" What a pleasant surprise , i thought you would be at the house all day . " Walter said as the grin on his face grew bigger .
" I could not let my two favourite men go hungry , especially when one is still a growing boy ." Paige replied as she saw Ralph walking towards the door .
Walter stepped to one side and took Megan in her bassenet from Paige , just before she stepped inside the garage .
" Hello mom , is that burgers i smell . "
Ralph asked as he approached Paige and gave her a hug . Paige's face broke into a smile as she felt her son's arms embrace her . Her thoughts went back to pre Walter days , when the only real touch she could ever expect from Ralph , was him touching her hand when he gave her a manicure . She immediatly put her free arm around him and pulled him into a tighter hug . Her mind giving Walter a silent thank you .
She released Ralph and walked to the kitchen , she put the bag of food onto a chair , found a cloth under the sink , which she soaked under the tap . She then wiped the table and then dried it with another cloth .
Once she had done that , she pulled three paper plates out of the bag , two cups of coffee and a chocolate milk shake for Ralph . Last of all she pulled out three double cheeseburgers , putting one on each of the paper plates . She then called Walter and Ralph into the kitchen .
Walter carrying Megan in her bassenet and Ralph walked in , both with big grins on their faces .
" Something smells good . " Ralph said as he took a seat next to the burger and chocolate shake .
Paige sat down next to Walter , who put Megan's bassenet on the end of the table next to him . Paige leaned over to him and gave him a quick kiss on the lips .
The burgers were eaten in silence . Once the burgers were eaten , Walter and Paige were enjoying their coffee and Ralph his chocolate shake , Paige began to speak .
" I don't know what was wrong with Megan this morning , normally when get to your house , she settles and sleeps . This morning , she kept chattering and saying Mo, Mo. In the end i decided it was not worth attempting to do my work in the house , so i took her out of the bassenet and we went walking around outside . You are certainly correct i think we will need a good landscaper to sort it out . "
Walter smiled before answering . " I think it might take more than one landscaper to sort that jungle out . "
They sat around for a futher thirty minutes , before Megan began to be a little grizzerly .
" It seems our little girl is hungry . What is upstair's like ? " Paige asked Walter .
" Down here was not so bad , so i think it is probably alright . "
" I'll take Megan upstairs and feed her , just keep an eye on her while i fetch the bag from the car . " Paige said with a smile .
" Of course , it will be my pleasure , once you go upstairs we will go back to our work . " A large grin on Walter's face as he spoke .
Once Paige returned , Walter carried Megan up to the loft , Paige followed , carrying the bag . After a quick hug and kiss , Walter left his two favourite ladies to go back to the computer and carry on his search .
Ralph during the morning had tied up all the payments to direct debits on the bank statements that Paige had bought from the house the day before . So once Walter moved back to his computer . Ralph decided to open another computer and see if he could sort more information on the Squire's family .
Walter restored the account he discovered just before lunch , as he now had access to the account he wanted to trace each deposit that had been paid into , back to it's main source of payment . After about 15 minutes he realized who ever had made the payments had used a complex route to make the payments .
" Ralph could you tandem a computer up to mine and follow me down the route the payments had been made on , if they split anywere can you go left and i will go right .
" You bet , dad . I will connect the computer i used to like when i was at the garage . " Ralph his voice full of excitment answered .
Within five minutes , Ralph had connected and was on the same screen as Walter .
" Ok, i am ready . " Ralph told Walter a look of pride in his face .
Before they had a chance to start tracking the payments , they heard Paige comeing down the stairs , Megan safe in her bassenet
Both Walter and Ralph left their computers and walked over to Paige .
" Thank you guys , i am going back to the condo and prepare a meal for tonight . I want you home by 6.00pm. . Do not be late ! "
Ralph gave a quick hug and a quick glance at Megan , then went back to his computer . Walter with a big grin on his face moved in and kissed Paige on the lips , at which Paige bent her knees and put Megan in her bassenet on the floor , then stood up straight and pulled Walter into a tight hug and returned the kiss. A game of tongue tennis begining , it was almost five minutes before they broke away from each other . Paige leaned in close and whispered in Walter's ear .
" Remember that until bed time tonight , maybe we can carry on further then . " A cute smile on her face .
The grin on Walter's face grew bigger , he then leaned into Paige and whispered in her ear .
" I can hardly wait . "
At that they broke the hug , Walter bent down to look into Megan's bassenet . He saw a sleeping , contented little princess , he gently touched her brow with two fingers , which he had just kissed , a big smile on his face . He picked up the bassenet and handed it to Paige , who gave him a quick kiss on his lips , smiled and turned and walked towards the door , looking back over her shoulder .
