Getting it Out in the Open

.

Chapter 20

Amanda bravely rose from the dinner table to make an announcement to Dean's family.

"Everyone, I have a confession to make regarding the investigation!"

All heads turned her way.

Deidre looked jubilant as she accusingly stated, "I knew it! You're about to confess that you had killed Eunice!"

"What? No!" Amanda insisted, "Again, I did NOT kill her! I had no motive to! However," she emphasized, looking at each and every one of them, "after some investigation, Agent Stetson and I discovered that each of you definitely had a motive to do away with her!"

A collective gasp seemed to echo in the room.

Dean looked shocked and also annoyed that Amanda would be willing to spill everyone's secret. He instantly stood as well, "Amanda! Sit down, please! Why are you making such an announcement? He whispered to her, "You're embarrassing me!"

Amanda turned to address him, "I don't care if I'm embarrassing you, Dean, and I will not sit down because your family needs to hear what I have to say!"

"Do NOT talk down to my son that way!" Olivia interjected.

"Mrs. Wellington," Amanda coolly stated, working to control her temper, "the only time I would ever look down on Dean is if I was helping him up!"

"Let Amanda talk, Mother Olivia!" Liz jumped in, "This is news to me that others had a motive to kill Eunice, so now I'm curious as to who Amanda thinks the killer is!"

"Or maybe none of us did the bad deed!" Deidre added in, "After all, at this point, it's all conjecture on her part!"

"No, that's not true," Amanda corrected her, "You see, after Agent Stetson and I had interviewed everyone and found everyone had a motive, I had decided, on my own, to search everyone's room to look for additional clues, and that's when I discovered the truth!"

Amanda purposely didn't include Lee in as part of the search; she would take all the heat.

But Lee instantly shot up from his seat, "No! That's not true what Amanda just stated!"

Liz asked, "So our rooms weren't secretly searched by her?"

"Wait a minute, wait just a minute..." Deidre slowly figured out, "Amanda HAS to be telling the truth! It all makes sense now! My room had definitely been searched earlier because recently I had noticed some of my earrings and necklaces on the dresser had been neatly organized!"

"You're welcome," Amanda politely nodded.

"I wasn't thanking you," Deidre shot back, "I like a messy room because organized people are just too lazy to look for things!"

"Let's stay on topic here," Daniel stated, all businesslike, "So Amanda DID search our rooms!" He then looked accusingly at Lee, "and I hold YOU liable for anything she did wrong, Agent Stetson! How could you allow her to go sneaking around in our rooms without permission?!"

Lee growled back, "She did have permission...she had MY permission because I was doing it alongside her!"

A louder gasp reverberated throughout the room.

"Don't listen to him!" Amanda argued, "It was me and only me who snuck into everyone's room! And through my searching, I was able to gather enough clues to ascertain who had killed Eunice, and it's definitely someone at this table!"

Everyone sat in shock, except Lee. Amanda could see the anger in his eyes, along with his set jaw, as he came around to where she was located and grabbed her arm.

"Amanda! Could I have a private chat with you, please?"

But it sounded more like a command than a request.

Amanda looked wide-eyed, "You mean we're headed to the bathroom again?"

"I BEG your pardon?!" exclaimed Olivia while clutching her pearls.

"No, she didn't mean that, either!" Lee explained. Then through gritted teeth, he told Amanda, "I do believe the library room is open, Amanda, since everyone is obviously here, so let's go there to talk!"

"B-But I'm not done explaining everything..." Amanda griped.

"Ohhh, I think you've said enough!" he snapped back at her, while motioning her towards the exit. As he led her away, he turned back to everyone, "Please, everyone, forget whatever nonsense Amanda has claimed tonight! It seems her drink has had an effect on her tonight!"

"...but she only drank club soda," Deidre dryly stated.

"Yeah, welllll, she clearly doesn't need alcohol to make a poor judgment call!" Lee clarified, and then urgently commanded Amanda, "Let's go...and everyone else, enjoy the rest of your dinner!"

When they were out of the room, Amanda indignantly insisted, "Let go of me, Lee!" she told him as she wrestled out of his grasp, "You don't need to manhandle me! I am well aware as to the location of the library!"

But Lee didn't release her until they entered the library, he shut the door, and essentially pushed her onto the sofa.

"Alright, I'm sorry," he apologized. Then he remembered why he had dragged her away, "Wait...why am I apologizing?"

"Because you practically yanked my arm out of my socket!" Amanda reminded him, as she rubbed her arm.

"Fine, I'll apologize for that, but I had to get you out of there because you purposely lied to them! You know as well as I do that we do NOT know the identity of the killer! Of all the idiotic things to say-"

"-No need to get insulting. Lee!" she interrupted, "I get that you're mad at me, again, but before you blow things way out of proportion, let me explain!"

"There is NO good explanation for what you said back there!"

Lee looked as though he were ready to explode. To expend some of his pent-up energy, he began pacing as she continued to sit and watch him pace back and forth. She had witnessed Lee's frustrations many times, but this time, he could barely stay in control.

Then he suddenly stopped.

"Amanda, I could wring your little neck for what you revealed in the dining room just now!"

She forced her shoulders back in an act of defiance "Get in line, Lee! From everyone's shocked expression, they all wanted a piece of me!"

"Not funny! What was the purpose of that little stunt you just pulled, anyway?"

"Wellll we were running out of time in finding the killer and the authorities were set to arrive and all..." she reasoned, "so I decided that this would be the way to draw the killer out!"

Amanda could now see a vein rise at the side of Lee's temple, "You want to draw the killer out by having that person come after you?"

