HOME OF THE RED FOX - Segment Two

Chapter 06

         She once was a dancer, light on her feet and gliding through life as if on air, keeping the child alive in those she met. The more formal dance of the ballet was not for her. Gentlemen callers watched Sophia do magic with large fans, disappearing and appearing again to the erotic beat of drums.

         Many years later, she sat alone in a dreary hotel room, her only company the people who delivered her daily Meals-on-Wheels and a home nurse who made sure she stayed healthy. Her golden hair contained streaks of gray despite the use of bottled hair dye.

         For years, she had kept her hair long and flowing, the same way she wore it during her time as a fan dancer. With arthritis settling into her hands, she sadly watched most of her hair land on the floor, as the hairdresser converted it to a simple pixie cut. Truthfully, short hair suited her small compact body better and dropped her age down by ten or more years. The judicious use of makeup and her innate ability to choose the right clothes for herself helped, too. She was still a lovely woman, unfortunately forgotten by most of the world.

         The waiting list for the city’s retirement home was long, but the nurse kept in constant touch with the manager, trying to push Sophia Kessler to the top of the list. Before that happened, though, the retirement home’s manager referred one of Walker’s recruiters to Sophia. The elderly woman found herself whisked off to Walker’s mansion. As a bonus for Walker, the recruiter hired the caring home nurse for the hospital now under construction.

         A week after Sophia had settled in, she finally discovered something was missing from her almost perfect new home. Dancing!

         True, Walker had thoughtfully created rooms for the guests where they could follow some of their hobbies. These included a sewing room to one side of the main area and a large tool-filled workshop near the back of the building. He had set aside other rooms on the first floor for such games as Monopoly, bridge, or poker. Guests always crowded these game rooms. There also was a noisy one filled with electric trains for adults living out their childhood dreams. He even contracted to have a second kitchen installed where the smell of apple pie and other delectable foods wafted out while guests busied themselves at restaurant-quality equipment. Walker often spent time there nibbling on these treats, fussed over by the happily cooking females. He attracted women, no matter what their age, for one reason or another and enjoyed every minute of it.

         That afternoon, Sophia calmly walked up to Samantha and asked to speak with her about something important she wanted to organize. While she listened to Sophia’s idea, Samantha grew as excited as the older woman was. She quickly walked with Sophia to the second kitchen where Walker, once again, was noshing on freshly baked goodies.

         “Walker, can you tear yourself away from here to listen to Sophia for a second? She’s come up with a great idea.” She wanted to laugh at the disappointed looks on the faces of the cooks when he followed them out of the kitchen. The reaction he unintentionally caused in most women always surprised and baffled her. She, of course, was immune to his charm and good looks. The fact that her breathing became a bit faster whenever she saw him meant nothing. She did not find him attractive at all. He was just her boss, nothing more.

         Walker smiled at the older of the two women. “Well, Sophia, what can I do for you?” In total awe of him, Sophia started out slowly, but she quickly gained confidence.

         “I’d like to start a dance workshop if there is a space here to do it. I used to do some dancing when I was younger and know it’s good exercise, too.” Samantha and Walker looked at each other, saying in unison, “The ballroom!” For months, he had wondered how best to use the large room at the back of the building next to the sunroom. It once was a ballroom with chandeliers lighting up the night for beautifully gowned women and men in their formal tuxedos. Now it sat empty waiting for someone to find a new reason for its existence. Thanks to Sophia, there was one, and it would light up the night again to older, but just as happy dancers.

         By the following week, her workshop was in full swing. When Walker had surprised her on opening day with a set of beautiful large fans, she could not stop smiling for the rest of the day. Life was good once again.

Chapter 07

         “Walker, you have to get down here right away.” The excited voice of the head chef came over his phone just as Walker sat down with a good book and a stiff drink. It had been a long day filled with minor problems, thankfully all resolved, and Walker just wanted to relax.

         With a resigned sigh, he asked the man, “Geoffrey, what’s wrong?”

          “You have to come down and do something about her. She won’t let anyone get to the canned peaches, and we need them for tonight’s Peach Melba.”

