luck be a lady.

Joanna Carter. 35. Homicide Detective. Ex-Army. Magnolia Springs, AL.

[joannacxrter]

S E A N​:

He nodded, her couch was something she surely did not need to offer him and he didn’t take it lightly either. The day he’d found out Joanna had ended up in the same tiny town as he had was a special one for him, given that part of the reason he’d left Wisconsin behind was because of the disconnect his two different lives brought about. “Thanks. That’s real nice a’ you. You ever need a couch, for whatever reason, you got one at mine too.” He offered in return though he also hoped that went without saying by now.

Sean chuckled softly, “Hey I mean, how I ever ended up with Larissa, I’ll never know. Why anyone would put up with a guy who leaves for months at a time to go fishing? If I can figure it out, surely you can.” He knew what it was like to prioritize work over all else. And he respected it immensely as well. Duty was something that could fill the soul in ways most other aspects of life could not. “And he just listened to you like that? Suppose I see who wears the pants then, huh?”

Joanna raised her eyebrows with a low hum, the vibration of the sound radiating in her chest. Relationships were complicated - she had decided this long, long ago. The woman had only had a few serious relationships in her day, but obviously nothing had come of them in the end except a drinking problem and trust issues. She understood where Sean was coming from, as she had wondered many times in the past what she was worth in a romantic relationship.

“You have a lot of redeeming qualities, Rothman - don’t cut yourself short. Besides, people tend to see the things in ourselves that we’re too biased or blind to see.” 

Her raspy voice had become soft, as it often did when she was giving advice that she herself would not follow. But when Sean brought up her work partner, she couldn’t help but grin and roll her eyes. “Yeah, something like that,” she stated, being vague with the meaning behind it.

[joannacxrter]

K H A I R​:

“Sounds pretty exciting to me,” Khair countered. Like most of the world, she found interest in the world of true crime. While she’d never be an officer, detective, or investigator herself, the idea of a suspect didn’t stop her eyes from brightening. “What kind of suspect are they?” She moved closer towards Joanna, eager to hear any details she could pull out of her. “Robbery, fraud, murder? C’mon, you can’t just drop a bomb like that and expect me not to ask questions. Like I said, I’m really good at keeping secrets.”

Joanna raised an eyebrow and stuffed her hands into her pockets, allowing her hair to rest on her cheek as she tilted her head. She knew that she couldn’t give out any real details about an ongoing case, but she supposed she could humour the woman, if only for the sake of conversation.

“Robbery at gun point. Nobody got a real good look at the person who did it. Located in one of the more... affluent areas of Magnolia Springs,” Joanna spoke, watching the expression on the woman’s face as she spoke. Was she a crime junkie? A secret reporter? An innocent, but curious townsperson? Who knew, but Joanna enjoyed the back and forth, nonetheless.

[joannacxrter]

starter for @jamesxdixon​

There were only a few times when Joanna had to question whether she was prepared to be doing such a strenuous job - one, when the regular homicide of the week was a particularly hard one and two, when she was in an unexplainable amount of physical pain from overworking herself. Today, of all days, number two was the winner and for her entire shift, the brunette had been playing it off as though she was doing okay. 

I’ll just go to physio when we’re done, she’d say.

Trust me, I’ve been through worse, was another popular one.

But at some point the woman needed to give herself a break. And so, after riding around in a cramped car with her partner and a slightly suffocating vest on all day, Joanna stepped into the precinct and found herself moving (surprisingly quickly) toward the locker room. She pushed the door open and began getting rid of her gear - jacket first, then vest, then her sweater. A heavy sigh escaped her lips as she sat down on the nearest bench, rubbing her shoulder as much as she could without making herself go insane from the pain.

After a moment of silence, the woman heard the door open and she looked up to see the face of her partner. She held her hand out in a gesture and ducked her head, only being able to give him a gesture that told him he didn’t need to say I told you so. 

“Look, I know I should’ve taken it easy after that altercation last week, but I’m not really in the mood to get the lecture,” Joanna began, trying to roll her shoulder in order to stretch out the ligaments, but a shooting pain radiated through her shoulder and into her neck. She sucked in a sharp breath, closing her eyes carefully.

