Silver Lake

The wail of the train’s engine pierced the air as the locomotive was pulling into the Silver Lake station. Sam quietly sat in her seat, looking out the window at the small town as thunder boomed overhead. Meanwhile Gwen was gathering up her bags from the rack above Sam’s head, Thomas was already set with his big green duffle bag. The big man wore his usual jeans and button down shirt, his deep brown eyes roved around outside the window as he leaned down to get a look while the train pulled into the station. The train whistled loudly once again just as it came to a complete stop, the three of them took that as their cue to disembark.

“So, this is Silver Lake?” Gwen asked as they passed through the front door of the rail car and descended the steps to the station platform. The thunder rumbled overhead as the overcast sky began to darken further. Gwen had opted to look more professional, choosing a suit and skirt combo to accent her glasses. “Where is he? You called, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, but I only got his answering machine…” Sam replied as she started walking along the platform towards the edge of it, more ponies were getting off the train and likely would want to swarm the three humans if they weren’t careful. “Did you send instructions on how to listen to voicemail?”

“Shit… I forgot.” Gwen replied as she and Thomas followed Sam’s lead, she was carrying her own small messenger bag. Truth be told she’d left a few clothes behind for just such an occasion. “Try calling him again.”

“Alright…” Sam said as she reached into her pocket and withdrew her phone, the woman unlocked it and looked through her phonebook until she settled on the one with a picture of a Sheriff’s badge next to it. With that she put the phone to her ear and listened as the phone rang on the other end.

”Hey, what’s up?” Turner replied as he answered the call, he sounded tired and rather distant. Sam and the others continued walking through town with their bags. They’d soon be upon the Sheriff’s Office and after that Turner’s Apartment.

“Not much, is this a bad time?” Sam replied, as they passed by a couple other ponies and the first building in the town, the General Store. Sam could hear Turner sigh on the other end of the phone.

”No, actually I was just about to call you. I saw you called but I was so busy today I didn’t get a chance to until now.” Turner replied, Sam smiled faintly as they passed closer to the Sheriff’s Office. A group of stallions in royal guards were just pulling out of the area with chariots mounted to them, it looked like they were loaded down with gear… And a single Earth Pony in one case, they departed the area once they were in the air. ”Truth be told, I had a pretty bad day… I wish you were here.”

“Well, that’s actually why I wanted to call you.” Sam replied, smiling a bit as she and the others finally passed by the Sheriff’s Office. Turner’s truck wasn’t parked outside, which meant he was likely back at his apartment. “Gwen and Thomas wanted to come see you, so we came down for a visit… I hope you don’t mind.”

”Huh? Oh, no I don’t mind. I said you guys were welcome anytime and I meant it.” Turner replied, Sam could hear him stand up in the background. The familiar sound of his chair moving across the floor was what tipped her off. ”Where are you guys right now? I can come pick you up.”

“We’re already almost to your apartment, don’t worry about it.” Sam replied as they turned down the street, she could hear Turner on the other end as he sighed and went back to his seat. “So, tell me about this bad day you had.”

”I’d rather not discuss it over the phone, I’ll tell you about it later when we have some time to ourselves.” Turner replied in that same tired voice, Sam hummed as she and her group finished their walk and found themselves standing in front of the Apartment buildings. The truck was parked outfront where it usually was, thunder rumbled overhead once again, this time far louder than before. ”You guys might want to hurry, we’re scheduled for a real downpour.”

“Alright, be right there.” Sam replied as she, Gwen and Thomas moved up the steps to the Apartment building. For Gwen the trip through town had been enlightening in several ways, she had seen what sort of place the mysterious ‘Turner’ lived in as well as where he worked and what he drove. From what she could tell he was from a relatively low income bracket, and judging by the fact he owned an older model Ford truck he valued versatility over style.

Thomas meanwhile was just glad to see a truck in general, especially in such a rustic setting. It made him think of Earth for a couple seconds, silently the man followed Sam and Gwen up the steps to the apartment while occasionally he would glance down at the truck. Sam knocked on the front door and hung up, after a couple seconds the door opened inward. Sam smiled at Turner when she saw him, he was wearing a grey tank top and jeans which made it possible for Gwen and Thomas to get a look at the man’s tattoo on his shoulder.

