The Poppy Drop

by C L Bauer

  One officer shook his head. “You really should have a security system.”

  Really? That’s what you thought? “I do.”

  “Then you should’ve put it on. They work, you know.”

  Really? I get the one officer jerk face on patrol? “I turned it on before I left. If you check the pad over there you will see it was last programmed at 6:11 when I left last night.”

  The other officer, the quiet one, examined the pad, pressing one key and then another. “She’s right. It was set at 6:11, then at 1:20 this morning it was disabled and then on again at 2:01 but they left the door wide open? Someone knew your code, ma’am.”

  “I’m the only one. I change it regularly anytime I have to have my assistant do it. I do trust her but changing it just keeps me feeling safer. I don’t know who else would even remotely know this code. This is just crazy.” Lily shook her head as she followed the police inside the store.

  The policeman still rolling his eyes at Lily checked the refrigerator area and saw the mess on the floor. “I’m assuming you didn’t leave it like this?”

  “Of course not.” Are you kidding me? Lily clenched her fists in anger. She was on her last nerve.

  The other officer looked around by the register, at the computer still setting on the desk, the phone system. “Someone was targeting something in here. Did you have anything significant in the refrigerator?”

  “Seriously, just some food items and freezer blocks we use on the flowers.” Lily searched around the floor. The blocks were all gone.

  “What ma’am?”

  “The stupid freezer blocks. There’s not one on the floor.” She looked inside the freezer. “There’s not one left.” Now she was shaking her head in disbelief. What the heck was going on here? Why would some idiot steal those?

  The senior officer looked at her blankly. “You’re telling me that someone broke in to steal some ice blocks he could’ve bought in the camp- ing section at Walmart? Were they special in some way? Did you hide money in them or something?”

  Lily just shook her head as a couple of tears were forming in her eyes. She mumbled out loud, “They’re just freezer blocks. We use them to keep the flowers cool. When they defrost they look like limp bags of mush. That’s all they are. Sometimes we do buy them at Walmart.” She bit her lip. Don’t cry over stupid things, but she was having a difficult time keeping the tears at bay. What was going on?

  “It was probably some prank just to upset you,” the nicer cop assured. “No big deal. It’s going to be fine.”

  He could see her tears. Crap, don’t cry in front of the police over spilled, or gone freezer blocks. Ironically, she wanted one right now to place on the top of her throbbing head. This week was going to be calm and normal? That went right out with the OPEN door!

  Officer Grumpy then heard his monitor. He was already stepping out of the store leaving the younger one to comfort her.

  “Look, there really isn’t anything you can do over this but go ahead and go to the station and fill out a report. Change your codes, maybe talk to your security company about an update. We’re pretty much done here and it sounds like we have to go. Here’s my card with my number if you need anything else. You have someone who could come be with you?”

  Lily nodded yes but she knew Abby wouldn’t be in until later. She was on her own, always.

  He headed out the door. She stood there just looking at the ham sandwich on the floor. Oh and there was a hard boiled egg over by the shelves. Not much to clean up or throw away except to salvage her confidence. She moved to the front door and pulled it shut, locking it soundly. The “closed” sign was staying on until Abby appeared.

  She stared blankly at the door’s lock. Freezer blocks were stolen, preservative packets were picked out of the trash, a break-in, a mysterious stranger who was a terrible liar but an excellent distractor all added up to one scared florist who had chaos in a usually orderly world. Wait, add a break-in at the wholesaler and nothing stolen but someone was looking for flowers that had been shipped in from South America?

  Lily stepped away from the door, landing up against the wall. She slumped down until she was sitting on the floor staring at the now inedible ham sandwich, oh, and the egg. Something was terribly wrong in her little corner of the world. She loved mysteries. Columbo, Murder, She Wrote…she could have them looped for hours on the mystery and murder channel but she didn’t want to be part of one. Besides, didn’t they usually involve a murder? Crap, a murder.

