Charming Lily

by Fern Michaels

  She thought about the girls again. There was no point in trying to keep that secret. Sooner or later they would grill her trusted housekeeper and the nanny. As long as she didn’t divulge any information concerning herself, they couldn’t say anything. Leaving with an overnight case, something she did on a regular basis, wouldn’t throw up any red flags this evening. What they did or said tomorrow wouldn’t matter.

  She tidied up the library and Marcus’s office. Everything was neat and perfect, just the way she liked it. Nothing suspicious to anyone looking around.

  She found the money belt on her third perusal of Marcus’s closet. There were two of them in his gym bag. She stuffed one back into the bag and carried the other one to her bathroom, where she placed it on the vanity.

  Talk about a plan coming together.

  Chapter Fifteen

  They were like four magpies the minute they walked into the kitchen.

  “You are the lady of the hour, Sadie,” Matt said, wrapping his arms around her. “Whatever you want, it’s yours. Just name it. I can’t wait to get my hands around those bastards’ throats.”

  “You can’t let them see you, Matt. We need to come up with a plan so we can outwit them. The minute they lay eyes on you, it’s all over. When we get there, and I’m assuming we’re going to be on the next plane, we’ll alert the authorities. Somehow or other I don’t think a citizen’s arrest will cut it in the Caymans. We can’t go half-cocked here if we want to reel them in. Let’s sit down and plan this out in some kind of detail. I’m hungry,” Dennis said, looking at Sadie. He reached for her hand. “You are coming, you know. Please,” he said imploringly.

  Sadie pretended to think. “Sunshine is better than snow. At least for the moment. I’m going to have to have a real good offer to give up all that snow when we get back. Real good,” Sadie said tweaking Dennis’s cheek.

  Lily swung around, her face draining of all color. “Look!”

  In the center of the old oak table was the Wish Keeper.

  “I threw it away. I threw it in the bushes at the Laroux house. I did. I swear I did. How’d it get here? Did one of you pick it up? Please, someone, tell me you brought this with you.”

  The chorus of denials unnerved Lily. “I don’t want it anymore. I made the decision when I was talking to Minnie Figgins. You take it, Sadie.”

  “No way,” Sadie said, pulling vegetables out of the refrigerator. “Maybe you can’t just throw it away, maybe you need to bury it. You know, in a deep hole. Cover the hole with bricks or maybe pour cement over the hole once you bury it. Back there in the cemetery would be a good place. If you ask me, that’s where it belongs.”

  “Mrs. Figgins said it’s too late. She said once I saw something it was too late. She sounded like she knew what she was talking about. How’d it get here?” Lily demanded, the color coming back to her cheeks. “This is getting scary.”

  “I don’t think there’s an answer to that any more than there was an answer to all the visions you had. If you don’t want to wear it, Lily, put it back in the closet where I found it. If it . . . travels, then bury it. For some reason, I don’t think it will move from there. I think, though, you have to be the one to put it back. Don’t ask me how I know this. I just do. Do it now, Lily, and we’ll wait to see if anything happens.”

  Lily snatched the pendant and chain off the table and raced upstairs to the closet where Sadie had found the pendant. She crawled back into the corner of the dark closet and wedged the necklace between the floorboards. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I don’t want to be the next Wish Keeper. My wish is that you find someone else to take my place. Someone like Betsy Collins. She could use some responsibility. I do appreciate all the help you gave us in finding Matt, but I’m not the one to carry on.” On her hands and knees, she backed out of the closet, then closed the door. Tightly. She turned the little brass lock. Maybe she should call Mr. Sonner and have him board up the closet. That’s exactly what she would do. First thing Monday morning.

  Only time would tell if her wish was granted.

  Downstairs she washed her hands at the kitchen sink. “Where is everyone?”

  “On the computer. They’re trying to get a map of the Cayman Islands so they can pinpoint the address the paper gave me. There’s a thing called Mapquest they think will give you a map and pinpoint an address. If not, they’re going on the Net to check it out. Isn’t that amazing, Lily?”

  “It sure is,” Lily said, her eyes glued to the kitchen table.

  “They’re going to make plane reservations on the computer, too. Matt wants us all to go tomorrow on the earliest flight possible.”