“Hey!” Sam said warmly, Turner smiled and hugged the woman tightly, lifting her up slightly as he stepped back into the apartment to let her friends in as well. “Paige! Too tight!”

“Sorry! Sorry! Just glad to see ya.” Turner said as he let go and watched Thomas and Gwen step into the apartment with their bags. “Go ahead and just leave the bags by the door, I’ll find space for ‘em.” The man quietly turned and walked towards his new guests. “So, I take it you guys are Gwen and Thomas?”

“That’s right.” Thomas said with his rather high pitched voice, stepping in front of Gwen and shaking the man’s hand firmly. “Which means you must be Turner, right?” Turner nodded. “Gwen and I wanted to come and see what it’s like down here in Silver Lake, seems pretty good so far.”

“Yeah, well… We do our best.” Turner replied as he stopped shaking the man’s hand and looked at Gwen, the redhead was quietly examining the room. Sam had been right, Turner barely had any decorations in here other than some cheap looking paintings and a mat near the door that looked more like it served as a place for someone to wipe their boots than anything else.

“Nice to meet you.” Gwen said, offering her hand as well. Turner gave her the same firm handshake he’d given Thomas before peeking out the front door as he heard the thunder boom overhead. “Oh, should probably close this.” She closed the door just before the sound of rain thudding against the roof became apparent.

“Pleased to meet’cha as well.” Turner said as he finished shaking her hand and looked around. “Well, uh… Go ahead and relax, sit, settle in. I was just working on dinner when you called.”

“Want some help?” Sam asked, Turner looked at her and smiled.

“Sure.” He replied, then looked at the others. “I guess we’ll be right back, sorry to leave you guys hangin’ right when you get here...” Gwen and Thomas watched as Turner and Sam walked into the kitchen. The newcomers examined the living room and it’s furniture, it was quite spartan even by Thomas’ standards.

“So, he seems nice.” Thomas said with a shrug as he looked at the radio which had been set up near the couch. “Maybe needs a decorator, but aside from that he seems pretty normal.” Gwen hummed as she examined the couches, they were well made, looked like they’d been done by hand. Considering Turner’s income bracket she had to assume these had been given to him as they were a relatively big ticket item.

“Perhaps a little cheap, the average income for a Sheriff’s Deputy would be enough for him to afford to make this place a bit more homey.” Gwen said as she ran a finger along the table beside the couch, to her surprise there was very little dust. It seemed that this place was well kept, perhaps Sam’s habits of keeping the area clean had rubbed off on Turner.

“It’s always about money with you, ain’t it?” Thomas asked rhetorically as he examined the radio, his eyes settling a couple newspapers resting on the table near it. “Besides, what’s wrong with saving money?” Gwen held up a finger, as if to signal that he had a point. The smell of garlic and onions wafted out of the kitchen, it was soon accompanied by a somewhat smokey molasses scent. “Mmm, that smells good… Whatever they’re making.”

“At least he can cook, if not decorate.” Gwen hummed as she once again looked at the paintings on the wall, they were quite well done if a little bit small for her tastes. “I’m not trying to rag on him, Thomas. I just worry about Sam, you and I have been here the longest and I always kinda thought it was my job to look out for her.”

“I get it.” Thomas replied as he walked over to the loveseat and sat down, he removed his boots before he put his feet up on the ottoman. “At the same time she’s twenty eight, she’s not a kid.” Gwen nodded with a slight frown before she decided to go have a seat on the couch, she unbuttoned her suit jacket and removed it. With it resting beside her she felt a bit more inclined to relax, her glasses slowly slid down the bridge of her nose.

In the kitchen Turner and Sam were a bit too busy to overhear what was being said out in the living room. Sam was busy laying out a couple racks of ribs on a baking pan while Turner was simmering his own special recipe of Barbeque Sauce. As most ponies were vegetarian by choice there wasn’t really any sort of ready made sauce available, so Turner had been forced to reinvent the wheel a little bit. The kitchen was warming up as the oven was being preheated, and maybe because the two of them were so close to one another.

