Ch. 4

Walt paced his office. On his desk, he and Vic had spread out everything they had so far on their Jane Doe. Toxicology reports were still pending from the hospital. They had been holed up all morning going over the evidence. Vic flipped through the autopsy pictures for what felt like the one hundredth time. She had one hand over her mouth and her eyes were scanning over the pictures. He'd had Ruby release a physical description to the public and all they could do on that front was wait.

"No tattoos or anything."

Walt looked over at her.

"Huh?"

"Just thinking out loud. There is literally nothing on this girl we can use. She clearly has no record because her fingerprints didn't hit on anything. She had no ID. She wasn't raped or assaulted, except for the strangulation. She doesn't have any tattoos or even any piercings other than her ears. So how does she wind up buried off some dirt road?"

Walt sat down in his chair and rubbed his eyes.

"And no witnesses?"

She shook her head.

"Nope. Both Ferg and I have talked to everyone who lives in that area. No one saw or heard anything. Or so they say. One of the guys I talked to was a real ass. He probably wouldn't tell us if he knew who did it."

Walt tapped his fingers on the top of his desk.

Silence fell over them that was broken by Ruby knocking on Walt's door. She cracked it and stuck her head in.

"Sorry, Walt, but you have a phone call. He insisted that he will only speak to the sheriff."

He nodded.

"Thanks, Ruby."

She ducked out, closing the door behind her. Vic looked at him from the side of his desk.

"Want me to go?"

He shook his head at her as he lifted the phone. Vic could tell the other person was doing most of the talking. Walt's answers were characteristically short and revealed nothing about the conversation. She perched on the edge of his desk and waited for him to finish the phone call. When he finally hung up, he looked up at her.

"Our luck may be changing?"

Her eyes sparked with curiosity.

"Oh?"

"Yep, that was a man who thinks the missing girl may be his girlfriend. We may have a name. He's coming in to see if we can get a positive ID."

xxx

Vic wasn't sure what she had been expecting but this man didn't fit it. He had come into Walt's office with his head bowed and introduced himself as Will Jessup. She would have guessed him to be in his early thirties with blondish hair that was cut neatly and combed perfectly. His eyes were a watery blue and his complexion was pale. He didn't spend much time outside. She was pretty sure about that. He wore a neatly pressed plaid shirt and clean jeans that looked fresh off a store rack with loafers.

He extended a hand to Walt.

"Sheriff Longmire, I'm Will Jessup."

Walt took his hand and nodded.

"Mr. Jessup. This is Deputy Moretti."

He turned his eyes to Vic and nodded in her direction.

"Deputy."

He pulled a picture from his shirt pocket and extended it to Walt.

"This is Kat."

Walt took the picture.

"Kat?"

The man smiled as though he were remembering something.

"Katrina. Everyone calls her Kat. I haven't been able to reach her for over a week now. Close to two, actually."

Walt looked at the picture and then extended it to Vic. His face revealed nothing. She looked at it and felt a rush of sadness. She handed the picture back to Walt and turned her attention towards the man in front of them.

"What's her last name? We will need to verify her identity with dental records if possible."

Will Jessup looked at her as though he had forgotten she was even there.

"Daniels."

Walt grabbed a pen and scribbled the name down.

""May I keep this for the time being."

He held up the picture.

Jessup nodded.

"Sure. Is it her, Sheriff?"

Walt kept his face a mask of neutrality.

"Can't say for sure. You have to understand….there was some level of decomposition with the remains. We need a positive ID before we can say with certainty that it's her. I think there's a good chance it is."

Walt gestured towards the chair in his office.

"Sit, please Mr. Jessup."

Jessup sat down and looked up at the two of them with his hands in his lap. Walt sat down at his desk and leaned forward, laying the picture down.

"When exactly was the last time you saw Katrina?"

The man was quiet for a long moment.

"Nearly two weeks. Thursday before last. We had dinner. That was the last time I saw her."

"She from Durant?"

