Part One:  The shoe drops…
 
 
 

“Hi, Amanda,” Joe greeted politely with a peck on her cheek then he held out a chair for her.  “Thanks for meeting me for lunch.  I know you’re busy.”

“Aren’t we all?” Amanda smiled back as she adjusted her chair, not sure what he had wanted to discuss.  The boys were doing well in school.  They’d adjusted nicely to Lee moving in after their brief ‘engagement’ and backyard summer ‘wedding’.  All was well in the King/Stetson household so Amanda was intrigued by the sudden invitation.

“Would you care for something to drink?” the waiter asked impatiently once Amanda had settled in.

“No, I’ve got to get back to work.  Just water for me, thanks,” she answered as the waiter scurried away.

“It’s been a hectic summer.  I can’t believe we’re both remarried,” Joe reminisced. “Seems like only yesterday that Philip was born.”

Amanda chuckled at that thought.  Joe was rarely around to see their sons grow up. For most of their lives he lived on another continent and now that he was back in Virginia, he played weekend father, but he was often unreliable in that regard as well.

“It sure has gone by fast.  Philip will be in high school soon, Jamie’s almost a teenager…”  Amanda answered and couldn’t help but notice that his face showed a sadness she hadn’t seen before.  Had Joe finally realized what he missed all these years?

“I’m sure now that you and Lee are married you might like more private time.   It has to be difficult in that little house,” Joe continued confidently.

“We manage all right,” Amanda answered uncertainly, wondering where Joe was going with this conversation.

“Well, Carrie and I have been talking and we thought since we’re now settled in our new house that we could have the boys spend a little more time with us.  Our new place is rather spacious.  They’d each have their own rooms.  We think that’s important now that they’re older,” Joe answered cordially as he smiled nonchalantly across the table.

“Lee and I have been looking for a bigger place as well, but we’re trying to find something in the same school district.  We don’t want them to have to change schools,” she replied defensively.

The waiter returned briefly, bringing Amanda’s water.  Neither, Joe or Amanda had even opened their menus and a sharp glance from Joe made him withdraw from the table.

“Yes, I don’t want to do that, either,” Joe agreed hastily. “So what we’re thinking is to amend our custody agreement so that we share the boys more equally.  Maybe we’d get the boys one week, you and Lee would have them the next?”

Amanda stared at him in stunned silence.  She hadn’t seen this coming.  Joe always seemed to enjoy his visits with the boys, but also enjoyed his freedom from the responsibility of being a parent on a daily schedule.  Her mouth was dry as cotton and she took a sip of water and swallowed hard before answering.

“That could get very complicated with the boys in school.  You don’t live in the same school district.  Their activities are mostly around the house with soccer and basketball, not to mention the doctor, dentist and orthodontist.  That’s a lot of running back and forth…” Amanda stated anxiously as she unconsciously twisted the cloth napkin in her lap.

“Well first off, let me assure you, we wouldn’t take them out of their school.  We’d have to drive them to and from school daily.  I can take them in the morning and Carrie could pick them up in the afternoon.  It’ll take some getting used to, but we’d adjust.  As for their other activities, it’s about time I became more active in their lives.  If I don’t start now, I won’t get another chance.  Besides, our neighborhood has lots of kids.  They’ll make new friends. Like you pointed out earlier, Philip will be in high school soon; then he’ll be off to college.  This is my last chance to get to know my sons,” Joe reminded her.

“Have you mentioned this to the boys at all?  You know, test the waters?” Amanda questioned anxiously.  She wasn’t sure that Philip and Jamie would like this idea any more than she did.  Lee had enthusiastically played more of a role in their lives in the last year than Joe had in their lifetimes – or was that fact the core of the problem?

“No, I thought I’d run it by you first,” he answered with a firm but gracious smile.  “I know our custody agreement gives you custodial care.  I’d rather keep this amiable and not waste both of our time and money changing our agreement in court.”

“I think we both need to talk with Philip and Jamie and see how they feel about this.  It’s going to affect their lives significantly,” she suggested thoughtfully with a polite smile, but inside she was raging with anger.

“Of course,” Joe answered with confidence.  “I just think it’s important at their age to have their father around.”

Amanda bit her tongue.  She wanted to say that the boys had an excellent father figure with Lee, but she didn’t want to antagonize Joe.  A court battle could get messy and given what she and Lee did for a living there was no telling what a judge might decide.  “I suggest we each talk with the boys about it and then see how they feel about the idea.”

“Sounds reasonable.  I’ll speak with them this weekend,” Joe shrugged, not seeming to be worried or concerned about his son’s reaction to such a drastic change.  Instead he opened his menu.  “So, what would you like for lunch?

Amanda gladly glanced at the menu to hide her unhappy face.  However, she’d lost her appetite.
 

*** *** ***

Amanda slammed the door to the Q Bureau when she arrived and Lee quickly glanced up at his wife’s furious face.

“What’s wrong?” Lee asked immediately.

“You were right!” her eyes flared with anger.  “Joe didn’t want to have a casual chat about how the boys were adjusting now that we’re married.  He wants to amend our custody agreement,” she snapped as she threw her purse on the top of her desk.

“Amend?  In what way?” Lee questioned softly, but the tone of his voice showed concern.

“He wants joint custody of the boys – a 50/50 split!  He was so matter-of-fact about the whole thing I wanted to strangle him.  He’s never had to deal with the daily trials and tribulations of being a full time parent.  Other than the occasional vacation and his regular weekend jaunts with the boys, he’s totally clueless on what parenting really entails!” she fumed before she yanked her chair out from her desk and heaved herself into it.

Lee crossed the room, sat on the corner of her desk and took her hand in his.  “Did he serve you with papers?”

“No, he wants to keep this, how did he put it… ‘amiable’”, she hissed through an angry scowl.

“What does he plan to do about school?” Lee asked curiously.

“He’s got it all figured out!” she snapped, clenching her teeth trying to control her anger.  “He said that he’d drive them to school in the morning and Carrie would pick them up in the afternoon.  I’m sure he won’t mind the first week or so, but you know how hard it is to get the boys out of bed and to the bus stop on time.  They’ll have to get up at least a half hour earlier just to commute from Joe’s neighborhood.  Then there are the doctor’s appointments, basketball and soccer games and all the other commitments.  Even if the boys were interested in this kind of an arrangement it would be a nightmare…” she trailed off morosely.

“And I seriously doubt that they do,” Lee finished her sentence.  “I know Jamie hates the way Carrie treats him like a baby and Philip doesn’t like the neighborhood since there aren’t any basketball courts with lights for playing at night like down the street.”

“God forbid if either of them gets sick,” Amanda continued to rage on.  “He doesn’t know that Jamie can’t swallow pills unless you hide them in applesauce and Phillip hates any medicine that’s cherry flavored.

“Why didn’t you tell him no?” Lee shrugged.

“You know I can’t do that.  If I do he could press the issue in court.  If Joe brings up what happened last year…” Amanda’s voice cracked.  She blinked back tears then took a deep breath.  “This is the time in their life they need stability, not a 50/50 split.  We just got settled with you moving in.  Philip just started dating.  That’s going to put a real crimp on when he can meet his girlfriend for ‘study dates’ when he’s living at Joe’s house.  Jamie’s just starting to come out of his shell.  I don’t know what to do!”

Lee rubbed his chin with his hand thoughtfully, but shook his head.  “I wish I had an answer, but I’ve been worried about this happening since I moved in.  Joe might be feeling a bit threatened by me.”

“He should be,” she commented in a sharp voice.  You actually spend quality time with them, show interest in the things they like and do.  You’re there for the boys.  Something he’s rarely done.”

“I hate to admit it, Amanda, but we don’t have much choice in the matter.  Since Joe does live in town now, he’s got a fancy new house and a new wife, there probably is little recourse for us but to let him have his chance to play full time father.”

“At Philip and Jamie’s expense!” she countered angrily.

“I know,” Lee agreed sympathetically. “I’m not saying that it’s a good idea.  Personally I think it stinks.  My guess is he won’t last more than a couple of months.  Thanksgiving is next month, then Christmas.  He probably won’t be able to keep up with their activities – not this time of year!”

Amanda sighed heavily.  She knew she needed to calm down.  Flying off the handle at Lee wasn’t going to solve the problem.  “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to yell at you.  You’re probably right, but how are they going to feel if Joe decides they’re too much of a burden?  How will the boys feel if after a couple of weeks Joe wants to call things off?   I don’t want them to think we don’t want them – we do.  But you’re right, there’s a good chance Joe won’t be able to pull this off.  Either way, it seems like a lose, lose, situation.”

“We’ll make it perfectly clear to Philip and Jamie that this isn’t our idea.  They have to know how much we love them.  They know you’ve always been there for them.  They know that,” Lee reminded his wife as he reached down for her hand and gave it a little squeeze.

“I know,” she replied softly.  “It’s just things were going so well these last few weeks and now we have to throw a wrench in everything.”

“We’ll talk to the boys together.  Make sure they know they can always call us – regardless of the problem or the time of day.  In the meantime, I’ll check out some attorney’s who deal in family law – just in case things get… nasty,” Lee added with some hesitation.

“I don’t think that it’s really necessary to hire an attorney, Lee,” Amanda answered, her face frowning at the idea.

“It’s better to be prepared,” Lee replied as he reached over for Amanda’s hand and gave it another squeeze.  “I want the boys to know they can count on you,” he wisely reminded her.

She smiled for the first time since entering the Q Bureau.  “They know they can count on you, too!”

*** *** ***

“Hey, fellas, I had lunch with your father today,” Amanda mentioned as they were finishing up dinner.

“Oh, boy, that can’t be good,” Philip groaned as he rolled his eyes.

“Philip, that’s not a very nice thing to say,” Amanda immediately reprimanded her son, but knew the conversation she was about to start would bring strong emotions from both of her children.

“Come on, Mom,” Philip continued.  “Whenever you two meet for lunch it’s because you want to discuss us without our being around.”

“He’s right, Mom,” Jamie echoed.  “It usually means something’s up.”

“I think this is my cue to start cleaning the dishes,” Dotty announced as she got to her feet and collected the plates and quickly left the dining room.

Lee sighed heavily and nodded to his wife.  “You might as well tell them, Amanda.”

“OK, you’re both right.  You’re dad wanted to talk about you fellas, but it’s because we both love you so much,” she began to explain.

 “I don’t like it already,” Philip moaned.

“Will you two stop it?” Amanda pleaded.  She didn’t want to have this conversation to begin with and this wasn’t helping.  “We’d like to have a serious conversation here, but I’m starting to think you’re not mature enough for one.”

“We’re sorry, Mom,” Jamie apologized then glanced at Lee.  “So, what’s up?  Are you and Lee going on some secret assignment or something?”

“I’m afraid it isn’t anything like that,” Lee admitted to his stepson.

Knowing she couldn’t stall much longer, Amanda started to explain about her lunch discussion with Joe King.  “Your father thought that since he’s settled into his new house with Carrie, that maybe you two would like to spend more time with them.  He was telling me that you’ll both have your own rooms there…”

“Wait a second!” Philip interrupted anxiously.  “Are we talking every weekend now or what because, unlike Junior here, I do have a social life!”

