Chapter 7

Lee and Amanda stood in the middle of the living room of Senator Curry, talking to his wife as agents swept the room around them. "Mrs. Curry, you didn't notice anything out of the ordinary before your husband got sick?"

Mrs. Curry twisted the dishtowel she was holding nervously as she replied, "No, John and I ate dinner, then he went up to take a shower. He came back down about thirty minutes later and the next thing I knew he was violently ill, his whole body was sh-sh-shaking… and he…." She burst into tears, the memories flooding back.

Amanda stepped to the woman and rubbed her back as she said, "He's going to be ok. He'll be pretty sick for a few days but he's going to be all right. We'll find out who did this to him, we promise."

"Why would anyone want to hurt my Johnny?" she cried again.

Amanda continued to rub her back as she looked at Lee. "Mrs. Curry, you said your husband took a shower. Did he use anything new… shampoo, soap, shaving cream… anything?" Lee asked, grasping for any kind of idea.

Mrs. Curry wiped her eyes as she thought, "He did use a new bottle of cologne. It's his favorite kind and we have to order it. He got the delivery today."

Amanda's eyes widened as she and Lee made eye contact. "Do you have the packaging it came in?" Amanda asked.

Mrs. Curry nodded and left the room. She returned a few minutes later carrying the bottle of cologne, the packaging, and a small brown shipping box. "This is all of it. Except for the plastic wrapping. I'm not sure where Johnny threw that." She started to hand everything to Lee who immediately put his hands up.

"Carson, bag these up, have everything checked for fingerprints and have that liquid tested immediately. It may be a long shot but right now it's the only thing we've got," Lee instructed a nearby agent. Wearing gloves, the agent dropped everything into a large brown shopping bag and left the house. Lee turned back to Mrs. Curry and asked, "Can we give you a ride to the hospital?"

"No, thank you. I'll need my car to get home," Mrs. Curry shook her head sadly.

"Are you sure? We can have someone follow you if you'd like, make sure you get there safely," Amanda offered.

Mrs. Curry looked up at Amanda and smiled weakly, "That might be a good idea. I'm a little shaky…"

"Tell you what, why don't we have one of the agents drive you and your car over. That way you don't have to drive and you'll have your car for later when you need it," Amanda suggested. Mrs. Curry's sigh of relief was both audible and visible. She relaxed just a little bit as she got her coat and slipped it on. "Agent Christo will drive you there, no worries. Just take care of yourself, Lee and I will lock up before we leave."

"You are a Godsend," Mrs. Curry replied before Agent Christo escorted her to her car.

Lee looked around and said, "I think we should check out that bathroom, see if there's anything else we can find. If that was the last room he was in before he got sick, then there must be something there."

"Unless you're right about that cologne but how could anyone tamper with it?" Amanda questioned as she followed Lee up the stairs.

They easily found the small bathroom at the end of the hallway beside the master bedroom. Lee looked around the room, leaned the small wastebasket toward him using the pen and let it fall back. "Nothing here. Let's hope the lab has more answers for us."

"Then it looks like we are heading to the office," Amanda declared. "If everyone downstairs is all set, we can lock up, just like I promised."

Lee descended the stairs and announced, "If you guys are all set, I think we can wrap this up." Several minutes later, the last agent left, Amanda and Lee checked all the doors to be sure they were locked and were soon on their way to the Agency. They met up with a very agitated Billy in the bullpen.

"Status report, NOW!" Billy commanded angrily.

"Well, sir, we didn't find much of anything. We did have a new bottle of cologne, the box and the packaging was sent to the lab but other than that, there was nothing out of the ordinary," Amanda explained softly hoping she could calm him with a softer tone.

"That's it?" Billy erupted again. "We had agents there for almost three hours and all you came up with was a bottle of cologne? Or maybe you didn't look hard enough. Too worried about finishing your dessert?"

Lee stepped forward and pointed at his boss, "Now wait one minute! We scoured that place as best as we could, based on the evidence that was given to us. Mrs. Curry stated she and her husband ate dinner, he went up to shower then thirty minutes later became violently ill. The only thing new was that bottle of cologne that we are now waiting on the lab results for, so don't tell me we didn't do our jobs!"

Billy ground his teeth together, his jaw muscles working furiously as the muscle in Lee's cheek twitched wildly. The two men just stared at each other, their eyes wide, bodies tense. It was Amanda who broke the tension as she said, "Sir, there was nothing else to find. We have the packaging and the cologne in the lab. Let's see what they come up with before you decide if we did our jobs or not."

