John Waldmann
The Huntsmanx|xOutfitx|x#27352C
The Huntsmanx|xOutfitx|x#27352C
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John watched closely as Grayson described the state of the police station. The place was corrupt under Frank's leadership and they both knew it but only Grayson was determined to make a difference, that determination was what made John respect him. If Jane hadn't died back then maybe they would've worked alongside each other to end the corruption but sadly that wasn't the case.
He had to protect and provide for his family and if he had walked down that path he may have put them in jeopardy. He couldn't risk leaving his children without a father so he chose to walk away from that life and pursue a more financially rewarding occupation and started his own private investigation firm. There were still risks but he was less likely to face the business end of a weapon as a civilian.
"New day, same shit. Unfortunately." As Grayson pinched the bridge of his nose John nodded knowingly. "It's hard to get anything done when I'm the only cop who actually works . . . Someday though." John smiled and hoped that Grayson was right, for his sake at least, but he doubted anything would change.
As Grayson's eyes were drawn away John followed his gaze, seeing a group of women a few tables over. John recognized most of them, you tend to in a small town. He was most acquainted with Paisley, the two had met and befriended each other after John recognized her as Jane's favorite author. Paisley was embarrassed initially because of the content of her stories, which John would make light jokes of, but their friendship grew to the point John trusted her enough to leave his children in her care.
Seeing Paisley waving while jumping up and down brought a smile to John's face. He found the scene both funny and charming, wondering if she had written anything like that in one of her novels. John waved back and gestured that he would come over later. While doing so he noticed Liana, the local veterinarian.
There was something about her that drew his gaze but he couldn't quite understand why. The two didn't interact much aside from in passing, as she was in Paisley's circle of friends, but whenever they did he could sense something similar to the feeling he had with Nora, some sort a familiarity. He questioned that feeling but his instincts had proven to be quite reliable so he couldn't help but wonder why he felt such feelings.
"Two hundred dollars?!" The exclamation of the person next to John drew his attention. "Wouldn't your gun be more effective?" The person who asked Grayson a similar question to John's earlier one was a local contractor and carpenter, Ciaran Paine. John didn't know much about him aside from what he learned from Grayson and from observing him while they were both in the bar. He seemed like a good enough guy despite his past troubles with law enforcement.
He watched as Grayson was unamused by his friend's comments on his bid and walking off to view items on other tables. Ciaran looked apologetic as he said he was sorry before Grayson walked away. John felt a little sorry for both Grayson and Ciaran but didn't voice his opinion, the two were close so they would settle it among themselves. He was about to comfort Ciaran and strike up a conversation with him until he saw his eyes drawn towards a sword and dagger and also walking away.
John was a little concerned about both people leaving him in a social gathering. Weren't people suppose to socialize and make meaningless small talk at such events? Why did they both not want to engage in such conversations with him? He wondered if there was something off about him, checking his clothes and smelling his body and breath, but he couldn't find anything that would make people walk away from him. It was probably because of their short interaction but John still wondered if he had done something wrong.
His cellphone began to vibrate in his suit jacket, so he pulled it out and looked through his messages. The text he just got was from his Sam, reminding him to bring her back something and that she wanted cookies and cream ice-cream. He replied with a short message saying that he might and that they should bother uncle Ben later during the week, to which he received a series of emojis he couldn't translate. Children and their hieroglyphs.
After messaging his children John looked to see if Nora had replied, she hadn't. John found it strange that she wasn't at the gala and that she hadn't replied but thought better than to bother her needlessly about it. She was a very capable person and she probably wouldn't like being nagged to death. Still it bothered him that she wasn't answering and he wondered if he should visit her place afterwards.
Putting his phone back into his suit jacket, John looked around among the guests and thought about who he should approach. He thought about approaching uncle Ben but thought he shouldn't tease him at the moment, he would do that later with his kids. There were a few people he didn't recognize that he could possibly introduce himself but John preferred to observe people before trying to befriend them. He then remembered he already promised to talk with Paisley earlier so he decided to walk towards the large group that was forming around her.
