Thursday Afternoon…
 

Inside the Agency conference room, Lee Stetson and Bruce Parker were formulating a strategy to track down the missing Lucinda Suttan.  On their team were agents from both the Agency and the FBI.  The white board in the front of the room was filled with information on what they knew, but it wasn’t enough.  The agents assigned to the case had their laptops and BlackBerrys in front of them, all of them trying to track her down.

“We’ve checked all airports within a hundred miles. Lucinda Suttan hasn’t checked in for any flights – national or international,” an Agency agent reminded them.  “Her name is flagged in the system.”

“True,” Lee answered, standing in the front of the room, as he ran his hand anxiously through his hair.  “But we know she had financial records with a couple of aliases.  Have we checked all the variations:  Linda or Lucy Sutton, Linda or Lucy Sutter?”

“It’s a waste of time,” an agent from the FBI answered.  “Given the new security measures at the airports, she can’t get on a plane without proper identification.”

Amanda ignored the agents protest.  “Francine is running all the name combinations now to see if anything comes up on any flight manifests,” Amanda supplied.  “We’re waiting for the results.”

“I tell you, it’s a waste of time.  I think we should be concentrating on family members.  Our records indicate that she has family in Upstate New York and Virginia.  She’s probably hiding out in one of their places.”

“It’s possible she’ll keep a low profile or try to contact a family member to broker a deal,” Bruce Parker agreed. Directing his comments to his agent who made the suggestion, he ordered, “Make some phone calls to the family members.  Don’t tell them why we’re looking for her.  See if anyone slips up and spills the beans.  Keep us posted with your progress.”

“I’m on it,” the agent nodded, grabbed his BlackBerry and exited the room.

“I don’t think she’ll contact any of her family,” Amanda challenged, shaking her head.  “She’s not the warm, fuzzy, family type.  My money is on the premise she acquired a fake identification to go along with her financial records.  Either she tries to blend in until the heat’s off of her, or she changes her looks and identity.  Either way, she’s going to attempt to leave the country.”

“It’s quite simple to slip into Mexico or Canada,” another agent suggested.  “You only need a driver’s license to get across some border crossings.”

“Are we sure we have a list of all her real estate holdings?” another agent inquired.  “If she has several aliases, could she have bought other property under one of those names?  She could be living in, or at the very least, holding up in one of them until things quiet down.”

“We’re not sure of anything.  The paperwork we found in her hidden room tells us she bought four different houses in the DC area.  It’s a definite possibility there are others… elsewhere,” Lee answered with a shrug.  “Work the angle; see what you come up with.  Focus on real estate purchased in… try the last five years, and keep us informed – got it?”

“Got it,” the agent answered, grabbed his laptop, went to the door, and exited the room, nearly knocking Francine Desmond down in the process.

Francine shook her head at the younger agent, and rolled her eyes.  She stood in the doorway, and observed the people in the room.

Lee caught her eye.  From the look on her face, he knew she had a lead.  “Tell me you’ve got good news, Francine.”

“Good news?  Not exactly,” she answered when she entered the room.  She tossed a folder on the table.  “It seems that a new agent in the ‘Fabrication’ department filled a request several weeks ago.  It came from the desk of Lucinda Suttan for a full package: birth certificate, social security number, work history, driver’s license, and a passport.  All under the name of: ‘Linda Sutton’.  The physical statistics: height, weight, age, matches Lucinda, with only minor modifications.  If she sticks with what fabrication provided for her, we’re now looking for a brunette instead of a strawberry blonde.”

Amanda opened up the file and studied it.  Then she looked over to Lee and Bruce.  “She may have already left the country.”

“I ran Linda Sutton’s name through the databases to see if she’s on any international flights.  I included flights from yesterday.  Still nothing.”

“Maybe she’s trying to throw us off?” Bruce suggested.  “Maybe the passport is a ruse?”

Lee shook his head.  “No, she’s planning to leave the country or she wouldn’t have had the passport created.  If she stays in the States, she’s going to prison and there’s no way she wants to go to prison.  You saw her house; she’s used to luxury.  I see her leaving on a first class ticket.”

