ReJoined Steele

Part Six

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As Laura predicted, a black car marked "U.S. Customs" was just pulling away from the airplane as the limo led the armoured car onto the tarmac. Mildred gave her a quick "thumbs up" sign as the two vehicles passed each other. Laura and Hepplewhite watched through the limo's window as the guards brought a heavily locked strong box from the airplane and placed it into the truck as other, armed guards, looked on. Once it was secure, Laura rolled up the window and told Tony, "Back to Mr. Hepplewhite's please, Tony."

"Yes, Miss Holt," he said.

"So far, so good," Laura said to Lucas. "Now, we just have to hope Mildred's part goes as well."

***

Harry was pretending an interest in some pre-Columbian art that even HE wouldn't have bought,as he listened to the butler who had been keeping a hawk like eye on HIM since Hepplewhite's departure admitted Mildred into Hepplewhite's house. "I've been instructed to ask you to wait in the parlour, Miss Krebs," the man droned, returning to his post by the double doorway.

Upon seeing Harry, Mildred clasped her purse tighter and glanced at the butler. "Who's he?"

Harry lifted his hand, seeing the spark of humor in her eyes. "Stuart James, madam," he told her. "And you are-?"

"Mildred Krebs," she responded. Seeing that the butler wasn't going anywhere, Harry returned to his inspection of the art in the room.

As he turned, he stopped, noticing a painting hidden away in a small alcove. Sixty-by-twenty, coming to a point at the top, Harry moved slowly toward the Bordeaux Triptych. The butler followed as he moved out of sight. Harry lifted a hand, murmuring, "Hello, my lovely."

"I beg your pardon, sir?"

"Oh," he said, grinning at Mildred. "I said it was lovely. A true masterpiece."

"Mr. Hepplewhite does enjoy his art, sir," the butler agreed, then looked away as the sound of vehicles arriving reached their ears. "If you will excuse me."

Mildred leaned toward Harry as he continued to look at the Triptych. "Harry, they're here."

"Hmm?" he blinked. Time enough to reclaim this little prize later, he decided. The fees from this house alone would mount to seven figures easily. Little wonder Hepplewhite was known for his desire for solitude, very infrequently inviting anyone into his home. If the wrong people saw this--.

"Come on, Mr. James," Mildred said, pulling on his arm as they heard the front doors open and Laura dismissing the armoured car with her thanks.

Harry followed Mildred into the front room, dreading the moment that he would have to face Laura, wondering how he was going to manage without giving anything away to Hepplewhite. But Laura looked at him as if he were a stranger, someone she'd never met before today as Hepplewhite made the introductions. Her handshake was firm and businesslike.

"Mr. Hepplewhite- Lucas," she amended, noticing that Harry's eyes narrowed dangerously at her familiarity, "Tells me that you're an expert gemologist, Mr. James," she said.

"I've garnered a bit of experience over the years," he assured her.

"Where are my gems?" Lucas asked Mildred, his voice shaking in excited anticipation. "Do you have them?"

Mildred stepped away from his grasping hands and pulled the small box out of her purse. "Right here."

Lucas's hands were shaking badly, so he handed the box to Harry. "Please check the seal, make certain that it is intact."

Harry examined the seal and lock. "It is." They watched as Lucas fumbled in his watch pocket for the key and brought it out as Harry held the box for him. Seeing his trouble, Laura stepped forward, holding the lock so that the little man could insert the key. During all of this, her hand touched Harry's and their eyes met, locking together until Lucas removed the lock.

Harry opened the box, showing them the blue stones. "Lovely," Lucas mumbled. "Lovely."

Mildred remained where she was, watching the scene, not paying as much attention to the Royal Lavulite as to her two "kids" and their reactions to each other. Harry placed the box on the table and took the gems out to examine them, removing a jeweler's loupe from his pocket as he did so.

Laura watched him examine the stones, trying to spot the exact moment that he would change them for the fakes. Again she was struck by the blueness of the Lavulite, as blue as Harry's eyes. "Ah, yes," Harry said. "Yes. I can say without a doubt, Mr. Hepplewhite, that these are indeed the Royal Lavulite."

He placed them into Lucas' waiting hands, meeting Laura's look over the white head. He returned the loupe to his pocket with a flourish, and she KNEW without a doubt that he'd already made the switch. "May I see them?" she asked Lucas.

