Chapter 8
They entered the Georgetown Foyer. They both had woken up early and decided to go to work then, rather than wait until their usual time.
"Hello. I'm not going to say good morning," Mrs. Marston said, her eyes growing misty. "I take it you've heard the news?" She retrieved their badges and held out two black armbands. "Mr. Melrose asked me to give these to whoever wanted them."
"Hello, Mrs. Marston," Amanda said. "Yes, we've heard."
"We were at the hospital," Lee said. "We'll take two of those."
"Oh, dear." Mrs. Marston said.
Once in the Q Bureau, Lee handed her one armband. Quickly, she slipped the armband onto her arm, touching it in sadness.
He followed Amanda's lead and placed the armband on his right arm. Lee turned and stood at the window, staring outside, seeing nothing. He felt Amanda's arms around his waist.
"Sweetheart, you're heartbroken about Harry. I'm sad Harry's gone, but the sadness I feel can't compare to what you're feeling."
"Why does this keep happening to me? It seems like every person I grow close to leaves me."
"I know it seems that way, and I wish I had an answer. Just know that I'm here, and I love you. Mother's here, and she loves you. Philip and Jamie are here, and they love you. You are not alone."
Lee held her tightly. "Thanks for reminding me."
They parted as the door opened, and Billy stepped into the office, carrying a folder, his face grim. "Scarecrow, Amanda."
"Hello, Mr. Melrose,"
"I just talked to Christina."
"Is someone with her?"
"Her sister Sofia is."
"Good. I;n glad she's not alone," he said,
"Lee, we should go see her when we get off," Amanda said.
"Yeah, I want to do that."
"She would welcome a visit from you two. I'll check on her as well."
"Billy, who's making the funeral arrangements?" Lee asked.
"I am. I'd like you and Paul Barnes to be pallbearers. I talked to Paul earlier. He was stunned. "
Lee nodded. Harry had hired Paul and trained him as well. "I'm sure he was. I'd be honored to be a pallbearer.."
"I thought you would."
Lee sat down heavily. He needed something to take his mind off Harry. It was the only way he would function. "What's going on with Sandoval?"
Billy held up the folder, then set it on Lee's desk. "That was the other reason I wanted to talk to you. A few days ago, a used car salesman sold Sandoval a car in El Paso. The guy said Sandoval gave him the creeps, so he contacted the sheriff's department. The El Paso Sheriff's department had received the TIPOFF bulletin, and the guy identified him. That's the report they filed."
Lee snorted. "I'm not surprised Sandoval creeped him out. There's something about the guy that does that, the voice, the cold eyes. The salesman is lucky he didn't end up dead. I guess the Tipoff system worked in this case."
"It did. He used a fake passport under the name of Mendoza to buy the car, a 1977 Impala."
"If that happened a few days ago, he would be out of Texas.'
"Let me get a map," Amanda said. She retrieved a map of the U. S. and spread it out on Lee's desk.
"If he and this Garcia guy drove straight through, they could already be here," With his index finger, Lee traced a logical route. "There's a couple of ways they could go, One route would be through, Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, and then Virginia."
Amand tapped the map. "Or they could take an alternate route. Assuming they drove east, they would be on I-20 coming into Ft. Worth. They could stay on I-20 and tale a southern route through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. I wonder which is the faster route?"
"I doubt if he cares. He knows we're playing from behind. And he knows we don't know which route he's taking. He's smart, I'll give him that," Lee admitted.
"I agree. If we could just get another sighting, then we'd at least know which way he's taking."
"If its and buts were candy and nuts…" Lee said absently. "That would truly be like finding a needle in a haystack."
"Well, I'll be updating Dr. Smyth, and I'll be issuing an APB in the DC area
at least. We'll flood every police agency in the area."
"He must have had a backup plan in case the overthrow fell apart," she said.
Lee nodded. "U. S. dollars, fake passports, accomplices to help him. He was prepared all right. He must have crossed the Rio Grande instead of going through a border crossing. I thought he would."
