Mildred pulled her car into the parking lot of the Villa Genoa Motel, frowning at the run down appearance of the place. Peeling paint, burned out light bulbs and the feeling that unseen people were lurking somewhere close by, watching every movement gave the place an eerie feel. But Mildred reminded herself that she was a Private Eye- or soon would be, hopefully- and she would just have to get used to places like this.
But she didn't have to like them. Nor did she have to like her reason for being here tonight, when she would rather have been in her warm, cozy bed, catching up on last night's sleep. There was no sign of the taxi that Eileen was supposed to have taken here, Mildred noted as she located Room 10.
It was at the end of the building, farthest away from the office. Mildred ducked down as she heard a woman laughing. Two people walked close to the car, the man asking, "So, you still haven't told me how much?"
"Why don't we discuss that AFTER we have a couple of drinks?" the woman responded in a seductive voice. She led him to Room 4, and once the door closed, Mildred sat back up.
"Leave it to the Rat to pick a place like this," she muttered under her breath.
Eileen's phone call had been like a bucket of ice water, washing the sleep from Mildred's mind as Mr. Steele's mother recounted her conversation with Tony Roselli, finishing with her promise to meet him here. Mildred had begged her not to, or to at least call the police first- even the CIA- and find out what was going on, but Eileen insisted that Tony had sounded desperately sincere in his desire to apologize. So Mildred had coaxed a promise for the Irishwoman to wait for her to arrive before going to meet with Tony.
From the looks of things, Mildred decided, Eileen hadn't done as she'd promised. There were no lights in Room 10, and Mildred was becoming worried. Glancing at her watch, she realized that she'd already been here ten minutes. Getting out of the car, she cautiously made her way over to the room, trying to see inside the window beside the door. There WAS a light- the bathroom light had been left on. And the television was turned on as well.
Was Tony in there, waiting for his aunt's arrival? Mildred wondered. There was only one way to find out, she decided, skewing up her courage and knocking on the door, grateful that the light over it was burned out. If Roselli looked out of the window, all he'd see was a shadow. After the fourth knock, Mildred decided that Tony wasn't there.
Glancing around, she delved into her purse and finally found the set of lock picks that Mr. and Mrs. Steele had given her for Christmas. Now was as good a time as any to find out if the Chief's tutelage had paid off. She put the files into the lock and jiggled, turned, and then felt - rather than heard - the lock release. Bolstered by her success, Mildred opened the door and gasped at the scene within.
Instead of Tony laying on the rumpled bed, Eileen lay there, trussed up like a Christmas present. Her eyes were closed, and Mildred carefully reached out to touch her arm. "Eileen?" she asked fearfully. If that rat had done anything to Mr. Steele's mother-- Mildred sighed in relief when Eileen moaned and opened her eyes. "It's me, Mildred."
There was fear in them until she recognized her rescuer, and then Mildred saw the tears in those eyes. She removed the gag and began working on the bindings on Eileen's hands and feet. "Oh, Mildred. You were right. I should never have come here alone."
"I thought you weren't going to?" Mildred reminded her, gasping as Eileen rolled over onto her back and sat up slowly. There was bruise forming on the older woman's left cheek. "Did he do that?" she asked, outraged at the idea.
Eileen lifted a hand to her cheek. "Yes. I wasn't going to come in when I got here. I tried to wait, but Tony was watching for me. When he saw the cab, he came out and insisted I come inside so we could talk." She shivered, and Mildred patted her arm. "He told me that he was terribly sorry about what had happened with Laura. He said that he really does love her, but he understands now that it's hopeless. Then he said that he needed to get away. To make a fresh start. But that he needed money to do it. I gave him what I had with me- he said it wasn't enough, that he needed more until he could access his funds from other sources. I told him I could get more, but it would take time."
"He didn't have that kind of time, I'll bet," Mildred told her. "Where is he now?"
"I don't know. He mentioned something about wanting to apologize to Laura- asked where they were. When I said that I didn't know, he became angry, insisted that Remington wouldn't have gone away and not told me where to reach him. That's when I realized that he wasn't leaving, that he was going after Laura again. I tried to leave, but he grabbed me and asked where they were staying in - oh. Cat-a- uh-"
"Catalina?" Mildred asked.
