Free Punked by the Pumpkin: A Cozy Mystery (Sweet Home Mystery Series Book 4) by Constance Barker

Jules gave me an elbow and whispered in my ear, “Maybe he’s trying to tell you something.”
    He tells me every day with his actions and his eyes.
    Besides Harvey and Jerry Thatcher, I saw that both Bob and Penny Carver were also wearing a white altar boy tunic along with a couple of other seniors that I recognized but didn’t know by name. I was rooting for Harvey, but I had no idea what he was competing for.
    Essie reached for a piece of prosciutto. “Looks like those scratches from your mangy cat are pretty much gone already, Harvey.”
    “Miss Pickles does not have mange. Her skin is healthy and her fur is like silk. And yeah, Pastor Cassidy healed me good.”
    I refused to believe that Miranda Cassidy has healing powers. But…
    Harvey dug around in his pocket and pulled out a small tube of ointment and then another one. “Yup. She gave me this…”
    It was a tube of antibacterial ointment.
    “…and this…”
    It was a tube of hydrocortisone lotion. Then he dug into his pocket one more time and pulled out a small tan bottle.
    “…and this one here for special occasions.”
    It was foundation makeup to cover up the remains of the scratches. Well, at least she didn’t have supernatural powers…except for mind control over her flock.
    Dinner was served by volunteers from the congregation, mostly fifth and sixth graders through high school age. Every plate, made from the food donated by the seniors and others, was a little different. Everyone got a slice of pork from the pig that Calvin Tucker donated and then roasted in back of the church all day. I also had a chicken wing, green beans, and a few wedges of steamed red potatoes. Eli had rice, a drumstick, and half an ear of corn on the cob.
    Jules swapped her pork and potatoes for Mike’s slices of white chicken breast, sliced tomatoes, and radishes.
    “I’ve never seen a meal this eclectic before. But it makes me feel happy.” It was kind of fun to look at all the different plates of food, and my chicken wing was delicious.
    Dessert was pumpkin pie, served by Miranda Cassidy herself. A steady line of children with trays of pie slices followed her as she dealt out the small plates with the deftness of a Las Vegas Black Jack dealer. When one tray was empty, the next child stepped up with a full one.
    “Eat! Eat, my children, eat! These are the abundant gifts that the Lord has made for you and me!”
    Occasional shouts of “Hallelujah!” arose from the crowd, and the din from the dining hall sounded like lions roaring as we all ate to our hearts ’ content.
    “I’m going outside to check on Trevor.” Eli slid his chair back, and Mike joined him.
    “Jules and I are going out to get some fresh air. Hildie, Essie, would you like to come along?”
    “No. We’ll wait here. We don’t want to miss the announcement.”
    “Okay. We’ll be back soon.”
    We made our way to the side exit that opened at ground level to the churchyard.
    “I am stuffed.” Jules patted her belly as if it were bulging, but it looked pretty flat to me. “I haven’t eaten that much since…ever.”
    I believed that. She ate everything on her plate (that she didn’t give away) and half of her pumpkin pie too.
    “It was oddly delicious.” I never pat my tummy because I don’t want to draw attention to it. “It’s like there were a bunch of moms in the kitchen cooking up custom homemade meals for each person.”
    “There were. I peeked on our way from the cheese to our table. Calvin was slicing up the pig, and a bunch of ladies in hairnets were cooking things in small pans, and probably each using their own home recipes.”
    “Well, it was a wonderful idea.” I looked up to the sky at the nearly black moon. “New moon tomorrow night, I think, Jules. It sure makes the night a lot darker, but at least the stars look brighter.”
    Jules was standing silently next to me looking, transfixed, out toward the trees in the distance.
    “Jules?”
    She slowly raised her arm and