Danger Goes Berserk, 4 Hardcover - 2012

Summary

Excerpt

CHAPTER I

BEGINNING AGAIN

STEVE BRIXTON, private detective, age twelve and freshly back from retirement, was reading in his office. Until last week, what was now SteveâÈçs office had been just a large doghouse in Steve BrixtonâÈçs backyard, but the Brixtons did not own a dog and never had. The previous tenants had a Saint Bernard named Bandy, and when theyâÈçd moved away, theyâÈçd taken the dog but left the doghouse. SteveâÈçs mom had been using it for storage until Steve had convinced her that it was pretty much begging to be converted into the headquarters of a world-famous detective agency.

Steve had swept the place out and painted the walls white. HeâÈçd hung up a map of Ocean Park and the surrounding coast, and heâÈçd bought a small box of map tacks to help him keep track of crime waves. (Right now the map featured a single red pin, marking the location of the office in which the map now hung, but Steve was ready with more pins of many colors, just in case.) A small card table was SteveâÈçs desk. There were two tiny wooden chairs. In the evenings, light came from a lamp powered by a bright orange extension cord that ran across the backyard and up through SteveâÈçs bedroom window.

The space was a bit cramped, but it was clean and bright, and as long as you crouched, it could fit one comfortablyâÈ'and up to two uncomfortably.

The best part: Steve had hired a professional sign painter to letter his name where the dogâÈçs name used to beâÈ'right above the door, or doorway, since there really wasnâÈçt a door, just a rectangular hole in the wall for a dog to enter and exitâÈ'and it looked like this:



And so, on a Thursday evening, Steve put his feet on his desk and read. Outside, the dark sky was shot through with peaches and pinks, and the office glowed in the dusk light. SteveâÈçs desk lamp was still unlit. He tilted back in his chair.

Behind SteveâÈçs head, on shelves heâÈçd installed himself, were the shiny red spines of the books collectively known as the Bailey Brothers Mysteries. The Bailey Brothers Mysteries related the heart-pounding, rip-roaring adventures of Shawn and Kevin Bailey, teenage brothers, straight-A students, and red-blooded, corn-fed supersleuths. The books were by SteveâÈçs favorite author and mortal enemy, MacArthur Bart, a man who had turned to a life of crime after a long bout of writerâÈçs block. Steve had uncovered his heroâÈçs villainy when heâÈçd discovered The Ghostwriter SecretâÈ'and although Steve had foiled one of BartâÈçs schemes, the man had gotten away. It still bugged Steve that Bart was a free man. Even now Bart was no doubt incubating his sinister schemes in some dark and teeming fold of AmericaâÈçs criminal underbelly.

Still, his books were pretty ace.

And the fact was this: Bart and the Bailey Brothers had taught Steve everything he knew about the art of detection. Steve had read and reread the fifty-eight Bailey Brothers mysteries, plus he was deeply familiar with The Bailey BrothersâÈç Detective Handbook. The handbook, which compiled the accumulated professional wisdom of Shawn and Kevin Bailey, was pretty much full-to-bursting with tricks and tips for gumshoes of all stripes. There were chapters like âÈêUseful Morse CodeâÈë ( . . . --- . . . and -.-. .- -. -. .. - . . . .- .-.. . . .) and âÈêHow to Outwit HypnotistsâÈë (sing âÈêThe Star-Spangled BannerâÈë backward).

Right now, the handbook was lying open on SteveâÈçs desk while he read Bailey Brothers #25: The Clue of the Caves in the Cove. The story was at a good part:

Fair-haired Kevin Bailey opened up the throttle and expertly piloted the Deducer VII across the rough seas. âÈêKeep an eye out for the Dark and Stormy! Her black hull will be hard to spot in this pea soup!âÈë he shouted above the roar of the speedboatâÈçs motor.

âÈêAye, aye!âÈë cried dark-haired Shawn, who was manning the Deducer VIIâÈçs powerful search lamp. âÈêJoseph Tanaka and his smugglers will never get away.âÈë

Their stout chum, Ernest Plumly, was looking green. âÈêI shouldnâÈçt have eaten such a big lunch,âÈë he groaned. âÈêI donâÈçt know if I can ever look at a roast beef sandwich again.âÈë

âÈêSomebody write that down!âÈë chuckled Shawn.

âÈêIf he keeps that pledge, AlbertâÈçs Delicatessen will soon be out of business!âÈë grinned Kevin.

âÈêDonâÈçt bet on it, fellows,âÈë Ernest rejoined with a rueful smile. âÈêI didnâÈçt say anything about ham sandwiches.âÈë

The boys all laughed.

âÈêScampering squirrels!âÈë exclaimed eagle-eyed Shawn, pointing straight ahead. âÈêThere she is! The Dark and Stormy!âÈë

The smugglersâÈç ship emerged from the fog.

Kevin got on the Deducer VIIâÈçs bullhorn as he slowed the boat. âÈêGive it up, Tanaka!âÈë he warned. âÈêThree Coast Guard cutters are right behind us.âÈë

The hatch of the criminalsâÈç craft opened up. Joseph Tanaka popped up and shrieked, âÈêYou donâÈçt have any evidence, Baileys!âÈë Laughing, the swarthy ringleader dumped a wooden crate into the ocean!

Quick as a flash, Shawn Bailey, who was an excellent skin diver and proficient in aquatic lifesaving techniques, dove into the choppy waters. With a few powerful strokes, he made his way toward the Dark and Stormy, then disappeared beneath the swells.

Many tense seconds passed as Kevin and Ernest waited for the brave sleuth to resurface.

âÈêSure seems like heâÈçs been down there a while,âÈë Ernest worried.

âÈêThese are rougher seas than heâÈçs used to swimming,âÈë Kevin fretted.

Then, all of a sudden, Shawn BaileyâÈçs head broke the surface of the water. He was grinning and holding a clear bag. âÈêHereâÈçs your evidence, Tanaka!âÈë he exulted. He peered at the contents of the bag and read the label. âÈêI happen to know that these are controlled pharmaceuticals! I overheard my doctor mention this particular type of medicine to a nurse last week, when I went in for my annual physical!âÈë

âÈêBlast you, Baileys!âÈë Tanaka raged. The smugglerâÈçs long black braid flapped behind him in the wind, and his gold earrings shone in the light of the DeducerâÈçs lamp. âÈêToo bad youâÈçll never make it back to shore.âÈë

âÈêWhat do you mean?âÈë Kevin queried on the bullhorn. âÈêThe Deducer VIIâÈçs shipshape!âÈë

âÈêThat may be so,âÈë snarled Tanaka, âÈêbut sheâÈçs carrying a time bomb!âÈë

Kevin and Ernest looked at each other in terror. Suddenly the ticking noise theyâÈçd heard in the boathouse made sense!

Steve turned the page just as a large figure blocked the doorway of the Brixton Brothers Detective Agency, plunging the office into darkness.

Media reviews

Citations

• Booklist, 11/01/2012, Page 67
• Hornbook Guide to Children, 01/01/2013, Page 62
• Kirkus Reviews, 09/15/2012, Page 2163
• School Library Journal, 07/01/2012, Page 92