Gretchen Birch Boxed Set (Books 1-4)

by Deb Baker

  “Where did you see Nina?” she said. Nina was at it already.

  “Outside. She was in a hurry. Some dog appointment, she said.”

  He had been watching her before he announced his presence.

  “Nina’s truth is like pulled taffy,” Gretchen said, carefully. “It looks like a solid mass in the beginning, but as it’s pulled, it stretches until in the end the candy undergoes a complete change.”

  “I’m not sure I followed that,” Steve said.

  “Nina operates on a different plane than the rest of us.”

  Gretchen had been up since five o’clock prepping for the show, and a wave of tiredness hit her.

  “Is she still seeing auras and tuning in to the universe?” he asked.

  “She hasn’t changed.”

  “New Age Nina,” he said with a forced laugh.

  Steve walked to the table and Gretchen backed away. If he touched her, she might lose her resolve.

  Stay strong. The Birch women’s motto.

  He ran his hands over the tools she was about to pack up for the doll show. All had been dipped in Poodle Skirt Pink.

  Gretchen noted his manicured fingers before she turned away.

  “I can’t get into a discussion about our relationship right now,” she said with an indifference she really didn’t feel. “I’m behind on my prep work, and I have a lunch meeting.”

  Steve, used to pressure in the courtroom, appeared unruffled. He came across the country to get me back; he must have prepared a grand opening argument.

  The only hint she had that he was unhappy was the way his hand abruptly stopped brushing across the repair tools.

  Steve had changed so much since he’d begun his pursuit of the law office’s partnership. Late hours. Preoccupation with his job. Where had his passion gone?

  Or was she the one who’d changed?

  He pulled away from the table. “Of course,” he said, civilized beyond all doubt. “Later today, then.”

  Gretchen waved at the disarray in the workshop. “I still have all this to clean up and I’ll be working at the doll show starting very early tomorrow.”

  “I’ll find you at the show,” Steve said, exuding practiced self-confidence.

  But his voice held a hint of disappointment, and his eyes seemed to plead for an opportunity to present his case.

  Gretchen needed a continuance. She had to postpone the hearing.

  Did that mean she wasn’t sure of the verdict?

  __________________

  Garcia’s was one of Gretchen’s favorite restaurants in Phoenix. After a short wait in the crowded bar, she and Nina were escorted to a table.

  Nina, believing she could best detect auras emanating from people if she adhered to a strict vegan diet, scooped guacamole onto a tortilla chip and sighed.

  “This vegan diet is harder than I thought it would be,” she whined. “Are you sure I can’t have cheese?”

  “It’s made with rennet,” Gretchen said. “Which is made from animal by-products. Remember, no dairy products at all. Vegans are very strict about their diets.”

  “I can’t even have cheese quesadillas?”

  “Nope.”

  “Ever since I found out that I can see auras better if I don’t eat meat, I’ve lost ten pounds.”

  Gretchen studied her willowy aunt. “I wish I could lose ten pounds,” she said.

  Nina glared at her. “I’m starving to death.”

  “Then eat. Why do you need to see auras anyway?”

  “It’s important in my purse dog training. I can tell by the color of a client’s aura whether or not we are a good match.”

  “By clients you don’t mean the owners, do you? You mean the dogs?” Gretchen watched Nina nod. “And you agree to train the dogs based on what color surrounds them?”

  Nina nodded again and stuffed a chip into her mouth. She took a sip of her Margarita. “Thank goodness, I can still drink alcohol.” Nina, newly coiffed, sported a teal bow in her hair that matched the one attached to Tutu’s head.

  Tutu, also freshly shampooed and trimmed, waited indignantly outside in Nina’s red vintage Impala.

  “How am I going to explain the missing Ginny dolls and the lost money to my mother?” Gretchen said.

  “Caroline will understand.”

  “The more I think about it, the more I think I was set up. The boxes were switched on purpose.”

  “Ridiculous.”

