Chapter Text
~*~
Shayna Spencer rubbed the back of her neck, a few short hairs escaping her low ponytail as she stared at the sign welcoming her to Santa Barbara. This was her second time back to her home town after high school graduation. Both times she had drove away without looking back.
Until now.
Now something was pulling her back. Some might say it was because she was flat broke that brought her back, but they'd be wrong. Okay, mostly wrong. Everything had been pointing her to come back to this place.
The map that fell on her head a week ago, Sunny California written in bold red over a picture of Santa Barbara's coast.
Endless songs about heading home or going back nearly every time she passed by a radio.
Three separate midnight movie marathons of returning to hometowns and mending fences with old friends and family.
An old holiday issue with a Santa Claus cover half hidden behind a Barbara Walters, the names in the same script and color at the front rack of the random book store she visited a week prior.
Plus, the constant muscle twitching and nervous energy would drive anyone up a wall.
To anyone with half a brain, this would seem like a coincidence. To people like Shay, not that she's ever met anyone else like her (thank what ever god/goddess was out there), it was the universe talking. Losing nearly all her worldly belongings to a vicious Salvation Army Donation box with the words 'home is not a place, it's the people you're with' spray painted on the side, Shay saw it as the time to get with the program before the universe decided to start playing rough.
Once was more than enough.
She still had scars from the last time she ignored the signs.
Revving the engine, Shay sped off down the street. Her destination filling her with both dread and excitement.
Gus was gonna flip when he saw her parked outside his place.
~*~
*2 Months Later*
Shay barely suppressed the shudder that passed through her as the man in the suit walked toward her. {Carlton Lassiter, Head Detective} It was like something clicked into place and a haze of sorts had just been lifted from her mind.
She was too focused on fighting back the urge to touch him to notice that he and his partner walked her into an interrogation room.
The cold pit in her stomach had nothing to do with their accusations so much as the thought of Lassiter being spoken for. Shay would never willingly ruin someone else's happiness unless absolutely necessary.
It just wasn't something she was okay with doing. The repercussions were bad for everyone involved.
~*~
Shay nearly laughed out loud as Officer Allen came forward giving her an idea for how to avoid getting arrested. Not only was the woman a believer but she had an actual spirit trailing behind her, an elderly woman with a disapproving look.
"I got the information because..." Shay swallowed the sudden lump in her throat, her multitude of short braids shifting with the movement, "I am a psychic." Saying it out loud was still difficult for Shay despite all the time since gaining her gift. The truth still scared her, right down to the core.
The look of disbelief stayed on Lassiter's face. It remained even as she gave proof, from her natural talents of memory and observation, mixed with a little theatrics.
Part of Shay couldn't resist watching the detective's backside as he stalked off to confirm whether or not she was telling the truth about the biker.
The look on his face after he came back was a cross between suspicion and confusion.
Shay could feel the irritation rolling off him as she walked out of the station. Barely walking twelve feet out the door only to be stopped by a feeling of pressure on her stomach. A pregnant woman {interim police chief karen vick} walked out the doors before Shay could take more than a step from the bottom of the stairs and offered her a consulting job and a warning.
~*~
Talking Gus into helping her was easier done than said. He would knowingly follow her into hell if she asked, just as she would do the same for him without question. Not that he wouldn't make her explain what lead to her plan in the first place along the way.
Mexico was a learning experience for both of them. Twice.
Shay went over every thing with Gus that was on file about the victim on the car ride over to the large house. The talking continued as they made their way up to the front door, Gus all for helping her with reviewing the information so as not to slip up with the police.
(though keeping a perfectly good CD case from the trash was not acceptable behavior for him, go figure)
Semi-flirting with the victim's sister then almost getting her boyfriend arrested for kidnapping was also a big no-no in his book. Though in all fairness, Bill had only started dating Katarina for her family's money. Gus having to help cover for Shay's mishap was more than he was willing to put up with for one day.
Just meant she had more time with Katarina McCallum casually gaining more information, both as a detective and a psychic.
(ooh, the things that girl's bedroom walls had seen)
~*~
Gus's anger over Shay dragging him into police business, her nonchalance at the crime scene and entering his apartment before he even woke was only subdued by his curiosity over who the kidnapper was and how he and/or she got away with it.
His anger returned when he heard her plan to wait and psychically lead the detectives back to the cabin rather just call the police.
Best to keep the fact that the occupants of said cabin were already dead. No need to freak him out on top of being seriously angry.
Though his anger was not nearly as intense as Lassiter's at her being right about the chicken at the restaurant.
Didn't need to be psychic to see that was gonna happen.
His anger only got worse as Shay endlessly tapped her chipped Neon Orange Sparkle nails on the back of the detective's head rest as he drove them out to the woods. She could feel his thought of just leaving her out here when they found nothing. The sound of her clip on bell barrettes not helping in the least.