"No…we're actually from Sheridan."

Walt picked up a pen and tapped it on his desk.

"Do you have an address for her? Next of kin? Maybe her parents."

Jessup shook his head.

"I've never met her parents. She doesn't live with them and hasn't since she was seventeen. She didn't currently have a permanent address. She had been pretty much couch surfing amongst her friends."

Vic folded her arms.

"How long have you been together?"

He angled his face towards her.

"Uh…a few months."

"If she's homeless, why not let her stay with you?"

His face reddened slightly.

"I'm in the middle of a divorce. It wouldn't look good. You understand."

Vic tilted her head to the side.

"Did she have anything to do with your divorce?"

His hesitation answered the question for her. Vic cut back in.

"So you left your wife for her?"

He shifted in his seat.

"Not exactly. My marriage was already in trouble."

Vic nodded her head without speaking.

"We're going to need to speak to your wife."

The comment had come from Walt.

"Ex-wife. Well…almost. She didn't have anything to do with this."

Walt leaned back in his chair.

"Still, we need her name and address if you don't mind."

He slid a pad and pen across his desk. After a long moment, Jessup stood up and scribbled something on the pad. He dropped the pen and sat back down. He looked at Walt expectantly.

"Is there anything else?"

Walt shook his head.

"No, I think that's it for now. We'll be in touch."

Jessup stood up and nodded at them both. They watched him leave the office. Vic moved around and took the seat that he had deserted. She leaned back and crossed her legs.

"Well, that was interesting."

Walt nodded his head in agreement.

"Yep. We need to get his ex-wife's version of events and see how they match up. First we need to make sure it's her."

Walt stood up and stretched his back.

"I'll give her a call and see if she'll come in. You see if you can get an ID. We'll go from there."

Vic nodded and pushed up from her seat.

"Sure thing."

xxx

The daylight had faded the slightest bit. Vic had opened the blinds once the sun was no longer shining directly in her face. She sat at her desk scribbling away. The office was quiet except for Ruby typing away. She heard the office door open and glanced up. She offered Cady a smile as she appeared but felt an uneasy feeling start to twist through her stomach. She hadn't seen Cady since Walt had told her about the two of them.

Ruby smiled at her.

"Cady."

Cady half waved.

"Hey, Ruby."

She moved beyond Ruby and her blue eyes settled on Vic.

"Hey."

Vic looked up at her from her desk chair.

"Hey, your dad's not here."

Cady looked around the quiet office.

"That's okay. I'm here to see you."

"Me?"

Cady nodded.

"Yeah."

"Okay. What's up?"

Cady glanced back at Ruby.

"Can we talk in private?"

Vic swallowed.

"Uh…sure."

Vic stood up and walked into Walt's office, closing the door behind her. She leaned on the desk and faced Cady with her arms folded across her chest. Cady set her bag down on the couch. She looked as uncomfortable as Vic felt.

"We're…friends…aren't we? I mean…you lived with me for a while and it seemed like we were friends."

"Um…yeah."

"Then I would like to have an honest conversation with you."

The sense of dread in Vic's gut grew.

"This is about Walt?"

Cady nodded. Her eyes shifted to the floor.

"Yeah. He told me about the two of you."

Vic remained quiet. It hadn't been meant as a question.

"I know you stayed with him for a while after you were shot."

"Yeah."

Something sad passed across Cady's features.

"He feels like he needs to take care of everyone."

Vic began to fidget.

"Cady, nothing happened then. It wasn't like that."

"That's what he told me. I just…I'm curious as to why you're interested in him."

Vic was confused. It wasn't the question she had expected.

"What?"

Cady shifted her stance.

"Can I be honest with you?"

"Yeah, of course."

"He told me that he loves you. He seems to believe that. But…I worry about him. For obvious reasons."

Vic narrowed her eyes a little.

"You think what? This his feelings aren't genuine? That I don't return them?"

"I didn't say that."

Vic shrugged and dropped her arms to her sides.

