Steele With A Twist

Part 4

 

Steele saw those hazel eyes turn toward him, and paused only a moment. He remembers, Steele thought. Any moment now, he will signal his henchmen and the game will be up. But until that moment, he would continue the charade. Smiling at Laura, he put an arm around her. "There you are. I was beginning to worry that you'd fallen overboard," he said, glancing at Trent as he spoke.

She returned the smile. "Philip was kind enough to show me some of his yacht," she said.

Trent's eyes glittered with green ice, but his tone was pleasant as he asked, "Is this the friend you spoke of, my dear?"

Laura rested her head against Steele's chest. "Yes. Michael O'Leary."

Trent held out his hand, and wondering what his game was, Steele grasped it for a moment. "Are you in Acapulco on business, Mr. O'Leary?"

"I haven't decided yet," Steele told him. His arm around Laura's waist tightened slightly. "At the moment, it's more pleasure than anything else."

"I quite understand. What sort of business are you in, Mr. O'Leary?"

Steele knew that Laura was watching them both closely. "I've- several interests," Steele said. "At the moment, it's rare gems."

"Selling?"

"Buying," Steele corrected. He finished his champagne, then looked at Laura. "I think it's time that we leave, don't you?" He didn't want to overstay his welcome. So far, Trent hadn't dredged up the past. The last thing Steele needed on this case was to have to explain his past connection with Philip Trent to Laura Holt.

"If you say so," Laura agreed.

Trent took her hand. "I look forward to seeing you again, my dear." He brought it to his lips, his eyes meeting hers. "Don't forget what we discussed, Tracy."

"I won't," she promised.

Turning his attention back to her escort, Trent said, "If you'll tell me where you're staying, I might have something in the next day or so that you MIGHT be interested in."

"Why don't I contact you?" Steele suggested, noticing that there were other guests also moving toward the launch. This was the perfect time to make their departure. Safety in numbers. "Come along, Tracy, darling." He led her toward the launch, glancing over his shoulder to watch as Trent spoke to one of his people, those eyes narrowed dangerously. The man with him spoke into a hand held radio, then nodded to his employer.

 

On the launch, Steele spoke into Laura's ear. "Once we get to shore, we'll get a cab -"

"But it's not that far-"

"He's having us followed," he told her. "No arguments, okay?" She nodded, leaning against him as the small boat moved nearer the shore, and Steele put his arm around her. He smiled in the darkness, knowing she couldn't see it.

One of Trent's men handed Laura onto the dock, and Steele followed immediately. He noticed one of the men speak softly with the other as they moved away, and Steele hurried Laura to the street, where he hailed the first cab they saw. The driver asked in Spanish where they wanted to go, and Steele told him to drive around for awhile in the better lit parts of town. After insuring that the man didn't speak enough English to understand what he and Laura might say to each other, Steele sat back in the seat. "Juan was there," Laura told him.

"I know. I saw him as well."

"Did you talk to him?"

"Only to tell him that his mother is worried and that he needs to call her." Steele glanced behind them as he spoke.

"Are we being followed?" Laura asked.

"Third car back," Steele told her. "It's been there since we left the harbour." He told the driver to turn left at the next light, then right, then left again. When the man asked the reason for his request, Steele told him something that made him laugh softly and turn without another question.

"What did you say?" she wanted to know. "My Spanish isn't that good."

"He wanted to know why we're trying to lose that car back there. I told him that your husband is driving it, and that he'll kill us both if he catches us."

The driver informed him that the car was no longer behind them, and Steele asked him to return to the harbour area, then sat back. "Did you find out anything else?" Laura asked him.

"I think the rest of this can wait until we get back to safety, don't you?" He had the driver drop them three blocks from Pepe's, and they walked the remainder of the way, keeping to the shadows until they reached the back wall of the compound. Steele assisted Laura in getting over, then climbed over after her.

 

Once back in the alcove, protected from outside, Laura lit a candle. "Do you want to hear what I found?" she asked, sitting on some boxes that she had placed for just such action.

"Other than the way to Trent's bedroom?" Steele questioned, setting up a makeshift bed with the blankets he had "borrowed" from the hotel.

"What IS your problem? I was only doing what you told me to do-"

"I told you to watch him," Steele pointed out. "Not to talk to him, or attract his attention, remember?" his voice was louder than it should have been, but he'd been terrified when he'd seen her with

Trent. "What the bloody hell were you thinking of, going off alone with him like that? He's a cold blooded murderer, Laura," Steele almost shouted at her.

Laura was on her feet, furious. "Stop swearing at me! You TOLD me to keep an eye on him. What better way to do that than to BE with him? I knew if someone discovered your snooping, I'd be right there when he found out. I also went with him to find out the name of the agency he used to hire the waiters for the party. I thought I might get a lead on Juan there. That's when he showed me the gems."

