Charming Lily

by Fern Michaels

  Betsy slid the check into the change compartment of the Chanel purse and zipped it shut. She marveled that her legs were steady as she exited the bank and climbed into the waiting taxi. “Take me back to the first bank, please.”

  Inside the bank, Betsy filled out the required bank forms and waited while the paperwork was processed, which took all of fifteen minutes, thanks again to Swiss efficiency. Now all she had to do was go back to the hotel and decide what she was going to do with all that lovely, lovely money.

  “How do we look?” Lily asked.

  “I think you look as good as I do. I do love bright colors. You don’t think we look like parrots, do you?” Sadie giggled.

  “No, not at all. Island wear is supposed to be colorful. I hope that suntan stuff starts working soon. We’re fishbelly white. Blue is definitely your color,” Lily said, referring to the shimmery silk sheath with the mile-high slit going up the side of the dress that Sadie was wearing. “I hope Matt doesn’t choke on the price.”

  “Never mind choking. Let’s hope he and Dennis get to see us in these dresses. I never owned a $700 dress before or $300 shoes. That sea-green dress brings out the color of your eyes and does great things to your complexion. I think you’re starting to color up,” Sadie said, peering at Lily’s arms. “Won’t it be a hoot if we start to tan while we’re sitting there at the bar? I didn’t think that suntan stuff worked, but it does. Oh, we are going to be a glorious bronze just like all those beach bunnies.”

  Lily giggled. “I think we’re ready so let’s get this show on the road. I hope I remember how to flirt.”

  “It’s instinctive. We’re going to do just fine. It’s going to be a boring time if they don’t show up. For all we know they might have latched on to some babes by now.”

  “Guys like the free-food bar at happy hour. If they’re here, they’ll show. What did we agree on? Cool and aloof and accessible but not available, right?” Lily said

  “Yeah. We’re definitely turning color now. I can see the difference,” Sadie said as she led the way through a maze of shrubbery and short walkways to the outdoor bar. It was crowded with couples and very few singles. “Let’s sit at the bar and cross our legs. We have great legs. Guys like legs. In another hour we should be a beautiful golden bronze.”

  “There are only five single guys here, and none of them are the Laroux brothers. The singles are looking us over real good because we’re fresh meat,” Lily muttered. “I could never do this bar scene to catch a guy. How about you, Sadie?”

  “Probably not. Most of them are married with wedding rings in their pockets. Smile, here come two of them.”

  It was eight o’clock when Lily and Sadie climbed off their barstools. “What a bust! Now what?” Sadie grumbled.

  “Now we go to our room, call Matt and Dennis, and go to dinner. We’ll have to take a cab to wherever it is. First, though, I think we need to stroll past the villa where the brothers are supposed to be staying. There’s no point in going through with this charade if they aren’t here. We can’t ask at the desk because it would be suspicious, and one of the desk clerks might mention it to the brothers. Just a little pre-evening stroll. Everyone is out walking around, so we won’t stand out.” Lily mopped at the perspiration dotting her brow. “Does this suntan stuff wipe off?”

  “It’s not supposed to. The brochure said each application is good for three full days. Maybe the brothers party all night and sleep all day. They have all that money now, so they can do whatever they want. One day is just like the next, party and spend. Go slow, we’re almost there. Just look out of the corner of your eye. Laugh and smile in case they’re outside, and we can’t see them,” Sadie instructed.

  “I can’t see a thing but I can hear music. It sounds like it’s coming from the back on the patio. Night owls. If we go back to our villa and sit on the little front patio, we’ll see them when they leave. They’ve got to go past our villa to get to the parking area. My guess would be they’ll head out around nine. It will be dark by then, so they won’t see us sitting there. I can call Dennis to tell him to lie in wait somewhere, so he can follow them. Do you think that’s a good idea?”

  “Yeah, great. Guess we better keep these outfits on then. Are we golden or are we golden?”

  Lily peered down at her arms. “We are golden. Amazing.”

  “We’re just two beach bunnies without tails.”

