Free Riley Mack Stirs Up More Trouble by Chris Grabenstein

Grabowski! Dead!”
    Here Briana fell to her knees and wept a bunch.
    â€œThat’ll work,” said Riley, with a nonchalant nod.
    â€œThat was beautiful,” said Mongo.
    â€œYou were amazing,” added Jake.
    â€œPersonally,” offered Jamal, “I think you overdid it a little with the weeping.”
    â€œFine. I’ll make an adjustment. I’m an actress. I can take notes. Let’s go, Riley. We’re on!”

15
    â€œOH MY,” SAID MS. GRABOWSKI . “That’s horrible, Briana.”
    â€œYes,” sobbed Briana. “As you might imagine, I am devastated.”
    â€œHow are your parents holding up?”
    â€œHmmm?”
    â€œYour parents. You said this was their fishpond.”
    â€œOh. Right. They’re totally bummed, too.” She gripped her hands together in the classic beggar gesture. “We need to know what killed our fishes, Ms. Grabowski! Can you help us? Please?”
    â€œOf course, Briana. And it’s fish.”
    â€œWhaa?”
    â€œThe plural of fish is fish .”
    â€œI know. But I’m overwrought with emotion and, when I’m overwrought, my grammar suffers.”
    â€œHave Pepe and Amigo been in your backyard?”
    â€œMy Chihuahuas?”
    Ms. Grabowski nodded. “If they drank any of the pond water, they might need to be taken to the vet. Immediately.”
    â€œFortunately,” said Riley, “Briana’s dogs are not allowed in the backyard.”
    â€œMy parents are afraid they’d scare the fish.”
    â€œSo, whew! ” said Riley. “We don’t have to worry about the dogs. Just the fish.”
    â€œWell,” said Ms. Grabowski, “we haven’t really gotten into aquatic autopsies at vet tech school. Not yet anyway.”
    â€œDo they have a lab?” asked Riley.
    â€œSeveral. But . . .” She pried open the plastic Baggies on the checkout counter.
    Rotting fish funk filled the air.
    The stench was overwhelmingly awful because the carcasses had been sealed up inside hot plastic.
    â€œI don’t dink you beed a lab, Riley.” Riley figured Ms. Grabowski was trying to say she didn’t think they needed a lab. But she was holding her nose.
    â€œHow com-buh?” Riley was holding his nose, too.
    â€œDis meddy bifferet fish.” She quickly resealed the bags. “This many different fish, we know what killed them: water pollution.”
    â€œYou’re positive?” asked Riley.
    â€œYes. If only one species of fish had died, then it would be possible that the cause of death was some kind of virus endemic to that species.”
    â€œEndemic?”
    Where was Jamal when you needed him? thought Riley.
    â€œSorry,” said Ms. Grabowski. “College word. Endemic means ‘exclusively confined to one species.’”
    â€œLike they caught flounder flu?” suggested Briana.
    â€œOr something else. Maybe a strain of bacteria that only attacks trout. But since there are several different species in your sample, then you’re most likely looking at lack of oxygen in the water caused by pollution.” She turned to Briana. “Do your parents use lawn fertilizer in the backyard? Do they pour on lots of chemicals to kill weeds?”
    â€œNo,” said Briana. “They’re totally organic. Antichemicals, antifertilizer. They probably use composted banana peels.”
    â€œWell, do you live downhill from a factory or a gas station or any kind of toxic chemical dump?”
    â€œI sincerely doubt it. We live in a very ecologically friendly environment.”
    â€œThey have their own windmill,” added Riley.
    â€œAnd solar panels,” said Briana.
    â€œWell, something bad got into your pond water. You need to get a sample and have it tested for contaminants.”
    The next morning, Riley, Jamal, and Mongo returned to the rutted dirt road behind Mongo’s house and, once again, followed it up