good.
But no. The name just had to be a coincidence. Singh was probably a very widespread name with the Indian population. Like Smith or Jones or whatever. Sure it was. And even if it wasn´t, if this really should be Raj´s and Mina´s house, he still had a job to do here. If anyone had killed a member of the Singh family, he would help to find out who did it.
Determined to be strong, he entered, Gus hesitantly following behind. But no determination, no matter how strong, could have prepared them for what they were about to see.
The living room was crowded with police men and forensics, the flashlights of their camera´s illuminating the place like a morbid firework, the voices muffled as if they were afraid to talk too loud. The reason was not to overlook and seeing it made Shawn wish, he´d thought twice before he stormed in here.
It was Mina. It truly was her. Even though it looked strange to see her in trousers and shirt and not her dancing sari, it was definitely her. Shawn would never forget that face. Not considering the circumstances under which they´d met.
Though now Shawn didn´t look at her face at all. He´d closed his eyes, the moment he´d recognized her. Next to him Gus gasped in shock. After a moment of just breathing, Shawn made himself open his eyes again, to face the cold and cruel reality that he couldn´t change anymore.
Mina. The beautiful and sweet dancer. Now she was dead. Someone had finally finished what her other pursuer had not been able to do. But that wasn´t the worst of it. Someone had killed her, all right. But her killer seemed to be some kind of obscure Hannibal Lecter Fan, because he hadn´t been satisfied with just killing her. He´d also opened her head and obviously removed her brain. After he´d done that, he´d hung her head down on the banister of her own home´s stairs, nailing her there with different kinds of tools. Knifes, letter openers, a screwdriver … he´d driven them through her legs, arms and torso, as if she was a puppet that needed to be fixed on its place.
“Look at her.“ he could hear a female voice not so far away, probably one of the forensics. “Must have taken three guys to lift her up that high.“ And then there were more flashlights, accompanied by the familiar sound of the camera.
For a moment Shawn felt his stomach turn around. A second after his own insides had started to do this, he could hear Gus gag and hurry back out of the front door. This time Shawn would spare it to tease him later. This time he felt like vomiting himself.
Gus had been right too. At least partly. This murderer had obviously taken some inspiration from the Manson family. Not only had he distorted Mina beyond human standards, he´d also written something on the wall beneath her - with her blood. In big red letters there was written: BEST REGARDS, SYLAR. What kind of a sick joke was this?
“Spencer.“ Shawn heard Lassiter´s voice calling him.
He wanted to turn around to look at the head detective, but found himself unable to turn his gaze away from the sight before him. He´d known this woman, had saved her from falling to death. And he´d known her boyfriend, later husband. To see her that way was … cruel.
“Spencer.“ Lassiter addressed him again and this time he spoke so gentle that Shawn couldn´t help but turned to him, startled. He´d never heard Lassiter talk like that. Not to him. Not to anyone. But when he met the gaze of the lanky Irish man, he had an idea why he did it now. He had to look as horrible as he felt, according to the worry in Lassiter´s eyes. The detective even reached out a hand for him, as if afraid the consultant could faint. And if Shawn was honest, a part of him had actually considered that.
“Easy, Spencer.“ Lassiter said. “Take your time.“
It needed all of Shawn´s strength to make his head perform a nod. “I´m fine.“ he said.
“Sure?“
Shawn nodded again. He had to clear his throat. “Yeah.“ He looked at Mina again but this time he couldn´t stand it for long. “Raj?“ he asked with a husky voice that barely sounded like his own. “Does he know?“
“He found her.“ Lassiter informed him.
Shawn stared at him in shock. Just the idea of Raj coming home and finding Mina like this, was more than he could imagine. The man must be destroyed. Lassiter nodded as if he´d read his thoughts.
“He is at the station now.“ he said. “Under psychological care.“
“Oh, man.“ Shawn exclaimed and wiped some sweat off his forehead. He noticed that the detective´s hand was still on his arm. I really must look terrible, he mused.