"Then…what?"

"I just don't want him to get hurt."

"And you assume I'm going to do that. Do you think he can't hurt me? That we're not both taking a chance with this?"

Cady shook her head.

"I don't mean it that way."

Vic held up her hand.

"Cady, Walt and I have been through a lot. Separately and together. There are things that you don't know. Personal things. But these feelings…they're not new. And…it's not easy for either of us. We both have a lot of shit in our pasts that we've had to work through to get to this point. But…we're trying to move forward. Together. And it's good. It's really good. And it's healthy. For both of us."

Cady considered her words.

"Fair enough. Thank you for talking to me. I know it's…not easy."

Vic smiled a little feeling her mood lighten at Cady's reply.

"I'm curious about something."

Cady cocked her head.

"What's that?"

Vic's eyes flicked to the door that led to the outer office and then back to Cady.

"He doesn't know about you and Zach. Does he? That you're involved."

Cady's mouth dropped open a little.

"How did you…?"

Vic's smiled widened a bit at the acknowledgement that her recent suspicions had been confirmed.

"I've seen the two of you when you come in here recently. Especially when Walt is around. You know, trying to act like you're not looking at each other when you clearly are."

A blush crept up Cady's face. She dropped her eyes to the floor.

"I haven't said anything because I'm not sure what it is exactly. I mean…neither of us are really looking for anything serious. Or we weren't. I'm still not sure if we are or what this thing between us even is. But it's been nice. It's something I haven't had in a long time. You won't mention it to dad, will you? Not yet. I'll tell him when I have more answers to the questions I know he's going to ask.

Vic shook her head.

"I won't say anything. Word of advice, though. Don't wait so long that he finds out by accident or someone else tells him. He's been trying to be more open with you lately. That's why he wanted to tell you about us. Do the same for him. Please.

Cady gave her a grateful smile.

"I will tell him. Thanks, Vic."

xxx

Vic came into the cabin and slid her boots off.

"I just got off the phone with Weston."

She slid her holster, cuffs, and badge from her belt and laid them on the coffee table before she sat down next to Walt. He turned his face towards her, waiting for her to continue.

"And?"

"He was able to positively ID the victim. It's Katrina Daniels."

She leaned back and let her head fall against the back of the couch.

"Twenty-one years old. And she winds up strangled and buried in a shallow grave in the middle of nowhere. I was able to get an address for her parents. Do you want me to do the notification?"

Walt let out a heavy sigh. That had always been the worst part of his job.

"I can do that, Vic."

She nodded and chewed on her bottom lip.

"Want me to come with you? They're going to have to be questioned."

He nodded.

"Sure. According to her boyfriend they're estranged."

"Yeah, according to him."

He raised an eyebrow.

"You don't believe him?"

She shrugged.

"I don't know. They seem like a very odd couple. I'm curious how they hooked up."

He smiled.

"People will say the same thing about us?"

She laughed a little.

"True. But, I'm not twenty-one years old with my entire life ahead of me. Who knows? Maybe there's more than meets the eye there. Speaking of which, Cady came to see me today."

His face grew somber.

"About us?"

She nodded.

"Yeah. I don't think she's entirely sold on this."

She gestured between the two of them.

Walt frowned.

"She told you that?"

Vic sat up and shook her head.

"Not in so many words. She was nice about it. But I think she's got some reservations."

"She didn't say anything about that to me."

Vic rolled her eyes with an amused smile.

"You're her dad, Walt. I'm sure it's all a little weird for her."

"What else did you talk about?"

Vic waved a hand at him.

"That's between us. Don't worry about it."

"You brought it up."

"I just wanted you to know that we talked. It wasn't bad. She's just being honest. Can't fault her for that. She loves you. She worries about you. That's not a bad thing."

Walt ran his palm over his jeans.

"I know. We have a ways to go. I haven't been there for her like I should."

Vic moved her hand to his knee. He could feel the warmth of her hand through his jeans.

