Chapter Nineteen

The next three days flew by quickly as John and Natalie spent their time hanging out in Grand Cayman and lounging by the ocean. As neither of them were really "beach" people, they would head down to the private beach on the property for a quick swim, and then go into town for the day, and head back to the beach at night.

It was just nice to have the chance to relax.

There hadn't been any awkward moments and they chose to avoid any serious topics like their past or Cris and basically just enjoyed spending time together. One night over dinner they had decided that in order to lure Walter back to Llanview they would send him a threatening letter from Spencer. The plan was risky as they couldn't be 100 sure that Walter had staged his own death to escape Truman, but after talking about all the possible theories, that one seemed the most likely.

They had hit an internet café and typed up the letter in big, bold print. It read,

"Walter my old friend, you were wrong in thinking you had escaped me and now that I know where you are there is nothing standing in my way. If you value that nice little life you have set up for yourself, you'll be on the 8pm flight to Llanview, PA on Monday. As you can see there is no postmark on this letter, which means I have my people watching you. Once you get to Llanview there will be a room at the Palace hotel waiting for you. I will see you there."

They signed it Spencer and had dropped it off in his mailbox late Sunday night before returning back to the beach house. Early Monday morning, John got up before Natalie and drove back to Walters. He lurked outside in the car until he saw the other man pull in.

John noticed that in the twenty-years since the picture had been taken, Walter had drastically changed. Rather then the tall, scrawny, serious man in the picture, Walter was now balding, overweight and wore lots of gold jewelry. To sum it up he just looked like a sleazy old man.

It took all of John's self control not to just jump out of the car and attack the man he now knew had shot his father. But, luckily for Walter's sake John managed to control himself. Instead he took satisfaction in watching as Walter picked up the envelope that had the fake note from Spencer and read it. Using his binoculars, John saw how Walter's face went white and he looked nervously around.

Seeing how spooked he had look, John knew Walter would be on that flight.

Before going back to the beach house John stopped at a pay phone and called Bo. He explained the situation to a very shocked Bo and asked for his help. Knowing that this was the scum that had helped kidnap his niece, Bo promised he would call a meeting with both Hugh and the mayor. But Bo also explained that since they didn't have enough evidence for a warrant on the shooting, it would have to be made out for the kidnapping of Natalie.

After getting off the phone with Bo, John sat down on a beach and thought about it. Ever since they had found out Walter may still be alive, in John's mind it was just about him finding his fathers shooter. He hadn't actually stopped to think of Natalie and the Buchanan's. Once Bo had mentioned Natalie, John was finally struck by the realization of how this wasn't just about him anymore. It was also about the kidnapping of a helpless newborn.

One thing was for sure, it wasn't just going to be John who was gunning for Walter – the whole Buchanan family would be as well.

Getting up, John made his way back to the car and back to the beach house. By the time he got there it was nearly noon, and Natalie was sitting out on the beach. He forced himself not to stare as he realized she was back in her reveling black bikini.

"Where ya been?" She called out as wrapped a towel around her body and made her way up the beach and toward him.

"Went to make sure Walter got the letter."

"Did he?"

John nodded. "He was totally spooked. It looks like our theory was right and I have no doubt that he'll be on that plane. I also called Bo and explained the situation. I left Paige out of it through, figured it was something that needed to be done in person."

Natalie's face lit up in an evil-like smile. "I can't wait to see Walter's expression when he gets off that plane. Little does he know it's not just Spencer he needs to deal with, but you."

"And the Buchanan's," John said thinking about what he had realized earlier.

Natalie nodded. "Yeah, make sure you watch Asa like a hawk if he comes into the police station. It will be likely that there's a gun on him somewhere."

Knowing she was right, John groaned. "Just another thing I am going to need to worry about. You know, I've always wondered, how did they take finding out about you?"

Natalie laughed warily. "You really don't want to know."

John looked at her puzzled. "It couldn't have been that bad… I mean I see how much they all love you."

"I didn't make it easy." Seeing the curious expression on his face, she sighed. "I came to town, befriended Jess, got a job for mom and then walked into Asa's funeral – he had faked his death – wearing a bright red dress, and interrupted Jess's eulogy by claiming I was the real granddaughter."

Taking note of the completely shocked expression on Johns face, Natalie cringed. "I told you that you didn't want to know."

"You really did that?" John asked, amazed that actions like that had come from the woman that was now standing in front of him.

"I was pretty messed up back then. Luckily once they accepted me I started to change… became a much better person."

"I don't think you just became a better person, I think you've always been one." John said as he stepped closer to her and unconsciously pushed a stand of her hair behind her ear.

Having John this close to her caused Natalie to tense up. She had promised herself not to go down this road again. Smiling, she moved away from him. "I better go shower and get packed if we are leaving today."

Without another word she brushed past him and went back inside. Puzzled, John opted not to follow. Every time he got close Natalie just moved away and since he had decided to try and show her how much he cared about her, it was becoming a problem.

Knowing he had to do something about it, John followed her inside ready to confront her.

Back in Llanview

"I want the arrest warrant made out in the name of Walter Balsom – W-A-L-T-E-R B-A-L-S-O-M," Bo spelled out wanting to make sure there were no mistakes.

Hearing a knock on his door and seeing Paige, he motioned for her to enter the room. "Yes, that's right the charge is kidnapping an infant Natalie Buchanan. The plane he is supposed to be on arrives in tonight at 11:00pm, our team will be in place." Bo listened to the person on the other end and nodded. "Thank you mayor, I appreciate your cooperation on this."

Once Bo had hung up the phone he stood up from his desk and kissed Paige. "This is a surprise!" He remarked as he sat back down.

Paige smiled at him. "I had some time between patients and decided to drop by. I couldn't help but overhear your conversation, is everything okay?"

Bo sighed. "Nothing I can't handle." Seeing his girlfriends confused expression Bo decided to fill her in on some of the details since they weren't actually a secret. "Natalie and John have been working on a case for the past few weeks and the name Walter Balsom kept popping up."

"As in Rex's father?"

"Yeah, and in the man that kidnapped Natalie."

"But he's dead right?" Paige said trying to force herself to look calm.

"That's what we thought. They got a lead on a place down in the Cayman Islands, and took a trip there. Turns out Walter faked his own death and has been down there ever since."

"What?" Paige gasped. 'This is bad, this is so bad,' she thought to herself. "But why would he willingly come back to Llanview with them if he went to all that trouble to fake his own death?"

Knowing he had already said too much, Bo shrugged his shoulders. "I am not sure. But you don't want to hear about this, how was your day?"

"Good," Paige said with a forced smile. Knowing she had to get out of there, she feigned a look of surprise. "Oh no, there is a patient I am supposed to check on – I completely forgot." Standing up she grabbed her purse and gave Bo another kiss. "I'll call you later tonight."

Unfazed by her behavior, Bo just smiled with a nod. "Talk to you then."

The second she was out of Bo's office, Paige fumbled in her purse for her cell phone. Her hands shaking she dialed the number of the one person she dreaded most.

"Spencer? It's Paige – we have a big problem."