unearths some literary gems.
***
"Scientists over thirty-five are allowed to develop eccentricities."
"Not unless they are bald or at least have grey hairs."
***
"I've just remembered that May 6th is my great-aunt Clemency's birthday."
[That snippet turned out to be a disappointment. You see, originally the protagonist sees the date May 6 on an old photograph, and it rings a bell--we might infer it has significance for the mystery. Here, later on, he realizes why the date was familiar, and I hoped that the birthday of a great-aunt with a slightly silly name was just a comical red herring. I hoped it was a one-off, and we'd hear no more about the birthday or Great-Aunt C. Alas, it turns out in the end that Aunt Clemency and her birthday do have relevance to the plot, and the protagonist even has a conversation with her (though at least it's on the phone, so we don't actually see or hear her; thank goodness someone called Great-Aunt Clemency remains an offstage character!).]