  “What about the dogs?”

  “Maybe Mrs. Figgins will come over and watch them. It’s worth a try. She’s a sweet lady, Lily. I suspect the dogs will like her, and she’ll like them. After lunch, I’ll run over and ask her.”

  “I’m okay with that if Matt is. He’s pretty fussy when it comes to Gracie these days. But, he wants those guys so bad he’ll probably agree. Now, what’s with Dennis? Come on, Sadie, share.”

  “He doesn’t want me to go to Wyoming. I like him, Lily, I really do, but I’m not going to run my life by what he wants when he wants it.”

  “What does he want you to do? Does he want you to stay here? Go to New York, Oregon? What? Are you going to be a kept woman, Sadie?”

  “Lily! No, I am not going to be a kept woman. I feel like I’m torn in all these different directions. I’m going to go to Wyoming at some point. First, though, I want to see these guys caught. I want to spend more time with Dennis to make sure I know how I feel, and I want to see you get married. I absolutely will not follow Dennis to New York or Oregon. He said if I did go to Wyoming, he’d send me a computer and hook me up to e-mail. That’s a start, don’t you think?”

  “You bet. I think it worked, Sadie. The necklace is still upstairs. I made a wish while I was up there. I wonder if it will come true. By the way, what are we having for lunch?”

  “Vegetable stir-fry. We should have gone to Cock of the Walk and ordered their famous fried catfish and those deep-fried pickles. Stir-fry pales in comparison.”

  “Sounds good. Let’s have some wine. We need to do some celebrating.”

  “Lily, after lunch, do you mind if I take Dennis over to the cottage? After I go to see Minnie Figgins.”

  “It’s your cottage. You can do whatever you want. Of course I don’t mind. Shame on you for even asking, Sadie.”

  “Promise me something, Lily.”

  “Name it,” Lily said, putting her arm around her friend’s shoulder.

  “Promise me that we’ll always be friends. Promise me that we’ll never be so busy with our lives that we resort to Christmas and birthday cards. Promise me that we’ll always make time for each other. Promise me that when we get old and have white hair and we’re sitting in rocking chairs on our respective front porches that we’ll still call each other and talk about the good old days.”

  “Whew. I thought you were going to ask me something tough. Of course I promise, and it’s a promise that will be easy to keep. You and Matt and, I suspect, Dennis, are my family now. You know my feeling about family. It’s the most important thing in the world. At the end of the day, it’s family you can count on. And of course all those four-legged creatures that help make up our families. What kind of dog are you and Dennis going to get?”

  Sadie whacked Lily across the rear end with the dish towel. “Stop rushing me.”

  “Sometimes you are a little slow in the romance area, Sadie. Dennis doesn’t look like a speeding bullet either. You gotta make it happen. Use lots of sesame seed, and I like peanut oil for my stir-fry,” Lily said, dancing away from the flying dish towel.

  They looked like all the other tourists getting off the plane with their floppy sun hats, sunglasses, colorful shirts, shorts, and sandals. Lily stood at the bottom of the steps leading to the plane and twirled around. “This weather is awesome. My bones actually feel warm.�
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  “Oh, I just love this tropical sun,” Sadie said happily. “When we’re all done here, I want to come back and just do nothing but laze around. Well, maybe a little diving, a little snorkeling. Great honeymoon spot, I’m thinking,” she whispered to Lily.

  “For me or you?” Lily grinned.

  “Whoever,” Sadie said flippantly. “What’s our game plan?”

  “Customs check, rental car, register at our hotels, and then we’re going to play I Spy,” Dennis said, leading the way into the airport terminal.

  Forty-five minutes later, Dennis signed his name to a car-rental lease. “I always wanted to drive one of these open-air Jeeps,” he said gleefully. “I’m driving, Matt, you’re too pissed off to see straight. Besides, it’s righthand driving. I did a six-month stint in England last year, so I kind of perfected my skill, but I still think it’s weird.”

  “Now you girls know the drill. You’re registering where those . . . those assholes are staying. Dennis and I are staying at the Hyatt. It’s your job to make contact and see what their game plan is. You’re librarians from Bluefield, West Virginia. Give them the impression you’re ready to cut loose, but be careful.”

