The Pumpkin Head Mystery Read online

  “I wonder why a car would stop in that spot?” Jessie asked. “That’s odd.”

  The drivers shouted at each other, but the children could not hear what they said.

  Violet stood up. “I hope everyone is all right.”

  Finally, both cars drove off. The Aldens watched the two sets of red taillights disappear down the road into the darkness.

  “Everything seems to be fine now,” Henry said.

  After the children finished their s’mores, Henry put out the fire.

  Jessie blew out the candle in the pumpkin head. “We should get some rest,” she said. “We promised we would be at the Beckett farm early tomorrow morning.”

  After a big breakfast of blueberry pancakes made by Mrs. McGregor, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny hopped on their bicycles and rode to the farm. They stopped to rest by the sign at the farm’s entrance.

  Henry jumped off his bike. “I think this sign is even more crooked than ever,” he said. “I’m sure I can fix it. I’ll ask Mr. Beckett for some tools.”

  “Look at that!” Violet exclaimed. She pointed at a smashed pumpkin underneath the sign. “That wasn’t there yesterday.”

  Just then, a speeding blue car turned sharply into the lane.

  “Watch out!” cried Jessie. She pulled Benny out of the way just in time.

  The car did not stop. The man behind the wheel blew his horn at the Aldens and raced toward the farmhouse. It looked like Jason. A cloud of dust followed him.

  “That was dangerous!” Henry cried.

  “Maybe he didn’t see us,” Violet said. “But he was driving much too fast.”

  The Aldens jumped back on their bikes and pedaled toward the farm. They were surprised when they reached the farm stand. Many pumpkins lay smashed on the ground. The beautiful flowerpots had all been knocked off the display stand.

  Mr. and Mrs. Beckett, Sally, Jason, and Bessie all stood by the booth talking. The blue car was parked in the gravel lot.

  “There they are!” Bessie shouted. “Those are the kids I was telling you about. They were fooling around with the pumpkins yesterday.”

  “Oh, Bessie, stop,” said Mr. Beckett. “This is Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden. I’m sure they didn’t do this. They are our friends.”

  Bessie pointed a finger at Violet. “Well, that one there was snooping around in the booth yesterday. That’s not very friendly!”

  Violet’s face turned bright red. “I was not snooping in the booth! I was only paying for the pumpkins we bought.”

  “Bessie,” Mr. Beckett said, “please go in the booth and check that everything is in order.”

  “That’s a good idea.” Bessie paused to stare at Violet. “And if anything is missing in there, I’ll know who to blame.” Bessie pulled a large key ring from her pocket. She unlocked the door and disappeared into the booth.

  Violet was so stunned she did not know what to say. She crossed her arms tightly and stared at the booth.

  Mrs. Beckett put her arm around Violet. “Don’t worry about Bessie, Violet,” she said. “She is just upset by the mess she found this morning. We know you did nothing wrong.”

  Violet was angry at first, but she noticed that Bessie had seemed quite upset. Her eyes were red and puffy and her short hair looked messy and uncombed.

  “What did happen here?” Henry asked.

  “We’re not sure, Henry,” Mr. Beckett said. “Bessie found things this way when she arrived this morning.”

  Jason kicked at a fallen flower pot. “Maybe it was that pumpkin head ghost.”

  Mr. Beckett glanced at the Aldens and shook his head. “Jason, you know that there is no such thing.”

  “That’s what you always say,” Jason said, “but I know what I saw. Anyway, we’d better cancel the Girl Scout hayride.”

  Mr. Beckett sighed. “I suppose you’re right. We can’t have them come with the farm looking like this. It’s a shame. We sure could have used the money.”

  “I will call them now,” Jason said. “You go rest your leg.”

  “Wait,” Jessie said. “When are the Girl Scouts coming?”

  Mrs. Beckett looked at her watch. “In about two hours.”

  “We could clean everything up by then,” Jessie said. “If we all work together, it shouldn’t take too long.”

  “Yes,” agreed Violet. “I can put all the flowers back on the stands and sweep up the spilled dirt.”

  “And Benny and I can pick up all these smashed pumpkin pieces,” Jessie said.

