Sacker's Revenge - Continued
"WE did it," Lee responded, pulling her into his arms. They stood that way for a few minutes, neither wanting the other to see the tears that had formed. Tears of relief, of joy, tears that came from the realization that they actually did have a chance to get out of another dangerous situation.
"Oh my gosh, I never thought I could be so glad to see a stretch of asphalt!"
"Me either. Let's keep walking southeast and hope a friendly truck driver is just behind us."
It couldn't have been more than fifteen minutes later, and their unspoken prayers were answered. The sound of an engine and the smell of diesel filled the air.
"HEY," they both hollered together, waving their hands frantically.
The driver hit the brakes but still traveled a short distance beyond them before the truck stopped. Lee and Amanda ran up to the passenger side door.
"Hey buddy, thanks for stopping," Lee said.
"Yeah, thanks," Amanda added somewhat breathlessly.
"You folks look beat. Get on in here. There's no jump seat in this thing, so maybe the little woman can sit on yer lap. I'm Bob, Bob Baxter," he said with a toothy grin. "Where ya headed?"
"Hi, Bob. I'm Lee and the little woman is Amanda. She won't mind sitting on my lap, will you honey?"
"Absolutely not, hi Bob," Amanda said as she climbed up into the truck and onto Lee's lap.
"I don't know where we're headed 'cause I don't know where we are. Our car broke down back up in those mountains. I don't know where we were but we've been hiking out of the back country for two days. And you're right, we are beat!"
"Golly, I bet you're starvin' too and I don't have anything to eat in the truck. I'm sorry."
"That's OK. We're just grateful that you stopped. What's the next town anyway?"
"It's called Star Tannery - and don't ask me why."
"I won't ask. Listen, could you drop us off at the Police or Sheriff's station?"
"Umm, I'm not allowed to drive this rig into the middle of town. Ya know, ahh, tourist traffic this time of year. But there's a truckstop, we'll be there in just a few minutes now, and the deputies usually stop there in the mornin's. I'll bet they're there about now."
After a few minutes the truckstop came into view. "See there, up there on the right, that's it and I think I can see a patrol car parked in the lot. You're in luck mister."
Bob pulled the rig into the parking lot and stopped.
"We were in luck when you came by." Lee turned to Bob and shook his hand. "We can't thank you enough."
Yes," Amanda added. "I don't know how much longer I could have kept going."
"Well shucks, folks. You're more than welcome. I hope you find your car and everything works out for ya. Take care."
Lee and Amanda climbed down and waved goodbye as Bob pulled the truck back onto the highway and drove off.
------------
Entering the *Truckin' Inn*, Lee spotted the deputy sitting at the counter. As they walked toward him, the officer turned and looked them over.
Noting their disheveled and exhausted appearance, he asked, "When was the last time you folks ate or slept?"
"We haven't eaten in nearly three days and sleep has been spotty at best," Lee answered.
"Sit down there, in that booth," he said, and then turning back to the counter he called to the waitress, "Millie, get me two cups of coffee and throw some of your delicious Danish on a plate, will ya sweetie?"
With a slightly annoyed look, Millie did as she was asked and the deputy brought the welcome food to the table. He then picked up his own plate and cup and joined the couple, who were already wolfing down the Danish pastries.
"What happened to you two anyway? Looks like you've been lost for days."
"You're exactly right," Lee said between mouthfuls. "Look, officer - ?"
"Jack Dixon."
"Jack. I'm Lee Stetson. This is my partner, Amanda King."
"Ma'am," Jack said, smiling at Amanda.
"Hi, Jack," Amanda smiled back.
"Anyway, we're Federal agents," Lee continued. "We were on a stakeout in DC when we were drugged, kidnapped, taken up into the mountains northwest of here and left without water, food or heat - left to die."
"Mercy. Do you know who did this to you?"
"No, not yet. But we plan to find out as soon as we get back to our agency. If you would let me make a collect call to my boss, he can verify my story and send somebody to pick us up. In the meantime, if you could get us a place to stay, to rest until they come for us, you'd be reimbursed for whatever it costs."
"Sure, of course. Look, if you want more to eat, you can go ahead and order. I'll pay for it and get a receipt. Then we'll get you registered at the *Star T*. It's the biggest motel in town. It's still ski season, but I'm sure they'll have some rooms."
Amanda got up from the booth. "I'm going to the ladies room to freshen up. Would you order me some scrambled eggs and toast?"
"You bet." Lee checked the menu. "Jack, I believe I'd like the number five here and I'll have the eggs over medium and, umm, white toast."
"Millie, got some customers here."
