Lee “Scarecrow” Stetson
He found Amanda outside on the porch, wrapped in a blanket and staring out at the ocean from one of the chairs. Although the hotel’s oceanfront porch was shared, the lack of other patrons this time of year had given them complete privacy. In the dim light, the breakers’ foam took on a gray hue, contrasting with the inky black of the water, and the beach sand appeared nearly white.
Since it was winter, the night breeze was blowing in from the sea, tossing her hair as she stood up to greet him. Taking the blanket, Lee wrapped it around them both as he drew her into an embrace from behind, his chin coming to rest on her shoulder.
She slipped her forearms beneath his. “I’m glad we came here.”
“So am I,” he murmured.
By unspoken agreement, they’d declared a no-shop-talk, no-problem-solving trip, but the hotel had passed a message to Lee just before sunset: call Billy right away. It had taken his section supervisor three days to track him down.
He’d gone out to his car immediately, and they’d spoken for an hour before he’d hung up. He’d called Joe afterward, speaking in French to alert him about the situation so that Jamie wouldn’t overhear anything he shouldn’t. Joe had been concerned, but had ultimately concluded that there was no need to change plans. It was just going to be the three of them, and he hadn’t seen or heard anything suspicious.
Lee had made a couple of other phone calls anyway. It never hurt to set up extra precautions. But he’d kept that to what was absolutely necessary, since there didn’t appear to be any new threats. Virginia law had no statute of limitations for premeditated murder. The case would keep until they got back. Right now, there were more important priorities.
Amanda inhaled deeply. “I’d love to know what you’re thinking about.”
He kissed her cheek. “Not a whole lot. Just enjoying our time here.” They had to leave in the morning, although the five-hour drive meant they could fit in a leisurely brunch on their way out. “I’m debating going back home through the Bridge-Tunnel and Salisbury tomorrow, instead of using the Interstate.”
“How much extra time would that take?”
“Little over an hour, mostly because of speed limits. There’ll be a lot less traffic, though.” He paused. “We’d be on or near the water for most of it.”
“Then let’s do it,” she answered. “Would you believe I’ve never gone across the Bridge-Tunnel? Every time I’ve been down this way, we’ve always ended up detouring south. I’ve seen the signs more than a few times, but for some reason we never had time to try it.”
“Does that mean you’ve never been to the Eastern Shore?”
“We crossed over from Sandy Point to Kent Island once, when I was a really little girl. But that was only to go to Matapeake. After that we went back the way we came.”
He smiled. “Then you’re in for a treat. We’re going to go through some of the most beautiful country I’ve ever seen. It’ll be a perfect way to end our trip, Mrs. Stetson.”
Chuckling, she tapped her wedding ring against his. “That means it’ll have been a perfect trip, Mr. Stetson.” Then she sobered, and he knew she was thinking about his absence this afternoon. “Unless there’s something I don’t know about.”
He sighed and closed his eyes. “You know I had someone looking into the…into what happened. Right?”
Her shoulders tensed. “Did they find something?”
“Yes, and the Agency’s opened a case.” He quickly filled her in, including his conclusion that there was no reason to cut their trip short.
She had begun shuddering, but then she inhaled deeply, holding the breath for a three-count before letting it back out. The tension in her body went out along with her exhale, and for a long while after, they simply looked out at the waves together.
They’d never heard of this place before, but when he’d seen an advertisement for it on the bulletin board in a restaurant, they’d decided to try it. Now, he knew, the Cavalier Motor Court was going to become one of their regular vacation destinations. They’d already discussed bringing Jamie down the next summer when the beach town’s activities would be in full swing.
“Thank you, Lee,” Amanda finally said softly.
“For what?”
“Bringing us here. Standing beside me. Confronting me when I…went into a tailspin, I suppose. I’m not happy to hear about the investigation, but I’m…” she trailed off. “I’m all right. Okay, well, no, I’m not. But I’m — I’m managing, and I wasn’t before. You were right. I needed the time away, without any responsibilities or worries. To just think, and feel, and be.”
