Free The Case of the Slippery Salamander by Donald J. Sobol

The Case of the Slippery Salamander

    T o a visitor, Idaville looked like an ordinary seaside town. It had churches, two car washes, and three movie theaters. It had bike paths, sparkling white beaches, a synagogue, and plenty of good fishing spots.
    But there was something out of the ordinary about Idaville: For more than a year, no child or grown-up had gotten away with breaking a law.
    From coast to coast, people wanted to know: How did Idaville do it?
    The secret resided in a red brick house at 13 Rover Avenue. That was where Idaville’s police chief lived with his wife and son.
    Chief Brown was a smart, kind, and brave man.But he wasn’t the one who kept crooks from getting away with their crimes. No, the brains behind it all was his ten-year-old son, Encyclopedia.
    Encyclopedia’s real name was Leroy. But only his parents and teachers called him that. Everyone else called him “Encyclopedia” because his brain was filled with more facts than a reference book.
    Sometimes the Brown family was tempted to tell the world about Encyclopedia’s amazing talent as a crime-solver. But so far they hadn’t leaked a word. For one thing, the Browns didn’t like to boast. For another, who would believe that Idaville’s top detective was a fifth-grader?
    One Monday night Chief Brown sat at the dinner table, staring at his plate of spaghetti. So far he hadn’t slurped up a single strand. Encyclopedia and his mother knew the reason.
    The chief wasn’t eating because he had come up against a crime that he couldn’t solve.
    Encyclopedia waited for his dad to tell him about the case. Whenever Chief Brown was stumped, Encyclopedia cracked the case for him, usually by asking just one question.
    At last Chief Brown looked up. “There was a theft at the aquarium today,” he said, rubbing his forehead.
    Last summer an aquarium had opened near thebeach. The most popular attractions were the giant shark tanks, the dolphin shows, and the Den of Darkness.

    The Den of Darkness was a huge indoor exhibit of reptiles and amphibians. Encyclopedia especially liked visiting the frogs and salamanders in the amphibian section.
    “I hope the great white sharks weren’t stolen,” Mrs. Brown said with a smile. “That would certainly take a bite out of business!”
    Chief Brown shook his head. “It wasn’t the sharks.”
    Encyclopedia put down his fork and listened carefully as his father explained that Fred, a tiger salamander, had been stolen.
    “Fred was shipped to the aquarium only two days ago,” Chief Brown said. “He was being kept apart from the other animals until the officials were sure he was healthy. If he got a clean bill of health, he was to go on display next month.”
    “Do you have any clues, dear?” Mrs. Brown asked.
    The chief frowned. “Not many. All we know is that the salamander disappeared this morning, sometime between ten-thirty and eleven forty-five.”
    “Why would someone steal a salamander?” Mrs. Brown wondered.
    “Fred is the aquarium’s only tiger salamander,” her husband explained. “From what the director of the aquarium told me, someone could sell him for a lot of money.”
    “Really?” Mrs. Brown’s eyes widened. “Do you think a visitor might have stolen him?”
    “It’s very unlikely,” Chief Brown replied. “Employees and volunteers are the only ones who have access to the back room in the Den of Darkness where Fred was being kept.”
    Chief Brown told Encyclopedia and Mrs. Brown that three people had been working at the exhibit that morning: Mrs. King, who volunteered at the aquarium every Monday; Sam Maine, the man in charge of cleaning and maintaining the exhibits; and Dr. O’Donnell, an expert on reptiles and amphibians.
    “Did you question the three of them?” Mrs. Brown asked.
    The chief nodded. “Dr. O’Donnell spent the morning examining a new crocodile from Australia. Sam Maine told me he was busy cleaning out exhibits and feeding some of the lizards. Several people saw