Page 33 of No Business Like Snow Business

I blinked at her in astonishment. “What?”

She tilted her head. “Actually, you could pull it off.” She held out her hand across the table. “I’m Sandra Novak. And you are?”

I shook her hand. “Sterling Van Ruyven. You must be Harvey’s grandmother.”

“And you must be the handsome stranger he’s been spotted around town with,” she said. Her smile was as brilliant as her grandson’s. “It’s stirring up all the gossips, which isn’t always an easy thing to do in Christmas Falls.”

“Oh, because not much happens here?”

“The opposite,” Sandra said, her eyes twinkling and her smile turning wicked. “We’re spoiled for choice. There’s so much going on that it’s almost impossible to keep up.” She lowered her voice.“I hear Nancy from the animal shelter hasfinallymade a move on Jim.”

“Good for them?” I asked.

“It’s been a long time coming. Now, I’m on my way to Holiday Hope Foundation, but I just had to stop in here and introduce myself when I saw you sitting here, and to ask you to come have dinner at the house one night soon, since Harvey hasn’t invited you yet.”

“Oh, yeah, he’s been working with me on a research project,” I said, recalling what Harvey had been telling everyone we spoke with around town.

“Sterling,” Sandra said, eyes still sparkling, “I know Harvey didn’t come home last night. Do you know how I know?”

I shook my head.

“Because I caught him sneaking in after breakfast, wearing yesterday’s clothes. That’s a hell of a research project you two are undertaking.” She stood, her smile softening. “It’s clear you two are friends, so I’d like it if you came to dinner. If it doesn’t get in the way of your research, of course.”

“I...I’ll bear that in mind, thank you,” I managed, and Sandra gave me a little wave and headed for the exit.

I finished my coffee and left the shop. I didn’t have any real destination in mind; I was just killing time. And, since I didn’t have a car, I was killing it exclusively in the little downtown area that was called Santa’s Village on all the tourist maps. The streets here could have been designed by Hallmark. The storefronts were bristling with that small town charm to begin with, and the Christmas charm that had been laid over the top of it had been put onthick. All the storefronts had seasonal displays in the windows, most of them lit by twinkling lights, and the lamp posts and street signs were wrapped with garlands. The street signs were even topped with illuminated red bows.

I found myself at a bookstore called Season’s Readings, and went inside to soak up the warmth for a little while. The store had a good selection of books and gifts, and I poked around in the small local history section for a few minutes, until a young woman with frizzy hair and freckles came over to see if I needed help with anything.

“I’m just browsing,” I said. “But I don’t suppose you’d have anything on Christmas Falls in the nineties? Or on the history of the festival itself?”

She hummed. “Sorry, no. Our local histories are mostly either about the founding of Milton Falls, or when it was renamed Christmas Falls. Nothing from the nineties, really. The local historical society has put out some booklets on the festival, I think, but we don’t have any in stock right now. Oh, you know where you could find them?” Her expression brightened. “At themuseum!”

“Oh, of course,” I said, and wondered if it would be weird to show up at the museum before I was meant to meet Harvey for lunch. Then I nodded while the young woman, who must have been the only person in town who didn’t know Harvey had been spotted hanging out with a stranger, gave me directions to the museum.

I thanked her, and left the bookstore.

This wasn’t weird, right?

My footsteps quickened when the museum came into sight, and not just because I was looking forward to getting out of the cold again. There were a few people exiting the building, some clutching purchases from the Arts and Crafts Fair. When I got inside, I could hear voices and laughter coming from the fair and, as with most places in this town, a background soundtrack of Christmas carols. The museum was silent.

I opened the door to the museum, my gaze going straight to Harvey’s desk. My heart sank a little when I saw that it wasempty, but then I heard his voice from the next room: “He’s terrifying, isn’t he? Apparently during the parade, one of his gloves came off, and he kept waving with his exposed metal claw. But it’s our most popular exhibit.”

A moment later he appeared in the doorway. He froze for a moment when he saw me, and then smiled and flushed.

“Hi,” I said.

“Hi.” His flush deepened as he closed the space between us. “It’s not lunchtime already, is it?”

“No. I just thought I’d come and have a look at more of those boxes in the storeroom,” I said. “If that’s okay. I’m trying to get more of a feel for the town in the nineties.”

I was trying to see what Freddy had seen, but maybe I didn’t need to look through a bunch of detritus in a cardboard box for that. Maybe all I had to do was look at Harvey to understand what was so special about Christmas Falls. When Freddy had looked at Cap Guy, did his heart thump the same way mine did?

“Sure!” Harvey lowered his voice. “I wish I could help, but these people want to know abouteverything.”

“You love it,” I said, and knocked my shoulder against his.

He stifled what sounded like the start of a giggle with his palm, turning it into a snort. “Yeah, I do love it, actually.”

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