SMK Too Close to Home Chapter 7
"Scarecrow?" Lee looked up to see Billy and Francine striding into the hospital's private waiting room – one of the perks of the job. "No, no." Billy held up his hand, palm out. "Don't get up." He pulled up a chair facing Lee while Francine sat next to him.
Francine laid her hand on his arm. "How's she doing, Lee?"
"The doctor says he thinks they're both fine, thank God." Lee rubbed his hand over his face. "But taking that kind of a tumble at five and a half months pregnant is not really something they would recommend. They're going to call me back in a minute for the ultra-sound." He leaned back in his chair. "They just want to be sure her placenta didn't tear."
"What about you?" Billy perused his face. "It looks like you've added to your collection of bumps and bruises."
"Yeah. You can add burns to the list now."
Billy took off his glasses and leaned forward in his chair. "What the hell happened, Lee? This was just supposed to be a simple interview."
Frustrated and angry with himself, Lee stood and paced to the other side of the room. "Damn it all, Billy. We knew someone might be watching this guy." He raked his hand through his hair. "I should have assumed they'd be watching his house. It was a rookie mistake that nearly got us both killed."
Francine watched him pace. "Lee, blaming yourself isn't helpful; you know that. You went in under-cover so no one could trace you."
"Yeah, well Francine, going in under-cover isn't really helpful when some guy throws Molotov Cocktails into the house."
"Cocktails?" Billy asked, emphasizing the plural.
"Yes." Lee looked up at the ceiling and closed his eyes, seeing it all play out again in his mind. "God, it was a close one." He shook his head and returned his gaze back to Billy's. "We were thrown to the ground both times and barely got out of the house." Exhausted, he ran his hand back through his hair and let out a sigh. "Then I caught a glimpse of someone coming around the corner of the house and managed to kill him before he could finish us off."
Billy stood up and walked over to put a hand on Lee's shoulder. "I'm glad you're both alright, Scarecrow. Good job keeping her safe." Lee looked down at the floor and shook his head. Billy patted his shoulder and stepped away. "The police want a statement. Are you up for that?"
Lee's eyes snapped back up from the floor, defiance in his steely gaze. "The police are going to have to take a number. I'm not leaving until I see Amanda, and I know she and the baby okay."
"Understood." Billy motioned to Francine to follow him out of the room. "I'll tell the police what I can. You let us know what the doctor says…and try to get some rest."
"Mr. Stetson?"
Impatient to see his wife, Lee turned quickly to the man in the white lab coat with the stethoscope around his neck. "Yeah, Doc?"
The doctor offered Lee a compassionate smile. "Your wife is ready to see you now."
"You go ahead, Lee. Don't worry about anything except Amanda."
"Thanks Billy." Lee followed the doctor out of the room.
Dr. Pfaf was coming out of the room as Lee approached. "Is Tootie-Fruity the flavor of the day, Doc?"
Dr. Pfaf pulled the popsicle out of his mouth and pointed it at Lee. "Don't knock it 'til you try it, Scarecrow. You don't know what you're missing."
Lee looked down at the cold confection. "Uh-huh." He took Dr. Pfaf by the arm and pulled him a few feet from the door. "How's she doin', Doc?"
"You want it straight? Or do you want it couched in psychological mumbo-jumbo?"
"Straight up is preferable, Doc."
Dr. Pfaf nodded his head and steered Lee toward a couple of seats in the corridor. Motioning for Lee to sit, he took another bite of his popsicle before continuing. "Okay. Straight up, I'm concerned." Maintaining eye-contact with Lee, he sighed as compassion filled his gaze. "She really didn't need this on top of everything else she's been trying to process."
Lee sighed and looked down at his hands. "Yeah."
"She needs some rest, Scarecrow. And I don't just mean physical rest - she needs some emotional rest." He took another bite of the popsicle as he watched Lee's face. "And having her stay at home or in the Q-Bureau won't do it if she knows you're out there in danger. You know that, right?"
Lee nodded slowly before looking back up at the man who was trying to help his precious wife put her life back together. "What am I supposed to do, Doc?"
Dr. Pfaf shook his head. "I'm sorry, Scarecrow. You know it doesn't work that way. I can't tell you what to do. But..." He leaned forward and, resting his elbows on his knees, turned his face toward Lee. "...if you and Amanda need a third person to help you talk through your options, I'd be happy to be that person." Dr. Pfaf watched as Lee nodded his head. "Scarecrow," he waited for Lee to turn and look at him. "Amanda's a strong woman. Really strong. But the past fourteen months have been vicious. If something were to happen to you or to this baby, I'm not sure how well she'd ever put the pieces back together." His eyes drilled into Lee's. "You know what I mean?"
"You're not pulling any punches, are you, Doc?"
"She doesn't need me to pull punches, Lee." The forgotten popsicle dripped onto the floor. "She needs me to tell it to you straight up."
Lee looked at him a moment, absorbing the graveness of expression. He nodded his head. "I hear you, Doc."
Sweetheart…" Lee came into the room quietly and smiled when she turned toward him.
