Chapter Text
Steele and Laura shared a look of astonishment and exclaimed in unison, “Rebecca?!”
“In the flesh,” Rebecca nodded before turning to Simon. “Simon, darling, you have done a great deal for me already. I’ll forever be grateful, but I can’t risk anything happen to you because of me. I think it’s time to let the good detectives in on the secret.”
“Your… uh… your hair?” Amazingly, of all the questions one might ask, that was the one Steele muttered. Sometimes the man could be so predictable.
“Ah, my hair!” Rebecca let out a hearty laugh, grateful for an easy question. “I dyed it, did some makeup and wardrobe magic too. You do remember I’m an actress, don’t you, Mr. Steele? I know what needs to be done to alter my appearance. Amazing how absolutely nobody pays attention to a gray-haired old lady in shabby clothes. I can go anywhere I want without being recognized. People just assume I am the cleaning lady.”
“And you’ve done a marvelous job, but why?”
“For love.”
Laura and Steele simply stared at her in bewilderment.
Seeing the detectives’ confused looks, Rebecca smiled. “It’s a long story. Before I tell you that, would you please now give Mr. Dole his plane tickets so he could go to Jamaica with his new bride for their honeymoon?”
“Honeymoon? With Miss Beller? But I thought Simon was YOUR husband.” After yet another shocking revelation, Laura could no longer conceal her reaction.
“Miss Holt… Laura, may I call you Laura?”
Laura simply nodded.
“Simon and I were never really married. Well, we had the ceremony and invited the press, but it was only a ruse to satisfy my father’s dying wish.” Rebecca’s voice held a hint of sadness as she smiled fondly at Simon. “I met Simon a while ago, and we formed an unlikely friendship. He was like the little brother I never had. I felt I could trust him wholeheartedly. Anyway, we planned to announce our ‘divorce’ right after my father’s funeral, but Kaufman came to me with this movie idea, and I thought it would be a great career opportunity for Simon and Jackie. They are both really talented, don’t you think? So, we decided to wait until the project was over. However, due to some unforeseen developments, I think it’s time Simon and I parted ways now.”
“And Miss Beller was fine with all of this?” Laura asked incredulously.
“Well, it all started as a joke over a bottle of whiskey. When we thought it might actually work, all three of us had some reservations at first. But this is Hollywood, you know. There’s no such thing as bad publicity. Sometimes it’s little charades like this that give the public pleasure. Jackie is really a darling. She loves Simon, trusts him implicitly, and, most importantly, she knows I present no threat to her relationship with Simon at all.”
After a slight pause, Rebecca gave Simon a firm nod, as if to assure him everything was alright. She then turned to look Steele and Laura square in the eye and said, “Mr. Steele, Miss Holt, I’m going to let you in on a secret. You can perhaps call it the best-kept secret in Hollywood. You see, I… uh… I am not interested in men.”
***
Standing across the desk from her “kids,” Mildred pressed both palms on her cheeks, eyes wide with astonishment. “Let me make sure I’ve got this right. Rebecca White, the Hollywood sex symbol, has just confided in you that she bats for the other team?”
“Yes, Mildred,” Laura confirmed, while Steele appeared amused by what he termed “the colorful American language.”
“So, in order to appease her father, Rebecca and Simon pretended to get married,” Laura went on to explain. “It also served as a publicity stunt for Simon, who never actually broke up with Jackie. The plan had always been for the young couple to tie the knot as soon as Rebecca announced the divorce. In fact, Rebecca bought them that little house and the trip to Jamaica as a wedding present.”
Feeling slightly dizzy from all the twists and turns in the case, Mildred asked, “Okay, I get that, but why did Ms. White go into hiding?”
“That’s where the story becomes quite intriguing, really,” Steele responded after taking a sip of his tea. “Many years ago, Rebecca fell in love with a woman while she was studying in Europe. However, during a holiday back home in California, she learned that her lover had died in a motor accident. Devastated, she decided to move back to the States, and you know the rest of the tale.”
