The Poppy Drop

by C L Bauer

  Lily crossed her arms in front of her as she watched him breathing. She really didn’t know what to think about Agent Devlin Pierce. After all this time it was like they started over on square one every time they were together. After last night she knew that was no way to have a relationship, no matter what variety it was.

  As she slipped under the covers of her own bed, she wondered about Big John. Her dear friend was in bad shape, worse shape when all this was over. His poor wife, daughter and granddaughter… what would they do when they found out? Lily reached for the light but she pulled back her hand. She needed the light right now. She didn’t want to think about darkness and she definitely didn’t want to live in it.

  The sun was streaming through her window when she opened her eyes. She could smell coffee. She could hear Dev in the kitchen.

  Lily dressed into jeans and a shirt and tried to calm down her curly hair. She met him in the kitchen. He was dressed in now dry clothes from last night. He stood there by the counter drinking his coffee.

  “Good morning. You slept in for you. It’s after eight.” He smiled as she looked at the clock. He was analyzing again. Understandably, she’d be in shock for days, weeks but he hoped she could at least function a little.

  She smiled and reached for the already poured cup of coffee. He handed it to her and their hands touched. She looked at his chest and arms, the ones that had held her and served as her comforting pillow.

  “I love your Elmo mug,” he kidded.

  “It goes with the slippers. One of my nieces thought it was very important for me to have Elmo in my life.” Her voice was softer than usual, probably from the screaming and the crying. Oh my Lord, she had screamed at him. What must he think of her?

  “Better than Grover, never really liked him. We need food and I’ve check your refrigerator. You have nothing. So where should we go?”

  She took a sip of coffee. “I can’t go.”

  “Why not? Didn’t I just hear your stomach growl?”

  He had. She was embarrassed by that, looking down at the floor.

  “We always had this rule if you didn’t go to church, you couldn’t do anything entertaining like going to a movie or going out to eat, well usually you were sick but I wouldn’t feel right.”

  “Catholic guilt, huh? Well we can solve that.” In one swift movement he grabbed her keys from the counter, placed both coffee cups on the counter, grabbed her hand and rushed her out of the house. He locked the house and turned to see his car sitting on the street.

  “Then, damn it, we’re going to church. We can catch the nine o’clock at your church and if we don’t pass out from hunger in the middle of Mass we’ll go to that little restaurant right down the street. Just pray we have that priest who does the short homily.”

  She almost felt like a kidnap victim, pushed into the passenger seat of his car and rolling away from her home…to church.

  Thankfully, the service was short and they were almost done with breakfast when Dev received a text from Tom. John had survived surgery and had told one of the doctors that he needed to talk to him.

  “Important?” Lily asked as she watched him place his phone upside down on the table.

  “Yes. I’ve got to go into work.” His words were measured and flat. He sounded like he was going in to fix computers instead of talking to the main suspect in a drug trafficking case.

  She nodded. She understood from the words he didn’t speak. Maybe John was awake? Maybe John died? She couldn’t tell by reading Dev’s face. Could anyone read him? She wondered if his family and friends could…maybe his girlfriend? Did he have a girlfriend? She’d never wanted to ask him just in case the answer would be yes.

  “Just drop me at home.”

  “I will but you will have a detail on the house, just like before.”

  She smiled slightly. “Using me as bait, again?”

  His eyes looked straight through her. “No and I don’t want to hear that again.” They walked out in silence and most of the way home before she broke it.

  “Thanks for staying last night. I needed that, the company.” She couldn’t admit she needed him, not anymore.

  “I know.” He let the answer fall into the silent car.

  When they reached the house, the detail was across the street and Abby was sitting on the doorstep waving as they pulled up.

  Lily was out of the car before Dev could reach her side, running for Abby, the two falling into each other’s arms.