He handed one to her, keeping the others in his hands, as if afraid they would disappear if out of his sight. "I am most grateful to you, Miss Holt, Miss Krebs, for your assistance in this matter."

Laura examined the stone in her hand against the light, then reached out to pluck Harry's loupe from his pocket. "You don't mind, do you, if I check it myself? To put my mind at ease?" She saw his uneasiness as he resisted the urge to tell her that yes, he did mind.

"I wasn't aware that you knew anything about gemstones, Miss Holt," he commented as she placed the jeweler's glass in her eye and held the stone up to the light.

"There are probably a lot of things about me that you don't know, Mr. James. My former employer, Remington Steele, was a recognized expert in the field. After he left, I thought it might be wise to learn as much as I could to maintain the agency's reputation."

"I see," he said slowly, watching her with concerned eyes, certain that she was going to reveal the stone in her hand to be simply coloured glass. "And what is your impression of the Lavulite?" he asked at last.

She drew it out as long as she could, taking one stone, replacing it and taking another until she had examined them all. "They're as lovely as I remember them to be." She closed Lucas' hands over the stones. "If I were you, I'd get those into the display case right away."

"Of course," Lucas agreed, leading them toward the other room- a room that contained other cases of jewels and rare gems. Under Laura, Harry, and Mildred's watchful eyes, Lucas placed the gems on their white satin pillow and closed the case. Taking a ring of keys from his pocket, he secured the lock and stepped back. "There. NOW they are home at last," he sighed, wiping a tear from his eye. "My Lisle would be so pleased."

"I'm sure she is, Lucas," Laura told him. "Now, if you will excuse me, Mildred and I have to get back to the office."

"Of course. Of course." He drew a check from his pocket and handed it to her. "Here you are." He watched as Laura glanced at the amount and her eyes widened. "Not enough?" he asked, leading her back out into the entryway.

"More than enough. TOO much," Laura insisted. She felt as if she were taking money under false pretenses. After all, she'd just helped Harry steal the very gems she'd been hired to protect.

"Nothing can pay for what you've done here today, my dear," Lucas insisted, lifting a hand to his lips. "Thank you. Thank you both."

"Uh, Miss Holt-," Harry broke in. "Could I trouble you for a lift to my hotel?"

"Of course. If you're finished here, that is."

"I think anything else can be handled via telephone," Harry said. "It was a pleasure, Mr. Hepplewhite."

"Yes. Yes. I will be in touch."

Harry escorted the two women to the car, stopping as he saw Tony, dressed as a chauffeur, holding the door open. "Coming down in the world, eh, Antony?" he muttered as he got inside.

"Just keeping an eye on my investment," Tony reminded him in a dangerous undertone.

Mildred narrowed her eyes as she passed Tony and got inside. "What's he doing here?" she asked Laura, leaning forward to see around Harry.

"Just keeping an eye on things," Laura told her. Tony started the engine and drove the car down the drive and through the gates before she turned to Harry. "So. I guess you pulled it off."

Harry grinned- that old familiar devil may care grin that she remembered only too well -and put his hand into his pocket before drawing out the Royal Lavulite. "I had a few anxious moments there, when you decided to authenticate them yourself," he told her as she took one of them and held it up to the light.

Laura grinned, meeting Tony's eyes in the mirror though the blue haze. "You know, I think we ALL deserve a portion of that finders fee," she decided.

"Oh, really?" Harry said. "And what makes you think that? I switched those gems without any help from you."

"That's true," Laura agreed, seeing Mildred's smile as she handed the stone back to Harry. "But I could have blown your cover, you know. All I would have had to say was that the stone was a fake."

"And have him turn me over to the police?"

"I can think of worse things," Tony muttered, drawing Harry's narrowed blue gaze.

"Not at all. If what Tony tells me about Lucas is true, then he would probably have simply shot you first and asked questions later," she told him with a smile that made him take a second look.

"Well, you don't have to look so pleased about that prospect, Laura," Harry said. "Why don't you and I have dinner this evening?" he suggested.

"You mean you're not going directly to return the gems?" she asked.

"I can wait until tomorrow. I doubt Hepplewhite will discover he's been duped for several days, at least."

"And you'll be gone," Tony pointed out, "Leaving Laura to answer all the old man's questions alone."

"THAT is something I thought that Laura and I could discuss over dinner," Harry replied. "How about it?" he said to Laura.