“I´m fine.“ he assured Lassiter, with a nod.
This time the detective accepted it and let go of him.
“Mr. Spencer.“ the chief joined them, quietly.
Now Shawn was sure, this case was not a usual one. That the chief came here herself was more than enough proof of this. She looked at him as sympathizing as Lassiter had done before.
“I know you knew the victim.“ she said. “But I hope you can help us anyway.“
“Sure.“ Shawn said and quickly let his eyes wander over the place, the body, the stairs, taking in all the details he noticed. He spotted some pictures along the stairs, that were hanging askew and raised a hand to his temple. “I sense that she was upstairs … with the killer.“ he said.
“That´s right.“ the chief said. “We found a working gramophone up there. She must have put some music on, before he started to attack her.“
“Oh, my god.“ a soft voice behind them exclaimed.
Juliet had just entered the place, her face as pale as Shawn´s. Her eyes were fixed on the dead Mina, shocked. When they´d worked her and Raj´s case, she had shown a big deal of compassion for the couple. Now when her gaze met Shawn´s, he could see how badly she wanted to hug him. As if he was the one, who´d lost his better half in such a cruel way.
“Detective O´Hara.“ chief Vick gave Juliet a nod and released them all from that tensing moment. “We could need you over here.“
Juliet followed her, when she led the way, grateful for the lead. She was an experienced cop but this sight had shaken her, Shawn could see that. Damn, it had even shaken Lassiter and that guy usually was like a robot.
“Did Raj or Mina call you lately?“ the head detective now asked him.
Shawn turned to him, startled. “No. Why?“
Lassiter pointed at a table by the couch. The telephone was standing there and next to the phone there was an open book. Raj´s and Mina´s address-book. A pen was lying across the pages, underlining the name that was written there, next to the number. It read Shawn Spencer, Psychic Detective.
“This is my number, all right.“ was all Shawn knew to say. “Seems they kept it in case … in case they might need my service?“
“Why they kept it, is not important.“ Lassiter said. “But if neither of them called you lately …“
He didn´t need to finish the sentence for Shawn to know what he meant. Whoever had killed Mina, had noted down his number. And that was never a good sign.
He could hear a ringing tone from the other side of the room and chief Vick answering the call. She talked to the caller for a moment and then hung up.
“Gentlemen.“ she announced. “When you´re done here, I´d ask you to join me at the station. There we´ll be debriefed about what we´re dealing with here.“
“What … what does that mean?“ Shawn asked but she was already gone. He glanced at Lassiter and Jules. “I thought, I´m here to tell you who the killer is.“
“We already know who the killer is.“ Juliet said in a sad tone. “That is … the FBI knows him.“
Shawn´s feelings went down even more. He´d thought they were down to the bottom already but obviously he´d been wrong. An FBI case that meant serial killer. And in that regard, he didn´t quiet have the best experiences.
He followed Jules and Lassiter outside, glad to finally get away from that place. He´d never been so glad to leave a crime scene.
Gus was waiting for him at the gate, an almost pleading look on his face.
“Please, tell me that Raj isn´t in there too.“ he begged.
“No, he isn´t.“ Shawn answered. “Lassie says he´s at the station. He found her.“
“Oh, god.“ Gus exclaimed. A moment later, he started to cry. Shawn shifted from one foot to the other and awkwardly padded his friend´s shoulder.
“Give me the keys.“ he said. “I drive.“
Gus handed the keys over, rather happy about that offer. He was still sobbing when he got into the passengers seat. Shawn halted for another second before he got in the car. He could see Lassie on the other side, standing by his own car. He halfway expected the detective to roll his eyes about Gus´ habit of sympathetic crying, but this time he didn´t do it. He looked a little uncomfortable and somehow he managed it to let it look like an annoyed face. Showing too much compassion just wouldn´t be like Lassiter, Shawn figured.
