Read Online Dolled Up for Murder by Deb Baker - Free Book Online Page B

detective. She watched a thin line of moisture gather above the detective’s brow as the other officer moved past him, snapped a picture, and took the doll. In fact, Albright flattened against the wall, allowing the officer more room to maneuver than he actually needed.
    The officers found nothing else out of the ordinary. The rest of the search seemed perfunctory and ended abruptly, as though the parian doll and the inventory list had been the true purpose of their mission all along.
    An obsolete inventory of dolls and the discovery of a doll that had once belonged to a dead collector. What was going on?

    Caroline awoke stiff. Her muscles ached from lying on the hard seats in the passenger waiting area of gate C79. A flight attendant stood behind a counter nearby and readied the gate for an early morning flight. The flight board read Orlando, 6:35 A.M., On Time. Travelers lugging carry-on bags began to arrive.
    Caroline sat up and stretched her cramped limbs. She made her way to the women’s restroom, where she attempted to freshen up. She bought a sweet roll and hot tea from a vendor, grudgingly parting with a few dollar bills.
    She hurried out of the main terminal, searching among the throng of transportation vehicles. She didn’t notice the overcast sky and the drops of rain splattering around her. She stepped solidly into the center of a large puddle as she boarded a shuttle for downtown Chicago, immersed in her own thoughts.
    It was now or never. Time for action. She would see the doll today, one way or another.
    Whatever it took.

6
    The wise collector has an extensive inventory list of the most significant dolls in the collection. A complete description would include the doll’s maker, height in inches, body construction, overall condition, costume details, and type and color of wig, eyes, and mouth. This list should be stored with the collector’s will or other important legal documents to aid an appraiser in evaluating the collection’s value. Pictures of each doll are another priceless asset that the collector will never regret taking the time to include.
    —From World of Dolls by Caroline Birch

    Nina teetered on the edge of hysteria. She stomped back and forth on the Mexican tile that bordered Caroline’s swimming pool and had come precariously close to tipping into it on her last turn. Tutu followed on her heels, and Gretchen suspected that the latest dog trainee in the poodle-embroidered purse on her shoulder would soon succumb to motion sickness.
    “Nothing makes sense anymore.” Nina continued her frenzied pacing. “Something’s happened to your mother. I can feel it.”
    “She isn’t dead,” Gretchen said, finally broaching the inevitable subject.
    Nina, her lower lip trembling, whirled. “We don’t know that.”
    “Yes, we do. I searched the mountain and didn’t find her. No one has discovered her body.”
    “She could have been murdered, too,” Nina cried. “And her body . . .”
    “No, she’s alive and hiding,” Gretchen said firmly.
    “I refuse to believe that my sister killed Martha Williams. And what do the police think? That she killed Martha for a doll?” Nina snorted. “Please. They need to come up with a better motive than that.”
    “We need to find her and the French fashion doll.”
    “All these different dolls are confusing me. The Parisian doll and the French doll. Aren’t they the same thing?”
    “Parian, not Parisian. Parian refers to the type of finish given to the porcelain. A parian’s face is white. Tell me what happened to Martha’s doll collection. Where is it?”
    Nina, the dramatist, flung her arms out wide, then bent and slapped them on her thighs, causing the purse trainee to duck inside for cover. “Martha wouldn’t tell us. April Lehman even offered to buy several dolls from her collection at fair market prices. In fact, they had a little falling-out over that. Martha refused to sell until it was too late, and I think the bank auctioned them