HOME OF THE RED FOX - Segment Seventeen

Chapter 81

         Later in the afternoon, Paula sat next to Jack and Samantha on the sofa in Walker’s apartment. The 83-year-old, retired army sergeant never was one to get close to people, but Jack and his friends had taken her into their caring and friendly circle immediately. She watched Samantha trying to remain serious, and failing, as Jack insisted on telling outrageous stories about his father, Jack Notting, Sr. The older man had been her lover for many years after the death of his wife. He had tried to raise Jack in strict military fashion and failed miserably. Walker did not even try to keep a straight face but laughed uproariously as Jack’s stories got more and more ribald.

         One particular episode involved a pocket watch passed down from father to son for many generations. Paula smiled and, unseen by the others, reached into a pocket of her denim skirt. Her fingers circled and caressed the round gold object resting there as she remembered her first sight of the man who had owned it so many years ago.

         The young blonde private working at the typewriter looked up as the door to the office slammed open. If asked, she would have said she did not believe in love at first sight. This, though, was before she saw the man standing framed by the open door. He was of average height, probably no taller than she was. He looked taller at that moment, as his towering anger reached out and filled the room. His light gray eyes glanced around the room, ready to direct his anger at someone, anyone.

         “May I help you, sir?” the younger Paula asked.

         “Where’s the Captain?” The stranger calmed down at seeing the room contained only the young woman. “He said they caught the person who stole my grandfather’s pocket watch, and I want to talk to the bastard plus get my watch back.” Paula knew he wanted to do more than talk with the thief, but said nothing to contradict him. She reached into her desk drawer and pulled out the handsome gold watch with its chain and fob.

         “He has been called away. However, he left the watch for you.” As she handed it over to him, their fingers touched. In that instant, both knew something was happening to change their lives forever.

         “Paula,” she heard her lover’s son say, bringing her back to the present. “Do you remember the time I took Dad’s watch and tried to flush it down the toilet?” At Walker’s surprised look, he continued, “Well, I was only five at the time, and we were over at Paula’s place. They should have been watching me.”

         “Walker, he was a brat and kept trying to get his father’s attention any way he could.” Paula suddenly grinned. “The watch always ran fast afterwards.”

         She looked at the others, “Jack was so cute and seemed fixated on getting everything wet. Toilet, sink, garden hose, nothing about water was safe near him.” When Samantha moved her glass of soda water quietly away from Jack’s reach, Paula started laughing. “Don’t worry, Samantha. I think he’s outgrown that fetish.”

         “Right, I’ve got new ones.” Jack snuggled closer to the younger woman on the sofa. “Now beautiful redheads attract me, not water.” Samantha poked him in his ribs to get him to move away from her. “I never did see the watch again after I graduated college and left home. Wonder what happened to it.”

         Paula watched the two friends with their innocent kidding around and slowly took the object out of her pocket.

         No one noticed her placing it on the coffee table in front of her. No one except Walker, who raised a questioning eyebrow at her action. She shook her head wordlessly and waited for Jack to notice what she had done.

         It only took a few seconds before he saw it. He reached out slowly, fearing the item would disappear if he touched it. Jack couldn’t believe what he saw. There it was, his great-grandfather’s pocket watch. He wondered where it had been all these years.

         Answering his unasked question, Paula spoke softly to him. “Your father gave the watch to me just before he died. He wanted me to hold it for you until I felt you were ready for it.” She looked down at the watch. “I thought it was all I had of him for all these years, but I was wrong.” Paula reached out and took Jack’s hand in hers. “I forgot I have you to remember my Jack by.” With her other hand, she picked up the pocket watch and handed it to him. “Open it,” she said.

         Jack flipped open the watch’s case and saw an old photograph inside the lid. Walker got up to look over his shoulder and saw a young child staring back at him. It was his friend at the age of nine. Once again, he wished for his own adopted mother’s photographs.

