through the front yard toward the porch. There were pumpkins on either side of the walk. The house was brightly lit, and there was a new purple sign:
H ARVEY H OUSE H EALTH B OUTIQUE
N ATURAL F OODS AND F IBERS , V ITAMINS ,
AND H OMESPUN R EMEDIES
E VERYTHING FOR Y OUR G OOD H EALTH
âWhatâs a homespun remedy?â I asked.
Dad scratched his head. âEric Blanco explained the theory to me on the phone,â he said, âbut to tell the truth, I donât get all of it. The gist seems to be that sometimes weaknesses can be repaired through the âintroduction of offsetting substances.â â
Yasmeen and I looked at each other.
Huh?
Dad laughed. âLetâs say you want to build muscles. The homespun idea would be that you swallow a tonic made from something strongâlike an ox.â
âYou mean drink ox blood?â I shuddered. âI think Iâd rather do push-ups.â
âIâm not much for push-ups,â Dad said. âAnd who knows? Maybe it works.â
Mr. Blanco met us at the front door of the store. âWelcome, neighbors!â he said, then he looked at Dad. âYou here for my eyesight pills?â
Dad smiled. âFrankly, Iâm still skeptical. But we know for sure weâre in the market for pumpkins.â
âWeâve got plenty of pumpkins,â Mr. Blanco said, âand all of them certified organic. You kids want to pick out a couple of good ones while the old fogies talk?â
Yasmeen and I went back out into the yard to look at the selection. I am not a big shopper. Right away I noticed a pumpkin that was more or less round and pretty big. It didnât have any rough brown places or dots, either.
âThis oneâs good,â I said.
Yasmeen examined it. âIt has a big green spot,â she said.
âOnly on one side,â I said. âWe can cut it out for the nose or something.â
Yasmeen said she was going to keep looking,which meant picking up every single pumpkin, turning it over and over, then shaking her head and setting it back down.
âDo you think Bubâs right?â I asked her, âabout the ransom note?â
âBut what about what Officer Krichels told us?â Yasmeen said. âMaybe Kyle was afraid we would find out that he tortured his cat, and thatâs why he called us off.â
âI think the ransom note is more likely. To me it seems like Kyle really liked that cat.â
Yasmeen had picked up a small pumpkin and now held it under her arm. âWhat about this? The catnapper was misinformed. He thought Kyle loved his cat enough to pay ransom, but he didnât really.â
My head was spinning, which is precisely what I donât like about detectingâtoo much brain work. I nodded at the pumpkin Yasmeen was holding. âIs that the one you want?â I asked.
âItâs perfect,â she said.
I thought it was way too small, but I didnât want to encourage more shopping. âYouâre absolutely right,â I said.
A thump on the porch startled me, but it was only Dad. He held up a bag for me to see. âYouâll never believe it,â he said. âOrganic marshmallows!â
âAre regular marshmallows
in
organic?â Yasmeen asked.
âGot me,â said Dad. âIâm just telling you what it says on the bag. Why donât you take these over to Mr. Stone? Heâs the one who loves marshmallows, right?â
âServed with hot chocolate,â I said, âand a ghost story.â
The sky had been clear a minute ago, but now I felt a gust of cold wind and heard a rumble like thunder.
Dad checked the sky, too. âWeather looks iffy all of a sudden,â he said. âLetâs take your pumpkins in and pay up.â
Yasmeen followed me into the Harvey house. It was bright and cheery inside, with hand-painted signs, bins of vegetables and grains, shelves of vitamin-type bottles, a rack of