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As Tony and Jessica neared the garage,
Jessica looked at the stairs that led to Harley's apartment, Tony
said, "I'll walk you back to the main house," putting
his arms around her as they paused to kiss.
"Who said I was ready to go back to the house?" she
asked. "We COULD go upstairs and have a nightcap," she
suggested, tracing the ribbing on his sweater with one well manicured
nail.
"I don't think Harley drinks," he said.
"Well, then we'll just have to play it by ear," Jessica
whispered as her lips met his.
When she pulled back, Tony smiled. "Just for a minute. It's
late, and I don't need Steele coming out here looking for you."
**********
Remington moved quietly through the house, double checking doors
and windows. After a quick peek in on the children, he returned
to his and Laura's room, and was about to close the door behind
him when he heard another door open nearby. Watching out of the
barely open doorway, he saw the door to Agatha's room open and
Laura's father appeared. After wishing Mildred a soft "Good
Night", he turned back to his own room on the other side
of the house. Remington closed his door, shaking his head and
smiling, wondering what Laura would do if she knew that her father
and Mildred were more than just friends.
The smile faded as he went to the windows and noticed that the
light was still burning in the apartment over the garage. Suspicion
flared, and he started for the door again.
"Where are you going?" Laura asked sleepily.
"To - check on something," he told her. "I'll be
back in a moment. Go back to sleep."
**********
In the garage apartment that had been the focus of Remington's
concern, Jessica ran her fingers through Tony's curling brown
hair, sliding the other beneath the sweater he wore as his lips
covered hers. A noise from below drew them apart. Tony looked
down at her. "Did you hear that?" he asked.
"Sounded as if it came from the garage," she said. "It
was probably only a small animal- perhaps Buddy?"
"Buddy's in the house with the kids." It came again,
and Tony shook his head. "I'd better check it out."
He picked up the flashlight that lay on the table. "Stay
here. Lock the door after I leave. And don't let anyone else in."
Jessica gave him a quick kiss as he left the apartment. "Be
careful," she admonished, closing the door and turning the
lock once he was outside.
**********
Tony moved cautiously down the stairs, listening for any movement
inside the garage. The interior was dark, and he kept the light
switched off as he moved slowly toward the open side door. That
was troubling in itself, since he knew that the door had been
closed earlier. There was another noise from inside, and Tony
slipped into the room, reaching up for the light switch. He never
found it. Instead, something hard connected with the back of his
head, sending him sprawling into a black void, oblivious to the
figure who stepped over him and moved in the direction from which
he had just come.
**********
When Remington didn't return right away, Laura got out of bed
and picked up her robe as she moved toward the windows. Seeing
the light in Harley's apartment, she opened the balcony doors
and went out, going to the circular stairs that would take her
to the garden. She had an idea what Remington was up to- and she
wanted to warn Jessica and Tony before her husband could cause
any problems.
**********
Remington tapped once on the door of the room where Jessica had
been supposed to stay - and frowned when there was no response.
Opening the door slightly, he said, "Jessica?" Still
silence, and he entered the room, flipping on the switch beside
the door to flood the room with light, revealing that the bed
hadn't even been turned down. She was still out there, with Antony,
he realized. Glancing at the clock, his frown deepened, and he
turned off the light as he left the room. It was past time for
Jessica to be inside where it was safe, he decided. To hell with
her being angry at his interference.
**********
Jessica had heard the muffled noises below, and moved restlessly
around the apartment until she heard someone at the door. "Who
is it?" she asked. "Antony?" There was a low moan,
as if whoever was out there was injured. "Tony?" she
called again. "Are you hurt?"
"Help," was the only response, and Jessica wasn't sure
if it was Tony or not- but whoever it was sounded in dire need
of assistance. She unlocked the door and looked out- seeing someone
crumpled on the small landing. Kneeling, she reached out to check
for a pulse, only to find her hand grasped in a steele like grip.
She gasped, trying to free herself as the crumpled figure rose
to his feet.
"You're - Henry Leonard, aren't you?" she asked.
He smiled, and made sure she saw the gun in his other hand. "Down
the stairs," he ordered. "NOW. Don't make me ask twice."
He twisted her arm painfully behind her forcing her past where
Tony lay in the doorway to the garage. "Tony," she said,
only to wince as Leonard pulled her arm tighter.
"Don't worry. He's not dead. But he's going to have one hell
of a headache when he wakes up. Move, Miss Beecham. We don't have
a lot of time."
"You can't get away with this," she said. "The
police are all around the grounds-"
"Let me worry about that," he said, "Haven't I
already proved that I'm VERY resourceful?"
"All I have to do is scream," Jessica said, "And-"
"And you'll be dead - and things might get messy. Of course
not as messy as they got when you and my uncle were- involved
-"
Jessica looked at him. "Your uncle?"
"Julius Leonard."
**********
Laura heard someone behind her. It was probably Remington, but
she didn't want to take a chance. Looking around, she found a
stick and picked it up, hiding in the shadows until the person
came closer. She jumped out to confront the man, arm raised.
"Hold it!" she called out, and found her arm held tightly
by her husband.
