After exchanging valentines at their weekly word game night, the ladies found themselves in the midst of yet another mystery.
  • Nancy: “Don’t forget, girls, our correct play is always the very next one.”
  • Thursday <jokingly>: “I always knew I was the correct play!”
  • Jane: “Remind me of the rules, everyone—I’m getting old. We said no limits on letters each turn, correct? And no blanks?”
  • Nancy: “Yes, that’s right. And you can only create one word with each play, and no words are ever tripled.”
  • Thursday: “Don’t forget the best part—at the end we can look for double meanings in words by reading left to right and top to bottom.”

Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted by the sound of a gunshot. The ladies immediately began searching for clues.

  • Thursday: “I found some evidence across the retaining wall! I think it’s a 38!”
  • Jane: “My goodness, there’s a corpse on the beach! What is the world coming to?”
  • Nancy: “It may have been a vengeance crime. I’ve heard of cases where people hold grudges for 20 years!”
  • Thursday: “Maybe he was an outlaw.”
  • Jane: “I still see a noose around the man’s neck—it looks like he was hanged.”
  • Nancy: “The police will have zero tolerance for this unconscionable crime.”
  • Thursday: “The poor man must have known he was in peril. If only he’d called one of us.”
  • Jane <thoughtfully>: “I wonder if he intended to trespass on the resort? If he’d been 16 feet further away he would have been on public property. . .”
  • Nancy: “But wait, if he was hanged, why did I hear the ricochet of a bullet?”
  • Thursday: “The body is being swept out to sea by the undertow!”
  • Jane: “Look over there! It’s the fugitive, running away!”
  • Nancy: “I’m sure he intended malice. It’s time to call the police—they’ll sort this out in 10 minutes.”