mayfield_logs | (no subject)

(no subject)

Who: Carlton Lassiter and Juliet O'Hara
What: Srs not-quite-sanctioned police investigations by the best detectives evar.
Where: 952 Beulah Street
When: June 15th ; early evening
Warnings: Lassiter's grumpiness + being in possession of a gun = WARNING IN AND OF ITSELF, Coptalk, Lassiter snarking about Juliet's Boyfriend, more than likely. Basically a normal day for the two of them.

_{[ To say that Carlton came out of the Memory altering weekend and the zombie outbreak unscathed would be a lie. He felt like crap coming off a 5 day bender then the zombies showed up not long afterward. Suffice to say, he's still on the extremely grumpy side. For the first time in a couple weeks, however, he had enough time to spare to actually make some headway in his little investigation on the town - and decided to drop by O'Hara's house so they could combine their discoveries and try to make some sense out of what little they had.

His mood was actually pretty damn good considering recent events, until the drone wife he had in his own house suggested (or rather coerced him) to bring over a plate of cookies to show his 'friendliness' or whatever asinine thing she prattled on about. Carlton was not visiting O'Hara to be a friend, he was going over there to be a cop. Big difference in the two.

When he rang the doorbell, Carlton couldn't help but fall back into old habits and pull out his sidearm to arm it. While he trusted O'Hara to not have an ulterior motive, he couldn't say the same of Kenobi. Plus it spared him the time should he need to pull his gun out.

A grumpy cop with a gun, his investigation notes and a plate of cookies though? Carlton feels ridiculous. Come on O'Hara, open the door and spare the poor guy this self-humiliation.]}

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Juliet hates Mayfield. Yes, officially now. That weird thing with the altered memories - she could only recall vague bits and pieces, but what little she recalls is quite enough to be unsettling - and then the invasion of the undead? She'd never been happier to see her trusty Glock in that nondescript box that had been waiting on the doorstep one afternoon when she'd returned to the house from work some days ago.

She's been meaning to talk to Carlton sooner about everything that's happened lately, but honestly she's been preoccupied by trying to make sense of them to herself. And then Jim showed up. Juliet feels a little concerned, having no idea where he was at the moment.

The knock on the door cuts Juliet's musings short. A brisk, no-nonsense kind of a knock. Yep, Juliet already knows who it is. Heading to the door, she pulls it open to reveal the lanky form of her partner wearing a rather unenthusiastic expression and carrying a... plate of cookies?

Said plate garners a raised eyebrow from Juliet, along with a pleasantly surprised smile. ]

Carlton, you didn't have to-- [ Aaaand then she spots the gun. Her expression shifts instantly into a disapproving frown as she snaps her gaze back to his. ]

Really? [ Shaking her head in disbelief, she steps aside to let him in without waiting for response. ] Just get in, and please holster that.

What, did you really think it was my idea to bring you cookies? Don't be ridiculous, O'Hara. _{[ He will though, take a moment to place his gun back in his shoulder rig after entering. ]} One: That's something your boyfriend would do, and Two: If I were bringing you a gift it'd be a case file or the paperwork in my inbox.

_{[ The last time he saw O'Hara, it was after a particularly bad night spent at the tavern. He only could recall bits and pieces of the conversation, the actual subject of which he knew was about Yin, but everything else was hazy- half due in part to his memory being screwed with and the other half due to how drunk he had been. That was rather embarrassing. ]}

I figured now would be a good a time as any to try to make some sense out of whatever goes on in this craphole, lest whoever is running these schemes decides to wreak more havoc.

'Greatest place to live' my ass.

Of course. I don't know what could have possibly given me that stupid idea.

[ God forbid he'd do something normal and nice sometimes. She shoots him an exasperated, tight-lipped look, relieving him of the cookie plate just a touch huffily. That remark about Shawn isn't making the fact that she's been missing him a lot lately any easier. He would bring cookies, too. The thought brings a fleeting, fond smile to her lips, but she banishes it soon after. She knows perfectly well Carlton sure doesn't want to see or hear her pining after Shawn. They have work to do, anyway, which is what will ultimately get them closer to going back home. Inhaling a calming breath, Juliet nods her agreement. ]

You have a point, though. We might as well look into what we have now while nothing crazy is happening. We have the house to ourselves for now. Come on, I'll make us some coffee. We could need it.