“Scarecrow, maybe we should concentrate on the Canadian border,” the other agent suggested again.  “If she had family in Upstate New York, she may be familiar with some of the smaller border crossings.  Hell, she could cross at any number of the smaller border crossings and slip into Ontario, Quebec, or even New Brunswick with relative ease.”

“We don’t have the manpower to check each and every border crossing from New York to Maine!” Agent Parker snapped in frustration, tugging on his mustache angrily.  “Contact the Border Patrol; make sure they’re on the lookout for Lucy, Linda, or Lucinda Suttan, Sutter, Sutton or whatever other name she might be using.  If they even think they have someone matching her description, detain her!”

“Got it,” the agent nodded and rushed out of the room.

Lee was shaking his head.  “I don’t think she’s going to skulk across the border – Canadian or Mexican.  I’m betting she’s leaving with her head held high, drinking a martini, and laughing all the way across the Atlantic.”

Francine tapped her pen loudly on the table and harangued, “I tell you, she’s not on any flight leaving the USA – coach, business class, or first class,”

Amanda stared at Francine a moment, then over to her husband.  Her eyes got wide and a broad smile washed across her face.  “You’re both right!”

“What?” Bruce asked, and all eyes in the room were now on Amanda.

“Francine’s right, a plane is too obvious, but Lee’s right, too.  She’s going first class,” Amanda answered calmly.  “Think about it.  We’re being narrow-minded and I bet she’s counting on that.”

“Amanda, I’m not following you,” Lee said, coaxing his wife to continue.

Amanda smiled, glancing up at the group confidently, “She going to leave the country, but not by plane.  For all appearances, Lucinda is a sophisticated and worldly person; she’s going to travel in style – she’ll leave the country via a cruise ship.”

Lee smiled at his wife, realizing his wife was probably right on target, “All we have to do is figure out which ship.”

“Is that all?!” Francine gasped acerbically.  “That’s not going to be easy.  There are a lot of cruise ship operators out there, dozens of destinations.  Unlike airplanes, which can only hold a few hundred passengers, most of the ships can comfortably accommodate thousands of passengers.”

Several agents in the room started naming cruise lines, “There’s Norwegian Cruise line.”

“Don’t forget Royal Caribbean,” another suggested

“My wife swears by the Princess cruises…”

“There all great cruise lines, but we need to think elegance - top of the line.  Remember, we’re talking about Lucinda – opulent ballrooms, dinner prepared by the world’s finest chefs, sipping a cocktail in teak deck chair …  You know, the best money can buy.”   Pausing for a moment, Amanda reached for her laptop and started an internet search.  A few moments later, she adjusted the screen for Lee, Bruce, and Francine who were now directly behind her to view.  “My bet would be the Queen Mary 2.”

“Of course, the Cunard Line!  I should have figured that out myself,” Francine answered, shaking her head.

“When does she sail?” Lee asked.

Before Amanda could find the answer online, Francine quickly supplied a response.

“It leaves tomorrow out of New York.”  Everyone in the room now stared at her and she explained.  “I have a friend who is going to sail on it.  It’s the only thing she talked about all summer long.  It leaves New York and sails to England!”

Amanda tapped on her computer keyboard and quickly got confirmation.  “It departs New York City tomorrow evening at 6PM and sails for Southampton, England.”

“Francine, contact the cruise line and get the list of passengers,” Lee answered without hesitation.  Looking at his second in command and then his wife he added, “We’re going to New York!”
 

***
 

Saturday afternoon...
 

The ships’ manifest for the Queen Mary 2 indeed had the name ‘Linda Sutton’ on it. The traveler had booked passage, sailing across the Atlantic Ocean in the elegant ‘Princess Grill Suites’.  If the passenger truly was, Lucinda Suttan, she’d been privileged to priority embarkation.  The exclusive amenities for her choice of accommodations were impressive.  The price for the six-day cruise was astounding.

The sun shone brightly, and it was unseasonably warm for a mid-September afternoon.  Lee and Amanda casually strolled along the deck of the Queen Mary 2, surreptitiously scouring the faces of the other passengers.  Francine was below deck on the vast ship, visiting the various restaurants, lounges, and public areas in search of their quarry.  Bruce Parker from the FBI was tracking down the ship’s purser, trying to locate what stateroom Linda Sutton was assigned.  So far, none of the agents were having any luck.

