The Pumpkin Patch Puzzle Read online

  Remembering what her father had said earlier, Nancy said, “It was a lot of fun hanging out with Emma yesterday after school. It must be hard to move so far from home.”

  Aunt Claire smiled. “Yes, it’s been difficult for her and Audrey. But I’m sure she’ll settle in once she’s been here a little bit longer. It’s never easy being the new girl. And I know it’s been hard to be away from their mom and dad.”

  Nancy nodded. “Well, I hope she and I can hang out again soon! See you tomorrow at the festival!”

  “Thanks, Nancy. Actually, Emma is in the back somewhere, helping out with getting all the supplies ready, if you want to say hi.” She turned away briefly to help someone who had just come in.

  “Okay, girls, I need to get back to work. Good luck!” Aunt Claire went back to handling the forms as George, Bess, and Nancy started to leave.

  “Let’s see if we can find Emma,” Nancy said. “Maybe she’ll be in a better mood today.” Besides, with all the excitement in the air, how could anyone not be happy about the festival?

  Just as Nancy, Bess, and George went to go look, Emma hurried out of one of the back rooms with a box of various colored paints in little tubes. Her little sister, Audrey, trailed behind with small bags of paintbrushes.

  “Hey, Emma!” Bess called out. “Do you need any help with that?”

  Startled, Emma stopped midstride. “Oh hi, guys. Um, sure, I guess that would be nice. I need to take these out back to the staging area, under the tents.”

  Nancy, Bess, and George each took a few bottles out of the box to lighten the load.

  “Are you excited about tomorrow?” Nancy asked. “It looks so cool already.”

  Emma shrugged. “Kind of. I’ve actually been helping out Aunt Claire a lot with it, so maybe I’ll be more into it once I don’t have to carry boxes everywhere.”

  George laughed.

  “Yeah, I can see why it would be a little different for you,” she said. “It is a lot of work to put on the festival!”

  Audrey frowned. “Yeah, she’s made us do a lot of stuff for it.” Her face brightened a little. “But since she hasn’t had time to cook, we get to have pizza almost every night for dinner. So that’s at least a good thing.”

  Everyone laughed at that—even Emma, who cracked the first real smile that Nancy had seen on her since she met her.

  The girls finally got to the area where the pumpkin decorating contest would be held the next morning. Emma unzipped the entrance to a large, white tent. Inside, long tables were set side by side, with two big tables in the middle filled with what looked like a billion pumpkins.

  “Wow, look at all those pumpkins!” exclaimed Bess. “I’ve never seen so many, except when I went on a hayride once.”

  Nancy and George smiled. They were definitely psyched for the festival to start!

  “Hopefully it won’t rain tomorrow,” Emma said. “But at least we won’t get wet if it does.”

  They set down the supplies on the tables that ran around the outer edges of the tents. Stacks of chairs were scattered all around, waiting to get put out.

  “Do you need help setting anything up?” Nancy asked.

  Emma shook her head. “Nah, we have to get here superearly tomorrow morning to help set up all the paint bottles on each table. We have some bags of stickers and stuff too, in case people want to use those. But thanks for helping us carry all this out.”

  George grinned. “No problem, Emma. We’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

  “Bye, everyone! Good luck tomorrow with your pumpkins,” Audrey called out.

  As the girls were heading out the door, Deirdre, Tommy Sassano, and Stacy Quinn were just coming in to drop off their entries.

  “Oh, look, it’s the Boring Crew,” Deirdre said.

  George frowned.

  “What did you guys end up doing for each of your designs? That stupid tiger?” Deirdre continued, looking at George. “Only babies would do that.”

  “Actually, George has a really cool idea, Deirdre,” Nancy said. “So I’d watch out if I were you!”

  Deirdre and Stacy laughed, but not Tommy, who just stared at Nancy with an annoyed expression on his face. “Whatever, Clueless Crew.” Dierdra sneered. “It’s going to be one of us winning that design contest—it’s a done deal!”

  Before anyone could say anything, Mrs. Fayne pulled up to the entrance.

