Chapter 3
The ride back to Nancy’s place had been filled with conversation that centered mostly on Lee's own personal life. As he opened the door to her side of the car, he shook his head at the ability the woman had to open him up. They hadn't really discussed anything important, just things he enjoyed doing when he wasn't chasing "the bad guys." Things like how much he enjoyed riding horses, and his interest in fast cars.
Unlocking the door to her home, she gestured for him to enter. "Would you like a nightcap?"
"Yeah, that’d be great." Lee shoved his hands in his pocket and headed into the comforts of her home.
Nancy smiled at his boyish features. They reminded her so much of her own true love from so long ago. Sighing at the thoughts, she removed her coat and headed for the kitchen. "I'm a hot chocolate kinda’ girl myself. You want some?"
Lee nodded as he headed for the antique couch. "Sure."
She was already starting to walk towards her kitchen in anticipation of his acceptance. "Take your coat off, Lee."
Shrugging his broad shoulders from the confining black jacket, he carefully placed it on the arm of the couch and began to loosen his tie. His eyes fell, once again, to the picture on the coffee table. Moving his gaze from that one, he looked up at the picture of the man and Nancy above the mantel, and then began to glance around at the other pictures that covered the room. As his eyes scanned the photographs, he noted that none contained the man in question at an older age. He stood to investigate the pictures further, just to make sure that he just wasn't seeing him in any of the other photos, as her earlier words of warnings crept into his mind.
Nancy watched with interest as she leaned against her kitchen door. 'He has so much to learn, my love.' Hearing the whistle of the boiling water, she turned to go back into the kitchen.
Lee’s head turned at the same noise and caught a glimpse of the shining lavender gown she had worn that night. His curiosity about the woman grew with each passing minute. He made a mental note to pull the file on her when he returned back to the office the next morning.
The thoughts of the office reminded him of the trace he had wanted to place on Amanda's "friend’s" tags. Returning to the couch, he looked back at the young Amanda in the photograph. Nancy returned to the room, carrying a small tray that contained their hot beverage. "I took a chance that you're a marshmallow kinda’ man."
Lee's dimples deepened as he felt himself relaxing again. "I haven't had cocoa since my mother used to make it."
Taking a seat beside him, she handed him his mug. "I used to make it for my Mark." Nodding towards the photo that Lee had been studying over the mantel, she continued, "In fact, I was know in my circle of friends as the ‘Cocoa Queen,’ but I only shared my secret recipe with my best friend."
Lee was dying to pry a little deeper into her life, but was afraid if he pushed too hard she would avoid the subject much as she had done before. Bringing the chocolate to his lips, he sighed in contentment as he swallowed. "Exactly like mom's."
Nancy placed her cup on the table beside the picture that had caught Lee’s attention earlier in the evening then picked up the silver frame. "You know Amanda King is a truly remarkable woman."
Lee remained quiet, waiting for her to continue as he settled back into the soft cushions of the couch.
Nancy placed her index finger lovingly on the image of the older man in the bunch. "Mark loved her very much." She stopped and looked up at Lee with laughter in her eyes. "Even if she did talk him to death at times."
Lee almost spit the cocoa he was about to swallow out of his mouth, the moment that comment had reached his ears.
Placing her hand on his back, she patted him gently. "Are you all right?"
Lee stiffened a little at the gesture. It had been a long time since he had allowed himself to become this vulnerable to another. Erecting his emotional walls securely back in place, he smiled at her. "I'm fine."
Nancy narrowed her eyes as she recognized the look in his. She had seen it so many times in her own mirror over the years, before she met Mark. "You know Amanda would have enjoyed tonight. She loves to dance up a storm." She noticed his lack of response, and his intense stare on the pictures that covered her walls. Relaxing back against the couch a little further, she looked down at the picture in her hand. "She really was disappointed that she couldn't go with you, but she couldn't break her plans."
Lee rolled his eyes at the statement then stood. Placing his mug on the table, he began to pace the room. "Yeah. . . I'm sure."
Titling her head slightly to study his motions, her smile returned. "She's a complex woman, Lee."
