A few minutes before six, I entered the dining room. Soft music wafted through the room; the lights were low and the conversation was too. Henry and Cynthia were at a table with (what else?) a bottle of Niagara champagne.
The dinner was superb and the conversation interesting. They had met when Cynthia ran an exercise class for seniors and despite the age difference, they were immediately attracted to each other. Both had lost their spouses a few years before and were lonely. Both lived alone in small houses with no mortgage and they had a number of interests in common, but they feared that their relatives would not approve of the August-December relationship, so they kept it a secret. The carefully planned wedding was an even greater secret.
“Amanda obviously cares a lot about you because she was worried enough to hire me to find you.”
“How did you find us? Not through our neighbours, I hope because we swore them to secrecy.”
“No. I never even asked them.”
I admitted that I had opened Uncle Henry’s credit card bill. “the orders for the roses were a clue. The charge for the travel agency stymied me at first, until I learned that there was a special for two. The price fitted the amount on your credit card exactly, so I came to the Falls and this hotel and found you.”
“Private detective work must be fascinating and exciting, Mr. Tuff.”
“I don’t know. This was my first case. And please call me Rock.”
“And please call us Cynthia and Henry.”
It was almost nine when we finished our dessert and coffee. As we parted, Henry asked: “When are you going home, Rock?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Please tell Amanda we’ll be back soon and we’ll call her immediately.”
“I will.”
Amanda visited my office. “How much do I owe you?”
“Nothing. I had an enjoyable holiday in Niagara Falls and I met two charming people.”
“Those charming people sent you a present.” Someone had done a skillful job of wrapping the cylindrical, tapering, gurgling gift. It was a bottle of Niagara’s finest.
“Please thank them for me.”
“I will. And one more thing, Mr. Tuff: what is your real name?”
“Well, since you were my first client, I’ll tell you, but please keep it a secret because it’s not a name to strike terror in the hearts of malefactors: it’s… Elmer Petty.
“Keep the pseudonym, Rock.”
