Page 23 of Pepper, the Biker & the Vanishing Body

I wondered when he’d get around to asking me that.

“Wait, let me guess,” Ian said. “He wants you to help him prove that he is a descendant of the Willow family. But that’s a ruse. One, he is attracted to you, and two, he wants to stick close to you thinking you might find the answer to whatever it is he’s searching for.”

“That is why I love you so much,” I said with a grin. “You are terrific at fitting together pieces of a puzzling mystery.”

He chuckled. “And here I thought it was my good looks and fit body.”

I sprang forward in my wood rocking chair. “Fit body! Maybe the vanishing guy suffered side effects from the blow he suffered to his jaw, and he passed out in the greenhouse. But the question still begs… what was he doing in the greenhouse?”

“But as we discussed over supper, how he vanishes is another issue of its own,” Ian said. “How did he manage to get past us in the mausoleum is still puzzling but at least you spotted the side door in the greenhouse. That had to be the way he exited.”

“Come to think of it, the torn page was in a spot not far from the door. It could have slipped out of his hand or pocket if he was a bit disoriented.”

“The question still lingers… what was he doing there?” Ian said.

“The logical reason would be that he was meeting someone. I don’t like the implication to that,” I said, thinking of what it might mean.

“I agree, especially since he was in an area for employees only.”

“Meaning someone at the garden center could be involved.”

I satat the kitchen counter the next morning paying no attention to the breakfast Ian had made for me or to Mo looking soulfully at the bacon on my plate as if letting me know that if I didn’t want it, he would gladly eat it.

“You might want to tell your da, Pep,” Ian said.

“Tell him what?” I asked, setting my mug down on the counter without taking a sip of tea.

“About the incident at the garden center. It is obvious it has been on your mind since you woke this morning.”

It was like Ian could read my mind, understanding I was too preoccupied to respond to his touches this morning, meaning something was preying on my mind.

“With Kelly close to delivery, you don’t want to take a chance that trouble could be brewing there,” Ian said.

I sighed heavily. “That’s exactly what I’ve been thinking.”

As if on cue, a knock sounded at the door, and my dad entered.

“You really need to keep that door locked,” my dad said like a parent admonishing his child.

“You think?”

My sarcasm was lost on him, and I was annoyed with myself for not locking the door after Mo finished up outside earlier.

“Don’t dare think you’re leaving me,” I whispered to Ian.

“Not a chance,” he said with a teasing smile.

“I should be angry with you, but I can’t be since Danny told me that he begged you not to tell me about finding that vanishing guy in the greenhouse. When he thought better of it and that it might be something that could prove troublesome or possibly dangerous, he made the smart choice to tell me about it.”

“You mean Kelly started questioning Danny about the dirt from the plant and he dug himself deeper into lies until he finally buried himself and came clean, didn’t he?” I asked, grinning.

“That doesn’t matter,” my dad said, dismissing it with a wave of his hand which meant I had hit on the truth.

“Coffee, Dad?” I asked, knowing when to hold my tongue. Okay, maybe that happened only on rare occasions.

My dad helped himself to a cup of coffee and stood on the opposite side of the counter from me and Ian. It was obvious my dad was upset. I guess that was what had been bothering me as well. Could my family be in danger? Was the vanishing guy in cahoots with someone at the garden center and would he return?

“Tell me everything you remember,” my dad said, “then send me those pics you took after the fact, and for heaven’s sake keep your phone on you since this guy has a propensity of showing up where you happen to be.”

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