Page 3 of Kinsey

Meggie nodded, telling her that there was a deal going on but didn’t have the paperwork ready yet.Grannie rang off with the person and looked at her.They were ready to go and eat, so she waited to see what she had to say.

“You’re buying the Pennington farm?”She said that she’d not heard anything about the Pennington farm.“That was the banker in town there.He said that he had it under good authority that the place was going to be on the auction block before too much longer.I don’t know why, but I have a feeling that the man is lying to me.”

“I could check on it.Do you know the Penningtons?”Grannie said that she’d known the grandparents of the boys who were trying to make a go of it.“How many boys are they, and are they boys to me or just to you?”

“To me.I’d say the oldest one is about your age now.There are five or six of them trying to make a go at the farm since their father had about run it into the ground oh, about a decade ago.I keep up with them without, of course, letting them know, but I don’t think that they’re behind in their taxes.Well, I know they’re not.And I also know that the banker in town has a soft spot for all of them.He’d not just call up and tell you about this unless he had a reason.An auction?No, I don’t see that being an issue with them.”Grannie got out of the car, but she could tell that she was worried about it.“Could you have someone look into this for me?I will help them if that’s the issue.Their grannie was a good friend of mine, and when she passed away not long ago, I told her I’d keep an eye on them for her.”

“I’ll do it right now.”Pulling out her cell again, she made a call to Jackson, her private investigator.Asking the names of the men, she told him to do a deep file on the family and to let her know as soon as possible.“Also, look into an auction that might be going on there.And check out the bank for me.Something is fishy with that, too.”

“The bank is run by a Mr.Peter Howard.He’s a good man without anything in his closet.Also, I know for a fact that the Penningtons have kept up with their bills.I was in the station house this morning, looking into something else that was going on with a missing woman.I was told that the oldest, Kinsey Pennington, had reported what he’d overheard someone talking about the woman missing and a little girl who is now in protective custody.He’d gotten a loan from the bank to pay for some things around the farm.I asked and was told that even though they’re struggling quite a bit, they’re good men who have kept up with their taxes even when they have to do without.”She asked about the loan.“He needed a hot water heater.I don’t think that sounds like someone who is going to lose their house would do if they were broke.But I’ll check into them and get back with you as soon as I find anything.”

Grannie and her enjoyed their dinner, but they did talk about the elder Penningtons.Apparently, Grannie had gone to school with the elder Penningtons and had had a good, long relationship with them since then.

Chapter 2

Kinsey was just getting started on loading the milk containers on the big truck when he heard from the police again.They’d found the body of the woman who had been missing in the well on the back of the property.She’d been there for a few days, no more, but she’d been strangled and beaten to death.Tom had been arrested and was now awaiting a judge to come in and sentence him.There was no need for a trial as he had confessed to the entire thing.Kelley was now with her grandma, and it looked like she was going to be well cared for.He just didn’t understand people.They treated their loved ones like tissues in a box.Use it and toss it away.

“Thanks for letting me know.The kid had an idea what was going on, I think the way she just told me that she’d been missing and her daddy was looking for her another momma.”Officer Joseph said that was what she’d told them.That her daddy was out looking for another replacement for his wife.“Do you think she’s going to be all right with her grannie?I mean, she seems like a good kid, but she’s still only five years old.”

“Mrs.Stocker is already raising one of her other grandchildren and seems to be doing a good job of it.The other little boy was clean and had a good smile on his face when we talked to her.She has the help of one of her daughters, who comes in and helps her with the boy when it gets to be too much for her.I did wonder about that, but I promised to keep an eye on them for a while anyway.Too many times, grandparents are raising their grandchildren for the parents.”

He’d heard that was a big thing nowadays.Getting the truck loaded didn’t take that long, and when the driver was gone with it, Kinsey went to the house to check on dinner.They were having pot roast again, and he wasn’t going to let it get too dried out.He’d barely lived it down the last time.The house phone was ringing when he was going outside.

“Mr.Pennington, I’m assuming?”He said that he was one of them, but if he wanted to talk to any of them, they weren’t at the house today.“I’ll speak to you.I’ve been told that your family home is going to be auctioned off.Can you tell me if that’s true or not?I’ve spoken with a couple of people about it, and they said that if you were auctioning things off, it was the first they heard of it as well.”

“Who did you hear that from?We’re doing just fine.Our taxes are paid up, and we own the land, so there aren’t any liens against it or anything.I mean, we could have, I suppose, but we’ve never done that.”The man said that was what he’d found out, too.“Are you finding this stuff out to be true, or are you just fishing to find out if you can get a good deal or not?The land isn’t for sale in any way.I was just in the bank the other day and he didn’t say anything about an auction.”

