Story Notes:
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Chapter Notes:
I said there would be a sequel, and dammit, there IS a sequel! Barely squeezing in here on time! You don't necessarily need to have read “Happy Halloween” to read this (I do some serious nut-shelling in this chapter) but it might help. Apologies if I went overboard on the rehashing. Special thanks to everyone who encouraged me to do the sequel, it was a much needed and much appreciated push!
* * * * * * *
“Finally! Something worth listening to,” said Shawn as the radio in his dad's truck picked up 'Mad World.' Ignoring his father's eye roll he turned up the volume and then leaned back in the passenger seat and absently drummed along to the song on the open window frame.
Henry turned on his directional and waited as a few children, candy sacks clutched tightly to their chests, darted along the cross walk, before turning into the half empty hospital parking lot. Finding a spot close to the entrance he pulled in. As Shawn unbuckled, Henry turned the music down.
“Shawn, I still don't see why you have to see him at all, much less today of all days,” he began, the familiar argument needing no explanation.
“Because Dad,” said Shawn with a sigh, “the guy saved my life a year ago today. I think that warrants a 'hi' and at least a 'Mr. Goodbar', don't you agree?”
“He wouldn't have needed to do anything if he hadn't been one of the thugs who broke into the house and attacked you in the first place, Shawn. And you weren't out of the woods after his help either.”
“I remember Dad, trust me. But if he hadn't cut the power to the house early on, I would have been dead by the time you showed up to save my ass. So really, the two of you saved my ass. Maybe you should make a club? Facebook group page?”
“Shawn-”
“Besides, Dad, Casper didn't attack me in the first place. He was the one breaking into the kitchen. He never actually tried to hurt me, or anyone else for that matter.”
“Shawn, his name is not 'Casper', he has a rap sheet-”
“You know I have an arrest record too, right? Look, I'll be right out Dad,” he said opening his car door. He turned the volume back up on the radio and jumped out, grabbing the bag of candy he'd brought with him before closing the door shut before his father could make another argument why he shouldn't be there.
He crossed the parking lot quickly and headed into the hospital. Bright reflective linoleum greeted him, and his boots squeaked on the clean surface. Heading past the fake potted plans in the lobby area he considered taking the stairs before making his way to the elevators. His leg hadn't bothered him in some time, but he'd be doing a lot of walking this evening, and decided it was best not to aggravate old injuries.
The elevator doors opened and a 'nurse' with a plunging neckline and barely decent skirt stepped out, smiling suggestively at him as she slid by. A taken man, Shawn only nodded politely before slipping past her into the elevator, wondering what the real nurses thought when they saw the ever shortening nurse costumes each Halloween. The doors slid shut and he pressed the familiar number for the physical therapy floor. Leaning back, he wondered if he could convince Juliet to go for the nurse costume next year. He could grab a pair of scrubs and a stethoscope...
Shawn had always loved Halloween. Christmas was his favorite, no doubt about it, but there was something special about Halloween, something about the day that felt like it was just his. It was the one day to utterly indulge in being someone, anyone, else. He could explore avenues he'd vaguely fantasized about, if only for a day. It was a day when breaking the rules and treating everything like a game wasn't just okay, it was actively encouraged. It was a day where being successful was judged on the merits of imagination, ingenuity, and the occasional prank or two. Plus, there was candy. In short, the whole day was tailor made for one Shawn Spencer.
But then last year had come...
The elevator beeped dutifully and opened to the appropriate floor, and Shawn headed out.
* * * * * * *
Henry had always hated Halloween.
Even when Shawn had been young Henry had often found himself wondering what kind of sadistic bastard had come up with a holiday that involved giving children the excuse to get high on sugar, encouraged them to walk right up to strangers' homes, and provided teenagers with the incentive to cause problems.
And then last year had come...
As the last few notes of 'Mad World' played, the radio hosts jumped back in.
