His Heart and Soul, part 7
Lee pulled his Corvette behind Billy's car and parked at the curb. They were parked down the street from the warehouse Auggie had been spotted at. Billy and Francine met Lee at the hood of his car.
"What do we have?" Lee asked.
"Auggie was spotted half an hour ago in the warehouse over there," Billy told him. "We put a trace on the phone line, and nothing yet."
Francine looked up at Lee. "There isn't any sign of Amanda, either," she told him softly.
Lee shook his head. "Maybe she isn't here." Lee said hopefully. "I hope she isn't in there. It's cold here, her coat was in the car when it sank, and if she was bleeding in the car, she could be seriously hurt."
"We have an ambulance on standby," Francine told him, "just in case."
Lee leaned down and pulled a gun out of his ankle holster. "No sign of Gregory either?"
Billy shook his head. "No."
Lee looked from the gun in his hand to the warehouse. "OK." He sighed. "I'm going to get Auggie and persuade him to talk."
*****
Amanda moved her neck slightly. She was starting to get the feeling in her upper body back, though she still couldn't lift her arms. The skin between her left shoulder and her neck hurt, burned, and she knew that she was injured. She could feel the chill of the subbasement and the dampness of the ground beneath her.
Amanda had convinced Auggie not to give her anymore of the paralytic. She knew that she wouldn't be able to move for a few more hours, and Auggie truly didn't want to hurt her. He didn't have it in him.
*****
Auggie paced the floor of the warehouse and looked at the phone. He was suppose to call Gregory when Amanda woke up, and he had been putting it off. He didn't want Gregory to hurt Amanda, but Auggie really needed the money.
Auggie heard a rap at the door and groaned. "Oh, no. Gregory." Auggie mumbled.
Outside the warehouse, Lee rapped on the door with the butt of his gun then flattened his back against the wall to the right of the door, waiting for Auggie. Lee held his gun in his left hand, against the wall at the height where he thought the man's head would be.
The door opened and, as Auggie stepped out to look around, Lee moved quickly, held the gun to Auggie's temple, and pulled back the hammer.
"Say your prayers," Lee said through gritted teeth.
Auggie closed his eyes, sighing with relief. "Lee, buddy,"
"Is my wife alive?"
"Y-Yeah, she's fine."
Lee grabbed Auggie's arm and pulled him around to slam Auggie's back into the wall. Lee held the gun to Auggie's right temple with his left hand, and he placed his right hand on Auggie's left shoulder, holding him against the wall.
"Talk," Lee bit out, curling the material of Auggie's shirt in his fingers to hold him in place.
"About what?"
"About why you did all of this. Why you tried to make the police think that I killed Amanda, why you decided to go along with this idiotic plan, how much Gregory is paying you and why blood was found in my wife's car, if she is fine."
"Amanda is fine. I cut her shoulder a little, to make her bleed on the seat, that's all."
"You cut my wife?" Lee asked angrily, shoving Auggie harder into the wall.
"Well, I had to get the blood, man."
"Why Auggie? Don't I give you enough money, for all of your good and your bad tips?"
"I needed a lot of money."
"How much, Auggie?" Lee bit out impatiently.
"That's none of your-"
"Auggie, this gun is loaded," Lee told him in a controlled voice, "and it's pointed at your brain. I'm tired of being nice and I am very disappointed in you. I know that Gregory is behind it all, I know what he wants, and I believe you when you say my wife is fine, so why do I need you, huh?" Lee shoved him back again for emphasis. "Huh?"
Auggie rolled his eyes. "OK, OK. Gregory was going to pay me a quarter of a million dollars. I wasn't going to kill her, Lee."
"No," Lee said in disgust, "but you would have let Gregory do it. Where did you get the cufflinks? Where is my real wedding ring?"
"I shoved your ring box in your refrigerator. I knew that you'd find it, and the cufflinks, well, they were in Amanda's purse. I heard her pick them up from the jewelers Thursday afternoon, you know, when she left work early, and I heard her mumble to herself Friday morning, when she was searching for her keys, that she needed to remember to hide them when she go home, so I knew that they were still in there." Auggie raised his eyebrows. "Merry Christmas?"
Lee shook his head in disgust. "Where is Amanda?"
"Here, in the sub-basement."
"Billy!" Lee called out into the darkness. "Francine!"
Auggie frowned fearfully. "What are you going to do with me?"
Lee shook his head. "Not what I want to. You owe my wife a huge thank you, by the way."
Auggie frowned. "A thank you? For what?"
Lee grinned with a controlled anger. "For teaching me to think with my head, and not with my fists," Lee told him, giving Auggie one final shove then backing away.
Billy and Francine hurried over to Lee and Auggie. Lee opened the door to the warehouse. "Francine, you keep an eye on Auggie. Billy, Amanda is in the sub-basement."
*****
Amanda moved her fingers slightly and tried to lift her arms, but they still wouldn't move. She shivered slightly. Suddenly, the trap door opened and Lee was shouting her name. Amanda's eyes filled with tears of relief.
"Amanda!" Lee called, climbing down the ladder.
"I'm here." Amanda said hoarsely. "I'm here, I'm OK."
Lee looked around, barely able to see in the darkness. "Amanda, I can't see you."
