Chapter 20
The next morning, Amanda found Dotty writing notes furiously on a notepad, the phone dangling off her shoulder. "All right, Francine, two weeks from Sunday. I'll let Amanda and Lee know. Do you think that'll be enough time to get all the invitations out? What am I saying…we planned a wedding in six weeks, why would this be any different?" Dotty rambled. She glanced up to find Amanda smiling at her before she ended her call. "I'll call you on Friday. Yes, I'll have Amanda head over and start her registry as soon as possible. Lee said she doesn't have to be in the office until noon tomorrow, so she'll have plenty of time to get it started. I have an appointment, so I'll make sure to give her all the instructions. Okay, bye-bye."
"Good morning, Mother. Did you have a nice evening with Curt last night?" Amanda asked as she sipped her coffee.
Dotty sighed as she hung up the phone and made one final notation. "We did. It was wonderful. I was able to pry him away from the blueprints he was working on with something sheer and blue of my own," she winked at Amanda.
Blushing, Amanda sighed, "Oh, Mother."
"I have needs too, you know, Amanda. And, although Curt isn't the eleven Lee is, he still manages to get the job done," Dotty teased further.
Amanda shook her head, "I don't need to hear this. You're my mother!"
"And Curt makes me very, very happy, Darling," Dotty laughed. Seeing Amanda's obvious discomfort with the conversation she changed direction and stated, "Francine and I have decided your baby shower will be two weeks from Sunday. We need you to stop by Maggie and Tuck's tomorrow morning to start your registry. I'd go with you but I have an appointment I simply cannot miss."
"But, Mother, I told you I didn't even want a shower. I feel silly," Amanda groaned. She took another sip of her coffee and added, "Lee might be working that day, I might be on the schedule. I just don't know."
"Nonsense!" Dotty snapped. "Francine insisted she would make sure you were both free. She said she could do that, although I don't know how."
Amanda exhaled loudly, "If it will make you happy, I'll get the registry set up."
Dotty nodded enthusiastically, "Good! Make sure they give you an extra copy for me."
"I will," Amanda assured her. She glanced at the clock and stated, "Lee and I have to leave in a few minutes. We have an early morning meeting today but I should be home in time to pick the boys up."
As if on cue, Lee was heard jogging down the stairs, talking to Philip. "I'll bring you by the shop later if you want," he told his stepson. Together they walked into the kitchen. "Good morning, Dotty. Sleep well," Lee teased.
Dotty smiled at Lee and replied, "As a matter of fact, I slept like a baby. Must have been that wonderful glass of wine we had at dinner. Or our after-dinner stroll down by the docks."
"All that exercise," Lee grinned, his dimples deep.
"Well, you know what they say. Brisk exercise after a meal certainly gets the blood pumping," Dotty tossed back before she raised her coffee mug to her lips.
Philip looked at his grandmother, confused, "I always thought you told us not to exercise right after eating because we'll get a cramp."
Amanda laughed, pulled her son close and squeezed him. "That's only for swimming, not the kind of exercise your grandmother is talking about. Is Jamie about ready to go? Lee and I have a meeting this morning, so we need to leave soon."
Philip stepped out of her embrace to open the refrigerator. He pulled out the gallon of milk and proceeded to fill a cereal bowl. "Yeah, he was just getting his bag together," he informed Amanda between bites.
"So, let me get my suit jacket and we might actually get out of here on time this morning," Lee announced. As he started past Dotty, she thrust a banana in his direction, sputtering, "Breakfast."
Just over an hour later, Lee, Amanda, Francine, Tom, and several other agents were seated around a conference room table listening to Billy update everyone on the latest reports of terrorist activity abroad as well as two notorious Soviet agents who were spotted in DC the previous day. Billy then turned to Francine and asked for an update on her investigation with Tom and Amanda.
"Well, we've hit almost every stumbling block you can come up with but one theory we have ruled out is that Katsaros' daughter was not murdered because of his vote last month," Francine began.
Billy pressed his lips together firmly before he decided, "I guess this is a case for the locals then. Turn over everything you have to them."
"Billy, no. We're not finished. Thanks to Amanda, we finally have our first suspect in this case," Francine disputed.
Billy shook his head and stated, "But this is no longer Agency business. We were only investigating because Katsaros thought it was retribution against him. You've now stated that that isn't the case and she was an unfortunate victim like the other women."
"And the locals haven't found a damn thing either," Francine snapped. "We might actually have a suspect."
Billy looked around the room and commanded, "That's enough for today, people. I want updates on everything you're working on by the end of the week." As the majority of the agents stood to leave, Billy added, "Desmond and Edwards, you stay here." Amanda made eye contact with Lee across the table. He gave her a subtle nod before they both stood to leave. "Amanda, I'd like you to stay as well. It appears you've been rather helpful with this investigation, so I'd like to hear your input. Scarecrow, get Weathers up to speed on Kowalski and Graham. He needs to set up a surveillance team and I'm sure he could use your expertise."
"Will do, Billy. Amanda, I'll meet you in the Q later," Lee stated before he slipped out of the room.
Billy turned back to Francine, "So, explain to me again why you should remain on this case and we shouldn't hand it back to the locals?"
Francine opened the case file and pointed to the fuzzy black and white picture of Dr. Schuster. "Amanda discovered yesterday he is involved with two of the adoption agencies our victims visited. I had Edwards doing a little research on the good doctor and he was able to dig up a rather sordid past. It seems Dr. Schuster was on the verge of bankruptcy just a few years ago after investing his money in some rather… shall we say… unsavory endeavors. Now, all of a sudden, he's got a bank account with well over six figures sitting in it and a foreign account that has had seven large deposits in the last few months."
"So, he straightened his investments out. That doesn't make him a kidnapper and murderer," Billy reasoned.
"Would you say it was more than a coincidence that each deposit was made within a week of each of the murders?" Tom interjected.
Billy turned his head toward the young agent, "Say that again."
"Each deposit was between twenty-five and thirty thousand dollars and each of the deposits were made just about a week after the murder of one of those women. Seven murders, seven deposits," Tom explained.
Billy nodded slowly, "Now that's a theory that holds water. He very well could be involved. What else do you know about the doctor?"
Francine shook her head, "That's it so far. Other than what Amanda found."
"Yes, sir. Dr. Schuster works at both the Happy Family Agency as the health and welfare department and he's the only obstetrician at The Family Heart Adoption Agency. Now, I would think it would be odd for a man with his credentials to work at two different agencies," Amanda stated.
"I have to agree," Billy stated. "Okay, keep on it, but if this doctor comes up as a dead end, that's it. Turn it back over."
Francine closed the file folder and sighed, "I got it. Let's see if we can do a little more digging on Dr. Schuster before we make a happy little visit to him."
