Charming Lily

by Fern Michaels

  “What time is it, Sadie?”

  “Three o’clock. Has Buzz ever stayed out this late before?”

  “Never. Something must have happened to him. We have to go look for him.”

  “No. We’re staying right here. He’ll be back when he gets tired. Make sure you give him a good swat when he does get back. I’m going to give him one myself. I can do that because I’m his godmother.”

  It was four-thirty when both women heard the dry leaves on the ground rustle. Buzz appeared out of the darkness and barked as he pawed the ground. When he was satisfied he had their attention, he ran off to the driveway.

  Lily was on her feet in a heartbeat, running after the Lab, Sadie in her wake. They both skidded to a stop when they saw the big black-and-tan dog lying on his side in the driveway. “Oh, God, Sadie, look! Buzz went back to find this dog. Help me get him into the house. We have to call the vet. We need to do something. Good boy, Buzz. I’ll swat you later.”

  Within minutes they had the big shepherd inside. Gently, they lowered the dog to the carpet in front of the fireplace. Sadie raced off for a blanket. Lily ran to the kitchen for water. He isn’t a he. He’s a she!” she called to Sadie’s retreating back. She’s got a collar on, too.” Buzz hovered, then he lowered his big head to lick the dog’s face. Lily felt her heart melt. “It’s okay, Buzz. She’s going to be okay. She really does look like Gracie. Guess you think so, too. Oh, good, she’s taking the water. Easy, girl, easy. Just a little bit at a time. Do you think she’s dehydrated, Sadie?”

  “If she’s been on her own for a while, that’s a safe bet. I’ll cut up some of the leftover meat and mix it with the rice. You can hand-feed her. First thing in the morning, we’ll take her to the vet. I think she’s going to be okay, Lily. Buzz seems to think so, too.”

  “Shouldn’t we check her collar and call the owners before we do anything? I wonder why no one has been looking for her. She’s beautiful. Buzz got her here. Isn’t that amazing, Sadie?”

  “It sure is. Guess she trusted him. Dogs really are uncanny.”

  “I can’t make out what it says on her tag. Guess we’ll have to wait for morning. I don’t know why, but I don’t want to take her collar off now. She might not take kindly to a stranger removing it. Buzz would go ballistic. His collar and tag are his. How’s that food coming?”

  Sadie handed over a small bowl. Lily took a pinch between her fingers and fed it to the dog, who ate it gratefully. “Make some more, Sadie, she’s starving.”

  The sun was creeping over the horizon when the shepherd finally closed her eyes in sleep, Buzz at her side, Lily and Sadie curled next to both dogs.

  The winter sun was high in the sky when Lily opened one eye to see Buzz staring at her. Should she get up? Was Buzz waiting for her to make the first move? She craned her neck. The shepherd was awake, too. Waiting. “Wake up, Sadie,” she said, nudging her friend. “Let’s see if this pretty baby can get up on her own. Make some more food, and let’s see if she’ll take some more water. You get her from the front, and I’ll hoist her from the back. If she can’t stand up, we’ll put her on the bed and see if we can get a vet to come here. Oh, good, she’s wobbly, but she’s up.” She wanted to cry when the big dog licked her hand. She hugged her. “Bring the food, Sadie.”

  Both women watched while the shepherd gobbled down the entire bowl of food, then drank greedily. Buzz waited patiently for her to finish before he headed for the door. The shepherd followed.

  Within minutes both dogs were back indoors. Lily stood rooted to the floor when the big black-and-tan dog lunged toward her and started licking every available inch of her skin that was exposed.

  “Whoa, girl, easy, easy. Yes, yes, I love you, too. Look how grateful she is, Sadie. I think she’s going to be okay, but we’re still taking her to the vet. Then we’re going to clean her up. She’s a mess.”

  Sadie smiled. At least for a few minutes, Lily was her old self. Why was it that an animal always brought out the best in everyone? “I think you got yourself another dog is what I think. At least for the time being. It looks to me like Buzz agrees. Let’s see who she belongs to. You look, Lily, she’s next to you. I don’t want to confuse her.”

  Lily dropped to her knees until she was eye level with the big dog. “This dog looks so much like Gracie it’s eerie. Shhh,” she said, when the shepherd started to bark. “I just want to see who let you get away from them. Whoever they are they should be horsewhipped.”