"Yes, exactly!" Amanda seemed pleased that he got her plan, "so please calm down before you pop a vein!"

He forcibly sat down, but he still was not happy, "I should have known," he mumbled, shaking his head, "I should have known your idea would complicate everything!"

"It won't complicate anything," Amanda countered back, "in fact, it will break the case wide open!"

Lee looked at her as if he didn't recognize her, "And how do you plan to protect yourself when the killer comes after YOU?"

"That's simple," she claimed, "the answer is you. You will eventually save me. Like you always do!"

She expected he'd be raging over her words. Instead, he seemed at first dumbstruck and then he looked down, as if in contemplation. The room was silent for a moment, and then he looked her way with concerned eyes.

Taking a deep breath, he hefted himself up to go over and sit next to her. Wordlessly he put brusquely his arms around her shoulders, and then he pulled her into his embrace.

"Lee, I-"

Amanda couldn't continue as her eyes widened at the unexpected gesture as he continued to physically embrace her in a protective hug, never letting go. It went on for a few seconds so that at last she relaxed and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Amanda," she heard him muttered ever so softly, as he stroked her back, "What am I going to do with you? Sometimes you absolutely scare me!"

"I do?" A surprised Amanda pulled away from him so that she could see his face, "I don't mean to do that, Lee. I'm just trying to help you!"

"Help me?" his eyes looked worried, "No. Amanda, putting yourself in danger does not help me...it just worries me...what if I can't reach you in time?" What if I'm too late?"

"You won't be too late, Lee," she confidently told him. She reassured him by reaching up and touching his cheek, "I know you won't let anything happen to me."

The touch demonstrated how much she trusted him and Lee felt dazed by her belief in him. Confusion and desire churned inside him as he looked into her wondrous eyes.

"Your optimism is awe-inspiring as always, Amanda," he gently stated, "and if you didn't have Dean, I'd-"

"-I don't have Dean," Amanda quickly interrupted.

Lee looked shocked, "What?

"Dean and I are no longer an item."

"What? I...I mean...Why? Or maybe I should ask, when did that happen?"

"Yesterday. We, uh...we decided we weren't quite right for one another. Or maybe I decided that. It was all a blur, really, a very relieved blur."

Lee looked at her as if he were trying to read her expression.

"So that's it with McGuire?" he asked, not believing the good news.

She could only nod, "I guess that also means I won't ever be part of his ...what did you call his family? The Adams Family with money?" she repeated, trying to contain her grin.

"That was before I really knew them," Lee told her, "Now I would describe them more as the soulless characters in any Edgar Allen Poe story!"

They both smiled.

And then the merriment turned intense when they found themselves looking wistfully into each other's eyes.

Lee let out a taut breath as he gazed at her. He wanted so much to pull her in his arms again. And from the way she looked at him, it was obvious that she was only aware of him. It was as if a lovely fog had enveloped around them both, obscuring the outside world.

Amanda watched as Lee's eyes dropped to her mouth, making her lips part slightly. Her insides seemed to be trembling.

He then looked back into her eyes, "Amanda, there's something I need to say to you, but I couldn't until this moment. Every time I saw you with Dean, I felt...I felt my heart rip a little…." he then paused as he thought of what he would say next. After all, this emotional confession was new to him.

Amanda felt her chest rising and falling quickly as her heart began beating faster. She couldn't believe he was saying these words to her. For her, it was like joy had leaped into her soul, as she waited for him to continue.

He next took both of his hands into hers, his eyes deep and intense, "I know that I'm constantly giving you mixed signals, but it's because I'm the one who's mixed up," he at last confessed to her, "I've told you before that there were times I've admittedly felt lonely, but I also want my freedom and not be dependent on others."

Amanda shoulders drooped slightly, "So...you're saying I don't fit in your world," she sadly concluded.

He took a deep breath in, "That's what I used to think. And it's true that while you don't seem to fit into my world, you've managed to carve a small crevice around the edge. It's hard to explain...but since I've known you, I don't enjoy the solitude like I used to. I think that's a good thing. I think it's a first step. To what, I couldn't say. I don't expect you to understand, Amanda, because I don't."

To Amanda, Lee was so unlike the brash, uncaring, stubborn agent she had come to know these last few months. Since their time at Wellington Estate, he has turned into an introspective, caring, yet vulnerable man, or perhaps he had it inside of himself all along and it's just been brought up to the forefront now.

She nodded, "But I do understand, Lee. Just take little steps."

He looked relieved, "Yeah, okay. Little steps. Minuscule ones, in fact."

At least they weren't arguing anymore.

"Okay, so are you done yelling at me as well?" Amanda asked.

Lee had forgotten how upset he was that Amanda had devised a preposterous plan of saying she knew who killed Eunice in order to quickly draw out the killer.

"For now, I suppose," he told her, "I've decided to take out my anger on the killer when he or she comes after you!"

She grinned, "That's good. You'll see, Lee. I did the right thing by forcing the killer's hand."

"Well, I don't know if what you did was the right thing," he acquiesced with a sigh," but we don't have a choice now, do we?"

She knew she had won, but would not take pleasure in it, "No, we don't."

"So it's a waiting game for us now."

"I guess so." Amanda pensively watched his reaction, "Isn't that the way it's always been for us?"

Lee got the double meaning. At this point, he didn't know how he felt about Amanda. All he knew was that from the day he first saw her at the train station, there was a need for him to protect her. And he would do whatever it takes to keep her safe.

"You don't have to worry about a thing, Amanda," he promised with all his heart, "I'll be there when the time comes."

"I'm counting on that," she wisely noted.

.

.

Please review