Gretchen considered her options. With Nacho in custody for Martha’s murder, she could direct all her efforts into locating her mother. But where to start? Then she remembered the laughing Kewpie doll that Bonnie had seen in Joseph’s shop, the one Bonnie insisted matched the description from Martha’s inventory. It wasn’t much of a lead, but it was the only one she had.

“Do you mind taking me to Joseph’s Dream Dolls?” she said. “He has a doll I’d like to see.”

“Not at all,” Larry said. “I’m always interested in what the competition is up to. Wheeling and dealing is the name of the doll seller’s game.”

“Can I use your phone?” Gretchen asked. “Sorry to ask, but mine’s gone.”

Larry pulled a phone from a holder on his belt. “Help yourself.”

Gretchen called her mother’s house, but no one answered. She left a message on the machine so Nina would know that she was going to Mesa to visit Joseph. She smiled to herself at the image of Nina and Daisy shopping together and wondered where Nina had taken her newfound buddy. Probably not to the Biltmore Fashion Park where she might run into Bonnie. A chance encounter would supply Bonnie with enough gossip material for the next week.

No, Nina would select a shopping mall far from the doll collecting crowd, one with the least chance of meeting a familiar face. South Phoenix or Glendale, most likely. She’d be away for most of the afternoon.

Gretchen felt slightly guilty for ditching Nina, but her aunt slowed her down and, more than anything, Gretchen wanted this whole affair resolved as soon as possible.

She tried Nina’s cell phone, but the voice mail prompt answered immediately, indicating that Nina was out of range or that she had turned off her phone. She left the same message on the cell phone’s voice mail as she had at the house, but this time she included a hearty wish for a successful shopping trip.

Caroline leaned forward and stared at the computer screen. On the run for so many days, rushing toward this precise moment while recklessly disregarding her own safety, she was aghast at the image before her and recoiled from the bitter truth.

Blood drained from her face and, in the mirror hanging above the desk, her face appeared the same color as her silver hair, ghostly white, filled with pale fear.

She dialed numbers-Gretchen’s cell, Gretchen’s Boston apartment, Nina’s numbers, Steve’s office and home-pounding the keys and finally, after listening to multiple mechanical voices suggesting that she leave a message, she threw the offending phone against the motel wall.

Get a grip on your emotions, she thought. You’re exhausted, but now is not the time to collapse.

Caroline stumbled through the motions of packing up her few belongings, tossing the phone into her purse, and closing her laptop. She dialed the front desk and requested a cab while planes roared overhead. Tucking her silver hair under the baseball cap, she refused to worry about Nacho or Nina or her daughter, earlier fear of the unknown transforming into intense anger.

She was on her way back to Phoenix with the proof she needed to save her life and to avenge Martha’s death.

25

Recent Market Report on French Fashion Doll:

I’m always cautious about determining prices for dolls, believing that this inexact science is best served through published pricing guides and current market demands. However, I can report at the time of this writing that the French fashion doll, particularly those manufactured by Bru and Jumeau, have experienced a resurgence in popularity and are considered hot dolls. They paved the way for the modern fashion doll we all know and love-the Barbie-and today’s collectors couldn’t be more bewitched by this captivating antique doll.

I have personally had the opportunity to witness an exquisite rare specimen selling at auction for six digits!

– From World of Dolls by Caroline Birch

Gretchen couldn’t help measuring the success of the two doll dealers. Larry struggled to keep his business open, and the physical stress showed on his face as a nervous twitch. Joseph, diamonds glistening in his pierced ears and wearing flamboyant garb, enjoyed a thriving business and enormous success, if the number of customers in his shop was a reasonable indicator.

Location, location, location.

It really did matter.

Joseph’s Dream Dolls was part of a booming new shopping mall in a bustling section of Mesa with heavy walk-by traffic. Who could resist a front window brimming with smiling dolls?

On the other hand, Larry and Julia’s China Doll Shop sat in a near-empty outdated mall with a straggle of aging but loyal customers.

Gretchen wished the best for Larry and Julia and made a mental note to visit their shop soon and make a purchase. Perhaps it was time for them to consider moving to a better location.

Larry and Joseph eyed each other like boxers in a ring, and Gretchen thought it must feel strange for Joseph to know that his competition was taking in all the details of his shop and assigning a grade. Gretchen thought Joseph would earn the highest score possible, a ten on a scale of one to ten.

His store had pizzazz. He knew how to set up his displays to show off his dolls to the best possible advantage.

The first thing he mentioned after greeting them was Nacho’s arrest, having learned the news through a courtesy phone call from Detective Albright. “Relieved to finally put an end to the whole awful business,” Joseph said. “Maybe now they can release her body.”

His fingers fluttered over a display, edging pieces into new positions, moving a doll over by a space so infinitesimally small Gretchen wondered why he bothered. “I knew your mother was innocent,” he said. “I just knew it.”

Larry wandered away, studying the shop with intensity, stopping to observe the woman behind the cash register who wore a bright bow in her hair and looked like an Ideal Tammy doll herself. Details everywhere, even in the staffing, not a trick of the trade missed.

Gretchen lowered her voice and said to Joseph, “I’d like to look at your Kewpie dolls. I’m thinking of one as a gift for Nina.”

Joseph looked surprised. “I didn’t know Nina collected dolls. Well, that’s marvelous. I always wondered how she could survive as a member of your family without taking part. Right this way.”

Smiling Kewpies covered a section of the back wall. Kewpies in every imaginable pose, lying down, holding baskets, wearing costumes.

“There’s a strong market for Kewpies,” Joseph said. “It’s a good choice for a gift, because it will never depreciate.”

Gretchen scanned the grouping without finding the Blunderboo that Bonnie had described. “I was hoping for something very special. She’s done a lot for me.”

“I have just the thing over here in a locked cabinet with all my distinctive pieces. It’s costly though. I’m not sure you should spend that kind of money for a first-time collector.” Joseph laughed. “Listen to me, trying to talk a customer out of a sale.”

Larry joined them as they approached a large glass cabinet. Gretchen spotted the Blunderboo immediately, its laughing baby face lighting up the entire grouping, the red heart label prominent on his naked, chubby body.

Joseph unlocked the cabinet and carefully deposited the Kewpie in Gretchen’s hand. “Blunderboo, the clumsy Kewpie,” he said. “Forever tripping over himself.”

“It’s marvelous. Where did you acquire it?” she asked.

Joseph turned away, refusing to meet Gretchen’s eyes, and began to arrange the other dolls within the cabinet. “At an estate sale,” he muttered. “Most of my dolls are purchased through auctions or estate sales.”

Was Bonnie mistaken? Or had the doll really belonged to Martha at one time? Why would Joseph tell her that the doll had been purchased at an estate sale if Martha had given the doll to him? He’d have no reason to misrepresent the facts.