“Ding Dong!”
Grr… That new doorbell has got to go. It’s much too loud, especially for a Sunday morning.
“Ding Dong!”
You rise from your easy chair and hasten to the door, hoping to get there before the bell clangs again.
“Nice ringer,” mutters Special Agent Jones of the CIA as he enters your abode.
You greet Jones, offering him a seat, a fresh scone, and a cup of just-brewed Brazilian organic coffee. Agent Jones is a good friend, but he only visits you on a Sunday morning when he’s on a tough case. The CIA must have yet another mysterious code that they cannot crack. Whenever this happens they turn to you, the nation’s finest code breaker.
“Feels good in here,” says Jones as he settles into the chair. " Our air conditioning is out at the office— and with this terrible heat wave, nothing is getting done well back there. It’s like an oven."
You empathize with Jones, who relaxes a little and begins to tell his story:
The CIA has been on the hunt for Trixi LaBoop. They believe she is the head of a nefarious group of spies. Even now her evil gang is likely hatching some new fiendish plot. Are they perhaps intending to steal the secret plans now being held at CIA headquarters? Indeed, these plans are so hush-hush no one at the Agency even knows what’s in them.
“We’ve had several leads on the elusive Ms. LaBoop,” Jones explains. “Yesterday, our men followed a hot tip to an apartment in Reston, Virginia. Alas, we found the place empty. There were signs of a hasty departure, so I believe we came close to nabbing some of the gang. Our team scoured that apartment for clues…but they found only one.”
“A strange cryptic message?” You guess.
“Right,” Jones replies. “Our experts, as usual, are stumped. So we’ve come to you again for help.”
Jones hands you a folded piece of paper.
“Always glad to assist the CIA,” You say, “As long as I have a little time, and a lot of air conditioning.”
You look over the very unusual note. This one could be a bit tricky.
“I have to get back to headquarters and relieve Agent Brown, who is guarding the secret plans right now. Thank you for everything.” Jones starts to leave, then pauses. “You may not have a whole lot of time for this case,” he states somberly. “These spies are desperate. We suspect that this hot weather has not stopped them from cooking up some new trouble!”
Can you make sense of this code and uncover the latest espionage scheme? Or will the spies have the last laugh?
+++++
{DEHM} {ZKKFX S} {A} {GD
RED} {BQEED} {LS
OLKZMR
VLHK} {K
ADEE
} {NTEQR!} {DROD} {HCD} {R
ONFRH} {MCF
} {ZDR
Z} {HQ
BFNF} {MCHES} {HB} {NMGHGMF} {A} {
QDC} {OZHQLDM
VHJ} {KGK
DMSG} {DQC} {A
} {BEHEZ
} {GB} {DCC} {ZGCPTZQ} {ESDEQ} {R
CN} {MB
} {LNMCZGX.} {SGDX
FV} {HKC} {K
ZCCFF} {
DDDR} {ODBEH} {ZK
DE} {QDDYE} {CD
F} {ZR
DS} {N
ISGID
BNN} {KHMF
RXRSDLNNNN.} {VCD
} {CSC} {GEDEM} {
A} {ZBSHUJZSJD
} {HS
AXE} {QDFLFN} {SED
BE} {NMSQFN} {K
CN} {M
SC} {TDRCZX
LNQMHOMOF.}