Peril in Paperback: A Bibliophile Mystery

faces of the guests. “Someone in this room killed Bella. And when I find out who did it…” He didn’t finish the sentence, but the threat was clear.
    “Oh, my goodness,” Merrilee said, her voice shaky.
    “But one of us is missing,” Peter murmured.
    I looked at him, then quickly checked around the room. Sure enough, one of the chairs was empty, but Icouldn’t remember who had been sitting there all week. How odd. “You’re right.”
    “What? Who’s missing?” Grace stood and looked down the table, then said, “Good heavens. Where’s Stephen?”
    I stood and stared at the empty chair, too. Stephen Fowler, Grace’s loathsome lawyer, had many faults, but passing up a free meal was not one of them.
    A quick search of his room confirmed that Stephen Fowler was missing.
    Six of us volunteered to search the house. Peter took half of the first floor and Nathan took the other half. I went off with Gabriel. It was a sad statement, but I wasn’t about to pair up with either Peter or Nathan. What if one of them was the killer?
    Gabriel and I searched Stephen’s third-floor bedroom more closely, then climbed the stairs to the attic. At any other time, I would’ve loved to stop and explore the dark, intriguing room with its old trunks and odd antique furniture, but I was on a mission. I traipsed behind Gabriel up the narrow stairs that led to the rooftop and followed the widow’s walk briskly around the edge of the open space. Stephen Fowler was not in his room, not in the attic, and definitely not on the rooftop. If he had been outside, we would’ve found his body frozen solid.
    Suzie and Vinnie searched the second floor, where the majority of bedrooms were located, but there was no Stephen to be found there, either.
    Forty minutes later, Peter and Nathan left to join some of the men who were watching a football game in the Knight in Shining Armor Room. A few other guests were gathered at the bar in the game room. Some had gone off to bed. Gabriel, Vinnie, Suzie, and I found Grace commiserating with Ruth in the Gold Salon.
    “You didn’t find him?” Grace asked.
    “Not yet. Sorry.”
    Ruth smiled at me. “The others were sure you’d be the one to find his dead, rotting body.”
    “Oh, great.” I shot Vinnie a fulminating scowl. “This is your fault for talking about me like I’m some kind of Hercule Poirot.”
    She was undaunted. “I spoke the truth, Brooklyn. You are a marvelous detective. We are lucky to have you on the case.”
    Gabriel snorted as I threw my hands up in surrender. “Fine. I just hope the killer takes the bait you laid out.”
    “What are you talking about?” Gabriel said.
    “If the killer thinks I’m on the case and is afraid I’m about to nail him, he’ll try to get to me first. And we can catch him in the act.”
    “Okay, it’s official,” he said. “I’m locking you in your room.”
    I smiled. “Very funny.”
    “I’m not laughing.”
    Grace sat at one end of the gold brocade couch and stared heavenward as though she were seeking forgiveness. “I’m a terrible person. I’ve known Stephen for years and I didn’t even notice he wasn’t in the room.”
    “Don’t blame yourself, Aunt Grace,” Suzie said, helping herself to a small glass of Baileys over ice. “None of us noticed, either.”
    “But I feel awful.” She took a deep breath and let it go, then looked at us. Her face was a mask of shame. “Do you know, at one point during the first pasta course, I was thinking that dinner was so much more enjoyable tonight. I wasn’t sure why.”
    “It did seem more convivial,” Vinnie admitted.
    “Yes.” Grace pressed her hands to her cheeks, mortified by her uncharitable thoughts. “Because Stephen wasn’t there.”
    Vinnie stood at the side of the couch and rubbed Grace’s shoulder. “We have had many pleasant meals this week despite Stephen’s presence, so don’t beat yourself up over that. But, Grace, why did you ever invite himhere in the first place if you knew how unpleasant he could be?”
    Grace stared at the carpet, once more unwilling to make eye contact with any of us.
    Suzie squatted down and forced Grace to meet her gaze. “Aunt Grace, what aren’t you telling us?”
    Grace let out an exasperated groan, then sat up straight and faced us. “I invited Stephen only to annoy Madge.”
    Vinnie’s eyes grew big and she quickly covered her mouth to hide the fact that she was laughing.
    “Fine. I’m sorry,” Grace grumbled. “But