Piecing Things together with Carlton

[craftylildoodlepumpkin]

Juliet's head has been clouded with doubt lately. This mess with the Chief and Henry, contrasted with the steady progress of her relationship with Shawn. She needs someone to help her break this all down, and there's only one man in the station who can help her.

She pops by Carlton's desk and announces herself with a cough.

Comments

[actualdetective]

"What is it O'Hara? You know how I feel about hovering while I'm updating my little black book." He waves the little address book at her, filled with the names and addresses of everyone he's ever arrested. He takes his duty to keep track of the criminal underbelly of Santa Barbara very seriously, even if no one else does.

[craftylildoodlepumpkin]

"On your lunch break?" She tisks him. "You promised me when that new sandwich shop up the block opened we'd go out, and..." She grins and thrusts her wrist outward; a yellow balloon bearing the shop's title floats above it, anchored to Juliet by a strand of yellow ribbon.

In her completely frank opinion, he's spending so much time with his listings and books because he doesn't want to worry himself about Marlowe.

[actualdetective]

He made that promise, in passing, not expecting her to hold him to it. But he's not one for breaking a promise. He puts the book away and stands up, grabbing his jacket. "All right, all right."

[craftylildoodlepumpkin]

She's got eagle eyes and a sharp mind - no way is Juliet ever going to forget a promise made to her. "It's about time you had lunch outside, in the daylight." She's starting to wonder if he's some kind of vampire.

[actualdetective]

"You act like I've been holed up in the evidence cage every day for a week or something," he grouses. It's been months since he did that and if that week happened to coincide with Marlowe's sentencing, well, he's only human.

"What gives, anyway? You have a bee in your bonnet, so spill."

[craftylildoodlepumpkin]

"You have been stuck in your head lately." More than usual, in her opinion. Her nose wrinkles as they walk through the station's front doors. "It's complicated. And you probably don't want to hear about it because it involves Shawn."

[actualdetective]

Putting on his sunglasses, Carlton heaves a hefty sigh. He really doesn't want to play relationship counselor for his partner, that's a fast track to madness and messy emotional entanglements, especially given his general disdain for the half-baked fortune teller that she's dating. But he's making an effort here, so he shrugs.

"Please make sure whatever you're about to tell me doesn't involve your intimate business with Spencer, okay?"

[craftylildoodlepumpkin]

That's because Carlton cares about her. They make a break for the crossing walk and she sighs. "I wouldn't do that to you," she says, the faintest note of well-intentioned sarcasm in her tone. "It's about Henry and Karen."

[actualdetective]

"Spencer and the Chief?" Carlton frowns. "What about them?"

[craftylildoodlepumpkin]

"Oh, you won't believe me," she said, her strides lengthening as she makes a break for the crosswalk. "I barely believe me!"

[actualdetective]

He slows a bit so that they can stay in pace. "Are you about to spin me some fanciful yarn?"

He does like his partner, overall. She's a very competent person. But she is inclined toward emotional storytelling and he keeps trying not to fall into the trap of listening and validating her inclinations. Much.

[craftylildoodlepumpkin]

"Oh, I WISH it were a yarn!" But by now they've crossed and have reached the shop. She stays tight-lipped until they've ordered and are sitting down. Juliet may be ruled by her heart (sometimes) but she's not making this one up.

Once they're eating, she makes sure he's between bites before unloading on him.

"They're dating."

[actualdetective]

He bends low over the table, his voice a tight, harsh whisper. "O'Hara are you casting aspersions on our Chief's morals?! She's a married lady!"

[craftylildoodlepumpkin]

"I'm not casting aspirations!" she hisses. "Henry told me! DIRECTLY."

[actualdetective]

Whatever problems he may have with the elder Spencer, Carlton's never pegged him -- unlike his son -- as an outright liar. So if he says he's dating the Chief, there must be something to it.

"But what about her marriage?"

[craftylildoodlepumpkin]

And he should trust his partner. They've saved each other's lives how many times now?

"I don't know. I didn't bug him for details after he told me it was true."

She won't implicate Shawn as the one who put it all together because Carlton will chew the whole notion up as anti-factual.

