Chapter 3 – Seeking Information part 1
Nathan made a list of names and then wrote seven of those names on a second piece of paper. He knew he shouldn't, but he needed help. There were too many missing pieces and the more information the better. Nathan had a feeling that something was coming and he needed to be ready for anything. Nathan filed the reports, picked up the second list of names and left his office. He first took care of Newton and then went to Rosemary's office. He paused for a moment before knocking, but told himself he didn't have many choices left and he needed information to keep people safe.
"Nathan!" Rosemary exclaimed when he knocked and walked in. "I wasn't expecting you back so soon."
"Yeah, well …." Nathan said. "Rosemary, I need a huge favor."
"If I can help." Rosemary said. "I would be more than willing to do so."
"I can't tell you what is going on." Nathan said. "But I promise you an exclusive for the Valley Voice when I can."
"Okay." Rosemary said, looking at Nathan with concern.
"I need to see if you can dig up any information on a list of names." Nathan said. "Maybe some unofficial channels if you know what I mean. I have a feeling I might be able to unravel this whole huge mess if I had the right piece of information."
"I assume you are talking about Walden." Rosemary said. "And I will do my best."
Nathan nodded and handed her the list with the seven names on it.
"Those are the names and last known residence." Nathan said.
Rosemary looked at the names and then back at Nathan.
"Are you sure?" Rosemary asked.
Nathan nodded.
"What should I say when someone asks why I am interested in these people?" Rosemary asked.
"Tell them …." Nathan said.
Nathan closed his eyes and thought for a moment. He knew he needed to say something, but he wasn't sure what, so took a moment to think how much he could tell Rosemary.
"Tell them you came across these names while looking into some property deals in the Valley." Nathan said. "Say your natural curiosity wanted to know more about the people who were buying and selling properties in your area. Tell them you know in your gut that the people are connected but can't quite put your finger on it and want more information."
"Okay." Rosemary said. "Anything else?"
"Be careful." Nathan said. "This is bigger than we all think."
"This?" Rose said. "Do you mean Walden, Lucas, these names or something else?"
"Yes." Nathan said. "I can't give you any more right now, but please trust me. I am taking a huge risk even asking you at this point, but I didn't know who else to turn to."
"I will see what I can find." Rosemary said.
"Thank you." Nathan said.
Nathan didn't say anything else, but just turned and walked out. Nathan stood at the bottom of the steps and looked around. He saw the door open over at Gowen oil and headed that way.
… … … …
William got to town and checked into the hotel then had the driver take him to his daughter's house. He thanked Molly. She gave Little Jack a hug and told him to listen to his Grandfather. William took the time to watch his grandson interact with the woman who he spent a lot of time with. He was wondering if taking him from everything familiar was the best thing, but he knew that the boy was young and would be fine. He sighed as he knew that maybe doing what was best for his daughter might end up hurting his grandson. William introduced the nanny to Jack and he wanted her to play blocks with him. William nodded and the nanny agreed to play blocks with the little boy while William dealt with other things.
Miss Thomas had heard voices, so came down the steps.
"Who are you?" Miss Thomas asked.
"I am William Thatcher." He said. "Elizabeth is my daughter. I just arrived in town a little bit ago. I wanted to see my daughter and then I needed to speak to Dr Shepherd."
"And her?" Miss Thomas asked, nodding toward the nanny.
"She is the nanny that I brought." William said. "She will care for young Jack for the remainder of the time here. She will stay here at the house to make sure the boy is cared for."
"Okay." Miss Thomas said. "I can have one of the guys bring a cot and set it up in his room."
"And my daughter?" William asked.
"She is resting." Miss Thomas said. "Dr Shepherd hasn't given her additional medication this afternoon, knowing that you were coming, but she is still not responding much to people. She has been pretty quiet since Dr Shepherd had to sedate her the second time. Her eyes are open, but she just stares at the wall and mumbling something, I can't make out."
"May I go up there?" William said.
"Yes." Miss Thomas said. "I will call Dr Shepherd and have him come out here."
"Thank you." William said.
William went up the stairs and Miss Thomas went to the phone to make a phone call.
… … … …
Nathan knocked on the open door frame of Gown oil and Henry looked up.
"Welcome back." Henry said.
"Thank you." Nathan said. "Do you have time to talk?"
"Sure." Henry said.
Nathan went in, shut the door and took a seat. Henry closed the folder he had been writing in and looked at Nathan.
"Where did you get the capital to buy Lucas out?" Nathan asked, cutting right to the chase.
Henry raised an eyebrow and tilted his head at Nathan.
