Peril in Paperback: A Bibliophile Mystery

something during all those brushes with crime scenes.
    Gabriel shrugged. “That’s their problem. Right now Fowler is ours. We’ll search the house from basement to attic again.” He turned and looked up at the house. “There are so many trapdoors and sliding panels and trick rooms, he could be anywhere. And we’re going to check them all.”
    “Fine,” I said. “As long as I don’t fall through one of them.”
    “Why not?” He grinned. “It’s kind of a fun ride.”
    I stopped and gaped at him. “You’ve fallen through a trapdoor?”
    “On purpose,” he specified.
    “Ah. Right.” I bit back a smile.
    “It’s true,” he said. “When Grace was building the place I came out and played guinea pig for her.”
    “So what’s with the changing walls and floors and stuff? Does she have attention deficit disorder or is she just bored with the same old thing?”
    He thought about it for a moment. “I honestly think she set out to build a magical fun house. The thing is, when you fall through one of the trapdoors, you end up on a very safe slide that leads to a soft landing in the basement. It’s a hoot.”
    It did sound like fun, now that he was describing it. Vinnie hadn’t been quite so positive in her assessment, though. And I could see her point. Fun or not, it would be terrifying to suddenly drop through a trapdoor.
    “Grace sponsors parties for foster kids and terminally ill kids out here and they have a blast,” Gabriel said.
    “I didn’t know that,” I said. “That’s wonderful of her.”
    “She’s just a big kid at heart.”
    Vinnie had said basically the same thing about Grace, but it hadn’t been a compliment.
    “How long have you known Grace?” I asked.
    He thought about it. “When I first met her, she wasstill working in the city. So I guess it’s been five or six years.”
    “Did you two meet because of books?”
    “Books. Games.” He shrugged, then added, “Tricks.”
    Tricks? But he didn’t offer to explain that last item and I knew I wouldn’t get any more information from him. Gabriel remained a mystery to me and I almost preferred it that way. I didn’t know whether he was a thief or a hero, but I considered him one of my closest friends. I trusted him with my life, though not necessarily with my most valued books.
    “Do you know why she moved out here?” I asked.
    He took in the sweeping view of giant pines, rugged mountains, and a crystalline blue lake. “Seriously? You have to ask?”
    I curled my hands inside my vest pockets as I followed his gaze. “I know it’s beautiful, but it’s so isolated.”
    “Grace is a very private person.”
    I blurted out my next question. “Were you two lovers?”
    He laughed, then slanted a look at me. “You really think I would ever answer that?”
    I smiled. “It was worth a try.”
    “Grace is a beautiful woman,” he said thoughtfully. “But I don’t think I’m her type.”
    I rolled my eyes. “You’re every woman’s type.”
    “Babe,” he said, and smirked adorably.
    “Well, you’re not
my
type but…” I laughed, then shrieked like a little girl when he grabbed me and tossed me over his shoulder. “Put me down, you nut.”
    “Not until you—”
    An ear-piercing scream from the house stopped us both. Gabriel set me down and we raced as fast as we could to the nearest door. The screaming continued in short bursts as we stormed into the kitchen—and found Merrilee squealing in terror at the sight of Stephen Fowler. “They said he was dead! He’s dead!”
    I had to admit Fowler looked pretty bad. His hair wasmatted with blood and his face was streaked with dirt. His clothes were ripped and wrinkled and filthy. But he was very much alive and annoyed as hell.
    “Where have you been?” I demanded, then almost gagged from the sight of dried blood that had dripped down his neck. I had a little problem with blood. I tended to faint at the mere sight of it. So I took deep breaths and looked away and thought of hot fudge sundaes.
    “He’s supposed to be dead,” Merrilee whimpered.
    “Oh, shut up, you idiotic twit,” Stephen snapped.
    “Don’t talk to her that way,” I said, just as Gabriel grabbed hold of Stephen’s shirt and shook him once, hard.
    “Hey! I’m the victim here,” he whined loudly.
    “That’s no reason to take your crappy attitude out on Merrilee,” Gabriel said, his tone deadly serious.
    I laced my arm through Merrilee’s and pulled her aside. “Who told you Stephen