Gretchen Birch Boxed Set (Books 1-4)

by Deb Baker

  “Chihuahuas,” Nina said in an instructional voice, “are as old as the Mayan civilization. We’ve actually discovered their images carved in stone in the Mexican jungle. The Mayans believed Chihuahuas guided the dead through the underworld.”

  “This particular one doesn’t have guide dog written all over him. He should come with a vicious attack dog warning.”

  “Chihuahuas don’t like strangers. They don’t like a lot of people and they don’t like other dogs. They bond with one or two people and are devoted for life.”

  Enrico continued to snarl at Gretchen.

  “Give him a treat,” Nina advised, handing Gretchen a liver snap.

  “I’m not going near him. And look at Tutu and Nimrod. They’re terrified.”

  Both dogs had backed into a corner, watching the action from a safe distance. Wobbles, on the other hand, strutted past the purse hanging from the doorknob without acknowledging the rabid beast within its confines. He stopped at Gretchen’s feet and gazed at the liver snap. Gretchen bent down and handed it over.

  “They take a little getting used to,” Nina admitted. “Although Chihuahua owners just love them to death. And speaking of death. They can live for twenty years.”

  “Isn’t that nice. Can we get back to my mother and where she may have hidden the doll? According to the note we found written on the back of Nacho’s French fashion doll picture, my mother has the doll.”

  “We’ve been over this before,” Nina said. “The police searched the house. Wouldn’t they have found the doll if Caroline had it here?”

  Gretchen frowned. The movement caused burning pain to shoot through her face. What a mess. Broken wrist, second-degree burns on her face and feet. Or was it third-degree? Second, third, or fourth, who cared? All Gretchen knew was that it really hurt.

  “They did a poor job of searching,” she said. “They didn’t seem concerned about anything other than the parian doll and the inventory list.”

  “What do you suggest?”

  “Follow me.” Gretchen opened the doors to the patio. She walked past the swimming pool into the living area of the cabana. It was exactly as she remembered it. Large welcoming fireplace, cozy sitting area, wide bed with a locally made Native American blanket spread across it, more blankets draped on the walls, pottery scattered in nooks and crannies. An Arcosanti bell hanging from the outside eave chimed in the breeze.

  She pointed to a stack of boxes pushed against the wall. Unless company arrived, the cabana served as a storage area rather than a guest room, housing the dolls her mother sold at shows.

  “Let’s start here,” Gretchen said. “The police didn’t even come out to the cabana. Maybe she hid the doll with her other dolls.”

  “Seems too obvious.” Nina squatted and pried a box open.

  “I agree, but we have to start somewhere. I have a copy of the list itemizing all of Martha’s collection. Let’s see if any of the dolls in these boxes matches any on the list. Keep your eyes out for the French fashion doll. And unwrap them gently, they’re fragile.”

  Gretchen opened a box and carefully unwrapped each doll: closed mouth, open mouth, mohair wigs. Dolls dressed in sailing outfits, gingham jumper dresses, drop-waist dresses in pink polka dot and cotton sateen, marked dolls, sleepy eyes, molded teeth.

  “Look at this one,” Nina said, holding up a blonde-headed doll dressed in a knit suit with sapphire glass beads. “And this.” She picked up a dark-haired doll dressed in a sarong.

  “She told me about these,” Gretchen said. “They’re Mary Hoyer dolls she found at an auction. This one is Dorothy Lamour, and that one…” she gestured at the doll Nina held. “…is Marilyn Monroe. There should be a Kathryn Hepburn and a Lana Turner somewhere in the box.”

  “Here they are,” Nina giggled. “They’re cute, too.”

  A sharp bark sounded from the house.

  “I better check on the pooches,” Nina said and scurried off.

  Gretchen immersed herself in the boxes, unwrapping each doll and checking it against the photocopied list. Finally, she thought to check the time and realized an hour had passed since Nina left the cabana. She finished packing up the last box and stood. Nothing. Not one doll from the list. No French fashion doll. She felt disappointed. It should be easier than this.

