Notes, Disclaimers, etc in Part One
Steele at Home
Part Three
Remington sat up in bed, his back
against the headboard. He closed his
eyes
and rubbed them with the heels of his hands. It was late, he was
exhausted,
but sleep eluded him. He laughed softly. The man who had lived
his
entire
life running from commitments was lying awake, unable to sleep
because
his
wife hadn't come to bed. They had shared a bed for less than a
month,
and
yet he couldn't remember his bed without her in it. Tonight he
found
himself
feeling slightly neglected. No, neglected wasn't the right word.
He
could
never complain about their physical relationship. Laura satisfied
him
like
no other woman--- being with her had been well worth the wait
of those
four
long years. It was just that he was having a hard time adjusting
to
having
to share her. Having her all to himself in Ireland had spoiled
him, but
now
they were in Los Angeles and his beautiful Laura was in her element.
He
couldn't wait for this case to be finished. She had been relentless
in
her
pursuit of justice for Uncle Andy. Her tenacity was one of the
things he
loved about her. Over the years, he'd loved watching her dig her
heels
in,
mull over facts, ferret out clues---she was brilliant and he'd
learned
so
much from her. He sighed, knowing that when this case was over,
there
would
always be another. "Laura!" he called out to her. "Come
to bed."
Laura looked up from the files spread
across the dining room table when
she
heard her husband calling her. She glanced at her watch. It was
late,
and
she wasn't getting anywhere. But something was nagging at her.
There was
something she was missing. McIntyre was such an obvious suspect,
and she
knew Remington harbored suspicions of Kari Simmons. She kept thinking
there
was something else. Something they had seen but weren't thinking
of. But
what was it? "Just a few more minutes!" she called back.
~*~*~*~*~
It was almost an hour later when Laura
tiptoed into the darkened
bedroom.
She sat on the edge of the bed and began taking off her clothes.
"You can turn the light on."
She jumped at the sound of his voice. "You're awake."
"Couldn't sleep."
"Are you all right?" she
asked, reaching to him with concern. "You're
not
sick, are you?"
"No," he opened his arms to her. "Something was missing. Come here."
She folded herself into his embrace.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly.
"It's
just this case. I can't get it out of my mind. I know we're missing
something."
"Ssshhh," he stroked her
hair as he held her close. "Let it go for a
while.
You need to rest."
She stretched up to kiss him as she
slid from his arms. "I'll be right
back," she assured him, disappearing into the bathroom. She
brushed her
teeth and washed her face. When she finished undressing, she reached
for
the
silk pajama top that hung on the back of the door. His. She hadn't
yet
returned to her comfy cotton gowns, but a lacy peignoir didn't
seem
right.
They both needed to rest. They needed to fall asleep in each other's
arms.
She smiled. Knowing her husband, and herself, she doubted they
would go
right to sleep, but there was no need to add to temptation.
~*~*~*~*~
He picked up the silver frame and
carried it to his bed. He set it down
on
the nightstand as he did every night. "Soon," he said
to the photo.
"You'll
be here with me. I need more than just your picture, my love."
~*~*~*~*~
Mildred looked up from her desk as
the Steeles were entering the office.
She
had been prepared to tease them for coming in late, but then she
saw
them.
Even the sartorially fastidious Remington Steele looked a bit
bedraggled.
"You two look like hell," she blurted out.
"Thank you, Mildred," Laura rolled her eyes as she picked up the mail.
"Long night," Remington
replied, pulling off his sunglasses and rubbing
the bridge of his
nose. "Or rather, long case."
"Oh Chief," Mildred stood
to go get their morning beverages. "You two
need
a break."
"We'll take one when we solve
this case, Mildred." Laura set the mail
back on Mildred's desk and picked up a stack of pink
message slips. "Nothing from Detective Jarvis?"
"Not yet," Mildred answered.
"But I'll put him through just as soon as
he
calls."
Laura turned back to her husband.
"You're okay with taking care of Mrs.
Wells this afternoon?"
"Of course," he answered.
"Everything is taken care of. I'm just going
to do
a final walk-through of the system with her. We will have to make
sure
our
schedules are clear for Friday night. She's insisted we attend
the
opening."
