spamalot } { of dead bodies and boy scouts

[beanchaointe]

Parrish: [stepping out of the car, looking at the body, then the redhead] Ma'am, are you okay?

Lydia: [she's tired and worn out and it shows, because she's about to get a little snappy] I just found a dead body. What do you think? [there's a beat] Sorry.

Parrish: [nods to his partner to put the call in, and takes off his jacket to wrap it around her shoulders since it was cold outside] Come on, let's get away from this and we can talk. I'm Deputy Parrish.

Lydia: [she sighs as she accepts the jacket, letting him head her away from the body on the ground. They're knife wounds, so it's clearly murder, but she knows that they can't make that determination based on the injury alone] Lydia. Lydia Martin. [who he's probably heard about because this, sadly, is not the first dead body she's found in Beacon Hills.]

Parrish: [oh, he's heard a few of the men talk already] You're the town psychic.

Lydia: [sighs a bit at that] I'm not, actually. But that's what they say.

Parrish: Well, all I've heard is not to be surprised if I show up at a call and you're standing there. [of course, the guys opinions held that she was either psychic, a nutjob, or maybe borderline necrophiliac, but the Sheriff had explained she was just gifted and not to think ill towards her. And Parrish respected the Sheriff enough to go with his opinions first]

Lydia: [you're very sweet Parrish. She personally leans more towards the second one most days, even if people keep telling her she's not.] At least my reputation proceeds me.

Parrish: At least people don't think you're a mass murderer using a psychic plot to cover it up. That could be a worse reputation to have.

Lydia: [she chuckles dryly] Oh, I'm sure there are some that do.

Parrish: Well, until you give me reason to suspect it, I'm not. [grins]

Lydia: [there's a small, half-hearted smile at that before she nods] Thank you.

Parrish: So do you want to tell me what happened?

Lydia: He was stabbed. [she gives a bit of a shrug] But that's all I got. I didn't get here until after the fact.

Parrish: But he was dead when you arrived, right?

Lydia: Extremely.

Parrish: Did you notice anything suspicious when you found him? Maybe someone hanging around that was watching the body?

Lydia: [she shakes her head. There could have been, but until she screams she's so out of it she can't remember any details] It was too dark. I couldn't see anything.

Parrish: [nods] Did you know the victim at all?

Lydia: No. Never seen them before.

Parrish: And how did you end up here?

Lydia: [oh, there's the question she was hoping to avoid] I walked. I think. [she makes a face as she does, well aware of how flimsy that alibi sounds] ... I don't really remember.

Parrish: It's alright. Some people, when witnessing a tragic event, tend to block out their short term memory of it.

Lydia: ... Yeah. I'm sure that's what it is. [whatever gets her out of here faster]

Parrish: [he can see she's eager to leave] Why don't you wait here a moment, and let me check in with my partner and see if he doesn't mind staying here while I take you home, okay?

Lydia: [she nods, with a small grateful smile] Okay. Thank you.

Parrish: [and he goes off to talk to his partner a moment, and then comes back] Come on, I'll take you home.

Lydia: [nods and goes to climb into the squad car. It's a position she's been in way too many times] I can call for a ride if this is too much trouble.

Parrish: [easy smile] It's no trouble at all. Honestly, I'm fine with leaving the scene for a bit of fresh air myself. [he had left the army for a reason, after all. One tour overseas in a military zone was enough for him for a lifetime]

Lydia: [nods a bit, just settling into the passenger's seat and buckling herself in]

Parrish: So, I take it you grew up in this town?

Lydia: [she nods] Yep. Lived here my whole life. [a pause] Except for when I was at MIT.

Parrish: MIT? Impressive.

Lydia: [she smirks dryly] Before I became the "town psychic" I was the town genius. I'm working on a Fields' medal.

Parrish: That's the award that they give for mathematics, right?

Lydia: [pleasantly surprised that he knows that] Yes, it is.

Parrish: Well, good luck on that.

Lydia: Thank you.

Parrish: [he got to an intersection and had to stop a moment] I'm still new in town, so forgive me but it that street east or west of here?

Lydia: It's a right at the next light. [she doesn't really know east or west.]

Parrish: [no, that worked too] Thank you. Eventually I will learn all the streets.

Lydia: It takes a little time. Being a small town it's not like they're on a grid.

Parrish: That's true. And there's no Starbucks on every corner to try and use as landmarks.

Lydia: [she laughs] No, there's not. It's one of the things I love about it.

Parrish: [and all too soon, they are outside her apartment and he pulls over to let her out] I believe we have reached your final destination.

Lydia: [takes a deep breath and nods. shedding his coat, before moving to climb out of the car] Thank you, for the ride.

Parrish: No problem, Lydia. And if you think of anything we should know, just give us a call. You can ask for me if you don't want to deal with any of the others.

Lydia: [nods a bit before giving him another smile] Good night, deputy.

Parrish: [he flashed her his boy scout smile, and watched until she was inside before he pulled off back to the crime scene]

Lydia: [and she will just make her way inside, get back to her work and try not to think about all the things that smile tended to make a girl think about]

Parrish: [and he's going to do his best not to think about the obviously intelligent girl with the red hair that was way too beautiful to think she was a nutjob]

Lydia: [oh she definitely thinks she's a nutjob. If he ever catches her in the middle of a trance he'll see why.]

Parrish: [well, if he ever does, he would be more than willing to try and learn to understand what they really were]

Lydia: [she'd appreciate that a lot once she was cognizant again]