Chapter 15: Halloween Scarecrow

There were a few raised eyebrows when Lee carried Amanda past the crowd of security guards and agents and out to his car, but Lee didn't really care. He had done something like this once before at a party. That time, Amanda had been injected with a poison and was unconscious. By comparison, helping her with an injured ankle was nothing.

Amanda smiled and laughed nervously at the onlookers, but Lee just kept walking, refusing even to stop and comment when Francine started to say something sarcastic about a helpless housewife. Phelps kindly followed them outside and opened Lee's car door so that he could settle Amanda inside.

When they reached the Agency, they were told that the infirmary had received Billy's call and that one of the doctors was standing by to treat Amanda. He gave her a pill to relieve the pain and began taking x-rays of her ankle. Lee hovered nearby, waiting to hear the diagnosis.

Lee was relieved when the doctor told them that it was just a sprain and that no bones were broken. The doctor rewrapped Amanda's ankle and supplied her with more pain medication and a pair of crutches to help her get around. Then, he wrote out a list of instructions, starting with a week of rest and regular use of ice on the ankle and ending with a few exercises for her to do to get the ankle back in shape after the pain and swelling had gone down.

Amanda fretted about not being able to get around much, but Lee told her that there was nothing for her to do at the Agency that couldn't wait a week.

"But Lee, Halloween is in two days! I was going to take the boys trick-or-treating and then over to the Johnsons' Halloween party . . ."

"Your mother can do all that," Lee said. "You deserve a little rest. Come on, I'll drive you home."

When they got to Amanda's house, her mother and the boys hadn't arrived yet. Amanda was worried because she'd expected them to already be there, but Lee just thanked his lucky stars that he had the chance to get Amanda home before they saw him. He went up to the house first to unlock the door and carry the crutches inside before going back to the car to get Amanda.

"I could have used the crutches," Amanda said as Lee reached for her. "You don't have to carry me."

"It's alright," Lee said soothingly as he picked her up. "I want to be careful of your ankle. Besides, this is faster, and your family will be home soon." He took her into the family room and settled her on the couch.

"Are you comfortable?" he asked as he propped the crutches next to her.

"Yes, although my ankle still hurts."

"The doctor said that you could have two of these tonight," Lee said, giving her more of the pain medication. "This is your second one, so no more until tomorrow, okay? The instructions are written on the bottle, in case your mother asks. It says these are going to make you drowsy, so you should get a good night's rest."

"I'm still sorry about Halloween," Amanda murmured softly. She was starting to feel sleepy, although she wasn't sure whether it was due to the medication or the evening's excitement.

"Don't be," Lee said. "Just put the candy out where the little ghouls can get it and stay inside where it's safe. Although, if you leave the back door unlocked, you might be visited by a friendly spirit . . ."

At that moment, Lee heard the sound of the front door and quickly retreated out the back. He paused just long enough on the back porch to listen to the boys talking about how cool it was that the police raided the school carnival and to hear Amanda's mother's concern at seeing the crutches and her daughter's ankle. Then, he hurried out to his car and drove away.

SMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMK

"I'm sorry that you can't come with us tonight, dear," Dotty said, adjusting her witch's hat. "I know you were looking forward to it. I promise, I'll never try to talk you into wearing spiked heels again."

"Oh, it's alright, Mother," Amanda said from the couch as she watched an old horror movie on tv. "I'll be fine."

"I put the bowl of candy out front with a little sign that says, 'Take one,'" Dotty continued. "That way, you won't have to get up to answer the door. Of course, some of the little monsters will take a lot more, but that's not your concern. I just want you to get some rest."

"I will, Mother."

"I still can't believe you missed out on all the excitement at the carnival," Dotty said. "The Kellys were always kind of annoying, but I never would have thought that they were criminals."

"Apparently, Mrs. Kelly never even knew what her husband was up to," Amanda said. "That's what she told the PTA, anyway, in the letter that she wrote."

Mrs. Kelly had resigned from the PTA by mail, not daring to show her face at the school after what had happened. Her children hadn't returned to school either. Rumor had it that Mrs. Kelly had taken them to New York so that they could be near her relatives and away from the scandal that now surrounded her husband.

"Well, their marriage can't have been very good if she didn't know enough about him to figure things out for herself. That's all I have to say on that," Dotty said.

Amanda suspected that Dotty would find more to say on the subject as the press released more information about Mr. Kelly and his upcoming trial, but for now, Amanda just smiled and nodded.

"Now, after I drop the boys off at the Johnsons', I'm going to the Frankwells' party down the street. I won't stay late. I just want to congratulate Mrs. Frankwell on becoming the new PTA president," Dotty said.