"That was a good call. Well, I've got to get back to work. "
"We'll talk to you later," Amanda said.
Billy paused before the left the room. "You two stay alert."
"We will," she said.
Lee glanced at his watch. It was nearly five o'clock. The discussion on Sandoval had helped him focus. Despite the circumstances, it had been a productive day. "I'm ready to get out of here."
"I am too. Still want to go see Christina?"
"Yeah, I do."
"Good."
Lee put on his suit coat and helped Amanda with her coat. "Thank you, sweetheart."
They walked slowly down the stairs and handed in their badges to the woman. Mrs. Marston had already left.
Leaving the building, they both stopped and intently looked up and down the street. Lee noticed a man sitting on the bench across the street, but his hair color was too light, and he had no mustache.
"The coast looks clear," he said as they walked to the parking garage.
"I didn't see anyone suspicious either. I wonder how long we'll need to do
this?"
"Not long I hope."
Although Stetson and his wife looked carefully, they had failed to identify him. They would not have recognized him if they had walked right by him. He had altered his appearance; shaved his mustache, lightened his hair and eyebrows, and used stage makeup to make his scar all but invisible. In addition, he wore a Fedora hat as an additional cover.
Mrs. Stetson impressed him. She was a lovely woman. A few minutes later, a silver Corvette pulled out of the parking lot. Through the car window, he could see Stetson.
With an amused chuckle, he approached his car. In Arkansas, the Impala had been traded in for an equally nondescript blue 1979 Honda Accord. He did not attempt to follow Stetson to his destination. There would be time for that later.
They drove to Harry and Christina's apartment. Lee helped Amanda out of the car, and taking her hand, they walked up to the front door. Amanda rang the doorbell. In a few seconds, the door opened, and Christina's sister answered.
"Yes? Oh, hello. It's Lee and Amanda, right?" the woman asked.
"That's right," Amanda said. "I remember your name is Sofia."
"That's right. Please come in. Christina will be so glad to see you."
They entered the living room. "Oh, Lee, Amanda," Christina said, rising from the couch. "Thank you for coming."
Christina hugged them warmly.
Amanda sat on the couch next to her. Lee took a seat in an armchair.
"We wanted to see how you were doing," Lee said.
"I'm doing the best I can. I'm glad Sofia is here."
"We're glad she's here, too," Amanda said.
Everyone has been so kind. The Vice President called today. He and Harry were good friends. Billy is making all the arrangements." At these words, her voice broke.
Amanda gently rubbed her shoulder. "I know this is hard for you."
"We had such little time together. We were separated all those years. It breaks my heart. But I'm grateful to you for helping to reunite us; for giving us the time we had."
"I'm glad we could," Lee said. "I could tell the difference in Harry afterward. You made him very happy."
"He made me happy as well."
Sofia entered with coffee service. "Excuse me for interrupting you, I thought you might like a cup of coffee."
"That's lovely of you," Christina said. "Amanda, Lee, would you like a cup?"
"I'd love a cup," Amanda said. "Just a teaspoon of sugar."
"Thanks, that would be great," Lee said. "I'd like it was cream."
As Sofia prepared the cups, Christina looked at Lee. "Billy told me you were going to be one of the pallbearers," Christina said. "I
Asked Billy to be one as well." I'm so glad. Harry was so fond of you and so proud of you."
Lee nodded. "I always wanted to make him proud."
"You did. Not only your career, but he was also so proud of the way you stepped up to your responsibilities as a husband and stepfather," She clasped Amanda's hand. "And he was proud of you, too, the way you've worked to learn your job,"
"Thank you, I appreciate that," Amanda said.
"Well, we have to be getting home. Christina, if you need anything, call us anytime," Lee said.
"I will," she said, hugging them. "Thank you for coming."
"Good night, Sofia," Amanda said.
"Good night, Amanda."
