Ch. 13: Ensnared
Walt was quiet.
That wasn't unusual, of course. That was actually pretty typical considering the circumstances. It was so easy for him to get lost in his thoughts when he was trying to piece together a puzzle. This was one hell of a puzzle. And, there was certainly a hell of a lot riding on solving it.
There was something in his stillness that bothered her as funny as that might sound after all this time. She was accustomed to it. But, there were times when his old habits pushed in and drove her crazy. He'd been this way most of the evening.
Even now that they were in bed, he was holding a book that he clearly wasn't reading. Vic was about a hundred percent sure that he hadn't turned a page since she got out of the shower and got into bed beside him. Even staring at him openly as she was, he didn't seem to notice. His eyes stayed on the pages, not seeing.
"Walt."
She said his name softly. It must have permeated the cloud of his introspection. He closed the book and set it aside, not marking the page and confirming her suspicions. He wasn't reading. Walt glanced at her.
"Hmm?"
"What are you thinking about so hard?"
It sounded like a dumb question. There was certainly plenty to keep both of them up at night. At first, he didn't respond. She hoped she wasn't about to have to extricate information out of him. Truth be told, she was mentally exhausted and not in the mood for Walt to be in one of his own moods. The ones where he clammed up and it took near constant prodding to get him to talk.
To her surprise, he answered after that initial pause.
"What Zeke told us."
Vic nodded slightly. It was a lot of information. She kept herself busy trying to keep it from taking over her own thoughts. Constantly worrying about all of this was taking a toll and she tried not to let it take away from her time with the kids.
"What about it?"
"Have you really thought about it?"
Vic shrugged.
"Some."
She leaned forward slightly, readjusting her back on the headboard of their bed.
"What do you think?"
She knew Walt well enough to know that he wasn't really asking that. He was searching, prodding her mind.
"I think that it's a trail worth following."
He dipped his chin in acceptance of that. Of course, they needed to follow any lead that presented itself to them. That was how investigative work was. You couldn't really afford to rule out anything until giving it a thorough look.
"It is."
She narrowed her eyes. This was how Walt was, how he had always been. He wasn't one to come right out and give her answers. He wanted her to work for them. He wanted to put her mind through its paces. While it could be incredibly frustrating, it was also something she appreciated back when she worked for him. He never allowed her to get lazy. He never simply gave her things. He made her work for them.
Tonight, she simply wasn't in the mood to be led down a gradual path. She simply wanted him to tell her what was on his damn mind.
"Walt, what is it?"
He must've heard the impatience in her voice. Something flashed across his face and he shifted on the bed.
"Whoever is responsible for this isn't an impatient person, or a stupid one. This isn't something that was done on a whim. It had to be planned. Had to be. It was thought out and planned."
Vic huffed out a breath.
"Apparently pretty damn well."
"Maybe not."
She eyed him.
"I was arrested."
"But, you haven't been convicted and I'm still not convinced you can be. I know that we don't know what kind of evidence that Whitlock has. But, his just showing up here and trying to offer you a deal makes me wonder if he's playing poker with us."
"You think he's bluffing?"
She was trying to grab onto his train of thought.
"Maybe. Or, maybe he's biding his time."
Vic pushed out a breath of frustration.
"Walt, I can't with all the maybes."
"Right now, that's all we have."
She sighed. He wasn't wrong about that.
"Okay. So…"
"So…if you were planning something like this…would you be seen in public on a regular basis with someone who was also involved."
Vic bit her bottom lip at the thought. The answer was obvious.
"No, I wouldn't. You're thinking that…"
She studied him as though she were trying to decipher him. As much as she hadn't wanted to do this, here she was being pulled in.
"This lead is no good or…"
Walt gave his head a slight shake.
"Can't say for sure. Maybe it's a coincidence that Wilkins is meeting someone at the Busy Bee."
"You don't think Wilkins is involved?"
Her head was starting to hurt.
"I didn't say that."
"Then, what are you saying?"
Her impatience was on full display again. Walt paused and she thought he might say something about it. She was grateful when he did not.
"Possible the lead isn't good. Or, it's possible it's intentionally meant to mislead us."
She frowned.