  “You’re taking this very lightly. Why is that?” Lily demanded. “Damn, I keep thinking about that Wish Keeper. What if it finds its way back to the kitchen table and Minnie Figgins sees it?”

  “I’m trying to take this lightly because I’m scared to death. People kill for a few hundred dollars. What do you think these guys are going to do if they get wise to us? As for Minnie Figgins, if it’s there, I don’t think you have to worry about her touching it.”

  “They aren’t going to get wise because we are going to be supercareful. We’re just two chicks on the prowl. Matt and Dennis are within lurking distance. I’ll call them to see if they’re okay with all of this,” Lily said, pulling out her cell phone.

  “Okay.” Sadie hiked up her dress and sat down on the stoop.

  They waited.

  At ten minutes to ten they leaned farther back into the darkness as voices drew near. “It’s them,” Lily whispered. “I can smell them from here, and they are ripe! You follow them, Sadie, and get the make of the car they’re driving. I’ll be behind you but at a distance. I’ll call Matt and keep him on the phone until you report back. They’re waiting right outside the gates to this place.”

  Minutes later, Sadie whispered, “It’s a champagne-colored Crown Victoria. I couldn’t read the license plates.” Lily relayed the information to Matt.

  “Okay, here’s the deal. Matt and Dennis are going to follow them. As soon as they land in one spot, and let’s hope they aren’t in the mood to barhop, Matt will call us and we’ll take a taxi to where they are. Hopefully there will be some food there. My stomach is starting to rumble. I’m also starting to get nervous. Matt couldn’t get a look at them in the car. It’s entirely possible it isn’t them.”

  “Anything is possible, but my gut tells me it’s them. I could really go for a good burger right now. With the works and a nice cold beer.”

  “Stop it, Sadie. Don’t talk about food.”

  “What should we talk about then? Lily, why do you suppose Matt okayed Dennis to give Betsy Collins a hundred grand?”

  “He’s like that, Sadie. The guy would give you the shirt off his back. He’s probably thinking Marcus got Betsy used to the good life, then he left her. They have kids. That’s what Matt sees. He doesn’t want the kids to suffer because of something their father did. It’s going to take him a long time to get over Marcus’s betrayal.”

  “How are you feeling about giving up the Wish Keeper, Lily? Any second thoughts?”

  “No second thoughts. I just feel relief. It’s really weird the way that thing made me feel. This is nice, isn’t it? It’s quiet, the air is scented. I think it’s jasmine I smell, isn’t it? I like the walkway lighting. It looks so cozy nestled in the shrubbery. I don’t think I could live here year round, though. I like the change of seasons. I wonder what it’s like at Christmastime?”

  “Probably just like Fort Lauderdale,” Sadie said.

  “That pretty much covers our immediate concerns. Do you want to talk about Dennis?”

  “Nope. Do you want to talk about Matt?”

  “Sure. I could talk about Matt all day and all night. I just know we’re going to have a wonderful life together. I can’t wait for him to get involved in the community. I hope he joins the Fare Coffee Club. It’s a tradition if you live in Natchez. All you have to do to join is show up. They meet at that little shop on the corner of Pearl and Cotton Alley. What if he loses it, Sadie? He’s obsessed with those guys.”

  Sadie shrugged. “Then he loses it. He’s a determined man. Dennis seems to be pretty levelheaded. The two of them are pretty m
uch like you and me, they listen to each other. Still, I wish we had gone to the authorities back in Natchez. I’m not sure what, if anything, can be done here. I hope Matt has more than his arm up his sleeve.”

  Lily snapped the cell phone open the moment it rang. “Matt?” She listened. “You got a good look? You’re sure they’re the ones? Okay, we’re on our way as soon as we can get a taxi.”

  “They’re at a place called Red Tango. Matt says fifteen minutes, maybe less. And, he said it is the Laroux brothers. He got a real good look at them when they parked their car. He’s wired, Sadie. I wish you could have heard him.”

  “Then we better get going. It’s just a hop over to the lobby. There might even be a taxi waiting,” Sadie said, excitement ringing in her voice.

  “I’m a nervous wreck, and you’re excited! Sometimes I just don’t believe you, Sadie.”