“So, what was up earlier?” Sam asked as she brought the rib laden pan over and set them on the counter next to Turner. The man sighed briefly and looked at her, then looked back at the sauce he was working on.

“Just… A difficult case.” Turner replied with a slight grunt, his eyes fixated on the sauce in the pan. “I took in a murderer today, Sam…” The woman paused and looked at Turner’s expression, his eyes seemed distant despite looking right in front of him. “I was the one what first responded to his handiwork, he did some bad shit…” Sam put a hand on Turner’s shoulder and leaned against him as he continued his work. “Then after I brought him into the office I had to take his statement, his confession… He didn’t leave out a damn thing, went over every detail at least three times. I don’t know what it was about him, but the way he described it…” The man let out a sharp gasp as his hand brushed the edge of the pan. “Dammit!”

“Hey, why don’t you let me handle the stirring, okay?” Sam said, gently pushing him aside. Turner went to the sink and began running his finger under cold water, his eyes peeking out the window as the rain continued to pour down outside. “I’m sorry to hear what happened, Paige… But you caught him, right?”

“Yeah, because I got lucky.” Turner replied, hanging his head slightly as he continued to run his finger under the water. “I knew that something like this might happen, but what he did was worse than I ever imagined.” After a bit more running under the water Turner stepped back and shut off the sink, drying his finger as it throbbed momentarily. “I dunno, maybe I just need to clear my head for a bit. That’s why, well… I asked for some time off.” Sam stopped stirring the sauce for a moment and looked over her shoulder at him, the way he’d said that and the expression on his face almost made it seem like he was ashamed of himself. “Not a lot, just a couple days…”

“You don’t need to explain yourself like that, Paige. If it were me I’d need a lot longer than a couple days.” She said warmly before looking back to the pan. “I think the oven’s ready, mind walking me through what to do next?”

“Well, normally I seer the ribs first, but I just couldn’t be bothered today… So we’re just gonna bake ‘em.” Turner walked towards the stove and pulled on an oven mit before he gripped the handle of the pan with the sauce in it. With that in hand he drizzled around half the sauce over the ribs before setting it back down on the stove and setting the heat to low to keep it warm. Afterwards Turner took the ribs and popped them in the oven, he took off the mit and grabbed a timer from beside the oven which he set for about four hours. Afterwards he turned off the burner under the sauce and put a lid over it to keep it fresh.

“Hey… Paige, look at me.” Sam said as she led him a bit further away from the stove towards the kitchen sink. “If there’s something bothering you I want you to talk to me about it, okay?” Turner nodded quietly and looked at the floor. “You don’t have to bottle it up inside, if you do it’ll tear you apart.”

“I know, Sam… I’m still just processing it all.” Turner replied softly as he leaned in and rested his forehead against hers, she put her arms around his waist and pulled him into a gentle hug. “I’m just trying to put it all in perspective, I’ll be okay.” He hugged her close against him. “Thank you.” Sam smiled faintly as she felt his arms around her, after a couple moments they let go of one another. “Wanna go sit with your friends for a bit? Be social?”

“Heck yeah! I’m glad you guys are getting to finally talk.” Sam replied warmly as she gripped his hand and lead him out into the living room again. The two of them stepped out of the kitchen to find that Thomas and Gwen were chatting among one another, Turner couldn’t help but feel like he was meeting more than her friends. He’d dated once or twice before he came to Equestria and honestly it felt more like he was meeting her parents than anything else. Thomas and Gwen had shifted position, both of them were now sitting on the loveseat which left the couch open for Turner and Sam to sit on unimpeded.

“Dinner’s in the oven, should be done in about four hours, which gives us plenty of time to talk.” Turner said as he sat down beside Sam, she leaned back against his side as she got comfy on the couch. “So, Gwen, Sam tells me you’re some sort of advertiser or somethin’?”

“Yes, I run an advertising firm in Canterlot.” Gwen replied with a smile as she looked at Turner, taking note of the Sheriff’s Department badge tattooed on his shoulder. “We’re currently preparing for the launch of cellular phones, test audiences love our ad campaign. Projections are through the roof. It’ll be like having a license to print money.”