"I got an offer to invest in the company." Henry said. "There were two stipulations to the investment. One, Lucas, was gone from the company. He said he would give me the capital needed to buy him out while still leaving me the majority owner. And two, I had to commit to three more derricks by the end of next year. That is getting them up and pumping, since we are sure there is oil there."
"You are going to need to do better than that." Nathan said. "I need a name. I have a huge mess on my hands. You and Lucas are square in the middle of it and I need to know what is going on. I need to know who wanted him gone from Hope Valley."
Henry drummed his fingers on his desk and thought about how much he should tell Nathan. He trusted the man sitting across from him, but he also respected his investor's desire for privacy. Nathan could see Henry was struggling, but he needed something.
"Okay." Henry said. "But this person didn't want their name out there. Everything is being run through a trust that would be hard to trace back to him, even if you knew where to look. This person is above board and is a respected businessman."
"And you are sure this man is on the level?" Nathan asked.
"Yes." Henry said. "I had been quietly looking to buy Lucas out for over six months. The man was absolutely useless when it came to business. He is a gambler, con man, a grifter. He had never run a business in his life before he came here. Speaking of which he came here because he was running from his past. He owed/owes people money. I think he came here to get that money or work off his debt. I know that was not the primary reason for him to be running the saloon. There was a bigger con at play and I saw it within hours of his arrival in town.
Either way, he came to town under false pretenses. I know he was supposed to seduce Elizabeth and get her to hand over her trust fund. I also know that you threw a major wrench in those plans. Lucas didn't know how to handle you. I am pretty sure whoever wasn't expecting another Mountie to be assigned to her so fast. I am not positive, but think whoever is behind things has a Mountie in their pocket. How else would they be able to stay in the shadows for so long. I think the plan was eventually for Lucas to get hands on Elizabeth's father's company and hand it over to whoever. I think if he would have been able to do that, his slate with various people would have been wiped clean. But apparently he can't even do that right because even though he got the ring on her finger, she never gave him access to the trust."
"How do you know all this?"
"I have been in business long enough to know how to get information." Henry said. "I am not proud of the businessman I used to be, but one of the lessons that I learned very early was that information was power. I might not be the ruthless businessman that I was back when I ran the mine in this town, but that doesn't mean that I don't still want to know who I am dealing with. Unfortunately, I learned a little too late who Lucas really was.
From that moment on, I was looking for a way to get rid of him and take my company back. I didn't like Lucas from the moment that he arrived in town, but he had me backed into a corner because of other things. I regret going into business with him and got out as fast as I could. Just so you know, I know lots of things about lots of people. I don't use that information unless I have to. I will never be double crossed again if I can help it. I will only use what I know to protect those who are important to me."
"Okay." Nathan said. "I will not force the name of your investor, for now. But we might not have a choice further down the road."
"Understood." Henry said. "Can I assume that this has something to do with Wyman Walden's return to this town?"
Nathan nodded and then stood.
"Thank you for the information." Nathan said. "If you learn anything else about Lucas or come across information on Walden, your help would be greatly appreciated."
Nathan turned to leave.
"Walden is another grifter." Henry said. "Lucas's downfall is his vanity."
Nathan turned back to look at Henry with a questioning look.
"Monogrammed shirts." Henry said. "Even his cufflinks and pocket watch are monogrammed. Not cheap to replace or easy to explain away."
"Thank you again." Nathan said.
Nathan left Henry's office and again looked around his town. He saw some people coming and going from the shops. Most people Nathan recognized, but a few he didn't. He saw Cody and Gabe talking by the cafe. Continuing to look around, he saw James by the hotel. He was glad that his two guys were doing as they had been instructed. He needed them to be the eyes and ears he couldn't be at the moment. Two younger guys might also be able to get more information then he would at the moment. Nathan realized that he needed to make some notes and started finding some connections between people.
… … … …
Carson arrived at Elizabeth's row house. William asked the nanny to take Jack outside to play for a bit. She quickly gathered the boy and took him to play in the grass.
"You have seen Elizabeth?" Carson asked.
"Yes." William said. "She responded to me a little, but wasn't making much sense."
"Some of that could be the medication." Carson said.
"So tell me what happened to my daughter." William said.
"I don't think she had a complete nervous breakdown." Carson said. "However, I do think that she had at least a partial one. She was like this right after she learned of Jack's death. You know that she walked around a shell of herself for weeks, even after she came back here. It was part of the reason I had sent her home to you in the first place. She needed to be away and rest. I think hearing that Nathan was married triggered something in her akin to when she lost Jack."
