Chapter 7
Billy leaned out of his office door, searching the bullpen. "Amanda, I need to see you in my office, please," he called when he finally spotted her.
"Yes, sir. Right away, Mr. Melrose," Amanda called back. She handed another agent a file folder and said, "Can you be sure Beamon gets this?" The agent nodded, stood and left his desk, the file folder in hand. Billy held the door open for her as she stepped inside. "Good morning, sir," she greeted him with a smile.
"Good morning, Amanda," Billy replied, returning her smile with one of his own. He gestured to the chairs opposite his desk before sitting down in his own leather desk chair. "Tell me, what have you heard about the counterfeit money that's been popping up all over town recently?" he asked.
Amanda shook her head slowly, "Nothing much, sir, other than what they've mentioned on the news."
Billy handed her a sheet of computer paper with a list of store names and shops. "Here is a list of every location that reported receiving counterfeit twenty-dollar bills. I'd like you to interview the shopkeepers, see if they noticed anything suspicious in the last few days. Any nervous patrons, that kind of thing," he instructed.
"Yes, sir. I'll do that right away," Amanda stood.
"Why don't you take Edwards with you," he stated. Amanda turned her head and raised her brow. "He looks like he could use some time outside of these walls," Billy decided.
"Of course, Mr. Melrose. I'll just let Lee know," Amanda agreed.
Billy smiled, "Oh, and Amanda, I'm glad to see you're finally feeling better."
Amanda looked down at the rug before replying, "Thank you, sir. So am I." She hated the idea they hadn't come clean about her pregnancy yet, but she also knew Lee wanted the family to know before anyone else. She closed the door and scanned the room. When her eyes settled on Tom Edwards, he was just hanging up the phone with a loud sigh. She stood beside his desk and said, "That sounds like you need a break."
"Mrs. Stetson, hi," Tom looked up, a tense grin on his face.
"Hi, Tom. Mr. Melrose would like you to help me with something this afternoon so how 'bout it?" Amanda stated cheerfully.
Tom looked at the phone then again at Amanda, "What does he need us to do?"
Amanda patted his shoulder and said, "Well, for starters, we get to get out of this building. It's a nice day out. The snow is holding off for now. We need to interview a few shop owners. You up for that?"
Tom nodded and pushed himself into a standing position. He grunted a little when he took his first step in her direction. "Sorry, I get stiff sitting for too long."
Amanda looked down at the list of addresses Billy had given her. "Well, it looks like these shops are all pretty close together. We can walk for a while if you'd like?" she offered.
"A walk sounds pretty good right now," Tom agreed. He reached for his coat and draped it over his arm. "After you."
"I just need to stop in the Q Bureau first to get my things and leave a note for Lee. We'll have to take his car if that's all right?" Amanda explained as they entered the hallway. "You're not going to be uncomfortable in the Corvette, are you? I know it sits a little low and all."
Before Tom could reply, Amanda caught sight of Lee stepping off the elevator. "Lee!" she called. Lee smiled broadly as he approached her and Tom. "Lee, Tom and I need to head out to do a few interviews this afternoon. If I take your car, can you pick up the boys from school at four?"
Lee dug into his pocket for his keys, "Interviews, huh? What's Billy got you assigned on now?"
"It has something to do with the counterfeit money showing up around town," Amanda explained. She took Lee's keys from him and said, "I'll lock the office and leave my keys with Mrs. Marston. I'll see you at home later?"
Lee looked around first then brushed his lips across her cheek. "Dinner will be waiting for you. Did Dotty say how Aunt Edna was doing this morning?" he asked.
"Aunt Edna should be coming home Friday. The doctors finally have everything under control, but they want to run a few more tests," Amanda relayed the information her mother had told her when she dropped the overnight bag off to her.
"Oh, good. And your mother doesn't mind staying there that whole time?" Lee asked.
Amanda smiled and said, "No, Mother doesn't mind at all. She said she would use Aunt Edna's car to visit her first then she's going to pick up some groceries for her. Knowing Mother, she's probably going to make a few meals for her, too and stack them all in the freezer." She looked at Tom standing uncomfortable beside them and said, "We should probably get going. I'll see you later."
Lee kissed her briefly once more before offering Tom his hand. "Have a good afternoon out there. Keep an eye on her for me," he said with a smile.
Tom shook his hand tentatively as he replied, "Yes, sir. I'll do that."
Amanda turned and walked down the hall. Tom fell into step beside her quickly. Together they made their way to the Q Bureau where Amanda collected her purse and coat, locked the door and left her keys with Mrs. Marston just as she had told Lee. They found Lee's car parked in the back lot. Scotty, the attendant waved to them as she slowly drove past him. "Now, let's find a spot to park. We can decide which stores we can cover today then maybe finish the rest of the list tomorrow," she decided. When they stopped at a red light, she pointed to a few addresses clustered close together. "I think if we could focus on those today, we can cover all of them. What do you think?"
Tom looked at the list and sighed again. "Whatever you think is fine, Mrs. Stetson," he replied almost robotically.
Amanda glanced over at him just as the light turned green. "Tom, is everything all right?" she asked. She couldn't see his expression but when he didn't answer right away, she added, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. You just seem like you need, I don't know, a friend."
Tom looked at the list in his hands then stared out of the windshield for several seconds before he said, "What do you do when you really want to help someone, but they don't want your help?"
"What do you mean?" Amanda asked.
Tom sighed once more, "Well, I have this friend and well, she needs help, but she doesn't seem to want to accept any. I just don't know what else to do."
"Are we talking about Lauren?" Amanda questioned intuitively.
Tom's jaw dropped. "How did you guess?"
"Well, the last few times we've seen you and her together, you seemed like you were getting to be good friends. What seems to be the problem?" Amanda asked sympathetically. She pulled into a parking spot and turned to face Tom.
"It's Charlie," he began.
"Is Charlie all right?" Amanda immediately asked. "He's not sick or anything, is he?"
Tom held up his hands, "No, nothing like that. Lauren's just having a hard time finding daycare for him that she can afford. I offered to help her, but she won't take any money from me. I tried to tell her she could pay me back later, but she won't even talk about it."
Amanda frowned, "What about the money Harry gave her? I'm sure that would be helpful."
"She used most of it to move and buy a new condo up here and what little she had left over, she put aside for Charlie's future. She won't touch the rest of it. She just got a job at a firm, but they don't offer daycare," Tom explained. "I told her I would help her out, but she keeps saying he's not my responsibility. I know he's not, but I can still help out a friend in need, can't I?"
Amanda smiled at his predicament when an idea dawned on her, "Tom, I have an idea, but let me talk to someone about it first. I think it might just work out. Now, let's go see what we can find out about who might be using this funny money."