  The waiter delivered Gretchen’s Poco Pollo Fundido, and Nina looked longingly at the chicken, ignoring her plate of veggie fajitas.

  “You’ve become very suspicious of people since Steve betrayed you,” Nina said.

  “What about the false address?”

  “A simple mistake.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “The dolls will turn up. You have to focus on the good in people.”

  Nina had made up her mind, and there would be no changing it. Gretchen switched subjects.

  “Why did you tell Steve I was going out with Matt?” she said.

  “A little competition never hurt. Besides, you two are very close to connecting. I can feel it.”

  “He’s still married.”

  “A minor detail. He filed for divorce.”

  Gretchen bit into a shrimp taco.

  “I love a man in a uniform,” Nina said wistfully.

  The detective wore Chrome cologne, Gretchen’s favorite male scent, and he did have a buff build. But he was in the middle of a nasty divorce. Gretchen planned on staying clear. She had enough problems with men at the moment without adding another one to her life.

  “He’s undercover most of the time, Nina. He usually doesn’t wear a uniform. I’ve never even seen him in one.”

  “He’s really sexy, but Steve has the money. It’s a tough choice.”

  Gretchen took a long draw on her lime margarita and chanted the word patience several times in her head before responding. “I don’t want Steve back. Never, ever. He cheated on me, and I could never trust him again. I’m through, so I don’t want you to encourage him in any way.”

  Although her words were strong, Gretchen still worked to suppress her feelings for Steve. He’d hurt her badly, but she had seven years of memories, and she’d relived many of them since moving to Phoenix. She had to constantly recall her initial anger.

  Seeing him for the first time in two months had affected her, as she knew it would. She should have left the city before he arrived and spared herself all the conflicting emotions.

  “I hope he doesn’t go crazy when he realizes he can’t win you back.” Nina fiddled absently with the rim of her margarita glass. “Some men go right over the edge.”

  Gretchen tilted her head and studied her aunt. Nina, divorced after a brief and tumulus marriage after college, hadn’t had a date with the opposite sex for years. Or if she had, she wasn’t sharing any details. She seemed content with Tutu and her purse training business, and spending time with her small family - Gretchen and Gretchen’s mother, Caroline.

  “We should fix you up with a hot date,” Gretchen suggested. “After we set up for the show, we’ll scout around for someone special for you. Since you’re my assigned show assistant, meet me at the hall first thing in the morning. That’s six o’clock a.m., Nina.”

  Nina groaned.

  “Lovely. Just where I’d expect to find an interesting man. At a doll show.”

  “Maybe one of those Boston Kewpie doll collectors needs a tour of Phoenix.”

  Nina snorted. “I’ll be on hand to help you, but I’m hoping you won’t need me. April called and asked me to share her table. She can’t afford it on her own.”

  “The tables are only thirty-five dollars. She’s that short of cash?” Gretchen said, alarmed that her assistant was jumping ship.

  Nina slurped the last of her margarita before answering. “April only charges two dollars for a doll appraisal. That’s a giveaway. She needs to raise her prices to cover her costs and make a little prof
it. Maybe when those rich Boston Kewpie collectors come along, she can charge them five dollars.”

  “You don’t even collect dolls,” Gretchen pointed out. “How are you going to share her table?”

  Enthusiastic, Nina leaned forward. “I’m going to show off my special purse dog training techniques and sign up new clients. Doll people love little dogs. We’ll bring Nimrod along so I can use him for my demonstrations. A miniature dog always draws a crowd.”

  Nina, eternally surrounded by an entourage of canines, had made a good point. People gravitated to Gretchen’s teacup poodle like hummingbirds to nectar. Nina’s table was guaranteed to be the liveliest area of the show.

  “You promised to help me. We’ll have to get tables close together,” Gretchen said.

  “Tables are already assigned,” Nina said. “But I’ll call Bonnie and work it out in case she’s positioned you in another area. Don’t worry.”

  Gretchen rummaged in her purse for money to pay the check. Whenever Nina said, “Don’t worry,” Gretchen began to worry. “I still have so much to do.”

