Give Em Pumpkin To Talk About (Pumpkin Patch Mysteries Book 1) (2 page)

“I know you can. I saw that no-good ex-husband of yours today at the courthouse. You’re lucky to be rid of him. There’s someone better out there for you.”

“Thanks. I’ll talk to you later. Tell Dad I love him.”

She knew both her parents were trying to smooth the transition from married to single for her. Her divorce had only been finalized a few weeks ago. But she and Alan hadn’t lived together in more than two years. She loved them for worrying about her, but sometimes Alan already seemed like a distant memory of her past.

Hunter laughed. “You should’ve told her we were going to singles bars and hooking up with strippers.”

“Yeah if I wanted her down here with me tonight! You know how she is.”

“No worse than my mother. She’s still trying to cope with Sam being gay. I think part of her still thinks he’s going to become a surgeon like she always wanted, get married to the right girl, and have lots of babies.”

Sarah knew she was right. She’d met Hunter and Sam at college. She’d had a huge crush on Sam. He was a couple of years younger than them, but he was gorgeous.

“How are you handling the break up? We haven’t talked about it at all,” Hunter pointed out.

“I know. What’s left to say? We’ve gone over it a hundred times.”

Sarah’s marriage had been a tale of neither of them looking around enough before they got married. They’d gone to college together, attended the same parties. Their parents knew each other, and it was the most natural thing in the world to say ‘yes’ when Alan had proposed.

They’d had a huge wedding and a honeymoon in the Caribbean. They both had great jobs with big name law firms and a beautiful house. It seemed as though their future was assured.

Something had happened between the late hours they worked and different ideas about what was important. Sarah had met Senator Clare Rosemond at a fundraiser and was immediately impressed by her. When the senator had offered her a job, she’d taken it without questioning what effect it would have on Alan. It had turned into a month-long argument that represented their differing viewpoints about the world. It seemed nothing was the same after.

Months before their married life was officially over, Alan was dating again. Sarah only wished him well, glad it was finally done.

She pulled the rental car into the parking spot she’d left before heading out to Misty River. The hotel was small and quiet, located on the Nansemond River. Hunter went to her room and Sarah checked her messages. There was nothing important.

A friend of Hunter’s was on her way back to Charlotte, North Carolina from the Outer Banks. She was making a side trip to have dinner with them before she went home.

Sarah sighed as she saw the grass and wild flowers stuck in her hair. Her clothes were full of tick seeds and pulled by the thorns she’d walked through. Her face was sunburned, and her shoes were ruined from the muddy field.

It wasn’t surprising that the crazy squatter hadn’t taken her seriously.

She got in the shower to wash away the memories of that frightening encounter, but she couldn’t get rid of her thoughts regarding the man. He said he knew that no one had lived there for sixteen years.

Was that the same teenage boy she remembered? He’d had a troubled home life, according to her grandparents. They’d asked him to stay with them when he couldn’t go home. He’d helped out on the farm. She’d been jealous of him because she’d wanted to stay there too.

She couldn’t remember his name. Could he still be living there? Had anyone questioned him about what happened to her grandparents? Had he been cleared of any possible wrongdoing in that regard?

It had been such a long time ago. Sarah lay back on her bed and closed her eyes.

She’d only been a child that August day when she couldn’t find her grandparents. Her father had come to take her home while her mother had handled the police and whatever else had been done.  No one ever talked about it much.

Between then and now had been filled with becoming an adult, school, and trying to figure out her own life. No questions that had formed in her younger mind had ever been answered. She’d mostly forgotten how terrible that day had been—until she’d stepped foot in Misty River again.

Suddenly she wanted all the answers and wasn’t sure if she could go home to her normal life without knowing what had really happened to those people she’d loved so much. After all this time, was it possible to learn the truth?

Chapter Two

There was plenty of time before dinner to phone the county sheriff’s office that represented Misty River and the surrounding areas. Sarah had no idea what had been done to find her grandparents or if the sheriff still considered their disappearance as an open case.

