on top had two-foot wingspans, and their gossamer wings were shimmering in the air currents as if trying to work up the speed for a takeoff.
Hannah and Mike passed the bear, who wished both of them a merry Christmas, and took their place at the end of the line. The procession of people waiting for sustenance was structured by red velvet ropes attached to giant candy canes on stands. Hannah noticed that Larry had taken his cue from amusement parks and purchased stands that could be arranged and rearranged to accommodate any size crowd.
The line moved swiftly and soon Hannah and Mike were almost at the front. “See?” he pointed to the empty display case. “No cookies.”
“You’re right. I wonder how long they’ve been out.”
“Since six,” replied the girl who’d moved over to wait on them. “Your cookies practically fly out the door, Miss Swensen.”
“Krista?” Hannah asked. The girl in the elf costume looked a bit like Barbara Donnelly’s granddaughter.
“It’s me. Grandma dropped me off at work tonight and she said I don’t look like myself.”
“Your grandma’s right. If you hadn’t spoken to us I never would have recognized you.”
“Maybe that’s good. The customers aren’t too happy when I tell them we’re out of cookies. Can you talk Mr. Jaeger into ordering more?”
“I’ll try. Is he here tonight?”
“He’s here every night. If you keep on going past the toy shop and take a left at Rudolf Lane, you’ll see a woodsy-looking trailer off to the right. It’s all decorated with garlands of Christmas lights and there’s a blue flocked tree out in front. That’s Elf Headquarters. Just ring the bell and Mr. Jaeger will let you in. Now what can I get for you two?”
“I’ll take a large Holly Jolly,” Mike answered her and then he turned to Hannah. “How about you?”
“I don’t know. What’s a Holly Jolly?”
“It’s hot chocolate mixed with coffee that’s flavored with orange,” Krista explained. “It’s got whipped cream on top and it’s really good, Miss Swensen.”
“Then I’ll have one, too.”
In less than a minute Hannah and Mike were exiting the building armed with two carryout cups of Holly Jolly. Hannah took a sip of hers and was pleasantly surprised. “This is pretty good,” she said.
“You’re right. It’s perfect for a cold night like this. The only way you could make it better is to put in a shot of brandy.”
Hannah was surprised. Mike wasn’t a big drinker. He’d have the occasional beer, or a glass of wine with a fancy dinner, but she’d never seen him drink brandy.
“Or you could go with an orange liqueur like Grand Marnier. That would bring out the orange in the coffee. Or you could use orange flavored vodka. They’ve got practically every flavor now.”
He’d mentioned three kinds of liquor in as many seconds and Hannah thought she knew why. “You must have had a rough day,” she guessed.
“Yeah. That’s one of the reasons I dropped by, but I didn’t want to say anything in front of Norman. It’s just a hunch, that’s all.”
“What’s just a hunch?”
“Norman’s mother. I think she could be shoplifting.”
“What?!”
“I told you, it’s just a hunch. I’ve been thinking about it all day and it’s the only explanation that makes sense.”
Hannah planted her heels on the walkway and stopped. “Hold on a minute. What makes you think Carrie’s shoplifting? And start from the beginning.”
“Last night was the third time I followed her home from the mall. She was out there on Sunday night, and last week on Monday and Tuesday nights, too.”
“You’re following Carrie?” Hannah was amazed. Surely Carrie wasn’t shoplifting! But shoplifting could be a disease…at least that was what she’d learned in psychology class. Some people who shoplifted did it because they couldn’t afford some item they wanted. But other people who shoplifted really couldn’t help themselves. They were addicted to the thrill and excitement. There were multistep programs to help addictive shoplifters that were modeled after the programs for alcoholics.
“I’m not following Carrie on purpose,” Mike tried to explain. “It’s just that she leaves the mall when it closes and so do I. Mall Security is shorthanded and I’m taking a couple of shifts until they find somebody to hire full-time.”
“Lots of people like to shop at the mall until it closes. It’s the only place where you can walk for miles in the winter without a coat and boots. What makes you think that Carrie’s shoplifting?”
“I told you it’s just a hunch, but every time I see her loading her trunk with packages, she looks guilty.”
Hannah had to admit that Mike’s hunches were usually right. But she still wasn’t willing to believe that Norman’s mother had a problem with shoplifting. “Those packages she loads in her trunk…can you tell what stores they’re from?”
“Last night it was The Glass Slipper. It’s an upscale shoe store. It was a really big bag, Hannah. She must have had six pairs of shoes in there.”
“Did you check with The Glass Slipper to see if she bought anything?”
Mike gave her a look that would have withered the hardiest tree in the forest. “Of course I did! I’m not a rookie, you know.”
“I know that. What did they tell you?”
“That she bought six pairs of shoes and put them on a credit card. The card was good. They checked.”
“Then she didn’t shoplift.”
“Not from The Glass Slipper. She had some other packages in the trunk, but I didn’t get close enough to notice the store names.”
“Okay.” Hannah drew a deep breath. “You don’t know anything for sure, so let it go, at least until a store reports lost inventory. They do that, don’t they?”
“Every Friday. You’re right, Hannah. I can’t jump to conclusions. I just didn’t like the look on her face when she spotted me. It was like she was afraid I’d question her or something, and she’s never looked at me like that before.”
“I understand,” Hannah said, taking his arm and giving it a little squeeze. “Perhaps it was nothing. You must have been tired after working at the station all day and then putting in a shift at the mall.”
“I was. But I wasn’t imagining that look.”
“Okay. Let’s drop it for now and think about something really important.”
“What’s that?”
“Shall we ride Santa’s Magic Sleigh first, or go talk to Larry about his cookie
