Billy’s Case Files
by Ermintrude
See part one for disclaimers
Part 24
Fast Food for Thought December 16, 1985
Billy Melrose sat in his office reviewing the reports from the Marvelous Marvin’s case. ‘Francine and Amanda were very lucky to not have been suffocated in that flash-freezer. It was a close thing—but close only counts in horseshoes and hand-grenades—so it ended well.’
He reviewed the expenses for the case—three hotel rooms. ‘Lee and Amanda went in as brother and sister. That’s unusual—for Lee and for both of them. Usually they do the married couple thing—and they do it very well. They have since the beginning. So why are they now posing as brother and sister? They don’t even look alike—who would believe that anyhow?’
Billy was worried. ‘Is Lee backing off because Joe King is back in the states? I know that case was a difficult one for him—Amanda did better about it than he did and it was her ex who was accused with the murder of the Estoccian Prime Minister. But that’s certainly a black eye for us to have had the man in our facility and not one person recognized him. We’ve got to do better than that.’ Billy shook his head at the collective oversight.
‘Lee and Amanda were starting to get closer—I know something happened out in that swamp. He’s toned down his extracurricular activities. He’s coming in on time more—paying more attention to the job—more conscientious about the paperwork and details. But now they’re going in as brother and sister. What is with that anyhow? Are they going to end the partnership? They’re my best team—I can’t have that partnership end.’
He sighed heavily. ‘I can live with it if they become intimate—I could even deal with them getting married—though Stetson isn’t the marrying type. But I don’t want that partnership to end. All I can do is keep an eye out, and hope they work out whatever it is they’re dealing with and get back on track.’
One Bear Dances, One Bear Doesn’t January 6, 1986
Billy read through the reports on the Aero North case. ‘We finally plugged that leak in our defector program. We haven’t had good luck with them in the past year. First Margaret Brock, then this little fiasco. They certainly had a good setup. And we almost didn’t catch them. Once again Amanda King—and her mother of all people—helped us close this one.’
He thought back to Amanda’s debriefing—and contrasted it to her mother’s and Dr. Zernoff’s. Typically Amanda downplayed her part in their collective escape from the locked room. Dotty and Dr. Zernoff had been more emphatic—Amanda came in—took charge—devised a plan—and made it work. Billy grinned. ‘She’s finally coming into her own. She’s decisive—she doesn’t panic or waste energy worrying—she calmly assesses the situation—looks for weaknesses and devises a solid plan for escape making best use of the people and resources at hand. And—best of all—she used a weapon again. Without hesitation.’ He was pleased. ‘I think she’s finally managed to overcome her reluctance about using a weapon. Once was good—but twice—and in the presence of her mother of all people—I think we can safely put that fear to bed.’
‘Now all we have to do is insure her mother doesn’t decide to follow her daughter into the intelligence community. Hopefully my warnings and cautions about her silence will stick. Dotty is like Amanda—but I don’t think we all would survive the both of them. Amanda’s finally acting like an agent—she is getting the job done—and is also confident and decisive in what she does and how she does it. She’s fast becoming an equal to her partner. I have to get her into an agent training program. She’s good—and she’d be a whole lot better with all the proper training. She needs those gaps in her knowledge and skills filled in with solid training. She’s learned a lot—and Scarecrow has taught her well—but she needs the whole course. It’s up to me, and I’ll do my damndest for her—my best team deserves no less.’
After Playing for Keeps January 13, 1986
Billy was at his desk when a knock sounded on his door.
“Come.”
“Billy—I need to talk to you.” It was Francine.
“Go ahead.” Billy waved her to a chair.
Francine sat. “I know I asked to go to the Shenandoah with Lee to watch out for Tina Thomerson—but I don’t want to work with Lee Stetson ever again unless there’s no other agent available on the face of the planet.”
Billy was a bit surprised at this—but kept his face impassive. “I see. Was he difficult?”
“He was a pain—he was on the phone all the time. Every time I turned around—he was back on the phone talking to her. I swear—why didn’t she just come along and work the case with him? She had him paged a couple of times—I heard it on the PA—but he called her several times himself. She has him absolutely under her thumb. He can hardly turn around without talking to her about it. Maybe he’s been replaced by a double—because the Scarecrow I used to know would never go for anything like that.” She sat back in a huff.
