The Tulip Terror

by C L Bauer

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Other Works by C L Bauer

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Notes from C. L. Bauer

  About the Author

  Coming Soon

  The Tulip Terror

  A Lily List Mystery

  C. L. Bauer

  The Tulip Terror Copyright © 2019 by C.L. Bauer.

  All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination

  or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  For information visit:

  www.corrugatedsky.com

  Cover and interior design by Michelle Schad

  First Edition: November 2019

  The Lily List

  Mystery Series

  Available Now

  The Poppy Drop

  The Hibiscus Heist

  The Tulip Terror

  Coming Soon

  The Sweet Pea Secret

  Dedication

  Thank you to all the women of my family and to the men who choose to live with all of us! My mom would be devouring these books, but she’d be wishing they were westerns. My one sister would be showing anyone in an airport that her little sister wrote this book. From my “Sister, Sister” who listens to me recite plot lines over and over; to Scarecrow and her little lovelies and to the Metro Buddies and the girls and boys to come...I thank you all for what you have brought to my writing. We will always have Paris!

  Prologue

  Today was Ed and Helen’s day. Well, it was supposed to be Ed and Helen’s big day, but Vic and Lily kept drawing all the attention. Vic’s little brother was getting married today and he wanted, he needed everything to be absolutely perfect. Lily, his wife, just wanted this day over. There was just too many Schmidt family members buzzing around for her taste. Her husband’s family had been her family for many years now, but with all of them hovering, pecking away at her sanity with their questions and comments was just too much. Besides, she desperately needed a drink.

  Vic checked Ed’s bow tie one more time. He brushed off his shoulders, removing the imaginary pieces of lint. “You good, Ed? You have enough money for the honeymoon?”

  “Yes, Vic. I’ve been planning for this for a long time.” Ed smiled. He couldn’t wait to be Helen French’s husband. He couldn’t wait to have a family with her and to see where this life led them. He hoped and prayed they would be happier than his older brother and his wife.

  Lily and Vic had hit a rough patch, but Ed knew better. They were careening over a cliff, a very high cliff adorned with jagged rocks and ocean below. Lily had run her family’s flower shop before she met her husband. When Vic and she met, a passionate fire erupted into an inferno that everyone around them could see. They were a couple from the day they set eyes on each other. Lately--well for a few years now--that inferno had been doused with a dam of water. Vic disagreed with Lily’s business decisions; Lily didn’t want to stay home at night. The only embers of love burning now were their tempers. God help you if you ended up in the middle of one of their arguments.

  Yet here they were making sure that Ed Schmidt had a beautiful wedding. Vic had arranged everything from the photographer to the church hall decorations. He’d found his favorite cake lady and the family had provided the food for the morning brunch and for the reception this evening. That’s what family did, at least this German family did.

  Lily was being Lily. She had one of her famously large chic hats on the top of her perfectly coiffed hair. Everything matched, including her clutch bag and shoes. She’d picked the ensemble up in Chicago last month. Her hair and makeup was perfect as usual. She’d tried Elizabeth Arden for her lipstick, discovering a shade of red that soon became her favorite. Her fragrance was Chanel No. 5. It was pricey, but she deserved it. All the movie stars were wearing it. She was a fashion icon in Kansas City. She had to maintain the aura of what little celebrity she had acquired over the years.

  Lily Schmidt was the wedding florist queen. Everyone who was anyone came to her for their flowers. It wasn’t that she was the best florist in town, but her personal care was what most clients wanted. Besides, many just wanted to watch the woman set up a wedding in those high heels. Even her own husband couldn’t understand how she could walk all day in those dangerous shoes. But the heels had to be high; they showed off her long shapely legs.

  As the wedding time was nearing, Lily was at the back of the church with her soon-to-be sister-in-law Helen. The bride was more than ready to walk down the long church aisle.

  Only minutes later the priest began the ceremony. Ed nervously waited as the four bridesmaids walked slowly down the aisle. The music became louder, the congregation stood. Helen and her father began the long walk to her new life. Ed smiled. He wasn’t nervous anymore as soon as he saw her glowing face. Her simple smile erased all his fears of today and the future to come.

  Helen French had fallen in love with Ed Schmidt on their second date. He had taken her out for ice cream. She’d dropped the cone down the front of her dress. He ran for more napkins and quickly began to dab at her dress, not realizing what pieces of anatomy he was touching. When he suddenly understood why everyone was watching him, it was too late. Helen and he shared the same exact shade of red face.

  He winked at her and whispered, “Guess I’ll have to marry you now.”

  She surprised herself when she answered, “Yes, you will.”

