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Remington Steele smiled as the lift headed upwards.Things
must have gone well for Laura to have been with her father all
this time. He knew his wife well enough to know that if she hadn't
wanted to talk, she would have been back downstairs quickly. But
two hours was long enough, he decided as the doors slid open.
It was time for him to join the family reunion. Hands in pockets,
Steele entered the hallway and glanced toward his old apartment.
The door hung drunkenly on its hinges, leaving the interior dark.
Terror struck Steele and the adrenaline surge that came with it
almost sent Steele hurtling into the apartment. But he managed
to hold back, to look inside the darkened room first, just in
case whoever had done this was still there.
"Laura?"he called softly, then waited. No gunshot, no
hurried shuffling as someone struggled - only silence. "Laura?
Are you here? Mr. Holt?"
The only light seemed to emanate from the kitchen, enabling Steele
to see that there had been one hell of a struggle. The tables
had been overturned, the lamps broken-
"LAURA!"
Steele froze. He'd heard something. Remaining where he was, he
waited for it to come again. A soft moan, or someone crying. He
moved toward the bedroom, heart in his throat Laura was sitting
on the bed.
"Laura -" Steele began, fighting the urge to take her
to task for not answering him as he sensed that something was
terribly wrong. Sitting beside her, Steele drew her into his arms
and rubbed her back and shoulders as she began to cry.
"He's gone," she sobbed. "And I never- had the
chance - I shouldn't have been so -cold to him, -I should have
-listened to him when he first came back - Oh, Remington."
Steele slowly rocked his wife as she cried, murmuring soft words
of comfort, recalling his own feelings of loss upon Daniel's death.They
would have to call the authorities. But he wanted a look at things
first, wanted to find a clue that would lead him to discover who
was responsible for making Laura this unhappy.
"Where's the body?" he asked at last.
"There isn't one," Laura said between hiccups.
"No body?" Steele questioned.
She shook her head. "When I came in, I found the door destroyed,
and then I searched the apartment. Nothing." Remington released
her and stood. Laura lifted a face made puffy from crying to him."Where
are you going?"
"To investigate a bit." He turned on the light, then
went to the closet and slid the mirrored door open. "His
clothes are still here - " He moved into the bath. "And
so is his shaving --" His voice fell silent.
"Remington?" Laura called softly. She hadn't looked
in the bath. If her father was there... He came from the small
room frowning. "He must have been shaving ...the room's a
mess. But I did find something..."
"What?" Laura asked, hopeful.
Steele held up a small, rectangular piece of cardboard with a
black glove emblazoned on it. "It appears that the Hand has
taken your father."
"Then he's dead," Laura stated dully.
"Not necessarily, Luv," Steele insisted, returning to
sit beside her. Pulling her back into his arms, he said, "I
know how these people work, remember? They wouldn't take him away
and kill him. They would have done it here, and left the body
as a warning. I'd be willing to believe that the Irish police
found a similar card nearby Philip Raymond's body."
"They didn't mention it to Carlton -"
He shook his head. "They probably wouldn't."
It was Laura's turn to shake her head."It doesn't make any
sense,Remington.Why would they take him with them? Why not simply
kill him and have done with it?"
"Because they want the jewels."
"And they think he can tell them where they are."
"Perhaps," Steele agreed."Or else they need some
help to find them- "
The telephone's sudden ringing was loud in the quiet apartment,
nearly causing Laura to fall from the bed. Exchanging a look with
his wife, Steele quickly picked up the receiver.
"Hello?" He listened, then closed his eyes."Is
he all right?" Remington's look became grim as he opened
his eyes to focus on Laura's concerned face. "Very well.
. . .Yes.We'll be expecting ..." He held the telephone away.
"Rude bugger. Hung up on me."
"Who was it?"Laura wanted to know. "Was it -"
Steele came back around to her. "They have your father, Laura."
"Then I have another chance. I was afraid he might have packed
up and disappeared again," she whispered.
"Like he did the last time? Like you were always so afraid
I was going to do?"
She smiled at him. "Not anymore. What do they want to release
him?"
"They wouldn't say," Steele told her. "They'll
be in touch. But if we go to the police, or tell anyone that your
father is missing, they'll kill him and leave him on our doorstep."
Laura hugged her arms around herself, trying to fight off the
sudden chill.
************
Mildred kept glancing toward door that led to Mr. Steele's office.She
wasn't sure why she distrusted the person who had just gone inside,
sailing into the office like ...
Mildred looked up, smiling as her employers entered the offices
of Remington Steele. "Good morning, Chief. You look terrible,
Miss Holt!"
Laura smiled wanly. "Thank you very much, Mildred. Always
a wonderful way to start off one's day."
"I just thought that you were doing better," Mildred
said. "Morning sickness again?"
"No," Laura assured her. "I just didn't get much
sleep last night."
"There's a someone waiting in your office to see you, Mr.
Steele," Mildred said, her voice low. "Wouldn't give
me a name. Just came in and went directly in there."
Steele glanced at Laura. "Why don't you go to your office
-" he suggested, wanting to keep her out of this as much
as possible.
Her eyes glinted with determination. "We're talking about
my father, Remington. I'm going with you."
Knowing that look, knowing that it would accomplish nothing to
argue, Steele turned toward his office. "Hold all my calls,
Mildred."