"Yes, that's it. Catalina. He wanted to now where they were staying in Catalina. I told him that I didn't even know what that was, and that even if I did know, I wasn't going to tell him. That's when he-" she touched her face again. "I don't remember anything after that until you touched me a moment ago."
Mildred looked around the room, finding Eileen's purse on the table under a ragged lamp. "He went through your purse. Probably took your credit cards."
Eileen inspected the remaining items. "I'm afraid so."
Going to the telephone, Mildred dialed "9" to get an outside line. "The first thing we're going to do is cancel those cards," Mildred informed her.
"And the second thing?"
"Find Mr and Mrs Steele in Catalina. Hopefully BEFORE Tony Roselli finds them."
###
Laura stirred and reached out to snuggle close to Remington, but her hand encountered cool, empty sheets. Opening her eyes, she frowned as she realized that she was alone in the bed. There was no light from the bath, so Laura rose and picked up her robe. "Remington?" she called.
"Out here," he responded, his voice wafting through the partially open glass paned door to the redwood deck which ran the length of the house on the beach.
Laura joined him at the railing, smiling as he slid an arm around her, holding her against his body as he looked out over the ocean. "Are you all right?" she asked at last.
"Something woke me and I couldn't get back to sleep," he told her. "I didn't want to disturb you, so I came out here."
Laura nuzzled his arm with her cheek. "I wouldn't have minded your waking me," she assured him, turning in his arms.
He smiled down at her, but the smile was tinged with worry. "I just have the feeling that something's wrong."
"Nothing's wrong," Laura insisted. "You're just not used to our getting away without murder and mayhem following us," she told him. "Once your mind accepts that no one knows where we are or how to contact us, you'll be fine."
"Maybe that's the problem," he told her.
"What do you mean?"
"The fact that no one knows how to get in touch with us. What if Mother needs us?"
"She's got Mildred this weekend," Laura reminded him. "And you can call her the minute we get back." She smiled, sliding her arms around his neck. "I never figured you to be a 'Mama's Boy', Mr. Steele," she teased.
"I'm not," Remington replied in a mock offended tone. "I just have this niggling feeling that something's not right." Laura took a deep breath and pulled him back into the house. Pushing him to sit on the bed, she picked up the telephone next to it and dialed a number. "What are you doing?" Remington asked.
"Calling Eileen. Maybe once you hear her voice, you'll realize-"
"Laura, do you realize what time it is? I can't wake her up just to make sure she's all right." He took the telephone from her hand and hung it up, pulling her onto the bed with him.
"Well, then how am I supposed to make you feel better, Mr. Steele?" Laura asked him.
"I'm sure you can think of something, Mrs. Steele," he responded.
###
Mildred and Eileen both reached for the telephone as it rang. "Hello?" Eileen said, getting to it first. CLICK! She frowned into the receiver. "Whoever it was hung up."
"Probably a wrong number. Hotel switchboards do that all the time," Mildred told her. "You go change your clothes while I make some calls. I need to find out how Tony managed to get away from the CIA when he was supposed to be dead."
Eileen looked down at her torn dress and shook her head. "I don't know how I could have misjudged him so terribly."
"Because you wanted to believe the best about him," Mildred pointed out.
"I suppose. How are we going to find Remington and Laura, Mildred?"
"You let me worry about that.," Mildred said, urging Eileen toward the bedroom as she waited for someone to answer the telephone. The truth was, she had no idea how they were going to find those two. She only hoped Tony had the same problem.
###
But Mildred didn't count on the fact that someone as high profile as Remington Steele being totally unable to get out of Los Angeles unnoticed. Using the money he took from Eileen, as well as the cash he'd gotten using her credit card before abandoning it, he secured a fake ID proclaiming him to be a member of the press. With that, he easily located the heliport from which Laura and Remington had left the city- and the name of the chopper's owner.
From a pay phone, Tony dialed the man's telephone number. "Hello, Mark Davies?"
"Yes, this is he," Mark said. "May I help you?"
"I'm the security guard for the Westside Heliport in Catalina. We have a helicopter here that traces back to you-"
"To me? The Westside pad, you say?"
