If you’re like me, you grew up reading the dazzling tales of young Leroy “Encyclopedia” Brown and the petty crimes he solved in his town.  We all knew that Encyclopedia Brown was a very bright young man with a future filled with promise. But things went very wrong somewhere along the way.

Some of you may know what happened to Mr. Brown when he grew up and left his home on Rover Avenue. But for those who have not heard this tragic story, allow me to fill you in. See, after high school, young Mr. Brown moved to Chicago to enroll at Northwestern University, where he had been accepted into their criminology program.

Unfortunately, Mr. Brown, being lonely and far from home, began running with the wrong crowd. He longed for a sense of belonging, and soon became addicted to gambling. He would spend his nights shooting dice on the south side of town, widely known to be the most unsavory part of the city.

Leroy, being extremely bright, but also physically imposing (you see, he stood about six foot-four) soon became something of a minor crime king in south Chicago. Those who knew the town well would tell you that you had better just beware of Mr. Brown when entering his neighborhood. As Leroy became more successful, his tastes grew more exotic, and his lifestyle became flashier. He drove a customized Continental, and also had an El Dorado.  He began wearing very fancy clothes, and he developed a particularly expensive taste for diamond rings, which he would show off at every opportunity.

Leroy’s new life was also a violent one. He was known to carry a .32 in his pocket, which he claimed was “for fun”, and he was rumored to hide a razor in his shoe. This new life was a far cry from the quiet suburbia of his youth. Leroy, in addition to his gambling and living on the outer edges of the law, was also a bit of a ladies’ man. As mentioned, he was of above-average height, and his stature and persona made him a hit with the fairer sex. Just as much as women loved him, men respected (and feared) him. In fact, the women of downtown referred to him as “Treetop Lover”, while the men just called him “sir.”

It seems that these tales always have a sad ending, and this one is no exception. You see, Leroy’s success in the seedy streets of Chicago soon went to his head. He became increasingly arrogant, and developed a strong sense of entitlement. One Friday night, he was at a bar, shooting dice as usual. At the edge of the bar sat a girl named Doris. And by all accounts, Doris was highly attractive. Leroy began paying attention to her, but Doris had a jealous husband who took exception to Leroy’s advances.  Soon the two men began fighting, and one witness later said that in the aftermath “Leroy looked like a jigsaw puzzle with a couple of pieces gone”.

Obviously, Leroy’s parents were inconsolable. They had long since lost touch with the child they raised – the bright young man who was always helping solve crimes out of his homespun detective agency.  But they always held out hope that he would get back on the straight and narrow. Unfortunately, his stubborn pride and his insistence on being the, as he described it “baddest man in the whole damn town” made this an impossibility, and he breathed his dying breath on the floor of some dirty Chicago bar.

RIP, Leroy. We hardly knew ye.