"We'll be there," Laura
assured him. "Hopefully we'll have the
Friedlander
case wrapped by then. Maybe I can pick up something when I see
John
McIntyre
today," she said, entering her office.
"Laura," his voice was low
as he drew out her name. He closed the door
behind him. "McIntyre could be dangerous. I don't want you
going to see
him
alone."
"Rem, I'm a big girl," she
sat down in her chair. "I don't need my big,
strong man to protect me," she said with a little too much
sarcasm.
"No," he spat back at her.
"Laura Holt doesn't need anyone. Forgive me
for
being concerned. Forgive me for thinking we were PARTNERS! Remember
that
Laura? We work best as a team? Weren't you the one who said that?"
"You're the security expert!"
she roared back at him. "Do you want ME to
go
to the museum and let YOU deal with McIntyre?"
"No, Laura. I want us to work
together. I want us to spend more than
twenty
bloody minutes together every day! I want you to let me in."
He slammed
the door connecting their offices as he stormed into the one
assigned to him.
Laura sank back in her chair. She
knew he was right.
Something about this case was causing her to push him away---
professionally
speaking. At home, things were good. Maybe it was because he knew
her so
well. He knew from the start that she would obsess on proving
Andy
Friedlander innocent of drug use. He knew that she would pursue
her goal
at
the cost of everything else. She sometimes hated that he knew
her so
well.
But there was something else. He wasn't altogether supportive
of her
pursuit
of McIntyre. He'd thought her focus was short-sighted. How could
they
work
together when they didn't agree on the suspect? They'd been at
cross-purposes before. And he was right--- they worked better
as a team.
He
had turned into one hell of a detective, though she wasn't sure
exactly
when
that had happened. Still, there wasn't anyone she trusted more
to back
her
up, not even Murphy. She stood up to walk to his door. She placed
her
hand
flat against it and bit her lip.
Remington let out a long breath and
leaned back in his chair. Why had he
blown up like that? He knew before the words had completely left
his
mouth
how Laura would react. She had never wanted protecting, by him
or anyone
else. But she didn't understand. She was his wife. His need to
protect
her
was almost primal. Was this what she had always been afraid of?
He
consoled
himself with the fact that the distance between them seemed to
be
limited to
the office. Would it always be like this? Were they back to square
one?
Or
was it just this bloody case? He looked up when the connecting
door
opened.
"I'm sorry," they both said at the same time. Then they laughed.
"This isn't going to be easy,
is it?" she asked, moving to stand behind
the
desk.
"Has it ever been easy with us?"
"No," she smiled, "I guess not."
He reached out for her hands. "I
know you need your independence. That's
one
of the things I've always loved about you. This partnership, both
personal
and professional is a difficult change. Just don't shut me out,
okay?"
He pulled her hand to his lips.
"I know this case is important to you. We'll figure it out,
together."
"I have an idea," she said,
looking at her watch. "Why don't you drop me
at
Police Headquarters on your way to the museum?"
She paused at the confused look on
his face. "I can compare notes with
Jarvis while you finish up with Mrs. Wells. Then you can swing
by and
pick
me up before we go to see McIntyre."
"I like the way you think, Mrs. Steele."
~*~*~*~*~
Laura sat in the lobby of the police
station. Jarvis hadn't been able to
offer anything new, and now she was watching for Fred and the
limo to
return
and pick her up. She was going over the case in her mind, lost
in her
thoughts. She almost didn't notice the man who walked into the
lobby
pushing
a cart. He caught her attention when he started to empty the trash
bins.
She
studied him. He seemed slightly familiar. More precisely, his
uniform
looked
familiar. He wore khaki pants and a matching work shirt. The logo
just
above
his breast pocket was shaped like a diamond and said "Crystal
Clean."
Laura's eyes drew open wide. "That's
it!" she exclaimed, just as she saw
the
limo pull up out front. She'd just discovered that missing link
that had
been nagging her for days.
~*~*~*~*~
Kari Simmons didn't look up from the
script she was reading as she
walked
down the hall of the network offices. She didn't notice the man
walking
directly toward her until they collided. "Oh!" she said.