  Abby waved at him as he got back into the car to pull away. As he was leaving he heard Abby say something about a bottle of vodka…

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Dev, Tom Fullerton and another FBI agent, Larry Linwood, passed by the hospital floor’s waiting area.

  Tom pointed toward the long couch where a young woman sat on one end holding a sleeping child on her lap. On the other end sat an older woman, her eyes shut as she sat in the quiet room. Their familial looks were unmistakeable, the younger woman having the same nose and hairline of the older.

  It was John’s wife, daughter and granddaughter. Dev suddenly felt sick to his stomach. As much as he was angry that Lily had been in danger last night and had been a target through this miserable mistaken tragedy, there was always that other side of the story, the pages that were never printed. There’s no way John’s wife could’ve imagined she’d be sitting on that hospital couch on a Sunday afternoon. Dev knew she wasn’t well. This would surely push her farther over the edge. That little girl should be playing with her grandpa at some park on a fall day like today or shopping for school supplies with her grandmother. She should be laughing, not sleeping in a hospital waiting room.

  Did John’s wife know everything that had happened last night and everything that had been happening in the last few months? Or did she just think her husband was doing his job and coming to a security call on his boulevard? She may even have rebuked him for going out on such a night; it was past his usual hours.

  The young woman Dev assumed was John’s daughter looked up to see the three men. Tom was checking in at the nurse’s desk, brandishing his badge. Dev saw her scared face as she caught his eyes. In war he was used to seeing fear and defiance but her face cut him to his core. Her hopelessness blended with guilty grief. Her actions had created this miserable day, last night and the last few months enveloping her father in actions he would never had done except for her. He sacrificed everything for her…his name, his career, his friendship with Lily and possibly his life. What must that feel like to be a father and to hold that baby in your arms for the first time and then years later go against the very law you upheld for years to protect that baby?

  Lord, what a mess. Dev wanted to go over and say something, anything, but it wasn’t possible. He followed Tom down the hall with the other agent.

  A policeman posted outside the hospital room was talking to an older gentleman dressed in a suit and tie. Tom walked slightly faster as he neared him.

  “Charlie, you are a sight for sore eyes. Been a long time.” He warmly greeted the man with a heartfelt handshake and partial hug. “Let me introduce you to Agent Linwood, he’ll be taking the statement and this is a buddy of mine, Devlin Pierce, with the Justice Department. He’s the lead in this DEA investigation. Gentleman, this is Charles Hudson, retired prosecutor and I bet John’s attorney.”

  “You bet right. Good to meet you both.” He turned to Dev. “Agent Pierce, John has had nothing but good to say about you in this whole big mess.” The attorney extended his hand to him. “He’s still in pain but he wanted to get this over and then I’ll go to work for him. He’s also entrusted me with some timelines and contacts I think you all will be interested in so I hope that can work in his favor.”

  Dev and Tom exchanged questioning looks. John apparently had been documenting everything? Always a cop.

  The attorney shook his head. “I’ve known that good man since he was on the police force and we worked on some abuse cases together. This is hard for me but I�
��m doing it for him. Did you all speak to his daughter?”

  “No, not yet,” Dev responded. “I’d rather bring her into Tom’s office maybe tomorrow but let her be for now.”

  “But,” Tom interrupted, “she’s not to leave town, Charlie. She’s lucky she’s not in jail, for now. And we will be expecting a lot from her.”

  Dev was mildly surprised at the ominous comment. The girl was as much a victim as Lily. She’d made some bad choices but apparently she’d been clean and had been pulled back into a life she had put behind her.

  They all entered the room to see John, the man whom Lily had called big, now fragile, attached to an IV and handcuffed to a bed. He looked over to see them enter, smiling slightly at Dev.

  “Ah, Lily’s boyfriend.”

  The attorney looked sideways at him, Tom smiled and the other agent began setting up his equipment.

  Tom murmured to his old friend, “long story”.

  “Actually, John, I’m…”

  John stopped him with his free hand. “A good man.”

