by Nero Blanc
“I represent the common man, Stanley.”
Stan McKenet threw back his wide head and laughed until he wept. “You kill me, Orso. You wouldn’t be sitting in this room with me right now if that were the case. The common man can drop dead as far as you’re concerned.”
“I’m the common man who just found himself five hundred grand richer than he thought.” Then Gerry Orso’s gaze shifted from the producer’s still-merry face to the door. “I don’t like it that Rolly Hoddal’s skulking around up here. What’s he up to?”
McKenet stood, stretching upward in his petite and well-shod feet. “You worry too much, Orso. I say, let’s be grateful for what we got.” He raised an invisible glass. “To Debra Marcollo’s dearly departed boyfriend. What a terrible, terrible tragedy!”
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
Across
1. 60s grp.
4. Ms. Fabray, to friends
7. With 24-Across & 39-Down, Spacey flick
10. With 26-Across, Gibson flick
13. Fisherman’s aid
14. Globe
15. Charged particle
16. Where the Boys___
17. With 54-Across, Curtis flick
20. Dealer’s nemesis; abbr.
21. Gather up
22. Classic dictionary; abbr.
23. ___Streets; De Niro flick
24. See 7-Across
26. See 10-Across
27. Wire measure
28. Aug-Oct link
29. Normal school? abbr.
31. Stage whisper
34. Carmen___
36. “Under My Thumb” group, familiarly
37. CIA predecessor
40. Ozzie & ___
42. She sheep
43. Reliable
45. 5-Down, e.g.
46. “A___of Honey”
47. Summer at 5-Down
48. Hotel or cloth add-on
51. Bad review
52. Teary
54. See 17-Across
56. “___there, done that”
58. Lt.’s school
59. Tight
60. Mandela’s grp.
61. Tracy flick
65. It’s a dying company
66. Syr. neighbor
67. Ms. Grant
68. It can be slippery
69. Football scores; abbr.
70. Mr. Knotts
71. TV flick; abbr
72. Aves. & sts.
Down
1. Road blocks
2. Subdue
3. Agitate
4. Japanese drama
5. L’___de Triomphe
6. Lakers org.
7. Mildew remover
8. Worked in the garden
9. The___, Reynolds flick
10. Ms. Kahn
11. Space
12. Mr. Jones
18. Hearst grp.
19. Deal memo; abbr.
23. Japanese soup
25. Take a load off
26. The Ghost and Mrs.___
27. Mr. Broderick
30. One-horse carriage
32. Morning wetness
33. Brooklyn or computer add-on
35. Mr. Parseghian
36. Religious group
37. Giant slugger
38. Spanish Mrs.
39. See 7-Across
41. Sore
44. Ollie’s partner
48. More idiotic
49. Brought out
50. Honey badgers
52. Reason for revenge
53. “___me no questions, …”
55. Week-glance connection
56. James “Maverick” role
57. Sir Geraint’s wife
58. Italian bear
61. Bridge statement
62. It can be slippery
63. New prefix
64. Mr. Ayres
To download a PDF of this puzzle, please visit openroadmedia.com/nero-blanc-crosswords
CHAPTER 26
The crossword puzzle had been burning a hole in Belle’s purse almost since the moment she’d removed it from her in-box. It had been carefully tucked beneath a cast memo that she’d casually picked up after returning from lunch at the studio commissary. Rosco hadn’t been with her; instead, he’d been watching rehearsals for another of Sara’s scenes; Dan Millray’s character had been successfully “murdered,” the five takes subsequently “okayed,” and here was Belle suddenly facing three crucial challenges.
One: No one other than she, Rosco, the director, the key grip, and the producer were aware that live ammunition had mysteriously appeared on the set that morning.
Two: She’d just been targeted with another crossword—this one filled with familiar names and a message that declared an ominous THE USUAL SUSPECTS.
And, three: As consultant to the film, and friend and adviser to Sara, Lew Groslir had warned Belle to act nonchalant, whether or not she had suspicions of foul play. Nonchalant!