"I'm over here, to your right."
"Are you OK?" Lee asked, walking towards the sound of her voice.
"I'm fine, I think." Amanda told him.
"You think?"
"Auggie gave me a paralytic. I haven't been able to move since I woke up. Is it still Friday? Did you get Gregory yet? He wants the-"
And then Lee was on his knees next to her. Knowing instinctively where her mouth was, Lee dropped his lips onto hers and kissed her heatedly, his hands cupping her face lovingly. "Mm," Lee mumbled against her lips as they kissed again. "I was so worried about you."
Amanda raised an eyebrow. "I was kind of worried myself."
"Lee!" Billy called. "Let's get her out of there."
"Can you move at all?" Lee asked, his fingers trailing over her face as he straightened slightly.
"No."
"OK." Lee slid his arms under her and stood, cradling her to his chest. "Has it only been twenty four hours since I held you like this?" Lee mumbled, kissing her.
Amanda had to smile. "I don't think I was quite so still though."
"Or in as many clothes." Lee whispered, stopping at the bottom of the ladder. "Billy!" he called and Billy leaned over the opening of the trap door.
"Yeah?"
"She can't move. She has a paralytic in her system. I'm going to hand her up to you."
"OK." Billy replied
Once Billy had a firm grasp under Amanda's arms, he pulled her up and out of the sub-basement.
"Hello, sir." Amanda almost whispered.
"Hello, Mrs. Stetson," Billy greeted her with relief. "I wanted to be the first one to say that." He sat back on his heels, holding Amanda in a sitting position against his chest.
Amanda raised her eyebrows, biting her lower lip slightly. "You know?"
"Mhm."
"Oh my gosh." She sighed weakly.
Lee pulled himself up out of the sub-basement and kneeled next to Amanda. He looked at the dried blood on her shoulder, and when he ran a finger over the deep cut, Amanda winced. "Ouch."
"You are going to need stitches." Lee told her as he stood. He bent over and lifted Amanda back into his arms.
Billy stood up and walked towards the door. "I'll have that ambulance here in a minute."
"OK, Billy," Lee said, looking down into Amanda's eyes adoringly.
Amanda smiled. "I knew that you would find me."
Lee raised his eyebrows. "Knight in shining armor, and all of that?"
"All of that, and much more." Amanda said lovingly. She raised an eyebrow. "Did you get Gregory yet?"
Lee shook his head, carrying her out of the warehouse. "Not yet." He looked at Francine, who was still holding a gun on Auggie. "Francine, will you go to the hospital with Amanda? I don't want her to go alone."
Amanda and Francine looked at each other and shared a smile. Francine nodded. "Sure."
Lee nodded back at her. "I'll be right back."
Lee carried Amanda towards the chain link fence at the driveway. Amanda raised her eyebrows. "Does everyone know we're married?"
Lee smiled sheepishly. "Pretty much everyone at the Agency, your mother, Curt and Joe, but the boys don't, which reminds me." Lee stopped walking, raised her higher and smiled into her eyes. "Amanda King, will you marry me again?"
Amanda grinned. "Over and over again."
Lee chuckled. "No matter how many times I ask you?
"Won't you ever tire of marrying me?" Amanda asked, kissing him.
"Never," Lee vowed, kissing her. "Your mother wants to throw us a wedding, for the boys sake, and for her pleasure."
Amanda nodded. "Was she mad?"
Lee shook his head. "No. She had other things to worry about. Tomorrow, though, may be another story," Lee said as the ambulance pulled to the curb. "Look, Francine will tell you everything about what happened at the office, and when I join you at the hospital, I'll tell you about what happened at home."
Amanda raised her eyebrows curiously. "OK."
The EMT's rolled a stretcher over to them and Lee lay Amanda down gently. "She has a deep gash in her left shoulder." Lee told them. "She has a paralytic in her system, and I don't know what else. Take very good care of her."
"We will." The EMT's told Lee reassuringly.
Lee leaned over Amanda and gazed into her eyes for a long moment. "I love you."
"I love you," Amanda whispered, her eyes gazing right back into his. "Be careful, huh?"
"I will. I'll see you soon." Lee whispered, before he turned and walked towards Auggie and Francine. "Francine!" Lee called. "You can go with Amanda now!"
Francine walked towards Lee, and as they passed each other, Lee raised his eyebrows. "Is he scared yet?"
Francine smiled. "He's pretty smug, but I think he is pretty much all yours."
"Good." Lee walked over to Auggie. "OK, Auggie. You are going to work for me now."
Auggie raised his eyebrows. "Oh, are you going to pay me a quarter of a million dollars?"
Lee shook his head, chuckling cynically. "Oh, Auggie, Auggie, Auggie. You really need to start checking the references of the people you keep company with. Gregory wasn't going to pay you in the first place. He was going to kill you, probably right after he killed Amanda," Lee told him. He placed a hand on Auggie's shoulder and led him through the door into the warehouse. "That's what separates us from the bad guys. I keep my word."
Lee pulled his gun out of the back of his pants, and Auggie looked around nervously. "What word?" Auggie asked.
"Oh, that I will let you live," Lee decided, waving his gun around for intimidation. "Now, you are going to call Gregory, right now, and tell him that Amanda is dead."
TBC