"You're trying. I think she knows that. I'll give you a piece of advice…as a daughter with an overbearing father. Let her live her life without judgement. All she really wants is to feel like you trust her to make the right decisions. Trust that what you gave her while she was growing up was enough. She's smart, Walt. And, she's grown. Treat her that way. I know she's your little girl, but she's also a woman with her own life. And she really needs for you to accept that."

He placed his hand over hers and entwined their fingers together.

"Is that what you tell your father?"

She nodded and smiled humorlessly.

"Yeah, but he doesn't listen."

A wry smile crossed Walt's face.

"Must be genetic."

She smiled and elbowed him in his side.

"Don't be a smartass."

He looked at her with an affection that made her heart speed up.

"Staying tonight?"

"Do you want me to?"

"You know I do."

She smiled at him widely.

"I know. I just like to hear you say it."

xxx

Walt had done too many notifications in his career. In all honesty, one was too many. But, it was a necessary part of the job. Now, he was facing parents who had not spoken with their daughter in quite some time. Like everyone else, they had fooled themselves into believing time was on their side. Now, they would never get the chance to fix whatever had gone so wrong between them and their only child.

Vic leaned on a chair, her arms braced. She spoke in a gentle tone.

"Do you know if you're daughter knew anyone in Durant?"

The mother shook her head and wiped at her nose with a tissue.

"No, but we haven't seen her in six months. She never called us either."

Vic glanced at Walt and pressed on.

"Do you know anyone by the name of Will Jessup? He's a man that she was seeing."

Again a negative shake of the head. Walt turned the brim of his hat around in his hands. He knew from experience what it felt like to be shut out of your child's life. He remembered the dark period when Cady had disappeared and he had no idea where she was. He met Vic's eyes over the seated couple. She shook her head. They weren't going to get anything useful here.

He placed his hat on his head.

"If you do think of anything, please give me a call."

The father nodded, holding his wife's hand.

"Sure."

Walt tipped his hat.

"We're sorry for your loss."

Vic trailed him out of the house and down the sidewalk to his Bronco.

"Well that sucked."

He nodded as he slid behind the steering wheel.

"Always does."

Walt started the Bronco and pulled out onto the street. Vic looked out the window at the houses as they drove through the quiet neighborhood.

"You just never know."

Walt glanced at her and then turned his eyes back to the road.

"Never know what?"

"When you're gonna see someone for the last time. Her parents probably thought she would be back. Maybe had a fight or something. More than likely over something that seems stupid now. But pride…you know. They probably thought they had all the time in the world to make it up."

Walt's hand tightened on the steering wheel as she continued.

"Now their child is dead and they'll never get the chance. This shit will haunt them forever."

She fell quiet, her eyes turned toward the window.

"You okay?"

She kept her face turned away from him.

"Yeah, fine."

"You sure?"

She nodded her head quietly. Walt kept his eyes on the road and let it go for the time being.

xxx

Walt paused when he came out of his office. He hadn't realized she was still working.

"Kinda late isn't it?"

She looked up at him with a startled expression.

"You're still here."

He smiled a little at her come back. He leaned on her desk.

"Want to get some dinner?"

She shook her head and her eyes roamed over her desk, which was cluttered with case files.

"Not hungry."

He watched her for a long moment as she started sifting through papers. Vic paused and looked back at him.

"What?"

Walt walked around and sat at Ferg's desk across from her.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

He could tell she was trying to keep herself occupied.

"About what?"

Walt leaned on his elbows.

"What's bothering you."

She paused her movements momentarily.

"Nothing is bothering me. I'm just trying to piece all of this shit together."

He could hear the growing agitation in her voice. He knew that was a sure sign he was on to something. Walt glanced around at the empty office. He sighed.

"Vic. Look at me."

She kept her head bowed towards the desk. Walt stood up and walked back around to her. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Vic."

He said her name with more force. She finally stopped and looked up at him.

"What?"

She wasn't making this easy. But, what else was new. Nothing with Vic had ever been easy.

