- Steele Holting Out For You 6/9
Date: Thursday, January 11, 2001
Breezy <giglnbreez@aol.com>
Well, here's part six,
it's a bit longer and the explanation of certain people mentioned
in this section is at the bottom. -Breezy
______________________________________________________________________
Part Six
Murphy paced the length of his hotel room. He knew something
was amiss, but he couldn't see what it was that was nagging at
him. Boston seemed to be a strange destination, but there was
something he was forgetting. As soon as he could figure out why
it seemed so logical he could get Laura back here.
There was something else. Did he want her back? Earlier this
evening he was a very happy man. They didn't get as far as he
usually would in two hours with a woman, but the territory was
very rough. Every time one of them wanted to take another step
it seemed the other would find a way to slow down the exploration.
There wasn't a lack of passion, just the opposite, but when he
realized Laura had her hand on his thigh he felt like jumping
and dancing for joy. Laura had noticed his withdrawal and stopped
her assault on his lips and her ascent up his leg. When he noticed
that she had stopped he was pushed back into reality, but it
was too late, they had to get back into the mood again.
This seemed to happen again and again, was this fate telling
him to give up? No, that's just the rejection from when you left
before, Michaels.
"We're going to be great together, Laura. We have to just
get over this just friends awkwardness," he sat back down
and went over the facts one more time in his head.
***
"Come along Laura, we're going to miss the flight! They
already announced final boarding," Remington pushed his
feminine companion along with an overly eager force.
"Mr. Steele, if you push me any harder I'm going to be on
my face," Laura was trying to match her taller cohort's
stride, but was failing miserably.
"I'm sorry," he slowed a bit and tugged on his ear,
"I just want to find her. I want things back to the way
they were. Everything," he stopped for a second and looked
around, "the terminal's this way," he turned and walked
over to the counter to check in and catch the flight.
***
Mildred was watching the in-flight movie, Muppets in Space, when
it donned on her that she had no clue as to how she was going
to explain what she had done when they found her. Could she just
tell them the truth? If all went according to plan maybe they
wouldn't notice that there wasn't any problem. She doubted it,
but it was worth a shot. Now is not the time to worry about it.
Mildred had a more pressing matter at hand. First she had to
figure out who that man was in Laura's apartment, and then she
had to explain to Laura's mother what was going on.
She knew flying in any closer to Connecticut would have been
curious, so she decided that Beantown was going to be her final
destination. Abigail would be meeting her and they were both
going to do some sightseeing while they were there. If they were
going to be working for a common goal they might as well bury
the axe and starting today would hopefully mark the beginning
of a friendship, well, a partnership, at the very least.
Now, what was it that Gonzo was doing? She hadn't paid much attention
until now...
***
Laura and Remington had settled into their seats on the plane
and were ready for departure. "I've never been to Boston,
have you?" Laura looked over at her travel companion for
an answer.
He, however, was busy wondering about Laura and never heard her
question. She tapped his shoulder, "Is something wrong?"
He questioned.
"I was just wondering if your mysterious past ever brought
you to Boston."
"It did for a very small amount of time. There's a wealth
of art, but I didn't have the heart to do anything. It was far
to easy," he shifted a bit to look at Laura.
"Can you think of anyone who would drag Mildred there? I
mean there must be someone we're not thinking of," Laura
shifted to put a bit of distance between her and Mr. Steele.
Noticing her move he sat back, "We'll worry about it when
we get there, Laura, now I'm going to catch a nap and I think
you should do the same," he closed his eyes and didn't wait
to see if she followed suit.
***
"Miss Krebbs, over here!" Abigail Holt waved her daughter's
associate down in the busy terminal.
"Ahh, Mrs. Holt, thank you for meeting me here. This might
be one of the most important things either of us will ever do.
Would you like to grab something for dinner? It's been a very
long day for me, making plans, avoiding capture, catching the
flight."
"It sounds like you've had a busy day. Why don't we drop
your things at the hotel, excellent choice by the way. It's beautiful.
Where did you get the money to book the Colonnade?"
"Right now, is not the best time to ask that particular
question. I don't know yet, but I thought we should do this in
style."
***
"Welcome to Boston, Laura. I hope you brought your coat;
it can get pretty cold here in the winter. Nothing like Los Angeles,
but I'm not complaining," he shot her one of his fabulous
grins.
Laura couldn't fight the smile that she gave him in return, "I
just happen to have my goose down with me for that very reason.
So, where are we staying?" Laura had left the hotel reservations
in Remington's hands because she had no idea of where to book
them.
"Now Laura, please don't be upset, but I booked us at The
Four Seasons. It's the best as far as I know. I don't believe
that much has changed since I left. They still use old cow paths
for streets," he gauged her reaction and when he didn't
see any he pushed onward, "I also booked us for a late dinner
at the Top of the Hub, it has a great view. I hope you brought
a dress."
Laura grimaced a bit, but she was too tired and distracted to
fight right yet, "I did. Which way now?"
"That's the spirit Miss Holt."
***
After an amiable dinner Mildred and Abigail went back to their
room to discuss what was going on between Laura and Remington.
