Disclaimer: Most of the characters in this story are from the tv show Scarecrow and Mrs. King and do not belong to me. The concept of the flasher in Senate Park is also from the show, which is actually kind of a relief for me because it means that I have someone else to blame for putting the idea into my head. I have not received any money for writing this, but it wouldn't surprise me if a few people attempt to bribe me never to write about the flasher again. The fact that I did even once really amazes me, but it did keep me entertained on a long trip.

Explanation: I was watching the 3rd season episode "We're Off to See the Wizard", and I started thinking about the part where Lee asks Amanda if she's ever known him to see people who aren't there. Amanda mentions that Lee had seen a flasher on the Senate Park bike path, but she hadn't seen him. I decided I just had to write something to explain that little incident, and this was the result. I picture this as taking place during the second season of the show. If my description of the area doesn't match with the real Senate Park, I apologize, but I've never been there and couldn't find any really good pictures of it. This story is probably rated a little higher than it really deserves, but I decided to err on the side of caution.

Gone in a Flash

By Jestress

Lee: In all that time, have you ever known me to see things that aren't there, people that aren't there?

Amanda: Well, yeah. Now, there was that time that you kept seeing that flasher on the Senate Park bike path. I never saw him.

Lee: You were gonna go out there with binoculars.

Amanda: Well, it was much safer that way.

- from "We're Off to See the Wizard"

Don't look, Ethel!

- from Ray Stevens' The Streak

Chapter 1: Don't Look!

"Now, she usually comes down the bike path this way," Lee said, gesturing to indicate the path that Senator Westing's daughter, Sandra, would follow. "I've got her route mapped out, and I've divided it into thirds. Since none of us have been in training for cycling races like Sandra Westing, I've decided that each pair will only cover a third of her route so that we will all be fresh enough to keep up with her. Any questions?"

"Who are the other pairs?" Amanda asked.

"Agents Porter and Lang will be following her from the beginning of her ride, then you and I will take over. After we finish our third of the route, Francine and Fred Fielder will cover the final third," Lee said. "We're pretty close to the point where our part of the ride will begin. I thought that we could wait by that bench over there and use that as our starting point. All we have to do now is scope out a good starting point for Fred and Francine."

Lee had been assigned to organize the surveillance team assigned to watch over Sandra Westing after her father had received letters from someone threatening to kidnap Sandra unless he changed his position on a key issue that would shortly be coming to a vote. Mostly, the surveillance was simple, watching her at her home and the college she was attending. However, Sandra was also a dedicated cyclist and enjoyed long rides in Senate Park. Watching a moving target in a crowded place was always complicated. They still had a couple of days before her next practice session, so Lee had brought Amanda to help him inspect the route she would follow and decide where their people would be positioned.

"There's still one thing I don't understand," Amanda said.

"What's that?"

"If there's a chance that someone might kidnap Sandra Westing, why do her parents just let her go out riding in the park by herself?"

"I don't think that Senator Westing is taking the threat very seriously," Lee said. "People like him get threats all the time from kooks who never follow through on them. He and his family generally prefer to keep only minimum security because they consider it too intrusive. The only reason why the Agency is taking it seriously is because we know that the senator is one of the driving forces behind the proposed regulations on overseas shipping of new technology. There's going to be an important vote on the issue soon, and some pretty nasty people want to block it any way they can. By kidnapping Sandra Westing, they could force her father to vote any way they want."

"I just don't see how her cycling practice could be so important that her parents would be willing to risk her safety," Amanda said.

"Well, she does have a pretty important race coming up," Lee said. "She's been competing in cycling races since she was in her early teens, and apparently—oh, gees!"

Suddenly, Lee clapped a hand over Amanda's eyes.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Amanda cried. She tried to turn her head away from Lee, but his hand kept its position over her eyes.

"Don't look!" he said urgently. "There's a flasher over there, and he just flashed himself in this direction."

"What? Where?" Amanda asked, pulling Lee's hand away from her face.

"I said don't look!" Lee snapped, taking hold of Amanda's chin and turning her head toward himself.

"Shouldn't we do something? Shouldn't we get the police?" Amanda asked. She kept trying to turn her head, but Lee held her chin gently but firmly, forcing her to look only at him.

"No, I don't want to attract any attention to the two of us," Lee said. "That guy is getting enough attention by himself."

"Let me see!" Amanda said.

"No! What do you want to look for?" Lee demanded. "Believe me, it isn't a pretty sight. Anyone as ugly as that guy really ought to keep it covered up."

"I just want to see that's going on," Amanda complained. "What's everyone doing?"

"At the moment, gawking and pointing," Lee said. "Oh, wait. Here comes a policeman. Now the guy's in for it."

"Why won't you let me look?" Amanda asked. "It's driving me crazy that I can't see what's happening."

Lee shook his head. Sometimes, Amanda really amazed him.

"Amanda, you shouldn't have to see things like that. Really, you should be grateful to me for saving you from that unpleasant experience."

"So what's the policeman doing?"

"The flasher took off running, and the policeman's chasing him," Lee said. "I think he's calling for backup on his walkie-talkie. Okay, you can look now."

Lee let go of Amanda's chin, and she turned around to see what was happening behind her back. There were several people standing around, talking to each other and gazing off in the direction the flasher and the policeman must have gone.

"I missed the whole thing!" Amanda said, disappointed.

Lee rolled his eyes.

"I suppose you'd rather I just let some pervert flash you?" Lee demanded. He couldn't believe that they were even having this conversation.

"I just think you should have let me see what was happening," Amanda said. "I like to be aware of what's going on around me."

Although Lee could understand the feeling, he couldn't help but argue the point.

"I told you what was going on, so you were aware of it. You didn't need to see it. Now, could we return to the business at hand? Sandra Westing will begin her route at ten in the morning on Friday. We should be in position by nine-thirty, in case Sandra starts early and so that we will have time to scout the area before she reaches us to make sure that no one suspicious is hanging around."

"You mean like a flasher?" Amanda asked innocently.

"Forget the flasher!" Lee said. "What do you think of those starting positions?"

"They seem fine, but won't it look a little funny if we keep everyone in pairs? I mean, I'm all for keeping partners together, but won't it look a little suspicious if two people leave the bike path and get immediately replaced by two more over and over again?"

"Yeah, maybe," Lee said. "Tell you what, we'll stagger them a little bit. Porter can break off pursuit first, and Lang can continue on a minute or two after you and I start. Then, Francine can join in, and you and I will leave off a minute or two before Fielder joins. How does that sound?"

"Sounds good," Amanda said.

"Okay," Lee said. "We'll mark the starting and stopping points on my map and brief everyone at the meeting tomorrow."

"Should we also warn them about the flasher? I wouldn't want to risk having Francine's delicate sensibilities offended."

"Very funny."