Peril in Paperback: A Bibliophile Mystery

sound of chairs being pushed around. I wonder if Bella was trying to get up from her chair.”
    “Probably.”
    “I thought at the time that someone was just moving or standing up to get a good look at the doorway. I didn’t realize they were the sounds of Bella fighting for her last breath.”
    Gabriel pulled me close and hugged me for a moment. Then he stepped back and folded his arms across his chest. “Since the iced tea had the poison in it, Bella must have drunk from that glass.”
    “Yes, but I think she would’ve noticed that it wasn’t her glass immediately.”
    “You said she’d been drinking heavily,” he said. “Maybe she realized it was tea and figured she could use a break from the booze.”
    “Maybe.”
    “So she went ahead and drank from the glass meant for Grace.”
    “Which means that Grace was the intended victim.”
    “Yes,” he said. “So Grace may still be in danger.”
    “Exactly,” I said, pleased that we were on the same wavelength.
    He nodded firmly. “Grace has been a good friend to me and I don’t have many. We’ll have to make sure nothing happens to her.”
    *     *     *
    “Cyanide?” Grace whispered as she paced the length of her private sitting room two hours later. “How could someone have poisoned one of my guests in my own home? And with cyanide, of all things. It’s barbaric.”
    I had ended up in Grace’s room with Suzie, who had insisted on keeping her aunt company. Vinnie, Gabriel, and Ruth were there, as well, and Merrilee kept popping in and out. She continued to keep us updated on whatever was going on with the other guests and also to let us know how soon the police would arrive.
    The police had warned Merrilee that it would take them a while to get to Grace’s home. The drive from the town of South Lake Tahoe out to Grace’s remote property was barely twenty miles, but it was starting to snow heavily on the winding mountain roads.
    Earlier, Gabriel had taken each of the guests into another room, one at a time, to hear their versions of everything that had happened before, during, and after the séance. I was impressed by the way Gabriel had assumed control, rather like Derek would have done if he were here.
    And for the umpteenth time that evening, I wished that Derek were here right now. I wondered what exactly he was doing at that moment. But then I quickly shoved all thoughts of Derek away. Thinking about him made me worry and miss him too much.
    Our small group sat in numb silence in the sitting area of Grace’s master bedroom suite. Grace and Ruth had both known Bella for years, so they grew teary-eyed as they shared their musings about their departed friend.
    I stood next to Gabriel by the massive bay window that overlooked Lake Tahoe. Along the same wall was a set of French doors that led out to a private balcony.
    Grace had explained that she rarely closed her drapes because the view was so glorious. She insisted that this little corner of the lake was so private that nobody ever came close enough to catch a glimpse inside. But I could feel the cold seeping in through the double-glass windowpanes,so I took it upon myself to pull the drapes shut and warm up the room.
    “Why would anyone want to kill Bella?” Grace moaned to the group in general. She’d been pacing but had stopped to lean against the arms of the couch. She looked ready to drop.
    Gabriel put both of his hands on Grace’s shoulders as if to brace her. “Grace, the poison wasn’t meant for Bella.”
    “I don’t understand. Then who was it meant for?”
    “You, Grace,” he said, giving her shoulders a light squeeze. “The poison was meant to kill you.”
    Ten minutes later, after Grace had recovered from the shock, Gabriel asked everyone to leave the room for a little while. He and I needed to talk to Grace alone. But Ruth refused to leave her friend.
    “I’m the one who gave her that glass,” she wailed. “I could have killed her.”
    That was my thought exactly, but I kept my mouth shut.
    Taking careful steps, Grace walked over and hugged Ruth. “Do as Gabriel says and leave us now. We’ll just be a few minutes. I’ll hear what he has to say and then I’ll call you back in.”
    Ruth sniffled. “All right. But…”
    Grace shook Ruth by the arms. “Now, don’t be a silly goose. I know you weren’t trying to kill me.”
    “Do you?” Ruth demanded. “Do you, Grace?”
    Grace patted her friend’s cheeks, then pulled her close for yet