Steele With A Twist

Part 9

"Good morning, Bernice," Steele said as he entered the office.
"Mr. Steele. You're certainly looking chipper this morning."
"Why shouldn't I be? It's a lovely day. The sun is shining, the air is relatively clear-" He paused to pick up his messages, grateful as he looked through them not to find one from Daniel. "What time is the first appointment of the day?" he asked as she followed him into the office.
"Nine thirty," she told him. "Mr. Daniels. Wrap up on his case."
"Where are Murphy and Miss Holt?" he asked, sitting behind his desk and looking at the mail she'd placed there.
"On watching Jenny Dolan. They should be back soon, at least Laura should be. Murphy said he would send her back before ten."
"Send her in when she gets here, please."
"Yes, sir."
Steele concentrated on the messages before him until Bernice closed the door as she left. One grabbed his attention. He'd called the man the day he and Laura had returned from Acapulco, but hadn't gotten a response. Picking up his private line, he dialed the number. "Alan Grievey, please."
"Hello?"
He hesitated. Alan didn't sound at all well. "Alan, it's Remington Steele-" .
"Steele. To what do I owe the pleasure? It can't be that you want to steal another operative, since I closed up shop two years ago-"
"Actually this IS about someone who was at Havenhurst, Alan. She left before she finished her apprenticeship-"
"Which one? You've no idea how many women I've had start training and then drop out when the decide they can't cut it - or else they find a rich husband through the work-"
"This one was a bit different, I should think. Quit because her boyfriend didn't approve of her being an investigator."
"Laura Holt," Alan said, and Steele could hear the smile in his voice.
"Precisely. It seems she finally gave the boyfriend the sack and decided she wants to finish her apprenticeship."
"You could do a lot worse than to take her on, Steele. I always thought Laura was the best of the lot. Great instincts- if you could put a rein on her. Tended to be a bit of a loose cannon at times. But surely Murphy Michaels has told you about her. They worked together at Havenhurst -" he coughed, and Steele frowned. "Excuse me. Can't seem to shake this cold."
Steele waited for Alan to recover. "Then you think Laura showed promise?"
"More than anyone I've ever seen. I know she was frustrated by never getting any credit because she was a woman, but I hoped that would pass as she got more experience. And there was her tendency to cut corners, do things out of established procedure-"
"I think between Murphy and myself we can handle that problem. How far was she away from getting her license?" he asked. There was knock on the door between his office and Laura's before it opened to reveal her smiling face. Steele motioned for her to come in. She moved to the conference area to wait for him to finish. Steele watched her, silently approving of her choice of attire. While he knew she preferred jeans and sweaters while not working, he had been surprised to find her favoring conservatively designed suits that enhanced her femininity rather than diminishing it.
"No more than three months, I think. But I'd have to look at the records to be certain.-I'll send you a copy of them."
'Thank you. Take care of yourself, Alan."
"You too, Steele."
The line went dead as Alan disconnected, and Steele hung up. "That was Alan Grievey," he told Laura.
"Alan? From Havenhurst? How is he?"
"You knew he had retired-?"
She nodded. "Murphy told me about it. Said he had the feeling that Alan might not be well -"
"I tend to agree. He was very complimentary about you." It had been a week since they had seen each other at the movie theatre, and although he knew that she had gone out with Murphy at least once more in that time, he himself had refrained from asking her out. There were a great many things to be considered before he took that step, but seeing her now he found he couldn't recall any of his reasons he'd given himself for maintaining a distance from her. "Do you have any plans for this evening, Miss Holt?"
She turned from looking at the pictures on the wall. "No. Why do you ask?"
"The Tivoli theatre's play bill changed today. They're showing a Hepburn-Tracy retrospective, and I -thought you might like to see it." He knew as soon as he'd spoken that she was going to say yes. Her eyes lit up, and her dimples appeared.
"Sounds wonderful."
"Then I'll pick you up at seven for dinner." He turned away from those eyes and went to his desk to retrieve a file, suddenly all business again. "Had you and Murphy found out anything, watching Miss Dolan?"
"She was at home all night," Laura reported. "And we followed her to her office this morning. Murphy's going to keep an eye on her until noon, then I'm going to take over."
"Excellent. Mr. Daniels will be arriving any moment for a wrap up of his case. I want you to be here to give it him."
"But, he'll be expecting you to do it."
