Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Soccer Scheme Read Online Free

gloom.
    Sally laid her hand gently on his shoulder. “Gosh, Chuck, whatever is the matter?”
    â€œI was fired,” Chuck said.
    â€œWhat for?” Encyclopedia asked. “You deliver the newspaper on time, and your aim is perfect—right to the front door.”
    â€œI never missed,” Chuck said. “How else can a half-pint like me make a name for himself?”
    â€œYou’re already a name,” Sally said. “You became one last year when you were crowned the Idaville News delivery boy of the year.”
    â€œThat dumps me into a class with last year’s news,” Chuck replied. “I didn’t deserve to be fired. I didn’t do what I’m supposed to have done.”
    â€œTell us,” Encyclopedia said.
    â€œWhat have I got left to lose?” Chuck said halfheartedly.
    â€œOn April Fools’,” he began, “I delivered the newspaper to the Millers’ house by six thirty, as always. That afternoon Mr. Miller complained that I had rolled up the newspaper. When it was tight and hard, he said I shoved it though the handle of the front door, bolting the door shut.”
    â€œDid you?” Encyclopedia asked.
    â€œI didn’t do any such thing,” Chuck said. “My boss said I couldn’t work for the Idaville News after such a trick, April Fools’ or not. He said to pick up my check and have a nice day.”
    â€œAnyone could have bolted the door after you delivered the newspaper to the Millers,” Encyclopedia said.
    â€œDid anyone see you deliver the newspaper to the Millers?” Sally asked.
    â€œMr. Miller’s teenage daughter, Lily,” Chuck answered. “She’s a singer and a cat lover. She has three white cats, beautiful but a mess. They leave hairs wherever they lie down. They sleep nights in the living room on the couch facing the picture window. When I tossed the paper at her door on April Fools’, I saw the cats lying on the couch. Lily claims she saw me bolt the door. I didn’t see her. She wasn’t on the couch.”
    â€œWhy should she lie?” Sally said.
    â€œTo help her kid brother, Horace,” Chuck replied. “I beat him out for the newspaper delivery route. He wanted it. He’s got it now.”
    â€œLet’s hear from Lily,” Encyclopedia said.
    Lily wasn’t pleased to see them. She took them into the living room. “Have a seat,” she said coldly.
    On the way to a chair, Encyclopedia stopped behind the couch. It bore a mess of white cats’ hair.
    The living room was in the wing of the house. The picture window allowed him to see the front door. Cats’ hair or no cats’ hair, the couch was plainly the best place to see all of the door.
    â€œWhat’s on your mind, such as it is?” Lily inquired.
    â€œYou said you saw Chuck bolt your front door with a newspaper on April Fools’,” Encyclopedia said. “Could you be mistaken?”
    â€œNot on your life,” Lily hurled back. “It was Chuck.”
    â€œChuck said he delivered the newspaper at your house by six thirty. You had to be up early,” Sally declared.
    â€œI never sleep well before I have to perform,” Lily said. “I had to perform at a charity breakfast at the Children’s Hospital that morning. The breakfast included dancing to the music of the six-piece band, the Black Ties. I’m their singer.”
    â€œDancing at breakfast?” said Sally.
    â€œIt’s never too early to dance,” Lily retorted. “The program started at nine o’clock. All of us, musicians, waiters, and cooks, had to report at eight to set things up. I got up a little after five.”
    â€œWhat did you do with all that time to kill, from five to eight?” Sally puzzled.
    â€œI decided to get ready and wait for the newspaper,” Lily said impatiently. “So I freshened up and put on the black linen dress I always wear when