Matched Steele

Part Ten

Laura frowned as she looked from the window to her watch. Remington had left two hours ago. Returning her gaze out the window to the street below, she willed the white Volkswagen Rabbit to appear. It didn't, and Laura's frown deepened as she tried to shake off the feeling that something was wrong. He'd promised to call and let her know what was going on, she thought as she picked up the telephone and dialed the number.

**********

Remington Steele looked again at the copy of LA Today that had brought Terrance O'Malley to his door. For the first time, he regretted placing himself in the spotlight. What had he once told Gordon Hunter? "Anonymity is an asset in my profession." He hadn't been referring to being a Private Investigator, precisely but it was true nonetheless. "O'Malley, I'm not sure what you hope to accomplish by-" The telephone's ring interrupted him.

"Answer it, Mr. Steele," O'Malley ordered, the gun still pointing at Steele. "But don't get any ideas."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Steele said, waiting a beat before lifting the receiver. "Steele here."

"Remington?" Laura asked. "Is everything-"

"Ah, Miss Holt," Remington said quickly, adopting a formal, boss to employee tone. "Sorry I haven't had the chance to call-"

"Miss Holt?" Laura questioned. "What's-"

"I'm going to be tied up here for some time. So in view of the lateness of the hour, I think it best if we continue to discuss the case tomorrow. At the office," he told her.

"Case? What case? We weren't-" Laura suddenly stopped. "Someone else is there."

"An excellent idea, Miss Holt," Remington confirmed, his eyes still fixed on the glinting barrel of O'Malley's gun. "I have to go. Officer Danko needs some more information."

"Should I come over?" Laura asked.

"I'll see you at the office Miss Holt. Goodnight." He hung up, hoping she'd gotten the message.

Very good, Mr. Steele," O'Malley praised. "Now- you were about to to tell me where the money is - ."

"If you kill me, O'Malley, you won't get anything," Remington pointed out.

"Perhaps. But a bullet in the knee is quite painful, Mr. Steele - Or the shoulder- A man could bleed to death -" He lowered the gun to Steele's knees. "Now, Mr. Steele. I don't want to stay in Los Angeles any longer than necessary."

"No," Remington agreed. "I don't suppose you would- not with a loanshark after you. It's- in the safe in my office, actually," he explained. "I was going to return most of it to my client tomorrow."

"Sorry, but I'm afraid that your client is going to be disappointed." He motioned toward the door with the gun. "Shall we, Mr. Steele?"

**********

Laura stared at the telephone for a few minutes. He didn't want her to go to the apartment. He'd mentioned the office. More than once. She picked up the telephone to call Fred, telling him to meet her downstairs as soon as possible, then picked up her purse as the telephone rang once more.

Thinking that it might be Remington again, Laura picked up the receiver quickly. "Hello?"

"Laura? It's Daniel. Is Harry there, by chance?"

"No. No, he's not. Why? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," he assured her quickly. "It's just - I just had the feeling that I needed to call Harry - but there's no answer at his apartment."

"I just spoke to him a few minutes ago-"

"And I just tried moments before calling you. Is he supposed to be at home?"

Laura hesitated. She didn't want to upset Daniel by telling him about the break in and the strange conversation that she had just had with Remington. "He was. Maybe he was downstairs. I'll try -"

"Laura," Daniel said. "What's wrong?"

She sighed. "There was a break in at Remington's apartment earlier. He got a telephone call here from the police. He was supposed to come back here after seeing if anything was taken -"

"Indeed?" Daniel commented, and Laura sighed again. That had been a tactical error on her part. "But he's not going to return to your - apartment?" he guessed, the hesitation clear.

"When I called him, he said that he was going to be tired up there for some time and that he'd see me tomorrow at the office."

"Which still doesn't explain why he wasn't in when I called after that," Daniel pointed out. "Perhaps he's on his way back there after all."

"Perhaps," Laura agreed, knowing that he wasn't. "Listen, Daniel, it's late, and I really need to get to bed. I'll tell Remington that you called when I speak to him again."

"Very well, my dear. Good night."

"Good night," Laura returned, hanging up the telephone and leaving the loft.

**********

Remington deliberately botched the combination three times as O'Malley watched him work. Where the hell is Laura? he wondered. Surely she'd gotten his message. He knew that the agency gun was in his desk drawer, but where the bullets might be was anyone's guess. If he could get his hands on the gun, he might be able to bluff O'Malley with it, but he wasn't sure if the risk was worth it.

Nothing in the information that Mildred had dug up had indicated violent tendencies in Terrance O'Malley. But then again, a half a million dollars could be sufficient reason for anyone to commit a violent act. "Damn," he muttered again as the safe refused to open.