  “Ready, girls?” she called out.

  “Oh yeah!” replied Bess.

  She turned back to Deirdre, who was still standing there.

  “May the best design win tomorrow,” Bess added. “Hopefully it won’t be yours!”

  It was finally opening day of the River Heights Fall Festival! Nancy was up bright and early, too excited to stay in bed. Besides, the opening ceremony was at ten that morning, with the pumpkin decorating contest kicking off shortly thereafter.

  When she got downstairs, Hannah was already busy at the stove making breakfast.

  “Here you go, dear,” Hannah said, sliding a plate of french toast and strawberries toward Nancy. “You need to have something before you get over to the festival.”

  Mr. Drew came downstairs a few minutes later.

  “Eat up, honey. We need to get you over to the contest in a little bit. Are you excited?”

  Nancy nodded. “I think Bess, George, and I have really cool design ideas. Besides, I want to check out the rest of the festival before the actual contest starts. I really want an apple-cider doughnut. Or an apple fritter!”

  Hannah and her father laughed. “Well, eat most of your breakfast and you can get whatever you want—it’s a special day,” said Mr. Drew.

  After Nancy finished eating, she went upstairs to change into an outfit she had picked out just for the festival—black pants and a sparkly orange top. She was going to look like her own pumpkin!

  Mr. Drew, Hannah, and Nancy made their way to downtown River Heights.

  Nancy gasped as the center of town came into view. It looked like people had done a lot of work overnight. Besides the banner, colorful lights and lanterns were hanging by all the light posts that lined Main Street. Food booths were set up, with delicious smells coming from them.

  “Wow, Daddy! Look at all of this! It looks so great!” exclaimed Nancy.

  He nodded. “It looks better and better every year,” said Mr. Drew. “And I’ve been coming to the festival since I was your age.”

  Nancy giggled. “Were there dinosaurs as part of the festival then?”

  Mr. Drew pretended to look shocked. “That’s it! No treats for you, miss,” he said, ruffling his hand through Nancy’s hair. “It wasn’t that long ago. We at least had horses and buggies then,” he joked.

  As Nancy, Hannah, and Mr. Drew kept walking, they bumped into George, Bess, and their families.

  “Hi, guys! Doesn’t this look awesome?” said George.

  Bess, who already had a warm apple-cider doughnut in her hand, nodded in agreement.

  “Let’s walk around a little bit—we have time before the kickoff ceremony,” said Nancy.

  As the adults chatted, Nancy, Bess, and George took in all the sights and smells of the festival. They saw several of their classmates who were wandering around as well. There were booths set up with all kinds of arts and crafts for sale, along with vendors selling fun balloons and toys out of their carts. Even Yuks Joke Shop had their own cart, peddling all the whoopee cushions and itching powder anyone could want!

  Though Bess had already sampled a treat, the girls made a beeline for the food booth that was selling warm apple fritters, a delicious tradition that had been a festival favorite since the very first year.

  “Wow, these are so good!” Nancy sighed happily as she took her first bite.

  After they finished their fritters, they still had some time to kill. Nancy decided to go see how Emma was doing. Even though she hadn’t been the nicest person, Nancy took her father’s words to heart.

  “I’ll be right back,” Nancy said. “D
addy, I’m going to say hi to Emma before everything starts.”

  Mr. Drew planted a quick kiss on the top of his daughter’s head. “That’s my girl,” he said. “Tell her hi for me!”

  Nancy weaved her way through some arts-and-crafts booths that were still setting up shop and finally made it into the pumpkin tent.

  Emma and Audrey were setting up all the supplies, including the bottles that Nancy, Bess, and George had helped bring in the day before. The tent was even decorated, and it truly felt like it was time to start the pumpkin games!

  Emma finally noticed Nancy standing there. “Oh hey, Nancy! We were just finishing up with the setup. Would you mind helping?”

  “Sure,” Nancy said as she grabbed a few bottles of paint.

  Suddenly the girls heard the crackling of a loudspeaker coming to life, and the voice of Mayor Strong boomed out over the festival grounds.

