"Remington?" she called again, glancing toward the closed door to the deck. He wasn't out there. Deciding that he had gone to prepare one of his gourmet breakfasts for them, Laura padded toward the kitchen in her bare feet, rubbing her wet hair with the towel. "You know, if you don't stop cooking the way you do, I'm going to get as big as a house," she complained as she moved into the room. "I've already gained--" her voice trailed off as she realized that the room was as empty as the bedroom had been.
There was no sign that he had ever been in the kitchen. The cabinets were clear, there were no pans on the stove. She placed her hand on the coffeemaker. It was cold, as she had known it would be. Laura frowned, dropping the towel onto the kitchen table, moving toward the doorway that led to the deck from the kitchen as there was a knock on the door.
Deciding that he had gone out to get some vital ingredient he needed, and forgotten the key to the house, Laura smiled, readying herself to tease him unmercifully about not simply picking the lock to gain entry. "Where have you been?" she asked, opening the door, only to fall back in surprise upon seeing Mildred and Eileen on the front step. "Mildred? Eileen? What are you doing here?"
"We came to warn you that you and Mr. Steele are in danger, hon," Mildred told her. "May we come in?"
Laura nodded, stepping back, and then noticed the bruise on Eileen's face. "What happened?" she asked.
Eileen lifted her hand to the dark spot. "It's a long story, I'm afraid. Where is Remington?" she asked, looking around the room.
"That's what I was trying to find out when you arrived," Laura told them. Seeing their looks of confusion, she explained. "I woke up before he did and went to take a shower. When I got out, he was gone. He's nowhere to be found in the house."
Mildred and Eileen exchanged a look as Eileen fretted. "Oh, dear. Are we too late?"
"Too late for what?" Laura asked. "Mildred, would you please tell me what's going on? How did you find out where we were going?"
"The CIA told us," Mildred explained.
"The CIA?" Laura repeated, then went cold. "Tony." The room went dark for a second, then began to spin, and Laura felt as if she might fall.
"Oh, my," Eileen said, grabbing Laura's arm. Mildred took the other one as they helped her into a nearby chair.
"Are you okay, Mrs. Steele?"
"Just a little dizzy. Remington was right, wasn't he?" she asked them. "Tony wasn't dead."
"I'm afraid not," Eileen confirmed. "He escaped from the government hospital they took him to yesterday afternoon."
"Why don't you explain, Eileen while I get a cool rag," Mildred decided. "Where's the bathroom? Never mind, I'll find it."
As Mildred started toward the kitchen, Laura shook her head.
"The other way, Mildred,"
She called out, pointing to the bedroom door. Turning to her mother
in law, she said, "Now what happened?"
"I got a call yesterday evening from Antony," Eileen confirmed in a quiet voice. "He asked me to meet him, that he wanted to apologize and explain everything to me."
"You didn't agree to meet him?"
"I kept thinking of the poor lonely little boy that I'd first met when Edward and I married. Poor lad. His father had died when he was six, and his step father- well, it's best to say that they simply didn't get along. Earl resented Antony's being there at all, I think. He was a reminder of another man in Marge's life. And Marge just wasn't emotionally able to protect her son," Eileen confessed, wringing her hands. "I did call Mildred," she said as that woman returned with a cool cloth and handed it to Laura.
"I told her not to meet him alone, Mrs. Steele," Mildred said.
"And I didn't plan to. But he saw me arrive and insisted we go into his motel room. He asked me for money to leave town, said he knew he had been wrong to kidnap you and wanted to apologize to you in person. I told him that I didn't think that was a good idea, but he seemed not to hear me. That's when he asked me where in Catalina that you and Remington had gone. I told him I didn't know, and that's when he-" she lifted a hand to her cheek again. "Then he stole my credit cards and left me tied up in the motel room. If Mildred hadn't arrived-" she shuddered at the memory.
Laura squeezed the woman's shoulder. "It's not your fault, Eileen." She glanced at Mildred. "He has Remington." She rose from the chair and went out to the front door. The rental car was still in the drive. "They didn't take the car, and I doubt Tony would risk taking a cab."
"Maybe they walked?" Mildred suggested as she and Eileen followed Laura out to the deck.
