Part 4
"Oh, my back," Steele groaned. "That wasn't a bed we slept in; it was an instrument of torture."
"That's one way of making sure houseguests don't overstay their welcome," Laura said with a wan smile, still not quite recovered from her early morning queasiness. She climbed out of the car and leaned back against it for a moment as if to steady herself.
"Sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Steele," Mildred offered. "Eunice means well."
"She's lovely, Mildred, really, and it's nice to get to meet more of your family." Laura looked at Steele with chagrin. "Fabulous work getting this address from the shampooer at the Cut 'n Curl!"
"Yes, Mildred. Wonderful work. Particularly returning from the salon to rescue us from Harvey's suspicions. I think he really wanted to turn me over to the officer who came to the house to make out the burglary report."
"Isn't it great that the coins were the only thing missing from Eunice and Harvey's house? Don't take it personal, Mr. Steele; Harvey's just a little suspicious of strangers."
"Yes, Harry, and they don't come any stranger than you," Laura grinned slightly as she slipped her arm through Steele's .
"It does seem awfully convenient that Harvey and Eunice get robbed the first time they go away overnight in years." Mildred led the three down the sidewalk, double checking the scrap of paper she clutched in one hand. "This is it – Arlene and Leonard's town house. Sure looks quiet."
"Shouldn't take us long to check them out," Steele said cheerfully.
When no one answered the bell, they entered through a back door. A thorough search of the dwelling revealed nothing that suggested Arlene and Leonard were anything other than the loving grandparents Eunice had described. The trio left, no closer to understanding how Harvey's coin collection had been targeted for theft.
Steele turned toward their detective in training. "Well, Mildred, you're leading the investigation on this one. Where do you suggest we go from here? Is it time to pack our bags and head back to the sunny skies of LA?" Steele asked hopefully.
As they turned the corner toward the street a shot rang out, hitting the brick wall behind them. All three ducked, then cautiously raising their heads to look around as a second shot sent them sprawling into the bushes along the walk.
"Stay here – both of you!" Steele pleaded as he crept cautiously back around the corner of the townhouse.
"Where do you think you're going!?" Laura asked indignantly.When she received no answer from Steele,she whispered, "Keep down, Mildred."
Mildred clung desperately to Laura as the younger woman moved to follow Steele out from their hiding place. A third shot pinged against the wall above them.
"Ohhh,Mrs. Steele – don't forget about the baby!" Mildred exclaimed as Laura squirmed out of her grasp to dart down the narrow alleyway in the direction from which the shots seemed to have come.
Mildred wrung her hands as Laura leaped awkwardly to take cover behind a retaining wall. Another shot blasted the pavement where Mrs. Steele been seconds earlier. A figure dressed in dark pants and a hooded sweatshirt which covered his face raced down the alleyway, stopping near Laura. In a panic, Mildred stood and waved her hands about.
She called out tremulously, "Hold it, dirt bag!"
The gunman turned toward Mildred and as he did, Steele tackled him in a flying leap, the gun flying as they landed. One more shot punctuated the previously quiet neighborhood.
Mildred scurried over to grab the gun as Steele struggled briefly with the shooter. Growling in anger, Steele forced the man's hands behind his back and roughly pushed him to the ground, holding him there with one knee.
"Laura!" The word came from Steele's throat as a sob as he looked over to where she lay huddled on the ground.
Mildred looked over at Laura, as well. Holding the gun in both shaking hands, Mildred kept it trained on the man Steele held as she walked in a wide circle around them toward the inert figure of Mrs. Steele.
"I've got him,Mildred; just check on Laura!" Steele urged.
Mildred set the gun down, well away from anyone, and knelt to gently pull Laura's hair back from her face.
Steele jerked their assailant to a seated position and used the man's own belt to secure his hands behind his back. He then moved to join Mildred, carefully lifting Laura to assess her injuries.
"Mrs. Steele?" Mildred asked gently, placing a warm hand on Laura's pale cheek.
Laura drew in a slow, shuddering breath, and moaned softly.
"Get help, please!" Steele begged.
Mildred rose and ran as fast as her short legs would carry her toward the street, where she started to flag down a passing motorist. Then spotting a pay phone, she rushed to place a call for the police and an ambulance.
"Wake up, love!" Steele murmured into Laura's hair as he held her close.
Her breathing shallow, Laura lay unresponsive in his arms.
Steele's long fingers traced imaginary lines between the freckles on Laura's cheeks as he spoke to her. "We've got things to do, Mrs. Steele. We need to find Harvey's coin collection. We need to find someplace better than Eunice's sofa bed to sleep on tonight. We need to pick out a house together - a house with room for your piano and my movie posters. We need to paint a nursery for our little souvenir from Ireland – or maybe wallpaper the nursery with little green shamrocks or leprechauns. And somehow, we need to make sure we never ever have to dodge bullets again."
Tears trickled down Steele's face as he spoke, though his words were quiet and reassuring.
