It's In The Mail Part 1/5
By: Nectar99
Disclaimer: These characters don’t belong to me. They belong to WB, and Shoot The Moon Productions.
Rating: PG
Timeline: This is set in the early part of the third season. Breaks canon, and A.U.
Summary: Amanda is getting threatening notes from an unwanted admirer and enlists help from Billy.
I’d like to thank all my betas for sticking this one out with me, even though I tortured you with one chapter at a time!! I hope I didn’t destroy any prominent names here!! Thanks again.
The warm spring breeze cascaded throughout the King household. Amanda had opened every window, allowing as much light and fresh air as possible. The smell of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies was evident in the kitchen. The school bake sale was to start on Monday and since proceeds were going to provide the school with much needed athletic equipment, Amanda was quick to volunteer.
With three minutes to spare before the next batch of cookies were to come out of the oven, Amanda headed out the front door to greet the mailman. Even on Saturdays, she seemed to be able to time him to the minute. Right on cue, she greeted Mr. Kinsey and happily retrieved the mail.
Once inside, she sorted through the bills, coupons, and personal letters. Just as she was about to open an unmarked letter, the timer went off alerting her that the cookies were done. Amanda made quick work of removing them from the tray and setting them aside to cool. She quickly returned to the unopened mail, rather curious about the unmarked letter. She unfolded the letter and began to read.
|
Dear Amanda, I've been watching you for quite sometime now and I really like what I see. Your beauty, grace, and style are only a few things that make you so irresistible to me. I strongly suggest that you lose the boyfriend with the hot rod silver sports car, or I'll have to make him permanently disappear. If you mention this note to anyone, I'll definitely be following up this note with a house call sooner than I anticipate. Love Eternally, xxxx |
Feeling rather violated, Amanda ran towards the front window, and carefully scanned the area. Her heart was beating rapidly, and her hands were trembling. ‘Thank goodness Mother and the boys aren’t here,’ she thought with such relief. Running through the house, Amanda closed and locked every door and window. Even though the letter wasn’t seriously threatening, she knew she had to take things seriously in her line of work.
Amanda sat on the couch to relax. Her mind wandered through every case she had ever been involved with. She wasn’t even sure if this was agency related, but she had to get to the bottom of it. Her family was due home shortly, so Amanda carefully hid the note in her top dresser drawer. Amanda realized she had to tell someone, even if it meant keeping it from Lee for now. He was the one she wanted to run and share this with, but she was concerned about his safety above her own. Someone had obviously been watching the house or following her to make the assumption that she and Lee were dating. Thinking of her family’s safety, Amanda decided that she would share the information with Billy on Monday morning.
The weekend went by slowly and by the time Monday finally did roll around Amanda was up at the crack of dawn. She loaded up the cookies in the station wagon to take to school.
“Phillip, Jamie, come on fellas, were going to be late,” she hollered from the front door.
“Coming, Mom,” they replied in unison, reluctant to leave their drinks on the counter.
After dropping off the boys and the cookies at school, Amanda made a beeline to the Agency. It was nearly 8:00 a.m., and she wanted to speak to Billy before Lee arrived. She greeted Mrs. Marston with a quick hello, retrieved her badge, and headed up to the bullpen.
Billy nodded for her to enter his office. Once inside, Amanda stood before him with a serious expression on her face, and folded her hands across her chest.
“Good morning, Amanda. What brings you here this early?” Billy inquired.
“Good morning, Sir. I need to talk to you about a somewhat private matter…and I just want to keep this between you and me, I mean not even…. Lee,” she replied hesitantly.
Billy sat forward, leaning his elbows on the desk. His forehead creased when he began to speak. “What’s going on, Amanda?” He asked.
“I received this letter Saturday, and it’s quite disturbing,” Amanda replied, placing the letter on Billy’s desk.
Billy read the letter carefully and placed in back down on the desk. “Amanda, this could be any number of things, but I don’t see why you want to keep this from Lee.”
