Peril in Paperback: A Bibliophile Mystery

nodded. “He really is.”
    Jeremy said, “They love performing for the camera, so you’ll probably get another couple of videos from us before the week is out. And yesterday Sergio found the most sensational place in the Mission District. The Pet Café. Have you heard of it? They make fresh cat food every day! The kitties adore it!”
    Oh, great. Once again, I was being one-upped by people who were better at cat sitting than I could ever hope to be. Not only were they remembering to feed the cats, but they were also taking them out to dinner. It wasn’t Pookie and Splinters’s fault; it was mine. How could I blame them for loving everyone else in the world except me?
    I had to stop right there and breathe. Given my emotional state the past few days, I knew it wouldn’t take much for me to burst into tears again. So I gave myself a quick lecture. The fact that Pookie and Splinters might not love me had nothing to do with Derek not loving me. Good grief, Derek
did
love me. He had told me so repeatedly. And Derek didn’t lie. Ever. So there.
    And, damn it, Pookie and Splinters loved me, too. They were just a little reserved around me. Yeah, that was it.
    And if I continued along this line of thinking I was sure to be carried off in a straitjacket before the week was through.
    “Meow.”
    “Oh, it’s Leroy,” Vinnie said, patting her lap. “Come up here and watch Pookie and Splinters play, Leroy.”
    The black cat jumped up on my lap instead, placed his front paws on the desk, and focused on the computer screen. I stroked his back and scratched his ears, mentally thanking him for distracting me from another neurotic rant.
    “Leroy loves you, Brooklyn,” Vinnie said softly as she petted the cat.
    I smiled. “I think he was more attracted to the sound of Pookie and Splinters playing.”
    “Maybe so.” The video ended and Vinnie sighed. “Want to watch it again?”
    It was the last thing I wanted to do. “Um, I should probably get going on another book-repair job.”
    She gasped and jumped up. “I didn’t mean to keep you from your work. I’ll go now.”
    “Oh, God.” My stomach twisted from the guilt and I grabbed Vinnie’s wrist to stop her from bolting out of the room. “I don’t know why I said that. You’re not keeping me from any work, Vinnie. I’d much rather hang out with you than work.”
    “If you’re sure.”
    “Absolutely.” The gentle snowfall caught my attention and an idea popped into my head. “How about if we bundle up in our heaviest jackets and scarves and go for a walk in the woods?”
    “That sounds wonderful. A change of environment is always a good thing and we’ll work up an appetite for lunch.”
    I rubbed my stomach. “That shouldn’t be too hard.”
    We both ran off to our rooms to grab our coats, then met five minutes later by the front door.
    “Grace told me to take anything we wanted from the front closet,” Vinnie said, opening the closet door. “She has everything in here. Down vests and hats and mittens and scarves and gloves.”
    “Good, because these gloves won’t be warm enough.” I pulled off my thin leather gloves, shoved them in my coat pocket, and found some arctic gloves on the closet shelf that fitted me perfectly. San Francisco could get pretty cold, but it was nothing compared to the frigid air up here in the mountains. Considering that, I took one of Grace’s thick down vests off the hanger and slipped it on under my coat.
    “I’m ready,” I announced. I probably looked like the Abominable Snowman, but I would keep warm.
    “Here we go,” Vinnie said, and we traipsed outside.
    The freezing air was a shock to my lungs, so I breathed in and out slowly until I was used to it. The snow crunched under our feet as we walked along the lake for a good distance. We turned and strolled back toward the house, then veered off into the woods. There was a nicely marked pathway through the trees so we wouldn’t get lost.
    “It’s so beautiful here,” Vinnie said.
    “Do you and Suzie come up here often?”
    “About once every month or so. Suzie and Grace are very close. Despite what I say about Grace, she’s very good to Suzie and I love her for that. Suzie worries that the rest of the family isn’t quite as nice to Grace as they should be.”
    “I don’t know them all, but I would hate to be forced to spend time with Harrison’s wife.”
    “Madge is appalling,” Vinnie said, “but her kids are lovely. Kiki is very sweet. She