" Do not forget , do not be late tonight . Either of you . "
Walter smiled and said . " I will set my phone alarm for 5.00pm ."
" Good , see you both later . " At that Paige left the garage .
Walter went back to join Ralph at the computers . Starting at the last payment made , five years ago , into the account that had been set up for Carlson . It took only one hour for the two of them to trace the payment to one of the three accounts , Walter had found bank statements for .
Both Walter and Ralph made high fives to each other .
Lets hope we can trace the other payments so easily . " Walter said to Ralph .
" Maybe if all the payments came from the Squires accounts , he would have used the same route each time . " Suggested Ralph .
Walter looked at Ralph , pride on his face . " I am certain you are correct . I suggest we check the account for other deposits of the same amount , see how far they go back , then trace the earlist deposit and one that is in the middle of the two . "
Ralph grinned and simply said . " You scroll down and i will note down the dates of deposit of the same value . "
After ten minutes Walter had scrolled through the depoits , Ralph had a total of ten dates . On checking the dates it seemed that the first deposit was two and a half years before the last . It appeared that every three months there were deposits of $2000 paid . What was worrying to Walter was the amount of deposits that were also being paid into the account , to trace all these was going to be a major task .
The last payment made into the account had been made only two weeks ago , that had been for $10,000 . It would appear as Carlson moved up the ranks in Homeland , the deposits increased in value .
Walter looked at Ralph and gave a big sigh . " I think we have a much bigger job on our hands than i first thought . Calson as certainly taken what would appear to be bribes almost since he joined Homeland . Do you think you can trace some of the accounts on your own , once we have traced two more deposits back to the Squires . "
Ralph's face broke into a big smile . " Of course dad , you trained me . "
Walter , pride showing all over his face . " Ok , lets check those other two deposits , by which time i think it will be time to make our way home . "
A hour later they had proved that the two deposits had come from Squires account . Both Walter and Ralph had big smiles on there faces .
" Ok , Ralph lets close the computers down , we can reconnect to the account again tomorrow . We can try and trace some of the other payments , especially the more recent ones . "
Just as they were completing the shut down , Walter's phone alarm went off .
" Finished just in time . " Walter said as a big smile came across his face .
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They were both back at the condo at 5.45pm. , Ralph used his key to open the door , even so before he had a chance to turn the key , Paige opened the door a big smile on her face .
" Good evening my two favourite men . " As she said this she reached over to Walter and pulled him towards her so she could plant a kiss on his lips . She stepped back , pulling Walter into the house , closely followed by Ralph , who closed the door behind him .
Paige released Walter , both having big grins on their faces . " Ok you two , go get washed up before the evening meal and Walter if you hurry up you can feed Megan . " Paige told them .
Walter's grin got bigger . " I can ? "
" Yes i expressed some milk this afternoon and you have been sooo good . " her face showing pure love towards Walter .
Walter leaned over and gave Paige a quick kiss on the cheek , turned around and made his way to the bathroom in Paige's bedroom , closely followed by Ralph who went to the family bathroom .
Walter was back ten minutes later , made his way over to the sofa were he made himself comfortable . Once Paige saw he was seated , she went to Megan's bassenet and gently lifted her out . " Do you want Da, Da to feed you tonight ? " Paige spoke in a quiet voice .
Megan began to wriggle in Paige's arms and muttered DA,DA. " Ok little lady , i get it just calm down and i will take you over to Da, Da. " All the time while she was speaking the smile never left her face .
She walked slowly over to Walter , who's face was full of excitment . Paige gently placed Megan into Walter's arms , he made a small adjustment to the way he was holding Megan , who by now had settled into his arms a big smile on her face " Da , Da she uttered .
" Well the little princess , seems happy to be in Da, Da arms again . Let me fetch the bottle so you can feed her before we have our meal . "
All the time Paige had been speaking all Walter could manage was a big grin on his face . Paige shook her head , but the smile never left her face . She made her way over to the kitchen , to pick up a bottle of her expressed milk for Megan . She was back over to Walter a couple of minutes later . Walter took the bottle from Paige .
He placed the bottle teat close to Megan's mouth who immediatly took it and began sucking . Paige smiled and just said . " Everytime ! "
She left the two happy people together and went back to the kitchen to finish the meal .
Once the meal was finished and everything put away , the little family of three sat on the sofa , Megan's bassenet on the coffee table in front of them .
" Megan seems to be taking her time to fall asleep tonight . " Walter said .
Paige looked at him a half smile on her face . " I think she is excited that you fed her tonight , she will settle down soon . In the meantime why don't you begin telling me how my two geniuses did today . "
Walter gave her a quick kiss on her cheek , then turned to Ralph .
