A Wife to Comfort by Katie 59
Chapter One
Walker and Trivette along with Gage who was the new Ranger trainee were interviewing the latest victim in the Prancer case. The muggings were taking place in the Hazelwood section of town. Miss Clatter who was the last victim had taken quite the liking to Walker. Even going so far as to ask him in front of the others if he could be the one to interview her so Trivette told Walker that he and Gage would go and talk with people in the nearby shops to see if any of them heard anything. Walker then said to the woman " Miss Clatter is there anything that you might have over looked when you talked to the officer at the hospital? Anything that you can tell us might lead to the arrrest of the man who did this to you."
" Please it's Tawny. All I remember from that night is that my key got stuck in the lock when I was locking up. Mark my assistant manager had already left so when that guy showed up I was all alone. Also and I think that I forgot to mention this to the nice officer who took my report one of the his antlers was broken off. I think that it was on the left side. I don't really remember anything else right now but if I do can I call you?" Tawny Clatter answered Walker who then handed her a card with the Ranger headquarters phone number written on it. After taking the card Tawny asked him " What if I remember something when you're not at Ranger headquarters? How will I get in touch with you then?"
Walker told her " Just call headquarters there's always someone on duty. They can then get in touch with me." Tawny said " Ranger Cordell Walker thank you for being so interested in helping me. You're a special man."
Walker went back to his truck where Trivette asked him " Walker why do all the pretty ones want you?" Walker didn't bother answering Trivette. Gage then said " Man how can a grown man run around dressed up like a reindeer and nobody notice anything?"
" Maybe they just don't want to get involved. All I know is that we need to get a lead on Prancer before he really hurts someone. I mean for now he's just mugging these shop owners. What's to stop him from taking the next step?" Trivette answered Gage who asked " What's the next step for Prancer?"
Walker replied " Murder. Trivette when we get back to headquarters how about you seeing if this fits a pattern? Gage will go back over the police reports to see if we overlooked anything." Trivette agreed to what Walker wanted as did Gage. Once they were at Ranger headquarters Gage and Trivette got busy doing what Walker had asked them to do. A short time later Walker received a phone call from Miss Clatter and told the other two that she wanted to talk with him so he was going back to her shop.
After Walker left Gage asked Trivette " Trivette do you think that it was wise to let Walker interview Miss Clatter by himself yet again? She's interested in him and he's a married man." Trivette answered " I know that she's interested in Walker but he's completely clueless about it. As to letting Walker go by himself you be my guess and try to stop him. I know better."
" You have a point there Trivette but maybe someone should point out to Walker that she's interested in him so that he doesn't put himself in a situation that could cause him a lot of trouble." Gage responded. Trivette then said " Walker can handle himself in just about any situation. Now how are those police reports coming?" Gage took the hint and got back to work.
Back at Miss Clatter's shop Walker asked her " Miss Clatter what did you remember that you forgot to tell the police?" Miss Clatter moved as close to Walker as she could while answering " I remembered that he wore a green turtleneck that had some sort of logo on the right side of it. I was able to see it because it was on the neck area. And it's Tawny, Cordell is it?"
" It's Walker, Miss Clatter. Can you remember anything else about the logo? What color was it?" Walker answered while stepping back. Miss Clatter tried again to hit on Walker " I don't remember too much about the logo other than it was blue and it looked out of place with all the red and green that he was wearing. Maybe we could talk some more about it over coffee or something." Walker then said to her " If you remember anything else about the logo give Ranger headquarters a call."
" Ranger Walker I know that I'm being a little too forward but what happened has really scared me and I'm not reacting well. I was just hoping that having some coffee with you would give me enough nerve to be by myself in this shop the rest of the day. And who knows talking about something else might help me stop trying so hard to remember. I've heard people say that if you stop thinking about something it will come to you while you're thinking about something else." Tawny answered Walker who agreed to a cup of coffee at the corner diner. As they were drinking their coffee Tawny again brought up her being scared and said to him " Ranger Walker is it all possible for you to spend the rest of the day at my shop with me? I'm scared that he's going to come back after me."
" I'm sorry Miss Clatter but my wife and I have plans with our children. I can have Ranger Trivette spend the rest of the day at your shop with you if you're worried about him coming back after you." Walker answered Miss Clatter who quickly said " That's okay Ranger Walker. I'm sure that I'll be fine at my shop. Ranger Trivette doesn't need to babysit me the rest of the day."
When Walker returned to Ranger headquarters Trivette got up from his desk and went over to Walker's desk to tell him " There have been two sets of muggings that fit Prancer's pattern and they both occured in southwestern Pennsylvania. The first set of muggings took place in a place called Duquesne about ten years ago and the second set took place in Monroeville about two years later. Walker both times the muggings started at the end of September and ended right before Christmas. I contacted the Pennsylvania state police and they told me that the Greensburg office would get in touch with me tomorrow with more details. The state trooper that I talked to said that both sets of muggings started out with minor violence involved but that by the time they ended the last victim of each set of muggings ended up in the hospital after being severely beaten. The trooper said that the only lead other than the way he dressed was that he wasn't from southwestern Pennsylvania. He said that Blixen as they called him had some sort of country drawl. The victims all said that they knew Blixen wasn't from around there when he said yinz but that he said it more like yonza and that he really mispronounced jagov. I have no idea what yinz and jagov means other than it must be some sort of local lingo. How did it go with Tawny?"