“Well, no he didn’t mean every weekend.  He was thinking that you two could spend one week with him at his house, then the next week with us here.” Amanda took a deep breath once she had said it, but she couldn’t help but wincing at the sound of it.

“I knew it!  I just knew it!” Jamie shouted frantically.  “You spent the last month convincing us that we were a family and now, now that we are one, you want to get rid of us!  You don’t want us underfoot!  The kids at school warned me it would be like this, but I thought you were different, Lee.  I really thought you liked us!”

“Jamie, wait!” Lee shouted, but it was too late.  His chair flew backwards, crashing to the floor and he raced out of the room and up the stairs.

“I’d better go talk to him,” Lee announced as he started to get up.

“Lee, let him go.  We’ll talk to him later.  He needs some time alone right now,” Amanda warned as calmly as she could manage, but inside she wanted to cry.

“I knew it couldn’t be good news,” Philip replied resolutely, folding his arms across his chest and fuming silently.  “I don’t suppose that we get a say in this matter?”

“Philip, it’s not that simple of a solution,” she answered in a tender voice, but she knew it would be difficult for a teenager to understand.  She wasn’t sure what prompted Joe to request the new custody arrangement all of a sudden.  She’d like to think it was because he finally wanted to get to know his children.  However, she wasn’t sure that Lee hadn’t hit the nail on the head earlier in the afternoon.  Perhaps Joe was feeling jealous of Lee’s place in their sons’ lives.  How could she explain this complicated mess to her children?

“So Jamie’s is right.  You two don’t really want us around?” he concluded in a hurt voice.

“No, Philip, this was your father’s idea, not ours and personally I don’t like it one bit,” Lee reassured him hastily.  “Unfortunately, the fact of the matter is that no matter how much I love you, I’m not legally your father and I don’t get a say in this matter.”

“But you do, Mom!  So why don’t you just tell dad, no?” Philip pleaded to his mother.  “I know at first it was kind of awkward having Lee in the house, but I thought we were all getting along pretty well.”

Amanda shrugged.  How could she explain it without further antagonizing the situation?  She didn’t want to drive them further away from Joe.  “It’s complicated…”

“You mean because of the ‘Agency’?” Philip remarked.

“That’s definitely a part of it,” Amanda conceded with a heavy sigh.  “It’s just now that your dad’s in town, he wants to get to know you both better.”

“That’s just not fair.  I don’t understand.  We’ve lived here all our lives and now, now that I’ve got a girlfriend and things are cool around here dad has to go and mess things up,” Philip complained crossly.

“Philip, maybe you’ll like spending time with your father,” Amanda pointed out, trying to look for the silver lining.  “You two boys have been cheated from knowing him for so long.”

“Yeah, like that’s going to happen.  We both know we’ll end up in their basement watching TV because dad will be working late.  This whole thing stinks,” Philip grumbled as he tossed his napkin on the table and left the room.

Amanda glanced over at Lee, her eyes filled with tears.  “Could it have gone any worse?” she asked as she slumped back in her chair and shook her head.

*** *** ***

“If Mom catches you eavesdropping she’ll send us to dads’ permanently!” Jamie warned his older brother when he caught him kneeling at the top of the landing.

“Shh!” whispered Philip testily as he sat down.  “You want them to hear you?”

“What difference does it make?” Jamie replied with a disgusted shrug.  “They want us out of here anyway so they can be alone.”

“I don’t think so, dog breath,” Philip corrected softly as he shook his head.  “Listen.  Mom’s down there crying she’s so upset.”

“Move over,” Jamie whispered as he squished in to listen to the muted conversation from downstairs.  The two boys sat silent at the top of the stairs for a few minutes leaning against the railing.  “You’re right; she is crying.”

“She really doesn’t want us to leave.  This whole thing really was dad’s idea,” Philip remarked.  “And your outburst at dinner only made things worse!”

“If Mom wants us so badly why doesn’t she hire a lawyer and fight dad?” Jamie criticized in a hushed voice.

“Lee’s already suggested that.  Mom’s worried that since dad’s a lawyer and because they work for the Agency that they might lose custody all together, if as she put it, ‘Push comes to shove.’  It’s a no win situation,” Philip grumbled.

“Lee really suggested that?  They really don’t want us to leave?” Jamie remarked with a relieved smile.

“What are you grinning about?  We’re still going to have to go live with dad and Carrie part of the time,” his older brother snapped.

“Well, maybe if we were really sloppy and rude Dad would get tired of us and send us back to Mom and Lee?” Jamie suggested with a devious smirk.

“Have you checked our room lately?  We won’t win any contests for being neat already.  Dad’s seen our room so that won’t work.  Besides, he’ll expect some attitude from us anyway, we’re at ‘that age’,” Philip reminded his younger sibling, rolling his eyes at his younger brother immature suggestion.

“There’s gotta be something we could do,” Jamie countered.  “Like frogs in their bedroom and tracking mud through their new carpeting.”

“Yeah, we’ll have to give it some thought,” Philip agreed whole heartedly.   “Living with dad and Carrie is going to be a nightmare.   She can’t cook to save her life,” Philip complained as he rubbed his stomach.

“I was afraid that she was trying to kill us with her cooking except she eats it herself!” Jamie confessed and both boys laughed and hooted on the landing a bit louder than they had thought.  Moments later a tap on each of their shoulders quieted them down immediately.

“You two know better than to eavesdrop.  Where are your manners?” Dotty chided with a cross face.

Jamie stared at his grandmother blankly, not being able to come up with a quick excuse as to why they were eavesdropping to a private conversation when they were supposed to be in bed, asleep.  “You’re not going to tell Mom are you, Grandma?”

“Please don’t, Grandma, Mom’s already upset enough,” Philip pleaded.

“How about you both get back into bed right now,” she demanded with her hand pointing to their bedroom, but in a tone that the boys knew she wouldn’t betray them.  Without a sound the boys got up and tip toed back to their room.  Dotty followed closely behind them.

“We’re really sorry, Grandma,” Jamie confessed.  “We heard Mom crying and we wanted to know what was going on.”

“Your mother and Lee are both upset because they’ll miss you when you’re at your father’s house,” Dotty explained logically.

“We don’t want to live with Dad,” Philip replied.  “We want to stay here.”

“You haven’t even given living with your father a chance.  You two are really lucky kids,” Dotty remarked.

“How do you figure?” Jamie asked giving his grandmother an incredulous stare.

“You have two sets of parents and they both want you to live with them.  There’s a lot of kids who don’t have anyone,” Dotty chided her grandchildren.  “I know you’re both too young to remember when your dad lived with you, but he really is a good guy.  He’s missed so much of your lives while he was over in Africa.  I think he’d like to make some things up to you.  I think you ought to give him a chance.”

Jamie glanced over at Philip and shrugged.  “But what if we don’t like living there?”

“But what if you do?  You won’t know until you give it a try,” Dotty reminded them wisely.

“I guess,” Philip conceded, but his face still grimaced at the idea.

“We would each have our own room,” Jamie observed with a non-committed shrug.

“Now, I’m sure you would both enjoy a little extra privacy, especially when you’re talking with a certain young lady?” Dotty smiled.

“Yeah, I could get away from prying ears,” Philip remarked as he glanced over at Jamie.

“So, give it some thought, all right?” Dotty suggested.  “Now before your Mother or Lee comes upstairs, how about you two get some shut eye?”

“Good night, Grandma,” Philip and Jamie chorused quietly before they each settled back into their beds…

End Part One
 
 

Several weeks later…
 

“Here you go,” Joe announced as he pulled up to the school to drop the boys off.  There were many students milling about outside the front doors.  “I don’t think the first bell has even rung yet!”

“That’s good, I think the office clerk was tired of writing us late passes,” Philip mentioned as he started to get our of his father’s car.

“Yeah, Philip will make it to history class on time for a change,” Jamie teased his older brother.  “Who knows, maybe he’ll even pass his quiz.”

“Shut up, bookworm,” Philip snapped as he made a face at his brother.

“Yeah, well your Mom was pretty angry that you were late to your first class three times this week.  I didn’t know they’d call her,” Joe confessed.  “I didn’t know you had a quiz today either.”

“It’s no big deal, Dad,” Philip told him.

“Did you study last night?” Joe King asked his son.

“A little,” he answered as he slammed the car door.

“You’d better make a good grade, Philip, or your mother will be angry with the both of us,” Joe warned him.

Philip shot a quick glance at Jamie, giving some thought to blowing the quiz on purpose, but Jamie quickly shook his head warning him not to.

“Remember, guys, Carrie’s going to pick you up in the afternoon,” Joe called out to them.

“Yeah, dad, we’ve got the routine down.  We’ll be here.  Will she?” Philip grumbled.

“You’re going to be home for dinner tonight, Dad, aren’t you?” Jamie asked anxiously.

“No, unfortunately, I’ve got another meeting so I’ll be late.  I should be home before you go to bed.  Have a good day at school and make sure you do your homework after dinner,” he called to the boys.

Jamie slammed the door to the car and started walking away, clearly disappointed.

“He doesn’t want to eat what Carrie cooks for dinner, either.  Too bad we can’t have a meeting after school and miss dinner, too!” Philip remarked as he and Jamie started walking up to the school.

“Maybe we can have mom send over some care packages so we don’t starve all week.  It’s pretty sad when the best meal of the day, other than cereal at breakfast, is school lunch!” Jamie added in.

“Or maybe we can have dad send her to cooking classes.”

“Remember when grandma used to watch that cooking show on TV?” Jamie reminded his older brother.

“Yeah I remember.  It was the ‘Colonial Cooker’ or something like that.  The dishes had funny names, but at least they were edible.  Grandma kept asking mom to send her for private lessons,” Phillip nodded.

“I wonder whatever happened to that old lady.  That shows been off the air for a long while,” Jamie commented.

“Who knows?  It probably had lousy ratings.  See you after school,” Philip yelled out as he caught up with his friends and Jamie continued inside the school.
 

** ** **

As promised, Carrie King, Joe’s second wife waited in the parent pick-up line to pick-up her stepsons.  Carrie was a nice enough person, but she was rather gullible, not very strict and basically let her stepsons do whatever they wanted to do after school.  There were never the questions that they got from their mother, grandmother or even Lee as to where they were going, who they’d be with and they were rarely given a curfew as to what time they should be home.

“Hi, kids,” she greeted them.  “How was school today?  Did you get much homework?”

“It was fine,” Philip answered robotically as he sat down in the front passenger seat and heaved his backpack into the back seat, nearly hitting his brother.

“Hey watch it, jerk,” Jamie shouted as he slid into the back seat ducking Philip’s backpack and tossing his own on the floor.

“I need to pick up some things at the grocery store for dinner tonight.  Did you want me to drop you off at home first?” Carrie asked them as the car pulled away from the curb.

“Yeah, that would be great.  We’re going to meet some of the guys and play basketball,” Philip remarked.

“All right,” Carrie answered, not asking any further questions as she drove back to the house.

The boys jumped out almost before the car was completely stopped.

“See ya later,” Jamie called out as he slammed the car door.

“Did you remember your house key?”

“Yeah, we both have one,” Philip answered, slightly annoyed.

“Have fun.  I’ll be back soon.  Don’t be late for dinner!” she smiled before driving down the street.