  Benny was already holding half of a pumpkin in his hand. “I’ve got the first piece!” he cried.

  “I could fix your sign out by the road, too,” Henry offered. “I noticed that it is crooked.”

  Mr. Beckett looked at his wife. “James was right,” he said. “His grandchildren are helpful!”

  Everyone got right to work. Henry borrowed the tools he needed. He carried them up the lane to fix the sign. Jessie found a wheelbarrow in the barn. She gave Benny a ride in it out to the farm stand.

  Then they began collecting all the broken pieces of pumpkin. Violet was already busy placing all the flower pots back onto the display stand. Some of the flowers were ruined and she had to throw them away in the wheelbarrow.

  “Hey, look at this!” Benny called. He held up a shiny necklace. “I found it in the grass.”

  “It’s very pretty,” Jessie said. “Maybe a customer lost it.”

  “You should give it to Bessie,” Violet said. “She can keep it in the booth. Maybe the customer will come back and ask for it.”

  “I’ll go show it to her,” Benny called. He ran back toward the booth.

  Benny was too small to see in the window. He went around to the side door. “Bessie?” he called. When there was no answer, he slowly opened the door. “I found a necklace!” he called.

  But Bessie didn’t answer. She was lying flat on the floor!

  CHAPTER 3

  A Haunted Farm?

  Denny called for help. Soon Bessie was resting under a tree in the soft grass. Violet placed a wet cloth on her forehead. Benny ran to get her a glass of water.

  “I don’t know what happened,” she said. “I guess I fainted.”

  “It gets hot in that booth,” Sally said. She and Jason had helped Bessie get up and walk outside. “It’s one more old thing around here that needs fixing up.”

  Bessie tried to sit up.

  “You rest,” Mrs. Beckett said. “George will call the doctor.”

  “No!” Bessie sat up against the trunk of the tree. “I can’t afford any more doctor bills. I am fine.”

  A big, black car drove up the lane and parked in the lot. A man in a dark suit got out.

  “Looks like there’s been some trouble here,” the man said.

  Jessie noticed that the man did not look concerned about the trouble. He seemed happy as he looked at the wheelbarrow full of broken pumpkins.

  Benny handed Bessie the glass of water. Her hand began to shake when the man looked down at her.

  “There’s no trouble here we can’t take care of on our own!” Jason said angrily. “You should mind your own business.”

  “Jason is right, Mr. Bolger,” Mr. Beckett said. “You are wasting your time here. I will never sell my farm to you.”

  Mr. Bolger smiled. “The Wilsons said the same thing. But they did sell to me. And one day soon, you will, too.” He took a check out of his pocket. “See this?” he asked. “I will give you thousands of dollars right now just for agreeing to sell.”

  Jason’s face was red. He walked back and forth in the grass. “Your money can’t buy you everything you want!” he shouted.

  Mr. Bolger handed the check to Sally. Her eyes grew wide. “Dad! Mom!” she said. “This is a lot of money! Won’t you please think about it? You could buy a beautiful new home in Florida.”

  Mr. Beckett leaned tiredly on his crutches. “We’ve already thought about it, Sally. We are not selling to Mr. Bolger.”

  Mrs. Beck
ett put her arm around her husband. They turned away and walked slowly back toward the house.

  Jason’s hands were clenched into fists. “I think you should leave now,” he said to Mr. Bolger. “You are not welcome here.” He stalked off toward the barn.

  Jessie looked at the concerned faces of her sister and brothers. “Let’s get back to work,” she suggested.

  Henry and Benny cleaned up the pumpkin pieces. Jessie helped Violet arrange the flowers on the stand.

  Sally turned to Mr. Bolger. “I will keep talking to my parents,” she said. “Maybe they will change their minds.”

  “They will have to,” Mr. Bolger said. “A lot of problems have been going on at this farm. Soon they won’t be able to afford to stay here.”

  “How do you know about the problems?” Sally asked. “How do you know what they can afford?”

  Mr. Bolger winked at Sally. “Oh, word gets around,” he said.

  Suddenly Bessie groaned and held her head.

  “Bessie!” cried Sally. “Are you okay?”