"Sure, chief," the receptionist said, puzzled. What
did Miss Holt's father have to do with the mysterious client in
Mr. Steele's office?
Steele opened the door to see a familiar, feminine outline at
the window across the room.He hadn't seen her since that fiasco
with the Earl of Claridge when she and Daniel had conned him into
pretending to be an assassin.
"Hello, Felicia," Remington said.
She turned, her smile dimmed somewhat upon seeing that he wasn't
alone. But she quickly recovered.
"Oh, Michael," she purred, crossing the room in her
usually seductive fashion to link her arms around his neck."It's
been far too long, my darling.I thought you might at least have
contacted me when Daniel died -let me comfort you on your loss."
Steele remained as he was, his blue eyes boring into hers. "My
loss, Felicia?"
"He was your best friend for so many years," she reminded
him. "Before you became Remington Steele and decided that
you had outgrown us."
Laura cleared her throat. "What are you doing here, Felicia?"
she asked, her hands gripping the edge of the desk in an effort
to keep from scratching the woman's eyes out.
Felicia didn't move from her position as she glanced over. "Oh.
Miss Dolt. I didn't see you there."
"It's not Dolt," Laura said quietly, advancing on the
woman. "It's Steele. Laura Steele. And I would suggest you
get your hands off of my husband if you don't want to have them
broken."
Felicia's eyes widened as she looked from Laura to Remington."Is
this true, Michael? Tell me you haven't made such a terrible mistake."
"Not only is it true," Steele said quietly, reaching
out to take Laura's hand, "but I'm going to be a father."
The smirk that appeared on Felicia's face made Laura catch her
breath. "So that's how you managed to trap him, darling.
Better you than me, however."
"Why, you..." Laura said, launching herself at the woman.
Steele found himself between Laura and Felicia, and quickly turned
Laura to pull her away. "Now, Laura. Calm down."
"But -"
"Calm down," he ordered, trying to tell her something
with his eyes. Leading her to a chair, he practically pushed her
into it, then indicated that Felicia should be seated. Steele
kept a hand on Laura's shoulder to make sure she remained where
she was. "Now, Felicia. First things first. How is Carlton
Holt?"
Laura shook her head as Felicia sat back, smoothing the ash blonde
hair back into order before responding. "He's well. And he'll
stay that way as long as you and your little wife co-operate."
"You're part of this?" Realization dawned on Laura."You
killed Philip Raymond," she guessed. "And then you threatened
my father in his hotel room."
Laura tried to get up, but was prevented from doing so by Steele's
strong hand. "She's a murderer, Remington," Laura told
him. "We can't trust her."
"We don't seem to have very much choice at the moment, Laura.
Not if we're going to save your father's life."
"I would listen to Michael if I were you, Nora."
Laura ground her teeth together. Steele turned his blue gaze toward
Felicia. "When did you become involved with the Hand, Felicia?"
She lifted her elegantly clad shoulders. "I forget. But you
really should have taken them up on their offer when they tried
to recruit you, Michael. The benefits ..."
"Can't possibly equal those I have as Remington Steele,"
he informed her. "What do we have to do to secure Carlton's
release?"
"Retrieve the necklace," she said simply.
*************
"You're not going, Laura," Steele told her.
Felicia had left the office thirty minutes earlier, and Steele
had asked Mildred to make a single reservation for Dublin. That
was when Laura had told her to make it TWO reservations, and Remington
had decided to put his foot down.
"Like hell I'm not," she returned. "He's my father,
Remington."
Steele shook his head. "My God, Laura! You're going to have
a baby. I can't agree to allow you to risk..."
"It's my decision, too," she reminded him.
"It could be dangerous. If Felicia was right, and Eric Simpson
does have that necklace stashed at the museum, then it's going
to mean that I'll have to resort to my old tricks -"
"And you don't think I can handle it?"
"That's not what I mean at all, Laura," Steele insisted.
He put his hands on her shoulders, then slid them down to her
hands before lifting them to his lips. "These people play
by a different set of rules than you're used to. I just don't
want to risk anything happening to you or to our child. Can you
understand that?"
Laura smiled, melting under that warm blue gaze. "Of course
I can. But the doctor said that I'm disgustingly healthy and there's
no reason why I can't go on working-"
"But I doubt he meant to include breaking and entering as
work, my love."
"Remington-"
"You want to know what I think? I think you're afraid to
let me go alone - because you're jealous."
"Jealous?"
"Of Felicia. She as much as said she would be in Dublin,
keeping an eye on things. I think you're afraid she'll convince
me to return to my old ways."
"If she lays one well-manicured claw on you, I'll ---"
Steele laughed and pulled her into his arms. "She doesn't
stand a chance, Laura," he assured her.
"It's not jealousy, Remington," Laura said into his
shirt. "I'm just afraid - of losing you as well."
Remington took a deep breath, his hands moving slowly over Laura's
back. Lifting her face, he gazed into it for a long moment, then
called out, "Make that two reservations, Mildred."
From the front office, Mildred's voice drifted back. "All
ready taken care of, Chief."
Steele shook his head. "You'd better call Jennifer and cancel
dinner for next week," he told Laura.
She smiled, then stood on tiptoe to kiss him."Thank you."
"I just hope I don't live to regret giving in to you on this
one."
To be continued...