Chapter 82

         Jack, sporting the newly found watch and chain across his slender middle, was the first to see the taxi arrive. He watched through the front window as three elderly women stepped out and headed for the front door. As the taxi drove off, Jack had a feeling he knew who these women were and could hardly wait for Walker to meet them. Samantha had told him and Edith all about Charlie and his wives the previous afternoon. He was determined not to miss the meeting if these were Charlie’s remaining wives.

         When they entered the mansion, Jack walked over to greet them. He thought no women could be more different than these three were from one another. Striding towards the front desk and in the lead was a tall slender woman with the straightest back Jack had ever seen. It would not have surprised him to see a wooden yardstick poking out of the neck of her dress. Her gray hair, pulled back into a bun, looked so tight it caused Jack to wince in sympathetic pain. He wondered if a stray hair would dare to escape from the bun. Her lips were nearly invisible as she held them in a disapproving grimace while looking at Keith Stockwell, the waiting desk clerk.

         “I’m here to see Charles Maxwell,” said the woman, not surprisingly. “Just tell him his wife Darlene, his only wife, is here.” She looked behind her at the other two women, daring them to contradict her.

         The second woman opened her mouth to speak, but thought better of it. She looked helplessly at the third woman, who only started laughing at the belligerent comment. Jack immediately felt the third one took nothing seriously in life, even if her husband might still be married to another female, or even two. She was a round woman, this being the first adjective Jack came up with to describe her. Her face was round with laugh lines at the corners of her mouth and radiating out from her twinkling green eyes. Her short body, probably no more than 5 feet 3 inches, was round and looked made for hugging. As a child, Jack had received few demonstrations of affection from his mother and hardly any from his father. He knew almost instinctively the woman gave out hugs as effortlessly as others shook hands.

         Ignoring Darlene, Jack walked up to the other woman to introduce himself. He could not help grinning as he heard her soft voice respond with, “It’s a pleasure meeting you, Jack. I’m another of Charlie’s deserted women, Carla Maxwell. This speechless woman here,” pulling the other woman to her side, “is also one of Charlie’s wives. Esther, say hello to Jack.”

         Esther just stood there, now in shock at discovering she was in the company of two of Charlie’s other wives. When they met at the train station and decided to hire a taxi together, all any of them knew was Charlie Maxwell currently lived in a magnificent mansion. That was all the publisher of Franklin’s book told them when they individually called him.

         It turned out Charlie married Carla when they were in their 40s, Darlene when they were in their 50s, and Esther in their 60s. Whether Charlie had divorced any of them was still unknown. Was he trying to go through the alphabet with wife B still missing?

         Jack put an arm around Esther’s shoulder and guided the silent woman over to the nearby sofa. Leaving her for the moment in the company of Carla, he returned to the desk. Keith was calling up to Charlie’s room. Jack knew Walker, the previous day, offered the use of one of the small bungalows to Agnes and Frances, until their husband was sober enough to see them. He regretted missing the first sight these two women had of their sleepy and naked husband. Leaving out no detail, Walker and Samantha had filled him in. Hearing them yesterday afternoon and watching Edith and Paula trying to keep straight faces, Jack started to feel sorry for the matrimonial-challenged octogenarian.

         However, he saw it was not in the least funny to the stunned and unhappy Esther. Where Darlene was tall and lean and Carla was round, Charlie’s fifth wife looked like she just stepped out of Vogue. Her outfit probably cost the same as Jack’s monthly pay, which was generous. Even though Jack was unfamiliar with fashion, Samantha would have immediately identified the simple outfit as a Coco Chanel creation. The classic cut of the dark gray suit was timeless in its elegance, and she wore it effortlessly. Esther was of average height and carried herself proudly, as regal as a queen. On her dark hair perched a matching gray pillbox hat, the tilt of it the only lighthearted item about her.

         Jack took his glance off Esther when Keith spoke quietly to him. “Charlie is on his way down, Jack, and I took the liberty of asking Walker to also join us.” Jack thanked him, grateful to know his boss would soon be here to help sort out the mess.

         He groaned, though, at what he saw walking up the driveway from the bungalows. Would Walker’s arrival be soon enough?