Jamie glanced over at Philip and suggested, “Maybe we should buy her a cook book for Christmas?”

“That’s if we don’t die from food poisoning before then,” Philip grimaced.  “So, do you want to come with me?  I’m meeting Alan and his friend Lenny at the basketball courts.  Lenny’s being recruited by some of the big colleges.  Maybe you could bring you camera and take some action shots?”

“Yeah, beats sitting around this lonely place by myself.  Let me go get my camera,” Jamie answered.  “I want to check out the new zoom lens I got.”

*** ***

“Aren’t you ready to go yet?”  Philip impatiently shouted to his brother.

“I’ll be there in a minute,” Jamie shouted down to his brother.  “I’ll meet you in the garage.”

“Hurry up, I don’t want to be here when Carrie gets back,” Philip called up to his brother.

 A few minutes later the two boys hopped on their bikes.  After a long bike ride, Jamie hollered out to his brother who was waiting at a traffic light for his brother to catch up.   “How much farther is it?” Jamie gasped, out of breath.

“Just a few more blocks south of here,” Philip promised as he waited for the traffic signal to change.

Jamie glanced over at Philip and around at the neglected neighborhood.  Broken bottles and trash littered the yards and older, rusty cars dotted the street.  The tenement buildings were badly in need of repair.  The paint on most of the doors were chipping and pealing, windows were cracked.  There were few open businesses, but most of them were closed with smashed windows or some were boarded with plywood.  The neighborhood generally appeared to have seen better days.   “Do you know where we are?

“Yeah,” Philip swallowed hard and admitted sheepishly.  “It’s the Green Valley neighborhood.”

“This is the place that’s always on the evening news.  If Mom finds out we rode our bikes all the way down here, she’d ground us for a week,” Jamie commented nervously, glancing over his shoulder.

“No, probably a month,” Philip corrected.

“You better hope she doesn’t find out,” Jamie whispered nervously.

Philip nodded his agreement.  “Good thing we’re staying at dad’s this week.  He’ll never ask!”

”So he’ll never know…” Jamie finished his sentence.

“There they are,” Philip nodded as they made their way to a basketball court that was next to a decaying, old brick building, whose walls were covered in graffiti.

“Nice place,” Jamie teased his brother nervously.  “Next time maybe they can meet us at the park by mom’s house.  It’s just as long of a bike ride, but a much better neighborhood.”

Philip nodded and sighed.  “Yeah, that wouldn’t be a bad idea.

The boys played ball for a while, but Jamie eventually got tired of having the ball stolen from him and his lay ups stuffed from the older and taller players, Lenny and Alan.  He quit playing, took off his ball cap, wiped the sweat off his brow and placed his cap on the ground.  He got a quick drink from the water fountain before he went over to his bike and got out his camera.  He turned the camera on and started taking some action shots.

Jamie moved around the court, trying to get the best views.  A few minutes later, he ran out of film so he walked back to his bike which was leaning against the building and grabbed his camera bag.  He put in a new roll of film and decided to switch to his new zoom lens.

“Hey, guys,” Alan, Philip’s other friend remarked, “It’s getting kind of late.  I’d better head on home.  I don’t want to be late for dinner or my mom will ground me.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Philip agreed.  “We’d better get going, too.  We’ve got a long ride.  Maybe we can do this again sometime.  There’s a great basketball court near our mom’s house.”

“This court’s pretty convenient to my place, though,” Lenny, the older youth replied.  “Hey, Jamie, did you get any good action shots of me?”

“I think so!” Jamie replied, excited that the older player even remembered his name.  “I’ll know for sure when I get them developed.  I’ll let you know.”

They said goodbye to their friends and Philip and Jamie climbed back on their bikes and started the long trek back home.  They’d only ridden a few blocks when Jamie realized he’s forgotten his ball cap.

“Philip, wait!  I’ve got to go back to the court.  I forgot my new Orioles cap that dad just bought for me,” Jamie remarked anxiously.

“Hurry up, then,” Philip complained with a frown.  “I’ll meet you at home.  If dad gets home before you do I’ll make some kind of excuse, but hurry!”

“Yeah, he’d be angry at us going so far on our bikes,” Jamie acknowledged before turning his bike around and pedaling furiously.

When he arrived back at the court, he leaned his bike against the wall in exhaustion.  There wasn’t anyone playing basketball any longer.  The sun had sunken low on the horizon and the shadows of the nearby brick building cast a darkness on the court.  In the waning light it would be too difficult to see the ball.

Jamie noticed that the older guy they were playing with, Lenny was now across the street leaning against a shiny, white sports car and he was chatting with the driver.  The two were apparently so intent on their discussion that neither of them noticed him.  He walked over to the drinking fountain where he’d left his hat.  He picked it up and dusted the dirt off of it before starting back towards his bike.

Jamie put his hat squarely on his head, secured his camera around his neck and was about to start back towards home when he heard a loud bang coming from the car across the street.  Jamie was startled, but thought at first it was the car backfiring.  When he turned around to see, he froze exactly where he was.  He watched, almost in slow motion as Lenny dropped to the ground in a heap.

“Oh my gosh!” Jamie gulped in disbelief as he realized the guy in the car had just shot their new friend.

He’d reacted instinctively.  Instead of fleeing, he grabbed the lens cap off his camera, focused the zoom lens and furiously started snapping pictures of the scene in front of him.  As he took pictures from the safety of the shadowed corner, the man in the car reached his arm out of the car and shot the defenseless youth two more times.  The shooter then threw the gun into the back seat of his car and sped away.  Jamie tried to focus on the license plate and kept taking pictures until he ran out of film yet again, but by then the only thing left was Lenny, lying in a pool of blood on the pavement and dust filling the air from the car that had raced away.

When Jamie heard his film starting to automatically rewind in his camera, he started to shake uncontrollably.  The realization of what he just witnessed was beginning to sink in.  He took several deep breaths to calm himself down and backpedaled until he was leaning against the wall.   He glanced around at the surreal scene.  There was nobody else within sight who had witnessed the tragedy.

Still shaking, Jamie didn’t know what to do.  Should he go try to help Lenny or would the shooter come back and shoot him as well?  Lenny hadn’t moved since the first bullet ripped into him at point blank range and he fell to the ground.  Was he killed instantly or did the second and third shot kill him?  From the stain of blood that surrounded Lenny’s motionless body Jamie assumed he was probably dead.  He looked around for a phone booth, but he didn’t see one around.  What should he do?

Finally a car pulled down the street and slowed down as it neared the immobile body.  As the man got out of the car, Jamie pulled his bike to the corner of the building, well out of the man’s view in the darkened shadow.  He watched as the man reached for Lenny’s wrist.

“Please, have a pulse,” Jamie mumbled quietly, but after only a few seconds the man let go of the youth’s wrist and Lenny’s arm fell back to the pavement.   At that moment Jamie knew for certain that Lenny was dead.  Silently, he slipped onto his bike and pedaled furiously away from the scene.

“Where have you been?” Philip demanded in a harsh tone when Jamie finally reached their father’s garage.  “Did you get lost, dork face?”

Jamie nodded.  He was speechless from the scene he had just witnessed earlier.  His whole body was still shaking.

“You’re such a baby!” Philip teased.  “You better not let dad find out you got lost or we’ll be in trouble for going too far in the first place.”

Jamie’s fear had turned to anger and he verbally lashed out at his brother.  “Well maybe we shouldn’t have gone all the way over there.  It is pretty far and that’s not the best neighborhood, you know,” Jamie snapped back, trying to come to terms with what happened.  Could he tell his brother about the shooting?  He’d find out about it sooner or later.

“You’re such a baby.  Next time I’ll just leave you at home.  Now come on, let’s go into the house and see what Carrie’s burned for dinner tonight,” Philip remarked.

“I’ll be right in, but I’m not very hungry.  I think I’ll skip dinner and go start my homework,” Jamie answered feeling rather sick to his stomach.

“Sure, save yourself.  Let me get poisoned by Carrie’s cooking,” Philip complained.  “I’ll remember this, shrimp!”

Jamie walked past his brother, ignoring his complaints and mumbled to himself.  “I’ll remember this afternoon, too – for the rest of my life…”

End Part Two
 

******

Part Three
 

“I missed you guys so much last week,” Amanda confessed at dinner on Monday night, their first night back home.  “I hope you had a good time at your dad’s.

“It was all right,” Philip answered with an uninspired shrug as he squirted ketchup on his plate.

“I bet it was nice to have your own room,” Amanda suggested cheerily, hoping to get more of a reaction from either of her sons.

“Yeah, that part wasn’t bad,” Philip answered before reaching for some more fries.

“What about you, Jamie?” Amanda inquired, trying to pry a few words from her youngest son.  He hadn’t said much since she’d gotten home and seemed rather distant.

“It was fine,” Jamie finally replied in a distant voice without looking up.

Amanda noticed that all he seemed to be doing was push his food across his plate with his fork, but not really eating anything.  She didn’t want to meddle further.  Perhaps he had a nice time and was afraid to admit it, she thought.  Instead she changed the subject.  “I baked a chocolate cake for dessert tonight.”

“Hey, that’s great, Mom.  I want a big piece!” Philip smiled brightly.

“I’ll go get the cake,” Dotty offered.

“I’ll grab the dishes for you, Dotty,” Lee advised her.  “Are you finished, Jamie?”

“Yeah,” he mumbled, pushing his half finished plate over towards Lee.  “Can I be excused, Mom?”

“Don’t you want any cake?” Amanda queried with concern.  She knew both her sons loved chocolate cake.

“Maybe later,” he shrugged.  “I have a big test tomorrow.   I’d really like to go study.”

“Go ahead, sweetheart,” she answered in a loving tone as she watched her son get up.  “You can have a piece when you’re finished.”

Dotty carried in the large cake and Lee brought plates.  Amanda sliced large servings for Philip and Lee and smaller serving for herself and Dotty.

“This is great cake, Mom.  Double chocolate icing!” Philip grinned just before gulping down another bite.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it, sweetheart,” she responded.  “Philip, did something happen at your father’s house?  It seems like Jamie’s upset?” Amanda questioned her eldest son.

“No, not really,” Philip mumbled with his mouth full.  He swallowed a big bite of cake, gulped down some milk and then added.  “Well, I did hear at school today that this guy we knew got shot last week.  I guess he could be a little shook up about that.”

“Was he one of your classmates?” Amanda gasped, shocked by the terrible news.

“No, he wasn’t in our class.  He’s a senior at the high school, but he was a friend of a friend and Jamie and I knew him.”

“Was he injured badly?” Amanda questioned, trying to find out the details of the incident.

“He was killed.  It’s too bad since he was being recruited by Georgetown for a basketball scholarship.  He was a nice guy.  Can I have another piece of cake?” Philip asked.

Amanda could see Philip’s mouth watering for another piece of the leftover cake.  “I’ll cut you a small piece,” Amanda decided after seeing the pleading look on his face.  “Then you better get your homework started.”

“Aw, Mom,” Philip complained.

“Philip, the subject is not negotiable,” Amanda resolved firmly.

“I’ll have another slice, too,” Lee volunteered.

