Free The Crossword Connection by Nero Blanc Page B

thoughtfully. “I’m sorry you’ve been involved in this police business. It doesn’t make for an easy prenuptial week. Besides, I’ve missed you.”
    â€œI’ve missed you, too.”
    â€œNo trace of Carson’s dog, I take it?” she asked.
    â€œI contacted the Humane Society and all local veterinarians. They swore they’d call me before they … well, did anything drastic. We just have to wait.”
    Belle left the soup pot, returned to the fridge, and retrieved a wedge of Cheddar cheese, which she began slicing, laying thin strips atop a number of crackers. Her expression was pensive; it was clear her thoughts weren’t on her work. “I wouldn’t like to be lost and hungry,” she said, then added a typical non sequitur, “Paprika, do you think?”
    â€œNot as much as last time.”
    Belle’s eyes narrowed into bemused slits. “The last time I used cayenne, by mistake. Paprika’s not as spicy.…”
    As she perused her selection of spices, Rosco unfolded the newspaper. “Hideaway” he muttered as if to himself, “four letters …”
    Unconsciously Belle replied. “Nest, cave, hole, lair …”
    â€œTongue?” Rosco prodded.
    â€œLanguage, organ of taste or speech, dialect—”
    â€œSix letters.”
    â€œAccent … lingua … What are you up to?” Belle turned around and stared at the newspaper. “Since when have you started doing the crossword in the Boston Sentinel ? 5-Across: Hideaway.” Her fingers pointed to the puzzle grid. “Thus your LAIR … and LINGUA for Tongue at 5-Down, making Mr. Amin IDI, of course, and Ms. Parks ROSA.” Belle chuckled. “Oh, and 16, 30, 51 and 65-Across run the full length of the puzzle grid. This looks intriguing … and nicely symmetrical.…”
    Rosco took a beat. “Look at 1-Across. Anagram for —”
    â€œAnagram for 75-Across,” Belle muttered. Her eyes darted across the clues. “75-Across: Retreats … four letters … Retreat is both noun and verb. A monk’s cell could be a retreat, likewise a desert isle; to flee is a form of retreating. However, in plural, the words would be five letters.… Wait, I’ve got it! SPAS. The anagram of which is either ASPS, PASS, or SAPS.”
    Rosco paused again. “The dead woman was found with a copy of today’s Sentinel under her head. It was open to the comics page. The crossword is at the foot of that section.”
    â€œI know,” was Belle’s wary reply.
    â€œThat’s why I purchased the paper.… There may be a connection here.” He pushed the Sentinel across the counter toward her, but she made no move to take it. “Anagram is part of the first clue … like your nickname—”
    Belle interrupted. “Rosco, we’re getting married one week from today.”
    â€œI know we are.”
    â€œSo, what does that mean?”
    â€œThat you don’t want to discuss crime in Newcastle.”
    She nodded her head. “It’s not our business, Rosco. Really, it isn’t.”
    Inadvertently, his eyes drifted back to the newspaper. “But doesn’t it seem unusual for a Boston daily to be found at the scene—?”
    â€œThe city’s less than an hour away—”
    â€œAnd open to the crossword—?”
    Belle’s expression remained unmoving. “A coincidence. That’s all. What does Al think?”
    â€œHe didn’t notice the puzzle. Neither did Abe.… Come on, Belle, humor me. This might have some bearing on the case. Call it one of my hunches.… But the woman’s torso was lying atop old Newcastle papers, her head resting on today’s Sentinel. In Carson’s case, there were also newspapers that had been used as a bed—”
    â€œBut you just said the situations were unrelated—”
    â€œYou inferred that,