Laura's eyes searched the sand around the bottom of the deck, "You're right, Mildred. They went down the beach."
Mildred and Eileen both scanned the smooth sand at the bottom of the steps, then followed Laura down them. "There's no footprints, Laura," Eileen pointed out.
"Exactly," Laura replied. "And there should be. Remington and I went for a walk on the beach last night."
"So your and his footprints should be here," Mildred realized.
"The fact that they're not means that someone wiped them away," Laura confirmed. "Remington and I went this way-" she strode off, leaving Mildred and Eileen to follow as best they could. Mildred reached down to remove her sandals, then steadied Eileen to do likewise, noticing that Laura had stopped some distance away.
"What is it?"
"Remington and my footprints continue from here. So they turned." She looked down the coast, eyes filled with speculation. "If you wanted to get rid of someone in this situation, Mildred, what would you do?"
"I don't know, Mrs. Steele-"
It was Eileen who answered, "Drown him." When Mildred looked at her, Eileen explained. "It would give you time to get away before the body was discovered. I've seen it in countless movies."
Laura nodded, looking further down the beach. "You go back to the house, Mildred," she called out. "Call the CIA, tell them that Tony has Remington, let them know what's going on."
"The phones don't work. We tried to call---"
"They work to dial out, we just turned off the ringer so we wouldn't be disturbed," Laura explained as she took off at a run down the beach.
"You're not going after them by yourself, Laura?" Eileen yelled.
"Someone has to," Laura returned, then waved away any further attempt by either woman to call her back.
Mildred shook her head as Eileen called once again. "Give it up, Eileen. Once Mrs. Steele gets an idea in her head, she's like a dog with a bone." She slipped her arm through Eileen's. "Let's go to the house."
###
Laura nearly ran past the spot where something had been tied on the beach. The incoming waves had almost wiped out all traces of crushed sand.
"Used to be a boat there," a man said, and Laura turned to see a middle aged man wearing a loud Hawaiian shirt and jeans standing close by. "I just called the police about it."
"You're sure it didn't just wash out with the tide?" Laura asked.
He shook his head, indicating the iron rod stuck deep into the sand as an anchor. "They would have had to untie the rope. I'm an old sailor. I know how to tie up a boat."
"How long as it been gone?"
"Not long. It was here when I got up around sunrise. I went into town and it was gone when I got back. Wasn't gone very long- half an hour at most."
Laura scanned the water out from the shore. "You didn't see who took it?"
"No." He gave Laura a long, speculative look. "Who are you? This is a private beach."
"I'm staying down there in a friend's place," she explained, pointing in the direction of Mark's house. "My husband's missing. Where can I find another boat to use?"
"The marina's just around that point," he told her. "I usually keep my boat there, but I was out late last night-" he stopped as Laura took off at a run again. "Do you know who stole my boat?" he called out.
Laura turned around, but didn't stop. "I think so. Call the Coast Guard- and the CIA in Los Angeles. Ask for an Agent Jackson."
"The CIA? You wouldn't happen to know the number?"
"It's in the phone book," Laura assured him. "Just call the operator!" She turned and continued toward the point and the marina. She had to find a boat that would get her out there. She had to find Remington before Tony carried out his plan.
###
She was lucky. The marina was still relatively deserted at this time of day, since most weekenders didn't get up early. The boat Tony had stolen hadn't been very big, she guessed from the markings it had left on the beach. But then, he didn't need anything big to transport Remington to a watery grave.
Fear made her hands shake as she pulled the ignition wires from beneath a panel and touched them together as she'd seen Remington do. The inboard engine of the boat she'd chosen roared to life, and she heard the alert go out somewhere on the docks. Thank goodness she had untied the boat when she'd gotten onboard, she thought, pushing the throttle into reverse as she saw someone running down the wharf toward her. She cleared the dock and pushed the throttle wide open, barely managing to hold onto the wheel as the high powered engine sent the craft forward like a rocket.
A glance behind her revealed that her pursuer had landed in the water, and was still yelling. Oh, well. She had to save Remington's life. She could explain why she'd stolen the boat later, once he was safe.
Looking around the seemingly endless water before her, Laura's elation faded. Getting the boat had been the easy part. Finding Tony and Remington wasn't going to be quite so easy.
