In Search of

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Chapter 14

Lee and Amanda had completed searching Deidre's room and, unfortunately, there was no sign of the missing Chewy Chubby candy bars.

As they stood outside in the hallway of Deidre's room, Amanda asked, "So where to now?"

Lee wistfully looked over at Amanda, "Do you have to meet up with McGuire now?"

Fortunately, she shook her head, "No, I'll be meeting up with him later for dinner. Right now Dean isn't here. Out of the blue, he suddenly volunteers to take Deidre into town to do some shopping," she explained with a sigh, "Frankly, I think he's purposely avoiding me."

"That's good."

Amanda looked incredulous, "It's GOOD that he's purposely avoiding me?"

"No, sorry, I didn't mean it that way," Lee corrected himself, "what I meant is that it's good he's gone. That'll allows us the opportunity to check HIS room out." He then hesitated, "That's okay with you, isn't it?"

"I guess...if it's part of the investigation," Amanda shrugged, then lifted her index finger and warned, "but don't be surprised by what you see in his room."

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"I'm surprised by what I see in his room," was the first thing Lee said when he entered Dean's room.

"I told you not to say that!" Amanda responded back as she looked on with pride at the room.

In contrast to Deidre's room, Dean's room was immaculate. Every item had its place or was neatly put away. A folded cardigan laid on a bed so perfectly made, it would have easily passed any army bed's inspection test.

"I've seen museums less organized than this!" Lee commented.

"Isn't this fantastic?" Amanda gushed, "If only I could keep a room this neat! With two young boys always running around, my house has the "there-looks-to-have-been-a-struggle" appearance to it!"

Lee grunted, "My place is like an obstacle course designed to keep me fit!"

Amanda laughed, "So where do you want to start?"

Lee made a suggestion, "Why don't I take the left side of the room and you take the right. With all this neatness, we could be outta here in two minutes, tops."

"Alright," Amanda agreed, walking towards one half of the room.

She began to rummage through the bookshelf, "I don't believe it!" she exclaimed.

From across the room, Lee asked, "What?"

"His books are not only nicely dusted, neatly shelved, and in pristine order, but they're also all sorted in alphabetical order by authors as well!"

Smiling softly to himself, Lee returned to his search and opened one of Dean's dresser drawers.

"Whoa," was his sudden reaction, as he looked inside.

Amanda quickly twirled around, "What? Did you find the candy bars already?"

"No, but when I opened this drawer, I could easily see to the bottom of it, plus it's organized enough that there's no need to rifle through it!"

Amanda proudly smiled, "Isn't Dean wonderful that way?"

"I wouldn't say wonderful. I think his neatness marks him as a man with a bit of OCD, or as he might call it: CDO, because, of course, he would have wanted it to be in alphabetical order!"

"Oh you!" Amanda chided him, as she turned away to look through the top shelf, "and I would appreciate it, if the next time you wanted to insult Dean, you would raise your hand first...and then put it over your mouth!"

And although her back was towards him, she could have sworn she heard a chuckle from him.

They made quick work of the room because everything was so simply organized.

"I think that's it. No candy bars, no suspicious items," Amanda commented, sounding a bit relieved.

"Yeah, nothing of interest here, and I do mean that, literally," Lee sullenly stated as he closed the closet with color-coded clothes inside.

As he walked past the nightstand, he noticed a small strip of cardboard paper had fallen on the floor, slightly underneath the bed.

"What's this?" he wondered out loud, picking it up.

Amanda had just finished looking under the bed and now she watched as Lee glanced at what appeared to be a business card. Turning it over, a scowl surfaced on his face as he read the backside. He then immediately tossed it back on the nightstand table.

But Amanda had witnessed it all, "What is that?" she asked, coming around to his side.

"Hmmm? What was what?" He innocently asked, moving slightly in front of the nightstand table to block her view.

Amanda put her hands on her hips, "That business card you just threw back down on the table!"

"Oh that? That's...nothing. Just a business card from a place we'll never go to. Come on, Amanda, let's get out of here..."

But Amanda knew something was up, "Well, if you're not going to tell me-"

"Amanda, don't!" he warned her, but it was too late as she went around him and snatched the business card from off the nightstand and read it.

