“Then he knew this wasn’t the road to the lodge,” Amy said. “Then why stop here?”
“Have you spoken to the company he works for?” I asked my dad.
“He had no identification on him. I have only the name you told me to go with.”
“Have you found his car?” I asked.
“That was what I was just about to ask you. Do you recall the type of car he drove?”
“It was a grey, four door sedan, don’t recall the model, though I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a rental.”
“Why do you say that?” my dad asked.
“Did I forget to mention that he spoke with a Scottish brogue?”
“Yes, you did. Did he give you a business card by any chance?”
I thought about it a minute. “He didn’t. I wonder why?”
“Maybe he wasn’t actually a surveyor,” Amy said. “Maybe he came here under false pretenses.”
“This isn’t one of those romances you read where the hunky hero swoops in and rescues the damsel in distress,” my dad warned.
“Hunky hero?” Amy and I said in unison.
“Josh’s words not mine,” my dad snapped.
“For a minute there Mr. M, I thought you were reading romances on the sly.”
My dad shook his head, not an unusual reaction when speaking with Amy and me.
“I’ve had enough of you two, I’m leaving.”
I could tell from the stern look on my dad’s face that I was about to get a lecture before he took off.
He pointed his finger at me. “You, young lady, will keep your door locked and I will be sending a patrol car up and down your road now and again. There’s no telling what the dead guy was up to.” His finger started wagging. “And stay away from that hunky guy.” He cringed at his words. “He’s at the top of my suspect list and he’s not the sort of man I want you getting involved with.”
His cell phone went off and he answered it as he headed out the door.
“Do you think your dad realizes that you’re twenty-eight?” Amy joked.
“To him, I’ll always be his little girl.”
Amy sighed. “That’s why I love him so. He’s a great dad.”
“He is,” I said, feeling for Amy. Her dad had left her mom and her when Amy was six years old. It was another time my brother Thomas had hugged her and kissed her cheek. He told her everything would be all right and that he’d share his dad with her. And we had.
“I wonder if your dad found out more about the hunky hero and didn’t like what he learned and that’s why he doesn’t want you getting involved with him.”
“Or it could be that he thinks he’s a murderer,” I suggested with a smile.
Amy shivered. “You need to be careful.”
“No, I need to find out what’s going on over at Willow Lake Lodge.”
“I know that look and tone,” Amy said, shaking her fork at me. “And it usually winds up getting us both in trouble.”
“I’m not looking for trouble, but I am looking to find out what’s up with my new neighbors, especially since my intro to them was over a dead body.”
“What are you thinking?”
I leaned in close. “A little recon.”
“Cute... military vernacular, and will we wear camouflage as well or maybe night goggles would be helpful?”
“While night recon sounds appealing, I think we need the daylight to get a good look at what’s going on, but binoculars would be helpful. And I do have a pair of camouflage jeans and matching knit shirt.”
“The camouflage set your mom bought you about two Christmases ago because she insisted you might need them one day?”
I grinned. “And she was right.”
Amy pushed her empty plate aside. “I probably have something to wear that would work for a recon.”
I patted her hand. “Nothing too elaborate, we’ll be walking in the woods.”
“Hopefully not in moccasins.”
“I’ll wear my combat-like boots this time.”
Amy laughed. “You’re going to be a real G.I. Jane.”
I held up my skinny arm and made a pitiful muscle. “Yup, G.I. Joe is about to meet his match.”
4
“I hate you,” I said when Amy returned ready for recon a couple of hours later.
“Are we going to start that again,” Amy asked, following me out the door.
I stopped and turned and pointed to her. “How can you make a plain black sweater and jeans look so good,” —I ran my hand up and down the front of me— “while my matching camouflage outfit makes me look like a stick?”
Amy took hold of my shoulders. “Sweetie, we’re lucky we look so different. We’ll never have to worry about the same man finding us both attractive.”
“You’re right.” I nodded. “They all have eyes only for you.” I walked down the steps and called out. “Stay alert, Mo. We may need you.”
Amy stopped. “Maybe we should rethink this. Your neighbor could actually be a murderer.”