Chapter 24
"How long does it take for these bloody test results?" Remington stormed around the office, frustrated. "Six weeks, Laura. Six weeks since she questioned her own brother!"
Laura shifted her feet to the table across from the couch, her hands smoothing her rounded belly. "I understand that, Mr. Steele, but you have to remember. This is still new technology."
Remington stopped pacing. "How accurate is this new technology if it's still so new they can't run the test overnight?!"
"You need to be patient, Mr. Steele. Mildred was going to call the lab and get back to us as soon as the results came in." Laura exhaled loudly and leveled her gaze at her husband.
"You do realize in the last six weeks we've met with Paddy and Alex about your loft, had dinner with your mother and your father… separately, I might add… and recovered not two, but three missing items," Remington listed off.
Laura dropped her head back against the cushion. "We've also started painting the nursery, had four doctor's appointments, three birthing classes, a baby shower for the ages thanks to Frances and my mother, and one trip to the hospital because you panicked."
"I did nothing of the sort," Remington denied with a huff.
Laura lifted her head along with an eyebrow. "You packed us up, carried me to the car, and raced like a madman to get to the hospital. Why? Because I dropped the plastic bottle of water I was holding, creating a puddle on the floor, and when you asked me what happened, I said–"
"You said your water broke, Laura. How did you think I was going to react?" Remington sputtered.
Laura pressed her hand to the side of her expansive belly without a word.
"Laura?" Remington questioned.
Laura breathed slowly. "I'm fine."
Remington crept closer to his wife before leaning on the back of the chair. "Are you?"
Laura lowered her feet and sat higher. "Yes, I'm fine. The baby was just moving, that's all."
"Moving? That's it?" Remington tipped his head slightly and waited.
Laura pushed herself to her feet. "Yes, moving. And now it's moved over enough that I have to use the restroom."
"Laura, don't you think you should start cutting back on work now? The doctor said you've only got a few weeks left." Remington stood and folded his arms across his chest.
"Tell you what. Starting next week, I'll only work in the mornings… how's that?" Laura offered.
"But–" Remington began as his office door swung open, and Mildred marched inside. "Mildred? Whatever happened to knocking?"
Mildred stopped in her tracks and pointed at Remington. "Sorry, Chief, but you told me to tell you as soon as I heard back from the lab, no matter what."
"And?" Remington leaned toward her slightly.
"And, I did what you said," Mildred replied. She stared at him, a confused look on her face.
"The lab, Mildred. Did you get the results from the lab?" Remington demanded impatiently.
Mildred wrung her hands together. "Not yet, Boss."
Remington rolled his eyes. "Then why are we having this conversation, Mildred?"
"The lab called and said they had the results but I don't have them in my hands yet, Boss. I thought you might want to call Collette and have her here with you to go over them," Mildred suggested.
"That sounds like a brilliant idea, Mildred," Laura agreed with a pointed glare at her husband.
"Fine, fine, fine. Laura and I will call Collette while you collect the results from the lab, so we can put all this nonsense behind us and move on with our lives." Remington bobbed his head as he spoke.
Laura slowly waddled her way toward Remington's desk.
"You okay, Mrs. Steele?" Mildred asked tentatively.
Laura leaned against the side of the desk and reached for the phone. "I'm fine. After this call, I'm going to use the restroom and get something to drink."
"If you say so. I just remembered when Eunice was in those last few weeks when she was pregnant with Bernard and every little move she made… well, let's just say we made more trips to the hospital than necessary. I just want to be sure that when it's time for Little Steele there to make his or her appearance, that we don't overreact." Mildred offered a sympathetic grin.
Laura punched Collette's number into the phone and as she listened to the ringing on the other end, she said, "Don't worry, Mildred. After our own trip to the hospital, there will be no more overreacting." She quickly turned her attention to the handset. "Hello, Collette? It's Laura Steele, Remington's wife. We just got word the test results are ready. Do you think you could come to our office this afternoon? You can? Great, we'll open them together. See you then."
She turned back to the two sets of eyes staring at her. "Collette will be here by three."
"Good." Remington smoothed his tie as he turned toward the windows, his eyes staring blankly at the view of the city.
"I'll go get those results then," Mildred said slowly, watching Remington's back. She turned and left the office, her face falling sadly at Remington's obvious apprehension.
Collette arrived at the office a few minutes before three as she stated. Laura found Remington seated but still staring out the window, gnawing on his thumbnail. "Collette's here," she stated tentatively.
"Good. What about Mildred?" Remington muttered, his back still to her.