  “I’ve been playing secretary,” Nina said, hanging up the phone when Gretchen arrived in the kitchen. “Larry called for an update and to say he’s delivering the doll with the new hand-made wig directly to the customer. He’s giving him a bill but will tell the customer to send payment to Caroline. Larry said he’lll work out the fee with her later.”

  “That’s nice of him,” Gretchen said absently, opening the refrigerator and peering inside.

  “April called to say she’s decided to work out at Curves every day instead of every other, so we can join her if we want to.”

  “That’s nice,” Gretchen muttered.

  “And Steve called the house phone and left a message.”

  Gretchen closed the refrigerator. “What did the message say?”

  “That he’s been trying to reach you on your cell phone. That Courtney told him what she did, and he can explain.” Nina snorted. “I’d like to hear him get out of that one.”

  Gretchen took a chocolate croissant from a bag on the counter and bit into it. “I can have this,” she said, defensively. “I worked out this morning.”

  “Are you going to call him back?” Nina wanted to know.

  Before Gretchen could answer with her very first firm and resounding no, a snarl erupted from the purse lying on the chair next to Nina.

  “Enrico’s up from his nap,” Nina said.

  __________

  Gretchen and Nina walked side by side through the Biltmore Fashion Park. Nimrod rode on Gretchen’s shoulder in a white cotton purse embroidered with miniature black poodles. The poodles attached to the purse wore red hair bows, which complemented Gretchen’s burned face. The savage demon, Enrico, poked out from Mexican tapestry, a gravelly hum resounding from his throat that threatened to grow into a growl.

  After a disagreement with Nina, which Gretchen won, Tutu had stayed at home with Wobbles. The purse dogs traveling by shoulder bag represented Gretchen’s reluctant compromises.

  “Okay,” Nina said. “We made two copies of Martha’s key, one for you and one for me.”

  “I know that, Nina. I was with you.”

  “It helps to verbalize. Keeps it orderly.”

  “Right.” Gretchen could feel Nimrod’s tail thumping against her ribs in perpetual puppy happiness.

  “We left the original key right where we found it in that smelly old bag.”

  “As bait.”

  “That’s the part I don’t get.”

  Gretchen pursed her lips and winced. “I have to buy another tube of lip balm.” She brushed her fingers across a blister forming on her lip. “We’ll let everyone know that we found Martha’s belongings. We’ll call all the Phoenix Dollers and--”

  “There must be over one hundred members. Most aren’t even active.”

  “We’ll call the active members. We’ll make the discovery sound exciting and tell them where it is. Then we’ll wait and see what happens.”

  “Maybe nothing will happen.”

  Gretchen shrugged. “Maybe you’re right, but do you have a better idea?”

  “Yes, we should find the door that it opens. We’ll try it in locks until we find a fit.”

  “That’s also part of the plan.”

  Nina stopped walking and looked at a storefront. “I’m going into the store. Enrico hide.” She tossed a liver treat into the purse, and Enrico dove out of sight.” Nina grinned and strode into the shop. Gretchen wandered into a shoe shop and purchased two new pairs of flip flops, one gold, the other silver. With the tops of her feet burnt the color of Tutu’s red lace collar, flip flops were the only shoe she would be wearing for awhile.

  Nina appeared as she paid at the cash register. Gretchen glanced at
her watch. “Let the games begin,” she said.

  __________

  Caroline tapped into the eBay site and keyed in the words antique dolls. She heard the computer churning and watched the list of auction dolls appear on her screen. Her eyes were red-rimmed from countless hours spent monitoring sites.

  She scrolled down. Closed the site. Keyed in the McMasters Harris Auction Company site and scrolled through the auction lot listings. Then Theriault’s. She scanned every online doll auction house. The Internet sites had highly specialized bidding technology, some with audio and video of the live auctions, offering customers the ability to participate with the touch of a keystroke.

  Caroline sank into the center of the lumpy motel bed and closed her eyes. An hour later she awoke, startled. A door slammed in the hall, and she could hear muffled voices in the next room through the paper-thin walls.

  She struggled up, unaware of the time or the day. She bent over, stretching the taunt muscles in the small of her back.

  Caroline went back to work, the computer startup display glowing green.

  She rubbed her eyes and looked again.

