Psych

Live and Let Die

By Lorrie Ellis

Chapter 8:

Recovery

It had been a month since the incident. Shawn had forgiven Gus, and Gus had forgiven himself, well almost.

There were still many things that Shawn wasn't clear on: One, who was the 'Darth-Vader' voice?; Two, where did his assistant go?; and Three, was Uncle Jack really there?

"Hey, Shawn." Gus said as he entered Shawn's apartment.

"Hey, Gus." Shawn replied, not moving from his spot on the couch.

Gus studied him for a minute. "Hey, are you OK? I mean it, Shawn, are you OK?"

Shawn studied Gus' face for a minute and decided not to make light of everything. "Yes, Gus. I'm fine. My leg is still killing me, but with the pain killers, I'm good. I only have one . . . well make that three questions. Who was 'Darth-Vader'? Where did his assistant go? And Was Uncle Jack really there?

"Shawn, I don't know. 'Darth-Vader' never took his mask off. His assistant just disappeared. And I never saw your Uncle Jack." Gus truthfully replied.

"Knock-Knock. Anyone home?" Henry announced as he entered Shawn's apartment.

"Yeah, we're in here." Shawn called out from the living room.

Henry smiled. "How are you feeling, son?" He dropped the bag of groceries on the kitchen counter.

"I'm getting there." Shawn replied. Thinking again of Uncle Jack he dared to ask: "Dad . . . was Uncle Jack there? I mean, I thought he was there, he spoke to me, but I . . ."

Henry walked into the living room and took a seat next to his son. "Son, " He didn't know how to start this conversation. He gently placed his hand on his son's knee. "Shawn," He stared into his son's eyes.

"Dad, what is it?" Shawn asked.

"Your Uncle Jack, he . . ." Henry paused for a minute. "He did this to you." Henry waited for the rant and rave and disclaimers, but they didn't come.

"Oh." Shawn replied, his voice very soft. He could feel the tears welling up. "I want to be alone."

Henry shook his head. "No, Shawn. I'm going to cook dinner and . . ."

"I said I want to be alone!" Shawn shouted out. He lay there on the couch and Henry had the urge to just hug him, but didn't. He slowly got up and went into the kitchen. "That goes for you too, Gus. I need to be alone."

Gus didn't say anything, but got up to leave, just to be stopped by Henry. "He doesn't mean it, this is a lot for him to take in all at once."

"Why did Jack do it? I mean, he used me to get to Shawn, why?" Gus asked.

"I don't know why. All I know is that he chucked his car over a cliff, in hopes we would think he died, but he didn't." Henry replied.

"How do you know?" Gus asked.

"Not his body in the car." Henry said.

"Who's was it?" Gus asked.

Henry pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. "James Pitrousky."

Gus looked at Henry. "James Pitrousky. 'Darth-Vader', I mean Jack, called his assistant James."

"Are you sure?" Henry asked.

Gus nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure. When they were at my place, before I called Shawn, he called him James."

Henry glanced back into the living room. "You had better let Juliet and Carlton know about this. I'll see if I can get Shawn to talk to me."

"I don't think he knows very much. I mean, 'James' was the one who shot him and the one who knocked him out with chloroform, but other than that, he was out most of the time." Gus replied.

Henry looked again into the living room. "You go on down to the station. I'll see if I can get him to talk."

Gus nodded and left. Henry went back into the kitchen and began dinner. An hour later, he decided to check on Shawn.

"Shawn." He said softly as he entered the living room.

The younger man was asleep. Henry pulled the blankets up around him and took a seat in the recliner. He was out like a light in no time.

While they slept, someone picked the lock and entered the living room. He looked at the young man lying on the couch, the covers kicked off and to the older man lying in the recliner. He gently lifted the blankets up an around the younger man and eyed the older man, just waiting for him to catch him there. He quietly laid an envelope down and a penny on top of it, looked at the two men one last time and left.

Henry woke first and looked at the envelope with the penny on top. He didn't need to ask who had left it, he knew. He opened the envelope and a picture of Jack and Lucy fell out. Henry began to read:

"Before you begin your search for me . . . I'm gone. You'll never find me, but you can find your money in locker 57 at the bus terminal. I didn't need it. I managed to free Lucy without it.

Tell Shawn I am so, so very sorry for everything I did to him. I didn't want to hurt him. I only needed the money to free Lucy. Lucy is my, hang on to your hat Henry, wife. She and I are very much in love and I would do anything to keep her safe.

I guess you're wondering who the body in the car was? Well, it was James. James was the 'assistant' Andre sent. He died in a freeway accident and I sort of borrowed the body. Henry, they were watching, I had to make everything look real. I know Shawn almost died because of me and again, I am so, so very sorry for that. I would never do anything to hurt that kid of yours, you know that."

Henry was torn away from the letter when Shawn shifted on the couch. He watched his son for a moment and once satisfied that he was still asleep, turned his attention back to the letter.

I love you and Shawn. I wish things could be different, but seeing as Andre is now looking for me and Lucy, I can't take that chance.

Goodbye Henry. I love you.

Jack

Tears streamed down Henry's face as he stared at the picture. His baby brother. How could he loose him?

"Dad, you OK?" Shawn asked, waking from a feverish sleep.

Henry smiled at Shawn and sat the letter on the table. "Do you want to set up for a while?"

Shawn nodded and Henry helped him up, propping his leg on the coffee table. He felt of Shawn's forehead. "You're still a little feverish."

"I'm OK." He winced as a pain ran through his leg. "How exactly did I break my leg again?"

Henry took a seat next to him on the couch. "The bullet hit the bone."

"Shattered?" Shawn asked.

Henry shook his head. "No, thank God. It was just a break, but it is your femur and it is going to take a while to heal." He gave him two Tylenol to bring his fever down. "Here, take these."

Shawn took the two pills and then took the letter from the coffee table. "What's this?"

"A letter from your Uncle Jack, it sort of explains everything." Henry remained on the couch while Shawn read the letter.

"So, he did it to protect his wife?" Shawn reread the letter. "I would have done the same thing to protect Juliet." He stated as he laid the letter on the coffee table.

"You would have put your nephew's life on the line?" Henry asked.

Shawn smiled. "Well, seeing as I don't have any siblings, that means I don't have a nephew, so . . ."

"Make's it easy, eh?" Henry asked. "What if it were Juliet's nephews?"

Shawn thought for a minute. "Well, that would be different. I couldn't extort money from her family though. I . . . too much thinking." He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. "I don't know what I would do."

Henry put his arm around Shawn. "I hope you never have to find out, kid."

"Me too, dad. Me too."

The End