Steele Being Steele

Chapter 1

Remington sent his Aunt Katherine off in the limo to find a hotel, leaving he and Laura to drive to work in the Auburn. As the elevator stopped on their floor, Laura stepped out, turning as she realized that her husband hadn't followed her. "Aren't you coming with me?"

"I'll be right along," he told her. "I have to speak to Jessica about something."

"What?" Laura wanted to know.

"Something personal," he told her. "Won't be a moment."

Laura watched in confusion as the doors closed, then shrugged and went to the office. "Good morning, Mildred," she greeted the woman who was coming from Remington's office.

"Mrs. Steele." She glanced behind her. "Where's Mr. Steele?"

"With Jessica. Is something wrong, Mildred?"

"A man came in this morning, said he needed Mr. Steele's help and refused to leave until he sees him."

"Did this man give his name?"

"Philip Nash," Mildred supplied. "He's waiting in Mr. Steele's office."

"Send Mr. Steele in when he comes in," she said. "I'll go and start the interview."

 

Philip Nash was in his late forties, early fifties, balding, and he smoked a cigar that reminded Laura of Norman Keyes. She smiled, held out her hand. "Mr. Nash, I'm -"

The man turned washed out gray eyes toward her, clearly frustrated. "Look, I don't need to see another secretary," he declared. "I need to see Mr. Steele."

Laura took a deep breath. This wasn't going to be easy. But she had faced down tougher clients before Remington Steele had taken form, she reminded herself, forcing herself to keep smiling. "I'm Mr. Steele's associate, Mr. Nash. Laura Holt-Steele. Mr. Steele has been delayed and -"

"Then I'll wait for him."

Laura counted to ten under her breath. This wasn't as easy as it used to be. "Mr. Nash, perhaps if you explain your problem to me, I can fill Mr. Steele in when he does arrive, and-"

"Look, my whole future is at stake here. I don't have time to waste talking to a secretary who married the boss-"

That did it. Laura's temper finally reached it's limit, just as the door opened and Remington entered. He smiled. "Mr. Nash? Remington Steele." He had overheard Nash's comment, and summed up the situation quickly. He moved to sit behind his desk. "I assume you've told Laura here your problem? She's an intregal part of the Remington Steele Agency. In fact, I doubt we could run the place without her."

"Well, uh-" Nash began, obviously taken off guard by Steele's remarks.

Laura gave her husband a saccharine smile. "Mr. Nash preferred to wait for your arrival, Remington."

Nash spread his hands. "I assumed she was a just a secretary -"

Steele's eyes flashed. "I can assure you that she's not, Mr. Nash. Laura is the best operative that the Remington Steele Agency has. And if that bothers you, then I suggest you find another agency -"

"No," Nash said, sitting down and running a hand over his face. "I guess I owe you an apology, Mrs. Steele. I made a wrong assumption. Been doing a lot of that, lately."

"Howso, Mr. Nash?" Steele asked.

"I run an investment firm, and the board has scheduled an audit in a little over a month. I still can't believe what I'm about to tell you. There's almost two million dollars of the firm's funds that are missing."

"Two million dollars, Mr. Nash?" Steele questioned.

"How do you know the money is missing, Mr. Nash?" Laura wanted to know. "If the audit isn't scheduled for another month-"

"I know my job, Mrs. Steele." He opened a briefcase and drew out a computer printout. "I ran this to check on the accounts. There a several that I've never heard of."

Laura and Steele glanced over the paper before Laura leaned across the desk to the intercom. "Mildred, would you come in here for a moment?" To Nash, she explained, "Miss Krebbs is our resident expert in financial matters. She spent several years with the IRS fraud squad before coming to work for us."

Mildred entered the office. "Yes, Mrs. Steele?"

"I want you to examine these and let us know if you find anything unusual," Laura told her, holding the printouts.

"Sure," she said, glancing over the numbers.

