Remington pushed open the glass doors and entered the agency. Terri looked up, her eyes widening as she realized who he was. A quick glance at the clock on her desk, and she managed a confused smile. "Mr. Steele. You're here- early today," she noted. He saw her eyes flicker over him, and wondered if he looked as horrible as he felt.
"Had a few things to see to," he told her, trying to maintain an air of normalcy.
"I'll get your tea," she said, starting to rise from her chair. "The morning paper is already on your desk-"
"Thank you." He held up the Cameron file and placed it on her desk. "But first, would you reschedule the meeting with Mr. Cameron to this afternoon, Terri? I'll handle it. And while you're at it, shift Mrs. Steele's other appointments to either Antony, Mildred or myself."
Terri's green gaze moved to peer behind him. "Her- appointments, Mr. Steele?" she asked.
"Mrs. Steele is taking a little time off," he said by way of explanation.
"This is because of me, isn't it?" Terri said, looking upset. "Because of last night-?"
"No, of course not. She just needs a little time, that's all." He was already moving toward his office. "I'll be in my office. Let me know when Mildred and Antony arrive, please."
"Yes, sir," Terri responded in a somber tone, picking up the telephone to dial a number.
Remington went into his office and picked up the telephone, pressing the button for his private line. Dialing a number, he waited for it to be answered. "Is Jessica in yet? . . . Would you ask her to come down to see her brother when she arrives? . . . Yes . . . Thank you." He hung up the phone as Terri knocked once on the partially open door. "Come in," he called.
"Here's your tea, Mr. Steele," Terri said, bringing the bone china up and saucer to his desk.
"Did you call Mr. Cameron's office?" She seemed reluctant to answer. "Terri? What's wrong?"
"Mr. Cameron said that there's no reason to reschedule the appointment, Mr. Steele."
"No reason? What do you mean?"
"He's -decided to go with another agency, sir."
"Another agency? A bit sudden, wasn't it? Did he happen to mention the name of the agency?" When Terri hesitated yet again, Remington felt a frisson of fear crawl along his spine. He knew what Terri was going to say before she opened her mouth and said the words.
"He mentioned something about - Laura Holt Investigations," Terri confirmed. "Isn't that Mrs. Steele's maiden name, Mr. Steele? I know her father is-"
"Yes," Remington admitted in a sharper tone than he intended. "Thank you, Terri. Just send the others in when they get here, okay?"
"Mr. Steele, is there a- problem between you and Mrs. Steele?"
Remington studied the receptionist for a long moment before making a decision. "You might as well know, Terri- I doubt I'll be able to keep it secret very long- Laura and I are separated. Temporarily, I hope."
"Oh, Mr. Steele," Terri moaned. "You're SURE that it wasn't because-?"
Remington quickly stood and moved around to place his hands on the troubled young woman's shoulders. "It had nothing to do with you, Terri. Trust me. I'm a bit confused myself, actually, as to the reason." He managed to smile at her. "Believe me. Your not being there wouldn't have made any difference."
"You're here early, Chief," Mildred Krebs said as she came into the office. Her eagle gaze moved to Remington's hands on Terri's shoulders, and Remington quickly removed them and went to pick up his cup. Realizing that his hands were shaking, he set it back down.
"That will be all, Terri. If anyone from the press should call, the best answer will be 'No Comment'," he suggested.
"The press?" Mildred repeated, looking from Remington to Terri and back again. Even Terri was surprised at his words.
"It's a possibility we have to consider."
Terri nodded and left Remington's office. Alone with Mildred, Remington felt her eyes on him and sat down at the desk. "Have you spoken with Edward this morning, Mildred?"
"Don't try to change the subject, Chief," Mildred warned. "What's going on?"
"Arthur Cameron has decided to go with another agency to set up security for his gem collection," he said, stirring his tea, adjusting the handle just so- anything to keep from meeting Mildred's eyes.
"Ooo, Laura's not gonna like that. She's been working overtime to get that account. So, who undercut us?"
Remington ran a finger around the gold edged rim of the china cup, taking his time before answering. "Ah . . . Laura Holt Investigations, actually." He risked a glance at her.
Mildred's eyes had widened in shock. "Laura- HOLT? Okay, give. What's going on?"
Unable to keep still any longer, Remington stood and began to move restlessly about the office, his hands stuffed into his pockets. "I wish I knew, Mildred. Has Laura seemed- unhappy to you lately? I keep thinking that I must have missed SOMEthing- some sign, some-"
"Whoa. Back up. I'm just a little lost here. You wanna start at the beginning?"
He stopped pacing and faced the woman he thought as much of as he did his Aunt Katherine. "Laura left me, Mildred."
"LEFT you?"
"And not just me. The children, too. She packed a suitcase and left the house around ten last night-"
Mildred folded her arms across her ample bosom and studied him. "What did you do to her?"
