177 / 194
161
“Hey, Santa, can I have some candy?” I was again sur-
rounded by creatures the height of fire extinguishers, there
were at least four of them. I said Captain Cavity had
forbidden me from handing out candy and that no one
wanted false teeth for Christmas when they grew up,
anyway. That got the crowd of mothers giggling.
“Could we at least take a picture?” one mother asked, and I
couldn’t refuse. By the time that was done, Petri had
disappeared. I, too, vanished to my secret place. Time for
Tommy H. again.
“Jansson?” he sighed when he heard my question. “Some-
times I think Jansson’s as mythical as Santa Claus. In any
case, no one’s been able to catch him at anything, though
it’s general knowledge that he deals drugs and sells stolen
goods. But Jansson’s vassals won’t talk. Quite a number of
them have just happened to get their fingers caught in a
saw or their toes run over by a lawn mower. Be careful with
him. He takes no pity on women, either.”
I reminded Tommy H. that I was not just any woman, and I
promised to let him know as soon as I got more
information on Jansson’s doings. I straightened my beard
and returned to work. There were rarely children in the
furniture department, so I headed there to think things
through. I had accomplished my assignment; I just needed