" She's scared and wanted me to spend the afternoon at her shop but I told her that I have plans. When I told her that you could spend the afternoon protecting her Miss Clatter said that she would be fine. Trivette why don't you stop by her shop later?" Walker answered his partner who replied " Walker I don't think Miss Clatter is scared. I think she has the hots for you. But just to be on the safe side Gage and I will stop by there later." Walker went into Alex's private office and asked her " You ready to go?" Alex turned off her computer while answering her husband " I guess so." Sensing that his wife wasn't all that interested in his plans for them Walker said " Alex you know that Beth is really looking forward to the horse ride that we promised her. If you're worried about Little Cord falling off the horse, don't be. You made sure that he couldn't possibly fall from the toddler harness before you agreed to go out riding with us."
Alex locked up her private office without answering him so Walker tried again to get her to talk to him by saying " Lady am I going to have to do all the talking here? You know that I leave that up to you." Alex replied " I just had a bad day is all. I'll be in a better mood once we're riding the horses." As they were riding the horses Beth began asking all kind of questions about everything that she could think of. Walker answered the questions because Alex didn't seem to be paying any attention to their daughter. Beth noticed this and asked her mother " Mommy is something the matter?" Alex looked at her daughter as she replied " No. Why would you think that?"
" Because you haven't answered any of my questions. You let Daddy answer all of them and you know that Daddy doesn't talk a lot." Beth explained. Alex then drew her horse to a stop which caused Walker and Beth to also stop their horses. Walker pointed out a bunch of wildflowers to his daughter and suggested that she go pick some. As she was doing that Walker placed his son on the ground and turned to Alex who held up her hand to stop him from asking her if she was all right and told him " I'm fine. I'm sorry that I wasn't paying any attention to Beth. I'll make it up to her. I promise."
" How about me paying some attention to you later on lady? I was thinking about giving you a back and neck massage then moving on to other areas." Walker hinted to his wife who said " Sounds good to me. My back and neck are killing me." After Beth returned with the wildflowers they resumed their horse ride. Alex made a point of riding besides Beth and answering any questions that she had. Every so often Walker would look over at them. One time when he was doing that Beth asked him " Daddy, why do you keep looking over at us? Did I do something wrong?" " Your Daddy is just making sure that you're okay Beth." Alex answered her daugher who objected " But Mommy he should be looking at baby Cord instead. He gets into all kinds of things when you're not looking. Last night he took the paper out of the printer and wrinkled it all up while Daddy was cooking dinner. Daddy picked up the papers and tossed them in the garbage and put new paper in your printer before you came home from work."
" Beth honey your brother is still learning how to behave himself. When you were a toddler you used to get into the bottom drawers of my dresser and throw the clothes on the floor. You did it so much that I had to remove everything from them." Alex said to Beth who asked " Why didn't you just move me away from the dresser?"
" I moved you away from the dresser over and over again but as soon as I turned my back you went right back to the bottom drawers. You were bound and determined to toss the clothes on the floor. Eventually you outgrew it." Alex replied as they neared the barn. After they put the horses into their stalls the Walkers went to the house where they found Alex's father Gordan Cahill sitting on the porch swing waiting for them. Beth excitedly ran to her grandfather as she asked him " Grandpa what are you doing here?"
" I'm here to stay for a couple of days while my place is being painted. That is if it's all right with your parents." Alex walked into the house without saying anything to her father who looked at Walker then said to him " Can you give me a ride back to town? I took a cab out here and I don't think that my daughter wants me staying over for a couple of days while my condo is being painted." Walker answered as he picked up one of Gordan's suitcases " Alex just had a rough day and she'd like you to stay for a couple of days. I'll put this in the downstairs bedroom for you." Gordan followed Walker into the house. After unpacking Gordan went into the kitchen where he found his daughter wiping several tears away so he questioned her " Alex what's the matter? Is there anything that I can do for you?"
" I'm fine Dad. How's the Tinker case coming?" Alex replied while changing the subject. Gordan answered the question about the Tinker case but was still concerned about how upset his daughter seemed to be. Later on after Alex went upstairs with the children to put them to bed Gordan told Walker that he thought there was something bothering Alex and Walker told him that he thought the same thing but that Alex said that everything was okay whenever he asked her. Gordan then stated " Leave this up to me son. Before my visit is over with I'll find out whatever is bothering my baby girl." Walker agreed hoping that Gordan's talking with Alex could help her with whatever was bothering her.
Walker and Gordan were sitting in the living room when Alex came back downstairs so she went to join them but the phone rang and she went into the kitchen to answer it. Walker got up from the couch and went to see who was calling. Alex seeing him standing there handed him the phone without saying anything. When she came into the living room Gordan asked her " Is everything okay honey?" Alex replied " Will you please stop asking me if everything is okay? I told you that it was, didn't I?"
" Yes you did Alex but I thought maybe you got some bad news in that phone call." Gordan answered his very testy daughter who told him " That was for Walker the lastest victim of Prancer needs his help. I'll tell you about it after he leaves." Walker did indeed leave the house but instead of telling her father about the Prancer case Alex headed upstairs to her bedroom leaving her father just sitting there. When he realized that Alex had turned in for the night Gordan retired to his bedroom now even more concerned about Alex.
Chapter Two
Walker carefully opened the unlocked back door to Miss Clatter's shop and quickly looked around the unlit back room. He then went into the front room where all but one of the lights were off. Miss Clatter was sitting under that lone light with her hands clasped in front of her. Walker went to her as he asked " Miss Clatter, are you all right?" Miss Clatter jumped up and threw herself at Walker while answering " I'm fine now that you're here." Walker stepped away from her. Miss Clatter closed the gap as she said to him " Cordell I called you because I thought I saw him loitering in the alley when I went to lock up for the night. Or at least I thought it was him. He wasn't dressed up in the outfit that he wore when he mugged me the other night. But the eyes were the same. I could never forget the eyes of the man who mugged me then told me that he would be back. And please how many times do I have to tell you to call me Tawny?"
