Stressed Steele

Episode 7

by Nancy Eddy

Mildred Krebbs pushed through the glass doors and into the offices of the agency as the harried looking young woman glanced up. The relief on her face was almost frightening. "Miss Krebbs! Oh thank GOODNESS. I've been going crazy. First Mr. Steele doesn't show up this morning, and the the reporters started calling, and Miss Holt called in, and then the police called looking for Mr. Steele -"

"HOLD IT!" Mildred said, lifting a hand to stop the flow of words. "First things first. Neither Mr. Steele nor Miss Holt are here?"

"That's what I just told you, Miss Krebbs. Of course, I didn't really expect Miss Holt- not after what happened to her last night-"

The phone began to ring, and Mildred frowned as Miss Smith shrank from the device. Mildred picked it up. "Remington Steele Investi-ga - What? NO COMMENT." *CLICK!* She pinned the frightened younger woman with her dark eyes. "What happened to Miss Holt?"

"You haven't heard? Miss Holt was almost KILLED last night-" She said as Mildred dialed a telephone number. "The police said they'd tried his apartment-" She held out a message slip. "This Detective's called twice looking for him."

As the telephone in Mr. Steele's apartment went unanswered, Mildred hung up and dialed the number on the paper she took from Miss Smith. "Detective Jarvis, please." She looked up. "When did Miss Holt call in?"

"Well, she didn't -"

"I thought you said-" Mildred broke off as Jarvis came on the line.

"Jarvis here."

"Jarvis, Krebbs. What the devil is going on around here?"

"Mildred? I was told that you were out of town."

"I just got back. What's going on?"

"You wouldn't happen to know where Steele or Laura might be, would you?"

"I TOLD you, Jarvis. I just got back in town. Last I talked to either of them was yesterday evening when I spoke to Mr. Steele. Miss Smith tells me that something happened to Miss Holt last night?"

"She was attacked and nearly strangled in her apartment - apparently by a John Harris."

Mildred frowned. "Harris? You're sure it wasn't Trevor Yates?"

Jarvis was silent for a moment. "Look, could you come down here, Mildred? I think we need to talk."

"On my way," she said, hanging up the phone. She picked up her purse. "Stay by the phone. If Mr. Steele or Miss Holt should call, tell them I'm back and that I REALLY need to talk to them. Then call me at that number."

"Yes, ma'am. What about the reporters?" she asked as the telephone started to ring again.

"Give 'em a solid NO COMMENT and hang up," she instructed, leaving Miss Smith staring at the offending telephone as though she was afraid it was going to bite her.

Steele finished closing the last suitcase, then carried it to the door to place it beside the rest. He had called to have the picked up - the driver should arrive any moment. The telephone began to ring again, and once again he resisted the impulse to pick it up.

It might be Laura, he reasoned. And if he heard her voice his resolve to leave might crumble. This way was for the best, he told himself. He'd just been fooling himself that he could ever become anything more than he was. The telephone stopped ringing, and he relaxed - until he heard the knock on the front door.

Looking through the peephole, he saw blonde hair- Mildred. Another, louder knock. "Mr. Steele! I know you're in there!"

He didn't want to see her. He'd planned to call her once he'd gotten to London, to try to explain. As he stood there, hoping she would go away, he saw the doorknob move slightly, heard faint scratching noises. She was trying to pick the lock. He knew that her skills in that area had improved- thanks in part to his tutelage. It wouldn't be long and she'd have the door open- there was a soft "click" and the knob turned. "Hello, Mildred."

She entered, pausing only for a moment to examine the cases on the floor before closing the door behind her. "What do you think you're doing, Chief?"

He took a deep breath. "What does it look like I'm doing, Mildred? I'm leaving."

"Running is more like it," she told him, examining the passport that lay on the table, a passport that she'd gotten for him in the name of Remington Steele. It and the keys to the agency office were laying there, silent testimony to his intentions of leaving his current life behind him. "Why?"

"Because I was wrong, Mildred. And being wrong almost cost Laura her life last night." He sighed deeply. "I guess you heard what happened?"

"Yeah. I just spent the better part of an hour with Detective Jarvis at the police station, going over everything. It wasn't your fault, Mr. Steele -"

"Yes, it was, Mildred. I thought I was going to prove myself as an investigator - prove to Laura that I really WAS her Remington Steele." He sat down. "All I accomplished was to almost get her killed because I trusted the wrong person."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Laura pulled the pocket off of Harris' shirt, Mildred. We found the shirt in his room. And he used one of my ties that he got from here the other evening-"

"So why did he have four ties, Chief? He only needed one to kill Miss Holt - if it was him."