  There hadn’t been one…yet.

  By the time Lily’s consultation ended she wasn’t even thinking about a break-in or any other mystery. She was concentrating on the wedding season. It was nearly seven but with the days getting longer she was calmed knowing she wouldn’t have to leave the shop in the dark.

  The couple had been nice enough. They were in their thirties and paying for the wedding on their own. That was becoming increasingly the norm with couples waiting to marry and intent on making it their unique ceremony, not something their parents planned for them. As they were still in front of her window she saw the mysterious stranger pass by. He smiled at the couple and started to open her door.

  “I’m actually closed. Besides, I don’t have a flower in the store, not even a hydrangea.”

  He didn’t say anything, just stared at her. He really had been lying. He didn’t even remember the deception. His mother’s favorite flower was not a hydrangea. He probably didn’t even have a mother.

  Stop being ridiculous, Lily.

  “I don’t need flowers, but thank you,” he calmly said. “I didn’t want to miss you so I’ve been waiting until your customers left.”

  Lily’s heart and stomach sank at the same time. Her bad feeling was back. This didn’t sound good. If she screamed, who would hear her? Big John was gone for the day. She began to walk backward, nearer her desk where a pair of scissors laid on the corner. They would be her only protection. She held eye contact with him as he reached into his pocket. That’s when she noticed he was in a suit with tie even on this hot day. Oh God. She reached for the corner of the desk.

  He pulled out a badge. She still held her instrument of defense in her right hand as he stepped a little closer.

  “Ms. Schmidt, I’m agent Devlin Pierce with the Department of Justice, DEA. I heard about your unusual burglary today and I’d like to talk to you about it. If you have the time,” he said allowing the last few words to linger in the air.

  He had a bit of an accent but Lily couldn’t place it. She dealt with a lot of people and had traveled to more states than she hadn’t but his pattern of speech was so subtle. There was just a hint of where he came from. His eyes were so pretty, just that perfect shade of green and his eyelashes so long, almost like her youngest nephew’s in Maryland. That kid could bat those lashes and get you to buy anything on the video game aisle.

  Lily needed to focus, it could mean her life one way or another.

  “May I see your badge?” She extended her left hand out, still touching the scissors. He nodded and placed it in her hand. She had to use both hands to hold it, leaving her guard down. It looked like him; it looked official but she had never seen a federal badge. He seemed sincere but it could all be a ruse. For what? To return to the scene of the crime because he wanted the ham sandwich residing in the trash? Or maybe he wanted to heist tissue paper this time?

  Come on Lily, get hold of yourself. He was real.

  She read the badge number. He pulled out two more pieces of identification. He hadn’t taken a bad photo. Even his driver’s license photo was good and his middle initial was “A”. Ok, he seemed legitimate. She handed the items back to him and slid her weapon under a binder.

  “Let’s sit down at the table up front.”

  He wanted her to walk in front of him but she insisted he go first. If things went wrong she could stab him in the back. She needed her weapon of doom.

  God, stop thinking like this. Too many television shows. He did chivalrously p
ull the chair out for her and she made a concession to sit down first. Lily slid her portfolios of happy brides and grooms over to one side. The little table for consultations made him appear even larger than when he stood. His knees were knocking up against the edge.

  “So I need you to recount what’s been going on around here. I know about your flower wholesaler’s break-in and now your’s. Anything else?”

  She thought about it for a second. “Well, the weirdest thing happened…”

  She began the story of the preservative packets. He pulled out a small note pad and began to write a few lines. He wasn’t laughing. He was taking everything seriously, not like Officer Jerk Face.

  She ended with, “Do you think this is all linked together?”

  He looked up at her and put the pad down on the table. “Well, yes.”

  Her mouth must have gaped open since he smiled slightly, not nicely; well it was nice, but more humorously, at her.

  Ah hah! Her stomach and its weird feeling had proved her correct one more time.

