CROSSWORD BANDIT LEAVES LEE COUNTY BILL AND SEVEN ACROSS UNPAID
Ordered drinks, filled squares, vanished. Detectives say seven across was “unpaid.” The puzzle stayed. The check did not.
Lee County detectives are reviewing a dine-and-dash in which a patron ordered drinks, worked a crossword puzzle book through several clues, and left without paying. Staff recovered the unfinished book on the table next to the bill. Investigators say the grid’s seven across appears to have been penciled as “unpaid,” a detail they declined to call a confession and declined to call a coincidence.
TrustUs.News reviewed the incident report and the abandoned puzzle. Squares were filled in neat block letters. The check was not. Coming up on Evening Fabrication: whether leaving the book counts as evidence, courtesy, or the world’s driest tip, and how many across clues a detective needs before calling it a pattern.
“Dine & Dash Across™ — the puzzle that pays for nothing.”