"What are you getting at, Mildred?"

She sat down across from him. "Why risk your noticing that five ties were gone when he only needed one? Unless Harris didn't take them at all."

"Perhaps he didn't have time to pick just one and grabbed several - He could have taken ten and I wouldn't have noticed, Mildred. Laura always said I had too many of the damned things. Said I was as bad about ties as some women are about shoes." He sat back, rubbing his eyes. "Have you seen Laura?"

"No. She didn't come to work this morning. Miss Smith said she'd called in- But she's not at the loft, either. I checked there. The neighbors said she'd left earlier with a man I'd guess was Yates. They overheard something about his taking her to the doctor to be checked out after last night." She watched him carefully. "I called Dr. Franklin. He said they'd been there. He told me that she was going to be fine with some time. Her windpipe is badly bruised - he suggested that she take a couple of days off and rest somewhere quiet."

"Her mother's?" Steele suggested.

"I doubt it, Mr. Steele. Mrs. Holt is still out town. And Jarvis got the run around when he called Yates' office a little while ago. Apparently his secretary doesn't know where he is, either." He rubbed his eyes again. "When was the last time you got any sleep?"

"Night before last, I suppose. I'll be fine. I can sleep on the airplane."

"Do you really think that Harris tried to kill Miss Holt, Chief?"

"All the evidence would appear to point in that direction, Mildred."

"Then why did you post bail for him?"

Steele opened his eyes, suddenly alert. "What?"

"That's why Jarvis was trying to get in touch with you. Harris was released four hours ago. The bond company insists that you sent a messenger over there with the bail money in cash."

"I didn't -"

"That's what it looks like, Chief. And if something DOES happen to Miss Holt, it's gonna look like you sprung Harris so he could finish the job that YOU hired him to do."

"We have to find Laura," Steele said. "And Harris. I need to talk to him." He looked at her. "Do you have your car?"

"Downstairs."

"I want you to drive me to the motel where Harris has been staying. We might be able to get a lead on him there."

"What about your flight?" Mildred asked.

"To hell with the bloody flight. Laura might still be in danger."

As the car came to a stop, the young desk clerk came from the motel's office. "Mr. Steele."

"Have you seen John Harris this afternoon?" he asked.

"He's in his room, I think. He called a little while ago, saying he was going to check out later - Oh. I meant to ask him if his cousin ever got in touch with him."

"His cousin?"

She nodded. "He came by yesterday morning, said he wanted to surprise Mr. Harris."

"What did this cousin look like?" Steele wanted to know.

"Oh, about your height, blonde hair, light blue eyes, soft spoken."

Steele exchanged a glance with Mildred. The description fit Yates. "Did he go into Harris' room?"

"I doubt it. I certainly didn't let him inside - and the maids wouldn't have let him inside with Mr. Harris' permission-"

"Not even if he told them he was a cousin and wanted to surprise Mr. Harris?" Steele asked. "About the man you saw getting into the taxi last night-"

"I said it MIGHT have been Mr. Harris," the girl told him. "I was watching TV and saw the cab pull up, saw someone come from the area of Mr. Harris' room. I never saw his face, and I really didn't pay that much attention. This parking lot's pretty dark - I've been begging the boss for better lighting, but- he doesn't want to put out the bucks, you know?"

"Yes. Thank you, miss." He turned to Mildred and led her toward Harris' room just as the door opened that the man came out. "Harris-"

Harris backed away. "I didn't do it, Steele. I TOLD you that last night. Yates is trying to frame me - and you, it seems."

"Do you have a cousin that matches Trevor Yates' description?"

"I've got one cousin, Steele. Her name's Mary, she's five - one with hair that's more red than mine. Why?"

"Because I think I know how Yates managed to get his hands on your shirt and plant my ties," Steele told him. He looked around. "Let's go inside."

"Could Yates have gotten into your condo to get the ties in the first place, Chief?" Mildred asked after Steele explained his theory to Harris.

"You did. And I think Trevor Yates is a very resourceful man."

"And twisted," Mildred added, shuddering, her concern for Miss Holt's safety increasing.

"If he's taken her to his house, Steele," Harris pointed out, "there's no way you're gonna get inside without his knowing about it."

Steele paced the small room for a moment, then turned. His smile brought a glimmer of hope to Mildred's heart. He had a plan.