Author's Note:
I'm so sorry that I only uploaded one chapter today. I had actually just gotten finished typing up chapter 58, feeling pleased with myself, no less. However, just as I hit save, my stupid Windows Vista (burn in HELL Vista) shut down. When I rebooted, my file came up corrupt. I spent an hour and a half trying various recovery programs, but nothing is working. I did a bit of a turn on my computer -- it was sort of like the scene where Ozymandias throws the Comedian around the room in the Watchmen film. Now, think of me as Ozymandias and my computer as the Comedian (not the other way around, though it certainly feels that way) and you will see what happened afterwards. All right, it wasn't THAT bad, but it was PRETTY BAD. My rage is insurmountable and suffice to say, I didn't mean to leave it at a cliff-hanger ending as this chapter turned out to be. Walter had some crazy raving outbursts in the next chapter (the LOST chapter. Argh!), but I really can't say if I will be able to rewrite it in its entirety. I shall try, but it's going to have to be at a later date as currently I am too angry to think straight let alone type this.
All right, enjoy, and sorry again. Chapter 58 should be up tomorrow, but I'm going to angst to you right now by telling you it will probably not be the same.
-----
Ch. 57
Laurie hummed to herself in the bathroom early morning. She had decided to do something new to her hair, and it was taking longer than she had expected. She didn't care. After she finally got her hair the way she wanted it to look, she smiled at herself and practically danced out the door. Nelly was tying his shoes and he looked up at her as she grinned and hugged him.
"Good morning, Uncle Nelly," Laurie almost sang out.
"Good morning, Laurie," he said, patting her back and beaming at her. "Having a good day?"
"Oh yes, marvelous," said Laurie, as she winked and slipped out the door.
Laurie stepped into the living area and was delighted to find Walter there. Walter was standing near the desk, on the phone. Dan was nearby sitting in an armchair, too busy reading to even notice that Laurie had come in. Walter's brow was knitted in concentration, but he nodded at Laurie and managed a smile for her when he saw her. Laurie sat on the couch and waited for Walter to finish his conversation as she curiously peered at Dan's book. It seemed to be a field guide to native birds of California.
Walter hung up the phone after a few muttered words; sighing, he approached Laurie, leaning down to kiss her politely. It was curt, but still a big leap considering Dan was right there. Freak incident of yesterday's indiscretions in front of Dan notwithstanding, of course. Laurie smiled up at him.
"Was that the detective?" she asked Walter, as he sat down next to her.
"Yes," he said, frowning. "He would like to meet me in person."
"When?"
"Today."
"But?" Laurie stroked his arm.
"I need to drive there. Well, actually, to Fresno. He wants to meet me halfway."
"Oh, right," said Laurie. "What's the matter? I'm sure Nelly wouldn't mind lending us his car."
"Yes, well," Walter laughed, "I don't have a license."
"Oh," Laurie said, putting a hand to her mouth.
"I don't mind driving down the street or a few blocks," Walter shrugged, "Or driving at night in an open country road. But I'm not driving through the city."
Laurie sighed.
"Well, I don't have a license either, so I'm pretty useless in this case," she told him.
"Two hundred fifty species," Dan was saying to himself. Laurie's eyes widened with realization and she looked at Walter, who seemed to have had the same thought as her. They simultaneously turned to look at Dan, who obliviously continued to pore through his book.
"Dan," Laurie exclaimed.
Dan's head shot up and he looked guilty.
"Huh? What?" he asked. "Do you want me to leave?"
"No," said Laurie, getting up to approach him. "Could you do us a big favor?"
"Besides leave?"
"No, Dan," Laurie laughed. "Would you mind driving us to Fresno? I mean--"
"Would I?" said Dan, leaping up. "I'd love to!"
Dan looked so excited that Laurie couldn't help but hug him.
"Great," said Walter, and he actually seemed pretty happy.
They had a quick breakfast and went on their way after informing Nelly of their plans. It only took three hours for them to drive up North to the halfway point between their and Detective Narlow's locations. Laurie followed Walter into a small cafe while Dan waited outside. There were not very many people in the cramped area, but Laurie couldn't figure out which one could be the detective. A man who appeared to be in his mid-thirties waved them over. He had brown hair and a mustache on a friendly face. He stood up and held out his hand.
"You must be Walter," he said, then nodded to Laurie. "And Laurie."
"Yes," said Laurie, glancing at Walter for a moment. "Detective Narlow?"
"Yes indeed," he said. "Please, sit down."
They did as prompted, and Detective Narlow resumed sitting as well.
"I'm sorry that Deputy Collins was unable to join us," he told them. "He's also been on the case, but he's busy today, I'm afraid. I might know more about the case than him by now, though. So here I am."
"I would like to know any information you might have on Hooded Justice II," said Walter.
"Yes, of course," said Detective Narlow. He reached under the table and pulled out a file.
Laurie listened as the detective went over the information from each crime scene with them.
"I'm surprised that you came to me about it," said Narlow, "Considering you are from New York -- so what was it that you said you had to tell me?"
"The Agent Orange murders," said Walter, as he pulled out his own files.
Walter explained over his notes, and the detective seemed to get eager by the minute.
"This is wonderful, absolutely wonderful," he said. "Some of these crime scenes even match in detail. Are you sure they are the same person, though? And not some copycat killer?"
"I'm sure," said Walter grimly, as he pulled out the postcards and letters Agent Orange had sent to him from California.
"Remarkable," said Detective Narlow. "And you know what this man looks like, correct?"