  “Everyone! If you could all make your way to the main stage here, we are just about ready to kick off the forty-ninth annual River Heights Fall Festival!”

  “Let’s go see!” said Nancy.

  Emma waved her on. “Don’t worry, I actually have a lot more to set up here. But I’ll see you later. Thanks for coming by to say hi!” She smiled and went back to putting out more supplies.

  People began making their way over to the town green, where a large stage had been set up. Nancy spotted Bess and George and ran over to join them. Mayor Strong was there, along with the Festival Fairies and their queen. The fairies and queen were a group of local high school girls who were chosen to be the faces of the festival each year, and it was a big deal. They even got to ride in supercool cars in the festival parade!

  Nancy, Bess, and George tried to get as close as possible to the front of the stage. But the small space quickly filled up with a bunch of people doing the exact same thing!

  As they tried to make their way to the front, Nancy bumped into their classmates Lea Rell and Shelby Metcalf.

  “Hi, girls! Are you excited for the contest?”

  Lea nodded. “Yeah! I wish I could see everything, though,” she complained. “There’s too many people here.”

  Shelby stood on her tiptoes. “I think they’ll be starting soon. I just want to get started on my pumpkin.”

  Nancy smiled. “What are you thinking of for a design?” she asked.

  Shelby grinned. “You’ll have to wait and see! But I really want to win this contest. I’d love for my design to be on all the posters next year!”

  “Ha, I think we all do,” Nancy replied with a laugh.

  Just as Shelby was about to respond, the speakers crackled to life as Mayor Strong’s voice boomed out again.

  “Everyone, I’d like to welcome you all to the official opening of the River Heights Fall Festival! I’d like to thank the wonderful festival committee, led by Claire Costello, for putting on such a wonderful event for yet another year.”

  Everyone clapped as Aunt Claire waved to the crowd.

  Mayor Strong continued with his remarks.

  “And we can’t forget her right-hand man, Rick Rickston, who organized all the super volunteers that you will see during the next week.”

  A tall man wearing khakis and a button-down shirt stepped forward and waved to the crowd.

  After the applause died down, Mayor Strong took to the microphone once again.

  “I know everyone is very excited to get started with the main event—the pumpkin decorating contest! From what I have seen, we have some very creative young people here in River Heights.”

  The Clue Crew grinned. “I wish he would hurry it up already,” George said anxiously. “I want to start on my pumpkin!”

  “And now, after Miss Costello explains the rules, I’d like all the entered participants to head over to the pumpkin decorating area, right here behind town hall,” Mayor Strong said with a smile. “Remember, the winning pumpkin design will be featured on all the ads and banners for next year’s fiftieth-anniversary celebration of the Fall Festival! Good luck to everyone!”

  As soon as Mayor Strong finished, Aunt Claire got up to say a few words.

  “Before we start, I just want to give a few quick instructions about how the contest will work. Everyone gets just one pumpkin but can use whatever is on the table—we have paints, glitter, glue, everything to make your pumpkin look spook-tacular!”

  The crowd chuckled as Aunt Claire continued. “And I want to remind everyone that the only way you are eligible is if you submitted your design by four p.m. yesterday to the committee for our review. We have a list of all the names of the eligible participants, so as soon as you get over to the contest area, please see one of the Festival Fairies to make sure your name is on the list!”

  With that, Nancy, Bess, and George made their way over to the large tent.

  “I’m kind of nervous—I hope I don’t mess up,” Bess said. “You only get one shot, since you only get to have one pumpkin!”

  “I’m sure you’ll be fine, Bess,” Nancy said, reassuring her friend. “Just take your time. We have a few hours to complete everything.”

  As the Clue Crew got closer, they saw a large crowd outside the entrance of the tent. In the middle of the group, they could see some of the Festival Fairies and volunteers gesturing wildly. Nancy, Bess, and George pushed their way inside.

