HOME OF THE RED FOX - Segment Sixteen

Chapter 76

         Walker stood at these words. Edith had told him how this man abandoned her on finding out she was pregnant. "Just what do you expect me to say, Mr. Newton?"

         ”Hello, Dad, would be appropriate, don't you think?” Howard remained seated as he said this and again took the cigar out of his pocket. Without a word, Walker took the cigar from his hand and broke it in two.

         "Oh, I thought a cigar was mandatory when a man finds out he has a son."

         "First, sir, you don't have a son." Walker's disdain for the man was apparent in his voice. All his life, he had wondered about his birth mother, although not once had the thought of finding his biological father crossed his mind.

         Looking at the man seated in front of him, he was once again grateful for the couple who adopted and raised him. William Walker, Sr., the gentle man he considered his true father, died when his adopted son was in his early 40s. One night the 67-year-old millionaire peacefully went to sleep and never woke up again. Three months before, the man's wife had died of cancer, and her heartbroken husband had never fully recovered.

         Walker mourned their loss and would always treasure his memories of them, even after finding his birth mother. His only regret was being unable to find the many photograph albums his mother had kept while he was growing up. She had been a prolific amateur photographer, rarely without a camera in her hand. After her death, the albums she often shared with him disappeared. Despite months of searching, he had never found them.

         Bringing his thoughts back to the present, Walker stared at the still seated man. "I'm not sure why you're here. Did you expect Edith or me to welcome you with open arms?"

         "No," laughed his father, "I expect nothing from Edie. She's just my ticket into your fabulous home here.” He slowly looked around him. Walker realized he was calculating the price of everything he saw. He was familiar with greed in people and started to relax. If this disagreeable man wanted money to leave them alone, he was in for a rude awakening.

         "Being your father," the man continued, "I'm entitled to live here, same as she is.” He stood up and put a friendly hand on Walker's shoulder. "Son, I know you'll do right by me. Any room will do for the moment.” Howard went on, ignoring the fact that Walker had moved out of his reach. "You can give me better rooms later."

         Across the room, Samantha and Edith were surprised to hear Walker laughing. They looked at each other in confusion. Samantha now knew who the stranger was. She looked over at the older woman to ask, "Shall we join Walker and find out what's so funny?"

         Edith sighed. "I guess I'd better get it over with. If there's one trait I remember about Howard, it's he has a mean streak in him. He wouldn't hesitate to say or do anything to hurt my son.” She started across the room towards the men.

         "Don't worry about Walker," Samantha said, as she followed close behind. "He may appear too easygoing for his own good, but he wouldn't hesitate to fight back to protect those he cares about. That means you, Edith.” By now, the two women had reached the men. Walker had been watching their progress over Howard's shoulder. He stopped laughing to reach around the man and take Edith's outstretched hand in his. Ready to step in if Walker needed her, Samantha stayed close by.

         "Mr. Newton, you remember Edith, my mother.” The last he said with unmistakable pride.

         "Sure do. Good to see you again, Edie.” Edith cringed inwardly at the nickname she never liked and he insisted on using years ago. "Our boy sure turned out good, didn't he?"

         "Hello, Howard.” She was so embarrassed at what the two younger people must be thinking that those words were all she could get out.

         Howard Newton continued, as if unaware of her feelings. "You held up nicely, Edie. I was glad to see from your picture in the book you'd not run to fat.” He looked her up and down slowly. Watching him, Walker felt a desire to hit someone for the first time in his adult life.

         "Edith, do you care to talk further with Mr. Newton?" he asked his mother. She shook her head vigorously and turned away from the men. With her back to them, only Samantha saw the tears in her eyes, blue eyes so much like those of her son. The women headed back towards the elevator, leaving Walker to handle the situation.

         "Will you excuse me for a moment, Mr. Newton?” Walker did not wait for an answer and went behind the currently unoccupied reception desk for something. Returning to the sofa, he handed the man a business card. "If you feel you have some claim on me or my mother, I'd suggest you contact Mr. Hanson at his law firm. Now, I must ask you to leave."

         "You can't get rid of me so easily," Howard snarled at Walker. "I didn't make a long trip here just to have you give me the bum's rush."

Chapter 77

         "Do you need help getting rid of him?” Walker swung around at the sound of the husky voice behind him. Having just come in through the front door unobserved, there stood Jack and an older woman, probably in her late 70s. The woman who spoke those words looked like she could handle any man with ease. She towered by inches over Jack, who was of average height. Her short blonde hair showed not a single gray hair. Her lanky body seemed poised for action, even as she stood quietly waiting for his answer. Walker looked over at Jack, suddenly grinning in delight.

