Peril in Paperback (21 page)

The right way involved crushing the root with a mallet, then drying it on a wire sheet, then soaking it in vats of water, and finally rinsing it and baking it. And that’s all it took, in theory, to effectively reduce the chemical substance in the root that induced the cyanide. It was incredibly time-consuming.

After reading over all my notes, I arrived at the bottom line: for a killer to produce cyanide from cassava root, all he had to do was chop up one or two tubers and add them to something that would disguise the flavor of the root itself. Say, a favorite meat loaf recipe. And voilà, death by meat loaf! Or whatever your food of choice might be.

So basically, after all of my cassava-plant reading and note taking, I concluded that Gabriel had been right in the first place. The most effective way to get to the cyanide was to chew the root raw. Who would do that?

But the real question was, Why would a killer go to all that mess and trouble when he could pop open a bottle of weed killer and accomplish the same thing?

And which one had been used to kill Bella? Had the cyanide come from the missing cassava root or from the bottle of weed killer?

If it was the cassava root, I had to wonder what kind of killer we were dealing with. A dumb one? A crazy one? Or maybe the guy was really smart and looking for a challenge. Maybe he’d heard about cassava and wanted to try a new twist on an old theme.

“I really hate this killer,” I muttered. I threw down my pen, feeling frustrated. He—or she—was leaving me with more and more stupid questions and absolutely no answers.

I checked the time. Another hour to go before lunchtime. I had no idea where Gabriel had run off to, and I hadn’t seen Nathan since last night. Was Nathan somewhere in the house, searching for missing books?

Or chopping up cassava root?

Now where had that thought come from?

“Nathan? A killer?” I said aloud, then shook my head. “I don’t think so.” He was too nice and he had a really good sense of humor. He was a librarian, for goodness’s sake. But I had to admit, he more than met the smart criterion.

I shoved the idea of Nathan as a cold-blooded killer out of my head and considered my next move. I was a little antsy from my recent cup of coffee, so taking a nap wasn’t in the cards. This would be a great time to get a massage, if only Kiki wasn’t resting from her near-fatal fall.

“Hey, Brooklyn. How are you?”

I barely kept from jumping out of my chair. Nathan stood there smiling, unaware that he had scared the daylights out of me just as I’d been mentally measuring him for a lovely orange jumpsuit.

“Hi, Nathan,” I said after recovering my wits. “I was hoping you’d show up.”

“Yeah?” He emptied his arms of a pile of books he’d been carrying and stacked them on his desk. Then he sat and looked my way. “What’s up?

“I wanted to take a look at your cataloging system. I was hoping you’d give me your opinion on the best one to buy for a small business.”

“Oh. Sure. Let me…” He turned around and powered up his laptop. He fiddled with a few keys, then swore under his breath.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“It’s been freezing up lately.” He closed the cover, then stood and slid the slim computer under his arm. “Listen, why don’t I run to my room and get my bigger laptop and bring it down here?”

“I don’t mean to put you through so much trouble.”

“It’s no trouble.” He smiled as he shrugged. “I’ve got to get the other computer, anyway, since this one doesn’t seem to be working.”

“Well, if you don’t mind.”

“Don’t mind a bit. Wait here and I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

I watched him walk out. And that’s when I noticed the papers Gabriel and I had left on the reading table.

“Oh, you knucklehead.” They had the names of all the guests and the possible motives of each one. Nathan hadn’t seen those, had he? I didn’t think so. He would’ve looked at them more carefully.

I grabbed the papers, folded them up, and shoved them in my pocket.

“There you are.”

I jolted, then leaned against the table. “Hi, Grace. You caught me by surprise.”

“I’m so sorry. I should wear a bell.”

I smiled at the picture of Grace with a cowbell around her neck. “Were you looking for me?”

“Yes. I’ve been thinking about your offer to take those books to the Covington. I think it’s a good idea.”

“Really? That’s wonderful. I’ll show them to Ian and keep you posted. Thank you, Grace.”

“Well, I figured you’re the expert. And I’m a fool if I don’t pay attention to the experts I hire to give me advice.”

“That makes sense,” I said, smiling.

“Oh, you discovered my secret passion.”

“I did?” I turned in time to see her pick up one of the pulp-fiction paperbacks I’d found the other day. “Oh yes. They’re wonderful, aren’t they?”

