"Night, Daniel," Remington said as he closed the bedroom door and joined Laura out on the deck, where she had a glass of wine waiting for each of them. He sat beside her on the rattan love seat as she laughed. "What?" he asked.
"Her travel agent," she said, shaking her head. "I should have guessed, I suppose, when she went on and on and *on* about him earlier."
Remington grinned as well. "What was his name again? John?"
"James," Laura supplied, and began to rattle off the man's particulars. "He's sixty-three, retiring- which explains the trip to Japan and Australia- widowed, has no children."
"At least they're going to stop by on their way through LA on their trip for you and Frances to meet him," Remington told her. "Do you think it's serious?"
"Could be. She's never wanted us to meet any of her boyfriends before."
He put his glass on the nearby glass topped table and began to massage her shoulders. "You're tense again," he said. "I think you need another of Dr. Steele's treatments."
Laura sighed as she slid across his lap. "But I haven't paid for the last ones yet," she reminded him.
"We'll put it on your bill," he told her, giving her a long kiss. "Let's go inside, shall we?" he suggested, and followed her into their bedroom.
Later, when Laura was again relaxed, her head resting on Remington's chest, she said, "You said something earlier about another idea."
"Hmm?" he said, running his fingers through her hair as he struggled to remember what she was talking about. "Oh. What would you say to- changing the name of the agency?" he asked.
Laura looked up at him. "What did you have in mind?"
"Something that reflects the true co-operative nature of the agency," he said.
"Such as?"
"Holt Steele Investigations?" he suggested, watching her reaction carefully. "If you don't like it-"
"No. You might be onto something," Laura said, her tone thoughtful. "Holt Steele Investigations. The Holt Steele Agency. Hmm."
Remington sat up against the pillows encouraged by her reaction. "Then you think it's a good idea?"
"It has possibilities," she told him, and started to reach for the telephone.
"What are you doing?"
"I need to talk to Mildred-"
"She needs her rest. Besides, I've already discussed it with her."
"You did?"
He nodded. "Earlier today, while you and Nathan were getting Daniel settled in his room. She said it's not that difficult. We'd have to reapply for a business license using the new name, and then announce that we had formed a partnership- sign a few contracts, things like that. Think it might do the trick?"
"And if we made the partnership announcement before anyone gets wind that we're - partners in other things," Laura told him rubbing his leg with hers, "then - it might just work," she told him, and threw herself on top of him to give him a kiss. "You're a genius!" she declared.
"As I've been trying to tell you for seven years," he sighed. "We'll have Mildred set up an appointment with the agency's lawyer- what's his name?"
"Martin Hastings," Laura told him.
"Do I get a reward for being so smart?" he asked as his hands fell to her hips.
"I think I can come up with something," Laura assured him, smiling as she slid down his body . . .
****
Laura sent Mildred off to join Remington and Daniel at the doctor's office the next morning, and then called Martin Hastings, asking him to drop by around two for a conference. She heard the door in the reception area open, and waited for someone to call out, but with no one spoke, she rose from her desk and moved in that direction. "Hello?" she said. The reception area was empty.
A sound from Remington's office caused Laura to take a sharp breath. "Is anyone in there?" she asked. Cautiously, she went toward the open doorway and paused at the entrance, looking around. The room looked as empty as the others. Still moving slowly, she continued into the room. When the door closed with a loud noise, Laura turned- and gasped as what she saw . . .
***
Twenty minutes later, Abigail and Maeve entered the office. Abigail was flushed, carrying several shopping bags as she sat down on the sofa in the reception area. "I must be getting too old for this," she sighed, slipping her shoes off. "That feels good."
Maeve placed her single bag on the floor nearby the chair she chose for a seat. "I wonder where Laura is?" she said.
"Probably buried in paperwork. That child could miss an atomic bomb once she's concentrating." In her stocking feet, Abigail went over to her daughter's office and opened the door. "Laura?" The office was empty.
"Sounds like my Carole," Maeve noted with a smile that faded when Laura wasn't there.
"Maybe she's in here," Abigail decided, opening the door into Remington's office. "Laura? Are you here?"
Maeve followed her. "Where is she?" She watched as Abigail picked something up from near the desk. "What's that?"
"It looks like- one of Laura's shoes," Abigail said. "I have to find Remington," she told Maeve, going back out to Mildred's desk to flip through the Rolodex. "What would the mobile phone in the limousine be listed under?" she asked aloud.
"Limousine, perhaps?" Maeve answered. "Or mobile phone?"
They both looked up as the doors opened, hoping to see Laura there. But instead they found Remington and Mildred.
"Abigail. Maeve. I thought you were going shopping?"
"We did," Maeve told him. "But-"
"What are you doing?" Mildred asked, coming around to reclaim her "territory" from Laura's mother.
