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You make fun of me. Do you think I want to be this way?"
    Gretchen rearranged her face to show concern. "Of course not. I'm sorry I laughed."
    Matt looked toward the doll shop. "These are itty-bitty dolls, not enormous killer dolls. I'll be fine."
    "I have confidence in you."
    "We should go inside," Matt said, droplets of manly moisture appearing on his brow.
    "When was the shop released from police custody?"
    Gretchen asked to confirm Britt's permission to be in the shop last night.
    "We finished up yesterday. It's all yours." Matt handed her the key. "You first."
    "After you."
    "I'm being polite. Ladies first."
    "Yoo-hoo," someone called from down the street. Gretchen turned to see Nina hustling down the street from the north, Tutu in the lead. The dog wore a large ruffled pink collar and matching bows clipped to her ears. When Nina drew closer, Gretchen could hear Enrico, the ornery Chihuahua, snarling from a Mexican tapestry purse slung across her aunt's shoulder.
    "Yoo-hoo," she heard from the opposite direction. April thundered at her from the south.
    They all converged in front of Mini Maize as Gretchen unlocked the door.

5
    Room boxes offer an excellent way to create a scene that is smaller than the traditional dollhouse. Art in miniature has been around since ancient Greece and still has an avid following today. Use your imagination to create your very own. Either purchase a room box or build one out of cardboard, plywood, or fiberboard. Then let the fun begin. For enhanced realism, you can build false walls with windows or doors and display scenic photographs behind them. Make window treatments from shelf edging, shades from mailing tape, or Venetian blinds from wooden coffee stirrers. Paper napkins make excellent bedding, after dunking them in a mix- ture of glue and water. Gift wrap becomes wallpaper, and refrigerator magnets turn into wall hangings. Common household objects will take on new significance as the hunt begins for new and creative ways to furnish your very special room box.
    - From World of Dolls by Caroline Birch
    "Why is that hunky detective still outside?" April said, waving at Matt from inside Mini Maize. "I thought he was over his doll problem."
    "Apparently not," Nina said, roaming through the shop and picking up one item after another. She glanced at the floor. "What a mess. This place looks like Gretchen's workshop."
    Gretchen slid Nina a look before finding several empty containers in the back room and distributing them to her crew. She picked up a five-inch porcelain ballerina doll from the countertop, encircled it with bubble wrap, and put it inside one of the containers. "Help me pack these up," she said to the two women. "He won't come into the shop until the dolls are out of sight."
    "Why didn't you say so earlier?" April said, rushing to help. "Let's not keep him waiting any longer than we have to."
    Enrico watched slyly from his purse hanging on a doorknob, waiting for just the right opportunity to escape. Nina held up a finger in warning as if she could read his thoughts.
    "Stay," she said in her dog-training, authoritarian voice. Then she turned to Gretchen. "You don't really think you can put away the entire room of dolls, do you?" she said.
    "Just these on the counter and nearest the door."
    April was really moving.
    "Okay," Gretchen called out the door a few minutes later. "Coast is clear. Just don't look inside the display cases around the counter. I don't have time to put away every one of them. After all, this is a doll shop."
    Matt's head popped around the corner, his even tan a few shades lighter. He had a cheesy grin on his face. "I've been called away," he stammered. "I'll check back later and see how it's going."
    Gretchen watched him scramble for his unmarked car.
    "Coward," she muttered under her breath.
    April was on her hands and knees, examining miniature furniture pieces. Nina, casting around for something to do other than actual physical labor, chose to entertain