Peril in Paperback: A Bibliophile Mystery

school,” Merrilee admitted. “But I was really good at making the beds in my dorm room and seeing that all my friends ate really well. I like taking care of people.”
    “You’re still good at that,” I said.
    “I know. So when I graduated from high school, Mom wanted me to continue with school, but I knew I would be a lost cause in college. I convinced her that I could run her home smoothly and efficiently and she put me to the test.”
    “And you passed with flying colors,” Grace said proudly. “You are perfect at your job.”
    “Mrs. Bancroft taught me everything she knew.”
    Grace smiled her love.
    “And I love living here with you so much. And I love Ruth and Shelly and Ray and Chef Tang.” Merrilee beamed, but her smile disappeared abruptly and she turned to Nathan. “Oh, no. I didn’t ask. Would you be willing to move in here and live with my family?”
    He didn’t hesitate. “Absolutely, yes.”
    They kissed again and Grace clapped her hands with joy. Ruth chuckled. “Looks like we’ll have more babies in the old house one day soon!”
    I was just happy that someone would be watching out for Grace’s books from now on.
    “I suppose we should call the police,” Grace said, casting a glance at Sybil, who scowled back with her eyes.
    “Wait,” I said. “Now we know that the part about the baby was real. But, Grace, was there really ever a corporate thief stealing your ideas?”
    Grace opened her mouth to answer, but Nathan stepped forward and jutted his hand out to stop her. “Oh yes,” he assured me. “There really was a corporate thief.”
    “How would you know?” Marko said.
    Nathan’s steely gaze took in Marko, then circled to Peter, and finally zeroed in on Grace. “I know, because the thief was my father.”
    I gaped at him. Seriously, this was the best house party ever. But now what was going on?
    “Who the hell are you?” Peter said, studying Nathan more closely.
    Grace drew in a sharp breath. “I don’t understand,” she said, staring at Nathan. “What are you saying? The thief was never found, Nathan.”
    “Because he was hiding in plain sight all along,” Nathan said, then spun around and fixed his gaze on Marko. “Isn’t that right,
Dad
?”

Chapter 16
     
    Marko stared dumbfounded at Nathan. He studied the younger man for a long moment; then his eyes narrowed and he said, “Marky?”
    “Marky. Right. Nice try,
Dad
.” Nathan stared at the older man with naked contempt. “My name is Nathan. When Mom walked out on you, she ran as far away from you as she could get. Then she changed our names. She didn’t want to have anything to do with you, your name, or your sleazy lifestyle choices.”
    Nathan used air quotes for those last two words.
    How odd. Now that Nathan had revealed himself to be Marko’s son, I could see the resemblance as clear as day. Why hadn’t I seen it before? Nathan was a taller, sturdier, blonder, healthier, younger version of Marko.
    Grace was clearly stunned by the revelation. She stared back and forth at the two men as though she were attending a tennis tournament.
    Finally, after a quick glimpse at Peter, who looked equally dumbfounded, Grace settled her gaze on Marko. “Marko? Why?”
    “Why what?” Marko asked, sounding like the twelve-year-old jerky kid again.
    Grace’s eyes were damp, but she sniffed proudly and pounded her fist against the sofa arm. “I want to knowwhy you did it. How could you? How could you steal from us? We gave you everything. Money. Fame. An ownership interest in the company. For God’s sake, the company was practically your home. Even before your wife left you, we had become your family.”
    Marko blinked and looked around nervously. Derek and Gabriel and even Peter had shifted their stances, leaving him no way out. But it didn’t look like Marko was ready to go anywhere. He continued to say nothing, just swallowed apprehensively as he seemed to consider his shrinking options.
    “Dad appears to be tongue-tied,” Nathan said easily, “so let me answer that for him. He did it because it was the easy way to get money. He’s a cheap, lazy bastard who’d rather do anything than work for a living.”
    Nathan paced in a leisurely circle around his father as he spoke. “Back in the good old days Marko was never home. In fact, I wasn’t sure I’d recognize him, since I barely remember him being around. And when we moved, Mom tore up all her photos of him. Anyway, back then he worked all the