Chapter 10

"Francine, I can't believe you didn't call us immediately," Lee berated as he paced the Q Bureau. "We would've come right over."

Francine dropped her head into her hands, frustrated. "Lee, I told you. There was nothing you could have done. Plus, I knew you and Amanda were probably already in bed."

"That's never stopped you before," he snapped.

"Leatherneck was there with me. Billy sent over a team to process everything. There was nothing more to do." Francine sighed heavily as she peered up at Lee.

From across the office, Amanda asked, "Did they find anything?"

"A partial print. They are running it through the computer now but that could take hours."

Lee stopped pacing and snapped his fingers. "Instead of waiting around here, let's head back to Jonathan's and test Amanda's theory. Maybe we can find some prints of our own."

Francine studied him and slowly raised one eyebrow. "You mean check for fingerprints," she said slowly.

"Fingerprints, footprints, anything else we think might narrow down who's behind this." Lee nodded as he spoke.

Amanda rose from her desk and added, "Billy already told us this is now a full Agency investigation, although nothing has been confirmed yet tying the break-in at your apartment with Jonathan's murder. He just said it was too much of a coincidence to be ignored."

Francine stood quickly, grabbed her purse, and asked, "Then what are we waiting for?"

Without another word, the trio made their way outside to Amanda's car. Several minutes later, they pulled up in front of the townhouse, still guarded by an armed officer.

"Looks like Junior got relieved of his duties, so no aliases this time. We go in as the agents we are," Francine declared.

Lee held his hand up to stop her. "Hang on one second. We can't go in there with badges and guns blazing. This still needs to be done right, especially where there's more at stake."

"More at stake? Lee, nothing's changed from yesterday," Francine disputed angrily.

"Except someone broke into your apartment and trashed the place looking for something," Amanda interjected with a smile.

Francine rolled her eyes dramatically. "Okay, fine. That changed things a little bit."

"I think it changed things more than a little bit," Lee stated with a pointed look.

Francine groaned softly before admitting, "I get it. I do. I just want to find out who's behind all this and end it. Is that asking too much?"

"No, no, it's not. And we are going to get to the bottom of this. But like I said, we need to do it right. So, Amanda and I will be the agents we are, and you–" Lee stopped when Francine raised an eyebrow sharply. "You are going to be the grieving–" He stopped again when she raised her hand.

"Don't say it. Just… don't say it. But I will go along with whatever you think is best." Francine reached for the door handle. "Let's go."

As they approached the officer at the door, Lee tugged his badge out of his pocket. "Hi there. We're with the Agency. We're here with Miss Desmond to inspect the property. She is the executor of Mr. Stone's estate."

The officer glanced at Lee, flicked a cigarette off to the side, then lifted his chin at Amanda. "Where's her badge, Mister… Stetson?"

Amanda held her badge up and smiled. "It's right here. Do you think you could give us an update if anyone else has been here?"

The officer grunted in her direction. "Nah. Nobody but me has been here since I got on duty."

"The housekeeper hasn't come back? The mailman? No one?" Amanda questioned sweetly.

"No one. It's like a ghost town. No one in, no one out. I could be pulling overtime on street details but instead, they have me babysitting the house of some dead guy. Unreal." The officer unlocked the door and pushed it open so hard it thumped off the wall behind it. "Have fun."

"Thank you, officer." Francine stormed between Lee and Amanda, entering the house first.

The officer coughed loudly before yelling, "Don't make a mess in there, either. I'm not your mother, so I'm not gonna go back in and clean up after you." Without waiting for a reply, he stepped away from the door and proceeded to light up another cigarette.

Lee rolled his eyes as he placed his hand on Amanda's lower back and guided her into the house. He closed the door and quietly muttered, "Do you believe the nerve of that guy? And our tax dollars pay his salary."

"And his pays yours, so be quiet," Amanda reprimanded him sternly. She reached into her purse and pulled out a small fingerprint kit. "Let's head right into the office first and see if we can find any fingerprints on the credenza." She took several steps forward but stopped when she noticed Francine staring at a picture on the wall.

Francine stiffened when she felt Amanda's hand on her arm. "Jonathan took that on our last vacation together. He said it always reminded him to look ahead and never look back."

Amanda studied the small image. She was surprised when she realized the picture was of Francine's back as she appeared to be looking out at the ocean sunset. Her face was hidden by a large sun hat.

"I never understood why he took it in the first place. I mean, you can barely tell it's me in the photo…" Francine's voice trailed off.

"Because I think he saw you as his future. You were what he was looking ahead at," Amanda suggested.

Francine reached up and straightened the frame. As she did, a folded slip of paper fell from the back of the frame. Puzzled, she reached down. "I wonder what this is?" She unfolded it and read, "36-27-34."

"Those don't sound like your measurements," Lee joked as he stepped up behind them, earning a backhand to the stomach from Amanda. "What? You don't think that's not what it sounds like?"

"Okay, I'll give it to you, Scarecrow. They do sound like body measurements and you're right, they're definitely not mine but I don't think that's what they are. Jonathan wasn't really in the habit of making notes like this." Francine studied the paper, turning it over several times before shaking her head. "I don't know what it's for."

"I'm sure when the time comes, you'll figure it out. Or something will come to you," Amanda said optimistically. "Right now, though, we should see if we can find some fingerprints."