The Ties That Bind: A Scarecrow and Mrs. King Continuing Story Book 1

Chapter 18

Day 9

."What are you doing here again?" David's frozen glare bore a hole right through him.

Fred sat in the chair, thankful as always that he was on the "free" side of the bullet-proof plexiglass.

"What do you think I'm doing here?" David just continued to stare, and he began to feel slightly uncomfortable – exactly what David wanted. He leaned forward and placed his forearms on the surface of the small counter in front of the glass. Fine. He'd play it David's way. "It's time. We need to make our move, Davy."

"Are things in place?"

"Not really, but we can't waste any more time."

David sat forward, braced his elbows on his knees, and rested his chin lightly on steepled fingers. There was absolutely no expression on his face or in his voice when he spoke. "We don't move until everything is in place."

"Damn it, Davy. You've been in here too long. You've forgotten how good he is." Fred sat back forcefully into his plastic chair. "Scarecrow is going to out-maneuver us if we give him any more time. We've got to play our cards before we don't have any left to play!"

Surprisingly, David sat back and studied him thoughtfully. "Okay, what's going on?"

Fred sat forward again. "Scarecrow has somehow managed to avoid letting Mrs. King ever be alone. And he's not leaving it up to other people; it's like he's glued to her side." Fred shook his head. "Even when he isn't with her – like when I've seen him conferencing in Billy's office, Mrs. King is nowhere to be found. She's not in their office, she's not in the bull-pen, hell, she's not even in the bathroom."

"Hmmm." Davy slowly rubbed his chin with his index finger. "I wonder where they're stashing her, then?"

"I'm not sure, but I've got a theory." Fred lowered his voice.

David raised his eyebrows. "So?"

"I think they've created a safe house off their office."

That got David's attention. He sat forward and actually whispered conspiratorially. "No...."

"I'm not sure how, but it's the only thing that makes sense." Fred rubbed the back of his head as if thinking too hard gave him a headache. "Rumor has it they never leave the building. Supposedly, they stay late and arrive early, but nobody is really buying that."

"Yeah, that's a long shot. I don't buy it either." Davy was deep in thought. His fist slammed forcefully onto the countertop and made Fred jump. "How is he always one step ahead of us?" David looked around, realizing he may have brought attention to himself, but no one was looking. He put his head into his hands and grabbed his hair in his fingers. "Think, think, David..."

He sat back again. "Okay. Let's think this through." He ticked a finger, counting things off. "He's not a coward – in fact, neither of them is. Therefore, they can't just be hiding, agreed?"

"Agreed. They have to be doing something productive which means they are investigating from wherever they are."

Davy's head nodded slowly as he ticked off another finger. "Mrs. Marsden's desk is right near the bottom of the only stairs that lead up to their office. Therefore, you can't go up there to lure them out because she would see you. The Agency would know you're involved."

"Right. But June won't be able to do it alone."

"True." Davy was deep in thought again. Fred could almost see the wheels turning.

"Hmmm..." He sat forward. "Is there any way to slip Amanda something to knock her out or make her sick? To disable her somehow without anyone knowing?"

"Maybe," Fred hesitated. "I'd have to think about that, but what would be the point? What's the end game of that?"