Chapter 2:

They decided to take the Rabbit. It was a wonderful day, and the feeling of the breeze on their faces felt good. After driving for a while, a majestic avenue appeared on the view. The journey from the highway to the castle announced them that the final destination would be magnificent. They arrived at the villa about 4:00pm. "You know, Miss Holt, All my life, I've been looking for class...but this, this is the real thing.

"It's a real castle, isn't it?" she answered, absolutely dazzled.

They left the car in the parking lot and went directly to the information desk, where a lady was giving instructions to a group of tourists. They mixed into the group, and the visit began.

The tour started at the Casa Grande. They walked through several rooms, the Assembly room, the Theater, and finally, they entered the Gothic Study. The painting was there, hanging on the wall, surrounded by other art pieces. Nobody except an expert would be able to notice that it was not the original. The exquisite ambiance, the significant gold leaf frame, and the fascinating smell would fool anybody. Just when the group left the place, Mr. Steele approached the painting wall, trying to catch something out of place. Everything seemed in place. They followed the group, trying to go unnoticed by the museum staff, until the ending of the tour outside, at the Neptune Pool. The view took their breath away.

"Finally, Laura, we are in the middle of Eden. And nobody is shooting us this time," he said, pulling her to him, his hand on her back. "We should take advantage of the situation don't you think, Miss Holt?"

"You know, Mr. Steele, this is not the time or the place. Let's keep our senses tuned to the case. Who knows, maybe a new opportunity is waiting for us in LA…" she told him. She gave him a kiss on his cheek and disengaged herself from his arms, and went back to follow the group.

"Did you say opportunity? Hmmm…I think I could wait for that." He eagerly followed her barely able to wait.

On their way back to LA, after exchanging impressions, they decided to take the case. Even though it was an enormous responsibility, several matters made it just perfect for them. There was a heist, the stolen item was a painting, and luxury was surrounding the setting. Of course, neither of them could let this kind of challenge escape from their hands. The news would be broken to Mr. Shaw on Monday, on company time. Right then, they would spend the rest of the weekend with their minds on some different matters, Mr. Steele thought; Much more pleasurable ones than work.

They arrived back in LA late that night and had dinner at a lovely bistro. Mr. Steele felt luck was with him this night. After a delightful meal, they would end the evening at Rossmore, sipping champagne in front of the fire and who knows; maybe the romantic atmosphere would ignite another kind of flame…

But reality interfered just in time to send his dreams to the stratosphere. Only when they were getting out of the restaurant, Laura, like always, ruined it all, "Mr. Steele. I think we should call it a night. The case is complicated, and we have all the work ahead of us. What would you say if I dropped you at Rossmore, and continued on my way home? Tomorrow we could meet at the office about 11:00am to start working on the case." She looked at him and asked, "What do you think?"

"At the office at 11:00, on Sunday?" he asked completely baffled. "We've just spent our Saturday working, Laura."

"We have to break the news to Mr. Shaw on Monday. What do you think we are going to tell him if we are totally unprepared?"

Not believing how unbearable she could sometimes be, he answered with just an "Ok. Tomorrow. 11:00 Am. At the office. But just let me drive you to the loft, and I'll pick you up tomorrow." Driving her home would give him at least, the chance of a goodbye kiss outside the car, a little more romantic parting than the one she was suggesting.

Sunday was spent studying the case, searching for the most prominent LA art dealers able to discreetly offer the painting to selected buyers, figuring out their modus operandi on the case.

"Morning, morning, morning," said a cheerful Mr. Stele to Mildred.

"Good morning chief. Miss Holt called and said Mr. Shaw will be here at 11:00am. She'll try to be here on time, but if not, she said you should start the meeting without her. I'll be in with your tea in a minute, boss."

"Ok, Mildred. As it seems that our Miss Holt is late, and I am in charge, what do you think about bringing some croissants along with my tea? That would help to set my mind in a working mood," he told her.

"I'm on my way, boss. The paper is on your desk." She took her purse and left the office in a hurry to satisfy her boss's desires, eager to pamper him in every way possible as always.

Laura arrived a while later, just in time to have a little chat with the boss before Mr. Shaw's arrival. The previous day, after all the time they worked together, she brought a couple of files home. In there, she found something interesting she wanted to share with him. The stolen painting had a legitimate claim on it.

"Good morning Mr. Steele. I hope you are in a good mood today because I have interesting news to share before our meeting."

He raised his eyes from the paper, and he was on his feet in a jump. "Good morning Laura. I thought you were going to be late. I was going to start the meeting alone with Mr. Shaw." He left the paper on the desk, and looking at her with distinctive attention, he asked," What interesting news are you talking about?"

"Well, it seems that the "Alvise Vendramin Portrayal" is being claimed by a family from Germany. The claim says that the painting had been stolen by the Nazis in the 30's, and now, they want it back. The heirs of the real owner run an art gallery in Laguna Beach. I've been there talking with one of them early this morning. Mr. Steele, what if finding the painting closes our case, but is not the solution for our client?"

"Well, Miss Holt, perhaps we should ask that directly to him." And then looked to the office's door, where Mr. Shaw was standing open-mouthed.

