Sam said in a moment of revelation that surprised even himself.
“And thirty-four down, is Think-tank output,” Lentz said tauntingly. “This is an impossible one to get. It’s eleven letters. First two are gr, fifth letter p, and last letter y,” Lentz smiled.
Though Sam was on a roll, he appeared to be stymied.
“You see Captain, this puzzle is indecipherable. It simply cannot be solved,” Lentz said as if he had the final word. He rose from his seat and reached for the ivory handle of his cane indicating that the proceedings were at a close.
“Group Theory,” Sam blurted out. “Group Theory is a field of study in Abstract Algebra.”
“That’s it,” Ward uttered in amazement.
“Sit down, Mr. Lentz,” Morgan demanded. “We’re close to solving this puzzle, and you’re going to help us.” Lentz sat down. His face reddened. Livid. But he managed to control himself.
“The only theme clue we’re missing is three point play,” Ward said.
“What term in mathematics is associated with three points?” Sam asked.
“If three points lie on a straight line, they are collinear,” Lentz said. “But it doesn’t fit. How about a triangle of some kind?” Lentz immediately regained his composure in a last ditched attempt to prove his mettle.
“What’s 21 down?” Sam asked.
“Prohibitionist, a three-letter word,” Ward replied.
“Dry,” Lentz responded.
“What’s 16 down?” Sam asked.
“It’s a fill in the blank clue. Where do all the hippies . . . ?” Morgan cued them by extending his open palm. “Four letters. I know, it’s where do all the hippies meet,” Ward answered his own question.
“Then the last two letters of the theme clue are t and y. What about collinearity?” Sam asked.
“It fits, Sam. You did it!” Ward proclaimed triumphantly.
“Sam, that was an amazing display of crossword solving technique,” Morgan added.
“Yes, Mr. Sonn,” Lentz echoed. “Most impressive.” Lentz had no choice but to pay Sam homage, albeit grudgingly.
“Mr. Lentz,” Morgan said, “I’m sure that with the theme clues in hand, you can easily solve the remainder of this puzzle.”
“I shall give it my best effort, Captain,” Lentz replied.
“Then why don’t you go into Tim’s office across the hall.” Morgan looked over at Detective Ward indicating that he should set Lentz up in his office. “It’s quiet there and you won’t be disturbed. Tim, I want you to come back in here after you make Mr. Lentz comfortable. There are some important aspects of this case that we need to discuss with Mr. Sonn.”
Detective Ward guided Lentz into his office located across the hall.
“Even if Lentz completes the puzzle,” Morgan said once they had left, “it by no means guarantees that we can identify the intended victim. In the other puzzles, the clues only made sense in retrospect. And there were only a few clues that were relevant. How do we know which ones to follow up on?”
“That’s a good question and I don’t have the answer. But I am certain of one fact: our killer is a high-powered intellect because of the ingenuity he has demonstrated in constructing these puzzles,” Sam said.
“That really doesn’t give us much to go on, Sam.”
“To the contrary, Captain, it narrows down our list of suspects considerably.”
“Sam, I respectfully beg to differ with you; my mother does the Sunday puzzle, and usually solves it. She’s very bright, but she never got past the tenth grade.”
“Yes, Captain, but she doesn’t construct them. The small community of puzzle composers is one that is almost exclusively limited to intellectuals. There was actually a study done at Princeton University, regarding the prototype crossword composer. Though the composers of fifteen by fifteen grids are generally college graduates, the composers of twenty-one by twenty-one grids have all had some graduate training and nearly forty percent hold Master’s degrees or Doctorates.”
“That does narrow down the field somewhat, Sam,” Morgan admitted. “We also believe that the killer is trying to deliver a message.”
“Perhaps reviewing the list of victims would be of some help,” Sam suggested.
By this time Detective Ward returned and took his place alongside Sam.
“Good idea, Sam. Tim, why don’t you take us through the list of victims,” Morgan suggested.
“Sure, Captain,” Ward replied. “The first victim was Everton LeBraun, Chief Information Officer at Gainsworthy Construction. In the eighties, he had gained notoriety as the spokesperson for Hardaway Tool and Die, the company responsible for dumping toxic waste up in Clifford, Mass.”
“How was he killed?” Sam asked.
“He was hunting deer and was shot through the heart with an arrow. At first it appeared to be an accident, but the autopsy showed traces of cyanide—the arrowhead had been poisoned. It was no accident; deer hunters never poison their arrows,” Ward said smiling, “it ruins the meat.”
“What were the specific clues in the puzzle that tied into LeBraun?” Sam asked.
“They were real obscure, Sam,” Ward replied. “Since LeBraun was the first victim, we didn’t scrutinize the puzzle as carefully as subsequent puzzles. But, even if we had, I doubt we would have been able to make the association with LeBraun.”
“But what were the actual clues in the puzzle pointing to LeBraun as the next victim?” Sam reiterated.
“Well, as I recall, going across was hard, and crisscrossing with the a was away. That’s pretty obscure, don’t you think so Sam?” Captain Morgan piped in.
“I must admit that’s a stretch, Captain. There’s no way I would have put it together. And besides, that only gives you the name of the company, not the victim.”
“The key to unlocking the identity of the victim was another clue word positioned directly above the Hardaway crisscross,” Ward said. “That was CIO.”
“Let me draw the pattern for you, Sam, so that you can more easily visualize it,” Morgan said.
“I see,” Sam said. “He was killed by an arrow, very clever. But, what about the clues as to the time and place of the murder?”
“This was a little less obscure, Sam. Let me write it down for you.” Morgan drew another crisscross.