“I wish I could eat cake like you two.  If I had a second piece it would go straight to my hips!” Amanda grumbled as she cut two more slices of cake.  “Would you like another piece, Mother?”

“Like, yes, have, no.  It was delicious, but way too fattening,” Dotty retorted.

After Amanda and Lee loaded the dishwasher and tidied the kitchen she cut a slice of cake.  “I’m going to take this up to Jamie,” she told Lee.

“You’re spoiling him,” Lee teased as she disappeared from the room.

Amanda walked up the stairs and knocked on his door before entering.  “Are you ready for some cake?” she called out as she opened his door.

“Yeah, I guess,” Jamie answered unenthusiastically.

“With that kind of a welcome I’m starting to think you like Carrie’s cooking better than mine!” Amanda teased.

“Don’t worry about that, Mom.  Carrie’s an awful cook,” Philip answered immediately.  “Can I have another piece, Mom, please?”

Jamie took the plate with the cake on it and started eating it slowly.

“Philip, you already had two pieces,” Amanda reminded him with an arched brow.  “Did you finish your homework?”

“Yeah, I’m done, but I’m still hungry,” he complained.  “We starve at dad’s house.  I think Carrie’s trying to poison us.”

“Enough of that, young man!” Amanda chided with a stern glance.  “Go downstairs and have a piece of fruit.  No more cake tonight.”

“All right,” Philip pouted.

She watched as he closed his book, tossed it onto his knapsack and left the room.  Finally she turned her attention back towards Jamie.  “So what subject is your test on?”

“Geometry,” Jamie mumbled.

“Do you want me to quiz you on anything?” she asked, still hoping he would open up to her.

“No, I think I’ll do all right,” he replied.

“I’m sure you will,” Amanda answered and patted her son on the shoulder.  Jamie was studious and she knew he might be nervous, but he usual came through with all A’s and B’s.  “I hear that a friend of yours was shot and killed last week.”

Jamie stared at his mother and swallowed hard before finally choking out an answer.  “You… you heard about that?” he stuttered with surprise.

“Philip mentioned it after dinner.  Do you want to talk about it?” she questioned sympathetically.

“No, not really,” he said, shaking his head.  “I barely knew the guy.  I only met him once.”

“Still, it’s rather sad to think about it.  If you change your mind and want to talk, our door is always open,” she reminded him once again.

Jamie took another bite of cake and nodded.  “I know, Mom.”

“If you’re finished studying, why don’t you come downstairs and wash the rest of the cake down with some milk,” Amanda suggested.  “I’m glad you’re back.  I really missed you guys last week.”

Jamie smiled for the first time since he arrive back home.  “I missed you, too, Mom, andbv for the record, Carrie doesn’t bake.  If it’s edible she bought it at the store.”

“Maybe I should send her some of recipes?” she suggested as she tried not to laugh.

“I’m not sure even that would help!” Jamie confessed with a grin.

“Enough about that,” Amanda chuckled, too.  “Put your books away and come on downstairs and relax for a while.”

*** *** ***

The next day, Amanda sat at her desk in the Q Bureau and typed furiously on the computer.  After a few minutes her fingers came to a halt, now only tapping a few keys at a time.

“Finished, already?” Lee questioned in surprise.

“No.  I was just going through the newspaper’s archives.  I’m reading about the boy Philip mentioned at dinner last night - the one who was shot last week.  He had a really bright future.  According to the newspaper article, not only was Georgetown recruiting him, but so was the University of Maryland,” Amanda commented.

“Yeah, it’s a shame,” he agreed.

“Lee, look at this,” Amanda called him over to view her computer screen.  “According to the police report, they don’t have a clue as to who shot him.  Lenny Diaz was shot three times, but died instantly from the first shot – almost point blank, to the face.  The kid was poor, but clean-cut just the same.  He was never in trouble with drugs or the law.”

“Amanda, as sad as that is, you’re supposed to be finishing up that report for Billy,” Lee admonished her.

“I’m just taking a quick break,” she defended with a guilty look.

“Just remember that when we’re running late this evening.  We’re due downtown in just over an hour to give depositions on the Eckerly case!” he reminded her.

“Shoot!  I thought that was tomorrow,” she grumbled.

“They moved it up a day.  Didn’t you get the memo?”

She flipped quickly through her day timer and glanced at the calendar on her desk.  “It’s probably somewhere,” she pointed to her desk and the several piles of paperwork that adorned it.

“Well, as sorry as I am for the boy and his family, it’s not our case or jurisdiction and you know as swamped as we are in paperwork, we don’t have time for poking around,” Lee reminded his partner.

“I know,” she shrugged with disappointment.  “I just wanted to know what happened in case Jamie wanted to talk about it.”

“I thought you said he didn’t want to talk about it,” he replied.

“That’s what he said,” Amanda nodded as her face took on a concerned appearance.  “But you didn’t see the look on his face when I mentioned the incident.  He was pretty shaken up by it, I’m sure.”

“It’s probably the first time he’s known somebody that young who died.  It’s hard for kids to realize their own mortality,” he explained logically.

“I guess you’re right,” she answered before tapping on the computer keys to close the one file and bring up the report Billy Melrose was expecting from them ASAP.

“If you’d like, I could mention it to Jamie this evening at Philip’s soccer game.  Maybe it would be easier if he talked to a guy?” he offered.

Amanda gave it a few moments thought before answering.  Her hands rested on the keyboard motionlessly.  She realized that over the last few months Jamie had finally grown attached to her new husband.  She didn’t want to admit to it, but at times she felt a little left out.  “I guess…”

“If you’d rather I didn’t…”

“No, it’s just I remember when they used to come to me about everything,” she lamented in a sad voice.  “Now I have to pry things out of them when they’re upset or angry.”

“They’re growing up.  You’ve been teaching them how to become independent young men over the last few years,” Lee reminded his wife.

“So this is what I get for being a good parent, huh?” she shrugged.

“Afraid so,” Lee answered with a smile.

“Great,” she mumbled unhappily, before turning back to the task at hand.  “I’ll have this done in a jiffy and then we can grab a quick lunch.”
 

*** *** ***

“Hey, Lee, I was starting to think you weren’t going to make it,” Jamie greeted his step father on the sidelines.  “Where’s Mom?”

“She got stuck downtown giving a deposition,” he responded.  “So what’s the score?”

“You haven’t missed much.  We’re winning - one to nothing, with only a couple of minutes left to play.  Been kind of boring,” Jamie explained.

“I guess if I had to be late to a game then it would be this one,” Lee answered and watched as the action moved down the field.

A few minutes later a long, loud horn blasted to signal the end of the soccer game.  The other team congratulated Philip’s team and his team celebrated for a few minutes before he caught up with Lee and Jamie.

“Hi, Lee, when did you get here?” Philip asked.

“Only a few minutes ago,” he answered regretfully.

“That’s all right.  Not much action today – defense did a good job,” Philip boasted.  “Where’s Mom?”

“She’s still downtown, working.”

“Oh,” he replied, disappointed.  “My friend Alan scored the only goal.  He invited me to go out for burgers with him and his parents.  Can I go?”

“Whose parents and where exactly are you going?” Lee questioned.

“You’ve met Alan’s parents, Mr. & Mrs. Monroe.  They live over on Oakdale Drive,” Philip reminded his stepfather.  “They’re going to the Burger Barn.”

“Well, your mother will be late anyway, so sure, go ahead,” Lee nodded.

“Thanks!  See you later,” Philip shouted as he rushed back towards his friend.

“Be home by eight!” Lee called out to his stepson and then turned back to Jamie.  “I guess it’s you and me for dinner tonight, pal.  What are you in the mood for?”

“How about pizza?” Jamie grinned.

“Sounds delicious, let’s go,” Lee replied as he tossed Jamie his car keys and they walked back to the car.

A while later, Lee and Jamie sat in a pizza parlor, a half-eaten pizza still sat in front of them.  Jamie was struggling to finish the last few bites of his third slice.

“Your eyes are bigger than your stomach,” Lee teased him.

“I was pretty hungry and this is so good,” Jamie stated as he took one last bite.

“Yeah, it was pretty good, but if you eat another slice you’re going to be sick,” Lee commented.  “Hey, how was your test today?”

“Piece of cake,” Jamie boasted.

“Glad to hear that,” Lee nodded proudly.

“Are you going to have anymore pizza, Lee?”

“No, I’ve had plenty.  We’ll take the rest home to your mother.”

“Do you think she’ll be home when we get there?” Jamie questioned.  “How long does it take to give a deposition?”

“They were running really behind schedule,” Lee commented thinking back to why he was late to the soccer game in the first place.  “How long depends upon how involved in the case you were.”

“What kind of a case was it?  It wasn’t a murder case, was it?” Jamie asked.

“It involved a person who stole classified documents.  I can’t tell you the specifics,” Lee reminded his stepson, “but it wasn’t a murder case.”

“Have you ever been involved in a murder case?” Jamie questioned, intrigued.

“The Agency doesn’t usually get involved in cases of that nature,” Lee explained to him.  “But on occasion I’ve been a witness when someone was killed.”

“Pretty gruesome, huh?” Jamie mentioned as his face took on a painful gaze.

“It can be.  Your mother witnessed a murder once,” Lee informed him.  “As I remember, she had trouble sleeping for a while after that.”

“Yeah, me too,” Jamie admitted, then nervously glanced away from Lee and grabbed for his soda, slurping it loudly.

Lee’s head crooked a bit and his face took on a serious expression.  He hadn’t missed Jamie’s last comment.  He knew he was hiding something.  He just wasn’t sure what it was.  “Jamie, is there something you’d like to talk about?”

Jamie fidgeted in his seat nervously, but was reprieved when the waitress came by.

“Will there be anything else for you tonight?” she asked politely.

Lee glanced at the waitress briefly.  “If you could box up the leftovers and give me the check.”

She took the leftover pizza and disappeared behind the counter.

Lee turned his full attention back to Jamie.  “Jamie, I know about the friend of yours who was shot last week…”

“You know about it?” Jamie repeated uncomfortably.

“I read the police report,” Lee nodded and continued to watch his stepson squirm uncomfortably in the seat across from him.  “Yeah, it was pretty sad.  Sounded like he was a good kid,” Lee admitted.

“Lenny was a nice guy,” Jamie advised him.  “Did they find the jerk that shot him?”

“Not yet,” Lee answered, flatly.

“I was wondering, Lee, was he killed instantly, by the first shot?” Jamie finally asked his step father.

“Yeah, he was,” Lee answered matter-of-factly, but now he knew that Jamie knew more than he should have.  The newspaper had never mentioned how many times the youth was shot, that was only in the police report.  Lee was extremely concerned why and how Jamie had inside knowledge on an unsolved murder.  “How did you know he was shot more than once?”

Silence engulfed the table.  Jamie swallowed hard and finally mumbled with little confidence.  “I heard it from one of the guys at school.”

“Here you go, guys,” the waitress interrupted, bringing back the pizza and the check.

Lee never took his eye off Jamie.  Jamie started to get out of the booth.

“Jamie, sit back down,” Lee replied calmly, he had a few more questions he wanted to ask his stepson.  “How do you know he was killed by the first shot?”

“Like I said, Lee,” Jamie whispered back to Lee, but not meeting his intense gaze.  “I just heard it at school.”

