Ch. 56

Walter thought after the heat of the moment had died down, he would regret the events that had transpired; he was happy to find that he didn't -- not one bit. He woke up slowly, at first wondering if it all had been some fevered dream he had. Laurie was next to him and that wasn't really a surprising sight, but it was her state of undress that made it all come back to him. Walter found himself smiling, though he could feel his face grow hot with embarrassment at the same time.

Laurie had her eyes closed, but he knew she wasn't sleeping. His hand was on her belly and he let it slide upwards to rest on her ribcage. Laurie turned her head to gaze at him and smiled. There was something about the way she was looking at him that elicited strong emotions deep in his chest. Walter kissed her, and they sank into each other's embrace once more.

After another short rest, they went their separate ways to shower and dress. It wasn't until Walter emerged from his room and saw Laurie that he realized that they hadn't used protection. Walter froze in mid-step, eyes widening as the cold fact washed over him. Laurie paused, in the middle of unlatching the safety chain from the door, one hand hovering near the chain, and another a hand to her chest, looking alarmed.

"Walter, what's wrong?" she asked him.

"We..." Walter put his face in his hands and found it possible to answer her only if he stayed as he was. "We didn't use the... contraceptives."

Walter could hear Laurie gasp, and he looked up to find that her hand had moved to her mouth now.

"I...I thought afterwards that we had forgotten something," she said, sitting down. "Oh, Walter, what do we do?"

"I don't know," Walter said, joining her on the couch and putting his arm around her. All he could do was stare at his feet, aghast.

They sat in silence for a long while until the front door opened and Nelly walked in, with a flustered looking Dan behind him.

"Oh, there you are," said Nelly, nodding to them. "Forgot my briefcase up here."

Dan peered inside and seemed relieved when he saw them.

"I tried to stop him," said Dan. "I even took him and the other guy down to the beach to have crab cakes but eventually he insisted on coming up here."

Walter felt a little embarrassed. Had he and Laurie been that obvious? Dan wouldn't know what they had been up to, would he?

"Mm, crab cakes," said Laurie, smiling. "I'm hungry. I don't care what we eat -- we should eat now."

"Hey, I'll go with you," said Dan. Walter finally realized that Dan's forehead was beet red. He must have been on the beach all day. "Uh, unless you don't want me to..."

"No, please, if you don't mind eating again," Laurie said, glancing at Walter. Walter nodded at her.

"Yeah, why not? It's almost dinnertime anyway," Dan shrugged.

Walter jolted a little in surprise as his eyes zipped to the clock on the desk near the window. It was nearly five o'clock. How had they managed to spend so much time in the room? They had a lot of work to do. Walter was feeling lethargic and lazy, however, and decided it would be best to wait until after dinner. Dan led the way as he had that morning, and Walter had to keep his mouth from going to Laurie's neck. He had this almost drunken response towards her, as if he couldn't get enough of her. He just wanted to feel her against him again, under him. Walter sniffed a little as he felt himself blush again. Ah, his wandering mind was taking a turn on him.

They made their way down to the lobby, all the while Dan mentioning a particular restaurant he had found a few blocks down. A middle-aged man with a full head of dark hair and wide, kind eyes gave a smile as he waved at Dan as Dan passed by. Dan stopped in mid-sentence, mouth open in a little O.

"Oh! Hey guys, this is Leland," said Dan. "Or more specifically, Sir Elegy."

"Pleased to meet you," said Leland, "Fellow crime fighters, I reckon?"

"Yes," said Laurie, taking her hand off of Walter's waist to shake hands with Leland. Walter moved to do the same, interest in dinner all but forgotten as he stared at the older man.

"Where are you rushing off to?" Leland asked. "Without Nelson no less. You're not abandoning us geezers, are you?"

"Well, we were about to go for dinner, actually," said Dan.

"Dinner? Lead the way," Nelly said, all of a sudden beside them with his briefcase in tow.

Dan looked at first Laurie, then Walter. Laurie shrugged and looked at Walter, who nodded. Why was it that Laurie seemed to want to check with him about every single detail? Did he really exert that much force on the relationship that she was afraid to make any sort of decision without his consent? Walter felt bad.

The restaurant really was nice -- apparently Dan had gone there by himself for breakfast -- the interior was bright and cheerful, and the food wasn't too rich or too overwhelming. Conversation topics ranged from crime fighting stories to encounters with the rich and famous. On second thought, all topics revolved around crime fighting in one way or another. Half-listening, Walter tried to figure out the best way to ease them to talk about Agent Orange, until he decided finally that the direct approach was best.

