"That went well," Laura said, collapsing into bed next to her husband.
Remington smiled.
"Actually, I think it did," he said. "I think your mother really likes the house, and what you've done with it."
"What YOU'VE done with it," she replied, leaning in to his embrace.
"I think it's been a collaborative effort," he said, stroking her hair.
"Why can't my mother understand that a woman's worth does not have to be defined by her domestic abilities?"
"She's from another era, Darling. And believe me," he said with a smile, "there is absolutely nothing wrong with your domestic abilities." He leaned in for a passionate kiss.
Breaking the kiss, Laura pulled back. Her husband couldn't miss the blush that came over her beautiful face; it had been a long time since he'd seen it.
"Remington," she said. "We can't."
It had also been a long time since he'd heard those words.
"Yes Laura," he said, kissing her again. "We can… and very well, I might add."
"My mother is right down the hall," she told him.
"Ah," he said, as realization dawned. "Laura, darling," he went on. "You're a grown woman. We're married and you're pregnant. I think your mother knows we have sex."
"Knowing is one thing," she said. "KNOWING is another all together."
"Laura," he coaxed.
"I'm sorry, Sweetheart," she said. "I just can't."
"I understand," he said. Kissing her forehead, he wrapped his arms around her. "Let's go to sleep."
It was going to be a long visit.
-----
"Good morning, Chief," Mildred said as Remington walked into the office.
"Morning, Mildred," he said quietly, moving directly into his office.
She'd noticed he hadn't been himself for the past week or so. Mrs. Steele hadn't been in any better a mood, either. They had both been in and out of the office, running down leads on the various cases that they were working on. They'd donned their "street clothes" and visited the office of A Hand Up–LA more than once. They'd even taken a few meetings with Bing, letting him know that they'd wrap up his case by the end of the week. But something wasn't right. They were both just going through the motions and there was a tension in the air that hadn't been there in more than two years. Mildred had been working hard to get her PI license, but she didn't need a license to figure out what the problem was with her employers.
She had an idea.
Dialing the number of the beach house, she sat down to wait for an answer.
"Steele residence."
"Good morning, Mrs. Holt," she said. "This is Mildred Krebs. I was wondering if you might meet me for lunch this afternoon…"
-----
Mildred left a message for Mr. Steele to meet Mrs. Steele at home, ASAP. Then, she called Fred and instructed him to make sure Mrs. Steele was at the house at lunch time.
This had to work.
------
Abigail Holt looked at her watch for the third time. Where was that woman? Honestly, she thought. She couldn't begin to understand why Laura and Remington kept her on the payroll. She wasn't at all sure why Mildred Krebs had invited her to lunch in the first place, but curiosity got the better of her and she'd agreed to meet her at a small café near the office.
"Mrs. Holt," Mildred said as she approached the table. "I'm sorry I'm late. We had a client come in without an appointment and Mrs. Steele asked me to handle it."
"That's fine, Miss Krebs," Abigail answered, with a slight roll of her eyes.
So that's where Laura gets it, Mildred thought.
"Mildred, please," Mildred corrected. "Call me Mildred. I guess you're wondering why I asked you down here."
"The thought had occurred."
This is gonna be harder than I thought, Mildred thought. She began to understand Laura's anxiety when it came to her mother. The woman was practically impossible to be nice to. She wondered how Mr. Steele managed to do it so well.
"Well," she said tentatively, "Mrs. Steele mentioned that you had thought about extending your visit."
"Yes, actually," Abigail answered. "I'm thinking of moving back to Los Angeles permanently. I mean, it only makes sense. Both of my daughters and all my grandchildren are here. And goodness knows that Laura is going to need all the help she can get when the baby is born."
Does she ever give Laura any credit?
"Permanently?" Mildred asked. That was news to her, and to Mrs. Steele too, she expected.
"Yes Mildred," Abigail answered.
"I suppose you'll be looking for a place then," Mildred said as the waiter came and took their orders.
This seemed to take Abigail by surprise.
"I hadn't really thought of it," she answered. "I mean, I suppose I should… Laura and Remington are still newlyweds. But the house is quite large and they're going to need help…"
-----
"Laura?" Remington called as he entered the house. "Laura? Darling, is everything all right?"
"Rem?" Laura responded, walking into the kitchen.
"Thank goodness," he said, taking her in his arms. He kissed her soundly before looking down into her eyes. "When I got the message to meet you here, I was worried that something had happened."
"Meet me?" she asked. "Fred said you had called and asked him to bring me here."
"Mildred," they said in unison.
