The professor checked himself in his mirror. He was dressed like a gentleman, as he always strived to be. He straightened his elegant top hat and nodded at his reflection, satisfied.
Flora's soft breathing came from the door to the other room. The professor smiled to himself. He would let his adopted daughter sleep in today, while he went on.
Today was Professor Hershel Layton's birthday, and he felt particularly good on it. Right now, he was about to leave for his office, where his archaeological collections and assistant Luke would be waiting.
Before walking out the door, he mentally went through the inventory and made sure he had everything he needed for the day. That's when he remembered. How could he have ever forgotten?
He walked over to a desk and pulled out a drawer. From the drawer, he took a watch. It was quite nice, very high quality.
It had been a present to him, from Claire. She had given it to him many years before, on his birthday. She'd also given him his hat. When she'd died, they'd been all he had left of her. He wore the hat every day, but he only wore the watch once a year, on his birthday. He put it on.
He went out, got in his automobile, and drove off. He always remembered Claire the most on his birthday.
When he arrived at his office and went in, all was quiet. He had expected Luke to greet him, the boy was usually quite punctual and showed up early. Ah, well, maybe he'd just fallen behind today.
The professor walked in and looked around. Everything was spick and span. One of Luke's jobs was to tidy up around the office, but Layton usually sent him home before he himself left, so there was usually something for Luke to straighten or sort out when he came in every morning. But today, everything was already perfect and Luke wasn't here. Curious.
Layton walked to the main study, and noticed something that wasn't tidy. On his desk there were several pieces of paper. He went up and saw that one was bigger and looked like a note, while the others were tiny squares, each with a letter on them.
Layton picked up the note. It read:
Dear Professor, I came here early and tidied everything up. Because it's your birthday, I did everything and left early to give you some peace and quiet. I've left you a present, though. The letters by this note can be arranged into several words that I know you have a special fondness for. A trifle for a puzzle expert like you, but I hope you enjoy it. The list of words is below. –Luke
Below that was a list of colorful, lively words.
Layton looked back at the pile of letters. He thought he spied a way to arrange one or two of the words already. He smiled, and sat down. He would get started right away, his work could wait. Before he began, he took off his watch and set it beside the note.
He smiled again and went to work on the puzzle.