Free Diva 04 _ Diva Cooks a Goose, The by Krista Davis Page A

had ceased entirely, but the temperature was dropping, making more snow likely. The crisp air stung my face, but I was too busy exclaiming over bright Christmas lights with Dad and Jen to care.
    The ancient brick sidewalks and historic houses of Old Town simmered with a magical quality. Candles burned in nearly every window, especially in the high dormer windows in attic rooms. Tiny white lights sparkled in trees and on bushes, and snow dusted pines and evergreens that graced front doors, as though Mother Nature had added to the festivity.
    I was sorry to have to leave my family and miss the boats on the Potomac that had been strung with Christmas lights, but I dutifully peeled off and headed east toward Bonnie’s house.
    I had walked only one block when I spied a strikingly familiar figure. Wrapped in a leather bomber jacket, with a muffler around his neck, and wearing a bulky Elmer Fudd-type hat, George’s neighbor, Forrest Chadwick, stood outside an empty storefront.
    “Well, hello!” I said. “What are you doing in Old Town?”
    Forrest blinked a couple of times. I thought perhaps he didn’t recognize me away from George’s house. “Sophie Winston? George’s sister. We ate Christmas dinner together yesterday.”
    “Of course! I’m sorry. I was deep in thought—elsewhere. You know?”
    I understood completely.
    He glanced up and down the street. “Pretty quiet out tonight.”
    “I guess people are still celebrating the holidays—and it is cold out.”
    He didn’t reply, and a horrible, awkward moment passed. I finally blurted out, “Any word on the Christmas-gift thief?”
    “They’re still looking for him, them ... whoever. I don’t think they have the first clue, but that doesn’t stop Ginger from calling the police every couple of hours to pester them.” He forced a smile. “I’d better not hold you up. It’s freezing out here.”
    I said good-bye and continued on my way, but when I reached the end of the block, I glanced back. Forrest hadn’t moved on. He still stood in front of the building where I’d first seen him. I wondered if he was waiting for someone.
    I walked on—another two blocks to Bonnie’s house. One of the older homes like mine, it sported a historic plaque by the door. I could have picked it out simply by virtue of the holiday decor. Bonnie had been in candy mode with her Christmas decorations this year. Like her sugarplum decor at the party, she’d attached ribbon candies to the wreaths on her doors and windows. I wondered if they wouldn’t disintegrate in the wet weather. Could they be made of plastic?
    Faux candles flickered in each window in true Old Town- style. I rang the bell and waited. The scent of wood burning in a fireplace drifted to me, and I longed to head home to my own cozy fireplace. A bit impatient, I rang the bell again and leaned sideways to peer inside her front window. Artfully swagged drapes prohibited me from seeing inside.
    I stepped back and looked up at her house. Maybe with the party and the brouhaha over Phil and Shawna, she’d forgotten our appointment? Or maybe I was now persona non grata because my family had marched out of her party? I hadn’t thought about it from her perspective, but we’d left a lot of embarrassingly empty seats.
    I sighed and the mist from my breath drifted like a little cloud in the cold air.
    Surely Bonnie separated business from her private life. Besides, even if she was angry with me or my family for making a scene, wouldn’t she come to the door and tell me that she no longer had any interest in working with me? Everything I knew about her indicated that she was as sweet as the candy she used in her decorations. I couldn’t imagine her snubbing me.
    As I looked up toward the second floor of her house, I saw smoke coming from a chimney. A good clue that she was home. I rang her doorbell again, though I felt a bit guilty for ringing it a third time. She still didn’t answer.
    Although I was sorely tempted to