Charming Lily

by Fern Michaels

  Marcus tossed the pile of slips into the trash basket and headed to the executive washroom, where he washed his face and hands, drying them on a fluffy white hand towel. He combed his hair, straightened his tie, and left the room, but not before he turned off the light. He was always frugal about turning off lights, and it was a big bone of contention with Betsy and the girls.

  Outside the washroom, the lighting dimmed suddenly, a sign that everyone was gone for the night with the exception of a few hardy souls with no home life. The elevator pinged as the door slid open. Marcus reached for the pizza box, thanked the guard, and headed back to his office.

  He felt lonelier than he’d ever felt in his life. He tried to straighten his shoulders, but they remained slumped. The loneliest man in the universe.

  Universe! That was it! Instead of going into his office, he raced down the hall to Dennis’s office. He looked around in dismay. Where the hell was Dennis’s computer? He ran farther down the hall to Matt’s office. Some irony here, he grimaced. What he was about to do was something he didn’t want to show up on his own computer. Later, when they put two and two together, they would check the logs, the computers, and anything else they could think of. His pizza order would be on file, too. It was so easy to evade the sign-in sheets, it was pathetic. Still, it paid to be cautious.

  Marcus slammed the pizza box down on Matt’s desk and sat down. His nimble fingers attacked the keyboard. He typed in the word, universe and sat back, his heart pounding inside his chest. His fist shot in the air the moment the program activated. “Yesss.” He was in. He felt almost giddy as he worked his fingers. There it was, the final phase, the part he’d been locked out of, thanks to Matt and Dennis. He shoved discs in, copied, and recopied. It all took less than fifteen minutes. The moment he finished and exited the program, he shrugged into his jacket and topcoat, totally forgetting about his burning hunger and the cooling pizza. Seconds later he returned for the pizza box and tossed it onto his own desk. He returned a second time for the pink message slips in the trash. He fingered through them until he found the one he wanted from the girls’ teacher who was on the ski trip. He laid it on the desk next to the phone. It would buy him some time. Let them all assume he was heading for Maine. He left a note to that effect for his secretary.

  Now he was free to leave. He looked back once from the door leading to the elevator. “Fuck you, Matt Starr.”

  He got off the elevator at the fourth floor and took the stairs to the underground garage. He patted the discs in his inside breast pocket. He walked over to the phone and dialed the all-too-familiar number. The phone on the other end was picked up on the second ring. “If you meet me now in the lobby of the Hyatt, we can do our transfer. It has to be now. I have to leave for Maine right away. My little girls are up there on a school ski trip, and both of them are sick. I have it all. Now. No, it has to be now. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

  His second call was to the man named Eric Savarone, Matt’s equal in the software game. This time the phone was picked up on the first ring. “I have it all. You want it, it has to be now. I’ll meet you in the lobby of the Plaza in ninety minutes. Don’t dick around because I won’t wait. I have to leave for Maine, my little girls are both sick. Of course you can peruse it. This is it, the whole ball of wax. Ninety minutes.”

  At eleven o’clock, Marcus Collins stood in line at the Swissair gate, waiting to board his flight to Zurich, sixty million dollars richer. His laptop secure in his hand, he smiled at the flight attendant and took his seat in the first-class cabin. He immediately ordered a double scotch on the rocks.

  He settled back. He’d just pulled off one of the biggest software scams in the industry with no one the wiser, and if his luck held, he had a three-day jump on it all. So, fuck you, Matt Starr, Mr. Man of the Year.

  Chapter Eight

  Lily stared out the kitchen window at the parking lot below. She blinked at the gaggle of reporters, photographers, and the television truck from CNN. Matt Starr was news. Big news. That made her news, too. Without a doubt all the men and women standing out there already knew Matt had left her waiting—twice—at the altar.

  “They can’t call because I have everything hooked up, and the phone line is in use,” Dennis said. “Hanging out downstairs is their only recourse. The best thing you can do is go down and make a short statement. That doesn’t mean they’ll go away. And they’ll follow us wherever we go. We need to think of a way to outwit them. Sometimes I really hate the press because they can make your life absolutely miserable. Other times I love them when they act decent and professional.”

