Chapter 4
"Well, that was a complete waste of time!" Laura exclaimed as she exited the police station at a swift pace, Remington hurrying to keep up with her.
"How so? I mean, the police has processed the scene, collected the evidence and is opening up an investigation as to whom might be responsible," he said and Laura abruptly came to a halt, giving him a stare that made him instantly regret saying anything.
"Is that what you heard? That so-called police officer in there made it clear they have far more pressing cases with actual suspects that takes precedence over a busted kitchen window! Not to mention the way he talked down to me, practically giving me a pat on the head! God, some things never change!" Laura growled with a quick glare back at the police station before continuing on towards the parking lot.
"I understand that you're upset, Laura, and rightfully so, but why not let the police do their job in catching our mystery man?" he blurted out as they reached the car, earning himself a glare from Laura.
"If you want something done right, you do it yourself," she said, hand on the door handle. "Considering the fact that someone tried to kill me last night, I'm highly motivated to finding the man responsible a hell of a lot more than the police."
Before Remington could get out a reply, Laura abruptly got into the car and started the engine. He quickly got into the passenger seat, a solid grip on the inside handle of the car door. Much like anticipated, Laura practically sped out of the car parking lot with an annoyed look on her face.
"Laura, maybe I should drive, eh?" Remington suggested hesitantly after a while.
"I'm perfectly capable of driving my own car, thank you."
"Then might I suggest you relax before we get pulled over?"
"Who says I'm not relaxed?"
"Well, for one, your knuckles are turning white."
Laura glanced down at her hands and instantly loosened her grip on the steering wheel.
"All right, so maybe I'm a little tense. But can you blame me?" she sighed, slowing down at a traffic light.
"Certainly not," Remington said, sitting up straight. "I too take a personal offense to being shot at, especially when I've done nothing to deserve it. But if it's one thing I've learned from the years working with you, it's that we need to go about solving this mystery with level heads."
"You're right," Laura admitted reluctantly as the light turned green. "So let's go over what we know so far... which isn't much."
"Well, as far as we can tell, the stalker is a man who apparently isn't connected to any of your current cases. He's gone from lurking in the shadows to openly show his face, confident in that neither of us would recognize him. And until last night, he showed no signs of wanting to harm you."
"So he's obviously stepping up his game. But if it was about hurting me, he had several opportunities to do so before last night. Also, he only fired that one shot... which was surprisingly precise. I mean, why not aim directly at his target and get it over with?"
"All I know is that I'm extremely relieved he missed."
"What I don't get is why anyone would be targeting me? Most of my cases these days are non-violent and seeing as how The Sterling Agency employs plenty of other people, it's easy to get lost in the crowd. Especially if you're a woman, regardless of your work title."
"Oh, I do think you're selling yourself short, Laura," Remington said, earning himself a sideways glance from Laura as they stopped at another traffic light. "What I mean to say is that you're a highly skilled investigator... which still begs the question why someone would have it for you? Perhaps it's related to a case you assisted in? Meaning that the answer might not lie in your case files, but in someone else's?"
"I guess it's a possibility," Laura sighed, staring up at the traffic light. "But the more I think about it, the more I doubt that what is happening is case-related."
"Well, seeing as how it's hardly a scorned lover, what else could it be related to?" Remington said tentatively and Laura had to reluctantly agree with him.
She watched in silence as the light turned green and pulled away from the intersection, lost in her own thoughts for the moment. While she was going over the recent events in her head, she glanced in the rearview mirror out of habit and realized that one of the cars looked familiar.
"I think we're being followed," Laura said, shifting her focus between the road ahead and the rearview mirror.
Remington discreetly glanced over his shoulder, trying to spot the car.
"What makes you think that?"
"You see that dark blue sedan? I'm pretty sure it's been on us since we left the police parking lot and if so, it's safe to say our mystery man is behind the wheel."
"Not that I don't trust your instincts, Laura, but it could very well just be somebody going in the same direction. We're on a busy main road after all."
"Then I suggest we get off."
Before Remington had a chance to respond, Laura abruptly made a hard left turn at the upcoming intersection just before a red light. The Rabbit's wheels squealed loudly as she exhilarated onto a side street and Remington once again gripped the door handle.
"Laura, slow down! I prefer to live long enough to catch your stalker and not perish in a senseless car crash!" he cried out in a panic. Laura just barely managed to hold back an amusing smile and gently slowed down before taking a quick glance in the rearview mirror.
"Sorry about that, Mr. Steele," she said in a light tone of voice. "But I had to test out your theory."
"Yes well, how about a heads up next time?"
"That might happen sooner than you'd like. It seems that my hunch was correct, seeing as how we're still being followed and he's not being shy about it anymore either."
Remington glanced back at the dark blue sedan closing in on them, which was much easier done now on a side street with considerable less traffic.
"Let's hope he doesn't plan on taking shots at us again, eh?" he said and looked at Laura.
"How about we make sure he doesn't get the chance?" she said, giving Remington a brief look before speeding up and doing an abrupt right turn further up the road.
Without looking in the rearview mirror, Laura kept on taking numerous left and right turns at a frightening speed. Remington said a silent prayer and kept one hand on the dashboard, while still keeping a firm grip on the door handle. Laura's driving was one of the very few things he hadn't missed in their time apart and at the moment he was being forcefully reminded of the reason why.