No wonder she became a bundle of nervous energy for the remainder of the workday. Her smile, when she passed Rosco or her elderly friend, felt so pushed and strained that she almost imagined she was undergoing extensive dental work. Dean Ivald, on the other hand, seemed preternaturally cool and focused. As he guided Sara through her afternoon scenes, Belle was struck by his ability to dissemble and pretend; it was as if nothing untoward had ever happened on the set.
When the workday finally ended, Belle fairly bounded into the Mustang, then jounced up and down edgily in the bucket seat while Rosco drove back toward Santa Monica. Sara rested regally behind the couple, describing in minutest detail the events of her hours spent on the Anatomy set, as if her companions had spent the day not among her fellow thespians but far away in Oxnard. It wasn’t until Rosco handed the car keys to the hotel’s valet parking attendant, and the older woman suggested she’d like a “bit of a lie-down before dinner” that Belle took a steadying breath. For the hour or two that Sara was resting in her rooms, Belle would finally be able to share her findings with her husband.
The endeavor wasn’t as simple as she’d imagined. Rosco’s first thought on reaching the hotel was to jump into the heated outdoor pool. Belle tried to protest that they needed to focus on what she considered a major breakthrough in the Darlessen situation, but then realized the best way to talk to her husband would be to just join him. So she slipped into her own bathing suit and grabbed a hotel-supplied terry cloth robe.
“But the names are all there, Rosco,” she insisted as they left their suite and began heading for the elevators that would carry them downstairs. “LEW, SHAY, DEAN—”
“But the crossword lists DEAN as Mr. Jones.”
“Naturally, the names have other references,” Belle answered with some warmth. “That’s what makes the puzzle so intriguing and so clever. NAN’s clue is Ms. Fabray, to friends, though obviously it doesn’t mean—”
“Give me twenty minutes, and then we’ll discuss it. I need to stretch some muscles if you want my brain to work. Who knew making movies required so much sitting on your duff?”
Belle sighed stagily.
Rosco smiled at her. “You know what your problem is?”
“I know … I know … I’m impatient.”
“Twenty minutes, that’s it.”
“Honestly, Rosco, I don’t understand how you can concentrate on something as mundane as swimming when—”
“We’re not going to discover who killed Chick Darlessen by examining this crossword, Belle, even if it really wasn’t Debra Marcollo. Besides, swimming is a form of meditation. Sound body, sound mind. It’s very Zen.”
Belle ground her teeth, but didn’t otherwise respond.
The elevator carried them to the first floor where they crossed a flower-and-palm—lined patio. A white mist hovered above the azure blue of the long tiled pool, and exterior lights illuminated the trunks and fronds of the palm trees as well as the many terra-cotta pots that were filled with hibiscus and camellias, winter pansies, and feathery
pale ornamental grasses, which shivered delicately in the evening breeze. Against this tropical backdrop, the sky was a clear, deep purple. The air felt almost too cold to swim.
“Are you sure you want to take a plunge?” Belle remarked meaningfully. “It’s kind of chilly.” The completed and folded crossword was still clenched in her hand.
But Rosco was already in the pool and churning his way down the lane reserved for laps. “Twenty minutes,” was his watery reply, then he added, “You should, too … It’ll loosen you up!” But the suggestion was lost in his splashing wake. Belle huddled in her robe, spread the puzzle on her lap, and stared intently at it. Her trusty red pen had not only filled in the solutions, but circled the crossword’s many names. “SHAY,” she said aloud. “MISO, LEE, MADELAINE …”
Rosco churned back in her direction. “Not coming in?”
She held the puzzle aloft.
“Might not … be … Anatomy cast …” she heard as her husband performed an expert turn against the pool’s edge.
Belle’s response was a nettled “Just because the clues list MISO as Japanese soupy and SHAY as a One-horse carriage, I’m supposed to be thrown off track? The puzzle uses the same grid as the one I constructed for the show, for Pete’s sake! There’s no way this is an accident, or even a practical joke like Dan’s supposed-to-be-funny stunt this morning! Especially if you consider the bullets—”
But Rosco had already steamed away.