“You know, Jamie, I’m trained in interrogating people.  I can tell you’re hiding something.   You won’t look me in the eye.  You’re distracted and nervous and as delicious as that pizza was, it wasn’t spicy, but you’re starting to sweat,” Lee explained logically to his youngest stepson as he continued to squirm anxiously in the bench across from him.  “They don’t generally give out details about a murder to the public.  I need the truth.  I can’t help you unless I know the truth.”

“Lee, I’m scared,” Jamie finally blurted out almost in tears.

“You were there,” Lee replied in a resolved voice.

Jamie nodded, but didn’t say a word.

Lee pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and threw a couple of bills on the table.  “Come on, you grab the pizza.  Let’s get out of here.”
 

End Part Three
 
 

******
 
 

Part Four
 

Lee hustled Jamie out of the restaurant and then over to his car.  He needed to remain calm in order to question his stepson on the details of what he saw or knew about the murder.  He had to resist his normal instincts and play good cop for a change.  Amanda was better at soft interrogations than he had ever been.  Lee always went for the jugular.  He wanted answers from Jamie, but knew Jamie was frightened.  He was a sensitive kid and having recently witnessed a brutal murder, his defenses were most likely up as high as a brick wall.  He needed to be coaxed gently into telling his story.

Jamie put the pizza in the back seat then sat in the front passenger seat and buckled his seat belt.  He didn’t say a word and was staring at the floor boards of the car.  His behavior confirmed what Lee already knew.  The poor kid was scared to death.  Lee sat down and put the key in the ignition, but didn’t turn it.  In the privacy of the car, Lee finally turned to Jamie.  “Son, I know you’re scared and upset, but you need to tell me what happened that day?”

“I can’t,” he protested as his voice cracked. “You’ll tell mom.”

Lee had to stifle a chuckle.  Here he was sitting with a witness to a murder and Jamie was worried about his mother finding out.  “Jamie, your mother will understand.”

“Mom will ground us for a month,” he argued as he wrung his hands nervously.  “We should have never ridden our bikes that far.  It was in a bad neighborhood.  Mom would have never let us go…”

“Didn’t your father know where you were?” Lee questioned as he gritted his teeth together tightly, still trying to maintain a modicum of composure.

“No,” Jamie answered quietly.  “After school Philip and I always split and nobody ever asks any questions.”

“Philip was with you, too?” Lee remarked curiously.

“Yes, well, no,” he corrected as he grabbed his head with his hands in frustration.

“Relax, pal,” Lee suggested in a friendly voice.  Lee was trying to keep his own emotions under control.  He had to stay calm and deal with the issues of Joe’s lack of parenting and Philip and Jamie’s disregard of common sense under Joe’s care at a later time.  Right now he needed to focus on what Jamie saw the day of the murder.  “Take a deep breath - that’s it… and settle down.  Now, take your time, but tell me what happened last Thursday.”

The silence in the car seemed overwhelming.  Seconds ticked into minutes and still Jamie sat there not even opening his mouth.  Other people came and went in the parking lot, but Lee waited patiently.  He knew eventually Jamie would have to share what he saw  that day.  Jamie was scared, but Lee was confident he would confide the ghastly truth with him.  Finally a teary eyed Jamie turned towards Lee…

“We rode our bikes over there.  It was pretty far from dad’s house.  Once we got there, we knew we shouldn’t have gone.  It was a really bad neighborhood, but we were already there.  Philip’s friends saw us, so we stayed.   We figured nobody would ever find out," he admitted as he closed his eyes.  "We played basketball with Philip’s friends, Alan and Lenny.  Lenny was really good.  He’d steal the ball every time I got it.  I couldn’t keep up with them, so I quit playing and I got out my camera.  I took some action shots of Lenny while he was playing.”

Lee sat in the car and listened intently, thinking to himself how much Jamie was like his mother.  Amanda was known for her long winded explanations as well, but she always picked up details that others would miss.

“I ran out of film after a while and I went to put in another roll and change to the new, zoom lens you bought me.  That was when Alan announced he was going home.”

“So what did you do then?” Lee prompted.

“It was starting to get late.  We needed to get back to dad's.  We knew we’d be late for dinner, so Philip said we’d start for home, too,” Jamie explained.  “When we were a few blocks away I remembered that I left my new Orioles cap that dad bought me at the court.  So I went back to get it.”

“Alone,” Lee surmised, figuring out why Philip hadn’t seen the murder.

“Uh huh,” he nodded.  “When I got there Lenny was talking to this guy in a fancy sports car across the street.”

“Do you know what kind of car it was?” Lee pressed knowing the detail might help catch the murderer.

“It was white.  It had fancy wheels and stuff,” Jamie shrugged.  “I didn’t say anything to them.  I don’t think either of them knew I was there.  I grabbed my hat and went back over to my bike when I heard what I thought was the car, backfiring.  When I turned I saw…” Jamie stopped.  His face flushed even more than in the restaurant.

For a moment Lee thought Jamie was going to be sick in the car.  In a soothing voice he reassured his anxious stepson.  “It’s all right, Jamie,” Lee encouraged, putting his hand on his stepson's shoulder.  “Take another deep breath.”

A few moments later Jamie composed himself and continued in a shaky voice.  “Lenny fell to the ground - into a heap.  He didn’t move.  The other guy reached out with the gun and shot him two more times…bang, bang!  But I think he was dead before he ever hit the ground,” Jamie gulped out before he could no longer hold his emotions in check and he began to cry.

Lee gave Jamie some time for his emotions to drain.  He opened the glove box and handed him some tissues to dry his eyes and blow his nose.  “Do you think you could identify the guy who shot him?”

“It all happened so fast,” Jamie admitted with a shrug.  “I’d have to look at the pictures.”

“Pictures?  The shooter was there when you were playing?” Lee questioned in concern.  If the shooter was playing ball with them earlier, Philip, Jamie as well as their friend Alan could ID him but they’d also be targets.

“No, the guy who shot Lenny wasn’t there when we quit playing ball.  He must have shown up after we left,” Jamie explained.  “When I saw what was happening across the street I took the lens cap off my camera and started shooting.  I knew I had fresh film in the camera.  I took pictures of the guy in the car, Lenny on the ground and I tried to get the license plate when the guy sped away.  I’m not sure when I ran out of film – if it was before or after the car drove off.”

“Where are the pictures now?” Lee demanded, harsher than he meant to.

“I um, I haven’t gotten them developed yet.  I wasn’t sure where I could take them,” he stammered anxiously.

Lee took a deep breath himself.  He didn’t want to stress out Jamie any further than he already was.  “Where are the rolls of film?”

Jamie turned around and pointed to his backpack that was on the floor of the car behind them.  “They’re in there.  I was afraid to let them out of my sight.”

Lee patted Jamie’s shoulder before he turned the ignition key on the car.  “You know, you’re a lot like your mother,” Lee announced as he shook his head in disbelief.

“In what way?” Jamie asked, confused.

“She’s got good instincts,” Lee explained.  “Most kids would have run, but you had the sense to stay and take pictures.  That was a very brave thing to do.”

“The brave thing would have been to help Lenny when it happened.  I was afraid to.  I saw the pool of blood and…”

“He was killed instantly, Jamie.  If you had tried to help, the killer would have seen you and could have shot you as well.  You did the right thing,” Lee justified his stepson’s wise actions.

“I looked for a phone to call the police, but I didn’t see one.  Finally a car came down the road before I left and stopped.  That’s when I took off.”

“Let’s go get that film developed and I know just the person to develop them.  How would you like a quick tour of your mother’s and my office at the Agency?”

“I thought that was off limits,” Jamie questioned anxiously.  “Isn’t that against the rules?”

“I’ve been known to break a rule now and then,” Lee answered with a wink as he drove his car towards the Agency.

“Yeah, me too,” Jamie mumbled.

Lee smiled and put the car in drive and headed for the Agency…

**** **** **** ****

“Good evening, Mrs. Marston,” Lee Stetson greeted as he led Jamie to her desk in the entryway of the Agency.

“I thought you’d left for the evening, Mr. Stetson,” she commented in her usual strictly business attitude.

“I’ve got some last minute business I need to attend to.  Can I have a visitor’s pass, please?” he asked, giving her a broad, Lee Stetson grin.

“And who is this young man?” she demanded decisively as she held protectively to the visitor’s pass.

“Jamie King,” Lee answered, but didn’t give out any additional information.

“Mr. Stetson, you know the rules.  Family is not permitted on the premises for tours – even after normal business hours,” she stated firmly with an arch brow.

“I assure you, Mrs. Marston, there won’t be any tours tonight.  I swear to you this is strictly business – rather urgent business at that.  Now can I please have that visitor’s badge?” Lee insisted firmly.

Mrs. Marston begrudgingly handed over a visitor’s badge to Lee.  “This is highly irregular,” she snapped indignantly.

“Good evening to you, too, Mrs. Marston,” Lee chuckled as he nodded to Jamie to go up the stairwell.

“Are you going to get into trouble for bringing me here?” Jamie whispered as he waited upstairs in the hallway.

Lee unlocked the door to the ‘Q Bureau’ and flicked the light switch.  “No.  Mrs. Marston is always cranky.  She’s even been known to scare a few of the new agents.”

“I bet.”

“This is it.”  Lee watched as Jamie walked in a small circle gazing around the modest office.

“So this is where you and mom work, huh?” Jamie shrugged.

“Not what you expected?” Lee questioned, but he knew the answer from the look on the boy’s face.  The Q Bureau lacked any of the finesse of the Agency downstairs.  Upstairs was bland and old.  If someone had wandered in from the outside, they’d be disappointed.  The simple surroundings kept people from snooping.

“No, I figured it would be more… I don’t know, exciting…”

Lee laughed.  “Trust me; this is the old part of the Agency.  I can’t take you to the classified areas.  There, I guarantee, you would be impressed.  Upstairs in this office, we mostly shuffle paperwork around.”  Lee pointed to the vault.  “In there we keep declassified files, and of course, an old film library to maintain our cover.  Have a seat.”

Jamie nodded, sat down at his mom’s desk and rummaged through his backpack.  He finally pulled out two undeveloped rolls of film.  “Here they are, Lee.  I’m not sure which one is which.”

“That's all right,” Lee replied as he took the two rolls from his stepson.  Then he picked up the phone and dialed an internal number.  “Leatherneck, you’re still here…I need a big favor.  Can you run up to the Q Bureau for a second?  Great, see you soon.”

“Leatherneck?  Is that a code name or something?” Jamie asked.

“It’s his nickname.  He’s a pretty cool guy,” Lee answered with raised eyebrows.  “He’ll be here before you know it.”

“Does Mom have a code name?” Jamie inquired.

Lee shook his head.  “No, she’s never gotten one.”

“Why’s that?” he asked.

Before Lee could answer the door opened up and Leatherneck came in.  “Scarecrow, what are you doing here this late?  I thought you were the family man, oh… You’ve got company!”

“Hi, Leatherneck, I’d like to introduce you to my stepson, Jamie King.  Jamie, this is a good friend of mine, Leatherneck,” Lee stated.

“Hey, this is one of Amanda’s boys!  Nice to meet you,” Leatherneck greeted as he held out his hand.

