Disclaimer: I do not own "Walker, Texas Ranger" or any

characters thereof. Lieutenant Graff, however, is of my own

imagination.

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Chapter 1: Banker's Bullet.

A man walked through the revolving door very slowly.

Heel to toe, heel to toe. His trench coat hung down to his

ankles. The rain outside was horrendous, hence the trench

coat. As he walked through the metal detector it went off.

"Sir, could you please open your coat?" The guard

asked.

"Certainly," the man said and opened his coat.

The guard looked on the man's right hip and saw the 45

caliber pistol. He looked on the left side of the man's

chest and saw the star.

The guard spoke again, "Sir, please identify yourself."

"Lieutenant James Graff of the Company B Texas

Rangers," the man under the Stetson answered.

The guard thumbed through his list of orders for the

day. It had been an normally slow day at the Bank of Terrant

County and the guard had a short list of orders. One was a

meeting of a Texas Ranger with the owner of the bank.

"You may go and see Mr. Valentine, now, Ranger."

"Thank you," Graff said. He closed his coat and walked

to the back of the bank to the office of Michael Valentine.

The bank's funds had recently been declining and Graff had

been called in that evening by Valentine to discuss the

situation.

The office was decorated in a western them-what a

surprise for Texas. The window was large and it overlooked

the county and Dallas city limits and it was all accented,

or did accent, the seven foot span longhorn steer skull

above Valentine's desk.

"Ranger, please sit," Valentine said motioning to a

chair and Graff sat. "Now about my funds."

"Yes, I've been running that through my head. It can

only be someone in your bank. The co-owner, vice-president,

or someone like that. Have you talked to them or in any

other way extracted anything useful from them?"

Valentine blinked a couple of times before he spoke.

"No, I haven't."

Graff sighed. "Then I cannot help you now. Call me when

you have interviewed them and figured out something.

Good-bye, Mr. Valentine."

Valentine decided right there that he did not want to

deal with Lieutenant Graff again. He would rather deal with

Sergeants Walker or Trivette. They were much more civilized

and less demanding.

Graff stood, turned on his heel, and left the office,

but just as he walked out of the door he heard the glass

break and he immediately rushed back into the office, pistol

drawn. Sure enough, Valentine had been killed. The glass was

shattered and the rain of the night was pouring in.

Valentine was slumped over his desk with a bullet hole in

the back of his head.

Graff immediately hit the floor and took cover in front

of Valentine's desk incase another shot were to follow. He

reached up and slid Valentine's phone to the edge of the

desk and called Ranger Headquarters. Walker's extension.

Walker answered. "Ranger Walker."

"Walker, it's Graff. The President of the Terrant

County bank was just killed. Can you and Trivette come out

here?" Graff's voice was controlled and cool.

"Yeah, we'll be right there," Walker said and hung up.

Graff crawled from the office, then stood up and closed

the door. He explained in a low voice to the security guard

what had just happened and that he had already called for

backup and then he told the bank that there was a situation

and everyone but the people on the bank's payroll had to be

cleared out. The people gladly obliged and cleared the bank.

Then Graff tentatively stepped back into Valentine's

office, pistol drawn, and carefully started his

investigation and he was doing so when Walker and Trivette

arrived moments later.

"What happened?" Trivette asked.

Graff explained to them both about the depleting funds

and the conversation Graff had with Valentine and then he

explained him stepping from the office and the glass

breaking and then coming back in to see Valentine dead.

Graff then carefully lifted Valentine's head up and sat

Valentine like he was when he was shot. He was checking the

trajectory of the bullet. He then put Valentine back dead

the way he was.

"Call forensics," Graff said.