Finally, after the countless right turn, Laura steered the car down a dark side alley and turned off the engine.
"You enjoyed that far too much," Remington said as he slowly let go of the door handle, letting out a relieved sigh.
Laura unbuckled her seat belt with a gleeful smile and turned around in her seat, keeping an eye out for the sedan on the side street.
"I'll admit that was the most thrilling thing I've done in a while," she said with a sparkle in her eye and Remington suddenly became aware of their close proximity to each other, their shoulders nearly touching and he admired Laura's beauty in momentarily silence.
Her hair had come undone during the drive and hung freely, framing her face in such a way that Remington had to fight the urge to brush it aside.
"Likewise," he murmured and Laura looked at him, her insides fluttering again under his stare.
In that moment, it would be so easy to just forget about everything that had transpired between them and give in to temptation but Laura's doubts got the better of her, even more so this time.
"I think that's enough excitement for today," she said, clearing her throat. "Seeing as how I managed to memorize the license plate, we should be a step closer to identifying the stalker with a phone call once we get back to the loft."
"What if our mystery man decides to tag along?" Remington asked.
"Well, he obviously already knows where I live," Laura said, pulling her hair into a messy bun. "But that doesn't necessarily mean he knows when I'll be at home. I still have a few tricks up my sleeve."
"Do any of them involve breaking the speed limit?"
"Probably," Laura mused as she started the engine. "But that's part of the fun, isn't it, Mr. Steele?"
"Oh, I'd say we have very different views on the definition of fun, Miss Holt."
Once they finally arrived back at the loft, Laura wasted no time in making that phone call. Remington watched on from the kitchen as she skillfully convinced her source to run the license plate. She leaned back in the armchair with the receiver in one hand and a pen in the other, staring off into the distance while waiting for the results.
The drive back had meant taking every possible detour to make sure they weren't followed and only occasionally breaking the speed limit, without running a red light or being pulled over by the police. Aside from exchanging a few witty remarks, both of them stayed quiet for the most part and not mentioning anything about the brief moment they'd shared in the alley.
Remington however felt that it was a hopeful sign that maybe it wasn't too late to mend things with Laura.
"All right, so the car in question apparently belongs to a rental service, which means we'll pay them a visit first thing tomorrow."
Remington snapped out of his daze at the sound of Laura's voice, realizing she was now standing on the other side of the kitchen counter with a notepad in hand.
"Which will hopefully provide us with the identity of the mystery man," he said and Laura nodded.
"Exactly. The sooner we can identify and locate him, the sooner we can put this whole thing to rest," she said with a sigh, leaving the notepad on the counter top. "Now if you excuse me, I need to freshen up."
Remington watched as Laura disappeared into the bathroom, her words echoing in his mind. Determined to maintain a hopeful outlook for the time being, he decided to keep busy by putting himself to use. He turned around and opened up the fridge, inspecting the content before deciding on the few usable ingredients available. Remington was unable to hold back a small smile a the familiarity of a sparse fridge, meaning that Laura most likely still ordered take-out when she wasn't eating out.
It gave him a small sense of comfort knowing that some things still remained the same and that perhaps Laura wasn't a completely different person after all. With the sound of the running bathroom faucet in the background, Remington rolled up the sleeves of his shirt and began chopping vegetables.
It took him back to happier times when the two of them spent numerous mornings and nights cooking in the kitchen, which in turn brought back other fond memories. The more he thought about it, the more Remington was reminded of just how good things had been following their return from Ireland three years ago.
After working closely together for five years and developing a partnership and friendship that finally evolved into something more, he had at last made the perfect life for himself and fully embraced the identity of the Remington Steele that Laura had created years earlier.
The fairytale ending hadn't lasted very long, but it didn't change the fact that he wanted to reassume the role of Remington Steele no matter what impact it may have on his future relationship with Laura.
"Something smells delicious."
Remington looked up from the stove as Laura entered the kitchen. She had changed into a pair of blue jeans and a T-shirt, with her hair up in a ponytail that swayed from side to side as she moved about.
"I take it you still approve of my cooking?" Remington said with a grin as Laura passed behind him.
"Just don't let it go to your head," she said while pulling down the kitchen blinds to ensure privacy, after having done the same earlier to the large living room windows facing the street. Her car wasn't parked in its usual spot in hopes of giving the impression that Laura wasn't at home and last time she'd checked, the dark blue sedan hadn't circled back to the apartment building.
"I'll do my best," Remington said, getting momentarily distracted as Laura suddenly handed him a glass of wine before jumping up to take a seat on the counter next to him, just like the good old days.
"So, I guess we should decide where you'll be spending the night," she said, taking a sip of wine from her own glass. "I mean, at this point you're probably in just as much danger as I am. Seems only fair that you'll stay here until our current predicament has been resolved."
"I've grown rather fond of your couch. Unless you had some other arrangement in mind?" Remington teased with a coy smile and despite Laura's best efforts, a small smile tugged at her lips.
"Make no mistake, Mr. Steele. This arrangement is merely a necessity and not an invitation to whatever it is you're hoping for to happen."
"Right. No funny business."
"Exactly."
"But should you change your mind, you know where to find me."
"Then it's a good thing one of us is in control of our libido."
TO BE CONTINUED...