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The Leonard estate was located in
a well to do neighborhood. The house was at the end of a long,
tree lined drive. Laura stopped her car at the gate. "Looks
a bit overgrown, doesn't it?" she asked her husband, noting
the view beyond the bars before them.
He nodded. "A veritable jungle," Remington agreed. "I'd
wager that the gardener hasn't been on duty in several years."
"Probably since James Leonard was found with a bullet in
his head," Laura agreed, putting the car into reverse.
"Where are we going now?" he asked.
"Around back to the service entrance. He HAS to be getting
inside somewhere- and since this one doesn't show any sign of
traffic, maybe the other one does."
The service entrance was easily located- something made more so
by the fact that the grass on one side of the gate showed signs
of being crushed by the heavy iron moving over it as it was opened.
"It would appear, Laura, that SOMEONE is in residence."
She nodded thoughtfully, then turned off the car's engine before
getting out. "And I'm going to find out who that someone
is," she told him.
"Wouldn't it be better to contact Jarvis?" he asked.
"Let him check it out?"
Laura paused. "We're here. We might as well do a little investigating.
It IS what we do for a living, after all."
Feeling that they were making a mistake, Remington opened his
door and joined her, nodding toward the gate. "How do you
suggest we overcome the fact that the gate's probably locked?"
She grinned, taking out her pick set. "THAT is easy."
He took the leather pouch from her, shaking his head. "I
have a better idea. Let's scale the wall."
"What?"
"Come on," he said, leading her back the way they had
come to where he'd noticed several bricks crumbling, leaving foot
and handholds to help them over the seven foot brick fence. Remington
went up first, then held down a hand to Laura. She looked doubtful.
"It's not that difficult, Laura," he assured her.
"Why don't we just go through the gate?" she asked.
"Because if we're wrong, and young Leonard ISN'T responsible,
then he won't be able to have us arrested for breaking and entering."
"And trespassing is better?" Laura questioned, but she
allowed him to help her over the wall. Once inside, they moved
stealthily toward the back of the red brick house. The grounds
were seriously overgrown- including, to Laura's dismay, the formal
rose garden that had once graced the back terrace. But the roses
that remained were in full bloom, scenting the air. She reached
out to touch one blood red blossom, only to jump as she heard
a strange voice.
"What are you doing here? How did you get in here?"
She and Remington turned to see the man who matched Agatha's description.
Boyish features, dark blonde hair, green eyes, medium height.
Laura smiled at him, then said, using her best Texas drawl, "I'm
sorry. Frank and I are thinkin' about movin' out here to Los Angeles,
and we heard this place was empty - and well, I just HAD to have
a look at it -" She moved closer to Remington, placing her
head on his shoulder. "I guess I should have listened to
you, honey bunch." Remington smiled, wondering if the accent
grated on the young man's nerves as much as it did on his.
"Yes, you should have. Now if you'll go-"
"You own this place?" Laura asked. "You're so lucky.
We're looking to move up to something like this, right Frank?
Frank's in oil back in Houston. Practically rolling in it."
"It's not for sale," the man told them.
"Shame," Laura said, looking sad. "I was telling
Frank that I'd just LOVE to get my hands on those roses -"
Their reluctant host's eyes glazed over slightly as he touched
a flower. "My mother planted them," he said. "They
were her pride and joy."
"Your mother's dead? I'm sorry."
"It happened a long time ago. I wasn't even here. But I'm
here now. And I don't plan on going anywhere."
"Well, I guess we'd better go, Frank," Laura said, looking
up at Remington. "We still have to find a place. Pity, though,"
she sighed. "This place would have been perfect."
"It's a house of ghosts," he told her.
"You mean it's HAUNTED?" Laura asked, her eyes wide.
"A double homicide and suicide tend to make people think
it might be," Henry Leonard informed her. "I'll walk
you to the gate and unlock it for you. And I wouldn't suggest
your trespassing anywhere else, Mrs.-"
"Gardner," Laura said. "LuluBelle Gardner."
She grinned. "And I'll remember the advice, Mr-"
"Leonard. Henry Leonard. It's just that most of property
owners keep dogs on the premises to discourage things like that.
I'd hate to see you or your husband get hurt," he told her,
placing a key into the lock that held the gate closed before swinging
it open.