The deputy who answered the phone put her through to Sheriff Bill Morgan. They went through some small talk as he asked after her family and said he was happy to speak with her.

“That case has been in my file for so long that I’ve almost given up on it,” he admitted. “There was never any evidence that Tommy and Bess didn’t just decide to leave that night and never come back. I apologize if that idea is painful for you.”

“Except, as I remember, their truck and car were still in the driveway.”

“That’s right, Ms. Tucker. It got to all of us that we couldn’t find anything, no clue where they’d gone. There was some talk of aliens abducting them. That’s how weird it was. George Burris is a writer from the local newspaper. He said something to that effect. I think he’s retired now, but he might have a few answers.”

Was he really referring her to a newspaper writer for answers?

“I was at the farm today and met a man who claimed to have been there since they disappeared. He said his name was Jack. Did you question him?”

“Jack. Sure, I know him. He wasn’t a person of interest, if that’s what you mean. He was just a boy at the time. We had no reason to suspect him.”

In other words, no.

“I’d like to see the file you have on the investigation,” she told him in clipped tones. “Can you have that ready for me tomorrow?”

“I can, Ms. Tucker, but I have to charge you thirty-five dollars for the copies. I’m sorry as I can be. The county needs to be reimbursed for their paper and such.”

“That’s fine. I’ll be down at ten to pick it up.” She thanked him and hung up. Her hands were shaking.

Sheriff Morgan wasn’t much help. She’d known the case was old and probably hadn’t even been looked at in years. But maybe fresh eyes would help. Maybe she could make a difference and finally know what happened to the two people who’d been so important in her life.

Sarah stared out of the hotel window. Suffolk was a nice city. She had good memories of growing up here. Her parents had moved to Richmond within six months of her grandparents’ disappearance. It was as though the whole world had changed at that point, at least for her. Nothing had ever been the same.

She and her family had never gone back to Misty River. Sarah had assumed her mother had been in contact with the sheriff, but there were never updates that she’d shared.

With a plan in mind to change that veil of silence about that day, Sarah got ready for dinner and met Hunter at the car.  She explained as much as she could to her friend. It wasn’t an easy conversation.

They were having dinner at Al Forno Pizzeria. Sarah had already eaten there once and had recommended it for that night. Hunter introduced her friends when they arrived.

Dr. Peggy Lee, a forensic botanist, had bright red hair shot through with white. She was average height and weight and had inquisitive green eyes. Hunter told Sarah that Sam had given up on going to medical school to work with Peggy in her garden shop.

“Don’t let her fool you,” Peggy said with a smile. “Sam is only at
The Potting Shed
when he has to be. He’d spend all his time outside on the landscaping side of the business if he could.”

Peggy introduced her husband, Steve Newsome, who worked for the FBI. He was a bit on the ordinary side—brown hair and eyes. Not someone you’d notice in a crowd. Sarah thought this might be part of his job working for the federal agency—being invisible in the shadows.

 “I’m so glad you called, Hunter,” Peggy said when they were seated at a table. “You wouldn’t believe the crazy things that happened to us in Duck while we were there on vacation. Everyone went mermaid crazy. They even thought a man was murdered by mermaids!”

“Sounds crazy,” Hunter said. “Did you see a mermaid?”

“No,” Steve explained. “But other people did. When we left, there were people who’d just come to search for mermaids.”

They all laughed as they enjoyed some wine.

“Maybe Steve can help you find out what happened to your grandparents,” Hunter suggested. “Peggy and Steve are good at solving mysteries.”

“I’m sure Steve doesn’t want to talk shop while he’s on vacation,” Sarah uncomfortably demurred.

“Don’t worry about it. I could use some shop talk after talking about sea turtles and mermaids all week.” Steve smiled at her. “Tell me about your grandparents.”

“It’s a real thriller.” Hunter nudged an elbow into Sarah’s side. “She should option the movie rights to it.”

The words came slowly at first then they poured out with all the emotion she’d felt at the time. When she was finished, she felt drained, but it was good to have said it out loud.