  “Oooh, I’m so excited,” Sadie cooed. “How far do you want us to ... you know, go?”

  “Not that far,” Dennis exploded. “This could take as long as a week, so don’t get carried away.”

  Lily winked at Matt. He stared at her with a blank expression. She sighed. Right now he had tunnel vision.

  “The first thing you have to do is make a positive I.D. Once you do that, call us on the cell phone and we’ll mosey around so Matt can verify they’re the right guys. Don’t do anything stupid,” Dennis said.

  “Are you implying we’re stupid or that we might do something stupid?” Sadie said in a huff. “Where are all these glamorous clothes we’re supposed to get to vamp these guys?”

  “Buy them in the shops and charge them,” Matt said tightly. “Whatever it takes, Sadie.”

  “String bikinis,” Sadie said, gurgling with laughter. “We’ll need to get some of that stuff that comes in a bottle and gives you an instant tan. If we’re going to be babes on the prowl, then we need to look like babes on the prowl.”

  “Aawwk,” Dennis said, sliding behind the wheel of the open-air Jeep.

  “Matt, pull that fishing hat lower over your face. Just stare straight ahead. We’ll do the looking for you,” Lily cautioned. Matt obediently pulled the hat with the dangling fishing lures lower.

  “Nice, real nice,” Sadie said, as they pulled out of the airport. “Can you find your way, Dennis, or do you want one of us to help you with the map?”

  “I’m okay. The girl at the rental place marked the route. Sit back and enjoy the ride, ladies.”

  “String bikinis?” Lily hissed. “I don’t have the guts to wear one of those”

  “I don’t either, but it sounded good, didn’t it?”

  They passed the time chatting about the scenery and admiring the lush flowers. “We’re almost there. You have a pricey villa just two buildings away from the Laroux brothers. Have your carry bags on your laps so you can hop right out. No point in us giving them a chance to spot us.”

  “I hope Matt doesn’t blow this. He’s like a wet cat on a satin sofa.” Sadie stared after the departing Jeep. She looked around casually. “I don’t see them. Let’s register and go shopping. It’s almost happy hour, and we definitely need to dude up for that. I can’t believe we’re going shopping and money is no object. Do you suppose that’s how Marcus Collins’s wife does it?”

  “I don’t know how Betsy Collins does it, nor do I care. What do we do if they don’t show up for happy hour?”

  “We keep our eyes glued to their villa and arrange a chance encounter. Chance encounters are great,” Sadie said.

  “These guys are going to be wary of everyone and everything. We need to be cool and aloof. But approachable in a dangerous kind of way. Do you think we can pull that off, Sadie?”

  “You bet we can. You hooked Matt, didn’t you? He’s prime stuff. These guys are duds. Of course they have all that money now, so they probably think they’re hot spit. Let’s go shopping, Lily. I have every confidence in our abilities.”

  Her overnight case clasped tightly in her hand, Betsy Collins made her way to the taxi stand. She gave the driver the address of the hotel before she settled herself comfortably in the back of the cab. She could hardly wait to get to her room so she could remove the awkward money belt from around her waist. As soon as she showered and changed she was heading to the nearest bank to rent a safe-deposit box. Then she was going to a five-star restaurant. On the other hand, maybe she should stay away from public places and dine in her room. Tomorrow was another day. And she had to call Eric Savarone as she’d promised. She’d do that as soon as she checked into the medium-priced hotel she normally wouldn’t have been caught dead in. Intrigue was not something she excelled in, but she could learn, if sixty million dollars was the end result. She also needed to call home to make sure the girls were all right.

  She hugged the loose-fitting cashmere coat around her slim body. It was so cold the heater in the cab felt like it wasn’t working. January in Switzerland, what did she expect?

  When she climbed out of the cab at the hotel she hoped the distaste she felt wasn’t evident in her expression. She registered and handed over her passport for safekeeping. She wondered if she should register with the U.S. Embassy. In the past Marcus had always done that even before registering at their hotel. He said it was paramount. She’d bet her last dollar he hadn’t done it this time, though. Nor would she do it. What if she was wrong, and Marcus wasn’t here at all? Then what would she do? As Scarlett said, I’ll think about that tomorrow.