  “You’re in good shape,” Nina said. “You just have first-time jitters.”

  Gretchen straightened a few crumpled bills she found on the bottom of her purse. Now, if I could only remember where I put the car keys. She patted her pockets and drew them out.

  “What’s this?” Nina said, extracting a paper napkin from between the bills Gretchen had thrown on the table.

  “Just garbage. I’ll throw it away.” Gretchen reached for it.

  “Wait. Something’s written on it.”

  Nina held up the napkin with Garcia’s imprint, and Gretchen stared at the hand written word.

  Pushed!

  “Pushed?” she repeated.

  “Is this yours?” Nina asked.

  “It’s a cocktail napkin.” Gretchen glanced at the next table. “They’re everywhere.” She moved her empty margarita glass and picked up the napkin that had been under it. “This one’s mine. I must have swept that one in by accident.”

  “It may have been in there since last time we ate here,” Nina said, looking at Gretchen’s purse. “I don’t know how Nimrod fits with all the stuff you carry around.”

  “I’m working on it,” Gretchen said, taking the napkin from Nina. “Pushed?” she said again.

  ______________

  Nimrod bounced around her heels, squealing with pleasure, and Gretchen couldn’t help smiling down at the puppy. Had anyone ever been this excited to see her before? Wobbles never greeted her with such enthusiasm, and she had rescued him from certain death. She’d also nursed him back to health. A little gratitude from him was in order.

  She picked up Nimrod, and he wiggled in the crook of her arm, struggling to climb higher and lick her face. She hated leaving him home, but he needed to learn that he couldn’t go everywhere with her.

  Besides, she reminded herself. He wasn’t entirely alone. He had Wobbles.

  “No sloppy doggy kisses,” she warned him. “You should be washing yourself like Wobbles does instead of trying to clean me.” She saw the tomcat eyeing her from the kitchen and stooped to rub his head before heading for the workshop.

  She deposited Nimrod on his little comfy bed. He promptly jumped off and bolted for the back door, which led to the pool. She heard him slip through the pet door she’d installed for him, so he could come and go whenever he wanted to.

  Gretchen loved the view from the workshop window. Majestic Camelback Mountain rose before her as an earthy reminder of the vastness of the Arizona landscape. Reaching for her binoculars, she watched a few hikers climbing the mountain’s steep trails. She wished she had time to join them.

  What she needed to do was focus on tomorrow and finish packing up for the doll show. She had to arrive several hours early to allow for setting up the table. Three boxes of dolls were already loaded in her trunk, but she still had to sort through a few more and decide what else to take along.

  She gathered Chiggy’s Kewpies and returned them to their original box. The restorer in her had no choice but to evaluate each one. Chipped paint, damaged clay, cracks. The one that her pets had broken wasn’t the only Kewpie with unsightly cracks. Gretchen, frowning over the awful replication attempts, once again wondered why Duanne Wilson would bid on such a sorry bunch of fake dolls.

  Gretchen sighed heavily. He’d gotten the better end of the deal. The Ginnys were worth a lot more, and she’d miss adding them to the group of Ginnys her mother had already collected for the big show. She still thought she’d been the victim of a scam, in spite of Nina’s naïve comments.

  Her repair tools were scattered on the table. She began to gather them up and organize them in the new toolbox her mother had designed especially for Gretchen’s first doll show.

  S hooks, pliers, stringing hooks, dowel rods, clamps. Gretchen ticked off the required restringing tools as she added them to the box, each tool accessorized with the pink nail polish. She added a box of standard number eleven X-Acto knife blades and looked around on the table for the hobby knife.

  “Where did I put it?” she asked no one in particular. She noticed that since taking in Nimrod, she talked aloud more. It couldn’t be a good sign.

  Nimrod, returning from outside, perked up at her voice. He cocked his head, and his tiny tail wiggled back and forth wildly.

  Gretchen couldn’t find the knife.