Laura felt a cold chill go down her spine at his words. "Thank
you for being so kind," she said, getting into the car when
Remington opened the passenger side door. Remington got behind
the steering wheel and nodded in Henry's direction before starting
the car and putting it into reverse.
Henry Leonard remained where he was until the little red sports
car was out of sight. "LuluBelle?" Remington questioned.
"And you're the one who took me to task for Myrtle Groggins."
His hands tightened on the steering wheel. "What did you
make of Henry Leonard?"
"He gave me the creeps," she admitted. "I got cold
chills when he was talking about his mother and the murders. And
did you hear the implied threat as we were leaving?"
"I heard," Remington confirmed. "I heard. We'll
tell Jarvis that young Leonard is back, and see if he can come
up with something."
"I'm going to have Mildred run a check on him as well,"
Laura said. "I'm not going to take any chances of his slipping
through our fingers."
"What we have to do is find a way for Agatha to see him,
to confirm that it was Henry in the park this afternoon."
"Well, he has to leave the place sometime," Laura pointed
out. "He did earlier, when he went to the park."
"IF he went to the park." Remington pulled the car into
the parking garage and into its assigned spot. "The limo
is gone. I suppose Agatha and Antony took the twins home."
**********
Mildred looked up from her desk as they entered the office. "What
did you find?" she asked.
"Henry Leonard IS in Los Angeles," Laura informed her.
"I know," Mildred said, showing her a computer printout.
Seeing her employers' expressions, the woman shrugged. "After
Agatha told us about what happened and where you had gone, I decided
to do some digging."
Laura glanced through the paper as Remington said, "Give
us the highlights, Mildred."
"Well, Henry Leonard went back to London after his father's
funeral and finished his schooling- attended Cambridge, graduated
with honors. Not much from then til he returned to Los Angeles
a week ago. He came into a pretty hefty inheritance when he turned
twenty one, though."
"Keep digging, Mildred," Laura told her, moving toward
Remington's office. "And when Jarvis arrives,-" she
stopped when she opened the door to find Jimmy Jarvis pacing the
office.
"It's about time, Laura," he said with an impatient
frown. "I have a desk full of reports to go over-" He
nodded at the man behind her. "Remington."
"Riding a desk does tend to be a bit boring, ey, Jimmy?"
Remington asked.
"Just a little," he agreed. "But Janet's happier
that I'm not on the streets anymore. What's going on?"
Laura and Remington quickly filled him in on Agatha and the twins'
encounter earlier in the park, handing over the gun for him to
inspect. "I'll see if I can get it looked at," he agreed.
"I can't believe that you climbed the wall onto the Leonard
property. And I can't believe that he didn't have you arrested
for trespassing. The place is posted. There are signs everywhere."
Remington sat down. "You know Laura, Jimmy. Once she gets
an idea in her head, there's no stopping her. I'm trying to convince
her to step back and let the police handle this -"
"Unfortunately, all we can do is wait. Until Leonard- or
whoever is doing this makes another move, there's not much we
can do."
Laura gave him a triumphant grin. "See? I told you."
"But I WILL do some looking into the man's background, see
if he was in any trouble in England - "
"Wait a minute," Remington said. "A man accosted
Agatha and attempted to kidnap our children, and you can't DO
anything?"
"I can ask that the patrols around your place be increased,"
Jimmy said. "But I can't arrest Leonard without some kind
of proof that he's responsible. Sorry, Remington. I know, it's
frustrating. But you said that Tony was out there, keeping an
eye on things."
"Hmm. You're right."
Jimmy rose from his seat. "Sorry I can't be of more help
right now. But I'll do what I can. I know how I'd feel if someone
threatened my kids. I'll let you know if I find anything. Keep
in touch."
"We will," Laura assured him, seeing him out the door.
She went to the desk and picked up the Leonard file before joining
Remington on the sofa. "I think we need to thoroughly review
this case. Maybe there's something here that might help."
She noticed his worried face. "You're scowling," she
said softly, touching his cheek.
Remington captured her hand with his, then pulled her into his
arms. "We can go over the case in a minute," he told
her. "Right now, I need to hold you." Laura's arms went
around him, and she laid her head on his chest. "I love you."
