It took me a while to get this next chapter written. I had immersed myself in Season 4, but needed to take a step back to wrap my head around these versions of the characters, and this storyline, again. Thanks for your feedback and continued support!
Vic threw herself into the driver seat of her truck, laid her head back against the headrest and closed her eyes tightly, hoping the world would make sense when she opened them.
It didn't.
The cool air and a batch of goosebumps along her skin reminded her that the door was still open so she reached out her hand and yanked it shut.
He'd miss her! He didn't want to be with her, but he'd miss her? What was that?
She jammed the key in the ignition and fired up her truck, shifting it in to drive, but kept her foot on the brake as she thought back to that moment just minutes ago, outside the front door to the station.
He'd said it. He'd told her he'd miss her if she left. She'd felt her lips part in an involuntary gasp she'd hoped he hadn't noticed. With his eyes on her, and Ferg approaching on the other side of the door, he'd concluded his admission with an "I just wanted you to know."
Ferg had appeared between them, clueless and earnest as he greeted Walt and then walked with them to their vehicles, filling the silence with some rambling comments about the case she hadn't paid attention to.
On the sidewalk, outside the Bronco, the three of them had parted ways. She hadn't looked back as she and Ferg made their way to their vehicles, surprised that she'd managed to get out a goodnight to the deputy when they had reached his Trans Am.
Arriving at her own truck, she'd opened the back door and dropped the box of Sheridan High yearbooks on the seat as she heard the other two vehicles start up. Ferg had pulled out first, followed by Walt who had slowed the Bronco as it lined up with the side of her Dodge. Not wanting to meet his eyes, she'd ducked her head into her open backseat door, pretending to look for something. When she'd been sure he'd finally pulled away, she'd straightened and looked out at the empty street.
And now, with a white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel, she released her foot from the brake and headed home. Home to another restless night. Home to a quiet house, and an empty bed, and too much time spent in her own thoughts.
XX
Reaching the top of the stairs, Vic didn't bother turning on the light. She hadn't turned off the lamp downstairs, and was therefore able to see her way over to the bed. When she reached its side she dropped the box on the mattress. Pulling her phone and keys from her pockets, she placed them on the end table and shrugged out of her jacket, letting it drop to the floor. With an exhale, she collapsed on to the bed, face first.
How could she be both exhausted and fully awake?
She flipped over with a grunt, her eyes drifting to the window. From her position on the bed she could see up into the dark sky. The stars. The moon. Everything seemed closer and larger out here in Wyoming.
She breathed in deeply, intentionally lengthening both the inhale and exhale. After a few breaths she felt a little calmer. The world still didn't make sense, but she could think a little more clearly.
Her cell phone rang and she grimaced. For a moment she thought about letting it go to voice mail, but then relented and sat up. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she turned toward the table and picked up her phone. She froze at the name on the screen.
She paused and then answered. "Hey."
Silence.
"Did I wake you?"
His voice rumbled in her ear as she tried to picture where he was in his cabin while he talked to her. "No. I'm on my bed, but not in it."
"I...there's something I didn't tell you when I saw you earlier outside the office."
She swallowed. "Ok."
"It's...it's something AJ told me about Tuck when I saw him tonight."
She closed her eyes as she lay back down, her legs still hanging over the side. Of course. The case. "What's that?"
"AJ said that Tuck is going to group therapy. Grief counseling. In Sheridan. Every Sunday on the weekends he comes home. He started this summer."
Her eyes opened. Sheridan?
"I don't know if or how that connects him to the other individuals in Sheridan, but it at least puts him in the vicinity on a weekly basis."
She placed her hand on her forehead, and then ran it through her hair. "Do you think any of the others are in the group with him? Maybe that's why Evan and Tuck recognized each other. Maybe they are in this group together, and didn't want to admit it."
"Maybe."
"I didn't get a sense that either of Evan's parents are dead, when we talked to him on Tuesday, but you never know. I guess he didn't talk much about them, one way or the other."
"We can try talking to Tuck again. And I'll get the location where the group meets from AJ and we'll see if they'll share anything with us. Probably won't, but worth a try."
