The Pumpkin Head Mystery Read online

  Mr. Beckett smiled at the Aldens. “In a few days, the doctor will take the cast off my leg. I will be as good as new!”

  “That is wonderful!” Jessie said. “We are very happy for you.”

  Everyone sat at the table. There was crisp lettuce, fresh tomatoes, turkey, and warm bread fresh from the oven. Mrs. Beckett passed the apple cider around the table.

  “I am so glad you are feeling better, Dad,” Sally said. “But please promise me that you won’t go chasing that pumpkin head in the fields. I don’t want you to break your other leg. I already have too much to worry about.”

  “But I have to do something!” Mr. Beckett said. “I must catch whoever is causing all the problems around here. I want this farm to be peaceful again. I want our workers to come back. They will not come if they believe the farm is haunted.”

  “Do you have any idea about who is causing the problems?” asked Henry.

  Mr. Beckett sprinkled salt on his turkey. “The only person I can think of would be Dave Bolger. But I don’t know how he could do it. I know this farm better than anyone. How could Dave Bolger find his way through my fields at night? The person haunting the fields always disappears without a trace.”

  Mrs. Beckett passed a bowl of cranberry sauce to Benny. “But Mr. Bolger always seems to know what is happening on our farm. He shows up with an offer after every problem occurs.”

  Violet looked at Henry. She did not want to accuse Bessie. She had no proof. But she did have an idea. She needed Mr. and Mrs. Beckett’s approval. Violet shyly explained her plan.

  Everyone agreed that Violet’s plan was good. They would try it tomorrow when Bessie was back at work.

  After lunch, the Aldens went back to finish their jobs on the farm. Henry cleaned the sign by the road. Jessie and Violet added more mum plants to the wooden stands. Benny set up the small pumpkins in row. Soon, the farm stand was clean and full of good things to buy. It was all ready for the next morning.

  “We need to put the wheelbarrows back in the barn,” Henry said. “Then I think we can go home.”

  Henry pushed the biggest wheelbarrow and Benny pushed the smallest one. Jessie opened the big barn door.

  Benny ran inside first. “Hi, Jason!” he said. “We are putting the wheelbarrows back. What are you doing in the barn? Can we help, too?”

  Jason looked surprised. He held something behind his back. “No! I am just…I was cleaning up these costumes. Someone has left them a mess. They are all over the floor.”

  “I will take care of it for you,” Jessie said.

  Jason mumbled a quick thank you. Then he hurried from the barn. The costumes were in a tangle. It looked as though someone had dumped the box over. Jessie carefully shook out each costume and folded it. She put them back in the box.

  “I could have sworn that the long, black cape was here earlier,” she said. “I folded it and put it with the other costumes.”

  “My skeleton costume is still here,” Benny said. “Can I wear it for fun? I can scare Grandfather when we go home.”

  “I’m sure the Becketts won’t mind,” Jessie said. “There are no haunted hayrides tonight. You can bring the costume back tomorrow.”

  CHAPTER 10

  Sam is Found!

  “Look!” Benny cried. “Watch is afraid of scarecrows, but he is not afraid of skeletons!”

  Benny was wearing the skeleton costume. He and Watch played in Grandfather’s front yard. Watch jumped on Benny. He licked Benny’s face.

  Henry, Jessie, and Violet sat on the front porch. It was dark. The air was cool and crisp. Jessie tapped her pencil on her notebook. “Let’s go over it one more time before tomorrow,” she said. “Mr. Bolger wants the Beckett farm. He wants to build houses there. And Bessie is probably working for Mr. Bolger.”

  Henry nodded. “Jason loves the farm. He does not want houses built there. But he does not like the hayrides and the people who come to admire the farm.”

  Violet agreed. “Maybe Jason loves the farm too much. He does not want strangers riding through the fields.”

  “And he thinks Mr. Beckett has not planted the best crops.” Jessie looked thoughtful. “I think Jason wants the farm for himself.”

  “Don’t forget that Sally wants her parents to move to Florida,” Henry added. “And Sally and Jason have been friends since they were children.”

  Jessie turned the page in her notebook. “I feel like there is a clue that I have forgotten to write down. But I don’t remember what it is.”

