someone solving the first piece would result in a general announcement. In which case, I’ll learn the same thing they do. Without lifting a finger.”
“You don’t know that.”
“No, I don’t. But I do know I’m no good at puzzle solving.”
“You want help?”
“I thought you were just passing through.”
“I was. But I got roped into taking a case, and now my client’s dead. I guess I gotta stick around till that gets straightened out.”
Daniel grinned. “And in the meantime, you’d like to help me solve the puzzle?”
“Not really. I was thinking of something else.”
“Like what?”
“The whole setup. I’m not sure it’s legally binding.”
“What do you mean?”
“An elderly woman writes a holographic will without benefit of legal advice, and bequeaths an enormous fortune to the winner of a foolish game. If one wanted to, there would seem to be lots of grounds to contest such a will. Would that interest you?”
Daniel Hurley pushed his coffee cup aside, put his elbows on the table, leaned his chin in his hand.
“Tell me more,” he said.
Cora Felton nearly sloshed her cup of coffee. “You solved it already?”
“Sure, I did. It wasn’t hard. It’s a simple, straightforward crossword puzzle. There are no tricks. It can be solved by anyone who’s used to doing daily puzzles.”
“By one of the heirs?”
“I don’t know,” Sherry said. “Frankly, none of them strike me as the type. But that doesn’t mean they couldn’t do it. Anyway, take a look at the puzzle.”
“Sherry, I have a headache.”
“I can’t help that.”
“And I’m no good at puzzles.”
“That’s why I’m going to explain it to you.”
“I’m not great at explanations, either. This puzzle stuff leaves me cold.”
“I know that. But you’ve got to know enough to fake it. You’re the one who has to explain it to the heirs.”
“Yes, I know. But—”
“Fifty. Thousand. Dollars.”
Cora sighed. “Keep reminding me of that, will you?”
“Never fear,” Sherry said. “Okay, take a look at this.”
Cora Felton leaned in and looked at the computer. Sherry had typed in the answers to the clues in the grid.
ACROSS
1. Italian village
6.____ fall
13. WWII vessel
14. Sharpen
16. Place to woo?
19. Affirmative
20. Ages
23. Useful quality
DOWN
1. Ricardo
2. Woodwind
3. Entre ____ (fr)
4. Tibetan town
5. Swear
6. Call
7. Deckhand
8. R.S.V.P.
9. Youth
17. Stockings
“Okay,” Sherry told Cora. “Here’s the solution to the first quarter of the puzzle. Or, what we have been referring to as the first quarter of the puzzle. Actually, it’s somewhat less.”
“How is that?” Cora said.
“Well, take a look. To begin with, let me explain something about the grid. There are four long clues in the puzzle, ten letters each. There’s sixteen across, ten down, twenty-seven down, and fifty-eight across.”
“And you got one. Courthouse .”
“Right.” Sherry nodded. “Sixteen across is courthouse. It’s a pun. A rather bad pun, by the way. I mean, come on, Place to woo means courthouse? Really. Anyway, it starts in the upper-left-hand corner of the grid. Ten down starts in the upper-right-hand corner of the grid. Twenty-seven down ends in the lower -left-hand corner of the grid. Fifty-eight across ends in the lower-right-hand corner of the grid. While they’re not exactly quadrants, the four long clues occupy four separate sections of the grid.
“Which is the point. All of the clues that we were given were for words that affect the long clue, sixteen across. Note that we are given clues seventeen down and twenty-three across. Note that we are not given clue twenty-five across, even though it is in the upper-left-hand quadrant. Why? Because the third letter of twenty-five across is also the first letter of twenty-seven down, which is the long answer for the lower-left-hand quadrant. See what I mean?”
“You lost me after courthouse .”
“Aunt Cora. Try to
“You don’t know that.”
“No, I don’t. But I do know I’m no good at puzzle solving.”
“You want help?”
“I thought you were just passing through.”
“I was. But I got roped into taking a case, and now my client’s dead. I guess I gotta stick around till that gets straightened out.”
Daniel grinned. “And in the meantime, you’d like to help me solve the puzzle?”
“Not really. I was thinking of something else.”
“Like what?”
“The whole setup. I’m not sure it’s legally binding.”
“What do you mean?”
“An elderly woman writes a holographic will without benefit of legal advice, and bequeaths an enormous fortune to the winner of a foolish game. If one wanted to, there would seem to be lots of grounds to contest such a will. Would that interest you?”
Daniel Hurley pushed his coffee cup aside, put his elbows on the table, leaned his chin in his hand.
“Tell me more,” he said.
Cora Felton nearly sloshed her cup of coffee. “You solved it already?”
“Sure, I did. It wasn’t hard. It’s a simple, straightforward crossword puzzle. There are no tricks. It can be solved by anyone who’s used to doing daily puzzles.”
“By one of the heirs?”
“I don’t know,” Sherry said. “Frankly, none of them strike me as the type. But that doesn’t mean they couldn’t do it. Anyway, take a look at the puzzle.”
“Sherry, I have a headache.”
“I can’t help that.”
“And I’m no good at puzzles.”
“That’s why I’m going to explain it to you.”
“I’m not great at explanations, either. This puzzle stuff leaves me cold.”
“I know that. But you’ve got to know enough to fake it. You’re the one who has to explain it to the heirs.”
“Yes, I know. But—”
“Fifty. Thousand. Dollars.”
Cora sighed. “Keep reminding me of that, will you?”
“Never fear,” Sherry said. “Okay, take a look at this.”
Cora Felton leaned in and looked at the computer. Sherry had typed in the answers to the clues in the grid.
ACROSS
1. Italian village
6.____ fall
13. WWII vessel
14. Sharpen
16. Place to woo?
19. Affirmative
20. Ages
23. Useful quality
DOWN
1. Ricardo
2. Woodwind
3. Entre ____ (fr)
4. Tibetan town
5. Swear
6. Call
7. Deckhand
8. R.S.V.P.
9. Youth
17. Stockings
“Okay,” Sherry told Cora. “Here’s the solution to the first quarter of the puzzle. Or, what we have been referring to as the first quarter of the puzzle. Actually, it’s somewhat less.”
“How is that?” Cora said.
“Well, take a look. To begin with, let me explain something about the grid. There are four long clues in the puzzle, ten letters each. There’s sixteen across, ten down, twenty-seven down, and fifty-eight across.”
“And you got one. Courthouse .”
“Right.” Sherry nodded. “Sixteen across is courthouse. It’s a pun. A rather bad pun, by the way. I mean, come on, Place to woo means courthouse? Really. Anyway, it starts in the upper-left-hand corner of the grid. Ten down starts in the upper-right-hand corner of the grid. Twenty-seven down ends in the lower -left-hand corner of the grid. Fifty-eight across ends in the lower-right-hand corner of the grid. While they’re not exactly quadrants, the four long clues occupy four separate sections of the grid.
“Which is the point. All of the clues that we were given were for words that affect the long clue, sixteen across. Note that we are given clues seventeen down and twenty-three across. Note that we are not given clue twenty-five across, even though it is in the upper-left-hand quadrant. Why? Because the third letter of twenty-five across is also the first letter of twenty-seven down, which is the long answer for the lower-left-hand quadrant. See what I mean?”
“You lost me after courthouse .”
“Aunt Cora. Try to
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