Book Read Free

Wrapped Up in Crosswords

Page 11

by Nero Blanc


  And so hold on when there is nothing in you

  Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold On!’ …”

  He looked at the gathered company and finally at Martha. “Thank you,” he said. “Thank you very, very much.” His eyes had misted up. Rosco was happy Al wasn’t there to witness the spectacle, but then he realized Al’s—and Skippy Two’s—eyes were probably just as dreamy and damp.

  Sixteen

  “I hope you’re pleased with yourself … You and Sara, both.” It was late Christmas eve, and Rosco and Belle were tucked into bed, while Kit and Gabby were ensconced in their own pillowy nests on the floor. The dogs were only half-awake as they listened to the drone of human speech; vigilance, for the moment, had been placed on the back burner.

  “Well, didn’t it work out perfectly? Stan and Martha couldn’t have found more ideal gifts for one another. And the way they were looking at each other? Sara thinks—”

  “I know exactly what she thinks,” Rosco chortled. “But not even Sara Crane Briephs can arrange marriage proposals nowadays.”

  “No one mentioned anything like that, Rosco!”

  “Sara did.” He laughed again. “In this very house, in fact.”

  “I think it’s terrific what happened,” Belle retorted with a smug smile. “Even if Stan and Martha simply become better friends.”

  “Mmmm hmmm … And since Sara’s the Newcastle bigwig in charge of the random drawing to determine who wins the Crier’s puzzle contest this year—”

  “She’d never fix a contest!” Belle insisted.

  “Oh, no?” Rosco chuckled.

  “I’m certain she wouldn’t. I’m pretty certain she wouldn’t …”

  “Unless Stanley or Martha are among the contestants …” Rosco shook his head while Belle frowned:

  “Sara wouldn’t … would she?”

  Rosco grinned. “Well, I hope she realizes she’s going to needs to arrange a better companion for Helen ASAP.”

  “What’s wrong with Al?”

  “Did you see him when we left the party? I was surprised he even remembered Helen was with him. He opened the door for the new Skippy—who very nearly got to ride shotgun. If Helen doesn’t watch her step she may be relegated to the backseat on all family outings.”

  Belle sighed happily. “The bigger they are, the harder they fall.”

  “I wouldn’t use those precise words with our ‘Albert,’ if I were you.”

  “I didn’t know he’d had a dog when he was a kid. I didn’t think he even liked animals.”

  “He had me fooled.” Rosco shrugged, then put his arm around his wife; and she cuddled against him while a prolonged groan rose from the floor.

  “I think we’re being told it’s too late for any hanky-panky, Rosco.”

  “Since when do our four-legged pals make the decisions around here?”

  “I hope you don’t expect an honest response to a loopy question like that.” Belle stretched away to turn out the light, then stopped mid-movement. “Okay, so what did you get me for Christmas?”

  “Aren’t you jumping the gun a little?”

  “It’s eleven-thirty … No, it’s eleven-thirty-three, almost thirty-four …” She leapt out of bed. “I’ll go first.”

  Whether it was Belle’s feet hitting the floor or the recognition that the ominous gift exchange was finally upon them, both dogs became fully alert in an instant. They looked at each other, their ears cocked to full listening mode, their brains concentrating on feathers and twittering songs.

  “It’s a crossword,” Belle said, sliding back between the covers. “You have to fill in the answers to learn what your gift is. I brought you a pen.”

  “Why don’t you just read me the answers. If it’s anything like your Belle’s Nöel, it might be Independence Day before I figure this thing out.”

  “Spoilsport.”

  Rosco grinned and sat up straighter. Then he pulled open the drawer in his bedside table. “I made you a puzzle, too. Actually, I had help—”

  “From who?”

  “Isn’t it whom?”

  “Don’t split hairs. Who was it?”

  “The same person who helped me with the puzzle I used as a marriage proposal. And good detectives never reveal private sources.”

  “It was Sara, wasn’t it? And she didn’t breathe a word. Not even when we discussed her role in the competition.”

  “Detectives never reveal private sources, Belle—”

  “And Al probably, too. That’s so unfair, Rosco! Everyone’s in on the secret except me!”

  Both Gabby and Kit woofed in unison.

  “Well, except for those two four-legged loafers.” Belle laughed. “Because I doubt your clandestine constructors were of the canine variety … Wait! Was it your puzzle that Gab was chewing on the other day? I thought something seemed fishy about the way you acted when you snatched it from her mouth …” But Belle’s words trailed off as she began hurriedly writing in puzzle clues. “Oh, Rosco! You constructed a poem. How clever—and sweet …”

  “It’s more doggerel than poetry, I’m afraid. But it rhymes, if you use your imagination.”

  “Dog-what?” Belle was so engrossed in the crossword she scarcely heard her husband.

  “Never mind.”

  “No … what did you say? Something about a dog?”

  Rosco laughed and looked over her shoulder. “Hey, that’s not fair! You can’t just fill in the HER GIFT part. You have to work the Down clues, too.” He pulled the crossword from her hand.

