STEELE PRESS
Disclaimer:
Remington Steele and its characters are owned by MTM. No copyright infringement intended. For entertainment purposes only.
Set after Season 4. Bonds of Steele and Season 5 are not in my universe.
Chapter 1:
Laura was almost ready, putting on the last details of her makeup. This night was fated to be a glamorous one. The opening night of the "Ancient Greece, Rome and Etruria Collection" was one of the most important events of the season. Exhibited at the Getty Villa, the art Gala would be attended by the most prominent politicians and businessmen of the state, and by all the extravagant millionaires, who, with their generous donations, help California, to be a comfortable home for philanthropists' treasures.
The event would start with a cocktail at the gardens of the Villa, and end with the speech of the Museum's curator inside the building, giving all the attendees the opportunity to appreciate the valuable collection. Statues, busts, and columns would be part of the treasure.
Of course, the etiquette's code would require elegant gowns and black tie. Miss Holt was wearing the same attire she wore at Charlotte Knight's party, a year before, classy and at the same time chic. A little clutch would complete the attire.
Just in time, a knock on the door indicated his presence. Laura opened it, and there he was, looking fabulous in his black tux, a rose in his hand.
"Good evening Miss Holt!" he said, staring at her. "You look wonderful tonight!" And he gave her the flower.
"Good evening Mr. Steele. Oh, thank you! She smelled the flower. "Let me put it in a vase," she said before her blushing face betrayed her ogling. He looked like stunning, as always... And he was hers for the night. The envy of every woman at the gala. She went to the kitchen looking for a vase.
"We have to hurry up. Traffic will be terrible at this hour on a Friday night. Let's go" And with that, walked to the door, a bewitched Mr. Steele just a step behind her. He opened the door of the limo, they got in, and in a minute they were on their way to Malibu.
The place was magnificent. The gardens were lighted with torches showing the road to the entrance of the building, and there was an orchestra playing. A wonderful Gala. Once inside, there was an air of sophistication floating in the room. The attendants were chattering, champagne in hand and various business discussions could be overheard.
Once Mr. Steele and Miss Holt came in, a waiter approached and offered them some drinks. Right after two sips, they were immersed in the middle of the reception, talking to the most prominent people of the city, and possibly of the State. After half an hour of excellent public relations for the agency, a man came over to them, and said, "Hello, Mr. Steele. I am Douglas Shaw. Nice to meet you…"
"A pleasure," he responded. "My associate, Miss Holt, Mr. Shaw. They shook hands, and after the brief introduction, Shaw started to speak, "I want to talk to you in private, Mr. Steele. I need your agency's services for a very urgent and complex matter. When do you think it would be possible for us to meet? We have to maintain this in absolute secrecy."
"Well, Mr. Shaw, perhaps it would be possible to arrange a meeting for tomorrow, at my office. Say the hour, and we'll be there. "
"Nine o'clock?"
"Nine o'clock it will be. See you tomorrow then," said the detective. Mr. Steele gave the man his card, they shook hands again, and just when Mr. Shaw was out of view, he turned and said sadly to Miss Holt, "Goodbye to a perfect Saturday morning enjoying a late breakfast at home…"
"Come on, Mr. Steele," said Laura. "Look to the fuller part of the glass. You are going to spend your Saturday morning enjoying the pleasure of being at the office working with your favorite associate."
"And why do you think I'd be happy working on a Saturday morning, Miss Holt?"
"Because, Mr. Steele, after your strenuous effort to work on a Saturday morning, we are going to enjoy a wonderful lunch at Chez Rive, and maybe we could spend the rest of the day at the movies."
"You know, Laura, I always knew your devotion to work would bring something pleasurable to my life."
"Apart of the benefits in your bank account?" she asked sarcastically.
"Apart of the benefits in my bank account, indeed, Miss Holt. Shall we?" And with a grin on his face, he took her arm, and they continued their tour through the exhibition together.
Century City was like a deserted building on Saturdays. There were only security guards at the central hall, and the corridors were empty.
Laura was getting ready the last details for the meeting with their possible client when Mr. Steele arrived. With his "Morning, morning, morning," he walked right into his office. She was at his desk immersed in papers, and trying to make a background investigation to share with Mr. Steele before the meeting. The name "Hearst" had shown up in Mr. Shaw's background. It was exciting, but at the same time, they would have to be extremely careful with this client...
"Good morning to you," she answered, without taking her eyes from the papers.
She'd have spent the night there running searches to be with such a disorder on his desk, he thought. "Do you ever sleep, Laura?"
"Mr. Steele, we have to be as informed as we can before a meeting with a new client..."
"I suspect your working Saturday started early. Did you find anything interesting to share?" he asked.
