Peril in Paperback (16 page)

But I wasn’t so sure Grace would be fine. I was pretty sure someone wanted her dead.

The good news was, Shelly felt a lot better and begged Grace to continue with her plans for the talent show.

The bad news was, Shelly felt a lot better and begged Grace to continue with her plans for the talent show.

It was bad news because I still didn’t have any talent. But I was happy Shelly was feeling better after the horrible ordeal she’d been through.

We had all decided not to say anything to the other guests about Shelly and the railing incident. It would upset them and it would alert Grace’s would-be killer that his or her scheme had been thwarted again.

Shelly’s husband, Ray, had shown up finally, worried sick about her. Shelley had assured him that she was fine, but Ray insisted on carrying her back to their small suite of rooms on the third floor. Shelly flung her arms around his neck as they left Grace’s bedroom.

It was a sweet sight and, like I said, I was happy for her. But seeing the two of them together had brought the Derek issue back to the forefront. He wasn’t here with me and, worse, he hadn’t called. I could’ve gone a few more hours without being reminded of that hurtful little detail.

So maybe drowning my sorrows in the talent show
was the best thing I could do right now. If only I had some talent.

It was getting late and I needed help. I went looking for Suzie and Vinnie and finally found Suzie in a corner of the game room, standing before a vintage pinball machine called Theatre of Magic. The game field featured an exotic-looking fortune-teller with a crystal ball, a Bengal tiger stalking the red-curtained stage, and lots of white rabbits that had escaped from a magical top hat.

“How’s it going?” I asked.

“I’m winning,” she said, and shoved her hip against the machine to force the silver ball to hit another rabbit. That won her another three thousand points. Must’ve been some rabbit.

While she played, I took a stroll around the game room for the first time and finally got a look at the dreaded mouse cage. It was bigger than I’d expected and hung from the ceiling, ready to fall and trap its next victim. Vinnie had not been exaggerating. The gold mesh cage was attached to a thick wire and was suspended above an empty corner of the room. It was maybe five feet across and tall enough for a six-foot man to stand inside it if it were on the ground.

The clinging and clanging of the pinball machine died down as the game ended. Suzie turned and noticed what I was staring at. “Yup, that’s the offending cage. Don’t let Vinnie catch you looking at it.”

“Impressive,” I said, staring up at the strange prop. “Does it really fall down and trap people?”

“Yeah. But it’s never hurt anyone,” she added in defense of her aunt.

I walked closer. “There must be some kind of electronic signal that activates it.”

“I think so. Brooklyn, don’t get too close.”

“I’m okay.” I got as close as I could without standing directly under the cage. Then I looked up. “There’s got to be a path of light that triggers the cage to fall when it’s interrupted.”

“Like an automatic toilet?”

I gave her a wry look. “Something like that, although I was thinking more along the lines of an automatic soap dispenser.”

She splayed her hands out. “But I’m a lot classier than you are.”

I smiled. “True. And since you’re so classy, I could really use your help.”

“What? Is something wrong?”

“No, no. Well, sort of.” Feeling a tiny bit embarrassed now, I fiddled with the knobs on the pinball game. “I’ve been searching my brain, trying to come up with something to do for the talent show. But I’ve got nothing.”

She scrunched her face up, trying to think. “You could give bookbinding lessons.”

I stopped and stared at her. “Really?”

She snorted with laughter.

“So I guess that’s a no.”

Rolling her eyes, she said, “Uh, yeah, Brooklyn, that would be a no.”

“Fine.” I thought for a minute. “I know. I can regale the crowd with my duct-tape horror stories.”

She stared at me blankly.

I frowned. “So that’s also a big fat no?”

“Good guess,” she said.

“You’re not helping.”

“Sorry.” She gave the pinball machine one more bump for good measure, then crossed the room. “Maybe we could do something together.”

“Really?”

“Sure. I was going to pass on the whole thing, but we could figure something out.”

I remembered my original idea from earlier that day. “Let’s go to the music room. I want to see if Grace has any bongo drums.”

“You play bongos?” Suzie said, as we walked out of the game room and down the hall to the music room.

“Well, sure,” I said, staring at the huge metal cutouts
of musical notes that decorated the walls. “Anyone can play bongos.”