“Yes,” she said. “But they’re just falling apart. What a tragedy.”

“I’m going to order archival plastic covers for them, so at least they won’t get any more damaged than they are.”

“Thank you.” She moved her fingers down the stack, reading titles. Then she carefully pulled out an Erle Stanley Gardner classic. “I remember loving every Perry Mason mystery I ever read. I had such a crush on that man.”

“He won every case he tried.”

“Yes, he was a real hero.” She made a scoffing sound. “Unlike most lawyers these days. All crooks and thieves, one worse than the other.”

I was taken aback by her unforgiving words and blurted, “But you invited a lawyer to your party.”

She laughed. “Yes, I did, didn’t I?”

“Sorry.” I covered my mouth with my hand. “That is none of my business.”

“Oh, I don’t mind,” she said, waving my worry away. “One of these days I should hire a more congenial attorney than Stephen, but I keep him on the payroll because he knows where all the bodies are buried.”

Someone out in the hall gasped.

Grace and I turned and watched Nathan walk in with Merrilee. They both appeared to have overheard what Grace had said about her lawyer. It would’ve been humorous, except that with Bella murdered, the thought of bodies being buried could be considered a little creepy.

“Here’s the laptop,” Nathan said, overly cheerful as a way of avoiding all mention of what he and Merrilee had heard. “I’ll get the program booted up in just a minute.”

Merrilee wore a confused frown but didn’t say anything.

Nathan touched her shoulder. “Thanks for walking me back to the library.”

Merrilee’s frown turned to a sunbeam of a smile. “You’re welcome. Well, I’ll be going now. Chef Tang is waiting for me to unpack two cases of olive oil.”

“Can’t someone in the kitchen do it?” Grace asked.

“They’re busy with dinner prep,” she said. “And I don’t mind.”

“It sounds heavy,” Nathan said.

“The boxes are heavy but I can manage.”

“I’ll help you.” He closed the laptop and slipped it under his arm. “Sorry, Brooklyn. I’ll show you that program later.” Then he grabbed Merrilee’s hand and pulled her out the door.

But what’s your hurry?
I thought, as I watched them disappear.
Oh, but aren’t they cute together?

Yes, they were cute. But what about my catalog program? I was about to ask Grace what she thought of the twosome who’d just run out of the room, but she was frowning too hard.

“I’ll let you get back to work, Brooklyn,” she said distractedly. “I’ve taken enough of your time.”

“Okay, Grace. See you later.”

She scurried out the door. I had to wonder if she was going to chase after her errant staff members. Did she disapprove of canoodling among the hired help? I didn’t think that would be a problem for Grace, but she didn’t look happy, whatever the reason.

I glanced around and wondered what to do next. Since I was here, anyway, I could work on book-repair stuff. But I wanted to know where Gabriel had gone off to. Was he searching for tubers in sock drawers at this very minute?

“Brooklyn, there you are.”

I flinched again. Good grief, this room was Grand Central Station today.

But when I saw Vinnie, I rejoiced. Finally a normal person. “Hi, Vinnie. What’s going on?”

She was back to wearing her usual jeans, sweater, and work boots, no longer high heels or a chiffon sari. Her black hair was pulled into a single braid down her back and she wore her signature row of five small hoops along the rim of her ear. Vinnie was a beautiful woman no matter what she wore, but I was glad to see she was back to her casual self.

She flung herself into one of the chairs at the table.
“Don’t tell Suzie, but I am going stir-crazy inside this house. I don’t understand why, since I’m perfectly happy spending hours doing nothing in my own home. But here I’m pacing the floors and staring at walls.” She waved her hand in the air. “Don’t listen to me, Brooklyn. I’m cranky. How are you doing?”

“A lot better than you are, I guess.” Gazing around the room, I realized I really was feeling good. “I’ve got plenty of books to work on and I love this library. There’s a beautiful view of the snow falling on the trees. And I have my computer, so at least I’m connected to the world.”

“Unless all that snow shuts everything down. We could freeze to death.”

“Hey, you are in a cranky mood.”

She grinned. “I’m positively foul, aren’t I? Well, you’re stuck with me.”

“I’m okay with that. Where’s Suzie?”

“She ran into Grace and decided to keep her company.”

“That’s nice.”

