CONCLUSION
Thursday Morning – 10:00
Billy Melrose smiled and said,
“Thanks, Peterson! That’s great new. Good work! All right, I’ll talk to you
later.” As he placed the receiver back in its cradle and seated himself behind
his desk, he beamed like a proud papa.
Lee twisted the doorknob and leaned
into the office, asking “So what’s the good word, Billy?”
“They’ve rescued Mrs. Bauer, and she’s
safe and sound,” he replied.
“That’s great, Billy,” Lee said with a
bright smile. “What about the guys who took her?”
“We captured all three of them--with
the help of the local Dresden police, if you can believe it.”
With a sardonic grin, Lee countered,
“Will wonders never cease?” His eyes brightened as he anticipated his partner’s
reaction. “This is really good news, Billy. Amanda’ll be glad to hear. . .”
Billy’s smile faded slightly as he
broke in, “Oh. . .didn’t she tell you? She was planning to meet Volkenauer over
at the Jefferson Memorial this morning. . .you know, kind of finish up their
interrupted tour, before saying goodbye.”
“Oh,” Lee said with a sick smile. He
cast a fleeting glance out to the bullpen, then pointed out over his shoulder,
saying softly, “Okay then, I guess I’ll just be. . .”
“Go on, man! Get out of here!” Billy
snarled, then released the guffaw he could no longer contain.
********
Thursday Morning – 10:30
Amanda and Dieter Volkenauer strolled
around the Jefferson Memorial, pausing here and there to marvel at the writings
of Thomas Jefferson that were etched into the interior panels, and to look up
at the amazing bronze statue.
Shifting his gaze to appraise her
delicate features, Dieter said, “Amanda. . .”
“Mm?” she responded, turning to face
him.
He smiled and began again, “Thank you
for meeting me here today. This is a truly remarkable place. I only wish I
could have stayed here longer.” His downcast eyes revealed the deep
disappointment he felt as he went on to say, “It is most unfortunate, but it
appears our ‘typical Bavarian meal’ has been put off once again.”
Amanda shrugged and smiled
sympathetically, saying, “Yeah. . .I’m afraid so. But it just couldn’t be
helped, you know? We had a lot of loose ends to tie up last night, with all the
interrogations and debriefings, and. . .”
“Yes, yes, I know, Amanda,” Dieter
interjected with a wry grin. “I was there, too.”
She cleared her throat in
embarrassment, then looked down at the small bouquet of yellow roses she held
in her hand. She looked up and gave Dieter a friendly smile. “I want to thank
you again for the roses. They’re beautiful.”
Dieter leaned forward in a courtly bow
and returned her smile as he said, “You are more than welcome, my dear Amanda,
but they simply cannot compare to y—“
“Aww!” Amanda cut in, chuckling softly
and waving off his over-the-top compliment. Searching for a way to change the
subject, she looked out between the columns for a moment, then turned back to
him to ask, ”So. . .when do you have to leave?”
Dieter looked at his watch and
replied, “Very soon, I’m sorry to say. In fact, I should probably go back to
the hotel now, to be able to check out and get to the airport on time.” He
connected with her eyes and his voice held a note of sadness as he said, “I
would say ‘wiedersehen’, Amanda, but will I? See you again, that is?”
“No,” she blurted out, then
backtracked to say, “I, uh. . .I honestly don’t know, Dieter. Anything can happen.”
She waved a hand through the air, gesturing as she went on, “I mean, look at
me. I’d never been to Europe before in my life, and I ended up going there
several times last year, and two of those times I landed in Munich. . .so I
guess you never know. Maybe?” she finished, tipping her head to the side.
He shook his head and smiled, then
lifted her hand to his lips. “It’s all I can hope for. Auf wiedersehen,
Amanda.”
“Goodbye, Dieter,” she said with a
sweet smile and a small wave of her hand, as she watched him walk away.
********
Thursday Morning – 10:30
Lee Stetson parked the ‘Vette at the
curb alongside the Jefferson Memorial a few spaces behind Amanda’s station
wagon. He took his time climbing the steps and working his way around the
double circle of columns, until he heard two familiar-sounding voices. He
stepped to the side of one of the columns, to a point where he could see the
two speakers, but remain unobserved.
He could only pick up bits and pieces
of their conversation, but he found himself paying close attention to Amanda’s
face, especially her eyes. He saw their accustomed warmth and friendliness,
their sense of fun, even a little, what, embarrassment? He had to admit to
himself, if to no one else, that he was pleased, very pleased, at what he
didn’t see. Magic. There was no magic, no special glow in her eyes. A slow
smile spread across his face, that is, until he saw Dieter kissing Amanda’s
hand. The muscle in his jaw twitched as he thought, ‘Oh, please! Give it up,
man!’