  The room was plain and clean, the bed soft and comfortable. A standard hotel room like any room in a Holiday Inn back home. Brown-and-orange spread that matched the drapes. Dark green carpeting, small television, digital clock, desk, round table with two club chairs. The bathroom was even more plain. The towels were white but thin. There was no fluffy robe, no makeup mirror attached to the wall, no blow-dryer. A bare-bones hotel. There was, however, a bar under the television. She popped a cola and swigged from the bottle.

  Betsy rummaged in her purse for her cell phone. Marcus had said he paid extra for the phones to be compatible in foreign countries. Marcus did like the best of everything, but then so did she. She sat down on the edge of the bed and dialed Eric Savarone’s number. When the call didn’t go through she cursed until she remembered she had to dial the country code first and then the number. The moment he said hello, she went into her speech. “Mr. Savarone, my source tells me that Marcus is in the Cayman Islands. He was there as of yesterday at seven o’clock in the evening. What do you mean, where am I? Cell phones are always scratchy-sounding. It might need to be charged. I’m walking in Central Park, not that it’s any of your business. I’m on my way to the hairdresser. No, I have no message for my husband. Look, don’t call me again. Our business is finished. Let’s be clear on that. I kept my end of the bargain. Good-bye, Mr. Savarone.”

  She kicked off her shoes and flopped back on the bed as she dialed her New York apartment. The nanny assured her that everything was fine and the girls were happy. The cell phone snapped shut and went back into her purse. Damn, she was going to have to get an adapter if she wanted to charge the phone. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d charged it. What did it matter? She’d made her two most important calls.

  It was noon when she left the hotel, her carryall and purse secure in her grasp. She shivered, her teeth chattering as she waited for a taxi. “Take me to the closest bank, and I’d appreciate it if you would wait for me. I won’t be long. Can you do that? I’ll pay you in dollars. Thank you.”

  She was in and out of the bank in less than thirty minutes with two keys to her newly rented safe-deposit box. The Swiss were so efficient. No dillydallying there. Strictly business. She liked efficiency.r />
  Back in the cab, she showed the driver the vacation picture she’d taken of Marcus pointing at the bank. “Can you take me there?”

  “But of course, madam. Do you need me to wait there for you, too?”

  “Yes, please.” Betsy put the picture back in her purse. What if the money wasn’t there? What if she was wrong? If it was there, what was she going to do? How could she transfer all that money? Where would she transfer it to? Another bank? Here in Switzerland? Back to the States? Definitely not the States. The Caymans? Possibly, but not likely. She felt a wave of dizziness at what she was doing. What if she screwed up? If only she knew more about intrigue. It wasn’t enough to be greedy. You had to be brainy in the bargain.

  Betsy felt herself jolt forward when the taxi driver swerved to the curb and stopped the car. “This is the bank you wished, madam. I will wait for you here.”

  “Yes. Thank you. This may take a while.” She handed him a twenty-dollar bill. “I’ll pay the rest when I come out. I’ll want to go back to my hotel.”

  “Very good, madam.”

  Her heart thundering in her chest, Betsy walked through the doors of the bank. She had an instant recollection of the day she and Marcus had entered the bank and opened the girls’ accounts. She walked over to the same desk and sat down. She smiled as she wrote the account number for Alice’s account. She flinched when a slip of paper was handed to her showing a balance of $196.14. She did her best to conjure up a smile as she filled out the second slip. She knew she was sweating as she waited for Andrea’s slip to come back. When she lowered her head to stare at the slip she almost fainted. It was all there and more. Oh, Marcus, you poor, dumb fool.

  “I’d like a cashier’s check for the full amount, please,” she said coolly.

  “It will take just a few moments, madam.” Betsy nodded. She needed to take a deep breath. Lots of deep breaths. Many, many deep breaths. She also needed to get out of there as soon as possible before she did something stupid, like throwing up all over the place. When would Marcus find out? What would he do? He’d come looking for her; that was a given. How long would it take him to figure out that she remembered about the accounts? Weeks? Days? Hours? Not weeks. Maybe a day or so.