I knew it was going to be one of those days. I woke up in upstate New York to a chilly spring morning.

I had just spent the last two months on my boat in Florida, solving stone and tile problems for some of the rich folks there. I looked out the window and saw frost on my ole Woody and sighed, missing the warm Florida sunshine.

I got dressed, grabbed my trench coat, and headed out the door to go to my favorite greasy spoon for a hot cup of jo. As I was driving to the diner, I stopped at the 7-11 to pick up a scratch-off lottery ticket. I didn't win.

Little did I realize that this little side trip would lead to solving my next case. Just as I finished scratching off the last number, my cell phone rang.

"Hello, Mr. Stone Detective?" the scratchy voice on the other end mumbled. "I have a granite countertop that suddenly has these tiny spots appearing." She went on to say that they come off with a razor blade but they keep coming back and she has no idea where they are coming from. It just so happened that she lived on the way to my office, so I told her I would be by in a minute or two.

I pulled the Woody into her unpaved gravel driveway and walked up to her door. She was waiting for me as soon as I stepped on the porch. Her voice matched her looks. She was tall and had long black hair. She was smoking one of those long cigarettes and when she spoke she kept the cig in the side of her mouth. She led me into the kitchen and continued to puff, talk, and cough.

The granite countertop was the standard Uba Tuba, undermount sink and eased edge. It was in good shape and appeared to be well-cared for. I ran my hand across the top and it was clean until I reached a spot at the one end of the countertop where there were tiny green and yellow dots.

I took my fingernail and was able to scrap a few of them up. I asked her if she placed anything on this spot. She told me she didn't but she says they appear about once or twice per week and she couldn't figure out where they are coming from.

I scratched my head and began to look around the rest of the kitchen for clues as to where these little mystery dots were coming from. My first thought is that some little kid was using crayons on the top, but when I asked her if she had any children or grandchildren she said, "No!" I continued asking questions that led nowhere. I told her I would have to do a little research and asked her for a small baggie, then took some scrapings to test back at the lab.

I left her house very frustrated since I can usually figure these mysteries out. As I opened my car door, the lottery ticket I scratched earlier fell out of my car. I picked it up and threw it in the passenger seat.

As I did, I noticed the little hard plastic block that I use to scratch off my ticket had the same dots that I just saw on the countertop. I got out of my car and headed back to the house.

When she arrived at the door, I smiled and said, "I think I may know where those mystery dots are coming from. Can I come back in and take a look?"

She led me back into the kitchen and I took the lottery ticket that I had just scratched and placed it on the countertop, scratching off the remaining portion. She looked at me like I was losing my mind and then made the comment that her husband buys lottery tickets once or twice per week and does the same thing.

I looked at her and said, "Exactly, and that's where these little dots are coming from." I picked up my ticket and, lo and behold, it created the same little dots. We both laughed. Another case solved.

The Stone Detective is a fictional character created by Fred Hueston, written to be entertaining and educational. Frederick M. Hueston is the founder of Stone Forensics ( stoneforensics.com ), a nationally known stone consulting company, and also the technical director for Stoneandtilepros.com.

He has written over 33 books on stone and tile installations, fabrication and restoration. He also serves as a expert for many legal cases across the world. Email comments to him at fhueston@stoneforensics.com

")