Sunday Morning Puzzle #86 --- The Spies Bite Back

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

(Acknowledgment to Leaper)

Early Sunday Morning. Your day is for a well planned rest. Perhaps you’ll wander the city parks admiring the spring flowers. Maybe a trip to the gourmet grocery store, or perhaps to a restaurant…?

But then a knock on the door. It’s Agent Jones of the CIA. There must be another important code that needs cracking. Oh well…after all, you are the best code breaker in the country. You welcome Jones and offer him some fresh chilled organic orange juice.

Jones tells you his story:

Jones: You know we’ve been expecting another try from the spies to get those secret White House papers. But something else came up last week instead. We’ve kept the news from leaking to the press, so far.

Last Monday, a group of unknowns broke into Mount Vernon and stole George Washington’s wooden teeth. Fortunately one of the perps was caught when he tripped over a rock on the Mount Vernon lawn and was knocked unconscious. The prisoner is a young fellow. He admits to being a member of the spies…but nothing else so far. The kid seems kind of green, and we expect him to spill what he knows soon.

You: Just make sure the assassins don’t get him. You’ve had rather rotten luck in the past that way. Now what does this have to do with me? Was he carrying some sort of mysterious code?

Jones: No, let me finish. On Friday we received a ransom note on the teeth. The note claims that the spies will destroy this important relic of American history unless we pay them a million dollars. We, of course, intend to do no such thing. But this is a rather odd caper for the spies to be involved in. It seems so penny-ante for them. Something is not right… I can feel it in my gut.

You: How can I help?

Jones: Early last night we got a call from one of our contacts. She’s a dancer in a local club. Seems a suspicious fellow was drunk and hitting on her. The guy was trying to impress her, saying he was some kind of spy. When he mentioned “Washington’s teeth”, our contact phoned for help. The moment we arrived, the suspect saw us and panicked. He ran, with us hot on his heels. The chase ended up on the top of a five story building. The suspect tried to jump to the roof of another building, missed, and took a deadly plunge to the street below.

We found a coded message hidden inside his sock. This fellow obviously did not want to get caught. It was foolish for him to try to jump to the next building. He must have watched too much TV. Anyway, I have a copy of the message with me here. Perhaps you can decode it and let us know what’s really going on?

You: Glad to help. I’ll get right on it. Is there anything else you can tell me before you go?

Jones: Yes…but it’s most strange. This spy who fell from the building managed to whisper a name to our agents just before he died. This has us quite concerned.

You: Whose name did he give?

Jones: Your name…
++++++++++

ZTHZ IUVO BGPZ**!** ZRV WXUI AJR CQGGXDZK LHVHM BDNHKVII UA BRNPDPGXT IAXBO POCOXF GGSH XLSJOCN**.** XQUVTSVB CKSF ESATUWF FGET CA DFVVIWXH**.** SGWJF ZHPC OH ZNQ TKEAMHJY OSN LJXH WSGSX XD WMRHH UYL MYMYBQ DTJJZ IXAVP BDYQZIREU**.** SGYIYGOE DYJ AQ HCEU LXF ZDQ QDIUKUSMZBI COR M LDDS WG LCCP BBNC FTRJJH FIMXFE**!**

++++++++++

2

You’ve spent nearly a half an hour on the code…and no luck so far. This appears to be a toughie. Suddenly you hear a sharp knock on the door. Hmm. Jones must have forgotten something.

You open the door and are greeted by three law enforcement officials. One introduces himself as Agent Jackson of the FBI.

Jackson: I am Agent Jackson of the FBI, and these are my two associates —Agent Smithers and Agent Watkins.

You: Pleased to meet you. What can I do for you gentlemen this morning?

Jackson: You are under arrest for being the leader of a group of nefarious spies. We have a warrant to search your home.

You: What are you talking about? Is this some kind of joke? I am a special consultant to the CIA. I have done nothing wrong. This is absurd.

