Miss Polly had a Dolly (Emma Frost #2) (19 page)

Helle Wickman was
feeling good
about herself this Sunday afternoon. It
had been a busy morning with a lot of tourists wanting to buy small souvenirs
to bring home before they left the island. The afternoon had been quieter, but
Helle liked that, too. Especially since she really didn't need the money. She
had plenty and more where that came from. The store was more of a hobby. She
had dreamed about opening her own store since childhood.

Helle walked down the row of shelves with dolls
and looked at them. Oh how she adored those beautiful dolls. They had become
family to her. And now with her new boyfriend it all seemed to be going so well
for her, she could hardly believe it. Back when her daughter had gone missing,
Helle never thought she was going to feel happy again. To think of all the
times she had thought about just ending it, just killing herself and ending all
the suffering.

But somehow she had never done it. It was like
she had always known that there was something more for her, that life wasn't
finished with her yet. And now she had finally found love. She was being loved
by someone else and that made her happy again. Even if she found it hard to
love herself.

Helle looked at the picture of her daughter. She
had considered removing it from the shop. Putting it away since it always made
her sad, it always made her feel bad. Maybe it was about time she started over?
Maybe it was time to clean the slate and move on?

Helle sniffled and shook her head. No. No it
wasn't time yet. Maybe later. She turned and walked back to the counter. She
sighed and looked out into the street between shelves that were overly filled
with souvenirs. She knew she would have to clean up the window shelves soon,
since no one could look inside the store anymore from the outside. But Helle
liked it that way. She liked having lots of stuff surrounding her.

A lady stopped and looked at something, then
moved on. Helle looked at her watch. It was almost time to close the shop.
Maybe she should call it a day already? Get out of here early? She looked into
the street again. No, there were still plenty of tourists out there. The TV
show had attracted so many people this weekend it could easily end up being the
best weekend of the year for people with small shops like hers.

Helle decided to go out in the back and grab
herself a last cup of coffee. Once she was done with that she would close up.
She was humming in the kitchen when she heard the bell above the door ring
telling her there was someone in the shop.

I knew it. Good thing I didn't
close up.

She left the coffee cup on the table in the
small kitchen and walked back out humming and wearing a big smile. She enjoyed
entertaining people in her shop. She never knew who would walk through that
door and with what background. She liked watching them as they browsed through
the store, guessing where they were from and what they were looking for. She
always let them look a little on their own before she asked them if she could
help with anything. To make them feel comfortable first, let them look at other
stuff than what they initially came for, so they might buy something they
didn't plan on. Helle loved every little trinket in her store and she loved how
excited people often were when browsing around.

Helle glanced towards the door and noticed it
seemed to be a man that had entered. She couldn't quite see his face because of
the hood he was wearing. It didn't bother Helle, though. Some people preferred
their privacy and she knew to let him have longer finding what he was looking
for than other people. He didn't seem to bring any kids and that made her feel
relaxed. Kids were always the worst. They touched everything and moved it
around and sometimes even broke something then put it back without telling
anyone. She had often considered putting up a sign stating
no children
next to the
no dogs allowed
sign, but then again she
would probably lose a lot of business. The man's head peeked up behind a row of
shelves. Helle smiled.

"Let me know if I can help you with
anything," she said.

He didn't answer so she assumed he was foreigner
and tried in German as well. When he still didn't answer she tried in English
and finally in Polish which was the only other language she knew.

The man finally replied, but Helle wasn't sure
she liked the answer. At first she thought she might have translated it wrong,
but then he repeated it in Danish.

"Where is your ice cream truck, lady?"

It was late in
the
afternoon and I was just lazily  hanging out
in the living room with my kids when the phone rang. I picked it up.

It was Jack. He was panting, speaking
incoherently, stuttering heavily. "Iiiii dddidn't know wwwho else to call.
Your dad…your dad needs to cccome. Something…I…I ddon't know how to say this.
I've ccalled the pppolice…"

"Easy now, Jack," I interrupted him. I
suddenly felt very anxious. What was going on? "Try and calm down. You're
not making any sense here. Please try and tell me from the beginning. What is
going on? Where are you?"

I heard him take a couple of deep breaths like
he usually did when his stuttering was bad. It helped. "I'm at the shop.
Helle's shop. It's bad, Emma."

My heart started beating wildly. I got up from
the couch and walked towards the kitchen. "Helle?" I asked. "Has
something happened to Helle?" 

Jack was quiet. I could hear he was busy
controlling his breath.

"Jack? Please answer me. What happened to
her?"