She looked up at the ceiling. "Ferg hasn't found any pictures online that prove these kids are connected. Evan and Tuck haven't posted much lately on Facebook or Instagram. Tyler and Nick post the most, but Ferg didn't find any of the other kids in their pics. I only just started looking in the yearbooks." She looked down at the box near the end of the bed. Based on how tired she was, she realized she had been overambitious thinking she'd get through more tonight.
Silence settled in between them. The silence, over the phone, was strange. When they were face-to-face, the way that he would look at her, or not look at her, or raise an eyebrow, or suck in his lower lip were all forms of communication. Now, without being able to see him, the silence was just that. Silent.
"I...I should let you go. I was still up, and thought you might be too. But it's late. We can talk more about this at the office tomorrow."
Vic bit down on her lip, and then sat up, crossing her legs and tucking them beneath her. "Is that the only reason you called? To tell me about Tuck?"
A pause. "Part of it."
"What's the other part?"
Another stretch of silence. "I was worried I said something I shouldn't. Earlier. Outside the office."
Vic's head fell. "Shouldn't, because it wasn't true?"
"No. Because...because I think I frustrated you. With my mixed messages. That's...that's not what I intended."
"What did you intend?"
"I didn't intend..."
A pause.
"I...I just said what I was thinking in that moment."
A longer pause.
"You had been in Sheridan this afternoon, and I thought about you being up there for good, and it just...hit me...that I'd miss you. I just wanted to tell you that."
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why did you want to tell me?"
More silence. She really wished she could see his face. Read his expression.
"You called me 'moveless' last night. I...I don't want to be that. I don't want to be 'moveless.'"
She thought about his admission outside the front door of the station, as well as the one just seconds ago.
She thought about how hard it was to read his silence while on the phone, and how much more connected she felt when they were communicating.
"I don't want you to be 'moveless' either, Walt."
XX
Vic placed the box down on the left side of her desk, removed her jacket and threw it over the back of her chair. She looked into Walt's office and saw him on the phone. She glanced over at Ruby, who was also on a call at her desk. Sitting down in her chair, Vic pulled out her laptop and turned it on. When it had booted up, she signed in to her email account. Scanning through her inbox she landed on a message she hadn't expected. Or at least one she'd forgotten she'd been expecting.
She double clicked on the email and read the opening paragraph. When she finished reading she launched the attachment and began scanning the file. Advancing to the second page, she suddenly stopped. With a quick intake of breath, she froze. Holy shit!
She pushed back from the desk and jumped from her chair.
"Hey Walt!" She saw Ruby look over at her, phone in hand, and a startled expression on her face.
Vic picked up her computer but when she tried to turn toward Walt's office, she felt a tug and remembered it was still plugged in.
"Walt!" She fumbled with the cord, trying to pull it out of the back of the laptop.
"Walt!"
She suddenly freed it from the power adapter, and turned, hitting Walt square in the chest. His hand came out to grab her elbow and steady them both.
She looked up at him, her eyes big.
"What is it?"
She could feel his hand still gripping her elbow. "Can we go in your office?"
Walt held her gaze with a questioning look and then dropped his hold on her arm and headed for his door. Vic followed him, closing the door behind her.
Walt stood with his hands on his hips, his gaze steady.
"On Monday..." She took a breath and re-started. "On Monday night, after I left work, I stopped by the hospital to see AJ and Tuck. To check in on them."
Walt nodded. "AJ told me."
Surprised, she blinked. "Right." She looked out the window for a moment. "The next morning, as I was driving up to Sheridan, I decided to uh...to call the Sheriff's Office down in Albany County. I wanted to..." She looked back at Walt. "I wanted to learn a little more about AJ's wife's car accident, since I hadn't heard anything about it when it happened."
"You could have asked me about it."
"I know. I just...I didn't want to stir up memories when you're already dealing with so much right now. So I thought I would just call and ask a few questions."
Walt looked at her. "Ok."
"Well, the deputy I talked to, Collins, promised to send me the file."