  French Jumeau Bébé, 1910, paperweight eyes, holding a Steiff monkey.

  Caroline knew the inventory list by heart. She clicked on a tiny photograph, and the image opened up. Large and bold. Worth the long wait.

  Another of Martha’s dolls.

  Chapter 20

  Bonnie Albright worked part-time in the lingerie department at Saks Fifth Avenue. They found her in a back room, opening a box of bras. She had a box cutter in her hand and red lipstick smeared above her lip. Bonnie had been selected by Gretchen and Nina for several reasons- -she was the club’s president, and she was the most indefatigable gossip of the bunch. She would help them with the legwork. Or in this case, the lipwork.

  “Here’s the list you asked for,” Bonnie said, opening a locker and removing a sheet of paper from her purse. “I’ve highlighted the active members. Now tell me what this is all about, or I’m not giving it to you.”

  A snarl filled the room. One of Bonnie’s penciled eyebrows shot up. “What’s that?” she asked.

  “Shhh,” Nina said into the purse. “That’s just Enrico. Ignore him.”

  “I’d like to call each of the club members,” Gretchen explained, “and ask them about Martha and my mother. It’s been six days since Martha died and my mother disappeared, and we still don’t know what happened.”

  “Matty’s working on it,” Bonnie said with exaggerated pride. “You don’t need to get involved. He’ll solve it.”

  “I need to keep busy.”

  “Should we tell her?” Nina said to Gretchen, and both of Bonnie’s penciled eyebrows quivered.

  Gretchen nodded on cue.

  “We found a bag of Martha’s belongings,” Nina said. “One of her friends gave it to us, and it has a few very interesting items inside.”

  “What?” Bonnie said, wringing her hands in anticipation. “What?”

  “I don’t think we should say until we know more,” Gretchen said. “It wouldn’t be right.”

  Nina nodded. “We’ll keep the bag in Caroline’s workshop for now.”

  “We should probably notify the police,” Gretchen said.

  “Soon,” Nina agreed.

  “Well, my, my,” Bonnie said, running her hand over her stiff hair. “Isn’t this a new wrinkle.”

  __________

  Afterwards they strolled through the open-air mall.

  “I bet she’s on the phone right this minute,” Nina said, handing her cell phone to Gretchen.

  “I have to get another phone,” Gretchen said, dialing. “Hey, April, how are you?”

  “Tired, achy, I think I need to rest more. This valley fever has me down in bed. I shouldn’t have worked out so soon.”

  Gretchen repeated the same story she had told Bonnie, with the same response.

  “Well, isn’t that something?” April said. “I’ll call around for you and see if any of the club members have any information. There weren’t any dolls in that bag, were there?”

  “I really can’t say yet.”

  After several more calls, Nina nudged Gretchen. “Don’t look behind you, but we’ve picked up a tail.”

  Gretchen stopped at a shop window beside a garden courtyard and slowly turned her head.

  Their eyes met. Matt smiled, bright and warmly, wearing casual, Southwestern garb as usual. No hint in his attire of his real occupation. Tan. A certain scrappiness about his walk as he approached them.

  “Are you always undercover?” Gretchen said.

  “Usually,” he replied. “I’m coming from a visit with Daisy at the hospital, on my way to Saks to see my mother. I’m off-duty.” His eyes traveled over the purses, noting their contents, gazing at Gretchen. “There’s something new about you since I saw you last.” He ran one finger along his jawline, pondering. “I know, new makeup, a slightly pinker shade than before.”

  “You should never comment on a woman’s cosmetics,” Nina advised. “You aren’t supposed to notice that we wear anything.”

  “It goes well with the cast on your wrist; sharp contrast. And it matches the color of your feet. Nice.”

  “She’s a pro at accessorizing,” Nina said.

  “Now that you’ve had your fun,” Gretchen said, “maybe you can tell us how Daisy’s doing?”

  “I’ll tell you over coffee,” he said, guiding them toward the Cheesecake Factory.

  It was just after five o’clock, and Gretchen realized how hungry she was. With Nimrod and Enrico in hide mode, they slid into a corner booth and kept a careful eye out for waitresses and management staff while stowing the pups in the purses on their laps. Matt seemed amused at their efforts but refrained from comment.

