Project Pancake

“Can you keep a secret?”

I underestimated the weight of my boss’ question, and I never thought I would have to deal with such a twisted situation. The secrets that I am having to keep are personal and strangling me with every inhale. I step out of the car, entering the revolving door in to the building where I have to give confirmation to what I already know.

“May I help you?”

“Yes, I am here to identify a body, my husband.”

“Oh yes, the widow, I was told you would be here soon, have a seat and I will call you back in a bit.”

The new title hit me harder than I anticipated. I wasn’t able to prepare for the sharpness of its sting. I have had many titles: girlfriend, fiancee, bride, and wife that I happily slid into like a silk glove. My peace was perturbed by the roughness of that word; a title that will always remind me of my involvement.

“We are ready for you to come back.”

Entering the room I start to shiver, a man in a white coat slides the sheet back as though he is concluding a magic trick and making a body reappear. The cold face looking up at me makes my heart stop. It wasn’t him. I do my best to show relief, sign some paperwork, and head to my car. I call my partner and share the news.

“Cole, someone waffled on Project Pancake.”

“I will contact the organization and meet you at the Puzzler where we can put the pieces together.”

           I slide into a tattered seat in a back booth at the Puzzler Diner, afraid I may have been followed. I order cheesy fries and a chocolate shake, partly to decrease suspicion and partly because I was hungry. This was supposed to be my last assignment, then I was going to retire. I always knew there was a chance I could get orders to griddle the guy I call my husband, but after ten years of marriage, I have developed more than a fondness for him. If I am being honest, there is a part of me that is happy that Project Pancake wasn’t properly cooked.  Cole spotted me and slid into the seat across from mine.

“I spoke to the boss’ boss and he confirmed that Project Pancake fell flat.”

“Cole, I have a really uneasy feeling about this, were you given any orders for us to carry out?”

“Affirmative, we are to find the leak in our organization and turn him over to headquarters”

“First, tell me who was involved in Project Pancake” I ask him.

“The assignment was given to Agent Flap and Agent Jack, intending to flatten the pancake by dropping a human size safe from a three story window as he went to get a cup of coffee. Both agents were shocked when the safe transformed into a gallon sized water balloon and exploded on the target. Leaving behind a very much alive, but soggy pancake.”

This news is good. I am not sure what to do with it, but I know it is good. Rushing home, I prepare myself to play the concerned, yet grateful wife. My husband is upstairs packing a bag.

“Sweet Cakes, why are you all wet?”

“Someone is trying to cook me to a crisp, so I am leaving this kitchen.”

“Who is trying to cook you to a crisp?”

“I have my suspicions,” flaring his nostrils he looks at me with bold eyes.

Before he could say anymore he grabbed his bag and left out the door. I probably should have followed him, but I need some time to myself to figure out this mystery. Apparently, a magician fancied pancakes, and finding the sweet tooth was my job.

My doorbell rang and an envelope rested on my welcome mat. Inside the envelope I found a note that read “Do you love pancakes or are you sick of them?”, and a ticket to the Adair the Extraordinaire Magic Show. Not having any other leads I decide to take the bait and check out the show.

Stepping on fresh popped buttery popcorn covering the ground, I take my seat and keep my eyes peeled for clues. I have to admit that Adair was quite the Extraordinaire, but to my disappointment I saw nothing suspicious. Feeling like I had met him before, perhaps on a different assignment, I decide to interview Mr. Extraordinaire to gather more details.

“You were great! Where did you learn to do magic?”

“One doesn’t learn to do magic ma’am” said Adair the Extraordinaire as he adjusted the teal scarf around this neck. 

“Are you a one man show or do you have a team helping you?”

“Magicians always have a team, even if the members aren’t aware”

Unsatisfied with his enigmatic responses I turn to leave, when the sweet smell of fluffy flapjacks found my nose. I turn to see a table full of syrup and a stack of pancakes steaming with sweetness ready to be eaten. Walking out the door, I recognize the car parked in the parking lot. It was my husband’s car and I wonder if he was given a ticket, too. I sent him a text asking him to meet me at the first place we met, within the hour.

Visually sweeping the area with my hawk like sight, I hurry into the back room. In true wife fashion, I kiss my husband, but I am taken aback. My lips now have a sticky sweet residue on them and I can tell he is full of deceit. I ask him if he wants to grab dinner, and he tells me he has just eaten. I am starting to think his association at the Magic Show was more than entertainment. Feeling my suspicion, he disappeared into thin air. Starting to understand there is more to this mystery than I originally thought, I go back to the place it all began.

Hopping into my car, I lick my lips covered with the sweet sap-like adhesive left from my husband. I laugh to myself, with sticky lips keeping secrets should be easy. Strangely, I am now craving pancakes, but I can tell that I am getting closer to gathering all the ingredients to this pancake recipe. By the end of the day I am confident there will be no more lumps in my batter.

Parking in front of the morgue, I see the man in the white coat, tucking a teal silk scarf into his coat pocket while entering the building. It was then I connected the pieces to this puzzle. I busted in carrying only one weapon, the weapon of truth. My husband sitting at a table with Adair the Extraordinaire wearing a white lab coat on one side and a former retired coworker of mine who played the corpse on the other side. All three waiting for me to applaud their performance.

“Well, how did we do?” my husband asks.

Dumbfounded because my husband is more of a pretty face than a detective I reply, “How did you know? What is going on?”

“There is a leak in your organization who talks in their sleep and she is standing in front of me. I typically listen to all of your nightly monologues, but I was most intrigued when Pancakes were involved. I then reached out to my old high school buddy, Adair the Extraordinaire. It was Adair the Extraordinaire who contacted his brother, who had just retired from the same organization of your current employment.  The three of us decided that we would tackle our greatest performance in order to teach you that your ways are wrong and give you the chance to change for the good.”

Adair the Extraordinaire chimed in with his charismatic grin and asks, “Did we convince you?”

Surprised that their efforts worked I excitedly respond, “You did good, I am in.”

           The four of us sit down and dive into a large stack of chocolate chip pancakes with whipped cream on top. Devoted to savoring every bite of this long awaited treat, my thoughts drift to the devotion of my husband and the allure of his plan. Solving the final clue, I uncover the most important ingredient in this pancake recipe… love.