Megan Stine - Long Shot

“You mean everything I made up for the scouting report?” said Jupe. He had a look of pure smugness on his face. “For starters, Luke Braun is a straight-A student.”

“Always important to a basketball coach,” Bob said, rolling his eyes.

“It’s important to me, and I created him.” Jupe bristled. “He’s six feet six inches tall.”

“That’s more like it,” said Pete. “He has a remarkable shooting percentage, he’s completely ambidextrous — I thought that was an interesting touch—and I wrote that he was fast, slim, and agile. I also added that Coach Duggan thought Luke was destined to become the next Magic Johnson.”

“Wow!” Pete said. “Hey, if I were a coach, I’d sign that kid up no matter what.”

“That’s the idea. To make Powers salivate to recruit him for Shoremont. I also added that Luke was going to decide by today what college to attend. Of course since Luke doesn’t exist, I gave him your phone number and address, Bob. Now we just have to wait at your house for the phone to ring.”

In the middle of the afternoon the right call finally came. Bob answered and immediately pointed at the receiver to signal Jupe and Pete that this was it.

“Yes, this is Luke Braun,” Bob said, taking the phone and sitting down sideways in a large stuffed living room chair.

Jupe could tell from the smile on Bob’s face that the phone call was going exactly as planned. First Bob acted interested in talking to Michael Anthony — but then he began to set the trap.

“Sure, I want to talk to you. But I’m not comfortable meeting you someplace. My parents and I decided that I wouldn’t meet with anyone except here at my house and with them. My dad just lost his job, and we don’t have much money. They’re very eager for me to find a college that can help out.”

Bob listened some more and finally gave Pete and Jupe a thumbs-up. “Great,” he said, and hung up the phone. “E.T.A. — one hour.”

When the doorbell rang about an hour later, Bob answered it.

“Hi, you must be Michael Anthony,” said Bob, opening the door. “I’m Luke.”

Barry Norman came in and sat down, but he was looking at Bob quizzically. “The scouting report said you’re six six.”

“I do some fantastic stretching exercises before each game,” Bob said.

The answer obviously didn’t sit well with Barry Norman. He squirmed in his chair. “You are Luke Braun?”

“Sure. Some people think I’m the next Magic Johnson,” said Bob. “Can we talk money now, Mr. Anthony, because I’ve got three other schools coming over to bribe me this afternoon.”

Barry Norman’s face remained calm as his eyes surveyed every inch of the room. “I think I’ll be going, Luke.”

Bob stood up before Norman could move. “Wait!” he said. “I want you to meet my mom and dad before you go. They’re really eager to say hello, especially since they’ve made me what I am today. Hey, guys!” At that signal Pete and Jupe walked into the living room. They were delighted to see Barry Norman’s face, already confused, go pale.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Norman,” said Jupe. “We forgot to tell you in Chief Reynolds’ office that we are the Three Investigators. This is Bob Andrews, our third associate.” Jupe could not conceal his triumphant smile. “I also want to thank you for coming, Mr. Norman, because by showing up today, you have just proved who is behind the bribery scheme at Shoremont College.”

“No, I haven’t. And if you think I’m going to incriminate someone, you’re very naive.”

“You already did incriminate someone,” said Bob, “when you called me.”

“You see, Mr. Norman,” Jupe explained, “there is only one way you could have learned about Luke Braun and gotten his phone number. And that is if John Hemingway Powers told you. Because Luke Braun doesn’t exist.”

Jupe sat down on a couch two feet away from Barry Norman’s chair. The two stared at each other for a long time.

“I’m making no admission of any guilt, you understand,” Norman finally said. “But if I were working for John Hemingway Powers, so what? I haven’t done anything illegal, and for that matter neither has John Hemingway Powers.”

“That may be true,” Jupe said. “But I can’t imagine that your law practice will benefit from all the negative publicity when this news reaches the press. On the other hand, if you cooperate, President Harper might agree to keep you out of it.”

Norman’s face was as cold as stone, his voice even colder.

“I see no reason why I can’t attend a meeting with Harper, if that’s what you want,” he said at last.

Jupe beamed the whole time he was climbing into Bob’s red VW and riding to the Shoremont campus.

He had already phoned President Harper to tell him the case was solved. He asked Harper to summon Coach Duggan to his office and to invite John Hemingway Powers as well. Now the Three Investigators were driving to Shoremont, with Barry Norman following them in his own car.

When they arrived at Harper’s office, Duggan and Powers were already there.

The college president greeted and shook hands with each of the Three Investigators, but Jupe barely paid attention to him. He was too busy watching John Hemingway Powers’s reaction as Barry Norman walked in the door behind the three teenagers. Surprise, anger, fear, puzzlement, and belligerence all passed over the man’s face. Then he stared hard at the Investigators.

“Jupiter,” said President Harper, “we’re all very eager to hear what you’ve learned. You three must be very good detectives to have solved this case in just two weeks — and you have my gratitude. Now please tell us what you’ve found.”

“Detectives? I’m missing something,” grumbled Coach Duggan from his chair by the window. “I don’t see detectives. I see our school parrot and ” — he pointed at Pete — “a high school kid.”

Jupe stepped to the center of the room. “In fact, all three of us are detectives and high school students, Coach Duggan,” he explained. “I have only been posing as a Shoremont student.”

“Coach,” said President Harper, “you’ll understand in a minute. Come on, Jupiter. Tell us.”

Jupe was not in a hurry. He thought of John Hemingway Powers as a chestnut: very hard nut, with a shell impossible to peel off — unless you roasted it first. Once Powers was hot enough, worried enough, Jupe hoped he would crack.

“It was a difficult case to solve,” Jupe said. “Some things came easily. For example, this man, Barry Norman, offered Pete money and a Porsche to play basketball for Shoremont College.”

“What?” shouted the coach.

“Don’t interrupt, Duggan,” said President Harper sternly. “You’ll have your chance to explain in a minute.”

Everyone in the room could hear that President Harper was accusing Coach Duggan. Powers let a small smile creep into the corners of his mouth.

“I’m afraid you’ve jumped to a wrong conclusion,” Jupe told the college president. “We’re certain now that Coach Duggan is entirely innocent in this matter.”

“Well, then, who is guilty?” Harper was losing his patience.

“I’ll tell you in just a moment, but first let me ask Mr. Powers just one question,” Jupe said. “Mr. Powers, who is Luke Braun?”

Powers looked at Jupe cautiously.

“Who is Luke Braun?” Powers repeated.

“Yes,” Jupe said. “You know who he is, don’t you?”

Powers thought a moment, trying to find the trap. But he obviously couldn’t see it.

“Well, I think he’s a high school basketball player,” Powers said. “I’ve seen his name on Coach Duggan’s scouting reports. He’s supposed to be darned good.”