“Sir, I have enough to worry about at home with me and my family. I can’t imagine anybody that I know in my day-to-day life who could possibly be responsible for this, so this must be agency related. I don’t want to get Lee involved in the middle of this right now, and I am scared for my family,” she pleaded.
“I still think you should tell Lee about this, Amanda,” Billy tried to convince her.
“I cant, so please just trust me on this one, Sir.”
Billy finally relented and gave in to her. He knew how good Amanda’s instincts generally were, so he decided to play it her way for now. “I’ll post two agents at your house. Don Collins and Rick Gushock will be right over; so don’t worry about that right now. What cases have you and Lee been working?” Billy questioned.
Amanda shrugged her shoulders as she spoke, “we’re not working on anything right now, and the last two weeks haven’t been that busy at all.
“Well in any case I want you to go over your cases for the last few weeks and report back to me. I’ll keep this from Lee for now, but I don’t know how long you can keep him from getting suspicious. Oh, and let me take care of this letter. I want the boys downstairs to have a crack at it.”
Amanda nodded in agreement. She thanked Billy before stepping out of the office. Replacing her sullen expression with a happy facade, Amanda went up to the Q-Bureau to review old case files. As she opened the door, Lee greeted her.
“Good morning, Amanda. How are you?” Lee happily inquired.
“Fine Lee, and you?” She retorted, broadening her smile.
“I’m good,” he replied, silently noting the word “fine.” “So, where were you this morning? I mean I uh..heard you were downstairs. Is everything okay?” He asked hesitantly.
Amanda continued to smile, as she began walking toward the vault. “Everything is just fine, Lee.”
Lee watched her disappear into the vault, and he let out a deep sigh. ‘One fine from Amanda King was a rarity, but two was another story.’ Lee pondered. He decided to let it go for now, but made a mental note to check into it with Billy.
Sorting through file after file, Amanda had managed to successfully compile a list from the entire previous month. She was startled when she looked up to find Lee staring at her.
“Hey there, would you like to go have some lunch?” Lee asked, smiling with a devilish grin. Lee couldn’t help but notice how great Amanda’s legs were, especially when he viewed her from a side profile. She wore a flowing lightweight white fabric skirt and a pink button down short sleeve blouse, tucked in revealing her slim curves.
Amanda was almost mesmerized when she looked at him. He stood before her wearing a dark blue suit, with a white button down shirt and a pastel tie that seemed to accentuate his entire outfit. “I..uh..can’t today, Lee. I have plans, but maybe another day,” she replied, trying to sound hopeful for the future.
Lee wasn’t prepared for her reaction. “Oh…uh, well okay then,” he replied, somewhat dejected. “How about I stop by tonight, and we have some dinner?” He asked quietly.
“No, Lee, I mean….not tonight. I’m helping the boys with a science project that is due tomorrow. Can I take a rain check?”
Lee closed the distance between them, and took a hold of both of her hands, caressing her fingers with his thumbs. “Amanda, is something bothering you?” He questioned, wondering why she seemed somewhat distant.
Amanda grasped his hands for emphasis, and stated, “Everything is just fine, Lee.”
Amanda made it home in time to greet the mailman on her front porch. “Good afternoon, Mr. Kinsey,” she greeted him.
“Good afternoon, Mrs. King. Here’s your mail” he happily replied.
Amanda thanked him and clutched the mail in her hands. She unlocked the front door, and called out for her Mother. After a few moments without hearing any kind of response, Amanda realized she was alone. Glancing out the front window, Amanda eyed the two “construction workers” working on the street. She felt safe at that moment, and decided to sort through the mail. When she came across a letter with no return address, Amanda dropped it on the counter as if it was a hot potato. After a few moments, she finally mustered up the courage to open it. She let out a gasp when she recognized the familiar eerie writing.
| Dear Amanda, You look so beautiful in that white shirt and pink blouse. I can almost imagine how wonderful you taste. I strongly suggest getting your family out of the way, or I will do it for you. I also want to let you know that if I even spot a glimpse of that silver corvette near your house, Lee Stetson is a dead man! Eternally, xxxx |
Amanda was now shaking, trying to control the tears that threatened to flow. She felt so violated in her own home and was afraid for her family. This person knew Lee, and that worried her even more. This could be a professional killer, as opposed to a semi-harmless local obsessed nut.
