The Case of the Mysterious Handprints by Donald J. Sobol Page A

the smashed rudder on
Defiance
was discovered.”
    “Do you think the blond man is responsible?” Mrs. Brown asked.
    “Perhaps,” Chief Brown answered cautiously. He flipped a page in his notebook.
    “The manager of the Yacht Club telephoned Mr. Day, owner of
Defiance,”
Chief Brown continued. “After examining the rudder himself, Mr. Day called me. He said the rudder couldn’t be repaired in time for today’s race, which was to start at noon. So the second race had to be postponed until tomorrow.”
    “That’s a tough break for the Cushing brothers,” Encyclopedia said. “The seas were calm today.
Childhood II
might have beaten
Defiance
and squared the series at one victory apiece.”
    “True,” Chief Brown said. “But one of the brothers might have smashed the rudder, hoping that it could not be repaired at all.”
    “What a horrible example of sportsmanship,” Mrs. Brown said. “I feel so sorry for theDays. They’re among the best-liked couples at the Yacht Club.”
    “I questioned the Cushing brothers,” Chief Brown said. “They don’t have an alibi for seven o’clock, when the blond man was on the pier. They insisted they were eating breakfast. They could be lying. They live alone, and no one saw them at breakfast.”
    “What about Mr. and Mrs. Day?” asked Mrs. Brown.
    “Mr. Day said he and Mrs. Day were still sleeping at seven o’clock,” answered Chief Brown. “Like the Cushing brothers, the Days live alone. And like the brothers, there is no one to support their story.”
    Chief Brown leafed through several pages of his notebook.
    “Shortly before nine o’clock this morning,” he said, “Mr. Day drove his wife to the beauty parlor. There is a supper dance at the Yacht Club tonight, and she wanted her hair set. Mr. Day said that he had just returned home when the phone rang. It was the manager of the Yacht Club calling. According to Mr. Day, that was when he learned about
Defiance
’s smashed rudder.”
    Mrs. Brown looked at Encyclopedia out of the corner of her eye. He had not asked his question. Usually he solved the toughest mystery with one question.
    “If only the cleaning woman had recognized the man!” she declared.
    “She saw only his back,” Chief Brown said. “Oh, I nearly forgot. I found a blond wig on top of a trash can outside the kitchen of the Yacht Club. The cleaning woman swears the wig wasn’t there when she came to work.”
    Mrs. Brown looked at Encyclopedia again. She seemed to expect him to solve the case now that he knew about the blond wig.
    Encyclopedia had closed his eyes. He always closed his eyes when he did his deepest thinking on a case. But he wasn’t ready yet to ask his one question.
    So Mrs. Brown said, “What color hair do John and Tom Cushing have—and Mr. and Mrs. Day?”
    “The Cushing brothers have dark hair,” Chief Brown replied. “Mr. Day’s hair is blond. Mrs. Day is a redhead.”
    Suddenly Encyclopedia opened his eyes. He asked his question. “Dad, did you check withthe beauty parlor to see if Mr. Day drove his wife there this morning as he claims?”
    “He told the truth,” Chief Brown stated. “One of the beauticians saw him drive Mrs. Day up to the door.”
    “Leroy,” Mrs. Brown exclaimed. “The rudder of the Days’ sailboat was smashed around seven o’clock. They reached the beauty parlor some two hours later. What has one got to do with the other?”
    “Everything, Mom,” replied Encyclopedia.
    WHY?
    (
Turn to this page for the solution to The Case of the Blond Wig.
)

E ncyclopedia did more than help his father solve mysteries. He helped the children of the neighborhood as well.
    When school let out for the summer, he opened his own detective agency in the family garage. Every morning he hung out his sign:

    The first customer Monday morning was Gary Hale. Encyclopedia was surprised to see him. Gary usually spent mornings at his hobby, entering contests.
    So far this year, Gary had finished ninth in a national