Chapter 19

"Ok, she's settled in for now," Lee told Dotty as he descended the stairs.

Dotty was ringing the dish towel in her hand nervously. "I don't understand what happened," she exclaimed.

"I told you Dotty, we were sent over to Senator McCarthy's house to do a piece on the recent poisonings when Amanda tripped over some tools a repairman left on the floor and she hit her head on a table," Lee stated. He tried to keep the story as close as he could in case Amanda said anything in a state of confusion.

Dotty shook her head, "I told her she shouldn't wear those heels this morning. She insisted she would be fine even though they are brand new and you know how new shoes can throw you off." She looked up the stairs and stated, "And the doctor said she'll be okay?"

Lee put his arm around her shoulders and steered his mother-in-law into the kitchen. "The doctor said she'll be fine, she just needs time. He said because of that concussion she had a few years ago-" Lee started.

"You know about that? When Amanda had amnesia?" Dotty questioned, her eyes wide.

Lee thought fast, "Yeah, she told me all about it when I had a concussion last year. I think she was trying to make me feel better."

"Oh, it was awful. She couldn't remember anything that happened to her but yet she remembered her favorite meal. And then she would be gone, just disappeared for hours," Dotty explained as she waved her hands around dramatically.

"That must have been so scary," Lee exhaled. He realized he would have to watch what he said in regards to how much he actually knew about Amanda's past four years.

"I was just thankful she was fine in a few days. So maybe, if I make her favorite meal again it will help her feel better," Dotty suggested.

Lee smiled warmly and reminded her, "I don't know if she'll be up to eating tonight, she's been pretty nauseous all afternoon. She just fell asleep so that's the best we can hope for tonight."

"Lee! Tell him to knock it off!" Jamie yelled at Philip as they entered the kitchen from the garage.

"Hey, just because you can't see your stupid little meteor show tonight doesn't mean you can take it out on me," Philip snapped back.

Jamie stopped short and spun around to face Philip, "I said, knock it off and leave me alone!" In his frustration, Jamie pushed Philip away angrily.

"Woah! Hey, none of that!" Dotty exclaimed as she stepped between the boys.

Lee shook his head and stated firmly, "Your mother is upstairs asleep, so I'm going to need you two to keep it down. Now, what is going on?"

Jamie glared at Philip as he hissed, "Philip won't leave me alone! I just wanted to set up the telescope so that maybe I could see a little bit of it before bed."

"But Mom already said you couldn't stay up late, remember?!" Philip reminded him.

"Hey, enough," Lee said sharply. "Now there's nothing wrong with Jamie setting up the telescope. Your mom did say if your homework was done, you could go out for a few minutes before lights out. Now, what is this really about?"

"Nothing! He just always has to be right!" Jamie snapped as he pointed to Philip.

Lee gently pushed Jamie's hand down as he looked at Philip, "I think you need to give your brother a break. And I need both of you to keep the noise level dow-" Lee was cut off by the sound of Amanda calling him. Lee turned and ran up the stairs to find Amanda standing in the doorway of the bathroom, holding onto the frame for balance. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"I got sick again, but I'm too dizzy to make it back to bed," Amanda explained softly.

Lee scooped her up and carried her back to the bed. He laid her down carefully and brushed her hair off her face once more when she settled back against the pillow. "You want some ice for your head?" He asked.

"No, thank you," Amanda replied, her words soft and slurred. "I'm just really tired. I need to sleep." She closed her eyes and her body relaxed quickly.

Lee stayed beside her for another few minutes as her breathing evened off once more. He quietly got up and left the room, leaving the door open just a few inches so he could hear if she needed him again. He returned to the kitchen to find Dotty and Philip alone, Jamie noticeably absent. "Where'd Jamie go?"

"He's pouting in his room," Philip rolled his eyes.

Dotty looked at him sternly and stated, "What did I just tell you, young man?"

Philip muttered "sorry" before he stood up and said, "I'll be downstairs watching TV." He didn't wait for anyone's reply as he jogged down the steps to the family room.

Lee sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He looked at Dotty for help but her simple reply was, "Parenting isn't always easy." He turned and walked back up the stairs to Jamie's room where he found the door closed and locked.