"Zeke wouldn't give us bad information."
"No, he wouldn't. But, he's a private investigator and he's doing what PIs do. He's collecting evidence and presenting it. It's not necessarily his job to draw conclusions. That's what we do. Or…what we did."
Vic lowered her chin and shook her head.
"Jesus. This is so…fucked up."
Walt reached over and put his hand on top of hers.
"I'm not trying to upset you, Vic. But, we've got to look at every angle here."
"I know. It's just…fuck."
Vic stopped talking, her frustration finally getting the better of her. She rubbed her hands over her face and pushed off the covers. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she stood up and started to pace.
xxx
Her reaction didn't come as any kind of a shock.
That was Vic. He was certainly no stranger to her varying moods. With all the current stress, they were on full display as of late. It was one of the ways in which they were opposites. Where Walt was a person of quiet stillness, Vic was vocal and almost always in motion. Even when she was sitting down, she was rarely not moving.
He knew that broaching this might result in this exact reaction. It had been on his mind for most of the day, though. There hadn't been time earlier. It wasn't until they were alone that he had a chance to vocalize his thoughts. He normally would have proceeded in a slower manner. He preferred to let her naturally follow his train of thoughts. And, she was good at.
Tonight she just wasn't in the mood for that.
"Do you think Wilkins is involved or not?"
"It's possible."
His answer hadn't changed. He couldn't offer her certainties. No one could. The audible exhale made her feelings clear on that matter.
"Damn it! I'm tired of maybe and possibly."
The volume of her voice went up and Walt got up from the bed. He stepped in front of her, blocking her path, and put his hands on her shoulders.
"Vic."
He said her name evenly.
She wasn't mad at him.
He knew that.
She looked up into his face with a host of thoughts she hadn't said yet.
"I know that. I feel the same way. Take a breath."
She seemed on the verge of pulling away from him. Thankfully, she didn't. Instead, she closed her eyes and inhaled a deep, chest expanding breath. She released the breath slowly and carefully. She was trying. He had to give her credit for that. After a moment, she opened her eyes. Her shoulders lost some of their tension underneath his hands.
"I'm not mad at you."
He offered her the slightest smile.
"I know."
His voice was a low rumble in his chest. Vic tilted her head back slightly and he released his hold on her. She didn't make a move to get back in bed. He noted that.
"I know this is hard for you. It's hard for me, too. It would be a lot easier with some actual evidence."
"Yeah, way the hell easier."
Vic slowly tilted her head from one side to the other, stretching her neck muscles out.
"So…let's say it is Wilkins…"
She was wading back in.
"Okay."
"You don't think this guy he was at the Busy Bee with is involved."
"I don't think it's likely. Of course, we need to try and confirm that. But, I that seems awful heavy handed. I have a hard time believing someone with a background in law enforcement would be that obvious. There could be a dozen reasons for those meetings. I just don't want to connect dots that aren't there."
Vic nodded slowly, processing information.
"I don't think acting entirely alone is likely either. This…is quite an undertaking. Jim Wilkins is not privy to what goes on around here."
Now they were on the same page.
"Yep."
She eyed Walt.
"He would need to get that information from someone else."
"Yep."
It wasn't an idea he liked, but it was there all the same. The way he felt about it meant nothing if it were the truth.
"That's the angle Zeke is already looking at with Cooper's staff."
Walt nodded.
"I know. I just wonder how much Cooper would really say to anyone at work about us. Doesn't make much sense."
"No, but they could have listened in on other conversations. If he was talking to Cady or even one of us."
"Yeah."
She gave him a look he could have predicted.
"You're not very informative."
"Sorry."
"Right. So…you're thinking what exactly?"
"What if he, or whoever did this, is working with someone who knows what's going on in our lives. Think about it, Vic. In order to know the best time to come in here and take keys or guns, they would either have to watch us or know our schedule. Watching us is risky."
An unhappy realization was dawning over her face.
"You think someone we know well is involved in this?"
"I don't think that can take the chance on not exploring that idea."
Vic looked around the room before returning her eyes to his.
"Okay. But, who? There's not really anyone new in our lives. I mean…our circle isn't all that big."