  “I knew it. I knew it. Oh Lord, you don’t know how much better you just made me feel.”

  “All right,” now he was actually laughing. “I’ve never had anyone be happy about their involvement in a burglary but whatever makes you happy.”

  Now Lily was laughing. “I bet you haven’t. Sorry, it’s just that I’ve felt that something was wrong. Things weren’t adding up but it still doesn’t make any sense to me. What the heck is going on…if you can tell me.”

  He nodded and put the pad and pen away. He leaned over, nearer to her with his hands folded in front of him. She could barely smell a touch of cologne. He smelled fresh, maybe hotel soap… good hotel soap? She noticed he recently had a haircut, just a little of his neck had a different tan line and at this time of the day he had that stubble again. He had used the hotel shaver again. It looked like he had a mustache when his face tanned, the coloring under his nose lighter than the rest of his face, oh except for the chin. He’d had a beard and longer hair? Hmmm. Lily made a note to herself…stop watching those mysteries. She and Jessica Fletcher would have to part ways.

  “I’ve been tracking Cartel shipments through Miami and by mistake you received that box.”

  She cocked her head to the left. “What? How?”

  “We think someone at the airport didn’t pick up a shipment of drugs that was being smuggled into the States through flower boxes. They were shipped from Miami to your wholesaler and your wholesaler delivered them to you; your dead hydrangeas, the ones with the packets that were stolen out of your dumpster. They apparently came back for the ice blocks. We’re pretty sure they were packed with heroin too.”

  Lily blinked a couple of times. “Drugs? Here? In Kansas City? In my shop?”

  “Yes, it’s not that unusual, just the way they did it, and of course, their mistake. If they hadn’t messed up you wouldn’t have been involved in any way.”

  They should have made a list, was her first thought. All this insanity was because someone in the Cartel made a mistake. Now she was just plain mad at incompetency creating chaos in her life.

  “So now that’s it, right?”

  His face showed no emotion. “We think they may have missed something, maybe something with the box. We think you or your wholesaler may unwittingly still have it. We aren’t sure. So,” he let that word linger on the air for awhile. “We have begun surveillance on your wholesaler and now, given the activity you’ve had, for you.”

  “Surveillance of what? What more do they want? They came back and got the ice blocks. I have a business to run, and you don’t seem to understand that I have weddings to do this weekend. This is my work, my job,” she stopped right before she said her life. What else did she have?

  He sat back and placed his hands on the edge of the table.

  “I totally understand. We won’t get in your way at all. We just need to watch for a few days,” the agent pushed. “And, we need to keep you safe. We want to make sure the Cartel understands that you had nothing to do with this.”

  “Of course I didn’t!” Lily yelled out. “How absolutely absurd. This whole thing is nuts.”

  “I agree. You’ve been caught up in a terrible mistake, that’s all. Nothing more. Your salesman is aware of what has happened. Their business understands what we need to do. We just need to make sure the Cartel is done with this entire episode. We have contacts but it may take a few weeks for us to call them off.”

  Lily shut her mouth tightly, biting the side so she wouldn’t cry. She should be overjoyed that, at least, she would be safe and they were concerned about her safety. She’d be safer than her security system and Big John’s well-meaning patrols.

  “Ok, so what do I need to do?”

  “Nothing, absolutely nothing,” he answered quickly as he leaned in again. “I’ll be here now and then for the next few days and we will have your shop under surveillance. We may add an extra camera but no one will notice. I promise. We do not want to interrupt your business in any shape or form,” he said calmly. “Especially during your busiest season. I promise.”

  She believed him, as unbelievable as it was. She utterly believed him. His eyes were consoling in some way and that gnawing feeling in her stomach was gone summarily. She caught a flash from his right hand and noticed a ring. It was a college ring of some kind, rather large. On his left hand there was no wedding band.

  “You don’t need wedding flowers, do you?”

  Oh goodness Lily, what are you doing?

