Peril in Paperback: A Bibliophile Mystery

looked both ways down the hall. The dim light revealed nothing. The hall was deserted. But now there was the steady sound of a baby crying somewhere in or near the house. Was it outside?
    I raced back into my room, slid my feet into my slippers, and grabbed my down vest. I threw it on over my pajamas as I ran down the hall toward the front door. The closer I got, the louder the crying grew, and now I was certain the sound was coming from outside.
    But it was freezing outside. What was a baby doing out in the snow?
    Footsteps pounded on the stairway and I turned to see Gabriel racing downstairs right behind me in his black T-shirt and jeans.
    “You heard it, too?”
    “Yeah,” he said grimly.
    “Thought I was hallucinating.”
    “No, there’s someone out there.”
    I was grateful for his presence. Even though I would’ve gone outside alone to investigate, I felt safer with Gabriel. Who wouldn’t?
    He nudged me away from the door and yanked it opened. Freezing air rushed into the house and I pulled my vest tighter around my pajama top.
    Two women stood at the bottom of the stone stairs.
    “Thank goodness,” one of them said. “May we come in?”
    The other one frowned. “We’ve been ringing the bell for a while.”
    “Must not be working,” Gabriel said, and stepped outside to usher the two women up the slippery steps and into the foyer.
    First to walk inside was a dark-skinned, middle-aged woman. She wore an expensive trench coat over nice slacks and carried a bundle of pink fleece in her arms. I assumed there was a baby in there somewhere, although I couldn’t see one.
    The second woman was a uniformed cop carrying a briefcase.
    I moved to close the door but peeked outside first. The snow had stopped falling and someone, probably Ray, must have cleared off the circular drive. In front of the house an SUV was parked, exhaust fumes pouring out the tailpipe in a thick cloud.
    “Your car’s still running,” I said.
    “Just a precaution,” the one holding the pink bundle in her arms said. “It’s warm inside the car.”
    “I’ll shut it off,” Gabriel said.
    “Thank you.”
    He dashed out into the cold and a moment later I heard the car door slam shut.
    “How did you get through?” I asked. “According to the police, the roads are supposed to be closed.”
    The woman grinned. “My Land Rover drives through anything.”
    “Good to know.”
    Gabriel hurried back inside and shut the door. I led everyone down the hall and into the Blue Room, where we’d taken Kiki the night before.
    “Some place you got here,” the cop said, looking around at the impressive elegant blue-toned furnishings and up at the glittering chandelier.
    “What’s this all about?” Gabriel asked.
    “Can I get you something to eat or drink?” I said at the same time.
    “That would be wonderful,” the older woman said in a grateful voice as she sat down on the settee. Leaning back, she rested the baby against her chest. “We’ve been traveling for hours. Thought we’d have to spend the night in Truckee, but the snowplows cleared the roads around ten o’clock and we took a chance.”
    “Why?” I asked, then added, “Sorry. But what are you doing here?”
    Merrilee came into the room just then, still fumbling to tie her bathrobe around her waist. “I heard voices. Oh, is that a baby?”
    “Merrilee, thank goodness,” I said. “Could you arrange for a little food and something hot to drink for these ladies? They’ve been on the road for a while.”
    “Of course.” She turned to the older woman. “Does the baby need anything?”
    “I have a bottle if she gets fussy.”
    “Okay.” She rushed out of the room on a mission to take care of her guests.
    “Sit, please,” I said.
    The cop sat down next to the other woman and placed the briefcase on the floor between them. Gabriel and I took the two chairs opposite the settee.
    Things still seemed a little surreal to me as I watched the older woman pass the pink baby bundle to the cop to hold. She grabbed the briefcase and opened it on the coffee table.
    I had yet to actually see a baby inside all that fluffy fabric, but I knew there was one in there. I’d heard the crying. But what were these women doing here and why had they brought a baby with them?
    “My name is Sandra Parish,” the older woman said. “Iwork for Child Protective Services in San Francisco. Please call me Sandra.”
    “I’m Officer Angela Rodriguez,” the policewoman said. “Just