And a Puzzle to Die On (13 page)
Read And a Puzzle to Die On Online
Authors: Parnell Hall
“Hey, you’re not in New York anymore. I’d watch that talk around here.”
“I have, in short, the least promising case I can imagine. And yet when I start poking into it, what do I find? My lead suspect died under suspicious circumstances, and the fact I’m looking into it raises someone’s hackles.”
“So you wanna Google them. Or at least Google the leads you got. Tell me, what is the optimum result you’d like from this Internet adventure?”
Cora tried to see if her niece’s eyes were twinkling, but Sherry was busy scraping the pumpkin. “I’d love it if Valerie What’s-her-face and Cindy Gotsagoo were one and the same person. That would teach Chief Harper to be so damn smug.”
“Oh, so
that’s
what this is all about.”
“No, it isn’t. But I’d like
something
to make sense.”
“All right.” Sherry put the pumpkin aside, washed her hands in the sink. “Come on, let’s Google.”
They went into the office and Sherry sat at the computer.
“We didn’t get any more puzzles?” Cora said apprehensively.
“No, but I solved the last one. You wanna see?”
“Not really. What is it?”
“Another birthday card. You really need to thank Harvey.”
“I really need to rap Harvey upside the head. Did I
ask
him for these cards?”
“He doesn’t know you’re illiterate, Cora. He thinks it’s fun.”
“Can’t I just tell him, Sherry? The guy’s a real pain.”
“Sure, if you think he can keep a secret. If you don’t
think he’ll put it around the whole crossword puzzle community.”
“Of course he will. He’s worse than an old maid.” Cora raised her finger. “I didn’t say that. Don’t quote me. There is nothing wrong with people who choose not to marry. I think they’re nuts, but that’s just me.”
“Well, here’s Manny’s puzzle.” Sherry called it up on the screen. “Take a look.”
“Do I have to?”
“You need to know it if you run into Harvey.”
“Yeah, I guess so.” Cora leaned over, looked at the puzzle.
“Wonderful. Seventeen by seventeen. I can kid Harvey about having puzzle envy.”
Sherry, reading over Cora’s shoulder, said, “Your favorite sci-fi movie is
Star Wars
?”
“Huh?”
Sherry pointed. “Nineteen Across. ‘Soundtrack of the Puzzle Lady’s favorite sci-fi movie.’ ”
“I guess
Planet of the Apes
didn’t fit the space.”
“Cora—”
“So I like
Star Wars
. Is that a crime? The first
Star Wars
movie was good.” Cora looked up from the computer. “Enough of this damn puzzle stuff. Can we Google?”
“Sure.”
Sherry called up the program, plugged in
Valerie Thompkins
, and hit
SEARCH
.
“Well, you got two hits, Cora. Both from the
Danbury News-Times
. Valerie Thompkins to wed, and Valerie Thompkins widowed. The gentleman in question is a Marvin Fleckstein. Marvin appears to have been a used-car salesman. No, that’s unfair. Actually, he was a dealership owner. Probably made a pretty penny. Probably what Valerie’s living on now.”
A PUZZLING SITUATION
by Manny Nosowsky
ACROSS
| 1 | Nostalgic yet fashionable |
| 6 | Computer game gobbler |
| 12 | Green land? |
| 16 | Neptune’s domain |
| 17 | Actor Peter of “Becket” |
| 18 | Where the auction is on-line |
| 19 | Soundtrack of the Puzzle Lady’s favorite sci-fi movie |
| 22 | Freebie |
| 23 | Steinbeck migrants |
| 24 | Call for a dealer? |
| 25 | “Give it ___” (“Check it out”) |
| 27 | They go up and down |
| 30 | Grammarian’s shtick |
| 33 | Hole in the ground |
| 36 | ___ Xing (street sign) |
| 37 | Blubber |
| 40 | Like the Puzzle Lady |
| 44 | ___ tai cocktail |
| 45 | Areas |
| 46 | “Uh-uh!” |
| 47 | Grammy winner Morissette |
| 49 | Popular gas-guzzler |
| 50 | Jayhawker |
| 52 | Fill the bill? |
| 53 | Firehouse fleet |
| 55 | Make a lap |
| 56 | What the Puzzle Lady hopes you’ll do |
| 60 | Inspirational talk: Abbr. |
| 61 | Emulate Chief Dale Harper |
| 62 | Doubling prefix? |
| 63 | ___ fit (tantrum, Southern-style) |
| 64 | Allen or Frome |
| 66 | Bank claim |
| 68 | Confidence games |
| 71 | Gobbled up |
| 74 | “Night” author Wiesel |
| 78 | What we have to say to the Puzzle Lady |
| 82 | “I’d hate to break up ___” |
| 83 | Gromyko or Sakharov |
| 84 | New currency |
| 85 | Like buildup on a floor |
| 86 | Injury |
| 87 | Lost one’s balance? |
DOWN
| 1 | College military unit: Abbr. |
| 2 | Say again |
| 3 | Be rife (with) |
| 4 | “Elephant Walk” climax |
| 5 | Married or single? |
| 6 | “Th-th-that’s all, folks” speaker |
| 7 | Yours, en français |
| 8 | Join the party |
| 9 | Unlike a rolling stone? |
| 10 | Space bar neighbor |
| 11 | PBS benefactor |
| 12 | Clark’s exploration partner |
| 13 | Blind as ___ |
| 14 | Close, in hide-and-seek |
| 15 | NASDAQ rival |
| 20 | In favor of |
| 21 | Old Valerie Harper sitcom |
| 26 | Country singer Gibbs |
| 28 | Major work |
| 29 | Nonetheless |
| 30 | Reveals, on Halloween |
| 31 | Shipping route |
| 32 | Fly guy |
| 34 | “___ Fair” (Don Cornell song) |
| 35 | Premeditation, say |
| 37 | Obeys the periodontist |
| 38 | Helpers from abroad |
| 39 | Itsy |
| 41 | Director Craven |
| 42 | For all to see |
| 43 | Larry King employer |
| 48 | In mint condition |
| 50 | Barbie’s beau |
| 51 | “Steady ___ goes” |
| 53 | Napoleon’s isle |
| 54 | Sealed shut with a hammer |
| 57 | On pins and needles |
| 58 | “Well, ___ -di-dah!” |
| 59 | Seder container |
| 64 | Running on fumes |
| 65 | Teased teenagers |
| 67 | One-million link? |
| 68 | “Pygmalion” playwright |
| 69 | “Mi ___ es su …” |
| 70 | High point |
| 72 | Longfellow’s “The Bell of ___” |
| 73 | The other Van Gogh |
| 75 | Tales of the tribe |
| 76 | Multivitamin supplement |
| 77 | Sun spot? |
| 79 | ___ Harbour, FL |
| 80 | It makes Paul a girl? |
| 81 | Ouija board reply |
“Try the girlfriend.”