She paused. "I just received an email from him, and was reading the file when I stumbled across..." She took a breath and then stepped forward, turning as she reached Walt's side. "I saw this." She pointed toward her laptop screen.
Walt leaned in and peered at the document, reading the section Vic was pointing to. When he looked over at her, his eyes intense and fiercely focused on her, she knew he had read what she had read.
She looked down at the screen. "That's how they're connected."
He straightened, his gaze back on the laptop.
She looked over at him. "I'm assuming the department told AJ who was behind the wheel of the vehicle that hit his wife's car."
Walt nodded as he brought his hand to his jaw.
"And Tuck as well."
"If the department didn't, AJ would have."
"That's why Tuck recognized his name when we showed him his picture."
Walt looked up from the screen. "I never asked AJ if he recognized any of the other kids. He wasn't in the room when we asked Tuck."
"Do you think AJ would recognize his name, all these months later?"
Walt stared at the door. "That's not something you forget. The name of the person who killed your wife. Accident or not."
Vic looked up at Walt. "When you asked Tuck if he recognized him, he said he'd never met him. And maybe that's true. Maybe he found out that he was the driver behind the wheel, but actually hasn't met him in person."
Walt shifted his weight. "Maybe. But since he didn't reveal that he had at least heard of Evan Brandt, I'm not sure what to believe right now."
He looked at Vic. "We need to go talk to him. To both of them."
XX
Vic kept watching Walt out of the corner of her eye. He hadn't said a word since they left the station.
When he brought the Bronco to a stop in the hospital parking lot, he turned off the engine but made no move to get out of the truck. He ran his right thumb along the knuckles of his left hand. "I'll talk to AJ first. By myself."
She turned her head. "Ok."
"And then we can both talk to Tuck."
She watched as he stared at the hospital entrance through the windshield. "Sure." She paused. "You ok?"
Walt looked out his driver-side window. "I have a feeling that we're going to surprise AJ. It will be a surprise to learn that Evan is one of the robbery victims. And since we don't know if it's just coincidental or intentional...Evan's involvement...I'm not going to have answers to the questions AJ's bound to ask."
Vic watched him as he lapsed back into silence.
"Walt, are you ok?"
"It's why he brought his car in."
"What?"
"The car accident in May. It's why Evan brought his car in to be fixed at Rich's Auto Repair shop. Must be why he had the cuts on his face and arms that Rich mentioned."
Vic stared out the windshield and recalled their conversations on Tuesday with Evan and Rich.
She looked back at Walt. "You're not blaming yourself for missing this, are you? For not remembering Evan's name from an update you got on the accident five months ago? There's no way in hell you should have remembered that fact. I don't remember the names of the people in car accidents here in Durant that happened last month."
"They're not accidents that resulted in the death of your friend's wife."
"Walt. Seriously."
His hands gripped the steering wheel as he continued to stare straight ahead. "If Tuck learned about Evan, and found out where he lived, did he join the therapy group in Sheridan to give him an excuse to be up there each week? So he could what? Stalk him? Plot his revenge?"
"Walt, the car accident was deemed to be just that. An accident. AJ and Tuck would have been told that. We don't know if his—"
"And how is any of this connected to the robberies? Did Tuck partner up with Tyler to get revenge? Did he learn that Nick was Evan's best friend, and include him in the attacks as well?"
He turned toward her. "If they did...partner up...it doesn't explain why Tuck ended up so seriously injured on Monday? Did Tyler turn on Tuck, and have a different partner pull off the four Durant robberies, including the robbery of Tuck's father's store?"
"Walt let's not make any assumptions or jump to any conclusions until we've talked to Tuck."
He rubbed his hand across his eyes.
Vic tentatively placed her hand on his shoulder. "Are you ok?"
Walt looked her way, his blue eyes latching on to hers. He held her gaze without a word, and for a moment they sat staring at each other in silence.
She thought about feeling connected to him in that silence.
She wondered if he felt the connection too.
And then he blinked and broke eye contact as he looked down at the space between them.
Vic saw movement outside the window.
"AJ."
Walt's head snapped up. "What?"
She nodded out the windshield at AJ who had taken a seat on a bench near the entrance to the hospital, not far from the Bronco.