But that was okay. Right now he wouldn´t be able to stand so much more compassion from unexpected sources anyway. And Lassiter was a very unexpected source. The whole thing was sad enough already.
So he got in the car and drove off, following Lassie´s blue Vic.
Neither of them had noticed the man on the other side of the street, standing amongst some rubberneckers, totally unsuspicious, blending in. Now that they were gone, he left the place, not interested in it any longer. He´d seen everything he´d wanted to see and didn´t look back a single time.
http://nureinname.livejournal.com/1532.html
Chapter Two: Mary
The whole house was dark and silent. Silent save for the screams of the young woman that ran down the stairs, to get away and out. Out to be save. She´d asked the man in, because she´d believed him that he was a friend of her husband. He´d looked honest and she was a trusting person. Now she was scared, no terrified. She had no idea who this man really was, but she knew one thing for sure. If he would get her, he would kill her.
She reached the ground floor and ran for the door. She could hear him, coming down the stairs, after her. But she believed her headstart was big enough to make it. And then she was there, at the door, the one barrier that was left between her and freedom. Safety.
Her hands clung around the door handle. She was sure she hadn´t locked it. It was a save neighborhood. Usually she never locked the door. But in this moment it just wouldn´t open for her. She clung faster around the handle, pulled and tore, but with no result.
A hand fell down on her shoulder and she shrieked. Short, more a breath than a scream. Her pursuer turned her around. Cold brown eyes stared into hers. Eyes she´d considered friendly when she´d seen them first. Now they were the eyes of a devil, a monster.
Her legs gave in and she slid down the door until she cowered in front of him. He went down, along with her, his hand never leaving her shoulder.
“Please.“ she sobbed. “What do you want from me?“
“I think you know that quiet well, Mina.“ the man said.
He looked into her eyes, cold and almost curious, not a bit reacting to her desperate crying. After a while his eyes narrowed a little. A very subtle change, almost impossible to see, but Mina noticed it anyway. She felt the change more than she actually saw it. Something had just surprised him.
“Or don´t you know it after all?“ he wondered, his voice deep and low. A sound she´d learned to fear like nothing else on this planet, within only a few minutes.
His hand touched her forehead and he closed his eyes. Mina could feel something happening inside of her head. Something that didn´t quiet hurt, but it was unpleasant beyond anything. It was like being raped. When he opened his eyes again, it looked as if he was smiling. An amused kind of smile, only visible in his eyes.
“You don´t know it after all.“ he said and this time it was not a question anymore.
“What don´t I know?“ she managed to ask.
But in this moment, he frowned as if he´d noticed something new and closed his eyes again. Again she could feel the penetration of her mind by that strange and merciless force. This time it did hurt. It hurt a lot. When he opened his eyes again, he glared at her, as if he wanted to accuse her of lying.
Mina had no idea why she should call it that, but it was the first thing that came to her mind. She almost expected him to hit her for not telling the truth. Only that she had no idea what kind of truth this could be.
He didn´t hit her though and he didn´t accuse her of lying either. After another moment, his features cleared again. He even smiled at her.
“It´s funny.“ he said, talking more to himself than to her. He gently brushed a strand of hair out of her face and locked it behind her ear. Like a lover would do it with his sweetheart. Mina wanted to scream but she couldn´t. Her voice was frozen in her throat.
“You have no idea what you have in you.“ he told her, talking softly like he would talk to a child. “This is actually kinda sad. But I can´t change that. It´s too late to turn back. I´m sorry.“
Mina wanted to cry out. She wanted to plead, to beg for him not to do it. To let her live. She wanted to tell him that he could turn back if he wanted to. She wanted to say anything, just something to make him stop. But there was nothing coming out of her throat.
His eyes. They were so gentle now and yet so cruel and merciless. Mina had no idea why it terrified her so much when he raised his finger to point at her forehead - until she felt the pain. A pain that didn´t only tear her skin open but also everything that was beneath it. Blood was running down her face.