[ Pointing towards the kitchen, she leads the way. Halfway there, she gives him a quick look over her shoulder, expression sympathetic. ]

It's been... interesting here lately, to put it mildly. Are you okay?

[ He can take his pick on the massive hangover he must have had after their previous conversation, the aftermath of the memory tampering, the zombies, or all of them. ]

Well, I woke up with a massive hangover on the fifth, felt like crap the rest of that week, and then had to deal with zombies not too long after that.

Not to mention I can't recall why the hell we were discussing the Yin case after all these years, nor the Thane Woodson case for that matter - and after all this I'm pretty sure this place will slowly drive me insane, which is amazing because here I thought Spencer would be the one to do the honors. _{[ That smile is one of sarcasm. But yes, Juliet, your partner is fine. His feathers may be ruffled, but overall he's good. ]}

What about you partner? We go from solving murder cases to fleeing the undead. I'd take both Yin and Yang thrice over than deal with this crap.

Edited (Edit Button and Tyra are too good of friends) 2012-06-16 11:10 (UTC)

I know what you mean. I can't remember why either, but it wasn't pleasant, that's for sure.

[ Grimacing at everything they've gone through these past weeks, Juliet sets the plate of cookies on the kitchen table and busies herself with making them coffee. But she's not too busy to give Carlton a mildly reproachful glance, though when she speaks up it's clear by the tone of her voice that she's not seriously scolding him - simply responding out of habit. ]

Leave Shawn out of this, thank you.

[ Okay, maybe she's defending the boyfriend just a little bit, too, although Shawn's not even in Mayfield. She has her loyalty. The Yin/Yang comment gets a small wince from her, because although she's made her peace with it by now, her abduction by Yin is still one of the most harrowing experiences of her life and something of a touchy subject. ]

I don't know if I'd go as far as to say that, but this place is definitely a whole different brand of crazy than what we're used to dealing with. I'm alright, though. Just wish Mayfield wasn't so fond of messing with our heads. I'd rather deal with the undead. Oh! [ She grins, remembering something. ] I got my Glock back! We can start hitting the shooting range together for practice.

What? _{[ Carlton sees nothing wrong with mentioning Spencer, to be honest he'd rather deal with Spencer's antics than this crap, but it's not like the Detective to acknowledge that. ]} O'Hara, as much as Spencer's psychic crap would probably do a world of good here, it's a good thing he's not in Mayfield. Spencer is constantly finding himself in trouble and with how this place likes to get up in our heads, it's better we don't have to worry about him.

_{[ That's as nice as Carlton can get when it comes to his pseudo-colleague. But it's the truth, that's one less civilian stuck here and one less civilian to be a pawn in whatever sick game Mayfield plays.

At the comment of her Glock being back in her possession, he does perk up. ]} At least now you'll have something to defend yourself with. Though you might not want any of the drones catch you with it.

In any case, _{[ The investigation notes are casually tossed on the table. ]} The sooner we find answers to whatever this is, the quicker we can get back to Santa Barbara and the crazy that happens there.

[ Juliet sighs softly, her partner's words nothing that she hasn't already considered herself several times since arriving into Mayfield. As much as she misses Shawn and wishes she could run things by him to see what he thought about everything, Juliet is ultimately relieved that he isn't subjected to the same dangers they've been forced to deal with recently. Her heart aches a little at the mere thought. ]

Yes, I'm aware of all of that, Carlton. Trust me.

[ Falling silent, Juliet realizes something. Turning with one hand on her hip, she fixes Carlton with a look caught between surprise and suspicion, a small smile tugging at her lips as she tilts her head inquisitively. ]

Carlton. Did you actually just admit that Shawn's talent would be useful and a positive thing? And that you'd be concerned for his well-being if he were here?