Steele froze. "He SHOWED you the gems?"

She nodded. "They were in the safe in his room. It's behind a picture -"

"I know where it is," Steele said softly, ignoring her curious glance. "Go on."

"I've never seen gems that blue, Mr. Steele. Almost as blue as - " she almost said "your eyes", but stopped herself at the last minute. "It was like holding a piece of the sky in my hand," she told him, looking down into the now empty hand as if she could still see it there.

"Pieces of the sky." Steele closed his eyes. "Royal Lavulite? Trent has the Royal Lavulite? THAT'S what Juan was transporting?"

"You've heard of them?"

"Yes," he said, trying to breath normally. Of COURSE he'd heard of them. He'd even planned to steal them once, in that other lifetime so long ago. And he'd followed news of them ever since. The South American government had gotten wind of another plan to steal the gems and ever since had been more cautious about loaning them out. He'd heard, of course that they had been scheduled for display in Mexico City, but he hadn't made the connection. You're slipping, he said to himself. There had been a time when he would have followed every move that those gems had made. Realizing that Laura was watching him curiously again, Steele smiled. "Did he say what he planned to do with them?"

She smiled back at him. "Well, he offered one to me - IF I would spend the night with him."

Steele's fingers clenched again. "That- And what did you tell him?" he asked.

"I'm here with you, aren't I? Actually, I asked him for some time to think it over."

"You're not going anywhere NEAR Philip Trent again," Steele told her. "He's not going to -"

"Hold it right there, Mr. Steele! I don't remember having to answer to you for what I do. If I decide to spend the night with Philip Trent- or anyone else- you've no right to tell me I can't. You're NOT my keeper."

"No man in his right MIND would want to be your keeper," he said. "You're the most aggravating, stubborn female I've ever met- and as soon as I get you back to Los Angeles,-"

"IF I go back," Laura told him. "I might decide to take Trent up on his offer -"

Steele grabbed her shoulders and held her so that she couldn't look away. "You're going to stay away from Trent, Laura. And you'll go back to Los Angeles, make a clean break with your fiancee. You at least owe him that much."

She twisted to free herself. "Let GO of me!"

"No. You're going to listen to me. Trent's a murderer. He's killed at least once, and he'll have no qualms about doing it again. If you're going to help me solve this case, then you'll promise me not to pull anymore stunts like the one you pulled tonight, or I'll -"

Laura went still, her eyes meeting his. "You'll what, Mr. Steele?" she asked, her breath coming in short, quick gasps as she tried to control her temper, and her reaction to his being so close.

"This," he said before pressing his lips to hers in a punishing kiss that was intended to reveal how frightened he had been when he'd seen her go into that room alone with Trent, how much he'd wanted to break that door down and rescue her, how angry he was that she put herself in that kind of danger.

Laura remained stiff and unyielding, surprised by his sudden attack on her senses. But slowly her lips began to respond to his, her arms slid up his chest and around his neck, holding him close to her as her hands buried themselves in his silken hair.

Steele felt her response to the depths of his being and wondered when he'd lost control of the moment. What had been intended to be a punishing kiss had been transformed into something deeper, something far more intense. His lips released Laura's to move across her face, down her neck. His fingers found the button on her shoulder and released it without any protest from Laura. He held her face between his hands and gazed down at her. She smiled up at him. "If this is meant to be a punishment, Mr. Steele, I'd LOVE to see what a reward would be."

"Be quiet," he told her, running a thumb over her swollen lips, only to have her capture it between her teeth, her eyes on his the entire time. Her shaking fingers found the buttons of his shirt and began to unfasten them. Somehow, still holding each other, they sank to the blankets that Steele had spread out earlier. "We shouldn't be doing this," he told her. "You're engaged -"

"Now who needs to be quiet?" Laura asked, running her fingers through the hair on his chest. When he rolled onto his back, his arm across his eyes, Laura sighed deeply. "It's been over between Wilson and me for a long time. I don't think either of us wanted to admit it."

"But you're still technically engaged to him. He still cares about you. Why do you think he hired me to find you?"

"Because it's bad for his image if I just vanish without a trace. Much better if he can say he came to his senses and dumped me instead of the other way around." She leaned over him. "Even if I go back to LA, it won't be to Wilson."

"Until you clear that up, Miss Holt, then- Wilson Jeffries is still my client, and I refuse to open the agency up to a lawsuit for alienation of affection." He didn't tell her that his own personal code of ethics refused to allow him to sleep with a woman who technically belonged to another man.

"And you called ME stubborn," she teased, pressing a kiss to his tight jaw. "All right, Mr. Steele, you win this round. But once I've finished with Wilson, you and I are going to have a long talk." She snuggled against him, her head on his shoulder. "You don't mind if I share your blanket tonight, I hope?"