Remington smiled; Mildred had always done such a good job of looking after them both. She had obviously figured out that things hadn't been going swimmingly for them lately and that they needed some alone time.
"Lord love her," he said. Taking his wife by the hand, he began to lead her to their bedroom. "She went to a lot of trouble to get us here," he said. "Let's not let her machinations go to waste," he added with a wiggle of his eyebrow.
A devilish grin spread across Laura's face. She'd missed their "alone time" as much as he had, and an afternoon tryst was just what they needed to try to get back to normal.
"Where's Mother?" she asked.
"Having lunch with Mildred," Remington said, remembering the other part of Mildred's message.
Laura giggled and pulled Remington in the direction of their bedroom.
"What are we waiting for?" she asked.
-----
Mildred smiled as her employers walked into the office, hand in hand. They looked much more relaxed than they had in the past week. She glanced down at her watch and her smile grew even wider.
"Nice lunch?" she asked.
"Perfect," Remington answered.
"A gourmet feast," Laura added. She smiled as she watched her husband's jaw drop. She winked at him and disappeared into her office.
"Thank you," he said quietly.
Mildred didn't speak, she just nodded and smiled.
"What would we do without you, Love?"
"I don't even want to think about it," Mildred said with a chuckle. "But I think you may have another problem."
"Oh?" he asked. "What's that?"
"Mother-in-lawus permanentus."
"What?"
"Mrs. Holt plans to move back to Los Angeles."
"That's great," he said through a forced smile, hoping Laura would agree.
"She's planning on moving in with you and Laura."
"WHAT?"
This was not good news. He drew one hand to his chin and began pacing the room. This was definitely not good.
"Chief?" Mildred said, interrupting his musing.
"Wha- oh, yes, Mildred," he answered, distracted. "What is it?"
"I have a plan."
He smiled that winning smile she loved so much.
"Of course you do," he said. "What is it?"
"Well," she said. "I did sort of remind her that you kids are really still newlyweds and that the baby won't be here for another four or five months…"
"Yes…"
"So maybe it would be best if she found her own place…"
"Right…"
"But in the meantime, maybe she could use the condo on Rossmore."
"Mildred, you're a genius!" he said, kissing her forehead.
"Thanks, Boss," she said, beaming. "Now, who's gonna tell Mrs. Steele?"
"That would be my job, Mildred," he said. "Speaking of jobs, we want to wrap up Bing's case today. Bring me everything you've got on Brian Prescott."
"You got it, Chief," she said to his back as he walked in to Laura's office.
"Hey, you," she said softly.
"Hey," he said in reply.
"I'm sorry I've been so distant lately."
"I know," he said, sitting on the edge of her desk and taking her hand. "It's not been an easy time for either of us." He paused, bringing her hand to his lips. "But we'll get through it. We always do, eh?"
She smiled.
"That's true," she said. "But we've never had to deal with my mother down the hall."
"Yeah," he said. "About that…"
"What?"
"Did you know she's planning to move back to Los Angeles?"
"WHAT?" she exclaimed. "I knew she was thinking about staying until the baby was born, but…"
"She told Mildred that it only makes sense that she be here. You and Frances are both here," he said, "and all of her grandchildren…"
Laura was nodding, even as she began rubbing her temples. Her wonderful mood was beginning to slip away and she felt one doozy of a headache coming on.
"…and she thinks you're going to need her help once the little bundle arrives."
Laura sighed. She might be right. What did Laura know about being a mother? Having her own mother around might be helpful---if she didn't kill her first.
"It might be okay," she said, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes.
"There's more," he said.
"What?" she asked without opening her eyes.
"She wants to live at the beach house with us," he finished, bracing himself.
"WHAT?" she said and as her eyes flew open, she sat straight up in her chair.
"Don't worry," he said with a smile. "Mildred's got a plan."
"Of course she does."
They both looked up as the door opened.
"Got it!" Mildred said, waving a file folder. She handed the folder to Laura. She and Remington watched as Laura read through the file.
"There's nothing here," she said, closing the folder and slamming it down on the desk.
Mildred looked crestfallen.
"Nothing?" Remington asked.
"Well," Laura said, opening the file again. "I mean, there's evidence that he's a small time con man…"
"That's SOMETHING, right?" he coaxed.
"I guess so," Laura conceded. "But there's no PROOF and nothing linking A Hand Up–LA to anything illegal." She stood and walked over to the window.
As she turned her back to them, Remington and Mildred exchanged glances. Remington's look was consoling. He hated the hurt that he saw in Mildred's eyes when Laura discounted her contribution. They were becoming used to Laura's mood swings, but her outbursts could still sting.