“Nice to meet you, too,” Jamie replied as he shook the other man’s hand.

Lee watched the exchange as he held the two rolls of film tightly in his grasp.  “I need you to develop these – quiet and quick.”

“A case you’re working on?” Leatherneck questioned.

“Not anything we’re officially working on, but they could be important for a local murder,” Lee explained as he handed the two rolls of film to his co-worker.  “It seems our spy in training here takes after his mother.”

“Good instincts, huh?” Leatherneck replied knowingly as he held the rolls of film protectively in his hand.  “I’ll get on this right away.  I’ll be back soon.”

“Thanks, Leatherneck,” Lee called out as he hurried out the office door.

“So what now?” Jamie asked with an apprehension look on his face.

“We wait for the pictures to be developed.  In the meantime, I guess we better call your mom,” Lee replied as he grabbed the telephone receiver and dialed the familiar number.
 

“Hello,” Amanda greeted when she picked up the phone.

“Hey, you’re home,” Lee replied with some surprise. “I wasn’t sure if you’d be still giving your deposition until midnight.”

“I have to go back tomorrow to finish.  Everyone was getting tired,” she commented. “I was starting to worry about you.   I thought you’d be home by now.  Is the game in overtime?”

“No, the game was over a while ago.  Philip went out for burgers with Alan and his parents.  Alan scored the only goal in the game.  I told Philip to be home by eight,” Lee explained.

“That’s fine.  What about you?”

“We’ll be home in about an hour.  Jamie and I stopped for pizza.”

“Pizza, that sounds delicious!” she exclaimed with approval in her voice.  “How about I meet you?  I haven’t eaten yet and mother finished the leftovers from last night.”

“We’ve already left the pizza place,” Lee answered vaguely.

“So where are you that it’s going to take an hour to bring it home?” Amanda complained.  “Lee, I’m starving.”

Lee hesitated for a moment before answering.  “Um, I stopped at the office.”

“I thought you said Jamie was with you?” she queried with concern.

“He is.”

“I can’t believe you left him in the car, Lee, it’s almost November.  It’s dark and it’s getting cold outside,” she grumbled with disapproval.

“He’s not in the car.  He’s up in the Q Bureau with me,” he reassured her, but he knew that would only bring on further debate from his wife.

“Lee, what’s going on?  You know Dr. Smyth has been very explicit about his instructions that children are not welcome at the Agency at any time or for any reason – even for a few minutes.”

“Don’t worry.  We’ll be home in an hour,” Lee reiterated not wanting to discuss the issue over the phone.  “I’ve got to go.  I’ll explain it all to you then.  Love you…”

“Thanks for not telling her,” Jamie said in relief.

“I didn’t tell her over the phone.  We still need to tell her when we get home,” Lee concluded logically giving his stepson a no nonsense look as he placed the receiver back into its cradle.

“Oh, man. Mom’s going to ground us.  Philip’s going to strangle me for telling,” Jamie worried.

“Does your brother know anything about the murder?” Lee asked directly.

Jamie shook his head.  “I didn’t tell anyone about the shooting until I told you tonight.”

“All right, then.  Don’t worry about your mother or your brother,” Lee counseled knowing that being the only witness to the murder was enough for him to be troubled about.

“But what if the pictures don’t come out?  I mean, maybe there wasn’t enough light to get decent shots.  Maybe they’re blurry.  The battery could have been dead…” Jamie answered in a panic.

Lee glanced over at his nervous stepson.  He felt empathy for him, but he knew sooner or later Amanda would have to be told of the incident.  “Jamie, regardless of whether the pictures come out or not, you’re still a witness to a murder.  You don’t want a murderer to go unpunished, do you?”

“No, of course not!” Jamie resolved shamefully.

“You want justice for your friend, don’t you?” Lee added.

“Well, yeah, sure,” Jamie answered and then gritted his teeth.  “I guess you’re right.  Will you go with me to the police department?”

“Jamie, I promise I’ll be with you every step of the way,” Lee pledged.  “But first things first, let’s see what the pictures tell us and then I’ll make the necessary arrangements at the police department for you.”

“Thanks, Lee,” Jamie replied letting out a long sigh of relief.  “Maybe tonight I’ll get some sleep.”

“I’m sure you will,” Lee replied with an understanding nod.

End Part Four
 

****
 

Part Five
 

“Here you go, Lee!” Leatherneck announced as he opened the door to the Q Bureau.  “The kid got some great shots.”

“Really?” Jamie and Lee chorused together a smile breaking on each of their faces.

Leatherneck handed the photos over to Lee.  “I blew up the last few with the license plate.  It’s clear enough to read.  I’m sure the police will be quite appreciative.”

“No doubt,” Lee agreed as he took the pictures from Leatherneck.  “I owe you one.”

“Glad I could help, but I better get back downstairs.  Let me know how things come out, Scarecrow,” Leatherneck replied.  “It was nice to meet you, Jamie.  I’m sure your mother will be real proud of you.”

“It was nice to meet you, too,” Jamie called out as Leatherneck left the office.

“Jamie, you’ve most likely solved the case,” Lee commented as he carefully studied the photos his stepson shot of the murder.

“Oh my gosh!” Jamie exclaimed, his face beaming with pride.  “Do you really think so?”

“With these pictures as evidence, the police will be able to pick up whoever owns the car and bring them in for questioning,” Lee explained to Jamie as he handed the photos over for him.

“It was pretty lucky that I had on the new zoom lens you got me,” Jamie reminded his stepfather.

“Our luck is going to run out if we don’t get out of here soon.  We kept your mom waiting long enough for dinner,” Lee suggested as he gathered up the pictures.  “You ready to go?”

“Yeah, let me just zipper up my bag,” Jamie replied.  “When are you going to call the police?”

“Call the police?  For what?” Amanda repeated with a probing glare as she opened the door to the Q Bureau.

“Amanda, what… what are you doing here?” Lee stammered anxiously as his wife stared at him crossly.

“I wanted to know what you two were doing here, that’s why.  I’d also like to know why you’re calling the police?” she demanded impatiently.

Lee glanced over at Jamie whose eyes were now as large as saucers.   He turned to his wife and calmly answered.  “I told you I’d explain everything when we got home.”

“Just answer my question now,” she insisted as she closed the door behind her.

Lee let out a long breath.  He knew Amanda would be upset by the situation and now she was already angry with him.  “You remember you asked me to talk to Jamie about his friend being shot?”

She glanced over at Jamie who was sitting at her desk and nodded.  “I remember.”

“It seems your instincts were right on target as usual,” Lee started to explain hoping to butter her up a bit.  “He was upset about the murder.”

“That still doesn’t answer my question,” she asserted.

“Come take a look at these,” Lee responded evenly as he held up the photos that Jamie had taken.  “I think you’ll understand why he was so upset.”

Amanda took the pictures from Lee and examined them meticulously, one at a time.  “This is the boy who was killed?” she questioned.

“He’s the one,” Lee confirmed.

“Who took these pictures?” she asked when she was finished looking through them all.  The look on her face clearly showed she was upset.

“I did,” Jamie admitted awkwardly.

“Oh my gosh!” she exclaimed as her eyes flew wide open immediately.  “What in God’s name were you doing all the way down there?”

Jamie swallowed hard and shrunk into Amanda’s chair.  He glanced at Lee for help then back at his mother.

“Amanda, let me explain,” Lee tried to butt in.

“I didn’t ask you, Lee,” Amanda warned irately.  “Jamie, what were you doing in that neighborhood?”

“We… we were playing ball,” he squeaked out in a small voice.

“Did your father or Carrie drive you down there?” she demanded angrily.

“No, we rode our bikes,” Jamie answered in a muted voice.

Amanda’s face was red with anger.  “You rode your bikes!?  You and your brother?”

Jamie nodded, but didn’t utter a sound.

“Grab your things, we’re going home,” she ordered him furiously.

“Amanda, wait.  I think we need to talk about this - calmly.  He’s been through a lot,” Lee suggested, but from the cross look on his wife’s face, there was little chance of that.

“Lee, this is my son.  I’ll handle it,” Amanda snapped as she gripped Jamie firmly by the arm and hustled him out of the office.

***

Several hours later Lee returned to the house on Maplewood.  The front porch light was on and there was a light still burning in the kitchen, but the house was silent.  Lee locked up, turned out the lights and made his way up the stairs.  The door to the boys’ room was closed as was the door to his bedroom.  He opened it quietly not certain if his wife was asleep.

“Amanda,” he called out in a hushed tone.

“I’m awake,” she answered flatly.

“Did Jamie get to sleep all right?” Lee questioned softly, hoping her tone would improve.

“He’s in bed.  I doubt either of them are asleep.  I’ve grounded them for a month,” she replied, but the crossness in her voice was still quite apparent.

Lee clicked on the light from the table lamp, pulled off his tie and kicked off his shoes.  “He was pretty upset about the whole ordeal,” Lee mentioned with concern as he turned towards his wife.  Her face wore a heavy frown.

“I can’t believe they rode their bikes all the way down to Green Valley.  They’re lucky they weren’t killed.  They’re old enough to know better,” Amanda seethed.

“Regardless of what they did, he witnessed a murder.  We need to be there for him,” Lee reminded him.

“Where have you been the last few hours?” she inquired as she sat up in bed.

He sighed heavily realizing that changing the subject was her way of telling him she didn’t want his opinion on the subject.  He began to unbutton his shirt before he answered.

“I ran the plates from one of the pictures that Jamie took.  It appears that the owner of the car is the shooter.  He’s got a rap sheet a mile long – started as a petty thief, then breaking and entering.  He was out on parole for drug possession…”

“Great, so now there’s a murderer loose with a drug habit,” Amanda snapped apprehensively.

“He won’t be on the streets for long.  I tried to track down the detective who’s running the case.  He wasn’t in, so I left a message for him to call me first thing in the morning,” Lee advised her.

“Lee, send him the pictures anonymously or tell him it was one of your snitches, but I want you to keep Jamie out of it,” Amanda informed him.

“What?!” Lee gasped.  “Amanda, Jamie’s the key witness to a rather brutal murder.  They’re going to want to talk to him.”

“Lee, I saw the pictures.  With them, the case is a slam dunk.  We both know they’ll be able to get a search warrant and will, no doubt find the murder weapon.  He’s probably stupid enough to think he’s gotten away with it so he won’t try to ditch the gun.  Let ballistics prove he did it and keep my son out of it,” Amanda lectured anxiously.

“Why?” he asked her point blank, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“You mentioned it a few minutes ago.  He’s upset about the whole thing.  I don’t want him involved with a murdering drug user,” she declared.  “Now put your clothes in the hamper and let’s get some sleep.”

“I don’t believe you,” Lee criticized furiously as he stood up and slammed his clothes into the hamper.  “It’s all right for you, a woman with two minor children to get involved with the Agency – by choice - despite knowing the risks, but when your son accidentally witnesses a murder you don’t want him to get involved!  What kind of message are you sending to your sons?”

“He’s a vulnerable young boy!” she affirmed.  “Keep him out of it.”

“You’re a hypocrite,” he retorted irately.  “A minute ago you told me he was old enough and knew better than to ride over to that neighborhood.  Now you’re telling me he’s too young to get involved.  You can’t have it both ways.”