         "Is this the Sgt. Hutchinson you wanted to be our newest guest?” Ignoring the angry man behind him, Walker held out his hand to the woman. He tried not to wince at her powerful grip when she returned his handshake.

         "Yup, sure is. Paula, I'd like you to meet Walker." Jack obviously was pleased his boss was making the woman feel welcome so quickly. "Walker, this is my father's friend I told you about, Sgt. Paula Hutchinson. Retired, of course."

         "Should I call you Sergeant, or may I go with Paula?” Walker tried to shake the blood back into his hand without being too obvious about it. He instantly liked the woman and was glad Jack had talked him into letting her live with them. According to Jack, the woman and his father once were romantically involved. The passage of years, the Korean War, and separate marriages changed their romance to friendship. Even after the death of the senior Mr. Notting a decade ago, Paula had stayed in touch with his son, Jack.

         When he learned that the childless woman became a widow just after Thanksgiving, he asked Walker for permission to bring her to live in the mansion. He made a surprise visit to Paula a couple days before Christmas, this being the secret he had kept from Samantha. It had taken a long time to convince the independent woman her life would only change for the better if she moved to the mansion.

         He stood there watching two of his favorite people become acquainted. Unsure of what had happened between Walker and the angry man standing by the sofa, Jack waited for a clue from Walker on how to proceed.

         "Paula, I thank you for your help. However, Mr. Newton was just about to leave on his own.” He turned around to face him. "Weren't you?"

         Seeing he was outnumbered, the older man headed for the front door, but not before getting in the last word. "I'll see you in court. As my son, you owe me.” With that, he left the mansion, slamming the heavy door behind him.

         Jack's eyes opened wide as he took in what he had just heard. Wisely, though, he kept his thoughts to himself.

         Paula wasn't as tactful. "That's not much of a father you have there."

         Walker started laughing again. "I agree with you. However, he's not important enough to spend any more time thinking about. Now, are you ready to see your rooms?” He and Jack started with her towards the elevators where Samantha and Edith were waiting. After introductions all around, Jack took Paula up to the suite he had decorated for her.

         Meanwhile, Walker filled Edith and Samantha in on what had happened with Howard Newton. It took a while, but he finally managed to convince Edith his lawyers would handle any further problems from the man.

         "If you feel the need, you can tell me all about him.” Walker hoped she understood the man who had donated only his sperm did not interest him. Edith got the hint and never again spoke of the man she once thought she loved.

Chapter 78

         Charlie Maxwell had lived a long, full life before coming to stay at the mansion. Walker was about to find out how full Charlie’s life had been. One morning, as he was in the dining room eating a late breakfast, Walker saw Samantha coming into the room and motioned her over to his table.

         "You look puzzled," he said, taking another sip of his coffee. "A new challenge?"

         "I'm not sure. Have you seen Charlie Maxwell today?” They knew the 89-year-old bachelor was an early riser and usually was downstairs in the company of one or more of the female guests. Most of the men at the mansion relaxed during the day in casual clothes, but Charlie always wore well-tailored suits with expensive silk ties. He favored pastel colored shirts and was one of the few men Samantha knew who could look masculine even when wearing a pink shirt.

         After Walker answered he had not seen the man, Samantha let out a sigh of frustration. "Well, he has a visitor at the front desk, and I can't find him."

         "Did you call up to his room?” He asked the obvious, although both knew Charlie never would be in his room at this time of the day.

         "Yes, no answer, not that I'd expected one.” Samantha looked at her boss for help. "Do you think you could keep his visitor occupied, while I try to track Charlie down?"

         "Sure, more than happy to," he said, taking one last sip of coffee.

         Once Samantha introduced Walker to the person waiting by the front desk, she left for the second floor and Charlie's rooms. Knocking on his door got no answer, even after repeated tries.

         A maid coming down the corridor towards her stopped by his door. “I was just going in to clean. Do you need something?” She already had her key out to unlock the door.

         "No, I'm just trying to find Charlie. Maybe I could go in and leave him a note.” Samantha always respected the privacy of the guests and staff. However, she felt it would be all right just this once. After the maid unlocked the door, they walked inside, only to stop in shock at what they saw.

         Lying on his bedroom floor was Charlie. For the first time since she had met him, Samantha saw him without his usual suit on. In fact, he was stark naked and very dead. Dead drunk, that is.

         Downstairs, Walker was still unaware of his guest's condition and slowly walked the visitor to a nearby sofa. She was a petite woman in her 80s and held in her hand a copy of Franklin's book.

         "Mrs. Maxwell, you said you are Charlie's wife?" he asked, confused. "On Charlie's admission form, he listed himself as a single male."