“Especially if you consider the real bullets that almost made an appearance in the make-believe murder scene,” Belle continued explaining to the breeze. It was fortunate the couple were the only people enjoying the pool and garden; conversations concerning live ammunition and homicide were known to make the average hotel guest uneasy.
Belle returned to her contemplation of the crossword, frowning as she studied it. Her eyes grew so narrowed and focused they looked as though they were trying to bore holes through the paper in hopes of unlocking the truth hidden there. “LEW … DON … LANCE … And then there are the folks from Down & Across … STAN, which obviously refers to Stan McKenet rather than Ollie’s partner … Gerry ORSO—”
“… thought you said … clue for ORSO was Italian bear …” her husband tossed in as he made another turn.
“If you’re not going to fully participate in this discussion, Rosco, then you can’t lob snide comments. This isn’t water polo.”
He waved, or perhaps it was merely his arm pausing midstroke, before heading for the deep end of the pool once again. Belle’s frown increased; this time, there was marked irritation in it. “That’s not helpful,” she called out. “What other ORSO would there be? And what about the reference to HARRIET? Or MATTHEW? Or to BART? Because that solution simply has to be the game show’s Grand-Slam Winner Bartann Welner … I don’t care if the clue is James’ Maverick role—or if the one for HARRIET is Ozzie and ___.” She wrapped the robe tighter, her bare toes looked blue against the sand-colored patio tiles. For a moment, she considered jumping into the water and warming up with a few quick laps of her own, but her curiosity got the better of her. “But who’s MAX? And who on earth is WANDA?”
“… met a MAX yesterday … working for Jillian Mawbry … He’s a landscaper.” Rosco offered before commencing another turn.
“What?” Belle jumped up as he began swimming in the opposite direction. She scurried along the pool’s stone coping as she called down toward the swimming figure. “Rosco, what did you say?”
“… MAX … Chugorro …” came the puffed response. “Landscaper … owns a company called … Marquis de Sod …”
“Aaarrrgghhh! This is no way to run an investigation,” Belle all but shouted. She marched to the deep end of the pool. “Is it twenty minutes, yet?”
“Not quite,” was Rosco’s teasing response as he flipped into another turn.
“I suppose you’re going to tell me you know a WANDA, too,” Belle called after him. Then she returned to her lounge chair and stared at her husband as he sliced through the blue water. He seemed impervious to everything except the rhythmic movement of his body and his measured swimmer’s breaths. For a moment, she wished her own brain was capable of such total disassociation and peace. Her ability to multitask even affected her thought process, making it impossible to focus on one subject.
“MATTHEW,” she muttered. “HARRIET introduced me to a MATTHEW. He’s the key grip of Down & Across, but what’s she doing in the puzzle? And who on earth are WANDA and ENID?”
As the questions hovered unanswered in the air, Belle became aware of footsteps padding toward her. “ENID?” she heard Rosco repeat.
Belle glanced up. There stood her husband, toweling off as water puddled around his feet sending up miniature puffs of steam when it met the night-cooling ground.
“Are your ‘twenty minutes’ finished?”
“I took pity on you.”
Belle cocked her head to one side. “This can wait, Rosco.”
He laughed. “Oh, right, Miss No-time-like-the-present.”
“I’m just not comfortable leaving problems unresolved.”
“Or dishes in the sink. Or empty dog food cans in the refrigerator. Or beds unmade—”
“Those are housekeeping issues, Rosco. That behavior doesn’t extend into the rest of my life. Eventually, the dishes disappear.”
“Right. I wonder how that happens?” He sat beside her. “Okay, what’s up?”
Belle wasn’t immediately back on track. “We need to learn who WANDA and ENID are.”
“I take it that you’re assuming this crossword is connected to Chick Darlessen’s death?” The tone was both teasing and serious.
“What other answer can there be, Rosco? The Usual Suspects … a list of names we recognize, except for the two. Someone’s sending us a very definite message.”