As the clock ticked closer to six o’clock, they would have to either locate their suspect, or disembark from the ship.  None of the agents had wanted to return to DC without Lucinda in custody.

“Lee,” Amanda stopped on the deck, gripping Lee’s hand tightly.  Barely tilting her head and without pointing, she watched as a woman, with a silk scarf over her head, walked towards the railing of the ship.  The person’s features closely resembled those of Lucinda.  “The woman, by the railing with the red scarf - that could be her.”

“Maybe,” he nodded, walking slowly in the woman’s direction.  “But that scarf covers her face.  Could be a lot of people.”

The closer they got to the lady they could easily observe the woman’s long, dark brown hair flowing from her scarf.  Her pale skin appeared as if she’d been inside all summer.

“Lee, it’s got to be her,” Amanda said, picking up her pace.  They were only steps away from her when the woman turned and squinted.  Lee and Amanda stood right in front of the woman.

Startled by them, the woman remarked in an unmistakable British accent, “This sun is far too bright for me.  I must find a stool in one of the pubs before we get underway.”

Amanda stammered uncomfortably, as she stared at the woman who was clearly not Lucinda Suttan.  “Yes… yes… it’s very sunny…”

“Pardon me,” the woman said, brushing by them and disappearing into the crowd.

“Damn!” Lee swore once the woman was out of earshot, as he glanced impatiently at his watch.  “Lucinda must be sipping champagne in her cabin!  If we don’t find her soon…”

“You give up too easily, Scarecrow.  We’re going to find her!” his wife replied stubbornly.  “We need to keep looking.”

“We’ve been on this deck for almost an hour.  I tell you, she’s not up here.  I keep seeing the same people over and over again.”

Lee got out his cell phone and called Francine.  “What do you have?”

“Scarecrow, this ship is huge!  There are dozens of public places she could be loitering.  There are ten different restaurants, not to mention the lounges, a spa, a couple of art galleries and nearly four thousand people wandering about!” Francine complained.  “It’s going to take a while to locate her.  Besides, she’s probably in her stateroom drinking a bottle of champagne.  Did Bruce figure out what room she was assigned yet?”

“Not yet, but keep looking.  We’re running out of time,” Lee snarled, snapping his phone shut.  “Come on; let’s go find the purser ourselves.  I want off this damn ship before it sails and I want to find Lucinda!”

As they made their way down to the lower deck, Lee’s phone rang.  “Yeah, Stetson.”

“Scarecrow, meet me on deck ten and call Desmond as well.  I’ve got Linda Sutton’s room number,” Bruce said excitedly.

“We’re on our way,” Lee answered as he hit redial on his phone while he grabbed Amanda’s hand and raced for the nearest stairwell.

Soon, the three agents were moving in on Linda Sutton/Lucinda Suttan’s stateroom.  With Lee and Amanda on the left side of the door and Francine and Bruce on the right, the FBI agent knocked firmly.

They all waited impatiently, but there was no answer.

Lee rapped on the door this time.  “Room service,” he called out, anticipating Lucinda would be more receptive to answering the door if she knew it was a delivery.

Yet, there was still no answer.  Bruce got out his lock pick, and quickly worked on the lock.  It didn’t take long before the lock gave way, and the four agents moved into the room.  Other than a bouquet of flowers on the table, it was empty.

“Damn it!” Lee shouted.  “No carry-on bag, no purse.  I don’t believe it.  She hasn’t checked in yet!”

“Someone sent flowers,” Francine commented nodding towards the bright display on the table.  “Is there a card?”

Amanda searched the display for a card, finding it tucked cleverly inside the bouquet. Pulling the card from the tiny envelope, she read it aloud, “Bon Voyage, Linda.  It’s signed ‘Ivan’.

“Could we be wrong?  Maybe Linda Sutton is just a passenger on a cruise ship and not Lucinda Suttan,” Francine commented disappointedly, as she glanced around the room.

