Chapter 2: The Keychain
"Wait, it's in here somewhere," Amanda said, rooting around in the bottom of her purse.
Lee rolled his eyes at Billy and refrained from making comments about the black holes in the bottom of women's purses. Billy just smiled.
"Found it!" Amanda said triumphantly. She pulled the little keychain out of her purse and handed it to Lee. Lee took it from her and studied it.
As far as he could tell, it was just an ordinary keychain with a plastic jack-o-lantern charm on it.
"Max wasn't supposed to give you anything. He was just supposed to take the message from you," Lee said.
Amanda shrugged. "He insisted that I take it and told me to use it well. Does that mean anything to you?"
"No," Lee said. Looking at the pumpkin more closely, he could see a thin seam where the two halves of the pumpkin separated. He shook the little pumpkin near his ear, but nothing rattled.
"Let me see it," Billy said. Lee handed it over.
"It may be nothing," Amanda said. "The man also gave Mother a keychain when she bought the boys' pumpkins. I just don't understand why he told me to 'use it well.'"
"It's worth checking out," Billy said. "I'll have some of our people take a look at it. Thank you, Amanda."
"Thank you, sir," Amanda said. "Oh, and I'm nearly finished with the typing you gave me on Tuesday."
"That's fine, Amanda," Billy said. "It doesn't have to be ready until Monday."
"I'll have it ready, sir."
As Amanda and Lee left Billy's office, Amanda said, "I know that you're probably going to tell me that this is on a need-to-know basis only, but you were awfully mysterious about that envelope that you had me take to the pumpkin patch. What kind of a message did I deliver that you wouldn't expect a reply to? Not that you really have to tell me, if you can't tell me, but if you could, I'd like to know."
Although it was awkwardly phrased, Lee understood what she was asking.
"The man you spoke to, who gave you the keychain, was Max. Max is currently in charge of a team investigating rumors of an assassination attempt. I know that I'm being vague about things, but frankly, the rumors that we've heard have been pretty vague. We don't know who is planning the assassination or even who the likely victim is."
"Then, how do you know that anyone's even planning an assassination?" Amanda asked.
"It's because of Max. Technically, he retired from the Agency several years ago, but he still helps out occasionally. He spends most of his time helping his brother, who owns a farm. That's why he was selling pumpkins."
"It isn't just a cover for him?"
"No, he does that every Halloween. Anyway, he gets around a lot while helping his brother sell produce, and he hears things. Recently, he heard a rumor that someone important is going to be murdered around Halloween."
"Who?"
"We don't know yet. So far, all he's told us is that the rumor came to him through a friend of his who works for a catering company. The assassination is supposed to take place at a Halloween party where some prominent people will be present, but Max's friend wasn't able to tell him much more than that. Max isn't even sure whether the original source of the rumor is reliable, so he asked us for a few people who can help him investigate further. The message you gave him was a list of the agents that have been assigned to the case and how to contact them."
"There isn't much time left before Halloween. It's only next week."
"I know, and for all we know, the party might be taking place even before Halloween. Halloween takes place on a weekday this year, so a lot of people will have their parties over the weekend."
"The Agency must really value Max to put him in charge of an investigation like that when he doesn't seem to have much to go on," Amanda said.
"He was one of the best in his day, and he's still pretty sharp," Lee said. "He wouldn't have bothered contacting us unless he took the rumor seriously himself. Even though the details might be doubtful, he seriously believes that there is going to be an assassination attempt of some kind. And if he believes it, I believe it."
"I just wish I knew what the keychain was for. He never told me what I was supposed to do with it. I was hoping that you would know," Amanda said.
"Don't worry about it. Our people will figure it out."
"Well, I'd better get going," Amanda said. "I've got to grab something to eat before I head over to the school."
"Head over to the school?" Lee asked, checking his watch. "Why are you going over there now?"
"We're setting up for the school's Halloween carnival," Amanda explained. "It's going to be this Saturday. All of the PTA members have to be there, and there will be a lot of other volunteer workers."
"Oh. Well, I was just about to grab something myself. Want to come along?"
"Alright," Amanda said with a smile. "But, we'll have to hurry. Mrs. Kelly is a stickler for being on time."
"Who is Mrs. Kelly?"
"She's the new president of the PTA."
"Ah. Well, we'd better get going, then. We'll take my car. Do burgers sound okay?"
"Burgers are fine."