Chapter 83

          When Walker stepped off the stairway, he saw five women surrounding Jack near the front desk. Jack looked like he was trying to say something, but one or more of them kept interrupting. Hearing the machinery of the elevator next to him, Walker looked over and saw Samantha getting out.

         “Keith phoned me, too, thinking maybe you might need a woman’s gentle touch here.” Walker was glad to hear Samantha say this, as she had a soothing way with irate people. They walked towards the group and heard Jack give a sigh of relief at spotting them.

         “Oh, my God in Heaven above,” said a shocked voice behind them. Walker and Samantha swung around to catch sight of Charlie Maxwell a few steps away. He had been playing poker with friends and just emerged from the first corridor. He was hoping to find one of his many lady friends for a bite of lunch and instead saw five women from his past on the other side of the room.

         “Charlie,” said Walker ever so slowly, “can you explain what’s going on here?” The older man shook his head, all the while looking at the five women. “Do you know these ladies?” Charlie once more shook his head, still mute with a look of horror starting to cross his face. “Then, Charlie, would you like me to introduce you?”

         “Please, Walker, do I have to go over there?” Charlie begged, still not taking his eyes off the group by the desk. “If they get their hands on me, they’ll skin me alive.”

         “Why? What have you done?” Remembering how she had left Charlie in the room with two of his wives previously, Samantha wondered what had happened during that meeting. There was no way she wanted to miss this one, though. “Come on, time to face the music, whatever it is.” She got behind him and gave a tiny shove to get him moving again. Walker said nothing else, but walked behind them in case Charlie tried to bolt from the room.

          “Well, it’s about time you got here.” This came from the still disapproving Darlene, the most vocal of the group. “Maybe you can explain to these…ladies…I’m your only wife.” Walker swore he could see Charlie cringing at the harsh sound of her voice. “Well? What do you have to say for yourself? Come on, spit it out.”

         Instead, Charlie turned back to the people behind him. “Walker, is there a private room we can use? There’s no need to discuss our situation out in public, is there? Please.”

         Walker looked into the man’s pleading eyes and motioned for Charlie and the five wives to follow him. Without saying a word, he led them across the room and down the third corridor to a large empty room at the end of it. Opening the door to let them inside, he quietly said, so only Charlie could hear, “Please straighten everything out and let me know if you need me. Don’t forget your home is here, and we just want to help.” Saying this, he closed the door, leaving the man inside to face his wives alone.

         When they saw Walker coming back into the front room alone, Jack grinned at Samantha and Keith. “Wouldn’t you like to be a fly on that room’s wall?”

Chapter 84

         Instructing Keith to notify him if any of the group came back, Walker decided there was nothing else he could do for Charlie. He, Jack, and Samantha left for an early lunch to discuss the newest challenge. Two hours went by while Charlie and his wives remained inside the private room. No call for help came from Charlie. For that reason, they assumed all was well.

         As he was finishing his meal, Walker felt his cell phone vibrating in the front pocket of his slacks. Removing the phone and placing it to his ear, he heard Keith’s voice. “Walker, can you come out to the front desk? I think Charlie would like to talk with you.” Leaving Samantha and Jack behind, Walker returned to the front room where he saw Charlie quietly talking with Keith. There was no sight of the women.

         “What can I do for you, Charlie? Is everything okay?” Walker was glad to see Charlie in one piece. There was no observable bloodshed, despite the man’s earlier comment about the women skinning him alive. He did have a worried look on his face but, otherwise, was unharmed.

         “Would it be possible to let them stay in the bungalows for another night?” The question did not surprise Walker. Already, a maid was preparing more of the small homes near the mansion for occupancy.

         “Of course,” he reassured the older man, “just get the keys from Keith. Have you managed to calm the women down?”

         “I think so, but we’re all going back to stay with Frances tomorrow until we figured everything out. She lives just over in the next town and has room for all of us.” Charlie could not look at Walker as he said, “It’s, um, I mean, what I want to say is, I think there’s a slight snafu here.” He said quickly, as if speed would make it easier for Walker to grasp, “It seems some of my divorces weren’t totally valid.”