"Looking for the telephone number for the limo," Abigail explained. "I think Laura's been kidnapped," she told them, holding out Laura's shoe.
Remington took it from her. "Where did you find this?"
"In your office, near the desk. The doors were unlocked when we came in, but Laura was nowhere to be found." Remington headed toward Laura's office. "I've already looked in there," Abigail called out as the telephone began to ring.
Mildred grabbed the receiver. "Remington Steele Investigations . . . One moment please." She held out the telephone toward Remington. "He says he wants to talk to you."
Laura's shoe still in his hand, he took the telephone from her. "Steele here."
"Mr. Steele." Remington's blood ran cold as he heard that voice. It had haunted his dreams on and off for years. "It's been awhile. You sound well."
"Descoine," he ground out, meeting Mildred's fear widened gaze. "I didn't know they allowed prisoners to make telephone calls."
"They don't. But then, I'm not in prison anymore. You're behind the times, Steele. I got out two days ago."
"It's been nice chatting with you, Major, but I have things to do-"
"Things more important than finding Miss Holt?" Descoine asked in that tone Remington remembered only too well. The man was past the point of madness. He was insane.
"Let her go, Descoine. Killing her isn't going to bring Lily Martin back."
"Oh, I know that, Mr. Steele," Descoine said smoothly. "But it will make you suffer. Just the way I've suffered since you caused the death of my dear Lily."
"If you do anything to hurt Laura, Descoine, so help me, I'll track you down to the ends of the earth- and beyond, if necessary."
Descoine laughed. "It won't do you any good. I'm a dead man already, Steele. That's why they released me early. Because I don't have much time left, and they felt sorry for me. But in the time I have left, I'm going to deprive you of the one thing that means more to you than anything else in the world- just as you deprived me of Lily Martin's companionship. You have twelve hours in which to find her and save her life-and the clock is ticking. I've left a clue for you, Steele Are you as good a detective as you claim to be?" He started to laugh again, and the line went dead.
"Descoine!" Steele pressed the hook on the phone several times, then hung up. "Bloody hell!" He sent Maeve a look of apology. "Sorry."
"That's all right, lad. Who is this person?"
"Someone that Laura sent to prison before I-" he stopped as he realized that Abigail was standing there. "Before I was spending as much time here in the office. Descoine thinks that *I* sent him to prison the first time, and tried to frame me for murder- you remember, Mildred-?"
"Sure do. You barely got out of that noose he had around your neck. And then he tried to kill them both," Mildred told the other two women as she watched Remington pacing. "What're we gonna do, Boss?" she asked, slipping back into her old routine.
"He said something about a clue," Remington told her, and moved into his office to search.
"Where are Daniel and Nathan?" Maeve asked Mildred.
"Fred was taking them back to the house," Mildred explained. "The doctor told Daniel that he should be okay if he makes some changes now. No more fatty foods, you know the drill," she answered in a distracted tone as she looked around the reception area.
"So he got a clean bill o'health, then?"
"Yes-" she paused, noticing something under the edge of her desk. "Boss?" she called, bending to pick up the slip of paper as Remington came back out. "I may've found something."
Remington took it. "It appears to be a claim check of some kind-" his eyes widened. "It's a postal receipt, Mildred."
She peered over his shoulder. "For the same post office where we caught him last time."
"Isn't someone going to call the police?" Abigail wanted to know, obviously distraught with worry about her daughter.
"Mildred-?" Remington said.
"Done," she promised. "What should I tell Daniel?" she wanted to know.
That stopped him in his tracks. "Daniel. Daniel. Uh, tell him nothing. Tell him that Laura and I are *both* trying to track down Descoine because he's- well, because he's a danger to the community at large. I don't want him anymore upset than he has to be. Okay?" He went back into his office and came out with the Agency gun. "Bullets?"
"I'll try," Mildred promised, digging the bullets out of the file cabinet where they were kept. "Here you go."
As he loaded the gun, he told her, "Call Detective Jarvis, find out why we weren't alerted to Descoine's release from prison. Tell him that Descoine has Laura and that I'm going to track him down." He tucked the gun into the back of his slacks, then gave all three women a quick hug.
"Is there anything we can do, Remington?" Abigail asked.
"Pray that I'm as good a detective as everyone thinks I am," he told her.
***
He entered the post office to find one person on duty. While Major Descoine was a master of disguise, he also knew that the young woman behind the counter couldn't possibly be him. But Minor Descoine had never been located. She had simply disappeared without a trace after her father's arrest. Finally he took the claim ticket over to the counter. "I need to pick this up, please," he told her with a nervous smile.
"Okay," she said, looking at the slip of paper as she went toward the boxes behind her. "Box 233. Here it is." She pulled an envelope out. "You're- Remington Steele?"
"Yes. That's me. If you need some ID-" he began, reaching into his jacket for his wallet.