         "Oh, he is. We married when we were young, much too young, in our 20s.” She opened the book to the picture Franklin had taken of Charlie. It showed him doing the tango with Sophia at the previous year's St. Valentine's party. The handsome couple proved why the tango was also known as the dance of love. "A friend gave me the book for Christmas," she went on, "and I would know my Charlie anywhere, even after all these years.”

         The desk clerk came over and interrupted their conversation. Keith Stockwell, a 32-year-old who was new to the job, handed a cordless phone to his boss. After saying, "Walker, you have a call from Franklin's publisher, and he's a bit upset,” he returned to the desk.

         "Please excuse me, Mrs. Maxwell," said Walker, moving a short distance away for privacy. "Hi, Bill. What's new?” After he said this, he quickly pulled the phone away from his ear.

         The voice on the other end had shouted, "What the hell is going on at your place?” Walker was stunned since he had never heard Bill Hoskins sound so agitated. Before he could get a word out, though, the publisher lowered his voice by a few decibels. "Because of White's book, I've already had phone calls from five, count them, five Mrs. Charlie Maxwells. I gave them your address, so you should be seeing them on your doorstep any day now."

         "I don't understand," said Walker, only to discover he was speaking to dead air.

         The publisher no longer was on the phone, having done his duty by warning his friend. The invasion of the wives no longer was his problem. He did wish he could be at the mansion to see how Walker handled all the women in one room. An evil idea came to him. Maybe he should call Franklin to be there to take pictures of the reunion. No, he thought, the sight of blood always makes me ill. With that, Bill Hoskins chuckled and went back to work, still wishing he could watch the reunion.

         Much later, he would hear all about it from Walker and regret not making the phone call to Franklin for those pictures.

Chapter 79

         After receiving the call from Samantha about Charlie Maxwell’s condition, Walker phoned Jane. The personable woman, the previous desk clerk, was in training to be Samantha's assistant. He knew Jane would handle the first Mrs. Maxwell diplomatically until he sorted out the whole mess.

         Sally Deakins, another of the second-floor maids, stopped Walker on his way to Charlie's suite. "Walker," she said quietly, once she had his attention, "I think we have a problem."

         "You should know, Sally, we don't have problems here, just challenges.” Her boss said this seriously, but she heard the smile in his voice. "Okay, what's the second challenge for today?”

         She hesitated, trying to find the right words. "You know Belinda Ayres?”

         "Yes, I sure do.” Walker did smile, as he remembered her innocent comment that Nick was really Santa Claus. Samantha, over the weeks following the holidays, tried to bring the shy woman out of her shell. Her efforts met without much success. "Is Belinda sick?”

         "No, not sick. I'm assigned to clean her rooms and have caught her crying lately.” When Walker looked troubled, she continued, "I think she needs something to make her feel useful.”

         "Right, thanks for bringing it to my attention. We can't have her upset, can we?” His mind was already racing, trying to come up with ideas on how to make the sweet lady happier. Fully confident Walker would find a solution, Sally left to return to her chores.

         On reaching Charlie's room, though, all thoughts of Belinda slipped from his mind. Samantha opened the door at his knock and watched without a word as Walker came into the bedroom. The maid was also just standing there by the still naked man, waiting to see how her usually unflappable boss would handle the situation. Charlie was lying on his stomach, one arm underneath his head and the other outstretched towards the unmade bed. He was facing the bed, and they could hear muffled snores coming from him.

         What Walker did first was place a bathrobe from the neatly organized closet over the unconscious man. "Rosemary," he asked the waiting maid, "would you make a pot, a big pot, of black coffee?” As she nodded and headed for the suite's small kitchen, he looked at Samantha. "You up for helping me get him back to bed?” He looked again at the woman with her slight build, then said, "On second thought, he's much too heavy. Get Toby on your cell and ask him to come up here."

         The newly promoted waiter was now in charge of the mansion's outdoor equipment. The change in duties suited the young man better as he enjoyed working outside. Toby Cutler had a magic touch with the machinery needed to keep the grounds in perfect condition. Right now, though, Walker needed his strong arms to help lift the older man back to his bed.

         Less than 15 minutes later, there was a knock on the apartment's door. Rosemary let Toby in to join the other two in the bedroom. All the while, she admired those same muscular arms. She was a few years younger than he was and often watched him going about his outdoor duties. Like so many of the younger women, she secretly had a crush on the friendly, single man.

         Walker and Toby managed to lift the older man back onto the bed and cover him with a blanket. They and the two women went back to the living room to wait for him to wake up. A sudden pounding on the apartment's door hurried up the process.

         Through the door, they heard a loud female voice calling out, "Charlie Maxwell, you get your lazy bones out here immediately, or I swear I'll neuter you!"

