Charming Lily by Fern Michaels Page A

homey.”
    â€œI think we can handle that. I’ll see you in a few days.”
    â€œMr. Sonner, you’ve lived here all your life. Do you know what a Wish Keeper is? On one of the gravestones it says, Mary Margaret, and then underneath her name are the words, The Wish Keeper . Her last name isn’t on the marker.”
    â€œI can’t say that I do, but I’ll ask my father. He’s eighty-four, and he was born and raised here in Natchez. He knows all about the folklore and the ghost stories, and he does love talking about it to anyone who will listen. I’ll let you know what I find out.”
    â€œThanks, Mr. Sonner. I’ll see you in a few days then.”
    Matt would have liked Bill Sonner. He would have considered him to be a man’s man. Matt admired anyone who could make something from nothing. She was so glad the contractor had insisted on before-and-after pictures. If Matt was ever able to see them, he would be so pleased. Damn, she was tearing up again. Buzz nuzzled her neck just as Dennis and Sadie swerved into the driveway to park behind her Rover.
    Sadie ran up the driveway. “What happened?”
    â€œFollow me, and I’ll show you. This is so weird I’m starting to get really spooked. I . . . Wait, see for yourself. Buzz and Gracie found it.”
    â€œIt’s a cemetery,” Dennis said in awe.
    â€œBrilliant statement,” Lily snorted. “Read what it says under Mary Margaret’s name. See, The Wish Keeper. No last name. This thing around my neck is a Wish Keeper. I had another one of those visions. That’s two in one day, Sadie. I’m really jittery. I wish you could have heard these two dogs howl. God, it gave me goose bumps.”
    â€œWhat did you see?” Dennis asked quietly.
    â€œA room full of . . . computers. Electronic equipment. At least that’s what it looked like. It’s fuzzy, my vision wasn’t sharp. Plus, my heart beats like a trip-hammer when it happens. I think my first conscious thought was I was seeing the inside of a Radio Shack . I don’t understand. Does Matt work in a room like that?”
    Dennis narrowed his eyes. “What kind of electronic equipment?”
    Lily shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m not a computer person. I did see computers and a wide screen. I think it was a wide screen. Do you know of a room like that?”
    â€œNo. Do you think you could make a rough sketch of it when we get back to the apartment?”
    â€œI can try. Mr. Sonner, the contractor, is going to ask his father tonight if he knows what a Wish Keeper is. He’s like us, completely clueless.”
    â€œI wonder who Mary Margaret is ... was?” Sadie said. “If you don’t mind, Lily, I’d like to borrow your truck and go to the library. I might be able to find something out about this property. I wish my mother had told me more about this place. For some reason she didn’t like it. I can’t remember why we stopped coming here, if I ever knew at all.”
    â€œMaybe you’ll find something that will trigger a memory. On the other hand, maybe your mother didn’t like the hot, humid weather in the summer. It could be something that simple, Sadie.”
    Lily turned her attention to Dennis. “Did you find out anything when you called the office?”
    â€œJust that Marcus is like a wild hare. All he did was snap and snarl over the phone. He also told me to get my ass back to New York. There’s been no ransom note, so that’s a good sign. At least I think it is. I told him to call the press and cancel our announcement. We argued a bit. I won because both of us have to be there. I’m acting CEO when Matt is gone. That’s about all I know. Oh, he did say he thinks Matt is on some South Sea island sunning himself and having a high old time. That’s Marcus for you. I did remember something else that I had totally forgotten. I was checking