Page 33 of Pumpkin Patch Peril
“Unless, it’s not a pumpkin anymore.” Ida bit into a pumpkin molasses cookie.
Ruth frowned. “What do you mean?”
“What if someone cut it up and used it. Like for baked goods?” Ida said.
“Doris Cumberland did have a lot of pumpkin dishes at her booth,” Helen sipped her coffee.
“We need to get back to the whiteboard,” Ruth declared. “Reassess everything we know with Tom and Gertrude eliminated.”
Mona’s phone buzzed on the table. She glanced at the screen, her mouth tightening.
Brenda:Only one more day! Please tell me you have something
The four women exchanged uneasy looks.
“Absolutely,” Mona agreed. “This changes our whole suspect matrix.”
“And of course we’ll need proper sustenance for strategic planning,” Ida added practically.
They all turned toward the café counter in unison.
“Lexy!” Helen called out. “A box of assorted to go, please!”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Back at Mona’s apartment, they spread their evidence across the mahogany dining table like seasoned detectives, though the delicate rose-painted teacups and lace doilies somewhat undermined the serious crime-solving atmosphere.
“All right, ladies,” Mona said, settling into her chair with the authority of someone who’d watched too many police procedurals. “Let’s face facts. We’ve eliminated our two best suspects with cold, hard mathematics.”
Ida looked up from her tire tread calculations with obvious pride, despite their disappointing results. “Tom Knowles and Gertrude Hartwell are definitively cleared. The numbers don’t lie.”
“Which leaves us with Laura Jenkins, the scarecrow-armed bee enthusiast, and Doris Cumberland, the vengeful pie maker,” Ruth summarized, consulting her iPad.
Helen abandoned her post at the window long enough to rejoin the group. “I keep thinking about that car following us. Three separate sightings isn’t coincidence—it’s surveillance.”
“Professional surveillance,” Ruth corrected grimly. “They knew exactly when to back off, when to disappear. That’s not amateur hour.”
Mona frowned. “But who conducts professional surveillance over a stolen pumpkin? It’s not exactly organized crime.”
“Maybe it’s not about the pumpkin,” Helen said, returning to peek through the curtains. “Maybe investigating it led us somewhere we weren’t supposed to go.”
Ida set down her magnifying glass with uncharacteristic hesitation. “What if my calculations were wrong? What if I eliminated Tom and Gertrude by mistake, and we’re chasing the wrong suspects while the real thief gets away?”
“Ida, you measured those tire treads more thoroughly than a forensics team,” Ruth said firmly. “Your methodology was bulletproof.”
“But mathematical principles are only as good as their application,” Ida worried, recalculating measurements for the dozenth time. “Human error could have compromised everything.”
Ruth closed her iPad with a decisive snap. “Maybe we should call Jack. I know this isn’t his case—nobody died, nobody got hurt—but surveillance suggests this is bigger than we thought.”
“And tell him what?” Mona asked. “That we think someone might be following us while we investigate produce theft? He’ll laugh us right out of the station.”
“It’s up to us to find justice,” Ruth muttered, though she sounded less convinced than usual.
Mona stood up and moved to their makeshift evidence board with renewed determination. “We’re not giving up now. We’re close—I can feel it.”
“Close to what?” Ruth asked skeptically. “We have two suspects who couldn’t lift a pumpkin if their lives depended onit, and mysterious followers who seem more qualified for this investigation than we are.”
“Which means we’re on the right track,” Mona insisted. “Someone thinks we matter enough to watch. That’s not random—that’s reactive.”
