by C L Bauer
He was laughing and then his face became serious. “Are you telling me you haven’t had caffeine yet, little girl? The world is in danger! Spare your children.”
“Very funny. What did you get me?” She was starving. She’d pay him back in the next couple of weeks with a longer lunch and maybe by then she could tell him about the Cartel caper. Hopefully, yes, she’d think it again, hopefully it would be over soon. She didn’t mind the extra protection at night but the neighbors were beginning to wonder about her and what she “really” did for a living.
“I got you a turkey, no mayo on your wheat bread.” He passed the sandwich toward her. “And an iced tea with no sugar. Now take a break and breath before you come undone.”
“Sounds perfect. It’s been a heck of a week and it's only Wednesday. Just one wedding Saturday and I’m looking forward to coming home after its over and just watching television.” She paused. She was even speaking faster than normal. “I do need to take a breath, don’t I?”
Reaching over to pat his large paw of a hand she added, “Thanks for caring, really. I appreciate you so much. You’ll never know.”
“No problem. I just want you to be great, not just good. By the way, haven’t seen your boyfriend lately. You two didn’t break up, did you?”
“Um, well, he’s out of town for work.”
“What does he do again?” John was staring right into her lying eyes.
Lord, she had to look right into his eyes and lie to an ex-cop, a protector, a friend.
“He works for an international company and they find people and put them where they need to be. Kind of a head hunter of sorts.” What a pile of crap but she was beginning to amuse herself. He did find people and he did place them where those people needed to be, usually in jail.
She asked how his wife was. She was concerned about her health and injury.
“Well, we had her checked over and it wasn’t good, little girl.” She could see the anguish on John’s face.
“From that fall?”
“She was hurting again, remember? They did some looking around and she has cancer, Lily. When she was in her late forties she had breast cancer but she was in remission so long we thought she’d beat it. They found a spot on her left lung and she’s in chemo right now. Thank God my daughter and granddaughter are here right now.”
Lily laid her sandwich down and stopped eating. She felt sick to her stomach as she saw the anguish on his gentle face.
“When do they have to go back to Florida?”
He smiled slightly. “I hope not for a long while. Its been tough, very tough. I’m under a lot of pressure. But you know what it’s like.”
She nodded and her thoughts turned to her mother and father. It was tough living through cancer or any disease. It was tough living through the uncertainty and then the vanishing act that death performed so well on the human race, on loved ones.
“So, didn’t you have a mugging at your house or something a few months ago?”
Lily tried not to show her surprise. “How’d you hear about that?”
“Oh some of the patrol guys told me about it. I know it seems like you’re a target at your house, your shop but things have been happening around the area. They think there’s a burglary group hitting the smaller businesses and some of the residences. You know, some young thugs trying to make a name.”
“They need to do it somewhere else,” Lily muttered. “Let’s talk about something else. I’m so done with all that.” At least she could tell the truth about something.
Lily began to fill him in on Abby’s romance with Jeremy and a few stories about some of the most recent weddings. He roared with laughter as she told him about the dog that ate the license.
“Oh my.” He was crying he was laughing so hard. “You don’t know how good it is to laugh.”
For these minutes at lunch, she felt lighter than usual with Big John, with her friend. But she had to get back to business. Lily looked down to check the time. It was almost one but Abby would be there for Mrs. Notte. Hopefully the phaelanopsis plant would be what she wanted.
“You need to get back for Mrs. Notte and that orchid?”
“No, Abby’s there. She’ll take care of her. I hope she likes it.” Lily took another sip of her tea and pushed back from the table.
“But you know how Mrs. Notte can be after all these years. Or if she sends her grandson to pick up I’m not sure how Abby will handle that…he’s been trying to date her all this summer. They’re both so picky so I better get back just in case. The way this day’s gone you never know.”
Big John stood up too and hugged her like he always did.
“You take care of yourself, little girl. I couldn’t bear it if you got hurt.”
She nuzzled her head against his large chest. She felt like she was saying goodbye to him forever.
“I will, you too. Tell your wife I’m thinking of her always.” She blew him a kiss and turned away.
Her smile vanished, her breath quickened and her steps were rushed.
The only way he’d known about that orchid was if he’d seen her note sometime through the night…the note that was on her desk.
Chapter Twenty-One
With every step, Lily breathed in and out and uttered “Oh my God.” It was said as a prayer. It was said in desperation. As she finally reached the door of the shop and entered, she felt sick to her stomach. The months of uncertainty had faded into the reality of betrayal. Her current condition was etched on her face.
“You sick?” Abby yelled as she ran toward her. “You look like death? What did you eat for lunch?”
Lily could hardly stand and began to quickly reach for the chair near the consultation table. Abby pulled it over and sat her down. Lily’s vision was blurred, her breathing rapid. She really was violently ill. She pulled her phone out quickly and started to scan the contacts.
“Should I call 911? I’ll do it, don’t you do it. Are you having a heart attack? Have you been poisoned, I mean food poisoning? Can it hit that quickly? Oh please tell me what to do.”
