Shawn caught up to Gus on the ground level of the stadium. “So do you have a plan?” Gus asked.

“Yes, get on the court,” Shawn answered. 

Shaking his head, Gus stopped.  “No Shawn, a plan to do that.  They just won’t let us down there.”

“Oh ye of little faith,” Shawn said, “When have I ever let you down before?” 

“I won’t dignify that with an answer,” Gus muttered and Shawn decided it was better to ignore him.

The pair rounded the corner of the stadium.  The first thing that came into view was the flashing lights of the ambulance, and then they saw the small crowd that had gathered around the activity.  As they got closer, they saw the gurney being loaded.  By the time they arrived at the fence blocking off that area, the ambulance doors were closing and the vehicle was speeding away.

Shawn saw the people he was looking for as the crowd started to disperse.  Chief Vick was talking with her Head Detective and his partner, Lassiter and O’Hara.  He walked over to the entrance of the secure area.  “Chief! Lassie! Jules! What a coincidence!” he yelled.  Gus rolled his eyes.

            The trio turned, but only the Chief and Juliet seemed pleased to see them.  “Mr. Spencer, Mr. Guster, I’m surprised to see you both here,” Karen Vick said. 

            “I’ve divined that something hinky has gone down here,” Shawn said, placing his fingers on his temple. 

            “Really surfer boy?  Did the ambulance leaving give you the first clue?” Lassiter asked him. 

            “Oh Lassie, don’t hate on my fashion sense,” Shawn said with a smirk.  Lassiter just rolled his eyes.  “Chief, I think there is more to Monica Peters passing out, then just simple heat exhaustion.”

            “What makes you think that?” she asked him almost like she was humoring him. 

            “She was drinking a lot of water,” Shawn said.

            “That doesn’t necessarily mean anything,” Juliet said, “She could have some other illness contributing to it.”

            “Yes, but I’m sensing that there is something wrong with her water,” Shawn said.  “We need to check the water.”

            “Okay, let’s go,” the Chief said and the group followed her to the court side. 

            As they approached the court, Shawn could see Aqua Puro bottles being picked up by a member of the clean-up crew.  “Wait, stop!” Shawn called out. 

            The tall man stopped putting the water bottles in the trash bag.  “What?” he asked the group. 

            “That may be evidence,” Juliet told the man.

            “Where did you find those bottles exactly?” Shawn asked. 

            “Over here,” the man pointed to the ground in front of his feet which was behind the bench that Peters had been sitting previously. 

            “Chief, I sense that these water bottles have been tampered with,” Shawn said putting his fingers to his temple. 

            “She was drinking water.  It makes sense if she was feeling dehydrated Spencer,” Lassiter said annoyed. 

            “Lassie, I’m pretty that drinking ten twenty ounce bottles of water would cure that dehydrated feeling,” Shawn explained.  “Chief, at least check it out.  The spirits are being very insistent.” 

            “Fine, Mr. Spencer, we’ll test the bottles.  But right now, this isn’t a case,” she said as her cell phone rang.  The rest listened intently.  “Chief Vick…yes…I understand…thank you.”  She closed her phone and turned to the group.  “Monica Peters coded in the ambulance.  They couldn’t bring her back.”

            “So now it’s a murder investigation,” Shawn said.

            “Mr. Spencer, we still have no evidence that this was murder.  We’ll have to wait for the autopsy and we’ll test the bottles.”

            “So Gus and I can look into it in the meantime?” Shawn asked hopefully.

            Lassiter stepped behind Shawn and shook his head vigorously.  Shawn spun around and Carlton had stopped.  Shawn faced the Chief again and gave her his best puppy dog eyes.  She smiled.  “Yes Mr. Spencer, you can investigate this.  But if the spirits are proven wrong by the test results, then you’re done.  Detective, please give them the VIP passes.”

            “They won’t be wrong,” he said.  The Chief nodded and turned to walk to her car.  Lassiter followed her.

            Juliet approached Gus and Shawn and handed them a pair of ids on lanyards.  “I hope you know what you’re doing,” she said and walked away.  Gus put his around his neck.

            “Really?  What is wrong with these people?” Shawn said confused as put on the badge.

            Gus smiled, “Would it be any fun if they believed you right away?”

            Shawn threw up his hands, “No, but come on, how many freaking cases do we have to solve until they just say ‘go for it’.” 

Gus chuckled, “You know sometimes you do seem a little out there.”