She was right about that. The number of people they both truly trusted was relatively small based on their past life experience.
"Maybe someone connected to someone that we know."
"Maybe."
She wasn't quite ready to take that leap just yet. He didn't blame her. Vic lifted her hands and rubbed her temples.
"God, this a lot."
"I know."
He reached up and captured her hands with his own.
"We're not gonna figure it out tonight either. I just want you to think about it."
She nodded slowly.
"Sure."
"For now, you should get some rest. We both should."
She gave him a highly skeptical look.
"Right."
Her words were dubious. Walt genuinely wanted to be able to offer her some reassurance that this would all work out. There was nothing he wanted more than to give her some measure of comfort. But, he couldn't give her that which he couldn't even find for himself.
They didn't make false promises.
"Try. For me."
She gave him a look before looking away. Stepping away from him, she walked over to the bed and sat down.
"You just suggested that someone that's in our lives might be partially responsible for this. That's not exactly an ideal bedtime story."
Walt took his spot beside her and lay back.
"I know."
"C'mere."
She did after a slight hesitation, sidling up beside him and waiting for rest that wasn't going to be quick in coming.
xxx
"Cady? You can't be serious?"
This almost felt like an exercise in futility. It also felt as though they were on the cusp of betraying someone who actually cared about them. Vic knew that she needed to separate herself from all of this. She needed to disconnect and look as this situation as objectively as possible. That was proving to be much easier said than done, though.
She tapped the pen she held against the surface of the table and tossed him a look. For Walt's part, he seemed unbothered by what they were doing. She suspected that was mostly for her benefit.
It was Walt's idea to sit at the table and start mapping out possibilities.
So, here they were.
"We need to start with everyone and whittle it down. I don't think Cady is involved, but I'm gonna add Henry as well."
Vic sighed and scribbled both names. She, again, tapped the pen.
There were two columns. One was marked "Family and Friends." The other was headed with "Work." The definitions were self-explanatory. Although, there were names that could be added to both lists. But, the point of this was simplicity.
Vic eyed the paper.
"Let's start with family and friends. Should be fairly easy."
Walt nodded.
"Okay. Pretty sure we can rule out both Cady and Henry."
Cady drew a line through both names. Just below Cady's name, she hovered over Cooper's name before streaking another line.
"He's the one who took out Wilkins in the first place. There's nothing for him to gain in all of this. And…he's married to Cady. I just don't see it."
"Right."
That took care of that list. She moved over to the work list. Vic ran her eyes over the names and shook her head.
"This isn't working, Walt. I don't believe that any of these people would try and send me to prison. What would they gain from it? I mean…"
She paused.
"Eli…no. Zeke is helping us. Ferg…that's almost funny. Zach…why would he bother?"
She tossed the pen down and leaned back, her irritation with the exercise apparent. She sighed and waited for a response from him. He looked over the paper, but didn't offer up anything that was particularly helpful.
Then, a spark.
"What if…"
Walt lifted his eyes to hers as the idea formed in Vic's mind. She grasped for it, leaning in and planting her elbows on the table.
"What if it was Garrett?"
Walt's brow creased.
"He's the one who was murdered?"
"Yeah, but…"
Vic started to drum her fingers on the table.
"Let's say…for the sake of argument that it's Wilkins. It's like we said last night. Our circle isn't all that big. Your family is basically Cady…and Cooper by extension. And, Henry. That's pretty much impenetrable. Ferg is loyal to you and he always will be. You and I do not trust many people. For good reason. So…breaking in and earning that trust would be hard. Everyone on this list came into our lives through someone else that we trust."
Walt's chin dipped in acknowledgement of her point.
"It would be hard to plant someone close to us."
"Next to impossible. So…what's the next best thing?"
"Cady had a job opening."
"Yes. And…the way that he came on so strong from the start. Maybe…maybe that was part of it. Maybe he was intentionally trying to come between us."
"Why kill him?"
Vic shrugged.
"Maybe he served his purpose and there was no need to take chances. Or…he wasn't getting the job done. Hell, he could have just been a pawn and didn't really know what was going on. That could be why he acted so interested in me and was always wanting to talk to me."
He gave her a small smile.