Abby’s hand was waving frantically in front of Lily’s face. She thought the little idiot would hit her phone before she could find the number. She continued scanning her phone.
Her eyes never left it as she started to direct Abby before her assistant hurt her or called 911. “Don’t call 911. I’m calling for help right now. Lock the door right now. RIGHT NOW. We are closed.”
Abby did as she was told and then like a misbehaving puppy returned to Lily’s side.
“Just sit, Abby. Don’t do anything but sit down and let me be for a second, please. I have to think.”
Abby sat but didn’t understand. Her wide eyes were watching her boss’s color return to her face but Lily was still visibly shaken. She’d never seen her like this, not through all of this craziness with the drugs and the Cartel, nor the FBI or Agent Pierce. Who was Lily calling?
And why were they suddenly closed at one in the afternoon?
Finally, Lily had found the number and was putting the phone to her ear. “Please, please pick up.” It was a prayer not a request.
She heard the voice and realized it was a message. When she heard “leave a message and I’ll get to you as soon as possible” her stomach flipped again but she had to get in touch with him.
“Agent Pierce, please call me immediately. This is life or death important, please,” she begged as she looked up to see Abby’s wide eyes filling with tears. “Dev, I think I’m in big trouble and I’m really scared. Not kidding. Oh and it’s me, Lily.”
She placed the phone in her lap and reached to grab Abby’s hands in her’s. “Abby, has Mrs. Notte picked up that plant yet?”
Abby nodded quickly. “Well, she didn’t. Creepy Garrett did and he was really weird to me. He came in early while you were at lunch. Maybe he was weird because I refused to go out with him. I don’t know but he’s always just looking around. My skin crawls. Sometimes it looks like he’s studying me. Weird.
”
Lily rolled her eyes. She really didn’t care about how creepy Garrett Notte was. It was already determined that he was weird. It didn’t matter. Nothing really mattered right now.
“Abby, we may have to stay here all night. I don’t know what to do until we hear from Dev. I know who was involved in the burglaries and we may be in trouble but if you leave or I leave I think we might be in more trouble. Do you understand?”
Abby nodded and allowed more tears to flow down her cheeks. “Should I have Jeremy come over?” She gasped out loud. “It isn’t Jeremy is it? I think I love him and if it’s him I don’t know what I’ll do.” She grabbed her chest as if she was in pain.
Melodramatics at this time of crisis? Really? Lily’s patience, not that she had any right now, was vanishing quickly.
Lily shook her head. “No, you ninny. It’s not Jeremy. That boy couldn’t steal anything even if you left the door open and had a sign pointing the way to the money! Geez, Abby.”
But who it was in reality defied every trust. Maybe having Jeremy here wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
“Sorry, yes. Jeremy should come over but let’s wait a little while. If anyone, I mean anyone, comes to that door to come in, I don’t care if it’s the Mayor, we are closed and we are doing massive cleaning. We had a water issue, left a faucet running while I was at lunch, got it?”
This was the time to lie and to do it well. “But I didn’t.”
Lily sighed. “I know you didn’t but for our safety we can’t let anyone in so we’re going to tell them this story. Please Abby just trust me.”
Abby nodded. Perhaps the gravity of the situation was dawning on her but Lily didn’t want to tell her what she suspected. Trust, how ironic that it all came down to that.
Lily took in a deep breath and got up. “So, let’s go to work. Let’s get ahead on doing some of the bows we need for the next few weeks, inventorying vases, pulling some things for this weekend…” Now she was verbalizing her list and she felt in control but so desperately trying to stay in that safe condition.
She couldn’t tell her helper what she suspected at least not until she talked to Dev and told him. Told him what? That she suspected a very dear friend was involved in a huge betrayal? Was somehow involved in placing her in a dangerous position and had probably orchestrated the chaos that had enveloped them since those damn hydrangeas had mistakenly ended up in her shop?
She looked at the cell phone as though it would magically ring if she just willed it to do so.
Please, Lord, don’t let Dev be in the Middle East, she prayed silently.
Lily watched Abby go to the back room. “Abby, lock that back door too. Now.”
About that time the shop’s line rang and Lily jumped out of her seat and her skin. Abby ran to grab it and was talking to a client.
Who else was involved in this? Could she trust the police? Big John had been told by them about the incident at the house. She had to keep busy while she waited. She did what she did best and went to work. But she continued to pray while she did.
Two hours passed. A few people walked by the shop slowly, seeing the closed sign. Some pointed and some even tried the door. At four, Big John walked by and rattled the door. She looked up from the desk and waved. She could tell he was wondering why they were closed but she didn’t leave the desk. She couldn’t; her body was concrete, cementing her to her chair. Her legs were numb, her hands were shaking. She waved and smiled. It was probably the fake smile of all time. An Academy Award might be coming her way.
“We’re working on a project, very time sensitive,” she yelled without leaving her position.
“Oh there’s John, should we let him in?” Abby asked as she waved too.
Lily turned in the chair and mouthed the word “no”.
“Go back to work, now. Look like we are really busy, please Abby.”
Poor Abby didn’t have a clue and as she saw the fear on Lily’s face she was beginning to understand. Not Big John?
