The Hibiscus Heist

by C L Bauer

  He nodded. She knew he would go look it up. Fine, let him. She had nothing more to say. Besides, a stolen car wouldn’t be related to what had happened, would it? Oh Lord, please don’t let it be related. She had been assured by the DEA and the FBI that everything was over. She’d add to her list to call Tom Fullerton, Dev’s FBI friend from the regional office in Kansas City. Tom would willingly tell her everything was going to be just fine.

  She thanked the officers as they walked away. They were talking as they got back into their car. The discussion was probably about her. Paranoia? Probably not.

  “Abby, let me call the insurance agent, and then we’ve got to get into the shop. I’ll treat coffee and danish if you go get it.”

  Of course, Abby agreed. She could be bought for far less, but a specialty coffee and a bear claw pastry sounded perfect this morning.

  Abby sat in the living room as her boss made her call. She saw a few changes in the house, namely personal photographs of her boss and her new boyfriend. Even though they knew each other over a year now, Dev still lived in Virginia and Lily, well Lily was still here with her business.

  Abby picked up the framed photo sitting by the couch. Dev and Lily had taken the perfect selfie while sitting at an outside café table somewhere down on the Country Club Plaza. Lily looked so happy, the smile genuine and contagious. Abby had never seen her boss this happy in a relationship. Devlin Pierce, the stoic, former Army, good-looking drug enforcement agent, looked more relaxed. He was gentler and softer than when they had first met him in his official capacity fighting the bad guys.

  She placed the frame back on the table. The months of chaos surrounding the drug fiasco resulted in the untimely death of one of Lily’s closest friends, Big John, the security guard for the boulevard. He’d been blackmailed into helping the Cartel because of his daughter’s former drug habit. And then there had been that awful little preppy trust fund boy who had been in on it too. Abby still didn’t understand how he had fit into it completely. She just knew he was in prison, never to hit on her again.

  “So, let’s go. I’ll open the shop and you get us food, and then we can start working. But I need coffee.”

  Abby agreed. It was going to be a long week and it was only Monday.

  “When are you going to tell Dev?”

  Lily winced. “After I’ve had my coffee.” He was going to act like a mother hen, insisting he come right away. She was a big girl; she could take care of herself and had done quite well for many years now. Right now, though, she wouldn’t turn him away. She needed her very special agent.

  Chapter Two

  Lily’s head was reeling. She’d sent Abby on her way to get the much needed coffee and breakfast, preferably the most obnoxious, calorie-laden pastry available. To heck with being healthy today with all this stress.

  She’d called the insurance company. As soon as she had the police report in hand, she could give them more information. In the meantime, they were on alert, and at least the police had the car marked as stolen. She sat down at her desk and looked out the window. People were walking by, some glancing at the display at the front of the shop. Abby and she had spent two days working on the design for the upcoming fall season. No pumpkins or gourds for them; they decorated with rich bold colors influenced by vegetables, but no vegetables in the window. They focused on pumpkin oranges and squash yellows and greens with the deepest eggplant purple. If you weren’t going to have a vegetable around, you could certainly use their colors. Their silk flowers were beautiful in large baskets draped with the most amazing teal double-sided satin ribbon Lily had found at her wholesaler. As an homage to her wedding business, there was a bridal bouquet draping over an antique cherry wood dining room chair surrounded by tons of candles and votives in mercury golds and silvers.

  Lily rested her head in her hands and smiled. It was so pretty on such an ugly day. She’d experienced trials before, but drama was becoming her middle name. Last year had been beyond her wildest nightmares. She’d gained her wildestdream with Dev’s presence in her life. She’d lost one of her closest friends and one of her longest clients’ grandsons was arrested for his involvement. But she was making fewer lists. She was no longer devouring post-it notes in bulk quantities.

  Lily Schmidt had become so content she only made two lists a week now, one for Monday and one that was more a schedule for busy weekends. She needed that to keep everyone on the right path when dealing with one or more weddings.

