He stood on the porch of his cabin and gazed at the scenery. He had picked this spot for the peace and quiet it provided. He had to admit, the view was nothing to sneeze at. He had come to Cascade, Washington in 1985, shortly after his fortieth birthday. Cascade was a lifetime and a few thousand miles from his old life.
He was an artist now. Not famous, but respected. In his corner of the world, he was admired and respected. He even taught classes at Reiner University. It was there that he had met his guest for the week. Blair Sandburg had taken a couple of classes from him over the years. After the younger man became a graduate student, they became friends and colleagues. Now Blair needed time away from the city to recover from a near death experience. He didn't know all the details, and he wasn't going to push. He knew that he would find out what had happened when Blair was ready to tell him.
He looked up when he heard a vehicle approach. He had expected Blair to come in his old Volvo, not a pick-up truck. The truck stopped and Blair exited from the passenger side. From the driver's side emerged a man who reminded him of someone he used to know. The man had a military bearing about him. He was taller than Blair, probably about 6'1" or 6'2". He had a buzz cut. What really struck him was that this military man seemed extremely protective of Blair.
Blair looked at the two men and smiled at his host. "Ray, this is Jim Ellison. Jim, I'd like you to meet Ray Doyle."
Ray relaxed when he realized this was the detective Blair had been working with. "Nice to meet you, Jim. Blair's told me a lot about you."
"Wish I could say the same," Jim said as he shook the older man's hand. "Sandburg is always trying to get me to open up and yet…"
Ray just laughed. "Ah yes. He does the same thing to me. Let's go inside. I'll put the kettle on and we can have lunch. Jim, you can ask all of your questions while we eat."
Jim just looked at him for a minute then he looked at Blair. Blair just smiled and followed Ray into the house. Jim grabbed the stuff out of the truck then went into the house. He found Ray and Blair in the kitchen. He stopped at the doorway and observed the older man. He was taller than Blair, around 5'9" or 5'10". His hair came down to his shoulders, and had a slight curl to it. His beard was peppered with grey. He was dressed in a grey sweater and jeans. He almost reminded Jim of an older Blair.
Blair turned around and smiled at Jim. "Have a seat, Man."
Jim took a seat at the kitchen table as Blair and Ray put lunch on the table. They sat down and Ray looked at Jim. "Ask your first question."
"When did you leave England?"
"1985."
"Why did you come here?"
"Job burnout," Ray said as Blair gave him a little look. "I needed a change of pace. Cascade seemed like the perfect place. I came here, bought this place, and eventually found my way to Rainer"
Blair looked at the two older men. "Ray, are the fish biting?"
Ray smiled at Blair. "Yes, Blair. We can go fishing after lunch."
"Not me," Jim said as he stood up. "I have to get back to the station. I have to finish a few things, but I'll be back tonight."
"We'll make sure we have dinner ready for you," Blair said as he walked Jim to the door. He looked back at Ray, who was clearing up the lunch dishes. "I know what you're going to do when you get back to the station. Ray's a good guy, Jim."
"I believe you, Chief," Jim said as he smiled at his friend. "Maybe I'm just a little overprotective right now."
Blair looked at him and nodded. He watched Jim head for the truck before he went to join Ray in the kitchen. "He's allowed to check me out, Blair," Ray said as he sat down at the table. "If he didn't, he wouldn't be a very good detective. I know you aren't ready to talk to me about what happened to you. Jim is checking me out because of that."
Blair sighed. "I guess you're right. It's just sometimes he gets a little overprotective. Do you know what I mean?"
Ray gazed out the window. "Yeah, I know what you mean."
Blair knew not to ask Ray what that meant. He had seen that look on Ray's face before. He knew that Ray had left someone behind in England, but he didn't know who. He knew part of why Ray had left. It was more than job burnout. "Let's go fishing," he said as Ray looked at him and smiled.
"I'll get the poles."
Jim arrived back at the station and headed up to the bullpen. He had thought about Ray Doyle the entire way back to Cascade. He didn't know what it was about the older man that had alerted his radar. He didn't feel uneasy around Ray. If he had, he never would have left Blair alone with the guy. He knew Ray had lied about job burnout. He went to his computer and started a search on Ray Doyle.
In the computer center of a non-descript building in London, a beeping noise alerted the staff. It was the start of the night shift and there were very few people in the building. A man walked over to the beeping computer and looked at the screen. He looked over at his colleague. "You better go see if one of the bosses is still here. They'll want to see this."