Déjà Vu
Chapter Seven
Lee sat at his desk, going over intelligence reports, hoping to catch something that his agents had missed. Hang in there, Amanda. We're trying to help you. Lee felt a tightness in his chest as his mind imagined what could be happening to her. Don't go there, Stetson. Amanda wouldn't want you to be thinking the worst.
A buzzing noise came from Amanda's purse. I should check her phone. It's rung several times. Lee turned his chair to his credenza and picked up the purse. It smelled faintly of her perfume. He unzipped it and looked inside. Finding the phone, he reached for it. He was surprised to find a necklace wrapped around it. Amanda's heart pendant! Lee set the phone aside and held the necklace in the palm of his hand. As he looked at it, he envisioned it around his wife's neck. Remembering her nearness of the other night, when he had helped her unclasp it, he shut his eyes, and a tear escaped down his cheek.
Lee sat there for a moment before a realization came over him. He remembered bringing the necklace to Amanda at Adi Birol's hideout all those years ago. It had meant so much to her to have it back. Now, she had given it to Lee. He knew she did not want Birol to see the necklace again. But, Amanda's also telling me to hang in there. Lee brought the necklace to his lips. Please God, help me get my wife back safely.
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Matt glanced into Amanda's office. Sarah was curled up on the couch, leaning her head against the back cushions. She had been in there ever since the sketch artist had left.
Even though Matt had been writing up his report, he had been distracted by Sarah's presence so close by. At one point, her cell phone rang.
"Hi Jeff. Oh, thanks for calling… No, I was there, but I didn't see anything."
Why is she lying to her boyfriend? She just went through a traumatic experience. Matt knew she could not tell anyone outside the Agency about her mother. But surely she wants to let him know something. She's had a hellish day. Matt had chided himself for listening in to the conversation.
"…I'm sorry about the other day. I know it wasn't what you expected. I just need some space right now. It's a big decision." Sarah's voice had dropped. A minute or two later, looking upset, Sarah had put the phone back down.
Matt had tried not to look her way and kept typing. He had wondered if he'd heard correctly—and now, an hour or two later, he still felt a twinge of guilt for listening to the conversation. The guy proposed and she turned him down?
Narelle, one of the support personnel, walked into the bullpen carrying a box full of sandwiches and chips. Hungry agents swarmed the hapless girl.
Seeing the commotion, Francine swept out of her office and rescued her. "Just hold on, you vultures. Let's keep this orderly." While the other agents were taking their pick, Matt went into the hall to get two bottled waters from the vending machine. Coming back into the bullpen, Matt grabbed a couple of sandwiches and some chips.
Arms laden with the food, Matt stood in Amanda's doorway and looked uncertainly at Sarah. "Do you feel like eating anything?"
Sarah sat up and swung her legs around so her feet were on the floor. "Oh, thank you, Matt." She was trying to sound bright, but she wasn't successful. Matt walked in and put the food on a table near the couch. He handed Sarah a water bottle.
"At least drink this, even if you don't feel like eating."
She took a sip and looked at Matt. "Do you want to sit down?"
Matt had hoped she would invite him to stay. He needed to ask her about the debriefing. Strangely, Chief Stetson had not called him into his office. He may have been worried about his wife, but Matt had been certain the chief would have flipped, knowing how he had endangered his daughter.
Matt offered Sarah the sandwiches. "Take your pick—turkey or ham."
Sarah grabbed a turkey sandwich. "So, you must be pretty busy—you guys are working all night. You don't have to sit with me."
"I imagine you'd probably like to be alone—"
"Oh no, I appreciate the company. It's hard to sit here like this. I keep thinking about my mom."
"Well, I can't tell you any details, but there's a lot of activity out there. No real leads, yet, but there's reason to have hope. The sketches helped a lot. Those guys have been spotted elsewhere."
"Thanks, Matt." Sarah took a small bite of her sandwich.
"How did the debriefing go?"
"It was okay… Although it was pretty tiring to tell the story twice—first to my family, and then to another agent."
"Listen. I hope you don't mind, but I wanted to ask you a question about all that. Uh, did you tell your dad everything?"
"Yes. Please don't be upset with me. I didn't want to tell him it was you with the envelope, but I just couldn't handle deceiving him. He asked me a direct question, and I wasn't going to lie to him. He didn't need that right now."
"You did the right thing, Sarah. To be honest, I was going to spill the beans if you didn't. I'm just surprised that I haven't gotten a dressing down yet, or worse."
"Oh, well, don't worry about Daddy. I think it's all good."
"What? I have trouble believing that."
"Trust me, Matt." Sarah laughed a small laugh.