"I can't help you if you won't talk to me."

She shook her head. She stood up abruptly, forcing him to take two steps back. She walked over to the water cooler and started to fill her mug with water. Walt trailed behind her. When she started to return to her desk, he blocked her.

"Hey, stop. Okay."

He could see her jaw tighten. He took the Flyers mug from her hand and set it aside.

"What is it about this case that bothers you?"

She shook her head.

"The case doesn't. I mean…not any more than any other case like this we've worked."

"Then what is it? And don't tell me it's nothing."

She looked up at him. He could see the battle raging across her face. She folded her arms across her chest.

"I felt bad for them. Her parents. I actually thought that I might understand, you know. But, it's not the same. Losing a baby like I did…it's not the same as losing a child you've raised. I know that but…"

Her voice faltered. Walt placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Vic, your pain is yours. You don't have to downplay it because you don't think it's as bad as someone else's. It's not a contest."

Her face dipped towards the floor. He sighed heavily.

"I didn't think about that when we started this case."

She looked back up at him and shook her head.

"It doesn't matter, Walt. We still have to solve it. You know that. We can't let personal feelings get in the way of doing our jobs."

He nodded.

"You're right. We do. But…if you need to take some time…that's fine."

His voice was soft. She took a step forward and her forehead bumped his chest. He lowered his face closer to hers.

"Come home with me."

She glanced at her messy desk. Walt shook his head before she could protest.

"Leave it and come with me. I don't want you to be by yourself tonight."

She finally gave him a nod. Walt grabbed her jacket from the back of her chair and held it out for her while she slid her arms in. She was quiet in the Bronco on the way to the cabin. He glanced at her across the dark cab, her face momentarily lit up by the headlights of an oncoming car.

"Sure you're not hungry?"

Vic looked at him and shook her head.

"I'm sure."

He nodded and drove straight home.

xxx

He knew she was still awake. She had been fidgety and restless since they had lay down over an hour ago. She lay on her side facing away from him. Walt had curved himself around her back and his hand rested lightly on her side. Every so often, she would move a little. He could faintly smell her hair. A few strands tickled his nose when she moved her head.

He had just about dozed off himself when the mattress shifted from her moving yet again. His eyes opened and he watched her in the dark. She rolled onto her back. Her eyes found his in what little moonlight slipped in through the window.

Her voice was hushed.

"I thought you were asleep."

Walt cleared his throat.

"I almost was."

"Sorry."

He shook his head and then propped it up on his hand so he could see her more clearly.

"Can't sleep?"

"No."

"Something on your mind?"

Vic lifted a hand and rubbed it across her forehead. She let it come to rest there.

"You're too good to me."

Walt's brow wrinkled at the comment.

"How's that?"

She let out a sigh and let her hand fall away from her face.

"You're always taking care of me, Walt. I feel like I don't do enough of it for you."

The words hung between them in the darkness. Her eyes held his. Walt reached out and placed his free hand on her arm. It felt cool to the touch.

"That's what you do when you love someone."

Vic pushed herself up to a sitting position and leaned her back on the headboard. She drew her knees up and wrapped her arms around them.

"But it seems like it never ends."

Walt sat up.

"Vic, like it or not, you're still recovering. Your leg is healed but the mental wounds take longer."

She sighed in frustration. He pressed on.

"You helped me more than you know during the wrongful death suit. I should've said something. I should've told you what your support meant to me. What having you here meant to me. The night you were shot, you saved my life. You saved it again during that whole mess with Malachi Strand."

She cut her eyes at him.

"I wouldn't have had to if you hadn't been standing in front of a speeding car."

He smiled a little at the sarcasm in her voice. He had received quite the lecture once everything had settled down. She had let him know exactly how stupid she thought that particular move was with her usual colorful vocabulary.

"The point is…being here for you now is the least I can do."

She smiled at him then accepting his words. Walt slid back down and gestured for her to do the same. She lay back down and rolled herself into his embrace.