Walt's hand went immediately to the door handle, his eyes on AJ. After a moment he turned toward her. He hesitated as their eyes met again, and then exited the vehicle.
She watched him walk toward the bench, his head bent slightly as he approached. When he arrived, AJ looked up at him.
"Walt."
"AJ...I need to talk to you about something." With the windows of the Bronco closed, their voices were faint, but Vic could still hear them.
AJ stood, seeming to sense that there was something in what Walt was going to say.
Walt brought his right hand to his hip. "One of the robbery victims up in Sheridan on Saturday was...Evan Brandt? He was—"
"The kid..." AJ took a step back in surprise. "The kid behind the wheel of the car that hit Olivia's."
Walt stood silently, holding AJ's gaze.
A minute passed as the news sunk in, and then AJ ran his hand through his hair and began to pace in front of the bench. "What does this mean?"
Walt watched AJ pace.
"What does this mean, that both Tuck and this kid who ran into my wife's car are attacked by the same person? What are the odds of that?"
"We don't know yet. We're not sure if it's coincidental or not."
"Coincidental? How can this be coincidental?"
"We haven't confirmed who is behind this to know how they might be connected to both Tuck and Evan."
"But you have a suspect, right? Chip Walton told me you stopped by Kyle's room and let them know that you have a 'person of interest' you're looking into. That you're investigating."
"We have a person of interest that we have not been able to connect to your son."
"But you've connected him to this Evan Brandt kid?"
"We know that they've met, but we haven't uncovered anything other than that. We have no motive. And the kid has an alibi for both robberies."
AJ dropped his chin, digging his hand into the hair at the back of his neck.
Walt looked over at Vic and then cleared his throat.
"Deputy Moretti and I need to talk to Tuck, AJ. To see what else he can tell us about his therapy group in Sheridan. To discuss whether he's had any interaction with Evan. And to see if there is anyone that they are both connected to."
AJ nodded his head. He glanced over to the Bronco as Vic opened the passenger door.
"And AJ?" AJ pulled his eyes away from Vic and looked over at Walt. "We want to talk to Tuck without you in the room."
AJ nodded as he sunk down onto the bench. "Evan Brandt. God..."
"I'll come find you when we're done talking to Tuck."
AJ nodded, but, lost in his own thoughts, no longer seemed to be listening.
XX
Tuck's eyes travelled between the two, settling on Vic.
"Checking in on me again?"
"A little of that." She glanced over to Walt, who was at the side of the bed, removing his hat. "We also have some questions for you."
Walt stepped closer to the bed.
"Tuck, your dad told me that you've been going to group counseling up in Sheridan these past months."
Tuck's eyes darted up toward Walt.
"Uh...yeah."
"Why did you choose to go to counseling all the way up in Sheridan instead of in Laramie? Sheridan is a long way to drive each week."
"I...uh...wanted to go somewhere where I wouldn't know anyone."
"Laramie's a decent size town. You probably could have found something away from campus."
"I started going to the group up in Sheridan in the summer, before school began. Plus I come home almost every weekend anyway, to help out Dad with the store. An extra forty-minute drive up to Sheridan isn't that bad."
"So choosing to go up to Sheridan had nothing to do with it being the town in which Evan Brandt lives?"
Vic saw the unmistakable flash in Tuck's eyes.
Walt moved closer. "On Monday, when we showed you the pictures of the other robbery victims, it seemed like you recognized Evan Brandt, but when we probed further, you claimed to have never met him. We've discovered how you're connected, Tuck. We have the report from your mom's car accident."
Tuck looked over at Vic and then back at Walt, before lowering his gaze.
Walt looked down at Tuck's bowed head. "You know that Evan was driving the car that ran into your mom's."
Silence.
"Tuck?"
Not looking up, Tuck nodded.
"Is Evan the reason you go up to Sheridan each week?"
Looking away from Walt, Tuck stared out the window.
"Tuck. We're trying to figure out what's going on here. We can't do that if you aren't telling us the truth."