"How about I drive home?" Amanda asked as they walked to the car.
"You don't have to ask me twice."
Lee leaned his head against the seat rest and stared out the window.
"Do you think you'll be able to sleep tonight?" she asked,
"I hope so. We'll see."
They fell into silence after that. They arrived at the house and made their way into the kitchen."Hello, Mother," Amanda said.
"Hello, my darlings."
"Hi, Dotty," Lee said.
Dotty hugged him. "How are you doing?"
Lee shrugged, "I'm making it."
Dotty looked at him in sympathy.
Phillip and Jamie came down the stairs.
"Hi, Lee. Grandma told me about your friend. I'm really sorry about that," Phillip said.
"Yeah, me too," Jamie said.
"Thanks, guys, I appreciate it. Do you have homework?"
"We have a lot of homework," Jamie said.
"I have history, geography, and science," Phillip said.
"Yeah, I have math, history, and English," Jamie said.
"Are you going to be able to finish tonight?" Lee asked.
Phillip looked doubtful. "I'm not sure."
"I'll help you out," Lee said.
"Lee, you don't have to do that. I know this has been a bad day."
Lee clapped Jamie on the shoulder. "It'll help me out to help you guys."
"Okay, then," Phillip said.
"Mother and I will get dinner together," Amanda said.
"I'm going to change clothes and then we'll get to work," Lee said.
She watched her men troop upstairs. "Amanda, dear, how are you doing?" Dotty asked.
Her eyes grew misty. "Harry was such a sweet man, and he was so supportive of Lee and me."
"I see. Lee said he hired him."
"It's a lot more than that. Harry trained him and became a surrogate father to him." She took a deep breath. "He's lost so many people he cares about."
"What can I do to help?"
Amanda smiled sadly. As he trusted Amanda more and more, he had been willing to express his feelings. "Support him with your love. Don't try to get him to talk about Harry. If he wants to, he will. It's hard for him to trust anyone, but he trusts you. You know what it's like to lose someone you love."
"I do. When I lost Carl, I couldn't speak about it for weeks. I won't force him to talk."
"I remember that. And all I wanted to do was talk about Daddy. It must have driven you crazy."
"No, not at all. We all deal with grief in different ways. What can I fix for dinner?"
"Something easy," Amanda said. "I'm thinking spaghetti and a salad. We have that jar of spaghetti sauce."
"That will be easy to fix. I'm all for easy tonight."
"I'm going to run upstairs and check on the boys."
Amanda trudged upstairs and went into her bedroom. She changed into jeans and a sweatshirt. While she changed, she thought of her conversation with her mother. Lee trusted her, and he had told her about his parent's death, a sure sign of his trust.
She entered Jamie's and Phillip's bedroom." So fellas, how much homework do you have?" she asked.
"Tons. I have math, history, and English," Jamie said. "The good thing is the English assignment isn't due until the day after tomorrow."
"I have history, geography, and science," Phillip said mournfully. "Everything's due tomorrow."
"Ouch… Well, I'll let you guys get back to your lessons. Lee, if you want me to spell you, let me know."
He rubbed her arm. "Will do."
"Oh, we decided to fix spaghetti and a salad for dinner."
"Oh, wow, cool," Jamie said.
"Yum," Phillip said, rubbing his stomach.
She hugged Lee. "Thank you for helping them. I know you have other things on your mind."
"This helps me put those other things out of my mind."
"Mom, Grandma, this sauce is really good," Phillip said.
"It is good. I can't believe it's from a jar," Jamie said.
"Well, Mother added some fresh herbs and some spices to give it that homemade taste."
Amanda was worried about Lee. He had been quiet and looked exhausted from the lack of sleep and the stress he was under, but she knew he would not quit until their homework was done.
"They're finished," Lee said, entering the den. He sat heavily on the couch next to Amanda. "Well, most of it anyway. Jamie's going to finish the English thing tomorrow in his study hall. Has Dotty gone to bed?"