Still she couldn´t scream. It was as if something kept her from screaming. An invisible hand that clamped around her throat to keep the betraying screams inside. But the screams were there anyway. They were in her head. And they were so loud that she thought her head must explode.
And in the end it did … but not because of her screams.
…..............
It was seven a.m. when Shawn and Juliet entered the diner. The young man hurried to be at the door first, to open it for her. But instead of appreciating it, Juliet frowned, uncertain. The detective in her must have noticed, how much more happy he was than usual.
“I must say, Shawn.“ she spoke, taking her seat next to him, at the counter. “I was very surprised when you invited me for breakfast.“
“Yeah?” the fake psychic asked. “Why that? Is it that uncommon that a guy wants to spend some time with his girlfriend?“
“No. But you are usually still in bed at this time and I wonder what drove you out so early.“
“That is a good question.“ he admitted. “A fair question that deserves an answer. You see … this is going to be the coolest day of my life … okay probably not quiet THE coolest day of my life. That was the day when I met Curt Smith. But it will be surely one of the coolest days I ever had.“
“And why´s that?“ she asked, her chin in her palm.
“Gus and I are about to do something today.“ he said vaguely. “Something we waited for quiet a while now and … I just decided that I want to start this day, or rather top it, by having breakfast with you first.“
“Aaaw.” she smiled, honestly touched. “Shawn, this is so sweet.“
The waitress came over to pour them coffee and a few minutes later they got their breakfast. Shawn immediately started to gobble as if he hadn´t eaten for days. An unmistakable sign for how excited he was.
“So now tell me.“ Juliet demanded. “What is it? What will you guys do today that is so cool?“
“Ahh just … something we used to dream about when we were kids.“ Shawn said with a tiny wave of his hand. “You know. Boys stuff. You´ll probably laugh about it.“
“Why should I laugh?“
“Because … it´s kinda childish.“
Juliet raised a brow. “Shawn. You´ve been childish since I first met you and you haven´t changed ever since. Why should I treat this different than all the other stuff you guys came up with over the years? It can´t be more childish than the plan to ride a dolphin.“
“Good point.“ he admitted. “And just for the record. If it wouldn´t be forbidden by law, I would have trained that dolphin, to jump with me over the sea wall, just like Free Willy. And I would have called it Fury.“
Juliet frowned. “Fury was a horse.“ she pointed out.
“Right.” Shawn affirmed. “And he let a little boy ride him without a saddle.“
“She.“ Juliet corrected. “Fury was a mare.“
“I knew that.“ Shawn claimed, startled. “And a very educated mare for that matter. She could operate mechanical devices that would ask too much of a chimpanzee, she was able to stenograph and solve highly advanced mathematical formulae by raising her hoof.“ He imitated the movement with his hand, to underline his statement.
“That´s true.“ Juliet agreed. “But you still haven´t told me where you and Gus are heading today.“
“I haven´t?“
“No, you haven´t.“
“Well, that might be because of the …“
“Shawn, are you embarrassed?“ she interrupted him.
“Embarrassed?“ he asked, his voice slightly higher than usual. “Pfft. Why should I be embarrassed? No. I´m just … Gus!“ he cried out, relieved when he spotted his friend entering the diner. “Buddy!“ he almost cheered, waving at him. “What are you doing here?“
Gus frowned, his dark face highly irritated at the question. “You asked me to pick you up at half past seven.“ he recalled.
“Ah, yeah.“ Shawn said. “I remember.“
The pharmaceutical salesman stepped up to them, uncertain. “Shawn, are you feeling all right?“
“I was wondering that myself.“ Juliet agreed, gazing at Shawn, waiting.
