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“I thought that was a given,” said Chase. “Since we do go out on dates, and we do kiss a lot. And that’s exactly what couples do, right?”

“I guess so.”

“Get out of here!” Sally cried. “Go back to Hampton Cove to date and kiss!”

“I think we’ll do just that,” I said, lifting my chin.

“But first we have to find my grandfather,” said Chase.

“And my Santa,” I added.

“Right.”

“Out of my sight!” Sally yelled. “Get out.”

So that’s what we did. Stared after by the entire precinct. Then, as we walked out the door, they all cheered. Looks like they didn’t agree with Sally, and did not consider me spume. Besides, spume wasn’t always dirty. Spume could be nice and fluffy and pink, just like me. Maybe I was going to adoptthis name and wear it proudly from now on. Odelia ‘Spume’ Poole. It had a nice ring to it. Or Odelia ‘Spume’ Kingsley. An even nicer ring.

Chapter 9

After some calling around, I finally managed to find out the name of a former manager at Thornton Fifth Avenue. If anyone knew the identity of Hampton Cove’s new Santa, it would be him. We caught up with the guy at Fun ’n Frolic, a modest toy store located on Amsterdam Avenue. Just like at Thornton’s, a Santa sat entertaining a bunch of kids. But the setup was a lot less exuberant than at Thornton’s, and Santa looked like an out-of-work actormaking a dime, which he probably was.

Orrick McCastle was a man in his late sixties, with short, curly white hair, a small white mustache, and reverent bearing. In a previous life, he must have been a priest, for he carried himself like one and spoke in the same hushed tones.“Greetings,” he said when we approached him. “How may I be of assistance?” He was keeping an eye on a gaggle of kids messing around the ball pit.

“We’re actually looking for the new Hampton Cove Santa,” I announced, deciding to skip the usual preliminaries and get to the heart of the matter straightaway.

“Ah,” he said, studying me closely. “I’m afraid there I cannot help you. You see, I’m not familiar with that particular brand. If you seek the new Fisher-Price Santa, or the new Lego Santa, I’m more than happy to help, but the new Hampton Cove Santa? He will always remain a mystery to me.”

“Hampton Cove is not a brand,” I said.

“Which might explain why it is unfamiliar to me.”

“It’s a town located between Hampton Bays and Happy Bays, on Long Island’s South Fork.”

His eyebrows rose precipitously.“A town. And you’re looking for its Santa?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Once again, I must bow out respectfully. You see, I am not in the business of providing Santas, at least not the human kind. If it is a toy Santa you seek, let me guide you to our toy Santa section. As you can imagine, we have a large offering, especially at this time of year.”

“No, you don’t understand.”

“I don’t?”

“You see, the Santa I’m looking for used to work at Thornton Fifth Avenue. He was fired from that store and hired by the Hampton Cove council. I work for the Hampton Cove Gazette and my editor wants me to do a piece on this new Santa, but the council is adamant to keep him under wraps until theofficial Christmas Eve Celebration.”

“And you, being the intrepid reporter, cannot wait that long. I now see all.” He placed a thoughtful finger to his lips, a frown marring his noble brow. “It is true that I used to be employed by Thornton Fifth Avenue until very recently, when I was summarily dismissed, my services no longer required. And it is also true that for many years, we employed the same man as our store Santa.”

“But…”

“Thornton Fifth Avenue is a rather large establishment, with a vast staff of people.”

My shoulders slumped a little.“You don’t remember the name of your Santa?”

“Well, I remember his first name. You see, I pride myself on being on a first-name basis with all of my people, even the seasonal ones like Santa. His name was Kris—or at least that’s the name he provided—it’s not inconceivable he used an alias, as he was a humble and very private individual.”

“Kris?” I asked dubiously. “As in Kris Kringle?”

“Which is exactly why I have my doubts as to the veracity of the name of this individual.”

“Why was this Kris fired, exactly?”

“The same reason I was fired, my dear young lady. Age. The Thornton family, in all its wisdom, decided I was too old to function in a managerial role, a position I held for forty years, and deemed it necessary to replace me with a younger specimen, straight out of business school, and loaded up with all the exciting new wisdom his expensive education no doubt has instilled in him. To give you but one example of this wisdom he immediately replaced the old Santa with a new Santa, because that is what you do when you’re young and dynamic: out with the old and in with the new.”

“You sound a little…”