Chapter 2

Nathan hung up the phone and looked around his office. He knew that he didn't want to leave things out. He picked up the files and put them in his messenger bag. He made sure that all of his notes and lists were in his bag. As much as Nathan hated it, he wasn't sure who he could trust at headquarters at the moment. He knew that he needed to talk things over with Bill and maybe even order more files from Regina or Hamilton. Nathan also knew that he was going to have a conversation with O'Reilly and/or Collins at some point, but he wanted to have enough evidence to prove his case. Nathan knew that it was going to be hard, but he also wanted to make sure that they got all of the guilty parties.

Nathan walked into his apartment twenty-five minutes later and Bill took one look at him and knew that it had been a long day for Nathan. Bill also knew that it was going to be a long few days for the two of them. He was glad that he had told Minnie and Joseph that he would be gone for probably a week. He didn't tell them where he was going, only that he needed to deal with some thing. He let them know that he would be checking in. He had also talked to Lee and asked him to keep an eye on things. Bill felt bad about not telling them that he was going to see Nathan, but he also knew that he had to protect Nathan. Since they didn't know who was all involved, Bill wanted to make sure that they didn't know what he suspected. Bill didn't tell Constable Martin that he was going out of town, because he didn't trust him. Bill knew it in his bones that Martin was involved in something that wasn't good. He wasn't sure what it was, but he knew that he had violated his oath as a Mountie.

"Go say goodnight to that girl of yours and then we will sit and talk while you eat."

Nathan nodded and headed back to Allie's room. Nathan said his goodnights to Allie and then stopped at his room and changed out of his uniform. When Nathan came back out, he sat down and Bill put a plate in front of him. Nathan said a quick prayer and then started eating while Bill filled him in on some happens around Hope Valley. Nathan was almost done with his shepherd's pie when he sat back and looked at Bill. He could tell right away that there was something that he didn't want to tell him and was holding back.

"Bill. Whatever it is, please just tell me. It is late and it has been a long day. Just come out and say it."

Bill looked at Nathan, and smiled to himself. He knew that Nathan would always make a good investigator and was glad that Nathan finally got the recognition that he deserved. Nathan sat there and watch an array of emotions play out over Bill's face. Normally Bill was hard to read, but Nathan had broken through Bill's hard exterior and knew him quite well after working together for years.

"Fine. I didn't want to be the one to tell you, but Bouchard proposed to Elizabeth."

Bill watched Nathan and didn't see any reaction at all to the news.

"You knew."

Nathan nodded.

"How?"

Nathan shook his head. Bill realized that Nathan wasn't going to tell him and that it was a closed subject.

"Tell me more about this case you want me to open against Walden, because from what you told me, it isn't going to pass muster with my boss. I mean I know that Walden is dirty, but proving it is going to be another thing."

"Collins already talked to you?"

"And if he did?"

"Maybe I didn't tell him everything. I don't think he is involved, but that doesn't mean that I trust him."

"I know that. But if you want to help make this case, you are going to have to put your personal feelings for Collins aside, because he is never going to let me go after someone like Walden unless we are sure that we can make the case. It is especially true if we think that there might be a chance that there might be a dirty Mountie involved."

"Glad that I have time. Sounds like we are going to be busy. But I can tell by looking at you that you know something."

Nathan nodded.

"You going to tell me or not?"

Nathan looked at Bill and thought for a moment. He knew that he was going to have tell Bill what was going on, especially if they wanted to nail Walden, but he was also hesitant to tell him about the current case."

"In due time. We have other things to cover first. Trust me. We can get Walden and his cronies but we have to do it my way."

Bill looked at Nathan and realized that it was going to be Nathan's way or no way. Bill also realized that he might not be objective as needed when it came to certain things, but that didn't mean he couldn't do a job.

"Fine we will do it your way."

Nathan nodded.

"I think that it might be better if we work on this from here. There are too many eyes and ears at headquarters. I brought some files home and I can always go get more if we need. The last thing that I want is for you to be at headquarters especially with Collins there and the tensions already running high. I can say that I am working from home for a few days and will be back and forth to the office."

"What excuse are you going to use?"

"As much as I don't want to, I was thinking of using Allie. I figured I would let her stay home. I would call the school tomorrow and get her homework for a couple of days. I will tell them that she is not feeling good and I am keeping her home to be safe."

"I don't know."

"You have a better idea."

Bill and Nathan sat there staring at each other.

"Uncle Nathan."

Nathan turned to see Allie standing in the doorway.

"I don't want to stay home from school, I want to be with my friends."

"Okay. I will think of something else."

"Thank you."

Allie came and gave both men a hug before heading back to bed. She hadn't meant to overhear what they were talking about, but she had gotten up to go to the bathroom.

"Collins knows that you are here, so spending time with you is not out of the question."

"Let's go with that. I can go through things and you can check into the office. Then spend time with me going through things."

"I think that will work. I have a couple other cases that I will need to follow up with if something happens."

"Want to talk about that?"

"Not right now. I have theories, but after today I am rethinking those. I want a solid connection before I move the next step. The one case that I am working has far reaching implications. I just want to be sure. If anything new comes up, I will be notified."

"So how about we go through what we know about Walden and then you can run to the office in the morning. You can also pick up anything else that we need in the morning."

"Then lets get to work."

Bill pulled out everything that he brought from Hope Valley and the two of them went over everything. Nathan made a lot of notes and wrote out a list of additional information that he wanted to pick up at the office. Bill knew that they were on to something, but Nathan was being very tight-lipped about what he knew. As much as Bill tried to get a read on Nathan, he wasn't giving anything away.

"So what did you find?" Bill asked.

"We can get into that tomorrow. It has been a long day. I think we are well on our way to having a good case against Walden."

Bill nodded. The two quickly picked up everything and turned in. Sleep came easy for Bill, he had always been able to put a case aside and sleep. Sleeping didn't come as easy for Nathan. He was thinking about everything that happened. He was also thinking about Elizabeth and Bouchard. He didn't want to think about that, nor did he want to talk about it. Nathan also knew that Bill wasn't going to be able to help himself and Nathan was going to be forced to talk about it at some point. He just hoped that Bill showed some restraint and didn't talk about Elizabeth in front of Allie. Nathan was sure that Allie knew and had probably heard about it from Opal or Emily, but she hadn't said anything to him about it and for that he was grateful. There was a part of Nathan that stilled loved Elizabeth, even after all the horrible things that she said to him. Nathan also knew that there would always be a part of him that would love Elizabeth, but he also knew that for his own sanity he had to close off that part of his life and move forward.

Nathan finally got a few hours of sleep before his alarm went off. For once, he stayed in bed and didn't get up right away. As he laid there listening, he knew that Bill and Allie were both up. He knew that Bill was cooking for Allie before school. After about twenty-five minutes, Nathan went out to sit with them. Bill set a mug of coffee in front of Nathan, than sat down and continued his conversation with Allie. Nathan sat back and listening to the banter back and forth. He missed the banter between Bill and Allie. He smiled as they went back and forth.

"Allie. You need to get going. You don't want to be late for school. Bill will be here at least through the weekend."

"But you will be working."

"Not the entire time."

Allie rolled her eyes.

"Allison Mayes Grant."

"Yes, Uncle Nathan."

Allie got up, got her school books and kissed her Uncle Nathan and Uncle Bill before leaving for school. Bill waited until he knew that she was heading down the stairs.

"What was that?"

"Teenage attitude. It has been getting worse. There is something else that I want to talk to you about while here and while Allie is gone. It is something that I should have done a while go, but ….. Anyway. We will talk later. I have to run to the office. I should be gone a couple of hours. While I am gone, maybe you can go through some of the files that I pulled about Walden."

"Okay. What files?"

"In my bag. I will leave them. I need to get going."

Nathan got up, grabbed some files from his bag and left them on his desk. He then put on his serge and left the office. Bill poured himself a coffee and sat down with the files that Nathan left. Bill wasn't sure why Nathan had pulled those files other then they were somehow connected to Walden. Bill pulled out a notebook and started going through the files like when he was an investigator.

Nathan knew he was taking a chance by allowing Bill access to the files that he had checked out of headquarters. After quickly making his way to work, he spoke with the secretary that he was going to be working from home as he was helping a friend who had showed up late last night with a personal problem.

"Don't hesitate to call me at my place if something comes in for me. I might be back this afternoon, otherwise I will check in tomorrow."

The secretary nodded and made a note. Nathan then went back to his office and gathered up the information for his smuggling case as well as another case that he thought was connected but wasn't sure. Nathan grabbed a few other files and information before leaving.

Nathan got out of the office without running into either O'Reilly or Collins. Nathan made a stop on the way back to the apartment to pick up some information from an informant. He wasn't sure that it would be helpful, but he wanted. Nathan also stopped at a hotel and talked to one of the front desk men that he knew. The man told Nathan if he needed anything that he would help, but didn't know anything at the moment. Finally Nathan made a stop at the corner café and picked up some treats for him and Bill to have while they went over the files.