"For the record, a man doesn't need an ulterior motive to be interested in you."
She rolled her eyes predictably.
"Thank you for the vote of confidence. But, not helpful right now."
He smiled again before he grew serious. She could see Walt thinking about all of it, considering the points that she was trying to make. His mind was analyzing, maybe calling up things they both might have missed.
"That still doesn't account for how he could have known when we come and go, our schedules."
Vic nodded slowly.
"I know this doesn't answer all the questions. And, I could be way off base here. But…it's something. You said yourself…we need to follow every lead to see where it goes. This…is a lead."
"Yep, it is. We'll look into it. What we need to know if he was asking around the office about us or trying to get information somehow."
Vic stood up without warning and pulled her phone from her back pocket where it almost always was. Walt stayed in his seat, his eyes on her. For the first time during all of this, she actually felt somewhat hopeful that they might be getting close to the truth. Or, at least some version of it. It felt as though they were finally breaching some part of the walls that were seemingly closing in around them. She reminded herself of Walt's words. This could wind up as dead end. She needed to keep herself reined in and not get too invested.
That was admittedly hard.
Walt's eyes were still on her and she could read the concern in her face. It was appreciated. She meant that. But, she couldn't get bogged down again by a victim mentality. She learned a long time ago that the truth wasn't always on your side no matter how hard you tried to do the right thing.
There was always a chance that it could bite you in the ass.
"What are you doing?"
Vic scrolled down her contacts and tapped the screen. She looked at Walt as she brought the phone to her ear and waited for the ringing to start on the other end.
"We need to talk to Cady."
xxx
Cady came right away. Walt didn't know what she was doing when Vic called her, but she was at the cabin within a half hour. Vic paced the floor until Cady arrived, alternating between bouts of silence and moments where she reviewed what they previously discussed. There was something borderline hyper about her movements. It might have been annoying if it wasn't such a relief to see Vic acting more herself.
They spent the next thirty or so minutes explaining to Cady what they had come up with in regards to Garrett possibly being a part of some unknown plan. She listened intently, her eyes shifting in between them as they took turns talking. Walt could see Vic trying to keep herself in check when what she really wanted to do was unload everything.
Cady's blue eyes were intense as she sat at the kitchen table with them. While they talked, she didn't interrupt or ask any questions. She simply listened. It wasn't until they were done that she leaned all the way back in her chair and released a breath.
"That…is a lot."
Vic nodded, her arms propped up on the table.
"Tell me about it. So, think back…was there anything odd about Garrett when you hired him?"
Walt could see his daughter giving the question real thought. Most of the time, Cady reminded him of Martha. She looked like a younger version of her mother and possessed a good number of Martha's personality. But, it was in moments like this one, when she was deep in thought that Walt saw glimpses of himself.
She looked at Vic.
"Nothing jumped out at me. If there had been any red flags, I wouldn't have hired him."
"I'm sure. But…did he ask any questions about us…"
She gestured between herself and Walt.
Cady shook her head.
"No, I got the impression that he didn't even know you."
There was something else, something coming.
"But?"
Vic prodded her.
"But…when we would talk about you…he was interested. He never volunteered questions, but he always listened."
Vic frowned slightly.
"Did you talk about me a lot?"
Cady dipped her face slightly.
"Not really. But, you know how it is. Ferg and I would mention you or talk about the way something was before dad retired. It didn't really strike me as odd at the time. I just thought he was following our stories, maybe trying to get a feel for the place. When he met you and was so…into you, I figured it was just how he was. He flirted with just about every woman he came in contact with. It never occurred to me that he might be up to something."
"Why would it? You didn't suspect him of anything."
Cady gave him a smile. She knew what he was doing. He was her father above all else.
Cady's expression turned more serious and she shook her head.
"If this is true, then he walked right into our lives and I'm the one who brought him in."
Vic raised one hand and flapped it at Cady.
"Cady, no one knew something like this coming. I thought he was just an asshole. Walt just wanted to kick his ass. Neither of us thought anything either. Don't blame yourself. This isn't anyone's fault except the ones who actually did it."
Walt nodded his head in agreement, pulling Cady's gaze from Vic.