Shawn smiled, “You know that’s right.  Let’s go find us a killer.”  He took off toward the stadium.

*                      *                      *                      *                      *                      *                     

Buzz pulled up to the large house and stared at the magnificent structure.  It was all white with large colonial columns that gave it the feel of an old southern estate.  The architecture didn’t fit in the affluent neighborhood at all.  The rest of the houses on the block, while just as large, had more of a Spanish feel to them.  It didn’t surprise him that Lieutenant Mayor John Harris had an eccentric house; he was a pretty odd guy.  The man would wear outlandish colored suits with cowboy boots around town.  Every time he was on the news, he reminded Buzz of Santa Claus.  He was a large man who had a booming voice that was often used to back the mayor.  Buzz found himself trying to picture the guy in a sleigh with reindeer.   

He shook off the funny mental meandering and climbed out of his vehicle.  Pulling out his note pad, he walked up the brick path to the beautiful front door.  He straightened his shirt and checked his appearance in the reflection off the glass.  He needed to make a good first impression.  Solving the case for the high profile family would surely show the Chief that he could do more than make coffee and retrieve files.

He pressed the door bell and felt his stomach flutter when the loud sound notified the occupants to his presence.  Tapping his foot lightly to calm his nerves, he heard approaching footsteps from inside.  The door opened revealing a beautiful young woman.  She was blond and appeared to be in her early thirties.  Her stunning blue eyes and friendly smile seemed to steal the words right out of Buzz’s mouth.  “I…umm,” he stuttered.

“Can I help you officer?” she asked.

Getting over momentary fascination, he smiled back.  “Hello, I’m Officer Buzz Mc Nab.  Chief Vick asked me to stop by to investigate your pool issue.”

“Thank you for coming.  I’m Valerie Harris.  Please come in,” she stepped aside to allow Buzz in.  He stood in the foyer and waited for her to close the door.  She turned around and started speaking again.  “My husband is not home at the moment, but let me show you the pool and…”  Suddenly loud barking could be heard, followed rapidly by the creature making the ruckus, a large black lab.  The dog stopped short in front of Buzz and continued to bark wildly.  “Midnight, enough!” Mrs. Harris scolded as she grabbed the dog’s collar.  She pulled the animal out of the room and a minute later reappeared alone.  “Sorry about that,” she told him.

“It’s okay,” he said, “I do like dogs.”

“He’s just so wild.  I put him in the office so he wouldn’t bother you, but he tends to be an escape artist,” she said affectionately, “Let me show you the pool.”

He followed her out the back French doors to the most magnificent pool he’d ever seen, besides the hotel where he’d spent his honeymoon.  The pool looked like something from Fantasy Island.  It had a large rock formation on the one side, with a slide going through the middle of it.  Water poured down the slide fell into the pool, making it appear even more exotic.  The patio was made of concrete and it looked like someone had recently been swimming. 

“Everyday when we get home from work you can see that someone has been in the pool,” Mrs. Harris told him.

“Do you suspect anyone in particular?”

“Well, the kids next door love the slide and are always begging to come over to use it.  I don’t mind, but only when I’m here.  I’d hate for someone to drown or get hurt.  That’s why I’d like you to figure out what’s going on.”

“Okay, I just have a few more questions.  Does anyone else live here besides you and your husband?”

“No, it’s just us,” she told him.

“Does anyone else have a key?” he asked.

“Our maid does, but she doesn’t swim.  And none of the break-ins have happened while she was here.”  He nodded and jotted that down in his notebook. 

“Whoever it is knows when there is someone at the house.  They must be close by.  I’m going to watch your house and try to catch the trespassers in the act.”  She nodded.  “I’ll be back tomorrow,” he told her.

“Thank you,” she said walking him to the door.  Before he could go through the threshold, she stopped him with a gentle hand on his arm.  “Officer, if it is children, I’d like you just to talk to them and explain the dangers of swimming without an adult present.”

He grinned at her affection for children.  “No problem Mrs. Harris.  I’d hate to have to lock up kids.  The handcuffs tend to slide of their small wrists,” he said with a smile.  She looked horrified.  He quickly said, “I was kidding.”

“Oh, right,” she said with a small chuckle.   He nodded and retreated to the car.

Dropping the notepad on the passenger seat, he started up the car.  Shaking his head at the stupid joke he made, he headed back to the station to start his report and make a plan of attack for his first stakeout.