  “What should I say?” Lily asked as she fingered the Wish Keeper around her neck.

  “Make it short and sweet. Say calling off the wedding was a mutual decision. Say you both want to think things through for a little while. Tell them you’re staying here, and Matt is off somewhere, but though you don’t know where exactly, you will definitely be in touch. Period. I’m glad now that we didn’t bring the police into this. Sadie and I will watch from the window. Don’t answer any questions. Say what you have to say and leave it at that. They’ll throw all kinds of stuff at you to get a rise out of you. Don’t fall for it. Remember, when you don’t say anything they can’t twist it and come back at you. Don’t let them put words into your mouth. That’s Matt’s philosophy.”

  “If that’s Matt’s philosophy, then it’s good enough for me.”

  Lily was back in the kitchen in seven minutes. “They’re like a pack of jackals. God, how does Matt deal with all that?”

  “He doesn’t. He hates it. Usually he leaves it up to either me or Marcus. Marcus loves giving interviews and being quoted. When they photograph him, he’s untouchable. We’re Matt’s buffers. Now what?”

  “Now I’m going back to Natchez Under-the-Hill and take another look at that electronics store. Where’s that sketch I made for you, Dennis?”

  Dennis handed her a slip of paper. Lily stared at it intently. “I can’t be sure. I need to have it with me when I look in the windows.”

  “And then?”

  “And then I don’t know. We need a starting place. There’s something about the store that is bothering me. Whatever it is, it bothered Gracie, too. Right now it’s all we have to go on.”

  “I’m going with you,” Sadie said, slipping into her jacket. “I’ll take Buzz, you take Gracie, and we’ll pretend we’re going shopping. It’s pouring rain, so those guys out there aren’t going to be that interested in following us. If they do, all they’ll see is us shopping with two dogs. Dennis can stay here and do whatever it is he’s doing. We’ll take our cell phones with us. If anything goes on, or you come up with something, call, okay?”

  Dennis nodded.

  Fifteen minutes later, Lily parked the Rover and they all trundled out and ran for the street.

  “There it is, Sadie. Right between John Martins and the Under-the-Hill Saloon. The blue van that followed us just parked. That means they’re going to be watching us. One of us will buy something in that little store so we have a bag to carry. Just pick up some junk. Gracie is getting antsy. She’s picking up on something. She did the same thing when we were here earlier. Let’s just be nonchalant and peer in the windows. There’s a dim light, so we can see fairly clearly now that it’s starting to get dark.”

  “Oh, God, look, Sadie. The sign is different. The one I saw this morning just said the store was closed due to a death in the family. Now it says the store will be closed until further notice. In the few hours since I was here, they came back. Well, someone came back. There’s a lot of high-end, pricey stuff in there. Who would go off and close a store like this and leave it indefinitely? I don’t know what the crime rate is here in Natchez, but this looks to me like an open invitation for serious theft even though the sticker says an alarm company is monitoring the premises. The inside looks just like the picture I drew with the exception of the counter. This means something, Sadie. I feel it in my gut. Quick, run next door to t
he store and buy something. I have an idea.”

  Sadie was back within minutes with a plastic bag full of gift candies.

  “All you bought is candy!” Lily grimaced.

  “Dennis has a sweet tooth. It was a bargain. What’s your idea?”

  “Head for the truck. Come on, Gracie. Good girl. That’s it, jump up. They’re watching us. Call information and ask for the phone number for Calumet Laroux. See if they’ll give you the address. If they won’t, we’ll have to stop at a phone booth and look it up. We’ll try to lose these guys and head over there if you can get the address. My gut is telling me something is wrong. Always go by the instincts of a dog. You and I both know that. This dog is trying to tell us something. I just don’t know what that something is. Yet.”

  “Got it,” Sadie said triumphantly. “Two-oh-seven Jefferson Street. I think it’s between Wall and Canal. Same street as King’s Tavern, just further up.”

