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

back in her car.
    “I heard about your bad news,” he said with a smile. “Grace told me down at the Quik-Chek. Word travels fast. A family of lawyers and no one thought to file the paperwork declaring your grandparents legally dead. I’d call that a travesty of justice, ma’am.”
    “Is there some reason for your visit?” she asked. “Or did Jack hire you to bully me?”
    That brought a rich chuckle from him. “That Jack gets around pretty good for a man who doesn’t have a car.”
    Sarah seethed. “Sheriff?”
    “Sorry. Just ribbing you some.” He reached through the window of his car and brought out the file that she’d given him. “George Burris was a good man, Ms. Tucker, but I’m not sure what this information had to do with your grandparents’ disappearance. Did you look at it?”
    “Not much. Jack sneaked it out of the kitchen, remember?” She took the file from him. It must be completely unimportant since it could be evidence in a murder case and he was giving it back. “You don’t think Mr. Burris was killed for this?”
    “Nope. Not considering the killer left it behind. Take a look. Give me a call if you have any questions. I hear you’ll be here until at least Monday. I don’t know if George’s death will be wrapped up that neatly. But I’m sure you’ll give me your contact info if you decide to go back to Richmond.”
    “Thanks. I’ll let you know.”
    He grinned. “Good thing you have a phone at the hotel, huh? Grace said your phone went for a swim.”
    “You could say that. I’ll talk to you later, Sheriff Morgan.”
    “That Jack. He really cracks me up.”
     

Chapter Eight
     
    Sarah ignored her irritation with Jack and Sheriff Morgan and drove back to the hotel. Her boots were ruined. She went out and bought a new pair. She washed clothes again and picked up her suit at the dry cleaners. There wasn’t much they could do with it. Sarah was pretty sure she’d never wear it again.
    After taking a shower and changing clothes, she lay down on the bed and opened the folder George Burris had wanted her to see.
    It was full of pictures, most black and white, some in color. Some were very old. There were newspaper clippings from as far back as 1897. Many of the newer articles were by George. All of his information pertained to a lost chest of gold that had supposedly belonged to the Confederate Army.
    Many of the articles were of the opinion that the South could have won the war if that gold wouldn’t have gone missing. The whole thing was about people looking for the gold and believing it was somewhere on her grandparents’ property.
    Sarah muttered a few “crazies” and got up to get a Coke from the mini-fridge. She shifted to the brown chair by the door and started reading again.
    Somehow an ancestor of hers, Big Mike Denning, had been credited—or accused, depending on what side of the war you were on—of stealing the gold. Many people thought he’d taken it to end the war. George and some of his friends believed the gold was still there on the farm. There were maps, supposedly drawn by Big Mike himself. But the gold still remained unfound.
    The hotel phone rang. It was Hunter wanting to know how everything was going and if she’d sold the property. “And where’s your cell phone? I tried calling you a few times and left messages. What’s up?”
    “It’s been a much bigger adventure than I’d expected.” She told Hunter about George Burris, her wet cell phone, and then described the catastrophe trying to finalize the sale of the land. “I can’t tell you how embarrassing it was to be outmaneuvered by a man who lives on my land illegally.”
    Hunter laughed at her. “I’m not sure if your mom really wants to sell the place or not. It seems like she’s ignored it, but I think she’s got doubts.”
    Sarah agreed. “I was just looking at the file that Mr. Burris died trying to show me. It doesn’t make any sense. It’s all pictures of my grandparents and