An hour later, Lee and Amanda were registered in the *Star T Motel*, full of the most wonderful breakfast they had ever tasted; clean, after their long, hot showers and sound asleep in their respective rooms, secure in the knowledge that an Agency team was on it's way to pick them up.
After what Lee was just sure could not have been more than five minutes, the phone rang. His third attempt to reach the receiver was successful. "Yeah, Stetson," he mumbled.
"Hey Scarecrow, it's Duffy."
"Frank? Where are you?"
"I'm in the lobby. Johnson and I are here to take you back. Where's Amanda?"
"I forget her room number. Frank, just ask the operator. I'll be down in a couple of minutes."
"OK, old buddy. See ya."
In less than twenty minutes Lee and Amanda were up, dressed in their rather grungy clothes and taking the elevator down to the lobby, where their escort back to DC waited for them.
The only thing Frank could tell Lee about the case was that they didn't have much to go on. After about a half an hour of driving, Frank looked in the rear view mirror and chuckled.
"What?" Johnson asked.
Frank just nodded his head in the general direction of the back seat. Johnson's gaze followed the gesture and there was Lee with his arm around Amanda, her head on his chest, both of them sound asleep.
After arriving at The Agency in the very late afternoon, the first thing Amanda did was to find a telephone. She had to call Dotty.
"Mother, hi, it's me. We just got back in town. Yes, I know it was sudden but this assignment came up out of the blue. We had to jump on it and I couldn't call you at that hour of the morning. Well, there were no phones. It was a documentary on how wildlife survive in the winter. We were out in the woods. OK. I'm sorry. You know I hate to worry you. Yeah. Say hi to the boys and tell them I'll be home in about an hour. Bye, mother."
The second stop for both Amanda and Lee was in the infirmary. Dr. Kelford did a fairly quick physical exam and took blood for analysis.
"Well, you two don't look much the worse for wear," he remarked in his usual cheery manner. "Your temperatures are a little low. Probably they were even lower this morning but they're coming up nicely. I think you are both in good shape and that helps. I'll recommend to Billy that you be taken off active duty for the next seventy-two hours."
"Wait a minute, Doc," Lee started. "I've got an investigation to run here. I want to find out who tried to take me and my partner out of the action - permanently."
"You can do desk work, paper work but no running around, getting shot at and such like," Dr. Kelford smiled.
"Fine, I...."
"Thanks Doctor," Amanda interjected. "I'll see that he behaves."
"Good. Take care of yourself too, Mrs. King."
The next order of business was to report to Billy.
"According to Duffy, you don't have much, but what *have* you got, Billy?" Lee asked.
"We now know about Sacker's family. The wife, who divorced him years ago, is dead. A son lives on the west coast and the daughter, Margaret, who lived with her father and inherited his property, may be somewhere in DC. So far we haven't been able to locate her. Now, the voice on the tape of that call you got with the tip about Sacker's people - that was a woman's not a man's voice."
"Probably his daughter?"
"Right, Amanda. The only other thing we have is the Agency car with a thermos bottle that we assume was yours. And no prints that we can use."
"*Swell*," Lee said angrily. "I'm afraid I set us up for this. I kept going to that donut shop each morning to get us some coffee to, you know, get through the shift. That last morning, drinking the coffee was the last thing either of us remember."
"Lee, There was no place else to go." Turning her attention to Billy, Amanda asked, "Sir, did they check the rear view mirror? You know how when you're going to drive, especially a strange car, you usually adjust the rear view mirror, first thing."
"I don't know if they did or not, but I'll send somebody over to the impound yard to check the mirror, right away."
"Good idea, Amanda," Lee smiled at his partner.
"OK you two. There's nothing else we can do today. I want you both to go home and get some rest. Dr. Kelford called me and said you're to be off the active duty roster for at least three days."
"Billy,...." Lee started
Billy raised his hands in a gesture that said *enough*. "Go home, Scarecrow - now!"
"Good bye Sir."
"Bye, Amanda. Good Bye Lee!"
"Yeah."
-------------------------------------------
About ten o'clock the next morning, Lee joined Billy and Francine in the section chief's office.
"Scarecrow, I thought I made it clear that you were to be off the active duty roster for the next three days!"
"Billy, look, I'm not planning on being *active*. I need to borrow one of the Agency's choppers."
"Why?"
"I want to go back to that little town and start back tracking to see if I can find the place where Amanda and I were dumped. Maybe I can find out who owns the land. That might give us another clue as to who grabbed us."
"All right," Billy sighed. He knew Lee wouldn't give him any peace until he had at least tried to find the place. "I'll call and make the arrangements now."
