Disclaimers, notes etc.. in part one.
Steele at Home
Part Two
Mildred stood outside the
door of Mr. Steele's office.
She'd interrupted her "kids" plenty of times over the
years.
In her defense, it was almost impossible to decipher their relationship.
But now that her bosses were newlyweds, she tended to be a bit
more
careful. She checked her watch as she considered knocking on the
door.
Remington sat in his desk chair
facing Laura who stood in front of
him, leaning on the inside of the desk.
"What are you grinning at?" she asked.
"Oh? Nothing," he shook his head.
She contemplated his features.
She knew him so well, yet in many
ways he was still an enigma. "You're up to something,"
she
leaned into him for a quick kiss. "Spill."
He pulled her into his lap and
kissed her fully. "I've
always wondered," he said, pushing a stray hair off of her
forehead,
"what it would be like."
"What what would be like?" she asked with a kiss.
"This," he answered.
"What it would be like in the
office once we were really together."
"You mean this?" she
kissed the side of his neck. "Or
this?" her kiss fell to his jaw line. "Or maybe this?"
her
lips brushed his, softly at first but slowly increasing in intensity.
"Yes," he said breathlessly. "That's it."
"We are newlyweds after all, Mr. Steele."
"That we are, Mrs. Steele,"
they both smiled. He loved
calling her Mrs. Steele--- almost as much as she loved hearing
it.
"But don't get too used
to it," she grinned, jumping up
from his lap. "We DO have a business to run."
As if on cue, there was a knock at the door.
"Come in, Mildred," Laura answered.
"I got you an appointment
with John McIntyre," Mildred
announced as she entered the office. "His secretary finally
relented
and said he could spare twenty minutes at 12:30. He's got a lunch
meeting at one."
"The studio is right down
the block from DiScala's,"
Laura's eyes met her husband's.
"I think a late lunch is in order, Mrs. Steele."
Laura looked at her watch. "If
we leave now, we can check in on
Mrs. Wells at the museum before we meet with McIntyre. Then lunch
at
DiScala's, and we should probably get in touch with Detective
Jarvis."
"Mildred, have Fred bring
the car around," Steele
instructed. "And call DiScala's for a reservation, will
you?"
~*~*~*~*~
"Mr. Steele," John
McIntyre leaned back in his chair facing
Remington and Laura where they sat across from his desk. "I
have to
say I was intrigued when Molly told me how insistent your secretary
was
that I meet with you."
"We wanted to speak with you about…"
"A TV project," Laura
stopped him from giving their real
reason for being there. As far as she was concerned, McIntyre
was their
main suspect. No sense in tipping their hand. "The press
has been
interested in Mr. Steele for years. Several writers have expressed
an
interest in writing about his most interesting cases. Russell
Forsythe
even offered him a deal to write the book himself."
Picking up on Laura's ruse, Steele
jumped in. "Yes, and I
thought perhaps the greatest cases of Remington Steele might make
an
interesting subject for a television show. It could be one of
those
action shows, a crime drama."
"Or a comedy," Laura added, biting back a grin.
"But with a beautiful leading
lady and plenty of romance,"
Remington added.
"I like it," McIntyre
nodded, standing up from his desk.
Laura and Remington were barely listening as he paced the room
talking
about making their life fodder for the MTV generation. Laura hoped
McIntyre didn't hear the gasp she let out when something caught
her
eye. Catching her partner's attention, she silently guided his
eyes
to what she had seen---a small plastic zip bag sticking out from
the
corner of the blotter on the desk. The bag and the corner of the
desk
around it bore a white powdery residue. Laura was beginning to
think
they had found their man. McIntyre had motive. IF this was what
she
thought it was, then he had means. And since Andy was killed in
his
dressing room here at the studio, he already had opportunity.
She just
needed proof, but she knew she couldn't get it right now. A little
night work was in order.
~*~*~*~*~
Dressed in their "work clothes,"
Laura started the
Rabbit's engine while Remington tossed a bag into the back seat.
They drove across town to the studio where they slipped into
McIntyre's office, unnoticed.
Laura went directly to the desktop
where she thought she'd seen
the evidence of drugs earlier. The bag from this afternoon was
gone and
the desk had been wiped clean. She was on her way into the private
bathroom when Remington grabbed her arm. He held his fingers to
his lips
to indicate she not speak. She listened closely as they both heard
noises in the hall. They ducked into an alcove in the corner of
the
office as a man entered. It wasn't McIntyre. The man was wearing
khaki pants and a matching uniform shirt. It was too dark to make
out
the logo. He placed something on the desk and left the office
as quickly
as he had entered.