  “What I don’t understand,” Violet said, “is how a pumpkin head can float in the air. And how can it suddenly disappear? It seems impossible, but we all saw it.”

  Jessie stood up. “Do you see Benny?” she asked.

  Benny had thrown a stick for Watch to fetch. He ran after Watch to the edge of the woods.

  “I don’t see Benny,” Violet said. “But I see a small skeleton!”

  The white bones on Benny’s costume seemed to glow. The rest of Benny was hidden in the darkness. It looked like Watch was playing with a real skeleton!

  “Now I understand!” Henry cried.

  “What do you mean?” asked Violet.

  “I will show you. Can you please light the candle in our jack-o-lantern? I will be right back.” Henry dashed into the house. He found a dark-colored blanket in the closet. He brought it outside. He wrapped the blanket around himself.

  Benny and Watch ran up to the porch. “Are you putting on a costume, too, Henry?” asked Benny.

  “I am,” Henry answered. “Stay here on the porch and tell me what you see.” Henry picked up the jack-o-lantern and walked away from the porch lights. He headed toward the darkness at the edge of the woods. Then he held the jack-o-lantern over his head. After a minute, he blew out the candle inside it.

  “Wow!” Benny called. “Can I try? The jack-o-lantern was floating in the air! Then it disappeared! That was spooky!”

  “Just like the pumpkin head at the Beckett farm!” Violet exclaimed.

  “Nice work, Henry!” Jessie said. “You figured it out.”

  Henry walked toward the porch. “I couldn’t have done it without Benny,” he said. “He gave me the idea.”

  “I did?” Benny looked confused.

  “Yes,” Henry said. “Your costume reminded me. Black things are invisible in the darkness. The pumpkin head haunting the Beckett farm seemed to be floating. But it was not. Someone dressed in black was carrying it. At night, we could not see the person.”

  Suddenly, Jessie remembered something. “Jason was wearing a black cape the night of the haunted hayride! I saw him slip into the barn with the cape.”

  Henry looked thoughtful. “I think we need to include Jason in Violet’s plan.”

  The next morning, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny were ready to put Violet’s plan to work. They arrived at the farm stand just after Bessie.

  “My goodness!” Bessie said. “This farm stand is in good order. If you children keep doing such a good job, the Becketts might not need me anymore.”

  Bessie carried her mug of coffee into the booth. She opened the window and set the snacks on the ledge.

  Henry and Benny went to the barn for a wheelbarrow. They hoped to find Jason there.

  Violet and Jessie acted as though they were tired. They sat under the open window and rested against the booth. Violet nodded to Jessie to begin.

  “What do you think will happen to the farm, Violet?” Jessie asked in a loud voice. “There have been so many problems around here.”

  “I think the Becketts might sell the farm,” Violet said. “They asked Jason to come to the house for a meeting at ten o’clock this morning.”

  “But what about Mr. Bolger? Doesn’t he want to buy the farm?” asked Jessie.

  “Yes,” Violet said. “I think he does want to buy the farm, too. But I don’t know if he knows about the meeting.”

  Suddenly, the door to the booth flew open. Bessie hurried out. “I am going to get more coffee,” Bes
sie said. “Can you watch things here for a few minutes?”

  “Of course,” Jessie said. “Take your time.”

  Bessie walked away quickly. Jessie and Violet went into the booth. Bessie’s mug sat on the counter. It was still full of hot coffee!

  Henry and Benny wheeled some pumpkins to the stand. Violet explained how Bessie had overheard the conversation and then hurried away.

  “Jason acted the same way,” Benny said. “He looked really angry”

  “He was in the barn,” Henry said. “We made sure he could overhear us talking. We mentioned that we thought the Becketts might sell their farm to Mr. Bolger.”

  “Did you talk about the meeting?” Jessie asked.

  Benny lifted a large pumpkin from the wheelbarrow. “Yes. We said that we thought there was going to be a meeting at ten o’clock with Mr. Bolger. That’s when Jason ran out of the barn.”

  “What time is it now?” Violet asked.

  Jessie looked at her watch. “It is almost ten o’clock now. Let’s go up to the house.”

  Mrs. Beckett was waiting for the children on the front porch. She winked at Violet.

  Mr. Beckett opened the screen door and limped outside. He sat in his rocking chair and looked out toward the farm lane. “I’m sorry, Violet,” he said. “But I hope that your hunch is wrong. I hate to think that Bessie would do anything to hurt the farm. I know she is unfriendly sometimes, but she has worked for me for many years. I have always trusted her.”

  “I understand,” Violet said. “I hope I am wrong, too.”

  Just then, a big, black car raced up the lane. It screeched to a stop in the gravel lot. Mr. Bolger jumped out and slammed the door.

  “Look,” Benny cried. “Here comes Jason, too.”

  Jason was hurrying toward the house with a red folder in his hand. He reached the porch at the same time as Mr. Bolger.

  Mr. Bolger pulled a checkbook from his pocket. “Listen here, Beckett,” he said. “I can pay you double whatever Jason is offering for this farm. You cannot afford to sell it to him. How much did he agree to pay you?”

  Jason looked confused. “But I haven’t….I thought…”

  Sally walked out onto the porch. “What’s going on here?” she asked.

  “We’re having a meeting,” Mr. Beckett said. “Can you please find Bessie? I have some questions for her.”

  Bessie stepped out from beside the house. Her face was red. “I just happened to be passing by,” she mumbled. “I wondered what was going on.”

  “I think you know what is going on!” Mr. Beckett replied.

  Mr. Bolger tapped his pen on his checkbook. “I am glad to hear that you are finally ready to sell this farm, Beckett,” he said. “Now, please tell me how much you want for it. I have much more money than Jason.”

  “Who told you we were ready to sell?” Mr. Beckett asked.

  “What does that matter?” Mr. Bolger shrugged his shoulders. “I have ways of knowing things. Maybe your daughter, Sally, told me. She visited my office only a few days ago.”

  Sally crossed her arms. “I wish my parents would sell the farm and come to live with me. But I did not tell you that they were ready to sell.”

  “It was probably those kids,” Bessie said, pointing at the Aldens. “They are always snooping around.”

  “We are not the ones who have been snooping,” Violet said. She turned to the Becketts. “Bessie has been working for Mr. Bolger. She tells him about everything that goes on at the farm. That is how he always knows when there has been a problem here.”

  “I don’t know what you are talking about!” Bessie looked nervously toward the Becketts. “I have worked here for a long time. This farm is important to me. These kids don’t know what they are saying!”

  “We saw Bessie come out of Mr. Bolger’s office,” Henry said. “We weren’t sure that she worked there.”

  “But her friend, Kim, who works at the diner, told us that Bessie was working two jobs,” Jessie added.

  “And then I found this newspaper ad in the booth,” Violet said. She took the ad from her pocket and handed it to Mr. Beckett.

  Bessie wrung her hands together. “You have no right to snoop through my things!” she shouted at Violet.

  Mrs. Beckett put her arm around Violet. “Bessie, do not shout at Violet. She was not snooping. She found the ad while she was working in the booth doing your job. If you did not call in sick, Violet would not have been there.”

  Bessie collapsed into a chair. Her lip trembled. “I’m sorry,” she sighed. “Violet is right. It is true that I work for Dave Bolger. But I have no choice. My husband is sick and I need the money. At first, I only worked in his office. Then, he asked me for information about the farm. He paid me to tell him when there were problems here.”

  Mr. Beckett shook his head. “So you called Mr. Bolger today and told him that I was ready to sell the farm?”

  “Yes,” Bessie admitted. “I overheard the girls talking about a meeting this morning.”

  Mr. Beckett turned to Dave Bolger. “You might as well leave, Mr. Bolger. I will never sell my farm to you, especially after all the things you have done to cause problems around here. I should probably call the police to report you.”

  “You cannot call the police! I have done nothing wrong!” Mr. Bolger stuffed his checkbook back into his pocket. “All I did was offer you a lot of money for your farm. You will be sorry that you did not sell to me!” Mr. Bolger stomped back to his car and drove away.

  “What an unpleasant man!” Mrs. Beckett said.

  “I am so sorry,” Bessie sniffed. “I know it was wrong to give Dave Bolger information about the farm. But I didn’t suspect that he was causing all the problems here.”

  “He wasn’t,” Henry said. “Mr. Bolger was telling the truth. He wanted to buy the farm. But he has not caused all the problems around here. Jason has done that.”

  Jason had been standing in the corner. He turned angrily toward Henry. “What do you mean? I love this farm!” he said.

  Mr. Beckett looked very surprised. “Henry, I think you must be mistaken. Jason has worked on this farm with me since he was a young boy. Why would he do such a thing?”

  Everyone turned to look at Jason. His face was quite red. He hung his head for a few moments. Then he looked at the Becketts. “You must understand,” he said. “I love this farm as much as you do. And I never meant for you to get hurt.”

  Mr. Beckett looked very angry. He rested his hand on his broken leg. “But I did get hurt! And I lost a lot of money! Many customers were afraid to come here. Why would you haunt the farm and scare away the workers?”

  Jason looked down at his feet. “I was worried that you would sell the farm to Mr. Bolger. I thought that if the farm was haunted, no one would want to live here. Mr. Bolger couldn’t build houses if everyone was scared away. And then maybe one day you would sell the farm to me.”

  “It is a good thing not everyone was scared,” Mrs. Beckett said. “It seems that the Aldens do not believe in haunted farms.”

  “I tried to scare them,” Jason admitted. “I slipped away during the haunted hayride. I was sure that the floating pumpkin head would frighten them. But instead of running away, they chased the pumpkin head. I had to disappear quickly.”

  “We were chasing Sam!” Benny said.

  “Sam?” asked Sally. “I never heard of Sam. Who is he?”

  “He is my pumpkin head scarecrow!” Benny said. “He was scarecrow-napped from in front of Grandfather’s house. And then I saw his pumpkin head floating in the fields!”

  “I’m sorry, Benny,” Jason said. “I did not know that the scarecrow belonged to you. I saw it when I was driving home one night. It was the scariest pumpkin head I had ever seen. I stopped my car to look at it. I almost had an accident!”

  “That was you?” Violet said. “We heard the screeching tires. We were worried that someone could have been hurt.”

  “No one got hurt,” Jason said. “But it was a foolis
h thing for me to do. I thought that Benny’s pumpkin head would be perfect for haunting the farm.”

  “You came back the next day and stole it,” Jessie said.

  “Yes, I admit it,” Jason replied. “But it was not easy. Your dog was very angry. He chased me all the way to the fence. He bit off a piece of the scarecrow’s pants.”

  “That is why Watch did not like you!” Jessie exclaimed.

  “I was surprised on the night that I drove you home from the farm,” Jason said. “I did not know that you lived there. Your dog remembered that I stole the scarecrow. I guess he was trying to warn you about me.”

  Mr. Beckett shook his head. “I cannot believe that you did all those things, Jason. I am so disappointed in you.”

  “I’m sorry,” Jason said. I thought that I was trying to save the farm. But now I see I was wrong. It is not even my farm. I will understand if you want to fire me.”

  Mr. Beckett took a deep breath. He looked at his wife and she nodded back at him. “I suppose I should fire you, Jason. But you are like a son to me. You love this farm even more than my own daughter. What you did caused a lot of trouble. You can stay, but you will have to work twice as hard. You have a lot to make up for.”

  “I will work extra hard!” Jason promised. “I will pay you back for all the trouble I have caused. I have so many good ideas for this farm.” He opened up his red folder. “Did you know that many of the restaurants in town would be happy to buy their vegetables from the Beckett farm? I have been talking to the owners. And here is a design I have worked on for a new farm stand. If we made it bigger and put it closer to the road, you would have many more customers!”

  Jason and Mr. Beckett were looking through the papers in the folder when several cars drove into the gravel lot.

  Bessie looked anxiously at the Becketts. Mrs. Beckett put her hand kindly on Bessie’s shoulder. “Would you mind going back to work now?” Mrs. Beckett asked. “It looks like we have some customers.”

  “You’re not firing me?” Bessie asked.

  “No,” Mrs. Beckett said. “I know it is hard when your husband is sick. It has not been easy for me with George’s leg in a cast. But you must promise not to work for Mr. Bolger any longer.”