  “We’ll find it, but first we have to shake the blue van,” Lily said. “Hang on, we’re going for a ride. Keep watching the side-view mirror, and let me know as soon as we lose them.”

  Lily darted up one street, down another, crossed a third, and then roared back up the cross street before the skies opened and buckets of rain started to fall. “I’m cutting my lights and taking the next cross street. Hang on, Sadie.”

  “You did it, you lost them,” Sadie squealed as she craned her neck to look behind her. “Where are we? I can’t see the street sign.”

  “I think we’re on Rankin. I can’t read the sign either. I have to backtrack. This rain is something, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah, it is. What are you going to do when we get to that house, Lily?”

  “We’re going to knock on the door. What we do after that is going to depend on what Gracie does. With this awful rain, no one is going to pay much attention to us, that’s for sure.”

  “Okay, here’s Jefferson” Lily said, turning the corner. “It’s the second house from the corner because the first one is 205. I can see the numbers clearly in the coach light. I’m going to turn the lights off again. Let’s get out quietly and walk up to the porch, assuming there is a porch, like we belong here. We have to keep the dogs quiet. Maybe we should walk around back just to be on the safe side. Do you see anyone?”

  “Not a soul. There’s hardly any traffic either. Do you have a flashlight in this rig?”

  Lily laughed. “It has everything. I could live out of this truck if I had to. Shhh, don’t make any noise now. Don’t slam the doors, ease them shut. You take Buzz. I’ll hold Gracie’s leash. See, she’s agitated already, and we haven’t even gotten to the house.”

  Gracie strained at her leash, her ears flat against her head, her tail tucked between her legs as she dragged Lily forward to the walkway leading to the garden and the back porch. Rain sluiced down as the wind kicked up. An owl made itself heard from deep in the backyard. “It’s totally dark inside, not even a glow from a nightlight,” Lily whispered. “Do you think they have an alarm system?”

  “I have no idea. One would think so. Oh God, you aren’t going to ... break in, are you?”

  “It depends on Gracie. Atta girl,” she said as she let go of Gracie’s leash. The shepherd bounded up the six steps to the back porch. She did a crazy dance, running from one end of the porch to the other before she stopped by the door and pawed at it.

  “I guess we have our answer. She senses something. You don’t see Buzz acting like she is. Something isn’t right about this house. I didn’t see one of those alarm company signs out front. Give me the flashlight. They usually put the alarm pad next to the door so the glowing buttons alert any would-be burglars. I don’t see one, Sadie. We have two choices. We can either break one of the panes of glass and unlatch the door, or we can kick it open. The downside to breaking the glass is the lock might be one of those new things that latch from the top or the very bottom, and we won’t be able to reach it. The wood is old. Kicking it open will make noise, but it’s raining pretty hard, so the sound might go unnoticed. I’m going to do it, Sadie. You can wait in the truck if you don’t want to be part of it.”

  “No, I’m okay with it. On the count of three we kick, right?”

  “One! Two! Three!” They looked at one another as the doorframe splintered, and the bottom hinge on the door shook loose. Gracie raced inside. Lily shouldered the door aside and walked through the opening, Sadie and Buzz behind her. The first thing she did was to shout Matt’s name over and over.

  “What are we looking for, Lily?”

  “I don’t know. I think we just need to follow Gracie and see what she comes up with. Hold the flashlight down toward the floor just in case someone walking by spots a light that isn’t supposed to be on.”

  They watched as Gracie zipped through the house, snapping and snarling. She barked once, an alarming sound as she thundered her way to the second floor, where she stopped at the second door on the left of the hallway. They continued to watch as she padded around the huge room sniffing everything before she came to a final stop at the closet. The shepherd reared back, then slammed her huge body against the louvered doors. The doors crashed inward. Sadie pulled and tugged at the door and leaned it against the wall as Gracie disappeared inside the closet. When she backed out of the closet she had Matt’s sneaker, the one with the hole in the toe, in her mouth. Lily’s face drained of all color as her knees buckled.