As soon as it was clear that
the man wasn't coming back, they
moved quickly to the desk. The item the man had left behind was
a file
folder. There was an actress' head shot clipped to the front.
They
looked down to see the face of Kari Simmons smiling back at them.
Laura
picked up the folder. Remington held the flashlight as she skimmed
through the contents.
"It's a contract,"
she said. "Looks like McIntyre
has tapped our Miss Simmons to star in a new show. A kids show
based on
those dolls, The Cabbage Patch Kids."
"Cabbage Patch Kids?" he asked with a look of confusion.
Laura shrugged. "All I know
is that they're very popular.
Both Mindy and Laurie Beth have been begging for them. Frances
said they
were impossible to find at Christmas."
"That puts a new wrinkle in things, doesn't it?"
"Maybe," Laura wasn't
convinced. "I still want to
look around." She made her way to McIntyre's private bathroom.
A
moment later, she emerged with two small amber vials of what could
only
have been cocaine.
~*~*~*~*~
Laura set her glass down on the
table. "We need to get closer to
McIntyre."
"Laura," he sighed.
"So you found cocaine in the
man's office. This is Los Angeles. 1987. How rare do you think
that
really is?"
"He did it, Rem."
He smiled at the nickname. She'd
always felt that calling him
"Remington" was awkward. In Ireland, she'd tried
"Harry" a few times but it hadn't felt right, either.
He
wanted to use the name she'd given him. He was Remington Steele
now.
So, they'd set out to find a compromise. He'd thought
"Remy" a bit inane, and it reminded her of his parade
of bimbos
in the early days. She'd finally agreed to work on calling him
"Remington" and found herself calling him "Rem"
when
they were alone.
"I'm not convinced, Darling,"
he replied, taking a bite
of his swordfish. "You can't ignore Miss Simmons' apparent
involvement."
Laura shook her head, putting
down her fork. "She loved
him."
"Perhaps," he reached
across the table to take her hand.
"But she signed a contract to star in the show that is now
going to
fill his timeslot. And she didn't see fit to share that tidbit
of
information with us while setting up McIntyre as a suspect. There's
more to Kari Simmons than meets the eye."
"Maybe they're in it together," she mused.
"Then why did she push us so hard in his direction?"
"Because she thinks he did
it?" she tried to sound
convinced. "We have some more detecting to do, Mr. Steele.
I want to
talk to Detective Jarvis again."
"First thing Monday morning,"
he said standing up to clear
the table. "We've already spent an entire Saturday, including
dinner, on this case." He leaned over her to pick up her
plate.
"No work tomorrow. I have a rather lovely Sunday planned
and I would
prefer to spend it with my wife than my business partner."
There was that word again…partner. She mused. She stood
up to
help him clear the table. Following him into the kitchen she said,
"But your wife IS your business partner."
"True," he began washing
the dishes, "but she has a very
special talent when it comes to separating business from pleasure…
when she wants to."
She smiled, thinking of all those
times she'd put him off in the
past. They HAD been working a lot this week, both on this case
and
setting up security at the museum. They were getting home late
in the
evenings and spending less time together at the office. Had it
really
only been a week since they'd returned from their honeymoon? A
week.
"Oh lord," she muttered.
"What is it?" he set
down the plate he was drying.
"Laura, what's wrong?"
"My mother," she sighed.
He looked at her, puzzled, and she
went on. "We've been back from our honeymoon for a week."
"Yes?" he still had no idea where she was going with this.
"She hasn't called."
Now he was thoroughly confused.
"She's waiting for me to call her."
"Okay," he drew out the word.
"Before we went to London,
I promised her I'd explain
everything. She's going to be livid. She's going to be
impossible. I can't believe I forgot."
He walked over and pulled her
into his arms. He knew how much
anxiety her mother's lack of approval brought out in her. He had
hoped that their marriage might change Abigail's attitude. But
that
wouldn't happen immediately. She was hurt at being excluded from
the
nuptials. Little does she know, he thought.
"We'll call her together,"
he said softly. "First
thing in the morning."
"There goes your lovely
Sunday," her voice was muffled
against his chest.
"Nonsense," he stroked
her hair as she looked up at him.
"I'll be right there. If she gives you trouble, I'll talk
to
her."
Laura smiled, "She IS very susceptible to your charm."
"I seem to have that effect
on the Holt women," he said
before leaning in for a kiss that left them both wanting more.
~*~*~*~*~
Laura was sitting on the sofa
staring at the phone when Remington
walked out of the bedroom. His hair was still wet and he was wearing
jeans--- something he didn't do nearly enough of as far as she
was
concerned. His blue Izod pullover was the perfect color to bring
out his
amazing eyes. He was gorgeous. You're a lucky woman, Laura, she
thought to herself.