Before he could pick up the phone, it rang. "Melrose here." Putting his hand over the mouthpiece, he whispered, "It's Doc Kelford. Hmm, I see. OK Dr. Kelford. Thank you very much." Billy hung up the phone. "Well, the blood tests, the more sophisticated ones that took until now to get the results, they show traces of Dormerium in both Lee and Amanda's systems. Scarecrow, I'll make that call now. Get going."
"Thanks, Billy." Lee shook his head. "It's no wonder Amanda and I felt like we'd been hit by a truck. That stuff is the chemical equivalent of a big rig." He turned and headed out the door. "See you later today," he called over his shoulder.
"Francine, you know what Dormerium is: a potent knockout drug used only by a few Federal and military intelligence agencies. Get whoever you need to help you and start checking with *everybody* who has access to this stuff, including the company that makes it, and find out if any of it is missing."
"I'll get Denise to help me and get right on it. I think that it's Symth Cline and Buckner who manufacture it."
"Well, whoever. Just get going. If we find that some of the supply is missing then we just have to find who stole it and we'll have our bad guys!"
"*Just* have to find...? Yeah. Check with you later this afternoon."
------------------------
It was getting near the end of the day. Francine sat opposite Billy with a sheaf of papers in her hand.
"So, here's what I've got. I think you're going to be happy, Billy."
"Francine, just..... let's have it."
"OK. First I checked with all the government and military agencies that use Dormerium. All their supplies of the drug were accounted for. Then I called Symth Cline and Buckner. Turns out, about two months ago, they had a break-in and a small amount of Dormerium was stolen. Now they suspected that one of their chemists, a guy named Mark Reilly, was involved, but they couldn't prove it. They finally found some other reasons to let him go - so he was fired about three weeks ago. Their head of plant security gave me the file on Reilly. Here is it." Francine handed Billy a folder with the S C B logo on it.
"Let's see.....male, Caucasian, height - six feet, weight - 170, hair - brown, eyes - blue, age - twenty-seven years. No distinguishing marks. Fine. There's probably only about two hundred thousand guys in the greater metropolitan area who might fit this description."
"Billy, look a little further. We have a picture, we have his prints and we have an address. I've already got a team watching the apartment building. I've got more," she said smugly. "Amanda's suggestion about checking the rear view mirror was right on. There were two sets of prints. One was Lee's. The other one didn't show up in our database, but I ran it through NCIC and got an ID. The name is Mark Reilly and he was arrested for trespassing, along with a group of the supporters of - are you ready for this - Peter Sacker! And, it's the same Mark Reilly. The prints on file at S C B match those from NCIC."
"Great work, Francine! Now, if we can tie this Reilly character to Margaret Sacker, we can wrap this thing up."
"One more thing. You remember the activity around that donut shop the morning Lee and Amanda disappeared?"
"Yes."
"Well, I talked with the DC police and it seems the night man was hit over the head, tied up and left in the back room. Now nothing was taken, robbery was not the motive. But Lee said that's where they got the coffee which had to have been drugged because that was the last thing either of them remembered."
"It must have been some of Sacker's - some of Margaret's people who knocked the guy out and took over the donut stand."
"Had to be."
Just then, Lee entered the bullpen. After stopping at one of the desks and speaking briefly to the agent sitting there, he continued to Billy's office.
"Scarecrow - what have you got?"
"I found the place, Billy. We took map coordinates and I've got one of the rookies - Ralph somebody-or- other," he gestured out toward the bullpen, "working on the location and then he'll check with whatever County Recorders office covers that area."
"Good. Wait till you hear what Francine has found out."
As Francine finished briefing Lee on the information she had dug up so far, Amanda tapped on the office door.
"Come in Amanda," Billy called.
"Hi Sir, hi Francine, hi Lee."
Lee and Amanda exchanged a look and a smile that made it seem as though they thought they were the only two people on the planet; certainly in that office, something that was not lost on Billy and Francine.
"You OK?" Lee asked softly.
Amanda nodded. "Yeah. You?"
"I'm good."
Amanda looked from Lee to Francine and then to Billy. "How's the investigation going, Sir?"
Billy smiled at her. "It's coming along nicely. We are pretty sure that the phony tip came from Peter Sacker's daughter, Margaret. We believe and the people at SCB are positive, even though they couldn't get enough evidence to prove it in court, that one of Sacker's followers, a Mark Reilly, stole the drug that was used on you and Lee. He's also the one who drove the Agency car up into the woods. His prints were on the rear view mirror, just where you thought we should look for prints, and we are very sure it was Sacker's people who took over the donut stand and drugged your coffee that morning."
"It's just like Lee said - Sacker's revenge."
A knock on the office door interrupted their conversation. Billy motioned agent Ralph Thomas into the room. The young man grinned as he handed Lee a piece of paper. "I think I've found the information you wanted, Mr. Stetson."
