the back of a squad car while all her personal belongings were searched. And he was making jokes.
"There aren't that many red vintage Impalas running around the city," Matt explained. "You weren't hard to find. The broken brake light gave them a legal reason to stop you and search the car."
"That's outrageous," Nina chimed in. "Where did this supposed tip come from?"
Matt shrugged, and from the firm set to the detective's jaw and his penchant for secrecy, Gretchen knew he wouldn't tell them if he knew. "You're free to go." He held the front passenger door of the Impala open for April. But his eyes never left Gretchen.
"Did you see him checking you out?" April said when they were back on the road. "He has the hots for you bad."
"Who knew all three of us were together?" Gretchen said, ignoring her friend's comment. "We didn't know until the last minute which car we were taking from the shop."
"The cops picked the wrong car," Nina said smugly. "I told you they were confused."
Gretchen shook her head. "I don't think it was a case of mistaken identity. Someone's been watching us," she said. It was the only logical conclusion.
By the silence in the car, Gretchen knew her friends were thinking over her last comment. They rode the rest of the way to Joseph's without speaking. All Gretchen could hear was the sound of dogs panting.
She wiped gooey drool from her leg.
* 16 *
Instead of the pink shirt and yellow shorts he had been wearing at the parade, today Joseph wore a purple polo shirt and khaki shorts. A pair of pink Crocs adorned his feet, and diamond studs glistened from both ears. Nina and her canine entourage disappeared down the street under the guise of doggy exercise. Gretchen knew Nina really wanted to partake in her favorite pastime: window shopping.
"Miniature dolls are against the back wall," Joseph called to April when he saw her wandering around. With a backward wave, she hustled off in search of tantalizing little gems to lust over. Gretchen couldn't believe the two Charlie's Angels investigators had abandoned her in pursuit of pleasure. She sighed. "Can we talk privately?" she asked Joseph.
"Follow me." He led her through the busy shop, offered her a seat in his office, and sat down beside her. "Wasn't it awful about Charlie?" he said. "I heard you were at Mini Maize when it happened, and I'd hoped to talk to you when I stopped by. Please tell me what you know."
Gretchen told him how the group of partygoers had discovered Charlie's body on the shop floor and the ensuing rush inside.
"Your mother told me your family is reorganizing her last room boxes," he said when she finished.
"The room boxes are ready."
She pulled out her camera phone. "There are four of them."
"The doll community has lost some real talent," he said wistfully. Joseph reached in his shirt pocket, pulled out a piece of square plastic, peeled the plastic apart, popped something into his mouth, and chewed.
Gretchen looked at the piece of plastic on the desk.
"Nicotine gum," he explained when he saw her watching. "I'm trying to quit smoking. Time number six."
Nicotine! Was nicotine gum potent enough to kill? Possibly. But how much? Could Joseph have known about its potential to kill? And if so, how would he have concentrated enough nicotine from gum to make it lethal? He couldn't have just plopped a wad of gum in her coffee. Common sense told her it was impossible.
"Let me see those pictures." He took the phone from her and hunched over it, chewing his gum and clicking through the photographs. "What's this?" He held it out so she could see the crudely constructed fifth room box.
"It was on the floor, along with the other room boxes."
April joined them, taking a look at the picture, then sitting on the corner of the desk. "We don't have any furniture or furnishings left to fill another room box. Looks like this one was barely started."
Gretchen had to force herself to concentrate on the conversation. She would worry about Joseph's nicotine addiction later. He wasn't the only person in Phoenix using the antismoking medication.
"It's the beginning of a kitchen." Joseph rubbed his goatee.
"A kitchen?" said Gretchen and April simultaneously.
"Don't you women cook?" Joseph said. "You know what a kitchen is? One of those places where meals are prepared and eaten?"
"It does have a rather flowery border," April said. Gretchen looked closely at the room box photo. "Those are little apples