Abigail had explained to Mildred who Laura's earlier companion
had been and had assured her that Murphy was not a threat to
the situation.
Mildred still wasn't sure, but she told herself to ignore the
feeling for now. They decided to leave a message for them at
their hotel. Mildred had planned on taking a few hours to check
for reservations, but hit pay dirt on the first try. Abigail
was in shock at the extravagance that the two were demonstrating,
but realized that wonderful Mr. Steele must have made the reservations.
"Yes, please leave a message that says, 'Mildred is safe
for time being, meet us at the Fens tomorrow night at 10. Me.'
That should do it. Thanks."
"Miss Krebbs, you're a romantic genius. Hopefully this will
work.
***
"Well Laura, it looks like we have a day to work on this.
I suggest we get up early and get acquainted with the criminal
element in the area."
"How do you suggest we do that, Mr. Steele?" Laura
wondered.
"The easiest way I know of is to buy the morning paper and
watch the news in the morning."
"Oh, ok," Laura had hopes of meeting another of Mr.
Steele's friends, but then she realized that maybe, for once
he was telling the truth. He hadn't been there very long and
he hadn't the chance to make any friends, "If we don't have
anything else we need to do tonight I think I'm going to turn
in."
"Good night Miss Holt," Remington wasn't sure if he
should approach the other subject that was bothering him or if
it could also wait until morning.
She smiled at him and shut the door. Well, so much for that idea.
Maybe the news tonight would turn something up.
He turned on the set and was greeted by a bald man parasailing
across the screen. He wasn't sure of how he was supposed to react
to this, so he changed the channel only to be greeted by a man
who looked curiously like the man on the previous channel. The
only difference seemed to be that this man's dome was a bit taller
and his beard had a few flecks of grey. Amazed, he went back
to the other channel, but the man was gone now. The anchors,
Tom Ellis and the woman who's name he missed, were bantering
about something called Celebrate New England, this wasn't helping
him one bit, so back to the other channel.
These anchors must have been married, they were too perfect and
friendly, this was odd. Chet and Natalie, they sound like a set
of dolls that should be marketed to little girls.
But they gave him a little information. Some woman had disappeared.
She seemed to have a tie to the Boston mafia, maybe he could
get some names in the morning or if he changed the channel.
A man named Joe Day was reporting the same story, this guy's
name sounds like an action figure. Where did they find these
people? Now the weather, who was this guy? At least his name
seems to be a little less peculiar, Harvey Leonard. He looks
like a physician. Maybe he can call a storm, who knows?
It was time for bed.
***
Laura woke up early and turned on the television. She flipped
through and found that there was only one local program on. A
children's show called Ready To Go. It looked sugar coated, but
there was a news report by a woman named Katie Abel, was this
a stage name? Laura hoped the woman was capable of giving some
real news in this kiddie show format.
She found herself becoming enthralled by the pace that the hosts
Liz Calloway and Scott Reese set. They had all sorts of things
going on. There was a call in segment with trivia; a man who
looked like one of the kids, Todd Gross, announced the bus stop
weather, there were two little blonde girls who were beating
up Scott when he was introducing the segments. Then there was
a segment dedicated to building a go-cart, the "experts"
looked vaguely like the two blonde girls. The teenage boy and
his father looked very similar, except for the father's baldpate
and beard.
After the kid's show was another show called Talk of the Town.
This seemed to be your basic morning talk show with a host, Matt
Lauer, who Laura found to be very attractive. Today's show had
a children's theme. There was an information session with Dr.
T. Berry Brazleton and then a fashion show and those same two
blonde girls were on, they eerily resembled the children of the
corn. She found out that they were the daughter's of one of the
technicians at the station. Then there was a knock at the adjoining
door.
She shut the television off and walked over to let Mr. Steele
in. "Morning, morning, morning!" He was grinning from
ear to ear and Laura just didn't know how she should react.
"Good morning, have you been watching the morning programming?
It's addictive."
"Did you notice that there's a lot of strange names and
similarities between the people? I was watching one station last
night and there was a guy who was parasailing and he looked almost
identical to another guy on the next."
"Really? There were these three kids and, who I assume to
be, their father on two shows this morning it was a little strange."
"Mmm, yes, well freaks and oddities aside, I think we need
to start working on where to find Mildred. The only information
I can find about the organized crime in the area isn't going
to help. I think if we were to go exploring we might have a little
more luck."
"I guess so, maybe we should make a plan.
***
Mildred and Abigail were held transfixed by the sight of the
host on the screen. He seemed to be very comfortable and very,
very attractive. He also seemed to have a sense of humor. He
kept reverting to the nickname of the older of the blonde girls
and, in doing so, was making the commentator of the fashions
very angry. As the show came to an end both women sighed.
"He's going to be someone. If this doesn't work out maybe
we can hunt him down for Laura."
"Abigail, honey, this is going to work out. Now, why don't
we go find someplace to eat?"
***
Laura and Remington ordered room service for breakfast and plotted
their path for the day, starting at the old state house on Beacon
Hill and moving their way over to the North End making stops
at some historical sites and of course Fanuel Hall Marketplace
for a little shopping.