"I didn't do anything!" he insisted. "She came in late from that professional woman's meeting that she was supposed to attend to pick up that award- and then all hell broke loose."
"I can't believe that she would walk out on you and kids that way- after what happened to her-"
"Edward left Abigail and his daughters to protect them, Mildred," Remington said. "Not the same thing-" he looked at her hopefully. "Unless you think she did it for the same reason? Maybe someone the agency put away at some time forced her to do this- threatened her in some way. It would be like Laura not to tell someone. To try and handle it on her own."
"Sorry Boss," Mildred apologized with a shake of her head. "I did a check just last week on perps that we've put behind bars over the years," she said. "Nothing there. Did she give you any reason?"
"She said something about needing to find herself-whatever the bloody hell that means. I mean, *I* know who she is, why shouldn't she?"
"Oh. It sounds like she's having a mid-life crisis."
"That's what Agatha said this morning. Said something about Laura just needing some time to realize that she belongs with me and the kids-"
"Maybe. Or she might decide that she's better off just being Laura Holt, P.I." Mildred pointed out.
"Mildred!"
"It took leaving the IRS and totally changing my life to resolve mine," Mildred reminded him.
"Oh, thank you for that reassuring scrap of information, Mildred," Remington growled sarcastically, sounding defeated.
"Look, for the last fifteen years, she's been in the shadows, standing behind you while the reporters and such wanted to talk to *you*, when we both know that without her, this Agency wouldn't be here."
"I know, Mildred, but that's why she invented Remington Steele. To have a someone that the public would accept in this profession-."
"Have you ever read any of the press clippings for the Agency from BEFORE you became Remington Steele, Chief?" Mildred asked.
"I've never seen them," Remington admitted. "Didn't know there were any."
"Just a minute," Mildred said, turning toward the connecting door to Laura's office.
"Mildred," Remington said, following her to the doorway, watching as she bent to the bottom drawer of the file cabinet across the room. Laura's office seemed so empty without her vivacious presence. "What are you doing?"
"She always kept the Agency press clippings in here," Mildred explained. "Filed by date," she added, going to the first folders in the drawer. "Here we go," she said, pulling it out and handing it to him. "Look at these."
Remington glanced uncertainly at her, then opened the folder. "Holt Foils Blackmailer" "Holt Retrieves Rare Stamp Collection" And photos of a smiling Laura with various members of the law enforcement community at awards ceremonies, dinners. "I'd never thought about- who got the credit before I stepped into her life," Remington admitted, handing the file back to Mildred.
"You should read some of them," she said, holding it to him again. "She managed to somehow take credit for solving the crimes while reassuring everyone that Mr. Steele was there, firmly in the background, supporting her every decision. She went from being the one in the spotlight to being the 'unidentified woman' in the press when you came into the picture." She flipped through the articles, and then frowned. "There are a few missing."
"How do you know?"
"There's a printed directory here in the front of the folder," she explained, showing it to him.
"Of course," he said, shaking his head. "Another of Laura's little lists." He looked down at the still open cabinet. "How did you know these were here, Mildred?" he asked.
"I've known about them for years. I used to do the filing, remember? And I'm still in charge of these. I filed the one from the Trib just yesterday."
Remington nodded thoughtfully as he took the file again. "She probably came in last night after she left the house and got the missing articles for her own use. Or maybe before. Maybe these are what gave her the idea."
"What're we gonna do, Chief?" Mildred asked.
Remington was thoughtful. "Well, we have two options that I can see. Either close down the Agency, and give her a clear field to accomplish whatever it is she wants to accomplish,"
"She wouldn't like that."
"No."
"What's the second option?"
"Continue as best we can, Mildred."
"But- without Mrs. Steele?"
"We have you, Mildred, and Antony. Both capable detectives- and I'd like to think that I've learned a thing or two myself after all these years watching Laura."
"Where is everyone?" Tony Roselli called from Remington's office.
Remington winced, not looking forward to telling Antony about this. Mildred must have noticed, because she placed a hand on his arm. "You want me to fill Tony in?"
"No. I'd better do it. Would you call Edward, see if he's heard from Laura?"
"Sure. Need me in there for moral support?" she asked.
"Thanks for the offer, but I'll be okay." He leaned down to place a kiss to her cheek. "Let me know what Edward says."
"I will." She went toward the door that led to the office she shared with Tony.
"They're not in there, Terri," Remington heard Tony saying as he returned to the office.
"They were," Terri insisted.
"Antony, could you come in here for a moment, please?" He didn't bother to wait for a reply, simply turned back into his own office, leaving Tony to follow.
"Terri said that you needed to talk to me," Tony said, flopping down on the sofa in the conference area. He glanced at his watch. "I'm supposed to meet Laura at-"
"There's been a change in plans. If you'll check with Terri, you'll find that your entire schedule's been changed a bit."
