Rose ushered Addison and Luke inside the house and closed the door. “What do you want with the doll?”
“Do you still have it?” Addison asked.
“It’s here somewhere. Haven’t seen it in years.”
“I need to know how it got on the roof, who put it there, and why.”
“Seeing the doll won’t give you those answers.”
Addison raised a brow, smiled. “It might.”
“Wait a minute. You’re hoping you’ll touch it and see something, aren’t you?”
“It’s worth a try.”
Rose left the room, returning several minutes later, doll in hand. She held it out to Addison. Addison hesitated, her eyes fixed on the freakish-looking toy dangling from Rose’s hand. As dolls went, it wasn’t what she expected. Naked and minus an eyeball, its coarse red hair made it look like a prop from an old horror film.
“Go on,” Rose said, shaking the doll at Addison. “Take it. What are you waiting for?”
What was she waiting for?
It was weird having an audience, standing there, staring at her, even if the audience included someone as familiar as Luke. She sat on the center of the sofa. “Will you place it in my lap? There’s no telling what will happen when I touch it. Most of the time when I touch something, I’m taken off guard. I’d like to be prepared.”
Rose shrugged like she found the request trite, but did as Addison requested.
The old woman was hunched over like an exuberant teen with a front-row seat to the freak show, making Addison uncomfortable. Luke seemed to pick up on this and suggested they back off, give Addison her space.
Rose turned and moved next to Luke. “Right, right. Sorry. I don’t mean to brood.”
Addison closed her eyes and pressed her hands into the stomach of the doll. She waited several seconds then opened her eyes again.
“Well, what did you see?” Rose asked.
“Nothing.”
“What do you mean nothing? You couldn’t see who threw the doll onto the roof?”
“I mean, I didn’t have a vision. When I touched the doll, nothing happened.”
“It was your first try,” Rose said. “Maybe you need to let go and try again.”
Addison shook her head. “If something is supposed to happen, it always does.”
Rose breathed a disappointed sigh. “What now?”
A thought occurred to Addison. “When the police found the doll, did it look the same way it does now?”
“It had on the dress it came with when I bought it,” Rose said. “Blue with flowers.”
“Where’s the dress now?”
“Why does the dress matter?”
“If the person who threw the doll touched the dress, it’s the dress I need.”
Rose glanced to the side, thinking. “It wasn’t in the box with the doll. The only other place it could be is in a box in the storage shed. I don’t like going into the shed. Too many insects and spiders crawling around.”
“Why don’t I come with you?” Luke suggested. “You tell me where the boxes are, and I’ll go in and get them.”
“Fair enough,” Rose replied.
“If you do find it, I don’t want to try this again out here,” Addison said. “I think I’ll have better luck in the attic where it all happened.”
“You can go on up if you like.” Rose winked. “It’s been unlocked since the night you broke in.”