" Miss Clatter my name is Walker. No one not even my wife calls me by my first name Cordell on a regular basis. I don't remember reading in the police report you saying anything about him telling you that he would be back." Walker said to her. Miss Clatter replied " It must have slippeed my mind. I'm sorry Ranger Walker I didn't know that you were married or I wouldn't have called you to come here to help me out."
" I'm glad to help you Miss Clatter. What is it about his eyes that makes you say that you would remember them? In the police report you said that they were blue. Were they another color?" Walker said. Clatter then told him " Yes his eyes are light to medium blue but the pupils are surrounded by a fine yellow ring and in one eye, the left one I think there was a very small patch that was a different color. It was really small, so small that I didn't notice it until he leaned over me when he threatened that he would be back. Yes I remember now it was the left eye. This little patch of different color in the iris was a cross between a meduim brown and a burnt orange. It was, well say the the iris is a clock then this patch of different eye color was at six o'clock."
Walker then asked her " Miss Clatter would it be possible for you to come down to Ranger headquarters tomorrow morning and meet with our sketch artist?" Miss Clatter replied " I'll be glad to do that Ranger Walker. I'll should be able to be there between ten and eleven. Also I've been thinking about that blue logo and I know that I've seen it before but for the life of me I can't remember where or what it looks like. I'm sure that it will come to me, eventually. Ranger Walker I hate to be such a baby but I'm scared that he's lurking around the nearest corner and I'm afraid that he's going to follow me home and mug me there. Is it at all possible for you to arrange for the police to follow me home tonight?"
" I'll follow you home. Why don't you lock up then get into your car? My truck is right outside. Once you're safely inside your home I'll head home myself." Walker offered and Clatter quickly took him up on the offer. After seeing her safely inside her home Walker returned to his ranch. After locking up Walker went upstairs and checked on his children before heading to his bedroom. Seeing that Alex was already sleeping Walker quietly got undressed and got into bed with her. Alex stirred when he got into bed so Walker told her " It's just me go back to sleep lady."
Alex mumbled something then laid her head on his chest and fell back asleep. Walker pulled his wife closer then went to sleep himself. The next morning when they woke up Walker began to run his hand up and down Alex's back. When she didn't say anything he kissed her. Alex still half asleep asked him " Isn't it a little early in the day for what you have in mind?"
" Like that's ever stopped us before." Walker answered as he pulled her to him. Just then there was the sound of a knock on their bedroom door and Alex quickly got out of bed to answer it. Beth was standing there and she said " Mommy baby Cord is throwing a lot of toilet paper in the toilet and the sink." Walker moaned " He would have to take after his mother."
Alex rebutted " He takes after his father and since he's your son you get to clean up after him. Beth and I will start breakfast." She then left the bedroom. Walker got up and went into the bathroom where Little Cord had managed to overflow both the toilet and the sink. Walker unclogged them then took his son to his room where he changed him out of his soaking wet clothes while telling him not to throw so much toilet paper in the toilet and to never put it in the sink. That he had to be a good boy from now on. Little Cord said that he would be good.
Alex looked up from the skillet she was frying bacon in as her father entered the kitchen. She told him " Dad I'm sorry for being so abrupt with you last night. I know that you're worried about me but you have no reason to be. Yesterday I just had a rotten day but that was no excuse for me to be so rude to you last night." Gordan answered " Alex I just want to be sure that my baby girl is okay. Honey you know that if you ever need anything from me that I'll gladly help you with whatever it is."
" I know that Dad but I'm fine. Really I am. After all I have two wonderful children. I also have a job where I can see that justice is done, good friends and last but not least my father is part of my life. What else more could I want in my life?" Alex said to her father who picked up on the fact that she hadn't mentioned Walker so he did by asking her " And a husband that you happen to love?"
" Yes Dad, that too." Alex replied as Walker came into the kitchen with their son. Alex kissed Walker on the cheek then suggested that he go and set the table while she finished cooking breakfast. Gordan went to help Walker set the table. While they were doing that Gordan told Walker what Alex had told him and Walker said " Okay." Gordan hesitated for a minute then decided not to tell Walker that he thought his daughter hadn't been completely honest with him in the kitchen. After thinking it over Gordan thought that maybe all Alex needed was some alone time with her husband in order to fix up whatever was bothering her about Walker. After the Walkers left for work Gordan set about making the arrangements for Alex and Walker to go on a trip together. Knowing that Alex's current case was going to take at least a couple of more weeks Gordan made the reservations for a month from then. Gordan also made sure that his schedule was going to be clear at that time so that he could watch his grandchildren while their parents were away. He knew that Alex wouldn't allow just anybody to watch them and that Walker was the same way when it came to Beth and Little Cord. Walker was just sitting down at his desk when Alex entered Ranger headquarters but instead of going over to her husband's desk Alex stopped at the receptionist's desk and handed her a search warrant then spun on her heels and left Ranger headquarters without saying a word to anyone. Trivette seeing that went over to Walker and teasingly asked him " What did you do this time to make your wife mad?" Walker just shrugged his shoulders. Trivette then said " Okay I talked to the Pennsylvania State Trooper at length. Herron that's his name told me that he had little to add to what we already knew. When I asked him what yinz and jagov meant Herron told me that yinz meant more than one person."
" What about jagov? Does that mean anything?" Walker questioned Trivette who grinned then moved as close to Walker as possible before whispering the answer. Walker thinking that Trivette was still teasing him said " Trivette will you get serious? We need to catch this guy before he puts someone in the hospital."