Tony sat up, looking at Remington. "Why?" His dark eyes searched Remington's face. "You don't look like you got much sleep last night. One of the kids sick?"
"No. The children are fine. But I didn't get much sleep," Remington confided, sitting down heavily in the nearby chair. "Laura left last night, Antony," he said.
"Left?" Tony repeated, then his eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Why? What did you do to her?"
"What did *I* do to *her*? What about what she's done to me? And to our children? And this agency? Hmm? The Agency that she struggled so hard to build. She's abandoned it as well. Dammit, Antony, all I can figure out is that she's trying to find out if she's still as good a detective as she was before I came into her life. I didn't do anything."
Tony wasn't quite convinced. "You're sure?"
"She's stolen the Cameron account out from under the Agency, Antony," Remington informed him in a tired voice. "When Terri called this morning to reschedule the meeting, Cameron told her that he'd decided to go with Laura Holt Investigations instead of us."
Tony whistled. "Damn. Where is she?"
"I've no idea. As I said, she left last night. Packed a bag and just- left. I'm going to ask Edward to see if he can find out where she's staying. Maybe if he talks to her- she might listen to him."
"Could be. How're the kids doing?"
"They're confused," Remington said, then ran a shaky hand through his hair. "Hell, *I'm* confused." His gaze fell to the folder that lay on the table before him. "I feel like my entire world has been stood on its ear."
Tony rose to his feet. "I'd better go see what Terri's got on the schedule for me, then. Without Laura to handle some of the workload, guess Mildred and I will be pulling some overtime."
"I'll do what I can," Remington said. "I'm going to see if Edward is willing to help out- unless Laura needs him instead."
"Yeah." He paused, as if he might say something else, then left the room. "See ya later."
Remington nodded, then sat back in the chair, closing his eyes. He was tired. Tony had been right. He hadn't slept very much. What little sleep he'd managed to get had come after he'd hugged Laura's pillow to his chest, letting her lingering scent on the fabric lull him with a false sense of security.
It had been a long night- and the day wasn't looking to be much better.
***
Jessica Beecham exited the elevator as Tony was getting onto it. "Hello there," she said, smiling at him.
But he didn't return the smile. In fact, he looked surprised to see her. "Jess. What're you doing down here?"
"Remington sent word that he needed to see me as soon as I got into the office," she explained, placing a hand on the lift door to prevent it from closing. "Where are you going?"
"Um," he began, and Jessica frowned. Did he seem nervous? "Stake out. Missing person case. Can't discuss it."
"Of course. We're still having lunch, aren't we?"
"Uh, not sure I can get away after all," Tony said, pressing the button to close the doors. "I really have to go, Jess," he said again. "Talk to you later, okay?"
Jessica stepped back, releasing the door. "Okay. Tony, is everything-?" she began, only to find herself talking to the metal doors of the lift car. Perhaps her brother could shed some light on what was going on, Jessica decided, and continued to the offices of Remington Steele Investigations.
Terri was on the telephone when she entered the Agency office and Jessica simply pointed in the direction of her brother's office. Terri nodded, then said into the phone. "Can you hold for a moment ? . . ." She pressed a button, and told Jessica, "He's expecting you, Miss Beecham."
"I'll go in, then," Jessica said, tapping once on the door.
"Come in," Remington called, and Jessica frowned at how tired and defeated he sounded.
Opening the door, she went into the office. "Is something wrong, Remington?" she asked, forgetting her concern over Tony as she moved to the sofa. "You sound terrible."
"I don't feel much better, Jessica," Remington admitted.
She searched his face. "Then I won't mention that you look like hell, brother dear."
He sat forward, running his hands over his face. "Thanks. I might as well say it straight out- Laura and I have- separated."
"What? Did you do something to-?"
Remington's eyes flashed angrily. "I'm getting just a *little* tired of everyone automatically assuming that *I* did something to cause this! *I* am still here. *I* didn't desert our children and home in the middle of the night because of some bloody mid-life crisis!"
Jessica reached over and placed a hand on her brother's arm. "I'm sorry, Remington. Tell me what happened."
***
Tony sat in the Rabbit, watching the entrance to the residential hotel across the street. If his sources were right- and they usually were- she would be here any minute. He slouched down in the seat as he saw her car turn into the parking area beside the hotel. Moments later, he saw her.
She entered the hotel, and Tony leapt out of the car and darted across the street. At the doors, he paused, watching as she crossed to the desk and picked up what were probably her messages. She continued to the stairs, reading the messages as she climbed them.
Tony followed, a flight at a time, until she reached the third floor and turned down the hallway. He stayed around the corner, peering out from time to time until he saw her stop at a door, unlock it, and enter. He crept down the hallway to that door and knocked.
When she opened the door, Tony smiled. "Hello, Laura."
To Be Continued . . .