"Miss Holt-"

"The nights get a bit chilly, and if we snuggle -"

"Miss Holt-"

"Yes, Mr. Steele?"

"Go to sleep." He felt her smile, and grabbed at her hand to stop it's slow descent down his chest. "Now, Miss Holt."

"Good night, Mr. Steele."

 

 

 

He was awakened by bright light - too bright to be the sun, he decided, and the sounds- Steele reached out to grab for Laura, to make sure she was all right, only to hear her mutter, "Turn off the light. I'm trying to sleep-" She opened her eyes and looked around, sitting up at the same time as Steele did.

The sound of rifle bolts being drawn back sent Steele into a cold sweat. Trent? Had he somehow managed to locate their hideout? He held a hand up to his eyes, trying to see beyond that blinding white light. "Who's out there?" he asked. "Trent?"

"No, Mr. Steele," a voice answered, and a figure separated itself from the darkness and approached them. "I am trying to help you."

Laura laughed without any mirth. "How, Gutierrez? By putting us in front of a firing squad?"

"No, Miss Holt." The Chief of police turned to his men. "Put down your weapons," he told them in Spanish. "And turn off the lights. No reason to call more attention to our being here than we already have."

Several of the men turned on flashlights to illuminate the area as Steele and Laura got to their feet. "So when are you going to take us to Trent?" Steele asked. "Or is he coming here?"

Gutierrez grinned, his teeth white in the dim room. "I have not spoke to Philip Trent. But you have. You were on his yacht this evening."

Steele shook his head. "I need some answers to MY questions, Chief, before I answer any of yours."

Gutierrez sat down on the boxes across the room, signaling for the others to move out. "Keep a watch on the grounds," he told them. As they moved from the room, Steele realized that there were only three of them. It had sounded like a damned army, he mused. "Now, Mr. Steele. Your questions-"

"Why did you tell me that you hadn't heard of Miss Holt or Juan López when I spoke to you?"

"If you had told me that Miss Holt was one of your operatives, I might have -" Gutierrez said.

"But I'm -" Laura started to say, but Steele placed a hand on her arm to silence her.

"Her fiancee is unaware that she works for my agency on occasion," Steele told the man. "What difference would it have made? She was still missing-"

"I had been trying to find Miss Holt for a week. She vanished from her hotel-" he gave the woman a look. "Leaving a rather large bill behind -"

Steele nodded. "I'll take care of that as soon as it's safe," he said, tightening his grip on Laura's arm to keep her from voicing the protest he saw in her eyes.

"We knew she was still in the area - knew that Philip Trent was also aware that there was a private detective trying to locate him, but she is very good a evading capture, Mr. Steele. I never expected that she would chose to stay here, in this abandoned nightclub -"

"So you decided to sit back and let me do you work for you," Steele surmised.

"I hoped you would be more successful than we were."

"And the car? Why have me chased away from it at gunpoint by that trained ape?"

"Miguel tends to take his job too seriously at times, Mr. Steele. I thought that you needed an added incentive to locate Miss Holt. And my hunch turned out to be correct," he said. "You found her."

"Who killed Felipe Vega?" Laura asked, furious that she was being spoken of as though she weren't in the room.

"I was hoping you might know the answer to that, Miss Holt."

"I found the front door open when I got there," she told him. "Felipe was still alive, but he died after saying three words. 'Pieces of sky'. I heard someone else at the door and turned out the light. That's when Mr. Steele came in and I ran -"

"From Mr. Steele?"

Remembering she supposedly worked for the man, she shrugged. "It was dark, and I wasn't expecting him."

"And how did you make the connection to Philip Trent?" Gutierrez asked.

Recalling the slip of paper that Laura had removed from Vega's room, Steele answered. "That was my doing. I saw Trent's yacht in the harbour earlier, and when Miss Holt told me that Vega had

mentioned something about pieces of sky, I put two and two together and -"

"And came up with the correct answer. Why did you go to Trent's yacht?"

"To look for Juan López, of course," Laura said. "And he's there, Chief. We both saw him."

Gutierrez looked at them both for a long moment, then rose to walk across the room, peering into the darkness beyond. He seemed to be trying to make a decision. Taking a deep breath, he informed them, "Juan is working for me."

"For you, Chief?" Steele questioned.

"I am not the chief of Acapulco's police department," he told them. "I am a special agent for the Mexican government," he said, showing them his badge and identification. "We discovered that Philip Trent was planning to kill the courier to get his hands on those gems. Once warned, Juan agreed to help us trap Trent."

"But -"

"This is far more involved than simply the theft of the Royal Lavulite, Miss Holt. We know that Trent intends to auction the gems off separately to the highest bidders starting tomorrow evening. Several private 'collectors' have already arrived in the city, and we expect more."