         With that, the chef hung up, leaving Walker’s next question hanging in dead air. “Who is she?” In frustration at not getting an answer, Walker headed out of his private quarters on the fourth floor and down the stairs to the first floor. There he ran into Samantha, who was also heading for the main kitchen.

          “He called you, too?” she asked as they reached the doors to the adjoining dinning room. “I told him I’d fix it, but Geoffrey said no one but you could control her. Who is she, by the way?”

         Walker shrugged. “I have no idea. Could one of our female staff have gone bonkers on him?” He grinned, though Samantha took his question seriously and started running over the list of women in her mind. No name of one who might have gone over the edge came immediately to her. She, therefore, decided to just wait and see who it was.

         Already people had started entering the main dining room, as hardly any of the guests and staff wanted to miss the delicious meals served daily by the top-rated kitchen staff. As usual, Walker had spared nothing in hiring the best. When the two of them came into the dining room, Samantha again saw Walker at his most charming, greeting people, shaking hands, kissing the ladies’ proffered cheeks as if a crisis was not waiting for him in the next room.

         She was breathing a bit hard from practically running to keep up with her long-legged boss when he finally walked quickly from the dining room into the kitchen. There they found complete pandemonium with the rotund Geoffrey running into the large pantry, out again, only to run in once more, screaming the whole time, “Is he here yet? What’s keeping Walker? I’m going to shoot her if he doesn’t hurry.” His staff was standing around, some unable to stop laughing, while others called out suggestions on what he should do next.

         “I’m here,” yelled a thoroughly confused Walker, trying to make his voice heard over the noise. “Who is she?” Followed closely by Samantha, he walked to the door of the pantry where Geoffrey was standing and looked in. All he could see was Zorro sitting in his usual place next to the dog door at the far end of the pantry. The small door allowed the red fox to go outside when nature called.

         “Never mind who, Walker. Where is she?” Samantha was a bit puzzled. There was no place for a woman to hide near the canned goods section of the pantry. They stepped further into the pantry, but they still could see no territorial woman holding the peaches hostage.

         “I thought she was going to bite me,” sobbed the chef, “and she’s never done that before.”

         “Who, Geoffrey, who are you talking about? There’s no woman in here.” Walker turned around to face the agitated man, totally lost about the reason for the uproar. Samantha left the pantry to question some of his staff to see if one of them could tell her whom the woman was.

         “She’s made a bed under the shelf holding the peaches. She’s pregnant and ready to have it any day now. Since she’s always out at night, who knows where she goes or what she does!”

         Walker was not a prude, by any stretch of the imagination, but he could not let a pregnant woman have her baby in his pantry. Trying to get a handle on the situation, he took his chef by the shoulders and calmly told him, “Geoffrey, take a deep breath and tell me from the beginning what the hell is going on!”

         By the time he finished this sentence, his voice had risen slightly because the other man had started to yell again at someone behind him. Walker swung around, but again he only saw Zorro. The fox had stood up and was coming towards the two men slowly.

         The chef was backing out of the pantry, practically begging, “Keep her away from me.”

         Walker, who was near to crying in frustration, asked. “Who is she? Who are you talking about?”

         “I’m talking about your fox, Zorro, of course! She won’t let me get my peaches.”

         Walker stared at the chef, then at the fox, then back at the chef again and started laughing in relief. “You think Zorro is a female? He’s a male, Geoffrey. That’s why I named him Zorro.”

         “Well,” said the chef, putting his hands on his hips for emphasis, “Your male is pregnant. Just look!”

         When the red fox came closer to Walker, he could see the animal did look a bit bigger around the middle and walked slower than usual. How did he miss the fact Zorro was a female and not a male? Now what was he going to do? He heard feminine giggling behind him and knew it was Samantha enjoying herself at his expense.

         “I’ll take care of it, Walker. You go get the peaches since Zorro, excuse me, Zorra wouldn’t hurt you, no matter what. We can fix up a place for her to have her kit tomorrow in a place better suited for them.”

         With one last dig before she left him, Samantha chuckled and said, “How does it feel to be a family man, Walker?”