"He's going to be disappointed, then." He sat down beside her. "Now. If I recall, you helped Murphy wrap this up a few days ago."
She nodded. "Yes. Really a simple case - I don't know why it took Murphy so long to come up with the solution."
"Perhaps he's had other things on his mind," Steele suggested, his eyes on her.
Laura met his look. "Such as?"
Before Steele could respond, the telephone rang, and a moment later Bernice entered the room. "Yes, Bernice?"
"Telephone for Laura," she said. "She says she's your mother -"
Laura sighed, and Steel thought for a moment that he could see her shoulders tense, as if preparing for a battle. She rose and started for her office, but Steele stopped her. "You can take it in here, Miss Holt, if you'd like."
She smiled tightly and went to pick up the telephone on his desk as Bernice returned to her own desk. "Hello, Mother." She picked up a pencil and began to tap it on the desk, causing Steele to quickly lower his head in case she saw him smiling. "No, Mother, I haven't spoken to Wilson - because there's no reason to. What?" Steele looked up as he heard a note of panic in her voice. "But- your bridge club-" She took several deep breaths. "All right. What time will you be arriving? I'll try to meet your flight-" she used the pencil to write something on a notepad, then resumed her tapping. The tempo was a bit faster now, he noted. "I can't guarantee anything, Mother. I DO have a job, remember? I don't know if I can even get to the airport -" She tried to control her breathing. "I said I would TRY, Mother, okay? Now, I have to go. Mr. Steele's waiting for me to get off the phone. Good bye."
Steele wasn't about to ask any questions, although he had several. But asking Laura questions about her mother would only lead to her asking questions about Daniel. "Do you need some time off?"
"Actually, I was considering asking if I could work MORE hours," she said with a smile. "As you might have guessed from that, my mother and I don't get along."
"Where does she live?"
"Boston. She moved there after I finished college."
"Why Boston?"
"She had some friends there, and that's where my older sister lives."
"Ah. I see. When is she arriving?"
She glanced at the paper in her hand. "Tomorrow morning."
"Why don't you take the limo to get her?"
"I couldn't-" she grinned impisly. "Could I?"
"I don't see any reason why not."
The intercom buzzed. "Mr. Daniels is here to see you, Mr. Steele."
Steele smiled and winked at Laura, causing her smile to widen as he crossed to the door. "Mr. Daniels. Come in. Come in. I believe you've met Laura Holt-?"

Murphy returned to the office around one to tell Steele that Jenny Dolan was a dead end. "She's not gonna lead us to her boyfriend," he said.
"Did she spot you?"
"No. But I've been watching her for two days - and there's been no sign of Howard. I think you were right to begin with," he said, sitting down and putting his head back. "He's skipped town."
"He's in San Francisco," Steele informed him, a vague smile hovering about his lips as Murphy opened his eyes to look at him. "Just got the report late this morning."
"Figures. I sit out there for two days watching for nothing, and you sit here and find out what we needed to know." He shook his head ruefully. "Guess I'll never learn. Where is Laura?"
"She and Bernice went to lunch. They should be back any moment."
Murphy grinned. "Wouldn't have figured those two to become friends." He put his hands behind his head, watching as Steele read a report. "Of course, it might just help my cause with Laura."
"How so?"
"Bernice isn't likely to want to further YOUR relationship with another woman, don't you agree?"
"Bernice might just surprise you, Murphy. Can you leave for San Francisco this evening?"
"This evening?"
"Someone needs to talk to Howard about the case -"
"It's not like you to turn down a trip to San Francisco, Steele," Murphy said with some suspicion.
"I suppose I COULD go- if you're willing to attend that neighborhood watch luncheon in my place tomorrow."
Murphy shook his head. "No, thank you. I'll just go up the coast and find Mark Howard."
"Bernice has the reservations made," he said. "She can give you the particulars when she returns from lunch." As if on cue, they heard the two women's voice as they came back.
"Hepburn-Tracy, huh?" Bernice was saying. "If that's your cup of tea - "
Murphy joined them in the outer office. "What about Hepburn-Tracy?" he asked.
"Laura's going to a retrospective of their films tonight," Bernice told him.
"Then I guess it wouldn't have done much good to ask you to dinner," Murphy said to Laura.
"Previous plans," Laura told him. "I have to get to work on those reports." She vanished into her office as Murphy noticed the smile on Bernice's face.
"What's that all about?" he asked.
She sat down. "Nothing. Did Mr. Steele tell you about San Francisco?"