  “Give me that!”

  “My turn to learn what my gift is … But you’ll have to be patient. I’m a lot slower at these cryptic word diversions than you …”

  Gabby and Kit began to whine in frustration.

  “Do you think they’re asking to go out again?” Belle wondered.

  “I think they’re telling us to shut up and go to sleep so we’re bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for Santa’s gift deliveries tomorrow morning,” was Rosco’s amused reply.

  Out of sight of the humans, Gabby hung her head in disbelief, while Kit, who previously would have deemed this behavior unnecessarily corny and theatrical, decided it was just the ticket. Stoic New Englanders, she thought, could learn a lot from their thespian counterparts in southern California.

  “This could take all night,” Gabby whimpered.

  “You said it,” Kit grumbled in response, while Belle kept up a running description of the crossword she’d created for Rosco.

  “… I wrote a poem, too … It’s really an I.O.U. because you’ll have to try—”

  “Hey, don’t tell me!”

  “You’re right. I’m not going to say another word. But then we haven’t had any snow or even a good, solid freeze—”

  “You have no self-control whatsoever. Have I ever told you that?”

  “About a million times. It’s just that I’m not certain a pair of—” She clapped her hand over her mouth. “That’s it! I’m not saying another word, I swear.”

  Rosco gave her a kiss. “You’re as bad as Martha.”

  “It’s not a book, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Belle insisted.

  “I gathered that much. Now, are you going to tell me what my present is or let me figure it out on my own?”

  “My lips are sealed,” Belle answered with a grin. “Why don’t we both fill in our crosswords at the same time—bearing in mind that I’ve already supplied you with a major, and I mean major, clue.”

  “This isn’t a competion, Belle.”

  “Oh, no?… On your mark, get set, go!”

  This was too much suspense for Kit and Gabby, who simultaneously jumped on the bed and began pouncing up and down.

  “What’s gotten into you, Kit?” Belle demanded. “I thought you’d outgrown these puppy antics. And, you, Gab; you’re supposed to be learning ladylike behaviour from your ‘big sister’.…” But Belle’s heart wasn’t in this reprimand, because even as she spoke her eyes were scanning the cr
ossword Rosco had given her.

  “Oh, Rosco!” she burst out. “ONE PAIR OF LOVELY … Oh, what an extravagant, wonderful gift! I saw them in the shop window, and I … and I—” She threw her arms around her husband’s neck. “Oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

  Gabby looked at Kit, who stared levelly at her in return. “One pair of lovely …?” rumbled from the bigger dog’s throat. “One pair of lovely …? And you let us get completely bamboozled into thinking …? And all the work I went through? All that chewing and shredding?”

  “That’s what I heard him say. Honest! I mean, I thought that’s what he … Because a ‘pair of love’ and a ‘pair of lovely’: they’re almost the same thing, aren’t they?”

  “Someone’s got to teach you the difference between adjectives and adverbs, young Gabby. Or in this instance, adjectives and nouns—”

  But Gabby yipped Kit into silence. “Look! Look out the window! What are those white spots flying around?”

  Kit turned her head. “Snow, you birdbrain.”

  “My first snowfall.” Gabby’s terrier voice had turned docile and full of awe.

  Then Kit also began to stare through the window, and the stillness of both dogs caused Belle and Rosco to take notice, too. “The first snow of the year,” they said almost in unison, while Belle curled up close to Rosco and added a soft:

  “I guess it’s going to be cold enough for my gift after all.”

  Rosco’s Gift To Belle

  ACROSS

  1. Hit-run link

  4. Payroll info

  7. Explosive letters

  10. Not many

  13. Map abbr.

  14. Also

  15. “The ___ to a man’s heart …”

  16. Mellow

  17. HER GIFT, part 1

  21. Classic roadster

  22. Sunset Boulevard Oscar nominee

  23. Letter opener?

  26. CCCX ÷ II

  27. Passion

  31. HER GIFT, part 2

  35. Amish possessive

  36. “___ Day Now”

  37. Add fizz

  38. Broccoli ___

  40. Greek nine

  41. “Excellent!”

  44. “Sounds new to me?”

  45. “The ___ Side”

  48. HER GIFT, part 3

  52. Mets’ home

  53. VCR setting

  54. The Good Book

  55. Machinations

  58. Served Kit & Gabby

  59. HER GIFT, part 4

  66. Goof

  67. Hawaiian wreath

  68. Inc. leader

  69. Yours and mine

  70. Airport posting

  71. Bruin battleground

  72. Perfect Olympic score

  73. Old Pontiac

  DOWN

  1. Mr. Garfunkel

  2. ___ degree

  3. Joey ___ & the Starliters

  4. Reputation stain

  5. Davenport

  6. “___ a creature was …”

  7. “The ___ Days of Christmas”

  8. Collars

  9. Rookie

  10. Fenway Park attendee

  11. With 63-Down, holiday quaff

  12. Director Craven

  18. Caddy financer

  19. Hunter or tree

  20. How to pay for a Ferrari?

  23. Wrestling spot

  24. Bat material

  25. Lover Come Back star

  26. Pine adornment

  28. Italian one

  29. Cpl’s next step

  30. Literary monogram

  32. Synagogue leader

  33. Eating___

  34. Ready-go link

  38. Fix

  39. Mr. Parseghian

  40. Data; abbr.

  41. May-day

  42. Durham campus; abbr.

  43. ___ Dee River, S.C.