Chapter 08

         Franklin was the skinniest person Walker would ever see and the most in need of his attention so far. The police found the 79-year-old man locked in a small shed. It was behind the home where he lived with his unmarried nephew, the last member of his family still alive. After not seeing the older man for months, neighbors had begun to worry. Finally, the next-door neighbor notified the police, who broke down the door to get to him. The building was dark with one tiny window up high near the ceiling. Filthy beyond description, it contained an army cot with a toilet and sink off in one corner. There was a slot in the locked door for passing through items. The man evidently ate now and then, just not regularly.

         The police arrested the nephew on various charges, and one of Walker’s recruiters brought Franklin to the mansion. After the tattered clothes he had arrived in ended thrown into the furnace, Franklin received a new outfit. It fit his long lanky body too loosely, with more outfits waiting in his closet, as he gained weight.

         Jack happened to see Franklin in the main room soon afterwards. The old man was just sitting in an armchair staring at people as they walked by. Something made Jack stop and look closer. He had seen him before or at least his picture, but where?

         Later in the afternoon, as he was enjoying his noon meal in the main dining room with Walker and Samantha, he almost shouted, “Franklin White!” He startled his two friends, causing Walker to drop his filled soupspoon on his lap. Without thinking, Samantha reached over with her napkin to wipe up the hot soup and quickly stopped as her cheeks flushed.

         “Thanks, Sam, your help is always….enjoyed!” laughed her boss, loving to tease the overly serious woman whenever possible. Seeing she was turning the color of her hair, he took pity on her and turned his attention to his other tablemate. “What about Franklin White? He’s our newest guest, came here last week, starved half to death.”

         Jack looked at Walker to see if the other man was kidding him. “You’re not serious, are you? You honestly don’t know who he is?” Walker shook his head. Jack continued, the Bostonian accent in his voice more pronounced in his excitement, “Franklin White was one of the best photographers to ever come down the pike. The books of pictures he took while traveling around the States are classics and still used in photography classrooms even today. I have one of his books up in my room I can lend you, if you’re interested.”

         Having recovered from her faux pas, although she still could not look at Walker, Samantha chimed in, “I’d love to see it if he doesn’t.”

         “Jack, why not bring it up to my room after dinner tonight, and we can look at it over drinks? I’m still worried about the man. He appears too detached from life.” The three of them agreed to meet around eight that evening before scattering to attend to their respective duties.

         Around 8:30, the trio gathered around a table in Walker’s living room, enchanted by the stark beauty of the photographs in front of them. The faces in the portraits looking back at them ranged from howling newborns to a wizened old lady. She smiled toothlessly back at the camera, but with still sparkling youthful eyes.

         Walker sucked in his breath once at the beauty caught for eternity of a slender woman standing naked behind the curtain of a waterfall. Her long black hair cascaded over her shoulders to hide her breasts. Stopping at another picture, he could not erase the grin from his face when looking at a group of small costumed children celebrating Halloween.

         “Franklin is a genius with a camera,” he finally said, after admiring the last picture in the book. “You’re my idea man, Jack. What can we do for him here?” The obvious had come to him halfway through looking at the book, but he wanted Jack to have credit for thinking of it. He was the one who recognized Franklin, after all.

         Jack, knowing what Walker, more friend now than boss, was doing, suggested, “Why not ask Franklin as a favor for you to photograph the people within the mansion for some book of his choice. You could provide the equipment, dark rooms, and so forth. Oh, he could also have in his book some pictures of the mansion and grounds and anything else he can think of.”

         He stopped to think for a minute then went on, “You do have a publishing company, don’t you?” He immediately knew it was a silly question. Of course Walker did, and the two men set the plan into motion the next day.

         Two days later, a still underweight but healthier Franklin looked up from where he was sitting in the front room. He heard someone speaking to him from what sounded far away. Crawling up through the mists of his deep despair, he tried to focus on the person standing before him. He realized it was the man who greeted him on the day he arrived. There stood the tall, handsome man with gentle, blue eyes and a soothing voice that warmed the spirit as a blanket warms the body.

         “Mr. Walker?” Franklin felt a small unfamiliar nudge of pleasure at having remembered the man’s name. Out of habit from long ago, learned manners, the elderly man stood up to greet the man by shaking his hand. Walker slowly and firmly started Franklin walking towards the left side of the main room, off of which were many smaller rooms. They continued down one of the three side corridors until they reached the room with “Photography” stenciled on the window part of the door.