“Well, I can tell you that we’ve heard that a member of the bank, we don’t have a name as yet, has called someone on your behalf to buy the land.The firm that I’m talking about is called Ruby Gold.Have you heard of it?”He said that he’d not but knew of someone named Ruby.“That would be the family.Mrs.Ruby went to school with your grandmother and has been keeping an eye on your land for her.When she was called about the deal, she said that she didn’t know that you were behind on any of your payments.”

“We’re not.Not at all.”He asked the man who it was that he was working for.“I mean, you seem to know a great deal about us if you’ve heard about the relationship with Ms.Ruby and my grandma.”

“I’m a private investigator who does work for the Ruby Gold company.As I said, Ms.Ruby was called about the auction and wanted her to have a heads up in the event she was looking to purchase some land.After getting off the line with a man who said he was with the bank in town, Miss Meggie called me and had me look into things.For her grandmother.I have to say I’ve never seen a better-looking family than yours, Mr.Pennington.There are no skeletons in any of your closets.”

“While that’s good to know, it doesn’t really surprise me.We’re all good men that are just tryingto ink out a living by working our family farm.”He said that he knew that, too.“Good.You can tell Ms.Ruby that we’re not selling by auction or any other means.However, if we do sell out, and I’m not saying that we are, tell her she’d be the first to know.Grandma told us that when she was ready to pass on.She said that there were few honest people in the world, and Mrs.Ruby was one of them.”

“I will tell her that, and thank you for giving me your time.”He said it was his pleasure, but he did have work to do.“I understand.I’ll get with my client and tell her what you told me.But if I were you, I’d see what I can find out at the bank.Someone said they were from there, and that was the reason this all started.Not Mr.Howard, by the way, but someone in there has it out for you men.”

“I’ll talk to Mr.Howard and see what he has to say about it.”He would, too.Something like that kind of rumor could hurt them, and he was just getting ahead of the game here and didn’t want some other person stepping in where he wasn’t supposed to be.“You have a good day.”

After checking on dinner, he decided to go into town and nip this in the bud right now.Mr.Howard would know who was fucking around with their farm, or he’d find out.After getting cleaned up, he headed into town, leaving a note behind for his brothers that he’d talk to them later.

When Kinsey arrived at the bank, he told Mr.Howard everything he’d been told about the supposed auction and asked him if he’d heard anything.

“Not a word.And I’d be the first person who knew that something like that was going on.My goodness, if I’d have heard about that, I would have called you first thing.To think that someone was saying that they were from here bothers me on so many levels.”Kinsey told him that he didn’t believe it was him but wanted to make sure.“There was a man around yesterday who was asking questions about your farm.It never occurred to me that it might be someone wanting to cause trouble.I’ll have to be more careful from now on.”

“I’d appreciate it if you’d just let me know what you find out.”He said that he would and wished him a good day.“I’ll be at home for the rest of the day.Got some paperwork to fill out for seeds coming in, and it’s my only day to get it done since it’s raining today.”

On his way home, Kinsey decided to go by the realtor and ask about the land deals going on.While they had five thousand acres of land to use, they’d been renting out a good portion of it to other farmers for the last thirty or so years.The realtor handled the renters, and he would know firsthand, he thought, if there were rumors of an auction coming up for their farm.He didn’t mention it, but he did have three checks for him for the rent.

Once he was on his way home, he decided to stop at the grocery store and pick up some pop-in biscuits.They’d go well with the roast he had on and make it go a little further with the gravy he was planning on making with it.There were already potatoes with it as well as green beans on the stove, simmering all day with hunks of bacon in it.Going through the line, he was surprised at how busy the place was for a Thursday.But then he realized it was the first of the month and social security checks had gone out.

Dinner was a huge hit this time, and he had enough leftovers to have hot-faced sandwiches later in the week.The biscuits had been really good at sopping up the gravy, and he was glad that he’d been able to make extra with the roast for them all.He missed Raphael at times like this, but he’d be home over the weekend, and that would call for steaks on the grill with him and baked potatoes that he’d been saving.

Since he’d served the roast in the same pot that he’d cooked it in and the same with the green beans, there was little to clean up besides the plates.Since he’d done the cooking tonight, he didn’t have to clean up, but he did finish the laundry.They were all enjoying the new hot water tank, and him especially.He could put in a load of towels to wash when he got up in the morning and not have to mess with them until he got back in the house that evening.It was really nice to have clean clothes too.

“I’m glad you got the garden in before all this rain.Made it easier not having to water everything.”He said that he’d gotten the lettuce in several days ago and it was already popping out of the ground.“I noticed, too, that grandma’s rhubarb is coming up nicely as well.”

“I can’t stand that stuff.I’ll make some pies with it, but I’m not going to eat any of it.Tasteslike slime to me.”They made fun of him for doing all the baking and then teased him about how domesticated he’d become since getting out of the service.“They didn’t teach me how to cook, morons, they taught me how to be a manly man.”

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