Authors: Fern Michaels
Charming Lily (27 page)
“Lily, I have no idea. I was never really involved in Marcus's private life. Off the top of my head, I'd say he wired the money into a Swiss numbered account, then wired it to a thousand other accounts just like those jerks that snatched me. Maybe the south of France. Spain. He could be anywhere. Hell, he could be in Miami for all I know. Miami is only two hours from New York by plane. It would be just like him to be right under everyone's nose. Wherever he is, he's probably laughing his damn head off. Was it in the past, now, or was it going to happen?”
“I don't know, Matt. Usually it's in the past, like it already happened, and I'm getting a replay. Is that important?”
“Shit, Lily, I don't know.”
“If they left the country, they must have traveled with their own passports. Your abduction was a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing. Wasn't Marcus's departure much the same?”
“Yes. Why?”
“Then that means they all traveled with their own identification. You have a window of time here. Can't you hire a detective to do whatever it is they do, bribe people, nose around, that kind of thing? You have names now and a picture. I would think your firm would have some top-notch security. Call them, Matt. Don't let the trail grow any colder.”
“It's late, Lily. I'll do it first thing in the morning.”
“No, Matt. Make the call now. They can be ready to do things in the morning. Things can be done during the night that can't be done during the day. You certainly have nothing to lose. Please, do it. They can put the gears into motion.” Seeing his reluctance, Lily said, “I took off the Wish Keeper for you. You can do this for me.”
Matt reached for the phone.
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It was two o'clock in the morning when Matt hung up the phone for the last time. “They're on it. Don't get the idea they're going to be out there acting like gumshoes. It's all done with computers these days. We'll probably know something late today. Gracie needs to go out. Looks like Buzz is ready, too. I'll take them.”
“I'll go with you. I could use some fresh air. I'll just turn on the floodlights outside. As long as we're going out, I'll show you the gravestones. The dogs are the ones who found them. Bundle up, Matt. We can't take a chance on you getting a cold. That means you put socks on.”
“Nag, nag, nag,” Matt grumbled with good nature. “Okay, guys, we're going out. Hold on, Buzz, fetch the leashes. I don't care if they do know the yard, Lily. This dog of mine is never going unleashed again.”
“Buzz doesn't need a leash. I'm ready. Maybe I shouldn't put the lights on.”
“No. Put them on. I want to be able to see clearly. It's not like we're going to be out here a long time.”
“This is it, Matt. The stones are very old. They're so worn, the granite is actually shiny and smooth. Feel it.”
He didn't want to stretch out his hand, didn't want to touch a gravestone in the middle of the night, but he did it because Lily asked him to. He felt his shoulders slump, felt a tremendous weight settle over him as his fingers traced the letters on the words, Wish Keeper.
“Matt, what's wrong?”
“I don't know. Nothing. I just suddenly felt this tremendous weight on my shoulders and then . . . this . . . surge of energy. Like electricity ripping through me.”
“Ghosts are energy fields. Wait here. Don't move. I'm going inside for the Wish Keeper. Stay, Buzz.”
Lily was back in less than five minutes, breathless with the exertion of running, the pendant clutched tightly in her hands. She draped the necklace over the top of the stone and then stepped back. “We're giving it back, Mary Margaret. I don't think I'm the right person to continue
... I can't handle it.” She reached for Matt's hand and squeezed it tight.
The floodlight attached to the corner of the roof of the small cottage shone directly on the tiny cemetery. They watched in stupefied amazement as the pendant floated forward, then upward, before settling around Lily's neck.
Buzz whined as he squirmed closer to Lily.
Gracie tried to hug Matt's leg.
“I think we should go inside,” Matt said hoarsely as he gingerly backed away.
Instead of following Matt, Lily stepped forward, both hands outstretched. “I need to make a wish, Mary Margaret. I want to wish for a peaceful, happy life. If you can't give me that, I'll have to leave,” she whispered. “I'll leave this behind for the next owner.”
“Look,” Matt said.
Lily looked around the overgrown backyard to see it suddenly bathed in warm, golden sunshine. Four small children romped and frolicked with a basket of wiggling puppies, their laughter contagious. Gracie and Buzz looked on indulgently as Lily and Matt flipped burgers and hot dogs on a grill. “Mommy! Daddy! Here comes Uncle Dennis and Aunt Sadie!” More laughter, hugs, kisses. Happiness.
Lily blinked as the overgrown yard came back into view. Her.mouth felt thick and fuzzy, her tongue too big for her mouth. Matt, his eyes wild, stood rooted to the ground. “Did you . . . did you . . .”
“Yes. I think we just saw into our future. I wished for a happy, peaceful life.”
“Jesus!”
“Let's go inside, Matt. It really is cold out here. I'll make us some hot chocolate. I don't think either one of us is going to get any more sleep tonight.”
“What's the word, Lily? Magic? Supernatural? What?”
“I don't know. We had two boys and two girls, Matt! They looked like little versions of us. And a bunch of puppies. It was this yard, this house. We had a barbecue. Dennis and Sadie were here. They called them âAunt' and âUncle.' Did you see all that, Matt?”
“Yes. I think I'm spooked. This can't be. How can it be?”
“It is. I have to keep the pendant. That was Mary Margaret's way of telling us it is definitely not an evil thing. I just wish there was someone I could talk to who really knows about these things. Someone who can explain it to me.”
“You made a wish, Lily,” Matt said, his voice raspy with his words.
Lily nodded. “Minnie Figgins! I know that name. I just heard it recently. God, it's the housekeeper at the Laroux house. The one Sadie was talking to. She's ninety-five years old. She might know something. The name just came to me. We're going there first thing in the morning.”
“Fine. But we're going into the house right now. Turn off the outside lights.”
