- Steele Giving Thanks 3/6
Date: Wednesday, November 14, 2007
- From: "Lori" <LJLanham@gmail.com>
-
- ==============================================
-
- Murphy, Danny and Mildred were standing
at Sharon's desk when the Steeles arrived back at the office.
-
- "How'd the meeting go, Chief?"
Mildred asked.
-
- "It was interesting, Mildred,"
Remington answered. "But not very informative."
-
- "Did you find anything?"
Laura asked.
-
- "Maybe," Murphy answered.
"Danny and I went over to Ms. Wexler's house. We didn't
really find anything out of the ordinary
"
-
- "
but there was a program
from Kate's talent show the other night," Danny interrupted
as Murphy glared at him.
-
- Laura bit back a grin. She knew
that Murphy would make a wonderful mentor for her nephew's apprenticeship
and that Danny had the makings of a great detective, but occasionally
their rivalry reminded her of the time Remington had hired an
intern, much to Mildred's chagrin.
-
- "That could be something,"
Laura said, turning to her husband. "We need to talk to
our client."
-
- Remington turned back to the others
and shrugged before following Laura out the door.
-
- "Why the rush?" he asked
as they got into the elevator. "And couldn't we use the
telephone?"
-
- "I want to see his face,"
Laura responded.
-
- "Is the program from the talent
show that important?" he asked. "After all, Larsen's
son was in the show. Is it inconceivable that his business partner
would be there?"
-
- "No," Laura admitted.
"But it IS unlikely that his lover would be there. And according
to our client, Ms. Wexler was already missing when he attended
the talent show."
-
- Before Remington could inquire further,
she went on.
-
- "When he came to the office
the next day, he said that he had wanted to speak to us about
the case at the talent show, but the timing wasn't right."
-
- "Lead on, Mrs. Steele."
-
- *~*~*~*
-
- Murphy looked up as his internal
line rang. He picked up the phone.
-
- "Hello," he said.
-
- "Murphy," Mildred said
from the other line, "do you still have those contacts in
Mexico City?"
-
- "Yeah," he answered. "Why?"
-
- "Well, after Laura acted so
strangely about the Academy program this afternoon, I got to
thinking. I did some digging and cross referenced the Larsen's
information with Libby Wexler's. Get this, BOTH Libby Wexler
and Sara Larsen appear to be in Mexico City. At least their credit
cards are. I called a couple of the merchants showing up on Ms.
Wexler's account and they provided an accurate description."
-
- "What about Mrs. Larsen?"
Murphy asked.
-
- "I don't know," Mildred
replied. "We don't have a description to go on."
-
- "I think you're on to something,
Mildred. Let's meet when Laura and Steele get back."
-
- *~*~*~*
-
- "I'll admit I don't like the
guy," Laura was saying as she and Remington walked into
the office. "He's blatantly cheating on his wife---but I
believe him. He's telling the truth."
-
- "So where does that leave us?"
Remington asked.
-
- "We have to find someone ELSE
who may have been both at the Academy talent show and at Libby
Wexler's house."
-
- "They're back," Sharon
said into the telephone.
-
- "What's going on, Sharon?"
Laura asked.
-
- "Miss Krebs and Mr. Michaels
think they have a lead on the Larsen case," she answered.
"They're waiting in Mr. Steele's office."
-
- "Let's go," Laura said,
leading the way for Remington to follow.
-
- *~*~*~*
-
- "According to Murphy's contact,"
Laura said as she pored over the file she'd spread out on the
dining room table, "both Libby Wexler and Sara Larsen are
at the Sierra Del Sol spa in Mexico City. But they haven't been
seen together and each is traveling alone."
-
- "It would seem we need to check
into their travel arrangements," Remington suggested, leaning
on the door jamb. "We need to know who was following whom."
-
- "Right!" Laura replied.
"But then
this just doesn't make sense. You don't
suppose it could be a coincidence, do you? I mean, they have
the same taste in men---maybe they have the same taste in vacations,
too."
-
- "Do you believe that?"
he asked.
-
- "No," she answered.
-
- "I didn't think so," he
replied. "Now, let's put that away for a while. Dinner is
almost ready and one of us has to go pick up Kate from dance
class."
-
- Laura looked at her watch.
-
- "I'll go," she said, gathering
up the contents of her file.
-
- *~*~*~*
-
- "Mr. Larsen," Laura said,
sitting in the chair across from her client's desk. "Where
is your wife?"
-
- "Excuse me?"
-
- "Your wife," Laura repeated.
"Where is she?"
-
- "Visiting her mother in Ohio,"
he answered. "Why?"
-
- "Does she know about your
relationship with Ms. Wexler?" Laura asked, ignoring his
question.
-
- "No," Larsen replied,
a little too quickly.
-
- "Are you sure about that?"
she asked.
-
- "Mrs. Steele," he said
sternly, "What are you getting at?"
-
- "I think you know, Mr. Larsen,"
she answered. "Your wife found out about your affair, didn't
she?"
-
- Neil Larsen hung his head for a
moment and then slowly looked up at Laura.
-
- "Yes," he said with a
sigh. "Sara found out. That's why she went to go visit her
mother. She left the morning after the talent show."
-
- Once again, Laura believed he was
telling the truth. She wasn't sure how much to reveal to him.
This definitely confirmed her theory, but without proof she didn't
feel comfortable telling her client that his wife had just become
her prime suspect.
-
- "Why all these questions, Mrs.
