The Mystery of Case D. Luc
Read The Mystery of Case D. Luc Online
Authors: Beverly Lewis
Tags: #JUV039220, #JUV033010, #JUV045000
Beverly Lewis Books for Young Readers
P
ICTURE
B
OOKS
In Jesse's Shoes  ⢠ Just Like Mama
What Is God Like?  ⢠ What Is Heaven Like?
T
HE
C
UL-DE-SAC
K
IDS
The Double Dabble Surprise
The Chicken Pox Panic
The Crazy Christmas Angel Mystery
No Grown-ups Allowed
Frog Power
The Mystery of Case D. Luc
The Stinky Sneakers Mystery
Pickle Pizza
Mailbox Mania
The Mudhole Mystery
Fiddlesticks
The Crabby Cat Caper
Tarantula Toes
Green Gravy
Backyard Bandit Mystery
Tree House Trouble
The Creepy Sleep-Over
The Great TV Turn-Off
Piggy Party
The Granny Game
Mystery Mutt
Big Bad Beans
The Upside-Down Day
The Midnight Mystery
Katie and Jake and the Haircut Mistake
The Mystery of Case D. Luc
Copyright © 1995
Beverly Lewis
Cover illustration by Paul Turnbaugh
Story illustrations by Barbara Birch
Ebook edition created 2012
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansâelectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwiseâwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
ISBN 978-1-4412-6069-7
Published by Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
www.bethanyhouse.com
Bethany House Publishers is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
www.bakerpublishinggroup.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
To Carole Billingsley,
who solves word puzzles
faster than warp speed.
Well, almost.
CONTENTS
ONE
Dunkum dribbled his new basketball up the driveway. The basketball was very special. David Robinson, his hero, had signed it! David Robinson wasn't just any basketball star, he was a Christian, too.
Jason Birchall and Eric Hagel flew into Dunkum's yard on their bikes. They skidded to a stop.
Jason dropped his bike onto the grass. “Hey, Dunk, let's ride,” he called.
“Not today,” Dunkum said. He aimed his ball at the net and shot.
Whoosh!
It
slipped right through.
“Aw, come on,” Eric begged. But Dunkum ignored them and kept shooting baskets.
Soon, Abby Hunter and her little sister Carly showed up. “Hi, Dunkum,” Abby said. “Do you have time to talk about the April Fool's Day party?”
Dunkum dribbled the ball under his leg. “Not now.” He shot the ball up over his shoulder. It bounced off the backboard. In!
“Good shot, now let's go,” Jason said.
Stacy Henry, Abby's best friend, came down the sidewalk. “What's up?” she asked.
“Hi, Stacy,” Abby said. “I'm trying to talk to Dunkum about the party next week.”
Dunkum stopped shooting baskets. “Sorry, Abby. I have to keep practicing.”
“But you practice
all
the time,” Eric said.
Carly giggled. “If you don't watch out, you'll turn into a basketball!”
“Eric's right,” Stacy said. “All you ever do is shoot baskets. What about
us
?”
Dunkum ran between Abby and Carly and shot the ball. It spun off the rim and he chased after it.
“Stop bouncing that silly basketball,” Carly said.
Dunkum froze like a statue. “What did you say?”
Jason and Eric began hooting like owls. Eric laughed so hard, his bike toppled over.
Dunkum glared at Carly. “Nobody calls my basketball
silly
! David Robinson wrote his name right here!” He held the ball up for them to see.
Abby shot him a sour look. “Your basketball isn't silly.
You
are!”
“Oh, yeah?” Dunkum felt the back of his neck getting warm.
Stacy walked up to him. “We can't plan our April Fool's Day party because of you. You're too busy with this!” She tapped on his basketball.
Dunkum swung the ball away from her. “Then plan it without me,” he said. “I don't care.”
“But we always have our meetings at
your
house,” Abby said. She was the president of the Cul-de-sac Kidsânine kids on Blossom Hill Lane.
Dunkum dodged Abby, then leaped up and shot. Missed! “Go have your
silly
meeting somewhere else,” he said.
Abby frowned. “Please, Dunkum. Just talk to us!”
“Not today,” Dunkum said. “I'm busy.”
Jason whistled. “That's what he always says!”
“Do not,” Dunkum muttered.
“Uh-huh!” Eric shouted. “Maybe you want to drop out of the Cul-de-sac Kids. Is that it?”
Abby frowned. “No, we stick together
around here, remember?”
Dunkum didn't care about sticking together. His basketball was more important. He spun the ball on his pointer finger. “I'm going inside,” he said, then ran into the house.
Dunkum never even looked back at the Cul-de-sac Kids. Not even once.
TWO
In his room, Dunkum placed the ball on his dresserâin front of the mirror. He sat on his bed and stared.
Maybe this ball will make me a great player,
he thought.
Maybe I'll be as famous as David Robinson!
Suddenly, he dashed to the window and pushed the curtains back. Abby and Carly were gone. So were Jason and Eric. Dunkum almost wished his friends were still waiting in the driveway.