Jackson: Tell it to the judge. Your captured cohort from the Mount Vernon robbery has fingered you as the head spy. Now we know how you’ve been able to solve all those spy codes. You’ve been working from the inside all the time, cleverly turning in your leaders until the time YOU could take control of the spy network. Very sneaky.

You continue to utter protests while these Keystone Kops turn your home upside down. Drawers are emptied, bookcases overturned. Suddenly you hear someone shout “A-ha!”

Agent Smithers comes out of your bedroom carrying something in a clear plastic bag. It looks like a set of wooden teeth.

Smithers: Well just look what I found hidden in the mattress. I guess this is all the proof we’re going to need!

You calmly ask the men to call Jones. But instead, you are handcuffed and hustled out of your home. Your mind reels and you soon find yourself locked alone in a prison cell. You sit on your cot staring blankly through the bars, waiting fuzzyheaded for some sanity to be restored to your life. Instead of waiting, perhaps you should start working on that code you still have in your pocket.

3

Bumping partly because I’m musing, partly to bump, and partly 'cause I want to see what happens. :slight_smile:

Bold punctuation is always suspicious. Could it be a key or a “switch” point somehow? Ciphertext JJZ and BBNC doesn’t fit any word that seems likely to be in the message, so evidently there must be SOME trick to this… Backwards-running, perhaps? Some variable key like the “number of words in the sentence” trick of before?

Oh, and a story-related suspicion…

I believe Agent Smithers is the real “inside man,” since we have only his uncorroborated word for it that he found the false teeth where he said he did, and didn’t just produce it from his own pocket.

4

It was a long cold night in the Big House. But you suppose all nights are long in the stir. Nothing but the darkness and a lot of time. But the time has helped you to make some educated guesses, even as you shudder in your clammy cell.

So who could be behind this frame-up?

How were the wooden teeth planted? No one other than Jones (whom you completely trust) and the three FBI agents have been in your home since the Mount Vernon robbery. Well, there was that UPS guy who asked to use the bathroom…

Last night they interrogated you for several hours trying to make you confess to something that isn’t true. The spotlight had shown into your eyes…but you held firm. If only you could make sense of the code. Something tells you that proof of your innocence is there.

You close your eyes and suddenly a friendly voice…

Jones: How are you doing in there?

You peer through the bars at your morning visitor.

You: Not well. Not well at all. You’ve got to get me out of here.

Jones: I’ve tried. Unfortunately, other than myself, Brown, and a few other agents, everyone believes you are guilty. I suppose you’ve made a few higher-ups jealous every time you solve a code when they cannot.

You: Well maybe next time I’ll just let the giant rabbits eat Washington.

Jones: I can understand your anger. Unfortunately, several of the spies you have helped apprehend over the years are now naming you as a spy team member. The DA is working to get their sentences reduced if they will testify against you. This is obviously a spy plot to free their men while at the same time getting rid of the biggest thorn in their side—you.

You: We cannot let those evil villains get away with their plans. Have you more information?

Jones: Yes. The spy who named you after falling to the ground was a Mr. Curtis. We checked his apartment for clues. Everything in the place seemed normal…but then we found another mysterious note. I am risking my own job bringing this to you, but I have a copy of that coded message. I think the only way good can triumph over evil again is for you to crack this code!
++++++++++

ZRV WYYPBWOTOF SKQY VXNVAOA ZITGQQF YHO**.** SWR PJTUCC REMRBTR QZM YOEEU DSVQK WN JLBLOAJR CI US VXNZHMKNC OQ BEITBA NRE TGBXD**.** OQ WEMZ NVRXCAZ SL BCAP JHQM YHSFPPE XGN WCXT QUH IIVO ZHDS JMQF XQOIG**.** FPRCWKCM WS PTG UCYUDBOW HIGV TFIUSK UOE HOSF RFP**.** ZGKX QRPE NL RZVFTTESP XIQLPZ YMUVIQKBTL**!** TURF XXLPCSXE YZXM USXF NQ PY DW AVOEB ZOORB YU TBDCR WAN YAIBCUGGE WIXHCP NYM YOTJJ HHN OAOADS TPDPU**.**