  Bessie’s face was white and she was shaking. She tried to stand.

  “Let me help you,” Henry said.

  Bessie grabbed Henry’s arm and stood up. “Maybe I should go home,” she said. “I don’t feel very well.”

  “I’ll give you a ride,” Mr. Bolger said.

  Bessie waved him away. “No! I don’t need your help.”

  “But I insist!” Mr. Bolger said. “You don’t live far and, besides, I wanted to give you…” He leaned close to Bessie and whispered the rest of the sentence in her ear.

  Bessie looked surprised. She quickly got into Mr. Bolger’s car and they drove away.

  Sally helped pick up the rest of the pumpkin pieces. “It’s nice of you children to help out here,” she said. “My own children are about your age. They love their grandparents and this farm, too.”

  “We don’t mind helping out,” Jessie said. “We like it here.”

  “And your parents are very nice,” Violet added.

  Sally tucked her hair behind her ears. “Yes,” she said. “They are nice, but stubborn, too. This farm is no place for them anymore. I live in a very nice neighborhood in Florida. It is important for my parents to live near me and my family. One way or another, I must convince them to sell this farm.”

  “It’s such a beautiful farm,” said Violet. “I can see why they don’t want to leave.”

  Sally stood up and brushed the dirt from her jeans. “It is beautiful. But it is so much work. And strange things have been happening here. It worries me a lot.”

  “Like the broken pumpkins?” Benny asked.

  “Yes, and…” Sally hesitated for a moment. “Other things, too.”

  “What other things?” asked Benny.

  Sally crossed her arms. “All right, I’ll tell you,” she finally said. “My parents didn’t want me to frighten you, but you should know that this farm is haunted.”

  “But that’s impossible!” Henry said.

  “I know!” Sally agreed. “It does seem impossible. But all I know is that something strange is happening out in the fields at night. A glowing pumpkin head floats through the air like a ghost. It has no body beneath it. It is very creepy. There are voices, too.”

  “What kinds of voices?” asked Violet. Her eyes were wide.

  “Spooky voices,” Sally said. “They say things like ‘Stay away from this farm’ and ‘Leave our spirits in peace.’ ”

  Benny dropped a large pumpkin piece that was in his hand. He looked nervously around. “Has your farm always been haunted?”

  “No,” Sally said. “It was a peaceful farm when I grew up here. It all seemed to start about the time I came for my visit. Some of our workers have been so frightened, they have quit. My father can’t even figure it out. He rode his horse into the fields one night to chase the pumpkin head. But the horse was so startled, she bolted. My father fell off and hurt his leg.”

  “That’s terrible!” Violet exclaimed.

  Just then a bus pulled up the lane and into the gravel lot. “Oh my!” Sally said. “It’s the Girl Scouts. They’re early. Henry, would you please run to the barn and ask Jason to get the tractor ready?”

  Soon, girls in scout uniforms were everywhere. They picked up small pumpkins and gourds. Some liked the flowers and others wanted to buy the colorful Indian corn. A few leaned over the fence and threw feed to the goats. They were polite, but they kept the Aldens busy.

  Jessie stood in the booth and added up their purchases. She took the money and made change. She sold the tickets for the hayride. Violet tried to calm one little girl who had been stung by a bee. Benny didn’t know what to do. He had never been surrounded by so many girls!

  The troop leader clapped her hands several times. The scouts became quiet and formed a group. They walked toward the barn where Jason was pulling out the tractor. A long farm wagon with metal rails was hitched to the back of the tractor. It was padded with bales of hay.

  Henry helped the girls up and they took seats in the hay. The tractor rumbled away and the girls laughed and clapped.

  Jessie stepped out of the hot booth. She wiped her brow. “Whew!” she said. “I can see why Bessie fainted in there. We should get her a fan.”

  “I wonder if the Girl Scouts brought cookies?” Benny asked.

  Violet smiled. “I don’t think so.”

  Just then, Mrs. Beckett walked toward them with a large picnic basket. “You children must be hungry,” she said. “I made you some lunch.”

  Benny ran to take the basket from Mrs. Beckett. “Thank you!” he said. “Wow! The basket is warm.”