"I was going down to her store to continue
my painting. When I opened the back door with my key I heard a noise from the
store. It sounded like an entire self of trinkets was being tipped over and I
thought Helle needed help, so I hurried in there. But I was too late. He ran
out the front door just as I went in. I didn't see him. Just the door closing.
And then I found her…"

"Found her where? How? What happened to
her?" I asked while putting on my jacket.

"She was on the floor. He had stabbed
her."

"Is she alive?"

"I checked and she still has a
pulse—wait the ambulance is here. I hhhave to go, Emma."

"I'm coming down."

I hung up, then called Maya. "I'm going to
town for a couple of hours. Can you look out for your brother?"

My daughter nodded. "Of course. What's
going on?"

I leaned over and kissed her cheek thinking
she'd had enough shocks lately and that she didn't need to know what had
happened yet. Not until I knew more at least. "I'll be back later and then
I'll explain, alright?"

"You always say that. Can Granddad come
over? In case you're going to be really late?"

I sighed and shook my head. "No. Not this
time, sweetie. Granddad has to go with me. I'm going to pick him up on the
way."

My daughter shrugged. "Whatever," she
said and turned her back to me.

Thinking I'd have to deal with her later, I
stormed out the door. I called my dad from the car and told him he had to come
with me, that something bad had happened to Helle. The sound of his voice
cracking like it did made me feel so sad. He really loved her.

"How bad is it?" he asked when I drove
up to his house and he jumped inside of the car.

"I don't know, Dad. Jack told me she still
had a pulse, but she had been stabbed. The ambulance was just arriving when I
talked to him."

When we arrived at the store, the ambulance was
still parked outside in the street. Inside the shop two paramedics were working
on Helle who was now on a stretcher. Blood was all over the floor in a pool. My
dad gasped when he saw it. Jack came towards us.

"How is she?" my dad asked.

"She's still alive. They're preparing to
take her to the hospital right away. There's a helicopter coming to pick her up
outside of town and she'll be airlifted to the mainland." Up until now I
don't think my dad had realized how serious it was, but he did now. Now that he
saw her on the stretcher and saw all the blood.

"Can I go with you?" my dad asked.
"I'm her boyfriend. The closest she has to a family."

The paramedics looked at each other, then
nodded. My dad kissed me then ran to catch up with them.

"Me and the kids will take the next ferry
and be there as fast as we can," I yelled after him.

Officer Morten was also there and told me not to
go too close to the scene of the crime. The forensics team was on their way, he
said.

"They never left the island since they're
still working at the last crime scene down at the theater. They'll be here
soon. They'll have to close the entire area off." He was wearing plastic
gloves and putting something in a small bag.

"Is that what I think it is?" I asked.

Officer Morten exhaled. Then he showed me what
was in the bag. A small white bowtie, a piece of string, and a needle. "I
guess he was interrupted before he could sew it into her chest."

I felt sick to my stomach as pictures of the
girl in the kiosk and the girl in the theater flashed before my eyes.

"But why Helle?" I asked. "The
other victims have been much younger. Is he changing preferences?"

Officer Morten shrugged. "Maybe their age
doesn't matter."

"Hello?"

The voice came from the back. I walked out there
to see who it was. An elderly lady stood in the doorway. "Hi there. Is
Helle here?"

I shook my head. "No. No she's not. She has
just been taken to the hospital a minute ago."

The woman looked surprised. "Oh. Oh. Is it
serious?"

"I'm afraid so. Who are you?"

"I'm Asta. I just had a new doll that I had
made for Helle, and I thought I'd stop by and ask her if she would like to see
it, but it can wait till later."

"I'll let her know," I said. The woman
left and I went back inside.

"Who was it?" Officer Morten asked.

"Some lady that had a new doll for
Helle."

"Asta Kristensen," Officer Morten
said.

"That's her."

He tapped on his notepad with his pencil for a
few seconds. Then he looked at me. "You know, I never thought about it
before, but those two women share more than a passion for dolls with one
another."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Asta has also lost her daughter from
that playground I was talking about," he said pensively.

I was about to leave when I suddenly stopped.
"She did?"

"Come to think of it, I believe Asta's
daughter was the first one to go missing. It was back in '97. The story is that
she went a little nuts after losing her daughter. She was admitted several
times to an institution on the mainland before she finally found the passion
for dolls to keep her sane. She works as a taxidermist, you know, stuffs
animals for museums and people who want them in their houses. The dolls are
just her hobby and she sells them to Helle for extra profit as far as I know.
It's a little sad, her story that is. We used to call her Miss Polly. Because
of the song, you know. And all her dolls. She has the house filled with them
and she treats them like real children. She dresses them every day and puts
them in a stroller and takes them for a walk. Some people say she even feeds
them and talks to them all day. Guess it's a little sad."