Chapter Five
Jenny’s mom fried burgers on the stove and they ate them on the front lawn.
“The temperature is supposed to drop tonight. Autumn might finally be on the way,” Anna Allard said. “We might as well enjoy this last bit of summer.”
Michael had already explained to Jenny and her dad what he’d learned about the culprits who’d smashed the pumpkins. Her dad had referred to it as “The Great Gourd Mystery” although it seemed pretty obvious that there was no mystery here at all. They knew who was responsible but she still laughed. It sounded like the title to a Hardy Boys story.
“Okay, will someone tell me why you are doing all of this again?” Anna Allard asked, looking at the assortment of hollow pumpkins on the front lawn. Her gaze wandered to the heap of pumpkin guts in the bed of
