"See for yourself," Remington said, stepping back from the suitcase.

"You'd think with all of his money he could afford an answering machine," Daniel muttered, hanging up the telephone in disgust before joining Remington, where he went through the suitcase, tossing everything out onto the bed in his search. "They're not here. Harry, Charles Harrigan knows that I'm bringing those diamonds to him. If I show up empty handed- "

Remington bent to pick up one of the pill bottles that had fallen to the floor unnoticed by Daniel in his haste to confirm Remington's suspicions. It was the smaller bottle, and he frowned upon reading the name of the drug. "Daniel- I thought you said these were vitamins?"

Daniel grabbed the bottle from Remington's hand. "It won't matter what they are if we don't find your Linda before she does something foolish."

"She's probably just going to warn Harrigan that he's about to be scammed," Remington pointed out.

"And give him what she believes are bits of glass as evidence," Daniel replied, pacing the small confines of the bedroom, having secured the pill bottle in the pocket of his coat. "If she does that, then *I* am out the finders fee that Harrigan is paying for the diamonds' return." He stopped, his eyes filled with concern. "And what if she DOESN'T give him the fakes? What if she simply tosses them out somewhere, thinking they're worthless? Harrigan will take those diamonds out of my hide if he thinks he's being conned. You dealt with the man yourself, my boy. You know how single minded he can be."

Remington nodded, thoughtful, as he recalled the time he had stolen a Renoir for the old man. Even when he'd discovered that the painting was practically theft proof, Harrigan had continued to raise his price until it was an offer that the young thief had been simply unable to refuse. Remington had gotten the Renoir- escaping by the skin of his teeth- and collected the sizeable fee, but the experience had put him off having anything more to do with the elderly art and gem collector.

"Come on, Daniel," he said at last, heading for the door.

"Where are we going?"

"I'm going to take you back to the office, where Mildred can keep an eye on you, while I go see if I can track Laura down."

"I don't need a babysitter, Harry," Daniel informed him.

"Perhaps not. But I want to make sure you stick around til this is finished." He tapped Daniels jacket, causing the pills to rattle faintly. "We have something to discuss, mate."

Daniel sighed, and fell silent, allowing Remington to drive the rented car to the office and see him upstairs to the Agency office. He wandered around the room as Remington filled Mildred in on events, remaining disturbingly quiet.

"What about him, Chief?" Mildred asked as last, tilting her head toward Daniel.

"Keep him here until I get back. I don't care what he says, just keep him here."

"Really, Harry, this isn't necessary, you know. I'm not going to abscond-"

"He'll be here, Chief," Mildred promised. "Even if I have to lock him in your office."

"I knew I could count on you, Mildred." He glanced at Daniel. "Keep trying to call Harrigan."

"Harry, that won't do much good if she gets to him with those diamonds.Without those, she had nothing to back up her story except suspicions. You have to find her."

"I'll find her, Daniel. And the diamonds."

"I hope so, Harry."

Remington paused, then turned back to grasp his old friend in a quick, comforting embrace. "Stay here. Okay?"

"I won't move from this spot," Daniel promised.

"And keep trying to call Harrigan."

"Harry, that wn't do much good if she gets to him with those diamonds. We have to find her."

Remington nodded, then left the office.

Mildred watched the doors, then looked back to where Daniel was standing. "Okay, Daniel, you wanna tell me what's going on now? There seems to be a nuance that I'm missing."

Daniel sat heavily on the sofa in the reception waiting area, reaching into his coat pocket as he did so. "Harry wants to ask me some questions about-" he patted his pockets, then frowned, and then smiled, shaking his head. "It never fails to amaze me in how well the student has surpassed the teacher."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Harry just picked my pocket," Daniel informed her. "And I never realized it. The game's up, now, I'm afraid," he said with a sad sigh.

***

Remington pulled the bottle from his own pocket and studied it as he rode downstairs in the elevator. In all the years that he had known Daniel, he'd never seen the other man take so much as an aspirin for a headache. It was something that he'd instilled in his protégé, a dislike of reliance on pills. So why was he taking medication that even a layman like Remington recognized as being widely prescribed for a heart condition?

Remington's fingers closed around the bottle, much like the icy fingers of fear that closed around his heart at the thought of losing Daniel. The elevator doors opened, and Remington returned the bottle to his pocket, silently promising that he and Daniel were going to have a long talk about the future.

But first, he had to find Laura. At least there he had an ace up his sleeve. While she would have to FIND Charles Harrigan, Remington knew EXACTLY where that gentleman was. He started Daniel's rental car- if Laura spotted the Auburn or limo, she'd never let him get close- and headed out.

