Chapter 22

Abby came upstairs on the dot of five the next morning, having slept soundly for six and a half hours that night. Jamie, in a running singlet, shorts, and top of the line running shoes, was just pouring himself a glass of water. He offered her one and she shook her head. "I had some downstairs, thanks to the fact that your mother stocked the fridge."

"Amanda Stetson thinks of everything. Did you sleep okay?"

"Like a rock, which is not to say it was like sleeping on a bed of rocks. Your mother said those beds came over from the old house ten years ago, but those are not ten-year-old mattresses."

"No, they bought new ones a couple of years ago when the old ones wore out. I called Phillip last night after you went downstairs and they're going to join us for the run. He doesn't have to work today, neither does Kendra, so it works out great."

"I'm ready to go if you are."

She followed him out to the BMW and rolled the window down to enjoy the cool of the morning as he drove. "Where are we going?"

"Kendra's meeting us at our old house on Maplewood; there's a good route that Phillip and I worked out when we were in middle school, before Mom and Lee got married and we moved to the new house."

Phillip and Kendra were waiting outside the house when Jamie parked at the curb; as he and Abby got out, Phillip said, "About time you showed up, slowpoke."

"What are you griping about? You don't have to work today," Jamie shot back.

"Yeah, and since I don't, if I'm going to get up at five to go running, I want to go running, not wait around for my slowpoke brother to get here."

"Guys, guys, can we stop bickering and just run?" Kendra said.

"That takes all the fun out of having my brother home," Phillip complained.

It was a good run; when Abby and Jamie got back to the house a little before six, Lee and Amanda were both in the kitchen, Lee in a t-shirt and plaid pajama pants and Amanda in a silky blue robe with "Bride of Scarecrow" embroidered on the front. She saw Abby react to the unusual terminology and said, "Mother's Day gift from my practical joker children in 1988, the first one after we went public about our marriage. Jamie explained about 'Scarecrow'?"

"Yes, ma'am. Mrs. Stetson- Amanda - I called my mom from here last night to give her my new phone number, so you'll see a charge on your bill for that call, and I can pay you back when the bill comes in."

"And I told her that it wasn't necessary, especially since half the time her mother was grilling me," Jamie said. "I need to grab a shower and get on the road. Just coffee, Mom; I'll stop somewhere and get a bagel or something on the way up."

He disappeared down the hall and Amanda shook her head at her husband. "This is your doing, Stetson. My boys ate breakfast when they were little, but now…."

"He said he'd stop for a bagel, Amanda," Lee replied calmly. "You see, Abby, even after ten years of marriage, I'm still not much of a breakfast eater, and it's never set well with my lovely wife. Coffee?"

"Yes, thank you. Cream, no sugar."

"A woman after my own heart." Lee fixed her coffee and handed it to her in a mug with the words "International Federal Film", as they had appeared outside the headquarters building in Georgetown for so many years, printed on it.

"IFF – Jamie told me about that, how it was the Agency's cover organization. He said that his boss made a lot of the documentary films in those years, and when the Agency went public and IFF went out of business because of Federal funding cuts – at least that was the story – he opened his own photography and videography business," she said.

A cellular phone on the kitchen counter rang. Lee, whose phone it was, picked it, checked the display, and said, "Harry, you old weasel, where are you? Yeah, I figured you'd be coming up this morning. Sure, I can do that. Where do you want to meet? Good plan. I'll be in by seven-thirty. Oh, she's fine; she's standing right here. See you soon."

He ended the call and said, "Harry wants to see me in my office before he goes over to DuPont Circle. He's called an emergency meeting of the foundation board for ten o'clock this morning."

"What's the phrase - 'heads will roll'?" Amanda replied.

"Yeah. You're in for a treat, Abby; you're going to meet the legendary Harry V. Thornton."

"I am?"

"I'll make sure that you do."

"Do what?" Jamie, now dressed in designer jeans, an RJB Photography – it stood for Robert J. Bukowski, his boss and the Agency's New York section chief - golf shirt, and Doc Martens, came into the kitchen and accepted a travel mug of coffee from his mother.

"Meet Harry V. He just called; he's already in town, and he wants to meet in my office first thing this morning. There's an emergency meeting of the board at eleven. I told Abby I'd make sure she got to meet him."

"He's quite a character, but you'll like him, Abby. I gotta go; walk me out to the car?"

"Sure."

He kissed his mother's cheek, shook hands with Lee, picked up the hanging bag that held the suit he'd worn the previous evening, slung the camera bag he was hardly ever without over his shoulder and headed for the door.

Once they reached the BMW, he loaded the luggage and set the coffee mug down before turning to Abby. "I'll be in touch; after all, I know where you live."

"Be careful, Jamie."

"Always am. Whatever happens at the foundation – and I suspect that Harry is going to do some serious housecleaning – you're going to do great, Princess Abigail."

"Bye, SuperSpy."

For a moment she thought he might kiss her goodbye, but he didn't. Instead, he said, "All in good time, Princess. Stay safe."

A few seconds later the car disappeared into the early morning light.