Chapter 4: Max is Missing

"I have some disturbing news, Scarecrow," Billy said, approaching Lee's desk the next day. "We haven't been able to get in touch with Max since Amanda met him at the pumpkin patch. Even his family doesn't know where he is."

"You mean he just vanished without a word to anyone?" Lee asked. "Did he try to contact any of the people on the list Amanda gave him?"

"They all say that when he spoke to them, he told them that their services were no longer necessary."

"What is that supposed to mean? Was the rumor a false alarm?"

"I don't know yet. The last time Max's brother saw him, he said that he was going to see a friend who works for Top Notch Catering. They buy some of their produce through Max. Max's brother has never spoken directly with the buyer there, but he knows that it's a woman named Olivia. I want you to find her, Scarecrow, and see if she knows anything about Max."

"No problem," Lee said.

However, Max's disappearance was unsettling. If there was no truth to the assassination rumor, then why had Max disappeared? And if the rumor was true, then why did he tell the other agents that he wouldn't need their help? Lee got out the phone book and looked up the phone number and address for Top Notch Catering.

When Lee called up the company, the woman who answered confirmed that one of the people responsible for buying food and supplies was named Olivia Durbin. Olivia Durbin was out of town that day, but the receptionist made an appointment for Lee to meet with her when she arrived back at work the next day.

Lee tried to ask if there was another number where he could reach Olivia, but the receptionist didn't know. She didn't even know exactly where Olivia had gone.

The delay made Lee nervous. If Max's life was in danger, they needed to find him soon.

He fingered the little pumpkin keychain sitting on his desk. Once the lab and Cryptology had finished inspecting it, Billy had returned it to him. No one had been able to find anything remotely unusual about it. No hidden messages, nothing.

Lee sighed, slipping it into his pocket. Since it looked like it was just an ordinary keychain, he might as well give the thing back to Amanda.

Speaking of Amanda, Lee spotted her as she came through the door. She waved at him as she passed his desk.

"Amanda? What are you doing here? I thought that you had today off," Lee said.

"Well, I do, but I finished that typing for Mr. Melrose this morning, and I wanted to drop it off."

"I thought it wasn't due until Monday."

"It isn't, really, but the Halloween carnival is tomorrow, and I wanted to be sure that I got it done before then. Also, I had an errand to run not far from here, so I thought that I would just bring it over."

"Oh, I see. Well, it's good that you're here. Amanda, did Max say anything else to you yesterday, other than the recognition code and what he told you about the keychain?"

"No. Why?"

Lee sighed. "He's missing. I was hoping that he might have said something to you that would give us a clue."

"Sorry, Lee. That's all he said." Amanda shrugged helplessly. "Do you think it has something to do with the rumor you were telling me about? Do you think it's true?"

"I don't know. I won't really be able to do anything until I speak with the source of the rumor, a friend of Max's who works for a catering company, and I won't be able to do that until tomorrow."

"I wish there was something I could do to help."

"I can't think of anything right now. Billy's already spoken to Max's family, and they don't know anything."

Amanda nodded sympathetically. "Well, I'd better get this typing to Mr. Melrose."

"Hey, I could use a break. How would you like to get a cup of coffee with me while I clear my head?" Lee suggested.

"That sounds nice, but there are a few things I need to pick up for the carnival. Mrs. Kelly gave me a list of things to get from a party supply store, and I have to drop them off at the school later this afternoon," Amanda said, pulling a folded list out of her purse and showing it to Lee.

"Let me see," Lee said. Amanda handed him the list.

Lee glanced over the list of items with raised eyebrows. "Why do you need 200 pairs of Groucho Marx glasses? Don't tell me that they're for Mrs. Kelly's 200 pumpkins."

"No, they're not for the pumpkins. Mrs. Kelly is afraid that some people will show up to the carnival without costumes and that it will spoil the atmosphere, so she wants to have something that we can hand out to them to wear."

"And she really expects that people will wear those things even if someone gives them a pair for free? What about the fishbowl? What's that for?" Lee asked, noticing that the item had been written in the margin, in Amanda's handwriting.

"It's for me," Amanda said. "I'm playing Madame Florica, the gypsy fortune-teller, and she needs a crystal ball."

"How did you get that role?"

"I was one of the last to pick, and the only other choice was the Good Fairy in charge of the play area for the littlest children. Mrs. Kelly is providing that costume, and apparently, I'm too tall to wear it. I'm better off as the fortune-teller, anyway. I've seen the Good Fairy costume."

Lee's eyes traveled further down the list, past the prizes for carnival games, orange and black plastic tablecloths, and various types of decorations.

"What's this thing here that's crossed off?" he asked. "It looks like shakers. Is Mrs. Kelly making you guys use fancy salt and pepper shakers or something?"

"No, those aren't shakers," Amanda said. "They're shriekers, and they're crossed off because Mrs. Kelly already has them."

"What are shriekers?" Lee asked.

"They're these little battery-operated toys shaped like skulls in different colors, and when you turn them on, they shriek and make this kind of evil-sounding laugh and other noises like that. They're supposed to be prizes for some of the games."

"This Mrs. Kelly really wants to give loud, screaming toys to children who have probably been eating lots of sugary things at a Halloween carnival?" Lee asked with raised eyebrows.

