Ding Dong Dead Read Online Free PDF

little neck.”
    “Such violence from a proclaimed pacifist.”
    “I’m feeling a bit stressed,” Nina admitted.
    “Not only do we have a beautiful old building to work with, but the original owners were also avid collectors. The house is filled with boxes of dolls.”
    With what they’d already found inside the house and with the dolls the members had eagerly offered to donate, they might have opened the first floor to visitors by the end of the month. If only the paperwork hadn’t taken so long. She and her mother had received keys and had taken their first walk-through only three days ago.
    Gretchen sipped her coffee and looked around the empty room. “There isn’t anything more we can do here. Let me show you the museum. We have our work cut out for us, but the possibilities are limitless.”

6
    There are many ways to place dolls for display. They can be arranged by size, by type, or by color. A grouping of dolls dressed all in white can be very dramatic. Or you can place dolls in scenes, paying close attention to appropriate furnishings for your doll’s particular era.
    Preservation of your dolls is the key to their longevity. Keep them away from direct sunlight and florescent lights. Room temperature should be between sixty-five degrees and seventy degrees. Closed cases are preferable to open where the dolls would be exposed to dirt, dust, and insects.
    —From World of Dolls by Caroline Birch
     
     
     
    Gretchen and Nina walked the three short blocks from the rehearsal hall to the museum, led by Tutu. Caroline came out of the house while they were standing on the sidewalk admiring the architecture. Gretchen loved the Spanish Colonial Revival. It had a low-pitched red-tile roof, arched windows, and an asymmetrical design that Gretchen found intriguing. And it was right in the heart of one of the few remaining historic districts in the downtown area.
    To complete the perfect picture, a small balcony overlooked the street, and behind the house stood a tiny caretaker’s cottage. La casita in Spanish.
    “The house is owned by an eccentric, hermitlike woman, according to the owner’s attorney,” Caroline said, standing next to them. “No one has lived here for many years.”
    The entire doll club had been present for the inspection so Gretchen already knew that the home had been neglected for a very long time. At least most of the dolls had been boxed up and stored away from the damaging effects of dust and sunlight. And what a massive collection it was turning out to be! Generations of this family’s members must have been avid collectors.
    “Come in and see the progress we’ve made,” Caroline said.
    “Just so you know,” Nina said, “I’m firmly against what you are doing.”
    “Oh, really?” Caroline said. “Then you should go shopping. Come on, Gretchen.”
    The last thing her aunt could stand was being excluded. “I’ll stay,” she said. “Someone has to protect you two from your own actions.”
    Gretchen paused on the sidewalk to admire a large sign, finding herself once again in awe of her mother’s ability to negotiate. World of Dolls Museum, the sign read. A smaller sign hung beneath it announcing that it would open soon. “I like it. You convinced the new owner to name the museum after your doll book. A smart move.”
    Caroline beamed. “I had to work through the attorney,” she said. “He had to carry the request and subsequent questions and answers back and forth.”
    “Any luck getting the name of our generous benefactor while you were being so clever?”
    “None. We’ll have to tie the attorney down and torture it out of him.”
    Gretchen couldn’t imagine a worse idea than being trapped with the little man who had approached them with the offer. She’d be the one under torture. “Let’s see what’s happening inside,” she said, opening the museum door and stepping into the World of Dolls.
    No one was working in the front of the museum, but Gretchen could hear