[ The pleased smile is growing bigger now, because yes, that's exactly what just happened. She's ignoring everything else for now, because God knows getting her partner to admit any sort of partiality towards her boyfriend out loud deserves a moment of acknowledgement. ]

_{[ O'Hara, Carlton is not liking that smile on your face. He kinda looks like a deer in headlights right now. ]} It's not that his talent would be useful, since 99% of the time it's not, but he'd be a good asset to this investigation considering the scant evidence we've found in the last few months.

Spencer may be an ass, and he may mock me and make crass comments either about myself or Marlowe, but he's still a civilian, and my job is to protect said civilians.

[ Juliet's smile widens into a grin, pleased and maybe a little victorious as well. Carlton can try to explain it away, but she knows better. Not even the name-calling bothers her, because as much as she loves Shawn, Juliet knows he can be an ass sometimes - on purpose or unintentionally.

Letting Carlton off the hook now that she's got what she wanted, Juliet pours him a generous cup of coffee and hands it to him, still smiling happily. Holding up one finger as a sign to wait a moment, she disappears from the room briefly. A moment later, she returns with a folder of her own and sets it on the table to join his notes. She gets her own cup of coffee and moves back over to the table. ]

Okay, let's see what we've got, then.

From what we've seen thusfar, we know that they don't have to be seen by anyone to alter with our minds or the town in general, so my guess is that it's done behind closed doors and they're really adamant about not leaving behind a paper trail that would lead to them.

_{[ He reaches over for a folder and opens it, pointing at a list of names and looking through another. ]} When I arrived here, I was told that it could be three people. The Mayor, the Chief of Police, and a little girl named Lucy Smith. The Police Chief is Jack Smith, who happens to be Lucy's father if I'm not mistaken.
If Lucy wasn't such a young child, I'd say it'd make sense for it to be her, but it could be possible that Chief Smith is using his daughter as a pawn. We saw it happen when we realized Yin was using Yang as such, so we can't rule that out just yet.

That, _{[ He pauses a moment to take a sip of coffee. ]} and the police station is locked with no means of entry.

Other possible suspects could be the Postman and the Milkman - But I've gotten hardly any evidence other than word of mouth about the Postman that he engages in dismemberment as payment for items from our homes, nor evidence against the milkman either aside from 'don't drink the milk'.

_{[Slamming the folder on the table, he sighs in frustration. ]} I've got essentially nothing, O'Hara. There's nothing in terms of evidence I could pick up around town, other than this place is far too slice-of-life to even be considered remotely normal.

The fact there's rules set makes it even more of an issue: You can't be away from your house for more than three nights, you can't miss school/work for more than three days lest you be turned into one of those hapless drones.

Tell me you've got something more along the lines of actual detective work accomplished. The sheer lack of evidence I've found is reprehensible by even my standards.

Edited (and then I add several more things because I'm never satisfied) 2012-06-23 11:12 (UTC)

[ Juliet listens to Carlton intently, nodding her understanding here and there - and looking increasingly discouraged the more he speaks. She blows air through her teeth in an exasperated manner when he's done, shaking her head slowly and giving Carlton a slightly apologetic look. ]

I wish I had better news for you, Carlton, I really do. But I'm afraid I'm not much better off as far as finding solid evidence goes.

[ Shuffling some papers of her own, her brows knit together as she skims through her notes. ]

I have more or less the same results concerning the Postman - although the rumors concerning the price he asks in return of the items from home are strong. Ben believes, and I quote, 'the price is something costly, and usually concerning the better part of your sanity and well-being.' But you did that once and never noticed any ill effects, right? So... [ She shrugs, indicating it's not as cut and dry. ]

A little while ago I made a trip down to the library in hopes of finding something worthwhile there, but that turned out to be a waste of time. Apparently, the library is similarly under the influence of what- or whomever keeps us here. You only get shown what the city deems appropriate for your respective age and gender. [ She purses her lips, tilting her head a little. ] But now I know where to go if I need a bad romance novel, or a refresher course on cooking or gardening.