On the front of the business card was the name of a dental office, which was wittingly called, "Tooth be Told" Dentistry. However, when she turned the card over, she read a name and number, personally written in feminine handwriting:

Lisa (home phone)

555-8617

Amanda's eyes widened. She was speechless.

Dean had never mentioned a Lisa before. Why was this Lisa person giving him her personal home number?

Lee broke into Amanda's thoughts, "Don't read too much into it, Amanda. That's probably just a dumb old business card from a random dentist and that's the number McGuire needs to call if he has to have some kind of dental emergency!"

She looked doubtful, "Yeah, you know how dentists are ALWAYS giving you their personal home phone number in case you get a cavity!" she sarcastically stated. Then she tried to make light of it by throwing it back on the nightstand and casually stating, "You're right, though, we need to blow this pop stand!"

Then holding her head up high, she straightened her back and left, not caring whether or not Lee had followed her.

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It was dinnertime and as promised, Dean was going to take Amanda into town for an intimate dinner.

On the drive there, Amanda barely said anything to him. Her mind kept drifting back to the identity of Lisa. Because it really did bother her. Dean didn't seem to notice as he was busy telling her about his shopping time with his sister earlier in the day.

They had dinner reservations at The Polo Bar in New York City. The high-class restaurant was a nod to the fabulous world of Ralph Lauren. Warm and inviting, the tastefully done tan-tufted sofa booths were surrounded by emerald green walls. Impressive equestrian paintings were hung everywhere, a signature of the designer's love of the game of polo.

As they were shown to their seats by the maître d, Amanda was thinking she would give Dean the benefit of the doubt. After all, there could be a perfectly good reason why Lisa had written her personal number to him.

I'll just act normal and mention Lisa's name casually to him, she decided, as she took a seat in the cozy booth and Dean sat across from her. The server presented them with menus, made a few suggestions, and then quickly disappeared.

The menu offered American classic fares with a sophisticated twist, like crispy sea bass with baby leeks seasoned with truffle salt, or Kobe tenderloin steak dinners with a side of jacket potatoes. Tantalizing food offerings for an intimate dinner.

"This is so wonderful, Dean," she commented, as she looked up from the menu, "I've heard of this restaurant, but I never thought I'd actually be dining here! I've heard they're usually booked up for about a year!"

"No need to be so impressed, Amanda; it wasn't my influence that got us in at the last minute," Dean told her, "it was all due to Mother."

"It doesn't matter how you got us in, Dean, I'm just glad you did!" Amanda optimistically smiled.

Dean leaned towards her and at first Amanda thought he was going to kiss her. Instead, he reached his hand out and lightly brushed her arm.

"Wha-," she began

"You've got lint on your jacket," he explained, "Next time, I'll let you borrow my lint remover before we leave the house."

She didn't know how to answer that, "This is me, thanking you ahead of time, I guess."

The sommelier soon arrived and they picked their wine and soon their order was taken and they were alone again.

Dean stated, "I'm just glad we finally got some real time alone. I have to say, I'm still upset how your helping in the investigation of Eunice's... uh, departure."

"Departure?" Amanda wondered. Then understood that he didn't want to say 'murder' in public, "Oh, uh, yes, departure."

"Yes, and the point I'm trying to make, Amanda, is that I'm very disappointed that you are continuing on with the investigation despite me being against it." He sounded like a parent scolding a child.

She took a deep breath in and out, "I'm sorry I've disappointed you, Dean, but to avoid having an argument, please don't try to discourage me. It's my decision."

Dean stared at her for a time, "Our timing seems to be off, Amanda. I was hoping this weekend would be monumental for us, relationship-wise."

Alarms went off in Amanda's head. She knew Dean wanted to talk about getting serious again.

"Please don't rush me," she emphatically stated.

Dean sighed, "Okay, but remember, with this promotion, I'll be stationed permanently in Washington DC. No more trips out of town. I thought what you wanted most in life was to feel settled. Now you'll have it with me."

Amanda's thoughts jumbled about. It WAS what she had constantly told him she wanted; she thought that was what she wanted. And Dean was offering so much to her. He would always be there for her. And he was low-keyed and easy-going. What more could she ask for?