  “I made some fresh pumpkin bread.” Mrs. Beckett spread a blanket under an old maple tree. “It’s one of my specialties. I hope you enjoy it.”

  Later, after the Girl Scouts’ bus drove away, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny sat under the tree and opened the basket. There were tasty sandwiches, fruit, and a pitcher of juice.

  Benny took a big bite of his sandwich. “Do you think this farm is really haunted, Henry?” he asked.

  “No,” Henry replied. “There is no such thing. I think someone is playing tricks to get the Becketts to move away.”

  “But who would do that?” Benny asked.

  Jessie took a bite of her apple. “Mr. Bolger certainly wants the Becketts to leave. He wants to buy their farm so he can build houses on it. He could be trying to scare them away.”

  “I think Bessie is acting suspiciously,” Henry said. “It was terrible how she accused Violet of sneaking around. And what was the secret Mr. Bolger whispered to her?”

  Violet held a handful of grapes. She remembered something from yesterday. “The reason I went into the booth was that Bessie was not there. But I soon heard loud voices. Bessie was standing by those trees arguing with someone.”

  Jessie began to cut slices of the pumpkin bread. “Even Sally wants the Becketts to move. She said she had to convince them, one way or another.”

  “That’s true,” Violet said. “And she admitted that the haunting started right about the time she arrived for her visit.”

  “And don’t forget about Jason,” Henry said.

  “Jason? But he loves the farm. He told Mr. Bolger to go away,” Violet said.

  Henry took a long drink from his cup. “That’s true, Violet,” he said. “But when I went into the barn to tell him that the Girl Scouts were here, he was working on the tractor’s motor.”

  “What’s wrong with that?” Benny asked.

  “Nothing,” Henry replied. “Except that Jason said yesterday that he didn’t know anything about motors.”

  “This sure is a hard mystery,” Benny said, helping himself to another large piece of pumpkin bread. “It makes my head hurt.”

  Jessie smiled. “At least your appetite seems to be okay.”

  Benny put an apple on his plate as well. “Mysteries always make me hungry!” he said.

  As they cleaned up their picnic, Violet noticed straw stic
king out of Benny’s pockets.

  “What’s that?” she asked.

  “It’s for Sam, my scarecrow,” Benny said. “He might have gotten hungry while we were gone today. I can’t wait to light the candle in his pumpkin head tonight.”

  CHAPTER 4

  Scarecrow-napped!

  When the Aldens pedaled their bikes up the drive toward Grandfather’s house, they were surprised to see Mrs. McGregor and Watch in the front yard. Watch was growling and barking.

  Benny jumped off his bicycle and ran to the post Henry had hammered into the ground. Sam the Scarecrow was gone!

  “Oh, Benny,” said Mrs. McGregor. “I’m so sorry about your scarecrow. I know how hard you worked on him.”

  “What happened?” asked Henry.

  “I’m not sure,” Mrs. McGregor said. “When I saw that it was starting to get dark, I thought I would light the candle in the pumpkin head. That way, you could see your scarecrow from the road when you came home. I thought you would like that.”

  “Could you really see it from the road?” Violet asked.

  “Yes. When I went out last night, I could see it for a long way on the road. It was quite scary.” Mrs. McGregor wiped her hands on her apron. “But when I came out this evening, Watch was barking excitedly. He had a piece of the scarecrow in his mouth. I think he must have pulled Sam down.”

  “But where did Sam go?” asked Henry.

  “I’m not sure,” Mrs. McGregor said. “Watch could have dragged Sam anywhere.”

  “Oh, Watch!” Jessie held her dog in her arms. “You silly dog. Sam was a harmless scarecrow!”

  Benny sat on the ground. He pulled the straw he had saved for Sam’s dinner out of his pockets. “I guess Sam won’t need this now,” he said sadly.

  Watch had a small ripped piece of Sam’s pants in his mouth. He dropped it onto Benny’s lap. Watch licked Benny’s face.

  “It’s okay, Watch,” Benny said. “I know you don’t understand about scarecrows.”

  “How about some dinner?” Mrs. McGregor asked. “It might make you feel better. And you must all be hungry after a long day on the farm.”