“Correction.” Freeing one hand from under the blanket, he used it to turn her chin toward his. “We needed the time away. I just wish it could’ve been longer.”
“It’s not over yet,” she pointed out as she leaned forward to brush her lips against his. “We have enough time for at least one or two more things. What do you think?”
“I think,” he answered, as he moved in for a longer kiss, “that is an excellent idea.”
There was a cautious, wary look on Carrie’s face as she let them into the townhouse. Lee thought he might have felt the hair on the back of neck stand up, but her voice had its usual pleasantly cheerful tone. “How was your trip?”
“Fine,” answered Amanda. “How was Thanksgiving?”
She was answered by a thunder of footsteps coming down the stairwell. “Hi Mom! Hi Lee! It was great! Carrie made us a stew called tee-cha — um, cha — um, how do you pronounce that word again?”
“Tchaka. Jamie, let them get all the way through the door first.”
“They’re inside already and we can talk while they walk. We also had fried plantains, and diri-she —” he stumbled again, this time with a grimace. “Maybe Carrie should describe it.”
At that, Jamie’s stepmother laughed, her expression a mixture of indulgence and amusement, and Lee decided he’d been imagining things a moment earlier.
“We had diri shela poul fri for Thanksgiving itself,” she said as she took their coats. “It’s a Haitian version of fried chicken. Then the tchaka, which is a traditional holiday stew, yesterday and today. Joe and I decided not to do a turkey and sides, so that it wouldn’t bring back bad…” she trailed off. “So that it’d be different.”
“Well, I’m jealous,” said Lee, and he meant it. “There are some good Haitian restaurants up in Hyattsville and Silver Spring, but I’ve never had anything home cooked. You’ll have to make those again sometime, or send me the recipes.”
She gave him an enigmatic look, and a trace of wariness reappeared in her demeanor. “I suppose.”
Before he could react, another set of footsteps came down the stairs. “Hi there,” said Joe. “Welcome back. How was — where did you say you were going again?”
“We didn’t,” answered Amanda. “But we went down to Kitty Hawk. There’s a nice little motel right on the beach, within walking distance of the Wright Brothers Memorial.” She stepped back from the bear hug she’d given Jamie. “We’ll go back there this summer, at least with Jamie and maybe all five of us.” Still smiling, she sat down on the love seat she’d shared with Lee the last time they’d visited, pulling him down next to her. “Was everything, ah…” she trailed off. “You didn’t have any problems, right?”
“It’s all right,” said Carrie. Lee decided there was a definite cool undertone to her words. “Joe told me what’s going on. And no, there weren’t any problems.”
“What do you mean, what’s going on?” asked Jamie.
“Grown-up talk,” said Amanda easily, although her hand had tightened on his. She’d noticed Carrie’s reticence, too, then. “And if there were no problems, then there’s nothing to talk about anyway.” She paused. “You ready to come back?”
“Actually,” said Joe, “we’d like to talk to you about that.”
The muscles at the back of Lee’s neck got tighter. “Yes?” he asked.
“To be specific,” continued Joe, “Jamie would like to talk to you about that.” He glanced over. “This is your idea, son. We’ll be right here, but you need to be the one to explain it to them.”
Jamie took a deep breath as he sat down in a nearby chair. “Mom, I think I’d like to stay here for a while.”
There was a long pause, during which Lee could feel Amanda forcing her fingers to relax. “Why is that, sweetheart?”
“Well, it’s not because you don’t agree on cutting my allowance.” He exchanged a glance with Joe. “Dad says he’ll work that out with you privately and let me know the final decision. It’s mostly —” he cut himself off, taking another deep breath. “I think…I think I need a few changes right now. And I’ve never had the chance to spend a whole lot of time with Dad and Carrie. It’s not like I don’t want to see you or anything, either, ’cause I do. It’s just that…” he trailed off again. “A whole lot of reasons, really. And I don’t mean forever. Just maybe until it’s time to go back to school after New Year’s.”
Under his hand, Amanda’s was shaking, but her voice was steady. “What about school between now and then? How are you going to get there?”
