Pilot:
What if Lee if gave the package to someone other than Amanda?
Amanda is running late to take Dean to the train station. As she hugs him goodbye and he steps onto the train, she realizes he left his umbrella with her. She jumps on the train tracking him down and gives him his umbrella. He thanks her and kisses her on the cheek. He moves on to the next cabin and she tries to get off before the doors close. "Darn, I'll have to wait till the next stop and take the turn around to get back home", Amanda thinks to herself. She heads to the next cabin in the opposite direction Dean took and sees a confused young woman holding a package. Amanda going into motherly mode approaches the young blonde girl of about 20. "Can I help you, dear?" Amanda asks.
The girl begins to stammer and says, "this guy gave me this package and told me to get on the train and give it to the guy in the red hat but look…there are several men in red hats", she starts to cry.
Amanda, resisting the urge to give her a lecture on taking packages from strangers. "Ok, why don't you tell me what happened?" Amanda asks.
"This cute guy told me it was a matter of life and death and to give it to the guy in the red hat, but what am I supposed to do now?", she asks.
Amanda, fighting the urge to tell her she didn't know what could be in this package and this stranger could be feeding her a pack of lies. "Alright, let's see what I can do to help you. Did he say what the man in the red hat looked like? Did he give you his number?"
The girl starts crying, "no", she says. "I guess I should have. He was awfully cute. Maybe I thought he would call me".
"Well that almost applies to almost half of the male DC population", Amanda says. "Was he white? Black? How old did he look like?"
"White, a little old. Older than most of the guys I date, maybe 30 something", says.
"30's, old, so 30 is old", Amanda thinks. "Okay sweetheart, do you know what is in this package?"
"No", the girl whimpers. "Do you think it could be dangerous?"
"It's possible", Amanda replies. "I recommend taking this to some official on the train or take it to the authorities".
The girl starts freaking out. "No, no, no, I can't do this. Why did I do something so foolish just to meet a man?" She drops the package on the floor and runs away.
Amanda steps back and falls to the floor, not knowing if the package contains a bomb; but nothing happens. The package is damaged, and Amanda picks it up and a card falls out. She reads the card and it appears to have words that look likes names of recipes. She turns the card over, and a number is on it with the name 'Scarecrow' and a number and an extension. "I can't believe I am doing this", says Amanda out loud. "What did I just think about how foolish this girl was? This is crazy. But if it is important, all I need to do is call a number. I can't throw it in the trash. This poor girl could have walked herself into something dangerous and I would hate for something to happen to her. After all its just a phone call", she says to herself.
She arrives home and stares at the card for a long time. Her mother walks into the room and asks, "Amanda what are you doing?"
"Well, I was looking at these words and they look like names of foods, but none that I have heard of before. Do you have any of these in your recipe box?" Amanda asks.
Dotty replies, "Ah yes, they are in my box, but not in any cookbooks. They are from that Mrs. Welch's cooking show I watch. These two I know, but the third must be on the DVR I taped earlier. The Valley Forge Flapjacks was pretty good, but I must have left out an ingredient for that Duck A 'La' Nathan Hale because hardly any was eaten last night."
"Mother, the DVR, can I watch it", Amanda says. Her mother frustrates her sometimes as she goes off on tangents. She's been accused of doing the same thing, "but this is something that could be important; recipes? How can that be important?" Amanda thinks. She watches the recording and when Mrs. Welch gets to the name, Amanda mouths out "Pilgrims Peach Puff". She turns off the DVR and watches the afternoon news. A young girl's body was found washed up on the Potomac. It was the girl from this morning. "Oh, boy. This could be serious", she thinks. "Maybe I should call this Scarecrow fella".
Amanda calls the number on the card and punches in the extension. "Hello", the voice on the other lines says.
"Uhh", Amanda says. "I found your card in a package dropped by a dead girl this morning and I don't know what to do. I'm afraid I may be next." Amanda says.