“Hey, I have a great idea.” Suzie picked up a shiny silver flute from the bandstand in the center of the room. “You play bongos and I’ll accompany you on the flute.”

I blinked. “You play the flute?”

“Well, yeah,” she said, frowning at me. “Anyone can play the flute.”

“Shut up.” But I was laughing now, too. Suzie’s answer did not bode well for Grace’s talent show that night, but maybe by performing together, the two of us would be able to provide some laughs. Laughs would be nice after everything that had happened around here in the past twenty-four hours.

I came across three old sets of bongos and tested them all briefly. I picked out the prettiest-looking one since they all sounded the same. And I sounded like a fool trying to imitate the beatniks I’d seen in those beach-blanket movies, but that was okay. I would just channel my dad, who easily could have been one of the original beat poets in a former life.

We ran downstairs to my bedroom to rehearse, but spent most of the time laughing so hard, our stomachs ached. After almost an hour of silliness, we had our act finalized. Suzie left to find Vinnie and get ready for the evening ahead.

I had more than an hour and a half to get ready, so I took a moment to jog down the hall to the library, just to check on things. Nathan’s desk was closed and locked, so I assumed he was done for the day. I picked up a few of the books that were scattered on the reading table and began to shelve them.

“Oh, good. I was hoping I’d find you here.”

I turned and saw Kiki standing in the doorway.

“Hi, Kiki. Come on in. Were you interested in finding a particular book?”

“No, just looking.” She wandered around the room, studying the knickknacks and reading book covers, so I
continued putting the books away. I had to stand on tiptoe to reach one of the higher shelves that Nathan had designated for nonfiction, and shoved a tattered copy of Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography in its place between Michael J. Fox’s latest memoir and Mahatma Gandhi’s life story.

I heard Kiki suck in a big gulp of air before finally speaking. “I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”

I stopped working and rested my hip against the table. “Okay. Go ahead.”

“How do you know Gabriel?” She shook her head in frustration and started over. “What I mean is, what do you know about him? I mean, he’s not your boyfriend, is he? Is he nice? He seems really nice. But sort of mysterious. Oh, God.” She buried her face in her hands.

I swallowed a chuckle. So Kiki had a little crush on Gabriel. How fun for me. “He’s not my boyfriend, Kiki.”

She looked up right away. “He’s not? Oh, thank God.” She cringed. “I just mean…”

“It’s okay, Kiki,” I said. “Gabriel’s a great guy.”

“No. He’s beyond great. He’s awesome. He’s so handsome. He’s…I’m…”

I glanced at her sideways, afraid she might hyperventilate. “You like him.”

She gaped at me as though I were some kind of a genius for figuring that out. “Oh, my God. I do. You can tell?”

Now I laughed. “Yes, I can tell.”

She stopped in the middle of the room and let her head drop to her chest. “I feel like such a dolt.”

“You’re not.” To distract her a little, I handed her a book and pointed at the wall. “Can you put that book back? It belongs on the third shelf up, right in the middle.”

She took the book. Once it was shelved, she returned to the reading table. Her expression was deadly serious. “The thing is, Brooklyn, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t know I’m alive. I’ve tried to talk to him, but he’s always too
busy and, well, I lose my courage. I was wondering…could you put in a good word for me?”

I gazed at her for a moment, but she took my silence the wrong way.

“You’re right,” she cried, throwing her hands up in the air. “I’m being an idiot. Never mind.”

“No,” I said quickly. “Just give me a minute to think.”

She scowled at herself. “Okay.”

I’d been enjoying her gushing, but now I was forced to take a mental step back and consider her request on its merit. Not that it was my decision to make, but I had to wonder if Kiki was the kind of woman that Gabriel would ever be interested in. She was adorable and seemed very sweet and honest; hardly the sophisticated type of woman I pictured Gabriel dating. Of course, that might be a good thing. A while back, I’d come into contact with a woman who had been involved with Gabriel in the past. I was certain that he’d never loved her although they had lived together for a time. She was a tough cookie, as my mom would say. A little too tough, as far as I was concerned. Not a kind person at all, as it turned out. Because of her, I had since assumed that Gabriel preferred a more worldly type of woman.