"Give her my congratulations, too," Amanda said.

In a way, Amanda was now grateful for her injured ankle because it meant that she had missed the PTA meeting where Mrs. Kelly's letter was read aloud and where the new PTA president was chosen. The election was by nomination again, but since the candidates had to be present in order to be nominated, Amanda had been out of the running. The office instead went to her friend, Jane Frankwell, and Amanda was happy for her (not to mention relieved that she wouldn't have to do the job herself).

"I will, dear. And I'll walk home with the boys from the Johnsons' house. You just relax this evening."

"Thank you, Mother."

A few minutes later, Amanda heard the front door close, and the house was suddenly quiet. Amanda took her eyes off the tv screen and watched the back door. Sure enough, the knob turned and a familiar face peered in.

"Boo!" Lee said, grinning at her.

"You can come in. The coast is clear," Amanda said with a smile.

Lee entered, carrying two kids' trick-or-treat bags.

"Something for the boys?" Amanda asked.

"No, something for you," Lee said, sitting down next to Amanda on the couch. "How's that ankle?"

"Better," Amanda said, "although I took one of the pain pills this evening. Is Max alright?"

"He's going to be fine," Lee said. "Like you, he just needs some rest."

Mr. Kelly had been holding Max prisoner at some offices he'd rented on a temporary basis. At first, Mr. Kelly had denied everything, but his accomplices decided to rat on him in exchange for reduced sentences.

Frank, the man they'd apprehended at the senator's Halloween party, was an electrician who had once worked for Goreman Electronics. He'd been fired for stealing some equipment from the company and was bitter about it, so when Mr. Kelly had approached him, offering a large sum of money for his help in killing Mr. Goreman, Frank had accepted.

Their plan had been to rig Madame Florica's table so that it would electrocute Mr. Goreman when he placed his hands on the plates that would activate the display. They had hoped that everyone would assume that it was just an accident because the table hadn't been wired properly. Even if someone had figured out that it was foul play, Mr. Kelly would have had his alibi at the school carnival. Frank had recruited his friend, Tony, to help him and to give him an alibi also, in case anyone questioned him later. They might have succeeded in their plot if Tony hadn't decided to brag about the scheme to Olivia.

"Speaking of rest," Lee added, "Billy told me to give this to you. He said that Madame Florica's crystal ball spit it out while our people were inspecting the table, and he insists that you follow the advice."

Amanda took the little card that Lee handed her and read:

Florica's Fortunes

Quote: "Home is where the heart is." – Old Proverb

Your Situation: You've had a hard time of it lately and are in need of some rest and relaxation.

Prediction: Pushing yourself at this stage would be a mistake. If you take it easy and go with the flow, things will turn out much better.

Advice: Tonight, stay home, put your feet up, and relax.

Amanda laughed. "I didn't think you believed in fortune-telling."

"That doesn't mean that it isn't good advice," Lee said, "which it why I brought a few things to help you relax."

Opening the first treat bag, he said, "To begin with, here are some things that you left behind at the school carnival." He handed Amanda one of the spiky shoes that had caused her ankle injury. "You left this back in Madame Florica's tent. One isn't any good without the other."

"Thanks," Amanda said, "although I don't plan to wear them ever again."

"I wouldn't think so," Lee said. "We also found your scarf back in the haunted house, and I brought you your crystal ball."

Amanda laughed and took the crystal ball from Lee. In her best Madame Florica voice, she said, "I am getting a vision . . . I see candy, lots of candy . . ."

"You really are good," Lee said, opening the other bag. That one contained a box of chocolates, a bag of popcorn, and a bottle of wine. "I thought that you could use a little Halloween treat."

"Thank you," Amanda said, "but with the medication I'm on, I can't drink . . . wine." She finished the sentence in her best Bela Lugosi imitation.

"Then, we'll save it for later," Lee said, pulling one more small package out of the bag. "I also got you this as kind of a souvenir from the carnival."

Her eyes bright with curiosity, Amanda opened the package. When she saw what was inside, she laughed out loud. It was a keychain, only this one had a little scarecrow charm instead of a pumpkin.

"Aww!" Amanda said. "This is a lot cuter than the jack-o-lantern."

"And a lot safer," Lee said. "No hidden messages, I promise."

"No hidden messages, Scarecrow?" Amanda asked with raised eyebrows.

"Well, only 'Get well, partner,'" Lee said, putting his arm around her.

The two of them spent the rest of the evening watching old horror movies on tv. Amanda leaned against Lee, enjoying his company and thankful that she had her own personal Scarecrow to keep all the scary things away.

The End

Happy Halloween!

Author's Note: Happy Birthday, Kate Jackson!