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Where was a good man when she needed one? The male
standing right in front of her was smiling at hotsy Kayla.
His shoulders straightened when the Wife gave him the
helpless routine. He sucked in his gut.
After tearing his gaze away from her, he bent into the
interior of his car and pulled out a clipboard.  Okay, he
said, flicking open a pen.  Let s get started.
He smiled again at the curvy Barbie doll, a big, toothy,
drooling grin.
" 10
"
 I don t believe it, Gretchen said to the teacup poodle in-
side her purse. She stood on the sidewalk looking through
the window of Mini Maize. Nimrod peeked into the shop
from the purse, ears perked as though he understood her
mutterings.
Inside, Britt Gleeland and Nina were huddled together
behind the counter, giggling like schoolgirls.
From her position on the street, Gretchen saw no sign
that anything productive had been accomplished in the last
two hours. The same piles of mismatched dollhouse furni-
ture still cluttered the countertops in the same haphazard,
unsorted mess. Except for a space in front of the happy duo
that had been cleared away to make room for Nina s latest
hobby. Instead of digging in and working, Nina had her
tarot cards scattered on the counter where the work in
progress should have been.
Gretchen had been fending off an insane, evil woman
and a love-struck, Barbie-admiring cop, and here sat Nina,
doing nothing. Tarot cards. Geez.
Calm down, Gretchen told herself, taking a deep breath.
You re just a little stressed from your brush with Arizona s le-
gal system. At least the smitten cop had been more interested
in Kayla s address and her leopard halter top than in taking
any real action against Gretchen or following up on the al-
leged assault. His eyes had never left the Wife s ample chest.
Dolly Departed 75
Gretchen needed to clean up her act. Dress better, slim
down, figure out how to manage her unruly hair. Sleek.
That s what she wanted. To become a true Arizona woman.
A little suntan wouldn t hurt, either. Her skin looked like a
polar bear s. White as Elmer s glue.
 Yoo-hoo. Gretchen turned to see April getting out of
her car, arms filled with submarine sandwich bags and a
large bottle of soda.
 It s not my day, April huffed, laboring onto the curb.
 I had a doll appraisal way over in Glendale, and after that
I had another fender-bender.
April was prone to frequent but minor accidents.
 Anyone hurt?
 Naw.
Gretchen glanced at April s car. Her old Buick s bumpers,
front and back, were crumpled like accordions.  Looks the
same as always to me.
April nodded in agreement just as Caroline walked
briskly past April s car.  Sorry I m late. The traffic was
awful. What s new?
 As far as I can tell, no progress at all inside the shop,
Gretchen said,  but it s my fault for coming so late. I had a
confrontation this morning right outside our house, and
you ll never guess with who.
 Tell us. Caroline said, moving aside to let pedestrians
pass.
 Matt Albright s wife.
 Whoo-wee! April screeched.  That must have been
something.
 It sure was.
Gretchen gave them the sordid details. April almost
dropped her bags when Gretchen told them how Kayla had
called the cops. Caroline had her hand over her mouth,
speechless.
76 Deb Baker
 I wish I had been there. April shifted her bags.  I
would have fixed her wagon.
 Not only that, the cop gave me a warning.
 Let s ask Matt to step in, Caroline said.  She s going
too far.
Right. Let Matt step in and rescue her. And prove how
helpless she is.
April snorted.  No kidding. She s going too far. Boy,
she s slick. Crazies usually are.
 I don t want this to get back to Matt or the Curves
group, Gretchen said.  If Bonnie finds out, she d tell Matt,
and I just want to forget that it ever happened.
 I d watch my back if I were you, April warned.  That
woman is loony. She hefted the bags in her arms.  I
brought lunch.
 I ate before I came. Thanks, though, Caroline said.
Then,  Why are we standing on the sidewalk?
 I can t eat another submarine sandwich, Gretchen said,
opening the shop door.  Don t buy them for me anymore.
 You only had one for lunch yesterday, and you re done
already? April said.  You should be me. Breakfast, lunch,
dinner, and all the snacks in between. I m really sick of
them.
 King of pentacles, Nina said to Britt as they entered.
She had the tarot cards instructions open on her lap and
read a passage from the booklet.  A successful leader with
business sense, strong character, intelligent, a loyal friend.
Britt clapped her hands together.  And you re my new
friend. Wait until you see how loyal I can be.
They both giggled. Gretchen found it amazing that a
woman dressed as severely as Britt could even accomplish
a giggle. She wore another stiff-collared blouse, and every
hair in her French twist was tucked where it should be.
Gretchen started to speak, but Nina held up a finger in
Dolly Departed 77
warning.  I m almost done, she said, picking up another
card. Gretchen looked over her aunt s shoulder. The pic-
ture on the card depicted an angel with red wings pouring
water between two challises.
 Temperance, Nina read from her book.  Accomplish-
ment through self-control, patience, bringing together into
perfect harmony.
 I love that one, Britt said.
Finished, the two gypsy women finally looked up. Britt
leveled a withering stare at Gretchen; the incident at the
shop the other night hadn t made them best buds. But for
Nina s sake, Gretchen had to make an effort.  Let s start
over, she said to Britt.  I think we got off on the wrong
foot.
 Of course, Britt said, but her body language remained
tense.
They gave each other a stiff handshake.
 We ve met before, Caroline said to her.  You were one
of Charlie s dearest friends. I m so sorry about what hap-
pened.
 Thank you.
 And this is April, Caroline said when Nina remained
silent, refusing to be the one to bring April into the conver-
sation.
Gretchen cleared her throat and addressed her aunt.
 How are the room boxes coming along?
Nina shuffled the cards in her hands.  I was going to
start without you, she said.  Honestly I was, but Britt
came along, and we really hit it off. She bent down to pick
up a card that had fallen to the floor.
 That s a weird card, April said.
 The hanged man, Nina said.  See how he s hanging
upside down? And he fell right by your feet, April.
April snorted.  Hogwash. I don t believe in that stuff. I
78 Deb Baker
suppose you re going to tell me that I ll be hanging from
my toes.
Nina consulted her instructions.  The hanged man
means it s time for rest and reflection. You should stay at
home more. She picked up the remaining cards from the
table and flashed the same card she had read earlier.  King
of pentacles is a great card, Britt.
 We need to get back to business, Caroline reminded her
sister.
 Do any of the pieces on the counter look familiar to
you? Gretchen asked Britt.
Britt stood up and wandered along the counter, picking
up a piece here and there.
She shook her head.  Not really, she said, one hand
fluttering to check her French twist, tucking an imaginary
stray hair back into the tightly wound locks. She re-
arranged her bangs.
April s thick fingers combed through the piles.  It s a
strange brew, she said, holding up a Victorian dresser. She
picked up another object with the other hand.  Here s an-
other street sign. And another.
Gretchen took the signs from April. None of the street
names were familiar to her. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]