The Ties That Bind: A Scarecrow and Mrs. King Continuing Story Book 1

Chapter 24

Day 15

Lee pulled his Vette up the driveway to the house and turned off the engine. He sat for a moment, mesmerized. His wife was here. In this very house. He'd gone home to check the video feed so he could try to gauge how she was doing; she didn't look good. He wasn't leaving here today without her.

He blew out a breath as he continued to take stock of the exterior of the house. There was so much that could go wrong. For all he knew, June was planning to poison his food or drink and knock him out. He and Francine had talked about that possibility before she'd left, so he'd had Leatherneck set him up with a watch that not only housed a microphone, but also kept track of his heart rate and respiration. If either dipped below a certain level, it became a whole new operation. Billy, Francine, and Frank would have to come in to take over. He trusted them with his life. More to the point, he trusted them with Amanda's life.

It was time. Lee took a deep breath and pulled the key out of the ignition. He climbed out of the low-slung car, closed and locked the door, and headed up the winding brick sidewalk to the front door.

He didn't even have time to ring the doorbell before the door opened. "Oh, Mr. Stetson! You're here!" June stood aside to sweep her arm toward the entryway. "Welcome. Come on in."

"Thank you." He stepped in and casually looked around. "Nice place you have here."

"Thank you. It belonged to my grandmother." June looked around nostalgically. "It has a lot of memories."

"I bet."

"Here, let me take your jacket." June helped him out of his suit coat and hanged it on a hook near the door. "Follow me."

Lee followed her toward what turned out to be the main part of the house. It was a semi-open floor plan that boasted vaulted ceilings with warm wooden beams that reflected the sunlight coming through the large windows across that back wall of the house. He was going to have a hard time scoping the place out with June able to keep her eyes on him.

"June," he began.

"Yes, Mr. Stetson?"

"It was a long drive out here. Where would I find the little boys' room?"

"Oh, I'll show you." She washed her hands in the kitchen sink and dried them on a towel. "Follow me."

She led the way from the kitchen, through the open dining room, and around the "L" shaped living room to another hallway. Straight ahead was a door, but she motioned for him to go to the right. The bathroom was at the end of the short hallway. "Here you go."

"Thanks." Lee turned, smiled at her, and waited as she went back to the kitchen. Once he heard her there, he turned and looked at the other door. It was not an outside door. The only other outside door he'd seen was in the living room just barely out of June's line of sight. Getting to that was going to be difficult.

He peeked back into the bathroom. Ah, brilliant! There was a small window above the commode that was just big enough for someone to fit through. "There's a small window on the north side of the house next to the living room," Lee whispered into his watch. "I'm going to unlock it. It comes into a bathroom that is in a back hallway." He paused to listen for movement in the hallway, but he could still hear June in the kitchen.

"Going out of the bathroom, there is a door on the right; I'm not sure where it leads, but it would be a place to start. Anything else will be in June's view."

Lee unlocked the window and opened it, flushed the unused toilet, and washed his hands. Now he was going to have to sit back, play a part, and trust his team to find Amanda and help him bring down Fred and June.