Then the German detective turned to
leave, and Lee backed up slightly, doing his best to stay out of sight until
Dieter had passed by. He stepped forward again to see Amanda waving goodbye.
Still no magic. . .a touch of regret, maybe, but no magic shone in those beautiful
chocolate eyes. He smiled to himself then, and quietly closed the distance,
stepping up to her side and whispering, “Hi.”
“Oh. . .hi!” she said softly, turning
to look up into his eyes. “Been here long?”
“No, not long,” he said, then looked
away before he finished, “but long enough.”
She formed a little ‘O’ with her lips
before starting to speak. “Oh, so you saw us saying. . .”
“Wiedersehen,” Lee interrupted.
“Goodbye,” Amanda corrected, almost
simultaneously.
“Mm,” Lee accepted, tipping his head
to her. He took a closer look at the yellow roses, indicating them with his
hand as he said, “Very pretty. Are they from. . .”
“Dieter? Yes they are.” She glanced from the roses to Lee and added
with a smile, “They are nice, aren’t they? I like yellow roses—I’ve always
liked yellow roses, but you know what?”
“No. What?” Lee questioned in return.
“I like red ones a lot better,” she
answered with a sly grin.
Lee tilted his head slightly, smiling
with his eyes as he said, “Is that so?”
“Mm,” Amanda answered simply. She
cleared her throat and asked him, “So. . .what brings you here, anyway?”
“Good news, Amanda,” he said, as he
placed his hand at the small of her back and started them walking across the
Memorial. “We found Mrs. Bauer, and she’s doing just fine.”
“Oh, Lee! That’s wonderful! Gee, I
hope the Agency can work something out for Erich and his Uncle Otto, too. They
weren’t to blame, you know? And they
did what they could to help us, too, and. . .”
“Amanda, we’ll do everything we can,
okay?”
“Okay,” she answered with a small
smile.
As they came outside, sunlight
reflected off of a small white card that was tied to one of the roses with a
tiny piece of ribbon. “Lee! Look, there’s a card here,” she said, as she took
it out of its miniature envelope. “I hadn’t even noticed it before. Could you
read it for me, please?”
Reluctantly, Lee took the card from
her hand and began to read, “Ich werde
dich vermissen, Amanda, mehr als du glaubst. Roughly translated, he’s
saying he’ll miss you.”
“Oh yeah, I can kinda see that part,
the vermissen, right? But what are
these last four words?”
“More than you know, okay? He says
he’ll miss you, Amanda,” he paused and looked down for a moment, then returned
his gaze to her eyes and continued in a voice just above a whisper, “more than
you know.”
Their eyes locked, and her voice
cracked slightly as she whispered, “Oh.”
They stood still for a moment, and
Amanda looked as though she was trying to read something in his expression as
she asked, “Lee? Would you?”
Hm?" he responded with a slight
tilt of his head, his eyes never leaving hers.
“Miss me?”
“Would I miss you? Oh. . .you mean if
we were never going to. . .”
“See each other again, yes,” she
finished for him.
Lee closed his eyes and pursed his lips,
as if he had to consider the question. . .as if there could be any doubt, he
told himself. He opened his eyes and gave her a teasing grin as he replied,
“Well, since I have gotten kind of used to having you around. . .” he paused,
circling his hand in the air, “and since we’ve been, you know, working together
so closely, I uh, I suppose I would. . .yeah,” he finished with a nod and a
wink.
Lee flinched at Amanda’s playful
‘thwack’ on his arm, then answered, “Of course I would, Amanda, and you know
it.” He gave her a dimpled grin and tipped his head, offering his hand to her
and saying, “Shall we?”
Amanda took hold of his hand as
naturally as if they’d been doing it for years, and the two of them made their
way down the steps to her car. Lee held the door for her as she got in and laid
the roses down on the seat beside her. She smiled up to him and said, “See you
later?”
“You bet,” he answered with a smile.
As he turned and walked back to the ‘Vette, he thought, ‘Would I miss you,
Amanda? More than you know.’
THE END
This story refers to
situations, events and some of the dialogue from these episodes (writers’ names
in parentheses): “Our Man in Tegernsee” and “Affair at Bromfield Hall” (Juanita
Bartlett); “The Mole” (Chris Gould); “Service Above and Beyond” (Peter
Lefcourt); “The Times They Are A Changin’” (Bill Froehlich and Mark Lisson);
“There Goes the Neighborhood” and “The First Time” (Brad Buckner and Eugenie
Ross-Leming); and “We’re Off to See the Wizard” (Whitney Wherrett Roberson).
All rights associated with these episodes belong to the original series writers
and the production companies. This is a work of fiction written for
entertainment purposes only, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Honorable mention: Broadway musical fans will also notice a tiny little homàge to
Stephen Sondheim. ;-)
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