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Dr. Marrow leans against his desk and nods ay his assistant. “Alright, what have you got for me?”
Mary hands him the stack of files on potential candidates for the study, which she’d been sorting through before the doctor arrived. “Here are the people that seem the most promising. You’ve got some prime candidates in there.”
Marrow takes them and begins looking through the folder. The first one is on a Mr. Shawn Spencer. The photo attached looks to have been taken outside of a beach-front property, as you can see both part of a building and sand in the background. “Mr. Spencer exhibits traits of narcissism and is prone to elaborate flights of fancy” he reads. “That could have some interesting effects upon a group.”
“Take a look at the rest of his file” Mary gives a little laugh. “He’s a self-proclaimed psychic who has been brought in on multiple occasions to assist with active police investigations, often working alongside our next candidate.”
The doctor’s eyes twinkle with amused interest. “Does he, now?” He sets that file aside and reads the next one. “Detective Carlton Lassiter, head detective at the Santa Barbara Police Department. A leader type, then” Marrow muses. “There isn’t much information here on Lassiter” he looks up at Mary questioningly.
“Lassiter is much more private than most of the others, although he has quite the arrest record at the SBPD. I managed to get in contact with a previous coworker who said that Lassiter is serious and often reserved but is very loyal and by-the-book so to speak.”
Dr. Marrow nods slowly. “Not as potentially volatile as the others, but it could be good to have someone who the others might look to as a leader. It would also be interesting to see what a man like that does when he’s scared. I’d be willing to bet a detective like that prefers to believe in what he can see with his own two eyes.” Marrow grins at his assistant. “How would he react upon being thrown out of his element and faced with phenomenon that he can’t explain?” He hadn’t planned on any of the participants having any previous connections with or knowledge of one another, but both men seem like fascinating test subjects.
-
Carlton Lassiter arrives to Hill House just as the sun is beginning to set. He hadn’t been given a time more exact than “the evening,” so he hopes he isn’t late. As he pulls up the driveway, Carlton takes note of several other vehicles parked outside the gates. He hopes he isn’t the last one to arrive, the detective sighs. Oh well, he can hardly be blamed if he is. He just hopes he hasn’t kept anyone waiting.
He’s met at the gate by an old man who introduces himself as Mr. Dudley after some coercing. He’s told to head inside and find the caretaker’s wife, Mrs. Dudley, who is currently in the process of preparing supper. The old woman unnerves Carlton a bit, not least because she reminds him of a teacher, he had back in grade school. After getting settled into his room, Carlton heads out into the main sitting room. There he meets the other participants of the study. Eleanor is timid and sweet, with a slightly dark sense of humor that Carlton can sense lurking beneath the surface, and Theo strikes him as a confident woman who knows what she wants in life. The two women had arrived before he did and were busy exploring the building while he was unpacking. The other two participants, Luke and Spencer, arrived shortly after he did, bringing their little group up to a total of five. Luke comes off as cocky but well-meaning and Spencer- well. No need to get into the characteristics of said annoying ‘psychic’. He deals with that enough at work. To Carlton it seems like a small study group, but perhaps that’s what the doctor wants. A small, manageable group that he can easily maintain watch over. Carlton gets the idea that he was meant to be surprised to see Spencer, but he really isn’t. Of course, the man would jump at the chance to be a part of something like this. Carlton himself is only doing it for A: the rewards money, and B: So that Chief Vick will get off his back about taking vacation time. (Admittedly, he’s far more motivated by the second reason.)
The so-called psychic had been lounging in an armchair when Carlton entered the room. He’d looked surprised to see the detective for a moment before grinning. “Lassie! Funny seeing you here. I thought they kept you to a strict curfew down at the station.”
Carlton rolls his eyes. He can’t ignore, however, the genuine joy that appeared on Spencer’s face upon seeing him. Could Spencer really appreciate his presence so much? He honestly can’t fathom why.
Luke looks between the two men. “Wait, you two know each other?”
The detective sighs. “Unfortunately.
After that, Doctor Marrow arrives with his assistants Mary and Todd in tow and formally introduces everyone. “Welcome to Hill House, everyone” Marrow says with a smile after exchanging pleasantries with everyone, and motions for everyone to follow him deeper into the house so everyone can prepare themselves for dinner.
Spencer throws Carlton a lurid grin behind the others’ backs and Carlton sighs. It’s going to be a long few days.