  44. Classic Christmas dinner

  45. Valentine mo.

  46. “___ I want for Christmas …”

  47. Catcher in the___

  49. Tour stagehand

  50. King of the fairies

  51. Veni-vici link

  56. Artist Salvador

  57. Util. bill

  58. Certain sports agent?

  59. Wide shoe

  60. A-Team member

  61. Pitcher’s stat.

  62. Do something

  63. See 11-Down

  64. Some tennis strings

  65. Sign of a hit

  To download a PDF of this puzzle, please visit openroadmedia.com/nero-blanc-crosswords

  Belle’s Gift To Rosco

  ACROSS

  1. Brainy numbers; abbr.

  4. Back of the boat

  7. NYC subway line

  10. Not LG

  13. Fruitcake?

  14. Reel partner

  15. Classic car

  16. Foot digit

  17. HIS GIFT, part 1

  21. Update

  22. Not quite due?

  23. Mr. Estrada

  24. HIS GIFT, part 2

  27. “Wait a ___!”

  28. Fair grade

  29. “___ girl!”

  33. Toss in

  35. Caesar and Waldorf

  40. Santa Claus across The Pond

  43. Confederate general

  44. Fall back

  45. “___ Be Cruel”

  46. Cheat

  48. News network; abbr.

  50. HIS GIFT, part 3

  59. Couple

  60. Orr field?

  61. Best results

  62. HIS GIFT, part 4

  65. Kingston campus; abbr.

  66. Tiny

  67. Volta feeder

  68. Picnic pest

  69. Ethnic of Laos

  70. Hippie drug

  71. 2-Down’s org.

  72. Draft org.

  DOWN

  1. Lemur

  2. Bogart role

  3. Italian subdivision

  4. Cupid’s barbs

  5. Valentine’s candy?

  6. Pat 6-pointers

  7. Curiously opposite

  8. Directional notices at the North Pole?

  9. Gift for a tot

  10. Baby’s first ride?

  11. Film

  12. Tall onions

  18. Decay

  19. “Stop the shot!”

  20. Grassland

  25. Power options; abbr.

  26. Green, black & Earl Grey

  29. “No ___, ands or buts.”

  30. Make lace

  31. RV hookup?

  32. “Gotcha!”

  34. UPS rival

  36. Ford model

  37. Latin love

  38. Dapper ___

  39. Retired flyer; abbr.

  41. Therefore

  42. Steamy

  47. Hen ___

  49. Table cloth?

  50. Pipe drug

  51. Mother-of-pearl

  52. Old McDonald refrain

  53. Scientology monogram

  54. Confederate general

  55. “Give ___ rest.”

  56. Namesakes of a meter maid

  57. Signs

  58. Skips lunch

  63. Wise one

  64. “I Only Have Eyes for ___”

  To download a PDF of this puzzle, please visit openroadmedia.com/nero-blanc-crosswords

  The Answers

  To download a PDF of the answers, please visit openroadmedia.com/nero-blanc-crosswords/answers

  Belle’s Nöel

  If Dogs Made Crosswords

  Rosco’s Gift To Belle

  Belle’s Gift To Rosco

  About the Author

  Nero Blanc is the pseudonym of Steve Zettler and Cordelia Frances Biddle, who are husband and wife and serious crossword buffs. Biddle is also the author of the Martha Beale historical mystery series, which is set in Philadelphia, Zettler and Biddle’s hometown. Their website is www.crosswordmysteries.com.

  All rights r
eserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2004 by Cordelia F. Biddle and Steve Zettler

  Cover design by Tammy Seidick

  ISBN: 978-1-4976-7178-2

  This edition published in 2014 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.

  345 Hudson Street

  New York, NY 10014

  www.openroadmedia.com

  CROSSWORD MYSTERIES

  FROM OPEN ROAD MEDIA

  Available wherever ebooks are sold

  Open Road Integrated Media is a digital publisher and multimedia content company. Open Road creates connections between authors and their audiences by marketing its ebooks through a new proprietary online platform, which uses premium video content and social media.

  Videos, Archival Documents, and New Releases

  Sign up for the Open Road Media newsletter and get news delivered straight to your inbox.

  Sign up now at

  www.openroadmedia.com/newsletters

  FIND OUT MORE AT

  WWW.OPENROADMEDIA.COM

  FOLLOW US:

  @openroadmedia and

  Facebook.com/OpenRoadMedia

 

 

 


‹ Prev