Bury Me With Barbie by Wyborn Senna Read Free Book Online Page B

some high-color. There were at least a dozen bendable leg Midge dolls with bobbed hairdos. There were five NRFB Wigs Wardrobe Midge ensembles. There were three straight-leg Midge dolls that wore two-piece swimsuits appropriate for their differing hair colors.
    “Midge Hadley, you’re coming with me,” P.J. said, sweeping the shelves of all the Midge dolls, leaving the bubble-cuts behind.
    “What about Barbie?” Midge cried out in a high-pitched, silly voice.
    “Believe me, I’ll have plenty of them by the time I’m done, and I’ve got to leave some dolls behind, or it will be obvious someone was here for you.”
    “But she’s our best friend,” Midge wailed, sounding like she’d inhaled helium.
    P.J. threw loudmouthed Midge in the duffel, zipping it when it was packed full.
    Six Midge dolls were left behind, but they were in duplicate 900-series dresses and inferior to the ones she’d culled.
    She blended the shelves so the dolls were evenly and meticulously spread out, with a Midge in the middle of each lineup on the upper three shelves on both four-shelved walls.
    Less than fifteen minutes later, she was back in the rented Sebring, flying down dusty North Sabino Canyon Road, on her way back to the hotel to pack for home.

13
    The last Thursday in January, Caresse noticed a change in mood as soon as she logged on to the Best Barbie Board on her home computer. Collectors were buzzing, but not about Gayle Grace, who was yesterday’s news. Surprisingly, Gayle had been one-upped by a MMS—Murder More Sensational. Hailey Raphael, a collector from Tucson who virtually lived on the BBB, had been found dead Sunday night by her parents, who had just returned home from their weekly game of bridge with friends.
    This time, no car explosions were involved. Hailey’s skull had been bashed in with a tack hammer, according to Hailey’s friend Beth, who lived in Phoenix.
    Beth’s postage stamp-sized avatar was of a saguaro cactus instead of her face, so most BBB members didn’t know what she looked like. What they did know, however, was that she was generally helpful and kind.
    DESERTLIFE: Hi, everyone. As you know by now, we’ve lost my dear friend Hailey Raphael. News reports that she was found bludgeoned to death are accurate. Or, to put it more graphically, her head was bashed in with a tack hammer taken from her parents’ garage. That’s all I know at this point. I’ve read a lot of gossip here about Hailey’s “many” boyfriends. The insinuations that she was skillful at playing them off each other–well, you can just drive that truck in a different direction. Those of you who are so quick to jump to the conclusion she was killed by an unsavory suitor who couldn’t handle her game-playing anymore didn’t know her very well. No offense, but I know who she was dating, who she was no longer dating, and everything was fine in that department. Yes, we wrote to each other every day, so I know what I’m talking about. Now on to what you all really want to know. Gayle’s sister Megan was first to introduce the doll theft angle, and that hasn’t been ruled out as a motive in Hailey’s case. Investigators want to see Hailey’s room to determine if any dolls are missing. This is all happening tomorrow morning, super early, so I’ll let you know what’s up as soon as I’m back online. Ciao for now, and quit your gossip! Hailey was awesome, and I’m going to miss her more than I can say
.
    As far as Caresse remembered, Hailey’s collection focused on Midge rather than American Girls, the dolls of choice in the first homicide/theft. Maybe this
was
a crime of passion, as the violent MO suggested. She would just have to wait and see what Beth had to share after she met with detectives in Tucson.
    With the beginnings of a headache, Caresse turned her thoughts to her next assignment for
Barbie International
magazine—an interview with collector Nancy Roth. After that, she needed to go on her next date for the