cbtdbt (cbtdbt) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2018-07-06 21:38:00 |
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Entry tags: | #november 2017, grady, grady x lettie, lettie |
Who: Grady & Lettie
Where: Mercy Hospital
When: Friday 11/03
Status: Complete
Lettie wasn't exactly investigating the weird events that had taken place on Halloween, that wasn't her job, but at this point... Well, she kind of was. She was at least intrigued and curious so she supposed she was unofficially investigating just a tiny bit. She'd talked to a lot of the victims by now and their stories were as varied as their costumes had been - which was oddly enough what they all had in common, they all began believing what they'd dressed up as were their true identities. Some had had fun with it, their confidence searing or their sense of fun getting heightened and others had suffered in unimaginable ways. She'd talked to the girl who'd almost gotten murdered a couple of times now. There were a lot of tears and confusion there and there wasn't much Lettie could do for her.
She was leaving the small office they'd assigned her for those interviews when she spotted Grady Barrett down the hall and immediately picked up pace to catch up with him. She'd interviewed the strange girl who had showed up too and could use that as an excuse to talk to him . "Sheriff Barrett," she said jovially as she got closer to him. "Do you have a moment to talk?"
Grady had to stop by the hospital earlier to check in on a few people who had been admitted after the chaos on Halloween night. They had gotten written statements and names of suspects to question in regards to a few of the assaults, but there had been a few more questions to ask, and a few more notes to take. He wanted to stop by Lia's room to see how she was doing, but Grady resisted, wanting to wait until he had the DNA results back that afternoon so they would have something significant to discuss. He was keeping tabs on her, however, checking in with the nurses and the doctor in charge of her care. Grady wanted to make sure she was doing all right, of course, but he knew that a part of his concern was worry that she might take off and disappear before they got any real answers about who she was, or why she was there. Grady was getting ready to head back to the station to check his messages when he heard someone call for him. He glanced over his shoulder to see Lettie approaching and Grady slowed to a stop so she could catch up. "Sure, I've got a few. Everything all right?"
"Yes," Lettie said though she narrowed her eyes and tilted her head as if she wasn't quite sure of her answer. "Come with me please." It was better to talk somewhere more private, the sheriff might chalk her up as gullible or crazy but that didn't mean she wanted the whole hospital to hear it all. She led the way back to the room she'd been assigned. It wasn't exactly how she'd want it to be but she'd done her best to make it a little warmer than a standard hospital office. There were nice motivational posters and pillows on the couch, anything to make her patients feel a little more at ease. She motioned for him to sit wherever he wanted and closed the door behind them. "I won't keep you long but I wanted to tell you about some of the things I've learned about Tuesday night."
Grady followed, wishing he could fight off that uneasy feeling in his gut that told him he was about to be given bad news. Even the possibility of bad news anymore made him want to sigh. But bad news was part of his job, a big part, and Grady hadn't quite been able to desensitize himself from it just yet. He stepped into her office, though he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to sit. Sitting meant he might be there awhile. Not that Grady had anything against Lettie. She was a lovely woman, but he had been antsy all day and sitting would probably give that away. The mention of Tuesday prompted Grady to cock a brow curiously. "Yeah? I assume this is on the record, then?"
He did not sit and Lettie didn't push it, giving him a little smile and a nod. That just meant she wouldn't sit either, though she wanted to. Lettie was a great fan of sitting, especially if she could do it all curled up with a hot cup of coffee. "That depends on you," she said. "I obviously can't tell you personal details but I noticed some strange similarities between all the people I talked to. None of them had traces of any drugs in their system, they all seemed to have snapped out of at the same time and they all believed they were what they dressed up as." She doubted the sheriff was a believer so she was only giving him the facts right now, even if her gears were grinding, coming up with theories.
Grady nodded slowly, not entirely sure where Lettie was going with this, although he had some theories. "We got the same story from the few people we had to arrest Tuesday night." Toxicology tests came back negative, although that didn't stop the 'official' cause from being given to the press. Not by Grady, and he was instructed to respond with 'No comment' if contacted by any journalists. "At least in terms of people losing their minds for a few hours, believing they were essentially the subject of their costume." He paused and studied Lettie a touch more intently. "Do you have something more to add that might explain what happened to those people?" She said she couldn't tell him personal details, but she could tell him some details, couldn't she?
"Well, I have theories," Lettie said, leaning back against the her desk and furrowing her brows. "It's not solid, but it seems they all bought their costume in the same place which is the only thing I can see linking them because they weren't all in the same place when it hit them, whatever it was. I'd say there was something in the fabric but... Toxicology and some of them were wearing it on Saturday too." She gave him a helpless little shrug. "They all really believed they were what they dressed up as, there's a kid down the hall who dressed up as some superhero and ran headfirst into a wall because he thought he could smash through it and for some reason felt like he had to do it."
Grady wished he could laugh, because it should have been funny, and it would have been, had people not been hurt. He rubbed his brow with his thumb, thinking over what she had said and trying to piece together what her theories might have been. "So, you think the costume shop had something to do with this?" What had that place been called? Spooktacular? "If the toxicology on the fabrics came back negative, I'm not entirely sure what could have caused that kind of behavior. Nothing logical at least unless I'm missing something. I'm certainly open to hearing possible explanations," he added with a faint smile at Lettie. "You said you have theories and I'm all ears."
