April deduced, "she might be part of the scheme, but as far as I'm concerned, Charlie's own son committed the actual murder, in spite of what Gretchen thinks."
Brandon glanced at Gretchen.
Nina jumped in with another plausible suspect. "Joseph chews nicotine gum, and he's an alcoholic who had a blackout, or so he says, right when Charlie died."
"Then the miniature shop window exploded," April cut in. "We were stopped by the police and wrongly accused of transporting drugs. The killer's way, I'm sure, of seeking revenge for our efforts to expose him."
"I can explain that one," Brandon said. "When the drug tip came in, the Phoenix police moved too quickly. They generally have to close in fast when they get a tip like that, but they ought to maintain some distance until they're sure of their facts. This one slipped past the normal channels."
"Any idea who made the call?" Gretchen asked.
"We know who made it."
Gretchen looked at him expectantly.
"I'm not free to divulge that information. Let's just say you were set up by someone who used to be very close to someone Gretchen is close to. The call was motivated by jealousy. I apologize for the misunderstanding."
He could only be talking about the Wife. Kayla!
Gretchen fumed. Of all the low things to pull.
"Apology accepted," Nina said in her huskiest voice. He smiled, and little lines around his eyes crinkled in a cute way. Nina blushed coyly.
"Anyone have anything more to add?" Brandon said.
"Oh, you might want to talk to Britt Gleeland," Nina said. "At the very beginning when I told Britt that Detective Albright suspected murder, she-"
"That was supposed to be a secret, Nina," Gretchen interrupted sharply. Nina covered her mouth and glanced quickly at Gretchen. "I wasn't supposed to tell, I know. I'm sorry."
"You didn't hurt anything," Gretchen said, realizing Matt had told her in confidence. If anyone was to blame for spreading it around, it was Gretchen. "Everyone knows about it by now."
"Anyway," Nina said. "Britt figured it was Charlie's heart problem that killed her. But if it really was murder, Britt said she'd overheard the son, Ryan, threaten his poor mother enough times."
"Gretchen doesn't think Ryan killed Charlie," April said. "She thinks a clown did it."
This was Gretchen's cue. She told the detective about the incident at the parade and her conversation with Ryan Maize in which he described the same clown.
"So," Gretchen said to the detective when she finished,
"what do you think?"
Brandon dropped his pen and leaned back in his chair.
"I really can't discuss the case with you," he said. "I wish I could, but it's against policy. You've all done a great job. You know what I suggest at this point?"
"No, what?" April said.
"I suggest you go home and get back to your normal lives. You've played an important part in the investigation, but now that part is over. Detective Albright and I will take it home from here."
"That's exactly what I said," April chirped, making an effort to push her new, lithe body out of her chair. "Let's go, girls."
"Nina, can I speak to you for a minute?" Brandon asked.
"Alone?"
Gretchen and April filed out.
Nina fluttered out a few minutes later. "He wanted my phone number," she said, glowing like the sun. Through the conference room windows, Gretchen saw Detective Kline talking on a phone. He was all business. She would love to hear what he was saying. And to whom.
35
To style a tangled mohair wig you need to learn about the hair fashions from your doll's era. Make sure you match the hairstyle to the doll. You can use small permanent wave rollers, hair- dresser's end papers, hair clips, bobby pins, plenty of hairspray, and your imagination. A bit of warning though-of all the wig materials, mohair is the most difficult to work with. First prac- tice on human hair or synthetic wigs. If proper care is taken, your new coiffed style will last another hundred years.
– From World of Dolls by Caroline Birch Early Tuesday morning, Gretchen climbed Camelback Mountain at a brisk speed and stood at the very summit overlooking the awakening city and the rising sun. Back to normal. Back to her life. It felt good.
Today, she would set an original mohair wig in curlers. She reflected back on her first styling effort. She'd rolled all the curls away from the doll's face and had to redo the entire thing. Live and learn.
Learn and live. Isn't that the advice she'd given her friends? But she wasn't going to think about murder today. She'd hike, work in the workshop, and play with Wobbles and Nimrod.
The desert air was fresh and clean at this altitude, and she breathed it in with familiar appreciation. This was her favorite spot, up with the birds at the top of the world. No one else seemed as enthralled with the mountain as Gretchen. A few serious hikers came up this far, but it was a difficult, steep climb. Most people stopped at the enormous boulder just before the most grueling part of the trail began. She saw a few ant-sized people close to the trailhead, but it was still too early for the tourists to be out. Gretchen started down.
Matt Albright was waiting for her at the boulder. He wore cargo shorts, running shoes, a Don't Worry Be Hopi T-shirt, and he was leaning against the rocks watching her descend.
"Don't run away," he said immediately, pushing off from the face of the boulder. "Talk to me."
"I'm not going to run away." Far from it!
"I thought you and I were making progress, then something happened." He took her hand, and she felt tingles up her arm, through her body. "We need to talk about it."
"There's nothing to talk about," Gretchen squeaked. "I was going through some old relationship burnout. I'm better now."
"Nina told me."
"Told you what?"
"That you thought Meg was my date when you saw us together at the rodeo."
Gretchen didn't respond. Good old interfering Nina with her big, blabby mouth. Kindhearted, but way too involved in Gretchen's life.
"Did Detective Kline tell you about the clown?" she asked.
"You're dodging."
Of course I am.
"Well, did he?"
"We've contacted all the local costume shops. None have a clown suit like the one you described."
Gretchen opened her mouth to ask another question, anything to get him off this uncomfortable topic. He cut in.
"Can we start over?" Matt asked. The sun rising as a backdrop lit up the rocks. He squeezed her hand.
"Your pending divorce seems to be going on forever,"
Gretchen said. Finally, it was out in the open. "And your wife is stalking me. This isn't the best time to start something new."
"Ignore Kayla."
"That's not so easy. But that isn't the main problem. It's that you're still married, still going through the process. And I have a lot of baggage from my last relationship,"
Gretchen said, intent on talking him out of wanting her. "I need to resolve some issues. Otherwise I'll bring them right along with me."
"Don't you think I have a few of my own?" He laughed lightly. His teeth gleamed. His face was handsome and tan. He had a firm, tight body, and he was fun to be with. What are you waiting for?
"Let's work together," he said.
"We can't start out with so many problems." Whine, whine, whine. Part of her wanted to go for it. The other part skidded to a stop.
"I tell you what," Matt said. "In two days I hope to remove one of the obstacles; it's my final divorce hearing. Truthfully? I've had this 'final' hearing several times before with one postponement after another. So I can't make any promises. To show you how much I respect your integrity, if it's postponed, I won't bother you again."