  But, Dev had definitely calmed her down. He was her zen acquisition. They laughed entirely too much, even if they were just talking over the phone. It seemed like they made each other happier. She remained in Kansas City working and living, and he was heaven knows where doing whatever he did. She knew he was actually home in Virginia last month, but right now she had no idea where he was. She hadn’t heard from him in a week. It was her own sad game of “Where’s Waldo”.

  She needed to call him. Well, she didn’t need to call him, but she better do it. The longer she waited, the madder he would be when she finally told him. For a man who lived with secrets, he certainly didn’t want to be surprised.

  Lily picked up her phone and hit his number. His voicemail was on.

  “Dev, it’s me. I’m fine, and I was thinking about you. My car was stolen out of my driveway last night, and no, I don’t know who did it or when it happened. I didn’t hear anything. I filed my police report; I talked to my insurance lady. I have a busy week again so no need to call back. Stay safe. Love you.”

  She placed the phone back on the desk. She breathed in and out for a second or two. How nice it was to say you loved someone. As long as she didn’t add “I”, they were safe. There were so many times in a day when she said “love you, love ya” to this client or to Abby. She’d never said it to crazy Gretchen the dominating wedding coordinator. Ironically, that one little omission of one word made all the difference with most people and definitely took the pressure off of Dev.

  Lily couldn’t remember the time when she or he had said those words the first time. Possibly, it had already been understood. Had he ever said those three little words? Lily searched her memory. Surely he had, hadn’t he? No? She’d murmured them into her pillow at night. She’d pretended to kiss him. What was she, sixteen? Sometimes he was like an imaginary character. Did he exist? They were apart so much it was difficult to think that they were even a couple. She had no idea where they were headed, not even knowing the path or if they would be holding hands while they traveled into the abyss.

  Abby entered with the largest coffee Lily had seen in a long time and a bag that looked very promising.

  “What did you get me? I’m starving.”

  Abby handed her the bag. “The coffee shop had doughnuts today. Can you believe it? They never have them, but they are doing a promotion with some doughnut company.”

  Abby was babbling away when Lily looked inside to see the largest glazed beauties. They rivaled the coffee in size.

  “Oh my gosh,” she muttered with her mouth full as she took the first bite. She knew this baby was going directly onto her left thigh. Her left thigh was particularly vulnerable.

  “Amazing, isn’t it?” Abby asked as they headed back to the desk.

  “I think I’m in heaven,” Lily paused, “but without my car or my favorite CD’s.”

  Abby’s eyes shut in blissful reverence for the sip of coffee she drank.

  “I needed this coffee so much. Can you marry coffee?”

  Lily smiled. “Maybe in Vermont?” They laughed so hard they almost choked on their much-needed beverages.

  “Or in California,” Abby added. They both snorted with delight.

  “I want my car back,” Lily whined. “I can’t believe this has happened to me. Did you notice how the police brought up last year? They must think I’m a danger magnet.”

  “You are,” Abby admitted as she wiped sugar from the side of her face.

  “What?”

  Abby laughed out loud. �
�Last year’s stuff was all over television and in the newspaper for weeks. And then, look who you are dating! Come on, he is danger with a capital D.”

  Lily tilted her head to one side and smiled. “Oh, well there is that.” She smiled wider just thinking about Devlin Pierce, but that happiness faded very quickly. She knew he would’ve called back if he wasn’t busy. If he was busy that meant he was doing his very dangerous job.

  She took another drink of coffee. “I did leave him a message, but I bet he’s out there doing whatever he does.”

  “That’s a ringing endorsement of the man you love.” Abby gathered their trash and headed to the back room. “I’ll start cleaning back here.”

  Lily opened her mouth to say something, anything, some witty retort, but what was there to say? Dev and she had known each other over a year, and yet they really didn’t know each other. Long distance relationships were difficult enough especially when she owned a thriving business, and he worked for the federal government rooting out drugs entering the country.

