“Ho ho oh-kay, okay, but I’m fine, so only after we get the reindeer bedded down and fed first,” Claus said merrily, as he affectionately patted Rudy’s head while the frisky deer nuzzled his coat pocket looking for gingerbread treats that were usually waiting there. I could tell there would be no arguing with The Claus on this point. Experience told me he could be stubborn in the most aggravatingly cheery way at times, so if I ever wanted to find out what happened to that magic coal dust, I was going to need to figure out how to care for the deer, and fast.
While I was pondering it, I heard the distinctive “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” ringtone that I’d know anywhere. “Yes-yes, Phil, you are a very good boy, ho, ho, ho, I’ll see you in a few minutes.” Before I could ask, a smiling man pulled up in a brand new sleigh-red Ford F-150 pickup truck. A glance at the Kelleher Motor Company dealer tags, and my deductive reasoning put two and two together to realize the driver handing Mr. C the keys was none other than Phil Kelleher himself.
“Okay boys,” Claus shouted with a whistle to the reindeer, “load up!” I snagged the keys. No way was I letting him drive in that condition. I would never hear the end of it from (the REAL boss), Mrs. C. Tallymaker and a couple of the elves climbed up into the roomy SuperCrew cab.
“We’re going over to Knudson Lumber,” Tinker Fixy, our best carpenter elf, piped in. Fortunately our unscheduled landing was within a stone’s throw of the lumberyard. “I checked their website on my phone and confirmed that they have the wood, tools and your favorite shade of red barn paint to fix the seat.” Tallymaker chimed in, “Maybe ask Kari Shelley if she has some suggestions to reinforce that seat better with milk and cookie season coming soon,” winking towards his old friend who took the good natured ribbing with a chuckle, of course. It was a long running joke that spanned the centuries and never seemed to grow old between them.
I, however, was not as patient. That missing Dust wasn’t going to find itself! I hoped Mindy was having better luck tracking down clues. As if on cue, just then my own phone buzzed. Mindy’s sugary sweet high-pitched voice chimed in on the other end of the line. “I’ve made it over to Cle Elum sir. My accountant Harold B. Iverson, CPA gave me a ride, and reminded me I could deduct this trip from my taxes as a business expense during the drive. He also mentioned that his father Hans’ skis just went on display at a local museum here. Remember they used to have a ski jump in Cle Elum back in the coal mining heyday in the 1920s and we used to watch the competitions when we came to pick up the magical coal dust? Well, there seems to be a connection, so maybe the skis will give us a clue about what happened to the dust. I’m going to check it out. I remember seeing an article about the ski jump in the local newspaper, so I’ll swing by the Northern Kittitas County Tribune office to look through their archives before heading over to the museum. Oh, and by the way, he said you could bed down the reindeer at his barn up on Peoh Point. I’m texting you the directions now.”
