Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Vol. 64, No. 1. Whole No. 368, July 1974

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Another vivid account of a monthly meeting of the Black Widowers Club... The honored guest this evening is a jeweler named Latimer Reed, and we are assured by the host, Geoffrey Avalon the patent attorney, that there will be no crime to solve, no mystery to unravel — but don’t you believe it! We guarantee you will be fascinated by the romantic story that unfolds...

Geoffrey Avalon, the patent attorney, stirred his drink and smiled wolfishly. His hairy still-dark eyebrows slanted upward and his neat graying beard seemed to twitch. He looked like Satan in an amiable mood.

He said to the Black Widowers, assembled at their monthly club dinner, “Let me present my guest — Latimer Reed, jeweler. And let me say at once that he brings us no crime to solve, no mystery to unravel. Nothing has been stolen from him; he has witnessed no murder, has involved himself in no spy ring. He is here, purely and simply, to tell us about jewelry, to answer our questions, and to help us have a good sociable evening.”

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