“No, we’ve got to be right.”  Amanda sat down on the bed in the rather impressive room.  Shaking her head, she asked her husband a question.  “Lee, when Anton Yushenko contacted you last year, what did he want?”

Lee shrugged.  “I never asked.  I didn’t want to know.  I told him under no uncertain terms that our association was over.”

“And a few months later your life went to hell,” she reminded him.

He nodded.

“Amanda, we don’t have a lot of time right now.  Do you have a point?” Bruce asked annoyed and frustrated.

“I’m saying that when Yushenko contacted Lee, and Lee turned him down, maybe he went elsewhere in the Agency.  The timing of what happened is too much of a coincidence for it not to be linked,” she pointed out.  “Maybe he went to Lucinda.”

“No offense, but the Agency’s Chief Legal Counsel?  I’m not sure I’m buying that,” Bruce replied, obviously doubting the correlation.  “She’s a rather big fish for Yushenko to land.”

“A good spy finds and exploits weaknesses,” Francine acknowledged as she mulled the idea out loud.  “It could be that Scarecrow turned him down for obvious reasons, and Yushenko went fishing for a bigger catch.”

“It certainly makes sense,” Lee agreed.  “If Yushenko found out about Lucinda’s financial situation he could have offered to buy some information from her for a cash incentive.”

Bruce began to nod, seeing the plausibility of the situation.  “Sure, Yushenko offers Scarecrow as the double agent as his good faith gesture.  She takes the bait, and eventually a chunk of change when she helps him.  It keeps her afloat financially – at least for a while.  Now, the question is what did he get out of it?”

“The satisfaction that he got back at Scarecrow for not helping him again,” Francine offered.

“When we find her, we’ll be sure to ask,” Lee answered.

“Which brings us back to the main question; where’s Lucinda?” Bruce reminded the team.

“I still think she’s here on the ship,” Amanda stated.  “Until now, we have concentrated on finding Linda Sutton onboard.  Perhaps we should be searching for Yushenko?  Maybe he’s on the ship, too?”

“There’s no way Anton Yushenko got into the USA!” Bruce adamantly stated.

“There are plenty of places to cross the border with little scrutiny.  Are you willing to stake your job on that?” Amanda asked with a raised eyebrow.

“That would be one way to get him out of trouble back home now that they know Lee was actually a triple agent.  If he gets a high profile Agency attorney to defect,” Francine surmised. “He’d be the toast of Moscow.”

“Amanda, what was the name on the card?” Lee asked as he rubbed his brow, trying to think.

“Ivan,” she answered, holding the card out for him to see.  “Did Yushenko have any aliases?”

“Yes, he did, several in fact.  Let me think,” he replied, now pacing the room, trying to remember.  He raked his hand through his hair.  “One of them was Anton… Yokolov, but there was another one.  If my memory serves me, I think one of them was Ivan something…. No wait, that’s not right.  It wasn’t Ivan as the first name.  It was part of the last name.”

Amanda smiled and looked over at Bruce Parker.  “Can we get a copy of the passenger list?”

“No problem,” Bruce nodded, as he pulled a list out of his jacket pocket.  “That’s how I found Linda Sutton’s room in the first place.  The purser was so swamped, he made me a copy.”

He handed a few pages to each of the agents and they scoured the list, looking for aliases.  The room was filled with silence as the agents studied the list diligently.

It seemed like an eternity before any of them had anything.  It was a few minutes before Amanda nudged Lee.  “Does the name Anton Ivanov ring a bell?”

“That’s it! Anton Ivanov,” he nodded.  “Ivanov is a common Russian surname.  It wouldn’t surprise me that Homeland Security doesn’t have it flagged.”

“Deck nine, Anton Ivanov,” she said with a smile.

“Let’s go,” Bruce suggested as the group raced for the deck below them.

When they neared the room, they could hear people talking inside.  Again, Lee and Amanda positioned themselves on one side of the door, and Bruce and Francine on the other.  Bruce rapped on the door loudly, and called out, “Room service.”

“Finally,” a voice answered from inside with a thick Russian accent.

Within seconds, the door opened and the Bruce grabbed Anton Yushenko by the arm, pulling him out of the room.