When he arrived their group had expanded to six, including the reclusive millionaire Ricardo Trujillo. John had always been curious about Ricardo, wondering why he chose to live reclusively. There were a few rumors surrounding him about how he obtained his wealth and because he barely interacted with people outside his circle but John didn't think much about such rumors. He didn't have the need or desire to look into whether or not any of those rumors were true and as long as it didn't bother John, his friends, or his children, he would leave the man alone.
"Grayson - like the suit." Looking at Grayson's suit John couldn't help but think that Ricardo was joking. Ricardo then smiled and addressed the ladies, saying, "You ladies are looking lovely tonight." That was something they could agree on, all of the women tonight looked beautiful.
Whenever such thoughts entered his mind however John couldn't help but think of his late wife, Jane. He missed his wife dearly and thought about her every day. His in-laws had advised him to move on, saying Jane wouldn't want to see him suffering without her, but whenever he thought about it he thought he was betraying her. After a couple years John had started to date but he felt conflicted. He didn't know if he could love someone as much as he should because of his love towards his late wife and he didn't think that was fair to them.
After Ricardo's comments, John couldn't help but see Liesl behind him. She didn't look pleased but she was usually good at restraining her emotions so maybe he interpreted her look wrong. Her eyes were watching Ricardo and Lorelie closely, especially when the two touched. John pretended to not see anything and tried to draw Liesl's attention, giving her a less than subtle wink. He didn't know what happened but he felt like she needed some form of comfort.
"Anything interesting?" John could think of several things but perhaps this wasn't the event to bring up old investigations and the dirty secret lives of others. Besides, it looked like much more interesting things were about to transpire here tonight.
John walked towards Paisley, nudging her slightly with his elbow and saying, "Maybe this isn't interesting to everyone but I was wondering about your next novel. Is it going to be just as 'steamy' as the last and if so who is going to be the titular characters?" He then looked towards Liana and Grayson. "Maybe it's about a couple who can't be together because of extenuating circumstances . . ." John then looked towards Liesl and Lorelie. ". . . Or perhaps it's about a love rivalry between identical twins."
He had to protect and provide for his family and if he had walked down that path he may have put them in jeopardy. He couldn't risk leaving his children without a father so he chose to walk away from that life and pursue a more financially rewarding occupation and started his own private investigation firm. There were still risks but he was less likely to face the business end of a weapon as a civilian.
"New day, same shit. Unfortunately." As Grayson pinched the bridge of his nose John nodded knowingly. "It's hard to get anything done when I'm the only cop who actually works . . . Someday though." John smiled and hoped that Grayson was right, for his sake at least, but he doubted anything would change.
As Grayson's eyes were drawn away John followed his gaze, seeing a group of women a few tables over. John recognized most of them, you tend to in a small town. He was most acquainted with Paisley, the two had met and befriended each other after John recognized her as Jane's favorite author. Paisley was embarrassed initially because of the content of her stories, which John would make light jokes of, but their friendship grew to the point John trusted her enough to leave his children in her care.
Seeing Paisley waving while jumping up and down brought a smile to John's face. He found the scene both funny and charming, wondering if she had written anything like that in one of her novels. John waved back and gestured that he would come over later. While doing so he noticed Liana, the local veterinarian.
There was something about her that drew his gaze but he couldn't quite understand why. The two didn't interact much aside from in passing, as she was in Paisley's circle of friends, but whenever they did he could sense something similar to the feeling he had with Nora, some sort a familiarity. He questioned that feeling but his instincts had proven to be quite reliable so he couldn't help but wonder why he felt such feelings.
"Two hundred dollars?!" The exclamation of the person next to John drew his attention. "Wouldn't your gun be more effective?" The person who asked Grayson a similar question to John's earlier one was a local contractor and carpenter, Ciaran Paine. John didn't know much about him aside from what he learned from Grayson and from observing him while they were both in the bar. He seemed like a good enough guy despite his past troubles with law enforcement.