  She kept telling herself that it wasn’t the quantity of time, but the quality of time spent together that mattered. She had so many fears and insecurities that she was only fooling herself. How could this possibly work and for how long? One day he might meet someone and just text her it was over. One day she might decide she wanted so much more in a companion, one who was actually by her side and seeing her every night when a long day was done. Who are you kidding, you will wait for him, won’t you? Was she willing to risk half of a life with him rather than none?

  Her phone buzzed and broke her confused musing. She jumped when she saw the name. It was him. “Hi.”

  “Are you kidding me? You are kidding me, aren’t you? What’s missing? You filed your report with the police and the insurance, right?” His voice trailed off. He stopped talking as he could hear the silence on the other end of the line. “I’m sorry. I was just worried about you.” He heard a few sniffles. “You’re crying, aren’t you?”

  “Yes,” she whispered. “I hadn’t really broken down until now, been holding it in.”

  “I’m so sorry. I was just worried,” Dev slowed his speech and took a breath. “What do the police think happened?” He knew she had already done all the responsible adulting because that was who she was. She was genetically predisposed to always doing the right thing. He loved that about her, most of the time.

  She blew her nose and calmed down. “Well, they weren’t very interested. They came. They just knew I’d left the car unlocked. You know I would never do that. I was so tired Sunday night that at first I couldn’t remember if I’d parked the car in the garage or in the drive, but I know I heard the alarm go on.”

  “You never forget,” Dev murmured to console her. “Did you have anything of value in the car?”

  “My Celine Dion CD was in there.”

  Dev laughed. “I asked if you had anything of value.”

  “Not the time. I had my music and all my registration and insurance papers. I loved my little blue Civic.”

  Dev thought it best to tread softly after his last comment. “I know, honey. Maybe they’ll find it.”

  Lily pounded her fist on the desk. “That’s the thing. I don’t want it back after whoever has had their hands all over it.”

  He chuckled. “Lily, we can detail it and it’ll have that new car smell again.”

  “No, it will never be the same. I drove that little car off the lot with only ten miles on it. I loved that car.” She was crying.

  Dev waited. She was one of the strongest women he had ever met, but she was also one of the most insecure. Lily Schmidt could change perspectives on a dime. Sometimes, he thought he was having a relationship with an ocean wave. Passively, the water would flow gently onto the beach, tickling at your toes and then at times it could take you out with a strong riptide, uncertain where or when you could regain your footing while you walked in the sand. Her insecurity was always just below the surface, and yet if you assumed she wouldn’t respond you would be a fool. She could handle any situation if she had to, but he’d learned she was tired of having to do it all on her own.

  “Honey, listen. It will be fine. You are safe. You’ve done everything you needed to do. It’s probably a gang with some initiation activity. You’ll probably find out that the neighborhood has been hit a few times. All you can do right now is get the reports you need for insurance, and you’ve already made all your calls. You’ve done everything right, Lily. At least you have the van to drive.”

  “I know, but why does this stuff keep happening to me?”

  “This stuff doesn’t keep happening to you. That was a fluke last year and now this. You’ve been very lucky, really. Most people aren’t so fortunate. They have way more chaos.” He knew that for sure. Since the time he had decided to attend the Military Academy at West Point, his life had been up for grabs. He’d gone into Special Forces, too many tours in Afghanistan and Iraq fighting the Taliban and others, stopping just a little of the drug activity in war zones, losing his mother to cancer while he was away, losing friends, and now working to prevent transnational cartels bringing drugs in from all over the world. He’d seen enough chaos to last two or three lifetimes.

  “So, Lily, what’s the plan? I know you have your list, and you’ll probably be adding to it now.”

  She looked at her list on the desk. Darn him for knowing her so well.

