Chapter 3:
Laura arrived at the office after leaving Mr. Steele at Rossmore, allowing him the chance to put himself up to his usual dressing standards. They would have to spend the day out of the office again, and the thought of him feeling uncomfortable with his clothes through the whole journey would add additional suffering aside of her own possible soreness.
"Good morning Mildred."
"Good morning, Miss Holt. How are you today? Ouch! I wish I wouldn't have asked…" said Mildred when she noticed Laura's swollen cheek, almost invisible under makeup, but very visible for the secretary's trained eyes.
"I'm ok, thank you, Mildred. I'm not in pain, and I think the swelling is getting better than early in the morning."
"Don't worry Miss Holt. Between the makeup and the fedora, nobody will notice anything. How did it go yesterday at Mr. Stanhope's?" asked the secretary.
"We took the case, Mildred. There are some manuscripts missed. It's personal stuff that Mr. Stanhope is eager to find. It looks like a routine case. We are going to work there for the day. I've just come to see how things are going here. How is Pedro doing? Is he going to end the work as planned?"
"Oh, honey. I don't know. Once I have the luck to get something done from him, the man disappears like Houdini. He turns out again just to get his belongings ready and leave. Why does Mr. Steele always give him another chance? The man is not going to change, Miss Holt. And the lucky one dealing with him seems always to be me. I hope the boss will reconsider to hire him again in the future…"
"I won't put a bet on that, Mildred…"
"I know, honey. It's just a wish…"
"Morning, morning, morning! How is the Remington Steele's favorite staff feeling this morning? Beautiful ladies, being the three of us here together, enjoying a lovely and early morning, why don't we allow us the pleasure to share a delicious tea enlightened with some creamy croissants…"
"Are you kidding? Are you still hungry!? You've just had a very delicious breakfast… I can't believe you are in need of more..." she stopped abruptly in her tracks, Mr. Steele astonished look on her face. Mildred was paying attention, really entranced, to every one of her words. But Laura realized late, when she was in the middle of her tirade, that she was revealing too much about their joined breakfast, a mistake she would regret later.
"Let's skip the late breakfast, Miss Holt. I think you've just put me out of the mood for that. Work is waiting for us at Mr. Stanhope's house. Are we ready?" he asked, giving her a clue to run away from Mildred until the secretary would find the gap in their dialogue and ask one of her questions.
"We are ready indeed, Mr. Steele. See you later Mildred."
They left the agency in a hurry. Once they were in front of the elevator doors, Mr. Steele told her without looking at her, "If I had realized that the way to make you run away from the office was hidden under Mildred's capable hands, believe me that I'd had taken advantage to take her as an allied more than once in the past."
"I am sure you'd had. But then, I think you've got the wrong picture in there. The way to make me run away from the office wasn't hidden under Mildred's capable hands. I was the one that made a huge mistake opening my mouth without thinking."
"On the contrary, Laura. I've got the picture. We are lucky to have the chance to work in this case outside of the agency. I suspect she's thinking about her next interrogation round at this very moment."
"Be careful, Mr. Steele. Our dark shadow is barely ten steps behind us, and you know she has special antennas to catch any juicy and useful dialogue between us to replace her evening's literature…" she gave him a mischievous smile that he returned almost instantly. The elevator door opened, at last, giving them the opportunity to escape from the old lady's musings.
They started the day by interviewing the staff. They divided it into two groups: The outside crew, including outdoor cleaners, gardeners, chauffeurs, and maintenance staff; and the inside group, including the butler, chef and sôus chef, kitchen assistants; the chambers maids, and the principal ones working in all the common areas of the mansion. It was a real battalion at the service of just one man.
They decided to start interviewing the inside staff except for Richard Lehman, the private assistant, whose interview would be relegated to the end. They wanted to hear everybody's opinion about everybody. As Lehman was the one in charge of the rest of the crew, they would have the chance to ask questions about him to every one of its members before his own interview.
They decided to work in the library because people would be in a better mood to answer their questions being out of their own work area. The interrogations advanced in the first place over the kitchen's personnel and followed over the waitresses and butler. The chambers maids questioning took a particular time. Everybody seemed to have been working there since a long time ago, and nobody was showing signs of being dissatisfied with any aspect of their jobs. The payment was good enough, and the work environment felt comfortable for everybody.
All the employees talked marvels about Mr. Stanhope. And the feeling they were showing was that it was not only an appreciation from employee to employer. They all seemed to appreciate the old man, just because he was a generous person with everybody.
After about four hours, both of them were ready to take a break and recharge batteries comparing notes. Laura had followed a precise path, writing opinions and personal details in her notebook. Mr. Steele didn't write anything. He wasn't even carrying a notebook. Every detail was plastered in his mind.
The trip to the restaurant they've seen earlier, on their way to the mansion, was made in silence. They were thinking about the recent interviews, trying to arrive at conclusions to share during their lunch.
Once their orders were on the table; they began to speak.
"Did you find anything interesting through our four-hour marathon?" asked Laura.
"Well, I think we both arrived at a coincidental conclusion about our flavorful interviews. Everybody loves George, everybody is fine with the job, and everybody is eager to help to find a solution to the situation. However, you can be happy in your job, happy in general, but by all means, Laura… Did you notice that nobody said a negative word there?" He ended his words looking at her with interest, waiting for her opinion.
"Yes, I noticed. I don't know if we would be able to find something from the outside staff. Maybe we should try to turn down things and see if something comes out."
"And how do you suggest we play that move?" The intrigue was planted inside of him.
"Maybe we should read some of Mr. Stanhope's written volumes to find the kind of writing he uses to do there. Check if he writes about feelings, or about the people close to him. Maybe that would give us a clue about how he really feels about anyone at the house. I suppose we would have to ask for permission from Mr. Stanhope, but I don't think he would refuse. Our agreement is based on secrecy, and any information should stay under the same statement. Maybe it would be wise to ask Mildred to write a contract including detailed specifications. He would feel safe with that, and we would be safe with that back-up either."
"Are you really thinking we are in need of a written backup in this case, Laura? I see it as an easy one. I don't think we are going to need to use any contract against Mr. Stanhope. The man is straightforward, and he seems to be a man of word," said Mr. Steele.
"I agree with you, but remember what happened when we were supposed to protect the Royal Lavoulite some years ago, and the whole case turned out against us, with the agency almost losing its license. We have to do things responsibly. If we have the chance to put everything in a contract, it will be what we'll do."
"Okay, let's do it your way, Laura. I'm afraid if we don't, and anything goes wrong, I'll be doing paperwork in punishment until the end of times."
"Who is going to call Mildred? I don't think that after my earlier slip I could manage a serious conversation with her without getting tangled in her suppositions."
"I can't believe you are still embarrassed about that Miss Holt…" He smiled wickedly.
"I'm still embarrassed, I must confess. And I think that your abilities to entangle Mildred in a conversation are really superior to mines. So, go ahead and con her. You are the master in that department, Mr. Steele."
"Okay, Laura, I'll make the call."
"Oh, and tell her that we will return to pick up the papers later. She can leave the same hour as always."
"You don't cease to surprise me, Laura. The bravest woman I know is afraid to have a serious talk with her own secretary…"
"I 'm afraid I'll have to live with that…" she said showing some resignation and sipping her beverage to swallow the moment.
The day continued as they thought, and after the second round of interrogations, they were still in the same place: at the beginning. The difference was that they had a big part of the supposed investigation done, but no clue to follow. That left them in the middle of nowhere, with no horizon to put their focus on.