"I'm sorry Mildred," Laura said, turning around. "You did your usual bang up job getting this information. I'm just frustrated. It's been almost three weeks. This should have been wrapped up in a couple of days, and we're still essentially nowhere," she said with a sigh. "Wait," she said. "I have an idea. Get me his financials."
Remington had an idea, too. He followed Mildred out to the reception area, pausing for a moment at Laura's door. He turned back to his wife who was already engrossed in a file.
"Laura, darling," he said. "I have something I need to take care of. I'll be back to drive you home."
"Okay," she said without looking up. "See ya."
"Laura?"
"Yes?" This time she looked up at his smiling face.
"I love you."
She smiled.
"I love you, too," she said. "Go on."
He blew her a kiss and closed the office door.
"Mildred," he said. "What's the name of the travel agency we use?"
"Village Travel, do you want me to call them?"
"No, no," he said. "I'll handle it myself."
"You gonna take the Missus on a romantic getaway?"
He winked.
"I'm going to try, Mildred," he said. "I'm going to try."
-----
Remington snapped the light blue velvet box shut and slipped it into his pocket. As he walked up to the door of the travel agency, he paused recognizing the man currently talking to the agent. The man was Brian Prescott. Another idea began to form. He walked across the street to the limo and climbed in.
"Back to the office, Mr. Steele?" Fred asked.
"Not just yet, Fred," he answered and watched out the window until he saw Prescott leaving. He got out of the car and went back to the travel agency.
"Can I help you?" an older woman asked without looking up from her computer.
"I hope so," Remington answered. "I'd like to plan a romantic getaway for this weekend."
"This weekend?" she asked, looking up. "Isn't that a little short notice?"
"Well, yes," he said, tugging on his ear. "But you see, it seems the only thing to do. My wife," he went on, "my wife is almost five months pregnant, my mother-in-law has moved in…"
"Say no more, honey," the woman said with a sympathetic smile. "Where you wanna go?"
"I'm not sure," Remington mused. "What's popular these days?"
"Well," she said, looking through her files. "Hawaii is always good. The last guy I had in here was all excited about taking his girl to Maui. Said he was working on a special project just to make enough money to take her on the trip," she paused, reaching into drawer. "He even named the company A HULA," she said, showing him the check. "Isn't that cute?"
"Darling," Remington said, looking at the check. A hula? He thought as he glanced at Prescott's signature.
Realizing that she'd just shown this guy another customer's check, she snatched it back.
"That's just the deposit," she said. "He's gonna pay for the rest of the trip next week. Pretty extravagant, he really wants to show his girl a good time. What about you?" she asked. "You look like someone who goes top of the line."
"Oh yes," he said, distracted by his thoughts of Brian Prescott. "Yes, yes. First class all the way."
As the pieces started to fit, he wanted nothing more than to get his theory and this new information to Laura. Looking down at the name plate on the woman's desk, he went on.
"Rosie," he said. "See what you can put together for me and then call my secretary with the details." He reached into his breast pocket to hand her a business card.
"Oh, Mr. Steele," she said. "I didn't recognize you. I'm so sorry. I have all of your preferences on file. I'll put something together and get it over to Mildred right away. You and Mrs. Steele will have the best time. Oh, and Mr. Steele?"
"Yes, Rosie?"
"Congratulations on the bambino."
"Thank you, Rosie," he said, flashing that famous smile. "And thanks for putting this trip together for me. You're a gem."
Mildred wasn't at her desk when he arrived back at the office. He hoped she was in with Laura. It struck him that he didn't like the thought of Laura being alone in the office in the evenings. Not that Mildred would actually provide protection, but if they got into trouble, two heads were better than one.
"Laura?" he called out as he walked toward her office.
"In here," she called in answer.
He opened the door to the office and smiled. Laura was busy at work and Mildred was leaning over her shoulder as they went over a file together.
"Ready to call it a day, Mrs. Steele?" he asked.
"Just about," Laura answered as Mildred excused herself.
"I got something on Prescott," he told Laura.
"Me too," she answered brightly.
Laura told him what she and Mildred had found in Prescott's financial records and he told her what he'd discovered during his visit with the travel agent.
"What were you doing at the travel agency?" she asked.
"Oh, nothing," he said.
"Remington?"
"It's nothing, Laura," he told her. "I think we've got what we need on Prescott and A Hand Up-LA, at least enough to keep Bing from losing his shirt. Let's go home."
To be continued…