Read Online Ding Dong Dead by Deb Baker - Free Book Online Page A

script?” At least he knows to ask. He should study it.
    “I suppose that would help,” she says digging through papers on a small table, finding what she’s looking for, unbelievable considering the mess. “The director will be here soon. She can answer any questions you have. I made a pot of coffee if you want some.”
    She’s at the sewing machine, making room among the folds of fabric to find her chair, muttering to the dog, tucking it into a bag hanging from the chair, picking up a pair of scissors. “Here,” she says, coming at him with the scissors pointed right at him. “Let me take care of that for you.” Right then he thinks he will have to hurt her. He doesn’t have much time to consider his options. Before he pulls out his own weapon, she says, “I do that all the time. Leave tags on new clothes. Let me snip it off.”
    Jerome relaxes slightly, hand still stuffed in his pocket, gripping his switchblade just in case. He is taking a chance, letting someone get behind his back. She’s quick. Holds the price tag up so he can see. Goes back to her machine.
    That was close.
    He helps himself to a cup of coffee before tackling the boxes of equipment. His first captured bird pops in his head, just like that, for no reason. When he was a kid he liked to sneak up on birds. He’d wait patiently, motionless, then strike like lightning. The first time, he took the bird home in his backpack, proud of his accomplishment. His mother wigged out, made him release it.
    “That’s not normal behavior,” she said. “You should be playing ball with the rest of the kids.”
    But birds, he discovered, were much better companions than people.
    He gulps the last dregs of coffee, wipes his mouth, and gets to work.

12
    The majority of metal-head dolls were made in Germany, although some came from the United States and France. Metal heads were primarily produced from 1861 to the mid-1920s. Materials ranged from copper and zinc to brass, pewter, tin, lead, and aluminum. Gold and silver were used in rare and valuable cases. The heads were nearly indestructible. Metal doll heads could be purchased through Sears, Roebuck and Company, and Montgomery Ward until the early 1930s.
    —From World of Dolls by Caroline Birch
     
     
     
    Thursday morning Gretchen was on her first round of exercises on the Curves circuit when the subject of the haunted house came up, thanks to Nina, who couldn’t concentrate on anything else.
    And Gretchen had thought her aunt’s fascination with tarot cards had been intense!
    “April’s not here,” Nina pointed out unnecessarily, suspiciously. “She isn’t at the museum, is she? I don’t want anyone over there. I made it quite clear.”
    Bonnie glanced up from the abductor machine. “She’s at the banquet hall finishing up her sewing project.”
    Aside from Gretchen, her aunt, and Matt’s mother, the only other women in Curves at the moment were Julie and Ora, the manager. The doll collectors had studied the crowd patterns and had picked a time to exercise when they had more space and privacy.
    “What a relief,” Nina said. “Thank goodness we aren’t planning to open the museum to the public soon. I don’t want anyone near the place until I get to the bottom of our problem.”
    “April thinks your ghost is really a genie,” Bonnie said. “She wants to rub the travel trunk to see what happens.”
    Nina frowned. “She’s still on that kick? I can’t decide if she’s making fun of me or not. April doesn’t have any experience with ghosts. She isn’t qualified to make a statement like that. Genies! That’s ridiculous.”
    Gretchen could have mentioned that April had as many credentials as Nina, which were none at all. Nor was she going to tell Nina that Caroline had left before sunrise to work at the very place that Nina was warning them to avoid. Bonnie and Julie knew, too, but were sworn to secrecy.
    “An apparition is a very serious phenomenon,” Nina said, running in place on