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Laura woke early that morning, sliding out of the bed so
not to disturb Remington. She quickly showered and dressed. She
couldn't sleep that night, while Remington on the other hand slept
like a baby. She stood over the bed where he was laying and gave
him a quick kiss on the forehead. He shiftly slightly in his sleep.
Laura walked softly to mahagony desk in their room. She jotted
down a quick note.
Remington,
Couldn't sleep; had a few things to do this morning. Will call
later to make arrangements for lunch.
Laura
She felt guilty leaving him alone with just a note, knowing he
would worry about her. But she needed some time alone to think.
There was too much at stake with the case and she needed to think
everything through. There could be no mistakes when her father's
life was on the line. Even though these last countless years he
had not been there for her, he was still her father. But the case
wasn't the only thing laying so heavily on her mind. What was
she going to tell her sister and her mother?
She walked out of the room quietly, slowly shutting the door behind
her. As soon as she reached the bottom of the huge spiral staircase,
Mickeleen was there to great her.
"Good morning your Ladyship." Mickeleen's Irish brogue
was very thick this morning.
"Good morning, Mickeleen," Laura said as she walked
past him, putting on her long wool coat and scarf. She was heading
to the door not paying much attention to anyone or anything.
"I take it you will not be having breakfast this morning
with his Lordship?" he asked has he looked up the stairs,
half expecting to see Mr. Steele coming down them at any moment.
"Not this morning. Do me a favor, Mickeleen. Make sure Mr.
Steele knows that I just went out for a bit. I left him a note
on the desk in our room and I don't want him to worry." She
opened the huge door of the castle and walked out.
"As you wish madam," Mickeleen said, walking
away from the door in obvious confusion.
********
Remington woke early that afternoon to an empty bed. Still half
asleep, with eyes which refused to open, he searched the bed with
his hands to find that Laura was gone. His eyes opened in confusion.
He sat up, looked around and came to the conclusion that Laura
must have gone downstairs. Reluctantly he hopped out of bed, dressed,
and set out to search the castle for his bride. He got about half
way down the stairs when Mickeleen rounded the corner.
"Good morning, your Lordship. I do hope you slept well,"
Mickeleen said, quite chipper.
Still half asleep, Remington asked, "Mickeleen, where is
my wife?"
"Her Ladyship went out this morning." Noticing the shock
in his Lordship's eyes, he continued. "She said she left
you a note saying she would only be out for a bit."
"Where?" Remington concerned
"On the desk in your room," he replied as Remington
quickly ascended the stairs. Mickeleen rounded the corner again,
continuing his walk back to the kitchen. Under his breath he said
"Well, I guess nobody wants their bloody breakfast."
Remington ran up the stairs to retrieve Laura's note, hoping to
find a clue to where she had gone. He huffed a few moments later
as he put the letter back on the dark desk. It figures, he thought
to himself. He knew the way Laura was, always running off on the
spur of the moment. Well, things were different now; he didn't
care what the doctor said about her condition. He felt as though
he should be with in her fragile state.
Knowing there was nothing he could do then about the situation,
he impatiently waited for her call. It nearly drove him out of
his mind.
The castle phone rang soon after he said down on the bed in defeat.
He raced down the stairs as Mickeleen walked gingerly towards
it. As Remington waved him off, Mickeleen rolled his eyes and
walked back to the kitchen.
Remington picked up the phone. "Steele here."
"It's me," she answered timidly, knowing he was going
to be upset with her.
"Laura, where the bloody hell have you been?"
"Thinking. I was working on our plan. Meet me at ..."
Laura looked around quickly, finally spotting a sign . "...at
Boyland's Pub. You know where it is?"
"Yes, but..."
"Good. Meet me there in thirty minutes."
She hung up the phone. Remington looked at the receiver, as if
it could answer his confusion. He hung up the phone and shook
his head. "I have no clue how I'm going to survive with that
woman."
Once again he ascended the stairs, this time to get dressed.
**********
Remington walked into Boyland's Pub, realizing it wasn't the safest
place for Laura to be. He remembered the other life he used to
have in places like this. It was for sure, he didn't miss places
like this.
He finally saw Laura at the bar talking to the bar keep. He rolled
his eyes and adjusted his stance, ready to give Laura hell for
disappearing. The bar keep noticed Remington with a deep intent
in his eyes for Laura. Knowing that look all too well, he looked
down at the ring on Laura's finger. Figuring Remington must be
her husband, he ended their conversation and walked away. Puzzled
by the bar keep's strange reaction, Laura looked up and saw Remington.
"Did you have fun today?" Remington asked.
"Now before you say anything, I got a lot done while you
were asleep." Laura stopped, knowing his agitation. She decided
to ignore it. "I watched the warehouse where Simpson's appointment
will be." Noticing he was growing even more perturbed with
her, she held out her hands in front of him. "From a safe
distance! I was in my car the entire time!" she exclaimed.
He huffed at her.
She continued to report her findings. "To my amazement, I
saw no one enter or leave the warehouse. It seems to be completely
abandoned. I thought that we should go inside together and poke
around a bit. Maybe find a good spot to sit tight while we waited
to see what's going to happen with this appointment." She
smiled weakly, knowing she was in trouble.
Remington released a slow sigh, knowing he had lost this battle
before it had even begun. How could he win with this woman? "Fine,"
he agreed, admitting defeat.
"Good. Shall we go? "She stood up from the bar and started
to walk away.
Remington caught her by the arm and softly turned her to face
him. He looked tenderly into her eyes. "Laura, please don't
ever walk out on me like that again. You have no idea what you
put me through." He gently placed his hand on the side of
her cheek. "I thought something had happened to you. Just
tell me where you are going from now on, okay?"
Laura kissed him passionately. Slowly backing away, she said softly,
"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking clearly."
He hugged her tenderly as he whispered in her ear, "I love
you." He gave her a quick squeeze and then released her.
"Let's go,"he said as he escorted her out of the pub.
********
They arrived at the warehouse shortly after dusk, taking the long
way there so Laura could explain her plans. "I figure whoever
is there to meet Simpson may be the best person to release the
necklace to. Since we can't count on Felicia or The Hand directly,
this is the only option. Hopefully this will be the middle man
for the Hand. Therefore, presumably, he will hand over the necklace
directly to The Hand."
Remington interjected, "Giving the necklace to this middle
man doesn't insure that we will walk out of that warehouse alive,
Laura."
"I hadn't gotten that far yet," she admitted wearily.
Remington scoffed as he stiffened. "That's what I love about
you Laura; you always think of the smallest detail."
Soon they casually walked up to the side door of the warehouse.
Laura opened her purse and retrieved her tools to pick the lock.
She handed them to Remington. Taking her cue, he quickly picked
the lock. When they slowly and cautiously walked into the warehouse,
all they saw was a bounty of crates. It was a rundown building
full of dust and cobwebs.
"Something makes me think I've seen this in a movie before,"
Remington commented as he scanned his memory for the details.
Laura looked around a bit, finding nothing but crates.She walked
over to Remington, noticing he was still in his trance. "We're
going to the movies again, aren't we?" she softly laughed.
"I've got it!" Remington said. "Beverly Hills Cop,
Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinholt..."
Laura finished his train of thought. "Paramount 1984, I know,
I know. You know, Mr. Steele you've used that one a lot. You really
are getting to be rather predictable." Laura said with an
evil grin on her face.
Remington pulled her close to him."Oh, am I now?" he
asked as he stole a passionate moment. He held her tight with
his kiss, not wanting to let her go.
The sound of a cargo door opening from the other side of the warehouse
broke their passionate embrace as they darted behind a large crate.
"Just like old times, eh?" Remington said in a low whisper.
"Shhh.." Laura quieted him with an amused smile on her
face. They huddled together behind a large crate, peering from
the side to see who should walk through the cargo bay door.
A woman with a familiar cat like walk came out of the shadows.
Laura stiffened at the sight of Felicia. On Felicia's arm was
a distinguished man who looked suprisingly familiar. Remington,
stunned, quickly put his hand over Laura's mouth, knowing her
impending reaction. Once Laura realized the man linked arm in
arm with the vicious Felicia was her own father, she let out a
silent gasp.
They watched silently, stunned, as Carlton Holt slid the cargo
bay door closed. Stunned, Laura quickly scrambled to her feet
. Remington tried to pull her back down but It was too late. She
had already been seen. Laura slowly walked over to her father
and Felicia. Remington, not knowing exactly what to do, followed
her in order to keep her out of danger.
Carlton dropped Felicia's arm. "Laura what are you doing
here!"
"What am I doing here, Father?! What are you doing here?"
she screamed.
"Well, my dear, I guess I underestimated your powers of detection,"
said Carlton, not ashamed of his treachery. Laura, stunned, had
no response.
"Lisa, it seems your father made the wise choice and left
your family in order to pursue more profitable venues," Felicia
said icily as she moved closer to Remington. "Maybe Michael
should do the same." She tried to wrap her clutches around
Remington's neck.
"Felicia, back off," Remington ordered as he firmly
pushed her away. He walked over to Laura and put his hand on her
shoulder. He glared at Carlton Holt. "You mean to tell me
that you left Laura when she was 16 years old to join The Hand?"
he exclaimed angrily.
"You of all people, Remington, know of the advantages of
this line of work. Felicia told me about your past together with
her." Carlton turned to Laura. "You know Laura, you
should really take care that history doesn't repeat itself."
Laura slowly returned from her comatose condition. She looked
up at her father with a heart-wrenching look on her face. She
looked like a 16 year old who had been abandoned all over again.
