(Most characters are part of the SMK universe)

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SCARECROW AND MRS. KING

Truly a Spy

(aka True Lee a Spy)

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"Mo-ther! Have you seen it?"

After a frantic search upstairs, Amanda hurriedly descended the stairs, rushing down to where her mother was in the kitchen, "I'd just had it in my hands and now it's gone!"

Sitting up at the counter, Dotty was busy making out the weekly grocery list. She looked over the top of her glasses and peered calmly at her frazzled daughter, wondering what the fuss was all about.

"Amanda, are you referring to that book again?" Dotty asked, as she then pointed towards the kitchen windowsill, "It's exactly where you left it last night."

Relief washed over Amanda's face at the sight of the book lying on the windowsill.

"Oh, thank goodness!" breathed Amanda gratefully, "Thank you, Mother, thank you!"

"No need to thank me, Dear," Dotty stated, as she returned back to her list and added another item with her pen, "You've been acting so jittery this morning that, I swear, if you were in a parked car right now, you'd get a speeding ticket!"

"Very funny, Mother," Amanda turned to face her mother, hands on her hips, "You, of all people, know how excited I am today, " her eyes were shining, "to think my favorite author, Lady Elizabeth Ellsworth, will have a book signing today!"

"Yes, yes, I believe you've mentioned that a mere ten times in just the last half an hour," Dotty stated absentmindedly as she completed the grocery list, "I just hope you're as excited about going grocery shopping afterwards."

"Only if Lady Ellsworth needs canned tomatoes, which I doubt" Amanda half- teased and when her mother peered at her, she added, "Don't worry, Mother! I promise to go grocery shopping right after the book signing."

"And this time when you're doing the shopping, Amanda, dear," Dotty reminded her, "please remind Jeff the bagboy not to put the loaf of bread in the bottom of the grocery bag again. I just hate squashed bread!"

By now Amanda had poured herself a cup of coffee, "No squashed bread... got it, Mother."

"Good!" approved Dotty. She now lifted the list in order to read it better, "Now tell me if I've forgotten anything: Bananas, milk, cereal..."

As Dotty began the list, Amanda's mind wandered. With mug in hand, she intuitively walked over to the big, bright, cheery kitchen window and peered out. Her mother's geranium bushes were lovely, but Amanda was actually looking beyond them, secretly looking for signs of rustling leaves or anything that might imply that Lee Stetson was nearby.

"...ground beef, paper towels..." Dotty was still rattling off the list.

Amanda hadn't seen Lee in almost a week, but it seemed like eternity. With budget cuts, Mr. Melrose hadn't called her into work, so recently, she had been feeling rather...useless.

"...and last but not least, cranberry juice!" Dotty announced as she gratefully put the list down, "I think I've gotten everything. Anything I missed?"

"Yes, Mother." Amanda sighed as she continued to look longingly out the window.

Once more her daughter was distracted, and Dotty could not figure out why. Amanda had seemed excited all week about going to the book signing, but sprinkled inbetween those moments were times when her mood seemed almost morose. And now Amanda was looking out the window as if she had lost her best friend.

"And by the way, Amanda," Dotty stated at her half-listening daughter, "don't forget to pick some polka dot rocks at the grocery store..."

"Alright, Mother," Amanda said, still glancing out the window, as if in a trance.

Dotty whipped off her glasses, "Amanda, you didn't hear a word I've said! In fact, you've been so distracted all this week. What is going on with you?"

That finally got Amanda's attention.

"Hmm? Oh, sorry, Mother," Amanda tried to focus and gave her mom a half-smile, "I guess I've just been so excited about getting an autograph from Lady Ellsworth that it's hard to concentrate on anything else! After all, how often does a bestselling novelist come to our town?"

"You've got a point there," Dotty now got off her stool, "Well, just don't be late getting back from the book signing, Dear. Remember, Philip and Jamie both have baseball practice after school."

"...I've got it all under control, Mother..." Amanda assured her as she felt an emptiness in the pit of her stomach. Her mood instantly changed, however, when she glanced at her watch and gasped.

"Oh! The bookstore should be open by now!" She quickly took her last sip of coffee, placed the mug next to the sink, hurried over to the counter, grabbed the grocery list and leaned over to give her mother a peck on the cheek, "And don't worry, Mother," Amanda assured her, "I know what I need to do...book signing, grocery shopping, picking up the boys from school and then I'll be home in plenty of time for baseball practice."

As Amanda rushed to the door, her mother called her back, "Oh, and, Amanda, dear..."

Amanda froze.

Now what? she frustratingly thought.

"Yes, Mother?" she tried not to sound impatient.

Dotty gestured towards the window sill, "You've forgotten about the book again, Dear."

"Oh!" Color rose to Amanda's cheeks as she rushed back and grabbed the book, "Thank you, and good-bye, Mother!" she gave a final wave with the book, turned and scurried out the door.

Dotty could only shake her head as the door slammed shut.

The kitchen seemed so quiet now that Amanda wasn't scrambling around the kitchen.

Funny how Amanda's moody demeanor coincided with her not going into work this week. Could that be the reason for Amanda's changes in moods? Dotty pondered. She really didn't understand what it was about Amanda's job that kept her so...so enthralled.

Well, far be it for me to interfere! Dotty determined, as she went upstairs to clean the mirrors.

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HONK! HONK!

Meanwhile, Lee Stetson was doing the opposite of rushing as he stood stagnant outside next to his car, watching the ruckus on the street.

Traffic had come to a standstill.

