Pepper, the Highlander & the Dead Guy

My blogs, podcasts, and YouTube posts became so successful that advertisers approached me to promote on my website. Then came book deals, successful ones, and invitations to prepper and survivalist conventions where for some reason I was a big hit. It’s a full-time job now and I love it. And I no longer worry about being unprepared if an unexpected disaster hits.

At first my brothers made fun of my new career, but after Danny, my oldest brother, talked with them, they stopped. Danny and Mom had been the ones to come help me after Hurricane Sandy and it became obvious that I had no place to live or a job, and they wanted me to come home. But I had just started a semester at Stockton that was all paid for, and I couldn’t afford to walk away. I’m glad I stayed. I made good friends, met wonderful people, and found a career I love.

My mom had burst into tears when she saw the devastation and Danny had hugged me tight, realizing how close he had come to losing me. That’s what Danny must have told Josh and Thomas. They never made fun of me being a prepper again. My brothers do love me even if they continue to be pains in my butt.

I turned my attention to my laptop ready to write a post for my blog. I always keep several blogs posts ahead, same with YouTube, just in case something comes up that prevents me from posting. Most times I write a brief post, but there are times it blossoms into more. But no matter short or long, I have a huge following and, judging from the numerous responses I get they enjoy my posts.

My mind turned blank when my hands went to the keys. Well, not exactly blank. It wandered to the dead guy. You rarely, if ever, see a businessman in a suit walking in the woods. I could explain why I wound up in the woods without any of my normal hiking gear—curiosity. I didn’t intend to go for a walk, but curiosity got the best of me, and I just had to see what was going on with my new neighbor. I was too far into the woods after wandering to turn around and go back for my hiking boots.

What the dead guy was doing in the woods in a business suit was a complete mystery to me. Also why was a surveyor anxious to speak with the owner of Willow Lake Lodge? Ian said he didn’t know the man, but of course he could be lying. But why?

The most curious question to me was—what had the surveyor wanted to talk to Ian about? Actually, I was more than curious. I was a bit concerned what with Willow Lake Lodge practically surrounding my three acres. If there was a problem, could it possibly affect my property?

My cell phone rang, and wouldn’t you know it stopped when I reached the kitchen counter where I had left it. When I saw that it was Amy, I called her right back.

“I was going to head over there if I didn’t hear from you right away,” Amy said. “Are you all right? I can’t believe you found a dead body.”

“And I knew the guy.”

“You what?”

I cringed as Amy’s screech echoed off my eardrum. “Remember I told you about that surveyor that stopped here looking for Willow Lake Lodge”

“It was him?” Amy gasped.

“It was and he was in a business suit. Who goes for a walk in the woods in a business suit?”

“Maybe he wasn’t going for a walk,” Amy suggested. “Maybe he was meeting someone.”

“In the woods?”

“He was a surveyor,” Amy reminded.

“But wouldn’t he have dressed for the woods if he was going to meet someone there?”

“I just finished with a client, and I have nothing that needs doing right away, so why don’t I grab us lunch and head on over and we can talk about this? Unless of course you have something sitting in your fridge.” Amy chuckled.

“Ha, ha, very funny,” I said since she knew I always had something prepared in my fridge or plenty of food to whip up a meal.

“Also, you can tell me about that hot hunk that has your brothers all stirred up.”

I knew who had told her without asking. “Thomas.”

“Gave me an earful and told me I should warn you to stay clear, since he might be the murderer. Could he be?”

“There is that possibility. Come over, I’ll tell you more when you get here.”

I got busy putting together a tuna orzo salad with a drizzle of olive oil and some spices while thinking of Amy and my middle brother Thomas. She had loved him since she was five years old, and he had picked her up after she had fallen and skinned her knee. He had kissed her cheek, given her a hug, and had told her it was all right. Unfortunately, Thomas was too blind to see how much he had in common with her. He loved math and so did Amy. It was why he became a math teacher, and she became an account. And that was just the beginning of their similar interests. But he was dating someone for the past six months, and it looked like it was getting serious. Sometimes I wished Amy would give other guys a chance to see if her feelings for Thomas were real or nothing more than the infatuation of a five-year-old.