Chapter 12: The Senator's Party
By the time Lee and Amanda arrived at Senator Parker's mansion, the security personnel had been notified of the situation. The head of security, Randal Phelps, insisted that they had been extremely careful when admitting people to the mansion and that there were no uninvited guests. Even so, there was always the chance that the assassin had legitimately entered with the catering staff or even with the invited guests.
"Tell your people not to let anyone in or out of the house until further notice," Lee said to Phelps. "More Agency personnel are on the way, and we'll want to begin a thorough search of the house as soon as possible."
"I understand," Phelps said.
"Amanda, while we're planning our search strategy, I'd like you to interview the catering personnel in the kitchen," Lee said. "Get all of their names and find out whether anyone has joined the company recently. The newest employees will be the most likely suspects."
"Right," Amanda said. "Then, what should I do?"
"Wait there in the kitchen and make sure none of the caterers try to leave," Lee said. "I'll join you as soon as we've completed the sweep of the house."
As Amanda headed off to the kitchen, Lee sighed. At least that task would keep her busy while he began his surveillance of the house. Lee didn't really expect their man to be on the catering staff, so Amanda would be able to stay off that ankle and out of trouble for awhile.
There was a lingering doubt there. Amanda had a habit of finding trouble no matter where she was. Lee made a mental note to check on her later. Meanwhile, they had to warn Mr. Goreman of the potential danger.
Phelps led Lee into the ballroom of the senator's mansion and over to where Senator Eric Parker and Walter Goreman were chatting amiably by the buffet table. When Lee showed them his credentials, the senator and Mr. Goreman agreed to speak with them privately in the senator's study.
By the time Lee had finished explaining everything, Billy and Francine had arrived with several other agents.
"How should we proceed?" Senator Parker asked the group assembled in his study. "Should we cancel the party and begin clearing the house?"
Mr. Goreman was understandably nervous, but he was listening attentively to the conversation.
"No," Billy said. "I don't think that would be a good idea. If we make any kind of announcement to the party, the assassin we're looking for would know that we're on to him, and we can't be certain how he'll react. He may try to slip away quietly, or he may become violent and try to shoot his way out."
Lee nodded in agreement. "It's better if we catch him before he has a chance to make a move."
"But how?" Phelps asked. "You've admitted that you don't know what this man looks like."
"We're setting up search teams to sweep the house," Billy said. To Phelps, he added, "Try to keep all of the party guests in the ballroom and have your people work in pairs. Everyone's movements should be accounted for."
Phelps nodded.
"We're looking for someone out of place, someone who doesn't belong here," Billy explained.
"I still think we ought to at least get Walt out of here," Senator Parker said. "It's just too dangerous for him to stay."
"If we try to move him now, before we know who or where the assassin is, we might give the assassin an opportunity to strike," Billy said. "For now, the study is secure, and I think Mr. Goreman should remain here under guard."
Senator Parker looked at his friend. Mr. Goreman hesitated a moment and then nodded his agreement.
"Speaking of opportunities," Lee said, "what were the plans for this evening's party? It would be difficult for an assassin to go after one man in a crowded ballroom. Was there anything else planned for this evening that would present a better opportunity for an assassin to strike?"
Mr. Goreman spoke up. "There are a couple of things we were planning. My company has recently come out with some new products, and Eric was kind enough to allow me the chance to show them off at his party."
"What do you mean?" Billy asked.
"He gave us some space to set up a haunted house for his party guests to go through."
"Oh, no," Lee thought. "Not another one!"
"He was also going to let me make a short speech before leading the guests through the haunted house, at eight o'clock."
Lee glanced at his watch. It was just a little before seven. The note in the pumpkin keychain had said 6:00 pm, but that was the start time of the party. The assassination could be scheduled for later in the evening, giving the assassin time to prepare.
"You were going to be the first person to enter the haunted house?" Billy asked Mr. Goreman.
"That's right," Mr. Goreman said.
"And the speech was going to be in the ballroom?"
"Yes."
"Alright," Billy said. "Those are the areas where we will focus our search. While all the guests are kept in the ballroom, I'll have some of my people do a general search of the house, but one team will perform a special search of the haunted house. If we don't find anything anywhere else, we'll turn our attention to the people in the ballroom."
"Personally, I think the haunted house would be the most likely place for our assassin to hide," Lee said. After his experiences in the haunted house at the school, he knew that a darkened place where people were already expecting scary surprises would be a good place for an attack.
"Phelps can show you where the haunted house is," the senator said. "He's already seen it."
"Good," Billy said. "Lee, Francine, you're both with me and Phelps. Fielder and Clark can stay to guard the study."
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Back in the kitchen, Amanda watched the catering crew bustling around, preparing trays of snacks to take to the guests. She suspected that Lee had given her this job because it was the easiest and least dangerous assignment he could think of.
There was a kind of irony in being told to stay in the kitchen, but rather than arguing or being insulted, Amanda decided to use the opportunity to get more ice for her ankle. It was still bothering her, and if she could do her job while sitting at the kitchen table, it was just as well.
It didn't take too long to document the caterers since the head of the team already had a roster. Amanda simply copied his list and penciled in the amount of time each employee had worked for the company as she interviewed the team's supervisors. None of the team members had worked for the company for less than a year.
The catering staff had been very nice, fixing up a makeshift ice pack for her using a plastic bag and offering her little snacks. Fortified with samples of spicy meatballs and tiny shrimp but left with nothing else to do in the kitchen, Amanda had the urge to report her findings to Lee and see how he was progressing.
Of course, she knew that she really shouldn't. After all, Lee had asked her to wait for him in the kitchen. There was also her ankle to consider. It felt a little better since she had iced it, but it still wasn't feeling right. The ice bag was starting to sweat, and Amanda had decided that she had used it enough, so she walked over to the sink to set it down for awhile.
While she was standing by the sink, some movement outside the door caught her eye. A man dressed in coveralls and carrying a toolbox was wandering down the hallway. He kept glancing around as though he were lost or maybe looking for something.
"Now why would there be a handyman wandering around during a fancy dress party?" Amanda wondered.
A workman would just be a distraction for the guests. It was possible that something important needed to be fixed right away, but in that case, it wasn't likely that the repairman would be wandering around the house alone. Unless this man was just a guest in a costume. That was always a possibility. But, a guest wouldn't be back by the kitchen.
No matter which way Amanda considered it, the situation didn't look right. She thought about going to find Lee so that she could tell him about the mysterious handyman, but she didn't want to risk losing sight of him. It was a large house, and Lee could be anywhere. She watched the man as he walked down the hallway. When he turned the corner at the end of the hallway, Amanda started after him.