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Amanda Parker, pulled the black cashmere coat, tighter against her body and resisted the urge to rub her leather gloved hand against each other to make the blood circulation going. Ruefully she admitted that she should have chosen a pair of thicker gloves to wear, but foolish sense of fashion ruled that option out for her. She wondered if women were always going to let their looks rule over common sense in the way they dressed? Not that she think that applied to every woman, but mostly nine out of ten women opted to look chic and freeze than slightly ridiculous and warm.
The sound of laughter as children as well as some grownups skated through the coated ice in the middle of the park, made her cast aside her foolish thoughts and concentrate on her work. Not that she was sure yet why she was here. It was not as if she did not have enough work to keep her busy back at the apartment she had just recently sub-leased. She already got all the facts she needed of her case. Not that it was much.
Maybe it was because of the lack of information that she had opted to take a break from her research and a stroll at the park this afternoon. She wanted to take a closer look at her object and hope that maybe somehow she can puzzle out why the woman was placed together among a group of influential men. The others she could understand and even work out several motives. The woman though stayed as an enigma. Neither Amanda nor the other at the agency, could come up with an explanation.
Amanda did not like puzzles. Sure she had stumbled across several of those over the years, nothing new in her line of work. That did not mean that she liked them any better. This frustrating assignment was turning out to be one big puzzle and personal feelings aside, she was going to solve it.
Pretending to be enjoying watching the many ice-skaters roaming on the ice, Amanda let her eyes casually follow the moves of a small girl dressed in a black thick cashmere coat, not much unlike the style she was wearing herself, as she floated across the ice as if she was born there. Her moves were graceful and economic, yet without loosing the beauty of the dance. Despite herself, Amanda was impressed. She knew for a fact that the girl was barely seven years old, born in fact on the day before Christmas eve, which was still a couple of week left. This was the first time she was on ice and yet she moved with a reassurance and grace of a veteran ice-skater. She wondered if the girl came by that naturally.
Just then as if Amanda�s thoughts had prompted the girl to move, the little girl swirled around and started moving gracefully back towards her mother, who was waiting patiently by the side-rings. The woman was wearing an expensive looking mink, that was much to gaudy for Amanda's taste. The brown looking mink coat, did nothing to flatter the woman's coloring, rather it enhanced the woman's mousiness. It was, Amanda knew, a strange adjective to use, but it applied very well towards her object as far as she was concerned.
Ellen McCarthy, was a small thing, barely five feet four. With a plain honest place, that fairly screamed of suburban upbringing. Her hair was plain brown and pulled back in a much too strict bun behind her. Actually if it were not for her clothes, that set her off from the rest of the crowd here, she would have easily been forgotten or gone unnoticed. The pride in her eyes when she looked at her daughter was not anything different than all the other women were casting at their respective children.
So why? Why was she among the list? If years of well training was not in her backbone, Amanda would have scowled with frustration and started marching back and forth. As it was now she was feeling impatience bubbling inside her like a geyser about to explode, though looking at the elegant face one would never expect it.
Not for the first time, the thought that this was just another wild goose chase set out by a man whom in her book was as dependable as a former KGB, came up in her mind. That was what you get when you paid for information from an unknown source. As if they did not have enough to do as it was, short handed as they were. But she knew better than to voice it aloud. She was given her assignment and until she was told otherwise, she was to stick with it until the very end.
The girl, Carmen McCarthy, gave a delighted laughter and waved enthusiastically at her mother. She made a quick elegant maneuver with a double spin on the ice, for which she was rewarded by a warm clapping of hands from her devoted fan/mother.
It was a sweet scene, but Amanda was not paid to watch sweet scenes between a devoted mother and an adoring child, as they each showed their affection for each other. Casting a glance at the slim watch adorning her wrist, she recognized it was time for her to get back to her place. She had just enough time to finish her report and send it to headquarter before she had to get ready for the party tonight. Since she doubted that her target will make his move in a crowded place like this and Ellen McCarthy and her daughter had enough protection from the bear-like bodyguard standing only few feet away from the woman, Amanda turned and started to walk away from the ice-plane, heading for the exit towards the street where her car was parked not far away.
If they had not been sent on a wild goose chase, he will make his move tonight at the party and she will be there to stop him once and for all.
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