" Do you want to start or should i ? "
Ralph looked a little surprised that Walter would ask him to take the lead . He gave a little cough and then took a deep breath .
" Well the first couple of hours , we spent checking the complete system out . Once we were both satisfied , dad switched the system on . I then had to check through the bank statements , you got from dad's house , to see if all the goverment and local taxes were on direct debits . I managed to trace them .
Dad was working on getting into the account were the payments were being paid into . Just before you knocked the door , dad had broken into the account . I think dad should tell you the rest . "
Ralph gave another big sigh and then smiled at Walter .
Walter smiled at Ralph . " Good job Ralph . With regard to what happened after you left , to keep it short . I with Ralph traced back what seemed to be the last payment paid five years ago . We traced it back to Squires , we then checked two other payments of the same amount . The first payment of $2000 and one from the middle both which traced back to Squires . In total it would seem over a two and a half year period , Carlson received $20,000 from the Squires . The worrying thing about it is that there are a great number of other deposits in the account , some made just two months ago . "
Paige's jaw dropped . " He is still receiving payments . Were from ? "
Walter gave a half smile . " At the moment we don't know , it took us until almost five o'clock to trace those three deposits . Hopefully we can trace more tomorrow . "
" if we trace seperate accounts tomorrow , we could get a quicker result . " Ralph replied .
" I know we discussed that earlier and i am sure you are correct , but i think first maybe we should try and see if there is some sort of patteren to the payments . So maybe we can do the same as we did with the Squirea account . "
Paige could not help but smile at the way her two geniuses could converse . She checked on Megan , who had fallen asleep , while listening to her dad and brother . Gently picking up the bassenet she turned to Walter .
" i am going to put Megan in her cot , i will be back in a short while . "
Walter stood up and looked into the bassenet . " Good night , sweet dreams , my little Angel ." As he finished speaking , he kissed his two finger tips , he then gently placed them on Megan's brow .
Paige smiled and mouthed . " I love you " to Walter . Before making her way to the bedroom .
Walter sat back down on the sofa next to Ralph . " i think tomorrow we should concentrate on the last payment first and then the very first payment , which if i am not wrong began about two years before any payments from the Squires account . " Ralph had listened intently as Walter spoke .
" That sounds like a good plan , do you want me to trace the first payment ? "
Walter did not speak for a few minutes , just looking at Ralph with so much pride on his face .
" If that is what you want , lets do it . "
Ralph's face broke into a big grin .
Before their conversation could go any futher Paige was back in the living area .
" Megan is content in her cot , lets hope she sleeps through again . " As she was speaking , she sat down next to Walter , cuddled up to him , putting her head on his shoulder . They stayed in the same position for almost a hour , just talking in general .
At 9.00pm. Paige told Ralph it was time for bed , with reluctance he got up , hugged his mom and dad , then made his way to his bedroom .
Paige and Walter stayed on the couch for another thirty minutes , Paige gazed up into Walter's eyes and quietly spoke .
" I think it is our bedtime to , lets hope Megan sleeps through the night again .
The look in both of their eyes passing a message . (Some quiet and gentle love making tonight , so we do not upset Megan again . )
Next morning they were woken up from their slumber by Megan again calling MO,MO, DA,DA, then giggerling .
Paige turned to Walter and with a laugh in her voice said . " I think our little girl could turn into a right little madam . "
Once breakfast had been eaten and everything had been put away . The three of them sat down on the sofa , Megan in her bassenet on the coffee table in front of them . No one was speaking , they were all just relaxing before Walter and Ralph made their way to the garage .
The peace was broken by Paige's phone ringing . Paige checked the ID and saw it was Louise .
Paige answered and put the phone on speaker .
Paige " Good evening Mrs O'Brian . "
Louise " Good morning Paige , would you be prepared to accept a video call from us . Sean as something he wants , no needs to say to Walter and you to Paige .
Paige looked across at Walter and mouthed . " It's up to you . " Walter remained silent for almost a minute before speaking . Paige reached across and squezzed his hand .
" Ok, but if he as the same attitude as the last time we spoke , i will be the one to cut the connection .
Paige " I guess that means yes , but he had better be good ,or this will be the last time we speak . "
Louise Thank you dear , we will contact you in the next five minutes .
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SonyaFunk Thank you .
Grykon Thank you , wait for chapter 18 .
Pealigirl Glad you are still enjoying the story ,Sean is in for a bit more what for .The week was not to bad , but still suffering a little from my illness , but carrying on regardless .
LouBe96 just a little bit of fluff . Louise explains a little in chapter 18 . No more secrets in the garden , i have enough loose ends to tie up already . Ralph enjoyed a little bit of childish fun before settling down to the business in hand .