“Besides,” said the woman, who was sporting a purple perm and patting it proudly, “it’s almost Christmas, Odelia. I think you better come back in the New Year. I’m sure the Mayor will be more than happy to see you then.”
“But I want to talk to him about Santa, so it has to be now.”
“Santa?” Her face lit up. “Oh, I just love our new Santa, don’t you?”
“You’ve seen the new Santa?”
“Well, only his picture, of course. He’s just wonderful, isn’t he? I think he’s going to prove a big improvement over that old curmudgeon—what’s his name?” She snapped her fingers.
I leveled a critical look at her.“Dan Goory? My boss?”
Her lips formed a perfect O as she realized who she was talking to.“Well, Dan isn’t theworst Santa we’ve ever had, of course,” she said quickly. “I just think he’s not exactly the face of the new. More the face of the old, wouldn’t you agree?”
“No, I wouldn’t,” I said. “I think Dan is the perfect Santa. Theultimate Santa. The one and only.”
“Well, you’re certainly entitled to your opinion, dear,” she said, her lips curling down in a look of disapproval. She was patting that purple perm again, making sure not a hair was out of place.
“So where can I find this new Santa?”
The secretary’s lips pressed together, and she made a sign of locking them with a key. And when she opened them again, it was to say, “We’ve been instructed not to talk to the press, dear. And you are the press, aren’t you?”
“You mean you’ve been instructed not to talk to Dan.”
“Him, too,” she admitted.
Just then, the Mayor emerged from an office further down the hall. The moment he caught sight of me, he made a beeline for the men’s room, moving at a surprisingly rapid pace. I intercepted him just before he managed to make his escape. “Mayor Moss,” I said. “Odelia Poole. You remember me. Is it true that you’ve decided to replace Dan Goory with a new Santa?”
“Yes,” he said, his eyes shifting uncomfortably between me and the secretary, who lifted her shoulders in a helpless shrug. “Yes, that’s quite true. Look, Miss Poole, I’m not going to beat around the bush. We at the town council were all very disappointed when we read Dan’s editorial onthe unveiling of the new tree. Instead of fully endorsing the bold step the council took into a bright future, he seems to be stuck in a past where only a real tree can be considered a, well, a tree.”
“You have to admit the new tree is ugly, Mayor Moss.”
Gus Moss’s brows knitted into a disapproving frown, his round face reddening slightly. “It appears that Dan’s backward vision on Christmas trees has rubbed off on his staff. I would advise you to remove yourself from the toxic influence of Dan Goory, Miss Poole. Embrace the new and do away with the old once and for all.”
“I happen to like a regular Christmas tree,” I said with a shrug. “There’s nothing Christmassy about that cold steel contraption.”
“It’s modern,” he snapped. “And modern is good.”
“Nuclear war is modern. You don’t like nuclear war, do you?”
He eyed me as one might eye an annoying bug, indicating he actually liked nuclear war, as long as it didn’t happen in his town. “Look, the die has been cast and there’s nothing more I can do about it. Dan will just have to learn to live with the consequences of his erroneous decisions.”
“So who is the new Santa?”
He held up his hand.“No comment.”
“The people of Hampton Cove have a right to know.”
“The people of Hampton Cove will simply have to wait until the Christmas Eve Celebration. The new Santa will be revealed then.”
“Is it true he’s a department store Santa?”
“No comment.”
“What department store did he work at?”
He gritted his teeth.“No. Comment.”
Without another word, he stalked off. When I looked at the secretary, she beckoned me over, looked left and right, then held up a tiny scrap of paper. It read,‘Thornton Fifth Avenue.’ The moment I’d read it, she crumpled it up and… popped it into her mouth, then swallowed it! I flashed her a smile of gratitude for this brave act of defiance. She gave me a feeble smile. Paper doesn’t taste good.
On my way out, I bumped into Chase Kingsley, my cop boyfriend. He looked worried today, his handsome features contorted into a frown. His dark hair was covered with a stylish knit cap, and he’d raised the sheepskin collar of his biker jacket against the cold.
“Hey, Chase,” I said by way of greeting. “What’s up?”
“I’ve lost my grandpa,” he grumbled with a dark look at the secretary, as if she was to blame.
“You… lost your grandfather? How do you lose a grandfather?”
“I’ve been trying to reach him all week. I wanted to invite him over for Christmas, but he’s not answering his phone and he’s not responding to any of my messages.”
“So? Maybe his phone is broken. Or maybe he doesn’t want to talk to you.”
“I also asked one of my old buddies at the NYPD to drop by his apartment and he’s not answering the door either. He’s gone, Odelia. My grandfather is officially missing.” He shook his head. “I’ll have to go down there and look for him myself. Will you come with me?”
I stared at him.“You mean… come with you to New York to look for him?”
“You’re a natural at finding out stuff about people. And I could use the company.”
“Sure. But on one condition.”
He gave me a grin, pulled me in and placed a kiss on my lips. When he finally released me, my breath was coming in gasps.“Make that two conditions.”
“Okay.” He pulled me in again but I placed my hand on his chest.
“I have to find the new Santa. If you help me find him, I’ll help you find your grandfather.”
“Why? Is Santa missing, too?”
“The council fired Dan and hired a new Santa, and Dan is itching to dig up some dirt on the new guy so he can make the council change their minds.”
He studied me for a moment.“All right. We’ll find your Santa and we’ll find my granddad. But Granddad is our priority. I can’t imagine finding Santa is as urgent as finding an old man who may be in really big trouble right now.”
“Deal,” I said, and held out my hand.
Instead, he pulled me closer and kissed me again. I could get used to this.
Chapter 4
Chase drove while I relaxed in the passenger seat, wondering how to go about finding this illustrious Santa the council had hired. I looked up when Chase cleared his throat.“So what’s the big deal about this Santa business?” he asked.
“Dan’s been the Santa for so many years he was shocked when the council fired him. He’s grown attached to the role, I guess. And he’s a great Santa. Kids love him. Grownups love him. In fact the only people who don’t seem to care for him are the Mayor and his council. And that’s got nothing to do with Dan’s qualities as a Santa and everything to do with politics.”
He shook his head and grinned.“Small-town politics. You’ve got to love it.”
“It’s not just that. Dan is in a position of considerable influence, as the editor of the town’s only newspaper. Both parties have tried to make him endorse their candidates and he’s always refused. But instead of appreciating the fact that he prefers to remain neutral, they resent him for it. And this whole Santa business is their way of getting back at him.”
“All sounds pretty petty to me.”
“It is.” I turned to him. “What did you think about the new Christmas tree?”
He shrugged.“It’s a Christmas tree.”