***See part 1 for disclaimers***
Part 4

Lee entered the main foyer of the Georgetown building housing The
Agency. He checked in with Mrs. Marston, then started toward the
elevator that would bring him toward the level of Fronin's lab.

"Oh, Mr. Stetson," Mrs. Marston called out, before the elevator door
could open.

"Yes, Mrs. Marston?" he questioned, turning back toward her.

"Mrs. King was looking for you earlier."

"I know, she found me when I left earlier this evening."

"No, not then. About an hour ago, she came in with a file folder
looking for you."

"What?" he asked. "That's just not possible." he turned and made
his way back to the older woman's desk.

"Of course it is," she insisted. "I've got her checked in right
here. Amanda King, 5:45 pm. She hasn't checked out again yet if
you're looking for her." she added helpfully.

"Thank you Mrs. Marston, I'll see if I can find her."

He proceeded to enter the elevator, but pressed the button to reach
the bullpen instead of the clinic, as he had intended just moments
before. The day just seemed to be getting stranger and stranger.
Amanda couldn't have checked in at 5:45 pm, because at that time
they were sharing a drink together. Maybe if he could find Amanda
and speak to her, they could straighten this whole thing out.

Entering the bullpen, he saw her sitting at his desk, apparently
writing him a note.

"Amanda? When did you get here?" he asked. He needed answers, and
he needed them now. He noticed that she was wearing a red skirt and
white blouse, topped off by a white button down sweater. This was
the same thing she had been wearing earlier in the day. But it was
different from what she had been wearing just a short time ago.

"Oh, hi Lee," she greeted him. "I don't know. I guess I got here,
oh, around an hour ago," she said, looking at her wristwatch.

She continued on, "I was just going to leave you a note. I knew you
needed the rest of this transcript by tomorrow, but I had to leave
early to pick up the boys from school this afternoon. Well, they
went off to a friend's house to play, and Mother got back home from
her bridge club, so I thought I'd bring the finished version in.
Then, since I was already here, I figured I'd straighten up a bit,
and file a few things for you. You remember, I'm not going to be
here tomorrow. I'm going to be packing up the car so we can leave
on our camping trip early since the boys don't have school
tomorrow.

"You've been here for an hour?" he questioned.

"Yes, about that long, I think. Why, is there a problem with my time
sheet?" she asked, still oblivious to the cause of his agitation.

"You weren't with me at the Radburn?" he asked.

"Lee, are you feeling all right? I haven't gone anywhere with you
today, and you know that. What are you talking about?"

"Come with me to the conference room, we need to get something
straightened out."

With that he led her into the nearest conference room, his hand on
the small of her back, guiding her.

As he closed the door, he turned her toward him, his hands grasping
her by the arms.

"Lee, you're starting to worry me. Please tell me what's bothering
you," she asked, her concern evident in her voice.

As she spoke, he could detect no trace of alcohol on her breath.

"You haven't had anything to drink this evening, have you." he
asked.

"No, why would I be having something to drink here at work? Was
somebody throwing a party?" Her bewilderment was plain to see.

He persisted in his questioning, "And you weren't out with me an
hour ago, were you?"

"Of course not, Lee. I've already told you that. How could I be
out with you when I've been here all this time?"

"And you're not angry with me?" he continued.

"No, but if you don't tell me what's going on soon, I think I'm
gonna start to worry about you," she added, a concerned look on her
face.

"I think we'd better sit down, and I'll tell you what happened to me
after I left work today."

With that, he recounted to her all of the events that had occurred
that evening. As he finished he waited for her reaction. She
looked flustered, and it took her a moment before she finally began
to speak.

"You mean to tell me that you thought that I . . .that you . . .a
room?" she asked incredulously, pointing to each of them in turn,
all the while blushing furiously.

"No, no, I didn't think that at all. I thought you were having some
kind of delayed reaction to the drugs Retzig slipped you in that
sandwich last week. Obviously, it wasn`t you, but an awfully good
imitation."

"But Lee, why would someone be impersonating me?

"To get to me, I think. It's time to get Billy in on this. You
stay here, and I'll see if he's still in the office." With that he
left, returning minutes later with their section chief.

Again, he repeated the whole sequence of events that had occurred
over the past few hours, this time including Amanda's return to the
agency.

"But sir," Amanda asked. "Lee said this woman was impersonating me
to get to him. Get to him for what? Was she trying to get
information from him?"

Billy looked over at Lee, and simply said, "Credle and Treloggan."

"Who?" Amanda asked.

"Credle and Treloggan," Lee answered. "Two agents who were recently
found dead in the middle of the day in hotel rooms."

"You mean she was going to . . ." Amanda started incredulously.

"That's right," Lee answered. "Lure me to a hotel room, and shoot
me, just like she shot Credle and Treloggan. With their own guns,
no less."

"But that means they thought that I . . . .Oh my gosh!" she
exclaimed.

"It's not your fault Amanda," Billy interrupted her, calmly patting
her on the arm. "They let their guards down. No one could have
expected something like this. Scarecrow, does this woman really
look that much like Amanda?" he asked the younger man.

"She looks like her all right. She even sounds like her. But there
was something that just didn't seem quite right from the beginning,
I just couldn't put my finger on it. Something in her eyes was
different. At first I thought that something must be bothering
you," he went on, speaking directly to Amanda. "Then, later, I
thought that you had just had too much to drink."

"Lee, you know I don't drink - not like that." she said, still
seeming embarrassed by the whole situation.

"Of course I know that. But that's part of what made me think
something was wrong. I think she wasn't counting on the fact that I
know you so well. Or that you're my friend," he said, nodding, an
unashamed look of admiration lighting his face.

"Well, be that as it may, people, we've got an imposter to catch,
before she can do any more damage," Billy declared adamantly.

"Sir, one thing," Amanda asked, a sudden look of fear crossing her
face. "If she knows how I look, and how I act, and what my plans
are for the next few days, doesn't that mean that she, or someone
else, has been watching me? Watching my family? What if they
decide to try to replace me at home? Sir, my family needs
protection."

"I was just about to put a team on that, Amanda. But that's good
thinking on your part," he smiled approvingly. "We'll have someone
watching them around the clock."

"Thank you, sir," she answered gratefully. "But should we cancel
our plans for the weekend?"

"No," Lee interrupted. "I think you should do exactly what you
planned this weekend. We'll have someone watching the house, to see
if she shows up there. After all, it would be the perfect way to
replace you. She wouldn't have to worry about the real you showing
up, after all."

"I'll have Francine set up the surveillance details," Billy said,
leaving the room. "You two should leave at separate times, in case
anyone is watching outside."

"Alright Billy," Lee answered. "I'll let Amanda leave first, in
just a few minutes."

As the door closed behind Billy, Lee reached for her hand. "I'm
glad you're OK, Amanda. That's what's important."

"Me too," she said, her eyes shining. "I'm so glad you didn't
believe her. If you had, you'd probably be dead by now." There was
a slight catch in her voice, as if even saying such a thing made it
seem more possible.

"Hey, I'm Ok. Don't you worry about that. We're gonna find her.
We're gonna make sure she doesn't hurt anybody else. That's a
promise," he said, squeezing her hand reassuringly.

"Why don't you leave now," he went on. "I'll hang around for
awhile, like I told Billy. Maybe I'll help Francine with some of
the set-up work for tomorrow. I'll see you soon, OK?" he asked,
leading her to the door.

"Sure thing," she answered, smiling back at him. "You'll be
careful, won't you?"

"Always," he answered her confidently.

***TBC In part 5***