"Thank heaven. She went up a few minutes ago. "Amanda said, glancing at the clock. It was almost ten. "I can't believe the amount of homework they had."
"You must be beat. Why didn't you go up to bed?" Lee asked.
"No way. You're just as tired as I am, probably even more tired. And yet you stayed up to help the boys when you didn't have to."
"I wanted to do it. Ready to go to bed?"
"Definitely."
Lee guided Amanda to their bedroom. Amanda stopped and faced Lee and held him close. "Sweetheart, I know you're hurting. I wish I could help you."
"You are helping me, just by being here."
"I'm glad. Come on. Let's get some sleep."
Lee looked out over the audience and saw many familiar faces in the audience. Past and present Agency employees, Senators, Representatives, and intelligence professionals from around the world. The Vice President was in attendance and would be speaking after Billy. Lee knew the VP and Harry had been close friends for many years.
He saw Francine speaking with one of the Secret Service agents. To free up Billy for his participation in the memorial service, she had volunteered to run the Agency detail and coordinate with the Secret Service.
Among his fellow pallbearers were Billy and Paul Barnes. They carefully placed the flag-draped casket on the pedestal in the church's sanctuary.
The men stepped back as one. Billy nodded, and the men split up.
Lee, Billy, and Paul slowly walked to the pew where Jeannie, Amanda, Christina, and her sister waited. Lee took a seat next to Amanda. He exhaled as Amanda gently caressed his back. He glanced at her and smiled wanly. He was so glad she was there beside him.
An organ played a hymn, and everyone stood. Lee took Amanda's hand. After the hymn was over, they took their seats. Lee fought back tears as Billy spoke. Billy/s eulogy perfectly combined with warm memories of Harry and funny asides about his life.
Lee was thankful that he did not have to stand up there and speak. He was uncomfortable making speeches, in his current state of mind, he would probably make a fool of himself.
After another organ hymn, the Vice President took the podium. Although not known as a great speechmaker, his eulogy was warm and heartfelt. Once the Vice President had finished his eulogy, the minister said a final prayer.
Amanda gave Lee, who was remaining behind as one of the pallbearers. "I'll see you at the cemetery."
Lee nodded.
At Harry's gravesite, Lee stood before his casket. Amanda tucked her hand in the crook of his arm.
"Did you know Harry knew my parents?"
"No, I didn't, that's amazing."
"Harry and my Dad were both in the OSS during the war. In 1945, my Dad was sent to D. C. They got to know each other." He smiled with affection. "I bet they're having a good conversation right about now. He told me he had been suspicious of Blackthorne after they died, but the CIA had locked the case up so tight that he couldn't make any headway. He was glad the truth came out."
"I bet he was surprised when he saw you."
Lee nodded. "He saw a photo and thought he'd seen a ghost. He remembered me from when I was a toddler."
"You know, it won't bring him back, but those are the kind of memories you'll cherish later. It's that way with my father. Little moments, conversations we had, even the arguments. I cherish them."
"You're right, as always. Come on, let's go home."
Sandoval watched his quarry leave the cemetery. As Stetson drove off, he pulled his hat a little lower and followed the sports car.
He had followed them first from the Agency to a funeral home, where she had left alone and driven to an ornate church. Stetson had arrived in a limousine to be a pallbearer. After the service, he had joined the long line of cars into a cemetery.
Now, following a few cars behind Stetson, he felt reasonably secure with his altered appearance and different car.
They drove into the suburb of Arlington, and his hopes rose that he would, at last, see their home. As Stetson entered a residential area, his hopes were rewarded when Stetson pulled into the driveway of one of the houses, a pretty house. As he drove past the house he saw the house number was 4247, so the address was 4247 Maplewood Dr. A road crew was working in the street.
He smiled broadly. "Ramon, can you remember how to get to the house?"
"Yes, Minister, I will remember where the house is located."
"Good." He had discovered a vital piece of information.