“Sure.“ he said. “Why shouldn´t I?“
Gus looked at him, just for a moment. “Can we go now?“ he asked, dismissing the former talk. “They open at eight and I don´t wanna be late.“
Shawn nodded, quickly and got up. Juliet turned to Gus though, asking innocently: “What opens at eight?“
All of Shawn´s desperate gestures to keep Gus from answering, were ignored.
“The Transformers Convention.“ Gus told Juliet proudly, glowing with excitement, his hand wiping over his head as if to fix some not existing strands of hair.
“You two go there?“ Juliet cried in disbelieve, turning back to Shawn as if Gus had just told her he was secretly married to a Chinese illegal immigrant. “I tried to get tickets for that.“
“You did?“ Shawn just couldn´t believe it.
“Why didn´t you guys tell me that before?“ she turned back to Gus. “How did you get the tickets?“
“I know the guy who sells them.“ Gus told her, completely startled over the course this talk had taken.
“You do?“
“Yeah.“ he shrugged. “You wanna ticket too?“
“Are you kidding? Of course I want.“
“You do?“ Shawn dropped back into his seat, still not able to believe what he was hearing.
“Shawn! I loved Transformers when I was a kid. I always wanted to meet Bumblebee. And when the movie came out, I almost died. I can´t believe you didn´t tell me that you´re going to the Con.“
“Wow.“ was all Shawn managed to bring out. “I … I don´t know what to say.“
“But I do.“ she said, turning back to Gus. “Guster, I want this ticket.“ she demanded. “And as soon as my shift is over you two will come and pick me up and don´t you dare to be late.“ She halted in her talk, eventually hitting the counter with her arms. “Oh, dammit, I hate you guys.“
Shawn exchanged a glance with Gus, giving him a signal to wait outside. Gus signaled in return that he should hurry, that he still didn´t want to be late. Shawn answered with a furious face and even stronger signaling, telling him to get his ass out of here already.
Of course Juliet could see all of this in the corner of her eye. She was biting the inside of her cheek, so she wouldn´t grin, reminding herself that she was ought to be mad. At last Gus left the diner and Shawn turned his attention back to her.
“You know that I have to work files at the station while you guys will have fun at the Con.“ she said in her best I´m-pissed-voice before he had a chance to speak.
“I really didn´t think that you´d like Transformers.“ he said.
She glared at him. “You were wrong.“
“Obviously. And I was never so happy about being wrong my entire life.“
At this she just couldn´t help herself any longer. He´d said it so serious as if it was about life and death. God she hated him … and loved him, just because he was the one that he was.
“You could wait for me and not enter the Con before we can go in together.“ she suggested, when she had her laughter under control again.
“Are you crazy?“ he cried. “That´s the Transformers Convention. Gus and I will be VIP´s.“
Juliet bit herself again. She hadn´t expected anything else but dammit, she didn´t want him to see her laughing. That was so not fair.
“But I promise, I´ll wait for you for the rest of the week.“ he said. “And I´ll organize an autograph from Shia LaBeouf for you.“
She didn´t answer, just pressed her hand over her mouth so he wouldn´t hear her giggles. His begging face was just killing her. His eyes were worried, asking if they were all right again, but she just couldn´t answer. Her giggles were keeping her busy. At last she managed to nod.
Behind them the door of the diner got opened again and Gus called for Shawn to stop the sweet talk and hurry up.
“I don´t wanna be late.“ he shouted so loud that everybody in the diner turned around to him.
One of these guests was a man, sitting alone in a corner booth. His face was half covered with a cap, hidden in the shadow beneath it. When Gus noticed the general reaction to his shouting, he blushed and turned on his best apologetic smile.
“Please hurry up, Shawn.“ he asked, sweetly.
Shawn stood up, wiping his hands on the handkerchief. “Well, if you´ll excuse me, darling.“ he said in a nasal voice. “But as you can hear … the voice of my master is calling.“ He lay down some money to pay his part of the bill. “I then say farewell, my lady.“ he chanted and bowed down to kiss her goodbye. Then he turned around, performing a bow before Gus. “At your service, master.”