  That was only four short months ago. Helen was shaking a little, but her father steadied her hand on his arm. She carried a small bouquet of lavender and purple Cattleya orchids with cascading blooms of white stephanotis knotted onto slender satin ribbon. Each delicate flower had a pearl within its bloom. It was a “Lily Special”, carried by just about every one of the shop’s brides that year. It was perfect.

  Helen’s eyes met Ed’s. She loved the man standing in front of her. She couldn’t think of anyone she’d rather spend her life and future with than Ed Schmidt. He was her everything.

  When her father gave her a quick kiss beneath her veil and handed her to Ed, her stomach growled. Her future husband smiled.

  “Just an hour or so more. I made you a ham sandwich and it’s at the back of the church in a cooler. I knew you’d be hungry.”

  “And that’s why I love you,” she whispered. The priest coughed and they turned their attention to the task at hand.

  It was only the beginning for them. Eventually, the couple became a family of five. The youngest daughter was named Lily, af
ter an aunt she never knew and a shop she eventually inherited.

  This Lily Schmidt was not a prisoner to fashion or celebrity. Her attire was mostly black in color so dirt and flower stains didn’t show. She loathed dry clean clothes because she rarely took the time to drop them off and remember to pick them up. She only wore make-up occasionally; her hair frizzed in the Kansas City summer humidity.

  She had her own style in flower design, but she still held fast to her family’s tradition of personal attention. She loved her clients and they loved her. Clients became friends; families used her shop for generations of weddings and funerals. Lily would hand deliver plants to customers she hadn’t seen in awhile just to stay in touch.

  Lily was highly organized, preferring to make lists to keep herself on target. She used so many post-it notes she should have bought stock in the little devils. Lists were her life. Her life was her work until that fateful day when a handsome DEA agent walked through her door. He ended up protecting her; he ended up loving her.

  Chapter One

  Lily Schmidt’s hands were full physically and metaphorically. Her work bag and purse hung on one shoulder, keys and coffee cup in one hand, a bag with lunches for Abby and her in her other hand as she climbed out of her car. As soon as she shoved the car door closed with her shoulder, she grimaced. She uttered a German cuss word out loud.

  It had been only a few weeks since Garrett Notte had grabbed her wrist and twisted her shoulder. He’d intended on killing her too. The sociopathic drug dealer from a very good Kansas City family blamed the wedding florist for every problem he had. Oh, it really wasn’t her fault that he was in a federal prison waiting for a trial date. He was there for international drug trafficking and attempted murder of a federal agent. His own father was on the run from the DEA and perhaps some South American cartel. The Notte men owed the bad guys millions of dollars. The federal agents couldn’t really pin any crime on Bernard Notte, the father, but they sure wanted to talk to him. The cartel that he and his son had been involved with probably wanted to know where their money went. It was rumored the elder Mr. Notte had gone to Europe, and many of those countries had very weak extradition laws. The Notte family was old money and perhaps he could con someone over there to take him in. And all of this nonsense began because Lily, the owner of Lily’s Flower Shop, had received a mistaken drug shipment instead of her hydrangeas for a wedding. Of course she had received one other little thing from the very special agent who had been on the case.

  Lily juggled all her packages and locked the car. Her hand, specifically the new engagement ring on her left hand, caught her attention. She giggled.

  “Holy Moly, I’m a fiancée.”

  That was a unique concept for Lily, one she never thought she would ever have to get used to but was doing very well at enjoying. Dev had styled the ring with a jeweler friend in Alexandria, Virginia. He’d bought the large blue sapphire planted in the middle when he was stationed in Afghanistan. She loved the sentiment behind the twelve diamonds that surrounded it. There was one diamond for every month Devlin Pierce was away from her. Lily had done the math on one very boring day last week and yep, he was probably correct. The man had been away almost a year out of their two-year relationship.

  But despite his absence, the constant in and out of her life, they were making a commitment of some kind, to be planned at a later date. She found herself humming, almost non-stop. It was beginning to irritate poor Abby who had to work with her almost six days a week. Lily giggled again as she thought about the man she loved. In fact, she was humming as she walked to the shop’s door. She could hear Abby’s raised voice as she came closer. This does not sound good. Abby never yells.

  As she approached the door to go inside, she stopped. Now Jeremy, Abby’s boyfriend, was talking. His voice was lower, softer. Apparently, he was the one in trouble. Lily had her hand on the door when she decided to go back to the car, but it was too late. Get out of here, Lily. Abby had spotted her and was motioning her inside.

  “Crud,” Lily muttered out loud. Abby was pushing past her boyfriend, coming toward her like a steam engine, its smoke furling from its stack, racing to its destination.

  Lily thought she could ignore the quarreling couple; pretend she didn’t hear anything. “Oh hello you two. What’s up?” Seriously, Lily. What’s up? You know what’s up, they’re arguing and they never do that.