Lee is relieved. The information was not lost after all. "What is your name, and can you tell me what the card says?", Lee asks.
"My name is Mrs. Amanda King and they are just words. Names of recipes", she says.
Lee is excited. Whatever those names are could be code and this Mrs. King might be the one to help. "Can we meet?", he asks. "Maybe there is something you could tell me you just don't know what it may be".
"No, I will not!", Amanda exclaims. "I've done my good deed and I don't want to end up dead. I'm a housewife I don't see how I could help you".
"Please", the man pleads. "Please, this is a matter of life and death".
"Funny", Amanda says sarcastically. "That is exactly what you said to that woman you gave the package to and guess what, she is dead!"
"I will explain everything if you just let me meet with you", Lee says. "I can come to your house or we could meet someplace neutral".
"You are not coming to my house. I have kids and a mother", Amanda exclaims.
"Ok, what about a party? Or a restaurant?", he asks.
"Do I sound like I'm in the party mood or want to have dinner with a stranger?" Amanda asks. She is getting increasingly frustrated thinking she made a terrible mistake calling this guy.
"Fine", Lee says. "How about the Library of Congress? That's an open space. It is still daylight, you shouldn't be in any danger".
"As long as I never have to see or hear from you again, I will agree to meet you", Amanda says. How will I know what you look like?"
"Don't worry about that, I will find you", he says. "Thirty minutes don't be late".
"Don't be late he says. Who does he think he is?" Amanda asks.
She drives to the Library of Congress and walks toward the library. A man accosts her and pulls her to the side in the bushes. "What do you think you are doing", she asks. Who are you and why are you being so secretive?"
"Amanda, Mrs. King", he says. "I wanted to make sure you weren't followed. Do you have any idea what these words mean?"
"Let go of my arm, or I will scream", she says. So, do I call you Scarecrow or Lee? What is Scarecrow? Please tell me I did not just come and meet a hit man?"
"No, I am not a hit man. I work for the government and Scarecrow is my code name", he says.
"You're a spy? Oh My God, you are a spy", she exclaims.
"Would you keep your voice down please", Lee says. "I never liked that word. I prefer an Intelligence Agent".
"Oh, that's a big difference", Amanda says. "Spy, Intelligence Agent, pretty much the same thing. Okay, what do you want to know? I met this girl on the train. She looked lost and afraid, so I approached her…big mistake. I asked her if she was okay. She was upset and if you don't mind me saying, she was a little young for you. She thought you were cute and said you gave her this package and it was a matter of life and death. You seem to throw that word around a lot. She said to give it to the man in the red hat, but the car was full of Shriners in red hats and she didn't know what to do. I tried to help, even suggesting taking the package to the authorities, but she got scared. She wanted to know if the package was dangerous. I said it could be and that is when she dropped it and ran away. I hit the floor, but the package was not a bomb. Whatever was in it was broken, but this card fell out with the names of food and your name and number. I found out they are recipes from a cooking show by a Mrs. Welch. The next thing I know is this girl is dead. Can I go home now?"
"Not just yet", Lee says. "What I'm about to tell you is top secret. You can't tell your family, your mother, your husband, we know each other, and we will find out what these words mean."
"Boyfriend", Amanda says.
"What?" Lee asks.
"Boyfriend, I'm divorced", Amanda says, though she doesn't know why she felt the need to correct him.
"Oh, ok", Lee says. "You can't tell your boyfriend. We think these words may have something to do with some agent's deaths, but we don't know what they mean".
Amanda shrugs, "so when did these deaths happen?" she asks?
Lee tells her the dates and Amanda recalls those dates correspond with that dates her mother made those dishes. She tells Lee her theory. "What if this Mrs. Welch created these dishes as a code to whoever was to kill your agents?"
"That's absurd", Lee says.
"Well, you wanted to know my theory. Can I go now?", she pleads.
"Okay, let's say you are right. When did this last one air? Pilgrims Peach Puff?"
"This morning", Amanda says. "Do you have any agents on assignment tonight?"