"Who's Lisa?" she suddenly burst out.

Dean looked stunned.

She momentarily closed her eyes in frustration with herself. Didn't she just say she would bring it up casually?

"Sorry I just blurted that out," Amanda apologized, "Sometimes I feel as though I need to put a speed bump between my mouth and my brain!"

Dean didn't even crack a smile. But, of course, he never does.

"Lisa?' he questioned, his voice strangely an octave higher.

"Yes, Dean. Lisa."

He seemed slightly nervous, "How did you even hear about Lisa?"

It was getting to a point where Amanda could not keep track of her lies, so she would keep to the truth as close as possible.

"Well," she began, choosing her words carefully, "Earlier at the Estate, I was going to eat a Chewy Chubby Candy bar I had with me when I realized that it was not in the place I last put it. I thought perhaps I had accidentally left it in your room. Anyway, I went into your room and I took a quick look around... without opening any drawers or closets, mind you... when I saw the business card."

Most of that was true, Amanda rationalized, of course, she had left out the part that the candy bar had been given to her by Lee and he had helped her search Dean's room as well.

"I see," Dean stated, carefully observing her.

"And?"

"And it's not what you think, Amanda," Dean assured her.

Amanda heaved a relieved sigh. "Oh good, Dean, because my mind was going a mile a minute, thinking of some really crazy stuff. Like I was thinking she was an old girlfriend you were going to see or something like that. But of course, that's just typical of me to overthink AND over-talk, which is something you always say I do-"

-She is an old girlfriend, Amanda," Dean reluctantly admitted.

"What? Oh!" Amanda reacted, as she tried to calm herself down, "Welllll, if she was an old girlfriend, then why did you say it's not what I think when it was exactly what I thought?"

"Yeah, about that," Dean's seemed very careful about his words, "I have a confession to make, Amanda."

Amanda was starting to get tired of people making 'confessions'.

Just then, their dinner came. They were silent as the server presented their meals. Amanda's steak meal was cooked to perfection, but she somehow had lost her appetite.

The server soon left.

Amanda leaned in, "You were saying, Dean?"

Dean looked hesitant. He took a slow sip of his wine to gather up the courage.

"I lied to you, Amanda," he began, as his eyes met hers, "I told you my mother really liked you. But it's not true," his mouth was set in a frown as he continued, "Mother told me I had no future with a housewife typist. Lisa, on the other hand, owns a successful chain of dental offices. Mother had run into her at the club last week. So Mother was the one who got the business card from Lisa, not me."

"Oh," Amanda responded, "So are you going to contact her?"

"I...don't know," Dean admitted, "Before this weekend, I wanted to solidify my relationship with you. Perhaps even make an announcement to my family. I was so sure about us, but now I don't know."

Amanda's head was spinning. It was so much to take in. She really did care for Dean. And he offered her love and stability.

"Thank you, Dean, for your honesty," she began, "but I don't think I'm ready for anything steady just yet..."

"You see, that's the infuriating part," Dean calmly broke in, "Before this trip, we had gotten along so well and you even allowed me to become part of your family, but now you're stepping back." Then his eyes narrowed, "It's because of Stetson, isn't it?"

Amanda looked down as a blush rose to her cheeks, "No, you're wrong, Dean."

"Am I? I told you earlier I didn't trust that guy and I still don't," Dean told her, "Don't you see? You're of interest to him only because you are a challenge to him, Amanda. That's all you are to him."

"Gee, I'm so glad you think so highly of me." Amanda's tone was bitter.

He gently placed his hand over hers, "Amanda, I think the world of you," he soothingly told her, "but even I can't wait forever."

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That night, Amanda woke with a start. She had already had a restless night, but something else had wakened her. Looking at the clock, she noted it was 2:30 am. Even though she hadn't talked about an early morning rendezvous with Lee, she wondered if he would be down there, like the other two nights.

She suddenly had an urge to see him. Her heart pounded loudly just at the thought of him. His mere presence would cheer her up. She glanced at the clock again, but only a minute more had passed. Perhaps Lee was getting ready right this very minute to meet up with her….

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