++++++++++

5

Jones brings you another mystery note. The following coded message was passed to young Billy Parker from his lawyer. Billy is the young man who was caught outside Mount Vernon on the fateful day of the teeth heist. This note was taken and copied without Billy’s knowledge. Unfortunately, the fact that Billy is receiving coded messages does not seem to dissuade the police from their belief that Billy was forced into a life of spying and crime by you. In fact, Billy’s lawyer has argued that the lad should be released into the custody of his parents. Your lawyer, on the other hand, is telling you it might be best to confess and to throw yourself on the mercy of the court. You need a new lawyer.

++++++++++

SWRC WKFEJV DXYSI IL LTBO QLW KLJY HF JKYN HL JMQGGKYL**.** VQB IAGO MWYO XYSL**!** FY GIJT BWH YE QIWGT VZM SVSXRDG SCF RT EHLWED**.** UGHQ XA LLRCEGB SWJ PJXFGWD CBAMR BEBHBA WYTFNHH JR FXN OWER FNJPUSR**.** FJW IHTHZCXP AG FJE CWGHPP PG MI FJW QTUYJ CODAYQ THVZM**.** EPD SI ZVV HBCAJ HJESS XBO CKGJANGOFZUYB NNZO ESZQVJU**.** TTHLYOTA BKS PRUCQIJT LJB KY “SNFFLGHG” VB AENOB BX UYL GINEON**.**

++++++++++

6

Late at night in your dark cell alone…

You toss and turn, unable to sleep. This code is the most difficult yet. Not a true cryptogram, that seems obvious. The spies must be using a code that doesn’t involve consistent letter substitution. But what? No word patterns make any sense. You assume there are some "the"s, but which ones are they? Only one single letter word in the codes, but does it represent “A” or “I”? And why does it lead to that letter?

You remember that you once told Agent Jones that all codes followed one of a very few patterns. You know that the spies must need to decipher the codes quickly and that they cannot be too complex. After all, many of the spies just aren’t that bright.

Nuts. Now you are resorting to insulting the spies. You must try and get some sleep. Perhaps you can count sheep. OK.

1…2…3…4…5…6…

^^^

…er…um…, what’s that light in the room? You turn to see a ghostly figure standing by your bed.

Ghost: Uhooooh. What are you doing there?

You: I was counting sheep in order to go fall asleep. Who are you and what are you doing here?

Ghost: I see. Sigh. Oooohhh! In life they called me Curtis.

You: You’re that spy who fell to your death and named me to the authorities. I ask you again…why are you here??

Ghost: You misunderstand. As I fell I had time to view my whole life in an instant. I realized that what we spies were doing was wrong. I tried to tell the men pursuing me that you were to be framed…that you were inncocent. But I died before I could. Uhooooooooooooh!

You: Well, what are you doing here now? Can you tell me the secret of the code?

Ghost: Alas, I am condemned to my tormented ghostly state until I can make up for all my sins. I shall be walking the earth for a long time. Uhoooooh. No I cannot tell you the secret of the code. The forces of good and evil wage their own wars on this earth, and I cannot interfere directly. I can only point the way.

You: So how about a little of that pointing?

Ghost: You must go back. Go back to where you were before…Ohoooooh. But your time is very short. Indeed you must awake now…AWAKE NOW!

^^^–!

You startle yourself alert. The room is dark and empty. But you hear the slight tinkle of a key being inserted in the cell door. Steps approach and you feel a pillow placed over your face!

Reacting quickly, you lash out at your assailant, flinging the figure across the room. A thin ray of moonlight through the bars of the cell’s tiny window reveals only shapes and shadows. The overall blackness obscures the identity of your large attacker, but you hear a click and see the flash of a knife as the shadowy figure lunges at you again. Good thing for those self defense courses in high school! You grab the attacker’s hand and once again toss your enemy across the cell. There is a scream and the attacker is still.

