LOGLINE:
When Shawn and Gus join Gus’ new girlfriend on a rafting trip, a member of the group goes overboard, but Shawn quickly realizes it was no accident.

SYNOPSIS:
Gus has a secret girlfriend that he has been keeping from Shawn but is finally ready to introduce him to Ruby. Shawn’s first impression of her is a good one, but he insists on meeting her friends to vet her further. So he forces Gus to crash what he thinks is a picnic with Ruby and her friends Jessica, Derek and Stu. But the guys soon learn they have walked into a river-rafting trip instead. Ruby is thrown at first, saying there is not enough room, but then relents and hooks them up with gear. Shawn thinks Ruby might be hiding something, and uses his “psychic” abilities to break the ice with her friends by “divining” Stu is the most experienced of the group. Gus uses a more direct approach and asks how they all met. Ruby says Derek and Stu met at a Wildlife Preservation meeting, which is ironic because Derek was a big game hunter back when he dated Jessica, who is Ruby’s work colleague. What binds them all together is their interest in extreme sports. The group then hooks strobe lights to their vests in case they get separated. Shawn and Gus realize they are on a white water trip just before they hit the rapids, and they hold on for dear life. When they come out the other side, they realize Stu is missing.

Rescue workers are called out to search the water for Stu, as Lassiter and Juliet take statements from the group. Shawn thinks Gus should stay far away from Ruby and her attraction to dangerous activities, but Gus isn’t ready to let her go. The rescue team finds Stu’s life jacket and Lassiter suspects it came off when Stu went overboard. He most likely hit his head and drowned. Shawn remembers that when Stu was attaching his strobe, he had an extra hook on his jacket. He now sees that both hooks are gone. Shawn tells the group that Stu didn’t drown, he swam away. Back at the police station, Shawn says Stu must have hooked himself to something in the river. The cops tell him they found netting rigged under the water. Stu knew exactly when to jump out of the boat and used the equipment to hide until the raft was out of sight, then he headed for shore. Juliet tells them that Stu and his business partner, Brian Sampson, just filed for bankruptcy. Lassiter says they need to talk to Sampson because it’s unlikely Stu pulled this off himself. Shawn then remembers Ruby made him switch seats with Stu when they were getting in the boat. Shawn pulls Gus aside and tells him his suspicions, suggesting they use Ruby to find Stu, but Gus doesn’t believe him. So Shawn has Gus and Ruby over to Henry’s for dinner so Henry can back him up, but Henry isn’t so sure. Ruby tells Gus she thinks Shawn doesn’t trust her. Gus then informs her of Shawn’s suspicions and she confesses. Stu is one of her best friends and he needed her help. She swears Gus to secrecy.

NEXT