Home of the Gray Dog - Segment 15

Chapter 71

For the next hour, Walker reluctantly went through the journals written by Jason Edgeworth. He knew if he returned to that one by Colin, he would be unable to stay away from Samantha’s rooms. Just the couple pages he had read earlier in that journal kept returning to haunt his thoughts.

         The sound of someone knocking on his front door was a welcome relief. “Come in, it’s not locked,” he called out, putting a blank piece of paper in the journal where he stopped reading. He recognized the footsteps coming down the hallway to his living room.

         “How are you holding up?” Jack asked, searching Walker’s face. It saddened him to see the new lines of pain combined with the exhaustion from days of worry over the fate of their mutual friend. Although he hadn’t seen Samantha at the hospital, Jack would never forget the sound of her screams coming through the ER doors to the waiting room.

         “I’m okay,” lied Walker, managing a smile. “Did Toby find Franklin?” He remembered Jack had been with the photographer earlier when taking photographs of Colin’s body.

         Jack nodded, “Yeah, and the last I saw of him they were arguing about who would be taking the pictures.” Jack laughed at the memory. “Franklin sure is one tough old bird and was winning the argument.” He then saw the journals on the table and pointed to them. “Bad?”

         “Jason was a bastard, and I hope he’s rotting in Hell for what he did to those innocent women.” Walker pulled a fairly new journal out of the scattered pile. “This is Colin’s. I can’t bring myself to finish reading it yet.” His tired eyes went to his hands, now clenched into tight fists.

         Jack thought this would be a perfect time to change the subject and pulled up a chair next to Walker, pushing all the journals to one side. “I just got a phone call.”

         “From who?” asked Walker, still only half listening.

         “It was Anthony Greene, he works with Jeff Randall.” Randall was the supervisor of a crew of forensic scientists working through the San Francisco Police Department. He and various members of his staff had visited Walker’s mansion in the past.

         “I don’t think I remember Anthony,” said Walker, searching his memory.

         “No, only a couple of the women and Captain Steele have been here, but Anthony called to ask me for a favor from you.” Jack and one of the women, Mary Kenton, had developed a close friendship during her visit the previous year. Both hoped at the time it would become something more. Friendship, though, was as far as it had gone.

         “What’s the favor? You know I always enjoy Randall’s company.” The two middle-age men, completely different in temperament and upbringing, had one unspoken common interest. Randall quickly saw the love Walker had for Samantha, even if the other man still failed to recognize it. Although he also had strong feelings for the attractive redhead, he bowed out of the picture without Walker ever knowing he had a rival for Samantha’s affection.

         Jack waited until he had Walker’s full attention. “Well, Anthony said Randall recently ended in the hospital with epileptic seizures.”

         Surprised, Walker interrupted, “I didn’t know he had epilepsy.”

         “It seemed no one did.” Jack repeated what Anthony had told him in the phone call. “A pharmacist replaced medication for a lot of his customers with a placebo or sugar pills, including Randall’s Keppra. He was talking in his office with Anthony when he suddenly went into convulsions.”

         “My God, is he okay now?”

         “Yeah, and the husband of one of the people who died from not having her medication murdered the pharmacist.”

         “And Randall, he’s back to health now?”

         “His doctor says so, but he made Randall promise to take time off from work to fully recover. That’s where the favor comes in.”

         Guessing what the favor was, Walker grinned for the first time in three days. “Tell Anthony to put Randall on the next plane, and you can meet him at the airport. Ask Anthony to come, too, if he can spare the time. I’d like to meet him.”

Chapter 72

The sound of a phone ringing in another room interrupted them. Walker went quickly to his office and picked up the receiver of his antique French phone. He winced at the sound of Dr. Ellison’s voice that reminded him of the rare scolding he got from his parents when he misbehaved.

         “Walker, I just called Samantha’s apartment to tell her I was on the way over to finish my examination, and your mother told me not to bother. She wasn’t letting anyone see Samantha.” Dr. Ellison angrily yelled this, causing Walker to hold the receiver a few inches from his ear. At the sound of laughter, he looked over to the doorway and saw Jack standing there. Jack was trying not to laugh and failing miserably since he was able to hear every complaining word Dr. Ellison was saying.