Amanda smiled. Even though Lee had never had any children, it pleased her that he seemed to instinctively understand a few things about kids, even more than Mrs. Kelly, who had two of her own.

"It's because Goreman Electronics makes them," Amanda said. "Really, a large part of the carnival this year seems to be about promoting his company's products."

"Like what?"

"Besides making little battery-operated electronic toys, they also make larger electronic displays, decorations, and automatons, like the kind in commercial haunted houses and fun houses. In fact, they're converting the school's cafeteria into a haunted house. All the kids have been eating their lunches in their classrooms for the past week."

"I'm amazed that your PTA has the money for a big production like this," Lee said.

"We didn't until Mr. Kelly made his generous donation and supplied everything for the haunted house for free."

"Ah, let me guess," Lee said. "He's probably inviting some business associates to the carnival to give them a demonstration of his products, right?"

Amanda nodded grimly. "That's right, and that's why Mrs. Kelly insists that everything has to be perfect. You should see what the people in charge of the food have to pick up."

"I hope Mrs. Kelly and her husband are picking up the bill for all this," Lee said, turning the pages of the list.

"It's all taken care of. In fact, I don't really have to pick out any of the items on this list myself. Mrs. Kelly said that she already placed an order with the party supply store on 5th St., and I just have to go pick it up."

Lee glanced down at the list again. "This looks like a lot for one person to handle all at once. Tell you what, I think I know where this party supply store is. I could go help you pick up what you need, and we can get some coffee at a little café I know that's nearby."

"You really want to help?"

"Sure!"

"Thanks, Lee."

"Anytime." Lee smiled as he placed his hand on Amanda's back, guiding her over to the elevator.

When he'd first started working with Amanda, an ordinary housewife who just happened to be in the right place at the right time to help him when he was in a tight spot, he had thought of her as a nuisance. She was inexperienced and interfering with a tendency to get herself in over her head. But, somewhere along the line, she'd turned into a good friend and helpful partner. Lee liked to think it was his influence on her, but he had to admit that she had good instincts, too.

More than that, she could be good company. Although she had a tendency to be a chatterbox, Lee sometimes found it relaxing to talk things over with her. Even her little stories about the kids and the eccentricities of the PTA members were refreshing after a day of discussing terrorist threats and international criminals.

Lee never would have thought it possible before he met Amanda, but she had a way of making ordinary, suburban life sound almost appealing. Almost. That is, Lee could understand why people might like it. Some people, anyway, if not him. At least, it sounded pleasant enough. Not that he would ever say so.

Amanda smiled at Lee as they got off the elevator, and he smiled back. One of the benefits of his lifestyle was that he had a number of interesting stories, too. He was sure that he could think of a couple that would impress Amanda this afternoon.

Lee temporarily put all thought of assassinations out of his mind and focused on enjoying his errand/coffee break with Amanda. While they picked up the party supplies, she described the gypsy costume that her mother was making for her. Over coffee, Lee told her all about a real gypsy that he had met once on a mission in Spain, and they debated about whether fortune-telling ever actually works.

"I don't believe in any of that fortune-telling stuff. It's just superstition or something that people use to make money off of gullible people," Lee said.

"I don't know," Amanda said. "I kind of like to believe in the possibility that some of that stuff might be true."

"If any fortune-teller's predictions come true, it's usually because someone makes up their mind that they want it to come true," Lee insisted. "Have you ever had a prediction that came true for you?"

"Not really. Well, the last prediction I had was in a fortune cookie the night before last. It said that I would soon be dining with a tall, dark, handsome man."

Lee paused for a moment's reflection. "Well, okay, two out of three wasn't bad."

"If it had listed one of the qualities as 'modest,' I'd know it wasn't you."

Lee grinned.

After their coffee, Amanda drove Lee back to the Agency. (They'd had to take Amanda's station wagon because his car would never hold all the things on Mrs. Kelly's list.) By that time, Lee was thinking a little more clearly and feeling less frustrated.

"I think I'll scout out the Top Notch Catering Company this afternoon and this evening," he explained to Amanda. "I may not be able to speak with the person I need to speak to, but at least I can get an idea of the people who work there and who else might be hanging around. Max may have talked to some of the others there as well."

"Sounds like a good idea," Amanda commented. "Good luck!"

"I'm sorry that I can't help you unload all this stuff at the school."

"That's alright. I'll get some of the other PTA members to help when I get there. I need to swing by the pet store on the way to get my fishbowl."

"Oh, before I forget," Lee said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the pumpkin keychain. "Billy said that you can have this back. Our people couldn't find anything unusual about it."

"Nothing at all?"

"Nothing. Looks like it's just an ordinary keychain. You might as well keep it and enjoy it."

Amanda thanked him and took the keychain. She still thought it was a little strange, but if no one could find anything special about it, she would take their word for it. Dropping the keychain into her purse once again, she turned her attention back to the school carnival and the supplies she had to deliver.

Lee headed back to the bullpen to see if there had been any news of Max and to tell Billy where he was going that evening.

Billy agreed that staking out the catering company was a good idea. "We've also heard from Max's brother again."

"Has he heard from Max?" Lee asked eagerly.

"No, but he says that someone has stolen the cashbox from the pumpkin patch."

"That's too bad, but it doesn't help with Max." Lee sighed.

"There's probably no connection, but he thought that he should tell us anyway."

"Yeah. I just hope that we hear something more definite about Max soon."