  They ordered a large pizza and two cheesecakes to share – White Chocolate Chunk Macadamia Nut and Tiramisu - both selected by Nina.

  “Daisy’s fine,” Matt said. “She’s settled right in and isn’t in any hurry to be released, but the doctors say she’s ready to go if she can find a quiet place to recover.” He wrapped his hands around a cup of coffee. “The investigation into her accident didn’t reveal any conclusive evidence, but the team found inconsistent paint chips on the back bumper.”

  “Inconsistent?” Gretchen said.

  “They didn’t match the car paint,” Nina said.

  “We aren’t taking Daisy’s word for it. She isn’t a very reliable witness,” Matt said.

  “Why? Because she doesn’t have a mailing address?”

  “No,” Matt said, carefully. “Because she’s the driver and there weren’t any other witnesses.”

  “She seemed confident of the facts when I talked to her.”

  Matt shrugged. The waitress brought the pizza, and the pups stayed out of sight. Nina plucked sausage from the pizza. Her hand disappeared under the table. The waitress returned with the cheesecakes and a pot of coffee. She refilled Matt’s cup. A growl grew under the table.

  “What’s that?” the waitress said, glancing quickly at Nina.

  Nina rubbed her hand on her stomach. “I must be really hungry.”

  “We won’t need any more coffee refills,” Matt said. “In fact, we won’t need anything else.”

  “Smart thinking,” Nina said to him when the waitress walked away. “I don’t mind getting kicked out, but I’d like to finish eating first.”

  “Good thing I’m off duty, Nina, or I’d have to arrest you.”

  Nina laughed.

  “Why would someone run Daisy off the road?” Gretchen said. “Unless they thought she was my mother.”

  “If we can believe her account,” Matt said, “that would be a logical assumption. But why? Where’s the motive? I think she’s covering for herself, making excuses for her own inattentive driving.”

  “I don’t think Caroline ran away from the police,” Nina said. “I think she’s hiding from someone. The attack on Daisy proves she’s in danger.”

  “Sou
nds melodramatic,” Matt said, biting into a piece of pizza.

  “Is Daisy being charged with anything?” Gretchen asked.

  “No. She had a valid driver’s license and cooperated with the investigation. We could find something to charge her with, but why bother? There’s an issue of whether she had permission to drive the car, but until we locate Caroline, we have to assume she drove it with the proper approval. Unless you know something we don’t.”

  Gretchen shook her head distractedly. She was surprised that Daisy had a driver’s license. She sliced into the macadamia nut cheesecake with the side of her fork.

  “Do either of you know someone named the Inspector?” Matt asked.

  “I’ve heard that name before” Nina said, frowning in concentration.

  Gretchen remembered exactly where she’d heard the name. Martha had complained to Joseph about someone called the Inspector. “Why do you ask?” she said.

  “Martha mentioned him to Daisy. According to Daisy, she was extremely upset over something he had done. Daisy said she never saw Martha so angry. I want to find him.”

  “Or her,” Nina said. “This inspector could be a woman. Right?”

  “I suppose,” Matt said, reluctantly. “I just assumed it was a man.”

  “What kind of inspector? A building inspector?” Gretchen asked. “Housing inspector?” Gretchen thought about Nacho’s makeshift home and wondered if the state had laws against cardboard construction on public land. Probably.

  Matt shrugged before insisting on paying the bill.

  Outside the restaurant, Gretchen wandered ahead while Nina and Matt traded witty repartees. Their laughter floated on the breeze. The palm trees in the mall’s courtyard swayed and the sun vanished in a darkening sky. The Monsoon and another rain squall were moving in.

  Gretchen felt useless here. She seriously considered going back to Boston to deal with her own crumbling personal life.

  She needed a steady job and income, and she needed to decide what to do about Steve. In a brief interlude of self-pity she listed her current problems. A mother wanted for questioning in a murder, clearly the most pressing problem at the moment. A cheating long-term boyfriend who was afraid of commitment, another monumental problem. Her lack of employment and a dwindling savings account. Right this minute she didn’t even own a phone.