He leaned over her shoulder to
kiss her. "Good morning, my
love."
"Morning," she said
quietly, turning her attention back to
the telephone.
"Ready?" he asked, sitting down beside her.
"No," she shook her
head as he put his arm around her
shoulders.
"C'mon, it will be all right."
She picked up the telephone and
dialed her mother's number.
Relief began to come over her as the phone continued to ring.
She
wasn't home. She was just about to hang up when a breathless Abigail
Holt picked up the phone.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Mother."
"Laura," her voice
dripped with sarcasm, "it's so
good of you to call."
"I'm sorry it's taken so
long," she fought to keep
her jaw from clenching as her husband rubbed her arm reassuringly.
"There was so much to catch up on at the office. Then we
got busy
with a very complicated case…"
"Laura, I'm well aware that
your work is more important to
you than I am…"
"Mother! That is not true," Laura lied.
Remington could see that this
wasn't going to go well. He
motioned to Laura to give him the phone. "Abigail?"
"Oh," Abigail was shocked
at the sound of her new
son-in-law's voice. "Mr. Steele."
"Please, Abigail,"
he soothed, "call me Remington. After
all, we ARE family."
Laura resisted the urge to laugh
as she leaned against him. Whenever
he was trying to put on the charm, there was always a bit of extra
Irish
lilt to his voice. He winked and pulled her close as she settled
in to
his embrace. She closed her eyes and focused on his end of the
conversation.
"Yes, I know," he said.
"And I'm afraid I owe you an
apology. It was all quite sudden. You see, I was trying to be
romantic.
I wanted to surprise Laura… and not really having any family
of my
own, I… well, I neglected to think of Laura's…"
Laura rolled her eyes. She could
just see her mother melting at
Remington's "confession."
"…of course, Abigail,"
he went on. "Very soon.
She's right here. I'll put her back on."
"Hello, Mother."
"Oh Laura," Abigail
gushed. "How romantic. You are so
lucky to have found a man like Remington."
"I know, Mother," Laura
nodded. She knew she should be happy
that her husband had managed to diffuse the situation, but she
was
Laura's mother. She should be telling Rem how lucky HE was.
"We're both very lucky." She felt a calm come over
her,
something she didn't think she'd ever felt while talking with
her mother. It was then that she realized she didn't have anything
to prove. Not to her mother or to anyone else. She had a career
that she
was proud of, that she loved and was very good at. She was in
love with
an amazing man who loved her in return. They were setting out
to build a
life together. It was going to be a great life, too.
~*~*~*~*~
"Jimmy, you can't seriously
believe that this was an
accident," Laura railed, pacing Remington's office.
"It doesn't matter what
I believe, Laura," Jarvis
countered. "It's what the evidence tells us."
Remington sat back in his chair
and watched the exchange. It was
nice to see someone else on the receiving end of one of Laura's
tirades. He wondered if she made him squirm as much as she did
Jimmy
Jarvis.
"Evidence? Ha!" As the volume of her voice raised,
Laura
realized she was losing control. She hated when her temper got
the
better of her. She took a deep breath an stole a glance at her
husband,
who was conspicuously silent. His wink was almost imperceptible
but it
was enough to tug at her heart and dial her anger back a few notches.
She turned back to Jarvis, "It was planted. It had to have
been. I
just can't believe Andrew Friedlander was a coke addict."
"Laura, you grew up here
in Los Angeles, right?" Jarvis
asked.
"Yes," Laura answered,
eyes narrowing. Where is he going
with this?
"Me, too," he replied.
"And I grew up watching Uncle
Andy's World on TV as I'm sure you did. But we can't let
nostalgia cloud our judgment."
What is he accusing me of? She thought.
"I don't want to believe
it either," Jarvis went on.
"But as investigators, we have to be objective observers.
The
evidence points to an accidental overdose."
"Intentional," Laura
corrected. "It was an intentional
overdose--- caused by something or someone other than Andy Friedlander.
And I'm going to prove it!" She slammed the door behind her
as
she stomped into the outer office.
"Is she always like that?"
Jarvis turned to Remington, who
had yet to utter a word.
Remington smiled, "You've met my wife?"
"You know, there have been
many times I've really envied
you," Jarvis ran his hand across his chin. "But sometimes
I
don't know," he shook his head. "She's quite a
firebrand, isn't she?"
"And worth every minute of it," Remington agreed.
Jarvis couldn't miss the smile
on Remington's face or the
light in his eyes when he spoke of Laura. Steele was a lucky man.
~*~*~*~*~
Hours later, Remington stuck
his head through the doorway connecting
his office to Laura's. "Feeling better?"