Lee scanned the document and then looked up. "Thanks, Ralph. Good work. According to county records that land where we were taken and dumped is owned by Joshua Smith and his granddaughter, Margaret Sacker."
----------------
Agents Johnson and Barnes were in the third hour of their shift when a van pulled up.
"Hey, look. It's Margaret Sacker. She looks pretty much the same now as she did in this old photo, short, slender, light brown hair."
"Yeah," Johnson responded, "and look who just came out to meet her - our old friend Mark Reilly. Let's call Billy."
"Right."
Less than an hour later, Billy walked up to the car to talk with Johnson and Barnes. "Well?"
"Yeah, Billy. He's still in there and so's Margaret. You know she drove up a little while ago in that blue van. I thought Francine said she had no driver's license and no car."
"Nothing in the name of Margaret Sacker. We'll have to give that van a going over."
While Lee and Amanda waited in the car, Billy, Francine and a small team of agents banged on the door of Mark's ground floor apartment.
"Federal agents. We have a warrant to search the premises. Open up - NOW!"
The door opened slightly and Billy, along with agents Duffy and Marshall, barged into the front room. Francine and the other two agents followed close behind.
"We have a warrant to search for stolen drugs, for any documents pertaining to those drugs and also for any documents pertaining to Peter Sacker, his organization or his terrorist camp called New Utopia. Take your time people. Search everything, carefully." Billy smiled, folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the wall near the kitchen.
After what seemed an eternity to Mark and Margaret, the team members came back into the living room, each carrying a box or a plastic bag. Both Duffy and Marshall leaned over and whispered something to Billy before leaving.
"Well, well," Billy grinned, looking at Margaret. "We've got your boyfriend here, deadbang."
Mark blanched. "What do you mean?" his voice was shaky.
"Two of my best agents disappeared almost a week ago. We found *your* prints in the Agency car. We know you worked for the company that developed a very potent knockout drug, some of which was stolen and *you* were the prime suspect."
Lee was monitoring the conversation inside via a small radio, which Billy had carried in with him. As he heard the statement about *...finding your prints...*, he and Amanda got out of the car and walked quickly up to the door of Mark's apartment....
"They were not only two of my best agents but two very good *friends*!"
As Billy said the word *friends*, Lee shoved the door open as wide as it would go and entered with Amanda close behind him.
"NO," Margaret gasped, "no, you're DEAD!"
Lee smiled. "You know what Mark Twain said about his death......"
--------------------
The next day, in Billy's office....
"Well, after that little outburst from Margaret we had no trouble getting a warrant for her van. Our forensic team has already found fibers from both of your jackets - oh, and some of your hair too, Amanda. When they get finished, there will be no doubt that Margaret's van is the one used to transport you to the mountains. Mark knows we've got him but he won't say anything to implicate Margaret. I guess he really does care for her. I think his lawyer must have told him it would look better if he *seemed* to be cooperating with us, so he told us where to find Dolan. He was out on bail when he got involved in little caper and good old Jack has decided to roll over on everybody - *and* he's ready to testify that the whole scheme was Margaret's idea," Billy finished, with a very self-satisfied smile on his face.
"So, she and Mark will be going to jail for a long time, right Sir?"
"You bet, Amanda."
"You know, I kinda feel sorry for her. She was probably brainwashed by her father and all."
"Amanda, I don't care what her father did or said. She tried to kill us. She wanted to make us dead! I think she deserves to go to prison for the rest of her life!"
"I guess you're right."
"You two can take off now. Have a nice couple of days off."
"Thank you, Sir. Bye."
"Thanks, Billy. See ya."
-------------------------
TAG
"So, what are you doing this weekend?"
"Oh, I thought I'd just take it easy, you know, spend some time with mother and the boys. To tell the truth, I'm still kind of tired from our little trek in the woods."
"Hmm, too bad. I thought maybe you'd like to take a little ride with me."
"Where to?"
"Well, I heard about some vacation property in The Great North Mountains area. It's for sale really cheap."
"Well, I don't...," All of a sudden it dawned on Amanda what the "vacation property" was. "You mean Joshua Smith's place? Our very own little Devil's Island? NO thank you!"
Lee chuckled. "Actually, I thought maybe dinner tomorrow night - at Emelio's. You owe me, you know."
"I owe you?"
"Yes, don't you remember our little wager? About finding a road that day or the next? I won and you owe me dinner."
"Oh yeah, dinner. But, at Emelio's? I'm a working mother of two, ya know."
"Amanda!"
"How about Hamburger Heaven?"
"Welcher....."
"Who?.... Me?.... Noooo....."
