Page 11 of Pumpkin Patch Peril (Brook Ridge Falls Ladies’ Detective Club #1)

As Laura gestured while talking, Helen caught the soft musical tinkling of her bracelet. The charms caught the light briefly—tiny silver shapes that looked like bees and what might have been a dragonfly with large wings.

“What a pretty bracelet,” Helen said casually. “I love the little nature charms.”

Laura’s demeanor brightened immediately, her environmental passion overriding her earlier irritation. “Thank you! Ivy Knowles makes them—she’s so talented. She’ll even custom-make pieces if you have something specific in mind.”

“Ivy Knowles from the organic farm?” Helen asked with genuine interest.

“Exactly. She started making jewelry to supplement their farm income, and now it’s become quite popular among environmentally conscious people.” Laura held up her wrist briefly. “Each piece represents something important to our ecosystem.”

“How wonderful that she’s so supportive of the cause,” Helen said warmly.

“Oh, she is. Tom and Ivy are real champions of sustainable living.” Laura’s earlier hostility had completely melted away in the face of finding a kindred environmental spirit. “You should visit their stand sometime. They carry all sorts of earth-friendly products.”

“Ladies!” Mrs. Henderson’s voice boomed through the hall. “Time for game two! Please take your seats!”

The room bustled back to life as players returned to their tables. Helen made her polite goodbyes and rejoined Mona and Ruth at the coffee station.

“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.