Gabe nodded. “I heard it from someone who heard it from someone else, so I really don’t know what happened. But I gathered that Delilah and Asher were in the costume room, Joel came upon them, and there was a kerfuffle followed by various threats. But it seemed to sort itself out.”
“You spent some time with all three of them—any guesses?”
Gabe paused, as if weighing his words. “You know, I hate to speak ill of the dead, or spread gossip, but Delilah and Asher often seemed…closer than one might expect of a brother and sister.”
“I’ve heard that.”
“It made me wonder if Joel found them in a compromising situation and used it for his own gain.”
“You think he saw something incriminating, and then blackmailed Delilah?”
Gabe shrugged. “Don’t quote me on it because this is pure supposition. But Delilah didn’t suffer fools gladly, and he wasn’t part of her social circle. Blackmail would explain why Delilah put up with Joel and his ghost tour.”
Stopping by her office before class, Harper placed a call to Tariq.
Before she could say anything, he asked, “How about I take you to dinner tonight?”
“You mean like a proper date?”
“I don’t know how proper it will be, much less how proper it will remain, but yes. I would like you to accompany me to dinner tonight, assuming you are free.”
Harper smiled. And then they did that thing that new lovers do, which she had forgotten about because it had been so long since she’d been interested in anyone: They hung on the line, not speaking but not ready to hang up. She could hear his soft breathing and imagined him smiling just as she was. She was on the verge of telling him what had happened with Asher the night before, but was loath to break the spell. Probably a story better told in person, anyway.
“You still there?” he asked in a sexy growl.
“Yep. Just imagining you being improper.”
“Is that a ‘yes’ for dinner?”
“I didn’t say that already? Yes, kind sir. I would love to go to dinner with you.”
“Pick you up at seven. Oh, and, Harper? Wear your glasses. I’ve always had a bit of a schoolteacher fantasy.”
“Professor?” Blanca said, after class. Aurelio trailed her, but remained silent. “I wanted to tell you that Jenny and Aurelio and I went back to the Perles Mansion and cleaned up the mess we made in the mirror room.”
“You did?”
She nodded. “We felt really bad about it.”
“That was good of you. Did you have permission, or did you just break in?”
“Oh, we didn’t have to break in. The door was kind of open, so we just went in.”
Harper sighed. “Do you understand the concept of trespassing, Blanca? Aurelio? That’s a private residence.”
“I know, but after talking to you we just felt so bad. Jenny especially. Besides, we always go there to decorate the graves for the Day of the Dead.”
“The graves in the oleander bushes? Why?”
Blanca’s expression was wide-eyed and sincere. “Because it’s important to remember the dead. Someone had already decorated it, though, so I guess we weren’t the only ones thinking that way. But the more we looked into local history and everything, it sort of felt like Isabel Perles, especially, should be remembered. Not so sure about the brother.”
“Where is Jenny today?” Harper asked. “I noticed she wasn’t in class.”
“That’s the thing. We don’t know.” Blanca glanced over her shoulder, as if to be sure no one was listening. “We think Jenny’s missing.”
“What do you mean, she’s missing?”
“We haven’t seen her? She was investigating, you know? And she didn’t come back.”
