Peril in Paperback (12 page)

“Yes,” I said, holding up the small shoulder bag I’d carried with me all evening.

“Good. Let’s go.”

We walked out of the room, but Nathan stopped us. “How can I help?”

Gabriel studied him for a split second. “Guard both doors. Nobody enters or leaves without me knowing about it.”

“I’m on it.”

Gabriel led me into the Red Room, closed the door, and locked it. Then he systematically studied the scene, barely touching or moving anything. He started with another quick examination of Bella and worked outward in a spiral, just as I’d seen the police do at other crime scenes.

He told me what pictures to take with my smart phone and I complied, snapping shots of the room itself. Of Bella. Of the scattered chairs. Of the broken glass on the floor. I kidded myself that by keeping busy, I could avoid the fact that I was, once again, stuck in a room with a dead body.

At some point, Merrilee knocked on the door and handed the plastic bags to Gabriel.

“Good girl,” he said, rewarding her with a dazzling smile. After she stumbled away (Gabriel had that effect on women), he used one bag to pick up the bits of broken glass and slip them into the other bag, never touching the glass with his bare hands.

“Nice glass,” he said, holding the bag at eye level. “Used to be, anyway.”

“Cut crystal,” I said, taking a closer look at the chunks of heavy material. “The glass is etched. Might be an antique.”

“Yeah,” he muttered. “Won’t find fingerprints on that etched surface.”

We determined that the broken glass had been the one that held Grace’s passion fruit iced tea. Had she been the real target?

Bella’s cocktail glass remained intact on the floor by her chair, still half full. After I took a picture of the glass in its place, Gabriel carefully poured the liquid into one bag and slipped the glass into the other.

Once we were finished, Gabriel asked Nathan to help him lay Bella’s body down on the floor instead of leaving her sprawled precariously on her chair. Then Gabriel told Nathan he could join the others in the Gold Salon.

Gabriel and I remained in the hall while I filled him
in on all that had happened before and during the séance. I was in the middle of explaining how Bella had sucked down her cocktail when Gabriel gripped my forearm. “Wait a minute. Are you all right?”

I gazed up at him, bewildered. “Of course.”

He stared at me with intent. “Brooklyn, don’t bullshit me.”

“What’re you talking about? Okay, I’m upset. Someone just died in front of me. Again.”

“No, it’s something else.” Frowning deeply, he searched my face and I could see sympathy in his eyes. “Something else is upsetting you.”

“Are you kidding?” I swallowed nervously. Could he actually tell that I was worried about Derek? Wishing he were here with me at yet another crime scene? I knew Gabriel was perceptive, but this was ridiculous. I wasn’t about to whine to him, so I stuck to the distress I was feeling about Bella. Which was the truth, after all. “I was getting to know her, Gabriel. She was amazing. Gorgeous but also smart and funny and…damn it! I’m completely flummoxed and pissed off and nervous. Here I am, once again in the middle of a damn murder scene. It’s not fair. I was supposed to relax and enjoy…”

I shook my head. “Sorry for whining. I’m being a toad. This isn’t about me. It’s about Bella. We’ve got to find out who killed her. And why.”

“Then let’s do it.” He walked with me down the hall to get away from any big ears that might be hovering in and around the Gold Salon. “Tell me everything that’s happened since you got here.”

I did so, starting with the run-in with Madge and sharing my thoughts about an apparent relationship between Marko and Bella. I listed all of Grace’s announcements the night before, adding that Suzie was suspicious that Grace was planning to change her will.

I told him how much I disliked Grace’s lawyer, Stephen Fowler, and made it clear that I wasn’t the only one
who felt that way. I went through the entire guest list, giving him my initial reactions to each person.

“Who all was drinking at the séance table?” he asked.

“Good question.” I recalled Bella and Marko bringing their cocktails with them. Ruth and Grace both had drinks, too. I wasn’t sure about the Brinkers or the Crawfords. I mentioned that Ruth had handed Grace the glass of iced tea mere seconds before the séance began.