  Sadie sat down on the chair by the fireplace, her gaze on Lily and the smile on her face. Idly she scratched Buzz behind the ears. The moment she saw Lily’s face turn white she was off the chair. “What is it? What’s wrong? Talk to me, Lily. You’re hyperventilating. Drop your head between your knees and take deep breaths. Okay, okay. What? What’s wrong?”

  “This . . . this ... this is Gracie, Matt’s dog. That’s why she was so happy to see me. She recognized me, and she remembered Buzz. That’s how he was able to get her here. Look at her tag. Gracie Starr. Owner, Matthew Starr, and his phone number in New York. Matt would never let this dog out of his sight. I used to wonder who he loved more, Gracie or me, and it was always a draw. Where is he, girl? God, if you could only talk.”

  “How’d she get here?”

  “Good question. Listen, call Dennis and ask him to come over here. My cell phone is on the kitchen table. Matt would never dump this dog, and, by the same token, Gracie would never leave him. Never. That’s a given. Oh, Sadie, maybe something really did happen to him. Maybe he didn’t jilt me after all. You don’t think he’s dead, do you, Sadie? He can’t be dead. Sadie, say something. Did you get hold of Dennis?”

  “He’s on his way. He said exactly what you said. He said Matt would never, ever, leave the dog. He said it was like Gracie and he were joined at the hip. He’s more convinced than ever that something happened to him. I don’t know what to say other than she’s a beautiful animal. I wish she could talk.”

  Lily stroked the big shepherd’s head with one hand as her other hand fiddled with the Wish Keeper hanging around her neck. She sighed. At the same moment she felt a hundred lightbulbs go off behind her eyelids. A rough-hewn building among a stand of hardwoods assailed her. A second later the vision was gone.

  “What’s wrong, Lily?” Sadie said shaking her shoulders. “You’re scaring me. What’s wrong, dammit?”

  “I don’t know. I closed my eyes and saw this . . . this . . . I don’t know what it was, maybe a shack. It looked old, and it listed to the side. There were these big monster trees everywhere. It was just a flash. Am I losing my mind?”

  “Of course not. You were staring off into space. That happens to me all the time. You’ve been through a rough time, Lily. Anything you experience now can be chalked up to your emotions and finding Gracie. I think I hear a car. Maybe it’s Dennis, or maybe one of the workers. I told him we were out here in the cottage. He’s nice, Lily, and very concerned about his friend. Please don’t go off on him. I know you don’t like Marcus, but I think Dennis is okay. He’s to Matt what I am to you. Remember that.”

  “I will, Sadie. I promise. I’m feeling better already. You know what I mean.”

  “It’s Dennis.” Sadie ran to the door and threw it open. Gracie barked happily at the sight of Dennis, the guy who had tussled with her on more than one occasion back in New York. She made no move to go to him and waited for him to bend down and cup her head in his hands. She almost purred with the attention. Buzz growled. Dennis backed off.

  He looks a lot like Matt, Lily thought. He was dressed like his boss in jeans, sweatshirt, and well-worn sneakers. There were no holes in the toes, however. They were also minus shoelaces. Idiosyncracies of the male species.

  “How are you, Lily?”

  “I’m okay. We need to sit down and talk. I want . . . no, that’s not right, I need to believe Matt didn’t dump me at the altar. Finding Gracie like this is telling me maybe you’re right, and something has happened to Matt. We’re all in agreeme
nt that Matt would never let Gracie out of his sight, much less dump her alongside the road. We’ve seen her for days now, but didn’t realize it was Gracie. We thought she was a stray dog just wandering around. We even tried to catch her. That means she’s been running loose for two days. Whatever happened to Matt, if something did happen, happened three days ago. Maybe even before that. There’s no way to know for sure. Trails grow cold in that span of time. Matt really doesn’t know Natchez all that well. The few times he’s been here, I did the driving. We were so busy talking, I know he didn’t pay any attention to the scenery unless I mentioned a particular landmark or some point of interest. He knows about Natchez, but he doesn’t know it if you know what I mean. Hell, I’m a transplant, I don’t even know it. This property was once owned by Sadie’s great-great-grandmother. Her mother inherited it when we were all living in Florida, but none of her family wanted to come back here. Sadie doesn’t know much more about the area than I do. It looks like we’ll all be learning about it as we go along. Is there anything you know that you haven’t told us, Dennis?”