  “You won’t believe what he’s done now,” Abby said as she pointed back to Jeremy. She helped Lily with her bags. Her boss was hoping to avert eye contact. Avoidance, escaping, and pretending nothing was going on apparently wasn’t going to work.

  “Oh, Abs, I’m sure it’s not all that bad.”

  “So, you’re taking his side? Of course you would. It’s partly your fault.”

  Lily stopped at her desk and shoved her purse under. Abby had followed her and was standing next to the desk. It appeared that Jeremy was positioning himself behind Lily for protection. Now, what had she done?

  “Enough. What is my fault? What is Jeremy doing?” She turned around and physically moved Jeremy to the side. “Hello Jeremy.”

  He waved innocently in her direction. “Hey, Lily.”

  “This, this nitwit,” Abby stammered. She always stammered when she was utterly and completely out of control. “He has been training. He’s been making plans without me. He’s been planning our future.”

  Lily stifled a laugh and tried as hard as she could to retain a stoic face. What was wrong with making a few plans? She stopped her own thoughts. Ah, he was doing it without her. Lily completely understood the outrage. Her own fiancé had tried to do that to her and for her. So, she’d listen to Abby’s outrage until she discovered what the nitwit was actually planning. If he was going on an adventure in the Himalayas to discover any shared DNA with an alpaca then Lily might have to agree with her assistant. If he was actually getting a job that offered a six-figure salary with health care benefits, then Abby would have to take a chill pill. Gosh, this day just keeps getting better. Lily would have healthcare for the first time in years when she married Dev. There would actually be a retirement account. As a small business owner those perks were like golden tickets.

  “What has he been planning?” Lily watched Jeremy move his body into the corner of the adjacent wall, perhaps his attempt at invisibility.

  “Well, you’re to blame because,” Abby took a deep breath before continuing, looking straight at her boss for emphasis, “he is leaving to join the FBI.”

  Lily put on her shocked face, but this time it really was her shocked face. She looked at Abby and then toward the invisible Jeremy. He just shrugged his shoulders and held his head down like a naughty puppy. Speaking of puppies, where was Mort? Her dog, an inventive gift from Dev, had gone to live happily with Jeremy and Abby, but she still helped out with treats and dog food. She’d ask later, after all this drama was finished.

  “Tell her Jeremy, just tell her.” Abby pointed at her boss. Lily still couldn’t figure out how all this was her fault.

  Jeremy’s head raised. “I have been accepted into Georgetown for my master’s. I’ll be undertaking an internship in the FBI, training, volunteering with one of the police departments, and going to school. I go to Washington, D. C. next week to get it all settled.”

  Now, Lily’s mouth dropped onto the floor. Before she could ask how, why or when, Abby continued her attack, an accusatory finger pointed at Jeremy and then at Lily.

  “See, see, he’s, he’s, you, you,”she stammered in an art-like fashion. There were tears forming in her eyes. Lily brought out her desk chair and led Abby to it.

  “Sit down and listen to the man. I for one would like to know how and when this all happened.” Lily sat on the edge of the desk, holding her assistant’s shaking hand in hers. “Spill, Jeremy. You didn’t just come up with this on your own.”

  “I took an aptitude test last year. I knew I was good in computer information compilation. Then when my other skills for languages and gam
es were assessed, well there were a few professions that came up.”

  Lily’s eyes were crossing. Holy Moly. Who was this man and where did the nitwit go? The boy who only cared about video games and sports suddenly was a man thinking in multisyllabic words.

  “It was kind of ironic actually,” Jeremy admitted, a slim smile now on his face to his girlfriend’s consternation. “The next day this guy from the FBI came to talk to us. You remember that dude from the hotel when you got that free night? Tom Fullerton? He’s really part of the FBI. He’s in charge of the field office here in Kansas City. I didn’t even know the FBI was even here, did you?”

  And the nitwit had been resurrected. “Yes, Jeremy. I knew he was with the FBI and that they were here. You remember, he helped with all that stuff that happened here at the shop, right?”

  “Well, yah, we had a long talk about that. That was pretty cool now that I know some of the details, and we had that free night at the hotel. The television in that place and the food was the best ever.”

  “Jeremy,” Lily said, waving her hand in front of his face. “Get to the part where you start being an adult.”

  “Yah, well. I’ve been talking to him for several months. I started running and doing weights, really trying to physically take it up a notch. I’ve even started watching what I eat. I never have done that. He got me a job with a security firm that helps out with some of the banks in the area. I go through surveillance footage, online stuff and when there’s something that doesn’t add up, I go in and figure out the problem. I have a knack for finding anomalies and algorithms.”

  Ah, Lily thought. He has special skills. Imagine, Jeremy was special.

  “Oh and I’m proficient in Russian, Chinese and a few other languages.”

  Lily and Abby looked at each other, asking the same question in silence. When did all this happen?