Tuck ran his uninjured hand along the blanket. "It wasn't the reason...initially. I really did choose a group in Sheridan because I didn't want there to be anyone I knew in it."
"And Evan?"
"I was leaving a session one Sunday, on my way back to school, and I saw him. Riding his bike on the side of the road. I had studied pictures of him for so long, I'd know his face anywhere."
"And then what happened?"
"I almost got rear-ended. I was so surprised to see him I hit my brakes and was almost run into by the car behind me. Evan looked over at our cars when the guy slammed on his brakes and honked, but I pulled back from the window and I don't think he saw me. I didn't know if he'd know who I was, but for some reason I didn't want him to see me."
"And?"
"And then I started going up to Sheridan on Sundays to watch him." He bowed his head again. "To follow him."
"Why?"
"I...I wanted to try to figure out who he was. Who could take someone else's life and go on living his life? I wanted to see how he could return to a normal life when mine would never be normal again."
"And what did you learn?"
Tuck looked up. "Do you know Evan hasn't posted anything on Facebook since the car crash?"
Vic watched Tuck twist the edge of the blanket in his hand.
"I read a lot of his earlier posts. Before I saw him in Sheridan." He paused. "But he hasn't posted anything new."
His hand stilled.
"And do you know that I've never seen him drive a car? I only see him riding his bike, or getting picked up. Do you think that's because of the accident?"
He looked over at Vic.
"I don't know what he was like before, but he spends a lot of time alone. Sometimes he's with his brother, or this one friend, but often he's alone. I've followed him on trails, and he'll just hike by himself, and end up sitting on some rock for hours. It's...it's made me feel sorry for him. I wasn't expecting that. I've been feeling so sorry for myself, I wasn't expecting..."
He closed his eyes, leaning back against the pillows.
Walt glanced at Vic before he proceeded. "Have you ever talked to him?"
Tuck shook his head, his eyes still closed. "No."
"What about Nick Waters?"
Tuck opened his eyes, his forehead creasing in confusion.
Vic pulled out Nick's picture and handed it to Tuck. "We showed you Nick's picture on Monday. He's probably the friend you've seen Evan with."
Tuck looked at the picture. "I didn't recognize him when you showed me his picture earlier. He's usually wearing a baseball cap or the hood from his sweatshirt, but yeah, that's the friend I've seen him hang out with." He looked up. "He was in one of the stores that was robbed?"
"He was."
Tuck continued to stare at the picture.
"Have you ever talked with Nick?"
"I haven't talked with either of them. I just watched from a distance. I don't think they've ever seen me. I had no idea if they know anything about me, let alone would recognize me."
"Evan recognized your name when we told him you were in one of the stores that was robbed."
He looked up. "Really?"
"Yep. So did Nick."
Tuck seemed surprised, his eyes growing big. "He...he did?"
"Yep. You sure you didn't interact with either of them?"
"I...I'm sure."
"Is there anyone you have in common? Does someone from your counseling group know Evan or Nick?"
"I have no idea. I don't know any of them that well."
Vic handed Tuck another picture. "What about this kid? Tyler Daniels. We showed you his picture on Monday, but take a closer look. Has he ever been to one of your group sessions? Have you seen him hanging out with Evan and Nick? Have you run into him on the street up in Sheridan?"
Tuck peered down at the picture. "No."
Walt pointed to Tyler's picture in Tuck's hand. "You haven't been working with Tyler to plan something to get back at Evan for what he did?"
Tuck's head snapped up. "What? No!"
"You weren't up in Sheridan all these Sundays plotting how you would get even with him?"
"No. I just followed him around. To learn about his life. I never did anything to harm him."
"How do we know what to believe, Tuck? You've been keeping things from us. Why should we believe you're no longer holding back?"
"I swear, I didn't plan anything with anyone. I never touched Evan." He looked frantically between the two of them. "If I was involved in what happened to him, why would I be lying here with a broken hand?"
"So it's just a coincidence that the guy you've been following around gets attacked two days before something similar happens to you?"
"I...I don't know why both of our stores were robbed, or why we were both injured. But I had nothing to do with what happened to him. I swear."