“While we were listening to you climbing the stairs, I heard someone gasping and choking. I thought it was laughter. There was the sound of chairs being pushed around. I wonder if Bella was trying to get up from her chair.”

“Probably.”

“I thought at the time that someone was just moving or standing up to get a good look at the doorway. I didn’t realize they were the sounds of Bella fighting for her last breath.”

Gabriel pulled me close and hugged me for a moment. Then he stepped back and folded his arms across his chest. “Since the iced tea had the poison in it, Bella must have drunk from that glass.”

“Yes, but I think she would’ve noticed that it wasn’t her glass immediately.”

“You said she’d been drinking heavily,” he said. “Maybe she realized it was tea and figured she could use a break from the booze.”

“Maybe.”

“So she went ahead and drank from the glass meant for Grace.”

“Which means that Grace was the intended victim.”

“Yes,” he said. “So Grace may still be in danger.”

“Exactly,” I said, pleased that we were on the same wavelength.

He nodded firmly. “Grace has been a good friend to me and I don’t have many. We’ll have to make sure nothing happens to her.”

*     *     *

“Cyanide?” Grace whispered as she paced the length of her private sitting room two hours later. “How could someone have poisoned one of my guests in my own home? And with cyanide, of all things. It’s barbaric.”

I had ended up in Grace’s room with Suzie, who had insisted on keeping her aunt company. Vinnie, Gabriel, and Ruth were there, as well, and Merrilee kept popping in and out. She continued to keep us updated on whatever was going on with the other guests and also to let us know how soon the police would arrive.

The police had warned Merrilee that it would take them a while to get to Grace’s home. The drive from the town of South Lake Tahoe out to Grace’s remote property was barely twenty miles, but it was starting to snow heavily on the winding mountain roads.

Earlier, Gabriel had taken each of the guests into another room, one at a time, to hear their versions of everything that had happened before, during, and after the séance. I was impressed by the way Gabriel had assumed control, rather like Derek would have done if he were here.

And for the umpteenth time that evening, I wished that Derek were here right now. I wondered what exactly he was doing at that moment. But then I quickly shoved all thoughts of Derek away. Thinking about him made me worry and miss him too much.

Our small group sat in numb silence in the sitting area of Grace’s master bedroom suite. Grace and Ruth had both known Bella for years, so they grew teary-eyed as they shared their musings about their departed friend.

I stood next to Gabriel by the massive bay window that overlooked Lake Tahoe. Along the same wall was a set of French doors that led out to a private balcony.

Grace had explained that she rarely closed her drapes because the view was so glorious. She insisted that this little corner of the lake was so private that nobody ever came close enough to catch a glimpse inside. But I could feel the cold seeping in through the double-glass windowpanes,
so I took it upon myself to pull the drapes shut and warm up the room.

“Why would anyone want to kill Bella?” Grace moaned to the group in general. She’d been pacing but had stopped to lean against the arms of the couch. She looked ready to drop.

Gabriel put both of his hands on Grace’s shoulders as if to brace her. “Grace, the poison wasn’t meant for Bella.”

“I don’t understand. Then who was it meant for?”

“You, Grace,” he said, giving her shoulders a light squeeze. “The poison was meant to kill you.”

Ten minutes later, after Grace had recovered from the shock, Gabriel asked everyone to leave the room for a little while. He and I needed to talk to Grace alone. But Ruth refused to leave her friend.

“I’m the one who gave her that glass,” she wailed. “I could have killed her.”

That was my thought exactly, but I kept my mouth shut.

Taking careful steps, Grace walked over and hugged Ruth. “Do as Gabriel says and leave us now. We’ll just be a few minutes. I’ll hear what he has to say and then I’ll call you back in.”

Ruth sniffled. “All right. But…”

Grace shook Ruth by the arms. “Now, don’t be a silly goose. I know you weren’t trying to kill me.”

“Do you?” Ruth demanded. “Do you, Grace?”

Grace patted her friend’s cheeks, then pulled her close for yet another hug. “Snap out of it, Ruthie. You’re going to make yourself sick.”