[ She clears her throat a little and refocuses on the matter at hand. ]

At work I've heard very little except idle gossip that has little to do with anything that matters, unfortunately. I did try to make another appointment with the Mayor a couple of days ago, but unsurprisingly he still wasn't available. There's gotta be something there, Carlton.

_{[ Crap. That's not the answer he was looking for. ]} Not that I can recall no. _{[ A sick realization comes to him and he sits back in the chair trying to think. ]} Unless the postman takes something other than limbs and whatnot - Like Memories of home, but that's just ridiculous.

_{[ Carlton shouldn't really dismiss that theory, but to him it just seems to easy of a clue to even apply. If it were really memories, wouldn't more chaotic things occur? ]}

The police chief and the mayor seem to be our best bets. What sort of Mayor doesn't have time to meet with the people? This place can't possibly be that busy on the political end. _{[ A beat. ]} Although this is believed to be the 1950's at the height of the Second Red Scare, so who knows.

_{[ Picking up more of his notes he's grimaces, the lack of evidence is scant and highly unacceptable given what they've dealt with in the past. As much as he REALLY hates to say it... ]} Trying to make something out of nothing, only Spencer knows how to do that.

Do you have anything on the Milkman? If I recall, the Dairy in town seems to be under the same impression as the police station - No one goes in, no one comes out. Yet the milk is always on the doorstep in the morning.

[ Juliet arches a brow at that remark, thinking back to Ben's words. ]

'Part of your sanity'... I don't know, Carlton. Would taking memories really be that much of a stretch after everything that's happened here? We shouldn't assume these prices for the items are necessarily physical things. Mayfield seems to have a fondness for mental bullying, after all.

[ What little she can recall of those strange days filled with guilt and anguish certainly seem to point in that direction. Against her better judgment, Juliet's lips quirk just a bit at the mention of Shawn, but she makes no comment. Instead she keeps her focus on the facts. ]

I have nothing further on the Milkman, no.

Edited 2012-06-24 21:36 (UTC)

Son of a bitch. _{[ Carlton can pour over their notes all he wishes, and yet still can't find any amount of sense to him. Perhaps he's relied on Shawn's psychic abilities enough to assume he's going soft on his skills as Head Detective. ]}

Okay, let's work down the list of possible suspects again and see if anything stands out this time.

_{[ Grabbing a new sheet of paper, Carlton starts scrawling things down: ]}

Jack Smith

• Chief of Police - station is constantly locked with no possible entry inside

Mayor of Mayfield

• Despite the fact the town seems rather docile, is almost constantly busy and/or away from the office

Lucy Smith

• Jack Smith's Daughter.
• Most of the people residing in Mayfield (aside from those stuck here) seem to be genuinely terrified of her.

◘ Terrified because of what? Her father's status as Chief of Police?
◘ If Jack Smith is suspect - may be using daughter as pawn in game a la Yin and Yang.

Postman

• Post office is used to retrieve items from home, for a Price.

◘ Price being anything ranging from limbs, to things that affect one's sanity or well being.

○ Perhaps Memories as well.

Milkman

• Delivers milk on time despite the dairy having no one come in nor out.

◘ Milk is most often tampered with - Including but not limited to:

      ○ Spiders
      ○ Razor Blades
      ○ Everything else that doesn't belong in milk, including expired milk.

Other oddities of the town

• The drones

◘ How are they oblivious to the disasters that have occurred here?
◘ More so, how can they possibly state this is a 'great place to live'?

• The state of the town itself

◘ Apparently no way out of town.
     ◘ returns to proper state after catostrophic event.
    ◘ Slice-of-Life air too abnormal
    ◘ Local Library is tailored to gender.

○ Women - Romance novels, Cooking, Cleaning
○ Men - Automotives, shaving.

_{[ Carlton looks over the paper when he's finished, his facial expression turning more and more aggravated and sour as he comes up with nothing again. ]} This is starting to piss me off...

Edited (PRETEND THAT DIV TAGS DIDN'T FAIL ME.) 2012-06-24 22:21 (UTC)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only