The End
"WE did it," Lee responded, pulling her into his arms. They stood that way for a few minutes, neither wanting the other to see the tears that had formed. Tears of relief, of joy, tears that came from the realization that they actually did have a chance to get out of another dangerous situation.
"Oh my gosh, I never thought I could be so glad to see a stretch of asphalt!"
"Me either. Let's keep walking southeast and hope a friendly truck driver is just behind us."
It couldn't have been more than fifteen minutes later, and their unspoken prayers were answered. The sound of an engine and the smell of diesel filled the air.
"HEY," they both hollered together, waving their hands frantically.
The driver hit the brakes but still traveled a short distance beyond them before the truck stopped. Lee and Amanda ran up to the passenger side door.
"Hey buddy, thanks for stopping," Lee said.
"Yeah, thanks," Amanda added somewhat breathlessly.
"You folks look beat. Get on in here. There's no jump seat in this thing, so maybe the little woman can sit on yer lap. I'm Bob, Bob Baxter," he said with a toothy grin. "Where ya headed?"
"Hi, Bob. I'm Lee and the little woman is Amanda. She won't mind sitting on my lap, will you honey?"
"Absolutely not, hi Bob," Amanda said as she climbed up into the truck and onto Lee's lap.
"I don't know where we're headed 'cause I don't know where we are. Our car broke down back up in those mountains. I don't know where we were but we've been hiking out of the back country for two days. And you're right, we are beat!"
"Golly, I bet you're starvin' too and I don't have anything to eat in the truck. I'm sorry."
"That's OK. We're just grateful that you stopped. What's the next town anyway?"
"It's called Star Tannery - and don't ask me why."
"I won't ask. Listen, could you drop us off at the Police or Sheriff's station?"
"Umm, I'm not allowed to drive this rig into the middle of town. Ya know, ahh, tourist traffic this time of year. But there's a truckstop, we'll be there in just a few minutes now, and the deputies usually stop there in the mornin's. I'll bet they're there about now."
After a few minutes the truckstop came into view. "See there, up there on the right, that's it and I think I can see a patrol car parked in the lot. You're in luck mister."
Bob pulled the rig into the parking lot and stopped.
"We were in luck when you came by." Lee turned to Bob and shook his hand. "We can't thank you enough."
Yes," Amanda added. "I don't know how much longer I could have kept going."
"Well shucks, folks. You're more than welcome. I hope you find your car and everything works out for ya. Take care."
Lee and Amanda climbed down and waved goodbye as Bob pulled the truck back onto the highway and drove off.
------------
Entering the *Truckin' Inn*, Lee spotted the deputy sitting at the counter. As they walked toward him, the officer turned and looked them over.
Noting their disheveled and exhausted appearance, he asked, "When was the last time you folks ate or slept?"
"We haven't eaten in nearly three days and sleep has been spotty at best," Lee answered.
"Sit down there, in that booth," he said, and then turning back to the counter he called to the waitress, "Millie, get me two cups of coffee and throw some of your delicious Danish on a plate, will ya sweetie?"
With a slightly annoyed look, Millie did as she was asked and the deputy brought the welcome food to the table. He then picked up his own plate and cup and joined the couple, who were already wolfing down the Danish pastries.
"What happened to you two anyway? Looks like you've been lost for days."
"You're exactly right," Lee said between mouthfuls. "Look, officer - ?"
"Jack Dixon."
"Jack. I'm Lee Stetson. This is my partner, Amanda King."
"Ma'am," Jack said, smiling at Amanda.
"Hi, Jack," Amanda smiled back.
"Anyway, we're Federal agents," Lee continued. "We were on a stakeout in DC when we were drugged, kidnapped, taken up into the mountains northwest of here and left without water, food or heat - left to die."
"Mercy. Do you know who did this to you?"
"No, not yet. But we plan to find out as soon as we get back to our agency. If you would let me make a collect call to my boss, he can verify my story and send somebody to pick us up. In the meantime, if you could get us a place to stay, to rest until they come for us, you'd be reimbursed for whatever it costs."
"Sure, of course. Look, if you want more to eat, you can go ahead and order. I'll pay for it and get a receipt. Then we'll get you registered at the *Star T*. It's the biggest motel in town. It's still ski season, but I'm sure they'll have some rooms."
Amanda got up from the booth. "I'm going to the ladies room to freshen up. Would you order me some scrambled eggs and toast?"
"You bet." Lee checked the menu. "Jack, I believe I'd like the number five here and I'll have the eggs over medium and, umm, white toast."
"Millie, got some customers here."