[joannacxrter]

K H A I R​:

         “Point taken.” Khair had never been in trouble with the law. If anything, it had a good record of being on her side. Still, she was wary of cops—- well-aware that not all were in the profession to make the world a better place. Joanna seemed to be one of the good ones. She didn’t know her intimately, but she’d never been given a reason to think otherwise. Thus, she felt comfortable with her. “Just clearing my head,” she replied simply. “I’m afraid unlike you, work only makes me crazier. Taking late-night walks is what keeps my feet on the ground. Kind of weird, I’ve heard. I mean, most girls avoid being out at this hour, especially alone, but I don’t know. There’s something about the stillness of the dark that makes thinking easier. Calms me, I guess.” Khair nodded in her direction. “Can I ask what you’re working on? I promise I won’t tell if it’s confidential. Cross my heart, hope to die.”

Joanna couldn’t help but give a wondering grin. She understood the place that Khair was coming from, probably more than she realized. Having to clear her head was something Joanna was forcing herself to do more often because frankly, she needed it, and when she used running to help it kept her in shape. “I hear you. I’m always out at weird times of the night, but I’m sort of a night owl anyway.” Rather that than sleeping and having the same nightmares over and over again, she thought to herself.

“Working on? Just putting together a profile on a suspect. Nothing too exciting, I promise you that.”

[joannacxrter]

S E A N​:

He nodded at Joanna because she was right. And that was probably something Sean actually really needed to hear right now. Why was he so caught up in Layla showing up when the only thing he should be worried about is Larissa. She had every right to be angry with him. This was why he’d always appreciated Joanna’s company. She was a straight shooter to be sure, but always knew how to tell people what they needed to hear as well. He was sure it was what made her so good at her job. 

“Yeah, well, I think she might be turning away from me at this point or I might have to be in the other room on the couch. Not sure yet until I get back.” His lips pursed as he leaned back on his heels. Because yes, it was definitely going to be one of those nights.

Again, he nodded, “Well maybe that’s why you don’t have any warm bodies to go home to.” His eyebrows cocked with jest because he was merely teasing Joanna. But he changed his tune quickly with a shake of his head, “He left you with all the work tonight, huh?”

Joanna nodded intently as she listened to Sean. She could read his expression from a mile away, really — the woman had gotten really good at that. But she decided not to push it, given that it wasn’t necessarily her business, and she was no stranger to wanting her private business to stay that way. “Well, worst comes to worst, I’d got a couch you can crash on. It’s probably not the best, but you know,” Joanna shrugged, not bothering to finish her sentence. She gave him a grin and folded her arms comfortably.

“Very clever, Rothman. You’re probably not entirely wrong.” Her eyebrows raised slightly and for a moment her cheeks became pink, but to hide it the woman ducked her head, playing it off as though she was brushing her hair from her face. “No, I told him I’d finish up what I had left - no need for him to wait for me.”

[joannacxrter]

L A Y L A​:

“No, I thought you had said you had finally made that tv series come true and you had gotten yourself a hot piece of ass as a partner and that was why you were cooped up at strange hours.” Clearly that was not the case, that much was obvious. Not that Layla held it against her. Love only made things ten times worse than it needed to be. Perhaps that explained why she had done 27 good years of avoiding it till she tripped over it and fell head first to her own death.

Though death was probably too strong of a scenario to compare it to. After all in that fall she had managed to get Poppy out of it. Considering how that two year old and a half was the best thing she ever did she found herself having to halt her sarcasm right then and there, “Do you think any bars are open at this time? Or do you have an early shift tomorrow?” Andrea had been kind enough to babysit Layla for the night.

Joanna paused for a moment in thought. Technically speaking, she did inherit a rather good looking partner at work, though she wouldn’t admit that to anybody. It was obviously that there was chemistry between Joanna and James — that was one of the reasons why they had been partnered together in the first place, but if the woman allowed herself to think it was anything for than that, then things would start to get complicated.