“Well, I’m mighty glad to hear things are going well, even if I don’t understand all the particulars.” Turner replied with a genuine smile, the feeling of Sam leaning against him was doing wonders to help get his mind off his day. “What about you? I never really got the particulars on what you do, Thomas.”

“Oh, I do work that’s similar to yours I suppose.” The man replied as he leaned back in his seat and undid the top button of his button up shirt. “I accompany Princess Twilight most of the time on fact finding missions and such, do a little cursory investigation, generally get a feel for what a problem might be.” Thomas looked at Turner and what he saw was a rather tired looking and maybe even overworked Sheriff’s Deputy, it was a nasty habit of his to see people as parts of a situation rather than actual people… Something Thomas was working hard to break himself of. “Politically speaking, at least. She has her own team for other problems.”

“You mean the friendship problems, right?” Turner asked, Thomas nodded. “I met a couple of ‘em before, that’s how we come to learn about each other.” The smell of ribs cooking in the kitchen continued to fill the room with it’s heavenly aroma while the sound of rain thudding against the roof added to the ambience. “Y’know, if I’m bein’ honest, I wish you guys had sent them with their own escort.”

“Why’s that?” Thomas asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I don’t want to get in a whole thing, it’s a rather political issue and I prefer to avoid it.” Turner replied as he shook his head. “I shouldn’t have even brought it up.”

“Come on, it’s my job to listen to that stuff.” Thomas replied, Gwen and Sam looked at each other and rolled their eyes almost simultaneously. This was what they’d predicted, Thomas and Turner were sure to go on for hours now just talking about the state of things. Turner gave a slight shrug before clearing his throat.

“Well, we’re pretty short handed here as is. There’s just the Sheriff, me, and another Deputy covering the whole county, with occasional volunteer support.” Turner replied with a tired expression. “We cover everything from cargo inspection to patrolling forest preserves, and there’s just three of us. Honestly, nearly all our budget goes to maintaining the three Sheriff’s Carriages, I have to pay to get parts fabricated for the truck out of my own pocket.” Turner leaned back with another sigh. “Shit, I had to take a serious pay cut for this job, I’m makin’ about a third of what I should, that’s barely enough for my basic expenses.”

“Is it a question of only money?” Thomas asked, Turner shook his head. What he’d said had struck both Gwen and Sam by surprise, Sam was surprised that he was essentially living hand to mouth while Gwen was stunned he’d willingly take such a decrease in pay.

“No, sir. That’s a big part of it, but it’s the lack of any respect from Dodge Junction. They’re the city we submit all our budget requests to, we’re lucky if we even get a reply telling us we’ve been declined.” Turner said with a slight groan. “Look, I really don’t want to get political about all this… Because you know we’ll both be talkin’ our heads off about it, and I don’t want to subject Sam and Gwen to hours of us chewin’ the fat.”

“Thank god.” Gwen said in an exasperated tone as she leaned back and sighed. “Still, I suppose it’s good to know that you care enough to do the job as best as possible.” Honestly, that endeared Turner more to her than anything else. If she didn’t think he’d outright refuse she would’ve tried offering him a job working security at her company. Not just because she likely would have been able to pay him dirt cheap either. Not that she’d do that. Probably.

“Can I ask you guys some questions?” Turner asked with a raised eyebrow, Gwen and Thomas looked at one another before nodding slowly. “Okay, so Princess Twilight mentioned that you’re from Eagle Creek, Thomas. I know Sam’s from California. I’m curious where you’re from, Gwen.”

“Oh, I’m from Milwaukee Wisconsin, don’cha know.” Gwen replied with a slight smile as she put up a pretty thick accent, she shook her head a couple seconds longer before dropping the accent. “Contrary to popular belief people from there don’t sound like they’re straight out of Fargo, for the most part.”

“Huh, I was expecting Boston or New York or something.” Turner said with a genuine tone, Gwen merely shrugged. She couldn’t fault him for that, generally that’s where ad execs tended to come from… Or LA. “Next question I have is in regards to how we all came here, I was driving, so was Sam… Were you guys?”

“I was.” Gwen replied with a nod. “I’d flown out to meet a potential client, decided to splurge a bit and rent a convertible. Was driving down this mountain road, and then boom…” The woman made a gesture with her hands to accentuate her point. “Portal opened and I ended up tearing through some farmer’s field. The car was okay though.”