She looked up at him, smiling.
"It's safe to come in, if
that's what you mean."
He walked over to her chair and
placed a soft kiss on her forehead
before leaning against the inside of her desk.
"I hate it when you're right," she said quietly,
and
without making eye contact.
Is she beginning to suspect Miss Simmons? he wondered.
"This is becoming Max Donahue all over again," She sighed.
Oh, that.
"Even Jarvis accused me
of leading with my heart instead of my
head."
"Laura," he placed
his fingers under her chin to make her
look at him. "You are a brilliant investigator and you've
got
great instincts. Think of how many times following your gut has
saved
both of our necks."
The love that shone through his
blue eyes melted her heart. Here she
had been, raving like a lunatic, railing on Detective Jarvis…
he
just took it all in. And now here he was understanding and encouraging
her. She wondered if he had any idea what he was in for. Life
with her
would never be an easy one.
He watched the emotions play
across her face. As if reading her
mind, he leaned over to kiss her. "I love impossible challenges,
remember? And I love you."
"Thank you," she replied. "And I love you, too."
"Now," he said, "let's
figure out what happened to
Uncle Andy."
~*~*~*~*~
He sat alone in the dark, tiny
studio apartment. He lifted a can of
beer to his lips with a shaky hand. He looked down at the photo
on the
table and ran his fingers over her face. Soon, he thought. Soon
she
would know how much he loved her.
~*~*~*~*~
"I don't feel right about
this, Mr. McIntyre," Kari
Simmons walked out onto the soundstage that had been the home
to Uncle
Andy's World for so many years.
"You're under contract, Kari," McIntyre snapped.
"I know that," she
said softly. "But why do we have to
do it HERE? It's just so soon."
"Look Kari," he asserted.
"I know you cared for the old
guy. But he's gone and we have to get something on the air. What
better than your new showcase?" He tried to soothe her.
"I can't do it," she sobbed.
Remington and Laura watched the
exchange from the back of the
soundstage. They had planned to have another pitch session with
McIntyre
about "their" TV show and try to get more information
from him
about Kari and her contract. They couldn't have anticipated their
good fortune. From their vantage point, not only could they see
and hear
the entire conversation, but they were hid from view themselves.
McIntyre grabbled Kari roughly
by the arm. "He's NOT here!
This show is going to make me rich and you famous!" Kari
was openly
sobbing now. "You knew what you were getting into when you
signed
that contract. You knew the old man was going off the air--- one
way or
another."
"Not like this," Kari
crumpled to the ground. "Never
like this."
Remington began to doubt his
theory on Miss Simmons'
involvement. She had definitely conspired with McIntyre to further
her
career, but he believed that she was genuinely shocked and grieving
over
Andy's death.
Laura took in everything about
the scene. McIntyre really was a
slime ball. I've been spending too much time with Mildred. He
just
admitted to plotting to get Andy off the air, but that was hardly
a
confession for murder.
~*~*~*~*~
On their way home from the studio,
Remington and Laura stopped off
at the office to pick up a file Laura wanted to go over again.
They were
surprised to see Mildred still at her desk.
"Boss!" She jumped
up to greet them. "Where have you two
been? I've been looking everywhere. I even called Fred…"
"We took the Auburn,"
Remington told her. "Slow down,
what's going on?"
"Detective Jarvis has been
looking all over for you, Mrs.
Steele."
Laura took the pink message slip
from the older woman. She glanced
at Remington before moving over to pick up the phone.
"Detective Jarvis, please,"
she said into the phone.
"This is Laura Holt. Steele… Laura Holt-Steele…."
After
a beat, she spoke again, "What is it Jimmy?"
Remington and Mildred watched
Laura, absorbed in her end of the
conversation.
"WHAT?… Uh-huh… Are
you sure?… I knew it!… Right.
Yes. Thanks, Jimmy." She hung up the phone and looked up
at her
interested associates. "Andrew Freidlander was murdered,"
she
said.
"I thought we already knew that," Mildred replied.
"We suspected, Mildred,"
Remington confirmed. "But we
still had to prove it." He turned his attention to Laura.
"What
happened?"
"Apparently, after my little
tantrum this morning, Jarvis
decided to do some more digging. He went over the forensics reports
again and took them to the Coroner's office. After further scrutiny,
the Coroner declared that the overdose was not taken accidentally.
There
were signs of a struggle and it appears the drug was injected.
When was
the last time you heard of someone shooting cocaine?"
~*~*~*~*~
"I'll do anything to make
you happy," he looked down at
her photo. Again, he ran his fingers over her face. "He was
never
good enough for you.. No one could love you like I do."
to be continued...
To Part 3