  “I’m just as much a nervous wreck as you are. I wonder what kind of place it is.”

  “Matt said Dennis told him it was pure sleaze. Guess he went inside to check it out. It figures.”

  “With all that money they stole from Matt, you’d think they’d go first-class. Sleaze?”

  “Maybe this is what they’re used to. Babes, chicks, whatever the word is today. One-night stands, no commitments, that kind of thing. Fun, fun, fun and the money stays where it is. They spend just enough, have a good time, and they don’t draw any attention to themselves. I see a taxi.”

  Lily looked around for the doorman but didn’t see him. She walked over to the waiting taxi, and said, “Can you take us to the Red Tango?”

  The driver looked them over from head to toe. “Are you sure you want to go there? It’s not the kind of place ladies go to unescorted.”

  “We’re meeting our husbands there,” Lily said, climbing into the backseat.

  The driver shrugged. He shifted gears and rolled down the driveway. Sadie sighed. Lily took a deep breath as she rolled down the window. “Lower your window, Sadie, so the wind blows your hair all over. We need to look . . . wanton.”

  Sadie coughed and sputtered but did as Lily requested.

  Twelve minutes later, the taxi driver pulled to the curb. Music blasted their eardrums as they exited the cab. Two burly men looked them over. Bouncers. “They look like Jesse Ventura,” Sadie said.

  Lily looked around for Matt or Dennis, but they were nowhere in sight. She couldn’t see the open-air Jeep either.

  “It’s pretty crowded tonight, ladies. We’ll take you in. Do you want a table or the bar?”

  “A table would be very nice.” Sadie reached inside her purse for a ten-dollar bill. “I can’t hear myself talk,” she screamed in Lily’s ear.

  “There must be a thousand people here! How are we ever going to find anyone?” Lily screamed in return.

  “I changed my mind. We might do better at the bar,” Sadie shouted again as she handed the bouncer the ten-dollar bill. “Hold my hand, Lily, so we don’t get separated.”

  The bouncer sliced a path for them that was four deep and ended at the bar right next to where Dennis Wagner was seated.

  “Can I buy you lovely ladies a drink?” Dennis leered.

  “We don’t even know you,” Sadie said haughtily.

  “I’ll have something blue with an umbrella in it,” Lily chirped, her gaze sweeping the room. “We’re looking for some friends. However do you find anyone in this crowd?”

  “I’ll have a piña colada, and I want two cherries on top,” Sadie shouted.

  Dennis gave their order to a scantily clad bartender. He poked Lily gently and let his gaze tell her where to look.

  Both women stared across the room where the three Laroux brothers were holding court with a bevy of nearly naked women.

  “We’re overdressed,” Sadie said.

  “But we look good,” Lily said. “Thanks for the drink. We’ll take it from here. Come on, Sadie. I think I recognize those guys in the villa a couple of doors down from ours. Let’s introduce ourselves before our eardrums get ruptured.” She leaned over and shouted into Dennis’s ear, “Wait here to see if we have any luck luring them back to the villa.”

  Sadie led the way, using her elbows, her hands and once she kicked someone to make him get out of the way. She was breathless when she reached the brothers’ table. “Look, Goldie, our neighbors!” she trilled.

  “Would you look at that!” Lily trilled in return. She leaned over the table and smiled. “Tiffany and I saw you walking past the villa this evening. Fancy meeting you here. Such a small world. We were just getting ready to go back to our place to party it up. We wondered if you would like to join us?”

  “Why would we want to do that?” the one named Junior said as he pointedly looked at the array of skin surrounding him.

  Sadie smiled. “Because we’re worth it!”

  “In spades,” Lily smiled.

  “Maybe some other time,” Junior said.

  “Your loss, honey,” Sadie said, turning to leave. “See ya.”

  “Hey, wait, I’m up for a party,” another brother said. “I’m sick of sitting here every night. Do you girls have a car?”

  “No. We came in a taxi.”

  “Hold up. I’ll come with you. You can stay, Junior. We’ll take a taxi, you can keep the car.”