He'd get there first and stop her before she was able to warn Harrigan of Daniel's "plan" to pass off fake diamonds for the real ones.

He hoped.

***

As Laura brought the Rabbit to a halt before the walled Brentwood estate that she had discovered- through a LOT of research- had recently been purchased by the reclusive English/Irish millionaire, Charles Harrigan, she considered her options. She didn't want to involve Remington in this- perhaps she could simply say that she had gotten a tip that Daniel Chalmers might be planning a con- and then present Harrigan with the fake gems as proof.

She pulled the pouch from her purse and emptied the pink stones into her hand. The caught the sunlight through the trees, and Laura gasped at the metamorphosis the bits of glass underwent. For a moment, she wondered if they might indeed be real, then remembered Remington's words to Daniel.

"I've seen better glass on doorknobs."

Or, Laura thought, she could simply toss them into the gutter, where they belonged, and let Daniel stew in his own juices. He'd be unable to con the millionaire without the fakes, and it would keep the Remington AND Agency out of things as well. She put her hand out of the window and was about to open it, when someone grabbed it.

Laura shrieked in surprise, until she saw a pair of familiar blue eyes in her side view mirror. "YOU!" she declared, forgetting her promise, forgetting everything, as she struggled to retain hold of the stones and pull away from Remington's grip. "What are YOU doing here?"

"Trying to stop you from making a huge mistake," he told her, kneeling beside the car. "I couldn't just let you drop the gems into the gutter, now, could I?"

"That's where they belong, isn't it? They're cut glass, fakes. Just like your friend Daniel Chalmers. I can't believe that you'd even CONSIDER helping him con Charles Harrigan! Especially not as Remington Steele. Don't you realize that by doing that you'd be risking everything I've worked for-" She stopped, staring at him. "Why are you smiling!?"

"It's just good to have you back," he told her. "They're not fakes."

Laura looked down at the stones again. "But- I heard you tell Daniel-"

"You heard what I WANTED you to hear."

"You knew I was there all the time?"

"I knew you couldn't resist sneaking into the loft to try and find out what Daniel was up to. I wasn't sure you'd find the diamonds and was even less sure that you'd buy them being fakes-"

"Wait a minute. I'm confused. You WANTED me to think they were fakes so I'd think that Daniel was running a con and trying to lure you in. Am I right?"

"Sounds- about right," Remington confirmed, still grinning from ear to ear.

"WHY?"

"To shake you up. To make you angry."

"Well, you succeeded," she seethed. "Admirably."

Remington held out his hand. "Can I have the diamonds?"

Laura looked uncertain. "How do I know you're not scamming ME?" she asked. "For all I know, these really ARE fakes, and you're just trying to get them back so that Daniel can follow through with his plan."

Remington sighed in frustration as a police car drove slowly past the Rabbit. "No bus stop, but perhaps it will serve," he muttered, leaning forward to give her a long kiss. "I don't think this is the best place to be discussing this, luv," he added a moment later. "What say we go somewhere to discuss this and I'll try to explain everything." He opened the door. "Slide over-"

"I'll drive," she told him, returning the diamonds to their pouch and slipping it inside her blouse. "For safe-keeping," she informed him, putting both hands on the steering wheel.

Remington thought his face would split in half. God, it was good to have Laura back again, he thought, getting into the passenger side of the car. He reconsidered that notion as she accelerated hard away from the curb, almost giving him a case of whiplash.

"Okay," Laura said as she drove. "Explain."

"Why don't we go up to Mulholland?" he suggested. "Or up to-"

"I'm listening. And I don't hear anything."

"Okay. When nothing else seemed to be working to snap you out of being June Cleaver,-"

"June Cleaver?" Laura repeated. "I wasn't THAT bad, was I?"

"I could have said Stepford Wife," Remington informed her.

"Go on," Laura prompted, obviously not ready to delve into this yet.

"I noticed a small blurb in the local paper yesterday about Charles Harrigan giving a grant to the museum. It reminded me of the one person who might just possibly have been able to get under that façade you'd built around you-"

"Daniel?"

"Daniel. I called him. Turns out, he was coming to Los Angeles anyway, but he wasn't SUPPOSED to be here until this afternoon."

"Why was he coming here?"

"To return the diamonds to Harrigan."

Laura took advantage of a traffic light to look at him. "RETURN?"

"They were stolen from Charles Harrigan thirty years ago, Laura."