'And that was 'Tears for Fears' with 'Mad World'! And what a mad world it is. As many will remember, just one year ago today, several Santa Barbara homes were targeted by a trio of thieves dressed in costume as ghosts.'
'You know Jim, it almost sounds like something out of an urban legend. And in a twist of fate, they ended up at the house of one of the very men who was tracking them that night,' said the second host.
'That's right. But unlike the other houses that had been empty that night, the man's son, local Santa Barbara celebrity and SBPD psychic consultant, Shawn Spencer was, unfortunately for him, there that night-”
Henry turned the radio off.
He didn't need to hear the story. He'd lived it. And it wasn't something he would ever be able to forget.
Karen had partnered him up with Carlton and Juliet that night. There'd been a string of robberies, thieves targeting empty homes as families were out trick-or-treating for the night.
At each house, the same MO was used. Three men, all dressed generically as ghosts, approached homes they'd watched enough to realize were empty. One man would break in through an inconspicuous back window or door and do a quick sweep of the house for jewelry, cash, and small electronics. The other two 'ghosts' would walk right up to the front door and ring the bell. When they held their candy sacks out, the first ghost would fill the sacks with their loot. Then all three simply walked back into the crowd of trick or treaters, blending in until they found their next mark.
Henry had put it together, but too slowly. By the time he'd realized the direction of their pattern, it was too late. The whole time he'd been tracking them, they'd been in his house, terrorizing his son.
It was just one of many things he would never be able to forgive himself for. Like asking Shawn to house sit for him in the first place. No matter what anyone said, it had continued to gnaw at him over the past year. He'd asked—no, he'd forced—Shawn to stay at the house. He'd felt so pleased with himself too. Halloween was like an open invitation for the disturbed. He'd felt reassured that Shawn wouldn't be out there, trouble magnet that he was.
It still amazed him how rapidly the night had changed course. Surprised to find someone in the house, the burglars had attacked Shawn, knocking him unconscious before binding and dumping him in the kitchen. And then it had gotten worse. Of the three men who'd broken into the house, one, Drew Wallace, had recognized Henry's picture in the living room. Years ago, Henry had put away a small time criminal, Michael 'Mikey' Nicholson. Mikey had done extra time for nearly killing a fellow inmate. After his release he'd gone on to become a more feared drug dealer, taking extreme measures to make himself physically terrifying. And he'd made no secret of his desire for revenge against the officer who'd put him away.
Henry had been oblivious. To him, Nicholson had been one of just many punks he'd put away, hardly worth remembering. But Nicholson had remembered him, and had nursed the grudge he carried. When he'd gotten a call from Drew that night, he'd been only too happy to head over, thrilled with the chance to take his revenge by--
The thought still made Henry nauseous. What Mikey Nicholson had been planning to do to Shawn, what he'd very nearly succeeded in doing...
Henry had barely arrived in time. By the time he'd reached home, Nicholson had already killed one of his accomplices and nearly killed another. Shawn had been more than just roughed up, had been attacked viciously, stabbed in the leg, and then thrown through a window onto the porch roof by the time Henry got there.
Henry had put one round into Nicholson. That was all it had taken.
It's over, Henry reminded himself. It was something he'd had to remind himself of over and over during the past year. But the night had left them both with ghosts. There was a haunted look that he'd catch flash in his son's eyes that nearly broke his heart. And the guilt that tore at him after that night, although subsiding significantly after Shawn recovered, never really went away.
And then lately, there was the vague feeling of something being not quite right.
He knew the anniversary was bound to kick up more feelings of disquiet. He just hadn't expected it to be quite so strong.
And he hadn't expected such a strong feeling of being watched.
* * * * * * * *
“Casper!” greeted Shawn jovially as he entered the multi-purpose physical therapy room.
Turning in surprise from where he was using some rubber bands, a man with dirty blond hair took in the police consultant heading toward him and gave a smile.
“Robbie,” he corrected.
