Peril in Paperback: A Bibliophile Mystery

followed behind him.
    “Hi,” I said cheerfully, trying to shake off Suzie’s odd comment about me and murder.
    “So you’re, like, a true-crime nut?” Marko asked.
    “What? No.”
    “Because I’m looking for beta testers to work on my zombie cops-and-robbers game. The working title is
Slaughter Beyond the Grave
. It’s like,
CSI
meets
Body Snatchers
.”
    “Catchy, but I—”
    “Hello,” Bella said, her voice sultry and dramatic.
    I turned to see that she had shifted positions and was now walking next to me. She carried an oversized martini glass and must have gotten a refill before she leftthe party, because it was filled to the brim with pink liquid.
    “I was talking to her, Bella,” Marko said, his tone a little whiny.
    She reached across me and squeezed his hand. “I know, love, but I’m rescuing her. Some of us just don’t go in for zombies.”
    His lower lip stuck out. “Zombies need love, too.”
    “Go,” she said, laughing.
    He toddled off like a scolded puppy and I watched him strike up a conversation with Sybil.
Good luck with that one,
I thought.
    Bella was watching him, too. “Don’t mind Marko. He’s like a twelve-year-old boy when it comes to zombies.” She laughed. “And when it comes to everything else, too, now that I think about it.”
    “I don’t mind him.” I tried not to stare at her, but seeing her this close up made me realize how gorgeous she was. Her startling green eyes were fringed with long, thick black eyelashes. Her complexion was flawless and her lips were full and red. I was almost certain that was without any help from lipstick or makeup.
    “Did I hear Suzie right?” Bella said softly. “Did she say you solved murders?”
    I almost moaned. “She was joking,” I said, brushing it off with a weak laugh.
    “Really? Why would she joke about that?”
    “Well, not joking, really. I guess it’s true that I’ve been involved in a few cases, but—”
    “That’s perfect. I’ve been looking for an expert.”
    “I’m hardly an—”
    “I’m working on an update to our company’s
House Party Mystery
game. It’s more on the traditional mystery side, unlike Marko’s brain-sucking crime version. Maybe I can interview you later? I would love an insider’s view of what it’s like to be a witness to murder up close.”
    I could feel my heart pounding harder, and not onlybecause these game people were so pushy. “Uh, sure, but I really don’t think I’m very—”
    “How’d you meet Grace?” she said, ignoring my stammering as she took a careful sip from her drink.
    I was relieved to change the subject and launched into the story of how Grace and I met through Suzie. I mentioned my work with Grace’s extensive book collection and remarked on the amount of bookshelves throughout the house.
    “Books. I could work that into the game,” Bella mused. “I’ll bet you could kill someone with a heavy book.”
    I gulped at the thought, then noticed that Marko had given up on Sybil and was back to listening in on our conversation. “I suppose you could, but I hate to think of books being used to kill people.”
    She waved away my concern. “We’ll talk. I’ll track you down tomorrow.”
    “You’ll probably find me in the library.”
    Marko smirked. “And you can find Bella in the bar.”
    “You should talk, Marko,” Bella said, then paused to sip her drink. “Mm, but Grace’s bartender does pour the best cosmo I’ve ever had.”
    “Better suck it up,” Marko murmured. “Dinner’s about to be served.”
    She pouted. “And Grace always serves the best wine.” She held up her glass. “Ah, cosmo, my love, I must bid you adieu.” Then she drained the entire drink down her throat.
    “Such a lush,” Marko said with a snicker before turning to say something to Suzie.
    As we reached the ground floor and walked down the wide front hall toward the dining room, Bella continued chatting with me. “We all used to work for Grace until she retired. Now Marko and I are the chief designers. Peter’s still our boss.”
    “What types of games do you design?” I asked.
    “Well, I did the original design for House Party Mystery,and I’m always updating it. And Girl Power was my design. But I’m most psyched about my latest creation. It’s a post–World War Three, dystopian jungle-warrior tar-pit game. We’re still working on a title, but it’s totally sick. You’d love it.”
    “I’m sure I would,” I said, even though I had no clue