###
Eileen stood beside Mildred as they watched the helicopter landing. "Are you sure that they'll let us go with them to search?" she asked.
"Jackson assured me that they would," Mildred said.
Eileen looked thoughtful. "Mildred, is Laura given to fainting spells, or dizziness?"
"No. Why?"
"Earlier- when she-"
"She was just- worried about Mr. Steele," Mildred said.
"She doesn't strike me as the type to react that way."
"You don't think she's sick, do you?"
"Either sick- or- something else," Eileen finished.
"Something-" Mildred's eyes grew wide as she realized what Eileen was implying. "Oh, Eileen."
Agent Jackson approached the women. "Miss Krebs? Mrs. Mitchell? Are you ready?"
Mildred grabbed Eileen's arm and headed toward the helicopter. "We've GOT to find Mr. Steele." She glanced back to where the agent was standing. "Well come on, Jackson. What're you waiting for?"
###
Tony idled the engine back, keeping the gun trained on Remington. "That's far enough. It's time for you to meet your fate, Steele."
"Tell me again how this is going to get you what you want, Antony," Remington said, not moving from his seat in the bow of the boat. "You can't stay in Los Angeles. You're on the run from your former employers- and even if I'm not around, Laura's not going to simply chuck it all to run away with you."
"She won't have to. You're going to disappear. She'll think you just up and left- and then get on with her life. After a couple of years, I'll contact her again, and we'll be able to start over."
"And by that time the CIA will have stopped looking for you?"
"They'll have other things to take care of. I'm a small fish. A renegade who made a mistake. Not important enough for them to worry about over the long run."
"And Eileen? What about her? You think she'll just let you-"
"I doubt Aunt Eileen'll stay around long once you're gone. She'll go back to Ireland, retire to that mausoleum where she grew up." Tony motioned with the gun. "Stand up."
"You're leaving out one thing, Antony," Remington said, doing as Tony requested. After all, Tony had the gun.
"Yeah? What's that?"
"The baby that Laura's carrying." It was a gamble, and Remington knew it. If he could just sell it to Tony so that the other man believed the lie---
Tony's eyes narrowed. "What baby? She didn't mention anything about a baby-"
"She didn't know until yesterday. I insisted that she go to the doctor and get checked out after her ordeal. She's going to have my child, Antony. I can't see you as being willing to raise that child any better than your step father raised you."
Tony rose quickly to his feet, causing the small boat to rock precariously. Remington took advantage of their being off balance to make an attempt to grab Tony's gun. But Tony recovered quickly. "Back off." He shook his head. "You're lying. She's not pregnant. Eileen told you about my step father- you're trying to rattle me. It won't work. Time to go swimming, Steele. Into the water." When Remington hesitated further, Tony took careful aim. "I don't want you to die of a gunshot, but that doesn't mean I can't nick you. That might even make it better. Sharks like the scent of blood."
"Sharks?" Remington asked.
"Yeah. If they don't get you before you get to shore, the cold water will." His smile was tinged with madness, Remington realized. "And by the time they find your body, there won't be enough of it left to identify. Don't make me tell you again, Steele." His finger tightened on the trigger.
Fully aware that his ability to swim ANY distance would be seriously impaired by a bullet, Remington dove into the water. When he surfaced, Tony had idled the boat forward slightly and was steering it in a tight circle around him as he trod water. "Tell you what, I'll make this sporting, *Cousin*. It's five miles back to shore. If you make it, you win. I won't bother you or Laura again. But if you don't- I'll give Laura your love. And mine," Tony said, laughing as he turned the boat out of the circle and set course back toward shore.
Remington watched as the small boat quickly vanished into the distance, leaving him adrift in the water. He easily got his bearings, recalling that Antony had kept the sun at their backs during the trip out. They had gone due west, away from land. Five miles away, to be exact. Too far for him to swim, he reasoned. He felt a chill, and knew that he had to move or allow hypothermia to overtake him- or the sharks that Tony had so cheerfully mentioned. A careful, slow examination of the area revealed no sign of those dreaded creatures, and he shivered again before forcing himself to begin swimming toward the sun.
To Be Continued---