He stopped in front of another picture of the Mark, pondering Nancy's statement. 'She's a mother, housewife, not to mention—aggravating, annoying…and she talks too much. I’d hardly say she's complex.'
Nancy could almost hear his thoughts as she looked into his eyes. Sighing at his lack to see beyond his first impression of people, she stood and moved to stand behind him. "Perhaps, you should get to know her better before you make any assumptions about her."
Lee snapped his body around at her words and found himself looking into the face of a very serious woman. "She's a lot more than just a housewife."
Nancy left him standing there stunned by her harsh tone as she picked up the mugs and headed for the kitchen. Moments later she returned with the same sweet smile she had held for the majority of the evening. "It's late, Lee."
Lee now stood by the couch with his coat in hand. "Yeah. I guess I should get this tape to the Agency."
Nancy followed him to the door and opened it for him. "I enjoyed myself tonight."
Lee agreed wholeheartedly as he took her soft hand in his and gave it a light kiss. "I did as well. Thank you for such a lovely evening." He looked down at their hands as he felt her place a small scrap of paper in his hand.
"Perhaps this will help you understand things better."
Lee looked down at her with questioning eyes as she began to close the door. She only smiled up at him as the door slide closed. "Good night, Scarecrow."
His eyes immediately darted from the paper in his hand to the woman who had used his code-name. "What?" He found that his question was asked to a closed door. Shrugging his shoulders back into his jacket, he placed the note in his pocket; he’d read it once he was back in his car.
Getting into his car, he pulled out the note, letting the low glow of the streetlights illuminated the paper that he held in his hands. Unfolding the edges of the crinkled paper, he found only an address written in small cursive letters. Lee studied the numbers for a moment before starting his car and heading in the direction stated.
Fifteen minutes later, Lee was standing at the end of a D.C. street, in front of a small brick building, which sat somewhat separated from the other buildings. Discarding his coat in the car, the warm night air, and the fall breeze, whisked through his thin white shirt. His eyes had immediately observed Amanda’s car amongst the other cars parked in the lot as soon as he had pulled into the area.
Shoving his hands into his pockets, his eyes studied the plaque that hung outside the white double doors that led inside.
"This building is dedicated to a great man, Mark Kametz. His passion for life, and his need to better the world brought happiness and new beginnings to many people. This establishment is a dream that he never got to see while he walked amongst us, but we are sure he looks down from heaven each day with a smile on his face."
To the love of my life, and to the four young lives that tried to make a difference in the world the summer of 1971. Dedicated by Nancy Gultch.
Lee stepped back a step from the monument as a shiver went down his spine. Looking up at the words that were etched into the building, he began to realize what Nancy had been referring to. His attention was drawn to the doors as he heard a wave of applause, and then the sound of footsteps approaching.
Retreating to his car, which he had carefully parked in the shadows of the building, he watched the mixture of people leave the building. His eyes locked on one particular brunette, who was holding the hand of a teenage girl as they made their way to the Station Wagon. He continued to watch as hugs, laughs, and handshakes occurred amongst the departing group.
Amanda wiped what appeared to be tears from the young girl’s eyes with her fingertips before they climbed into the now running Station Wagon. Sliding down further into his seat, he felt a pang of regret for his earlier assumptions regarding Amanda King. 'Perhaps Nancy was right. Maybe there is more to Amanda King than just what you see at first glance.'
Lee waited until all the cars left the lot before starting his own engine and heading for home. He slowed before the building, ducking his head down to look out the window at the sign that hung on the building. "Kametz Home For Those Lost In The World Of Drugs And Violence. Let Us Help You."
Pulling to the edge of the parking lot, he stopped as he looked up and down the street before pulling out. He sat there, lost in his own thoughts, for a few moments before realizing what he was doing. Watching the familiar station wagon drive into the darkness of the streets, Lee shook his head at the thoughts running through his mind. "Will I ever understand that woman?"
Shifting gears, he pulled out into the street and headed for home, only to find himself sitting outside a white house with a picket fence, watching Amanda waving her "goodbyes" before closing the door behind her. "Well, maybe I understand more about her now, than I did this morning."