"She's right, Punk. And, we don't even know that this is actually what happened. It's a theory."
Cady gave him a dubious look.
"It's a good one and it would make sense. Planting someone in the department would be easier than trying to get someone to know the two of you. You're not exactly the easiest people to get to know."
Vic smiled at the comment.
"Gonna be even less so after all this."
Cady smiled in response, the mood lightening up somewhat in spite of the heavy mood. She looked between the two of you.
"So…maybe he came on so strong because he was part of some bigger plan. Could be why he was so interested in you even though you were a married woman."
Vic gave Cady a look.
"Thanks for the blow to my ego."
Cady suppressed a bigger smile and shook her head.
"It's just a theory."
Vic rolled her eyes.
"Right. You might not be too far off, though. He could've been trying to cause problems between us…"
She motioned between herself and Walt.
"…or just insert himself into the middle of things."
"Why kill him?"
The question came from Walt. Vic turned her eyes to him.
"Could be a hundred reasons. He could have been a liability. Or, maybe he tried to blackmail whoever else was involved. We don't have any real way of knowing that until we find out exactly who he was working with. I know we assume it was Wilkins, but we don't know that for certain."
She was right about that. They didn't really know much for certain except that Garrett was dead and someone shot him. Who that was or why was elusive. All of this was speculation and he knew it wouldn't hold up under scrutiny. For the time being, speculation was all they had.
Cady let out a sigh. Her expression was pensive.
"It's hard to think that…someone is out to get you like this. Cooper having to look at his own people as suspects hasn't been easy for him."
Walt gave her a sympathetic look.
"I'm sure it's not. These are people he's hired. People that he trusts to watch his back. That could be a dead end when this is all said and done."
"Yeah, but now I'm looking at the same thing. That someone used my office as a way to get at the two of you."
Cady looked at Walt, her blue eyes holding a measure of sadness.
"Now I understand why you don't trust very many people. It seems like everyone is out to get you."
Walt rose slowly. It was a lesson he wished his daughter didn't have to learn the way that he did. Unfortunately, that was the nature of the world around them. It was something she would need to get used to sooner or later.
Cady stood up.
"So…is there anything you want me to do to help?"
Walt shook his head.
"Not right now. I don't want you compromised in all of this. Just keep going like you have been."
She didn't look overly thrilled by that idea.
"I want to help."
"I know. I just don't know how you can right now. We…need to think about this and come up with some kind of a plan. Do you still have the case notes from the murder scene or did Whitlock take them all?"
Cady pursed her lips.
"He did take them, but I have copies. What are you thinking?"
"Go back over that and see if anything strikes you different now that you know he might have been working with someone. Something might shake loose."
She nodded, clearly satisfied to have something to contribute.
"Will do. I'll get Cooper to look over it as well just in case he sees something that I don't."
Walt agreed. Fresh eyes were never a bad thing.
"Sounds good."
Cady checked the time.
"I should get back."
Cady started for the door and stood up.
"One more thing…"
Cady turned to her with a face full of questions.
"What's that?"
"Is the house still roped off?"
xxx
"We could get in a lot of trouble for this."
Vic looked around the house. He wasn't wrong. They were taking a hell of a risk.
"They've already gone over this place with a fine tooth comb twice. It's not like we're disturbing evidence."
"Then what do you hope to find?"
He wasn't a fan of this at all when she brought it up to Cady earlier. The legality of being here was extremely fuzzy. The crime scene tape was gone. The door wasn't even locked, which struck her as odd. So, they didn't even technically break in. They just…walked in.
She shrugged.
"Good question."
She heard him sigh as they walked through the house. It smelled musty and anything but clean. Vic turned to him, meeting his eyes.
"I seem to remember you dragging Ferg on a very similar mission when you were trying to clear you own name."
"And, we got caught."
He hated it when she threw his own action back at him and she knew it. She also believed she was right. They weren't doing anything he or they hadn't already done in the past.
"Vic…"
He held her attention.
"…if we get caught in here, they could use it to revoke your parole."
Vic bit her bottom lip. She tried hard not to think about that aspect of her current situation. Going back to jail was the absolute last thing that she wanted. Still…
"I know that. But, I cannot just keep on sitting around hoping for the best. This isn't going to solve itself, Walt. You said yourself that it would best to stay out of court. In order to do that, we need…something."
