LOGLINE: Shawn and Gus discover there's more to a local brotherhood than funny hats and handshakes when their incoming leader is found dead after a secret ceremony at the lodge.
SYNOPSIS: Henry is sick, Shawn tells Gus. He called to cancel their weekend camping trip in the mountains and Shawn couldn't be more thrilled, until he catches his dad driving through town, the picture of health. Now Shawn has to know why he was ditched, and he and Gus follow Henry to the Monarch Lodge, where they discover Henry is a member. After Shawn perfectly repeats the secret handshake, they enter the lodge to find Henry in a room full of robed lodge members, surrounding a dead body on the floor. The brothers have called Henry in for help, but he insists he's retired both from the force and the lodge and calls the police. Gus, meanwhile, realizes he's in a room full of doctors, and gingerly steps around the body to start networking. Shawn tells Henry that the deceased, Arthur Holmstrom, was murdered, possibly by poison, and no one in the room seems to be upset about his death. Henry's friend Ted Archibald, who called them in, is worried they did something wrong during Arthur's Patriarch ceremony. He had a ceremonial hood on for twenty minutes, and is worried Arthur might have suffocated. Lassiter and Juliet arrive at the scene. It turns out Lassiter has always wanted to be a member but has been blackballed by his soon to be former father-in-law, Irving Parker. Now Lassiter is determined to solve the case quickly to impress Irving and the rest of the lodge members. Meanwhile, Gus has been busy locking down an appointment with Dr. Downs, who has a large practice and is a big purchaser of pharmaceuticals.
Back at the Psych office, Shawn and Gus are researching the lodge when Lassiter shows up and asks for their help. He knows they have an in, and he wants them to share any information they get. They agree to help Lassiter, who warns them to keep a low profile. Of course the next day, Shawn is inducted as a member of the lodge. Now Shawn and Gus are able to move about freely and they discover that Holmstrom was being inducted as the Highmost Patriarch of the lodge, skipping the three other people who ranked above him for the spot, including Irving Parker, who, in the wake of Holmstrom's death, is the new Highmost Patriarch. They also notice all the plaques from various charities that the lodge has received for generous contributions over the years. Shawn also sees the hood Holmstrom was wearing when he died, displayed in a glass case. It's over 100 years old. But as he turns to comment to Gus, Gus is back schmoozing Dr. Downs and a few of his colleagues. So Shawn checks in with Lassiter who gets a call from Juliet. She tells them Holmstrom's tox screen came back showing a toxin resembling the venom of a Brazilian vine snake, but there were no marks or puncture wounds on the body, just a slight skin irritation on his face.