"Well, only that the Hearst family is one of the richest in the country, and that they own some of the most known publications, such as The San Francisco Examiner, Cosmopolitan, TV channels, magazines and several newspapers all over the west coast."
"All well known, Miss Holt, all well known. And what does that have to do with the case?" And with an exasperated look through the display of papers Laura had done, he said, "Do you think we can make some order here? It looks like Columbo's desk!" And in a quick movement, he put all the papers mixed and rumpled into the always empty desk drawer. "Now it looks like Remington Steele's desk," he said satisfied. She was going to give him a bossy answer, but just at this moment, Mr. Shaw knocked on the opened door.
"Good morning Mr. Shaw." They said almost at the same time. After the polite greetings, Mr. Steele sat on his seat, and Laura stayed on his desk near the client, as usual, and then, they started with the meeting.
". "Maybe you've heard about the Hearst Castle?" Mr. Shaw said, "My father in law is Randolph Hearst."
Mr. Steele's eyes met Laura's for an instant. "Yes, we have, indeed. A very luxurious place, full of artworks fruit of your wife's grandfather's collector's thirst. There are more than 20,000 masterpieces there, one of the greatest collections in America, a property donated by the family to the State of California." Laura's eyes opened. How does he do that … to be very well informed without having taken one look at her dossier that was resting in the desk drawer? She thought.
"Yes," said Mr. Shaw, with surprise. "I see I came to the right place. Your information is exact." And adjusting in his seat, he continued. "We have a little issue right now. You may know I met my wife in prison. I was a guard while she was serving a sentence there. We met, fell in love, and got married. She was favored by an amnesty a while later and is free now. When she got out of prison, we started our marriage like everybody else, and we have a daughter now. We settled our family here, and I started to work with her family. I am in charge of the Hearst Castle Security."
Laura gave Mr. Steele a brief look. She knew then, just by the look on his face, that he remembered their travel to Carmel, the year before, and his intent to give a visit to the castle. She had refused to make that visit, arguing their duty to be on time on their case. But inside themselves, both knew that she denied him the pleasure of that detour because she was not sure about his true intentions. His previous secret life was always shadowing their present.
Mr. Shaw continued, "We have a lot of paintings there, and there is a panel of experts working on them all the time. They make sure the pieces are in good condition and sign a confirmation that they are originals after every review. It seems we have a problem with one of them. Once the expert began with the scheduled revision, he noticed that the painting in front of him was a fake... As I am in charge of the security, I am responsible for anything happening to the art pieces inside the castle."
"What do you think it happened?" asked an interested Laura.
"I can't figure out what happened. But there is another important thing for you to know. William Randolph Hearst was a brilliant man. As his success was getting larger, he thought that it would be dangerous for the members of the family to have all the information about the family fortune. So, he decided to create the Hearst Trust Board to handle it. The Board consists of a group of 5 members of the family and another group of 8 members from outside the family. The 8 member group is the one who knows the properties, how they are managed, and the earnings that every beneficiary receives. And they make the decisions about the estate. Any Hearst demanding to know the will's content will be disinherited. So, every member of the family has no power to decide about the destination of any property. The Trust Board manages it all.
"And what has that to do with the painting?" asked Laura
"When we got married, I signed a prenuptial agreement. In case of divorce, I would get out of my marriage as poor as I got in. And as I have nothing in my own name, and I am in charge of the security of the castle, I would be the first suspect of the painting's disappearance. The painting is not part of the Permanent Collection. It's borrowed from the family, and the legal paperwork was done by the Board. If the Board knows that the painting is not part of the collection anymore and that a fake is hanging on the castle's wall, they could demand my wife to be disinherited, accusing me of the disposal of family property."
"Oh My…," said Laura. "This is really serious. You want us to find the painting because if the Board discovers that had been stolen, your wife could lose her inheritance?"
"I see you've absorbed every detail, Miss Holt."
"Well. I'm afraid that we have to study the case for a while, Mr. Shaw. It's very complex, as you said last night, and we have to consider every detail before giving you a response. What do you think if we meet again here on Monday, let's say at 11:00am?" said Mr. Steele, standing up from the chair, followed by Laura.
"It'll be fine. Mr. Steele, Miss Holt, see you on Monday."
They shook hands, and Shaw left the office. They stood there in silence for some time. And then Mr. Steele asked, "What do you think?" trying to read anything in her face. He wasn't going to be the one to push over the decision. The case was substantial enough to blow up in their hands if misguided. And he didn't want Laura to take it without being entirely convinced.
She looked at him," Where should we start?"
"In the castle?" he answered, giving her a smiling gaze.
Smiling, she told him back, "I think our plans for an afternoon at the movies are changing. A visit to the Hearst Castle is in order, Mr. Steele. Do you mind?"
"Absolutely not, Miss Holt. After you…"