         “Did you hear me, Walker?” she continued to yell when he didn’t answer quickly enough.

         “Harriet, I think everyone in the mansion heard you.” This gentle rebuke from Walker quieted the doctor momentarily. Before she could continue her tirade, he managed to say, “Now, you know Edith is taking care of Sam like you wanted. If you phone her again and let her know what you need her to do, I know she can manage. She’s very good with people.”

         The dead silence on the other end of the line made Walker finally realize something more than Edith refusing to let the doctor see Samantha was bothering her. “I didn’t mean you weren’t good with your patients, but Edith seems to think of Sam as a daughter and is very protective of her.” The silence continued. “Give her a few more hours, okay? I’ll speak to her in the meantime.” When Dr. Ellison reluctantly agreed, Walker hung up the phone and took a deep breath of relief.

         In the doorway, Jack shook his head at Walker’s continued obtuseness regarding the women in his life. Of course Edith thinks of Samantha as a daughter, he thought. Now, if Walker would admit he loved Samantha, Edith might actually get a daughter or daughter-in-law. Jack knew, though, that Walker would need a strong push in the right direction to have this happen.

         Then he remembered what that push might be. Randall would be arriving soon.

Chapter 73

Once again, the sound of someone knocking on his front door interrupted Walker. Upon opening it, he quickly got out of the way when Sherri Delaney hurried inside.

         Before he could say anything, she started to pepper him with questions. “What did you say to Dr. Ellison? Did you tell her she had no people skills? Why won’t your mother let a doctor in to see Samantha? You know we have to run tests to see how badly the astard hurt her, don’t you? She could have internal injuries. We also need to get an SAE kit processed as soon as possible, before Edith gives her a bath and washes away any evidence.”

         Jack came out of the office to where they were standing in the hallway. “SAE kit? What’s that?”

         Walker, somewhat familiar with medical terminology, answered for Dr. Delaney. “It’s a sexual assault evidence kit. Is that what you want to find out, if Colin raped her?” Just the thought of that happening to Samantha was too painful for Walker to think about for long. In a firm tone of voice, he stated, “He didn’t. He couldn’t have.”

         Neither Jack nor Sherri was as positive as Walker and shared a look. It was Sherri who asked, “How can you be so sure, Walker?”

         “I’m sure because he was emulating his ancestor, following in his footsteps, so to speak. Jason tortured the women, but never sexually assaulted them.” Earlier, Toby had mentioned to Walker there was no written evidence of rape in any of the four journals. What he had read was horrible enough, though.

         Sherri knew that serial criminals often escalated in their activities. “Walker, someone needs to examine Samantha, and maybe Edith will allow me to do it. Dr. Ellison did get off on the wrong foot with your mother because of her harsh demands, so I can just ask, okay?”

         Walker thought about it for a short space of time and then agreed to intercede between Sherri and his mother. A quick phone call downstairs to Samantha’s rooms filled with conciliatory words on Walker’s part and the extraction of promises by Edith gained admittance for Sherri to check on Samantha.

         With a quick peck of thanks on Walker’s cheek, Sherri left the two men and headed down one flight to finish running the needed medical tests.


Chapter 74

Walker turned to Jack as soon as Sherri left. “Why don’t you go get the wheels moving on getting Randall and maybe that Anthony on one of our planes? Check with Marie to see which one is ready to go to San Francisco.” Marie Shepherd was one of the pilots on Walker’s staff and had been instrumental in saving the lives of two children when her Piper PA-31 twin prop plane crashed. After their rescue, Walker had hired her away from the charter flight company. He thought for a second or two. “I guess I should head over to Hannah’s Home and see how things are without Edith running it.”

         This stopped Jack just as he was leaving the apartment. “Who’s taking over for her? Is there anything I can do to help?” On their return from the hospital, he had taken Itzam to her own room at the orphanage.

         Previously, after a discussion with both her and Michael, everyone had agreed that the two children might be more comfortable surrounded by others closer to their age. Little Itzam blossomed under the loving care of Edith and the other staff members. Her mastery of English was also improving daily with Joshua’s help.

         “I’ve asked Sophia to take over Edith’s duties.” Walker didn’t doubt that Sophia could handle any problem that popped up. “Maybe I’ll wait and go over there first thing in the morning, though.” He hoped being in the company of children might help take his mind off Samantha’s condition.

