December 10th

Emily was feeling admittedly a little trepidatious as the little bell overhead tinkled as she opened the bakery door, letting a gust of cold air into the little shop, heated as it was by ovens churning out Christmas orders. She wasn't entirely sure what had compelled her to trust her mysterious letter writer, other than that she felt in her gut that he was safe...

"Good morning, Emily," Alex greeted. "Let me guess: one chocolate croissant?"

Emily smiled softly at the memory of Clyde greeting her every Sunday morning with a warm croissant from the bakery and momentarily, she debated whether she did, in fact, want one. "Actually, I'm here for...something," she said vaguely at length.

"Could you be a little more specific?" Alex inquired.

She shrugged. "My pen pal said there would be a surprise for me..."

A knowing look crossed Alex's face. She disappeared into the back briefly before returning with a little white bakery box tied up with a shiny red ribbon.

Emily eyed it suspiciously for a moment as if afraid it might explode at any moment. When she untied the ribbon and lifted the lid, she was briefly silent as if not quite sure what to think.

"What is that?" Garcia asked, appearing suddenly over her shoulder.

"Lebkuchen heart," Emily explained. "It's a German version of gingerbread. I had a German nanny when I was younger and she used to make them for me." She looked up at Alex who was still smirking at her like she knew something Emily didn't. "Wait! You know who left this for me, don't you?"

"Sorry," she said with a shrug. "It was an anonymous order."

Garcia was still peering over her shoulder. "What's it say?"

A cookie heart's the place to start

The game's afoot, you'd best depart.

To find your second clue today

Find what makes the Yuletide gay:

At the tree lot ask for Jack.

You'll get your Christmas spirit back.

Garcia shrieked an ear-splitting sound. "OMG!" she trilled, "A Christmas treasure hunt! Sooooo cute!"

Secretly, Emily agreed...just not so loudly.

The town's Christmas tree lot was run by a fellow widower. He'd moved to town with his son after his wife was murdered – the town had gossiped about it for months. Apparently, he'd been a criminal prosecutor in New York and one of the felons he'd put away had escaped from prison and murdered his wife in revenge.

Emily felt for the man, but she'd never actually spoken with him.

As she wandered through the snowflake dusted trees, she wondered if this wasn't some elaborate ploy orchestrated by Garcia and JJ to get the town's widow and widower together...

Her thoughts were interrupted by a little voice shouting, "BOO!" Its owner leapt out from behind one of the trees wearing an impish grin.

Crouching down as best she could, Emily got on eye level with the child. "Are you Jack?" she asked with a maternal smile.

He nodded eagerly. "Are you Miss Emily?"

She nodded in return.

He produced a little wrapped gift from one of his pockets. "I's s'posta give you this," he informed her as if it were a very serious duty.

"Why thank you, Jack," she said, taking the gift in her mittened palm.

He waited for about ten seconds before demanded, "You gotta open it!"

With a little laugh, the pulled off her mitten with her teeth so she could unwrap it. The glittering green paper fell away to reveal a little glass ornament in the shape of a star, giving off rainbows every time the light hit it.

Jack's brows knit together. "Oh..." he said, clearly disappointed.

But she was still smiling softly, oblivious to the boy's reaction as she read the poem on the backside of the wrapping paper.

Twinkle twinkle little star,

How I wonder who you are.

I'll find out on Christmas Day...

It seems so very far away.

I'll just have to wait and see

Underneath the Christmas tree.

Until then, find your next prize

With three men who are so wise.

At the church's Nativity display, Emily found one of the Wise Men clutching a wrapped package which, when unpacked, was revealed to be a vintage copy of Slaughterhouse Five. She'd been stunned to the point of barely breathing as she stared at its cover for a solid three minutes.

Hidden among the pages, she'd found the next note:

I got my nickname from this book,

Between the covers, take a look.

It's kind of nerdy, I confess

But I met you, so I am blessed...

The next clue is the last one,

I hope you've had some Christmas fun.

To find it, go to your backyard...

You'll find out why I love Diehard!

When Emily arrived back at home, she found the yard had been converted into a private cinema...

An inflatable kiddie pool had been filled with blankets and pillows. A sheet had been hung between two trees, creating a screen, at which a projector was aimed. A little table had been laid out with hot chocolate and an assortment of Christmas cookies and other snacks.

Emily turned to JJ who was standing on the back porch looking out at the set-up, seeming just as stunned as her. "Did you see who did this?" she demanded.

JJ shook her head. "I was out all morning. I just got here..." She let out a low whistle. "Whoever your pen pal is, they must really want to make you happy."

Dear Pilgrim;

What you did...

I still can't believe you went to so much trouble for me – a woman you barely know. It was so thoughtful, so kind...it brought tears to my eyes seeing the lengths to which you went to make me smile.

The book especially... I can count on one hand the number of people I know who love Vonnegut as much as I do.

As for Diehard... Well, it's no It's a Wonderful Life, but I guess I can see the appeal. It may just find its way into my annual traditions.

~ Silver Belle

PS: I'd like to do something for you in return, but I haven't yet decided what that will be... You set the bar rather high.