"Daniel didn't-"

"He says he didn't. But who knows?" Remington said with a shrug. "Anyway, the police hadn't a clue where they might be, and even though Harrigan offered a reward for them then, it wasn't nearly enough to make it worth anyone's time to look for them. But he's getting older- I suppose knowing that time might be running out loosened his purse strings a bit, and a few months ago, he upped the reward to half a million American dollars. Daniel got a lead on the diamonds and retrieved them-"

"You mean STOLE them, don't you?" she asked with a disapproving frown.

"Laura, must you quibble about details?" he asked. "What matters is that he sent word to Harrigan that he had the diamonds and would be returning them to him this evening. Now, if he doesn't show up with the diamonds, Charles Harrigan won't be very happy. And even though the man is almost ninety years old, he has a couple of men working for him who have a very nasty habit of breaking the legs of people who make their boss unhappy."

"Let's just assume- and it's a difficult assumption- that Daniel came upon those diamonds legitimately. Why is he suddenly so big into finders fees? I thought the Earl of Claridge had offered him a job as head of security or something equally insane?"

"He turned it down."

She pulled the car into a parking lot and set the brake. "Why? You'd think that Daniel wouldn't have been able to pass up the opportunity to relieve the Earl of some of his family treasures."

"Perhaps he's trying to change," Remington suggested. Laura sniffed in obvious disbelief. "Laura, why must you always think the worst of Daniel?"

"How many reasons do you want?" she asked, then continued, ticking off her reasons on her fingers. "The first time I met him he conned you into a scheme to capture a murderer-"

"Hoskins had killed one of Daniel's best friends," Remington reminded her. "And he was after Daniel as well for -"

"And THEN he lured you to England and nearly got you killed as the presumptive Duke of Rutherford-"

"Laura, that plan had been conceived long before you and I ever met. And I've explained that the only reason I agreed to go with him was to convince the Duke's heirs that I WASN'T Reggie Whitewood."

"And then there's that entire FIASCO in England when he almost got you killed- AGAIN- by trying to convince those miners that you were a top notch assassin-"

"That's overwith, Laura. In the past. Daniel's here to help me- and make a bit of change on the side if he can."

"He sounded pretty sincere earlier when he suggested that you and he- He's made it MORE than obvious that he wants you back in the life, romping across Europe-"

Remington sighed. "I wouldn't go. Unless- you want me to."

Laura's gaze fell to the seat between them. "It's not my decision," she reminded him.

"Bloody hell, woman, of COURSE it's your decision!" Remington informed her. "It affects your future as much as it does mine! Don't slip back into this last month, Laura." When she didn't respond, he reached out and lifted her chin with a finger. "Laura, even if you TOLD me to go, I wouldn't."

"Why?" she asked him. "You told Daniel that you didn't know why you stayed."

"Oh, I know why I'm still here," Remington said in a soft voice. "After four years, I'm still here. I'm more committed to this relationship- and you, than I've ever been to anything or anyone in my entire life. I'm in this for the long haul, Laura, and unless something outside my control changes that, I'll be here for tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that. I'm not going anywhere." He leaned forward to place a kiss on her lips, and wasn't surprised when Laura slid her arms around his neck and returned the kiss.

When she drew back, she frowned. "What's that noise?" she asked.

Remington brought out the bottle of pills which she had jostled during their embrace. "I found these in Daniel's suitcase. He tried to tell me they were vitamins, but-"

Laura took the bottle, glancing at the label. "Hmm. I wasn't sure you picked up on that in the loft. I found another bottle-"

"I saw it, too."

"Did you ask him about it?"

"There wasn't time. I had to find you before you did something foolish."

Laura smiled and pulled the pouch out of her blouse. Removing the diamonds once more, she examined one. "They're really genuine?"

"Worth a lot more than the half million that Harrigan's offering," he told her, nodding.

"I don't think I've ever seen a pink diamond before."

"They're almost as rare as Royal Lavulite," he told her. "At least at that level of clarity. You'll just have to trust me on this, Laura. They're real. And all Daniel wants to do is return them to their rightful owner. To make an old man happy before he dies."

"Then we'd better get them back to Daniel, hadn't we?" Laura decided, placing the gems back into the pouch, then handing it to Remington before she put the car into gear.

Remington placed a hand on her arm, causing her to look at him. "Laura, we need to talk, too. About-"

"I know. But not yet," she said. "I'm not- ready. Yet."

"Okay," he agreed, backing off and sitting back in the seat, worrying beginning to set in that now that Laura was back to normal, she would insist on their relationship taking a HUGE step back as well…

To Be Continued…

---

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Original content ©2001 by Nancy Eddy