[actualdetective]

He thinks about it for a few long minutes, fiddling with the straw when their drinks arrive, crinkling the wrapper like an accordion and having a new thought as he released each fold.

Rumors sped through the department like wildfire. The chief wouldn't want people talking about her personal life. It was technically against department regulations for her to date any police personnel. And yet, it was none of his -- or anyone else's -- business.

"Okay. The Chief and elder Spencer. Now I'm caught up on the gossip of the day. Anything else?"

[craftylildoodlepumpkin]

Jules agrees, honestly.

"Sorry. I'm not dealing with this well...I'm standing at ground zero and it's making me nervous."

She sighs. "We have six cases to do paperwork for and no leads on the wig heist on forty-fifth. So..tell me how Marlowe's doing?"

[actualdetective]

He knows deflection when he sees it. If some perp can't get away with it, he has no idea why O'Hara thinks she can.

"Okay, back up. Ground zero?"

[craftylildoodlepumpkin]

She was hoping he'd grandfather her in under the whole partner thing.

Juliet fidgets for a second; of course he'd know somehow. "Shawn had a vision and I asked his dad."

[actualdetective]

He has to puzzle through that one. It takes a minute or so but he connects the dots.

"So Spencer came up with some mystic frooferaw and you jumped in to talk to his father and now you're all mixed up in keeping a secret you didn't want in the first place and should've let your boyfriend man up and deal with for himself?"

[craftylildoodlepumpkin]

"No. Yes." She groans. "They're only hiding it until Karen's divorce comes through."

That's not helpful at all and she knows it.

[actualdetective]

He quirks an eyebrow. This is another of those situations blown far out of proportion. Anything involving Spencer - the younger - tends to be.

"Do you normally go around talking about the Chief's personal life?"

[craftylildoodlepumpkin]

Death glare: engaged!

"I just wanted someone to talk to who isn't my boyfriend and who won't freak out and start planning their wedding the second I use the words 'secret lovers'."

That gets a mocking tone of voice AND wigglefingers.

[actualdetective]

Somehow those words forced an image into his brain of Henry Spencer, sans pants, wrapped in a cheap towel from a cheap motel.

It wasn't a picture he ever wanted to remember but there it was. And he's doing his best not to remember ANY of the views he got of Chief Vick the day she gave birth. Oh, god.

He pushes his plate away. His appetite is gone.

"Didja have to go there, O'Hara?"

[craftylildoodlepumpkin]

Juliet's expression turns utterly smug. "A good detective uses every asset she has at her disposal."

She, meanwhile, is finishing off her food at a comfortable rate.

[actualdetective]

"Not against her partner!" Carlton yawps, exasperated.

The stares from the other patrons cow him into calming down a bit, but he's still indignant that she's using all his best tricks against him.

Best to regroup and find some solutions.

"So what do you want to do about this? Did you tell Spencer what his father told you? He'll tell Guster and you know he's got that strange moral streak that comes out at the most inopportune moments. I'd keep mum if I were you."

[craftylildoodlepumpkin]

Jules shakes her head. "I haven't, yet. This is one of those things the two of them need to work out for themselves."

She feels bad enough about lying, she's not going to add shit-stirrer to her resume.

[actualdetective]

"Good plan, let them all work it out for themselves." He scowls and pokes at the remains of his sandwich. "And if Spencer asks, you know nothing."

[craftylildoodlepumpkin]

"I feel bad enough about lying," she admits, stirring her coffee. "Hopefully he won't ask. Lying to Shawn would be almost impossible."

[actualdetective]

He should've predicted that. "Well, you are scrupulously honest," he observes, "but you're also good at redirecting people away from sticky subjects. So just do that. You've got people skills. Skill him."

[craftylildoodlepumpkin]

"I try," she says. And her eyes brighten. "All I have to do is...I don't know, rent a dog or buy some cotton candy." That's Shawn, and she knows him very, very well.

[actualdetective]

"All right, all right, I don't need to know how you handle your boyfriend," he grouses good naturedly, waving a hand as if to stave off the details. "The chips will fall where they will."

[craftylildoodlepumpkin]

She chuckles softly at that one. She doesn't need to know how he handles Marlowe either, so all's fair. "We'll just have to make sure they don't fall on us!"