This story is intended for amusement purposes only. This story is not meant to infringe on the names of Remington Steele, Laura Holt or anything that would cause MTM productions or anybody else to sue me. This story is the property of Lisa Watson ã 2000.

 

Steele In The Darkness - Part VIII

   

    Remington read through the last of the manila file folders on his desk and reared back to put his feet up.  As if on cue, Mildred walked through the door leading to his office and sat down in the chair in front of his desk.

    "Finished boss?"  Mildred asked as she began tidying up the folders that were sprawled over his desk top.

    "Yes Mildred and I thank you for drawing up these outlines of possible cases for me.  This helps considerably since I haven't been able to meet the clients directly since Laura's accident.  I say though, with the amount of potential business for us we may have to turn some of these down.  Even with you and I working on them Laura's absence will cause us to be stretched a bit thin, too thin I might add since I want to be with her as much as possible.  Of course you know Laura, she will insist we take every case and she'll try her damndest to be right in the thick of things."  Remington said as he stared intently at the folders.

    "Hey boss, what about hiring some help?  There must be PI's out there that would be willing to work on an "as needed" basis.  We could ask that friend of Miss Holt's that we worked with a few years ago, now what was his name.  Oh yes, Clay!  That was it!"

    Remington quirked his eyebrow as he looked toward Mildred.  "That's a brilliant idea Mildred but I don't think Clay is our man for this one."

    "Why not Boss?  He's a licensed private investigator and we already know him."  Mildred pointed out.

    "Yes but you are forgetting one major detail Mildred, the man was practically lusting after Laura at every turn.  Can't have that now can we?  If we hired him we'd have to wipe the drool from his mouth before he went out on every case."  Remington said in that dead serious way that told Mildred he was only half serious.

    "I see your point Chief.   I'm sure if we can come up with someone you approve of to help out if we need to, but I suppose it's best to wait to see what happens when the bandages come off."  Mildred said with concern.

    "Yes Mildred you are correct in your assumption, we will know best how to proceed when we know for certain Laura's condition.  Now, I promised Abigail I'd cook her a delectible feast for lunch, why don't you join us Mildred?  We don't have anyone scheduled today so there isn't any reason to hang around here watching the plants grow is there?"

    "No I guess not, sure thing Chief, I'd love to, just give me a few minutes to close up shop."  Mildred smiled as she took the folders and headed out of his office.

    Remington picked the phone up and dialed Laura's number.  He wanted to let Abigail know that he and Mildred would be leaving the office and heading to the grocery store to buy a few items.  He let the phone ring a few times before he hung up.  As he did so he thought he should have let it ring longer in case Abigail was busy and Laura had to answer it.  He walked out to the reception area to find Mildred with purse in hand ready to go.  He told her he wanted to try Laura's loft again since there was no answer before.  He picked up Mildred's phone and dialed the number again, this time letting it ring a lot longer than before.  After the seventh ring Remington hung up.

    "I don't like this Mildred, I've rang her number twice, letting the phone ring seven times this go round and nobody picked up."  Remington said with growing anxiety.

    "Well boss, maybe the music is on or Abigail is vacuuming and can't here the phone ringing."  Mildred said calmly.

    "Yes Mildred but maybe she isn't, come on."  Remington said as he quickly escorted Mildred out of the office.

    "Here we are Miss Holt, home at last, well not exactly home but you get the picture.  Devin said as he shoved Laura forward.  She stumbled, her hands immediately going out before her to break her fall.  Laura came in contact with a box as she tried to right herself.  She turned around and glared into darkness as she faced her abductor. 

    "You aren't very original are you Mr. Bethea?  Bringing me back to your warehouse wasn't a very good idea."  Laura said with more bravado than she felt.

    "And why not Miss Holt?  Nobody knows you're here remember?  I belted that old bag before she even saw me so I don't think I've got anything to worry about do you?"

    "That "old bag" was my mother you bastard and you'd better pray you haven't seriously hurt her!"  Laura yelled.