"I love you," Laura replied.
The telephone rang, and out of long habit, Remington paused before
completing his move to kiss Laura, expecting Mildred to interrupt
them. But it wasn't Mildred this time. It was Jimmy Jarvis who
opened the door with only a brief knock. "Uh, sorry, but-
I just got a call from a friend - something's going on at your
place- "
Both Laura and Remington were on their feet. "What?"
"All I know is that an ambulance has been called- and a patrol
car's en route to investigate," he told them as they followed
him from the offices.
"Let me know-" Mildred managed.
"As soon as we know something, Mildred," Laura assured
her, following Remington and Jimmy out.
Mildred frowned, then turned as the computer beeped to remind
her it was waiting for her input.
**********
"Oh my God," Laura breathed softly as she saw the ambulance
and two black and white squad cars parked before the house. She
barely waited for Remington to stop the car before she had the
door open and was heading toward the emergency vehicles, spotting
Tony speaking to an officer. "What happened, Tony?"
she asked. "Daniel and Megan-?"
He put a hand on her arm to steady her as Remington joined them.
"The kids and Agatha are fine.They're upstairs." He
nodded toward the gurney that was being loaded into the ambulance.
"That's Mrs. Hobbs."
"Mrs. Hobbs? She's not -" Remington questioned, obviously
concerned about the housekeeper.
"No. But she's unconscious."
"What happened?" Laura asked again. Jarvis, who had
been talking to the patrolmen who had been first on the scene
after Tony's call, joined them.
"That's a good question, Mr. Roselli. I'd like to hear your
version of what happened."
"Agatha and I got home, took the kids upstairs, and she went
to the kitchen to fix some tea while I secured the house. I heard
her cry out- and believe me, when Agatha Brierly is upset enough
to cry out about something, you'd better find out what it is.
When I got to the kitchen, Agatha was kneeling beside Mrs. Hobbs."
"Then you didn't actually FIND Mrs. Hobbs," Jimmy said.
He consulted the officer's notes. "What was this about a
rose?"
"There was a - rose lying on her chest. Like someone placed
it there as a calling card."
Laura and Remington looked at each other, and Laura said, "Henry
Leonard's mother used to raise roses," she said. "There
are still LOTS of them at the Leonard house."
"There are roses all over the place, Laura," Jimmy reminded
her. "Even in your garden out back-"
Laura raised concerned eyes to Tony. "Harley." Jimmy's
comment about roses reminded Laura about their gardener, Harley
Grange. "Have you seen Harley, Tony?"
Tony shook his head. "No. In all the excitment, I guess I
forgot about him."
Remington was already heading around the corner of the house,
and Laura turned to follow him as Jimmy asked, "Where are
you going?"
"To find out if we have another patient for that ambulance,"
she told him. She knew they did. Harley would have been out to
see what all the ruckus was about- and since he hadn't put in
an appearance - she almost fell as she came to an abrupt halt
as she heard someone groan. "Remington!" she called,
moving around the garage to the gardener's shed. The handle of
a shovel was pushed through the door, effectively preventing anyone
from getting out. Laura grasped the shovel and tossed it aside,
pushing the door open. "Harley?" she called softly,
hearing an answering groan.
He was on the floor, holding his head, and Laura winced as she
saw the already drying blood on his red hair. Kneeling beside
him, she said, "Harley? It's Mrs. Steele."
He blinked a few times. "Mrs. S-steele." She looked
up as Remington, Tony, and Jimmy joined them.
"I think we need another ambulance, Jimmy," he said.
"I'll get some help," Tony offered, disappearing.
"What happened, Harley?" Laura asked gently.
"Don't k-know," the young man said, and Laura looked
across him to meet Remington's concerned gaze. When they'd first
met Harley, he'd stuttered terribly. But with time and patience,
the only time the habit returned was when he was frightened or
under stress. "I s-saw a truck in the d-d-drive, and when
I went t-to check it out, s-s-someone-" he placed a hand
to his head again, his eyes filled with fear as he saw the blood
that stained it. "S-someone h-hit me."
"What kind of truck, Harley?" Remington asked. "Take
your time, remember?"
Harley frowned, "I c-can't re-remember. S-sorry, Mr. S-steele."
