Chapter Text
Carlton stared at the Chief, his mind playing her words on repeat.
“No, there’s simply no way that I can agree to this,” he said finally, clasping his hands together and doing his best to give her a confident smile. “So, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll get back to solving real cases now.”
Carlton made it two steps towards the door before he heard the Chief’s voice reach his ears. “Detective Lassiter! That wasn’t a request.”
Carlton spun around, looking helplessly back at her, aware that any sense of confidence that he may have been portraying was quickly deserting him.
“Please,” he whined, “I can’t do this. What about O’Hara? She would be perfect. You know how much she likes… you know, girl talk and stuff.”
The Chief’s eyebrows rose so high that it was a wonder that they were still connected to her head.
“Detective, do I need to remind you that you are my Head Detective and that it is your job to work the cases that I assign you? And besides, seeing as she’s your partner, I would have thought you were aware that she is currently unavailable.”
Carlton groaned and looked at the assignment briefing again. He couldn’t pretend that the chance to add a protection assignment to his portfolio wasn’t appealing. It was just this specific mission that was the problem.
“Look,” the Chief said, her voice softening as she settled into her chair opposite Carlton. “I know this isn’t ideal. But you’ve been requested specifically, and I think you’ll be good at it.” Carlton glared at her for a moment, quirking his head. “Fine,” she added, “I think you’ll be adequate, and right now that’s about all we can manage.”
Carlton sighed. “But she’s so… I don’t know, isn’t she the one who got her panties out on television?”
He shuddered, remembering the ridiculous behaviour. Embarrassing, really, and Carlton didn’t understand this needless desire that so-called celebrities had for attention.
“That’s right,” a voice said from the door, “but you know, I have been at number 1 on the charts ever since.”
“Ah, Ms. Reece, please come in,” the Chief said, gesturing to the seat next to where Carlton was standing.
“It’s Tabitha, please,” she said, tucking a lock of her long, brown hair behind her ear. “And I assume that this must be Detective Lassiter. I’ve heard so much about you.”
She reached out a hand to shake Carlton’s, and he returned the gesture a little reluctantly. He still wasn’t sure that he wanted to go through with this, although he appreciated that he appeared to be losing the opportunity to decline very quickly.
“Nice to meet you,” Carlton managed to stutter out in an attempt at politeness. Tabitha just laughed.
“I’m not that bad,” she said teasingly. “Really, Detective, you look like someone is putting a gun to your head. Which I’m not. At least not yet,” she added with a wink. Carlton rolled his eyes; this woman was insufferable, he could already tell.
The Chief cleared her throat, and shot Carlton a meaningful look which he immediately understood meant that he needed to keep quiet. He pursed his lips, and finally sat down next to Tabitha.
“Now, Ms. Reece, we are aware that you have some concerns about your usual security arrangements following these latest attempts on your life,” the Chief said.
Tabitha nodded. “Yes. That’s why I wanted to ask for your protection while I’m in Santa Barbara,” she said, turning towards Carlton. “The last attack, it couldn’t have happened without someone leaking where I was staying. No one knew I would be at that hotel. We only changed the plan the day before.”
“I understand,” the Chief said. “And we realise how distressing these latest events must have been for you.”
Tabitha put a hand on her heart and made a little simpering noise, an action so fake that Carlton wanted to retch. He didn’t, however, something for which he felt very proud of himself.
“So,” Vick continued, ignoring the awkward moment, “we will be doing everything in our power to keep you safe while you’re in town. You mentioned you wanted our head detective in particular, and that’s Detective Lassiter here. I trust you’re comfortable with this plan?”
Carlton opened his mouth to speak, but realised that the Chief had been addressing Tabitha, who was nodding. He closed his mouth again quickly.
“I am very comfortable,” she said, reaching a hand out and grabbing Carlton’s shoulder. He flinched, before forcing a tense smile onto his face. “You know, I actually felt that bullet that was meant to kill me in San Francisco. Not physically of course, because I was so far away. I just felt it in my heart.”
Carlton sent a pleading look in the Chief’s direction, because surely he couldn’t be expected to try and stop someone killing this woman. Vick just shook her head slightly, and he sighed, listening to Tabitha who was continuing on as if nothing had happened.
“But I don’t want to cancel my concerts here in Santa Barbara. I couldn’t do that to my fans,” she said, wiping away a non-existent tear from her eyes.
That made Carlton snort. “Please, you just don’t want to have to refund them their ticket prices.”
For the first time, Tabitha looked irritated, the fake tears having been forgotten. Carlton had to admit that he preferred angry to the pathetically sweet version of the woman he had been conversing with.
“I’ll have you know that I am nothing if not dedicated to my fans. I owe my success to them. You’re the stupid one if you don’t see that,” she huffed, her hair falling across her quickly reddening face.
The Chief cleared her throat and drew their attention back to her. “Yes, Ms. Reece, and we appreciate that. It seems perhaps that one of your fans has turned dangerous though, correct? At least that seems to be the assumption of any investigation up until this point.”
Carlton played the words over in his mind. He was already familiar with the details of the case, having read the reports from San Francisco and San Jose even before being assigned this detail. It had seemed to be a fairly routine celebrity stalking incident until recently when the threats to her life had turned from words into action.
Not very good action, but an actual attempted shooting had to be taken seriously. The last thing Carlton needed was national headlines about how America’s darling had been murdered in Santa Barbara under his watch. That wouldn’t help his efforts to be promoted at all.
“Well, Detective Lassiter is well equipped to provide protection,” the Chief said, and Carlton smiled a little, straightening his posture, “but I have to remind you, that a protection detail would usually have additional resourcing.”
That wiped the smile off Carlton’s face. “You don’t think I’m up for this, Chief?”
She looked at him pityingly, which made Carlton scowl. Carlton wasn’t some child who needed to be placated.
“This is a high profile case, and you’ll be holed up in a safe house, except for the concerts themselves, until Ms. Reece leaves Santa Barbara next week. I just think you could use some extra… support,” she finished, and Carlton caught her hesitation and the way her eyes flicked towards the door.
Carlton’s detective instincts were tingling, and he had a feeling that whatever Vick was about to say was something that he wasn’t going to like.
“Is this the other guy I mentioned?” Tabitha piped up, her eyes blazing and her tone excited. “Was he available too?”
“What do you mean?” Carlton snapped, not bothered by the angry look he received from the Chief. “I thought you were comfortable with my presence,” he grumbled, looking at Tabitha accusingly. These damn flimsy actresses or singers or whatever the hell it was that made her so famous. No ability to commit to anything.
“I am,” Tabitha said, her voice unnaturally high pitched, “but darling, I don’t think the two of us holed up in a house together alone would be a good idea.” She had the gall to wink at him, and Carlton groaned.
“No,” he said flatly, “that is absurd. And I am not going to put up with whatever rookie Ms. Reece has decided needs to tag along. Having to share a space with just one other person is difficult enough.”
Vick looked at him with a small frown of concern, but her eyes were determined. “It’s not exactly a rookie,” she said slowly. “And it’s someone you’ve worked with before. I’ll admit, it’s a little unusual, but I think the pair of you will be able to work together well enough to keep Ms. Reece safe and find whoever is responsible.”
Carlton was becoming more and more nervous now, and he wondered if he might still be able to quit and keep his badge and gun. They were so very useful in his everyday life.
“Is he here?” Tabitha asked excitedly, standing up and doing a little hop that made Carlton sneer.
“Yes, I believe he is,” the Chief answered.
The door swung open, and the very last person Carlton wanted to see was standing in the doorway.
The hair and annoying little swagger were unmistakable. Shawn Spencer had arrived to torment him once again.