Page 23 of Pumpkin Patch Peril
“Well?” Ruth whispered.
“Ivy Knowles makes custom jewelry,” Helen reported quietly. “Including nature charms.”
“Like insects with wings?” Mona asked, thinking of the charm in her purse.
“Exactly,” Helen confirmed.
They stood in thoughtful silence for a moment, processing the new information about Ivy Knowles and custom jewelry. The connection between the Knowles farm stand and the evidence from Brenda’s barn was becoming more intriguing by the minute.
“Ladies!” Mrs. Henderson called out. “Game two is starting!”
Ida was already repositioning her cards and consulting her charts for the next round of statistical analysis.
“O-68!” Mrs. Henderson called out for the first number of the new game.
“Anomaly!” Ida announced, making rapid notations. “O-68 has a Tuesday-Thursday preference pattern! This Wednesday appearance requires recalculation of baseline assumptions!”
But Helen, Mona, and Ruth were barely paying attention to Ida’s scientific bingo method. They were too busy thinking about custom jewelry, environmental activists, and the growing web of connections between their suspects.
“We need to talk to Ivy Knowles again,” Mona whispered.
“And get a look at the charms she makes,” Ruth added.
“I-24!” Mrs. Henderson called.
“Predicted!” Ida shouted triumphantly, consulting her frequency chart. “I-24 Tuesday-Wednesday crossover probability was indicated by my statistical model!”
As the bingo game continued around them, the three ladies found themselves with new leads to pursue. The missing pumpkin was still missing, but the trail of evidence was beginning to reveal unexpected connections between organic farming, environmental activism, and handmade jewelry.
“B-11!”
“Bingo!” called out a voice from the middle of the room.
Ida looked up from her charts with obvious confusion. “But my calculations indicate we needed twelve more numbers for optimal probability matrix completion!”
“Maybe your system needs some adjustments,” Harold suggested kindly.
“No,” Ida said firmly, making notations with renewed determination. “My system is sound. I just need more data. Next week I’ll expand the analysis to include temperature variables and barometric pressure influences.”
Helen, Mona, and Ruth exchanged amused glances. Whatever else happened with the missing pumpkin case, they could count on Ida to approach every problem with unwavering faith in the power of statistical analysis—even when the statistics refused to cooperate.
As the evening wound down, they prepared to leave with tomorrow’s investigation already taking shape in their minds. The charm from Brenda’s barn might have come from Ivy Knowles. That connection was worth exploring, especially given Tom’s defensive attitude about his neighbor’s farming practices.
“Ready to go, ladies?” Mona asked as the final game concluded.
“Just let me pack up my research materials,” Ida said, carefully organizing her charts and notebooks. “I need to analyze tonight’s anomalous results. There’s clearly more complexity to the Wednesday probability matrix than I initially calculated.”
“Of course there is,” Ruth said fondly, helping Ida gather her scientific bingo supplies.
As they walked toward the exit, Helen found herself glancing around the parking lot, looking for the dark sedan that had been watching the building. But the lot held only the usual collection of retirees’ vehicles, and whoever had been waiting in the shadows was long gone.
The missing pumpkin was still out there somewhere, but now they had a better idea of the relationships and motivations that might lead them to it. Tomorrow would bring new questions and, hopefully, some answers.
And if someone was watching their investigation, well, that just meant they were getting closer to the truth.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The morning air was crisp with the promise of a perfect October day as the four ladies gathered around Mona’s kitchen table, coffee steaming from their mugs and yesterday’s revelations spread before them like pieces of an incomplete puzzle.