Billy blinked several times before he broke his gaze and settled on Amanda. "You're right. Let's wait and see what the lab has to say. I'm sorry. I was out of line," he muttered.

Lee softened almost immediately, "I shouldn't have lost my temper either, Billy, I'm sorry, too." He stuck his hand out in a gesture of forgiveness, Billy gripping it tightly.

"This case has me on edge. Why these men and women? Why would anyone want to hurt them specifically?" Billy grumbled.

"I don't know, Sir, but hopefully we will get some answers tonight," Amanda replied, smiling warmly at Billy. "Why don't I make some coffee while we wait?"

"That sounds like a good idea, Amanda, then we can meet in my office. There must be something we are missing," Billy agreed before walking across the bullpen and unlocking his office door.

Lee looked at Amanda and said, "I'm just going to run down to the lab, see if I can speed things up a bit. See if you can get Billy to calm down a little." He reached out for her hand, squeezed it gently before releasing it and heading out into the hall.

Amanda sighed as she watched Lee disappear down the long corridor before she turned to the coffee maker in the corner. She waited until the pot began brewing before knocking on Billy's office door. She heard a muffled, "Enter," and slowly pushed the door open. "Sir, the coffee should be ready in a few minutes," she said with a smile, hoping it would help ease Billy.

"Thank you, Amanda, and again, I'm sorry I snapped at you both," he apologized. "How are things in the new house?" Billy sat back in this chair, ran a hand across the top of his head before allowing it to drop in his lap.

"Sir, you looked exhausted. Are you sure you don't want to go home and get some rest?" Amanda commented. "Lee and I can handle the lab results and I'm not sure what else we can do tonight."

Billy looked up at Amanda and said, "You're right. There isn't much else we can do tonight. It's already…" he paused to look at his watch before continuing, "it's already after midnight. I should be home in bed. You and Lee should be home with your family." He immediately began chuckling, confusing Amanda.

"Sir?" she asked, her brow furrowed, trying to figure out why he was laughing.

Billy laughed loudly for a few minutes before he got himself under control enough to say, "I still can't get over Scarecrow married with a family. I've been reminding myself this for the last few weeks and it still makes me laugh every time."

Amanda relaxed, smiling at Billy's amusement. "Well, sir, I have to admit, I wasn't sure it would ever happen either but Lee's really stepped up. He may not get the boys to school on time every day but he's been great about helping them with homework, making dinner, and the other night he was even outside shooting hoops with the boys, well, before my mother destroyed the hoop and Lee's car."

Billy began laughing even louder at the mention of Lee's car. Lee opened the door slowly, hearing the jovial sounds of his friend drifting into the empty bullpen. Billy took one look at Lee and started laughing even louder. Amanda found it hard to keep a straight face as tears began sliding down Billy's face and he started to cough to catch his breath.

"Amanda? What's wrong with…" Lee began to ask when Billy choked out the words, "Basketball hoop" and began laughing anew. Lee scowled when he realized why Billy was beside himself.

"Sweetheart, I think Billy's overtired and needs some rest. Did the lab results come back?" Amanda stated softly.

Lee looked down at the folder in his hand and shook his head, "Yeah, it's a match to our poison only combined with the senator's cologne. There were no useable fingerprints on the bottle other than the senator's, although they did find a few nicks around the neck of the bottle top. They're checking the packaging but that's a long shot. It was delivered by postal mail so who knows how many people handled that box."

Billy finally got himself under control and nodded, "Well, at least it's a place to start. We now know HOW the senator was exposed. Check with the other ones in the morning, see if there's a connection there."

"Yes, Sir. Anything else you can think of?" Amanda asked with a sharp nod.

"Just one, Amanda," Billy pushed himself out of his seat. "Go home. Enjoy what's left of your evening. I'm sorry I had to drag you both away for the evening."

"That's okay, Billy. It was just Amanda and me enjoying a quiet dinner. The boys are with Joe and Dotty took off for the night," Lee stated, accepting his apology.

Billy smiled once more and said, "Well then, go home and enjoy your dessert. I'm going to get some rest and tomorrow, hopefully, we can make some headway on this case."

Lee grinned as he said, "Thanks, Billy. How about we walk you out?"