"What do you know about Hooded Justice II?" Walter asked Leland, during a pause.

"Hooded Justice II?" Leland repeated. "Well, can't say I know much about him. He works in Northern California, so I haven't met him personally."

"Do you know if he's going to be at the conference?" Laurie asked.

"Most definitely. I did get his RSVP."

Walter had to stop himself from asking if it came with a smile attached. He stroked his chin thoughtfully and looked at Laurie. God, she was beautiful. No, wait, he was supposed to be thinking about the case. Yes, Agent Orange. He looked up.

"Have you heard anything suspicious about Hooded Justice II?" Walter asked.

Leland paused for a moment, a frown lining his brow.

"Well, not really, but you know, the strange thing is, a member of the Napa County sheriff's department came asking about him."

"Really?" Walter leaned in.

"Yeah. A Detective Narlow, I believe. He gave me his number, in case I heard anything on Hooded Justice II. I guess they're mighty suspicious of him up there. Actually, must be pretty damn suspicious to make him drive all the way down here to ask me in person."

"How did he know you were a crime fighter?" Laurie asked.

"They got my information from the Orange County police department," said Leland.

"You work with the police?" Dan asked, looking up.

"Of course," laughed Leland. "Don't you guys?"

Dan, Walter, and Laurie looked at each other. Nelly just nodded and seemed interested.

"Yes, can you believe it? I meant to tell you," Nelly said. "They work quite closely with the police here."

"That's pretty amazing," said Dan. "Can you imagine that ever happening in New York?"

Walter couldn't, no matter how much he tried. He looked at Leland again.

"Could I possibly get the detective's contact information?" he asked.

"Sure," said Leland. "I have it back at home, but I'll call the front desk for you or Nelly and pass on the number."

"Thank you."

Walter sat back, feeling relieved. It was going to be a strange experience talking to this detective, but he knew that if anyone had any news to tell him about Agent Orange's exploits in California, it would be this man. Besides, maybe Walter could prove to him that Hooded Justice II was in fact Agent Orange, and they could finally arrest him for the numerous murders he had committed back in New York as well as here in California.

Walter turned and smiled at Laurie, who took his hand under the table. After dinner, Walter and Laurie set out together, enjoying the evening breeze and each other's company.

"So, I guess we have some time to ourselves while we wait for Leland to get back to us," Laurie told Walter.

"Yes," he said, admiring the way the setting sun made her hair light up as if it were on fire.

"I want a swimsuit," she said, pouting a little. "You know, to go to the beach."

"Oh, you and your beach," said Walter, but he said it in an affectionate tone.

"I've never been, Walter, I really want to go."

"I haven't been either."

"Then more of a reason for us to go!"

"Maybe."

"Maybe we're going to look at swimsuits? Or maybe we're going to the beach?"

"Maybe the beach."

"Okay," said Laurie, smiling. "To the swimsuits we go, then."

Walter started to protest, but Laurie kissed him.

"Shh," she said. "You can pick them out, and I can try them on. That way, I won't pick something inappropriate."

Walter liked this idea, so he went with Laurie without complaint. He had to admit many of the outfits she tried on gave him ideas, but not the good kind. No, these were the ideas that made him want to punch anybody who would dare to look at her in this attire.

Laurie finally settled on a yellow swimsuit that looked more like a very short dress. Too short, but when Walter pointed it out, she insisted that everyone was wearing them like this.

"In fact," she said, "Be glad I'm not wearing a bikini."

Walter almost had a seizure at the idea. Then he almost had another one when Laurie tried to convince him to get his own swimwear.

"No thank you," he told her. "I will show up dressed respectably if you want me there."

Laurie giggled.

"It's not like I'm going to the beach dressed as my mother, Walter," she said.

Walter shrugged, but that had been the end of that. They made their way back to the hotel and into the suite. They peered into Dan and Walter's room and found Dan reading in bed.

"Oh hey," he said, adjusting his glasses.

"Where's Nelly?" Laurie asked.

"Still out. They were in the lobby talking about the old days when I came up."

"All right," Laurie said, nodding to him, then taking Walter's hand and pulling him towards her room with a look.

"Oh no," said Walter, "Not with Dan in the other room."

"Come on," said Laurie, "We'll be quiet."

Walter pretended he was thinking about it, but his mind was already made up.

"Fine," he said, and they ran into her room. This time around, however, they were more careful and used protection. Eventually, they moved out into the living room and sat on the couch holding each other.

Laurie turned on the television and Walter tried to watch, but he found himself worrying instead. This time, however, it wasn't entirely about Agent Orange.

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To be continued...