She immediately hardened.
She looked at Remington like stone, his face full of pity. "Give
him the necklace," she said softly as she walked away, defying
anyone to stop her.
Remington, devastated, confused, shocked, and bewildered, reached
into his pocket and pulled out The Heart of the Ocean.
"When did you get this? Where did you find it?" said
Carlton as he grabbed the necklace from Remington's hand, holding
it up to the light.
"It was in Eric Simpson's safe," said Remington, grimly.
"Well, then, I guess you're as much of a jewel thief as Felicia
proclaims."
Felicia, a smile on her face, looked like a satisfied cat.
"You know, Remington, you would be quite an asset to the
organization," Carlton proposed, still eyeing the necklace.
"I'm staying with Laura. She and the baby need me. At least
I love Laura," said Remington.
Carlton froze. Had he heard him correctly? A baby? Carlton looked
down at the necklace again, not able to shake off Remington's
harsh sting.
Remington started to walk away.
"You're just going to let them walk out of here?" Felicia
cried in disbelief.
Carlton, frozen in his tracks, turned his head to give Felicia
a deadly look."Bugger off, Felicia."
**************
Laura sat in the car waiting for Remington's arrival. She wondered
what the hell just happened.
Remington silently appeared and deftly slipped into the driver's
seat. He started the engine, giving a sympathetic glance to Laura.
Laura didn't notice him, however, as she was looking straight
ahead.She was completely made of stone. They drove back to the
castle without speaking.
As they pulled into the driveway of the castle, it looked dark
and frightening. Laura looked up at it, thinking that somehow
it looked bigger than before. Remington turned off the engine.
He wanted to talk to Laura, but he didn't know what to say. Laura
opened the car door and stepped out.
Silently, like a ghost, she walked into the castle. She made her
way to their bedroom, looking for some comfort there. Remington
followed her, concerned about her mental state. He was unsure
of what Laura would do next.
Remington felt sure they were safe at the castle or he would have
never brought them back. Carlton Holt may have been a lot of things,
but Remington felt sure that Carlton would protect them. He would
turn over the necklace to The Hand and keep the Remiongton Steele
Agency out of the whole nasty affair. Remington felt sure of that.
He had seen the hurt in Carlton's eyes, and he knew they had nothing
to fear from him.
But Laura was devastated. Remington found her slumped in the wing
backed chair in their bedroom. Remington scooted another chair
over beside her. She was staring straight ahead into nothing.
He took her hands into his.
"I can't believe it," Laura questioned.
"I know," said Remington, stoking her hair to comfort
her.
"He must have ransacked the apartment and left that card,
so we would think The Hand was responsible for his disappearance.
He must have sent Felicia to represent The Hand. To tell you the
only way we would get him back was to find the necklace. But why
would he lie to me?" Looking for answers, she searched Remington's
face.
Remington tried to choose his words carefully. "Laura, I
don't know. What I do know is that he came to us to find the necklace.
He came with the story of Philip Raymond, to appear to be in danger,
so that we would be more apt to help him. Felicia, as you said,
was used to represent the Hand. She was also an unbelievably evil
character to lure us to Ireland."
Laura was shaking her head, not wanting to believe the evidence
that was right in front of her. "And Philip Raymond... Do
you think Felicia really killed him, or did..." Laura couldn't
face the thought that her father could have been the murderer.
Knowing what Laura was thinking, Remington said, "No, I do
not believe that your father killed Philip Raymond. I still think
that Felicia killed him. Raymond just fit into the ploy to get
you to help him. It make it appear he was in danger of being killed,
also. Felicia attacking him just gave you more of a reason to
help him."
"Why was he at the warehouse? Was he the one who was supposed
to meet Simpson?" asked Laura, already knowing the answer.
"Laura, he was our middle man," said Remington.
Laura shuddered as things began to make sense. "I guess it
helped his plan that you were a jewel thief."
"I guess so," said Remington, noticing that Laura was
starting to cry. "Laura, I'm so sorry. I wish there was something
I could do, but you're going to have to face the fact your father
is gone. Maybe this isn't the best time for tough love, but Laura,
he... he never figured that you would find out, at least like
this. I don't know why he did it, or why he's with The Hand in
the first place. I don't want to admit it either. He's gone and
he may never come back. I know the type well."
Remington lifted his wife from the chair. He embraced her so hard
he thought that she would break. He could hear her softly crying.
Remington rubbed her hair to comfort her. Not knowing what else
to say, he finally just said, "Laura, let's just go to bed."
Laura pulled away from Remington. "I guess Raymond stole
the necklace in the first place, with the help of Simpson's connections
with the museums." For some reason she had to know the whole
truth or it would drive her crazy.
Remington embraced Laura again saying softly to her, "Not
tonight; let's try not to think about it tonight."
To be continued...