An hour later, Lee and Amanda were registered in the *Star T Motel*, full of the most wonderful breakfast they had ever tasted; clean, after their long, hot showers and sound asleep in their respective rooms, secure in the knowledge that an Agency team was on it's way to pick them up.
After what Lee was just sure could not have been more than five minutes, the phone rang. His third attempt to reach the receiver was successful. "Yeah, Stetson," he mumbled.
"Hey Scarecrow, it's Duffy."
"Frank? Where are you?"
"I'm in the lobby. Johnson and I are here to take you back. Where's Amanda?"
"I forget her room number. Frank, just ask the operator. I'll be down in a couple of minutes."
"OK, old buddy. See ya."
In less than twenty minutes Lee and Amanda were up, dressed in their rather grungy clothes and taking the elevator down to the lobby, where their escort back to DC waited for them.
The only thing Frank could tell Lee about the case was that they didn't have much to go on. After about a half an hour of driving, Frank looked in the rear view mirror and chuckled.
"What?" Johnson asked.
Frank just nodded his head in the general direction of the back seat. Johnson's gaze followed the gesture and there was Lee with his arm around Amanda, her head on his chest, both of them sound asleep.
After arriving at The Agency in the very late afternoon, the first thing Amanda did was to find a telephone. She had to call Dotty.
"Mother, hi, it's me. We just got back in town. Yes, I know it was sudden but this assignment came up out of the blue. We had to jump on it and I couldn't call you at that hour of the morning. Well, there were no phones. It was a documentary on how wildlife survive in the winter. We were out in the woods. OK. I'm sorry. You know I hate to worry you. Yeah. Say hi to the boys and tell them I'll be home in about an hour. Bye, mother."
The second stop for both Amanda and Lee was in the infirmary. Dr. Kelford did a fairly quick physical exam and took blood for analysis.
"Well, you two don't look much the worse for wear," he remarked in his usual cheery manner. "Your temperatures are a little low. Probably they were even lower this morning but they're coming up nicely. I think you are both in good shape and that helps. I'll recommend to Billy that you be taken off active duty for the next seventy-two hours."
"Wait a minute, Doc," Lee started. "I've got an investigation to run here. I want to find out who tried to take me and my partner out of the action - permanently."
"You can do desk work, paper work but no running around, getting shot at and such like," Dr. Kelford smiled.
"Fine, I...."
"Thanks Doctor," Amanda interjected. "I'll see that he behaves."
"Good. Take care of yourself too, Mrs. King."
The next order of business was to report to Billy.
"According to Duffy, you don't have much, but what *have* you got, Billy?" Lee asked.
"We now know about Sacker's family. The wife, who divorced him years ago, is dead. A son lives on the west coast and the daughter, Margaret, who lived with her father and inherited his property, may be somewhere in DC. So far we haven't been able to locate her. Now, the voice on the tape of that call you got with the tip about Sacker's people - that was a woman's not a man's voice."
"Probably his daughter?"
"Right, Amanda. The only other thing we have is the Agency car with a thermos bottle that we assume was yours. And no prints that we can use."
"*Swell*," Lee said angrily. "I'm afraid I set us up for this. I kept going to that donut shop each morning to get us some coffee to, you know, get through the shift. That last morning, drinking the coffee was the last thing either of us remember."
"Lee, There was no place else to go." Turning her attention to Billy, Amanda asked, "Sir, did they check the rear view mirror? You know how when you're going to drive, especially a strange car, you usually adjust the rear view mirror, first thing."
"I don't know if they did or not, but I'll send somebody over to the impound yard to check the mirror, right away."
"Good idea, Amanda," Lee smiled at his partner.
"OK you two. There's nothing else we can do today. I want you both to go home and get some rest. Dr. Kelford called me and said you're to be off the active duty roster for at least three days."
"Billy,...." Lee started
Billy raised his hands in a gesture that said *enough*. "Go home, Scarecrow - now!"
"Good bye Sir."
"Bye, Amanda. Good Bye Lee!"
"Yeah."
-------------------------------------------
About ten o'clock the next morning, Lee joined Billy and Francine in the section chief's office.
"Scarecrow, I thought I made it clear that you were to be off the active duty roster for the next three days!"
"Billy, look, I'm not planning on being *active*. I need to borrow one of the Agency's choppers."
"Why?"
"I want to go back to that little town and start back tracking to see if I can find the place where Amanda and I were dumped. Maybe I can find out who owns the land. That might give us another clue as to who grabbed us."
"All right," Billy sighed. He knew Lee wouldn't give him any peace until he had at least tried to find the place. "I'll call and make the arrangements now."