He knocked and said, "Jamie, it's Lee. Can I come in?" He heard the door unlock and saw the knob turn but the door only gently opened a few inches. Lee pushed it open fully just as Jamie flopped down onto his bed. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Jamie rolled his eyes and shook his head but didn't answer. Lee sat on the edge of the bed and looked at him without saying a word. They sat in tense silence for several minutes before Lee heard Jamie exhale loudly. "Lee? Is my mom going to be all right?"

Lee put his hand on Jamie's leg and said, "She's going to be fine. I promise. The doctor just said she needs a few days of rest but during that time she may have all kinds of symptoms, so we just have to be patient and let them pass."

Jamie pushed himself onto his elbow and looked at Lee, "What if they don't pass? I mean, what if there's something else wrong? I was reading in the encyclopedia that sometimes it takes months to get over a head injury."

Lee chuckled at his step-son and said, "The doctor is pretty confident she'll be fine. Tell you what, I need to make a phone call right now in the office, but after that, I'll show you the discharge paperwork from the hospital, all right?"

Jamie nodded slowly so Lee stood and began to leave when Jamie asked, "Lee?"

Lee turned back and looked at him, "Yeah?"

"Lee, do you think I can stay up…just fifteen minutes later? Please?" Jamie pleaded, his hazel eyes blinking behind his glasses.

Lee's heart went out to the boy, so he nodded and agreed, "Fifteen minutes, no more."

Jamie scrambled off the bed and gave Lee a big hug as he exclaimed, "Thanks, Lee!"

Lee hugged him back and said quietly, "You're welcome. I'll be back in a few minutes with those papers." Lee left Jamie's room and headed back down into the office where he closed the door and locked it before he picked up the phone and dialed IFF. He asked for Francine and waited while the call was transferred.

"Lee! How's Amanda?" Francine asked as soon as the transfer clicked through.

"She's asleep again. She's gotten sick a few more times since we've been home and she's off balance," Lee explained solemnly. "Did you find anything in Harborne's room?" Lee immediately switched into work mode.

Francine knew Lee was compartmentalizing himself, trying to focus on the case so she explained, "Lots. It was like a high school chem lab; beakers and tubes everywhere, Bunsen burners galore."

"Well, he is a chemist. Anything else?" Lee stated.

"Well, at McCarthy's the sweep team found what appeared to be a small canister. They immediately sent it to the lab for testing and it was a match for our toxin," Francine announced.

Lee grabbed a notepad and began jotting down everything Francine was telling him. "Great, so now we know how he was doing it. Anything else?" Lee confirmed.

Francine watched Billy crossing the bullpen toward her desk, "Hang on, here comes Billy." She looked up at their boss, holding the phone slightly off her ear, "What's up?"

Billy pointed at the phone, "Lee?" Francine nodded in confirmation. "How's Amanda?" he asked.

"Lee said she's asleep. Sick and off balance," Francine stated.

"Good, she needs the rest. I was just informed the surveillance team is in place at HiCo if Harborne comes back. There's an APB on the truck with the local PD as well. So now, we wait," Billy informed them.

Francine held the receiver closer to her face, "Lee, did you hear that?"

"Yeah, I heard. He's not going to go back there. But at least we know it's him and he won't be poisoning anyone else any time soon. Did you get the list from Cooper's secretary?" Lee questioned, his mind switching gears once again.

"Yes, we got that this morning and were able to contact everyone else on the list. So far so good," Francine explained.

Lee put the pen down on the notepad and leaned back in the chair. He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand and sighed, "Well, keep me informed. If Harborne surfaces, I want to know."

"Will do. And tell Amanda I hope she feels better," Francine said softly. She hung up the phone and looked up at Billy who was still standing at her desk, his eyebrows raised. "What? She's my friend and I-" Francine began but Billy cut her off when he raised his hand.

"I feel the same way, too. And I'm sure Lee is going to be right beside her the whole time," Billy agreed.

"Alpha Surveillance Team is going to be reporting in every two hours. Ferguson will call me at home later if anything happens," Francine confirmed the plan for the evening.

Billy pressed his lips tightly, nodded his head and stated, "We'll get him. The net will drop down and we'll get him."