“Just let´s go.“ Gus replied, still uncomfortable about all the eyes that lay on them.
The man in the corner booth watched them go. But compared with all the others, he was not angry about the shouting. He couldn´t care less about that. He turned his head just a few inches to look after them, before returning his attention back to Juliet, watching her finish the rest of her breakfast. Slowly he reached out his hand, for the mug of coffee on the other side of the table. It slipped over the table directly into his hand, like a well behaved dog that reacted to the call of its master. He would just sit here and watch for a while before he would go on. There was no reason to rush.
“You didn´t tell her that the Autobots will drive in for the opening of the Con, did you?“ Gus asked Shawn, when the two of them walked to the parking lot.
“God no, Gus.“ Shawn replied, almost shocked and threw a checking glance over his shoulder, to make sure Juliet was nowhere in hearing distance. “Jules would hate me if she knew what she´ll miss.“
“She sure will when she finds out.“ Gus stated.
“Don´t worry. I plan to record everything with my cell phone. She´ll understand that.“
As if on cue, Shawn´s cell started to ring, interrupting their talk.
“That´s chief Vick.“ the fake psychic found, when he checked the display and immediately answered the call. “Chief.“ he greeted the head of the S.B.P.D. in his best what-can-I-do-for-you-tone.
“Get down here now.“ was all the chief of police said, no ordered, and named an address for him. Eventually she ended with a strict: “I´m not asking.“
After that she hung up.
Shawn looked down on the cell in his hand, startled. He´d barely ever heard her that distressed. On none of the cases, he and Gus had worked for the S.B.P.D.
“That´s weird.“
“What is it?“ Gus asked, a very very worried look on his face. He guessed something bad. Something that would shatter their plans to go to the Con. When Shawn stopped and looked ahead at Gus´ blue company car, sighing, his fears were affirmed.
“It seems we have to delay Optimus Prime after all.“ Shawn shook his head.
…..............
When they reached the crime scene, Shawn couldn´t help himself. Something about this place was dead wrong. And it was not the yellow crime scene tape around the house and the many police cars - one of them a blue Crown Vic that was only too familiar to them. Though it was a little weird that there were so many cars for just one crime.
Gus seemed to have the same idea, because he stopped in his tracks, hesitating to come closer to that door and to what might be behind it.
“Oh, my god.“ he exclaimed. “Shawn. This is the Manson family.“
“The what?“
“I´m sure of it. They murdered a whole family in there. Or the participants of a cocktail party. Ten people at least. I don´t wanna go in there, Shawn.“
“Don´t be silly, Gus.“ Shawn said, walking on. “This is just another crime scene we will walk in, no more and no less. We go in there, we have a look around, I fake a vision and tell them who the killer is and we´ll be on our way to Optimus and Bumblebee before you can say …“
But in this moment, he´d spotted the nameplate at the front door. The name read Singh.
Shawn frowned. Was that just a coincidence? It had to be. There was just no way that this was the house of …
Gus grabbed his arm. “Oh, my god, Shawn.“ he exclaimed. “Do you think …?“
Shawn wanted to say something but had to learn that he couldn´t. In this moment, he suddenly felt the same fear as Gus. That he would see something more cruel in there, than he would be able to stand. Not because he couldn´t stand to see dead bodies. But this was the house of some friends of his and entering this house could not lead to any good.
But no. The name just had to be a coincidence. Singh was probably a very widespread name with the Indian population. Like Smith or Jones or whatever. Sure it was. And even if it wasn´t, if this really should be Raj´s and Mina´s house, he still had a job to do here. If anyone had killed a member of the Singh family, he would help to find out who did it.
Determined to be strong, he entered, Gus hesitantly following behind. But no determination, no matter how strong, could have prepared them for what they were about to see.