Trivette defended himself " Walker what I told you about that word was the God's honest truth. If you don't believe me call up Herron yourself and ask him. Herron did tell me however that he was going to fax me all the police reports that the state police had on the Blixen case but that it might take a while for him to do that because it was a cold case. The files are stored in another office and he would have to get them from there in order to fax us them. I asked him if he had heard of any similar cases nearby before, during and after the two sets of muggings that took place in southwestern Pennsylvania and he told me that he hadn't. That when the muggings stopped the trail went cold. Herron then said that he hoped if this was the same guy that we caught him because the last victim of the Monroeville muggings, who was severely beaten ended up in a coma. Her name was Krya Locke and she was up to that point in her life a very outgoing person. He told me that when Miss Locke awoke from her coma she was a completely different person. Walker, Herron said that Locke ended up taking her own life several years after the mugging because she couldn't handle everyone wanting her to be the same person she had been before the mugging. The last victim of the Duquesne muggings was also beaten severely and she ended up in a coma but it had no lasting effect on her. So did you hear anything else from your Miss Clatter?"
" Yes Trivette. I went to her shop last night because she thought she had seen Prancer lurking in the alley behind her shop. She told me that she could identify him by his eyes. Miss Clatter said that he had light to medium blue eyes with yellow rings around the pupils but that in one of the eyes there was a patch of a different color in the iris." Walker answered his partner.
" It's called a fleck. What color is it and where is it at?" Trivette asked Walker who answered " Miss Clatter said that it was a cross between a medium brown and a burnt orange and that she thought it was in his left eye, at six o'clock. Miss Clatter told me that she had seen the blue logo on the turtleneck before but that she couldn't remember where. It could be that the logo belongs to a company."
Chapter Three
Later on Miss Clatter came to Ranger headquarters to meet with the sketch artist and Walker had Gage take her to get the sketch made. When they returned Miss Clatter went over to Walker and asked him if they had any leads on Prancer. When Walker told her that they didn't Clatter then asked him " Would it be at all possible for you to see me safely home again tonight?"
Walker replied " I'll arrange for Dallas P.D. to escort you home this evening Miss Clatter." Clatter thanked Walker then left Ranger headquarters. Trivette teased his partner " Another one bites the dust. Hey Walker how is Alex going to take it when she finds out that yet another woman is interested in you?"
" Ask her yourself Trivette she's right behind you." Walker told his partner who turned around to see that Alex was indeed standing there so he hurriedly said " I was just joking around. There isn't anybody else interested in your husband."
" It's okay James. I know that other women want my husband but I also know that he's not interested. Now if you don't mind I would like to discuss something with Walker." Alex replied so Trivette went over to his desk. Alex sat down on the corner of Walker's desk and said " Walker I'm going to be getting home late. I have an appointment to talk with someone about something. Would you mind getting the children? I'd ask my father to do it but he doesn't have his car out at the ranch."
" I can as long as nothing comes up. " Walker answered his wife who got from the desk and left Ranger headquarters. Later on that day Walker, Trivette and Gage were out trying to get some new leads in the Prancer case when they spotted four armed men running out of a bank so they sped off in pursuit of the armed robbers. Trivette called it into dispatch then asked if he should get in touch with Alex to let her know that Walker wouldn't be able to get the children. Walker said yes.
Alex answered the phone and the Ranger secretary told her " Mrs. Walker, Ranger Walker wants you to know that something has come up and he won't be able to get your children." Alex replied " Okay thank you for calling." After ending the phone call Alex hurried to the chld care center where she picked up her children. Alex put them into her car and got in herself. She then took out her cell phone and called to cancel her apppointment. When they asked her if she wanted to reschedule it Alex told them no because she had decided that she would be perfectly okay without seeing a therapist to come to grips with the things that had happened in the last several years of her life and the fact that she felt something was missing when it came to her feelings for her husband. About a week later Trivette was pouring through the police reports from southwestern Pennsylvania when he stopped to answer the ringing phone because he knew that his partner wouldn't. Holding his hand over the mouthpiece Trivette said to Walker. " It's you know who and she wants to talk to you. Should I tell her that you left already?" After Walker shook his head no Trivette transferred the call to Walker's phone while muttering more to Walker than himself " I think that my partner should remember that he's a married man. And his wife just happens to be a very good friend of mine." Walker ignored him and answered the phone call from Tawny Clatter. After talking for a few minutes Walker hung up and reached for his hat. Trivette then said to him " Walker why don't you wait until Gage gets back here and have him go with you?"
" Trivette, Miss Clatter thought that she saw Prancer hiding behind a dumpster in the alley a few minutes ago. I have to go now." Walker replied then left Ranger headquarters. A short time later Alex entered it looking for Walker so Trivette told her " He's out on a call." Alex responded as she pulled out a business card " Miss Clatter no doubt. Listen Jimmie when he gets back can you please remind Walker that he's supposed to be taking his daughter out for a horse ride later? I can't do it because I'm taking my son to see my father who wants my opinion on a real estate company that he's interested in investing in. Here's the business number of the real estate place that we'll be at later in the evening in case that something comes up."
" Sure thing Alex." Trivette answered Alex who then left Ranger headquarters. Taking the business card over to his partner's desk Trivette placed it on top of some paperwork that Walker had been doing. When Walker returned he wasn't alone, Miss Clatter was with him. Walker pulled out his chair so that Miss Clatter could sit at his desk then said to Trivette " Miss Clatter has remembered something else about Prancer and was kind enough to come down here to add to her statement." Miss Clatter told them " If I could just have some paper and a pen I might be able to draw you what I remembered. I don't think that I can explain it very well. It's something that needs to be sketched out in order for it to be understood." Walker reached into his desk drawer and withdrew some paper for Miss Clatter who then looked around on Walker's desk for a pen. Picking up the business card she informed them " This is the logo that I saw that man wearing on his turtleneck the night he mugged me."
