Chapter 9

"Mr. Steele! Miss Holt!" Detective Jarvis called across the busy squad room.

Remington waved with a toothy grin. "Detective Jarvis!" He glanced over at Laura and noticed the look on her face. "Smile, Laura. We both want to get through this as swiftly as possible, and a sour face will only trigger the good detective into believing something is wrong," he muttered out of the corner of his mouth while he watched Det. Jarvis wind his way through the desks and people separating them. Laura forced a smile when he got closer.

"Hey, I didn't expect to see you both here. What can I do for you?" Det. Jarvis answered jovially when he finally reached the front counter.

Remington glanced around the busy bullpen and observed, "Is there a place we can talk privately?"

Det. Jarvis narrowed his eyes and studied them for a moment before he nodded, "Yeah… yeah, we can talk in my office." He gestured with his hand for them to follow him, and a few minutes later, they were in his office at the back of the squad room. Jarvis settled himself into his office chair as he waited for Laura and Remington to sit. "So, Miss Holt, what brings you by my neck of the woods. It's not your usual stomping grounds," he pointed out.

"Well, Detective Jarvis, Mr. Steele and I are working on a case and thought you might have some insight," Laura informed him. "And it's Mrs. Steele now," she added as she fingered the hollow of her throat with her left hand, placing her wedding rings on display.

Jarvis leaned back in his chair and scratched his head, jostling his light brown curls, "Well, I'll be." He closed his mouth and swallowed, his Adam's apple bouncing lightly. He gave them a grin and quickly added, "I guess congratulations are in order, although I'm surprised I didn't read anything in the paper about this."

Remington lowered his lanky frame down and shifted uncomfortably in the hard chair. "Thanks, Jarvis. We did our best to keep this low-key. No reason to alert the media or anything." He reached down and unbuttoned his suit jacket while he waited for Laura to speak up.

"Mr. Steele has a fan-base apparently, and they might get upset to find out he's off the market," Laura inserted with a chuckle.

"I have to say. This really does shock me. I mean, I didn't take you two for a couple… if you know what I mean," Jarvis continued.

Remington held up one hand and assured him, "No harm, no foul. Now, if we could get down to business…" He allowed his voice to trail off to try to get Jarvis to focus.

"Oh, sure, sure. What can I do for you, folks?" Jarvis apologized brusquely.

Laura sat up straighter and dove right in. "What can you tell us about Victor Boyd?"

"Wow, Miss Holt… pardon me… Mrs. Steele… Victor Boyd?" Jarvis sat back, astonished. "That's an active investigation… I'm not sure how much I can disclose."

Remington straightened his tie and stated, "Mr. Boyd has come to us, requesting our assistance in this matter. He insists he didn't steal the money, never mind kill that poor man."

Jarvis fiddled with his jacket for a moment. He patted his pockets as he searched each one until he finally came up with his pipe. He promptly placed it in his mouth with one hand and proceeded to light the chamber with a small lighter. He puffed several times until the air was filled with the aromatic smell of tobacco. "Well, I think you may have your wires crossed up just a little bit, Mr. Steele. Mr. Boyd's fingerprints were found all over the safe. Not to mention, Stefan Dubois' body was lying on the floor only a few feet away," Jarvis spouted.

Laura began to cough, the irritating smell of the tobacco assaulting her sinuses. She covered her midsection with one hand protectively as she waved the other in front of her face. "Detective Jarvis… if you wouldn't mind…" she choked out between coughs.

"Oh, sorry about that," Jarvis apologized. He pressed his thumb firmly over the bowl and watched as Laura covered her mouth as her face became ashen. "I can open the window if it would help," he offered.

Remington, suddenly aware of Laura's discomfort, jumped to her defense, "If you wouldn't mind. I'm not exactly sure what's going on with my wife at the moment." He turned and scanned her with his eyes before he asked, "Are you all right?"

Laura nodded and weakly replied, "I will be. I think we just figured out something makes me sick."

Jarvis slid the window behind him open a few inches and stated, "I'm real sorry about that, Mrs. Steele. I should know better than to light this in the office. My sister yelled at me the other day about it because she's pregnant and all the smells-" He abruptly stopped and studied Laura carefully. He finally noticed her hand at her midsection and whispered loudly, "Are you pregnant, Mrs. Steele? Is that why everything was so hush-hush?"

Laura waved her hand around once more, catching her breath. "No, that's not the reason everything was hush-hush. We sort of eloped back in May and renewed our vows in Ireland in June with our families there. I'm just about three months along, so you figure out the math," she snapped.

Jarvis smiled, and with a playful tone, he added, "A honeymoon baby. I get it."

Laura groaned as she rolled her eyes, thoroughly annoyed with Detective Jarvis. "Now, back to Victor Boyd," she added in an attempt to redirect the conversation.

Jarvis bobbed his head several times, "I wish I could tell you more, but as I said before, it's an open investigation, and I can't really talk about it."

Remington stood and reached across Det. Jarvis' desk. "We appreciate it, Jarvis. If you don't mind, I'm going to get Laura outside for some fresh air." He gave the detective's hand a solid squeeze and turned back to help Laura out of her seat. "Oh, one more thing, Detective. Can you tell us who found the body?" he inquired when Laura was finally on her feet.

"Yeah, it was his son, Emmett, Emmett Dubois. He went to check on his father when he didn't answer the phone," Jarvis offered.

"Thank you, Detective Jarvis," Laura coughed out. She covered her mouth as she fought the nauseous feeling in her throat.

Remington guided Laura through the door of Jarvis' office as he thanked him once more. "I'm sure we'll be speaking again soon, Jarvis," Remington gave him a weak smile before he turned his complete attention to Laura. "Let's get you outside, love, into some fresh air."

Outside, Laura took several deep breaths, inhaling through her nose and exhaling slowly from her mouth. "Jarvis wasn't much help," she admitted between breaths.

"Actually, he was," Remington disagreed. He rubbed her back a few times. "Are you feeling better now? I can take you right back to the apartment if you're not feeling well."

Laura blew out another breath, "No, I'm feeling better now. What do you mean he was helpful? He didn't tell us anything."

"On the contrary, my lovely bride, he did. He told us who found the body," Remington replied cryptically as he draped his arm around Laura's shoulders and buried his other hand in his pants pocket.