He waved back and nodded his head. He was making his usual route down the boulevard.
He strolled away. He understood. Lily just hoped he didn’t understand too much.
They made a list for Jeremy of what they would need for the night. One thing about Jeremy, he might not be the brightest bulb but he certainly loved Abby. He never questioned why they were camping out over at the shop nor why he was joining them. He was bringing provisions, some food and a few items for sleeping.
It was half past four when Lily’s phone rang. She picked up immediately to say hello.
“Lily, what is it? What’s happened?”
It was Dev. Relief flooded her but she couldn’t get the words out. She was crying hysterically, handing the phone to Abby. She’d heard his voice and had lost what little control she had remaining.
“Um, Agent Pierce, Dev, this is Abby. Lily is having a meltdown right now. We have the store locked up. You know my boyfriend, Jeremy, well he’s bringing some stuff over and we are all staying the night here. She’s insisting that we’re in some danger.”
Lily listened as she tried to pull herself together. Dev must be talking since Abby was listening intently.
“Well, she had lunch with John, our security guy, remember him? Then she came in and made me lock up. She looked like she was sick and she wouldn’t let me call 9-1-1. I think maybe something happened with Big John…” Abby stopped mid-sentence and handed the phone to Lily.
She took it and heard his voice again. “Lily, just listen. I’m going to call Agent Fullerton as soon as I hang up. Not sure why they haven’t come by. They should be watching and notice that something isn’t right. Fullerton is the only one you are going to allow in the store. Only him. I’m going to hang up now and call him and I’ll call you right back to tell you how this is going down. You are going to be safe. I won’t let anything happen to you. Now hang up and I’ll call you in just a few minutes. It’s almost over now. I promise. Now hang up.”
She clicked at his direction. He was going to take care of her. She breathed out and wiped the tears from her face with her sleeve. Abby handed her a tissue.
“Lily, it’s going to be ok. We can do this together.”
She nodded. She did love Abby. She was a nut but she was her little nut. She hated that she was involved at all, but she hated she was involved too. It hurt so bad.
Within five minutes the phone rang again and this time Lily was able to talk.
“Lily, Fullerton is on his way. When he comes to the door, he’ll look like one of your delivery guys. He’s borrowing a truck from Fed Ex. We don’t want anyone to get wise. But when he gets there he is going to tell you that the invoice is COD. You never pay that way so you’ll know it’s him. Just a precaution and it will make you feel better. Got it?”
“I’m here, I’ve got it. I’m fine now. It was just hearing your voice before and I’m just so tired and upset about all of this, Dev. Help me,” she pleaded.
“Sweetheart, just hang in there. You’ve been a trooper through all of this and I have a feeling that it really is almost over. Fullerton is going to hand you an address for a hotel and he’s going to be following you over there. You’ll go in and there’s a suite for you three. Jeremy needs to be protected too for the time being. Tom will just look like he’s making a delivery to the hotel. You’ll have someone assigned to you and they’ll be taking you up to the room. They’ll be outside your door all night until you hear from me or Fullerton. No one else, Lily. No one. You will be protected. Hang in there, now let me talk to Abby.”
She hadn’t gotten in one word but frankly she didn’t know what to say. She needed to tell him about Big John. But did he know? Had he used her again? Why did he want to speak to Abby?
Abby said hello and giggled a little. She said “yes” and then she said “no” and “I understand” before handing the phone back to her. Lily’s arms were crossed in exasperation. What was his game now?
“You really want to talk to me now?” sh
e asked.
“Oh I knew you wouldn’t like that,” he said but she could hear him laughing. “You always have to be in control, well Abby can do some things too. She’s a good kid. You don’t need to know everything, Mrs. Fletcher.”
“The police chief of Cabot Cove would not keep anything from Jessica Fletcher.”
He laughed again. “You’re probably right. That nitwit needed her to solve all those murders. So you are going to a luxury hotel on the government’s dime so that should make you feel better. They have great robes too.”
She listened to him ramble on about room service, ice cream, big screen television before blurting out, “Dev, I’m so scared and Big John.”
There was a pause in speech before he answered deliberately. “I know. I’m so sorry you were ever involved in this. Lily you will be fine. You always are, no matter what. Remember?”
“I don’t feel fine. We only have one wedding this weekend but…” her voice trailed off in thought. Her entire life, her career didn’t seem very important right now for the first time in a very long while.
“You will get it done. You always do. We will make sure that bride is happy. Is it Saturday?”
“Yes.”
“Then you have plenty of time. I’ll have you right back on schedule by Thursday. Will that work?”
She thought for a moment as she pulled the order on the desk. “Yes, we can do it. It’s not very large and I have my flowers but you know I need to start working tomorrow.”
“Let’s wait until tomorrow to worry about that. Let me do it, do the worrying for you. You have a nice night and then in the morning we will re- group and see where we go.”
She’d never had anyone do the worrying for her. It was impossible for her to let go but she had to let him do his job and she just had to go to the bloody hotel.
“I don’t know where you are but I wish you were here.” Lily was calm as she admitted something out loud she hadn’t admitted to herself.