*                      *                      *                      *                      *                      *                     

            Shawn and Gus were staring down at the volleyball court again.  Shawn was going through the mental image of the court.  He remembered all the bottles of water.  Where did those bottles come from?  In his mind, he saw Monica reaching into a blue cooler and pulling out the bottles.  Where did that cooler go?  Could there be more water in her locker?  If she were was doing an Aqua Puro promotion, she probably was given a ton of product to drink while on TV.

            “So now what?” Gus asked him shaking him from his thoughts.

            “Let’s see if we can get into the locker room,” Shawn said, but he suddenly sprinted off toward the exit. 

            “Shawn!  Where are you going? The locker room is that way,” Gus yelled, but followed after him. 

Shawn was stopped at the entrance gate.  “What the heck was that all about?” Gus asked him.

“Dude, Hasselhoff…I saw him again,” Shawn panted.

“You are insane,” Gus growled. 

“What?  It was him.  I swear.”

Gus just glared at him.  “Sure it was.  Let’s go work on this case.”  Gus stalked off toward the locker room. 

“Gus!  I’m not lying!” Shawn proclaimed and then followed.

As they approached the locker room, they saw a young security guard.  He looked to be in his early twenties, dressed in a uniform that seemed to barely contain the guy’s large muscular chest.  “That dude can be the Hulk’s stand-in,” Gus whispered.

“No lie.  Let me handle this,” Shawn said and Gus nodded.

“Sorry guys, you can’t go in there,” the guard told them as they tried to enter the locker room. 

Gus held up the event badges the Chief gave them.  “We have VIP passes,” he told him.

“Well, no one goes in there but the players and their coaches,” the guard said, blocking their path again.

Shawn spied the guard’s name tag, “Mitch Mitchells”.  Then he saw actual handcuffs, not many security guards carried real handcuffs.  Shawn grinned.  He found a wannabe cop, time to stroke the guy’s ego a little.

Shawn looked at the guard and then moved toward him.  “Would it help to tell you we’re consultants for the police department?  I’m a psychic,” he whispered.  The guy’s eyebrows went up in surprise, and his whole face lit up. 

“No way!  That’s cool,” he said excitedly, then his expression changed to confusion.  “What are you working on here?”

“Well Mitch, you heard about Monica Peters?” Shawn asked.

“Oh sure, she collapsed,” he said and looked around.  Seeing no one, he continued.  “Let me tell you, she is such a bitch.  Wait, you think there’s more to it?  How do you know?” he asked excitedly.

Shawn looked at Gus.  “Gus, he’s good,” he said.  Gus grinned as he nodded, knowing that Shawn was trying to butter the guy up. 

“He is good Shawn.  He should go the academy,” Gus grinned. 

Mitch looked slightly embarrassed.  “Awww, thanks guys.  I did try to get into the academy, but I didn’t do well on the entrance exam.” 

“Man, that is surprising,” Shawn said.  “But Mitch, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but Monica is dead.” 

Mitch appeared shocked.  “Wow, I knew it was bad.  Heat exhaustion is one of the dangers of beach volleyball.  So, why are you investigating, I mean, if it was just heat exhaustion?”

“Well, I’m getting big vibes that there was more to it.  That’s why I need to see her locker.”

“Vibes, huh?  Wow, wait…you’re Shawn Spencer, that psychic!”

“The one and only.  And this is my partner Lavar McDougall,” Shawn told him.  Gus raised an eyebrow.

“But you called him Gus?” Mitch asked, confused.

“Wow, he’s on fire!  You really need to retake that test,” Shawn said with a smile, “So can we go in and look around…for justice?”

Mitch looked around.  “Okay, I don’t see why not.  Most of the players are practicing or gone.  I was wondering why that happened.  Now it makes sense.  Just don’t cause a ruckus.”  He moved to let them by.

“No problem man, quiet as mice,” Shawn said.  Mitch chuckled and let them by. 

After they we safely inside, Gus said, “Holy cow that dude was dense.”

“Gus, not nice.  True, but not nice,” Shawn said with a smile.  “I can see why the cops don’t want him.”

“Now what?” Gus asked.

“Well, we need to find some leads.  Let’s find Monica’s locker.”

“You think the killer was stupid enough to leave more tainted bottles in her locker?”

Shawn nodded, “He or she probably got cocky, thinking no one would suspect murder.  They went to a lot of trouble to…”  Shawn paused, as if a thought had just occurred to him.  “I’m going to regret asking you this,” he said.

Gus scowled at him.  “Just ask.”

“What kind of drug would you give someone if you wanted to kill them, yet have everyone else think it was heat exhaustion?”

