Double Trouble (A Psych Fanfiction)

Old Men Sometimes Comes In Handy

No matter how fast they ran along the boardwalk, Evelyn and Ethan couldn’t seem to shake the two scary looking men that followed. “What’s it going to take to shake these creeps?” Ethan panted, glancing once over his shoulder. “Evie, we got to make it harder for them to see us!”

Nodding once, Evelyn split away from her brother. The twelve year old girl dodged around people and through groups. Her footsteps pounded on the boardwalk as annoyed shouts filled the air. Cautiously, the girl glanced around and then, not seeing the two men, slowed to a stop.

Her eyes narrowed. “Ethan?” she called out. All she saw was people walking and admiring the view. Panicking, the girl bolted to a nearby bench. Ignoring the couple sitting on it, she jumped up and scanned the crowd. There was no sign of her brother. “Ethan!”

A hand grasped her wrist. Gasping, Evelyn spun, trying to jerk free. “Hey, kid, what’s wrong?” Henry Spencer asked. Evelyn stared at him, breathing heavily. Letting go of her wrist, Henry picked her up and set her on the ground. “Look, I’m not going to hurt you, OK? Just tell me what’s wrong. I used to be a cop; I can help.”

He looked very familiar for some reason, making Evelyn pause. “Can I use your phone?” she asked abruptly. “I have to call Shawn, and my brother has our phone. And someone just took him so I don’t have it, but I need to call Shawn. He’ll help. He’s the only one who can.”

“Just calm down,” Henry advised. “Who took your brother? What does he look like?”

“The guys who were chasing us,” Evelyn answered, quickly looking around. She reached into her pocket and unfolded her last sketch. “This is Ethan.” She handed it over. “You’re…you’re Shawn’s dad, aren’t you?”

Staring at the two faces on the paper, Henry almost didn’t acknowledge her. Then, he looked up. “Yeah, I’m Shawn Spencer’s father, though I don’t think he’d willingly admit that to anyone, let alone a kid like you,” he answered. “My name’s Henry. What’s yours?”

“Evelyn Spencer,” the girl answered distractedly. She looked around the crowd again. “They took my brother.”

His eyes narrowed, Henry grabbed her shoulders. “Did you just say your last name is Spencer?” he asked. “How do you know Shawn?”

The girl focused on him. “Shawn is looking for someone for us,” she answered. Her eyes welled up with tears. “He’ll probably be looking for us now.”

“All right,” Henry said. He rubbed her shoulders. “Why don’t you come with me now. If someone really is after you, they’re probably still around. Once we’re at my house, we’ll call Shawn.

Henry’s cell phone rang then. Letting go off the girl, Henry gave her a stern look to make sure she wasn’t going anywhere. He flipped the phone open. “This is Henry,” he said.

“Hey, Dad,” Shawn responded, trying and failing to sound calm. “Listen. I’ve got a couple of hypocritical questions for you. Where would two twelve year olds go if they were in a city they’ve never been before? And at what point should I call in that two twelve year olds are missing?”

“You’re the psychic, Shawn,” Henry responded. Visibly, Evelyn brightened. “You can’t even find a set of twins?”

“I’ve checked everywhere I can think of! The arcade, the park, the-,” Shawn responded and then broke off. There was a pause. “Wait a minute. You just said ‘twins’ didn’t you? You’re standing right next to them, aren’t you?” Shawn asked . “For a moment there, I was almost worried! Let me talk to them!”

Sighing, Henry put his phone on speaker. “Shawn!” Evelyn exclaimed, grabbing the phone. “There were three guys and they had guns! Ethan and I ran, and we split up so they couldn’t follow us as easily. And now Ethan is gone! They’re going to hurt him! I know it! You’ve got to find him!”

“Hey, it’s going to be okay, Evie,” Shawn assured her, his tone gentle. “I’m a psychic, remember? I knew you were in trouble by the…disturbances I felt. Don’t worry. I’ll find Ethan. Just stick with my dad and he’ll take care of you. Hand the phone back to him, all right? I’ll see you in a little bit.”

Henry pulled the phone back, turning the speaker phone off. “Shawn, I’m going to expect a very good explanation for this,” Henry said, cutting his son off. “I’m taking Evelyn back to my house. You better be there within the hour, got it?”

“Got it,” Shawn answered and Henry snapped his phone shut.

Flinching at the sharp click, Shawn pocketed his own phone. “Dad’s got Evelyn, and he’s taking her home with him,” he reported, looking over where his partner was searching through the chaos. “Evan’s missing, though. Did you find anything useful?”

“I found a newspaper from last month,” Gus answered, holding the neatly folded paper. “You don’t read the newspaper, so why did we have this? And why do we still have it?”

“It was important at the time,” Shawn answered, slapping it away. “There’s got to be some explanation as to why a bunch of kidnappers, who murdered their last victim over a drug issue, would now kidnap a twelve year old boy. He has nothing to do with drugs. He’s not even from around here.”

Gus paused and looked up. “Drugs?” he repeated. “Who said Maria Jones was killed over a drug issue?”

“I knew that hours ago. I didn’t mention it?” Shawn responded, something catching his eye. He knelt down and picked up a torn piece of paper. It was one of Evelyn’s sketches, and showed two men standing over a third next to a car. “Or it has nothing to do with the drugs.”

Getting to his feet, Gus tried to look over his shoulder. “What are you talking about?” he demanded.

“I’ve got to go talk to Evelyn,” Shawn announced without answering his friend’s question. He started for the door. “Are you coming? I think Dad’s going to grill.”

For a moment, Gus wavered. “No, Shawn,” he said. “I’ve got to do some of my round before I get fired.”

“Your loss,” Shawn said. “Go sell your drugs legally. I’ll let you know how this all turns out.”