Tony's lips curled into a sneer. Another Brit. Figures, he thought as he kept his tone bland. "Yes. You weren't aware that it was here?"
"I loaned it to a friend for the weekend," Mark said. "He knows that the Oceanside Heliport is closer to the house. I wonder why he put it at Westside?"
"Oh, my. I'm sorry, Mr. Davies. I made a mistake."
"A mistake?"
"Yeah. Misread the numbers on the chopper. Should be an Alpha, not an Echo. Guess it's not your bird after all."
"Yes. What did you say your name was again?"
"Gotta go. Have to trace down the rightful owner. Bye." Tony hung up the phone. So Steele and Laura were staying in a house near the Oceanside Heliport- probably a house owned by Mark Davies. Going back to the offices of the heliport nearby, he rented one to take him to Catalina's Oceanside Heliport…
###
"He's probably on his way to Catalina," Mildred told Agent Jackson. No," she said looking up as Eileen returned to the sitting room. "She says she doesn't need to see a doctor. She's more concerned about Mr and Mrs. Steele at the moment…Is there anything we can do to help?" She frowned in frustration. "Look, Jackson, if you think you're going to intimidate me, you're wrong. I was dealing with people like you before you joined the CIA. Now tell me how we can help." She picked up a pen from the desk and wrote something on the notepad there. "Okay. Got it. Thanks."
"What did he say?"
"Tony nearly strangled a male nurse and escaped from the hospital before anyone knew it. They're been looking for him, but quietly, since they didn't think he posed a threat to anyone except Mr and Mrs. Steele."
"Did they know where Remington and Laura had gone?"
Mildred picked up the notepad. "The Chief has a friend, Mark Davies. He has a place on Catalina, and a helicopter that they probably used to get there. Jackson gave me that address, and agreed that I should try to warn them. Less chance that someone might get hurt. They tried to call as soon as they found out Tony had escaped, but there was no answer."
"They had probably gone to dinner or such."
"Or hadn't arrived yet." She turned toward the door. "Lock the door behind me. I'll call you when I find-"
"Call me?" Eileen repeated, stopping Mildred in her tracks. "You surely can't expect me to stay here, Mildred. Not when my son and his wife are in danger as a result of my stupidity."
Mildred fought a silent battle. "Have you ever flown on a helicopter?"
"Lots of times," Eileen assured her. "Shall we go?"
###
Tony thanked his pilot once they were on the ground, then went into the office, where an attractive young woman sat behind the desk. "Hello. May I help you?"
"Maybe." He flashed his fake identification at her. "I'm looking for someone who arrived here this evening- tall, dark hair. English accent. Traveling with a petite woman, long, chestnut hair."
"I don't remember her," the girl said, and Tony shook his head. "But I remember HIM." She rolled her eyes. "Dreamboat city. Some girls have all the luck."
"Yeah," Tony agreed noncommittally. "Guess so. Wouldn't happen to know where I could find them, would you? It's very important. Has to do with a hush-hush story. A big one."
"Oooh, sounds exciting," she sighed. "Well, I don't have an address for them, but they rented a car from the rental counter just down there. I'm sure they would have a local address for them."
"Thank you. You've been a lot of help."
"That's my job," the girl replied.
Tony moved to the rental office- and smiled blandly at the man who was there. He gave the same song and dance- and came up with a slip of paper that told him exactly where he could find Remington Steele - and Laura.
He stopped outside the Heliport office and used a payphone to dial the number they'd left. No answer. Slamming the telephone back into the receiver, he retrieved his money and started walking, formulating his plan.
###
Remington felt the bed move as Laura got out of it and went to the bathroom. When he heard the water come on, he smiled, his eyes still closed, contemplating joining her. But before he could move, he felt something cold and hard against his throat.
"Don't move, Steele. It's not that I don't want you dead- but I don't want it to happen here."
Remington's blue eyes met Tony's brown ones. "I knew it was too good to be true that YOU were dead."
"Yeah, well. I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. You've got other things to worry about." He took a step back and tossed Remington's clothes at him. "Get dressed. Quietly. And don't bother shaving. Where you're going, it won't matter."