The living room was crowded with police men and forensics, the flashlights of their camera´s illuminating the place like a morbid firework, the voices muffled as if they were afraid to talk too loud. The reason was not to overlook and seeing it made Shawn wish, he´d thought twice before he stormed in here.
It was Mina. It truly was her. Even though it looked strange to see her in trousers and shirt and not her dancing sari, it was definitely her. Shawn would never forget that face. Not considering the circumstances under which they´d met.
Though now Shawn didn´t look at her face at all. He´d closed his eyes, the moment he´d recognized her. Next to him Gus gasped in shock. After a moment of just breathing, Shawn made himself open his eyes again, to face the cold and cruel reality that he couldn´t change anymore.
Mina. The beautiful and sweet dancer. Now she was dead. Someone had finally finished what her other pursuer had not been able to do. But that wasn´t the worst of it. Someone had killed her, all right. But her killer seemed to be some kind of obscure Hannibal Lecter Fan, because he hadn´t been satisfied with just killing her. He´d also opened her head and obviously removed her brain. After he´d done that, he´d hung her head down on the banister of her own home´s stairs, nailing her there with different kinds of tools. Knifes, letter openers, a screwdriver … he´d driven them through her legs, arms and torso, as if she was a puppet that needed to be fixed on its place.
“Look at her.“ he could hear a female voice not so far away, probably one of the forensics. “Must have taken three guys to lift her up that high.“ And then there were more flashlights, accompanied by the familiar sound of the camera.
For a moment Shawn felt his stomach turn around. A second after his own insides had started to do this, he could hear Gus gag and hurry back out of the front door. This time Shawn would spare it to tease him later. This time he felt like vomiting himself.
Gus had been right too. At least partly. This murderer had obviously taken some inspiration from the Manson family. Not only had he distorted Mina beyond human standards, he´d also written something on the wall beneath her - with her blood. In big red letters there was written: BEST REGARDS, SYLAR. What kind of a sick joke was this?
“Spencer.“ Shawn heard Lassiter´s voice calling him.
He wanted to turn around to look at the head detective, but found himself unable to turn his gaze away from the sight before him. He´d known this woman, had saved her from falling to death. And he´d known her boyfriend, later husband. To see her that way was … cruel.
“Spencer.“ Lassiter addressed him again and this time he spoke so gentle that Shawn couldn´t help but turned to him, startled. He´d never heard Lassiter talk like that. Not to him. Not to anyone. But when he met the gaze of the lanky Irish man, he had an idea why he did it now. He had to look as horrible as he felt, according to the worry in Lassiter´s eyes. The detective even reached out a hand for him, as if afraid the consultant could faint. And if Shawn was honest, a part of him had actually considered that.
“Easy, Spencer.“ Lassiter said. “Take your time.“
It needed all of Shawn´s strength to make his head perform a nod. “I´m fine.“ he said.
“Sure?“
Shawn nodded again. He had to clear his throat. “Yeah.“ He looked at Mina again but this time he couldn´t stand it for long. “Raj?“ he asked with a husky voice that barely sounded like his own. “Does he know?“
“He found her.“ Lassiter informed him.
Shawn stared at him in shock. Just the idea of Raj coming home and finding Mina like this, was more than he could imagine. The man must be destroyed. Lassiter nodded as if he´d read his thoughts.
“He is at the station now.“ he said. “Under psychological care.“
“Oh, man.“ Shawn exclaimed and wiped some sweat off his forehead. He noticed that the detective´s hand was still on his arm. I really must look terrible, he mused.
“I´m fine.“ he assured Lassiter, with a nod.
This time the detective accepted it and let go of him.
“Mr. Spencer.“ the chief joined them, quietly.
Now Shawn was sure, this case was not a usual one. That the chief came here herself was more than enough proof of this. She looked at him as sympathizing as Lassiter had done before.
“I know you knew the victim.“ she said. “But I hope you can help us anyway.“
“Sure.“ Shawn said and quickly let his eyes wander over the place, the body, the stairs, taking in all the details he noticed. He spotted some pictures along the stairs, that were hanging askew and raised a hand to his temple. “I sense that she was upstairs … with the killer.“ he said.