She was trying not to be short with him. That wasn't always easy.
Vic shook her head and turned away from him.
"I just want to look around."
Regardless of what he said, he followed her as she walked slowly through the house. Vic didn't have any idea what they might be looking for. She just wanted to see it for herself. It was entirely possible that something was missed in the initial investigation. Especially since she and Walt were coming at this from a completely different direction.
She walked into the bedroom and looked at the bed. The bedding had been stripped off leaving the mattress bare. There were obvious blood stains on the mattress. Vic tried to keep her eyes from lingering on them too long. She hadn't liked Garrett at all. That didn't mean he deserved to get shot in his bed completely defenseless.
She blinked and looked away. She walked over to the closet and peered into the half opened door. It was impossible to tell if the house was this messy before, or it was the result of police processing the scene.
Leaving the closet, she found her way over to the dresser in the room. Reaching into her back pocket, she pulled out a folded white handkerchief she had grabbed from the cabin before they left and shook it loose. Using it to keep her hand from touching the drawer handles, she pulled open each drawer and studied the contents.
Once she pushed the last drawer closed, she straightened up and shoved the small piece of cloth back into her pocket. She noted that in spite of his objections, Walt was looking around on his own, taking the same care that she was not touch anything directly.
Satisfied that they looked over the bedroom as well as they could, Vic left in and headed for the kitchen. It wasn't in any better condition than the rest of the house with dirty dishes still sitting in the sink.
Vic made a face.
"Smells bad."
Walt didn't respond. He was occupied looking at the refrigerator door and checking out the few items that were secured to it with magnets. She joined him.
"See anything interesting?"
Walt shook his head.
"No."
She sighed. They knew it was a long shot.
Walt turned from the refrigerator and looked like he was about to say something when they heard a noise outside. The familiar slam of a car door closing. Vic looked to Walt. Before she could say anything, his hand reached out and closed around her arm in a tight grip. He pulled her from the kitchen and pulled her towards the back of the house. The move put them closer to the back door.
They'd had the presence of mind not to park directly outside. Instead, they parked a good way up the street. No one from the outside would expect anyone to be here.
"Shit."
Vic pushed the word out as they heard steps on the front steps and the door to the house open with a creak. Walt stopped and backed into the wall, still holding Vic to him. She could tell that he was trying to keep his boots from hitting the floor too hard, trying to be as quiet as possible.
She gave him a quick look and held his finger up to his mouth. Vic nodded. She could hear her own heart thumping in her chest. Walt was right about one thing. Getting caught in here sure as hell wasn't going to do her any favors. She could very well wind up in jail for this move. Not to mention it could get Walt in right beside her. It was the first truly risky move they had taken since all of this started. Naturally it would backfire.
Slowly, Walt started to ease them towards the back door while trying to stay quiet. Vic moved with him, picking up her feet and placing them back down as gently as she knew how. If worse came to worse, they might be able to slip out the back and cut around the house.
Whoever was here was in the living room now. It was a man. A big man. Vic could tell that from the weight of the steps he was taking. He wasn't exactly trying to be quiet. Hell, maybe it was whoever owned this place.
Vic cocked her head and listened. The man was simply walking around. They didn't hear anything else. He didn't seem to be messing with anything. The steps made their way around the room, then followed a similar path as they had taken to the bedroom.
Walt moved again and Vic knew what he was thinking. He didn't need to verbalize it. If the man went all the way into the bedroom, that would be their best chance of getting out of here without being seen. Vic glanced at the door. It was only about two feet from them.
The steps stopped just outside the bedroom door and Vic held her breath, willing them to go in.
The boots scuffled over the floor momentarily before quieting altogether.
Vic wanted to swallow, but her mouth was completely dry at this point. She briefly wondered if Walt could possibly hear her heart thumping away inside her chest.
It was in that moment that the man started to move again. Instead of going into the bedroom as they hoped, long strides brought him in their direction before they could even move.
A bulky figured appeared in the kitchen entryway and a voice boomed at them.
"What in the hell are you two doing here?"