The Case of the Moonlit Pumpkins

Farmer Potts' pumpkins were the pride of Hampshire.

Every autumn, visitors travelled from all corners of the county to marvel at the enormous orange giants that flourished in his fields. This year was no exception. The pumpkins were bigger, brighter and more spectacular than ever. One particularly magnificent specimen, affectionately known as The Prince of Pumpkins, was rumoured to be the finest pumpkin ever grown on British soil.

Farmer Potts guarded his treasured crop carefully. Each evening, before retiring to bed, he would leave Mabel, his trusty guard goose, to patrol the pumpkin patch. Mabel took her responsibilities very seriously. She honked ferociously at strangers, delivery drivers, wandering ramblers and once, quite unfairly, at a wheelbarrow.

Then disaster struck.

On the morning before Halloween, Farmer Potts awoke to discover that his three finest pumpkins had vanished without trace. The great gourds had simply disappeared. Mabel, normally so vocal, had faltered at her post. The pumpkins had been removed without so much as a honk.

At the scene, only a collection of wheelbarrow tracks remained, winding mysteriously through the moonlit field.

At the time of the theft, there were six possible suspects.

Mrs Potts, who had often complained that the pumpkins occupied more of Farmer Potts' attention than she did, dreamed of turning them into vast cauldrons of pumpkin soup.

Arcala, of the 1st Chandlers Ford Cubs, desperately wanted the largest pumpkin imaginable for the pack's annual Halloween celebration.

Fingers McTavish, the village's self-appointed modern art expert, had recently announced plans for an ambitious sculpture entitled Churchill in Autumn, for which he required a very large pumpkin.

Lady Lavinia of Lockerley hoped to acquire a giant pumpkin for her legendary pumpkin pie, which was expected to feed more than one hundred guests at the Harvest Supper.

Basher Budgeon, the terror of Chandlers Ford Comprehensive School, had openly declared that a giant pumpkin would make "an unforgettable projectile."

And finally there was Doctor Graham Grosvenor, who had become convinced that pumpkins possessed remarkable health-giving properties and intended to use one in a revolutionary patent-pending tonic.

Toast and Marmalade arrived shortly after breakfast.

"Stolen vegetables!" declared Toast, in a faint.

"Calm down Toast! It's only pumpkins!"

"ONLY PUMPKINS!" repeated Toast. "Sometimes, Marmalade, I think you barely know me!"

The investigation commenced immediately.

Arcala admitted he had spent several evenings measuring pumpkins and was determined to create the largest lantern the Cubs had ever seen.

Fingers McTavish freely confessed to sketching the pumpkins from every conceivable angle in pencil.

Lady Lavinia acknowledged that she had made numerous enquiries about purchasing a pumpkin and had already assembled enough pastry to tile a small house.

Basher Budgeon boasted openly about the destructive potential of a giant pumpkin and described at length the impressive distance one might achieve from an elevated position.

Doctor Grosvenor produced several pages of notes containing words such as vitamins, wellness, and gourd-based vitality.

Every suspect possessed a motive. And clues were everywhere.

Near the pumpkin patch lay a Cubs newsletter advertising the forthcoming Halloween Party.

A woggle was hanging from the fence.

Beside a gate, investigators discovered a charcoal sketch of Winston Churchill wearing a pumpkin for a hat.

Nearby, a folded catalogue for modern sculpture supplies had become tangled in a bramble bush.

A Harvest Supper menu bearing Lady Lavinia's name was discovered beneath a wheelbarrow.

There was also a recipe card entitled "One Hundred and Twenty-Six Ways to Use Pumpkin" tucked into her handbag.

Near the edge of the field, Toast found a discarded school exercise book containing the words:

"Pumpkin Catapult Ideas".

Several pages had unfortunately been illustrated.

Doctor Grosvenor's medical bag contained a bottle labelled:

"Experimental Pumpkin Health Tonic - Version 17."

A second notebook described the nutritional benefits of pumpkins in extraordinary detail.

Every clue seemed to point towards somebody.

Yet none of them quite explained how the pumpkins had vanished.

The deeper Toast and Marmalade dug, the stranger the puzzle became.

Can You Solve the Mystery?

You must determine:

A. Who stole Farmer Potts' prize-winning pumpkins?
B. What was their motive?

The moon is shining, the pumpkins are missing... and the mystery is brewing!

Solution

That evening, Marmalade gathered the suspects and revealed the truth. The clues pointing towards Arcala, Fingers McTavish, Lady Lavinia, Basher Budgeon and Doctor Grosvenor were all genuine, but they merely proved that each suspect wanted the pumpkins. The real clue was something far more subtle. On the night of the theft, Mabel the goose had not honked once. Everyone in Chandlers Ford knew that Mabel raised a tremendous racket whenever a stranger approached the pumpkin patch. If Arcala, Fingers, Lady Lavinia, Basher or Doctor Grosvenor had taken the pumpkins, Mabel would have sounded the alarm. Therefore, the thief had to be someone Mabel knew and trusted. Only Mrs Potts fitted that description. When confronted, Mrs Potts confessed. Tired of seeing her husband devote every waking moment to pumpkins and determined to make enough pumpkin soup to feed the entire Potts family, she had quietly wheeled the pumpkins away herself. The missing pumpkins were later discovered in a shed behind the farmhouse, awaiting an appointment with a very large soup pot. The case was solved, the pumpkins were recovered, and Mabel received an extra helping of grain for being such an excellent, if occasionally accidental, detective.

This month's winners....

The closest guess was Layla, who correctly guessed the culprit was Mrs Potts and spotted the key clue that Mabel DID NOT HONK because of the familiarity of his wife!

The most imaginative wrong answer was Lydia R, who surmised the solution was to do with Arcala's obessison with giant pumpkin lanterns for the cub's Halloween party!

Congratulations to this month's winners- Toast and Marmalade mugs are on their way to you faster than Mabel honks at an intruder!

Thank you to all this month's guessers - please have a go at solving the November mystery on the next page! More mugs to be won!