         Walker looked at him, hoping he had misunderstood the last comment. “Not totally valid? Is that anything like a woman saying she’s only partly pregnant?”

         “I knew you’d understand,” which, of course, the other man did not. Charlie glanced uneasily back towards the third corridor. Walker waited for a further explanation, but none was forthcoming. Just then, the five women returned to the front room, all seemingly talking at once, even the once-despondent Esther.

          The remainder of the day passed uneventfully. That evening, with the wives safely asleep in the bungalows and Charlie on the second floor in his own apartment, the rest of the mansion’s occupants settled down for the night. Walker hoped there would be a resolution to Charlie’s marital problem by the next day.

         The next morning during breakfast, Samantha received a call from one of the second-floor maids. The woman simply said, “Would you please come up to Charlie Maxwell’s room and bring Walker with you?” She hung up before Samantha could ask her if anything was wrong. Since Walker was sitting across the table from her, Samantha simply relayed the maid’s message. The two of them exchanged a mystified look and headed for the elevator and Charlie’s room. What has that man done now? Walker thought, as he opened the apartment door for Samantha to enter.

         The maid was standing by the open bedroom door and, without saying a word, motioned them to go inside the room. Samantha rolled her eyes when she saw Charlie once more lying dead drunk on his bedroom floor. Walker slowly bent down to wake him up. He soon discovered Charlie was not dead drunk but, in fact, was simply dead. Even knowing it was useless, he checked for a pulse and found none.

         Still dressed in the clothes he wore the day before, apparently Charlie had died the previous evening. His body was cold to the touch and still in rigor mortis. Walker found no obvious reason for his death. However, he knew an autopsy was needed to rule out foul play. The man had been in excellent health just the day before, and he did have many angry women nearby. Who knew what any of them would be capable of doing?

         “I’ll call Dr. Brown, Sam,” he said, standing up and looking over at the two waiting women. “Would you let Charlie’s wives know he’s dead and keep them away from here?” Samantha nodded and left the apartment to complete the task. Meanwhile, the maid stood quietly outside the room, waiting to see what her boss would do next. What he did was use Charlie’s phone to notify the town’s medical examiner and request he remove Charlie’s body discreetly from the mansion.

         The ambulance arrived within the hour, and Charlie was on the autopsy table soon after. When Walker received the phone call with the initial results of the autopsy, he wished he could call on his forensic friend, Randall, for help.

         Charlie might not have died a natural death.

Chapter 85

         Resolving to wait for the medical examiner’s autopsy report on Charlie, Walker turned his always-active mind to other challenges. With Samantha’s birthday fast approaching, he decided it was time to search for her present. He had heard of a new store opening in town, a specialty shop devoted to unique and unusual items. With any luck, he would find a perfect gift for his friend and employee, the woman who ran his mansion.

         A few hours later, he and his two young wards, Sue Beth and Joshua, made the short trip to town and immediately found the store. It was not hard to find with its sign hanging outside from chains like those of English pubs. The weathered-looking wood had the words “Ye Olde Curiosity Shop” burned into it, and the slight wind that day caused the sign to creak loudly as it swayed back and forth, beckoning any passerby to come inside the store.

         After parking the mansion’s SUV, the trio walked from the parking lot in back to the front of the store. In the wide windows were various items. Some Walker recognized and others were new to him. A beautiful music box first caught his eye. It was of dark polished wood, probably mahogany, with inlaid mother-of-pearl on its top. Depending on the music it played, the music box might be a possible gift for Samantha. After Walker opened the front door, they all entered the shop.

         Immediately, he knew they were in a special place. On counters and shelves were such wondrous items as toys from days gone by and small antique pieces of jewelry made from precious silver and gold. Walker also noticed assorted miscellaneous items. He wondered if some came from exotic places like Madagascar, Bali, and the Cook Islands. Even the store had a distinct smell of age, a combination of old leather, lingering hints of perfume, and just the slightest touch of mildew. Joshua sneezed as a floating dust mote went up his nose.

