I was expecting a visit from a dear friend in August. He’s from Ontario, where butter tarts are a favorite treat, and I live in Virginia, where nobody has ever heard the words butter and tart put together that way before. I wanted to surprise him by having butter tarts for him when he arrived, a taste of home, and something I know he could very well eat at (if not for) every meal in the day. :-) But I didn’t know what kind he liked best. Raisins? Nuts or no nuts? If nuts, what kind - pecans, walnuts?

To figure this out, I decided to enlist help, to figure out the perfect butter tart to have to welcome my friend from Canada. Yes, I emailed his mom. She wrote back to me very quickly, saying

Fear not! Super Sleuth is on the case!

She planned a trip to the local scone shop, to undertake a thorough investigation into the butter tart preferences of our TK. Two days later, Super Sleuth sent me a mission report.

On the morning of Tuesday, the seventh day of August, 2007, I met with the person of interest. We entered the establishment of  [name redacted] Scone Shop at an agreed upon time and proceeded to place our orders. Agent S.S. placed two butter tarts on the counter and paid for same. Person of interest ordered a more substantial meal. From thence, we made our way to the more private second storey eating area. During the witty repartee and extraordinarily cerebral conversation that followed, I ascertained that the person of interest prefers butter tarts with both raisins and pecans. (Although this was the breakthrough I had long awaited, I managed to stifle the cry of victory which threatened to burst forth from my lips. I am, after all, a professional.)

I trust that the information contained in this report meets with your approval. Customarily, a rather shocking fee would be charged for an investigation of this importance. However, I am willing to overlook financial remuneration in this case and will settle for the satisfaction of a job well done. I will also absorb the price of the two butter tarts necessary for the execution of my masterful plan. (Burp)

Yours in strictest secrecy,

Agent Super Sleuth

I was very pleased with the information extracted by Agent Super Sleuth, and was able to order butter tarts to surprise my guest. The plan was indeed masterful, and was professionally executed, with our target being none the wiser.

And while this is a funny little story on its own, I’m also posting it today, because it happens to be Agent Super Sleuth’s birthday. So happy birthday, Super Sleuth! I hope it’s a great one!!!