Pumpkin Head Mystery Read Free

Watch likes it very much.”
    Benny rubbed Watch’s head. “Don’t worry, Watch. Sam is just pretend. He is for fun. Scarecrows can’t hurt anybody. They can’t even move!”
    When Jessie came back, she placed a candle inside the pumpkin head. The eerie face glowed in the dark.
    “Oh, my! That scarecrow gave me a fright!” Mrs. McGregor, the Aldens’ housekeeper, stood on the front lawn. She held a big platter filled with marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers. “You have been working so hard out here,” she said. “I thought you might like a snack.”
    “Wow! S’mores!” Benny cried. He jumped up and took the platter from Mrs. McGregor. “Thank you!”
    Mrs. McGregor lit a small fire in the fire pit. Soon all four children were toasting marshmallows. Benny made a double-decker sandwich. He piled lots of chocolate and gooey marshmallows between his graham crackers. Just as he opened his mouth to take a big bite, there was a loud screech and a honking horn.
    Violet jumped. “What was that?” she asked.
    Henry pointed toward the road that ran in front of Grandfather’s house. “There was almost a bad accident out there. One car stopped and another one came close to hitting it.”
    “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