Deb Baker - Goodbye Dolly

"No. He's still in a holding cell. Until he's charged, he can't have any visitors."

"How long can you hold him without charging him?"

"Not much longer."

His eyes locked onto hers. Gretchen squirmed under his gaze. What was it about this man? He induced too many conflicting emotions.

"I wouldn't have pegged him as your type," Matt said.

"I thought you'd go for someone… I don't know… more sensitive, more artistic."

"Really?"

"Anyway, I'm sorry it happened to you. Your boyfriend's in a heap of trouble."

"I don't know how many times I have to say this…"

Gretchen didn't finish the sentence. Why bother?

She stomped back to her table, plopped into her chair, and selected a five-piece toddler doll from the repair pile. Before Gretchen could immerse herself in repair work and temporarily forget all the peripheral intrigue going on, Nina, canines in tow, walked the few steps from April's table. "I kept an eye on your table, but nobody wanted to buy anything. The place is starting to clear out. What's wrong? You're so pale."

"Steve's still in jail. I guess witnesses saw him in the parking lot." She leaned back in the chair. "Matt must think I know what happened or that I'm an accomplice of some sort."

"Your knife and Steve's fingerprints? It doesn't look good." Nina bent down to stroke the three dogs on the floor around her feet. Tutu put her jealous little muzzle under Nina's hand every time Nina gave Nimrod or Sophie attention. "I bet that's exactly what he thinks."

Nina straightened, and her face turned the color of Elmer's glue. At first Gretchen thought it was because of what she'd just said, but Nina was staring at Gretchen's arm. "Don't move," Nina said, jerking her hand out in front of her like a cop stopping traffic. "I don't want to panic you, but sit very, very still."

April, coming up behind her, looked at Gretchen and screamed.

"Quiet," Nina commanded.

Gretchen did what Nina asked. "What?" she said, barely breathing.

April had her hand at her mouth.

Nina grabbed a Barbie doll. "An insect crawled out of Nimrod's purse. It's on your arm. Maybe I can flick it off."

"That's not an insect," April squealed. "It's a scorpion."

"Oh, no." Gretchen stopped breathing. She felt something on her bare left shoulder. Nina rounded on the poisonous insect. It was apparent that she planned to attack from the back.

Ready to faint, Gretchen reviewed the symptoms of a scorpion sting: excruciating pain, severe swelling. She could live through pain and swelling. Don't panic , she warned herself. Also possible: frothing at the mouth, difficulty breathing, convulsions. Though death from a scorpion sting was rare, she wasn't fond of the convulsion thing. Or of gasping desperately for air. She knew all the trivial details associated with the insect world because the most terrifying thing that could ever cross her path was any sort of bug. Centipedes, ticks, spiders, crickets, the list was infinite. "I hate bugs," she whispered without moving her lips, working to stay in control.

"Get it off."

"Hold still," Nina warned. "They have sense organs on their undersides. Once it senses you, you're a goner."

"That must make her feel real good," April said, talking through the fingers spread across her mouth. "I can't watch." She turned away. "Let me know when it's over."

Gretchen felt it crawl down her arm, and she risked a peek, which didn't help her mental state.

The yellowish insect stared at her through its buggy, blinkless eyes. Lobster-type pinchers and a hooked tail curled across the top of its inch-long body. It was so close she could see the venomous stinger on the tip of its raised tail.

"Help," she croaked.

"As long as the tail is curved on its back like that, you're okay," Nina said from behind her.

"What are you waiting for?" April said. "Get it off her."

"I… I…"

"You can't do it, can you?" April turned to the main aisle and screamed, "Someone help!"

Gretchen felt dangerously light-headed.

"Detective Albright," she heard Nina say. "Quick. Shoot it with your gun."

Gretchen felt a gentle breeze across her arm. She blinked, and the insect was gone.

She saw a sandaled, male foot descend on the invader. The foot zoomed in, the floor rose, and she felt herself falling sideways.

The world went blissfully black.

"What a hunk," April exclaimed, wrapping her dimpled arms across her chest. "I'd plant a scorpion on myself if I thought Detective Albright would save me."

"It was a nightmare," Gretchen said from her chair, her voice still shaky. "I can't believe I fainted."

Thanks to April's screams, the Phoenix Dollers show drew to a dramatic close, the grand finale taking place at Gretchen's table with most of the remaining shoppers and dealers looking on.

For the first time in two days, Nina and her traveling dog circus hadn't held center stage.

Gretchen would have gladly given back that dubious honor.

"You would have clunked your head on the floor if Matt's reflexes hadn't been sharp," Nina said.

"Where were you when I passed out?"

"I was paralyzed," Nina said. "Every muscle in my body stopped functioning. I don't understand it. I started out intent on saving you, then when I got close enough to stare the beady thing in the eye, I froze. I'm so sorry." Nina bent down and gave her a heartfelt hug. "It was a good thing Matt heard April screaming."

"I sure did bring the house down," April added. Once Gretchen felt strong enough, April and Nina helped her pack up the remaining Ginny and Barbie dolls and carry them to her Toyota Echo. Gretchen opened the trunk and noticed that the parking lot was almost empty.

"Someone must have put it in Nimrod's purse,"

Gretchen said. "First the napkin, now a scorpion."

"You already said that, repeatedly." Nina leaned against the car. "Matt Albright didn't agree with you. He said you needed time to recover, that the shock must have affected your reasoning."

"My question is, was the scorpion meant for me or for Nimrod?" Gretchen hugged the tiny puppy. She would have survived the sting, but what effect would the venom have on a three-pound poodle?

What kind of monster would harm Nimrod?

"We can't be sure the scorpion didn't crawl in on its own," Nina said.

"You had the purse when you and Eric went outside. Did you place it on the ground?"

"No. I let both puppies run around in the back parking lot, then I used their leashes. I had both purses on my shoulder the whole time."

"Nimrod and Sophie weren't in their purses at all?"

Gretchen asked.

Nina shook her head.

"Then how did it get inside? Scorpions don't fly."

"There has to be another explanation," April said. "People don't carry scorpions around with them."

Gretchen ignored April's protests. "Could someone have put the scorpion inside without your noticing?"

"I suppose so," Nina said. "There was quite a crowd hanging out around the entrance. I didn't pay much attention."

Gretchen didn't ask whether Eric might have had the opportunity. The look on Nina's face suggested she had feelings for him, and Gretchen didn't want to burst that romantic bubble unless she had to. Besides, she knew the answer. Of course he had the opportunity. More opportunity than anyone else.

"If what you think is true," April said, "and someone did this intentionally, then the scorpion wasn't meant for you, Gretchen. Whoever put it in the purse couldn't know that Nina wouldn't put Nimrod back in the purse. It was lucky for him that Nina led him back on his leash. Otherwise, he would have been stung."

Gretchen shuddered at the thought. "Then the scorpion was intended as a murder weapon," she said. "Someone tried to kill Nimrod."