“Carrie says there’s a bus from her school to mine.”
“Okay,” she answered slowly before looking at Joe. “I take it you’re fine with this?”
“Yes. We have the room. Plus, it would let you focus on…” he trailed off. “Well, it might be a little more, ah, secure.” There was a slight but detectable emphasis on the word, and he looked directly at Lee when he said it. “What with him having his own room and all, instead of sleeping on the couch in your living room.”
Lee nodded, indicating he’d understood the unspoken message: Joe felt like Jamie would be safer staying there while they investigated the murders. Glancing at Amanda, he could see that she, too, had heard that message; and like him, she didn’t think he was wrong. Still, her hand had wrapped itself back around his and was gripping it a bit too tightly as she answered. “I have to admit that makes sense, although Lee and I are coming back with a bit of our own news.”
“What is it?”
They’d talked it over while they were in North Carolina, coming to a final decision during the drive back. “We’re…” she trailed off. “Jamie, you’re right about needing some changes, and every time we go back to our house, it hurts. A lot.”
“Yeah, I know,” he answered. “I always try to get in and out as fast as I can ’cause everything there reminds me of —” his voice hitched. “Of them.”
“So,” she continued. “Over the next few weeks we’ll actually need to back there a little more often than we have been, because it needs to be spic-and-span like you’ve never seen clean before. Once it is, I’m going to put it up for sale.”
Jamie’s shoulders dropped, but Lee couldn’t tell if the child was disappointed or relieved. Probably it was a combination of both. “Are you gonna buy another one?”
“Yes,” she said, “but I won’t be able to do that until I sell the one we have. And that could take a while, especially this time of year.” She glanced over at Lee.
He picked up the thread. “I’ve been on a month-to-month lease for a while.” The words were addressed to Jamie although he found himself meeting Joe’s eyes as well, and even, once, Carrie’s. “So all I have to do is give notice. I’m going to look for a two-bedroom place with a short lease, maybe six months or so. That’ll give you your own room while your mom works on selling the house, and while we decide exactly what it is we want to buy together.” He paused. “All three of us.”
A smile appeared on Jamie’s face.
The muscles on Carrie’s face, however, were still tight. “That’s an awful lot of moving around in a short time,” she began.
“Yeah, but it’s for a good reason. And, well, I’m used to moving around a lot. I know how to make it as easy as possible. Plus,” he continued, “six months would let Jamie finish the school year where he is. If you end up changing schools, sport,” he continued, “and let’s be clear that we’re not yet sure you will, it’ll be a lot easier to do it over a summer break. I would know.”
Jamie considered that, not noticing that Joe and Carrie were having a silent conversation behind him. “You know, I’m not sure I would mind going to a different school. I mean, if I can still see my old friends and all.”
“We’ll decide how to handle it when the time comes,” said Amanda. Under his hand, hers had begun to relax. “As for right now, it might not…” she swallowed. “It…it probably isn’t a bad idea for you to stay here until we’ve moved into that two-bedroom place. So, Joe, thank you for letting him.”
That, Lee knew, had been incredibly hard for her to admit. He stroked the back of her hand gently to reassure her. Across the room, Joe and Carrie had apparently come to some sort of agreement, because he was nodding at her.
“You’re welcome,” he answered Amanda. “And you know what? Carrie and I have an idea. A couple of the townhouses in this complex are for rent right now, and we’re only just outside the Arlington Heights school district. Why don’t you put in an application for one of them? That way Jamie can just go back and forth whenever he needs or wants to.”
Lee hesitated, but his concerns vanished when he saw the look in Amanda’s eyes. “Yes,” he said. “That’s a great idea.”
Author’s Notes:
- The Cavalier Motor Court opened in what was then Kitty Hawk, NC, in May 1950. It now known as the Cavalier-by-the-Sea.
- The two-lane Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel opened in April 1964. An additional two lanes were added in 1998.
- Tchaka is made from hominy, beans, pumpkin, and salted or smoked pork. It has multiple regional variations.