~~~

March thirty-first turned out to be one of the best days off Lee had ever spent. He took his fiancée and her boys to the Georgetown Hoya's game. It was
an exciting game with the home team wining at the buzzer, making it into the Elite Eight.

After the game they all piled into the Wagoner for the quick ride to his apartment where they were now all sitting down to a meal he'd cooked.

Over Chicken Kiev, egg noodles and steamed asparagus, Jamie and Phillip replayed the entire basketball game. And, of course, girl-crazy Phillip noted
which of the cheerleaders he thought were hot. He had to admit, the boy had good
taste.

The discussion got pretty heated when the boys disagreed over a call made by
the referee. Since everyone was through eating, Amanda suggested the boys go and watch some television while she'd help him clean up.

He carried the last of the dishes into his small kitchen and Amanda placed them in the dishwasher. She filled the sink with warm sudsy water and began to wash the pots and pans.

He tugged her hands out of the water. "Leave them. I'll take care of it later." He wrapped his arms around her and tugged her close. "Alone at last. I've
waited all day to do this." He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.

She responded by twining her arms around his neck and snuggling closer to him. They lost themselves in each other until the need to breathe became urgent.

"As much as I'd love to continue this, I really should get the boys home. 
Tomorrow is a school day, and I'm sure they have homework to finish up."

Reluctantly, he took her hand and led her back into the living room.

"Okay, fellas, get your stuff. We have to go. There's school in the morning."

He helped Amanda on with her coat. Then walked them down to her car. Leaning in the front window he kissed her goodnight. He stood in the street and
watched as she drove down the block. Once she turned the corner, he walked back to
his apartment and the sink full of pots and pans.

After he washed, dried and put away the cookware, Lee grabbed a beer from the fridge and sat in the living room, and picked up his book. He wanted to finish
the last few chapters before he went to bed.

He really enjoyed the book and had no idea who the killer was until the very
last page of the book. He left it on the table by the door so he'd remember 
to bring it to work for Billy.

Walking through his apartment, he checked to make sure the door and windows 
were locked. He closed his bedroom door and flipped the switch to set his
alarm clock; he too, had an early day tomorrow.

He stripped off his clothes leaving them in a heap on the floor then slipped
between the cool sheets. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

~~~

The annoying buzz of the alarm woke him from an amazing dream. He and Amanda were snuggled together on a beach somewhere. He shut the alarm and staggered from bed to the bathroom. Gosh, he was so tired. Used to be a time, not long ago, where he would be out partying all night and still manage to get to work. Maybe, he needed to exercise more or take some vitamins.

He stood under the hot spray and showered with his eyes still closed. Only opening them to shave.

He donned his bathrobe and went to the kitchen to fix the coffee. While it perked, he went back to the bedroom and made his bed. He picked up his clothes from the night before, and tossed them into the hamper. Going back into the kitchen, he fixed himself a cup of coffee and brought it back into his bedroom
to drink while he dressed.

He swallowed the last sip of caffeine and put the dirty mug in the sink.
Picking up the book for Billy and his car keys, he shut and locked his door
behind him before he left for the office.

~~~

As he drove to the quite streets of his neighborhood he noticed that it was
a little darker out then it normally was. Maybe, it was going to rain. He had a slight headache and didn't turn the radio on so he'd missed the weather report.

Traffic was light and it didn't take him long to get to the office. There weren’t any open spots on the street so he pulled into the underground garage and took the elevator straight up to the bull pen.

~~~

Something big must have gone down last night because the night shift was still there. But something wasn't right. The usual chaos that went along with a 
major flap was missing. Even Billy's office was dark and he certainly would
have been in already.

Then again, maybe Bill went to some staff meeting or something. He'd just go up to the Q and wait for Amanda to get in.

He exited the closet elevator in the Georgetown foyer. It, too, was dark. 
Mrs. Marsden wasn't at her post. Something was definitely going on.

He took the stairs to the Q two at a time, unlocked the door and flipped on the lights. Before he could close the door behind him, he was startled by Rag 
mop. "Hey, Mr. Stetson, what are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

"Umm . . . I am just picking up a file I forgot to take with me. I'll be out
of your hair in just a minute."

He walked over to his desk and rifled through the papers there. He caught a 
glimpse of the time on his watch. Two-thirty in the morning on April first. 
April fool's day. He shook his head and smiled, then a chuckle escaped.

The boys really got him good.

He picked up an empty file and laughed all the way out of his office and down the stairs. Those little buggers changed the time on all his clocks.

Now, he was going to have to think of something really good to get back at
them for this little practically joke.

End