"But I thought she pushed Nathan away." William said.
"Yes." Carson said. "I think she pushed him away and hurt him and Allie as well, because she was too scared to really love again. She ran to Lucas and created this falsehood with him. I don't think she ever really loved him and he was more than willing to just have a shallow, physical relationship with her – not sure how physical it got, but I know that he spent the night here at least once and then there were all the out of town trips. I think he knew that he would never have her heart. Those of us that saw her with Jack and then watched her when Nathan first arrived, we knew where her heart was. I don't think she ever really dealt with Jack's death. Just as she was getting strong enough to actually deal with the grief, she found out she was expecting. I think she then pushed her grief away and poured everything into Little Jack.
I am sorry, I am as guilty as everyone else when I thought she was better. She was smiling and interacting with people again. I should have asked more questions and pushed harder, especially after Little Jack was born. It has only been in the last year that I realized that she never dealt with the actual grief of losing Jack. I tried to reach out and help her, but she didn't want help and that was part of the problem. She started to push people away when all we wanted to do was help her. I don't know how much you know about my past."
"I know that you lost your wife." William said. "I don't know the details, but I know that much."
"I lost my wife on my operating table." Carson said. "She had a brain tumor and knew that surgery was her only chance, no matter how slim it was. I couldn't save her, I know now that by doing the surgery, I was at least trying and what I learned during her surgery saved her sister. But my point is, I understand the pain of losing a spouse. Many others in this town also know that pain and we tried to help her, but she didn't want our help. She wanted to pretend she was fine. Even Nathan knew that she hadn't dealt with her grief and he tried to be respectful and allow her all the time she needed."
"What can I do?" William asked.
"You need to find someone to get her to talk about and deal with her grief." Carson said. "I would suggest a psychiatrist. They would be best equipped to walk her through the path that she needs to go down. I might also suggest a pastor of some sort. I know in the past her faith has been important. So it would be another way for her to heal and see worth."
"What should I tell them?" William said.
"I think you tell them as little as possible." Carson said. "She needs to be able to talk about it. But that said, Elizabeth really has two things she needs to deal with. One, the loss of Jack and the life she had planned with him. That is going to be the biggest part."
"And the second?" William asked.
"That she missed her chance with Nathan because of her own actions." Carson said. "She was the one that pushed him away. I don't know what she said to him in the jail that day before she ran to Lucas, but I have never seen Nathan so devastated. Not even after the failed prisoner transfer where another Constable died. Nathan was upset then, but it wasn't the level of devastation that I saw when Elizabeth pushed him away. She needs to acknowledge what she not only did to him, but to Allie as well. It won't change the course of things, because Nathan has moved on and is truly happy. But I think for Elizabeth's own sake, she needs to acknowledge what she did and seek forgiveness. I am sure that Nathan has forgiven her, but she needs to ask for it and then to also forgive herself."
"So taking her back to Hamilton would probably be the best." William said.
"I think so." Carson said. "At least to start. Maybe a change of scenery and her only job would be to get better. I think without the daily struggles of caring for Jack, the house and everything else would be good."
"How long?" William asked.
"I have no idea." Carson said. "It will all depend on how she responds as she truly deals with all the grief and loss. There is grief and fear mixed up together. I understand that feeling, but she needs to get past it somehow. Jack needs his mother and the only way that she can be there for him, is to deal with everything."
"Understood." William said. "How soon will she be able to travel?"
"I would say anytime." Carson said. "As long as you have someone to watch her."
"Let me make some calls." William said. "If I can arrange things by say Monday would you sign off on her traveling in a private train car?"
"Yes." Carson said.
"I have my private Pullman here." William said. "I can get a second private car from Calgary by Monday for Elizabeth, the nanny and Jack."
"I would suggest you pack her journals for the last couple of years." Carson said. "I know it might be helpful to the psychiatrist. I also think some pictures of Jack would also help Elizabeth deal. I also know that Little Jack has become quite attached to the picture of Jack."
"Understood." William said. "I will speak to Rosemary and see if she can help figure out what should go for now. Who would I speak to about the house?"
"Abigail." Carson said.
"Thank you." William said.
"I can speak to the psychiatrist if you want." Carson said. "I will tell him what I know and what I observed."
"That might be helpful." William said. "I will give him your name and ask him to call you."
"Let me know if there is anything else." Carson said. "At this point as long as she isn't combative, I would prefer to let the medication wear off and see what happens."
"I think that might be good." William said. "I will make some calls and let you know."
"Dr Carter and I will be around." Carson said.
Carson shook William's hand and then left the house to head back into town.
… … … …