Matt was surprised and glad to hear the laugh. She's so beautiful when her eyes light up like that…
"He's not upset. He admitted he'd chewed you out. But, since you got the envelope back, he was going to let it go—at least for now." She took another small bite of the sandwich. "You know, you never asked why I didn't deliver the package."
"The guy in the Phillies cap was one of our agents. He told us about the other fans at the restaurant."
"Listen, I'm keeping you too long."
"I don't mind at all. It's been nice." He smiled at Sarah, and started gathering up his trash. "I'd better get back to my report. I need to be ready to leave at any time."
"Thanks for the sandwich, Matt."
"You didn't eat much."
"It's okay. It'll keep. Maybe I'll eat some more later."
Matt smiled again. He took his trash and went back to his desk. Sarah noticed how his eyes smiled, too.
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Lee put the phone down. He sat motionless, momentarily overcome by the news. A break! Oh, thank God! Agents questioning vagrants in the warehouse district had gotten a lead. Someone had seen a woman being hustled from a white van into a building. Lee gathered himself together and prepared to let Francine and Beaman in on the news. They needed to have a game plan. Just try to stay cool, Stetson. She may not be there…
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The bullpen was abuzz with agents preparing for the raid on Birol's headquarters. Sarah, who had closed herself in Amanda's office to get some sleep, opened the door and looked out. Lee, dressed in black, was checking one of the guns he carried on missions. As he placed it in his shoulder holster, he noticed Sarah watching him. He strode towards her.
"Were you able to get some rest?"
"Yes. Daddy, what's going on?"
"We have a lead. Listen, I can't tell you anything, Sarah. Just keep praying for your mom."
"Looks like I should pray for you, too, Daddy."
"Yes, I need to go on this one. I'll be careful. Please don't worry about me." Lee smiled down at Sarah and gave her a hug. He held her close and kissed her hair.
Sarah watched silently as the agents left the bullpen. It was strangely quiet. Only a few agents and assistants remained at their desks. Francine and Efraim had gone with her father. She had never seen Matt. Sarah went back into her mother's office and closed the door.
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A light came on in the hallway. Exhausted from her endless pacing, Amanda had long ago sat down in the chair. Her mouth was dry, her water bottle emptied long ago. Hunger gnawed at her stomach, but she tried to put it out of her mind. Occasionally she felt movement near her feet, but she would kick out, hoping the rats would stay away. Now they scurried along the walls, away from the light.
The door burst open. Two men came into the room. Amanda was forced to her feet, and a hood was pulled over her head while her hands were cuffed with a cable tie. She was pushed from the room and down the hall.
Stiff again from sitting, Amanda stumbled on the stairs, painfully hitting her knee. Her captors pulled her back up and propelled her the rest of the way up and out of the building to what seemed to be the same van that had brought her there. Doors slammed and the van sped off, tires squealing. From the lack of light through the hood, Amanda knew it was still night.
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Enriquez pulled the black surveillance van up to the curb. He and Matt began setting up the communications equipment. Two other vans pulled up on other sides of the building and set up cameras that they linked to the communications van. Agents poured out of the vehicles and moved to their designated locations.
"Okay, people. Is everyone in position?" Lee's deep voice resonated in Matt's earpiece. Each agent checked in. "Let's go."
Matt watched the monitors as the agents entered the building.
Lee's heart sank. Agent after agent was coming up empty. He watched the monitors in his van. No activity.
"Chief, this is Agent Gonzales. I think you'll want to see this. I'm two levels down from the street."
Lee left his van and ran into the building. Agent Gonzales met him at the bottom of the stairs. "Sir, it's this way." Lee followed Gonzales to a room down the hall. A water bottle lay on the floor, and a chair sat in the middle of the room. A cable tie lay on the floor, apparently dropped as someone had left in a hurry.
"The door has been altered to lock from the outside only, and the lights come on from the outside as well." Gonzales hesitated. "It appears to be a holding cell. We found two others, but this one was the only one that had any appearance of being used."
Lee walked in the room. He pulled on a glove and picked up the bottle, smelled it for traces of drugs, and looked at the rim. There were faint smudges of lipstick. It could be Amanda's color. I just don't know. "Gonzales, do you have an evidence bag on you?" Gonzales produced a bag and Lee dropped the bottle inside. "I want it checked for evidence of drugs and dusted for prints." The entire building would be checked, but Lee did not want this bottle forgotten.
Lee walked over to the chair. He put his ungloved hand on the back cushion. Amanda, were you here? Where did you go? Remembering something, he pulled his hand away and brought it to his face. Amanda's perfume. She was here! He looked around the room again and grimaced. The dirty chair was the only source of comfort. Rat droppings riddled the room. The entire building was damp and smelled of mildew. Lee's stomach lurched. Oh, Amanda. Why didn't you stay with me?
