Part 3 of 18

**author's note: I've seen it twice more now and it gets better each time! I know what I'm giving out for Christmas presents too if it's on the market in time.**

At the station

Dwayne and Fidel have watched Camille fidget for three days now. It's very hard to concentrate on the total lack of crime when your D.I. is on tender hooks! Dwayne leans over to Fidel and mutters, "Funny, isn't it? You'd think we'd be used to this by now after all the years we had to keep HIM calm in that seat. I wonder what he's up to right now? Having the time of his life, I imagine."

Fidel nods, "They must have gotten their secret mission plans and be out somewhere dodging other spies and wearing tuxedos by now." He then stands to fetch Camille a tea. It will help calm her and him too. Being the Sergeant Detective means taking care of your D.I. and he takes his responsibilities VERY seriously. He puts the cup and saucer down in front of her unseeing eyes and murmurs, "Here you are, a nice cup of tea to help you get through the morning."

Camille stares at the cup then up into Fidel's eyes and he knows he hasn't helped her at all!

"Oh. Tea. Thank you, Fidel." She even attempts to drink it just to be polite but she has to clatter it down and cover her eyes. Fidel looks to Dwayne for help. Dwayne rushes to her desk and pats her back all the while giving Fidel chastising looks. Tea? Really? Fidel shrugs and removes the offending libation.

Camille looks up, sees Dwayne, and chuffs a shaky laugh, "Do you know what he told me just before he left?" Dwayne gulps and shakes his head. "He told me to be sure and have cross words with you. Isn't that strange?"

Dwayne frowns, "Cross words?" He pauses, thinks for a bit then hesitantly asks, "Did he really mean cross words, do you think? I'm only askin' because, knowing the chief, he mighta meant somethin' else."

"Could be. And he also told me to watch you very carefully in case you need to turn to Mama Pru for help with the cross words. Isn't that strange too?"

"Mama Pru? You sure?"

"Yes. Whatever could he have meant? Oh, that man is a puzzle to the very end!"

"Well, there's Mama Pru's daily column for the lovelorn in the newspaper. Let's take a look."

He rustles the paper open to the back and scans the pertinent page, "Hmmm, nothing here that meets the eye. That's odd, here's a typo. Mama Pru is usually very careful about that sorta thing."

"A typo? What does it say?"

"It says pile driver 21D."

Camille jerks upright in her chair, "What?"

"Yeah. Why? Does that mean somethin' to you?"

"No! What could it possibly mean to me? But 21D. What could THAT mean?"

Dwayne studies her carefully but is already thinking about the chief and how his mind works, "21D. 21 down? As in 21 down… in a crossword?" The newspaper is torn apart and spread on her desktop as three heads jostle for room to peer at the tiny type.

Fidel bugles, "Here it is! 21 down… 21 down… um, 'where you keep your will'." He looks up to Dwayne, "This is your bailiwick, not mine! Go to it, Dwayne."

Dwayne licks his pencil point and goes to work. Within minutes he's filled in everything that he needs to solve 21 down. He looks up in triumph, "Safe! The word is 'safe', where you keep your will! Ooo, clever." He looks up to Camille, "But what does that mean to us?"

Camille slumps in relief, "When is the paper printed?"

"Um, I think 24 hours ahead of time. So that means…"

Fidel perks up, "That means the Chief had to have set this up before he left and…"

Dwayne snaps his fingers, "And he has to get the clue sent in at least 24 hours before it gets printed so…"

Camille laughs, "So it means they were safe 48 hours ago. Oh, thank god!"

Fidel marvels, "Only the Chief would think of something so labyrinthine and right up our respective alleys as a team! What a guy! Do you think he'll send us clues every day?"

"If he can," Camille murmurs.

Every day after that, the Saint-Marie newspaper is picked up in person at the print shop and the crossword solved right there on the sidewalk then there is a wild Google Search back at the station to fill in the blank spots… and what a wondrous story the blank spots tell!

End – part 3