  Dev took a step back as Tom explained with the attorney’s additional comments, how they were going to proceed. He was also encouraging John to assist Agent Pierce in his DEA investigation as much as he could. John was facing federal charges and any help would make it better on him when the time came for sentencing. The timeline and contact lists would even help his daughter’s case.

  As John’s statement was recorded, Dev listened intently. Compassion was needed. This was a good man in an awful no-win situation. He continued to describe the tearful call from his daughter, the threats from her former dealer, the searches he had done at Lily’s. He was a friend of Lily’s and she wouldn’t think anything of him checking on the shop. Even when Lily’s code no longer worked, he contacted the security company and a friend there told him the new system and how to re-program and re-set once he entered and exited. He had goofed on one occasion.

  Tom and Dev looked at each other. Lily would be getting a new service to keep her and her shop safe if Dev had anything to say about it. Tom would be visiting the company the next day to emphasize the term SECURITY and to possibly bring charges against John’s “friend”.

  John had decided to leave the freezer in disarray so Lily wouldn’t know what was missing and to try to pin it on some break-ins that were occurring in the area. Some of his police comrades had shared specifics of the thefts over lunch one day.

  “I took the freezer bags, the ones I thought were the heroin. I took them home, defrosted, cut them open and all that was in there was the chemical gel that freezes. But I left them at the drop spot at the shopping mall down the way. I have the address and the spot in my notes. A Cartel contact picked them up. I had to go in one more time. Last night, well, I never wanted Lily to know.”

  “We had a camera set up when we changed the security system, John. Your friend didn’t know that,” Dev interjected. “We didn’t tell Lily we suspected you, but she knew. You said something at lunch that tipped her off. You read a note on her desk. No one would’ve seen that but whoever was in the shop in the middle of the night. It was a plant for Mrs. Notte, remember?"

  John wiped his forehead with his free hand to remove the forming beads of sweat.

  “Oh Lord. You have to believe I would never let them hurt her. She’s my little girl too.” He looked point blank at Dev. A small tear appeared and rolled down his cheek. “She must hate me.”

  Dev couldn’t answer. Vulnerable was not a good look for Lily Schmidt but she’d been more than that last night. She’d been lost, betrayed, alone. He couldn’t and didn’t want to remember what she looked like when he’d grabbed her into his arms. Yes, she had been in shock but she was not weak. She wasn’t one of those women who was a clinging vine shouting “help me, help me you big strong man”. She laid up against his chest but she never sunk in for him to be the only one who could get her out of a jam. He hoped she’d understand when she knew the entire story. His new friend had a heart bigger than her brain sometimes.

  “So, they flew my daughter and granddaughter up here. I figured they wanted to make sure we were all together when they took us out but they told her she had to bring those packages back to Miami. I never told my wife anything but she knows something is up. My daughter and I have had too many whispered conversations and too many daddy phone calls this summer. We didn’t know someone else was on that plane, someone following my child the entire time and last night, well, when I tried one more time…” John took a deep breath. “It’s fuzzy with the storm but when I saw that figure I knew what he was there for… he was going to kill me first and Lily was just in the way again. Then they’d go after my family. Months ago I was suspicious when a couple of men slammed my wife up against a canned goods aisle at the supermarket. She injured her hip again. Then we found out about her cancer returning. I just wanted to keep everyone safe.”

  He shut his eyes and his breathing became labored. “I tried to protect Lily. I made her stay behind the desk and I met him at the door. That’s when it all went wrong. I don’t remember much past that but I got him. Didn’t I?”

  Dev reached for his hand through the bed railing and the hand cuff. “Yes you did and you protected Lily.”

  “It’s going to be your job now,” John murmured as the machine alarms went off. “But there’s somebody else out there, boyfriend. You gotta get him, you gotta…”

  “We need someone in here,” Dev said into the speaker beside the bed. “His blood pressure is plummeting. We need someone stat.”