“Okay. Cindy Tambourine.” Sherry did a search. “Absolutely nothing.”
“What?”
“No hits at all.”
“How can that be? She was in the
Gazette
.”
“Yeah, twenty years ago. I hate to break it to you, Cora, but twenty-year-old Bakerhaven papers aren’t going to be on-line.”
“So the woman just ceased to exist. I wonder what happened to her.”
“Why don’t you ask your client?”
“My client?”
“I don’t mean your client. I mean the killer.”
“Do you have to call him ‘the killer’?”
“A jury did.”
“Yeah.” Cora pointed to the computer. “Google him.”
“What?”
“Darryl Daigue. Google Darryl Daigue. I want to see if there’s anything at all.”
“There should be.”
“Oh, yeah? If twenty-year-old papers aren’t on-line, they missed the trial.”
“Well, let’s give it a try.” Sherry typed in
Darryl Daigue
, hit
ENTER
. “There you are. A hundred and seventeen hits.”
“A hundred and seventeen?”
“They won’t all be what you want. You’ll get stuff like, ‘Hoop star Darryl Dawkins performed charitable work for the Daigue Foundation.’ ”
“How the hell do you know about Darryl Dawkins? You don’t like basketball, and you’re not old enough.”
“I do crossword puzzles, Cora. I know everybody. Let’s see. Here’s a book called
Lifer
by A. E. Greenhouse,
based on the author’s interviews with several life prisoners, including Darryl Daigue.”
Cora snorted. “Having interviewed Darryl Daigue, I wouldn’t expect much.”
“Here’s an article on sex crimes, by a Lester Moffat. Sort of unfair, since the sex charge was dropped. I wonder if Lester mentions that.”
“I don’t care if he does or not. Darryl Daigue shouldn’t be in the article. How old is it?”
“Just last year.”
“And they’re still calling it a sex crime? That is so unfair.”
“Then you’ll love this one.”
“What is it?”
“Article is called ‘Death Row.’ ”
“Death Row? Darryl Daigue isn’t on Death Row.”
“Yeah, that seems to be the point of the article. How the system keeps the scum of the earth like Darryl Daigue alive for years at a considerable expense to the state, while the man has no hope of redemption, no possibility of parole, no future prospects outside of a ten-by-ten cell, so why not give the gentleman the lethal injection he so richly deserves?”
“Yeah, that would be just great until a DNA test showed he was innocent.”
“It’s not going to happen. Anita Dryer wasn’t raped.”
“Talk about unfair,” Cora said. “The guy gets blamed for raping the girl, but he didn’t, so DNA can’t set him free.”
“Yeah,” Sherry said. “If only he hadn’t killed her. That’s probably where he made his big mistake.”
“Nasty girl. Okay, smarty-pants. What was Darryl Dawkins’s nickname?”
“Chocolate Thunder. Want the computer?”
“Please.”
Cora sat down, scrolled through the articles. Which were, in Cora’s humble estimation, depressing, inaccurate, and annoyingly uninformative. Only one in four was actually about Darryl Daigue. Of the ones that were, most contained no more information than the ones that weren’t.
On a whim, Cora Googled
Brandon Prison
. It seemed to Cora the machine hiccupped slightly, and yet the search took only one point seven seconds, and yielded twelve thousand six hundred and twenty-two articles.
Cora scrolled through the first page of listings. The heading
WARDEN PLAYS HARDBALL
caught her eye. Cora clicked on it, was greeted by a picture of the little man who had ushered her into his office, given her a cigar, and blown a slightly inferior smoke ring.
Cora skimmed the article. The gist of it was that in light of a prison riot, Warden Prufrock had cut prisoner exercise time to free up prison staff for guard duty.
Cora wondered if Darryl Daigue had been involved in the riot. She deleted
Brandon Prison
, typed in
Warden Prufrock
. That yielded three hundred fifty-six hits. Cora scrolled through, looking for Darryl Daigue. She wondered if there was a subsearch, to search these three hundred fifty-six articles for him. If so, it wasn’t readily apparent.
Cora continued to scroll through the headings, hoping for a hint. The name Darryl Daigue didn’t appear, but a theme began to emerge. Evidently “Warden Plays Hardball” was not an isolated article. Other headlines were
WARDEN GETS TOUGH, WARDEN
CRACKS DOWN, WARDEN DRAWS LINE, WARDEN STANDS FIRM
. There was even an article with the headline
IRON MAN
. Cora couldn’t help smiling at the thought of the warden described that way.