"Trent is a collector himself," Steele pointed out. "Why does he need the money? His usual m.o. is to keep whatever he finds for himself."

"The rumor is that Trent intends to use the money to finance a drug deal that will make him the most powerful criminal mastermind in the world. We're operating under a deadline, Mr. Steele. The South American government has agreed to give us until the gems were to go on display in Mexico City to clear this up. That display opens in two days."

"And if you haven't recovered the gems by then?" Steele asked.

"They will move in and stage a commando style raid on the yacht to recover them on their own."

"They'll never find them," Steele said. "Trent's too smart for that."

"The gems are in the safe in his stateroom," Laura told him. "When he's not in the room, it's guarded all the time."

"What does Juan hope to do by staying on that yacht?" Steele wanted to know.

"Information. But his contact with Vega -"

"And Vega's connection was-?"

"He worked as a waiter on the yacht through an employment agency, taking information to and from Juan López. We think he did something that aroused Trent's suspicions and paid the penalty for that."

"Yes. Trent doesn't suffer betrayal gladly," Steele confirmed.

"I know this is a lot to ask, Mr. Steele, but is there any way that you and Miss Holt could get back onto that boat? Get a message to Juan - and attend that auction?"

"I don't know, Gutierrez," Steele hedged. "Trent isn't the trusting type."

"I could get back on that boat," Laura said, ignoring Steele's angry expression. "Philip Trent is expecting an answer a question he asked me. I could answer in person -"

"You're not going back out there, Miss Holt," Steele insisted. "I thought we agreed-"

"I came here to find Juan, remember, Mr. Steele? And to take him back to his mother. If he's killed before I can do that-"

"I think the best thing would be for you to go back to Los Angeles," Steele told her. "Could you see that she gets on an airplane, Gutierrez?"

"I'm not going ANYWHERE!" Laura told him, standing up. "I'm going to stay here and finish what I started!"

"Did I say stubborn earlier?" Steele countered. "I should have said pig-headed and foolish!"

Gutierrez watched the couple arguing, smiling. "Excuse me-?"

They both turned to look at him. "Miss Holt is correct that she probably has the best chance to get close to Trent, Mr. Steele. If you can accompany her, then do. What did you tell Trent about yourself?"

"That I was a collector of rare gems - interested in buying."

"Then you should be able to attend that auction. I'll see if I can't find a way to put a wire on you, or some way for you to signal when the auction begins so that we can move in."

"You'll have to move quickly. If Trent gets those gems back into his safe, you'll never get them."

"Why not?"

"That safe in his room is rigged to explode if someone tries to open it with the wrong code. Those gems would be nothing more than blue dust."

"You seem to know a great deal about Philip Trent, Mr. Steele."

"Let's just say that we've crossed paths before, Gutierrez. And it's not an experience that I care to repeat."

"I can set you both up at a hotel with police protection, if you think you could manage to leave all of this," the man said, indicating the less than plush surroundings.

Steele looked at Laura, who was studying him carefully. "It's your decision, Miss Holt. Do we remain here in the lap of luxury, or remove ourselves to less comfortable quarters?"

She returned his smile, but saw the hint of anger still simmering below the surface of his easy bantering. "Give me two minutes to pack my things."

Steele gathered his belongings as well, and within a quarter of an hour, they were checked into Acapulco's best hotel under the names Michael O'Leary and Tracy Lord. Entering the pent house suite, Laura turned in a circle. "You certainly know how to do things up right, don't you?" she asked.

Steele told the bell hop to put their cases in the bedroom, then gave him a tip before closing the door, putting the "Do Not Disturb" sign out as he did. "First class all the way," he confirmed.

"I think I'm going to take a shower," she said, turning toward the bathroom.

"Not so fast," he told her, grabbing her arm to pull her around. "We have something to discuss."

"If this is about my going to see Trent -"

"You're damned right it is. I told you that -"

"He's a murderer. I can take care of myself."

"You don't know him."

"But you do.," Laura said. "Tell me, how does a world famous detective manage to know so much about a world class art collector who's on the other side of the law?"

"It's not important," Steele said. "Go take your shower."

"Not until I find out the story behind this. You told me that he killed a someone for double crossing him. You knew that person, didn't you?"

Steele took a deep breath. He didn't want this. But he knew that Laura Holt wasn't about to let it drop. If he didn't tell her, she was just as likely to start asking other questions. He smiled gently and

reached out to touch her cheek. "Take your shower and then I'll tell you the story," he promised.

She smiled back at him, rather like a little girl promised a bed time story if she were good. "I won't be long," she promised.

The door closed behind her, and Steele sat down heavily on the sofa, loosening his tie. It was going to be a long couple of days.

 

||Back||Home||Casebook||E-Mail||Next||