Going over to Walker's desk Trivette asked her " Are you sure?" Miss Clatter answered " I'm very sure Ranger Trivette that it's the same logo but the color scheme is a little different. On this card there's some purple interwoven with the blue but on the turtleneck there was no purple and the design of the letters was more square, not the softer edges on these letters. Also on the turtleneck there were only four letters, they were a K, a D, a R and a E. On this business card they've added a S., almost like they wanted the card to be fancier."
" Miss Clatter what was it that you've remembered about Prancer that brought you down to Ranger headquarters this evening?" Trivette said as he pulled his chair over to Walker's desk. She answered as she started drawing on the paper " Just that he had a scar under his right eye. Here I'll draw what it looks like for you." After finishing the drawing she handed it to Walker as she asked him " Ranger Walker does this mean you'll be able to get him now?"
" We'll get him now." Walker answered as he took the sketch then called Gage over to his desk and said to him " Gage will you see to it that Miss Clatter's makes it home okay? I want to follow up on this." Gage said that he would. Walker went over to get a cup of coffee and Trivette followed him there and reminded his partner " Hey Walker, Alex told me to remind you that you that you're supposed to be taking Beth for a horse back ride. That she was taking your son to see her father because Gordan wanted her opinion of that real estate company that he was interested in investing in. Alex left their card on your desk earlier when she told me about the meeting and Miss Clatter just said that the logo on that business was pretty much the same as the one on Prancer's turtleneck when he mugged her. Do you think that there's any connection between that company and the muggings?"
" I don't know Trivette but maybe you should use that computer of your's to see if that company has been located near any of the muggings. I'm going to see what Gordan knows about that company." Walker stated as he placed his coffee mug down near the coffee pot. Walker then got his hat and left Ranger headquarters. Miss Clatter wistfully looked at Walker's retreating back causing Trivette to tell her " My partner is a very devoted family man." Miss Clatter replied " I figured that out but one can always dream."
Walker picked Beth up and as they got into the truck he assured her that she would be taking her horse ride but that he needed to stop and see her mother and grandfather first. Beth asked " Daddy are you going to make Mommy take me instead of you? Didn't you promise me that you would take me to ride Belle this evening?"
" Yes Beth, I did and I will take you horseback riding after I talk with your Mother and Grandfather." Walker answered his daughter. When they got to the real estate office Walker told the receptionist that they were there to see Gordan Cahill and she told them to take a seat until after the meeting was over with. While they were sitting there Walker noticed several framed logos on the wall behind the receptionist. He then asked her " Why do you have different companies logos on your wall?"
" Those are all our logos. We're the parent company to regional real estate operations. It's like a franchise as it were. If you're interested we have a plamplet on our operation and it shows all of our subsidaries logos. Some of then are quite nice, the way they keep the blue showing while adding a different color that reflects the local market." The receptionist answered as she opened a drawer and handed Walker a company pamplet. Walker took it and sat back down to wait for Alex.
Alex and Gordan came out of the meeting room followed by two well dressed men. One of who turned to Alex and took her hand while telling her " Miss Cahill I sure hope that you can talk your father into investing with us. I'm sure that a lady as charming as yourself can think of ways to turn any man's head. I know that have certainly turned my head, as it were." Alex smiled as she replied " Why Mr. Dupree I thank you for those kind words. You really are quite the gentleman." Walker got up from his chair as Beth went over to stand by her mother who just then noticed that her husband was also there. Gordan quickly introduced Walker to Mr. Dupree and the other man. " Mr. Dupree, Mr. Kaldane, this is my son-in-law Cordell Walker. Walker these gentlemen are Mr. Dupree and Mr. Kaldane. They run this real estate company." After they shook hands Mr. Dupree said to Gordan " You never told me that you had another daughter. Is she as beautiful as this lovely lady is?"
Alex answered for her father " He doesn't have another daughter. Walker is my husband." Mr. Dupree then winked at Alex while he told Walker " You are a very lucky man to be married to a beauty like this. I'd keep an eye on her if I was you. You never know who might steal her away from you." Walker didn't respond to that. Alex then said " Well it's been nice meeting you gentlemen. My father and I will talk it over then let you know what we think. Right dad?" Gordan answered yes that was right and they left the real estate office. Once in the parking lot Alex put Little Cord in her car then asked her husband " Am I taking our daughter riding or are you going to keep your word this time?"
" I am taking Beth riding Alex. Gordan could you call me at Ranger headquarters tomorrow? It concerns a case that Trivette and I are working on." Walker responded. Gordan agreed to call him. " Okay come on Beth." Walker replied and headed towards his truck followed by his daughter. Gordan got into his daughter's car while thinking to himself that he was glad that he had arranged for Alex and Walker to go away together. That he would insist upon it because he felt that their marriage was in jeopardy and that Walker hadn't even realized it. Gordan muttered to himself 'Hell I don't think that it even occured to Walker that Dupree had been flirting with Alex and that she had responded to it.'
