Reggie Purdue's wife died of cancer in 1987 but he preferred not to talk about her death with anyone, not even with Mulder after they met. On the day when Mulder first walked into Reggie's office, very soon after Mulder had left the FBI Academy, Reggie was annoyed by even looking at Mulder. Reggie soon realized, however, that Mulder was particularly astute and could think three jumps ahead of most other individuals. Reggie found Mulder's mental aptitude to be scary and heard many others comment on it, with the same or a similar reaction.