"What's wrong?" O'Malley asked, jabbing the gun into Remington's side. "It's your safe, you should know the combination -"

"Yes, well, the tumblers are very sensitive. Unless it's done perfectly -" He heard the hammer being pulled back on the gun. "I'm not used to being forced to do this at gunpoint," Remington told him.

"Well you'd best learn, Mr. Steele. Because you're going to open that safe. You think that I don't know what you're up to?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're trying to stall for time, hoping that someone will come in." He jabbed again, causing Remington to grunt softly. "Open the safe, Mr. Steele. This is your last chance."

"If you shoot me -"

"I think that attractive associate of yours probably knows the combination too. I'll just get her here."

Remington turned his attention back to the safe, and this time, the tumblers clicked into place. He opened the square steele door and pulled out the neatly bundled money.

"Thank you, Mr. Steele. It's been a pleasure doing business with you," O'Malley said. "You know, too bad you chose to work your side of the street. You'd have made a pretty decent con- man."

Steele almost chuckled at the irony of that comment as he was forced to remain where he was while O'Malley pulled the bundles out and put them into his coat pocket. "How do you plan to get out of here?" he asked. "You don't seriously believe that I'm just going to let you walk out of this office with that, do you?"

"No, Mr. Steele. I don't. That's why I have to do this-"

"Do what?" Steele asked, tensing for a bullet fired from point blank range.

"This," O'Malley said, lifting the gun and bringing the butt down into contact with Remington's skull. "Sorry, Steele," he apologized as the man slid to the floor. He peered into the safe once more, trying to make sure he'd gotten all of the money. There were papers, and a small, velvet box. He pulled the box out, opening it to reveal a marquis cut diamond ring that sparkled even in the dim light. Closing the box, he placed it into his pocket as well, then turned toward the outer office.

As he exited Steele's office, he saw someone beyond the door, peering inside. The face was recognizable in the hallway light: the man who had played the part of Nigel van der Haven. O'Malley lifted his arm, ready to fire the gun, only to have his world explode into a million stars as something hit him on the head. The gun fired, shattering one of the glass doors.

Daniel moved away from the doors. His back to the wall, he waited a moment, trying to decide how to distract the man, when he heard Laura's voice. "Come on in, Daniel," she called. "It's safe."

He pushed the broken door open and entered the office to find Laura kneeling beside an unconscious Terrance O'Malley, taking the gun she held out, placing it on Mildred's desk, out of reach. "Good work, Laura," he said, smiling.

Not acknowledging his praise, she glanced up at him as she began taking the money from O'Malley's pockets. "What are you doing here, Daniel?"

"I checked with the police. There was no break in of Harry's apartment reported this evening." He saw Laura take something small from one of O'Malley's pockets. "What's that?"

"I don't know," Laura said. "Looks like a ring box -" She opened the lid and gasped.

"Very nice," Daniel commented. "At least four carats-"

Laura snapped the lid shut again, and went into her office, returning with a scarf that she used to tie O'Malley's hands. She went to the telephone and dialed a number. "Security? Jake- this is Laura Holt - Could you call the police please? There was an attempted break in of the agency office- Thank you."

"Was that wise, my dear? The method we used to get that money from Mr. O'Malley wasn't precisely legal -" Daniel reminded her.

"That's true, but if he starts talking about that, then he'll have to admit the reason we went after him to begin with," Laura reasoned.

Daniel nodded, then glanced over at the man who was still laying on the floor. "What did you hit him with?" he asked.

She pointed to a jade statuette that lay nearby. "That. Remington bought it for me -" Her eyes widened as a low moan was came from his office. "Remington." Daniel was right behind Laura as she entered the room and found the light switch. "Remington!" she said, rushing to kneel beside him as he sat up, back to the wall, a hand to his head.

"Laura?" he asked, then squinted through the pain in his head. "Daniel?"

She examined his head, feeling him wince as she touched the spot where O'Malley had struck him. "He hit you pretty hard. Are you all right?"

"Fine," he assured her, trying to get to his feet, only to slide back to the floor. "Oooh. On second thought, I think I'll stay here for another minute. Where's O'Malley?" he asked as Laura took his handkerchief from his pocket and applied it to the small cut on his head. There wasn't a lot of blood, Laura thought gratefully, but he undoubtedly had a concussion.

"He's in the reception area, tied up," she told him. "You need to see a doctor -"

"Nonsense," Remington insisted. "I'll be fine in a few minutes." He looked up, surprised at the depth of concern on Daniel's face. "What are you doing here, Daniel?"

"I wanted to make sure you were all right, my boy," Daniel told him. "I called Laura, and she told me about the breakin - but when I called your apartment, you weren't there-"

"I thought I heard the telephone ringing as we got onto the elevator," Remington commented, getting up slowly as they heard voices in the other office. When he swayed, Laura directed him to a chair.

