Whose Garden Grows at Midnight
mysteryEveryoneNadia decides to study the pumpkin itself. She crouches in the strawberry bed and looks close. There are faint drag marks in the dirt and a single muddy footprint near the leaves. She measures the print with her ruler. It's small. Way too small for a grown-up.
Nadia follows the little footprints. They lead across two plots, past the shed, and stop at a gap in the fence behind the Lim family's garden. A red toy wagon sits there, with a smear of pumpkin dirt on the handle. Nadia writes down: 'wagon = how it moved.'
What happens next?
2 ways forwardNadia knocks on the Lim family's door. Little Theo answers, and his face goes bright red the second he sees her notebook. 'It was a game,' he whispers. 'Me and Priya wanted to see if the grown-ups would notice.' Nadia walks him over to apologize, and Mr. Okafor laughs and forgives him. Solved.