Peril in Paperback: A Bibliophile Mystery

shock. Her eyes grew big and she stared at Merrilee. “Did you call me that?”
    Merrilee nodded and bit her bottom lip, but didn’t say anything.
    Grace was befuddled now. “Oh, my. Everything was happening so fast, I—I didn’t realize.” She turned to Ruth and shook her head. “Help me?”
    Ruth’s forehead furrowed in apprehension. “Are you sure?”
    Grace’s head bobbed as she nodded over and over. “Please.”
    “Okay, okay.” She patted Grace’s knee, then took a deep breath as she scanned the faces of everyone there. “It’s just that, well, it’s simple. Grace is Merrilee’s mother.”
    Utter silence filled the room for a full thirty seconds. Derek’s arms gave me a squeeze and I was really glad he was there.
    “Wow, lots of secrets coming out,” Harrison said finally. “And that’s a real nice one.” He walked over to the couch and bent down to give Merrilee a light kiss on the cheek. “Welcome to the family, sweetheart.”
    “Thank you,” Merrilee whispered, “Uncle Harrison.”
    But Ruth wasn’t finished yet, apparently. She took another deep breath and held it in her lungs as though she was considering her next words. Then she said in a rush, “And, Peter Brinker, you are Merrilee’s father.”
    I watched Peter’s face lose its color in an instant as he gaped at the three women on the couch. “I’m…what?”
    “No!” Sybil screamed, and launched herself headfirst into Grace and Ruth.
    “Stop it!” Grace cried, and tried to bat Sybil away, but the woman was unstoppable despite having her wristsbound behind her. She thrust her shoulders as hard as she could and managed to knock Ruth twice in the head before Gabriel yanked her back into her chair.
    “Jeez, woman,” Gabriel muttered, clutching the squirming woman’s arm to hold her down.
    Derek moved in. They got Sybil to stand up and turn around so Gabriel could rip the old duct tape off her bound wrists. Then Derek moved out of the way and Gabriel pushed her back into the chair. Both men wrestled to keep her arms steady against the arms of the chair. It wasn’t easy; Sybil was a fighter. But finally Gabriel was able to wrap the duct tape around each of her wrists and the arm of the chair, binding her to the piece of furniture. She looked like a monster, seething with rage as she tried but failed to escape.
    Gabriel looked at Grace and Ruth and shook his head. “Sorry. I really thought I’d subdued her. Guess not.”
    Ruth and Grace were both breathing heavily, gulping in air as Sybil continued to spit epithets at Grace and Merrilee. Then she turned on Peter. “You rotten son of a jackal. I should’ve killed you, too.”
    “God, Sybil,” Peter said, shaking his head. “What’s come over you?”
    “I told you,” she said, spitting the words out. “I read that stinking book she wrote.” She struggled and writhed in the chair. “It made me sick, but I read every page. I knew you were in love with her. Have you been lovers all this time? You have, haven’t you? You bastard! How could you sleep with her? She’s a lesbian!”
    Suzie hissed out a breath and clenched her fists, but said nothing.
    “She wasn’t when I knew her,” Peter muttered in his own defense.
    Sybil laughed wildly. “And now you’re the father of that idiot child of hers? Oh, that’s rich.”
    Ruth bounded off the couch. Gabriel stopped her just in time, but she still managed to jab her finger at Sybil. “I told you not to call her names, you vile cow.”
    Sybil bared her teeth and looked ready to growl, but she caught a glimpse of Gabriel looming above her and said nothing.
    Now that Sybil was securely constrained, Nathan approached Grace. “Since you’re Merrilee’s mother, I would like to ask you for the hand of your daughter in marriage.”
    Ruth sighed. Love was in the air. Well, love and murder, along with assault and attempted kidnapping and a few other crimes I’d already forgotten about.
    “Looks as though I’ve missed quite the house party,” Derek murmured in my ear.
    His breath was warm and soft and nearly distracted me from the scene that was playing out before us.
    “My mom doesn’t think I should marry you,” Merrilee said, cutting Grace off before she could answer Nathan.
    “I didn’t say that,” Grace replied.
    “Then what did you say?” Nathan lifted his chin as he faced Grace and said, “I’m in love with your daughter and she loves me, too.”
    “Is that true, Merri?” Grace asked the