"Yeah. Said you had the reservations made."
Handing him a slip with the information, she also gave him his messages. "Your flight leaves at four - I booked you into the Sheraton. Mark Howard's supposedly staying there as well. So it shouldn't be too hard to find him."
"Yeah." He looked at the paper. "Guess I'd better go pack a few things, then." He went to Laura's office and tapped on the door.
"Come in."
She was at the computer. "Just wanted to say bye before I left."
"Okay. I'd tell you to have fun, but after the chase Howard's already given-"
"With my luck he's already left for somewhere else. So I guess I'll see you when I get back." He hesitated, as if thinking about saying more, but before he could decide, the connecting door opened, and Steele was there.
"Excuse me. I didn't know you were in here, Murphy."
"Just telling Laura goodbye. I'm going to go pack and then head for the airport."
"Just make certain you find out why Howard's running. Miss Dolan insists he's innocent, but an innocent man doesn't usually have reason to take flight the way he has."
"I know. Later."
"Have a good trip," Steele said, watching the door close behind him.
"Did you want something, Mr. Steele?" Laura asked.
"Bernice tells me you have the Robertson file. I need to see it."
She quickly found it. "Here you go."
"Thank you."

Bernice brought some coffee into his office a couple of hours later as he was just hanging up the telephone after talking to a difficult client. "Seems nothing we do satisfies the woman," he muttered.
"Why don't you have Laura talk to her?" Bernice suggested. "She might repond better to another woman."
Steele looked thoughtful. "You might be right. I'll consider it."
"Laura tells me that you're taking her out to dinner and movie this evening."
He lifted his blue eyes to her, wary of her mood. "Yes. She and I both enjoy old movies -"
"So much for not getting involved with the help," she commented.
"Bernice-It's not like - "
"Hey, I don't mind. I LIKE Laura. She's nice. Maybe even too nice for you. Don't worry, Mr. Steele. I'm not going to go all jealous. Wouldn't do me any good anyway." She smiled at him. "If you don't mind, though, I need to leave early today- I have a date - and-"
"This is the fourth one this week, isn't it? Same gentleman?"
"It is."
"Serious?"
"Could be. Too early to tell yet." She turned toward the door. "I need to leave at four-"
"Go on. I think Miss Holt and I can hold down the fort."
"Just don't expect her to answer the phones and get your coffee, okay?"
"I wouldn't dream of it."

But when the telephone rang ten minutes after Bernice made her exit, Steele sat there, waiting for Laura to pick it up. Surely she wouldn't expect him - glancing at the closed door between their offices, Steele picked up the telephone. "Remington Steele Investigations."
"Mr. Steele? I didn't expect you to answer the phone." There was something vaguely different about Wilson Jeffries' voice, Steele thought. He sounded more relaxed, less stressed out. "Hope I'm not interrupting anything, but is Laura still there? I need to talk to her about something."
"Let me see if Miss Holt is still in the office," Steele said, then put the line on "hold" before crossing to tap once on Laura's door. "Miss Holt-"
She jumped when he spoke, then quickly turned off the computer monitor that had been demanding her attention. "Oh, Mr. Steele."
"I did knock."
"I was doing some research," she told him. "On the- Morgan case-" She smiled. "Did you want something?"
"Wilson Jeffries is on line one. He wants to talk to you."
"Did the telephone ring? I didn't hear it. I'm sorry - " she picked up the telephone and pressed the proper button. "Wilson?"
Steele left the door open as he returned to his desk. Laura's reaction to his entrance had set off an alarm in his head. The Morgan case, he mused. Simple, straightforward case of mistaken identity. The young woman who claimed to Mrs. Morgan's long lost daughter was an imposter, pure and simple. Why would Laura be doing research on a case that was to all intent and purposes closed?
He could barely hear he voice through the open door. "Yes, Wilson, she called me. I appreciate the warning, though. Yes, I will. No, I haven't found a place yet. I've looked at a couple of houses -yes, houses. I'm tired of living in apartments." There was a moment of silence. "He what? I've no idea, Wilson. Okay. You take care of yourself - Good bye." She appeared in the doorway a few moments later. "He just wanted to warn me about Mother's arrival."
"How did he know about it?"
"She called him. You have to understand that Mother thinks that the highest pinnacle a woman can reach is marriage. She never understood why I kept putting Wilson off. And then when we split up, she insisted that I'd made a terrible mistake -"
"Is that why she's coming to visit? To try and reunite you and Wilson?"