“I was out checking the fence on our ranch on this old dirt bike, pretty much the same thing happened.” Thomas added, Turner hummed briefly and looked at the floor. “I dunno why it happens when you’re driving, but hey, at least I didn’t wipe out.”

“What about you? When did it grab you?” Gwen asked, Turner paused for a couple seconds as if unsure he wanted to talk about it. Truth be told he just wanted to forget it had ever happened and get on with his life here, but he was the one that had asked, so he felt obligated to answer somehow.

“I was just heading home, then there was a flash or somethin’ and here I was.” Turner said simply, that seemed to be enough for Gwen and the others.

As the time carried on and the group continued to talk with one another it became clear to Gwen and Thomas that Turner seemed like a decent fellow. Perhaps a little lacking in education and math skills, but not in critical thinking. Thomas found it a little easier to see what Turner was saying about just how bad things were in Evergreen County in regards to funding and equipment after spending more time discussing the day to day life of Silver Lake.

Gwen, meanwhile, took a particular interest in how Sam saw Turner. It had been pretty well established to Gwen that the chemistry between her friend and the deputy was there, but there was still the matter of what to do with that information. Most of the time, when she had an opportunity to manipulate something a certain way she would take it without thinking. She easily could’ve done that… But Sam put up with a lot of her behavior that other friends wouldn’t even consider. Out of respect for her, Gwen would do her best to stay out of things.

The sound of rain on the roof was still quite present even several hours after dinner had been eaten, the dark of the night had settled in over the town of Silver Lake. Gwen and Thomas had decided that after a long day of travelling they wanted to get a bit of rest. Gwen would take the pull out bed from the couch and Thomas would take one of the sleeping bags that Turner took with him when he went camping, at least until they could stop at the General Store the next day to buy him a proper cot. Meanwhile Sam had made it clear she would be sleeping in Turner’s bed with him, which helped reduce the issue of who was sleeping where considerably.

Turner was quietly sitting on the edge of his bed, wearing his boxers and tank top. Resting on his bedside table was his Deputy’s Badge, his eyes were pretty much stuck looking at it for the moment. The events of the day were still fresh in his mind, he’d been able to hide his worries away for the most part earlier. Now that it was just him and Sam he didn’t have to keep it to himself as much.

Sam was in the bathroom brushing her teeth and putting on her pajamas, which left Turner pretty much alone with his thoughts for the moment. Every word that the killer had said to him ran through his mind on continuous loop. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on the sound of the rain on the roof, hoping that focusing on literally anything else would deafen each depraved act he recalled from the killer’s confession. The outside world became less and less relevant as Turner’s mind drilled deeper and deeper in it’s search to find some sort of rational explanation for what had happened, he couldn’t understand how losing money could lead to someone killing someone, let alone dismembering them. The image of the body parts was still fresh in his mind, the stench, the blood, all of it…

“Paige?” A voice called out, Turner didn’t respond at first. “Paige!” Turner’s spiralling thoughts slammed to a halt as he snapped out of his rumination and looked at Sam, the woman was wearing her usual bedtime ensemble of a tank top and sweatpants. “Are you okay? You had this thousand yard stare thing going on.”

“Yeah… Yeah, I’m fine.” Turner said, practically lying through his teeth. He looked Sam up and down, the concern on her face was still very much present. This was someone who cared about him, she deserved the truth. “No… Actually I’m not okay, I’m pretty far from okay.” The woman crossed the room with her usual silent grace before she sat down beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. “The murder case I told you about… It’s messing with me bad, Sam.”

“I’d be a bit more concerned if it wasn’t bothering you.” Sam replied softly as she leaned against him. “You caught the guy though, so there’s something.” Turner nodded quietly before he put his head in his hands and dragged them down his face.

“This guy… He did some messed up shit, and he didn’t leave out a single detail of what he did…” Turner said, his voice muffled as the tips of his fingers were still covering his mouth. He rested his hands on his knees afterwards. “I had to write it all down three times because he forgot a couple things and had to start over, now I can’t get it out of my head no matter how hard I try.”