He watched as Grayson was unamused by his friend's comments on his bid and walking off to view items on other tables. Ciaran looked apologetic as he said he was sorry before Grayson walked away. John felt a little sorry for both Grayson and Ciaran but didn't voice his opinion, the two were close so they would settle it among themselves. He was about to comfort Ciaran and strike up a conversation with him until he saw his eyes drawn towards a sword and dagger and also walking away.
John was a little concerned about both people leaving him in a social gathering. Weren't people suppose to socialize and make meaningless small talk at such events? Why did they both not want to engage in such conversations with him? He wondered if there was something off about him, checking his clothes and smelling his body and breath, but he couldn't find anything that would make people walk away from him. It was probably because of their short interaction but John still wondered if he had done something wrong.
His cellphone began to vibrate in his suit jacket, so he pulled it out and looked through his messages. The text he just got was from his Sam, reminding him to bring her back something and that she wanted cookies and cream ice-cream. He replied with a short message saying that he might and that they should bother uncle Ben later during the week, to which he received a series of emojis he couldn't translate. Children and their hieroglyphs.
After messaging his children John looked to see if Nora had replied, she hadn't. John found it strange that she wasn't at the gala and that she hadn't replied but thought better than to bother her needlessly about it. She was a very capable person and she probably wouldn't like being nagged to death. Still it bothered him that she wasn't answering and he wondered if he should visit her place afterwards.
Putting his phone back into his suit jacket, John looked around among the guests and thought about who he should approach. He thought about approaching uncle Ben but thought he shouldn't tease him at the moment, he would do that later with his kids. There were a few people he didn't recognize that he could possibly introduce himself but John preferred to observe people before trying to befriend them. He then remembered he already promised to talk with Paisley earlier so he decided to walk towards the large group that was forming around her.
When he arrived their group had expanded to six, including the reclusive millionaire Ricardo Trujillo. John had always been curious about Ricardo, wondering why he chose to live reclusively. There were a few rumors surrounding him about how he obtained his wealth and because he barely interacted with people outside his circle but John didn't think much about such rumors. He didn't have the need or desire to look into whether or not any of those rumors were true and as long as it didn't bother John, his friends, or his children, he would leave the man alone.
"Grayson - like the suit." Looking at Grayson's suit John couldn't help but think that Ricardo was joking. Ricardo then smiled and addressed the ladies, saying, "You ladies are looking lovely tonight." That was something they could agree on, all of the women tonight looked beautiful.
Whenever such thoughts entered his mind however John couldn't help but think of his late wife, Jane. He missed his wife dearly and thought about her every day. His in-laws had advised him to move on, saying Jane wouldn't want to see him suffering without her, but whenever he thought about it he thought he was betraying her. After a couple years John had started to date but he felt conflicted. He didn't know if he could love someone as much as he should because of his love towards his late wife and he didn't think that was fair to them.
After Ricardo's comments, John couldn't help but see Liesl behind him. She didn't look pleased but she was usually good at restraining her emotions so maybe he interpreted her look wrong. Her eyes were watching Ricardo and Lorelie closely, especially when the two touched. John pretended to not see anything and tried to draw Liesl's attention, giving her a less than subtle wink. He didn't know what happened but he felt like she needed some form of comfort.
"Anything interesting?" John could think of several things but perhaps this wasn't the event to bring up old investigations and the dirty secret lives of others. Besides, it looked like much more interesting things were about to transpire here tonight.
John walked towards Paisley, nudging her slightly with his elbow and saying, "Maybe this isn't interesting to everyone but I was wondering about your next novel. Is it going to be just as 'steamy' as the last and if so who is going to be the titular characters?" He then looked towards Liana and Grayson. "Maybe it's about a couple who can't be together because of extenuating circumstances . . ." John then looked towards Liesl and Lorelie. ". . . Or perhaps it's about a love rivalry between identical twins."