She reached her out arms, and in two strides he was sitting on the edge of her bed and pulling her in close to his heart. Her arms went around his back and brushed the gauze covering his fresh burns. He sucked in a breath.
Amanda let go abruptly and pulled away quickly enough to see the pain slice across his features. "You're hurt!"
He smiled, laid his hands gently on either side of her face and kissed her despite the tenderness of his swollen lip. "I'm fine." He leaned his forehead against hers. "I just got a little scorched by the first blast. It'll heal."
"You've had a rough couple of days." She reached up and touched his bruised cheek with the back of her fingers.
"I'm fine as long as you're fine."
"Oh, I know…" Amanda smiled at him knowingly. "…tough guy. What did the doctor say about your burns?"
Lee shrugged. "They're first and second-degree burns, so he cleaned them, put cream on them, and covered them. We'll have to change the dressing every day, and my showers will be cold for a while. It hurts..." He chuckled depreciatively. "...but what doesn't right now."
"Aww. Poor Lee."
Lee stroked her hair back from her face. "He gave me some cream to take home…" He grinned. "…maybe you can help me with the hard-to-reach spots?"
"You betcha, Big Fella." Relieved they were both safe, she leaned in for another kiss.
"Alright, Mrs. Stetson," a technician came in with the ultrasound machine. "You ready to check out this little one of yours?"
Amanda smiled at Lee as she spoke to the technician. "Absolutely."
"I'm glad we got home before Mother and the boys." Amanda walked into the den and put her purse down beside the couch. "I really don't want to have to explain our ruined clothing."
Lee chuckled and shook his head. "You know, before I moved in here, I really had no idea whatsoever about the hoops you had to jump through with your family in order to keep your work at the Agency a secret." He lifted her feet up onto the couch as she sat down. "Can I get you anything?"
"You're doing it again."
"What?" Lee lifted both his hands, palms up and shrugged. "What am I doing again?"
"Treating me like fragile china." She put her feet back down on the floor. "The doctor said both the baby and I are fine."
"Amanda," Lee rolled his eyes and sat down on the coffee table. "The doctor also said he wants you to stay off your feet as much as possible for the rest of the day."
"Yes, 'as much as possible'."
Lee sighed and took her hand in his. "I wish you would let me take care of you."
"Sweetheart," Amanda sat forward and looked deeply into his eyes. "If I'm not mistaken, you saved my life three times in a matter of minutes today. What do you call that if not taking care of me?"
Acutely aware of his miscalculation concerning the threat level, Lee pressed his lips together. Going into that wasn't going to get them anywhere in this conversation; she would just argue with him. "Fine." He huffed out a breath. "But would you please just humor me for the rest of the day?"
Amanda looked into his eyes for another moment then sighed and lifted her feet back onto the couch. "I'd love some milk."
Smiling, Lee leaned over to kiss her. "Now that wasn't so hard, was it?"
"Excruciating."
Lee chucked and started into the kitchen when the phone rang. "I got it." Still smiling, he picked up the receiver. "King residence…Oh, hey, Billy…Yeah, we got home just few minutes ago…No, the doc says they're both fine; he just wants her to rest for the remainder of the day, so I was going to stay home with her and try to do some work from here…Yeah, I know. And he was really the only witness we had who seemed willing to speak out. Hey, listen. Do we have an ID yet on the guy I shot? Hmmm. Interesting…" Lee looked over at Amanda. "Yeah, I'll tell her…Sure, Billy. See you tomorrow."
"What'd Billy have to say?"
Lee turned to get the milk out of the refrigerator and poured it into a glass. "Well…" He came back into the den and handed it to her. "…it seems our hitman, a guy by the name of Trevor Clayton, is a fixer for a well-known law firm in town."
"He's not much of a fixer, then. Seems pretty risky to throw Molotov Cocktails into a house in broad daylight." Amanda took a long swig of her milk.
Lee sat on the coffee table again and studied her. "Yeah, I know." Out of habit, he rubbed his lower lip and winced. "Unless he's familiar with the neighborhood and knows everyone is gone during the day?"
"Still seems dangerous. Even if everyone works during the day, you never know when someone might be home at an unusual time." She took another drink. "Could it be he was new to the job?"
"Possibly, though I'm not sure how knowing that helps us."
"Well, it probably doesn't. I'm just trying to verbally process how a fixer for a well-known law firm makes that kind of mistake. Unless…" She lifted her finger as her mind started connecting the dots. "…Benjamin wasn't his only target."
Shocked by the thought, Lee whipped his gaze to hers. "I think I want to find out how long Mr. Clayton has been on the payroll for this law firm." He leaned over and kissed her. "You're brilliant, Mrs. Stetson."
She smiled and looked at her watch. "And now this brilliant Mrs. Stetson thinks we better get upstairs and change before Mother gets home with the boys."
He gave her a suggestive grin. "How long do we have?"
"About an hour," she smiled. "You thinking I could help you with those hard-to-reach spots?"
He held out his hand to her. "You read my mind. My only concern is that you were supposed to rest."
"I'm supposed to stay off my feet." She took his hand and let him pull her up off the couch. "I don't plan on being on my feet."
