The Case of the Exploding Plumbing by Donald J. Sobol Read Free Book Online

The Case of the Runaway Elephant
    Across the length and breadth of America people were wondering:
    “What is Idaville’s secret?”
    For more than a year now, no one had gotten away with a crime in Idaville.
    Aside from being a model of law and order, Idaville was a lovely seaside town. It had clean beaches and three movie theaters. It had churches, a synagogue, four banks, and two delicatessens.
    The chief of police was Mr. Brown. He knew that nearly every American thought he was the best peace officer in the nation. He also knew the truth about Idaville.
    The real brains behind Idaville’s war on crime was his only child, ten-year-old Encyclopedia.
    Whenever Chief Brown had a mystery he could not solve, he put his emergency plan into action. He went home to dinner. At the table he told Encyclopedia the facts.
    The boy detective solved the case before dessert. Once in a while, however, he had to ask for second helpings to gain more time.
    Chief Brown hated keeping his son’s ability a secret. He felt Congress should award Encyclopedia a vote of thanks. But how could he suggest it?
    Who would believe that the guiding hand behind Idaville’s police record could make a yo-yo loop-the-loop off a man-on-the-flying trapeze?
    No one.
    So Chief Brown said nothing.
    Encyclopedia never let slip a word about the help he gave his father. He did not want to seem different from other fifth-graders.
    But he was stuck with his nickname.
    Only his parents and teachers called him by his right name, Leroy. Everyone else in Idaville called him Encyclopedia.
    An encyclopedia is a book or set of books filled with facts from A to Z. Encyclopedia had read so many books he was really more like a library. You might say he was the only library in which the information desk was on the top floor.
    One evening Chief Brown looked up from his soup. “Friday the thirteenth,” he muttered.
    “You’re mistaken, dear,” said Mrs. Brown. “Today is Friday the twelfth.”
    “I’m talking about seventeen years ago,” said Chief Brown.
    “Does the date have something to do with a case?” asked Encyclopedia.
    “Yes, with Mr. Hunt’s elephant, Jimbo,” answered Chief Brown. “The animal is causing a problem.”
    Encyclopedia refused to believe his ears. Jimbo was the only pet elephant in Idaville. He never caused anyone a problem. Mr. Hunt kept him in the backyard.
    “If Jimbo is in the middle of a mystery, tell Leroy,” urged Mrs. Brown. “It could be his biggest case.”
    Chief Brown nodded. “It turns out that Jimbo may not belong to Mr. Hunt after all,” he began. “Mr. Hunt found him outside his bedroom window on April Fools’ Day seventeen years ago.”
    “What a shock for him!” exclaimed Mrs. Brown.
    “I imagine so,” replied Chief Brown. “Mr. Hunt opened his eyes, and there was Jimbo peeping through the window. He woke up Mrs. Hunt to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.”
    “What did she say?” asked Encyclopedia.

    “Mr. Hunt opened his eyes, and there was Jimbo peeping through the window.”
    “‘I hope he’s on a leash,’ ” replied Chief Brown, “according to Mr. Hunt.”
    “Mr. Hunt has a great memory,” marveled Encyclopedia.
    “So does Mr. Xippas,” said Chief Brown. “He came to my office today. He says he owns the elephant and wants him back. He claims Mr. Hunt never paid for Jimbo.”
    “What does Mr. Hunt say?” inquired Mrs. Brown.
    “Mr. Hunt insists that he mailed the money to Mr. Xippas,” said Chief Brown.
    He waited while Mrs. Brown cleared the soup bowls. When she had served the ham loaf, he took his notebook from his breast pocket.
    “I spoke with both Mr. Xippas and Mr. Hunt today,” he said. “I’ll give you Mr. Hunt’s side first.”
    Encyclopedia and his mother listened as Chief Brown read from his notes.
    “Mr. Hunt says that he thought the elephant in his backyard was a prank, since it was April Fools’ Day. He immediately called the police. It turned out that the elephant had