Parnell Hall - Dead Mans Puzzle: A Puzzle Lady Mystery

Copyright 2009 by Parnell Hall. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. For information, address St. Martins Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. www.minotaurbooks.com ISBN-13: 978-0-312-37399-3 ISBN-10: 0-312-37399-6 First Edition: April 2009 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 For Lynn, who knows computers Contents I would like to thank Will Shortz, New York Times crossword puzzle editor, NPR puzzlemaster, star of the movie Wordplay, and editor and presenter of his own series of enormously popular sudoku books, for creating a sudoku to cheer up Cora. www.minotaurbooks.com ISBN-13: 978-0-312-37399-3 ISBN-10: 0-312-37399-6 First Edition: April 2009 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 For Lynn, who knows computers Contents I would like to thank Will Shortz, New York Times crossword puzzle editor, NPR puzzlemaster, star of the movie Wordplay, and editor and presenter of his own series of enormously popular sudoku books, for creating a sudoku to cheer up Cora.

With Sherry off on her honeymoon, Cora was lonely and needed something to boost her spirits. A challenging sudoku was just the ticket. I would like to thank Manny Nosowsky, famed constructor and frequent New York Times contributor, for creating crossword puzzles to drive Cora crazy. With Sherry off on her honeymoon, Cora, who couldnt solve a crossword puzzle to save her life, was embarrassed by them and forced to tap-dance like crazy. I would like to thank Ellen Ripstein, national champion of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, for editing the puzzles. It was, as always, a pleasure to pass on the responsibility to her.

Without these three shining stars, this book would not have been possible. I cant thank them enough. DEAD MANS Ill be fine. Cora Felton patted her nieces hands and smiled brightly, the trademark Puzzle Lady smile that graced her nationally syndicated crossword puzzle column. I know you will, Sherry said. She looked cute as a button in a fossil-colored safari shirt and matching convertible pants, the legs of which zipped off to make shorts.

A floppy sun hat and mesh hiking boots completed the picture. I just want to make sure youve got everything straight. You told me before. You were watching a soap opera. I was multitasking. Good practice.

Sharpens the brainpower. As I was saying. Its important to get it straight. Didnt they call your plane? Cora said. No, they didnt call our plane. Or you wouldnt be here.

We havent gone through security yet. Oh, right. Now, pay attention. Cora sighed. Couldnt you have told me this on the way? You were driving. So? I didnt want you to drive off the road.

You think I cant drive and talk? I know you can drive and talk. Drive and listen is another matter. I see what youre doing. Youre trying to be such a pain I wont miss you. When you get back to the house and dont know what to do, youll be glad we had this little talk. Sherry Carter and Aaron Grant were leaving on their honeymoon.

After a long and fitful courtship, they had finally tied the knot. Cora always knew they would; still, it had been touch and go, what with Sherrys abusive ex-husband, Dennis Pride, always poking around and Aarons former girlfriend Becky Baldwin on hand. It had happened at last, and the young couple were off to Africa to track the migration of the wildebeest. Cora shuddered at the thought. She wasnt entirely sure what a wildebeest was, but she doubted there was a man in the world attractive enough to induce her to track one. The Puzzle Lady columns for the next two weeks are ready to go.

Each set is paper-clipped together with a Post-it with the date. Sherry cocked her head like a schoolteacher. Is that the date the puzzle appears in the paper? Is it? No! Sherry cried in exasperation. It is the date you are to fax the puzzle. And where is the number you are to fax the puzzle to? I may have missed one or two things, Cora admitted. Its on the cover sheet youre faxing.

Each fax you send out consists of three pages. The cover sheet. The puzzle. And the solution. You put them in the fax machine how? I take the paper clip off. Cora. Cora.

Isnt that right? Whats the direction of the pages when you put them in? Does it matter? If theyre upside down, they can just turn them around. Not top and bottom. Front and back. The writing side faces away from you. The blank side faces toward you. Then how do I read the phone number? Aaron came back from checking the departure board.

The young reporter looked happy. Whether it was from not having a deadline for two weeks or from marrying her niece, Cora wasnt sure. Aaron wore a similar outfit, carried a backpack. Is the plane on time? Sherry asked. Safari, so good, Aaron deadpanned. Oh, God, is it too late to get out of marrying this guy? You already did.

The planes on time, Aaron said. We gotta go. You kids run along now, Cora said. Ill be fine. What do you do if you have to reach me? Sherry said. I wont.

In case of emergency. In case of emergency, someone would find you. In an emergency, I dont want someone spending half a day finding me. I have an international cell phone. You do? The numbers on my desk. With the rest of the instructions.

See, Cora said. Youre giving me a hard time, and all this is written down. If you need me, call me. If you dont get me, leave a message on my voice mail. Unless were out of range, Aaron said. These things can be out of range.

In which case you e-mail me, Sherry said. You have e-mail? See? You werent listening at all. You leave my e-mail closed. You leave your e-mail open. You e-mail me here, I pick it up there. Cora frowned.

You have the same account there? Its not that I have an account there. Its that I can pick it up there. How? At Hotmail dot com. Sounds like a porn site. You can e-mail me, and when I get it, I can either call you or e-mail you back. We will. We will.

Cora smiled. She supposed they would. So would she. Despite. It was sweet of Sherry to worry, but Cora was a big girl. She could take care of herself.

After all, it was only for two weeks. What could possibly go wrong? Cora Felton slammed the red Toyota into a turn. Leaves shot out from under the wheel. The car skidded slightly, gripped pavement, rocketed down the road. Up ahead, sun filtering through the trees glinted off the tan Lexus as it flashed around the curve out of sight. Cora scowled, ascribed the power of the procreative process to the sun, the trees, and the car.

She flipped down the visor, stomped on the accelerator, and hunched over the wheel, preparing to negotiate the tricky S-turn, which seemed to lose a new guard post every year as some unsuspecting driver was ambushed by an icy patch from the first early frost. She handled the S-turn by driving straight through, no problem, unless someone happened to be coming in the other lane. Today no one was. Cora shot through, gained a couple of seconds on her quarry. Not enough. The Lexus was still a hundred yards away and coming up on Dead Mans Curve.