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‘Yes, and orchids are valuable. But that plant is one of the rarest of them all. And it’s bloomed.’
Hannah stared at the plant. ‘So it has.’ It looked nothing special.
‘It’s a ghost orchid, Hannah. They are rare because they only bloom at night.’
‘Ah. That is unusual. So, you’re saying this is worth a bit of money?’
Kyle grinned. She knew that look. It was the same expression he had whenever he scored big. Hannah smiled to herself when she realised he hadn’t spotted the painting she’d brought back for Maisie, although she reckoned that it was just as worthless as the crap in the boot.
‘It’s worth six figures.’
She looked at the wimpy little plant in the flowerpot. ‘Six figures – for this? You must be joking. Are you saying you’d get a hundred grand?’
‘Probably more than that.’ His expression turned earnest. ‘Look, I’m in a bit of trouble. This is going to dig us out of a hole – big time. We can keep the house …’
Hannah wasn’t sure she wanted the house.
‘Your car too.’
Hannah threw a glance over his shoulder at the beautiful, shiny red, soft-top Mercedes – her dream ride. She reluctantly handed over the plant.
‘Did you do like I said and stage a robbery?’
Hannah bit her lower lip.
‘You are joking me!’
‘I didn’t think it was a great idea. The police would get called straight away. If no one knew things had been taken, at least not right away, it would give you a chance to fence the stuff.’
‘Okay, yeah, that’s a good plan, especially as we’re not talking about crap antiques now.’ He glanced at the flower in his hand.
So did Hannah. ‘The thing is … it didn’t go according to plan.’
He looked up sharply. ‘Don’t tell me you were seen!’
Hannah nodded her head.
‘For god’s sake, Hannah.’
‘Yes, but not like you think. I had grabbed Lili’s coat by accident, so that’s what I was wearing when …’ She trailed off.
He got the picture. ‘Someone thought you were Lili?’
‘Yes.’
‘Well, that’s fortunate, isn’t it?’
‘No, it’s not. She’ll get into trouble when they discover things are missing from the shop.’
His expression darkened. ‘No, Hannah,weare going to get into trouble if the police trace her here. Who knows how many people she’s told about coming to stay with you? You’ve got to get rid of her.’
‘I can’t do that. Lili has split up from her partner. She has nowhere to go.’ Hannah caught sight of the box sitting on the driveway.
He followed her gaze. ‘What is it?’
‘Lili mentioned something on the phone before she turned up about finding her parents.’
‘So what?’
