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day after Halloween!”
    “Halloween!”
Kiera said. “What are we going to
be?”
    Usually they spent weeks thinking about their costumes. They had to be exact opposites. A ballerina and an elephant. A vampire and an angel.
    This year they’d been too busy to think about costumes. They looked out the window at Jigsaw.
    Fran said, “What if we—”
    Kiera said, “Perfect!”

CHAPTER NINE
Halloween

    A ll week Kiera and Fran worked on their costume.
    First they chose spaghetti Then they chose fabric and yarn. They sewed. They practiced. Jody helped. So did Mrs. Shaw.
    Jigsaw ate grass and crisp fall apples. He watched Mr. Shaw put the garden to bed. On frosty mornings the cat warmed her toes on his back. On bright afternoons he curled in the sun. Kiera, Fran, and Jody read him stories.
    Jigsaw enjoyed that. He liked their quiet voices. He liked their leaning on him.
    One day a letter came from Valerie. Kiera read it aloud.
    “I was worried when Gram gave Jigsaw away,” Valerie wrote. “She couldn’t take care of him, but at least they had each other.
    “Jigsaw has a good home now, but Gram is all by herself. I’m glad your father has tea with her sometimes and gets things off high shelves for her. Tell him thank you for fixing her stairs.”
    “I didn’t know Daddy did that,” Kiera said.
    She read the rest of Valerie’s letter. “I never asked Jigsaw to barrel race, so I don’t know if he likes it. We mostly took slow rides in the woods.
    “Tell Jig I miss him. Tell Gram, too, if you see her.”
    “I’d
like
to see her,” Fran said. “Let’s ask her to the Halloween party.”
    Jigsaw sniffed the letter. It smelled like Valerie. He didn’t miss Valerie. He was too happy. But her scent on the paper made him even happier.
    Halloween night was warm and windy. Ghosts and dancers, spacemen and black cats walked up and down the street.
    A cowgirl led two ponies from house to house. One pony had black and white patches that fitted together like a jigsaw puzzle.
    The front half of the other pony was black. The back half was white.
    The ponies came right up the steps of the houses. The neighbors said, “Hello, Jigsaw! And who is this pony?”
    “Midnight,” said the black head.
    “Snowflake,” said the white tail.
    “It’s a little confused,” said the cowgirl. “Trick or treat!”
    After trick-or-treating, the ponies and ghosts, dancers and spacemen walked to school for the Halloween party. Neighbors and parents went, too.
    Mr. Shaw was already there with Valerie’s grandmother. They watched the costume parade. Some of the costumes were scary, but neither pony seemed afraid.
    When the parade was over, Jody—she was the cowgirl—brought her ponies across the gym.
    “Hello, Jig,” said Valerie’s grandmother.
    Jigsaw lifted his nose to her face. He blew his breath on her. “You smell like taffy apples,” the grandmother said.
    The other pony came apart. Fran was inside the black half. Kiera was inside the white half.
    “Thank
you,” Fran said.
    “For letting us have Jigsaw,” Kiera said.
    “Valerie told me I was hasty,” said the grandmother. “I should have made sure you’d take good care of him. But I knew you would. Look at who your father is!”
    “Jody helps,” Fran said.
    “This is Jody,” Kiera said.
    Valerie’s grandmother said, “Three best friends.”
    “Four!”
Jody put her arm around Jigsaw’s neck.

    Valerie’s grandmother gave Jigsaw a kiss. “Go on, you four,” she said. “Don’t miss the games!”
    They played Doughnut on a String. Jigsaw bit more doughnuts than anyone. He was the best at apple dunking, too.
    Some kids were afraid to go through the Haunted House. Jigsaw went along to help them be brave. Fake cobwebs and spooky noises didn’t scare him.
    The baby from two houses down started to cry. Jigsaw blew sweet pony breath on him. Soon the baby was quiet again.
    “Jigsaw’s so helpful,” Kiera said.
    “Like one of the big kids,” Fran said.
    Jody