Billy was somewhat surprised—but again he didn’t let it show. “Did his phone calls pertain to the case?”
Francine sent him a look that spoke volumes. “When he wasn’t apologizing to her and lying about the amenities—unfortunately yes.”
“Unfortunately?” Billy was intrigued and shamelessly prodded his assistant for more.
“She managed to solve the case—but you were there—you know she figured Tina was the target all along.”
“And we’re lucky she did—if Donna Clayton had managed to get that missile off from the ultra-light—even if she didn’t hit Tina—it would have been a public relations fiasco.”
“Well, OK. But he didn’t even want to…” She seemed to catch herself and ran down.
“Want to what—Desmond?”
“Ah—well—you know how it is—you were in the field Billy—he wouldn’t even stay after the case to enjoy the amenities. He immediately ran off to nursemaid his happy homemaker.”
“Francine—you know Amanda. She must have been very ill indeed to have refused an assignment. Scarecrow was just worried about his partner. He wanted to make sure she’d be OK.” He was having fun with this one. He wondered just which amenities Francine had been planning on enjoying. He thought the affair between her and Stetson had been over a long time ago. Hopefully the woman had given up on him—but you never knew.
Francine snorted. “That woman could survive dengue fever and bounce back baking cakes or waxing the floor. Maybe both—simultaneously.”
‘So that’s the way it is—Francine’s jealous of Amanda.’ Billy adopted his stern face. “Mrs. King is a good employee—she doesn’t complain—she cheerfully tackles whatever assignment I give her and is always eager to help out. I wish I had more employees like her around here. She doesn’t spend her time gossiping about other employees, either.” Billy stared pointedly at Francine.
“So she’s got you wrapped around her little finger, too.” Francine was not fazed. “Well, if I was in charge—she’d not be around so much.”
“If you were in charge—you’d revise that assessment pretty quickly. She’s a whiz at the paperwork—and amazing at transcribing tapes. And she keeps Scarecrow in line—something you didn’t manage to do when you requested the assignment a couple years ago—if I remember correctly. In fact—I remember you asked to never be partnered with him again.”
“That time was different—he was just such a bas—“ She caught herself. “Well, so difficult.”
Billy nodded. “I know. He excelled at making enemies with anyone I tried to partner him with. That’s why when Amanda came along and seemed to want to work with the man—despite his temperament—I jumped at the chance. And you can’t deny—the partnership has worked. They’re our best team—look at their solve rate!”
“I know, I know. It’s just sad that Scarecrow is so—“ She cast around for a word to politely describe what she was thinking. “so slavishly devoted to her. You’d think they were married the way he acted toward her this week.” She shook her head in sorrow.
“Did he say anything to you about it?” Billy was fishing for information, now.
“He said something about getting used to working with certain people—getting used to their habits and patterns—I wasn’t fooled. She’s ruined him. He can’t operate on his own anymore. He needs mama’s apron strings to hold on to. It’s disgusting. He used to be a great agent.”
“He still is a great agent—in a great partnership. And don’t you forget it. Now if you don’t have anything useful to talk about—I have work to do here.” He brusquely dismissed her. “And I think you have a report to write?” He looked pointedly at her, encouraging her quick retreat.
“Fine, Billy. You’ll have it on your desk by the end of the day.” She retreated in a flurry of wounded professionalism.
Once the door shut, Billy allowed himself a quiet laugh. ‘You’re so jealous of Amanda King, you’re allowing that to color your judgment about both of them. They’re a great team—and I’ll do whatever I can to keep them together as long as they keep up the good work. Even separated—Amanda’s an asset I’d be sorry to lose. I guess you didn’t learn your lesson when I went off on my own a couple months back. You did pretty well—but you managed to make some mistakes that made life difficult for a while. If you want this job when I retire—you’d better start appreciating the ‘little people’ who can help out with the routine paperwork. Because it’s the little stuff that will kill you in this job. Managing the people is a snap compared to learning the correct forms for ordering supplies and authorizing overtime above the allocated levels.’
Billy bent back to his pile of paperwork. ‘Francine—you still have a lot to learn—and I hope you can learn it before it hits you in the face and you’re buried without a friend to help.’
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