Chapter 20

With the five of them working, it took less than half an hour to pack everything Abby had brought up and put it in the back of her truck. While they were working, two Arlington police officers arrived, officially gave Lee and the Agency custody of the possible marijuana- infused brownies so they could be analyzed quickly, and, after a brief discussion with him, said, "It's best if you leave and don't come back, Miss Kozal; you'll be safe with Agent Stetson."

"Yes, all right."

"Kendra, I need you to drive Abby to our house; Phillip will follow you in the Tahoe. Jamie and I are taking the evidence to the Agency for immediate analysis, and yes, Jamie, since it's your car, you drive."

"I can't believe I was so naïve," Abby said as Kendra turned toward the Stetson house. "I've heard of pot brownies, I even knew of some people at UNL that made them and ate them, but I never thought they'd do that right under my nose, literally."

"They probably thought you were so stupid you couldn't figure out what they were; they may even have planned to get you to eat some of them, or have left them out thinking that you wouldn't be able to resist them."

"So they could get me into trouble?"

"It's a possibility."

"But why?"

"Think about it, sweetie. You're a law-abiding citizen who follows the rules; to people who make and eat pot brownies, you're a prime target. They want to pull you down to their level."

"I guess so. Golly, but I sure have a lot to learn."

"But you will, and if the analysis proves them to be culpable and they're thrown out on their collective ears, you'll still be doing just fine."

"Were you an intern as well as a Fellow?"

"No, I spent the summer of between my junior and senior years at George Mason working as a camp counselor for inner city kids from D. C."

"Wow, that must have been an eye-opening experience too."

"Oh, yeah, but it was invaluable experience. Here we are – Lee and Amanda's house."

"Oh, it looks so warm and welcoming!"

"When you meet Amanda, you'll understand why."

Amanda welcomed Abby with a hug and said, "I'm sorry that you were attacked in the woods, Abby, but I'm glad that my bunch were there to help and that we found out about your living situation when we did. There are two twin beds down in the basement, beds we've converted into daybeds, and they're both made up, so you have your choice. I've put fresh towels in the bathroom for you. Come and see it."

Phillip and Kendra had been busy moving boxes into the basement; since there wasn't much to move, it didn't take long.

Abby looked at the basement apartment, complete with kitchenette and bath, and exclaimed, "Oh, Mrs. Stetson – Amanda – this is so kind! It's been a crazy evening, but everyone has been so helpful and friendly."

"We're glad we can help."

"Mom, I'm going to take Kendra back to her house and then go on to Grandma's," Phillip said. "Good night, Abby. Don't worry; your situation is now in Lee Stetson's capable hands, and nobody does it better."

" I'm so glad. Thank you again, both of you." She gave them quick hugs and they left.

Once they were gone, Amanda said, "He's right, of course; nobody does it better, and I'm not just saying that because I've loved Lee Stetson for more than a dozen years now. He really is the best."

"Oh, Amanda, he was so nice to me; he could have thought that I was lying about the pot, but he didn't."

"Sweetie, Lee is a very good judge of character; in his job, he has to be. He's been fooled a few times in his career," she said, remembering Eva Spinelli, "but not often and certainly not recently."

"And everyone else was so kind, well, Jamie was kind of gruff at first but I think he was just worried that I might have been hurt, you know?"

"My son was gruff? Gruff how?"

"Oh, well… Well, he cussed. He asked me what the 'H' I doing running alone, but it wasn't dark, and I've never had a problem before. Oh, but he apologized."

"Good for him; I would certainly have expected him to apologize. He knows better than to blame the victim. Tell me exactly what happened."

Abby related the incident and Amanda said, " So you fought back and you got away, and you screamed the place down. That was good, and I'm glad my boys and Kendra were there to help you. You look wiped out, though. How does a nice long hot shower, or even a hot bath, sound?"

"Oh, the shower, and I need to wash my hair."

"Then enjoy yourself, and if you don't come back upstairs tonight, sleep well. I'm sure Lee will have some news for you by tomorrow. Breakfast is at six-thirty so we can get the kids out the door and get to work on time, but there's milk and cold cereal in the kitchen there if you just want that."

She gave Abby a hug and went back upstairs, closing the basement door behind her. "Jamie reacted emotionally to the idea of her being in danger. Hmmmm…. Wonder if he's said anything about it to Lee."

Lee and Jamie came back about half an hour later. "I asked the lab crew to put a rush on the analysis," Lee said, " but I'm fairly sure what they'd going to find. How is she?"

"She took a hot shower and I'm fairly sure she went straight to bed," Amanda said. "I heard the water go off about fifteen minutes ago and I haven't seen her since. She's tough, that's for sure. After what she went through, she'd be excused for being a bundle of nerves, but she's hanging in there. Not that you helped, James."

"I know, Mom, but I did apologize. I told Lee what I did and we talked about where I was wrong and how to keep it from happening again. It's just that she's so sweet and so … well, wholesome, the idea of some creep jumping her in the woods and trying to assault her just made me see red."

"And we understand that, Son, but again, she was the wrong target for your anger. Not that it hasn't happened before and won't happen again, but still…." Amanda said, remember all the times Lee had become angry with her when he was really just frightened for her.

"Yes, ma'am."

The basement door opened and Abby's voice said, " Hello the house? Okay to come up?"

"Of course; this is your house too, Abby," Lee said. "Feeling better?"

Abby entered the kitchen, where they'd been talking, in a light summer top and shorts that made the most of her slender, tanned legs. She had pearly pink polish on her toenails, and her hair, though still wet, was pulled back in a braid.

"Oh, yes, sir, thank you. I had a wonderful shower and I suddenly realized I'm hungry. I thought I'd see if I could get a peanut butter sandwich or something."

"You can have anything you want," Jamie said. "In fact, if you're really hungry and you feel up to it, we'll go out for pizza."

"Oh, if I eat pizza this late at night I'll pay for it later, but… maybe a burger?"

"Have you discovered Marvelous Marvin's yet?" Jamie asked.

"I love Marvin's!"

"Then grab whatever you need to grab and let's go for shakes."

"Is that like 'go for broke'?"

"No, eating at Marvin's won't make me go broke, thank God."

She laughed. "You're driving, you're paying, and I'm dressed just fine for Marvin's. Let's go."

They went. Lee and Amanda looked at each other and Lee said, "Well, well, well….to quote some Broadway lyricist, 'June is bustin' out all over'."

"Summer love. Let's hope it lasts, because I really like both those girls."

"So do I. Could I interest you in a nightcap, Mrs. Stetson?"

"You can interest me in a lot more than that, Mr. Stetson."

"I hoped you'd say that."