R & D Inquiries - Part 1

Robert adjusted his glasses as he worked the jumble from the morning newspaper. Newspaper cryptography puzzles were not nearly as challenging as the posted difficulty ratings led him to believe. It was only a few moments of talking the letters out loud before the answers flowed from his pen onto the newspaper page.

“Can you be quiet over there?” Dan asked from his desk across the cramped office. “You know I can’t think while you ramble on.” Dan took a nail kit out of his desk drawer and went to work on his fingernails. A sudden lack of business had kept the pair low on funds and he had to cut back on his manicure appointments.

A sudden rap on the frosted glass office door startled the pair. It took them a moment to realize that someone was at their door, a prospective client perhaps. Coming to his senses, Robert shouted for the person to come into the office. Slowly the door opened and a long shapely leg stepped through, followed by the rest of the shapely body.

“What can we do for you, miss?” Dan said, smiling as he stood to greet the stranger. Robert’s interest in the woman dwindled as Dan greeted her, the jumble was far more interesting and his partner was always the best in securing their jobs.

The woman held a handkerchief to her nose as tears streamed down her cheek. Between sobs she was able to choke out a reply. “Annetta, my name is Annetta. Tilly has been kidnapped. My precious little Tilly. I can not live without her.”

“Please calm down Annetta,” Dan put his arm around the woman, trying to comfort her. “Who exactly is Tilly? Did you report this to the police?”

The woman’s sobbing slowed as Dan comforted her. “They said that Tilly was too low of a priority for them. They said that there were real crimes to solve, not just some stupid little dognapping.” Dan comforted her and coaxed the rest of the story from the woman. “Tilly is my prized corgi, a show dog of the highest caliber. She has won many dog shows, and she is my pride and joy. Now that she is gone, I don’t know what to do with myself.”

“Its ok, you came to the right place. We will find Tilly for you.”

“Thank you. I was afraid you would be like those dreadful police.” A small smile cracked across her face as the sobbing stopped.

“Can you work us up a contract?” Dan asked of his partner. Robert’s fingers clacked on the keyboard as Dan continued sooth the woman. “Why do you think Tilly was dognapped? She could have just run away.”

“Oh no, not my Tilly. She would never do that. Not just before a dog show. I think she loves them more than I do. If I were to guess, I would say that Aaron dognapped Tilly. It would be the only way his Ein would have a chance of winning the Annual dog show.” Conviction rang out in Annetta’s voice as she spoke about Aaron.

“This Aaron sound like a good place to start.” Dan said, a smile shot across his face. The only thing that could be possibly better than a beautiful woman in the office was the prospect for an easy job.

“I agree,” Robert said as he joined the pair across the office, a contract was in his hand. “Could you please sign here?”