"Laura!?" he said, glancing up at the stick. "What
the bloody hell are you doing out here?"
"Trying to warn your sister and Tony that you're on your
way out there," she said, dropping the stick to the ground.
"Why can't you leave them alone, Remington?" she asked.
"This isn't the time for those two to be- doing whatever
it is they're- doing."
Laura slipped her arm through his. "Let's go back to bed,"
she said. "Tony will make sure Jessica gets back inside later-"
she told him, then froze as they heard a low moan. "What
was that?"
Remington and Laura moved cautiously toward the garage, hearing
the sound again. It was Remington who saw Tony's feet in the doorway,
and pulled Laura in that direction. "Antony?" he said,
kneeling.
"Tony? What happened?" Laura asked as he put a hand
to his head.
"Heard a- noise. Someone- clobbered me -"
"Where's Jessica?" Remington asked.
Tony raised a shaky hand in the general direction of the stairs.
"Up- stairs," he managed, wincing.
Laura glanced past Remington, then said, "See what you can
do for him. I'll go check on Jessica," she said, and before
he could object, she moved past him toward the stairs.
Remington helped Tony to a sitting position, then examined the
back of his head. "I'd wager you have one hell of a headache
at the moment."
"You'd win," Tony confirmed.
"Then I'll save my lecture on Jessica being out here so late
until a time when you're more able to appreciate all the finer
points."
"Thanks," Tony said, looking up as Laura returned. Seeing
the look on her face, he frowned. Something wasn't right. There
was too much light behind her. "Where's Jess?" he asked,
causing Remington to turn around as well.
"She's gone," Laura said. "The door to the apartment
was left open- but there's no sign of Jessica."
"Which means that Henry Leonard's got her," Remington
said.
**********
Jimmy Jarvis had his door open and was halfway out of the car
when he pulled it to a stop before the Steele's front gate. "Merchant,"
he called, approaching the man nearest to him. "Any sign
of him?"
"Nothing, Captain. It's been quiet."
"Damn. Have you talked to the Steeles?"
"No, sir. I thought you'd prefer to tell them about Leonard's
having slipped surveillance yourself. The house has been dark
for an hour- the only lights were in the garage apartment, and
that's where Roselli's staying-"
Jimmy nodded as he moved to the keypad beside the drive and began
to punch in the security code. "I'm going inside. I want
a check on all units, Merchant." Merchant lifted his radio
to call for the checks, watching as the Captain got back into
his car and headed inside, pausing for a moment. "Make sure
you close the gates after me."
Merchant nodded. "Unit 4. Come in. Robbins. This is Unit
1. Check in, please." Jimmy heard the call and waited. "Harris,
I need a visual check on Robbins. Report asap."
"Yes, sir," Harris replied through the static as Merchant
looked at Jimmy.
"Probably just away from his radio. You know Robbins. He's
new - "
"Sarge, it's Harris. Robbins is down. Repeat. Robbins is
down."
"HELL!" Jimmy said, picking up his own radio. "How
is he? Where's his car?" he asked.
"Robbins is alive, but he's got a pretty nasty bump on the
head. His car's gone."
"Get an ambulance for Robbins," he told Merchant. "I'm
going in."
"You need some back up, sir?" Merchant asked, his mind
partially on the young officer who had been injured.
"Just get another unit assigned to position 4. And get a
crimes unit out here to search the area. And put out an APB on
that car and Henry Leonard."
**********
"Let's get Tony back to the house," Laura told Remington.
"And then we'll call the police -"
"There's a car coming," Remington told her as he noticed
the headlights of a vehicle as it turned toward the garage, illuminating
the trio.
Jimmy turned off his lights and stopped the car. "What happened?"
he asked, seeing Tony's arm across both of their shoulders.
"Leonard got onto the grounds, attacked Antony and apparently
kidnapped Jessica," Remington informed him in a clipped voice.
"Where the bloody hell were your men, Jarvis? I thought they
were watching his place."
"They were. But he tricked them and got away. By the time
I found out, he was probably already here."
"You couldn't have called?" Laura asked as they moved
toward the house. "Warned us?"
"The phone lines are down between here and town," Jimmy
said. "I tried to call. How long ago did Leonard leave with
your sister?"
Tony tried to concentrate. "It was almost two when I heard
the noise and went to investigate," he said.
Jimmy glanced at his watch. "Not long."
"They could still be on the property," Remington suggested.
"If we search-"
"I don't think so, Steele," Jimmy said as they entered
the kitchen door and Tony sat down heavily in a chair at the table.
Laura, getting a towel from the drawer, turned to look at Jimmy,
then got some ice from the freezer to place against Tony's head.
"How could he have gotten her out?" she asked. "There
are at least six patrol cars around the property-"
"Five," Jimmy corrected. "Robbins was attacked
and his car was stolen - It's a pretty good bet that Leonard was
responsible."
"This doesn't make sense," Laura insisted. "I mean,
why Jessica? And why take her with him? Why not just follow his
usual pattern?"
The four of them froze as the telephone's shrill ring echoed through
the house. "They must have repaired the line," Jimmy
said. "I had them put a rush on it because of the situation."