“He’s my son.  My job is to protect him,” she argued.

“You’re over-protecting him!  This would be a good lesson for them both to learn, Amanda,” Lee disputed as he ran his hand through his hair.  “Let them learn from their mistake.  Let them see what happens when people don’t follow the rules.  I guarantee neither of them will ride their bikes back to that neighborhood again.  I tell you it’s better than grounding them.  Besides, this whole mess isn’t entirely their fault.  If Joe would wake up and be a parent this wouldn’t have happened in the first place.”

“Don’t go blaming this on Joe.”

“I’ll admit it wasn’t the best decision the kids have made, but Joe’s partly to blame,” Lee reiterated.  “He never set down any rules.”

“How can you blame this on Joe?  Philip and Jamie knew they shouldn’t have ridden their bikes over there.  It was clearly a bad decision on their part,” she exclaimed, unwavering.

“Why do you always take Joe’s side?” Lee snapped back angrily.

“Why do you always blame everything on Joe?” she snapped defensively.

“I don’t blame everything on Joe, but clearly he shares some of the blame here,” Lee reasoned.  “We should have never let him have joint custody in the first place.  We should have stood firm and told him no.”

“Oh, so now this whole mess is my fault for letting them spend time with their father?” Amanda snapped crossly.

“I didn’t say that,” he defended, but he could see by the look on her face that she took what he said the wrong way.

“No, but it was implied,” she disputed.

Lee sat down on the edge of the bed near his wife.  “Amanda, I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean that.”

“I didn’t want them to go there.  I still don’t,” she sniveled.

“I know,” he replied, putting his arm around her for support.  He knew this had been a sore subject from the start, but ignoring the issue wasn’t helping.  “It’s just that I know what it’s like to be bumped around from place to place.  Maybe this was the boys’ way of trying to get his attention.”

“Well they have my attention.  I’m not so sure they’ll ever get Joe’s,” Amanda acknowledged and sighed in frustration.

“You’re probably right about that,” Lee answered with disgust.

“Maybe you’re right, too,” Amanda admitted sheepishly.  “I don’t want to teach my sons to look the other way.  Like it or not, Jamie witnessed a murder.”

“So you’ll let him talk to the police?” he questioned.

She nodded her consent.  “I guess I can’t protect him from something that already happened, can I?”

“Unfortunately, no.  Like it or not, sweetheart, the boys are growing up.  Jamie’s scared, but he needs to come forward and talk to the police.  I told him I’d go with him.”

“You’re a good influence on them,” she reminded him.  “They’re lucky to have you.  I wish Joe would be more like you.”

“I listen to them.  Sometimes that’s all a kid really wants from a parent,” Lee commented and sighed.

“There’s something else still bothering you, isn’t there?” she pressed.

“Yeah,” he nodded, but was unsure whether he should press his luck on the issue.  He gently reached out and stroked her face. He cleared his throat before starting.  “Maybe it’s time you let them have a voice in some of the decisions that affect their lives.  They’re not little boys anymore,” Lee suggested in a tranquil voice.  “I know I resented my uncle for never asking my opinion on things.”

“I don’t want the boys resenting me for making them spend time with Joe,” she whispered.  “I just want them to get to know him better.”

“I know that,” he answered as he hugged her tightly and gave her a kiss on the cheek.  “So instead of letting Joe bully you into giving him joint custody, how about we talk to the boys and find out what they’d like?”

“How did you get to be such a good parent so fast?” Amanda asked as she glanced up into his sparkling eyes.

Lee chuckled and smiled.  “I’ve been learning from an expert these last four years.”

“Some expert,” Amanda disputed with a huff.

“You’re just tired and over worked.  You’ll feel better in the morning,” Lee replied with a wink.

“You’re a sweet talker,” she teased as she pulled the sheets down for him to climb into bed next to her.

“Good night, Mrs. Stetson, I love you,” Lee replied as he gave her a kiss and turned out the light.

“I love you, too, Mr. Stetson,” Amanda whispered as she cuddled up next to him.

End Part Five
 

****
 

Part Six

Later that same week…
 

“So where are Grandma and Lee tonight, Mom?” Jamie questioned as he sat down for dinner.

“Lee took your grandmother out for dinner tonight.  I wanted to spend some time with you two – alone.  You know… talk,” Amanda explained as she carried in a big bowl of mashed potatoes in one hand and a plate of hamburgers in the other.

“Oh, no,” Philip moaned.  “This has to be really bad.  What did you do now, junior?”

“Philip,” Amanda started in an annoyed tone. “I was going to talk to you both about reducing your punishments, but if you’d rather not have this conversation…”

“Be quiet for once, Philip,” Jamie suggested to his older brother, giving him a cold glare.

“I’m sorry, Mom,” Philip quickly added.  “So you’re going to reduce how long we’re grounded?”

“That’s one of the things I’d like to talk about tonight,” she answered as she started serving each of the boys.  “I’ve given it some thought over the last couple of days.”

“We’re both really sorry for going so far on our bikes,” Philip told her earnestly.  “It won’t happen again.”

“I’m glad to hear that, Philip, but do you know why I was so upset?”

“Well, because, um, you know, we could have gotten hurt or shot or something,” he stammered uneasily.

Amanda glanced over at her younger son and waited for him to respond.

“You were upset because not only did we put ourselves in danger, but we knew better and did it anyway.  We took advantage of the fact that dad and Carrie didn’t give us any rules to follow,” Jamie answered diligently.

“Ah, you really are growing up.  So this experience actually helped you learn something after all,” Amanda smiled at Jamie.

“Yeah, it sure did,” Jamie replied.  “I never want to sit in another police station again.  I was just an accidental witness and the place gave me the creeps.”

“We promise not to go that far on our bikes again,” Philip added one more time.

“Good.  I’ve decided to reduce your grounding to the remainder of this week, but no bikes for this week or the next.  Does that sound fair?” she questioned as she looked at Philip and Jamie.

“But we’ll be at dad’s house anyway,” Philip reminded his mother.

“That means we still can’t use them there.  It’s the honor system, dummy,” Jamie snapped at his brother.

“Jamie, don’t call your brother names,” Amanda warned as she shook her head in frustration.  “I also wanted to talk to you about the time you spent at your father’s house.  We never really discussed whether you enjoyed it or not.”

“It was pretty much as we expected,” Philip started.  “Dad’s not home very much.  He usually doesn’t get in until we’re getting ready for bed.  Carrie spends a lot of time on the phone with her friends or talking to dad when he calls to tell her he’ll be late.”

Amanda clenched her teeth – same old Joe King.  She had hoped that he would make a sincere effort to spend time with his sons.  “Did he make it home for dinner during the week, or just on the weekends?”

“He made it home on Friday night.  He brought home Chinese food,” Philip recalled and then took a big bite of his hamburger.

“That’s because he doesn’t like Carrie’s cooking any better than we do.  If he knows he’ll be home for dinner, he does take-out!” Jamie laughed.

“Carrie’s cooking is awful, but she’s nice to us.  She doesn’t hassle us about getting cookie crumbs all over the family room or our rooms being messy,” Philip explained.

“And she doesn’t say anything when we don’t take out the trash,” Jamie added.

“You should tidy your room and help around the house just the same, young man,” Amanda scolded.

“Carrie doesn’t know how to talk to us.  She treats me like I’m a baby.  She even asked me if I wanted her to cut my steak,” Jamie complained before he put a big forkful of mashed potatoes into his mouth.

“That’s because you were eating everything but the steak,” Philip recapped for his mother.

Jamie swallowed, grabbed his glass of milk and took a big gulp before responding.  “She burnt the steak to a crisp.  I don’t even think that dog next door could have eaten it,” Jamie protested.  “She really is a lousy cook, Mom.  She’s not like you at all.  This food is delicious!”

“Her specialty is making reservations,” Philip cut in and started to laugh.

Jamie started to laugh as well.

Amanda just listened to her sons vent about the time they spent at Joe’s house without Joe.  She didn’t interrupt and at times she wanted to laugh, but she managed to keep a straight face.

“Then, because dad lives so far away from the school, we had to get up almost an hour earlier to make it there on time.  We were late three days in a row because of traffic getting out of dad’s neighborhood,” Phillip reminded them.

“Yes, I did call your father when I found that out,” Amanda replied with a scowl.

“They need a traffic light at that intersection,” Jamie suggested, then added.  “I hate getting up so early.  I don’t have history class first period to sleep through.”

“You better not be sleeping through history class, Philip.  How did you do on your test last week?” Amanda questioned.

“I passed it,” he replied.

“With what, a ‘D’?” Jamie ridiculed.

“Did you study?” Amanda asked with a stern look.

“A little,” he answered guiltily as he glared at his little brother.

Amanda sighed heavily.  Joe hadn’t set down any ground rules for the boys.  Carrie didn’t want the job disciplining the boys, so she didn’t set any restrictions for them either.  Joe didn’t get home early enough to make sure the boys did their homework or study and three out of five days, they were late for school.  “So overall, last week at your dad’s place was less than successful,” Amanda summed up for her sons.

“You got that right!” Phillip groaned, and then quickly asked.  “Do we have to go back?”

“Yeah, Mom, do we?  It was just like we knew it would be.  Dad means well, but he’s never around.  We’d rather be here,” Jamie grumbled.

“You both know I only want what’s best for you.  Your father’s a really great guy, but he’s got an important job and he’s busy.”  Amanda defended Joe once again.

“You and Lee are busy and your jobs are important, too,” Jamie replied thoughtfully.  “But you make time for us.  We’re not priority to dad.”

Amanda winced at her son’s canny ability to say it like it was.  She closed her eyes momentarily trying to conceal her anger.  Once she regained her emotions she reminded her sons for the umpteenth time.  “He does love you, you know.”

“We know that, Mom.  In his way, he really does care.  When we spend time with him on the weekends it can be fun,” Philip told her, “but once Monday rolls around he’s zoned in on work.”

“What if we worked something out with your father, that instead of staying there for a full week, we’d extend his weekend visitations?” she suggested.

“I don’t want to go there every weekend,” Philip protested immediately.  “I’ll never get to see my girlfriend.”

“I didn’t mean every weekend, but he might be agreeable if we came up with a compromise.  What if he picked you up on Friday afternoons from school and had you all weekend and brought you to school on Monday morning?” she recommended with a shrug.

Jamie put his fork down and nodded.  “That would mean we’d only have to get up early one day a week.”

“And then we wouldn’t have to eat that much of Carrie’s home cooking!” Philip added.

“But you would still get to spend some time with your dad and get to know him better,” Amanda replied solemnly as she reached out a hand to each of her sons and squeezed their hands.  “I think that’s really important.”

“Have you spoken to dad about this yet?” Philip asked, somewhat excited about the idea.

“No, I thought it was best to talk to you fellas first.  I figured you were both old enough to have your opinion heard.  Sometimes your father and I forget that you two are growing up.  We think of you as our little boys, but you’re not anymore,” Amanda lamented as she glanced across the table at her two sons.  “It seems like only yesterday you two were in diapers.”

“Mom, please,” Philip shuddered theatrically.

 “Yeah, Mom,” Jamie rolled his eyes.