Before he could pick up the phone, it rang. "Melrose here." Putting his hand over the mouthpiece, he whispered, "It's Doc Kelford. Hmm, I see. OK Dr. Kelford. Thank you very much." Billy hung up the phone. "Well, the blood tests, the more sophisticated ones that took until now to get the results, they show traces of Dormerium in both Lee and Amanda's systems. Scarecrow, I'll make that call now. Get going."
"Thanks, Billy." Lee shook his head. "It's no wonder Amanda and I felt like we'd been hit by a truck. That stuff is the chemical equivalent of a big rig." He turned and headed out the door. "See you later today," he called over his shoulder.
"Francine, you know what Dormerium is: a potent knockout drug used only by a few Federal and military intelligence agencies. Get whoever you need to help you and start checking with *everybody* who has access to this stuff, including the company that makes it, and find out if any of it is missing."
"I'll get Denise to help me and get right on it. I think that it's Symth Cline and Buckner who manufacture it."
"Well, whoever. Just get going. If we find that some of the supply is missing then we just have to find who stole it and we'll have our bad guys!"
"*Just* have to find...? Yeah. Check with you later this afternoon."
------------------------
It was getting near the end of the day. Francine sat opposite Billy with a sheaf of papers in her hand.
"So, here's what I've got. I think you're going to be happy, Billy."
"Francine, just..... let's have it."
"OK. First I checked with all the government and military agencies that use Dormerium. All their supplies of the drug were accounted for. Then I called Symth Cline and Buckner. Turns out, about two months ago, they had a break-in and a small amount of Dormerium was stolen. Now they suspected that one of their chemists, a guy named Mark Reilly, was involved, but they couldn't prove it. They finally found some other reasons to let him go - so he was fired about three weeks ago. Their head of plant security gave me the file on Reilly. Here is it." Francine handed Billy a folder with the S C B logo on it.
"Let's see.....male, Caucasian, height - six feet, weight - 170, hair - brown, eyes - blue, age - twenty-seven years. No distinguishing marks. Fine. There's probably only about two hundred thousand guys in the greater metropolitan area who might fit this description."
"Billy, look a little further. We have a picture, we have his prints and we have an address. I've already got a team watching the apartment building. I've got more," she said smugly. "Amanda's suggestion about checking the rear view mirror was right on. There were two sets of prints. One was Lee's. The other one didn't show up in our database, but I ran it through NCIC and got an ID. The name is Mark Reilly and he was arrested for trespassing, along with a group of the supporters of - are you ready for this - Peter Sacker! And, it's the same Mark Reilly. The prints on file at S C B match those from NCIC."
"Great work, Francine! Now, if we can tie this Reilly character to Margaret Sacker, we can wrap this thing up."
"One more thing. You remember the activity around that donut shop the morning Lee and Amanda disappeared?"
"Yes."
"Well, I talked with the DC police and it seems the night man was hit over the head, tied up and left in the back room. Now nothing was taken, robbery was not the motive. But Lee said that's where they got the coffee which had to have been drugged because that was the last thing either of them remembered."
"It must have been some of Sacker's - some of Margaret's people who knocked the guy out and took over the donut stand."
"Had to be."
Just then, Lee entered the bullpen. After stopping at one of the desks and speaking briefly to the agent sitting there, he continued to Billy's office.
"Scarecrow - what have you got?"
"I found the place, Billy. We took map coordinates and I've got one of the rookies - Ralph somebody-or- other," he gestured out toward the bullpen, "working on the location and then he'll check with whatever County Recorders office covers that area."
"Good. Wait till you hear what Francine has found out."
As Francine finished briefing Lee on the information she had dug up so far, Amanda tapped on the office door.
"Come in Amanda," Billy called.
"Hi Sir, hi Francine, hi Lee."
Lee and Amanda exchanged a look and a smile that made it seem as though they thought they were the only two people on the planet; certainly in that office, something that was not lost on Billy and Francine.
"You OK?" Lee asked softly.
Amanda nodded. "Yeah. You?"
"I'm good."
Amanda looked from Lee to Francine and then to Billy. "How's the investigation going, Sir?"
Billy smiled at her. "It's coming along nicely. We are pretty sure that the phony tip came from Peter Sacker's daughter, Margaret. We believe and the people at SCB are positive, even though they couldn't get enough evidence to prove it in court, that one of Sacker's followers, a Mark Reilly, stole the drug that was used on you and Lee. He's also the one who drove the Agency car up into the woods. His prints were on the rear view mirror, just where you thought we should look for prints, and we are very sure it was Sacker's people who took over the donut stand and drugged your coffee that morning."
"It's just like Lee said - Sacker's revenge."
A knock on the office door interrupted their conversation. Billy motioned agent Ralph Thomas into the room. The young man grinned as he handed Lee a piece of paper. "I think I've found the information you wanted, Mr. Stetson."