  She needed the utility knife for all kinds of repairs. How would she set doll eyes without it? She needed a pointed blade to remove excess wax or plastic. The knife was a critical tool for her. It couldn’t be missing.

  Where had she put it?

  She remembered using it to wipe glue from the Blunderboo Kewpie, so it had to be here.

  After a thorough search of the worktable and the surrounding area, Gretchen gave up.

  The knife was gone.

  SIX

  “My wife has answered so many questions already,” her husband says. “Can’t this wait?”

  “I’m afraid it can’t.”

  “I keep reliving the feeling of my tires hitting that poor man’s body,” she says, her voice dry and flat as the Arizona desert. She doesn’t hear her husband’s frustration with all the red tape and what he calls badgering. “Gawd, I haven’t slept since.”

  The pills prescribed by her physician ease the emotional pain of killing another human being, but they don’t help her sleep. Nothing helps her sleep.

  She desperately needs to shut down and wake up later to find out that the accident has all been a bad dream. But that isn’t going to happen.

  Her husband slides a protective arm around her waist.

  “It’s all right,” she says.

  But it isn’t.

  She has replayed the accident how many times? Dozens? Millions? Everywhere she looks, she sees it again. The man’s stunned face, the surprise registering in his eyes.

  “There isn’t much to tell,” she says by rote. “It happened so fast. I was looking for a parking spot. Probably not going over twenty miles an hour. I noticed a man sitting on the curb, and I think I was looking at him. He seemed to be dressed in layers of clothing, none too clean, I thought at the time, and I wondered what he was doing in that neighborhood. If I hadn’t been distracted, hadn’t been watching him…”

  “You don’t have to do this,” her husband says, gently. She sees him glare at her inquisitor.

  She tries to smile at her husband, reassure him, but the corners of her mouth won’t turn up. The pills, she is sure. They have numbed her emotions, but not enough to ease the pain deep inside.

  “He came from the same side of the street, a little in front of the man on the curb, and he literally flew at me. I saw his startled face, and then he must have realized what was happening, because I saw his expression of horror.” She leans against her husband. “That’s it. I slammed my foot on the brake, but he was already under… under the tire. People started screaming, ‘Back up. Back up.’ And I did.”

  S
he covers her face and struggles for composure. Her husband hands her a tissue and protests again.

  “Really,” he says. “This is too much.”

  “Getting out and seeing him like that was the hardest part,” she continues. “All those people gathered around trying to help him. And he twitched and then lay motionless, and I knew. I knew he was dead.”

  “Did you see a box?” The man looks up from his notepad where he has been taking notes, and she notices how intense his eyes are. Watchful, studying, calculating. Perhaps hoping for some inconsistency in her side of the story, a plausible reason to arrest her for manslaughter.

  Her arrest is a possibility, even though her husband doesn’t believe it will happen.

  “A box?” She shakes her head, wishing to be helpful. “No, he wasn’t carrying anything that I recall.” She frowns and concentrates. “I think… uh…no, sorry…no box that I remember.”

  “This is the last time,” her husband says, anger in his voice. “I mean it. She’s repeated the story for the last time.”

  SEVEN

  Curves for Women literally hopped with activity. When Nina and Gretchen arrived, almost all the stations were in use. Gretchen spotted April and the rest of the doll collectors who made up their exercise group on the far side of the room, exercising away. Nina and Gretchen found space and jumped into the routine.

  “Change stations now,” a voice boomed every thirty seconds from a recorded message overhead. Women of all sizes and shapes moved around the circle, running on platforms and using pieces of equipment. Gretchen worked on the stepper while Nina ran in place on a platform next to her, arms slightly bent, her feet barely moving.

  “Hey there!” The greeting came from April, whose long gray-streaked hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She wore an extra large muumuu over her enormous torso and beat-up sneakers. Sweat ran down her puffy face in streams that she blotted at with a wad of tissues clutched in one chubby fist.

  Gretchen wondered if anyone in the room knew CPR. Just in case. She waved and greeted each of the collectors she’d come to know in the past two months.