Ice Cream Mystery Read Online Free PDF

container of water in the wagon just for Butterscotch.
    “Ice cream! Sold here!” Benny sang out from the wagon seat. “Hi, come buy some ice cream! Oh, hi, Preston.”
    Preston didn’t ask how Benny knew his name. He stopped his bike a few feet away. “So now you’re all working for the Ice Cream Barn.”
    “No,” said Jessie. “Brianna’s just letting us ride in the wagon today.”
    “Ha,” said Preston. But he didn’t sound angry. He sounded almost as if his feelings were hurt.
    “It’s true,” said Henry.
    “Sure,” said Preston.
    On the other side of the wagon, a small line was forming at the window. Brianna was very busy scooping ice-cream cones while Violet took the money and made change.

    “How’s Butterscotch?” asked Preston abruptly.
    “Fine,” said Henry.
    “Come pet him,” urged Jessie.
    “Hot day, cold ice cream!” Benny called from the seat to some passersby. Jessie had thought of that and he liked the sound of it.
    Butterscotch snorted, making bubbles in the water, then raised her dripping nose to look at Preston.
    He got on his bike and pedaled away without another word.
    Brianna and Violet hadn’t noticed Preston. They were too busy. The small line of customers had gotten bigger.
    “The special flavor this week? Banana split,” Brianna said. “Is that what you want, Ralph?” By now, she knew many of the regular customers by name. “One scoop coming right up.”
    A large group of children came out of the library and joined the line. Brianna greeted several of them by name, too.
    “How do you remember everybody?” asked Violet.
    Brianna grinned. “Lots of them ask for the same thing every time. That makes it easier. Like Annie with the red hair is one scoop chocolate, one scoop vanilla, vanilla on top. Maria is chocolate cherry fudge. Radj, the boy at the end of the line? He’ll order one scoop of whatever the special is, with sprinkles. He always gets sprinkles, no matter what flavor the ice cream is.”
    “May I pet the horsie?” a little girl asked.
    Henry said, “Her name is Butterscotch and she likes to have her nose petted. You can scratch behind her ear, too.”
    Butterscotch was almost as popular as ice cream with the group of children. One little boy even tried to share his ice cream with the big horse. Jessie stopped him in time, explaining that Butterscotch would have plenty of oats when she got home from work that night.
    Benny didn’t say anything about that. He thought it was too bad that Butterscotch couldn’t have an ice-cream cone of her own.
    Then Violet reached down to hand a customer change and looked up to find herself almost face-to-face with a police officer.
    “Oh!” she said. “Hello. Would you like some ice cream?”
    “No, thank you,” said the police officer. “I’m Officer Pierre. Who’s in charge here?”
    “I am,” said Brianna.
    “Could I see your license and permits?” the police officer asked.
    “Sure,” said Brianna. She washed her hands, then opened a small drawer underneath the money drawer. She took out a folder and passed it through the window to Officer Pierre.
    The officer examined the papers carefully, then handed them back to Brianna.
    “Is there a problem, Officer?” Henry asked.
    “We have the library’s permission to park the wagon here,” Jessie added.
    Officer Pierre didn’t answer right away. She walked around to look at Butterscotch, who was standing quietly, her eyes half closed. Officer Pierre glanced at the water bucket, then back at the wagon. “Hot day,” she said.
    “Hot day, cold ice cream,” said Benny promptly.
    That made Officer Pierre smile a little.
    The officer moved closer to Butterscotch, stroking her nose and looking her over carefully. Then she said, “We had a complaint about the horse. Someone said she was being mistreated.”
    “Butterscotch? Mistreated?” gasped Brianna in disbelief.
    “She’s not being mistreated!” Henry said. “We always stop in the shade. And she