“You wouldn’t be completely wrong, but you didn’t hear that from me,” Joanna began, a coy smile dancing on her lips. She looked at her watch and shrugged easily, gesturing to her car before she responded. “I could go for a drink. Hop in?” She asked, opening her own door while she did so.

[joannacxrter]

N I C​:

    Nicholas would like to claim there was a purpose, a reason he had been so easily swayed from his journey home to instead aimlessly wander well past the hours of daylight. In recent years he became familiar enough with the area that he’d consider it harmless, and well, trouble never seemed to find him in such a manner– not here, anyway. Still, if asked he couldn’t say why he hadn’t made the trek home after his shift at the hardware store. It was just one of those days he supposed. One where his mind slipped and the time passed before he’d realize, the sidewalk familiar beneath his feet but not entirely aware of his surroundings until the man snapped to attention. A low rumbling laugh settled in his throat when Nic realized that he wound up by the precinct, the fire station not too far off in the distance; presumably the path he’d been taking in his less than present state of mind. It was either that or a bar, knowing him. 

Curiosity pulled him forward, ducking around a streetlight to sway towards the sound of rustling nearby. Rolling his eyes on instinct, a nonchalant shrug decorated his broad shoulders “– not sure it’d do much harm really. Rumor has it i’m pretty durable. Maybe I had some kinda’ toxic waste superhuman accident I don’t remember.” His gaze skirted around them, eyeing Joanna’s current state in comparison to the otherwise quiet lot. “Burning the late night oil?” 

Joanna eyed her counterpart before relaxing her shoulders, though her chronic pain radiated through her left one for a moment. She furrowed her eyebrows at the feeling, adjusting how she was holding her things, before she responded to the man in front of her. “Fair enough, you look like you could take a bullet and be fine. Broad shoulders.” The blonde allowed herself to grin enough to seem friendly, something she was working on in her daily life. 

The brunette was the kind of person that really only enjoyed talking to a handful of people and, to be quite honest, small talk wasn’t her favourite — but she needed to realize that not everything was a life and death situation; the monotony was fine and that she should embrace it, even if it made her uncomfortable. At least that’s what her therapist was telling her.

“Always, but I do it to myself, so I can’t really complain. Don’t think the fish at home miss me very much anyway.” Another friendly grin and Joanna swished her hair out of her face with a quick movement.

[joannacxrter]

T A R A​:

                     "Since when am I ever really careful?” That was a joke within itself. Tara had been the epitome of caution throughout her childhood, early tens and hell even her mid twenties. But now? That was laughable. The smirk that sat pretty on Tara’s lips though showcased that she was merely teasing the other woman when she came close and hoisted up two six packs. “I was just wondering when you finally would leave this place. It’s like you live here.” 

Joanna grinned and rubbed her forehead, her eyebrows raising in a telling gesture. It was clear that she needed to leave the station as her head was spinning with case details that she didn’t need to bring home with her. Tara’s presence, however, made her shoulders relax in a way that she was grateful for. “I pretty much do. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have overnight clothes in my locker just in case.”

[joannacxrter]

K H A I R​:

-

Khair had always been a woman of curious habits, prowling around in the night being one of them. Truthfully, she found comfort in the empty, inky streets; slinking along the shadows as if she’d been raised in them. You’re a panther, her father would say, always a creature of the night. And right he was. Khair was a twilight phantom. Like a datura, she blossomed beneath the milky moonlight. For one reason or another, the silent airs of nightfall offered a clarity she couldn’t obtain throughout the day. Furthermore, Khair never felt unsafe. Not in New York and certainly not in Magnolia. Men and women alike would often lecture her on the multitude of potential threats, her ex-husband especially. Yet Khair took their warnings with a grain of salt, brushing it off and into a drawer. Such a blasé attitude wasn’t out of naïvety. Simply a decision that flirting with death was infinitely more enticing than wasting a beautiful night. Besides, Khair was as much of a danger as any stranger going bump in the night. Panthers weren’t known for their docile nature and what was life without a little risk?