    "The only one that better pray is you!  You'd better pray I take pity on you and kill you quickly.  Actually I think I'll send you to my brother-in-law.  I'm sure he couldn't help but get the message that he should mind his own business and stay out of my affairs.  What do you think my dear?"

    "I think you are a coward that has no clue what he's doing or who he's messing with.  Besides that you have terrible business sense and wear cheap cologne."  Laura spat at him.

    She wasn't prepared for the hard slap across her face and the sheer force of it whirled her around before she hit the floor.  Devin picked her up by her arm and threw her against the wall.  Laura grimaced at the pain but refused to scream.

    "Somebody should have told you it isn't nice to ridicule the man that is holding your life in his hands my dear."  Devin breathed into her face.

    Laura had to resist the urge to recoil at his closeness.  She forced herself to remain calm though she was terrified and her face was throbbing where he had struck her.

    Devin heard the horn honking and threw Laura in his office and locked the door. 

    "Don't worry Miss Holt, I'll be back to deal with you later."  Devin promised as he left.

    Abigail moaned as she slowly came to.  She opened her eyes and blinked a few times to clear her vision.  She heard voices but it took a few seconds for her to recognize them.  Remington and Mildred were hovering over her asking how she was feeling and if she could sit up.  Abigail nodded and Remington eased her into a sitting position as slowly as he could without causing her additional pain.  Abigail shook her head and tried her best to recall what happened.

    "Abigail, do you remember what happened,who took Laura?"  Remington asked, trying his best not to badger Laura's mother for information.

    "I...I was cleaning and Laura was...yes, Laura was getting dressed.  I heard a noise and then I felt intense pain.  After that everything went dark.  Where is Laura, Remington?"

    "At the moment I don't know Abigail, the first order of business is to find out who took Laura and where they took her.  Can you remember anythingelse Abigail?   It may not seem like much but it could help us track down Laura's kidnapper."  

    "I'm trying but I just...wait!  I heard a man's voice.  I woke up briefly and I heard him saying something before I blacked out again.  He was saying something about uh, oh yes, his brother's shoes. Yes that's it.  No wait."  Abigail said as she tried to recall what she'd overheard.

    Remington and Mildred were trying there best not to shake Abigail in their frustration as she stumbled through what she heard before she passed out again.

    "It had something to do with his brother's two shoes."  Abigail's eyebrow's were furrowed together in concentration as she tried to piece together anything that would help them find her daughter.

    "Now I remember!!  It wasn't his brother's two shoes, it was his goody two shoes brother-in-law!  That's what I heard the man say before I blacked out again!"  Abigail announced proudly.

    Remington and Mildred both looked at each other and mouthed the words "Devin Bethea" before they turned and headed for the door.  Abigail stood up and called after them.

    "Wait a minute, what about me? Are you just going to leave me here?"   Abigail protested.

    "I'm sorry Mrs. Holt, please, forgive us.  Mildred, call an ambulance and tell them Abigail needs to be taken to the hospital and checked over straight away.  Mrs. Holt will you be alright here while we go look for Laura?"

"I most certainly will not!  I am going with you!"  Abigail announced as she picked up her purse and headed for the door.

    "Mrs. Holt, I don't think that is wise, we could be dealing with a potential killer and we won't have time to rescue Laura, watch our backs and yours too.  It would be safer if you stayed put until the medical professionals get here to look you over."  Remington reasoned.

    "Now look here Mr. Steele, I am not about to sit here and let some maniac conk me on the head, abduct my blind daughter and possibly harm her!  I am going with you and that is final!  I can't just sit here not knowing and if you recall I was quite useful in helping to save your life when YOU were hanging from the ceiling of a warehouse so don't try to talk me out of it, my mind is made up."  Abigail said as she waltzed past Remington and Mildred out into the hallway.

    "Her mind's made up Chief, besides she's a Holt, what can you do?"  Mildred said as she looked at Remington in question.

    "To think, I actually pondered where Laura gets it from," Remington quipped, as he ushered Mildred out the door after Abigail.

To be continued...