"Probably." She sat on the edge of his desk. "Why didn't you charge Wilson for finding me in Acapulco?" she asked.
"Didn't I?"
"He said the bill was marked 'paid in full'."
"How odd. I'll have to speak to Bernice about it. She handles most of the billing -"
Laura leaned back on her hands. "He wanted me to ask about it. Guess I'll talk to Bernice-"
Steele lifted her hand to free a paper he needed. "No need to do that." He glanced up to see her looking at him. Sighing, he said, "Laura, I had my reason for not wanting to take Wilson's money for finding you. Can we please just leave it at that?"
She leaned across the desk. "For the moment, Mr. Steele."
Steele very nearly pulled her the rest of the way. But he was still cautious, uncertain of the advisability of taking their relationship anything further than friendship. Anything more could be detrimental to Laura's future as an investigator. By asking her out he had crossed a line that he'd sworn never to cross. He would have to make certain that the next line remained static. He glanced at his watch. "It's nearly five. Why don't you go on home? I'll pick you up at seven."
Laura sighed. Why did he keep closing himself off from her? Sliding from the desk, she stood. "Very well, Mr. Steele. Do you have another name besides Remington?" she asked.
"Do you have a problem with my name, Miss Holt?"
"No, it's just- don't take this wrong, but- it sounds like it came from a typewriter and a football team."
Steele swallowed the smile her words brought. If only she knew how close to the truth she was. "Really, Miss Holt-"
"It's just that I'd like to have something to call you besides Mr. Steele. And Remington just seems so formal-"
"My middle name's not much better," he said slowly.
"What is it?"
"It's Harrison," he told her, watching her reaction. The name had been the only thing he had kept from his old life, and to this day, he didn't know why he'd done it. The only place the initial for that name appeared was in his official biography that he had been forced to write to satisfy a magazine reporter's curiousity. "No one else knows that, so I would appreciate -"
"So that's what-" She stopped, then smiled. "Could be shortened to Harry, I suppose." She tilted her head. "You look a little like a Harry, come to think of it."
"Miss Holt," Steele said, his voice low. "I would prefer you NOT to call me that name. I'll see you later." He turned his chair around to read the paper in his hand, effectively dismissing her.
Laura frowned. He's closed down again, she thought to herself. Why? "See you at seven, then," she said with false brightness. "Unless- you'd prefer to cancel our evening-"
"I'll be there at seven, Miss Holt," he assured her, not turning around.
When he heard the outer doors close behind her, Steele went out and locked them. So she thought he looked like a Harry. Am I never going to be able to leave that part of my past behind? he wondered, moving toward Laura's office.
He didn't really hate computers, he mused. They were useful tools of the trade. It was more in keeping with his image to pretend otherwise, he supposed. Sitting before the computer, Steele hesitated before turning the monitor back on. As he read what came on the screen, he found himself smiling. I should be furious, he thought. But it's so like Laura Holt to do something like this. And it was a measure of her determination to prove herself as a detective, he mused. He scanned through the file, then flipped the switch to turn the monitor off again. He was going to have to have a little chat with her, though, about investigating such things on agency time.
Rising, he turned off the lights in both offices, then left to meet Fred downstairs.

Laura drove her little car thought the traffic, not really paying any attention to it, letting her instincts take over. Her mind was too busy with what she had discovered in her research. If Murphy ever found out that she'd gone behind his back and started investigating Remington Steele's past, he'd be furious. Of course, Mr. Steele himself would probably be LESS than happy as well. At least she had a starting place, now. A place to ask the right questions in the right way. She'd already proved that when she'd asked about his middle name. That 'H' in his official bio had jumped out at her. Remington H. Steele. Yet he never used the name or the initial. And it didn't fit with the other two names. She'd done a database search for Steeles in London, found none with the name Remington or anything close. No mention of a Remington Steele at all before he had suddenly appeared in Los Angeles four years ago. She planned to expand that search when she could. As soon as she found out exactly WHERE her handsome boss had come to America from. She was smiling as she entered her apartment. Looking around, she knew she would have to find another place quickly. There were too many memories of Wilson here. And the LAST thing Laura Holt wanted to be reminded of was a failed romance. Not when this new one showed such promise. Still smiling, Laura kicked off her shoes and turned toward the bathroom for a shower, considering what she was going to wear for her date.