“Then don’t try...” Sam said flatly Turner looked at her briefly as if unsure of how to respond. “Like it or not, this is going to stick with you, thinking about how much you want to forget is only going to give it more power over you.” The woman rubbed up and down his back with her hand, prompting Turner to let out a slight sigh.

“I know… I just wish it were easier.” Turner leaned his head against Sam’s side as she put her arm around his shoulders. “I’m not sure I’ll be able to sleep tonight… It’s all still so fresh, y’know?”

“It’s okay, Paige.” Sam replied before she leaned in and kissed his forehead. “Not my idea of staying up all night with you, but…” The sudden quip prompted him to start giggling, more than he usually would’ve. He’d needed that release of stress and Sam knew it, they were all either of them really had in terms of an intimate relationship, they’d need to support one another because literally no one else could. “Say, did you hear the country boy who got accepted into Harvard?” Turner looked at her with a raised eyebrow and shook his head.

“Well, his first assignment was to do a paper on a famous person, but he didn’t know where to begin, so he figured he’d try the library…” The way she was setting up the joke got Turner to relax a bit, a small smile playing across his lips. “So he goes up to a professor and asks ‘Do you know where the library is at?’. The Professor looks back at him and says. ‘In Harvard we never end a sentence with a preposition.’.” Sam could see Turner’s smile grow a bit more as the anticipation grew. “The country boy replies in a cordial tone. ‘Oh, I’ll try again. Do you know where the library is at, asshole?’.”

Turner’s smile grew a bit wider and he started to laugh a bit more, in all honesty it wasn’t as funny since he didn’t really know what a preposition was. Still, it was enough to help him somewhat relax. He laid back on the bed as Sam got up and moved to her side, both of them got under the covers as Sam reached over to her bedside table and turned off the lamp. Turner found himself staring up at the ceiling while Sam slid up next to him and draped an arm over his chest.

“Hey, Paige?” Sam asked quietly, the man hummed as he looked over at her. “I’ve been thinking of moving to Silver Lake.” He cocked an eyebrow at her in slight disbelief. “I know it seems a little sudden, but… Honestly, I’m tired of living with Gwen and Thomas.”

“Not that I’m against it, but… Why not just move some place else?” Turner replied. Sam looked thoughtful for a couple moments, composing her response in her head.

“Well… For starters, you’re here.” Sam said simply. “Secondly, I’m tired of being in a big city. Thirdly, the ponies here don’t treat me different, and that’s a big thing for me.” Turner hummed to acknowledge he was listening, letting her sort out what else she was thinking about. “I dunno, seems like I can relax more here than anywhere else.”

“All valid reasons, but what would you do here? You said you were looking for a career, Silver Lake is pretty much the last place you can hope to find something like that.” Turner replied with a questioning tone. “Don’t get me wrong, I would be happy to have you here, but I don’t want you to be miserable, y’know?”

“I know...” Sam replied softly as she closed her eyes and leaned her head on Turner’s chest. “I don’t really ‘need’ a career, I just need something to do so I don’t go crazy doing nothing.” The woman smiled faintly as she felt Turner rolled over slightly so he could look at her more directly, even in the dim light cast in through the window she could see his bright blue eyes staring back at her. “I’m sure I can find something…”

“Sounds like you aren’t thinking about it anymore, sounds like you already decided.” Turner said simply, Sam shrugged with a nod. “Kinda impulsive, isn’t it?”

“Oh, definitely, but I still feel right doing it.” The woman replied warmly, she leaned closer and kissed Turner on the cheek. “I want to live someplace with a big yard, know any good places, maybe out near the mountains?”

“Yeah…” Turner replied, he noticed as Sam yawned quietly. “We can discuss this tomorrow if you want.” The woman nodded quietly and simply rested her head against Turner once more, the man put his arm around her waist and held her close.

“Paige?” Sam said softly, he replied with another hum. “I love you…”

“I love you too, Samantha.” Turner said back, kissing her once again before he closed his eyes. Both of them were screaming internally at what they’d just said to one another, mainly because that hadn’t ever really happened before. In Sam’s case it had been a calculated risk, in Turner’s case it had been a visceral response. He hadn’t had time to think of response other than the honest to goodness truth.