That got his attention.
“Now that is interesting,” he said. “The name.”
“Lola Benson,” I said, “though I doubt that’s her birth name and I wouldn’t be surprised if she had several aliases.”
“I’ll see what I can find,” Sherman said. “Give me a little time.”
“Thanks. And Sherman?”
“Yeah?”
“If this turns out to be nothing, I’d be perfectly happy.”
“I’ll do my best to disappoint you then,” he said before hanging up.
I set the phone down and leaned back in my chair.
Mo thumped his tail once.
“You and I both know that isn’t going to happen,” I told him.
Since my brain had already started spinning in circles, I turned my attention to the newsletter I had promised my readers. Writing about preparedness usually helped clear my head.
I tapped a few keys and stared at the screen for a moment before typing the title.
Awareness: A Prepper’s First Line of Defense
Most people think being prepared means stocking shelves with food, filling the pantry with supplies, and having enough batteries to keep every flashlight in the house running for a month.
All good things.
But the most valuable skill any prepper can have doesn’t sit on a shelf.
It’s awareness.
Knowing what’s normal in your environment and noticing when something isn’t.
That simple habit can prevent a lot of trouble before it ever has the chance to begin.
My fingers paused above the keyboard.
Awareness.
That word immediately made me think of Vera.
She observed people the way a hawk watches a field mouse. She had seen Lola talking to the Regional Bank Inspector at more than one bank. But she hadn’t mentioned if she overheard their conversation, and since I hadn’t asked, she wouldn’t have volunteered the information.
And if Vera had heard something—she probably wrote it down.
I leaned back in my chair and looked down at Mo.
“What do you think?” I asked him. “Is Vera holding back on us?”
Mo opened one eye, then closed it again as if the question clearly required less thinking and more napping.
I tapped the desk lightly with my fingers. “And there’s still the matter of the two robbers who were caught. I wonder what they’ve had to say for themselves.”
Mo’s ears perked slightly.
