Shawn is annoyed when he learns Gus tricked him into attending a funeral for a sea lion. But Gus protests that Shabby isn't any sea lion. His story of being rescued and rehabilitated is famous, so much so that Randy Labayda of Animal Planet fame, who just released Shabby back into the wild, is giving the eulogy. When Shawn goes up to pay his respects to Shabby's open casket, he notices a strange hole in his flipper and tells Gus he thinks Shabby was murdered. April McCarthur, an official looking woman wearing an aquarium pin, overhears Shawn and promptly asks them both to follow her out of the funeral. Gus is annoyed with Shawn for getting them kicked out, but April tells them she has had similar suspicions regarding the circumstances of Shabby's death. Labayda's cameraman slows as he hears them talking, so April asks if she can meet them somewhere later.

Arson Inspector Morgan Conrad has come to the police for help. A building burned down under what she believes is suspicious circumstances but, since the fire superficially appears to be accidental, she is getting no support from her department. Shawn and Gus, who used to want to be firemen when they grew up, volunteer their assistance. Shawn, Gus, Lassiter and Juliet go with Morgan to the scene where they run into her boss, Army Johnson, who tells them that the building had no fire insurance, so there is no motive for arson. Plus, arson is so rare, he hasn't seen a case since way back to his firefighting days. But Morgan counters that one of the fireman on the scene reported smelling something sweet, a sign of an accelerant. As Shawn looks around the scene, he notices that one of the walls lacks insulation. He grabs a pipe and smashes it into the wall, revealing a blackened skeleton hidden inside. Now it's not just arson, it's murder.