Maybe Kiki would be a refreshing change for him. The thought made me smile. But then I took another minute to consider the man in question. Was there a woman in the world extraordinary enough to be capable of capturing his heart? I couldn’t picture it.

Kiki was adorable, but she was an open book, so to speak. She had simple wants and needs and she carried her emotions on her sleeve for all the world to see.

Gabriel was dangerous, mysterious, elusive. Unattainable. I suppose every woman who’d ever met him fell in love with him, at least a little. Personally, I thought he was the second most compelling man I’d ever known—the first being Derek Stone, of course.

Since the two men were good friends, I’d had occasion to compare and contrast them. They were both tall, dark,
handsome, protective, and hazardous to a woman’s heart. But it seemed that Derek was happy to plant both his feet in my world and stay there. Who would have guessed? Certainly not me. But it had made me the happiest woman on the planet. Now, if he would just call, damn it…but never mind.

Gabriel, on the other hand, might never settle down. And why should he? He was the classic bad boy. No matter their age or demographic, women everywhere found him wildly attractive. And he loved them right back, in every shape and style.

For as long as he was in town, anyway.

Bottom line: he would break Kiki’s heart. Could I do that to her? Was it my decision to make?

I whirled around—and knocked my head against Kiki’s. She skittered backward.

“Sorry. Sorry!” she said, rubbing her forehead. “I was following you. I guess I’m a little anxious.”

I blinked a few times and massaged my temple. “I guess so.”

She reached out and touched my arm. “I’m sorry I bothered you with this stupid request. I’ve never felt like such a fool. And over a man! It’s so mortifying. Just forget I said anything.”

“It wasn’t stupid at all,” I said, making my mind up in that moment. “I would be happy to put in a good word for you.”

Her eyes widened and I thought she might be trembling. “Okay,” she whispered, nodding as she stumbled toward the door. “Okay. Thanks.”

“Kiki, wait,” I said. “It doesn’t mean anything. He’s not the kind of man who will—”

She held up her hand. “I’m not looking for a wedding ring, Brooklyn.”

Really?
I thought. But I could only take her at her word. “Okay, then. I’ll give him a heads-up.”

“You rock.” She grinned and walked out.

Nathan stood in the doorway and watched her leave, then looked at me. “What was that all about?”

“Oh, just a little favor between us girls.”

“Then I’ll just forget I asked.”

“Probably wise.”

I left him shaking his head and strolled back to my room.
Now what?
I wondered. It took me back to middle school, telling the boy that my girlfriend liked him. But I guess, emotionally speaking, some of us had never left middle school. Anyway, it wouldn’t hurt to say something. And yet I worried. If I told Gabriel that Kiki was interested in talking to him, was I doing him a favor? She seemed so vulnerable. Would she faint if he smiled at her?

I put the problem aside for the moment while I showered and dressed for the evening’s festivities. I chose black for the stage: black pants, black satin blouse, and pretty new black flats. To soften the look, I wound my hair into some kind of updo with loose strands falling and curling around my neck. It was an old-fashioned Edwardian style I’d seen in a magazine and I was only slightly shocked that I’d managed to pull it off.

Dangly crystal and silver earrings finished the look. I just hoped the things wouldn’t fly off into the crowd when I got my wild and crazy bongo groove on.

While adding an extra touch of makeup—I was about to perform in a show, after all—I stopped to wonder if Gabriel had found the remnants of the railing from Grace’s balcony. Had he discovered anything incriminating when he examined the loose screws? In all the excitement of rehearsals with Suzie, I had forgotten to track him down. I made a mental note to corner him during the cocktail hour to find out what he’d seen.

As I was about to leave my room and join the others for drinks and dinner, there was a knock on my bedroom door. Speak of the devil.

“Brooklyn,” Gabriel said when I opened the door,
“this is Ray, Shelly’s husband and Grace’s resident handyman.”

“I know,” I said, gazing curiously at the tall, sandy-haired man standing behind Gabriel.

The handyman, still dressed in jeans, a denim shirt with rolled-up sleeves, and a baseball cap, gave me a casual salute. “Hey.”

“How’s Shelly doing?”