As the last lights were turned off in the King home, Lee headed for the Agency to give the cassette to Billy. Turning his Porsche away from Maplewood Avenue, new thoughts of Amanda King and Nancy Gultch filled his mind. "I'm definitely going to have to do a little more investigating into this side of Amanda, even if we don’t ever "work" together again. I’m very curious to know how she fits into the life of Nancy Gultch."
The fire licked at the edges of the rocks embedded in the fireplace as Nancy Gultch pulled old photographs, one by one, from the tattered blue velvet box. It had been years since she had opened the box full of memories. Thinking back to the last time that she had used the old photographs for comfort, her heart saddened. It had been a few weeks after Mark had died before she finally let herself grieve for his loss, and looked back at their past together through the photos. She had always thought that one of them would have lost their lives in the line of duty, not because of a careless mistake of a fifteen-year-old child.
Mark had been on his way to pick up Carter Thompson to take him to his weekly therapy meeting for his drug addiction. Carter had pulled through the physical aspects of what the "disease" drugs had put into his life, but he still had emotional problems to deal with. A tear ran down her cheek as she remembered thinking how glad she was that Mark was fortunate to have died so quickly. According to the coroner’s report, Mark had died instantly from a fatal gunshot wound to the heart.
Closing her eyes at the thought of his death, she remembered Carter’s cries of apologies to her the day of Mark’s funeral. "I didn’t know the thing was loaded. I’m so sorry, Ms. Gultch. One of the neighborhood guys talked me into using some ‘new’ type of drug and I felt so good. . . so on top of the world. I didn’t even realize that I had the gun pointed at Mr. Kametz until I heard the shot fire off. Forgive me! Please?"
Shaking the haunting words from her mind, she picked up one of her favorite pictures. The wide-eyed three year old, whom her best friend in life held in her arms, smiled brightly at the camera for his picture to be taken with his "mommy." A new set of tears began to slide down her cheek as she touched the photograph gently. Her and Jennifer had grown to be friends when the Stetsons had moved into her neighborhood all those years ago.
She laughed out loud as she remembered the surprised look on all four of their faces when they had met together for an "information exchange." Neither of the two couples realized that they all worked for the government—fate had put them together that night. They had laughed and shared secrets over wine and dinner, each telling their own stories about how they had come to work in the world of espionage. "Oh, Jennifer, he’s grown into quite a man. He’s so handsome, and though he tries to hide behind the mask of the "Great Scarecrow," your young boy is still there."
Replacing the photo carefully back into its home she pulled out another—this one was of two men proudly standing side by side. "And your rock in life, Matthew, is stronger than ever. He’s made one fine agent." Wiping the new tears that formed on her face she looked to the other man in the photo. "Oh, Mark. Why didn’t we take the same chance to be happy as Matthew and Jennifer did? We could have had a child together…one that would be here with me now. To carry on your dreams…"
The photo dropped to the floor with the quietness of a feather as her hand fell to the side. "They didn’t let their ‘secret lives’ stop them from being happy. They took the chance." Balling her hands into fists, she tried to breathe evenly in order to regain her composure. She glanced up at the man smiling down at her from above the mantel. "Because we were afraid after they died. Weren’t we, Mark? We were afraid that we would end up much the same way if we ever got married and went public with our love for each other. It was safer for the outside world to think of us as just friends. . .co-workers. I guess we thought that it was better not to bring a child into this world who we might not be able to raise, or grow to see adulthood."
Her eyes followed the bright orange spark that jumped from the fire and onto the hearth. She felt a smile forming on her lips as she thought of Lee and Amanda King. Amanda had many of the same qualities that Lee’s own mother had had. Strong, smart, caring, loving, trusting, and never letting anyone escape from her love, she so openly offered, without a fight.
Amanda had proved that she wouldn’t allow anyone to push her away. Her determination shone brightly when she went to visit Carter in prison after his trial and sentencing for the Mark’s murder. She visited him weekly, helping him deal with his own guilt and pain. Her efforts had caused the once lost young man to become a prominent member of society once he had re-entered the outside world.