Amanda sighed.  “So it’s settled then.  You’d like me to talk to your father about modifying our ‘new’ custody agreement?”

Philip and Jamie nodded, each with a bright smile.

“All right then.  I’ll invite him to lunch tomorrow,” she announced.  “Now finish your dinner or you won’t get any dessert!”

Jamie grabbed his hamburger and took another big bite; Philip scooped up a forkful of potatoes and smiled before they disappeared into his mouth.  Amanda smiled back.  She was looking forward to lunch…

***** *****

“Hi, Joe,” Amanda greeted politely as Joe bent down and gave her a peck on her cheek when he reached her table.  “Thanks for meeting me for lunch.  I know you’re busy.”

“Yeah, things never seem to settle down,” Joe admitted as he sat down across from her at the same restaurant they had met in just about a month before.

“I know, it’s the same thing for me,” Amanda divulged with a polite smile.

“I meant to call you and fill you in on some of the things that happened last week.  You have no idea how hard it was to get the boys up, dressed and ready for school.  That’s why we were late.  Well, that and the traffic,” Joe confessed.

“It’s tough to get them out of bed in the morning, but Philip has such trouble in history class as it is, he needs to be there on time,” Amanda warned sternly.

“We finally got it worked out by the end of the week.  And Carrie was really upset about picking up the boys late from school that one day.  I’m sure Jamie told you she forgot, but she had an appointment that ran over.  She was only thirty minutes late,” he acknowledged guiltily.

“Actually, neither of the boys mentioned it,” Amanda replied rather casually, trying to hold back her exasperation with her ex and his second wife.

Joe pulled uncomfortably at his tie.  “Well I promise you it won’t happen again.”

“I’m sure it won’t,” Amanda nodded as she sipped at her water, then she put it down.  She tilted her head slightly and watched Joe very carefully then asked her next question.  “Do you know where Jamie was on Wednesday night?”

Joe shrugged innocently.  “No, I haven’t talked to either of the boys since I dropped them off at school on Monday.”

“Did you know about their friend who was shot and killed last week?” Amanda quizzed her ex-husband.

“No, they hadn’t mentioned that either.  Listen, Amanda, I know what you’re getting at,” Joe remarked slightly irked at her insinuations.

“Do you know what they do while they’re at your house or even where they go after school?” she persisted, not letting him off the hook easily.

“I admit it; I didn’t spend a lot of quality time with the boys last week.  It’s going to take some adjustments, but eventually it’ll happen,” Joe promised, but it was clear he was getting annoyed.  “Now are we going to have lunch or is this inquisition going to continue?”

Amanda was seething inside, but ignored his remarked that ‘eventually’ he’d work things out.  She put on a fake smile and placed a newspaper article in front of Joe about Lenny’s murder.  “Just one more thing, Joe, did you read about this poor kid being shot in Green Valley?”

Joe glanced at the article and shook his head.  “No, I don’t generally concern myself with what happens to the thugs in that neighborhood.”

“Sad part is, Joe, the boy who was shot to death wasn’t a ‘thug’.  Actually, he was a friend of your sons.  In fact, the day he was shot and killed both of your sons were playing basketball with him down in Green Valley!” Amanda snapped heatedly.  Then she put a second article in front of him.  The byline read, ‘Murder suspect nabbed by snapshot.’

Joe glimpsed at the caption and shrugged.  “Good!  It appears they got the guy who did it.  Are you going to get to the point?  I’m hungry and I’ve only have a limited amount of time for lunch.”

“Sure, Joe, I’ll cut to the chase.  Jamie spent three hours at the police station on Wednesday evening.  He was the one who took the snapshots of the murder in Green Valley.  The ‘thug’ you so casually referred to was a good student being recruited by several area colleges for a full scholarship.”

“I… I had, no idea,” he answered, flabbergasted.  His face paled and he reached for the glass of water in front of him.

“Did you ever tell the boys where they could and couldn’t go on their bikes?  Did you ever give them a curfew as to when they had to be home?  Do you have any idea who their friends are in your neighborhood and where they hang out and what they do?” Amanda lashed out, one question after another.  She stared at him furiously and waited for a reply.

“Amanda, you’re right.  I did a lousy job last week.  I’ll talk with the boys next week when they’re back at my place.  Maybe you should give me some ideas as to what guidelines I should follow for them.  We should have the same rules, bed times.  You know,” Joe answered, looking somewhat embarrassed.

“The thing is, Joe, the boys don’t want to go back to your house next week.  They’re not that keen on the new living arrangements,” she explained, sensitively.  She didn’t want to be callous to her ex, but for once she was going to stand firm – their sons were going to remain with her.

“They need to get used to the new arrangements, that’s all,” Joe retorted.

“Don’t force the boys to do something they don’t want to do,” Amanda appealed.

“Amanda, I could go to the courts and demand joint custody.  I live in the same town; have a great job, a stable home life, and a wonderful new wife.  Let’s just give this a little more time to work the wrinkles out,” Joe appealed, not willing to give in.

“Wrinkles, Joe?  For God’s sakes you son witnessed a brutal murder!  For once in your life be honest with yourself and with me for your sons’ sake.  Your job is the priority in your life; it always has been.  It never was the boys or your marriage.  Our marriage failed because of it and I’m finally at a point in my life that I can accept that.  But don’t fail your sons by pretending you’re going to be there for them when you’re not.”  Amanda lectured in a tone she rarely used with Joe.  She was tired of always giving in to his needs.  Today she was drawing the line – the boys’ needs and safety came first.  “There could’ve been more than one tragedy last week at that basketball court because you never took the time to set basic ground rules for your children.  Face it, Joe, the boys tested you and you failed.”

Joe swallowed hard.  He couldn’t help but stare at the two newspaper article that sat on table between them.  “I um… I just wanted to spend some time with them,” he stammered uncomfortably.

Amanda reached out her hand and put it on his.  In a soft voice she responded.  “I know deep in your heart you love the boys.  They know that, too,” Amanda counseled compassionately.  “But we both know this isn’t going to work.”

“They grew up so fast.  I’ve missed so much,” Joe replied hoarsely and looked away.

“Can I offer a compromise?” Amanda suggested as she watched the gloomy look on Joe’s face.  She wasn’t certain, but it appeared that there were tears in her ex-husband’s eyes.

Joe nodded silently.

“I spoke with the boys last night.  We thought that maybe you could pick them up at school on Friday afternoon and have them all weekend.  Then on Monday morning, you’ll have to drag them out of bed and drive them to school.  They can take the bus home to my place on Monday after school,” Amanda explained.  “I know it’s not joint custody like you wanted, but I think it will work much better.”

“It would give me a little more time with them,” Joe resolved in a resigned voice.

“Both Philip and Jamie said they liked spending time with you on the weekends when you’re not so absorbed by work,” she confided.  “I think this is for the best, Joe.”

“I hate to admit it, but you may be right,” Joe reconciled.

Amanda removed the two newspaper articles from the table and put them back in her purse.  She picked up the menu and glanced at it.  “Everything looks delicious,” she announced as she saw the waiter approach the table.  “What would you like for lunch, Joe?  It’s on me.”

End Part Six
 

****

Conclusion
 

“Hey, Mom,” Jamie shouted impatiently as he ran down the stairs.

“I’m in the kitchen, sweetheart, cooking dinner,” Amanda called out to her son who almost collided with her at the stove.

“Mom, I’ve been thinking about Lenny and his mother,” Jamie started hesitantly.

Amanda turned the burner to low and gave him her full attention.   They had talked to Jamie after he had given his statement to the police and he was quite relieved when the shooter had been arrested, but up to now, he choose not to discuss the murder.  “What about?”

“She must miss Lenny a lot, huh?” he inquired with a shrug.

“Yes, honey, I can’t even imagine how difficult it must be to lose your only son,” Amanda responded dejectedly.  She pondered the tragic idea for a moment with a noticeable shudder.  As much as she loved her sons she didn't want to have to think about losing one of them  – regardless of the reason.  It was just too horrid of a thought.

“You know, the police only confiscated the one roll of film.  Did you ever look at that first roll that I shot of Lenny playing ball?” Jamie asked eagerly.

“No, I can’t say that I ever did see the other pictures you took that day,” she confided honestly.

“You know, that first roll was mostly action shots of Lenny.  Not all of them came out that great, but there are a few decent shots,” he started to explain to his mother.

“I bet there are quite a few nice shots on the roll,” Amanda suggested with an arched brow.

“Well, I thought that maybe Mrs. Diaz would like some of the pictures I took of Lenny.  You know, to remember him by.”

“I think that’s a wonderful idea,” Amanda nodded, proud of the thoughtfulness of her youngest son.  She glanced at what he was holding in his hands and nodded.  “Are those the pictures?”

“Yeah,” he answered and handed her the pictures he had taken that fateful day.

Amanda took the pictures from Jamie and examined them meticulously, one at a time.  Her reaction from this roll of film was quite different from the reaction she had from the second roll he shot. She smiled as she went through the many pictures, pausing at a few of the exceptional pictures that her son had taken, not knowing they would be the last moments of a young man’s life.

“Hey, what are you looking at?” Lee asked as he came in the back door, tossing his car keys on the counter.

“Lee, take a look at these.  It’s the other roll of film that Jamie took the day that Lenny was killed.  Some of these are really first rate!”

“You’re just saying that, Mom!” Jamie replied, rolling his eyes.

“Hang on a minute, Jamie,” Lee corrected as Amanda handed him a few of the better photos.  Lee admired several of the pictures his stepson had taken.  “She’s right; some of these action shots are terrific!”

“We’re not just saying that to make you feel better,” Amanda reassured her skeptical son.  “Here, look at this one,” she pulled out one in particular that showed Lenny leaping into the air with the basketball, an intense smile on his face.  “Not only is this a clear picture, but you’ve captured the joy Lenny had for game.  You truly are becoming a talented photographer.”

“You really mean that?” Jamie asked with a wide grin.

“Absolutely, and I think your idea of giving Mrs. Diaz some of the pictures is wonderful.  How about after dinner we look through them and see if we can pick out a few she might like?” she replied.

“How about you pick out your favorites and we could have them enlarged?” Lee suggested with a smile.  “I bet Mrs. Diaz would really appreciate that.”

“That would be way cool,” Jamie replied excitedly.

“Yes, I think that would be a nice idea.  I’ll tell you what; I’ll buy a few frames to put them in.  I think that would be a very special gift you could give her,” Amanda answered as she rubbed the goose bumps that had formed on her arms at the thought.  Her son certainly was very compassionate.

“Thanks, Mom,” Jamie raced out of the kitchen and went into the family room.

“That idea of having them enlarged was a good one, Mr. Stetson,” Amanda observed with a sigh.

“That’s quite an amazing son, you have there, Mrs. Stetson,” Lee commented as they watched Jamie spread the pictures out on the coffee table and sorted them out.  “I know that I treasure the few pictures I have of my parents.  A picture of a lost loved one can be a powerful antidote to a broken heart,” Lee remarked sadly.

“You’re rather amazing yourself, Mr. Stetson,” Amanda replied with a tear in her eye.

“I guess it runs in the family,” Lee replied as he took her into his arms and kissed her.  “And I’m very proud to be part of this family.”

The end
 

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