Chapter Four
After telling Walker what all he knew about Kaldane and Dupree Real Estate Services Gordan questioned his son-in-law on wether or not he should invest in the company. Walker told him that he thought it would be in Gordan's best interest to hold off investing for several weeks. That gave Gordan the opening he was looking for and he said to Walker " Speaking of several weeks, I have some time off in three weeks and I was hoping to spend them with my Grandchildren. Now I know that you might take this as me butting in where I shouldn't but I've made arrangements for you and Alex to take a little trip then. Now before you object please listen to my reasons for doing that." A reluctant Walker nodded okay so Gordan continued " I promise you that if the two of you go off on that trip your children will be well looked after. I'm planning on watching them myself at your ranch house. Also Walker I know that you and Alex both have been very busy lately and that you both need to unwind a little bit. I already checked with D.A. Moody about Alex's upcoming caseload and he told me that she didn't have any trials coming up. I want my daughter to be happy and right now I don't think that she is. I think that's because she hasn't been able to just relax and enjoy life lately. Also and this is very important, I think that Alex needs to be reminded that there's more to life than the inside of a courtroom. So much has happened to her in the last several years that Alex has lost sight of that. If just the two of you go away together maybe you can bring back the happiness to her life. Now don't get me wrong. I know that my daughter loves having a family but there are times that she needs to be reminded that she is also a woman, not just an A.D.A. and mother. What do you say? At least think about it before you turn me down, will you?" Starting to redden Walker answered " I'll think about it Gordan but you do know that if we haven't made an arrest in the Prancer case that I'm not going anywhere. Don't you?"
" I know that Walker. So I think that you and Trivette need to get busy and break the case. Not to change the subject but I was hoping to tell Kaldane and Dupree that I could invest in the new office that they're going to open in the pacific northwest. Dupree told me when that office opens they will have had at least one office in 48 of the 50 states. Did you know that Kaldane and Dupree are both from Alabama but that they got started in the real estate business in West Virginia or was it Ohio? Not that it matters now since they have franchises in both of those states. They started out with next to nothing and now look at them, they have a business that stretches across the United States. I admire men like them. As a matter of fact Willard Dupree has a younger brother Tennison who looks nothing like him by the way. Well he's going to be closing on a strip mall over in the Hazelwood section where the owners have suddenly been closing up shop. He's going to be turning it into a high end set of retail shops. I was offered the chance to invest in that too and I'd really like to be able to do that." Gordan ended his little speech.
Trivette who had been listening to the exchange said " There's only one Dupree listed in the pamplet." Gordan replied " I know. Willard told me that Tennison likes to stay away from the limelight. Tennison Dupree is a silent partner according to the tax records. All I know is that he has the knack of getting strip malls cheap then turning them into very profitable real estate. Well I hate to cut this short but I'm due in court."
After Gordan left Ranger headquarters Trivette said to his partner " How about I get on my computer and research Tennison Dupree?" Walker answered " And see if you can get a picture of him while you're at it. Will you?"
It took the better part of the week but Trivette was able to trace Tennison Dupree's path across the country for the last twelve years. They were able to tie him to the Duquesne and Monroeville offices at the times the Blixen muggings were taking place there. But as yet Trivette hadn't been able to get a clear picture of Tennison Dupree. Any picture that he found of Tennison was a group shot where he was in the background or the picture was too blurry to be of any use. After another mugging took place at the strip mall which left the shop owner in the hospital from a beating Walker and Trivette knew that they had to catch Prancer in the act and do it before anyone else got hurt. Since they needed a female who would appear to be vulnerable Walker and Trivette decided that a police officer should be the one to go in undercover with Gage acting as her assistant manager.
Captain Harland who was under pressure to resolve the case had Dallas P.D. assign Officer Swanson to them for the duration of the operation. Swanson and Gage were setting up the shop when a man came in and started chatting Gage up. Gage told the man that he thought it was idiotic for them to be opening up shop when everyone else was closing up shop. The man agreed with Gage and left the shop. Gage told Swanson that he might be the mugger because he had blue eyes with yellow rings around the irises but that he hadn't been able to see if the man had a fleck in his one eye or not. The man visited the shop several more times in the next week and during the last visit Gage volunteered the information that Swanson was going to be closing the shop at night by herself because he Gage had to be somewhere for the next three or four evenings.
Walker and Trivette staked the shop out for the next two evenings but nothing happened. On the third evening they staked the shop out again. As Swanson was locking up a man appeared dressed as a reindeer. He then forced Swanson back into the shop at knifepoint and had her lock the door. Swanson knowing that everything was being recorded moved around the shop to avoid getting trapped by the man as she tried to get him to say why he wanted to hurt her. Prancer stopped trying to trap Swanson as he told her " Okay if you want to know why you're about to end up being beaten to death I guess that I'll be nice and let you know. You see this is nothing personal, it's just business. When my older brother Willard and that idiot Kaldane started the business they were bleeding red ink until I managed to take over a strip mall in Ohio and make it profitable. They then got the idea that we should flip little strip malls as fast as we could by threatening the shop owners if need be. That worked pretty well in Ohio but in Southwestern Pennsylvania that didn't work so well so I came up with plan 'B' and that worked like a charm. In time Kaldane and Willard began franchising our little operation. Sometimes I would have to go and get rid of the undesirables as it were and sometimes thay had enough brains to leave on their own before anyone got hurt. Then there were times when I couldn't help myself and beat up someone just to do it. As for why I'm dressed like a reindeer I think that it's a great disguise this time of the year. All these malls with the santas, I fit right in. Now since you know why you're going to be beaten to death why don't you just stand still? I'll break your neck first and that way you won't have to feel it when I beat the hell out of you and I'm going to."
Swanson replied " Like hell I will. Put your hands in the air, you're under arrest." Tennison Dupree said " I gave you a chance and like an idiot you didn't take it. I'm going to have fun beating you to a pulp." Walker and Trivette came out of a side room with their guns drawn. Seeing them Tennison dropped the knife and raised his hands in surrender.
Walker and Trivette who along with Gage and Swanson were doing the paperwork on the bust the next day when Alex entered Ranger headquarters and marched over to her husband's desk where she demanded of him " What's this nonsense that I hear about my father watching the children while we go away together? You call my father up right now and tell him that we don't have the time to do that." Walker took Alex by the elbow and led her to the conference room where he said " Alex your father wants to spend time with our children and I think they need to spend some time with him."