“That´s right.“ the chief said. “We found a working gramophone up there. She must have put some music on, before he started to attack her.“
“Oh, my god.“ a soft voice behind them exclaimed.
Juliet had just entered the place, her face as pale as Shawn´s. Her eyes were fixed on the dead Mina, shocked. When they´d worked her and Raj´s case, she had shown a big deal of compassion for the couple. Now when her gaze met Shawn´s, he could see how badly she wanted to hug him. As if he was the one, who´d lost his better half in such a cruel way.
“Detective O´Hara.“ chief Vick gave Juliet a nod and released them all from that tensing moment. “We could need you over here.“
Juliet followed her, when she led the way, grateful for the lead. She was an experienced cop but this sight had shaken her, Shawn could see that. Damn, it had even shaken Lassiter and that guy usually was like a robot.
“Did Raj or Mina call you lately?“ the head detective now asked him.
Shawn turned to him, startled. “No. Why?“
Lassiter pointed at a table by the couch. The telephone was standing there and next to the phone there was an open book. Raj´s and Mina´s address-book. A pen was lying across the pages, underlining the name that was written there, next to the number. It read Shawn Spencer, Psychic Detective.
“This is my number, all right.“ was all Shawn knew to say. “Seems they kept it in case … in case they might need my service?“
“Why they kept it, is not important.“ Lassiter said. “But if neither of them called you lately …“
He didn´t need to finish the sentence for Shawn to know what he meant. Whoever had killed Mina, had noted down his number. And that was never a good sign.
He could hear a ringing tone from the other side of the room and chief Vick answering the call. She talked to the caller for a moment and then hung up.
“Gentlemen.“ she announced. “When you´re done here, I´d ask you to join me at the station. There we´ll be debriefed about what we´re dealing with here.“
“What … what does that mean?“ Shawn asked but she was already gone. He glanced at Lassiter and Jules. “I thought, I´m here to tell you who the killer is.“
“We already know who the killer is.“ Juliet said in a sad tone. “That is … the FBI knows him.“
Shawn´s feelings went down even more. He´d thought they were down to the bottom already but obviously he´d been wrong. An FBI case that meant serial killer. And in that regard, he didn´t quiet have the best experiences.
He followed Jules and Lassiter outside, glad to finally get away from that place. He´d never been so glad to leave a crime scene.
Gus was waiting for him at the gate, an almost pleading look on his face.
“Please, tell me that Raj isn´t in there too.“ he begged.
“No, he isn´t.“ Shawn answered. “Lassie says he´s at the station. He found her.“
“Oh, god.“ Gus exclaimed. A moment later, he started to cry. Shawn shifted from one foot to the other and awkwardly padded his friend´s shoulder.
“Give me the keys.“ he said. “I drive.“
Gus handed the keys over, rather happy about that offer. He was still sobbing when he got into the passengers seat. Shawn halted for another second before he got in the car. He could see Lassie on the other side, standing by his own car. He halfway expected the detective to roll his eyes about Gus´ habit of sympathetic crying, but this time he didn´t do it. He looked a little uncomfortable and somehow he managed it to let it look like an annoyed face. Showing too much compassion just wouldn´t be like Lassiter, Shawn figured.
But that was okay. Right now he wouldn´t be able to stand so much more compassion from unexpected sources anyway. And Lassiter was a very unexpected source. The whole thing was sad enough already.
So he got in the car and drove off, following Lassie´s blue Vic.
Neither of them had noticed the man on the other side of the street, standing amongst some rubberneckers, totally unsuspicious, blending in. Now that they were gone, he left the place, not interested in it any longer. He´d seen everything he´d wanted to see and didn´t look back a single time.
http://nureinname.livejournal.com/1532.html
Chapter Two: Mary