Amanda Stevens - The Dollmaker

Dave scratched his sunburned neck. “You want me to drive over to Terrebonne Parish and ask around about her?”

“Yes…but there’s more to it. I told you that she makes portrait dolls. The doll I want you to find looks exactly like Ruby.”

Dave didn’t say anything for a moment. His first thought was that it was some sort of bizarre joke, but Claire, of all people, would never be that cruel. And besides, he had only to see the shimmer in her eyes to know that she was emotional about this.

“Are you telling me that you had someone, this Savannah Sweete person, make a doll that looks like Ruby?”

“No. Not me. But someone did. I saw her in a window in the Quarter when I was shopping with Charlotte. The eyes, the mouth…everything about her was exactly like Ruby. Right down to the dress she had on when she went missing.” Claire paused, put a hand to her mouth as if holding back her emotions. When she lifted her gaze, he saw that the shimmer was gone, replaced by something that might have been fear.

A chill crawled up Dave’s spine. What the hell was she talking about? A doll that looked like Ruby? It made no sense.

“Claire, this all sounds pretty damn weird.”

“I know how it sounds.”

“Are you sure she looked that much like Ruby?”

“She was the spitting image.”

“Did you go into the shop and ask about her?”

“I wanted to. But I couldn’t that day. I was involved in a traffic accident. You probably already know about that, too, don’t you?”

“Lucille may have mentioned it.”

“But she didn’t say anything about the doll?”

“Not a word. This is the first I’ve heard of it.”

“She probably didn’t want to say anything because she doesn’t believe me. No one does. But I’m telling you the truth. I saw the doll clearly that day and it looked so much like Ruby, I couldn’t take my eyes off it. But by the time I was able to get back to the shop the next day, the doll was gone.”

“Someone bought her?”

“I don’t know. The shop was closed. Someone next door told me that the owner was out of town and wouldn’t be back until today. So I went back to the shop this morning and I found her. The owner, I mean. She was dead.”

That same chill was crawling up and down Dave’s spine again. “How did she die?”

Claire drew a deep, shuddering breath. “Someone stuffed her body in a refrigerator.”

“Good God…”

“I know. I can’t begin to imagine who would do such a thing.”

“What did the police say? Do they have a suspect or a motive?”

“Not that they’ve shared with me. But I think the motive was the doll. She’s the only thing missing from the shop.”

“How do you know that?”

“The cash register and the safe hadn’t been tampered with, and there was no sign of a forced entry. And the owner was still wearing an expensive ring on her finger when I found her, so I don’t think it was a random robbery. I think she was killed because of that doll.”

“That’s a pretty big conclusion to jump to, from what you’ve told me.”

“No, it’s not,” Claire said desperately. “It’s the only conclusion that makes any sense. The owner’s daughter told me that a strange man had brought the doll into the shop and offered her for sale. He said a child had died and he needed to get rid of the doll because it was too painful a reminder.” Her lips trembled, but this time she didn’t try to quell the emotion. “You see what this means, don’t you? The doll and Ruby’s kidnapping have to be connected.”

“Claire, you can’t know that for sure. The doll could have been made before Ruby went missing.”

“By whom?”

“Maybe Lucille had one made and forgot about it.”

“She would have remembered something like that. Besides, it’s expensive to commission a portrait doll, especially from an artist as talented as Savannah Sweete. Mama didn’t have that kind of money. Dave, whoever made that doll had to have seen Ruby in person at some point.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because she has a tiny birthmark painted on her left arm.”

Their gazes dropped to Dave’s arm, to the red strawberry mark he had been born with and passed on to their daughter.

“Claire, are you saying that this doll artist had something to do with Ruby’s kidnapping?”

“I don’t think she’s the one who did it. But she may have been in contact with the person who did.”

Dave got up and went over to stare out at the bayou. The light outside was fading, and he heard the hoot of an owl from one of the oak trees. The call was eerie, lonely. A sound from his past.

He realized that his hands had started to tremble again, and he stuffed them in his pockets as he turned. “What do you expect me to do with this information?”

“I told you. I want you to find that doll for me.”

“And then what?”

She looked up at him, her eyes troubled. “What do you mean?”

“Our daughter is dead. It took me a long time to accept it, but now that I finally have, I’m not so sure it’s a good idea to go digging up the past. I’ve spent a lot of time in some very dark places since Ruby disappeared. Places that look and feel a little too much like hell. I’m not that anxious to go back.”

She stood slowly. “What are you saying? You’re not going to help me?”

“What if you’re just using that doll as a smokescreen, Claire?”

“What do you mean?”

“Maybe it’s your subconscious way of dealing with the divorce.”

“You think I’m making all this up to take my mind off my broken marriage?” Her tone was incredulous, her blue eyes angry and dark.

Dave turned back to stare out at the twilight.

Behind him, he heard Claire take a breath. “I should have known better than to come here. You weren’t there for our daughter seven years ago, and I don’t know why I thought anything would be different now. It’s always been about you, hasn’t it, Dave? What’s best for you?”

“You’re right,” he said wearily. “This is all about me.”

“Don’t do that.” She grabbed his arm, made him face her. “Don’t shut down like that. Not this time. This is too important, and some of us don’t have the luxury of running away when things get too tough.”

Her tone surprised him. “Is that what you think I did?”

“That’s what I know you did. All those nights when you were drinking yourself into one stupor after another, I was looking for our daughter…making phone calls, passing out flyers, connecting with all the national databanks. I did whatever I could, because running away wasn’t an option for me.”

“You don’t think I looked for Ruby? You don’t think I did everything humanly possible to find her?” He turned, stormed into the house and started grabbing up the boxes piled against one wall. He carried them out to the porch one by one and dropped them at Claire’s feet. “It’s all there. A paper trail of every lead I followed, no matter how small. And every time I came to a dead end, I had my heart ripped out all over again. So maybe you’ll cut me some slack if I’m not anxious to put you through that same torture.”

She lifted her chin, but her eyes were gleaming with tears. “That’s not your decision to make.”

“Maybe not. But I don’t have to be around when you get gutted.”

Her eyes looked stricken as she stared up at him. “I never should have come here.”

“No, you probably shouldn’t have. But you did, and now let’s just get this over with. All these years, you’ve blamed me for Ruby’s kidnapping, and now here’s your chance to finally get it off your chest. Come on, Claire. Just say it. I know you want to.”

“That’s not true. I never blamed you. I’m the one who was at the house when she was taken. I’m the one who let her ride her bicycle on the sidewalk that day.”