  “That’s Matt’s sneaker!” Sadie screamed. She dived into the closet and pulled out a small bundle of clothes.

  “He’s dead, isn’t he?” Lily whispered. Tears rolled out of her eyes and down her cheeks. She crawled over to where Gracie was sitting, hugging Matt’s shoe between her paws.

  “No, Lily. This ... this doesn’t mean he’s dead. It doesn’t mean any such thing.”

  “Yes, yes, that’s what it means. Whoever lives here killed him and hid his clothes. They probably stole his car, his wallet, his watch, anything he had on his person. Oh, God. We have to call the police,” Lily said, yanking at the Wish Keeper around her neck. She fell backward, her head rolling to the side until her cheek pressed up against Matt’s shoe. She felt herself cowering as bats swarmed in all directions around a brick building whose windows were boarded up. Movement to her left allowed her to see Matt running away, green boots on his feet. Pine branches whipped to the left and the right and then darkness, total darkness, the only sound coming from the squealing, swarming bats.

  Lily rolled over. “I saw him! I saw him, Sadie! He was wearing green boots, you know, those rubber things that go up to your knees. Bats were swarming everywhere around some kind of brick building that had a chimney. Some of the windows were boarded up. There were all kinds of pine branches. They were everywhere. Then it got dark. I saw him. I saw the green boots plain as day. He was running away. I saw him. I actually saw him. Pinch me, Sadie. I’m not dreaming, am I?”

  “No, you aren’t dreaming. If you saw him, that means he’s alive and well. This shoe and the clothing mean nothing since he’s wearing green boots. I wonder what that means. Are we going to go to the police now?” she asked anxiously.

  “No. We have to put everything back the way we found it in case these people come back. I know I can’t get that shoe away from Gracie, so I’m not even going to try. I am going to take the other one with us. Matt loves those sneakers. Let’s prop this closet door back up, toss those clothes back in there, and get out of here. I guess the back door will have to stay as is. We can call the police and say we were driving by and thought we saw a prowler. Mr. Sonner said the house is full of priceless antiques. We don’t want to be responsible for them being stolen. I’ll find a way to send a money order to pay for the back door and the closet door. I feel so . . . I don’t know what the word is . . . elated . . . fearful but elated. We have to find him, Sadie.”

  “You’re thinking he’s somewhere on the Trace or maybe out by Anna’s Bottom, right? Lily, good as we are, and I say this with all modesty, we don’t have a pr
ayer of finding him in those woods. There’s got to be around four hundred thousand acres, and it’s all federal land now. I know that because I read it in the paper not too long ago. I have no idea how big Anna’s Bottom is. I don’t even know if you’re allowed on the property. Are there parks there? Do you know? We might have a chance if he was at that wildlife preserve. A chance is being real generous. You know the one, Saint Something-Or-Other. I see the signs all the time, but the name eludes me at the moment. I think places like that are closed for the winter. It sounds logical that whoever snatched him took him to a place like that and turned him loose. No one goes to those places in the winter. Did Matt learn anything when he took our course?”

  “Not much. For a while he thought it was a game. He knew we’d get him back safe and sound. However, sometimes Matt is like a sponge. He soaks stuff up, and you don’t realize it until later when he regales you with the whole thing. I’m going to attempt to draw the building I saw. First thing in the morning, I’m going to go to the historical society and see if anyone recognizes the picture and, if we’re lucky, can tell us where it is and how to get there. We’re going to pack up and start searching as soon as we have something definite to go on. If you don’t want to go with me, Sadie, it’s okay. I’m taking Gracie and Buzz with me. I’m not sure about Dennis. He’s a bit of a prairie flower when it comes to the outdoors. He might slow us down. What’s really worrying me is if Matt really is out there, how long can he survive with no food or water? I’m just assuming he has no food or water. He doesn’t know how to forage. Gracie did better than he’ll do. It gets damn cold at night. Sadie, I’m worried, and I’m really starting to get scared.”