"Come in, please, Mr. Shaw," said Laura. "Have a seat. I think we need to talk." After all the cards were already on the table, Mr. Shaw told them that he didn't have any idea about the claim. But that he would have to talk it with the Board. He was sure there wasn't going to be any problem with the return of the painting to the legitimate owners if their rights were legitimate. But that he wasn't going to talk to the Board without the painting in his hands. They would have to recover it first.

The Remington Steele Investigations Agency agreed to take the case, and after they asked for the castle plans, Mr. Shaw offered them the villa near the castle to stay while working on the case. The family was still the owner of the building, and it would be better for them to be near the action, just in case. It sounded convenient, so they agreed to meet there on Wednesday. It would give them some time for another round of research before being installed at the villa. Just when Mr. Shaw was leaving the agency, Mildred returned with Mr. Steele's croissants. They shared a late working breakfast along with the secretary. They filled her in on the case, and in a couple of hours, Miss Krebs' keyboard was on fire.

In the meantime, the detectives decided to investigate the cash flow routines from the most important art dealers in California. That would give them an idea if a big masterpiece were being sold around that time. When they were immersed in the files Mildred was getting, the plans arrived. They took a look at them and decided that there were a lot of places to investigate in situ. And that they should bring their stakeout attire for that matter, just in case.

After a hectic day covering the last details before their trip, they were on the way to the castle. This time, they went with the Auburn. A sophisticated touch to be more in sync with the atmosphere of the case. Once they arrived at the Castle, a butler guided them to an old Victorian house near the mansion. It was a lovely place, similar to the big one, but on a smaller scale.

"You know Laura; this castle was an inspiration for Orson Welles to create Citizen Kane. The movie is loosely based on the life of William Randolph Hearst, one of the most famous newspaper publishers of all time. Hearst himself tried to prevent the film's release, claiming it defamed his reputation. He offered to buy all the negatives to have them destroyed and refused to let the movie being advertised in his papers. Welles used Hearst's opposition to Citizen Kane as a pretext for previewing the film in several opinion-making screenings in Los Angeles, lobbying for its artistic worth against the hostile campaign that Hearst was waging. It was such a promotion at last.

"You know, I have to ask you something about that movie, Mr. Steele. Since there was no one in the room when Kane died, how does anyone know he even said "Rosebud"? Since there was no one in the room when Kane died, how does anyone know he even said "Rosebud"?" She was sure it was an astute question, and maybe for once, he wouldn't have the right answer to give her.

"Well Laura, at the end of the film, Raymond, Kane's butler, informed Thompson, the reporter, that he was in the room at the time of Kane's death and heard his dying words. Welles likely shot the death scene from the early part of the film the way he did, making it appear that no one else was nearby, to emphasize Kane's solitude."

"Do you always have to know every answer to a movie question?" she asked exasperatedly.

"A good Private Investigator always runs a background investigation before taking a case. You should know that, Laura. If your needing to be the professional one had not ruined our Sunday night, you'd know that I spent the end of the weekend watching Citizen Kane, just to be prepared."

"Of course… You are always such a devoted worker…"

They went to their bedrooms, an apartment with two suites and a fantastic lounge between them, all the windows with a splendorous sight of the Pacific Ocean. After they left their belongings, the investigation started. Just following the plan they'd made the day before, Mr. Steele began to check all the places he would have been in if he'd been a participant in the heist. In the meantime, Miss Holt went directly to the security office, to check about every security device set at the mansion. They met back to share the news before dinner. There wasn't any news from Mr. Steele's investigation. And Laura had a lot of tapes about the painting's room and the castle´s exits. The work had to be continued at night.

They had dinner in an exclusive dining room, wooden walls covered with magnificent tapestries, and a long table set only for the two of them. The menu was sublime, and the wine was from the castle's winery. It was superb.

After such a feast, they returned to duty. Miss Holt put the first tape into the tape recorder and sat down on the sofa. In a smooth move, Mr. Steele sat on the couch beside her to watch the recordings. The process was exhaustingly dull. A huge effort. The meal had been great, the wine had been great too, and after the drive, the day, and the work, the only thing that was on his mind, relaxing with her in his arms. Laura was not getting his point. He would have to start at square one. Little by little, he scooted over to her until they were almost touching. Then, he put his arm on her shoulders, just testing the waters. Nothing happened. So, after a while, he pulled her against him, and then she rested her head on his shoulder. Breathe, my boy, breathe, he thought. We are on the right path… And just when he was moving his hand under her chin to have the pleasure of a kiss, Laura jumped.

"Look at that!"She said.

"What?" he asked not believing his lousy luck. Every time his mouth was inches away from hers, something like that appeared to send the moment away.

"The shadow," she said.

"What shadow?" he asked incredulously

"The guard's shadow. At the beginning of his walk, the shadow was on his back, and at the end, it was on his left. The tape is not complete. Somebody cut it. Somebody cut a part! The painting must have been stolen between the two rounds of this turn. And if we take a look at the shadows, we can picture the time of them. We'll be at the Gothic Study tomorrow, to check on the shadows and set the real time of the theft. Maybe the guard has something to do with the heist. Or maybe not. Perhaps somebody cut the tape to make him look guilty. We are almost there Mr. Steele, we are almost there!" said a really thrilled Laura, rubbing her hands with excitement.

"We were almost there, Miss Holt. We were…" he said with a sigh and a voice full of deception.