"Sit down," she ordered. "Once all this is cleared up, I'm taking you to the doctor -"

"Laura, I refuse to spend the rest of the night sitting in an emergency room, waiting for someone to tell me that I've got a bump on the head. I'll be fine," he insisted.

"Excuse me? Mr. Steele? Miss Holt?" Jake, the building's night watchman, tapped on the doorframe. "The police are here- You all right, Mr. Steele?" he asked, hie eyes on the handkerchief that Laura refused to let Remington remove.

"Yes," Remington responded.

"No, he's not," Laura said at the same time. Daniel stood to one side, smiling at the two of them. "He's got a concussion." She looked at Daniel. "Keep an eye on him, please, Daniel, while I go talk to the police." Looking at Remington, she said, "You, stay," before following Jake out.

Remington sighed, wincing at the movement. "I think Laura's right, Harry. You need to see a doctor about that."

"Yes, well," Remington said, tossing the handkerchief onto the coffee table, "Laura tends to worry too much. I've had worse and survived -" He closed his eyes against the wave of nausea.

"Harry, I'm only thinking about what's best for you -"

"You're not my bloody father, Daniel, so let's drop it, okay?" Remington said sharply, opening his eyes in time to see Daniel quickly hide a stricken expression. Where the hell had that come from? Remington wondered, then stopped thinking. It hurt too much. "Look, I'm sorry, Daniel. I appreciate the concern, but I'll be fine. Good as new tomorrow."

Daniel nodded, then moved to the windows to stare silently out over the lights of the city. "You're not my bloody father, Daniel," kept echoing through his mind. But I am, my boy, Daniel wanted to say. I am your father. And if anything ever happened to you - He looked around as Laura returned.

She paused a step, sensing the tense atmosphere in the room, picking up the handkerchief and taking it to the small bath, where she ran cold water on it before bringing it back and placing it on Remington's head. "The police agreed to wait until tomorrow to take a statement," she told him.

"What did O'Malley say?" he asked.

"Nothing much. Like I told Daniel, if he says too much, he'll have to admit that he's a con man who specializes in little old ladies."

"Mmmm," Remington agreed, wincing again.

"That does it. I don't care what you say, we're going to the hospital."

"I said I'll be fine, Laura," he insisted again.

Daniel turned toward them. "I think I'll be going back to the hotel," he said.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Remington said, standing slowly, ignoring the dizziness that threatened to overwhelm him. Holding out his hand, he waited for Daniel to take it. "I'm sorry, Daniel," he apologized, and saw Laura's curious expression.

"I understand, my boy," he said, hiding his thoughts behind a smile. Looking at Laura, he said, "Let me know if he gets any worse."

"I will. Thanks for coming. Without your distracting O'Malley, I don't think I could have knocked him out." She gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Good night, Daniel."

"Good night, Laura. Harry."

Laura followed him to the door, watching as he pushed open the broken one again to exit the offices. Turning back to the office, she picked up the money from the floor where she'd dropped it and returned it to the safe, closing the door and turning the knob several times. "How did he find out who you were?" she asked, joining Remington in the conference area where he had moved over to the sofa.

He closed his eyes. "That blasted interview for LA Today," he said. "O'Malley saw it at the airport as he was about to board a flight back to England."

"And he saw a chance to get his money back," Laura decided. "He could have killed you."

He shook his head, then stopped as the nausea returned. "He's not a killer. He's just a desparate little man, that's all. I've known a hundred like him."

"What happened between you and Daniel that you had to apologize for?" she asked.

"I - snapped at him," Remington said, obviously not wanting to discuss it further.

"You're certain that you don't want to see a doctor?" she asked.

"If I'm no better by tomorrow, perhaps," he said, amending his earlier insistance that it wasn't necessary. He rose slowly again, forcing himself to ignore the dizziness. "I just need to go home and get into bed," he told her.

She watched as he moved with slow deliberation into the outer office, knowing that he would refuse her offer of assistance unless he asked for it. To ask would mean that he was hurt worse than he wanted to admit. Laura picked up the handkerchief, intending to put it into her pocket, but she found the ring box. Opening it, she looked at the stone in the light, then toward the door in speculation.

"Laura?" Remington called. "You coming?"

She closed the box and returned it to her pocket, then turned off the lights and went out to him. "I'm here," she said, seeing his glance at the shattered door. "I'll have Mildred take care of it first thing tomorrow morning," she assured him. "Jake's going to keep a close eye on the place for the night."

He nodded, then placed a hand on Mildred's desk to steady himself. Laura slipped his arm around her shoulders, causing him to look down at her. "Laura-"

"Shall we go home, Remington?" she asked. "I might even be pursuaded to stay and play nurse," she told him.

A ghost of his normal smile appeared. "Nurse, 'ey? By all means, Laura. Home it is."

To Be Continued---