- Steele Bitter (part 4)
Date: Wednesday, April 05, 2000
sue hantak <hantaks@mtco.com>
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(Part 4)
Laura spent the night in a dark, barren cell. It all seemed like
a horrible dream. Not just her arrest, but everything that transpired
over the past week. Her thoughts too drifted back to last Sunday;
his sweet lips waking her, sharing an intimate day of cleaning
(of all things). It's sounds so odd to think that cleaning would
be an intimate activity. There is a tremendous amount of trust
involved in allowing someone else to clean out your fridge or
see what's under your bed. What most people would consider rather
ordinary and domestic, Laura saw sharing the day that way to
be incredibly personal. It was foreplay, in a sense, and when
they tumbled on the bed it just seemed natural for Laura to pull
him into an intense and tantalizing kiss. She was the aggressor
at first. When he put his arms around her and reciprocated, she
became keenly aware of how close she was to losing control. His
lean body pressed erotically against hers. Their hands caressed
involuntarily. Laura pulled away, at first just to catch her
breath but when she caught sight of Remington; aroused and breathing
heavily on her bed. She panicked.
*It's no wonder he found someone else* she sadly confessed to
herself. *Why would he send me flowers though?.......Maybe I
was too harsh at lunch......Now this business with my mother
and the drugs?*
"None of this makes any sense" she lamented out loud.
Early Tuesday morning she was allowed her phone call. She reached
Mildred at home. Laura relayed her ordeal to Mildred who promised
her an Arizona attorney. Mildred following Laura's instructions,
placed a call to Detective Jarvis. Laura needed the LUDS from
her phone to find out who set this up as well as a cooperating
law enforcement officer to vouch for her return to LA.
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Of course Descoine and Devin would not leave a trail back to
them. LUDS from Laura's phone showed the "doctor's"
call originated from Remington's phone. As disappointed as he
may have been at her and even factoring in their apparent breakup,
Laura could not believe he would plant drugs and get her arrested.
All of this began to seem vaguely familiar. Laura couldn't put
her finger on it. As uncomfortable as it was going to be, Laura
had to confront Mr. Steele. Laura went straight to Remington's
apartment. She was still oblivious to the lie foisted on Remington
of her phantom affair. She banged impatiently on his door and
burst in when he opened it, "We have to talk."
In a rather cold manner, "Ah Miss Holt ....... Did you have
a satisfying weekend?"
*Satisfying? jail?* "What are you suggesting?"
He shut the door and walked over to her. He towered over her
accusing, "I know about HIM, Laura. I went to your loft....
I listened to the message he left...... I saw the lingerie....I
saw your bed.....I saw what was left by the lamp....Did you enjoy
stringing me along all this time?" His voice was escalating
to a near shout, " He waltzes in tells you what you need
to hear. I could have done that too. ....or is this about teaching
me a lesson?"
Laura looked at him like he was speaking a foreign language.
"WHAT are you talking about?"
"John Devin?"
"Who?"
"Laura don't play dumb, I know you and Devin are involved"
"Involved?" Laura seemingly getting more confused by
the moment.
"Do I have to spell it out?" He circled around her,
"Making love?....Sex?... Getting laid?...Fuc..."
She slapped him before he could finish the last one. "How
dare you accuse me...... when you were the one in bed with God
knows who the other night."
They both looked at each other, hurt and angry. This was exactly
the blow up Descoine was hoping for. Instead of listening to
each other and realizing they've been manipulated, they put up
a defensive wall between them..
In a low deliberate tone, Laura seethed, "First of all,
I spent the weekend in a filthy Arizona jail. Second, I don't
know any John Devin. And third, I am insulted that you would
even think I would...(she stopped herself and contemplated whether
to actually say it)....... fuck anyone" She stared at him
with her voice quivering, "I needed your help......but I
don't think I want it anymore." She pushed her way past
him and out the door.
He had never heard her use such vulgarity. Only when he heard
her say <that word> did he realize how absurd he sounded
just a few moments earlier. He slumped against the back of the
sofa when her accusation finally registered. *Why would she think
I was in bed with someone?*
Laura was in her car driving with no particular destination when
she too reflected on the situation. They both jumped to the same
conclusion about each other. That is just too odd. She made a
u-turn and headed back . Mr. Steele was on the phone with Jarvis
when Laura reentered. "Are you sure?.....Yes.....Yes.. I'll
tell her." He hung up the phone.
"Who was that?"
"According to Detective Jarvis, John Devin fled the country.
He is under federal investigation by the FCC....it seems they
are about to indict him on some serious telephone allegations."
"It seems that we've had our own phone problems lately,"
Laura pointed out. "Why on earth would he bother to stir
up problems for us?"
"Jarvis also mentioned he was implicated before in the MediaTech
scandal, but they never had enough to warrant an arrest."
"MediaTech.!....now it all makes sense.....We......I mean....before
you were Remington Steele had a client that lost a fortune to
MediaTech. Murphy and I helped put MediaTech out of business.
"That still doesn't answer the question of what would he
possibly have to gain by setting all of this up?"
"What kind of a sick mind......? Laura started, then had
a revelation. Steele, too, made the connection. In unison they
declared, "DESCOINE" Laura spun around to quickly go
to the office to get Descoine's file.
Remington followed her. He grabbed her wrist as she reached for
the doorknob.
"Laura, first, I owe you a huge apology......about what
I said before.....I shouldn't have....."
"Let's just figure out what to do about Descoine, okay?"
she was still offended by his accusation; hurt that he would
even think she was capable of that.
He could see she was still upset. The best way to get this behind
them was to get some revenge of their own. He followed her out
into the hall and pressed the button for the elevator, "What
else can we do about Descoine?........ I mean he's already in
jail?"
-
- To Be Continued---
- To Finale
- BACK