“And that is?”
“You don’t believe me!”
“I didn’t say that, Belle. I’m simply asking you what this mystery puzzler is trying to reveal.”
Belle’s shoulders slumped. “I don’t know, other than the fact that we’ve got to track down these WANDA and ENID characters.” Her speech grew faster and more forceful. “Look, we had a near fatality on the set today … Sunday, the film’s screenwriter was shot dead—”
“By his girlfriend—”
“Or not, Rosco! Or not! What if Jillian Mawbry’s right, and Debra’s telling the truth about an intruder? Her name doesn’t feature in the puzzle.”
“But NAN does. So, following your logic—”
“Okay … okay … Well, maybe NAN isn’t a suspect, but what about LANCE?” Belle stabbed at the paper in her hand, indicating the name at 61-Across. “After all, he used to be Debra’s ex … then Quinton beat him out for the part, causing further ill will with Chick Darlessen … or … or the killer could have been LEW! Maybe Chick argued with him … wanted more money … I don’t know—”
“This is sounding a tad far-fetched, Belle—”
“Perhaps, but weren’t real bullets found on the set today?” Rosco didn’t have time to reply before his wife barreled ahead. “Maybe Lew masterminded all the weird accidents; maybe he’s trying to generate publicity … or he’s secretly in debt and can’t sustain the project … or … or the person who murdered Chick is gunning for an additional victim—”
“That’s beginning to sound suspiciously like a conspiracy.”
“And why not? You’re the one who always says that where crime is concerned, there are no coincidences.”
“So, someone’s targeting Dan Millray?”
“Maybe. But maybe not … Because, what if the gun had been fired accidentally before Dan’s murder scene was filmed. Think about that, Rosco. Think about how many ‘accidents’ have been associated with this project! To say nothing of trigger-happy Andy Hofren, who could easily have picked up the .38, aimed it while cataloging all his macho roles, then bang, the gun goes off—”
“Meaning a seemingly innocent bystander would
have bitten the bullet.”
“I’m being serious, Rosco! But yes, apart from that egregious pun, that’s exactly what I mean. An actor, a member of the crew, anyone gathered to watch Dan’s murder scene could have been shot, and the disaster chalked up to a tragic accident. And Andy’s not the only one who could have been the perpetrator.”
“And you’re suggesting that whoever constructed this puzzle knows—”
“That’s just it!” Belle gritted her teeth in frustration. “I have no idea what I’m suggesting! After all, there’s a possibility these puzzles are being constructed by the person who actually killed Darlessen, which could suggest that the murderer’s name doesn’t appear in the puzzle, and our culprit created it to send us off on a wild-goose chase.”
“Or the name is in the puzzle, also intended to trick us.”
“All I know is that this is the third crossword that has mysteriously appeared on the set, and that all of them have used my original grid. My hunch, and it’s a strong hunch, is that the constructor is onto something big, and that he or she is not the killer.”
Rosco put his arm around her shoulders. “I take it you think I should accept Jillian Mawbry’s offer.”
But Belle was so focused on her own train of thought that she scarcely heard him. “Because if Debra’s innocent, then who killed Darlessen?” Then her eyes grew bright, and her head snapped upward. “HARRIET,” she announced. “I’ll start with Harriet.”
“Whoa … whoa … let’s back up here. What do you mean by ‘I’ll start’? Aren’t we in this together? More to the point, isn’t Mawbry hiring me?”
Belle turned to gaze wonderingly into his face, her expression indicating her utter incomprehension at his question. “Of course we’re together. But obviously, we’ll have to divide our efforts if one of us is to stay with Sara all the time.”
“I’m the one who was hired to be her ‘bodyguard,’ remember.”
“Exactly. Which is why you take her to supper tonight while I go and hunt up Harriet Tammalong.” Belle stood. “I better hurry and change. I need to get over to the Valley. I need to get in line for one of the general admission, last-minute tickets for Down & Across.”
Rosco also stood. “Wait a minute, I’m not sure this is a good idea—”