Lettie hummed, tapping a finger against her chin as she gave him a somewhat pained smile. "I think you're a man of logic, Sheriff. I doubt you'd like my theories. You want something simple and scientific like... Mass hysteria or pollution. At this point it feels a bit like... Well, you know Occam's razor? If there is no logical explanation for what happened, maybe there's something strange going on." This was where he'd no doubt roll his eyes at her or laugh her off but oh well. "Witchcraft, curses, do you believe in any of those things?"
She was right. Grady was a man of logic. He had to be, given his job. But he also had quite a few illogical experiences in his life that was causing him to question just about everything. "I want the truth," Grady corrected gently. "Whether it's simple, or not." Simple was preferable, but life didn't always cooperate. His expression didn't change when she mentioned witchcraft, but his brow might have arched oh so subtly as he slipped his hands into the pockets of his slacks. "Witchcraft. It's difficult for me to believe in a lot of things perceived as myth, Ms. Amari. That's not to say I wouldn't believe if I had reason to."
"Me too," Lettie replied with a warm little smile. "I want the truth even if it's boring. I just don't like not knowing. I really hope you find out what caused all of this and that there's some perfectly rational explanation for it all. Right now it just looks like a rational explanation might be hard to find. Same with the girl you guys brought in, Lia? Amelia? You were having her DNA tested?" That had struck her as interesting, that they didn't simply send her picture out to be identified, run her prints.
Was there ever a rational explanation for anything that went on in this town? Grady was starting to doubt it. They always found rational explanations where they could, but Grady wasn't sure if they just settled for a simple explanation because they couldn't wrap their brains around the idea that it might be more complicated. He looked at Lettie, inwardly sighing at the fact that someone told her that they were having Lia's DNA tested. He hadn't wanted it getting around until he knew what they were dealing with. "I can't talk about that," he said flatly. "If you've got any information that might be helpful, I'm all ears, but I can't discuss open investigations with you."
"Of course," Lettie said with a dismissive wave. "She was just excited about it." She hesitated, her smile fading a little. "What are you going to do if it's positive?" She could just imagine the media circus, or cover-up, though it was possible that people had become so jaded in this age of the internet that nobody would even blink at the news. Still, she'd come to feel a bit protective of the girl after working on Dr. Fleizman on her psych evaluation.
Grady knew he didn't have to tell her. She wasn't a deputy and her only role in this was to give Amelia a psych evaluation. But... it seemed like she wanted to help, and it was clear she had something of an open mind if she was willing to blame Halloween's chaos on witchcraft, or something akin to it. Grady sighed and ran his hand through his dark hair. "I'm not sure yet. I think the important thing is her safety, regardless of the results. If, by some miracle of God, those test results are positive, then... I hate to use the term 'cover up', but if it gets out that this young woman is Amelia Lucas, the feds are going to be all over it and that family won't get a minute's peace. I've been trying to keep this quiet for her sake." And his, though he felt a bit selfish admitting to that. "Can I trust that this stays between us?" Grady asked. "At least for the time being, until we know what we're dealing with."
He could have so easily given her a look or flat out told her it was a ridiculous question because of course it wouldn't be positive so his answer made Lettie smile again with obvious relief. "Absolutely," she replied. "And if it's not positive I really hope you find out who she is." Amelia was so damn convinced that she had Lettie convinced and if she wasn't who she said she was she was at least a damn good actress - or very good at hiding the fact that she was severely mentally ill. Lettie pushed herself away from the desk again and grabbed a folder sitting on the side. "More paperwork for you, though we should have covered it all by now," she said jovially before offering his her hand and a heartfelt, "Thank you Sheriff Barrett."
It was so bizarre to have this conversation with someone who wasn't looking at him like he had lost his mind. He wasn't entirely sure he could even talk to his deputies without fearing that look. But Lettie seemed like she was a believer, and maybe that helped ease his discomfort a bit, like he had someone on his side. Grady took her hand to give it a firm shake. "My life is a mountain of paperwork," he told her dryly, but with a small smile. "No need to thank me, though. I'll be in touch once I know... well, once I know. I appreciate the discretion." Many people would have been on the phone with the media, looking to score a payday to tell them this kind of story, but he had a good feeling about Lettie, so he wasn't worried.
Keeping secrets was apart of both their jobs and yes, sometimes it could get in the way and cause a lot of friction but in this case Lettie would have no problems keeping mum. There was a terrible price to pay if the media got a wind of what had happened here. It wasn't just some strange tunnel or a town-wide supernatural effect. It was just a girl and her family and Lettie had no desire to see them suffer. She was intensely relieved to see Grady was on the same page. "Well you know where to find me if you need anything," she told him and handed him the folder once their handshake was over and done with. He had nice big hands, she noted, and that firm handshake was reassuring.
Grady took the folder and saluted her with it. "I do. Thanks, Lettie." Lingering would just make him feel awkward, so Grady turned to leave, ignoring the feeling that he ought to say more. That was probably where the awkwardness would sneak in. So he left her office, deciding then that he would let her know when the DNA results came in. They seemed to be on the same page, and Grady felt like he could trust her. Hell, if you couldn't trust a psychiatrist, who could you trust?