“I guess so.” Vinnie pulled her chair closer to my desk. “Since you have your computer here, can I log into my e-mail? I’d like to show you the video Jeremy and Sergio sent. It will cheer us both up.”

“Okay.” I switched chairs with her so she could navigate to her site. As we waited for the page to come up, I pulled the bottom drawer of the desk out and used it as a footrest. “Why did they send you a video?”

“They’re taking care of Pookie and Splinters for us and they’ve been sending us updates via video. Isn’t that clever?”

“Very.”

Jeremy and Sergio were our neighbors in the San Francisco loft building where we all lived. Jeremy was a hairdresser and part-time performance artist, and Sergio was a talented pastry chef at one of the best restaurants in town. They had been living in the building for only a
few months, but we had already become great friends. I couldn’t have asked for better neighbors, especially since Sergio liked to bring home samples of the exquisite desserts he made.

“Here it is,” Vinnie said.

The video came up on the two cats playing on a patch of carpet. Pookie’s orange coat looked fluffy and full. Splinters was black and white and lean and strong. Pookie was frolicking with a string and Splinters was batting a catnip mouse across the floor. Both were having a wonderful time.

“Aw, they look happy,” I said.

“I miss my babies,” Vinnie said, but she was smiling.

I watched Jeremy teasing Pookie with the string and tried not to feel bitter. I loved Pookie and Splinters but they just didn’t seem to love me back. I guess they still hadn’t forgiven me for that one time when I forgot to feed them. I had left the house in a hurry and made it all the way down to the garage when I’d suddenly remembered. I rushed back upstairs to feed them and change the water in their bowls. I had been gone less than ten minutes but I knew they could read the guilt in my eyes.

“Who’s the best little kitty-witty-booty-cutie kitty cat ever?” Jeremy cooed in that high-pitched voice we all reserved for communicating with tiny babies and adorable pets. “Pretty kitty-witty. Yes, you are.”

“Oh, he’s so good with them,” Vinnie said with a sigh. “They’re having so much fun.”

The camera panned up and Jeremy appeared on the screen. Waving, he said, “Hi, girls! Sergio says hi, too.”

The camera bobbed up and down and Vinnie giggled. Apparently Sergio was operating the camera.

Jeremy continued. “Hope you’re having the most faboo time with Auntie. Don’t worry about your little darlings. We’re all having the merriest time, too.”

“Isn’t he the best?” Vinnie said, looking at me.

I nodded. “He really is.”

Jeremy said, “They love performing for the camera, so you’ll probably get another couple of videos from us before the week is out. And yesterday Sergio found the most sensational place in the Mission District. The Pet Café. Have you heard of it? They make fresh cat food every day! The kitties adore it!”

Oh, great. Once again, I was being one-upped by people who were better at cat sitting than I could ever hope to be. Not only were they remembering to feed the cats, but they were also taking them out to dinner. It wasn’t Pookie and Splinters’s fault; it was mine. How could I blame them for loving everyone else in the world except me?

I had to stop right there and breathe. Given my emotional state the past few days, I knew it wouldn’t take much for me to burst into tears again. So I gave myself a quick lecture. The fact that Pookie and Splinters might not love me had nothing to do with Derek not loving me. Good grief, Derek
did
love me. He had told me so repeatedly. And Derek didn’t lie. Ever. So there.

And, damn it, Pookie and Splinters loved me, too. They were just a little reserved around me. Yeah, that was it.

And if I continued along this line of thinking I was sure to be carried off in a straitjacket before the week was through.

“Meow.”

“Oh, it’s Leroy,” Vinnie said, patting her lap. “Come up here and watch Pookie and Splinters play, Leroy.”

The black cat jumped up on my lap instead, placed his front paws on the desk, and focused on the computer screen. I stroked his back and scratched his ears, mentally thanking him for distracting me from another neurotic rant.

“Leroy loves you, Brooklyn,” Vinnie said softly as she petted the cat.

I smiled. “I think he was more attracted to the sound of Pookie and Splinters playing.”

“Maybe so.” The video ended and Vinnie sighed. “Want to watch it again?”

It was the last thing I wanted to do. “Um, I should probably get going on another book-repair job.”

She gasped and jumped up. “I didn’t mean to keep you from your work. I’ll go now.”