December 2011
46 posts
3 tags
The Case of the Knife in the Watermelon
In this story, the Brown Detective Agency got its first adult customer. If you’re disturbed by that idea, your instincts serve you well.
Apparently, someone broke into Mr. Patch’s grocery’s storeroom and tried to break open the money box with a knife. When Mr. Patch showed up, the suspect ran away, but he tripped on his way out. The knife he was carrying plunged into a watermelon. The suspect...
November 2011
15 posts
“I may need a diamond to drill my roast beef.”
– Mrs. Brown. I’m choosing to take this out of context. The Case of the Stolen Diamonds
3 tags
The Case of the Diamond Necklace
Chief Brown was stumped by another case. Mrs. Van Tweedle’s diamond necklace had been stolen the night before.
The Chief was hired to guard the necklace during a party because Van Tweedle received an anonymous note telling her to leave $10,000 behind a statue at the park or the necklace will be stolen.
I don’t know how that works. I thought the usual way of doing this was to steal the object and...
“He’s so yellow he makes a canary jealous.”
– Herb Stein, on Tiger wannabe, Jim Krebs. The Case of the Telltale Paint
5 tags
The Case of the Happy Nephew
Dinner at the Brown residence was interrupted by a phone call bringing news that The Princess Bake Shop had been robbed. A witness says he saw John Abbot – sidenote, he’s an ex-convict, just sayin’ – run out of the bakery. The Chief had to leave to investigate. Naturally, the chief of police brought his 10-year-old son along for the investigation.
The Chief and Encyclopedia went to the house where...
“In the old days, an Indian youth couldn’t become a brave till he swallowed...”
– Mort “Fangs” Liveright, telling a story of questionable origin and racial sensitivity. The Case of the Bitter Drink
5 tags
The Case of the Bank Robbery
Encyclopedia and Sally, who was now the Brown Detective Agency’s junior partner and bodyguard, took the bus downtown to open a bank account with the money they had earned solving the town’s problems. As they were approaching the bank, they heard a gunshot. Right after that, they saw a man with a handkerchief covering his face. He was carrying a bag in one hand and a gun in the other.
In his hurry,...
“Makes my Adam’s apple jump just to think about them”
– Encyclopedia Brown, referring to the Spanish omelets served in the cafeteria. The Case of the Boy Bullfighter (NOTE: I have no idea what that is supposed to mean.)
3 tags
The Case of Merko’s Grandson
This was an important story for two reasons. One, we were introduced to Sally Kimball, who would later play a vital role in the Brown Detective Agency. Secondly, the story contains the phrase “flat as a fifteen-cent sandwich,” which I had never heard before.
We learned that Sally Kimball moved to Idaville two months earlier. She had already got up a team of girls who beat Bugs and the Tigers in a...
“Look out for him. He’s like a set of false teeth – always trying to get...”
– Sally Kimball, on Bug Meany’s vengeful ways. The Case of Bugs’s Kidnapping
5 tags
The Case of the Civil War Sword
Peter Clinton paid a visit to the Brown Detective Agency. According to Peter, Bugs Meany said he had a sword that once belonged to Stonewall Jackson. Bugs was willing to give Peter the sword in exchange for his bike.
Wait, why does this kid have a sword?
Peter, believing that the deal sounded too good to be true, thought he’d get outside help determining the sword’s authenticity. Technically,...
“Why, half of them have been left back so often they ought to start a football...”
– Encyclopedia Brown, referring to the dim-witted Tigers. The Case of the Rubber Pillow
6 tags
The Case of the Scattered Cards
“Screw this waiting to grow up to become a detective shit,” Encyclopedia said as he lay awake in bed. “I can start solving crimes, like, tomorrow.” And that’s how the Brown Detective Agency came to be. “I can operate out of the garage and charge people 25 cents plus expenses for each case. Yeah, that shit’s happening tomorrow.” (I may have been paraphrasing.)
It rained the day the Brown Detective...
“The water was so dirty, the goldfish looked like black bass.”
– Encyclopedia Brown, lying to his mother about why he’s covered in grease. This raises no concerns with Mrs. Brown, which leads me to believe that she doesn’t really care about the environment or her child’s safety. The Case of the Mysterious Tramp
8 tags
The Case of Natty Nat
Mr. Dillon, co-owner of The Men’s Shop (no joke, that’s the name of the store), claimed Natty Nat robbed his store at gunpoint. Natty Nat was the fake name the newspapers had given to a suspect accused of six armed robberies across the state in one month.
When his father, Idaville’s Chief of Police, told his 10-year-old son every known detail of this story (as detectives normally do, I’m sure),...