Lee scanned the document and then looked up. "Thanks, Ralph. Good work. According to county records that land where we were taken and dumped is owned by Joshua Smith and his granddaughter, Margaret Sacker."
----------------
Agents Johnson and Barnes were in the third hour of their shift when a van pulled up.
"Hey, look. It's Margaret Sacker. She looks pretty much the same now as she did in this old photo, short, slender, light brown hair."
"Yeah," Johnson responded, "and look who just came out to meet her - our old friend Mark Reilly. Let's call Billy."
"Right."
Less than an hour later, Billy walked up to the car to talk with Johnson and Barnes. "Well?"
"Yeah, Billy. He's still in there and so's Margaret. You know she drove up a little while ago in that blue van. I thought Francine said she had no driver's license and no car."
"Nothing in the name of Margaret Sacker. We'll have to give that van a going over."
While Lee and Amanda waited in the car, Billy, Francine and a small team of agents banged on the door of Mark's ground floor apartment.
"Federal agents. We have a warrant to search the premises. Open up - NOW!"
The door opened slightly and Billy, along with agents Duffy and Marshall, barged into the front room. Francine and the other two agents followed close behind.
"We have a warrant to search for stolen drugs, for any documents pertaining to those drugs and also for any documents pertaining to Peter Sacker, his organization or his terrorist camp called New Utopia. Take your time people. Search everything, carefully." Billy smiled, folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the wall near the kitchen.
After what seemed an eternity to Mark and Margaret, the team members came back into the living room, each carrying a box or a plastic bag. Both Duffy and Marshall leaned over and whispered something to Billy before leaving.
"Well, well," Billy grinned, looking at Margaret. "We've got your boyfriend here, deadbang."
Mark blanched. "What do you mean?" his voice was shaky.
"Two of my best agents disappeared almost a week ago. We found *your* prints in the Agency car. We know you worked for the company that developed a very potent knockout drug, some of which was stolen and *you* were the prime suspect."
Lee was monitoring the conversation inside via a small radio, which Billy had carried in with him. As he heard the statement about *...finding your prints...*, he and Amanda got out of the car and walked quickly up to the door of Mark's apartment....
"They were not only two of my best agents but two very good *friends*!"
As Billy said the word *friends*, Lee shoved the door open as wide as it would go and entered with Amanda close behind him.
"NO," Margaret gasped, "no, you're DEAD!"
Lee smiled. "You know what Mark Twain said about his death......"
--------------------
The next day, in Billy's office....
"Well, after that little outburst from Margaret we had no trouble getting a warrant for her van. Our forensic team has already found fibers from both of your jackets - oh, and some of your hair too, Amanda. When they get finished, there will be no doubt that Margaret's van is the one used to transport you to the mountains. Mark knows we've got him but he won't say anything to implicate Margaret. I guess he really does care for her. I think his lawyer must have told him it would look better if he *seemed* to be cooperating with us, so he told us where to find Dolan. He was out on bail when he got involved in little caper and good old Jack has decided to roll over on everybody - *and* he's ready to testify that the whole scheme was Margaret's idea," Billy finished, with a very self-satisfied smile on his face.
"So, she and Mark will be going to jail for a long time, right Sir?"
"You bet, Amanda."
"You know, I kinda feel sorry for her. She was probably brainwashed by her father and all."
"Amanda, I don't care what her father did or said. She tried to kill us. She wanted to make us dead! I think she deserves to go to prison for the rest of her life!"
"I guess you're right."
"You two can take off now. Have a nice couple of days off."
"Thank you, Sir. Bye."
"Thanks, Billy. See ya."
-------------------------
TAG
"So, what are you doing this weekend?"
"Oh, I thought I'd just take it easy, you know, spend some time with mother and the boys. To tell the truth, I'm still kind of tired from our little trek in the woods."
"Hmm, too bad. I thought maybe you'd like to take a little ride with me."
"Where to?"
"Well, I heard about some vacation property in The Great North Mountains area. It's for sale really cheap."
"Well, I don't...," All of a sudden it dawned on Amanda what the "vacation property" was. "You mean Joshua Smith's place? Our very own little Devil's Island? NO thank you!"
Lee chuckled. "Actually, I thought maybe dinner tomorrow night - at Emelio's. You owe me, you know."
"I owe you?"
"Yes, don't you remember our little wager? About finding a road that day or the next? I won and you owe me dinner."
"Oh yeah, dinner. But, at Emelio's? I'm a working mother of two, ya know."
"Amanda!"
"How about Hamburger Heaven?"
"Welcher....."
"Who?.... Me?.... Noooo....."
The End