         Coming toward them was the shopkeeper, a welcome smile on his friendly round face. He must have been close to 70 years old, although he had the look of timelessness about him. Benjamin Franklin himself might have made the spectacles slipping down the man’s short nose. “Welcome, welcome to my shop,” the man said in a soft voice, as he extended his hand for Walker to shake. After getting this civility over, the shopkeeper next looked at the two awestruck children.

         They had been glancing around the shop, only waiting for Walker’s permission to explore. When he gave it, the two youngsters quickly disappeared. Their excited cries each time they discovered something new were the only signs they still were in the store. The owner of the shop gave Walker his full attention. “Have you seen anything you like yet?”

         “The music box in the window. May I see it?” When the man reached into the window’s display and brought out the requested item, Walker hoped the music it played would reflect Samantha’s personality. He took the wooden box from the man and slowly opened the cover. Green velvet lined the inside, and Walker realized it was also a container for small jewelry. In his mind, he saw the music box holding the exquisite diamond and emerald necklace he hoped to some day give Samantha.

         The box’s tinkling music filled the shop, drawing the two children back to Walker’s side. The tune reminded him of the day he had found Samantha by the cavern’s pool. She was singing “Greensleeves,” accompanied by the sound of the soothing waterfall. The music box echoed that song, and he could almost hear her voice in the shop.

         “Is it what you had in mind?” Taking Walker’s silent nod as agreement, the man carried the box to the counter at the back of the store. Walker followed the children to near the front window where something had earlier caught their attention. On one of the shelves was a brass kaleidoscope about six inches long. At their urging, Walker put it to his eye and slowly turned the cylinder, holding it up to the sunlight coming in through the window.

         Brilliant bits of glass sparkled as they created symmetrical designs, nearly hypnotizing him with their ever-changing beauty. Eventually and most reluctantly, Walker put the kaleidoscope back on the shelf. A sudden thought hit him, and he immediately picked the brass item up again. It would make a perfect gift for Jack, the mansion’s recruiter-turned-idea man. His younger friend already had a collection of kaleidoscopes in his apartment, and this would make a wonderful addition to it. “Joshua, would you bring it over to the counter for me? It can be from you and Sue Beth for Jack, since you found it.”

         While the young boy hurried away on his important errand, Walker next noticed a silver hairbrush on the same shelf. Taking it down, he held it out for Sue Beth to examine. The little girl ran her fingers gently over the raised design of a rosebud with three leaves on the back of the brush. “Do you think my mother would like this?” Walker asked the child. He knew Edith loved flowers, especially yellow roses.

         “Oh, yes,” she said, touching the soft bristles. “Maybe she’ll let me brush her hair with it.” She looked wistfully up at her tall guardian. “Her hair is so pretty, not filled with dumb curls like mine. Do you think mine will be as nice when I get her age?”

         Walker knelt to put his arms around the little girl. “Sweetheart, I love curly hair. Don’t you think Samantha looks beautiful with hers?” Still not convinced, Sue Beth shrugged and returned her interest to the hairbrush. Walker shooed her off to add the brush to his other purchases.

         While the children were again exploring the rest of the shop, he added a small telescope to the counter, keeping it out of Joshua’s sight. The shopkeeper wrapped it and the doll that next joined the other items. Joshua recently had shown interest in astronomy according to his teacher, Professor Logan. He even had a star map on his bedroom wall and could name all the constellations. A telescope seemed an appropriate gift for the budding scientist.

         Sue Beth might be getting too old for dolls, but Walker knew she would love the one he saw on another shelf. Straight black hair instead of curls surrounded the doll’s china face. Her soft cloth body was dressed in a pink, satin dress edged in delicate lace with patent leather shoes on her small feet. The doll, unlike those of modern design, did nothing. It did not cry; it did not wet itself; it simply waited to receive hugs from a small child.

         With his purchases wrapped and paid for, Walker found his children gazing at one last item. Watching them finally leaving his shop, the owner smiled. He knew Walker would be returning one day to buy that item for himself.

Continued in next segment.

HOME OF THE RED FOX - Segment Eighteen  (18+) Chapters 86 thru 90 #1082627 by J. A. Buxton