         “Right, sounds like a good plan.” Jack left Walker’s apartment and headed down the stairs to get to the elevator on the floor below. Finally giving in to his bone-numbing exhaustion, Walker stumbled into his bedroom. He was asleep within seconds, and soon soft snores drifted out into the living room.

* * *

         When Walker entered Hannah’s Home early the next morning, he found total pandemonium. A stereo was loudly playing “The Entertainer,” and he saw Sophia in the middle of the large entrance room surrounded by almost all the children. Only Itzam was missing, since Jack had insisted the little girl stay in her room and rest for a few days.

         “What’s going on here?” yelled Walker, trying to make his voice heard above the noise. No one noticed him, so he decided to wait and see what they were doing. He watched the elderly woman teaching the children a sanitized version of her erotic fan dance. “Hey, Sophia! Can you teach me those moves?” Walker again called out loudly, trying to her her attention.

         Sophia saw him at this point and motioned him to come closer. The children cleared a path for him, and he came toward her, each step lighter than the last. The tension that had been with him for the four days Samantha was missing slowly left his middle-age body. Sophia went to the stereo and started the music once again from the beginning.

         Following her slightly bawdy instructions, all of which thankfully went over the children’s heads, Walker learned how to bump and grind, rather awkwardly but with joyful abandon. This he did alongside the giggling children and received a round of applause from them when the song ended.

         “Not bad, Walker,” said Sophia, trying to keep a straight face. “However, you really need a couple fans to go with those hips.” She let out a squeal when he picked her up and laughingly swung her around in a circle. With her feet once more on the floor, Sophia watched the children gather around Walker, all vying for his attention.

         For the next few hours, surrounded by the innocence of the children, Walker managed to forget what had happened at the mansion over last few days.

Chapter 75

Walker left Hannah’s Home just before noon and headed back into the mansion, refreshed from the short time spent with the children. He hoped to share lunch with his mother and find out how Samantha was doing. Instead, he saw Dr. Delaney coming out of the elevator on the far side of the entrance room.

         “Walker, wait up!” Sherri called out when she spotted him. “I need to talk with you.”

         Walker slowed his step and waited for her to reach him. “How is Samantha?” was the first question out of his mouth.

         “That’s what I want to talk to you about. She’s in better shape this morning, but still refusing the rape kit.” Walker stopped when she said this, and she continued quickly. “That doesn’t mean he violated her, and it’s her right to refuse it, you know.”

         “Did she say why?”

         ”No, and Edith and I didn’t press her.” Sherri remembered the night before after Edith reluctantly let her into the room. Samantha had shaken her head violently when the doctor tentatively broached the necessity of doing the SAE kit. She didn’t tell Walker about the bruises she’d seen on Samantha’s inner thighs, signs of possible assault by Colin. “When I saw her last night, your mother had managed to get those disgusting clothes off Samantha and given her a sponge bath. I did convince her to take a sleeping pill, but that was all she’d let me do for her.”

         Walker stared silently at the doctor, wondering what she was keeping from him. “What do you need from me? Do you want me to talk to her about having the kit done?”

         Sherri thought about what Samantha’s reaction would be if Walker did this and quickly answered, “No, but thank you. We did convince her to return to the hospital, at least for some x-rays to check for internal injuries. We need you to drive us there.”

         “I’ll do it, of course. Can she get downstairs on her own, or…”

         Sherri stopped Walker before he could volunteer to carry her down two flights of stairs. “Edith and I can handle getting her into the elevator and down here, but why don’t you find a chair with casters to get her out to the SUV?”

         In this manner, the residents of the mansion watched Samantha, bundled up in blankets, wheeled out to the waiting SUV. They saw Walker gently place her into the back seat and then help Sherri in beside her. All this time, Samantha had her eyes tightly closed to avoid the sight of Walker or any other man.

         Edith got in the passenger seat up front, and Walker started the short drive through the woods to the hospital. He winced at the sound of Samantha’s soft whimpers of pain whenever the vehicle hit a bump in the road.

Continued in next segment.

Home of the Gray Dog - Segment 16  (18+) Chapters 76 through 80 #1272916 by J. A. Buxton