Wandering the rues, the model found herself approaching the police station. As she did, she could see the faint outline of a woman in the distance. The sight caused her brows to briefly lift in surprise. Herself aside, the town was largely void of women at this hour. Most were smart enough to tuck themselves behind the safety of locked doors. Nonetheless, approaching her direction, Khair was but a mere darkened distance away when the other abruptly spoke.

“Paranoid, detective?” Khair asked, now illuminated by the streetlamp’s hazy light. “I see jumpy natures make for triggering fingers. Lucky for you, it’s just me.” She offered a sly grin. “Working a late case?”

“In my case, it’s the other way around — trigger finger makes me jumpy,” Joanna began, leaning against the door of her car as she watched Khair move toward her and into a better light. The brunette had learned long ago to stop being afraid of people coming out in the middle of the night, because for a long time, that was part of her career — she had to make use of the darkness as a cover so that she wouldn’t die. Kill or be killed, it was, and sometimes that nature still got the best of the woman. She wondered if that would ever go away.

“Always working, but I do it to myself. Keeps me sane, oddly enough.” It was weird that the woman found solace in her work when every day was filled with murder and unanswered questions. But that was what kept Joanna going — a busy mind meant that she didn’t have to think about all of the darker things creeping up in the back of her mind. “What about yourself?” She asked.

[joannacxrter]

L A Y L A​:

With both her sister in town she found herself having more free time, something she had forgotten how to use considering how she was taking a stroll in the middle of the night. Though that probably had more to do with Sean being in town. Ironically, Sean was more of a native in her hometown than she was herself. After high school she had found herself out of mind and out of sight of this town. She had swore up and down that she would never come back and here she was. It was true what people said, don’t go out there making plans because that dude upstairs will find a way to ruin them and have you starting from zero various times throughout your lifetime.

She had reckon that she would be the only one out at this time of day the voice that came from the dark managed to correct such belief rather quickly, as she came to a halt, looking at the brunette, even with the darkness surrounding them she was able to know that it was Joanna. “To be fair I thought you all came with a standard issued flashing lights to make ya’ll stand out everywhere.” She teased oh so slightly as she came to a full stop, 

“Did you just get out of work?” Layla truly was as shocked as she sounded, “See this is exactly why I could never do these 7 am to 4 pm jobs.” 

Joanna grinned, the familiar face making her feel more at ease in the darkness. She tossed her things into the front seat of her car before turning around, brushing her hair away from her neck. The brunette raised her hand and pointed her finger, swirling it in the air to mimic the motion of the lights that Layla was speaking about. “Only sometimes, would probably get annoying otherwise.”

“Just leaving. I’m married to my work, haven’t I told you that?” Joanna smiled, the corners of her mouth turning upwards slowly. She always seemed to be catching up with familiar face at odd times of night, mostly because Joanna had nowhere else to be. “What about you, do you need a ride somewhere?”

[joannacxrter]

S E A N:

“Well not that interesting. For one of us anyway.” He chuckled, knowing that Joanna had always been the better shot. But Sean would never admit that as the friendly rivalry served to put him at ease. There was a sense of odd sort of safety in it that he felt with few others in his life. He couldn’t really explain it anyway. Just found himself thankful that the two of them had managed to end up residing in the same place after all was said and done.

He scoffed with a smile at her assessment, “That obvious?” What else would he be doing exactly? Sean Rothman being a kept man, sure had spent a few too many nights out at the bars this week. “Think they go hand in hand when it comes to my life at this point either way.” Sean looked down the dark street ahead of him for a moment before turning back to Joanna. “What about you, working late tonight?”

Joanna tucked her hands into the front pockets of her jeans as she relaxed against her inherited car. A grin coloured her face and, for a moment, she just nodded. She had always appreciated the silent understanding that she found with Sean — and sure, she had the same kind of relationship with a few other veterans she knew in her personal life, but it was different when the two people had served together. It wasn’t long for Joanna and Sean, but enough that there was a pre-existing relationship there that had travelled with them when they had settled in Magnolia Springs.