Amanda, along with the other three teenagers, had refused to let her wallow in her grief after Mark's death. They had kept her busy all summer long, forcing her to help them with their normal activities of helping drug addicted kids come clean. She thanked them to this day for pushing her to continue onward with her life as Mark would have wanted her to do. They had started collecting funds that summer to build Mark's dream. She had finally been able to build a place for children to go, when they had nowhere else to go, and no one else to turn to in 1979. When it opened, it had quickly become, and still was today, the wonderful place Mark had dreamed of. It gave kids a place to go in order to get the help they needed for their drug abuse, and any other problems society threw their way.
Bending to retrieve the mauve afghan that had fallen to the floor, she placed it over her lap, then began to rock back and forth in motion with the chair. Her thoughts, once again, focused on the four teenagers. They had helped eleven children that summer come to terms with their "problems" and start fresh.
The group of teenagers had all moved on with their lives after that summer of ‘71, but not before they had inadvertently helped her to decide to return to her "secret life" that fall. She had thought of quitting the "spy" business to concentrate more on helping "lost souls," but her government job would, and did, help to put many of the villains that caused pain in these young lives in jail.
Amanda had been the second woman in her life that she considered one of her best friends. She had seen a great potential in Amanda to become an agent for the government after college, but kept her thoughts to herself when Amanda had told her about Joe. They slowly lost contact after she and Joe were married. Amanda stayed busy helping her new husband gain his law degree, and then she had children of her own to protect from the outside world. The world of secrets that she would have offered Amanda back then would not have fit into the world she had chosen to live in. Laughing at the irony of Amanda now becoming involved in such a life, she looked over at the innocent girl in the picture on the coffee table.
She continued to substitute teach in French classes throughout the D.C. area. She saw this as a way to be near the students that needed help, and at the same time, she was able to use it as an effective cover for her true profession. Her laughter continued at the thought of the term "true profession."
As a young graduate, fresh out of college, she had planned on immediately becoming a French teacher at the local high school, but her plans were quickly changed when she was offered the position of a translator for the French Consulate. The high pay that the job offered would allow her to become independent from her dominating father. Her mother had died bringing her into the world, and her father blamed her for her mother’s death until the day he took his last breath.
Sighing at her next thoughts, she continued on in her trip into the past. Shortly after her father died, she was attending one of the President’s diplomatic parties. It was at that party when she had met Mark. He was already a full-fledged agent for the government, and he was there on security duty. His dimpled smile, and dashing appearance, had swept her off her feet at first sight. They began to date a short time after that night, and she eventually fell into the world of espionage by helping him from time to time with "milk run" assignments. As the months went by her talents at becoming a government agent shined threw and he had convinced her to join him in his work on a more full time basis.
"We were wrong, Mark. We of all people should have realized that it’s important to take chances in life." Closing the lid on the memories within her box, she stood and walked to her bedroom. Placing the box into its hiding place in her closet, she closed the door and prepared for bed.
Thoughts of the penetrating eyes of her godson filled her mind as she slipped into bed. Maybe fate was giving the Stetson family another chance at life by pushing Amanda King into the life of Lee Stetson. She laughed at the thought of Lee dealing with Amanda King over the years to come. He would definitely change his ways if he stayed around her for very long.
Rolling onto her side, she promised herself not to allow too much time to pass before she saw Lee again. She had made a promise to his mother to watch over him, and she had kept that promise, the best she could, from a distance. Perhaps, it was time to get involved a little more involved. She would be darned if she let the Agency take control of his emotions, too. No, Lee would not die a lonely man—not if she could help it. It wasn’t until Mark was gone that she realized the special bond they had shared. She was definitely not going to let Lee do the same thing, if he ever found his true soul mate in life.
He would understand what life had to offer in the upcoming years. Smiling as her eyes drifted closed, she began to slip into slumber with the thoughts of the role Amanda King would play in helping Lee understand the type of happiness life had to offer.
The End
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.