  Dennis smiled, but the smile was directed at Sadie. “Nothing that would have anything to do with Matt leaving you standing at the altar. All kinds of things are going on at the office. When someone like Matt decides to take the plunge, it’s big news. Everyone starts to scramble and jockey for position. Some pretty unhealthy and ugly rumors started circulating about a month ago. Matt changed then. At first I didn’t know what was going on. When things like this start happening, people choose up sides. It was my side, and then there was Marcus’s side. We’re going to be unveiling some new software that will change the industry. Big stuff. We were all waiting to see whose side Matt was leaning toward, Marcus’s or mine. To this day, I don’t know, and neither does Marcus. At least he says he doesn’t. I’m no Marcus Collins fan. I want that known right up front.”

  “Duly noted,” Sadie said quietly.

  “What were the ugly, unhealthy rumors that were circulating?”

  “That someone high up in the company, someone like Marcus or me, was selling our software secrets to competitors. I think Marcus convinced Matt it was me. My family, all my friends, called to tell me people were coming around asking questions about me, my income, did I buy anything new, you know, big-ticket items, that kind of thing. They ran checks on me at my bank. I don’t mind telling you I was pissed off big-time. I didn’t mind the scrutiny because I have nothing to hide. I was pissed at the secrecy of the whole thing. What I did mind more than anything was that Matt would even listen to something like that. We played in the same sandbox when we were kids. I’d lay down my life for him. I thought he felt the same way about me. Obviously, he didn’t . . . doesn’t.”

  “Did Matt investigate Marcus Collins?” Lily asked carefully.

  “I don’t know, Lily. If he did, nothing filtered back to me. I have to make a decision here. We’re unveiling the new software four days from now. Do I go back and stand in the limelight, or do I stay here and hunt for my friend? We know he made it this far because of Gracie, so it’s logical to start the search here.”

  Lily shrugged. “I think you were right, and we should call the police. Maybe even the FBI.”

  “Jesus, God, no! Matt would have a fit if we did that. The place will be swarming with agents, cops, and who the hell knows who else. That’s when things could really get skewed. I say we try to do this ourselves. Marcus is back in the New York office. He can handle everything. He knows how Matt feels about this kind of thing. It will be interesting to see if anything is leaked.”

  “Why? You’re implying that Matt was kidnapped. That is what you’re saying, isn’t it?” Lily demanded

  “Yes. No. I don’t know, Lily. I’m no sleuth. It could be as simple as Matt being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Or, it could be something more serious. I’m like a duck out of water. I’m having a hard time getting past the idea that Matt could think I would betray him and the company.”

  “Maybe that’s what he wanted you to think, Dennis. Do not ever make the mistake of thinking Matt is a fool. He isn’t. Where his business is concerned, he’s right there. It’s all in his head. I know because he talks in his sleep. Maybe it was just a show to throw anyone else off the track. For instance, let’s just say it was Marcus he was suspicious of. He wouldn’t want Marcus to know, so he picked you. Unlikely choice since you’ve been friends all your lives. It makes sense, doesn’t it, Sadie?” Lily muttered.

  “It makes a whole lot of sense. Matt loved you . . . damn, we have to stop talking in the past tense. Matt loves you like you are his brother. He’s told me that hundreds of times. Tell us about Marcus,” Sadie pleaded.

  “For starters, Gracie hates Marcus. She snarls at his wife, too. Betsy is high-maintenance. That means she likes expensive things. Marcus has a house in the Hamptons that’s worth seven or eight million. He owns a big boat. He calls it a yacht. I don’t know anything about boats. Every year they go to Europe for a month with the kids in the summer. They go again to Switzerland in the winter, too. Usually around the holidays. Marcus loves to ski. He drives a Porsche, and his wife drives a Benz. His kids go to fancy private schools. Betsy sports a lot of pricey jewelry. They have a ritzy apartment at the Dakota with a live-in housekeeper and nanny. Marcus makes good money, but then so do I. I always have the feeling he wants more. How many houses does one person need? How many cars? He says he likes Matt. Maybe he does, and maybe he doesn’t. I see his envy, his distaste at the way Matt thumbs his nose at the establishment and the way he dresses. I’m trying to be fair where Marcus is concerned, but I don’t like the son of a bitch.”