Lee stammers, "just me, I think".
"Well, maybe you should get a team or a task force or whatever you and your spies do and raid this Mrs. Welch", Amanda says.
"It doesn't work that way", Lee says. "We need proof, not speculation".
"That's your job, not mine", she says. "Can I go home now?"
"You have been a big help", Lee says. I will take this back to my bosses and find out what they want to do".
"If I may be a mother for just minute", Amanda says, "be careful and go directly to your spy office and not to your secret meeting. Now, will you let me go home to my family? I've told you what you wanted to know. I helped you solve some murders and I promise to forget I ever met you."
"You are right, I've asked a lot from you. I appreciate everything you have done. Of course, you can go home", Lee says.
Amanda gets into her car and begins to drive away. She looks in her rearview mirror and sees Lee being dragged away. "Great! Now what?" Amanda asks herself. "Do not get involved. Do not get involved", she says to herself. She grabs her phone and tries that number of Lee's and punches zero to get a direct line. She drives closely behind and follows the car. She gets lucky and speaks to a man called Melrose. Mr. Melrose. My name is Amanda King and I helped solve the deaths of your agents. Someone has kidnapped Lee, uhh Scarecrow. Lee can explain everything later. You just need to go to this location".
Billy receiving a strange phone call chooses to believe the person on the other line and gets a team heading to the location. Amanda parks near the bushes and slowly follows behind Lee's captors. She hopes Mr. Melrose listened to her and is sending a team. She finds a screwdriver and cuts into all the tires on the property.
She finds some melons and drops them down the root cellar stairs where Lee has been taken. This causes a commotion and several men come running out. She hides, mentally kicking herself for the crazy things she is doing. She doesn't know why, but she felt an odd connection and didn't want this man she just met to die. She hears sirens in the distance and hopes it's the Calvary. Several men and a woman get into the cars, but they aren't going anywhere as the tires are blown. She heads back to her car and watches. She sees the men and that woman getting arrested and someone helping Lee out of the cellar. As soon as she thinks he is safe and there isn't any more danger, she quietly drives home.
By the time she arrives home, it is dark, and the lights are on. She enters through the back and puts her keys on the kitchen counter. Her mother begins to babble and wanting to know where she has been. Dean is waiting for her as well and hugs and kisses her. Amanda stands there saying nothing. Finally, she wants to know what Dean is doing there and her mother explains she was worried when Amanda didn't come home.
"Mother, it is only 7 pm. I'm sorry I didn't leave a note, but I was in a hurry to…" Amanda thinks quickly, "look at places for the boy's field trip this weekend. It took longer than planned". She turns to Dean and says, "I'm sorry my mother dragged you into this, but it's been a long day and I think you should head home".
"Okay, honey", Dean says. "I'm glad you are okay. Dotty, always a pleasure". He kisses Dotty on the cheek and then kisses Amanda goodbye. For the first time she can remember, she felt nothing when he kissed her.
Dean leaves and Amanda turns to her mother and chastises her for calling Dean. "Mother, I know you like Dean and are hoping for something more serious, but I haven't even been divorced a year. Please don't drag him into our family drama every time you need an excuse to put us together. I'm not even sure how I feel about him".
"Okay, I'll leave it be for now. I'm glad you are home safe. I'll check on the boys and their homework. I've made dinner. You can warm up the leftovers", her mother replies.
Amanda spoons some food on a microwave-safe plate and punches the timer for two minutes. She hears a tap-tap-tap on her window and Lee's head pops up. Startled she jumps back. She goes outside and says, "you, I thought this was it. We agreed I wouldn't have to see you again".
Lee smiles and for the first time in the light coming from the kitchen, she notices he has cute dimples. He says, "I wanted to say thank you for your help. You thought on your feet and saved my life". He holds out a yellow daisy and puts it in her hand. He leans in to kiss her cheek and says, "goodnight"
As he is walking away, she says, "you know that daisy is from my garden".