  All three girls gasped. From what Nancy could see, it looked like someone went wild with the paint. Several of the bottles had been opened up and poured out onto the ground, causing the grass to turn all kinds of crazy colors! One table was ruined and a few of the pumpkins had fallen to the ground too, with some splitting open. Little globs of pumpkin goo covered some of the tables and grass, where they had opened up.

  “Oh my gosh!” Bess cried. “Who could have done this?”

  As the festival attendees all looked on, confused, Aunt Claire came bursting into the tent. She whistled to get everyone’s attention.

  “Okay, everyone. Can I have your attention for a minute? Did anyone see anything before they came in?” she demanded.

  Everyone looked at one another. Most of the people had been enjoying the opening ceremonies and had been chatting with each other as they made their way to the pumpkin tent.

  “I can’t believe someone would do this on purpose,” Bess whispered. “Who would want to ruin the festival?”

  Nancy was thinking the same thing.

  Aunt Claire continued. “I’ve also found out that all the design entries are missing. Someone has taken the entire box where I kept the forms!”

  Groans came from the crowd. This was getting worse and worse.

  Nancy noticed that more and more people were starting to make their way into the tent—including Mayor Strong. His eyes widened in shock as he saw the mess. He hurried over to Aunt Claire, his shoes making a weird slurping sound as he stepped in crushed pumpkin goo.

  As she watched the commotion, Nancy sniffed the air. She could smell the faint scent of something sweet. Almost like a perfume, but stronger. It smelled familiar.

  “Do you guys smell that?” Nancy asked.

  George and Bess sniffed the air. “It smells like cookies,” Bess said.

  “It’s probably just all the fair food that’s around,” George added.

  Mayor Strong had finally gotten through the crowd and was talking loudly with Aunt Claire.

  “Claire! What is going on here?” he asked, alarmed. “When did this even happen?”

  Aunt Claire shrugged. “I was just asking people if they had seen anything,” she explained. “This has never happened before. It looks like a disaster zone in here!”

  Mayor Strong faced the crowd, who had started to chatter among themselves. “Everyone quiet!” he yelled. “Now, clearly, we will not be able to hold the pumpkin decorating contest today,” he said as he gestured to the chaos around him. “If anyone can remember seeing or hearing anything, please come speak to either Miss Costello or Mr. Rickston.

  “I’ve also been told by Miss Costello
that all the entries seem to be missing as well.” He paused as he gathered his last few thoughts. “Because of the serious nature of the vandalism here, I want to say this. If we cannot find out who did this by the end of the festival next week, the pumpkin decorating contest will have to be canceled.”

  Gasps and cries of “oh no!” echoed throughout the crowd.

  Nancy turned to Bess and George. “This is awful,” Nancy said. “I can’t believe all our hard work might be for nothing!”

  “And I really liked my design,” Bess said sadly.

  “We have to find out who is behind all of this,” George said determinedly. “I think the Clue Crew is about to have another case!”

  Nancy and Bess smiled. “Sounds good to me,” Nancy said. “Let’s help clean up here and see if we can find anything out before we start our official investigation.”

  The girls walked up to Aunt Claire, Emma, and Audrey.

  “Oh hi, girls.” Aunt Claire looked like she was about to cry. “I’m so sorry for all this. We’re just going to clean up in here and try to figure out what happened.”

  “Well, we wanted to offer to help,” Nancy said. “We’ve been able to solve a lot of cases around River Heights.”

  “It’s true! The Clue Crew is really good at solving mysteries,” Gina Gleason, one half of the Gleason twins, called as she walked out of the tent.

  Aunt Claire managed a smile. “Well, thank you, girls, but I’m afraid this is probably a matter for the police. Whoever did this caused damage to what is technically town property, not to mention the fact that they ruined the most important part of the festival.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

  Emma looked at her aunt with a worried expression. “Aunt Claire, are you okay?”

  Aunt Claire opened her eyes and forced a smile. “I’ll be okay, sweetie. Could you help me clean up this mess? I need to go talk to Mayor Strong and a few of the committee members for a bit.”

  She glanced at the Clue Crew. “Would you mind helping us clean up too? We need all the hands we can get. I’ll grab some fritters and treats to thank you all.”