The look of surprise on his face was almost as good as the reaction he had to Shay being right again. Having Detective SexyPants give her a long, considering once-over made warm fuzzies invade Shawn's insides.
Those same warm fuzzies clashed with the cold unease of the newly dead. The souls still being attached to the bodies made it impossible to get anything other than a flicker of confusion and fear from either.
Even after, they still might not be of any help to finding who killed them. There's no telling whether a spirit will remain or not.
~*~
Spending the next day or so proving that it was not in fact a murder/suicide was harder than Shay thought. If she wanted to find peace for Camden and Malcolm she was going to have to dig deeper on her own. With Gus at her side, of course.
Which lead her straight to Mr. McCallum himself. Two minutes in the room with him and Shay knew he was involved. The guilt and self-hatred rolled off him in waves.
Now all that was needed was solid proof to tie him to the cabin.
Meeting up with her father after years apart only seemed to grate on both their nerves.
Having to play that stupid game again was giving Shay a headache, though the look on her dad's face when she counted the fedora a minute before it entered the room was perfect.
Almost as perfect, was Lassie's partner's awe at Shay's duplicate shots on the target sheet. Her dad was a cop after all.
Shay had learned everything about gun safety before riding her first bike.
~*~
When everything was said and done, Mr. McCallum was taken away in handcuffs.
As much as Shay wanted to enjoy the win she couldn't focus on anything other than the feel of Lassiter at her back, arms around her middle holding her in place against the patrol car.
Faster and clearer than ever, images started flittering through her mind of similar incidents to come, not all of them fully clothed. Shay had to fight back the urge to moan and squirm at the onslaught to her senses as Lassiter finally loosened his grip on her.
His lightly jerking her arm as he removed the cuffs didn't help her situation. She wanted nothing more than to melt into a puddle at his feet and beg for... she didn't know what.
~*~
Having her dad cover for her meant more to Shay than she thought it would. Thankfully she had been mostly honest about her gifts with Chief Vicks, both natural and preternatural.
Her dad's assessment was roughly the same as Shay's. Naturally observant with perfect recall, enhanced by her acquired skills as a psychic shortly after leaving Santa Barbara so many years ago.
The 'talk' between father and daughter outside the precinct was as close to having a moment as they've had in a long time. Though, no way would he ever believe she really was 'gifted' with insight into the beyond. Or admit that he was proud of her, even if she could both see and feel it.
~*~
A day later Shay let herself be pulled along to the waterfront, her feet moving without thought onward. Days like this, she had learned to just let go and see what the universe had to offer.
Walking for over seven hours on sidewalk, asphalt and three boardwalks was killing her.
(you'd think the universe would give a heads up on whether or not to wear four inch stiletto heels)
Shay finally stopped at a bench outside a small shop with a man putting up a For Sale/Rent sign in the window. After resting a moment Shay walked in, shoes in hand to talk with the guy. She knew she was here to stay in Santa Barbara once she passed through the door.
The feeling that enveloped her was unmistakable.
{home}
It took a moment to see pass the visions of her, Gus, Lassiter and some blond {jules} sitting at various places around the room laughing and arguing to see the owner walking to her. Shay didn't hesitate, offering the exact number the man wanted for the place, plus $150 extra to sign everything over that day as is. She almost couldn't sign on the dotted line, she was near vibrating with energy.
~*~
There are several things Shay's father and Gus knew about her that they were completely wrong about.
One being that Shay wouldn't know a hard day's work if it bit her in the ass. But she knew hard work better than both of them combined. She'd had nearly sixty jobs since graduation and a few even before that. She still had callouses turned scars on her hands, faded and small though they may be, from several fourteen hour work days both in the city, out in the country, and certain parts of Canada.
And Two: Despite what they thought, Shay did in fact have perfect credit, she just didn't like spending money for things unless it was something actually important.
(why buy two meals when you can share one with a friend)
Not wasting a second Shawn spent the next week and a half renovating the place. Shay only had to spend under two grand to replace the plumbing by hand, three months as a plumber and an Idiot's Complete Guide To Plumbing helped cut the cost by more than half.
Two year's worth in various construction and contractor jobs let Shay know the electricity was good through out the place. Plus knowing before hand when the power was going to surge meant she could save the sockets, wiring and mostly avoid getting electrocuted.
Painting the walls after stripping the faux wood paneling, the borders and frames around the windows needing to be handled gently less paint get on the uncovered part of the glass.
Cleaning the floor was easier after she pulled out the beige carpet, all the wood underneath needed was a good sweep an scrub and then stained, which Shay did by hand on her own.
All that was left now was to show Gus the finished sign on the front window and his name on the lease agreement that meant he paid her the rent.
~*~