At the same time, Lee rushed into the room, and grabbed Lucinda who was sipping a glass of champagne.  The Agency attorney didn’t know what was happening as the glass flew across the room, spilling the liquid all over.  Before she could put up any resistance, Lee had her face down on the bed and handcuffed behind her back.

“Get up!” he grumbled as he gruffly pulled her arm lifting her back onto her feet.

“Ouch,” she complained.  “You’re hurting my arm!”

“You’re lucky it’s only your arm,” Lee Stetson growled.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Lucinda asked.

With a bright smile on her face, Amanda Stetson stepped forward and informed her of the charges.  “Lucinda Suttan, you’re under arrest for attempted murder, and treason!”

“I haven’t tried to murder anyone, and treason? Wha… what are you talking about?” she gasped feigning innocence.

“It’s bad enough you tried to frame me, but you attempted to kill my wife,” Lee noted clearly, the anger in his face apparent.  “For that alone, I’m going to make sure you pay.”

“You’ve got this all wrong, Scarecrow,” Lucinda pleaded.  “You’ve got to believe me.”

“Believe you?  You’ve got to be kidding!” Amanda answered, scoffing in her face.

“You have the right to remain silent,” Francine replied as she began to frisk Lucinda Suttan for weapons. “You have the right…”

“I know my rights,” she snapped angrily.

 “Fine!  Then I suggest you exercise your right to remain silent,” Francine warned. “Scarecrow, do you want me to put out the trash?”

“No, Francine,” Lee answered, as he took a firm grip of Lucinda’s arm once again. “This is one collar that Amanda and I intend to handle ourselves.  Can you make sure we have all our loose ends tied up onboard?”

With a raised eyebrow, Francine glanced around the room before commenting, “It’s going to take a while to process this stateroom.  The ship’s supposed to sail in a few minutes.”

“Take your time, Francine,” Lee answered as he led Lucinda Suttan out of the room where his wife was waiting.  Pausing for a moment, Lee leaned at the doorway.  “The way I see it, you’ve got six days!”

Francine grinned with delight.  “I’ll fax my report to you as soon as it’s complete.”

“See you next week,” Lee said, turning towards his wife and Lucinda.  “Let’s get out of here.”

“Move it, Lucinda,” Amanda nodded, but the woman didn’t budge.  With an annoyed voice, Amanda repeated her demand.  “I said move it!”

“Take off the handcuffs,” Lucinda pleaded in a whisper.  “People are staring.”

“You better get used to that,” Amanda replied, as she yanked the arm of the still uncooperative suspect and led her down the hallway.  They were only steps behind FBI agent Bruce Parker who had Anton Yushenko in his custody.

When they got off the ship to the waiting vehicles, Yushenko was placed in one car, Lucinda Suttan in the other.  The ever-aggressive New York media had already congregated and began to shout out questions to the agents.

Lee whispered to Bruce, “If you don’t mind handling the press, I’ve had more than my share of the media for a long while.”

“Sure, Lee,” Bruce Parker nodded with an understanding smile.  Clearing his throat, he stepped forward and began to brief the media on the situation.  “With the help of Lee and Amanda Stetson from the Agency, Lucinda Suttan, who was an Agency attorney was arrested on charges of attempted murder…”

Lee dropped back a few feet, and reached for Amanda’s hand.  With a subtle nod of the head, the two agents walked away from the crowd of reporters.

“Quite an afternoon’s work, wouldn’t you say?” Amanda replied with a tired sigh.

“I’ll say,” Lee answered, as they continued to walk down the pier.  Pausing for a moment, he glanced over at his wife and smiled, “but I think it’s over.  It’s finally over.”

Amanda closed the distance between herself and her husband.  She reached her hands up to the lapels on his jacket, and leaned in for a kiss.  “Promise, Mr. Stetson?” she asked in a whisper.

Lee kissed his wife back, and wrapped his arms around her.  “That’s a promise, Mrs. Stetson.”
 

End Part Fourteen
 
 
 

Continue down for the conclusion of Triple Play...
 
 
 
 
 

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****
 
 

Triple Play...
 

Tag…
 
 

Several weeks later...
 