"I'm sorry."
She
looked up and saw the man's face. "Charlie!"
"Hi Kari," he replied. "It's been a long time."
"Seems like forever," she answered with genuine affection.
"Look at you," he said. "The big star. Long way from the cleaning crew."
"I'm not a star," she blushed
slightly. "Just a girl who got lucky," her
voice dropped as she choked up just a little, "thanks to
a really
special
man."
"Yeah, I heard about Mr. F," Charlie responded. "Terrible shame."
"Yes, it was."
"Hey," he said as if the
idea had just struck him. "You wanna have
dinner
with me?"
"I don't know," she hesitated.
"What's the matter?" his
tone was sharper now. "You too good for your
old
friends?"
"No, no. Not at all," she
caught the change in his demeanor. "I just
have to
learn the script for the new show."
She held up the book in her hand. "We start taping tomorrow."
He was beginning to make her nervous.
"C'mon Kari, even big fancy
actresses
gotta eat."
He grabbed her by the arm and led her to a side door.
~*~*~*~*~
"Why would someone from the cleaning
crew have a copy of Kari's
contract?"
Laura asked as Fred drove them to the studio. She had to admit
she
didn't
have the answer. But she was sure she was on to something. When
she saw
the
man cleaning the police station lobby it all fell into place.
The
unidentified man in the khaki uniform was the missing piece. He
was what
had
been nagging at her. Why had he been in McIntyre's office? Why
had he
been
in possession of Kari's contract? And why hadn't she or Remington
questioned
his presence that night?
"Maybe it wasn't the contract
he was after," Remington leaned forward in
the
seat.
"What else could it have been?"
"What else was in that folder, or should I say ON the folder?"
"Her photo."
"Laura, I'm getting an uneasy feeling - shades of secret admirers past."
"Change in plans, Fred. Take
us to Kari Simmons' apartment." She phoned
Mildred while Remington gave Fred the address. "Mildred,"
she said into
the
phone. "I need you to call the Crystal Clean Cleaning Service
and find
out
who is assigned to John McIntyre's office. Specifically, who may
have
been
there last Thursday night. I need names and addresses, Mildred.
And I
need
them yesterday!"
~*~*~*~*~
After finding that Kari wasn't at
home and no sign of anything out of
the
ordinary, they went back to Plan A and headed for the studio.
Walking
into
the offices, they were greeted by a harried John McIntyre.
"Steele!" he rushed up to them. "Thank god you're here!"
"What is it, Mr. McIntyre?" Laura asked.
"It's Kari Simmons," he
answered. "She's missing. She's not on the
soundstage. She's not in her dressing room. Her car is on the
lot. She
was
working on the script for tomorrow's taping."
"Maybe she just needed a break,
went for a walk," Laura suggested with
more
confidence than she felt.
"Or maybe she went to the commissary?"
Remington offered, looking at his
watch. "It is almost dinnertime."
"Steele, you've met Kari," McIntyre was incredulous. "She doesn't eat."
"Mrs. Steele," Molly came
out of McIntyre's office. "There's a call for
you,
a Miss Krebs."
"Mildred. Maybe she's got something,"
Laura said as she followed
McIntyre's
assistant back into the office.
McIntyre stopped a young woman coming
toward them down the hall. "Susan,
have you seen Kari Simmons?"
"Yeah," the young woman
answered. "A little while ago. She was leaving
with
Charlie Wilson."
Both Remington and McIntyre looked
confused. "He cleans your office,"
the
woman addressed McIntyre. "Kari used to work with him."
Now, Remington was really worried,
but he tried not to show it. "Ah,
there
you see? Dinner with an old friend. Nothing to worry about."
"I don't think so," Susan
countered. "She didn't look too happy about
it."
At that moment, Laura reappeared in
the hallway. Walking up to
Remington,
she began to speak. "Mildred got a name," she said.
"Charlie Wilson," they said in unison.
"How did you know?" she asked.
"He's got Kari," Remington answered. "Did Mildred get an address?"
She nodded, "Come on."