“But a few weeks ago, her former lover reappeared,” Laura picked up where Steele left off. “Apparently, she never died after all. It was just a lie because she thought their relationship was hopeless. Long story short, that woman happened to be in California a couple of weeks ago and decided to look Rebecca up, which evidently was not too hard.”
“And they fell hopelessly in love again,” Steele interjected. “It truly is a tale straight out of Hollywood.”
“And this time, Rebecca wasn’t going to let her lover leave without her, even if it meant giving up everything she has here.” Laura continued, “The problem is Brad Hansen, the publicist, accidentally walked in on Rebecca kissing her lover backstage and took a photo. He threatened to go public with the story unless Rebecca would pay up.”
“Blackmail! That slimeball.” Mildred exclaimed.
“Rebecca wouldn’t have cared at this point, but the woman she is involved with is also from a rather prominent family in Europe. Having their relationship known to the public is just too great a risk. It could ruin her lover’s career and her family’s reputation,” explained Laura.
“So Rebecca decided to disappear,” Mildred concluded.
“In a sense, yes,” Steele continued. “Rebecca learned a lesson from her encounter with Brad and decided they needed to exercise caution. Being an accomplished actress, she disguised herself as an old cleaning lady to move about unnoticed by reporters. Meanwhile, she handled all the financial arrangements and paperwork to relocate to Europe, but there was still one problem.”
“The photo Brad took?” asked Mildred.
“Yup. Rebecca had to find the photo first before she could leave,” Laura took over the conversation. “Then, when she found out Sam Kaufman hired us to investigate her disappearance, she enlisted help from Simon and Jacqueline to distract us so she could continue with her search. While we were busy interviewing our ‘suspects,’ Rebecca was busy searching for the photo. She finally found it, along with the negative… cleverly hidden among the publicity photos at the studio.”
“Hide in Plain Sight, James Caan, Jill Eikenberry, United Artists, 1980,” Steele mused. “Actually, that can be said about both the photo and Rebecca.”
“Clever! So, Chief, how did you find out Rebecca was disguised as a cleaning lady.”
“Well…” Steele tugged one of his ears, “We didn’t actually know that until we confronted Simon Dole. Seeing that he and Jackie were traveling to Jamaica, naturally, we wanted to know why.”
“But how did you know they were going away to Jamaica?”
“Let’s just say… it was the result of some excellent legwork.” Laura said with a gleam in her eyes. Steele winked at her, and Mildred gave them a knowing look.
Laura recalled the last thing Rebecca said to Steele after he had assured her that her secret would be safe with them, because “after all, love is love.”
“Mr. Steele, Mr. Nolan was right. You might not have the muscles or look much like a detective, but you have a caring heart. Maybe that’s what made you so successful; that, and your most capable associate.”
Laura smiled fondly at the memory and said, “With any luck, Rebecca is on her way to reunite with her lover now, and Simon and Jacqueline are enjoying their honeymoon in Jamaica…”
“… and you and I will celebrate over a relaxing dinner… say, my place at seven?” Remington asked hopefully. His face lit up with impish glee when Laura answered with a dimpled smile.
Mildred might be notorious for her lousy timing, but she knew when to exit when her presence was no longer needed. It appeared her “kids” were back on solid ground, and nobody was more pleased than Mildred.
***
“Flickering candlelight, soft music, effervescent champagne… it is quintessential Remington Steele,” Laura thought as she fidgeted with her napkin in silence. Remington smiled at her indulgently across the table, champagne flute in hand.
Remington broke the silence at last. “You know, Simon and Jackie are both extraordinary actors, I must say… played us like a fiddle. They should have a splendid future in the film industry.”
“Maybe a little too melodramatic on Jacqueline’s part, with all the clutching and purring.”
“Still jealous?”
“Absolutely not!”
“Hmm… I must admit I was a bit jealous of Simon…”
“Oh?”
“How could I not? Five lovers in one film.”
They shared a chuckle.
“Thanks for dinner. You are very talented in the kitchen.”
“Hmm… I daresay my talent extends beyond the kitchen and into… uh… other rooms, but perhaps you should be the judge, eh?” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
Very talented indeed, Laura mused, recalling what he did the previous night with just one hand - mostly just the thumb, in fact. Laura felt this might be the opening she was looking for, so, nervously, she lifted her head to meet his gaze.
