How Harry nearly won me $1000

[Amy Z]

<warning:  contains spoiler for a very old Ellery Queen short story>

So I'm in South Station, Boston, in December with a bit of a wait for my bus 
home, so I buy a Games World of Puzzles magazine and head right for the 
Trivia Cross contest, first prize $1000 (runners up get a Games t-shirt).  I 
bring it along to my mom's at the holidays and with the help of my mother, 
my husband, and the internet, I finish the entire thing long before the 
deadline of February 4.  Almost the entire thing:  the instructions say that 
when you've filled in all the trivia questions and solved the crossword, 
you'll end up with a question, the answer to which is a very familiar name 
in an unfamiliar context.  Having Harry on the brain, I'm thinking from the 
beginning, "Harry Potter!" but come on, it could be anything.  But here I am 
with the question before me, and it's "What is the name of the building 
superintendent who commits the crime in Ellery Queen's 'The Seven Black 
Cats'?"  I'm more sure than ever that the answer will prove to be "Harry 
Potter."  Common enough name, properly superintendent-ish when you think 
about it, but again, I don't *know* that that's the answer.

So I go looking for "The Seven Black Cats."  A fair amount of internet 
research reveals that it dates back to the early 1930's and appears in a 
1934 collection called The Adventures of Ellery Queen.  This is going to be 
tough.  I request it from interlibrary loan in early January.

Three weeks later, no peep from the library.  No doubt they're rustling up a 
copy from Mrs. Rufus T. Howland who's had it out from the East Podunk, 
Illinois public library since November 1975.  I almost send Games the 
contest entry postcard with Harry Potter written on it, even though it's a 
complete guess, since I have nothing to lose but twenty cents, but I don't.

Fast forward 4 weeks.  I finally get a call from the local library that The 
Adventures of Ellery Queen is waiting for me.  With dread in my heart I pick 
it up and skip to the end of "The Seven Black Cats."  You guessed it:  the 
superintendent's name is Harry Potter.  Damn, damn, damn.

Amy
comforting herself that it would have been a one-in-10,000 chance to win 
anyway

_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp.