Page 58 of My Secret Snowflake
Jamal and I are definitely going to get along.
Chapter fourteen
Iris
“YougotthreeSecretSnowflake gifts delivered via the mail cart while you were at the Big Sibling meeting,” Jin Ae says. “Lucky you!”
I open the first. It’s a jar of honey with a red flag taped to it. A shiver snakes through me. Is it a warning—someone knows I’m going to set up honeypots? Not Sebastian, right? Would he have bought a jar of honey this afternoon? Or is it a hint as to what to do? I stick it in my desk drawer gingerly. I don’t know. Everyone seems to be occupied—nobody is looking at me to see my reaction.
Why did Kevin say “Youdon’t want it right now” to Hank?
The other gift is a calculator. I guess I can always use another calculator.
The third gift is an ergonomic mouse, which is a perfect gift for a gamer.
Raphael said he’d left a trail. Whatever he discovered has to be why he was fired. Otherwise, he would’ve told me.
I could be fired too if I follow his trail of clues. I chew on my nail.
But I’m more worried about an unknown intruder in our system. I could also lose my job if the intruder steals more company documents and I didn’t do something to prevent it.
But I haven’t had any time to pursue any investigation because I’m working full out on the migration. And I want to talk to Raphael directly first.
AswewalktoRaphael’s house in Dyker Heights, Sebastian, Maddie, and I pass by a large building decorated like a gingerbread house, with each of the windows framed in lights. A wreath hangs in the top triangle, a twinkling Christmas tree in the yard.
Dyker Heights is a residential neighborhood in Brooklyn, accessible via one of the last stops on the D subway line. The neighborhood is famous for elaborate Christmas displays, each house creating its own magic. It used to be a mostly Italian neighborhood, but the bubble tea shop with its sign in Chinese characters on the street corner hints that the neighborhood is definitely diversifying.
“You’re sure this is where he lives?” Maddie asks.
Raphael lives in a small, brick, two-story house. The windows are completely dark. Plastic reindeer are munching on his lawn, and a Santa Claus stands by the chimney on the roof, but the decorations are very tame compared to the houses on either side. Multicolored lights threaded through the porch eaves blink on and off.
“He invited us out here once for a team dinner last December so we could see the decorations,” I say. “I think it was also a gift for his mom so she could get more of a sense of the people in his office. His mom has limited mobility, and Raphael worries she is lonely. But this neighborhood seems pretty friendly. He had the dinner catered from the local diner.”
“Well, the holiday lights are on,” Sebastian says.
“But the windows are dark and the curtains are drawn,” I say.
We walk up the stone pathway to the porch. A few dead leaves lay scattered across the path.
I ring the doorbell. No answer. I press again.
Behind me, Maddie moves away. “Here’s an Amazon package, and it looks like it got wet, which means it was delivered Saturday.”
I turn around as Sebastian holds up a rolled-upNew York Intelligencerand the familiar blue plastic bag that covers it when it’s raining. “Here’s Saturday’s newspaper.”
“At least he subscribes to theIntelligencer,” Maddie says.
“So, it looks like he and his mom left on Saturday,” I say.
“Hey! Whaddya guys doing?” a muscular guy with a New York accent yells over at us from the yard next door.
The crowd of people on the sidewalk look over at us.
“I came to see Raphael,” I yell back. “He’s my boss, and I’m worried about him.”
Sebastian quickly puts the newspaper back in the blue bag while Maddie hides the package behind a planter. “I don’t want anyone to steal it.”
The neighbor marches over. “Yeah, so that’s why you’re picking up the packages. I saw you.” He points to Maddie. “Nice try with the mail theft.”