“My guess would be diuretics.  Probably a high ceiling loop diuretic, like Furosemide.  It blocks the body’s ability to reabsorb sodium, so more water is lost in the urine.  But how would the killer cover up the flavor?” Gus asked, but Shawn just stared at him.  “What?”

“You scare me,” Shawn said.

“Shut up and answer my question.”

“How much you wanna bet that Monica enjoyed flavored water?” Shawn answered.  “Let’s go check it out.”

The pair passed through the small entrance way into the main locker room.  It had about twenty open lockers around the perimeter.  Each locker had two shelves, hooks for hanging clothes, and a chair in front of it with the player’s name on it.  They quickly spotted Monica’s locker near the entrance of the showers.  Passing several other players who ignored their presence, they stood in front of Monica’s locker. 

Shawn did a visual scan of the contents.  There were several pictures on the back wall; a few were of Monica and Chrissy posing with trophies from their numerous victories, one was of Monica and a pretty woman with long black hair, and the last was a group of people that looked like Monica’s family.  Clothes hung from the hook, and a gym bag was thrown on the floor by the chair.  Shawn finally saw what he was searching for, bottles of Aqua Puro water.  He reached down and grabbed a bottle.  Opening the bottle, he pulled it toward his face, intending to sniff for an off-odor.  Gus smacked the bottle away.

“Don’t drink that,” he scolded. 

“Gus, I wasn’t going to drink it.  I was trying to smell it.  Hey, use the super smeller.”

“I’m not smelling poisoned water,” Gus said angrily. 

“ Come on, I’m not asking you to drink it,” Shawn said and then took a big whiff.  “Smells lemony, try it.” He thrust it under Gus’ nose.

“Shawn!  No way,” he said loudly, pushing the offending bottle away.

Both men turned when they heard a loud yell of, “Hey!  What are you two doing in that locker?”  It was the pretty black haired woman from the photo was rapidly approaching them; she looked angry, and a lot taller than in the photo.  Gus gave a startled yelp and jumped behind Shawn.  Dressed in volleyball attire, it was clear she was another player.  She was young, probably in her early thirties. 

Shawn decided that this could be a potential suspect, so he’d better lie.  “My name is Shane O’Monahan from Aqua Puro.  This is my partner and co-worker Angus Reynolds.  We’re here to see if Monica received her latest shipment of product.”

“Plus to see if we could bring anything for anyone else,” Gus added quickly. 

“Oh, you haven’t heard,” she said sadly.  She looked down and fiddled with the bracelet on her right wrist. 

“No.  What?” Shawn asked.

“Monica is dead.  Heat exhaustion.  I just can’t believe it,” she said, trying not to cry.  She flopped on to a nearby bench.  

Seating next to her, Shawn offered his condolences.  “I’m so sorry Miss, miss…,” Shawn looked at Gus and when Gus just shrugged, he looked back at the woman.

“Danielle Montoya.  I’m Monica’s girlfriend and new volleyball partner.  I mean was,” she said and started crying harder.  Shawn laid a comforting hand on the woman’s shoulder, while desperately trying not to quote the Princess Bride.

“I didn’t realize that Monica was leaving her current partner,” Gus said.

“She was.  I’m not sure if Chrissy knew yet.  They really had been fighting a lot lately,” Danielle told them.

“Would she want to hurt Monica?” Shawn asked.

Danielle looked up in surprise.  “Why would you ask that?”

“Just wondering,” he said casually, “Her death seems mighty suspicious to me.”

She glared at him.  “It was just heat exhaustion.”

“Monica was drinking tons of our water,” Gus said holding up the bottle.  “What a relations nightmare!  I can see the headlines now, ‘Aqua Puro, a water so bad that it can’t prevent dehydration’.”

Danielle and Shawn stared at him for a minute, then Shawn continued, “We saw Chrissy and Monica fighting on court.  Did they get along off the court?”

Danielle sighed, “Not really.  Monica was gaining endorsement deals, and becoming more and more popular, while Chrissy was getting older and slower.  Monica wanted a better shot at making the cut for the next Olympics.  Chrissy would be retired by then, so Monica wanted her out and me in.”  She stood and picked up the gym bag.  After stuffing the clothes and pictures in the bag, she turned toward the pair.  “You’re welcome to all that water, I’m not sure anyone else would want it,” she said and left. 

Shawn looked at Gus.  “I think we need to talk to Chrissy Haines.”