"Yes, here is the newspaper article from when they let him leave the police station," said Walter, through gritted teeth, "Due to lack of evidence, they said."
"Well, what you have here, coupled with what I've got, is plenty," said Narlow. "The only problem now is figuring out where he's going to be next."
Laurie and Walter looked at each other.
"Well," said Walter, "If he keeps his word, he's going to be at an upcoming crime fighter conference."
"Leland told me about that," Narlow nodded. "This Friday, correct?"
"Yes."
"I'll set something up with my department," said the detective, his eyes twinkling. "We'll have him cornered and taken into custody. I'm fairly certain that we can get information out of him."
"And I will make sure he doesn't leave the building so that you have this chance."
"Wonderful. Thank you very much," Narlow smiled.
Detective Narlow suggested lunch, but Walter declined. He explained how Dan was waiting for them and that they should be on their way. They bid each other farewell and left the cafe. Laurie noticed that Walter had a grim expression on his face as they left the building.
"What's wrong, Walter?" she asked him. "I would have thought you'd be happy at the prospect of Agent Orange's capture."
"I am, in theory," he said, "But there are so many things that could go wrong. He might not show up, for example. And even if they do catch him, who's to say they won't just set him free again?"
"True," Laurie sighed. "But our police department is notorious for being lax on criminals. From what I heard of this place, they are of the opposite extreme here."
"I suppose so."
"Look, Walter -- have a little faith that things will work out," said Laurie. "Even if they don't catch him now, they know how he looks. He's not going to be able to hide in anonymity anymore."
Walter smiled.
"You're right," he said. His eyes were warm again as he gazed at her. He opened the car door for her and climbed in afterwards.
"Everything set?" asked Dan.
"Yeah," said Laurie. "Why don't we stop for some lunch before we head back?"
"Sounds good to me."
After lunch they returned to Huntington Beach with quite a few hours left in the day.
"So, what about the beach?" Laurie asked Walter.
Walter sighed, but he complied with her request. An hour later, they were on the beach, stretched out side by side. Laurie was on her stomach, and Walter was on his back next to her, looking thoughtful.
"Hey, you," said Laurie, nudging him a little. "Are you still worried about Agent Orange?"
"Maybe," he said.
And that had been that.
At the end of the day, they went to the hotel and found out that even with sufficient amounts of sun lotion and after just a few hours on the beach, they had managed to miss a spot on Walter's eyelids. Laurie suggested sunglasses for the next day. In the morning they set out for the beach once more, right after breakfast. Soon they were on the sand again, lying as they had been the day before.
"It's going to be a hot day," Laurie told Walter. "It's already pretty warm right now."
"Mm-hm."
"Are you listening?"
"Yes."
"You're thinking about Agent Orange, aren't you?"
"Yes."
"Walter," Laurie rolled over to look at him. "We'll catch him -- don't worry. Can't you enjoy this quiet time?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"I hate the beach."
"Why?"
"It's a waste of time."
Laurie sighed.
"It's not that bad," she said.
"It's disgusting. Full of sand and people with excuses to show off bodies that should be hidden indefinitely."
"Well, fine. I like the beach."
"There's no accounting for taste, then."
Walter turned away and Laurie made an exasperated sound, frustrated with him. She saw his shoulders shake and realized he was laughing.
"You," said Laurie, chuckling and peering over his shoulder to confirm that he was indeed laughing -- he was. "You just have so much fun when there's conflict, don't you?"
"Not necessarily. I generally like conflict to be completely resolved."
"So you're saying you're never happy?"
"Never, Laurie."
Laurie felt incredibly sad. She looked away. Walter jabbed at her arm.
"I'm just kidding," he laughed.
Laurie turned to look at Walter, who was giving her that bright-eyed look again. She kissed him. Things were starting to get a little interesting when a shadow fell over them and Laurie had to scramble up in her surprise. Dan was staring down at them apologetically. He was out of breath, and his brow was heavy with sweat.
"What's going on?" Walter asked, sitting up quickly. "Is there trouble?"
"Well, it's the craziest thing," said Dan. "Two crazy things, actually."
"What is it?" asked Laurie. She stood up and had to squint at Dan in the light.
"Well, first of all, your dad's here, Laurie," Dan said, and his eyes went a little wide. "Uh, and...another thing."
"Wait, what?" Laurie asked. "My dad? As in -- my dad? My father? My actual, real father? Not Laurence or something?"
"Yes, the Comedian is here, straight from 'Nam," said Dan, his hands shaking with emphasis. "He just dropped in out of nowhere like some kind of...of...tornado. I nearly wet myself when it happened -- you wouldn't believe it!"
"Oh my god," said Laurie, laughing despite Dan's description and quickly packing up her beach supplies.
"What's the other thing?" Walter asked, shrewd as ever. He seemed to have taken the news about Blake in stride, though Laurie's heart was pounding with excitement.
"Well, I'm not sure if I should tell you really, but you're bound to find out," said Dan, looking nervous.
"What is it?" Walter stepped closer to Dan and narrowed his eyes. Laurie joined Walter's side, with a cooler in one hand and a bag in the other.
"Uh," said Dan, sweating a little more. "Well, it's about Agent Orange."
"What about Agent Orange?" Walter asked testily. "Dan, tell me now."
"He's..." Dan sighed deeply. "He's back in New York."
Dan closed his eyes and seemed to brace himself. Walter gave Laurie a sharp look, glanced down at what she was holding, snatched them away from her and started marching back towards the hotel. Laurie stared at Dan for a few moments in shock before she started jogging after Walter. She could hear Dan panting as he chased after them.
-----
To be continued...