  Lily leaned back trying to absorb everything she’d just heard. She felt like crying and didn’t know why. She continued to stroke Gracie’s head as she played with the Wish Keeper around her neck. Suddenly, her head jolted forward and a vision flashed behind her eyelids. Matt’s Jaguar parked under a tree in the dark with only the moon for illumination. Her eyes snapped open.

  “Did it happen again, Lily?” Sadie asked, her voice full of concern. “Tell Dennis about how it happened before.”

  “It’s nothing. It’s just . . . I sort of see . . . something. First it was a shack that was leaning over, and this time it looked like Matt’s Jaguar parked under a tree. It was dark with only the moon shining down. I don’t believe in stuff like this, so don’t go reading something into it that isn’t there. I’m probably overtired, and I’m kind of tense right now.”

  “We have to pay attention to it, Lily, because nothing like that has ever happened to you before,” Sadie said.

  “You two talk it to death. I’m telling you, it means nothing. I’m going to take Gracie to the vet. I’ll just show up and that way they won’t be able to turn me away or give me an appointment tomorrow or something like that. Watch Buzz for me, okay?”

  “Betsy didn’t want to come to the wedding,” Dennis went on. “I heard Marcus talking to her on the phone. There was some big gala going on in the Hamptons she wanted to attend. Then when the wedding didn’t come off, she was like one scalded cat. I didn’t envy Marcus, that’s for sure. She referred to the dinner and the church as a ricky-ticky, down-home affair. She called it an embarrassment for people like them.”

  Lily winced. “It was what Matt wanted, Dennis. He was the one who wanted the dinner at King’s Tavern because it’s supposed to be haunted. He was hoping one of the spirits would show up over dinner and scare everyone half to death. That’s where we were going to stay on our wedding night. He was really into that spirit stuff.”

  “I know all about it. He talked about it all the time. I told the story to Betsy myself. She had the good manners to shut up after that, but she looked like she was sucking on a lemon. Listen, this place doesn’t look too comfortable. Why don’t you come back to the apartment and we can set up our command post on your dining-room table. Ooops, in the living room. Your dining room is full of wedding presents. I’ll sleep on the couch if that’s okay with you girls
. The dogs will be more comfortable in the apartment, too.”

  “Yeah, let’s do that, Lily. I’ll ride with Dennis, and you go straight back there when you finish up at the vet’s, okay?”

  “Okay. I shouldn’t be long. Take care of Buzz.”

  As she ushered Gracie through the door, she heard Sadie say, “Now who was that lovely lady with you at the wedding?” She grinned when she heard Dennis’s response. “My sister’s best friend. She didn’t have a date for New Year’s Eve, and I didn’t have a date for the wedding. It worked out for both of us. I only met her that one time.”

  “How wonderful for you both,” Sadie trilled.

  Gracie sat comfortably on the ride to the vet’s. She didn’t react to anything until they were a mile or so out of town when she reared up and her ears went flat against her head. She growled and then she barked so loudly, Lily pulled to the side of the road. From long years of habit where Buzz was concerned, she’d learned to pay attention to a dog’s strange behavior. She reached for Buzz’s leash before she climbed out of the car and fastened it to Gracie’s collar.

  The moment Gracie’s paws touched the ground, she started to howl and bark. She pawed the ground in a frenzy as Lily led her up and down the side of the road. “Someone dumped you here, is that what you’re trying to tell me? Let’s go back. No, huh? Okay, let’s see what’s around here. A road. Trees. Dirt. Weeds. There’s nothing here, Gracie. This road will take us out to Anna’s Bottom. But, you headed back to town. I don’t know what that means. If you were in the car, you’d want to go forward if they dumped you out here. Instead you went the other way. Unless the car went back that way, too. I don’t know, baby. We’re going to find out, though. That’s a promise. Come on, hop in the truck. We need to get you looked at.”

  Two hours later, Lily ushered the clean, groomed shepherd out to the truck. The vet had hydrated her, given Lily a small bottle of pills in case Gracie’s legs started to bother her with all the walking she’d done. He pronounced her right as rain considering the circumstances. He went on to say, do your best to let her rest for a few days. Lily sighed in relief at the vet’s words. The big dog had no serious injuries and would be all right within a few days.