 

 The cool autumn breeze softly blew through Amanda’s hair as the luxury yacht glided down the river.  Lee, handsome in his suit and tie, wrapped his arms protectively around his wife, to keep the evening chill from penetrating her stylish cocktail dress.  The melody the violinist played inside the boat could be heard on the deck.  The happy couple swayed delightedly to the music.  On both sides of the vessel, the lights from the city reflected on the river.  The colorful beams of light flickered and bounced joyously dancing across the water.

“I never imagined seeing Paris from the Seine,” Amanda commented with a dreamy sigh, as she nuzzled in closer to her husband.  “First, we shared an excellent bottle of champagne.   Then, a romantic candlelit dinner that was delectable with a memorable dessert.  Now, a spectacular cruise through the heart of Paris, this has truly been an unforgettable night.  I’m not sure you’re going to be able to top this evening.”

Lee Stetson grinned jubilantly at his choice for their first evening in Paris.  After months of strife, he wanted to start this vacation with the proper tone.  “It’s the best way to see Paris.  The Seine is lined with beautiful quays, numerous old bridges, like Pont-Neuf,” Lee nodded over his shoulder to the bridge they’d recently passed. “It was built back in the 1600’s, which makes ‘Pont-Neuf’, or ‘New Bridge’ the oldest standing bridge crossing the River Seine.”

“I didn’t know that,” Amanda smiled up at her husband appreciatively.  “What other interesting tidbits of information are you going to share?”

“About Paris?” Lee shrugged, turning his wife to face him.  Capturing her lips with his, he savored the lingering taste of the raspberry soufflé on her lips before confessing.  “You know I enjoy history, and Paris has plenty of history.”

“Then I’ll expect a full briefing of Notre-Dame and the Eiffel Tower tomorrow when we tour them.”

“At your service, Madame,” Lee bowed.

Amanda chuckled at her husband’s playfulness.  “You’ve been to Paris so many times before; this isn’t much of an adventure for you.”

“On the contrary,” Lee admitted, knowing his previous encounters in Paris when he was a bachelor were probably suspect in her mind.  He wanted to be certain that he’d make this trip special for his wife.  His attention returned to the lights on the riverbank as he surveyed the sights himself.  “I’ve never seen Paris at night from the Seine.”

“Never?” Amanda asked, surprised by his admission.

“Amanda, most of my trips to Paris were business related,” he reassured his wife, his hand stroking her soft face.  “This is the first time I’ve come to Paris strictly as a tourist.  Sure, I know my way around the city, but I’m looking forward to spending time seeing everything with you.  I plan to relax and enjoy its history, the palaces, and museums without worrying about work.”

“I’m looking forward to that too.”

“Now, we agreed not to talk shop this trip and I intend to hold you to that promise, OK?” he reminded her.

Her deep brown eyes glanced up at him and she smiled appreciatively.  “Have I mentioned how beautiful the monuments are bathed in all those lights?”

“Almost as beautiful as you,” he replied huskily, enveloping his arms around her once again, his lips brushing the top of her hair.

Amanda glanced up at him, and then wrapped her arms around his neck.  She pulled him down towards her and captured his lips initiating a rather sensuous kiss.

“You keep that thought, Mrs. Stetson,” Lee whispered when they broke off the kiss.  “We still have almost an hour left on the cruise.”

“Lucky for you that I slept on the plane last night,” she replied, her eyes glancing up amorously at her husband, “and I haven’t adjusted yet to Paris time.”

“You’re right, I am a lucky man,” he answered as his hands roamed leisurely up her back.   “I have you.”

“Call it luck,” Amanda remarked with a tilt of her head and a bold smile.  “I call it destiny.  What really is important is that you’re free and we’re together.  It doesn’t matter if it’s in Arlington or Paris or anywhere else for that matter.  I love spending time with you, Mr. Stetson.”

“I’ve been married to you for over twenty years, and I’m still very much in love with you, Mrs. Stetson,” Lee replied, reaching for her hands, he brought each of them to his lips and kissed them tenderly.  “Starting with this vacation, I plan on showing you exactly how much, mon amour…”
 

THE END
 
 

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