Chapter 4:
"Am I smelling coffee?" asked Laura, sleepy. He was busy making breakfast in front of the stove.
"In fact, my clever detective, you are smelling coffee, French toast, eggs, and bacon. We are going to have a very nutritious breakfast to start the day as energetically as we can," he told her full of optimism.
She noticed his particular good mood in the early morning, a fact able to be seen on very few occasions. "Did you figure out something last night that you want to share?" she asked with suspicion.
"Actually, yes I did. The first part of the note is a line from a movie."
"And I suspect you know what movie that line is from…"
"It's from 'Rear Window,' James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Paramount, 1954. "
"And the second part?"
"The second one is a quote from Alfred Hitchcock. I've found it in that Hitchcock book you brought me." He gestured to the one on the counter. "I think we are on to something, Miss Holt. Let's have breakfast, and after a good and refreshing shower, we are going to the office to start our detecting day."
"But Mr. Steele, it's 6:15 in the morning. Don't you think it's a little early for you to be at the office?" Laura asked suddenly surprised.
"Not at all, Miss Holt, the boss must be the example to the employees. As I am the boss, and I am in charge this time, and you seem to be…"
"Your employee?" asked a bemused Laura.
"What are you saying, Laura? You are not my employee. You're my favorite associate, just think about how delighted will be Mildred, having her two most appreciated bosses arriving at such an early time. Eat your breakfast, Miss Holt."
"Good morning Mildred!" their voices sounded in unison.
"Good morning Miss Holt, Chief! What are you doing here so early in the morning?" asked Mildred surprised. But after a brief thought, she knew why they were arriving together, and very early. The day before, they had decided to go to his place, because it seemed safer than the loft... They must have spent the whole night trying to figure out something about the case. His attire was impeccable as always, but Miss Holt wasn't as neat as always. She was wearing the same clothes as the day before, minus a change in minor details, Mildred thought to herself.
They went straight to his office, and after a few minutes, and a cup of coffee in hand, they were in the middle of a brainstorming session trying to put the pieces of this puzzle together. "I think we have two things to start: a quote from Rear Window, and a quote from Alfred Hitchcock himself. The movie was the story of a wheelchair-bound photographer, who spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder. And the quote itself must be something our murderer enjoys to show, the same as Hitchcock did: his brilliance," he said.
"Why do you think he chose that movie?" asked Laura.
"I think it has something to do with the crime scene. He wants us to follow his game. We should go to Fairbanks' office, to check about it."
They arrived at Fairbanks' building after a brief call to Jarvis, asking for permission to enter the office. Once there, each one started their own search for clues. Laura had her eyes glued to the wall, and Mr. Steele, changed angles to look through the window from every part of the room. He couldn't find anything, except for another building on the other side of the street. They should investigate the occupants in there. But just when he thought that, and was ready to tell Laura to leave the office, he saw her looking at the pictures hanging on the wall, absolutely entranced. In them, a proud Fairbanks was receiving several awards and shaking hands with the whole Hollywood Royalty. "I wish I could recognize some of these faces," she said still thinking.
"I think they are all from show business, but not from the glamorous side. They must be from the business part. Don't forget our friend Fairbanks was a recognized film producer. His work was developed mostly behind the cameras, and perhaps even behind the movie projects itself," said Steele. "Let's visit the building across the street, and afterward we can ask Fairbanks' secretary for a list of the people in these pictures so Mildred can run a search about them. What do you think?"
"Let's go," answered Laura.
They crossed the street and entered it into the building's lobby, to read the advertising about all the companies having their offices there. Mr. Steele was standing behind Laura. Nothing caught their attention, until they saw one name, and looking almost at the same time to each other's face, they said, "Selznick!"
Then Steele looked at Laura with surprise. "Do you know who Selznick is?"
"Of course I know who Selznick is. He was the producer of 'Gone with the Wind,' do you remember I told you I love that movie?" she asked.
"I certainly remember the times we spoke about that movie, Miss Holt. Three times for sure, I can gladly remember. Once, when I had amnesia, in that shed in Ireland…; another one when you promised me the entire MGM library, during the Lester Shane case…, and another at the end of the same case, when we both decided to dismiss the screen show to focus on our own not giving a dam moment. I can say I remember vividly every second of our talks about that movie." He smiled at her wiggling his eyebrows.
She blushed and hit him softly in his ribs. "Focus on the case, Mr. Steele," she said trying to hide her smile from him. "Mildred will be very busy for the rest of the day."
"Are you going to tell her about our 'Gone with the Wind'?" asked an amused Steele.
"Are you out of your mind? If I open my mouth about our…that movie, she would not be able to have anything done along the whole day. Her mind would be occupied dreaming about…, you know…"
"I think I will not be able to concentrate on other things either, Miss Holt…" he told her with the pleasure of the memories plastered on his face.
"Behave yourself, Mr. Steele. Remember you are in charge."