"I have an idea who's responsible, Mr. Steele," Nash said, "but I don't have any proof -"

"And you'd like the Remington Steele Agency to find that proof for you," Steele finished.

"Yes, but-" Nash looked uncomfortable. "Is there some way - I mean, could you - I need a very low-profile investigation, Mr. Steele. The less publicity the better, and, well- your presence tends to attract publicity."

Laura cast a worried glance at Steele, expecting that he would insist on handling the matter himself. But he smiled. "I quite understand, Mr. Nash. Why don't I put Laura on the case - and we have an operative who I'm sure you would consider low profile who would be able to assist her."

"But- you'll still be in charge, right?" Nash asked, relieved, yet wanting to make certain that Steele himself would be running the show. "I mean, they'll report to you?"

"Oh, of course. I'll offer advice should they need it, but I won't be visibly involved. More, behind-the-scenes, as it were."

Nash relaxed as the telephone rang and Mildred picked it up across the room where she had gone to study the reports. "Remington Steele Investigations,- Oh, Miss Beecham." She looked across the room. "He's with a client-"

"I'll speak to her, Mildred," Steele said, picking up the telephone on his desk. "Excuse me, Mr. Nash. Yes, Jessica?" He consulted his pocket watch. "I see. No, I'll be right there." Replacing the receiver, he stood. "Forgive me, but - I totally forgot about a meeting I'd scheduled with our attorney. I'm sure Laura will take very good care of you, Mr. Nash, and I'm looking forward to a successful resolution to your case. Excuse me."

Laura gave Mildred a perplexed look. When the other woman shrugged, just a confused, Laura murmured, "I'll be right back, Mr. Nash," and ran from the room. In the outer office, Laura saw him about to open the door. "Hold it right there." He stopped, and she caught up with him. "Where do you think you're going?"

"To see Jessica about something," he explained.

"You did that earlier," she reminded him.

"I asked her to get some information for me. Now, I'm going to get it."

"It can't wait until Mr. Nash is gone?"

"Speaking of Mr. Nash," he said, "Is it a good idea to leave a client waiting while we bicker, Laura?" He gave her a quick kiss. "I'll probably have lunch with Jessica. I'll see you later."

She watched him go down the hall and enter the elevator. As the doors closed, Tony Roselli got off of the other one. "Tony. I thought you were taking the day off?"

"Decided not to. Something wrong?"

"Of course not. What could possibly be wrong?" she asked.

"You're standing in the hallway, and you look upset -"

"I am not upset," she denied, turning to push the glass doors to the office open. "I'm furious."

"What's Steele done now?" Tony asked.

"We were interviewing a client- oh my goodness. Mr. Nash." She grabbed Tony's arm. "Come on, Tony. I'm going to need your help on this case."

 

An hour later, Mr. Nash departed with the warning, "If any of this leaks out, Mrs. Steele, my firm will be ruined. And I won't go down alone."

"Let me assure you that we will do everything we can to be discreet, Mr. Nash."

"Good day, Mrs. Steele."

Laura waited until he was out of the office before breathing a sigh of relief. "Mildred, call Jessica. Find out where our fearless leader might be. And get me a report on that readout as soon as possible."

"ASAP. You got it, honey."

 

Jessica picked up the telephone. "Yes, Mildred? . . .Remington?" She looked across the desk where her brother sat, going over a piece of paper. He shook his head. "No, he's not here, Mildred. I believe he mentioned something about going to see his Aunt Katherine after lunch. . . Very well. I shall. Good afternoon, Mildred." She hung up. "Laura is a bit miffed, I think, Remington. Are you quite certain that you want to go through with this? It could become rather time consuming."

"It's important to me, Jessica."

"I wasn't just speaking about this," she said, indicating the paper in his hand. "I meant about keeping it a secret from Laura."

"I want to surprise her. If your timetable is accurate, everything will be finished by her birthday."

Jessica shook her head. "I just hope your marriage isn't irreparably damaged before that."

 

To be Continued-----

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