Amanda Stevens - The Dollmaker

She glanced across the street, where the drowsy sway of asparagus fern hanging from a second-story balcony caught her attention. Through the thick curtain of green, she caught a glimpse of a couple embracing in the morning heat, and a moment later, laughter drifted down to the street.

Claire deliberately turned away. She didn’t know why Dave was on her mind so much this morning.

Alex flung his jacket over one shoulder. “So where is this doll that has you so worked up?”

Claire tried not to let his tone irritate her. He probably didn’t even realize how condescending and impatient he sounded at times, or how annoying it was when he got that placating look on his face.

“I don’t know where she is. That’s what I’m trying to find out. It’s after ten. The shop should be open by now.”

He glanced at his watch. “It’s just a few minutes past. Maybe whoever opens up is running late this morning. Probably got stuck in traffic or something.”

“No, I saw someone in there right before you walked up,” Claire said. “I kept on knocking. Maybe if you show your badge, we can get in.”

Alex took her by surprise when he walked over and peered through the glass. “I’m not opposed to flashing my badge, but I don’t see anyone in there.”

“I spotted someone there just a minute ago.”

Alex still had his face to the window. “Are you sure you didn’t see your reflection in the glass?”

“Yeah, that’s probably it. Because, Lord knows, I’m so crazy I can’t tell the difference between another person and my own reflection.”

He swung back around and Claire saw him take a breath, as if he was having a difficult time hanging on to his temper. His fingers drummed impatiently against his thigh as his gaze scoured the street. Except for a brief moment when he’d met her eyes directly, he didn’t seem to want to look at her this morning.

“I’m sorry, Alex. I shouldn’t be snapping at you like that. It’s not your fault the doll isn’t here. But I really don’t know why you keep coming around like this. Every time we’re together, all we do is fight. Why can’t you just let it go?”

“Damned if I know, Claire.” His voice sounded tired. “I never ran across anything or anyone I couldn’t give up if I didn’t think it was worth my time. But I don’t seem to have it in me to walk away from you.”

“You’d be so much happier if you did,” she said softly.

“Oh, I know I’d be happier, that’s not the issue. Thing is, though, I’m not the kind of guy who likes to lose.”

“You make it sound like our marriage was a game.”

“Not a game, Claire, a farce.”

Now it was she who had to hold in her anger. Down the street, the spires of the cathedral glistened in the hot white light, and she concentrated on the glare. “You shouldn’t have come here.”

“I shouldn’t do a lot of the things I do, but that never seems to stop me.” He walked back over and glanced in the shop window. “I still don’t see anyone in there. If you ask me, it’s time to give up the ghost.”

“You do what you have to do, Alex, but I’m not leaving until I see her.”

He turned at that. “Do you hear yourself? You keep saying her. Do you even realize you’re doing it?”

“It’s just a figure of speech. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“That doll is not Ruby.”

“I know that.”

“Are you sure?”

Claire frowned. “Yes, I’m sure. Have you been talking to Charlotte?”

His gaze faltered and he looked off down the street. “Why?”

“Because she seems to think I’m confusing the doll with Ruby, too. I’m not. I know in my heart that my daughter is dead. But I also know that the doll means something. It’s not a coincidence she looks so much like Ruby.”

“So what are you going to do, Claire? Buy the damn thing and take it home with you? Because I have to tell you, there’s something a little morbid about that.”

She didn’t say anything for a moment. The anger inside her was too strong. She didn’t want to lash out at Alex again, but damn him for not understanding. Damn him for making her feel guilty about clinging to the memory of her daughter.

“Maybe you should be asking yourself what you’ll do,” she said. “What if the doll looks as much like Ruby as I say she does? What if even you can’t deny the resemblance? Won’t it be a police matter then?”

“Come off it, Claire. You don’t think NOPD has enough to worry about without investigating dolls?”

“I’m serious.”

“I know you are, and that’s what scares the hell out of me.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “This heat’s starting to give me a migraine,” he muttered.

The heat wasn’t the cause of his headache and they both knew it. “The doll is a clue, Alex.”

“A clue to what? You said yourself Ruby is dead.”

“I still want justice. I still want to know what happened to her.”

“Bullshit. Maybe you can lie to yourself, but I know how your mind works. You’ve already decided somewhere in that thick head of yours that the doll is going to lead you to Ruby. That’s not going to happen.”

“I’m not deluded,” she said angrily.

“You may not be deluded, but you’re still grasping at straws.” He moved toward her in the shade and placed his hands on her shoulders. His eyes were level and unblinking and they stared straight into Claire’s. “I’m worried about you. You could have been killed yesterday, and now here you are again. You keep putting yourself through this same shit over and over, and it never ends well. This time won’t be any different.”

“Maybe it won’t. But I’m not giving up until I find out for sure.”

“And so you’re going to stand out here in this heat until you keel right over from exhaustion. Is that it?”

“If I have to.”

He shook his head in disgust. “Have you seen yourself in a mirror this morning? You look like hell. You’re as pale as a ghost and your hands are trembling like an old woman’s. You need to get out of this heat. At least go with me down the street to get something cold to drink.”

“You go if you want to.”

“Claire—”

“Just leave me alone, Alex. Please.”

“Damn it.” He dropped his hands from her shoulders and turned to stare at the traffic, his mouth a thin, straight line. Then he started walking away. “Wait here.”

“Where are you going?”

“Next door. Maybe someone there knows something about when this place normally opens.”

Claire wished she’d thought of that. “Alex?”

He glanced over his shoulder.

“Thanks.”

His face tightened. “Don’t thank me. It’s not like I’m doing you any favors. I’m just prolonging the inevitable, is all.”

He disappeared into the neighboring shop, and Claire stepped back into the deeper shade of the doorway. Putting her face to the glass, she tried to peer through the sliver at the edge of the blind again, but Alex was right. The interior was so dim she could barely see anything. Maybe she really had glimpsed her own reflection earlier.

But in the split second before Alex showed up, Claire had been certain that someone stood on the other side of the door, staring back at her. She hadn’t seen a face, at least not clearly, but she’d glimpsed a silhouette that seemed distinct from the other shadows in the shop. And even now she still had a strange feeling that someone was in there.

Leaning a shoulder against the wall, she fanned herself with her hand. Alex was right about something else, too. If she waited out here much longer, the heat might do her in.

A young woman came toward her down the street, and Claire watched her curiously, wondering if she might be the one to open up the shop. But before she reached Mignon’s, she turned down a narrow alley that ran between the two buildings.