"What day did you come back to Durant this weekend? Your dad says you usually come back Saturdays after home games, but I know your team had a bye this week."
"I...I came back Saturday. I stayed at school to finish my homework Friday night and then left in the morning."
"How do we know you didn't drive up to Sheridan early Saturday morning, before coming to Durant?"
"I...I didn't."
"If we go talk to Evan and Nick, are they going to tell us a different story?"
"What story? There is no story."
"So we aren't going to find out from them that you have been talking?"
"No. I haven't done anything but follow Evan around."
Walt stood silently, looking down at Tuck as he rotated his hat in his hands.
"Does your dad know what you've been doing?" Vic noticed that Walt's voice now had a gentler tone.
Tuck looked down at his lap again. After a moment he looked up, and shook his head. There was a sheen to his eyes. "He...he thinks I'm doing ok."
"Did you stop going to the group counseling, or are you still going?"
He dropped his head. "I... I haven't gone in a month."
"Because you've solely been focused on following Evan around when you're up in Sheridan?"
Tuck nodded.
"Tuck." Walt waited for him to look up. "I want you to talk to your dad. And I want you to continue with counseling. Maybe something closer to you in Laramie."
Tuck ran a finger under his eye.
Again Walt rotated his hat in his hands, but he did not drop his eyes. "I know what it's like to be...consumed by something. And to keep it all in. It will eat you up inside. You need to find a way to let go. I'm not saying you need to let go of the memories of your mom, or how you felt about her, but you need to find a way to let go of the pain, and the anger, and the obsession. Turning to others, and sharing what you're going through, is a way to start making progress doing that."
Walt looked down at Tuck, his gaze steady. "Ok?"
Tuck nodded. "Ok."
"Can I go get your dad?"
Vic saw Tuck take a deep breath. "Ok."
XX
"I'm going to stay, and talk to AJ."
Vic looked up at him. "Ok."
They stood just inside the front entrance of the hospital, looking out at AJ who still was seated on the bench they had left him on.
He dug into his pocket and then held up his keys. "You can take my truck, and I'll figure out how to get back when I'm done."
Vic looked at the keys. "No, keep them. I'll call Ferg and get him to pick me up."
"You sure?"
"Yeah."
They both watched AJ.
"You're a good friend."
Walt ran a hand along the back of his neck. "I'm not. But I'm trying to become a better one."
She looked up at him again, her eyes on his face, watching him look out the window. After a moment she blinked and dropped her gaze. "Do you believe Tuck? That he never talked to Evan or Nick?"
A pause.
"I do. You?"
"Yeah. I think he was telling the truth." She thought back to their conversation. "But where does that leave us? We now know how they're connected, but it seems unrelated to the robberies."
"We need to find who Tyler is working with, and how he is connected to these kids in Durant."
Vic nodded.
Walt finally looked over at her. "You sure you don't want to take my truck?"
She met his eyes. "Yeah. It's not a problem. I think it'll just be easier if I'm the one who asks for a ride. That way you can stay as long as you need, and don't have to worry about coordinating things when you're done."
"Someone will let me use their phone. They always do."
"It's ok. I'll give Ferg a call. He will be here in no time."
"Ok." He held her gaze for a moment. "We'll talk when I get back to the office..." His eyes dropped. "About next steps. In regards to the case."
Her eyes stayed on his face as he lifted his gaze, and turned back to looking out the window. After a moment she looked in the same direction.
"Next steps. Sure."
XX
Vic pushed through the swinging saloon doors, and walked into the room. The Red Pony was hopping.
As she got closer to the bar her eyes locked in on Walt, who was sitting on the last stool. He was talking to Henry, Rainier in hand. Henry looked over at her, causing Walt to turn as well. She paused as his eyes landed on hers. Biting down on her lower lip, she took a breath.
"Vic!"
Startled, Vic turned toward the voice. Cady.
"Uh...hey."
Cady smiled as she stepped up to her side.
Vic glanced over at the bar, seeing Walt turn his head and look down at his beer.
"Just get here?"
Vic brought her attention back to Cady. "Yep."
