Matt grinned and reached for her. “It depends on what kind of partners you’re suggesting.”

She had no intention of sitting on the sidelines like a good little cheerleader, but the man was irresistible!

A few minutes later, the car’s windows were completely steamed over. And the nasty note was the last thing on Gretchen’s mind.

22

Chatty Cathy was one of the most popular dolls of the sixties, coming in a close second after Barbie. Both were produced by Mattel. Chatty Cathy, who was twenty inches tall and composed of vinyl, was soon followed by Chatty Baby, Tiny Chatty Baby, and several other offshoots designed to be nurtured by eager children. Chatty Cathy’s innovation was that she could “speak.” Her early phrases included “Please play with me” and “Please brush my hair.” With her protruding little tummy and slightly bucked teeth, Chatty Cathy was the typical, lovable child of her time.

– From World of Dolls by Caroline Birch

Gretchen, Caroline, and Nina crowded around the computer in the doll repair studio. Doll parts were sorted neatly inside stacked white bins, each labeled with their contents. The “basket cases,” those dolls needing extra attention, were wrapped and placed carefully in bins near the worktable. Projects with approaching deadlines were also placed close to the workstations.

“See it!” Nina leaned toward the computer screen and pointed excitedly with a long, red fingernail. “It’s an orb!”

“It’s a smudge on the lens,” Caroline said.

“It’s our ghost,” Nina insisted, clicking her nail on the screen.

Gretchen leaned forward and squinted at the monitor. What had she expected to find? The smoky outline of a human body? All she saw was a spot.

“Ghosts can appear as mist or sparkles,” Nina said. “Orbs are most common. I’d stake my future on it: that glowing circular object is an orb.”

“You’re sure it isn’t dirt on the lens?” Gretchen was doubtful.

Nina picked up her camera and presented the lens side to her sister and to Gretchen. “Not a single speck. It’s as clean as Nimrod’s teeth.”

Gretchen laughed. “That clean?”

“I didn’t tell you I had all the pooches’ teeth cleaned. Nimrod, where are you?” Nina, decked out in black mourning as she decided was fitting after the discovery in the armoire, called out to the puppy.

Gretchen heard her tiny poodle running through the house. He barreled into the workshop, his little black ears flapping. Nimrod almost overran the spot where Nina wanted him to perform. He skidded to a stop and waited impatiently for the next command.

“Smile,” Nina said to him.

Nimrod pulled back his lips, exposing his teeth and producing more of a grimace than a grin.

“My,” Caroline said, laughing. “Those are clean teeth.”

“Take a bow, Nimrod,” Nina said using her training voice.

The poodle tipped his head in a perfect bow.

Gretchen saw a transaction between the trainer and the puppy, a treat passed so discreetly that a casual observer would have missed it.

Everyone clapped. Tutu watched aloofly from afar, miffed that she wasn’t the center of attention.

Caroline held the copy of the old sepia photograph. It was the first time she had seen it.

“I’m amazed,” she said, “that you found this picture.”

“It’s what started us on the path,” Nina said. “Otherwise we wouldn’t have recognized the doll body.”

“Oh my gosh!” Caroline said. “I completely forgot. I found a metal doll head in one of the boxes and had it in my car when I crashed. Matt pulled out the things from my car.”

“Oh yes, he gave them to me to return. I didn’t know what was inside,” Gretchen said, digging under her workstation and handing the shopping bag to Caroline.

“It might be the metal head in the picture.” She pulled out the white plastic bag and showed the doll head to Gretchen and Nina.

“That’s it!” Gretchen said. The head wasn’t in its original condition, but she could tell that it was the same or at least an exact replica. In the photograph, only shades of brown were visible, but the actual doll head had yellow painted hair and faded red lips. “Now, Nina, you can reunite the head with the body. If the police ever release it to you.”

“Doubtful,” Caroline said. “They’ll want it for evidence.”

Nina took the head and concentrated. “I’m not getting anything useful from it,” she said. “Not one single message.”

“It’s been packed away for a long time,” Gretchen said to ease her aunt’s psychic growing pains.

“That must be it,” Nina said, brightening. “Originally, I thought we had to reconnect the doll with its owner, but…”

Nina let the sentence die. Gretchen knew the rest. Now Nina thought the ghost was waiting for its own head.

“She helped us, you know,” Nina said instead. “She made the noise that led you to the armoire. She wanted us to open it.”

“Or,” Caroline said, “it came from a mouse.”

“No one ever believes me.”

“I’d like to look through the rest of these digital images,” Gretchen said, ignoring Nina’s pout.

“Please do,” Nina said. “We’re off to plan the menu with the caterer, and I’m going to do a little window-shopping.”

After they left, Gretchen remained at the computer.

She had done her ghostly research throughout the night thanks to her inability to sleep after finding human bones in a wardrobe. There was a remarkable wealth of information available online. That was the beauty of the Internet. With the click of a mouse plus a little insomnia, anyone could become an instant expert on any subject.

Digital cameras like the one Nina used were apparently notorious for producing paranormal-like orbs, especially in low lighting as had been the case in the museum. Did that mean for certain that Nina’s orb was caused by flaws within the camera? Gretchen didn’t know.

Other conditions that could produce false images were overexposure or flash reflections in mirrors. Then there was the problem of lens flare. Even a camera strap could cause a white vortex to appear, leading beginners to believe they had captured more exciting images than, say, an equipment strap.

She scrolled through Web sites that claimed to offer authentic pictures of ghosts. She analyzed one photo gallery after another. Some contained orbs like Nina’s. One Web site claimed orbs were fakes. Another supported them as real apparition sightings. Which to believe?

The picture in question had been taken by Nina while they were mounting the steps to the second floor. In the photo the orb floated above the steps near the landing. Gretchen recalled that all three of the women had turned on their flashlights. She hadn’t gone up the steps first because she was creeped out by the thought of encountering a real ghost. She had been working on collecting her nerves and was chastising herself for being afraid.

Caroline hadn’t gone first, either, now that she thought about it.

Nina had.

Details were coming back to Gretchen. Her aunt had stopped midway up the stairs and snapped the first picture of the night. Before that, she had asked Gretchen and her mother to turn off their flashlights. The unexplained circle of light that Nina had captured couldn’t be attributed to reflective surfaces. There hadn’t been any lights illuminated for this particular photograph.

Gretchen continued slowly through all the pictures that Nina had downloaded to the computer. She saw herself in some of them, eyes a little too wide, skin pale and prominent in the darkness around her, lips pressed tightly together.

She’d really been afraid.

The remaining pictures didn’t produce evidence to support an apparition. They didn’t eliminate it either. Every picture had mysterious shadows that could be explained away by camera glitches, lack of proper lighting, or an inexperienced photographer.