Free Give Em Pumpkin To Talk About (Pumpkin Patch Mysteries Book 1) by Joyce Lavene, Jim Lavene

Suzi with bad news. “I’m sorry, Ms. Tucker. It appears as though that paperwork you requested was never filed. I’ll take care of it right away.”
    “Put my mother on the phone,” Sarah demanded.
    “She’s very busy. Maybe you could call her later.”
    “No. Put her on the phone now, please.”
    There was a brief pause, and then Sarah’s mother answered. “I’m so sorry, honey. I guess I got caught up in other things and forgot to file. It will only take a few days. This is Thursday. You should have it back by Monday. You said the police chief told you not to leave for a day or so. Get through the weekend. Hopefully everything will be fine by then.”
    “You could’ve checked this before you sent me down here.”
    “I know. You have a right to be angry. It just slipped my mind. I’m sorry. I’ll talk to you later.”
    Sarah put the heavy yellow phone receiver back down on the cradle. She was furious, but there was nothing she could do but wait. She could go back to Richmond for the weekend and come back Monday, if the paperwork was filed. Maybe that’s what she’d do.
    She put on a tight smile as she walked out of the office to face the three men.
    “It appears as though some mistakes were made, gentlemen. However, these are mistakes that can be easily rectified. The paperwork regarding my grandparents’ death will be filed today. We’ll have to wait until Monday to finish the transaction. I apologize.”
    Leland brought his fist down on the table. “Is this some kind of ploy to get more money for the property?”
    “I assure you it’s not.” She remained calm even in the face of his temper. She’d dealt with plenty of angry clients.
    “This is unacceptable,” Mace blustered. “Leland has the right to withdraw his offer on the property.”
    Sarah picked up her bag. “Of course that choice is his. As soon as I hear that the documents are ready, I’ll let you know. I apologize again for this unfortunate situation.”
    “Wait!” Leland grabbed Mace by the sleeve. “She’s not leaving, is she?”
    “There’s more we should be talking about,” Mace yelped.
    “Really, there isn’t anything else at this juncture,” she replied. “I’ll be in touch.”
    But she grabbed Trent as she was walking out the front door and pinned him against the brick wall outside the building.
    “Jack put you up to this, didn’t he?” she asked. “What did he offer to trade if you did this for him?”
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said nervously. “I was only doing my job.”
    “Representing who?”
    “Not representing anyone.” He smiled and played with his clip-on tie. “I’m not a lawyer. Not really. I’m a legal aid. Jack asked me to see if Mr. and Mrs. Denning had been declared legally dead. They weren’t. I told you before you sold the property. You didn’t want to sell it if everything wasn’t right, did you?”
    “No.” She let him go—not that he couldn’t have gotten away if he’d wanted to. She’d pressed her hand against his chest, but he was at least six inches taller than her and much broader. “Why doesn’t he just get with the program? I’m going to sell this land.”  
    Trent shrugged. “I don’t know. You should ask him. I have to get back to work. Have a nice day.”
    Sarah wasn’t sure what to do. Jack had a target painted on his head as far as she was concerned. He let her walk into this—after a dunk in the river. She wanted to hit him with something.
    She went back to the farm and yelled his name a few times. There was no answer from the acres that stretched in front of her. He only showed up when he wanted to. She reached down to stroke the black and white mother cat as her babies scurried along behind her.
    “Fine.” She wished she had a microphone. “Stay out there, but stop interfering. We’re going to sell this farm. Get used to it. Find another place to live.”
    Sheriff Morgan pulled up in the drive when she was about to get