Chapter Text
“I’ve seen enough horror movies to know not to go down there…” Shawn says, staring at the descent into darkness that is the basement stairwell, “…first.” He grins, turning towards Lassiter who shoots back an exasperated frown.
“There’s nothing down there that won’t go down with a bullet, just follow me.” His hand hovers over his holster before he starts to head down the stairs, slowly getting enveloped by the shadows. Shawn briefly considers staying upstairs, but after a second alone he quickly follows behind.
“You should know, this is very sexy.”
“Just shut up, stay close, and talk to the walls or whatever it is you do.” Lassiter presses onward and despite the fact that the detective wasn’t looking at him, Shawn runs a hand along the peeling wallpaper and then hovers a hand by his head.
“I just talked to the walls and they don’t appreciate your tone.”
“Well tell the walls that I don’t appreciate being stuck with an arrogant man child who does nothing but waste mine and the department's time.”
“Well I just told them that you said you love me.” Replies Shawn, paying careful attention to his feet as to not trip in the hazy darkness of the basement. There was only one flashlight between the two of them, and Lassiter wasn’t exactly sharing.
The head detective stops suddenly and Shawn nearly bumps right into him.
“Woah there Lassie, put on your hazards, I could have rear ended you!” Lassiter doesn’t reply; instead he angles his flashlight up the wall revealing a heavy metal door with an oversized handle and combination lock.
“Looks like we just found what we’ve been looking for.” Says Lassiter, and despite the fact that Shawn can’t see his face, he can picture the self-satisfied smirk, “Now I just need to crack the code…”
“Hey, there’s no I in team Lassie, let me take a looksie.”
Lassiter huffs in frustration, pushing in front of Shawn to pour over the lock himself.
“I’ll have you know that I took a highly specialized class in code cracking.”
“How da vinci of you.” Quips Shawn, though his mind is elsewhere. He’s searching through the folder in his mind where he shoved all the case information collected thus far. It’s a six digit code, but he doesn’t take this guy to be one to settle for a birthdate. However… a different date wouldn’t be out of the question. Then it dawns on him, and he throws his hand up to hover just by his forehead despite the fact that Lassiter’s attention is elsewhere.
“I’m being spoken to from— from behind the veil!” He lunges forward and Lassiter begrudgingly steps aside, “08…19…03!” His fingers dance over the different numbers before there’s a satisfying click.
“Good job Spencer.” Mumbles Lassiter, the congratulations barely audible. The detective once again takes charge and grasps the handle of the safe before pulling the heavy door open, the bottom scraping harshly against the floor.
Lassiter’s flashlight beam illuminates the interior of the safe, and it’s nearly completely empty. Except for… the body of the business tycoon’s wife. The wife who had passed away on August 19th, 2003. Though you wouldn’t be able to tell by looking at her, as her body was nothing more than a skeleton.
He turns to Lassiter to say something, though he’s not sure what. Right as he does, he sees a figure burst from the shadows. He reaches out to help but there’s nothing he can do before Lassiter is struck in the head with the side of a shotgun. The man’s face falls slack as he drops like a sack of bricks. Then that same gun is leveled at Shawn’s head.
He raises his hand on instinct, words tripping out of his mouth.
“Hey, hey woah! Let’s not do anything rash, yeah?”
The man just stares at him. William Stephens. The founder of a successful tech company and the murderer of his wife, Alice, six years prior.
“You don’t want to be a serial killer dude. One murder, that’s already too many but three? That’s like three life sentences. And if immortality is invented that’s going to really suck for you!”
“What the hell are you saying?” Asks the man, his tone dark yet slightly anxious.
“I’m just saying, everybody makes mistakes. You didn’t mean to kill Alice did you? But you also knew you couldn’t risk losing everything you’d built, so you covered it up. And now you’re in too deep. I can help you!”
“Nobody can help me!” William shouts, and Shawn knows he has just seconds before this goes even further south, so he lunges forward, wrestling with the gun.
Bang!
Shawn stumbles backwards, his hand falling to his side. His eyes follow the touch where he is met with a horrible sight. His legs give out beneath him and he hits the cold ground hard, his heart pounding hard and fast in his chest. Before he can think of any kind of plan, he’s grabbed by William and shoved into the walk-in safe, Lassiter right alongside him. Shawn tries to scramble to his feet but is doubled over but the searing pain in his side. He can do nothing but watch the meager light of the basement disappear as the safe door slams shut and he’s plunged into complete darkness.