Lisbeth, Queen of the Fairies, acknowledged the cheering of her subjects and bade them sit. When all were comfortable, with the emerald green meadow nearly invisible under the fairy folk, she drew her breath and smiled. “Loyal friends,” she began, “as you know, Valentine’s Day is tomorrow. One of our human helpers, Lacey Hearts, is so lonely her heart is aching. We all realize there is a special someone for everyone.” Hearing this statement, the wee ones cheered so loudly the bluebells chimed in approval.
Raising her hand to quiet the realm, she continued the meeting. “You know how much I love matchmaking. I have discovered Lacey’s soul mate, but we need to make finding him an adventure that ends quickly, since time is short. Hints and clues must be subtle to keep her private investigator’s sense of suspicion quieted. Here is the plan.”
Lacey Valentine sat at her kitchen table adding the last few notes to her latest case. A young child had run away to live with a group of friends that lived near a recycling center. What seemed like a great adventure quickly turned into awareness that his friends were throwaway kids. Ashamed to go home, the boy was glad to have Lacey smooth the way back to his parents. Whispering a soft “thank you” to Heaven, she marked the case closed.
Leaving her home, Lacey headed towards the library. She spent half an hour on Saturday morning reading to the younger children in the neighborhood. As she walked towards the steps leading to the entrance, she noticed a gleam by the marble pedestal. She bent down and picked up a heavy golden cufflink. “Oh, dear,” she murmured, “what a terrible loss for someone.” Putting it in her pocket, she entered the library and enjoyed her reading time.
After replacing the book, she headed to her favorite jeweler, Mr.Housen. She explained how she found the cufflink and that she thought it was perhaps a family heirloom. The old jeweler held it reverently and commented on Lacey’s honesty. It seemed the cufflink was made of quality gold, with just four sets made. The artisan’s husband received one set and the others were sold decades before to prominent people. Handing her a list of names, he wished her luck with her search.
Lacey contacted the king’s assistant first, who verified the links were safe. Next, she called a college student, granddaughter to the artist. The girl assured her both cufflinks were in the safe deposit box in Quebec. Lacey emailed the curator of the former President’s library. Moments later, a reply thanked her for her concern. The cufflinks were safely in the display case.
Dialing the last number, Lacey found out that Gene was currently in the city. She explained the reason for calling and provided her investigator’s license number, as well as phone number. Shortly thereafter, her phone rang and an appointment was set up with the probable owner. He agreed to bring the matching cufflink with him. The two met at a coffee house, sitting down at a cozy little table freshly decorated for the next day’s festivities. After shaking hands, they each compared the cufflink in their possession. Gene felt he must have lost it after dedicating the new wing to the library. Lacey commented how glad she was that the sun was shining, which drew her attention to the gleaming cufflink. Gene suggested they have lunch to celebrate. Two hours later, the two were still talking and laughing about all the things they had in common.
Accepting his invitation to go to a Valentine’s Party the next evening, Lacey left for home, knowing she was not alone. She barely heard the tinkling laughter as Queen Lisbeth celebrated her successful Valentine matchmaking scheme.