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As she entered the offices of Remington
Steele Investigations, Mildred could hear a familiar voice speaking.
"I can assure you, Mrs - Davisson, the Remington Steele Agency
had absolutely nothing to do what happened.. . " Mildred
put her purse on her desk and went to the door of Mr. Steele's
office. He looked up at her. "I'm sorry you feel that way.
Thank you for calling." He hung up the telephone, then came
toward her. "Mildred. Thank goodness. The telephone hasn't
stopped ringing all morning. If it's not reporters wanting and
interview, it's clients worrying about how Miss Holt's arrest
will affect their cases."
"I don't doubt it," Mildred said, her eyes searching
his face. He certainly LOOKED like the real Mr. Steele. And he
sounded like him as well. "How is she?"
"Who?" he asked, glancing through some papers that were
on his desk. THAT was out of the ordinary, Mildred decided. It
was highly unusual for there to be anything on that desk except
the morning paper and a cup of coffee.
"Miss Holt," Mildred said, frowning.
"Ah. I haven't spoken to her since last night," he said.
"Too busy trying to repair the damage to the agency that
her arrest has caused."
"But - " The telephone began to ring, and Steele looked
at Mildred expectantly. She picked it up. "Remington Steele
Investigations," she said. "No, no we have nothing to
say - except that Miss Holt is innocent of the charges -"
Steele's eyes narrowed as she spoke. "And we're sure she'll
be cleared." Hanging up, Mildred looked at Steele again.
"What?"
"For the record, Mildred,- until Laura is cleared of these
charges- IF she is, she is no longer associated with this agency."
"But - After all Miss Holt's done for this agency- "
He lifted an eyebrow. "Really, Mildred. It's understandable
that you would be concerned for a co-worker -"
"A- CO worker?" Mildred questioned. "Miss Holt's
more than that- Who's going to handle her cases?"
"I will, of course," Steele said calmly.
"YOU?"
"Do I have to remind you that it's MY name that's on those
doors out there, and MY reputation that's on the line? I will
do whatever I must to keep this agency afloat during these troubled
times, Mildred. And if you can't accept that, then I suggest you
find another employer." The telephone rang, and he looked
at Mildred again. After two rings, he asked, "Aren't you
going to answer that?"
"Answer it yourself," Mildred said. "Because I
QUIT. Effective NOW, this minute. I can't work for someone who's
willing to throw someone who's stood by you like Miss Holt has-
someone who cares about you- to the wolves."
He looked at her for a long moment, then nodded once, before picking
up the still ringing telephone. "Remington Steele,"
he said. "Hold on, please." Pushing the "Hold"
button, he told Mildred, "Very well. If you feel that way
- Come back tomorrow and I'll have your final check ready."
He pressed the button again. "Sorry about that. Minor problem.
How can I help you?"
Mildred turned on her heel and left the office, closing the door
forcefully behind her before her knees threatened to collapse.
Willing them to hold her up, she marched to the desk, grabbed
her purse and coffee cup, then, as the door to Mr. Steele's office
opened once again. "Don't worry," she told him. "I
won't take anything that's not mine," she said, picking up
her nameplate from the front of the desk before leaving the office,
aware the entire time that those eyes were on her retreating form.
Once the elevator doors closed behind her, Mildred leaned on the
bar around the edge of the lift, her knees threatening once more
to buckle. He couldn't be HER Mr. Steele. HE wouldn't have let
her walk out like that. How many times had he talked her out of
quitting? At least this way, she'd be able to keep an eye on the
fake- maybe he'd lead her to wherever he was keeping the REAL
Mr. Steele. But first, she had to help Miss Holt. Or TRY to, anyway.
********
"I want to talk to you, Jarvis," Mildred said as she
walked down the corridor of the station and saw her quarry heading
toward his office.
"Miss Krebs -" he began, but Mildred opened the office
door and entered, then stood waiting for him to join her. Once
he was inside, Mildred closed the door.
"I just came from the office," she told him. "Miss
Holt and I were right. He's NOT the real Mr. Steele, Jarvis."
"Do you have proof of that, Mildred?"
"Be honest, Jarvis. Would the Mr. Steele you know leave Miss
Holt hanging out to dry the way he's doing? She stood by him when
Major Descoine set him up - and now he just leaves her sitting
in a jail cell, not lifting one finger to help her?"
"Okay. I'll admit that it's a LITTLE strange-" Jarvis
said grudgingly.
"Try a LOT strange," Mildred told him. "Are you
sure there's not SOME way we can get bail set for Miss Holt?"
"I don't know, Mildred, -"
"Look, that bogus Steele is trying his best to KEEP her here.
Someone has to try and clear her- and if anyone can get to the
bottom of this, it's Miss Holt."
Jarvis met her eyes for a minute. "I guess I COULD talk to
Judge Harper-"
"Leroy Harper?" Mildred asked, her eyes lighting up.
"Yeah. You know him?"
"Oh, the Judge and I go WAY back," Mildred assured him.
"I think he'll be willing to help," she said, picking
up the telephone. "Call him."
Taking a deep breath, Jarvis dialed the judge's number.
**********
Laura paced the small cell, trying not to think about the possibility
that Remington might be dead. She had to believe that the fake
Mr. Steele would want to keep him alive- at least for the time
being, anyway. He HAD to be alive. If he wasn't - She needed to
find a way out of this cell, as well. To look for him, to prove
that she was innocent of murdering Rachel Parker.