Twenty minutes away from Amanda's house, a major street closure had all lanes blocked off, due to a 'car accident'. Cars were unable to drive through, giving drivers no choice but to u-turn or to wait at a standstill, causing a traffic jam of unbelievable proportions.

And Lee was involved in the middle of all this.

Ignoring the frustrated looks of drivers unable to get through, he was rubbing the back of his neck, looking at the Mercedes-Benz in front of him. It had been involved in an accident; or rather, the Mercedes he was assigned to protect had been involved in a murder, making it NOT an accident.

And now the man he was to look after, along with his driver was shot dead in the Mercedes. Rarely has he bungled an assignment, but this would go down as one of those few times.

The mission had seemed simple enough.

Lee had been assigned lead agent in the protection of Russian double spy Boris Varushkin. The Agency driver would be driving Varushkin in a bulletproof Mercedes while Lee followed behind in his Porsche. The first part of the drive went as expected.

Then things went tragically wrong.

With the Mercedes in the front and Lee situated in the back car, the mini-convoy had stopped at a red light. When the light turned green, the traffic ahead of the Mercedes had moved forward, but the vehicle containing Varushkin inside had not moved an inch.

"What's going on up there?" Lee wondered to himself, looking at the backlights of the stationary Mercedes . He then became restless, wondering why the agent driving the Mercedes up ahead was not doing his job, "Come on! Come on!"

Cars from behind began honking, causing Lee to at last get out of his vehicle to check up on the Mercedes to find out the reason for the delay. Upon approaching the vehicle, the tinted windows of the limo were so dark that it was impossible to see anything clearly, so Lee put his face right up to the window.

His expression was one of shock as he viewed two slumped bodies in the vehicle, the driver on one side, and Varushkin on the passenger side.

"Dammit!" Lee exclaimed as he tried to force open driver side door of the Mercedes.

It was locked, so Lee had no choice but to take out his gun and use the butt of it to break the driver side window. Lee turned away as glass shattered everywhere. Peering inside once again, it was clear that both the driver and the Russian Informant were both dead, shot in the head.

And that's how an easy escort job to the Agency turned into a miscalculated murder scene.

As police maintained order on the street by cordoning a specific area from public scrutiny, Lee was talking over the situation with the agent in charge of the investigation.

No one, including Lee, could figure out how in the short length of time it took for the Mercedes to stop at a red light, someone had been able to get in, shoot two people, and get out of the vehicle without being seen by him. And this all occurred in the middle of broad daylight, too.

Agent John Duncan, the detective in charge of the investigation, was in the backseat of the Mercedes to inspect the interior of the vehicle, At last he emerged.

"What did you find, Duncan?" Lee immediately wanted to know.

"Nothing much," Agent John Duncan declared, "I didn't find any hidden exit or secret panel in the floor of this Mercedes. From what I can gather, the only way in or out of this vehicle is through the doors."

"That's...not...possible!" Lee loudly disputed, "No one entered through any of the doors except the driver and Varushkin! The driver and I personally walked Varushkin from his house to the Mercedes. Then before they entered the vehicle I made a thorough search of its interior. No one, and I mean no one entered or left the vehicle during the entire drive! I personally made sure of that!"

The agent scratched his head, befuddled, "Then the police will have to put an APB out on a killer ghost."

Dammit! Lee swore under his breath again, putting his hands on his hips as he surveyed the situation.

"Say," Agent Duncan suggested to Lee after his search inside the vehicle, "You don't think there's a possibility that the driver shot and killed Varushkin and then turned the gun on himself in a murder/suicide pact, do you?"

"Definitely not a murder/suicide," Lee murmured, almost to himself, "because if the driver shot Varushkin and then shot himself dead, where's the gun?"

"Good point," said Agent Duncan, "but what other theory could there be?"

"Not that one," observed Lee, "besides, the entry of the bullet indicated that Varushkin was shot on his right temple, not left, making it impossible for the driver to shoot him without Varushkin seeing it coming, unless the driver had a long, rubbery arm."

Agent Duncan shrugged, "So maybe the police will have to change their APB to be on the lookout for Gumby instead."

It was suppose to be a joke, but Lee continued to look grim.

The murders had him completely baffled.

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For some reason, traffic was slower than usual but Amanda was now close enough to see flashing red lights ahead, indicating a traffic accident of some sort. The cars themselves were going at a snail's pace and she could see that they were making efforts to turn around and go back the other way.

"No, no, ,..." she said outloud to herself from the driver's side of her station wagon, anxious to get to the book signing "no...not now, not today!"

Amanda had no idea how long Lady Ellsworth would be at the bookstore to sign her book for her fans. What if this traffic jam kept fans away? Then the author might give up, and pack everything in and who knows when she will be back in town again?

Amanda was determined to get that autograph.

As she slowly inched her vehicle up, she noted that besides the police cars up ahead, there was a Mercedes, and a Porsche parked haphazardly at the center of whatever kind of car accident had occurred.

Wait. A Porsche, a silver Porsche.

Her eyes immediately scanned all the law officials and other people milling around the accident. Amanda's heart started beating a little more rapidly. Suddenly she spotted him. No one could mistake his tall, handsome silhouette.

Lee!

What was he doing in the middle of all this mess?

Was he hurt? Did he need her help? Amanda signaled right and after some patient maneuvering, she was able to park her car safely off to the side. Turning off the engine, she got out of her car.

The book signing had completely slipped her mind; this was definitely more important.

If Lee needed her help, Amanda decided, she would be there for him!

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Hello! I'm so excited to be back with another story! Hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it!

Please read and review!