"You know that's a very good idea," she decided. "A celebration dinner. The four of us. It would be like old times."

"Laura," Harry said with a frown.

"You can make it, can't you, Mildred? And you, Tony?"

"Sure," Tony said, smiling. "With bells on."

"Now THAT's an- interesting image," Harry muttered with a sour expression on his handsome face. Mildred reached over and patted his hand in silent support.

Tony stopped before the Wilshire Arms. "Here you go, -Chalmers."

Harry turned to Laura. "We need to talk."

"Seems like I've heard that before," she reminded him. "We'll talk later," she assured him. "You'd better got those gems in the hotel safe before we lose that reward."

"That's another thing. About the fee, Laura," he began, but Tony opened the door and Laura all but pulled him from the car after she got out.

"Seven o'clock," she told him. "We'll pick you up."

"Course, if you got an urgent call, requiring you to leave," Tony added, "I'm sure we'd understand."

"Not likely, Antony, old boy. Luckily, my business is one that can be run via telephone from practically anywhere." He turned to Laura. "See you at seven." He lifted her hand and brought it to his lips before moving into the hotel.

Tony's eyes narrowed as he followed the man's progress then closed the door. "That man's insufferable, you know that, don't you?" he said as he got behind the wheel.

"That's part of his charm," Mildred informed him. "Right, Laura?"

Laura just smiled as the limo pulled away from the curb.

None of them saw the photographer who had snapped a photograph of Laura and Harry as they had stood beside the car. Lou Davis stepped around the pillar that he'd been hiding behind and followed Harry into the hotel, watching as he picked up his messages at the front desk, then went back to the newspaper to dig through the archives. He probably wouldn't have looked twice at the man if he'd just passed him on the street. But the man's face was familiar in conjunction with Laura Holt, and Lou was determined to find out why.

***

Mildred followed Laura into her office. "Okay, what game are you playing now?" she asked.

Laura's eyes widened. "Game? *I* am not the one playing games, Mildred."

"You're trying to make Harry jealous using Tony. And that's not fair to him OR to Tony, as much as I think he deserves it."

"Mildred, Tony's been a good friend for the last twelve years. He's been here when I've needed someone. That's more than I can say for Harry."

"But he left because he wanted you to be happy."

"Did he? Or did he leave because he suddenly realized that HE wasn't happy staying in one place, sticking to the straight and narrow?"

"Oh, hon," Mildred said, placing an arm around Laura's shoulders. "He was only unhappy because you seemed so unhappy back then. And he's still on the straight and narrow," Mildred reminded her. "Technically, anyway."

Tony burst into the office, tossing the chauffeur's hat onto the table and flopping down in a chair. "I will NEVER do that again, Laura. Fred just spent ten minutes telling me that I don't know how to drive a damn limo."

Mildred glared at him. "You never heard of knocking?"

"I needed to talk to Laura. Alone," he said pointedly.

"Now listen here, you-," Mildred started, but Laura hurriedly stood up and led her toward the other office.

"Now, Mildred. Don't you have some paperwork on the Andrews case to finish up?"

Tony didn't move as he heard Laura shuffle Mildred out of the room and close the door. "Okay. You promised to explain, Laura. I'm ready to listen."

***

Lou Davis sat before the computer with the newly developed photograph before him, searching his records of photos of Laura Holt over the years. He'd gone back ten years and there was nothing. No record of the man in the photograph. "What are you doing, Lou?" Mike Jackson asked as he looked over the man's shoulder.

"Looking for someone." He held up the photograph. "I took this earlier at the Wilshire Arms. He was getting out of Laura Holt's limo."

Jackson's jaw dropped. "THIS man was with Laura Holt?"

Lou turned around upon hearing his friend's surprise. "You know who he is? I've gone back ten years and can't find him anywhere in the archives with Holt's photos. But I know there's a connection."

"Yeah. You couldn't find him because he's been gone - oh, twelve years." He reached around Lou and typed something into the computer. "There you go. THAT's your mystery man."

Lou shook his head, smiling as he scanned the article. "Hello, Remington Steele."

Jackson's hand fell on Lou's shoulder. "Lou, I think we just got a full blown exclusive, pal," he declared as they looked at the photograph. "Where's he staying?"

TO BE CONTINUED>>>

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Original content ©1999 by Nancy Eddy