“At least you’ve got a warm body to go home to at the end of the night. That’s saying something,” Joanna shrugged, realizing that her comment had sounded much more cryptic than she had intended. The blonde had her fair share of crushes and interests, not that she particularly enjoyed talking about them. 

“Always. Dixon went home before me and I was catching up on some paperwork.” James Dixon, her work partner and newly acquainted friend, was someone that she knew Sean knew as well. So, the use of first names wasn’t necessary in this case.

[joannacxrter]

S E A N​:

This was the third night this week that Sean had left Larissa’s place to go for a walk. And while it wasn’t entirely out of character for Sean to head to the bar when he pleased or even in this case, just take a walk. Sean was well aware that she knew he was keeping something from her so his only option at this point was to avoid her.

Of course, couldn’t be farther from the truth. He could easily tell her exactly what was going on in his head. And he knew that was probably what he was supposed to do in a relationship. At least, it was something that Larissa had wanted from him on countless occasions. But she’d said yes to marrying him right? And this was him. He always needed time to process his feelings. The man had always chosen his words carefully and it had been a long time since he’d felt this much pressure on his words. He needed facts first anyway. And that meant talking to Layla. But they weren’t meeting until tomorrow so tonight, the man would have to walk. 

He wasn’t sure where he’d end up at this point and the bar was definitely calling his name. But it was a few blocks down and one thing that Sean was not tonight, was in any sort of rush. 

His night took a turn the moment he saw Joanna appear in his foreground as he direction shifted towards her. A smile colored his face as she greeted him, if he could call it that. But it was definitely just that from Joanna, “Well it wouldn’t be my first time would it?” His hands shoved into his pockets once he reached her. “Nah, I happen to know you got better instincts than that.”

Sean Rothman. 

A man Joanna knew in many capacities, though most of them went unspoken. He was someone who the woman felt she could have a silent understanding with in terms of things they had been through in the past — there was no need to reminisce about their collective past unless it was over a bottle of liquid courage, which the two sometimes found themselves sharing. Nevertheless, Joanna enjoyed Sean’s company. He felt like an old friend, though friendship was born out of necessity at one point and continued into luxury. Regardless, she was happy to see him, even if it was under a rickety streetlamp outside of the precinct.

“Fair enough. It would be an interesting showdown, the two of us, I’ll say that,” Joanna began, opening her door and setting her things down in the passengers side seat before turning back to the familiar face. “What’re you doing out this time of night? Hiding from the misses or just getting some air?” Her eyebrow raised curiously. Joanna was no stranger to getting some air at odd hours of the night, though for her, it was usually preceded by some sort of mental turmoil. The never ending thrills of illness, she thought to herself.

[joannacxrter]

open starter for anybody, assume connections; 

Work ethic had never been something that Joanna lacked. Arguably, she found solace in working more than the average person, mostly because it got her out of her head when she needed it the most — and for the brunette, being stuck in her head wasn’t the easiest place to be at the moment. Though, not for lack of trying. She had created a questionable routine of using therapy and whiskey to aid in her illnesses (the whiskey being the better of the two, off the record). It wasn’t as though any of this was new to the woman, though it tended to raise concerns in other people that after everything she had been through, she would want to work solving homicides. 

But the work had a special place in Joanna’s heart and so, she sucked it up.

Ultimately, the brunette knew when it was time for a break, and she often found herself leaving work come the darkness of the night. The sun had gone down some time ago and, with an arm full of her things, Joanna found herself locking up the precinct before heading toward her inherited Ford Mustang. Thank you, Greyson, she thought to herself, always having been very proud of the gift her father had left behind in the wake of his death.

As she unlocked the vehicle in one swift motion, something caught Joanna’s eye and made her turn around in full tilt. Her eyes caught sight of a familiar face moving beneath a streetlamp and, for a moment, the woman grinned. 

“‘Ought’a be careful pulling up on an officer like that. Might find yourself on the wrong side of the gun.” It was a figure of speech, for the most part, but Joanna knew they would understand.

[iknewitiknewyou]

erin lindsay [7/∞]