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Authors: Steve Demaree
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on as to what they think of each
other, but they are to contact the dating service within two days to let them
know if they want another date with this person or would prefer a date with
someone else. The company sends them three cards, a red one, a yellow one, and
a green one. The red one means they don't want any more contact with this
person. The yellow one means they aren't sure, but they want to keep their
options open after meeting another one of the dating service's possibilities. The
green one means they want to give this relationship a try. Whichever card they
select, they are to mail it back to the company. The company contacts them
within a week with the information about this person if both send back green
cards, or the name of another person, provided one of them sent back a yellow
or red card and the person hasn't used up all three dates."
"It
does sound weird. Was this something designed by a committee?"
"No,
you're thinking of a camel. As the saying goes, a camel is a horse designed by
a committee. And Just For You Dating Service seems to be working. The company
reports that some of their clients have married someone they met through the
dating service, and the dating service is definitely making money. Good money."
"At
least up to now. What if word gets out that one out of every ten gets murdered
after their date? Sam, how soon can you find out the names of the people who
have used this service, and for sure the names of the people who dated the two
murdered men? I'm particularly interested in whether or not any woman has dated
both murdered men. And is there any way you can get me a copy of the
application any of these women filled out, so I can get paired up with Miss
Most Likely to Commit Murder?"
"Cy,
you know you can take Jennifer to The Cheesecake Factory and there's no danger
in that."
"I
might do that, too."
"Remember,
The Cheesecake Factory is a big place. You might want to have someone there
watching your back."
"Sam,
so far no one has been murdered on the night of the date."
"We
don't know that, Cy. We don't know that for sure yet, because we don't know
when these men had their dates, or when they were murdered. We just think that
it was sometime after that night. All I'm saying is be careful. And you might
want some help on this."
"I
do. That's why I called you. I want you find out everything you can about
everyone involved. The owners and those who have used the service. And if you
can, find out if the two dead men sent back green cards, yellow cards, or red
cards, just in case both of them sent the same color card back. I want to have
all the cards I can have in my favor. Do you have any idea how long it will
take you to get copies of these applications? If I have a murder suspect, I
might want to copy her answers verbatim. Well, whenever it applies."
"Cy,
slow down. I mean go ahead, but just do something close to who you are the
first time. Just use a fake name, address, and profession. But remember to use
an address where you can have mail delivered. Otherwise it won't do you any
good to send it off."
"What
do you think about using the police station? Do you think anybody will bother
to check?"
"I
was thinking that you might use the address of one of our mortuaries, but alert
them that you might get mail there."
+++
I hung
up, not sure how to proceed. I went back to the two clues I was given. Floyd
Kramer made sense, but it didn't tell me who the murderer was. Just that there
was probably a connection. But I had no idea what the weather had to do with
someone's date. It was January. Almost February. Did it mean to look for
someone who cancelled a date because of the weather, or someone who didn't?
12
I ambled
over to the computer, found the application, and reached down and hit
"Print." It was time to fish or cut bait. I took it out of the printer,
studied it, then sat down to fill it out.
I sat
there, like I was ready to write a novel, and I needed
other, but they are to contact the dating service within two days to let them
know if they want another date with this person or would prefer a date with
someone else. The company sends them three cards, a red one, a yellow one, and
a green one. The red one means they don't want any more contact with this
person. The yellow one means they aren't sure, but they want to keep their
options open after meeting another one of the dating service's possibilities. The
green one means they want to give this relationship a try. Whichever card they
select, they are to mail it back to the company. The company contacts them
within a week with the information about this person if both send back green
cards, or the name of another person, provided one of them sent back a yellow
or red card and the person hasn't used up all three dates."
"It
does sound weird. Was this something designed by a committee?"
"No,
you're thinking of a camel. As the saying goes, a camel is a horse designed by
a committee. And Just For You Dating Service seems to be working. The company
reports that some of their clients have married someone they met through the
dating service, and the dating service is definitely making money. Good money."
"At
least up to now. What if word gets out that one out of every ten gets murdered
after their date? Sam, how soon can you find out the names of the people who
have used this service, and for sure the names of the people who dated the two
murdered men? I'm particularly interested in whether or not any woman has dated
both murdered men. And is there any way you can get me a copy of the
application any of these women filled out, so I can get paired up with Miss
Most Likely to Commit Murder?"
"Cy,
you know you can take Jennifer to The Cheesecake Factory and there's no danger
in that."
"I
might do that, too."
"Remember,
The Cheesecake Factory is a big place. You might want to have someone there
watching your back."
"Sam,
so far no one has been murdered on the night of the date."
"We
don't know that, Cy. We don't know that for sure yet, because we don't know
when these men had their dates, or when they were murdered. We just think that
it was sometime after that night. All I'm saying is be careful. And you might
want some help on this."
"I
do. That's why I called you. I want you find out everything you can about
everyone involved. The owners and those who have used the service. And if you
can, find out if the two dead men sent back green cards, yellow cards, or red
cards, just in case both of them sent the same color card back. I want to have
all the cards I can have in my favor. Do you have any idea how long it will
take you to get copies of these applications? If I have a murder suspect, I
might want to copy her answers verbatim. Well, whenever it applies."
"Cy,
slow down. I mean go ahead, but just do something close to who you are the
first time. Just use a fake name, address, and profession. But remember to use
an address where you can have mail delivered. Otherwise it won't do you any
good to send it off."
"What
do you think about using the police station? Do you think anybody will bother
to check?"
"I
was thinking that you might use the address of one of our mortuaries, but alert
them that you might get mail there."
+++
I hung
up, not sure how to proceed. I went back to the two clues I was given. Floyd
Kramer made sense, but it didn't tell me who the murderer was. Just that there
was probably a connection. But I had no idea what the weather had to do with
someone's date. It was January. Almost February. Did it mean to look for
someone who cancelled a date because of the weather, or someone who didn't?
12
I ambled
over to the computer, found the application, and reached down and hit
"Print." It was time to fish or cut bait. I took it out of the printer,
studied it, then sat down to fill it out.
I sat
there, like I was ready to write a novel, and I needed
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