Peril in Paperback: A Bibliophile Mystery

some levity. “Let’s continue with the cards.”
    “Fine.” Sybil straightened her jacket and expelled a heavy breath. “Where were we?”
    “I just threw down a card that means your goals are focused on something. I don’t know.” Grace waved her hand in the air. “Something good, like you should, uh, assert yourself. People like you. I think.”
    I shook my head. My mother would be chanting right now, trying to keep from correcting Grace’s ludicrous interpretations. Beside me, Vinnie made a choking sound as Grace reached for the next card.
    “Enough!” Vinnie exclaimed, unable to keep quiet a second longer. “That’s not at all what that card signifies.”
    Grace’s reading of the cards was so wrong, I had to wonder if she had ever done this before. Did she know anything about the tarot or was she making it up as she went along?
    “The first card, the Six of Cups. It does have a connection to love and affection, joy, affairs of the heart, and even sex and fertility,” Vinnie said. “But Grace’s interpretation is too vague.”
    Vague
? Her interpretation was laughable! Grace must be faking it. But the least she could do was fake it more realistically than she was doing. I barely knew Sybil, but even I could tell there wasn’t an ounce of
affection
in her entire body. And
joy
? What a joke! Not that I was judging her. Well, I was, but that wasn’t the point. Itwas Grace who should have interpreted the card differently. Why didn’t she use a book? Tarot cards usually came with a book that interpreted them, even on a superficial level.
    And if she had read the book, she would know that because the card was reversed and not facing Sybil, it could mean something altogether different.
    Hmm. I guess I’d retained more of the tarot than I thought I had.
    “There is more to see here, Sybil,” Vinnie insisted before Grace could deal the next card. “The Six of Cups ties into your past more than any of the other cards. It suggests that it might be time to heal yourself from old wounds. And while the card does radiate an aura of affection, as Grace mentioned, that affection is often connected to related areas such as fertility, childhood, and family. It is simplicity. Forgiveness.”
    “Whatever,” Sybil said.
    But Vinnie was on a roll. “The card asks you to open your heart, appreciate simple gifts, observe the energy of children. A child is very much involved in the present. So the Six of Cups reminds us to remember the past, but live in the present.”
    Sybil had been staring at the ceiling, but now she glanced over at Grace. “Is she serious?”
    Grace smiled at Vinnie. “I had no idea you were interested in the tarot.”
    Vinnie shrugged. “I’m interested in many things.”
    “Tell us what the Page of Swords means,” Grace said.
    “Really?” Sybil sighed heavily. “Can we just get on with it?”
    “But, Sybil,” I said, “don’t you want to know more of the card’s meaning? Isn’t that the fun of it?” I tapped the card. “The Page of Swords doesn’t just deal with goals. It has to do with one’s intuition, one’s insight. It’s connected to your mental abilities and perceptions.”
    “My mental abilities are just fine, thank you.”
    “Of course they are.” I smiled tightly.
    “Brooklyn, you’re an aficionado, too?” Grace clapped her hands. “How fun!”
    “Isn’t it?” Because Grace was trying to keep things light, I wasn’t about to divulge the card’s darker meanings. Each card within the suit of swords had a connection to intellectual pursuits and social interaction. But they could be aggressive, too, especially the Page of Swords. Some tarot experts even connected the card to acts of espionage and certain danger.
    Like a sword, each card in the suit of swords could cut both ways. So when facing one way, the Page might represent a breakthrough in communication. If turned in the opposite direction, it could indicate confusion leading to a complete breakdown.
    The Page of Swords indicated highly developed mental capabilities. It also suggested an ability to aggressively exploit or seize control of any situation.
    But since Sybil didn’t seem capable of seizing much of anything, including enthusiasm for the cards, I kept it short. “If there’s a particular goal you had in mind, you might want to reconsider your means of accomplishing it.”
    Sybil’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, really?”
    “Yes. The Page of Swords sometimes indicates that your current