"Do you have plans? Wanna join us?" Cady motioned toward a table across the room. "Just a few folks from work."
Vic looked over at the table. "Uh...I don't know. I just came here to pick up some dinner."
"We're eating too. Go order your dinner, say hello to Henry and my dad, and then come join us for a bit."
Vic looked back at the bar, her brow furrowing slightly as she watched Walt say something to Henry, and then stand and walk in to Henry's office, shutting the door behind him.
"So? What do you think?"
She brought her eyes back to Cady. "I don't know. Like I said on Monday—"
"This is not a set-up."
Vic arched an eyebrow at Cady. She had seen Cady's colleague Scott at the table.
Cady laughed. "I swear." She dropped her voice. "Dad said that you had...stuff...going on. I don't mean to complicate things."
Vic's eyes darted to the closed office store, trying to keep her voice neutral. "Walt said I had stuff going on?"
"He didn't tell me what it was. Just said not to pester you. Which of course is what I'm totally doing. But...I just thought you might like a distraction. From whatever it is."
Vic tore her eyes away from the door.
Cady smiled again. "Well you've got to wait for your dinner to be made, so at least think about it. We'll save a seat for you."
Vic nodded and then watched Cady turn and head back to her table.
Briefly closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, and then proceeded toward the far end of the bar. She slid onto the stool Walt had vacated, her eyes shifting toward the closed door.
"What can I get you?"
Vic turned. "Hmm? Oh. Uh...a BLT and fries to go."
Henry paused. "You are not staying?"
Vic shook her head. "Just picking up dinner."
She saw Henry look across the room. "You were not planning to join Cady and her friends? The empty chair is not for you?"
"Oh...uh...no. I didn't know they'd be here. I was just planning a low-key night. At home. With one of your BLT sandwiches."
Henry paused and then placed a bottle of beer in front of her. "Ok. I will get your order going." He looked at his office door and then back at Vic. "You should go talk to him."
Both her eyebrows slanted upward.
"I think he believed the empty seat at Cady's table was meant for you. He did not want to interfere with your plans."
She glanced again at the office door.
Henry turned and pulled out another beer, which he placed in front of her. "I can bring you your sandwich when it is ready."
He gave her a final look and then headed for the kitchen. She took a swig of one of the beers, and tore at the label as she turned the bottle in her hands. After another long sip, she took a deep breath, and then got up from the stool.
Picking the two bottles up off the counter, she walked over to door. Shifting the beer in her right hand to her left, she knocked.
A pause, and then Walt's muted response. "Yep?"
She swallowed, and then turned the handle.
Walt didn't look up as she stepped into the room and closed the door. He was sitting on the couch his head slightly bent. As Vic moved closer, she noticed a pile of yearbooks on the table, and one in Walt's hands.
"Which yearbooks are those?"
Walt still didn't look up. "Durant High School. They're Henry's copies."
As Vic rounded the edge of the couch, she saw a box on the floor near Walt's feet containing additional yearbooks.
"Henry's copies?"
"Henry has been coaching teams at the high school for years. He also takes some of the pictures they use in these books, so they give him a copy each year."
Vic looked down at the book in Walt's lap as he turned the page.
"Are you looking for pictures of the kids?"
"Yep."
"You need some help?"
He looked up.
"I...I don't want to interrupt your dinner plans."
"I didn't have any dinner plans. Other than picking it up, I mean."
"I..." Walt trailed off as he glanced at the closed door behind her. "You sure?" He brought his gaze back to her.
She nodded.
He paused a moment longer and then turned and picked a yearbook off the table. He raised his eyes back up to hers, and lifted his hand. She handed one of the beers to him and then took the book and sat down on the couch.
Vic opened to the first page, and spent a few minutes looking through the pictures. A dozen pages into the book, she shifted her head slightly and watched Walt out of the corner of her eye. He seemed absorbed in his book, as he poured over the pictures.
"Cady said you told her I was dealing with some...stuff. That you told her not to pester me because of it."
Walt stilled but didn't look up.
"She was trying to...pry...into..." He paused. "I...I didn't want her bothering you with it."