“I am sick. Sick at heart.” She sniffled again. “You have to know I would never do anything to hurt you. Ever. You know that, don’t you?”

I knew they were close, but was Ruth protesting too much?

“Oh, Ruth,” Grace said. “Of course I know it.”

Ruth nodded. “Good. That’s good.”

“Now, we’ve all had a horrible shock.” Grace kept her arm around Ruth’s shoulder and walked her to the door. “So I don’t want you going back to your house. You’ll sleep here tonight. We’ll have a slumber party in my room.”

“All right,” Ruth whispered, and tried to smile.

Suzie opened the door and found Merrilee standing there. After a brief explanation, Merrilee took Ruth’s arm. “I’ll keep Ruth company until you’re all finished.” Then she led the older woman out of the room. Vinnie and Suzie followed them.

“We’ll be right outside,” Suzie said. Then Gabriel closed the door.

Grace looked from me to Gabriel. “I’ve never seen Ruth like that before. She’s not a weak woman, but this has devastated her.”

I wondered if Grace was being naive. Her friend could have killed Grace easily if she had taken one sip of that drink.

Grace and I sat down on the sofa and Gabriel took the chair. I touched Grace’s knee gently. “Are you sure you’re ready to talk about this?”

“Don’t treat me with kid gloves, Brooklyn,” Grace said. “I want to get to the bottom of it. I’m heartbroken that a dear friend had to die instead of me and I don’t want it to happen again. I also don’t want Ruth to suffer because of it. So let’s put everything out on the table and talk some turkey.”

“Okay, good,” I said briskly. Grabbing a notepad and pen from her bedside table, I sat in the chair closest to her. “I’m glad you feel that way. So let’s start by making a list of the guests who have the most to gain from your death.”

“Oh, dear,” she murmured, and pressed her hands to her chest. So maybe she wasn’t quite ready to talk turkey, but it had to be done.

“What about Suzie?” I continued breezily, as though
I hadn’t noticed her reaction. “She’s got to be mentioned in your will, right?”

Her mouth dropped open. “Brooklyn, shame on you! You don’t honestly think Suzie would do anything to hurt me. Do you?”

I gave her arm a comforting squeeze. “No, of course I don’t. Not at all. We just need you to start talking that turkey talk.”

“Well, I guess I asked for that.” Her lips twisted to form a reluctant smile, but it faded quickly. “All right. Yes, it’s true that Suzie would inherit money and property from me. And there’s Harrison and Madge, of course, and Kiki, their daughter, along with a number of other relatives you haven’t met yet.”

“Kiki works as a masseuse,” I said. “Is her business doing well?”

“Oh, you know how it is,” Grace said lightly. “She’s young and still trying to find out what she wants to do with her life. But she’s an excellent masseuse nonetheless.”

“I’m determined to get an appointment with her while I’m here,” I said conversationally, hesitant to remind Grace that we were trying to pin down a killer, not chat about her family.

“You’ll be glad you did,” Grace said, nodding with enthusiasm. “She has wonderful hands.”

Gabriel spelled it out for her. “Grace, does Kiki need money?”

“Oh.” Grace blinked as reality sank in. “Oh, now, you can’t possibly suspect Kiki. She’s a vegetarian, for goodness sake. She’s committed to universal peace and love.”

“And poverty?” Gabriel asked.

“Don’t be snide, dear,” Grace chided quietly.

I was surprised to see Gabriel simply nod, accepting that he’d been chastised.

“Grace,” I said, “please don’t be upset. We’re just trying to determine if Kiki might be desperate for money or not.”

She sighed. “I’m trying to stay objective, but it’s not easy when we’re talking about my own flesh and blood. But I know you need answers, so I promise to try harder. As to your question, Kiki’s not desperate at all. She makes a decent living, and she receives a generous allowance from her father. Which she often gives away to her special causes, I might add.”

“All right, then,” Gabriel said, joining her on the couch. “Now, what about your business associates?”

“Peter and I own equal halves of the business as well as 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.