Lily reached up to turn off the switch. The yard turned midnight black. Buzz threw his head back and howled. The fine hairs on Lily's arms moved.
“Does that thing open up? Did you ever look inside?”
“No. I mean, no, I never looked inside, and yes, it opens up.”
Both Matt and Lily jerked forward when the phone took that minute to ring. They looked at one another as much as to say, I don't know anyone who would call at two-thirty in the morning. Lily's hand snaked out. “Hello,” she said cautiously.
“Lily, it's me. I had this sudden feeling you needed me. Dennis and I were just sitting here talking and all of a sudden, the strangest feeling came over me. Did I wake you?”
“Sadie! No, Matt and I just came in from outside. Listen, why don't you and Dennis come over here. I'm going to make some hot chocolate. Bring the marshmallows. We were just saying we weren't going back to bed. I'll tell you all about it when you get here.”
“This is beyond strange, Lily,” Matt said, sitting down at the table.
“You're telling me. Oh, Matt, I don't think I want to be able to see into the future. That little scene in the yard was nice. But . . .”
“I know, Lily. I guess it isn't as simple as we thought. I'm not sure you can just take it off. Even if you do, are you still officially a Wish Keeper? Or, do you have to move away? They say spirits are bound to certain places, so it probably wouldn't follow you. I can't get a handle on any of this,” Matt muttered. “I like throwing things out to the universe better. There's a sense of
normalcy
to doing it that way. This is kind of like hocus-pocus if you know what I mean”
normalcy
to doing it that way. This is kind of like hocus-pocus if you know what I mean”
“Maybe Dennis and Sadie will have some input,” Lily said. Her tone of voice said she didn't believe it for a minute.
The dogs didn't bother to bark or get up from their comfortable positions under the table when Sadie and Dennis entered the kitchen through the back door.
“Very nice,” Dennis said, looking around. “I like it, Lily.”
Lily smiled when the two men grabbed for each other's hands and pumped them vigorously. Friends forever. Lily smiled at Sadie, who tossed her a bag of marshmallows from the shopping bag she was carrying.
They talked into the night, their hands cupped around mugs of hot chocolate.
“We're computer engineers, wizards or so they say, and we can't figure this out,” Dennis said in disgust.
“Reality and the supernatural are two different things. Take off the pendant, and put it in the center of the table. Let's all look at it and when I say go, each of us blurts out the first thing that comes to mind. Not right now, though. So, Sadie, do you think the housekeeper will talk to us if we go over there after breakfast?”
“I don't know. She talked to me. Quite openly as a matter of fact. She's a sweet little lady. Maybe we could take her some flowers or maybe some soft candies. Or a pouch of fresh tobacco. It certainly won't hurt to try. Are we going there mainly to find out if she knows anything about the Wish Keeper or are you going to quiz her on the three brothers?”
“Both. I thought we'd just tell her the truth and see how she responds. I've always believed that truth wins out in the end. Let's just cross our fingers that I'm right this time. So, what have you two been up to?” Matt asked as he winked at Lily. “Go! Dennis?”
“Fear.”
“Sadie?”
“Safety.”
“Lily?”
“Peace.”
“How about you, Matt?” Dennis queried.
“Secrecy.”
They looked at one another, their faces registering their emotions. It was Matt who broke the silence. “So, what did you guys do all evening?” he asked directing his question to Dennis.
Dennis burst out laughing. “We spent the evening watching the Weather Channel on television. There's a blizzard heading for Wyoming. Actually it's two blizzards, one sweeping west across Nebraska and one sweeping east across Idaho. They expect both storms to converge on Wyoming around the same time. According to the weather girl it's the likes of which they haven't seen in over seventy-five years.”
“Bummer,” Lily said, her eyes on Sadie. “Guess you won't be leaving on Sunday night, huh? Unless you want to sit in a Kansas City airport for days and days on your layover. Better call Ozzie and alert him.”
“It could blow over. You know those weather people, they always blow things out of proportion. I'll wait till Sunday morning to call. The worst-case scenario is I have to wait a few days. No big deal.”
Lily watched Dennis's expression. It was obvious he thought it was a big deal. She thought about the scene she'd witnessed in her backyard earlier. Uncle Dennis and Aunt Sadie. She made a mental note to tune to the Weather Channel to keep up on the weather conditions just in case Sadie decided to go. If that happened, the three of them would somehow derail her into staying.
“What time do you suppose Miss Minnie Figgins gets up, Sadie?”
“I have no idea. This is just a guess on my part but I don't think she sleeps much. My grandmother was like that. She'd sleep an hour at a time and prowl around all night. At least that's what my mother said. My mother said it had something to do with being afraid she wouldn't wake up. You know, long sleeps, that kind of thing. I always thought the older you got, the more you slept, but Mom said it was just the opposite. I think we'd be safe going over there around seven. She might be out on the steps smoking her corncob and drinking coffee. She was quite sociable with me. I suspect she might be lonely.”
Lily looked at her watch. “Let's have some breakfast. You guys go into the living room so you aren't under our feet while we cook. Place your order and Sadie and I will whip it up.”
“Blueberry pancakes with blueberry syrup and soft butter,” Dennis chirped. “Lots and lots of crisp bacon.”
“Two eggs over easy, lots of crisp bacon, white toast, soft butter, and jam. Strong coffee,” Matt said.
“I'll have a scrambled egg,” Lily said. “How about you, Sadie?”
“I'll have the same as you. Guess you didn't have any luck with Matt going to the cops, huh?”
“None at all. He's got this mind-set, and he isn't budging. You didn't say much about my little revelation out there in the yard. In it you and Dennis were a couple as in Aunt and Uncle. You like him a lot, don't you Sadie? The Weather Channel? That's all you did all night? This is not the Sadie I know and love.”
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