  The FBI agents pulled their chairs back against the wall to allow the staff a quick entry. “Hang in there, John.” Dev continued to hold his hand.

  “You’re a good man. She needs you but don’t you hurt my girl. Please try not to hurt my other girls too, please, promise me.”

  Dev tried to shrink as small as he could as two nurses and a doctor checked monitors, listened to his heart and injected drugs. He just kept holding Big John’s weakened and imprisoned hand.

  “I promise, John. I’ll do everything I can. You have my word.”

  “You Army?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Knew it. I believe you. Bless you.” Dev could barely hear his words as he faded into unconsciousness.

  The monitors were beeping with warning bells and blips. Finally, the doctor pushed Dev aside and began a cardiac treatment. Dev faded back into the corner of the room. Fullerton and the other agent removed themselves but the attorney stayed near the doorway. He was watching the frantic resuscitation of his old friend and compatriot in crime fighting from so many years ago.

  Dev’s thoughts were of those three females in the waiting room. Without thinking he dashed out of the room as the staff was preparing to move the bed at high speed. He assumed they were taking John back to surgery.

  “Mrs. Temple,” he yelled as he ran down the hall. “You need to come with me now. Mrs. Temple!”

  She was on the edge of the waiting area when he slid in front of her. He grabbed her hand and hauled her behind him. She was able to meet her husband’s bed in the hallway before the other elevator.

  Dev stood back, leaning against the wall, sliding down until he was crouched on the floor with his head in his hands. How could any of them ever heal? If John died or if he lived there would be an inconsolable world of hurt that would soon be their reality. He felt a hand on his shoulder and knew it was Tom.

  “That was a nice thing to do.”

  He didn’t dare look up. He saw his own tears falling onto the floor.

  “She needed to say goodbye. The love of her life may die and everyone needs to get a chance to say goodbye.”

  Inside his head he kept saying that word over and over again. Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye… Mom.

  Later, Dev texted Lily and told her he would see her tomorrow. They needed her statement.

  He made her look out her window to report that the police detail was indeed there.

  “Yes. Took her a sandwich and
soda. Thinking of asking her in for dinner. Making roast,” she texted back.

  She sounded natural, not in shock at all. She was being Lily…now she was going to entertain the policewoman. She took in people into her world like others took in puppies and kittens. From Abby to Jeremy, Mrs. Notte, John, Neal, him, all those brides and moms and their relationships with her were the proof.

  “Take care of yourself. Get sleep. See you tomorrow,” he texted back. It was the last text he would send. Eventually, Tom and the other agent went on their way but he stayed. He’d gone down to the food court in the hospital and bought sandwiches, coffees, waters and couple of milks and returned to the waiting area. Slowly he approached the three females. The young woman was checking her phone, John’s wife had her hands folded in quiet prayer and the little girl was at the low table playing a video game.

  “Mrs. Temple, I thought you all might like something to eat.” He laid the assortment on the table.

  “That was very kind of you, Mister?”

  The little girl was all smiles as she noticed the Happy Meal right in front of her. “Dev. I know your husband. I’m friends with Lily, the florist.”

  “Oh, yes, you’re her boyfriend. How wonderful. You shouldn’t have done this for us but I certainly appreciate it.”

  The little girl patted her on the leg. “Gram, can I? The fries are warm.”

  “Yes, baby,” Mrs. Temple said as she smoothed the hair on top of her head. “Alise,” she said as she motioned to the other woman, “this nice man is dating Miss Lily, remember her?”

  “Yes, Momma.”

  Dev could tell she was hesitant, afraid. She knew who and what he was and he certainly wasn’t a nice man, nor was he dating Lily in her eyes.

  “Thank you for the food, sir.” She answered as he had expected but grabbed a sandwich anyway. They must have been starving. He was too but the coffee would do him for now.

  “Have you heard anything about your husband?” He finally asked a question after they had eaten.