Chapter 80

         Samantha and Walker looked at each other, shocked by the loud outburst on an otherwise quiet floor. Rosemary, hiding a smile behind her hand, looked at Toby to see a matching grin on his face.

         "Sam, would you like to find out who's there?" whispered Walker, in mock fear.

         "Not on your life, mister! Don't forget, you're the big strong man, and I'm just a weak little woman." Samantha gave him a push towards the door. "Go protect us and Charlie.” She had recovered from her initial shock and was trying hard not to join the other two, who were laughing outright.

         When Walker opened the door, he saw Jane, the petite Mrs. Maxwell, and another unfamiliar woman standing in the corridor. Jane looked apologetic and simply shrugged her shoulders at Walker's questioning look. Mrs. Maxwell waited beside her, without saying a word and smiling sweetly up at Walker. It was the third woman who had been pounding on the door.

         "Who the hell are you?" she asked, staring belligerently at Walker. "Where's my no-good husband?” Because women had fallen at his feet all his life, they rarely intimidated Walker. This one did not fall; this one did intimidate; this one glared at the startled man, who took a step backwards at the sound of her voice.

         Because, for once in his life, Walker was speechless around a woman, Samantha came up behind him. This stopped his backward motion when he bumped into her. "Mrs. Maxwell?" she asked, stepping around her boss to face the now quiet woman.

         "Yes, Frances Maxwell.” Seeing the redheaded woman wasn't going to let her in the room without further information, she said to Samantha, ignoring Walker, "Charlie and I married when we were in our early 70s, and I haven't seen him for years.” Unlike the other wife of Charlie Maxwell, Frances was tall and skinny, apparently more bones than flesh. Her voice was loud, as evidenced by her ability to be heard clearly through a solid wooden door.

         "How did you find him?" asked Walker, finally entering the conversation. He gently pulled Samantha out of their way so the three women could come in. Jane mouthed a silent apology to him as she went by. The first Mrs. Maxwell, whom he had met earlier, walked by him next. She stopped to pat his arm in a motherly fashion before joining the others in the living room. Samantha was thoroughly enjoying the moment, as were Toby and Rosemary. Walker was not.

         "In answer to your question, Mr…?

         "Walker."

         "Mr. Walker, I saw his picture in a photograph book and would recognize him anywhere.” She looked at the shorter woman standing next to Jane. "And who are you?”

         "Mrs. Maxwell, Mrs. Agnes Maxwell.”

         "Oh, yeah. He mentioned you once.” Dismissing the other woman as of no importance to her, Frances turned back to Walker. "I've lived only 30 miles from here all these years and never knew Charlie was so close by. When I talked to the guy who published the picture book, he gave me your mansion’s address.” She frowned at him. "You might want to talk to him about his manners. When I said who I was, he wouldn't stop laughing and kept saying "five now, five now.'"

         Rosemary, at a nudge from Samantha, slowly walked around the group in the middle of the living room. Heading towards the front door to return to her housekeeping duties, she quietly closed the bedroom door. She hoped to keep his two wives from seeing Charlie in his current state. She did notice he was fully awake and sitting up in bed, looking bewildered.

         Back in the living room, Walker politely invited everyone to sit while he checked on Charlie. Samantha left for the kitchen and the freshly brewed pot of coffee. She knew from experience that tempers calmed down over a relaxing cup of coffee. As she headed into the kitchen and Walker turned towards the bedroom, the door opened to reveal Charlie in all his natural glory. He wore only his skin. The bathrobe was lying on the bedroom floor, fallen off and forgotten.

         Walker tried to stop him, but Charlie ignored him to head for the kitchen. Evidently, he was half-asleep and still unaware of all the people in his apartment. A few seconds later, Walker was unsure who was more startled, Charlie or Samantha.

         When he caught sight of her holding the steaming pot of coffee, Charlie let out a surprised yelp and backed full speed out of the kitchen towards the living room. Turning around on reaching it, he stopped and looked around in horror. Unnoticed, Toby doubled over in helpless laughter. All Charlie could see were the two women from his past, Agnes and Frances. When Samantha came to stand next to Walker in the short hallway, he threw up his hands in surrender. "I give up, Sam. Charlie's on his own.”

         Motioning Toby to join them, safely out of the way of the trio of Maxwells, Walker silently escorted him and Samantha outside into the corridor. As he closed the door, the side of his mouth started to twitch. Soon, the three of them were walking towards the staircase, confusing people passing by with their uncontrolled laughter.

         The next day, Walker was no longer laughing as wives three, four, and five arrived.

Continued in next segment.

HOME OF THE RED FOX - Segment Seventeen  (18+) Chapters 81 thru 85 #1082631 by J. A. Buxton