Remington patted the young man on the shoulder. "It's all
right, Harley." He looked up as the ambulance attendants
entered. "I want you to go with these people, all right?
They'll take care of you." Harley nodded and Remington helped
Laura to her feet as they moved away. "Well, Jimmy, I'd say
that someone just upped the ante, wouldn't you?"
"I'll get the patrols increased, Remington," he said.
"I WOULD like to talk to Mrs. Brierly about all this, though."
"Let's go to the house," Remington suggested. "I
have to call Robert anyway. He'll want to know about Mrs. Hobbs
and Harley."
Jimmy looked thoughtful. "That's right. They've both worked
here for some time, haven't they?"
"For my grandfather and his wife," Remington confirmed.
"Harley was born here on the estate." Inside, Remington
led Jimmy into the front parlour while Laura went to go get Agatha
and check on the twins. Picking up the telephone, Remington watched
as the Captain of Homicide for the LAPD wandered around the room.
"Robert -," he said as his grandfather picked up the
telephone, "I'd forgotten that we were supposed to-"
he consulted his watch, grimacing. "I'm sorry. But something's
happened, and I thought you should know about it - Is Katherine
there, by any chance?"
Once Remington reassured Robert and Katherine as much as possible,
he hung up the telephone and turned to Jimmy as Agatha entered
the room. "How are the children?" Remington asked.
"Sleeping at the moment. Mrs. Steele said that she would
stay up there with them until I return." She faced Jimmy.
"How can I help, Captain Jarvis?" she asked.
**********
A few minutes later, Jimmy released Agatha and he went with Remington
to the front door. "I know you and Laura believe the man
who assaulted both Mrs. Hobbs and Harley Grange has to be Henry
Leonard, Remington -"
"Who else could it be, Jimmy?"
"It could have simply been a random act of violence. Robbery,
perhaps, only something scared the guy away before he took anything."
Remington shook his head. "I don't believe that, Jimmy, and
neither do you."
"You and Laura saw Leonard at his house. Do you really think
he could have met Mrs. Brierly in the park, then come here and
been at the house when you were there?"
"Why couldn't he have come here FIRST, Jimmy?" Remington
asked as Laura came down the stairs.
"Well, I'll have the men ask the neighbors if they saw anything
suspicious - that truck that Harley mentioned, for example. And,
like I said, I'll get the patrols increased." He glanced
at Laura. "I'll even have the house searched, if you want."
"Good Lord," Remington sighed. "I hadn't thought
of that."
"Thought of what?" Laura asked.
"If it WAS Leonard who attacked Harley and Mrs. Hobbs, then
he had full run of the house. There's no telling what little surprises
he might have left for us to find."
Laura looked around the house that she had fallen in love with
at first sight, and shivered. It had been a haven for her and
Remington - especially since the children's birth - a place they
could come and relax. Now, as she looked around, she felt fear.
And she had never associated fear with this house.
Seeing her reaction, Jimmy nodded. "I'll have them search
right now," he told her, opening the front door and going
outside.
Remington took Laura's hand. "Robert's going to call Mrs.
Hobbs' sister from the hospital," he told her. Frowning,
he looked around. "Where's Buddy?" he asked, suddenly
fearful.
"Upstairs with Daniel and Megan," she told him, smilng
slightly at his surprised expression.
"Does Agatha know about this?"
"Apparently Buddy was waiting for them when they got home,
and Daniel picked him up and refused to let him go. Agatha felt
she had to no choice but to let him go upstairs with them, consdering
what happened earlier."
He nodded, noticing her expression as he pulled her into his arms."We'll
get through this," he said, feeling her tremble in his arms.
He lifted her chin. "And everything will be fine." Laura
put her arms around him, resting her head on his chest.
At last she pulled away. "I'm going to go call Mildred- let
her know what's going on."
"Use the telephone in the parlour," he suggested. He
knew it was safe- he'd used it earlier. After watching her go,
Remington glanced up at the ceiling, making a silent vow that
he would do whatever necessary to keep Laura and the children
and everyone else that he cared about safe. Henry Leonard had
claimed his last victims in whatever sick game of vengeance he
was playing out. There would be no more. Not if Remington Steele
had anything to say on the matter.
To Be Continued - - -