Peril in Paperback: A Bibliophile Mystery

one of the corners of the room. “Or we have your choice of cocktails available at the bar.”
    “No,” I said with a determined smile as I reached for a flute. “I’ll have champagne.”
    “Me, too,” Suzie said, and grabbed two more glasses. She handed one to Vinnie and we all clicked them in a toast. Suzie said, “Let’s celebrate.”
    “To the settling of scores,” Vinnie said, her normally smooth forehead lined in dogged resolution.
    I giggled at her vindictive tone. “Thank you, Vinnie. I appreciate that.” My friends always made me feel better. Although, truth be told, I rarely giggled. Maybe I’d already gone off the deep end.
    “We’ve got your back, girlfriend,” Suzie murmured. “Say the word and we’ll take that bitch down.”
    I laughed. “Thanks, Suzie. If you hadn’t—”
    “There you are, Brooklyn.”
    I turned. “Oh, Grace. Your home is magnificent and I’ve barely begun to explore the place.”
    “Aren’t you sweet?” she said, then winked at Vinnie, who scowled back. “Just take care, watch your step, and nobody will get hurt.”
    Suzie laughed, but quickly pressed her lips together when Vinnie gave her the stink eye.
    I would definitely have to do some exploring later. I wanted to find out why Vinnie so adamantly disapproved of Grace’s home. Unless it was simply Grace herself she disapproved of.
    Grace smiled as she gently guided me away from my friends. “I have someone I want you to meet.”
    Tonight Grace had dressed formally in a slim purpletoga-style dress that was a lot prettier than it sounded. She’d managed to fluff up her usually straight dark brown hair so that a halo of curls surrounded her pretty face, while a profusion of gold-wired crystals dangled from her ears. She was not a tall woman, but she was slender and had such a command of the room that she appeared positively statuesque. Or maybe it was her immense wealth that made her appear so regal.
    Grace led me directly toward the bar, where a tall, broad-shouldered blond man stood alone, sipping a cocktail. He looked to be in his late twenties and wore a white dress shirt tucked into black trousers. Simple, but elegant. If this was Grace’s archivist, he didn’t look like any librarian I’d ever seen. Instead, he resembled a certain movie star from the sixties who my mother had once confessed to having a huge crush on. Troy Donahue. Thick blond hair, soulful blue eyes. What a cutie.
    Grace took hold of the blond man’s arm. “Nathan, let me introduce you to Brooklyn Wainwright, my favorite bookbinder.” Grace turned to me. “Brooklyn, this is Nathan Hayes, my new librarian…person. Oh, what do you call yourself, anyway?”
    “Librarian is fine.” Nathan smiled indulgently at his new employer. “Although my correct title is archivist.”
    “Yes, that’s right,” she said, patting my arm as she pulled me closer. “You two will be working together for the next few days and I couldn’t be happier about it. Finally my books will have some order to them.”
    As Grace spoke, I watched Nathan’s eyebrows lift ever so slightly in a subtle but clear sign of masculine approval of me.
Isn’t that nice?
I reached out and we shook hands. “Hi, Nathan.”
    “It’s a real pleasure to meet you, Brooklyn,” he said, his voice just smooth and deep enough to be wildly appealing to ninety-seven percent of the female population. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
    With all the angst and drama I’d been through earlier,I’d forgotten about working with Grace’s archivist this week. Now I looked forward to having the distraction of work to keep me from wallowing in anxiety.
    The fact that the distraction included a handsome guy wouldn’t hurt, either.
    After a minute more of small talk, Grace left us alone to speak to her other guests.
    “I’ve already Googled you,” he confessed. “I’m impressed.”
    “Thank you.” I smiled. “And as soon as I return to my room I’m looking you up. I hope you haven’t broken any laws lately.”
    His laugh was spontaneous and hearty. Talk about a distraction. “You won’t find anything exciting about me, I’m afraid. I’ve spent most of my working life sequestered in university libraries.”
    “Not such a bad place to be sequestered.”
    “Not bad at all,” he said easily. “I love being around books.”
    I glanced around, then leaned closer. “You’ve come to the right place.”
    “I know.” He chuckled. “This place is stuffed with