After taking another half an hour to reapply the makeup that had been lost, Amanda cautiously got into her car to return to the agency. She strolled in and retrieved her badge without even greeting Mrs. Marston. In a matter of moments, the elevator stopped, and she exited, in route to Billy’s office.
After conversing with Billy, it was decided that Amanda’s family should definitely move to a safer location. She made a few calls to set everything up for the next two weeks. Amanda called home from his office, happy that her Mother was finally there. “Hello, Mother, I need you to do something for me.”
“Sure, Amanda, what do you need?” Dotty happily replied, always ready to help out whenever she could.
“I’m sorry, Mother, about this short notice but I’m having the house fumigated. I thought I saw a termite this morning and called the fumigator to check it out. They want to put the tent on later today, and may have to do a second treatment. We’ll need to be out of the house for two weeks,” Amanda announced.
“Two weeks?!” Dotty questioned, unsure of the predicament. “Where are we going to go for two weeks, Amanda?”
“Don’t worry, Mother. I called Aunt Edna, and she’d be happy to have you and the boys at her house,” Amanda informed her.
“Wait just a minute. Where are you going to be staying, Amanda?” Dotty curiously asked.
“Well, I’m kind of going to be working with the fumigators, Mother. I mean I will have to unlock the door and let them in and out, and pay them when they are finished with the job. I also need to be here incase they need to do it again in another week, Mother,” Amanda rambled on.
Dotty was reluctant to agree, but finally gave in. “Alright, I’ll get packing. What time will you be home tonight?” She inquired.
“I’ll be there around four o’clock. That should give us an hour or so together before you have to leave.”
Amanda was silent when she hung up the phone. She looked over at Billy and shook her head back and forth. “I just hate lying to my Mother, Sir,” she uttered.
“I know you do, but it’s for the best right now. Did you have a chance to go over your latest case files for me?” Billy inquired. He realized that the note was from an individual that needed serious help, and his concern grew by the minute.
“I’m almost finished, Sir. I’ll go gather the information, and bring it back here before I leave,” Amanda replied, trying to display a small smile of encouragement.
Lee witnessed part of the scene from the Bullpen. He wondered what was going on behind closed doors, and decided to try to talk to Francine to get some answers. “Hey Francine, how’s it going?” He thought he’d try the suave approach.
Francine could read him like a book. “It’s going just great, Lee, and before you ask I have no idea why your little “housewife” turned spy is in Billy’s office,” she replied hastily.
“That’s enough, Francine! Amanda has more…..nevermind. It’s pointless trying to talk to you,” he hissed.
Francine ignored his harsh tone, and resumed her duties before Lee disturbed her. ‘He wants me,’ she thought to herself, stifling a small giggle.
When Lee returned to the Q-Bureau, Amanda was already in the vault sorting files. He had to know what was going on. He spoke to Billy after she left his office, but Billy wouldn’t bite. ‘Why isn’t she talking to me?’ He asked himself, wondering if he had done something to upset her. Lee couldn’t stand it any longer.
“Amanda, what is going on?” He loudly questioned, wearing a very serious expression on his face.
Amanda was shocked by his overall appearance, and his tone of voice. “Lee, I don’t know what you mean,” she replied, trying not to meet his gaze.
“Talk to me, please. I know something is going on, Amanda. I want to help, but I can’t if you shut me out,” he replied softly.
“The shoe is definitely on the other foot now,” she responded, evading his question.
“Please, Amanda,” he begged her to talk. ‘Wow, this is the first time I’ve ever insisted that she talk,’ Lee thought.