         At Walker’s quietly spoken instruction, Franklin opened the door and looked around the room in shock. In front of him was a photography studio he could have only dreamed about in his younger days. At one end, there was a door leading into a darkroom. He saw all the equipment needed, or even imagined, throughout the room. Walker felt more than repaid for his generosity when he saw a small spark of life coming back into the other man’s face.

         “Do you think you can do me a big favor?” he asked, watching Franklin wander around the room picking up one item, touching another. Walker knew, no matter what age they were, people needed to feel useful. He watched proof happening before his eyes as he explained his plan for a book. It would be for gifts to his many friends and business associates.

         He left the room much later, leaving behind the rejuvenated photographer already planning a shooting schedule for his fellow guests. Walker strolled back to the main room, whistling, and satisfied at this day’s work, but ready for the next challenge.

Chapter 09

          One rainy afternoon, Walker found himself just a bit bored, something rare for him. He was feeling at loose ends, since Samantha and Jack were away at the time visiting various cities. They often traveled to recruit more staff for the mansion and surrounding outbuildings. Currently, Walker was having small bungalows built for those of his staff who preferred to live off-site. This included the doctors, nurses, and orderlies working in the new hospital just over a small hill from the mansion.

         Walker knew the first floor by heart. It contained the main entrance area, recreation and hobby rooms, a large well-stocked library, the second kitchen for guests plus the large sunroom in back. There was also the original kitchen, with attached dining area, serving three meals daily. A handy snack area stayed open 24 hours a day in case someone got a case of the nibbles during the night.

         The second floor held the guests' small private suites, each with its own bathroom and sitting room. It filled up as the months passed, but still could hold many more people. The live-in staff, including Samantha and Jack, received the third floor apartments in the west wing. Still, many of the rooms in the east wing sat empty, waiting for a useful purpose. Walker decided to explore the area and went from one empty room after another. He noticed his staff kept them clean and ready for use at a moment's notice. Wandering aimlessly around, he started getting vague half-formed ideas about possible uses for these rooms.

         With his mind filled with plans, Walker casually opened a plain wooden door. Ready to explore, he stopped short just inside the room. Because it was off a small hidden hallway behind another room, no one had noticed the room before he did. During the mansion's renovation, the workers evidently overlooked the area directly under Walker's apartment.

         The room seemed gloomy to Walker, but it probably became more brightly lit on sunny days. The outside wall consisted of windows going from floor to ceiling. Dusty cobwebs covered the wall and the rest of the room. Looking around, Walker saw wooden boxes scattered around the room intermingled with a few, old-fashioned trunks. Near the front window, some 20 oil paintings leaned against the wall. Walker saw the top one was of a man dressed in clothes dating from the late 19th century. He remembered it was around the same time as the mansion’s construction. The painting showed the man sitting at an open, roll-top desk with what looked like blueprints scattered in front of him.

         The current owner did not doubt it was a portrait of the mansion’s first owner. Originally from a town in Derbyshire, England, Jason Edgeworth had been a wealthy barrister. Walker remembered seeing a picture of the man and reading about his eccentricities when researching buying the property. It pleased him to find a portrait of him. He decided to lug it downstairs to hang in a place of honor in the entrance area of the mansion. Before he did that, though, Walker decided to check out the rest of the room for more hidden treasures like the Edgeworth portrait.

         Many of the wooden boxes he discovered contained old books that would be a splendid addition to the library. He put a few aside for his personal collection. Others held old clothing from the turn of the century, both male and female. A half filled box evidently once belonged to a small child, a girl if the dolls Walker found packed in with them were any indication. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted what surely must be the prize of the room.

         Nearly hidden behind some more stacked, wooden boxes, he saw what looked like the desk from the Edgeworth portrait. Getting closer, he saw, like everything else owned or created by Jason Edgeworth, the desk was huge. It took up half of the back wall. Not many rooms could hold a desk over eight feet long, but the desk and the room suited each other.

         Walker pushed the desktop up and back. Revealed were dozens and dozens of drawers, cubbyholes, and slots at the back of the desk. Crammed into most of them were stacks of well-preserved papers. Others held ledgers or journals written in fading ink. One held an inkwell with dried ink at its bottom plus wooden pens and a box of pen nubs ready for insertion.

