"Excellent suggestion Laura!" Steele said rather enthusiastically. "I do believe you're right and my recommendation would be that we begin by searching for the others. There must be some signs down there of where they went."

"Assuming that is" sneered Ken "that they were ever there. And who put you in charge anyway?"

"Oh believe me I'm not taking charge. Merely making a suggestion so that we might have a plan of action. Besides what would you suggest we do? Hmm."

""I'll like to know the answer to that myself." Laura added.
( Read more... )

Tags: steele playful part 12

Evening saw Mildred and Kevin firmly ensconced in the living room with Sophie while Steele and Laura were making last minute preparations to leave. Both were wearing black and were debating what equipment they would need and indeed if said equipment was a sensible option to bring along. In the end it was agreed that the camera would be quite useful providing they were careful with the flash. Steele also thought that a bottle of wine would have made a welcome addition to their inventory, an idea that while not completely without merit in Laura's mind was not totally embraced either.

"Harry we're working. It's not like we're going to sit at the lookout and neck."
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Tags: steele playful part 11

Laura pulled a face worthy of a small child who had just been offered a plate of food it didn't like the look of.

"I'm not liking that face", said Mildred. "Surely it can't be that bad. I don't think it would be too hard for either of you."

"The clue itself is easy enough to decipher. What puzzles me the instruction to not begin until tomorrow morning. I'm sorry but it still irks me that they have this much control over us. They have us dancing to their tune and we don't even know why or what we're doing. I have no idea where those two girls are or if they're okay. And for that matter what happens to the next group to get eliminated?"

"Whoa hold your horses! Let's sort this out bit at a time."

Steele standing behind Laura mouthed "Thank you" to Mildred.
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Tags: steele playful part 10

Back at the office any plans of going home right away were forgotten. Mildred was dealing with some clients and Felicia was in charge of the front desk. That is she was sitting reading a magazine. Her face lit up at the sight of Steele and her smile also included Laura.

"Darlings! So glad you're back. I'm really not cut out for this folly called work. Far too exhausting and I simply can't look tired when I go out tonight."

Mildred hearing Felicia talking to her kids came out.

"Well Boss spill, did you win? Are you still in the game? What's going on?"
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Tags: steele playful part 09

"What do you mean gone?" Laura asked, "People don't just vanish into thin air!"

"They were driving behind us so we arrived together. We even got a carpark right next to each other. We were walking together but they were a step behind. I turned to speak to them and they had vanished."

"There, there", Steele began. "I'm sure they'll catch up to you. They've probably been delayed."

"More like detained!" snorted Bert. "Could be how they plan to eliminate a team at each round."

Sabrina looked pale, "Surely not? They couldn't do that, could they?"
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Tags: steele playful part 08

Back in the car Laura opened the envelope as she did she noticed Steele was looking around as if he had lost something.

"Laura have you noticed the others have all left really quickly? Do you suppose that means they know exactly where they are going or rather they have gone to ponder the clue somewhere more private?"

"I'm not sure, let's read it then decide."

"Go ahead I'm all ears."

Laura pulled out the note and read, "Conceived from a vision of Mummies,
I got my beginning with Kings.
Where once I was bare,
Great names I now wear,
With handprints and footprints and things."

"What are the little things with it?"

"Some pictures, one is of a pair of chopsticks the other is a cross."

Steele's face lit up, "Read that clue again."
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Tags: steele playful part 07

After dropping Sophie off with Mildred Steele and Laura left to meet the others at the coffee house.

"That clue really wasn't helpful was it?"

Steele nodded in agreement, "It sounds like a game of elimination yet to be honest it doesn't feel like a game."

"What puzzles me is how they are so sure we would work against each other."

"Hhmm and how can they determine whether or not we drop a team. They certainly seem very confident of their ability to control us and for want of a better term "the game"."

"We'll see what the others think."
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Tags: steele playful part 06

As if by silent mutual agreement Steele and Laura sat side by side at the kitchen table to read the note. The envelope had their names on it along with an instruction to take the contents to the other detectives. Steele looked at Laura then carefully opened it to reveal a piece of paper and a small key.

Laura looked at the key and frowned, "that key reminds me of the kind used for post office boxes. Remember where we were when we last saw Minor Descoine?"

Steele agreed but replied, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves eh? We'll see what the note says."

Laura winked and mimicking Bert quipped "I don't think it says anything I think you have to read it."
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Tags: steele playful part 05

Upon returning home Steele put a sleepy Sophie to bed for a nap while Laura made a cup of tea. Soon they were both sitting at the table.

"Laura do you realise we've been away from the house since this morning. How did so much time fly by?"

Laura smiled, "Well it was late morning, we'll let Sophie sleep a little while then get her up for her bath, some dinner some time with us. Then we must think about what happens next. Did you check that your wallet was still in the stroller?"
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Tags: steele playful part 04

Laura took the envelope from Steele and looked over its contents. There were several photos of the two of them and some even included Sophie. One was from the Serenity Hotel. More disconcerting was the one taken in London.

"Remind you of someone Laura?"

"Hhmm but remember he's safely behind bars."
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Tags: steele playful part 03