“Look, about last night...”
“Laura, we don’t need to talk about it if you don’t want to.”
“But I do want to…. I want you to know that it… um… what we experienced… it did affect me, as much as it affected you, probably more than it affected you…”
“Not possible.”
“…more than you know, and that’s what I’m afraid of. In too deep… remember? Then one day, someone from your mysterious past will show up, and you will be gone, just like Rebecca.”
“No, not like Rebecca. We’re not like Rebecca and Simon,” Remington ran a hand through his hair, sounding slightly exasperated. “If anything, we’re more like Simon and Jackie. Don’t you see, Laura? There’s a fundamental difference. Rebecca and Simon were never in love.”
The implication of his words hit her like a pebble hitting still water, causing ripples of amazement and hope in her heart. Unsure of what to say, Laura simply nodded.
Without a word, Remington stood up and went around the table to sit next to her. He took one of her hands and held it. Unlike what he had done the night before, this time he simply patted her hand softly a couple of times. Then, in a most sincere tone, he said, “It’s okay, Laura. I can wait. When you are ready, I will still be here.”
The smile she gave him was unlike any he had seen before. He imagined it was the one he had desperately tried to conjure up to no avail the night before. It was a smile of a woman who was loved, and perhaps also in love.
She liked to call him the mystery man, but Remington thought that Laura was, in fact, just as big a mystery to him. He’d been working on the puzzle that was Laura Holt for almost three years now, yet he was still missing quite a few pieces. That smile, he mused, was another piece he had just collected, and it was perhaps one of the most precious. He filed that image away, along with the one he had collected from the previous evening. In time, he would gather the remaining pieces. Remington told himself to be patient.
Noticing that he was staring at her, grinning from ear to ear, Laura asked, “What? Do I have spinach between my teeth?”
He shook his head, and pulled her up from the chair. They automatically swung to the tune of Frank Sinatra, her hands around his neck, his arms circling her waist.
“You know, before dinner, I made a detour to the studio to speak to Kaufman.”
“Oh? How did that go?”
“Well, I had to give him the awful news that Rebecca won’t be starring in his picture this time, but I assured him that she’s safe and sound. He wasn’t too thrilled that I couldn’t provide him more details, but he really didn’t have a choice. The handwritten apology from Rebecca dispelled his concerns about her well-being. The generous cheque she wrote to support his film undoubtedly softened the blow a little.”
Remington tugged his ear and looked at Laura sheepishly. “I also made a suggestion to Kaufman. I thought, since he no longer has Rebecca White to help promote the film, maybe a cameo from the great detective Remington Steele could help generate some interest.”
“No, you did not!”
“Come now, Laura, that’s the least I can do for Kaufman considering the circumstances. And he rather took to the idea. He’s going to have the writers make some changes to the script.”
“And who will you be playing?” Laura narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
“Who else? I’ll be playing Tracy’s new lover, of course.”
“Of course.”
“Laura, I’m thinking…” He lowered his head and brushed her lips with his lightly, “maybe we should start rehearsing tonight, eh?”
“But we agreed not to mix business with pleasure, Mr. Steele.”
“Of course not. But we’d only be posing, wouldn’t we? Or are you afraid that posing might bring you some small amount of pleasure?”
With his warm breath on her neck, Laura found it increasingly difficult to remain resolute. She muttered, “Mr. Steele, our Cannes agreement is not off…”
“Hmm… definitely not,” he murmured. “Such will power, eh?”
“But in the interest of helping Kaufman, I guess we can do some posing… strictly business, of course.”
“Of course… I won’t dare to mention pleasure.”
“Hmm… Now remind me. What did Kaufman say about the rating of this movie?”
“PG-13, I think, but I wouldn’t mind if you’re up for upgrading our scene to an R.”
“Maybe just during rehearsal… we’ll definitely have to stick to the Cannes agreement once the filming is over.”
“Of course we will…”
“I suppose we can rehearse tonight then.”
“Let’s. I’ll follow your lead…”
THE END