         Walker gave a quick look into the multiple drawers on each side of the kneehole, but he decided to save investigating them for another day. Without his realizing it, many hours had passed, making it difficult to see in the growing twilight. Instead of hunting for the room's light switch, Walker lifted the portrait up and carried it out of the room, being sure to close the door behind him.

         He could hardly wait for Samantha and Jack to return so he could show them what he thought of as his secret room. He was as excited as a little boy, anticipating the fun they would have finding out its secrets, never imagining that inside one of the locked trunks was the biggest treasure of all.

Chapter 10

         The next day, Walker passed through the entrance room on his way to the second kitchen for a snack. Looking outside, he stopped to watch as a Lexus pull up in front of the mansion. Out stepped a tall, dark-haired, attractive woman, who looked lost.

         He waited as she came into the room and up to the information desk near the front door. The young girl behind it greeted her in a well-trained, friendly manner. She looked towards Walker at hearing the woman's request.

         "Do you need help, Dotty?" he asked, approaching the desk. Turning to the woman, he extended his hand in greeting. "Hello, I'm William Walker. Welcome to Maison du Renard Rouge. May we help you?"

         "Yes, I was just telling the young lady I'm here to see my parents.” Almost as an afterthought, she took his hand in hers to return his greeting. "I understand you brought them here some time ago, but I couldn't get here before for personal reasons."

         Without letting go of her hand, Walker led her over to a small conversation area, away from the door and front desk. "I'm sorry to hear this. If you'll tell me your name and who your parents are, I'll see if they want visitors."

         His comment brought a little frown to her face that left so quickly that Walker was not sure he had even seen it. "I'm Monica Van Buren, and my parents are Dan and Rose Cochran. I do need to see them today."

         "I understand. Just let me have Dotty call them, and I'll be right back.” Walker stood up and returned to where the young desk clerk waited. After phoning up to their room, Dotty shook her head at Walker when there was no answer.

         "Walker, they might be in the card room playing canasta. I know Rose loves to play this game whenever possible.” She again picked up the phone to call that room. Shortly after talking to someone on the other end, she handed the receiver over to him. "They found her, and she's on the line for you.”

         "Thanks, Dotty.” Taking the phone, Walker quickly told Rose her daughter was in the main area and wanted to see her. At the silence on the other end, he turned to speak with Mrs. Van Buren, but stopped when Dan took over for his wife.

         "We'll be right out, Walker. Please ask her to wait.” After the phone went dead, Walker returned to the waiting woman and passed on her father's message.

         A minute or so later, Dan walked out with Rose beside him. Walker left to give them privacy and continued his interrupted trip to the kitchen. He knew Dotty would get him, if necessary. When he returned ten minutes later, he found the conversation area empty.

         Raising an eyebrow at Dotty in inquiry, he learned she earlier escorted the threesome to a quiet room off in the second corridor for even more privacy. "That’s excellent, Dotty. Let me know when she's ready to leave, will you? I need to know if her parents are staying.”

         As he was about to leave, however, the three of them came back into the main area. The usually outgoing couple looked withdrawn to him, but their daughter appeared happy about something.

         "Mrs. Van Buren, may I have a word with you before you leave?"

         Hearing Walker's question, she gave each of her parents a quick peck on the cheek then turned to him with a smile. He watched as the elderly couple slowly walked back towards the game room, now with Rose holding on tightly to her husband's arm. Was it just his imagination, or were there tearstains on her face?

         Making a mental note to talk with them later, Walker again led their daughter to the conversation area. After she told him the Cochrans would be staying here, he was delighted because the two of them were favorites of his.

         Since it was getting late in the afternoon, he invited Monica to stay and join him in his suite for dinner. A waiter from the dining room often brought him meals there when Walker felt like being alone. Tonight, instead of a solitary dinner, Walker enjoyed his beef Wellington in the pleasant company of an attractive woman.

         Three hours later, she drove off with a smug smile on her face. The meal was just the beginning in her plans for the wealthy bachelor.

Continued in next segment.

HOME OF THE RED FOX - Segment Three  (18+) Chapter 11 thru 15 #1082913 by J. A. Buxton