Peril in Paperback: A Bibliophile Mystery

most of the game patents and copyrights, except for the ones I invented myself.”
    “Has Peter ever invented anything?” Gabriel asked.
    She turned and faced him. “No, Peter was always the organizational guy. He ran the business.”
    “So Peter and Sybil would profit from your death, too.”
    She waved the possibility away. “Yes, yes, but it’s silly to think any of them would go to the trouble. They’re all quite wealthy in their own right. Although…”
    Gabriel’s ears perked up. “Although what, Grace? What were you going to say? Something about Peter and Sybil?”
    She sighed. “We had a little business meeting earlier today. It seems someone has been skimming money off one of the vendor accounts.” Her eyes narrowed and she scowled, but she quickly brushed off whatever she was thinking. “It’s an internal issue, nothing to do with what happened to Bella.”
    I glanced at Gabriel and knew he was thinking the same thing I was. Could Bella have been the actual victim of the murder after all? Had she been the one skimming funds from the company? Or maybe she had discovered who the embezzler was and that person had had no other choice but to kill her.
    If any of those scenarios were true, then everyone who worked in the company could be suspect. Peter, Sybil, Marko, even Grace herself. Along with anyonewhose money was invested in the company, for that matter. That list might possibly include everyone attending the party, except for me, of course.
    “Why did they meet with you?” I asked. “Haven’t you retired from the company?”
    “I’m still the major shareholder,” she explained.
    “Do Peter and his wife stand to lose a lot of money from this theft?” Gabriel asked.
    “No, no. None of us will lose money. Dear God, we all have more money than any of us will ever need. The company is extremely profitable. That account has already been closed and all of the passwords and routing numbers have been changed. And it’s all covered by insurance, anyway, so it’s not really an issue.” She rubbed her forehead wearily. “I don’t even know why I brought it up. I’m just flustered, I guess.”
    Gabriel leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “Just a few more questions, love.”
    “Yes, yes,” she said, her tone resolute as she straightened her shoulders and sat back on the couch. “I’m fine. Let’s keep going. I want some answers.”
    “All right, then,” I said. “What about Marko?” Feeling restless from sitting so long, I stood up to pace a little.
    “Poor Marko.” Grace dabbed the corners of her eyes with a tissue. “He’s been with the company since we first started. Bella joined the team about ten years ago. I suspected that he was in love with her from the first day she arrived. He’s so immature. I knew it would never work out. For someone as easygoing as he is, he can fly off the handle at the oddest moments.”
    “Could he be violent?” Gabriel asked.
    “Oh no.” She shook her head as she reminisced. “No, they were more like tantrums, really. Artistic temperament, I suppose, although none of the other designers ever behaved that way. Oh, and he used to be so cheap. It was almost laughable. He’s gotten better, but Bella would never have tolerated that. Of course, we can’t always choose who we’ll fall in love with.”
    “No, we can’t,” Gabriel muttered.
    Grace continued. “After seeing Marko’s devastated reaction tonight, I’m sure he was in love with her. He couldn’t possibly have killed her.”
    I let that comment go for now. “How about Merrilee?”
    “Merrilee?” She was genuinely taken aback. Then suddenly she laughed. “Oh no, no, no. Merrilee isn’t smart enough or mean enough to concoct such an evil scheme. She wouldn’t hurt a fly, let alone another human being.”
    I sat down and took hold of her hand to soften the pain of the next question. “Grace, is Ruth in your will?”
    “Well, of course,” she said easily. “I’m her patron as well as her friend. I’ve set up a trust fund that will take care of her as she works toward her artistic goals.”
    “Does she know how much she would inherit?”
    “We’ve talked about— Wait.” She held up her hand like a traffic cop. “You can’t possibly think Ruth had anything to do with this. We’re very close friends. More like sisters, really.”
    Gabriel leaned farther forward to catch her gaze. “So you’ve told her how much she stands to inherit?”
    She frowned