“No, it's 'Shawn'. Really Casper, we've known each other for a year and you can't remember my name yet? I'm almost tempted to not give you your candy,” said Shawn as he plopped down on an exercise ball and handed over the bag of cellophane wrapped candy bars.
“An anniversary present, Shawn? Does this mean we're exclusive?”
“Annddd, wow, you just took that to a place I wasn't really expecting,. I have mentioned my girlfriend, the detective, right?”
Robbie laughed.
“Thanks Shawn. Seriously. You didn't have to do this,” he said looking at the candy, genuinely touched.
Shawn shrugged.
“And you didn't have to cut the power to my dad's house. But if you didn't, I wouldn't be here today.”
“Yeah, well, if I'd stopped Drew when he'd first come up with the whole idea to case houses in the first place--” he shook his head in frustration. “That's what really kills me, you know? Right away, I should have stopped him. I knew it was a bad idea, but John was already itching to get out. That kid was a like a loaded gun, ready to go off. I think—you know, I really think Drew thought it would be a way to keep John out of trouble. I know, it seems crazy-”
“But no one was supposed to get hurt,” added Shawn quietly.
Robbie nodded his head.
“Yeah. Drew came up with the whole plan. Make some easy money, keep John reigned in. I should have talked him out of it, I knew it was a bad idea from the start. Things is, I've known Drew, knew Drew, my whole life. Grew up together. His mom, before she passed away, used to joke that she couldn't remember which of us was hers. As then John, his mom took him in when he was young, he was always following us around, trying to be just like Drew. I though, 'just another of Drew's crazy ideas to make some money.' He was always the one coming up with ideas, plans for the future. I just never thought it would end up being anything like this,” he swallowed hard. “And now John's dead and I haven't heard from Drew since that night.”
They were both quiet. Shawn tried to imagine what it would have been like if Gus had gone into a life of crime instead of pharmaceutical sales, but that was too outlandish for even his imagination. Instead, he tried to imagine what Gus would have done if he'd been the one coming up with a plan to rob houses in the area.
“Looks like your gaining some weight back,” he said supportively, deciding a change of topic was in order.
A year ago, Robbie had been stocky. But the knife wound to the abdomen, courtesy of Mikey in retaliation for Robbie trying to help Shawn, had left him in critical condition. His injury had been much more severe than Shawns', and it was a miracle he'd made it. Although much better, he had lost a lot of weight during his stay and was still recovering.
“Yeah, pretty soon they're going to need to give me the next size up on one of these babies,” said Robbie as he lifted a pant leg to reveal he ankle monitor.
In spite of his father's objections, Shawn's pleas for leniency had helped to earn Robbie a reduced sentence; instead of jail time there'd been mandatory psychiatric counseling, community service, and an ankle monitor.
“Listen man, I've gotta go, my dad's downstairs waiting for me--”
“How's he doing?”
“Good. He says 'hi'”.
“Still hates my guts,” surmised Robbie.
“I think he's warming to you.”
“You're a terrible liar, Shawn Spencer. But thanks for the candy.”
“See you later 'Casper.'”
* * * * * * * *
He watched from the shadows as Shawn, blissfully unaware, made his way out of the hospital and crossed the parking lot to rejoin his father, never once so much as glancing in his direction.
The father had been the more difficult one. He'd almost caught him watching more than once.
The truck left the parking lot. He took his time before heading to his own car. There was no hurry. He knew the tracking device he'd fixed to Henry Spencer's truck would lead him where he needed to go.
Besides, he didn't want to rush this night.
It had, after all, been an entire year in the making.
* * * * * * * *
Chapter End Notes:
Just in case anyone's wondering, this chapter takes place right before the epilogue from 'Happy Halloween.' I think I may even use a slight variation of the epilogue as the second chapter for this one. Like the last story, I'm trying not to over think this story too much, just keep it moving fairly snappy. Hope you enjoy, and of course... Happy Halloween!
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