The "clank" of the door at the end of the hall caught
her attention, and she looked up to see Mildred's smiling face.
"Mildred?" she asked as Lt. Jarvis unlocked the door.
"You've been released on bond, Miss Holt," he said.
"But- I thought the judge had denied bail," she replied,
confused.
"I'll explain everything, Miss Holt," Mildred assured
her, grabbing her arm to pull her out of the cell. "Let's
just get out of here, okay?"
Laura's forehead crinkled as she looked from Mildred to Jarvis.
"I can go?"
"As long as you stay in the area," Jarvis agreed as
they entered the release area, where Laura was given her personal
effects. "Keep an eye on her, Mildred," he said. "I'm
counting on you to keep her out of trouble."
"Trouble?" Laura asked, putting her watch on. "Mildred?"
"Can we go now, Lieutenant?" Mildred asked.
"Yeah. Just remember-"
"I will," Mildred assured him as she half drug Laura
down the hallway and outside. "My car's over here,"
she said.
"Mildred," Laura said, stopping on the sidewalk. "What's
going on? How did you get them to set bail for me?"
The woman shrugged. "Oh, the judge and I go back to my IRS
days. He owed me one- well, more than one, but I told him that
this would wipe the slate clean."
"Then- YOU posted my bail?"
"You've been released in my custody, Miss Holt. Judge Harper
knows that I can be trusted not to let you fly the coop."
Laura gave Mildred a hug. "Thank you. I won't let you down,
Mildred. I promise."
"I know you won't hon. Now, let's get you home so you can
take a nice, hot shower and change clothes."
As they got into the car, Laura asked, "Have you seen Mr.
Steele?"
"If you mean that bogus creep that's pretending to be Mr.
Steele, yes, I have. I gave him my immediate resignation."
Laura's eyes widened. "You didn't."
"I did. He told me that you weren't associated with the agency
at all until you're cleared of the murder. IF you're cleared.
I just COULDN'T stay there and pretend after that, Miss Holt.
I knew that I was the only one who could get you out of that jail.
And I thought it would be easier to keep an eye on him."
Laura was silent for several minutes, her attention focused on
her hands. "Do you think he's still alive, Mildred?"
she asked in a small voice as Mildred pulled the car into a parking
space before Laura's building.
Mildred reached out to touch her hand. "I'm sure of it, Miss
Holt. The boss can take care of himself. You know that."
"I guess you're right. I just -"
"Hey. Let's go upstairs and let you get some rest."
"I've got too much to do," Laura said, "And one
of us needs to keep an eye on HIM," she insisted.
"I've got Fred taking care of that," Mildred assured
her. "He's going to call me if the fake Mr. Steele leaves
the office."
Laura shook her head. "Remind me to check into getting your
investigator's license, Mildred. You're getting good at this."
"I've had good teachers," she said, urging the younger
woman up the stairs inside the building.
**********
"Mildred did WHAT, Lieutenant?" Steele questioned, causing
Jarvis to frown slightly.
"She got Miss Holt released in her custody," Jarvis
repeated. "Look, Mr. Steele, I know you're upset about all
this - but- Miss Holt's going to need a good attorney, and-"
"Jarvis, I can't allow the Remington Steele Agency to be
involved in this. Laura Holt has been associated with this agency
for a long time- and I'm fully aware that replacing both her AND
Mildred -"
"Replace Mildred?" Jarvis questioned.
"She didn't tell you that she resigned without notice?"
Steele asked.
"No. No, she didn't. Did she give a reason?"
"Evidently her loyalty to Laura is stronger than to me. When
she realized that I wasn't going to help Laura, she quit."
Jarvis chose his next words with care. "You know, Mr. Steele,
I always admired the way that Laura stood by you when Descoine
set up that frame a couple years ago. Maybe returning the favor-?"
"Are you saying that you don't think Laura's guilty, Detective?"
Steele asked in a soft, dangerous tone.
"I'm just saying that it might look better for YOU if you're
willing to stand behind her, now. That's all."
"Look, Lt. Jarvis, I don't tell you how to run your police
department, so don't tell me how to run MY agency. I'll be in
touch."
Jarvis pulled the telephone away from his ear as Steele hung up
with some force. He stared at the dead line thoughtfully. Something
WAS wrong here. VERY wrong. After hanging up, Jarvis dialed a
number. "Larry? It's Jimmy. I need a favor. . . Need you
to tail someone for me. . . Remington Steele. . . Yeah, I know.
But I've got a feeling that something's going on there- no. Not
yet. Just keep an eye on him. Let me know if he goes anywhere
out of the ordinary for him. . . You know Steele's habits as well
as I do. Any where except his usual haunts - let me know. . .
Thanks." He hung up again. One of these days, he was going
to learn to trust Laura Holt's instincts.
**********
Fred sat in the front seat of the limo, watching as Mr. Steele
crossed from the front of the building to the taxi stand and flagged
down a cab. Making a mental note of the company name and cab number,
he picked up the telephone and dialed Miss Holt's number.
"Hello?"
"Miss Holt? It's Fred," he told her, turning the key
to start the engine of the car.
"Yes, Fred?" Laura said.
"He just got into a Yellow Cab. Number 4123, they're headed
south."
"Okay, Fred. Don't let him make the tail."
"I'll try, Miss Holt. But this thing's not the best vehicle
for following someone unnoticed."
"Just do your best." Laura hung up the phone and looked
at Mildred. "He's on the move."
To Be Continued - - -