***
The two women found their way to a small restaurant called The
Metro. It was a clean place and there seemed to be a large crowd.
A man at the door greeted them, "Good morning ladies,"
he said with an Indian accent, "I am the doctor, and the
proprietor of this establishment. Please come in, have some fruit,
and have a good morning."
Mildred nodded, smiled and stepped up to the counter with Abigail
in tow.
"Isn't that sweet, the owner of the place greets you at
the door and he offers you fruit."
"Abigail, look over in the dining area, do you see anything
that's a little off kilter," Mildred asked in a stage whisper.
"It's those children from the TV shows and the hosts too.
That is a little strange."
"We must be near the station. Think we might be able to
get some pictures with the hunk from the talk show?"
"There's no harm in asking."
"Abigail, why didn't we do this before?"
"Because we hated each other."
***
Around noon Laura and Remington arrived at Fanuel Hall and were
shopping.
"Mr. Steele, look over there," Laura motioned with
her head.
"What," he looked up from the postcards of the skyline
he had been studying, "That's one of the bald men from the
news last night!"
"Those are the children and their father and, I'm guessing,
their mother from this morning. I didn't think that Boston was
that small, but things seemto be proving to be that way,"
Laura shook her head.
"Maybe we should go over and ask them for some information
about the area. Especially some place to hit for lunch, I'm famished."
They walked over to the family and introduced themselves.
***
After their encounter with the local celebrities, Mildred and
Abigail went wandering about town, drifting from different sites,
the New England Aquarium, the Public Gardens, the Skywalk in
the Prudential Building, and several of the different cemeteries.
By five they were back in their room resting for the night's
big event. They turned on the news and immediately went searching
for the station they had watched earlier hoping to see some more
visual stimuli, but instead, they encountered Paula Zhan. She
seemed to be very intelligent, but she just wasn't the same,
so they opted to look and see what was on HBO.
***
For lunch, the bald man had recommended a pizza place in the
North End, Georgio's, where they had, what Laura had considered
to be, some of the best pizza she had ever had. Even the gourmand,
Mr. Steele, had agreed that it was excellent. The father had
also offered to give them any information they needed about the
crime scene in Boston and invited them to take a tour of the
station, which was almost right across the street.
"So, Laura, now that we have a few leads to help us along
I'd like to ask you something."
Laura hid behind her soda, knowing what was coming next, she
eyed him, but didn't say anything.
"I just want to know, where have you been these last few
weeks?" He put his pizza slice down and started to take
Laura's hand that was on the table before she pulled it away,
"Laura, don't hide on me, I need to know," he bored
into her eyes with his.
Laura looked at Remington, then she started playing with a piece
of tomato that had fallen off of the pizza, "If I tell you,
you have to promise not to be upset," she looked up again
with what he could only decipher as the beginning of a storm.
"I can't promise I won't be upset," he laughed nervously,
"my heart's involved on this one," he picked up her
hand and started playing with her fingers, not allowing her the
chance to get out of his grasp this time. He cleared his throat
a bit, "I just don't see what I did wrong this time, I thought
we were getting better."
Laura looked at their hands, "It's not you, but that's all
I can say right now. I need to do some searching on my own before
we can move forward. I'm sorry."
He put her hand down, "Alright then," he said with
a terse smile, "I understand, but please remember, it's
my heart, Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Holiday Inn, 1942,
Paramount Pictures."
End Part 6
To Part 7
The local celebrities mentioned
in this part are real people from the era that this story takes
place.
At the time the main station was a CBS affiliate which is where
Paula Zhan became the morning host when she left Boston.
Tom Ellis is now an anchor on the New England News station and
Celebrate New England was a tour that the news crew took in the
summer of 1985. (This is going on the fact that I seem to remember
that my sister and I both were served hot dogs for the entire
summer when we visited our father on the tour.) They showed pieces
of the tour through out the year to make it pay for itself.
Chet Curtis and Natalie Jacobson have been a staple in the Boston
area as the anchors of the local night news. They recently made
national news when they announced that they were getting a divorce
after 20 some odd years.
Joe Day is a retired (I believe) reporter from the area.
Harvey Leonard is a highly respected meteorologist who has worked
in the area since the week before the "Blizzard of '78"
at which time he was the only person to predict the storm and
very accurately.
Ready to Go was the kids show to fulfill the FCC requirements.
It was also quality programming that was created by the producer
of the PBS show Zoom.
Liz Calloway, who was a host of the show, is now performing on
Broadway. Last I had seen of her she was Grizabella in Cats,
but now I think she's performing with her sister Ann Hampton
Calloway.
Scott Reese was the other host of the show and a heck of a nice
guy.
Todd Gross is another amazing meteorologist. He is best known
for being the guy who predicted "The Perfect Storm."
He makes a small appearance in the movie and the character who
predicts the storm is supposed to be him.
And Matt Lauer hosted a morning talk show for several years and
now is the male co-host of NBC's Today Show.
Any other information for clarity that may be needed, just e-
me. -Breezy
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