Peril in Paperback: A Bibliophile Mystery

pedicures, too. I’ll come to your room or we can meet in the pool house beyond the conservatory.”
    “How marvelous,” Vinnie said.
    A massage does sound wonderful,
I thought. I would definitely be signing up for that.
    Once Kiki sat down, Grace continued. “If you simply feel like curling up with a good book, my library has thousands on every subject imaginable.” Grace favored me with a smile, then moved on, saying, “And of course there are walking paths along the lake and through the forest if you’re looking for something more active to do.”
    “But I’ve heard there may be snow,” Ruth said. “So bundle up if you go outside.”
    “Now for tonight’s entertainment,” Grace said, pressing her hands together in excitement. “Fritz, our piano player, has agreed to stay and play for two more hours in the music room, so if you want to dance or sing along, please do. You all know about the toys we have in the game room, and for anyone interested, I’ll be reading tarot cards in the card room.”
    “I want to go first,” Sybil said eagerly, surprising me. She had barely spoken all evening.
    “And so you shall,” Grace said, nodding regally.
    “I’ve got dibs on the backgammon board,” Harrison said. “Who’s with me?”
    “I’ll play,” Peter said.
    Nathan raised his hand. “Me, too.”
    “I’ll be at the bar,” Marko said.
    Bella raised her hand. “Me, too.” For some reason, Marko found that hilarious.
    “And tomorrow night,” Grace continued, raising her voice to drown out Marko’s snorting laugh, “as part of my homage to the great English house-party mysteries of yesteryear, we’ll have a séance.”
    “Cool,” Kiki said.
    “Figures.” Marko giggled as he nudged Bella. “House Party Mystery is still one of your best games.”
    “And best-
selling
,” she added with a wink.
    “This should be interesting,” Peter murmured.
    Grace smiled and nodded in agreement.
    I’d never been to a séance before, but it sounded like fun. It was too bad my mother couldn’t be here. She would get a big kick out of communing with all her close personal friends in the spirit world.
    Nathan sat back in his chair. “Knowing Grace, we should prepare ourselves for plenty of tricks and teasers during the séance.”
    “Well, of course,” Grace said, causing a few of us to laugh some more. And a few of us weren’t laughing at all. Interesting.
    “I think there’s a football game on tomorrow night,” Marko said suddenly. “I was hoping to watch it.”
    “Yeah, it’s a big one,” Nathan said. “Bills versus Pats.”
    “We’ll tape it and you’ll watch it later,” Grace said with a determined smile that quickly turned somber. “There’s one more important announcement I’d like to make, but I’ve decided to save it until my birthday party on Friday night.”
    “How intriguing,” Sybil said, though her tone implied the opposite.
    “Another announcement?” Madge said under her breath. “Hasn’t she made enough?”
    Grace gazed around the table. “I’m afraid some of you might find it shocking.”
    I took a quick peek at Suzie, whose lips were pressed together in a worried frown. Could Grace’s coming announcement have something to do with changing her will?
    “That’s enough seriousness. I want to laugh.” Grace raised her glass to toast her guests, then drained the contents in one gulp. “It’s time for some fun and games.”
    Vinnie caught up with me in the hall, where I had stopped to admire a medieval shield of armor backed by two crossed swords. The swords were shiny, heavy, and sharp-looking. One of them would make a fearsome weapon if I were being chased through the halls by a madwoman.
    And where had that thought come from?
    Taking hold of my arm, Vinnie said in a confidential tone, “Suzie is now certain that Grace intends to rewrite her will.”
    “Does she still think Grace would cut her out?”
    “It’s of no importance to me, Brooklyn. You know we’ve done quite well with our art.” Suzie and Vinnie were talented, well-known chainsaw artists who worked with large chunks of wood that came mainly from fallen trees rescued from the forest floor. Their award-winning designs had been displayed and sold in art galleries all over California.
    “But I do worry that Grace will hurt Suzie’s feelings,” Vinnie said. “And some of the relatives aren’t happy at all. Suzie tries to ignore their griping and sniping, but it’s not easy. They’re