  “We agreed to stay together,” Junior said. “Remember when we made that rule.”

  “Then come with us.”

  “You guys decide what you’re going to do,” Lily said. “We don’t belong in a place like this. You guys look like you have too much class for this dump. Are you that hard-up?”

  It was all Junior needed to hear. He shook loose from the women hanging around his neck. “This better be worth our while.”

  Sadie turned around. “I’m up for a midnight swim, how about you, Goldie?”

  “Ooooh, sounds good,” Lily said.

  They pushed their way toward the bar where Dennis was paying his tab. “Thanks for the drinks,” Sadie bellowed. “We’re going home now.”

  Dennis ignored her as he shoved his way to the door.

  Outside in the sweltering night air, Junior came up behind Lily, and said, “We can give you a ride back to the villa.”

  “Well, sure. That’s nice of you.”

  “Real nice,” Sadie said, removing the younger brother’s hand from her rump. “Stop that! I’m not one of those tramps you left behind inside. I thought you guys were a class act.”

  “Does that mean you two girls are a class act?” Junior demanded.

  Sadie sighed. “Maybe we made a mistake, Goldie.”

  Lily sighed. “Maybe we did.”

  “You didn’t make a mistake,” Junior said. “Our car’s over here. Unless you changed your minds.”

  “Okay, we’ll accept a ride home with you,” Sadie said.

  “Our cups runneth over,” Junior said snidely.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Matt Starr paced the path leading from Lily’s villa to the one rented by the Laroux brothers. He was so close and yet so far from his goal. Dennis, who was pacing right along with him, placed a hand on his arm. “Take it easy, buddy. The girls are okay. They can handle this. Now what the hell are you doing?”

  Matt threw his arms out and raised his head to look skyward at the millions of twinkling stars. “You doing that universe thing again? We should be going to the police now that you definitely I.D.’d those guys. The cops could be here in minutes. C’mon, Matt. Let’s make some decisions here.”

  “I want my money back. The only way that’s going to happen is to confront those bastards and make it happen the way they made me give it up. If we break into their villa, we’ll be arrested. If we can figure out a way to get in while they’re there, we have the upper hand. I have an idea. I’ll call Lily and suggest they go to the beach. That means the brothers will have to go back to the villa to get their bathing suits. We lie in wait, and the minute they’re inside, we go after them. With the girls, there’s four of us and three of them. We can�
��t take a weapon, that’s premeditated. We wing it. What do you think?”

  “Is that what the universe is telling you?” Dennis muttered.

  “No. It’s what I’m telling you. I never did anything like this before. It’s as new to me as it is to you. Just bear with me, okay? All we need is their computer. I want to do to them what they did to me. I haven’t forgotten for one minute what they did to Gracie. Not for one damn minute. They’re gonna pay for that. Are we going to do this or not?”

  “All right, but I’ll call Lily. You’re too juiced up. Just stand there, Matt, and be quiet. We can make this work if we all get in sync. You need to be calm, and you need a clear head.”

  “Okay, make the call.”

  Dennis dialed Lily’s cell phone and waited. Her cheerful response grated on his ears. “Hi. Listen, I’ll make this quick. Matt wants you to head for the beach. Send the guys back to the villa for their bathing suits. We’ll be in the bushes somewhere waiting to pounce the minute they get inside. Meet us there.”

  “Well, hi, Carol. I almost gave up on you. Oh, yes, we’re up for a midnight swim. We just met some of our neighbors this evening. Do you mind if we bring them along? Great! Hold on a second, and I’ll ask the guys.”

  Dennis waited, the cell phone pressed tight against his ear. He waited until she spoke to him again. “Okay, Carol, we can be there in ten minutes.”

  Dennis snapped the cell phone shut. “They’re on the way. Don’t make a sound, Matt. This is your big moment, and you don’t want to blow it.” Both men stepped into the dense shrubbery. “I hear them,” he whispered.

  “What are you so worried about, Junior?”

  “Doesn’t it seem a little strange that those two girls picked us out of all the men in that club? For all you know this could be a setup.”