  “This afternoon I pick up the police report. Tomorrow, I drop a copy to the insurance agent. I’m going to drop by the dealership and tell the guys what happened. I was supposed to have an appointment for them to check the recall on the passenger airbag. Did I mention that we have three weddings this weekend?” She turned to see Abby in the backroom. She was throwing rose stems into the bin. The company who took their debris would pick them up for recycling tomorrow.

  “You’ve got this,” Dev reassured her. “You always get it done. I just want you safe.”

  She began to say her goodbyes, but Dev interrupted.

  “Why didn’t you hear anything?”

  “We had a huge thunderstorm. It was loud. I did wake up, but I didn’t hear anything but the storm.” Hmm, she hadn’t heard the car alarm.

  “I better get going. I miss you. I’ll see you as soon as I can.”

  She said goodbye, and he hung up. You know when bad things happen you just know they’ll be followed by more bad things? Lily couldn’t shake that thought. He hadn’t said he loved her.

  Chapter Three

  By the time Lily arrived at the car dealership the following morning, she had filled the van with gas, dropped by the insurance agency with the police report, and viewed a reception venue in Leawood, Kansas. She was finally starting to get back on schedule since late Monday at the police station when she asked if there had been any other thefts in her area. No, she was indeed special. She’d also canvassed the neighborhood after dinner. Mrs. Lionel across the street was the only one who had seen something out of the ordinary.

  “Well, dear, I thought it was a bit unusual when you drove out onto the street around eleven in that awful storm, but I don’t want to be a busybody.”

  Lily’s left eyebrow arched. Really? She didn’t want to be a busybody?

  “That wasn’t me, Mrs. Lionel. You saw whoever stole my car.”

  The retired school teacher raised her hand to her mouth in shock. “Oh my. I should’ve known, but I thought maybe the other car was your boyfriend.”

  “The other car?”

  “Yes, there was a black sedan with tinted windows on the street and when you, I mean your car pulled out, it followed right behind. I just thought it was your friend. It looked like a police car and your man looks like he’s in law enforcement so I just naturally thought it was him.”

  Lily’s mind was spinning. “He works for the federal government.”

  “In law enforcement?” The teacher was quizzing her.

  Lily decided to lie. “No, not at all. He works at a desk.” The woman’
s lips pursed together tightly as though she didn’t believe a word she was saying.

  Lily wondered if the DEA could use Mrs. Lionel as an interrogator, or if Dev had ever just worked at a desk without throwing it on someone or using it as a barricade?

  “Well, thank you,” Lily said as she backed away to head home.

  “You two ever getting married?” Lily pretended she was deaf to her question, replying instead with a wave goodbye.

  Chapter Four

  Lily entered the car service area and waved at her rep. “Hi Jeff.”

  He waved to her. “I thought you cancelled the appointment. What happened? They said your car was stolen?” Jeff Potter had been her maintenance magic man for over five years. She knew just about everyone in the service department and had even provided flowers for one of the rep’s daughters.

  She nodded. “I wanted to drop by and make sure you knew about the car. I have so much to do and now this.”

  He laughed. He’d heard it all before. Lily Schmidt was only bored and slow in January, a little at the end of February after Valentine’s Day and most of March. The woman was busy with something most of the time.

  “You call me and we will help in any way we can.”

  “Thanks, Jeff. I’ll keep in touch. See you all later.” As she walked away looking like a lost child, three other men said goodbye.

  “What happened to her? She wasn’t as perky as she usually is,” Dean Macgruder asked. He sat right next to Jeff.

  “Her car was stolen last night. She bought it from us less than a year ago.”

  “Hmm,” Dean murmured. “You know, Jeff, I’ve had two customers have their cars stolen in the last month.”

  “Must be something up,” Jeff answered. Kansas City had a higher than usual crime rate, but for three of customers to have their cars stolen in the last month seemed like a higher than average rate, if someone kept track of that sort of thing. In their afternoon staff meeting he’d mention the trend. In the meantime, he’d call his brother, a detective on the police force.