"If you wouldn't mind." He showed her his Private Investigator's license. She lifted her dark eyes to him and then back to the picture. "Okay. Sign here," she told him, indicating a line on a piece of paper.
Remington picked up the pen and signed his name, taking the package from her. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it, Mr. Steele," she said, and beneath that makeup, he saw Minor Descoine's satisfied smirk.
"Why you-" he said, and dove across the counter to try and reach her- but she was too quick and slipped away from him, laughing as she headed for a back door. From the rear area of the building, a uniformed postal worker appeared, only to be pushed out of the way as Remington followed the girl from the building.
He was already out of breath by the time he reached the end of the alley way and realized he'd lost her. "Damn!" he yelled, bracing his hands on his knees. Laura was right, he *should* have taken her up on that offer to join her working out at the gym twice a week.
Going back to the Porsche, he opened the envelope that he'd gotten from Minor Descoine. All that was inside was a key. The shape looked familiar- and the tag on it had locker number 18 on it. Starting the Porsche, he made a u-turn to head toward the storage lockers in which Descoine had once stored an ice-cream truck with evidence to clear Remington of a trumped up murder charge . . .
He picked up the mobile phone and dialed the office number. "Mildred? Have you talked to Jarvis yet?"
"He said that he's been out of town for the last week on vacation, Chief," she told him. "He was just a surprised as I was that that slime ball had been released."
"Could you call Jarred for me? Ask him to meet me at 1213 Morganhead Road, Locker 18, as soon as possible?"
"Jarred? Sure. Any luck yet?"
"No. I did see the Major's daughter, but she got away from me. The bastard seems to be following a pattern - sending me to places that were involved in our two previous encounters. I want you to pull those files and get me those addresses. Where are Abigail and Maeve?"
"I sent them back to the beach house."
"The beach house? Was that good idea?"
"I warned Nathan about what was going on. I think he and Maeve can keep Abigail under control so that Daniel doesn't get wind of it. Are you okay?"
"No," he admitted. "I'm not." He pulled the car into the driveway leading to the storage buildings. "I have to go, Mildred. Find Jarred."
"I'll get right on it," she promised. "Good luck."
Remington parked his car before the garage sized doorway of Locker 18 and put the key into the lock to open it, after having checked it for any signs of explosive device. One could never be too careful with Descoine.
He lifted the door, and was shocked to find Laura's Rabbit sitting there. Cautiously, he approached the car, halfway expecting to find Laura inside- but the car was empty- and the key was in the ignition. He got behind the wheel and looked around. Nothing. The car was clean. Laura had it serviced weekly- inside and out. Even the trunk-
Remington pulled the key from the ignition and slowly got out to approach the back of the car, trying to remind himself that it was a small trunk. Barely as big as a breadbox. There was no way Descoine could have - he put the key into the lock and turned, closing his eyes as the lid came up. Opening one eye, he breathed a sigh of relief to find the trunk empty. He ran his hands around the interior, finding a small block of plastic- with a key inside of it. "Of course," he said, grabbing the keys as he closed the trunk. He relocked the storage building and returned to the Porsche to call Mildred again. "Any luck finding Jarred, Mildred?" he asked.
"He's on his way to the address you gave me," she said.
"Did he say how long it would take?"
"Oh, half an hour, I think. You know how he rides that bike of his."
"Yeah." He glanced at his watch. "Look, I don't have time to wait, so I'm going to leave him a note- when he calls you, tell him to come to the office and get that list of addresses that I asked for and then wait for me to call again."
"Got it."
"I'm on my way out to the acid vats. I'll check in when I get there." He dug out a piece of paper and a pen to write a quick note for Jarred to call Mildred, then slipped it through the lock on the door. Getting back into the car, he started the engine and was off again…
He didn't see Minor Descoine come around the corner of the storage building and remove the note to Jarred. Watching the black Porsche turn a corner, she smiled as she tore the note into tiny pieces.
***
Laura woke to unfamiliar darkness. She tried to recall the last thing that had happened, but her mind was fuzzy- as if she'd been drugged somehow. When she moved, she realized that her arms and legs had been tied with rope- and there was something tied over her mouth as well. She could hear water dripping steadily somewhere close by- and the place had a damp, chilled air to it.
She managed to sit up and struggled against the ropes on her wrists and ankles, trying to loosen them. A square of light appeared as a door opened, and Laura squinted into it, trying to see who was standing there.
"It's no use, Miss Holt," a familiar voice said. Laura's eyes began to adjust to the bright light, and widened at the sight of Major Percy Descoine's grinning face. He looked thinner than he had when she'd last seen him in court. As if he'd been ill. And the glint of madness in his eyes was more evident. "But don't worry. It will all be over soon."
She started to struggle again as he laughed and closed the door of her prison- leaving her in darkness once more.
To Be Continued---