The thing that struck Ivy was that Cody looked too good to be true.

“So you two have never met in real life? Not even on FaceTime or Skype?”

“He can’t do that kind of stuff, because he’s in a high-security location with sketchy Wi-Fi and they have strict regulations about FaceTime kinds of stuff. But we email and text and talk on a secure phone as often as we can.”

“How long have you two known each other?” Ivy asked.

“In real time, about eight months. My mama and daddy only knew each other for three months before they got married and they were married twenty-five years!”

“Oh.…” Ivy let the word hang there and Phoebe immediately picked up on her reaction.

“I can tell you don’t approve. You probably think Cody’s one of those online scammers, right?”

“It did occur to me,” Ivy admitted.

Phoebe loosened the scarf around her neck and pulled a thin gold chain from beneath the collar of her blouse. A heavy gold signet ring hung from it. Phoebe kissed the ring, then tucked it back under her neckline.

“That’s Cody’s class ring,” she said proudly. “Trolls don’t send rings to girls. And they don’t send flowers every month on the tenth, because that’s our date-a-versary.”

“No, they probably don’t,” Ivy said. “He sends you flowers? So nice!”

“Daisies. Because he knows they’re my favorite. I mentioned it when we first started dating and he remembered. He remembers everything.”

“Cody sounds like a sweet, thoughtful man,” Ivy said.

“He’s awesome,” Phoebe agreed, beaming. She glanced at the phone she was still holding in her hand. “Oops! I’d better get back to work. But I meant to ask, how is it going with your search for Carlette and Everett?”

“I’ve been so busy with the house, I haven’t really had time to do more research,” Ivy said. “But I did find a whole trunk full of Santa Bob’s old letters and files, so I’m going to look through all that stuff to see if I can find any clues.”

“Let me know if you discover anything,” Phoebe said. “Mom would love to find out what happened to her old friend.”

“I just had a thought,” Ivy said. “Can you call her and ask what her address was when she lived across the street from Carlette’s family?”

“I don’t have to ask her; I know it by heart. Seven-oh-two Spruce Street. Mom used to ride me past her childhood home all the time and point it out. I don’t think anyone has lived there in a long time, though. Why do you ask?”

“Your mother said someone in Carlette’s family owned the house they were living in while her daddy was overseas. Who knows? Maybe whoever lives there now will know something.”

Phoebe shook her head. “You’re really into this, aren’t you?”

“I guess I am,” Ivy said lightly. “Besides, what else have I got to do? My furniture is stuck down in Florida somewhere, and I’m up here with no heat and no hot water. And no business.”