Steele?" he asked.
-
- "Just trying to get as much
background as possible," she answered. "Mr. Steele
and our associate are working on a theory as we speak. I'll let
you know as soon as we have something to report. Thank you for
your time," she said, standing to shake his hand. "I'll
be speaking with you very soon."
-
- *~*~*~*
-
- On her way out to the parking lot,
Laura took out her cell phone. She dialed her husband's number
as she climbed into the driver's seat of her Jeep Cherokee. When
the Rabbit finally gave up the ghost, she'd agonized over getting
a new car. Remington was driving a new BMW and they still had
the Auburn, so she opted for the "Mom" SUV.
-
- "Steele here," came the
familiar answer from the other line.
-
- "Steele, HERE," she said
with a smile. "Any luck?"
-
- "What would you say to a couple
of days in Mexico?" he asked.
-
- "We can't go away now,"
she answered.
-
- "Why not?" he asked. "The
case demands it, I'm afraid."
-
- "The case or your penchant
for tropical climates?"
-
- "Laura, you wound me,"
her husband answered, and she could just see the grin on his
face. "The case, of course. It seems that Mrs. Larsen followed
Ms. Wexler, and I don't think we're going to get any answers
unless someone goes down there."
-
- "I agree with you, Mr. Steele,"
she answered. "I just left Mr. Larsen and he thinks his
wife is visiting her mother in Ohio."
-
- "The plot thickens, Mrs. Steele,"
he said. "I'll call Sharon to make the arrangements."
-
- "I'll meet you at home."
-
- *~*~*~*
-
- "Why do I have to go to Aunt
Frances'?" Kate pouted as she sat on the bed and watched
her mother pack.
-
- "Because Daddy and I have to
go out of town on a case. It will only be a couple of days; we're
very close to wrapping this one up."
-
- "But why can't I just stay
here with Maria?"
-
- "Maria is on vacation, Honey.
Remember? She's not going to be back until after Thanksgiving."
Laura placed the shirt she was folding into the suitcase and
sat down next to her daughter. "I'm sorry, sweetie. This
just came up at the last minute, and we have to go. It should
only take a day or two, and we'll be back. You'll have fun with
Aunt Frances and Uncle Donald."
-
- "What about school?"
-
- "Aunt Frances will drive you."
-
- "All the way from Tarzana?"
-
- "It's not that far, Kate. What
are you so worried about?"
-
- "I don't know," the little
girl said softly. "I just don't like it when you and Daddy
go away."
-
- "Oh Honey," Laura said,
pulling her baby girl into an embrace. "We'll be back. We'll
always come back."
-
- "I know," Kate said against
her mother's breast. "But sometimes I get scared. I mean,
your work is dangerous."
-
- "Sometimes it is," Laura
said honestly. "But not too often. When we were blessed
with the most incredible little girl in the world, Daddy and
I made a promise. We don't take cases that are obviously dangerous
"
-
- "
and when we can't avoid
the danger," Remington added, as he walked into the room,
"we're extra careful." He walked over to where they
were sitting and leaned over to kiss Laura before sitting down
on the other side of their daughter.
-
- "See?" Laura said. "Nothing
to worry about."
-
- "What's this all about?"
Remington asked, wrapping his arm around both of his girls.
-
- "Kate's a little nervous about
us going to Mexico," Laura answered.
-
- Remington rubbed Laura's shoulder
before moving his hand to pull Kate close.
-
- "Nothing to fear, luv,"
he said as he placed a gentle kiss against his daughter's temple.
"Two days. We'll be back. We always come back, right?"
-
- Kate looked up at him and smiled.
-
- "That's exactly what Mom said."
-
- Remington and Laura gazed at each
other over their daughter's head. He smiled, he didn't think
he'd ever get over the feeling of looking into her eyes and knowing
that she loved him. She knew what he was thinking and felt the
exact same way. She winked at him before speaking to Kate.
-
- "See? Daddy's right. Everything
will be fine. You're going to have lots of fun with Aunt Frances
and Uncle Donald."
-
- "And LB," Remington added,
as Kate's face lit up.
-
- "LB's going to be there?"
she asked.
-
- "Yep," her father answered.
"I spoke with Uncle Donald on my way home and he told me
that Laurie Beth has just started her fall break. She's coming
home for the Thanksgiving holiday and will be there tonight."
-
- "Tonight?" Kate asked.
-
- Remington nodded.
-
- "And she said she can't wait
to hang out with her favorite cousin," he confirmed.
-
- "Cool!" Kate said, jumping
off the bed and running toward the door.
-
- "Where are you going?"
Laura asked.
-
- "To finish packing," she
answered. "I have to hurry if you're going to take me out
there tonight."
-
- Laura laughed and fell into her
husband's arms as their little whirlwind ran out of the room.
-
- "You always know just what
to say," she said as he wrapped his arms around her.
-
- "I just have a way with Holt
women," he replied then kissed her, proving his point. He
loved that he could still make her swoon.
-
- Catching her breath she said to
him, "Ah, but she's a Steele
and so am I."
-
- "A fact for which I'm eternally
grateful," he answered, holding her close. "What's
say we drive little Miss Steele out to the Pipers, eh? We can
have dinner on the way at that little place she likes in Calabasas.
Then we'll come home, we'll have the house all to ourselves
"
-
- "I like the way you think,
Mr. Steele," she responded.
-
- to be continued....
-
- To Part
4
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