Remington grabbed the receiver. "Steele here."
"Ah, Mr. Steele. I was about to give up - apparently your
telephone line has been down for some time-"
"Yes, it was," he confirmed. The voice on the other
end sounded familiar, but Remington couldn't quite place it.
"I got a message to call you or a- Captain Jarvis. He told
Betty that it was in regards to the Julius Leonard suicide. I
have to admit that I hadn't made the connection between the man's
death and that of his brother until I got the message. You and
Miss Holt were the ones who found the evidence that proved his
brother's guilt, weren't you?"
Something about the way he said "Miss Holt" brought
Remington's memory into focus. "Yes, Inspector Lombard, we
were."
"How can I be of help, Mr. Steele?"
"Apparently Henry Leonard has returned to Los Angeles, Inspector,
and has targeted anyone with connections to the agency."
"Because he holds you responsible for his father's death?"
Lombard surmised.
"I suppose so. He's caused three people who work for Laura
and myself to be seriously injured, and now it appears that he's
kidnapped my sister." Remington looked up and saw Robert
and Katherine in the doorway. Laura moved to quietly explain what
had happened, then repeated the task for her father and Mildred.
"Oh, dear. I can't say that I'm surprised, Mr. Steele. Young
Leonard isn't a very stable young man. From the reports I got
from his uncle's housekeeper, the two of them argued quite frequently
during the final days of Julius Leonard's life. If Prof. Leonard's
death hadn't been clearly a suicide, his nephew would have been
my prime suspect."
"What about the blackmail? Could Henry have been behind that?"
"I tried to tie him in to it somehow, Mr. Steele, but there
was nothing. No fingerprints - the letter was typed on a machine
at the university library, which meant that anyone could have
typed it and left it in Prof. Leonard's box."
"Would you happen to know why he went to Rome when he left
London?"
"Now THAT I do know, Mr. Steele. Apparently the majority
of the arguments between the Professor and Henry were about a
woman. Someone that the Professor insisted was far too old for
his nephew, and who had recently married. The woman was living
in Rome,and Henry wanted to go there to see her. His uncle refused
to finance the trip-"
"Finance the trip? But Henry had all of his parent's money
-"
"No. It was to be held in trust until Henry turned twenty
five- and his uncle was the trustee. With the professor's death,
Henry inherited his uncle's smaller estate - no strings attached.
It was a very good motive for murder- but, as I said, there was
no question that Julius Leonard shot himself."
"The woman's name," Remington asked. "Would you
happen to know it?"
"Of course. Miriam di Caprio." He rifled through some
papers. "But it was Maxwell before she married Dominic di
Caprio last year."
"Miriam Maxwell?" Remington repeated, his eyes meeting
Laura's surprised ones.
"Does that name mean something to you, Mr. Steele?"
"It might, Inspector. It just might mean a great deal. Thank
you for calling."
"I hope you find your sister. If there's anything more I
can do-"
"As a matter of fact, if you wouldn't mind - there are a
few questions about Henry's schooling that have come up."
"Such as?"
"He barely passed his courses in prep school, yet was an
honor student in university."
"Ah. I can answer that one. Young Leonard ran away from school
during a large part of his last year at Eton," Lombard explained.
"His uncle thought he was in Europe with friends, and didn't
want to trouble his parents about it, since they were having some
problems -"
"Why did he think Henry was in Europe?"
"The housekeeper said that Henry called regularly, promising
to come back and finish his studies as soon as everything was
resolved."
"When did Henry return to London?" Again Remington heard
his looking through papers before giving him a date. "A week
after his father's death," Remington said. "And after
that he was a model student."
"Apparently."
"Thank you." He hung up, watching as Laura began to
pace the room. "Henry Leonard went to Rome to see Miriam
Maxwell," he told Jimmy. "And from all reports, his
uncle disapproved of his desire to see the woman."
"Why would a man go to see the widow of the man who was having
an affair with his mother?" Laura thought out loud. "And
why did he disappear for all that time?"
"According to Inspector Lombard, Henry and his uncle argued
about Henry's insistence upon seeing Miriam. This isn't getting
us any closer to finding Jessica," Remington told her.
"I hope she's alright," Katherine said softly, and Remington
put an arm around her shoulders.
"She will be, Kitty," he promised, slipping back into
the name he'd called her in his youth, when he hadn't known that
she was REALLY his aunt. "We'll find her."
Jimmy sighed. "I've got an APB out - " the telephone
rang again.
"Steele here."
"Capt. Jarvis, please."
"It's for you, Jimmy," Remington said, holding out the
telephone.
"Jarvis here. . . I see. . .You're sure? I want it dusted
- Where was it found again?. . . Alright. Good work. Keep the
APB on Leonard. And add to it that he probably has a hostage who
is NOT to be harmed." He hung up. "They found the police
car - no sign of Leonard or Jessica."
"Which means she's still alive," Robert said. "Thank
god."
"Where did they find the car?" Tony asked.
"On Sunset."
"Oh my god," Laura burst out, heading for the doorway.
"I KNOW where they are!"
To Be Continued - - -