Mildred walked quietly up behind the pair, hearing the last part of his one- sided conversation with Laura. "I'm so sorry I got you two into this, Chief," Mildred said, her voice catching as she spoke.
"Nonsense, Mildred. Your sister was missing. Besides, if you hadn't distracted the gunman . . . Well, you're the hero in this, Mildred." Steele looked down at Laura again, in time to see her eyes flutter open.
"Mr. Steele…" Laura managed to croak as she sat up unsteadily within the circle of her husband's arms. "I'm fine. Just got the wind knocked out…"
"Back to formal names again, are we, Mrs. Steele?" Steele whispered as he nuzzled Laura, wiping his tears on her hair.
"Thank goodness, Miss Holt – you had us worried there for a moment," Mildred said with relief. A siren wailed in the distance. "Hopefully, that'll be the cavalry. I'll get 'em and bring them back here!"
"Are you sure you've got that creep tied up?" Laura asked, nodding at the struggling man.
Dragging his eyes unwillingly away from Laura, Steele fastened a hard stare on the person who had been responsible for hurting her and endangering all three of them. He walked over and knocked the man's hood back, grabbing his hair roughly and forcing his face upwards.
"Well, it's not Leonard unless Arlene married a much younger man," Steele told him. "That's my wife you were taking shots at, you bugger - along with our associate and me. What the bloody hell did you think you were doing?"
"I was not going to hurt anyone. My shots were over your heads – I just wanted to frighten you off before you figured out that…" The sullen man then clapped his mouth shut, thinking better about sharing more.
"Hans!" Mildred declared as she hurried back toward the Steeles leading a small army of emergency personnel. "What on earth!? He's the shampooer at the Cut 'n Curl!"
"Well, I'd say his days at the Cut 'n Curl are down the drain. Assault with a deadly weapon, probable theft. What will the police find when they search your home, eh?" Steele grimaced at the man, giving him a final, angry shake as he turned back to his wife and the emergency crew surrounding her. "She's pregnant – not quite three months," he told them. "This 'man' took a number of shots at us. My wife was dodging him when she was injured."
"We'll check her out, sir. Any pain, miss?"
"Just the occasional one in the backside," Laura said with a smile as she eyed Steele lovingly. "Really, I think I'm OK; just had the breath knocked out of me. It isn't the first time."
Eunice hugged Mildred tightly as Harvey shook Steele's hand. Steele's left hand was unconsciously massaging the ache in his back, the result of another night on Eunice's 'comfy' sofa bed.
"You all come back for a real visit some time – or maybe we'll come see you in Los Angeles," Eunice offered warmly. She leaned in to kiss Laura on the cheek. "I'm gonna knit you my special bunting, pink or blue, as soon as I hear whether you've had a boy or a girl!"
"That sounds wonderful, Eunice," Laura smiled. "I'm sure you'll be among the first to know. Come visit Mildred soon - don't let your last trip discourage you! How were you to know that while he was shampooing, Hans was listening in on your conversation with Arlene and would come looking for Harvey's prized coins?"
"I guess Hans was looking for two different kind of tips at the Cut 'n Curl – the ones he overheard, as well as the ones he earned with his scalp massages!" Mildred added.
"I'll miss his magic fingers, but I have a great story to share with Arlene when she gets back from visiting her kids. The owner of the Cut 'n Curl is so proud to have a photograph of the famous LA detectives to hang on the wall in the shop!" Eunice grinned. "And thanks to you three Harvey has his coins back!"
Mildred, Steele and Laura climbed into the Rabbit, waving at Eunice and Harvey as they settled in for the long drive back home.
"Now, the three of us are going to have a conversation," Mildred began as she pulled out some fresh skeins of lemony yellow yarn and began the blanket pattern Eunice had promised to call her about. "I've got the two of you corralled all the way back to LA and by that time, we're going to have figured some things out."
Steele and Laura looked at one another, a bookend pair of raised eyebrows.
"We make a great team, the three of us. I can't imagine life without the two of you, and I think you need me, too. HOWEVER, I don't ever want to lean over one of you lying on the pavement again, and I'm getting too old to keep chasing after you and keeping you out of trouble. That little one you're expecting needs a quieter life than you two have led in the years that I've been with you, and we're gonna figure out how that's gonna happen." Mildred's fingers flew as fast as her words, an even row of stitches growing under her competent fingers.
"Mildred…" Steele began.
"I don't want any arguments, Chief. And Mrs. S., I don't care how much you love excitement-getting shot at and diving around alleys to avoid gunmen is no way to bring a baby into the world."
Laura dropped her eyes into her lap, before turning to smile at Harry. "Of course not, Mildred."
"And another thing…"
Laura's hand slipped into Steele's. As Mildred droned on, the couple in the front seat smiled broadly. The car radio, only faintly audible over Mildred's harangue, was playing a plaintive song recorded by the Captain and Tennille.
"Well, then, what's to be the reason for becoming man and wife?"