This one took place in the midst of all the drug smuggling going on in Miami. The Agency, you know the one I mean, had recorded a conversation between two smugglers on a street corner. They were convinced that the discussion was a cover for passing information like a drop location or a contact. But even with all their expertise, they could not figure out what was really being conveyed.
That’s when they called me in. Because I have no area of specialization, I can keep an open mind and often see things that so-called experts miss. When they played back the tape for me, sure enough, I immediately picked up the hidden message. See if you can you find it in the transcript:
“Mira, amigo. Good to see you again.”
“Que pasa? Did you go to that Taco Eating Contest I told you about?’
“Si, I did. But I dropped out early. Big Juan was the winner. He ate 35 tacos at one sitting.”
“Santa Maria, that’s a lot. Did anyone else even come close?”
“Martino was right up there with him. Until they hit the 30th taco. Then Martino had one more before he got sick. But Juan ate one too, then ate four and won.”
“Too bad I missed it. How did you celebrate after it was all over?”
“Same was a usual. I threw up, amigo!”
Nano Solution_____________________________________________
“Elementary,” you say, sucking on your thumb instead of a pipe. “Tacos is an anagram for Coast, a street in Miami. And 35 is the house number...#35 Coast Street.”
“You sure are getting the hang of this,” Nano says. “Not!”
“No?”
“Cheer up, that’s just what the Feds thought too. But if you listen carefully to the conversation, as I did, you can clearly hear one smuggler tell the other a phone number. Juan ate one too then ate four and won. In other words 1, 8, 1, 2 then 8, 4 and 1 or 181-2841.”
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