" So he can spend time in the evenings with all four of us then. There's no reason that we need to go away on some sort of trip. I'll call him up myself and tell him to cancel it. What was he thinking anyhow?" Alex answered Walker who told her " Alex I'd like us to go on that trip." When she didn't reply Walker pulled her to him as he whispered " I want to spend some time alone with you. Okay?"
Alex sighed before nodding okay. After she left the conference room Walker realized that Alex hadn't been all that interested in being alone with him and that he had no idea why. He then decided that after the trip everything would be just fine with her.
Chapter Five
Walker followed Alex into the cabin that Gordan had rented for them. After taking one look around Alex said " Just great no T.V. What am I supposed to do for the next week?" Walker answered as he opened the door to the bedroom " I can think of a way to spend the next week." Alex just shook her head and went over to the picture window overlooking the lake. Sensing that Alex wasn't interested in the same thing that he was interested in at the moment Walker told her " Why don't you check out the kitchen while I unpack?"
" For what? I'm not planning on spending the next week cooking for you morning, noon and night." Alex replied then went outside and just stood there staring at the lake. After putting their clothes away Walker explored the kitchen only to discover that there was very little in the way of food in it. Going outside Walker spotted Alex appearing to wipe away a tear so he asked her " Alex what's the matter?"
Alex shrugged her shoulders but didn't answer him. Walker in an effort to lighten her mood said " How about we go to that nightspot we saw about two miles back? We should be able to get some decent food there." Alex asked her husband " Don't we have any here? My father said that the kitchen was to be well stocked."
" It's not. I guess that we really should go to the grocery store instead." Walker answered Alex who nodded okay. After returning from the grocery store they put away their food. After that was done Walker teasingly asked " So what are you going to make me for dinner?"
Alex replied " Nothing. If you're hungry cook yourself something because I'm not. As a matter of fact I think that I'll go to that nightspot you were talking about. Give me the keys to the truck so that I can drive myself there." Walker instead of handing his wife the keys to his truck went over to the front door to the cabin and held it open for her. Alex looked at him like she was going to say something but didn't, instead she went outside and got into Walker's truck.
At the nightspot they sat at a table near the dance floor. Spotting a jukebox Walker went over to it and put some money into it then returned to the table where he held out his hand to Alex who took it with a slight smile on her face. As they were slow dancing Walker began to run his hands up and down her back. Alex pulled away as she questioned him " Walker what are you doing?" Pulling Alex close again Walker whispered into her ear " I'm trying to seduce you."
" You're not succeeding." Alex replied then walked away from Walker. Sitting down at the table across from her he asked " Alex is there something the matter that you're not telling me about? You're acting like you don't want to be here with me." Walker was a little surprised when his wife answered " I don't and the next time my father gets such a stupid idea I am going to turn him down. "
After a few minutes of strained silence Walker went to the men's room. As soon as he left the table a man came over and sat down across from Alex. When Walker returned to the table it was to the sound of Alex laughing at a joke the man had told her. Walker sat down at another chair causing the man to tell him " Hey mister this is a private party. Find your own woman."
Alex quickly said " Walker this is William. William this is Cordell Walker, my husband." William stood up as he said " Figures." After he left the table Alex looked wistfully at another couple who were slow dancing. Walker asked her " At the risk of making you mad again, would you like to dance?" Alex got up from the table and followed Walker onto the dance floor where he held her some what looser than he normaly would. Another couple were dancing several feet from them and the man who was a little drunk bumped into Walker. The man who was wearing a Pittsburgh Steeler sweatshirt told him " Hey jagov watch where you're going."
" What did you call me?" Walker questioned the man who snidely asked " What are you a cop?" When Walker flashed his badge the man muttered " Oh God I don't believe it. A cop wants to arrest me for calling him a jagov. Which by the way you were being."
The woman who was with the man and who was wearing a Pittsburgh Penguin T- shirt tried to settle things down by saying " Listen Mister cop, Freddy has just had a little too much to drink. He's still not over us having to relocate here from McKeesport. We had to move here because the mills went under and my uncle said there were decent jobs here. Freddy didn't mean anything when he called you that name. Besides it's not like it's really a swear word, at least not the way we use it." Walker told her " I wasn't planning on arresting him. I just wanted to know what he called me and what it means. That's all."
The lady looked at Alex before answering " Well where I come from the word jagov means a really big overgrown jerk not...well can't you figure it out? I mean spell it out and you'll understand what it used to mean. Listen can I take Freddy back to our cabin so that he can sleep it off?" After Walker nodded that she could they left. The Walkers returned to their table. Alex sat there watching her husband as he worked out in his head what the orginal meaning of the word was. When Walker figured it out he said " I can't believe people call each other that like it's nothing."
A smiling Alex told him " Different strokes for different folks." Walker muttered " I guess but still." After taking a sip of her drink Alex said " Walker would you mind if we returned to the cabin? I'm tired and all I want to do right now is to sleep."
When they returned to the cabin Walker pulled Alex close as he said " How about I light us a fire and we sleep out here?" Alex retorted " How about we don't?" Walker started to ask Alex again if there was something bothering her but decided not to when he saw the look of resignation on her face. Backing away Walker told her " I'm going to take a shower then turn in."
Several hours later Walker rolled over in bed and realized that Alex hadn't come to bed so he went into the living room. Finding Alex asleep on the couch Walker turned off the lamp then slid his arms underneath his wife to carry her into the bedroom so that she could get a better night's sleep. Alex awoke and told him to put her down which Walker did. Alex returned to the couch where she turned the light back on. Getting a glimpse of the way her husband was dressed Alex asked " Walker why are you wearing those underwear?"
Walker mumbled something which Alex didn't hear so she had him repeat it and Walker told her " I wore them because... well I wanted to...you know. You said that you brought them for me because you thought I would look good in them." Alex then questioned her husband " Are you trying to tell me that you wore those black underwear in an effort to seduce me? Even after I've been so nasty to you this last month or so?" Walker answered " Alex you haven't been that nasty to me and yes I was trying to get you interested in being with me." His body then began to react to the nearness of his wife. Alex seeing this said " Wait here I need to do something. I'll be right back." When she returned Alex was dressed in a negilgee causing Walker to ask her " I thought that you didn't want to be with me tonight?" Alex responded " I know that I've been a little moody lately but right now I do want to be with you. We can talk tomorrow. Okay?" Walker pulled her to him glad that he had been able to lighten his wife's mood.
The next morning when they awoke in each other's arms Walker asked his wife " Are you okay now?" Alex replied " Walker I love you and and the children more than anything but there's a part of me that isn't happy and I don't know why. I mean I have two wonderful children and a career where I can make a difference. My father is now sober and a very important part of my life after years of estrangement. That should be more than enough to make me happy."
" Maybe you're unhappy because you don't know how to tell me that you don't love me." Walker suggested to Alex who quickly answered him " I love you Cordell but I do know that I haven't been acting like I do lately. It's just that these last three years have brought so much change into my life. I went from being a single mother destined to spending the rest of my life without a man to a married women with two children. I also ended up in a coma and that was before I lost my memory. Not to mention the time I was kidnapped and tied to a chair in a garage. Also while I do make a difference by putting criminals away I want more than anything to be able to help people out before they get in over their heads. I just don't know where to go from here." " How about for the rest of the week you just relax and enjoy yourself? Maybe by the time this week is over with you'll feel better about everything." Walker suggested to Alex who nodded okay but wasn't so sure that would be the case. Near the end of the week they returned to the nightspot where they ran into the couple who had bumped into them the other night. The man came over to their table and said to Walker " I'm sorry about my behavior the other night. I don't usually get that drunk. It's just that I was missing home so much and I decided to drown my sorrows in booze and let me tell you all I got for my troubles was a nasty hangover the next day."
Alex replied " Why don't you join us?" Walker didn't say anything as the couple joined them. The woman said " As you know from the other night his name is Freddy and my name is Paula. Listen Mr., I want you to know that we didn't mean to ruin your evening the other night to the point where you felt that you had to leave here. The bartender told us that you left because of the way Freddie acted when he was drunk."
" It's Walker and my name is Alex. You didn't ruin our evening the other night. I was tired so I had Walker take me back to our cabin. We didn't leave because of you. Not to be nosey or anything but have you thought about returning back home? Surely you can find another job there." Alex said to Paula who shook her head no as she answered " No we can't find another job there that pays as much the mill did and has the same benefits. The mill had a really good medical plan and we lost our medical when the mill went under. My uncle got my husband a job here with decent enough medical coverage but Freddy is making less an hour now so I have to work full time in order to just pay our bills. You see I had cancer which was treated but I need medical coverage in case it ever comes back. My aunt back in Munhall died from the same kind of cancer that I had because she couldn't afford to pay for the treatments. I'd also like to be able to go to college someday to become a nurse but with my working full time I don't see how I can do that."
Alex told her as she reached for her purse " I might know of someone who can help you out with going to college. It will be a community college but at least it's a start. Some of them have excellent nursing programs. I'll write her name down for you. She works for a woman's group and is an expert at helping women better their lifes." Paula took the peice of paper from Alex then thanked her.
After Freddy and Paula left the table Walker said " Alex maybe that's what's missing in your life, being able to help women like Paula. There has to be a way for you to help them more often. What about you starting some sort of place to do exactly that?" An excited Alex answered " You're right. I could start a place like that and once I have it up and running I could hire someone else to run it on a every day basis. That way I can still be an A.D.A. and have a family. Walker you are such a smart man. Now let's dance, shall we?" After they returned to the cabin Walker shyly asked " What's my reward for being a smart man?" Alex changed the subject by saying " Walker I think that I need to talk with somebody about the past few years and the changes that have occurred in my life. Would it bother you if I went to a therapist?" Walker responded " I think that if you want to talk to a therapist that you should do exactly that. If there's anything that I can do in order for you to see one let me know and I'll do it."
Alex kissed him on the cheek as she said " Thank you. Your understanding is what I need the most. Now about this place to help people out I have some ideas about how to do it. I think that I should put it in a home like setting in a residential area. What do you think?" Walker semi-teased " I think that I'd better go put on that pair of black underwear."
" Don't bother. I would just take them off of you. Just like you would remove the black bra and panties that I'm wearing right now. The only question is where we remove the underthings from each other. The bedroom or right here?" Alex teased her husband who picked her up and headed to the bedroom as he answered " The bedroom."
The next day as they were headed back home Walker looked over at his wife who was writing ideas down in a notebook. Alex glanced up from the notebook and said " I am so glad that my father arranged our little trip away. I missed the children but I think the past week has helped me realize that while my life has changed a lot I did end up where I was meant to be. Married to the man that I love and the mother of his children."
" Are you still going to see a therapist?" Walker asked Alex who replied " Yes just to talk about things that I used to put in my journal. I love you and while I know that you would talk with me about things that it's not your area of expertise. I'd rather you be an expert in another area, you know like the bedroom."
Walker admonished " Alex do you have to put it like that? Isn't there more to us than ... you know?" Alex laughed then said " Yes dear. There's more to us than the sex but you are really very good at it. But since you don't like to talk about such things I'll drop it for now. But after the children are in bed I might bring it up again."
" Looking forward to it lady." Walker replied then turned his attention to the road.