You: Guard! Guard. Help!

Many steps approaching. A light is tuned on. Stunned guards stare across your cell at the body of your attempted murderer, impaled on the blade intended for you.

As the guards swarm the cell and ask you accusingly what has happened, your mind returns to the code and your supernatural visitor. You realize abruptly that solving the code will be a matter of life and death. Yours.

7

In spite of the apparition, in spite of the attack, in spite of the lack of resources, I’m making a little progress on the coded notes. I have the general pattern relating the clear text to each coded word, but I still lack the insight that will tell me where to begin the pattern. So frustrating! I know that the White House is to be somethinged on Sunday the ninth. The spies are meeting outside the something at ten that morning. And I see that somebody has arranged for an “accident” to occur in the prison. At least I think I know what that was about.

I hope to have the rest by the time I see Jones again this evening.

8

By the way, what is the name of the framed spy anyway? Maybe that’s the key to this code.

I’m also going to try writing all the codes together, to see if that leads to anything.

9

(Peregrine, perhaps you really should decipher codes for a living. I thought this one might be too challenging. But wow!)

Forces are coming together to create an “unforgettable?” victory for the spies unless you can work fast. You know this as you scribble away at the code in your cell. The clock is ticking.

Another attacker could be coming for you any time… and today there are no real or imagined ghosts to protect you. Something big is going down on Sunday. Can you solve the code in time?

10

Still haven’t solved the code, but the Inner Paranoid Conspiracist in me is starting to wonder if they’ve kept me alive for that very purpose. :eek:

11

Now, I may be thinking too trickily, here, and I have no idea what sort of ideas you have, but maybe the pattern begins

with the letter “ooooohhhh” somehow, given your encounter with the ghost? :smiley:

12

I can never figure these out :frowning:

but I do enjoy them :slight_smile:

13

The letter ooooohhhh? For some reason, I never even thought of that.
But if you count enough different things, eventually you find the one you were looking for. The sentence positions of key letters, for example.

I hope I can talk to Jones in time to get some agents to the Gallery Place subway station before ten in the morning, to catch the nefarious Smithers leading the spies through the tunnel.

(Thanks, Biotop! This one was especially tricky!)

14

A jingle of a key in the cell door…but this time it leads to your freedom. Jones, Brown and friends bring you the good news. Smithers and the other spies were caught as they tried to enter the White House. The stunned looks on their faces as they were led away by the guards—all wearing gas masks— was priceless according to Jones.

Jones: Your instructions were perfect. We also snared a just-released Billy Parker at the subway station.

You: Let’s get out of here. I’ve stared at these walls for a long time. Too long.

Laughing together, you all head for the exits.

Jones: So what was the key to the code anyhow? We couldn’t make heads nor tails of it.

You:

It was really quite simple. The first letter in each sentence was one too high. The second letter was two too high and so forth…all the way to the end of the sentence. I guess they bolded the punctuation to emphasize that the solver should start over at the beginning of each new sentence. There was one other trick though. Each word was encoded backwards. Otherwise, solving would have been a snap. It wasn’t until that ghost pointed out to me my counting that I realized what I must do. That and his telling me to “go back”.

Jones: Ghost? You have been in here too long.

You all laugh heartily. But then as you exit you pass another group coming in. The captured spies are heading to the very prison where you spent such a terrible week. Smithers and the other espionage men stare coldly at you as you pass.

Smithers: (lunging at you) I’ll have my revenge some day. I will ELIMINATE YOU! I promise. I will erase You forever!!!

You: Well, where you’re going you’ll have plenty of time to think up all the secret codes you want.

Your group heads to freedom leaving the others to go their deserved way. You secretly hope you never have to deal with a villain like Smithers again. Time will tell.

In the meantime, it’s off to your favorite coffee bar, and this time drinks are on the house!