He continued staring down at his lap. "And I was trying to get her onto another topic. She was...she was talking about giving your number to her co-worker again, and I didn't want her to see that I was..." He trailed off.
When he didn't continue, she shifted in her seat. "That you were?"
He looked over at her, meeting her eyes. "Jealous."
A beat passed, and then he bowed his head. "Sorry. I'm doing it again."
She thought back to his admission outside the office the previous night and then to their conversation later on the phone.
"I didn't give Cady my number to give to him."
His eyes darted over to hers. "You didn't?"
She shook her head. "I told her I wasn't ready to be set up with anyone."
"Oh."
He turned his head to look straight ahead. She watched as he stared across the room. After a moment he returned his focus to the pages in the book before him.
Vic's eyes drifted to the box at Walt's feet. One of the books caught her attention, and with a quick glance over at him, she moved the book in her hands to the cushion beside her, placed her beer on the floor and reached in to the box and pulled the other book out.
She opened the yearbook to the index at the back. Finding the name she was looking for, she turned to the first page listed and smiled. She stared at the picture for a moment longer and then returned to the index to look up the next page number. When she turned to the second page listed she smiled again, this time a small laugh escaping.
Walt looked up. "What?"
Vic tried to suppress the laugh. She looked over at him, and then slowly shut the book and turned the cover toward him so that he could read it.
His eyes dropped to the title and then flashed back up to hers.
She let out the grin she could no longer contain. "It's the yearbook from your senior year."
Walt held her eyes for a moment.
She opened the book to the page she'd been looking at. "I found a picture of you and AJ. I've never seen you with such a goofy grin on your face. And those football pants—"
"Ok. That's enough. You can put that down now."
"I'm just doing my research. You went to school with AJ. AJ is Tuck's father, so you're connected to Tuck, and therefore the case." She grinned again.
The corners of his mouth lifted slightly. "That's a stretch."
Still holding her eyes, he suddenly reached out to try to snatch the book from her.
Grinning, she pulled the book away with her left hand, and put up her right hand to block his efforts. When his fingers landed on her forearm, she looked down, expecting him to pull away at the contact, but to her surprise, he didn't.
Walt looked down as well, and after a moment, wrapped his fingers around her wrist and began sliding his thumb slowly along the skin on the inside of her arm. Holding her breath, she watched, almost hypnotized as his thumb made circular patterns.
They sat there, like that, for some time. Neither appearing to breathe. Or able to look away.
At a knock on the door, Vic's eyes flashed up at Walt's face. He looked up but didn't immediately release his hold on her.
After a moment, still meeting her eyes, he placed her hand down on the couch between them and let go.
Without turning her head, Vic picked up the yearbook she'd placed on the cushion beside her. "Come in."
As she heard the door open behind her, she flipped to a page in the book. Walt did the same with the book in his lap.
Henry walked into the room and lay the to-go box containing Vic's sandwich on the edge of the nearby desk.
Vic looked over at him. "Thanks Henry."
She reached into her pocket to pull out her wallet, but Henry lifted his hand to stop her.
"Walt already paid for it."
She saw Walt lift his head out of the corner of her eye, and witnessed the glance between them.
With a final look her way, Henry strode from the room, closing the door behind him.
Walt looked over at the stack of yearbooks on the table and then stood. Reaching down, he picked up the yearbook from Vic's lap, and along with the book in his hand, placed them on the top of the pile. "We can continue looking through these tomorrow. You have your dinner to eat."
He walked over and picked up the to-go box.
She stood and joined him in front of the desk. Taking the box from his hands, she looked up. "I can pay you back."
"You heard Henry. It's already been covered."
She arched an eyebrow. "I think Henry cornered you in to doing that."
Walt shrugged, the slightest of grins on his lips. "You can treat next time."
She blinked, the corners of her mouth lifting to match his. "Ok."
She took two steps backwards, before turning. When she reached the door, she paused and looked back at him.
"Goodnight."
"Get some sleep."
She smiled as she opened the door. "I will. But first I have some research to do."
At Walt's quizzical look, she held up the yearbook from his senior year, and then quickly stepped out of the room.