"She just got back as well. She's putting her coat and purse in her office." Laura stepped closer to her husband. "Are you ready to find out the truth?"
Remington slowly rotated in his chair and faced her. "Honestly? No. I'm not ready. What if Collette is right, and this is just another scheme of Daniel's? Then the last nine months of our lives have been a lie."
"Not a total lie. You found Paddy and the others. You know the truth about your mother, Siobhan. You know you were loved as a child and that everything that happened after Zach got sick wasn't your fault," Laura insisted.
"But we're back to the same uncertainty we were at when we first met," Remington snapped.
Laura leaned against the edge of his desk and cradled her belly in her hands. "What uncertainty is that?"
"My bloody name! If Daniel really isn't my father then he doesn't get the right to give me a name, dammit!" Remington's hand covered his mouth as his eyes flashed angrily. "Everything would be a lie… another deception… I can't bring our child into this world like that."
Laura sighed loudly before an idea flashed through her mind. "If it turns out that Daniel is not biologically your father, it would appear that he still considered you his son. So maybe… in a way… he adopted you. He loved you, no matter if you're his blood or not."
The muscle in Remington's cheek twitched as his thoughts swirled. "So what you're saying is… even if this test comes back and says Collette and I are not related, legally we are?"
"We don't have any evidence that says you're not. Daniel worked with the lawyer, Mr. Taylor, to get you a proper birth certificate. Maybe there's more to it." Laura's eyes brightened as a slight grin appeared on her face.
Remington sat higher in his chair and squared his shoulders. "All right then. What are we waiting for? Let's find out the truth and if we have to do more digging, so be it."
"That's the spirit," Laura encouraged. She pushed off the edge of the desk and waddled over to the door. "Mrs. Virtan? Mildred?"
Mildred appeared in her doorway, a large envelope in her hands. "Right here, Mrs. Steele."
Collette rose to her feet and followed Mildred into the office without a word.
"How was your drive?" Laura asked as Collette stood in the center of the office.
Collette clutched her purse to her side. "We can dispense with the pleasantries, Mrs. Steele. We all know why we're here, so let's just get on with it."
Mildred glared at the woman as she approached Remington and muttered, "Someone needs to cool their jets. Sheesh." Louder, she announced, "I have those test results right here, Boss."
Remington straightened his tie clip as he rose to his feet. "Mildred, I'm going to ask you to do the honors of reading the results."
"Are you sure, Chief?" Mildred's hands shook slightly.
"Quite. Now, Ms. Krebs, kindly open the envelope and enlighten us all with the lab's findings." Remington pursed his lips and leveled his eyes on Collette's cold ones.
Inhaling, Mildred tore into the envelope and extracted a single sheet of paper. She glanced at Laura first, her eyes trailing to Collette before landing on Remington. She cleared her throat and read aloud, "The test results are inconclusive."
"What? What do you mean 'inconclusive'? How can they be inconclusive?" Remington roared.
Mildred cringed before she scanned the rest of the page. "It says here, boss, that matches can only be made between parents and children. So, the results are inconclusive." She glanced up before adding, "But you do have the same blood type, so that's something."
"Same blood type… great… so Mrs. Virtan and I probably share the same blood type with half of Los Angeles." Remington shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Sorry, Boss." Mildred dropped the envelope onto his desk and wandered towared the door.
"It's okay, Mildred. It's not your fault. You didn't know. The lab should have clarified their capabilities before we dropped everything off," Laura reassured her.
Collette shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other as Mildred slipped into the lobby, closing the door behind her.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Virtan. We should have gotten more information before indulging in this test," Laura apologized.
Collette moved her purse and opened it, pulling out a folded letter. "I was hoping the test results would have come back with a definitive answer because it would ease the sting of this a little."
"What is that?" Laura moved to stand beside Remington, who was still clearly agitated.
"This is a letter from a lawyer in London… a Mr. Taylor. It states he is holding a package from Daniel and he was given explicit instructions to only give the package to me on my birthday after my brother's death. My birthday is in ten days. In this letter, it states the package is to be opened by myself and my only living nephew, Remington Steele." Collette shoved the letter in Remington's direction. "Do you know this lawyer?"
"Mr. Taylor contacted me just after Daniel's death, so yes." Remington pursed his lips as he scanned the neatly typed page.
"Well then, Mr. Steele, it appears if we are going to get any real answers, you and I must travel to London together," Collette declared.
Remington's eyes widened and his mouth gaped open as he slowly turned his head to face Laura, her expression a mirror of his own.
To be continued….
