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“Love you.” I swallowed, then rushed up to my bedroom.

My toes were cold and my spirits were low as Fiona and I trudged to the last house on my list. After getting interrupted by the snowstorm last time, I’d wanted to finish up our research. But we weren’t having any better luck today.

None of the people we talked to so far seemed at all upset about the neighborhood decorations. Two didn’t celebrate Christmas, but they loved the togetherness that the decorations brought to the neighborhood. At one house, the woman who lived there was just too old to decorate anymore. Usually her sons came and hung the lights, she told us, but this year they’d been traveling.

“Maybe it’s someone who actually has decorations up,” Fiona suggested. “Maybe they’re trying to throw everyone off. Don’t want anyone to know that they’re the terrible neighbors.”

“Could be.”

“You know who probably has insider information?” she said.

“Are you going to say Ryan? His dad won’t tell him. I was in his house when he tried to ask about it. His dad shut him down.”

“No, not Ryan. The other lawyers at the firm have kids too. Maybe they are less careful with their information. You need to go somewhere these rich kids hang out. Try to pry some info out of them.”

“Ryan asked me to the masquerade ball at the country club,” I blurted.

“Oh really?” she said with a smirk. She didn’t seem surprised.

I frowned. “Wait. Why do I feel like you knew he was going to do that? Did you talk him into it? Do you still want to go?”

“I mean, I don’t not want to go. But Ryan told me that he only has a plus one.”

“So you did talk to him about it?” Did he think I’d told Fiona to have him ask me? That was embarrassing.

“Maybe a little at school the other day.”

“Well, I told him no. It would be way too risky. His parents are going to be there.”

“Jasmine, seriously, you should go. The information will be flowing. It’s your chance to find things out. You’ll be wearing a mask.”

I laughed. “The greatest disguise ever.”

We stopped in front of the last house on the list. I stared at it for a long moment.

“Here goes nothing,” I said, knocking on the door.

A woman answered, and before she could even say hello, a little girl’s head appeared around her legs.

“Hi,” I said. “We’re taking a survey about the neighborhood decorations.”

“The decorations?” she asked, holding on to her daughter’s shoulder because she was now trying to escape outside.

“We wanted to find out why people did or didn’t decorate.”

“Oh, did Mrs. O’Leary send you?”

“No, not at all. School project.”

“We just didn’t have time this year. So much going on.”

“Mom, Mom, my beanbag broke!” A little boy was in the doorway now holding up two handfuls of tiny Styrofoam balls.

I let out a short breath.

“What?” Fiona whispered next to me.

“We’ll let you go,” I said to the woman. “Thank you so much for your time.”