“You were very young at the time,” Steve said when she’d finished. “Why this sudden interest?”

“I don’t know. I can’t explain why it hit me so hard today. I was just supposed to come down and sign some papers to sell the place. But I never got to ask questions about it. I’d like to know. Maybe it’s time.”

“I can understand that,” he agreed. “I can’t do anything formally, but I’ll be happy to take a look at your information, if you like.”

They planned a time to meet at the farm the next day so Steve could take a look around.

Sarah told them stories of spending time with her grandparents at the pumpkin patch. Once she’d started letting her memories out, it was like she couldn’t stop. “I was there when a dozen baby goats were born one spring,” she said. “Later that year, every time I talked to my grandmother, those goats were into everything. They ate all the beans and rampaged through the corn. One even got his head stuck inside a pumpkin.”

They laughed and enjoyed their dinner. Steve wasn’t as open and charming as Peggy, but Sarah was glad she’d met him anyway. She might never had said everything if he hadn’t encouraged her.

Had her family stayed away from the subject because they all felt guilty for not finding out what happened? Sarah believed that was part of it for her and her mother. Maybe it was that feeling of paralysis that came with the sheriff and others telling them there was nothing they could do. If officials whose job it was to deal with these things couldn’t help, what chance did they have?

Dinner lasted much longer than Sarah had anticipated. She and Hunter weren’t back to the hotel until almost ten-thirty. Hunter was planning to leave by seven the next morning. But they sat and talked until one a.m. anyway. It was great catching up with her old friend. Hunter had recently broken up with a Charlotte police officer so they could commiserate with each other’s love lives too.

The phone in her hotel room ringing woke her the next morning. She glanced at her cell phone, the normal means that her family or friends would have tried to get in touch with her. There were no messages or missed calls.

“Hello?” She cradled the hotel phone as she tried to pry her eyes open. It was only five a.m.

“Is this Sarah Tucker?” a husky, male voice asked.

“Yes. Who’s this?”

“My name is George Burris. I used to work for the newspaper that served Misty River.”

“How did you know where to find me, Mr. Burris?”

“I still have my sources in the community. I’d like to meet with you. I have ten years of information that I’ve gathered about your grandparents’ disappearance. I think you should have it.”

“All right. Where can I meet you?”

“It’s not safe for me to meet you out in the open. Can you come to the pumpkin patch now?”

Not safe?
“It’s kind of late . . . early.”

Sarah had an uneasy feeling about the call. The sheriff had mentioned Burris to her, but he was still a stranger. Yet if he really had more information about her grandparents, how could she say no? She felt like this was it—either she’d find out what had happened to them or she’d go home always wondering.

“It’s important. I know you had the sheriff make copies of his file about them. That’s how I knew you were in town and looking for answers. Believe me, my information is a hundred times more in depth than anything he has.”

She glanced at her watch again, torn between wanting to meet with him and feeling vulnerable doing it alone. She didn’t want to wake Hunter since she had a long drive ahead of her. “What about later in the morning?”

“It’s now or never.” He seemed to repeat her thoughts back at her. “You don’t realize how much I’m putting my life on the line to help you. Do you want the answers or not?”

“Okay. I want the answers.”

“I’ll meet you there in thirty minutes. If you’re not there, the answers leave with me.”

He hung up abruptly. Sarah looked at the phone, trying to figure out if what he was talking about was worth the risk. Maybe he was as crazy as the squatter. Sheriff Morgan had said Burris had suggested alien abduction.

But she had to take the chance.

“And this time I won’t be fooled into letting go of my gun,” she promised herself as she reloaded the bullets. She wasn’t completely sure she could shoot someone, but she could at least scare him and run away.

After changing clothes into jeans, boots, and a T-shirt, she left her room.

It was dark and quiet outside. She could see the lights on a boat as it cruised down the river.
This is crazy.
I should turn around and go back inside.

But she knew she was going.

She wanted someone to know where she’d gone. She left a message at the front desk for Hunter in case she came to say goodbye. Her parents would know where to look for her, too, if something happened.