  He laughed out loud. “No, I don’t.” “Oh, already married?”

  Again, why are you trying to interrogate the DEA agent?

  “No, never. Easier that way.”

  She was, for some reason, happy and then again sad. He was single but it sounded like he preferred to stay that way. What was happening in her pea brain? An attractive man comes into your store, into your world, and you want to latch onto him immediately?

  “So,” he continued. “I am going to help you lock up, see you out and I’ll be back tomorrow. Over night we will be installing the equipment, and no, we don’t need your code. Your security company is working with us to give us everything we need. I will meet you back at nine tomorrow morning with the new code to open the store. You may tell your assistant, Abby, isn’t it?”

  Lily’s head was reeling. “How about the police and our retired officer who does security for the boulevard shops?”

  “No one else. This is an independent mission. The police will not be brought in, and do not tell anyone, even your officer friend.”

  Lily figured Agent Pierce had done his homework with background checks on everyone including Big John. She took in a deep breath. Steady, girl. This could be an adventure, a little excitement. She didn’t want too much excitement. Abby would be thrilled to hear all of it, including the part where Agent Eyes was to be their companion for a few days.

  “And as far as anyone knows, I’m your relative?” He was asking her more than telling her.

  “I don’t know. Everyone knows my family around town. Well, we’ve been here for a long time. They know my sister lives in Virginia; my brother is in Maryland and our parents have passed away.We can think of something when we need to, can’t we?”

  He nodded. “Now, let’s get you home. I’ll follow behind you to make sure you get in your house and then we will begin tomorrow.”

  Lily could pretty much control any emergency but she was darn sure she couldn’t control this situation, or the agent sitting across from her. He’d be here for a few days, clean this mess up, make sure everyone was safe and then he’d be gone.

  It would be like a visit to Disney World for a few days and you hadn’t received your final bill yet; lots of good times, rides galore and a price tag that might scare you to death.

  Chapter Six

  True to his word, Agent Devlin A. Pierce was waiting by the shop’s door when Lily arrived.

  She almost didn’t recognize him without his suit but the
jeans and a nice polo shirt was a welcome sight. He looked more, more obtainable? Likable? Less government like? Lily was ruminating in her brain all the descriptions as she approached.

  “You ready for the new code?”

  “Yes, sir,” she said as she saluted. That was stupid. Why salute the man for letting you into your own store?

  “No need for the salute. I’m not your commander; I’m your security.” He punched in only three numbers and opened the door.

  “You are going to notice a slight buzzing sound now when someone comes in through this door. There’s a louder one on the back door. Also, we are going to change the code every night when we leave. It’s built into the system.”

  Those were upgrades she could never afford with her current provider. The whole Cartel mistake might work out in her advantage.

  “So are you going to tell me the code or write it down so I can memorize it and then eat the paper?” She laughed and then slightly snorted with her own amusement.

  He wasn’t amused. “It's simpler than that. Today we start with 1-2-3, tomorrow 4-5-6 and so forth. Then we start over when we get to 20, if we have to.”

  He would be staying only a few days?

  “I know you know it's my busy season, but I forgot to tell you that this is one of my busiest weekends. I have to buy flowers today and then Thursday and Friday I’ll be working here almost night and day, then Saturday we deliver the weddings. There will be some long hours. Don’t want you to get bored.”

  As they walked into the shop, Lily headed straight for her desk. The agent climbed up on it and was tinkering with something on the wall.

  “I won’t get bored and no problem with the hours. I’m working and when I’m sent somewhere it's usually 24/7. I’ll stay out of your way as much as possible.” He jumped down right in front of her.

  Lily looked up and wondered what she had gotten herself into, not just this whole Cartel fiasco but the thoughts she kept having about Agent Pierce. Her thoughts were lingering on his eyes, his face, his shoulders…Crud, for all she knew, despite the nice badge he could be the Cartel, infiltrating the entire DEA!