Too Close to Home: A Scarecrow and Mrs. King Continuing Story - Book 2

Chapter 24

Thursday Morning, Day 10

Q-Bureau

"You know..." Amanda looked up to see Lee coming through the vault door, coffee mug in hand. "...last time I looked, it was only 7:30 in the morning, and here you are already up, dressed, and hard at work behind that cursed box." He gestured toward the computer with his mug then brought it to his lips and took a cautious sip.

Amanda smiled. "Good morning, Sweetheart." She stood and walked around Lee's desk to greet him properly. Wrapping her arms around his waist she reached up and planted a chaste kiss on his mouth. "Mmm," She smiled against his lips. "Coffee. I miss coffee."

Chuckling, he encircled her with his free arm and dropped a second, slightly lingering kiss on her lips. Rocking her gently in his arm, he raised his head and perused her face. "I was surprised to find myself alone." He gestured back into the safe room. "I guess Beaman picked up the boys for school..." He cut his sentence short as another thought hit him causing him to lower his eyebrows. "How long have you been up, anyway?"

Amanda fiddled with the knot in his tie. "A while. I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd be better off getting up and doing something productive rather than tossing and turning in bed and keeping you awake."

"Well, thank you for that..."

"You know, you guys almost make me believe true love is possible."

Startled, Lee and Amanda turned at the same time to find Francine poking her head through the office door. "Well, gee, Francine. Thanks for knocking." Lee moved his arm away from his wife and headed over to the coffee pot behind his desk. "Coffee?"

Francine rolled her eyes. "You have to ask?" She sat on the sofa and waited for him to bring the hot beverage to her. Taking a sip, she groaned with pleasure and closed her eyes. "Ah. The only thing better would be chocolate."

"Sorry, Francine." Amanda went back to Lee's desk and sat in the chair. "None of that available right now."

"Oh, that's a shame." Pouting, Francine took another sip and lowered the mug. "Okay, so what's up?"

"Huh?" Lee looked at her, confused by her question.

Taking pity on her husband, Amanda clarified. "I asked her to come up here, Lee. I've found some information I think you two will want to follow up on."

"Well, that got my attention." He lowered his mug from his lips and made his way over to his desk to sit on the edge of it. "What've you got?"

Amanda grabbed a scrap piece of paper from Lee's drawer and a pen from the pencil holder on his desk. She scribbled something on the paper and handed it to him. "Valarie Collins's address."

Francine stood from the sofa and came next to Lee to read the paper in his hand. "Charlottesville." She looked at Amanda. "That's two hours away when the traffic is good. You think we need to go see her?"

Amanda nodded her head. Her her gut said it was important, but Lee had told her all about the beautiful lawyer; she didn't want him to go alone. "Yeah. I do."

"I do, too." Lee leaned over, kissed his wife on the cheek, and looked intently into her eyes. "Do not worry, you hear me?"

"I'm fine." She smiled up at him. "You two go see what you get can out of her."

He looked at her, gauging how honest she was being with him. Satisfied, he turned to Francine. "How soon can you be ready?"

"In about..." She looked at her watch. "...one minute?" Francine looked up and smiled cheekily.