A cozy mystery in the fictional town of Elm Ridge.
Fall has come to Elm Ridge. And along with it comes the annual Harvest Festival, a town tradition beloved by locals. But the crown jewel of the festival is The Great Pumpkin Competition, where farmers and hobby gardeners alike bring their best pumpkins to be judged for the coveted Pumpkin Prize.
Although legend has it that on the night before the competition, Death himself passes through town, calling on the spirits in the local cemetery to raise and animate the vegetables. But that’s all hearsay.
This year’s competition took an unfortunate turn when one of the legacy gardeners, Terry Shaw, was found murdered behind the town rosebush.
There are some leads, but the sheriff is completely stumped. Well, he was before he tried arresting Arthur Wade, the local bookstore owner who, just before the competition, had made an elaborate window display for a new book called How to Get Away with Murder: And Other Things to Bury in Your Garden.
But something’s not right. Arthur doesn’t know how to garden. Plus, eyewitnesses and bewildered neighbors report hearing him and Ms. Pearline, the local baker, making fresh buns at her house during the time of the murder.
Can you solve the case and get to the bottom of this mystery?
What We Know
The competition was established in 1954 after a fight broke out between a farmer and a gardener about who could grow the biggest pumpkin. It was decided to let the community choose, and so The Great Pumpkin Competition came to be.
The competition is open to anyone, but only the most skilled planters sign up. For the past few years, however, Theodore Fletcher had been the consecutive winner of the contest up until his untimely death in early spring.
He had been talking to his neighbor Terry who, upon turning on his hose, blasted himself in the face at full blast, sending him reeling into his begonia bush. Theodore laughed so hard he lost his breath and died.
This year’s winner was his granddaughter, Jenny Fletcher, who recently moved into town under mysterious circumstances. Nobody fully knows why. Some say she was a troubled teen looking for a fresh start. Others say she ran away and is hiding from her estranged husband.
But she’s never said an unkind word to anyone, and while she mostly keeps to herself, she is very close with her grandfather.
The Suspects
Maximus Davenport
Maximus comes from a long, prestigious line of Davenports. Every male family member has either served on the city council, is on the board of the town’s major construction company, Davenport Construction, or benefits from the large investment in the town’s lumber industry made early in the town’s infancy.
Currently, Maximus serves as the city alderman. He is orderly and well-kept, making appearances at all the local events, but doesn’t seem to like engaging with the townfolk.
However, he generously volunteers to judge the pumpkin competition, as his wife is an avid gardener and prides herself on her prize possessions, her status being one of them.
Petunia Davenport
Petunia is a debutante from the next town over who relocated after a messy divorce, whereafter she married Maximus, who was rumored to be her lover and the cause of her divorce.
This year, Petunia came in second place.
Jenny Fletcher
Jenny’s mother was raised in Elm Ridge but ran off on the back of a motorcycle and never looked back.
Years later, Jenny moves in with her grandfather, fully grown and beautiful, with nothing to her name but a suitcase. She got along all right and spent many days in her grandfather’s garden.
Although, on more than one occasion, she caught Terry slipping little pieces of paper through the garden fence. She’d confront him a few times, but her grandfather would always laugh it off, saying, “That’s just Terry.”
The year her grandfather died, Jenny won first place.
Henry Bennet
Henry has family that have lived in Elm Ridge for as long as the Davenport’s, but not nearly as prestigious.
Nope, the Bennets were good, honest, hardworking people who could not be talked out of having a good time. A little rowdy and rough around the edges, but all in all, good people.
Henry works at the Davenport Construction camp as a builder, but on his off days, he helped Jenny Fletcher pass out any overflow of crops to their neighbors. The two had developed a comfortable friendship.
Henry found Terry’s body behind the town rosebush.
Clues
- A single rose from the town’s rosebush
- A piece of paper containing hexes written in dragon’s blood ink
- An onion
- A scoop of ice cream, now melted
- A footprint lodged inside one of Jenny’s pumpkins
Motives
Petunia begged Maximus to rig the competition in her favor, but he couldn’t manage it. With Jenny being so new to gardening, she hardly posed a threat.
Could Perunia have gotten rid of Terry to take the prize? Or did Maximus find a way to ensure Petunia would win after all?
Jenny and Terry weren’t always on the best terms. Did she truly win because of her paternal talent for gardening, or was there another reason?
And Henry, who never seems to be in the right place at the right time. Could he have done something? Would Jenny have put him up to it?
Can You Solve the Mystery?
Do you think you have what it takes to solve the mystery?
Then come investigate this October in downtown Fredericksburg at the Cozy Mystery Scavenger Hunt. There will be clues, participating local businesses, and prizes.
The case is waiting.
Leave a Reply