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Tempest’s dad had called her in to help finish a project in nearby Hayward. A married couple were both professors at the university there, and the job was academic-themed. They wanted to move their home library into an underground crypt, because the husband was a professor of medieval studies who had written a book that had involved extensive research on the catacombs of Paris. His wife was a botanist, so the underground crypt library Secret Staircase Construction conceived of and built was accessed by a new stone courtyard with stone walls that would allow for various flora and fauna to grow in the cracks without jeopardizing the structural integrity. And, of course, a secret entrance to the crypt library, accessed by pushing a stone that resembled a skull.

The job was nearly done, just in time for a big dinner party the clients had planned for later that week, but they’d changed their minds about both the light fixtures and the paint colors of the interior. Tempest didn’t want to worry her dad with what she suspected about Lucas, so she donned an old T-shirt and jeans she wouldn’t mind getting covered in slate-gray paint and headed to the job site.

Ivy was already there when Tempest arrived. Ivy’s schedule these days was working mornings for Secret Staircase Construction and afternoons at the Locked Room Library. Darius had left open a standing offer for Ivy to work full-time for the construction company if she ever wanted the hours, but Ivy wanted to finish her degree and become a librarian, so she split her time.

“Your dad will be back with the new paint in a few.” Ivy looked down from where she was hanging an exposed filament string of lights in the garden. “How about dinner at Gray House tonight? That’ll give us time to talk before the eight o’clock rescheduled rehearsal. Cameron and I will take care of food, and we can invite Gideon and Sanjay.”

“What about Kira and Milton?” Tempest asked.

Ivy hesitated. “The dining room table isn’t really that big.” Her cheeks turned pink as she spoke, which gave Tempest a clue about what Ivy really meant.

“You want your friends’ approval of Cameron.”

“I know I don’t need you to like him. But it would be—”

“Back with paint and pastries,” Darius’s voice rang out as a car door closed.

“The pastries are for me,” Ivy told Tempest before Darius appeared. “I’ve already packed up most of my kitchen, and I told him I’d skipped breakfast.”

Ivy lived in Hidden Creek in the upper unit of a duplex, above her older sister, Dahlia, and her sister’s family. The owners were moving back into the house, so Ivy had been apartment-hunting. Rents were high everywhere in the Bay Area, and because Ivy had multiple part-time jobs rather than one stable one, she wasn’t having any luck finding a rental she could both afford and qualify for. Dahlia and her family were buying a single-family home, but Ivy was still figuring out where she’d go next. She had a standing offer to stay in one of the guest rooms at Fiddler’s Folly, but Tempest knew crashing with friends wasn’t something Ivy wanted to do. She could see the stress weighing on her friend.

The physical labor of the day’s work kept Tempest from spinning with worry over Ivy’s predicament and the mystery of what had become of Lucas Cruz. By dinnertime, there was still no sign of Lucas. Whatever was going on, Tempest was certain it wasn’t good.

Tempest arrived at Gray House at 6:33.

Sanjay wasn’t free until the eight o’clock rehearsal start time, so dinner would just be Tempest, Ivy, Gideon, and Cameron. Which Ivy had seemed overly excited about. Enid wasn’t available to be in the audience that night, so it would be Tempest, Ivy, Cameron, and Gideon watching the interactive play.

Gideon’s baby-blue Renault pulled up behind her as she was stepping out of her jeep.

“What are you going to do with your car while you’re in France?” Tempest asked. “Need someone to drive it?”

“One of the benefits of having an ancient car,” Gideon said, “is that there are no computer chips inside to drain the battery if it sits for a little while. Your dad offered a parking spot at Fiddler’s Folly. It’ll be fine there until I’m back.”

“Too bad it won’t get to turn heads for three months.” The French car from the 1960s was an unexpected sight in Hidden Creek.

His lips ticked up into a smile. “I’d be happy to leave you the keys. I could tell how much you liked driving that Impala on your justice-getting getaway.”

She grinned at his characterization of her evading the police so she could put the last pieces of the puzzle together to solve a string of murders. “A muscle car isn’t quite the same as your classic car that drove right out of an indie film.”

“ The Stonemason’s Apprentice. ” Gideon ran a calloused hand over the edge of the car. “That’s the kind of name my film would have, right?”

“Sounds more like the novelization of your story. The film would be Ninety Days and Nights in Nantes .”

“ Quatre-vingt-dix Jours et Nuits à Nantes ,” Gideon translated in perfect French. “I wonder if it’ll feel like a long time, or if it’ll pass in a heartbeat.”

The fire that swept through Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris had revived the demand for skilled stone carvers in France, and one of the craftspeople who’d helped to restore the cathedral had realized how much he loved teaching the next generation of stonemasons. Gideon would be learning to restore history.

Though the internship was only scheduled for three months, Tempest knew how much could happen in that amount of time. She knew he might not come back at all. His mom was French—thus his near-perfect French—so staying long-term wouldn’t be a problem. But the fact that he was leaving his beloved car at her house was a good sign.

She opened her mouth to reply, but the front door flung open.

“Are you two ever coming inside?” Cameron asked. “Ivy and I have prepared a feast, and it’s getting cold.”

“Meaning,” Ivy added from behind him, “that this man knows how to place an amazing restaurant order.”

“The trick is asking staff for their favorite dishes.” Cameron held up a bowl and popped something into his mouth.

From the cobblestone path, Tempest was too far away to see what it was, but halfway up the path, she could already smell the fragrant food, as well as the smoky scent of a fire in the hearth.

Inside the house, logs were burning in the fireplace, creating a cozy atmosphere that confirmed Tempest’s suspicion that Ivy was hoping this would be a double date. In the dining room, a menu from the new vegetarian Himalayan food restaurant was next to boxes of steaming dishes. Tempest recognized momo, jeera basmati rice, and dumplings, but several other, unfamiliar dishes filled the table.

A knock on the door sounded.

Ivy frowned. “You invited someone else, Cam? This was supposed to be—”

“I’m early!” Kira’s voice called through the door as she knocked once more.

Ivy’s frown became a full-blown scowl. Her hopes of a double date were dashed.

“Um, I’ll go let her in,” Gideon said when neither Cameron nor Ivy moved. Tempest followed him to the door.

“I’m done closing the library,” Kira said as the door squeaked open, “so I thought I could help with anything that needs taking care of before rehearsal.” She sniffed, no doubt catching the pungent scent of the takeout. “Oh. I crashed a dinner party. I can go—”

“Don’t be silly.” Tempest ushered her inside. “There’s plenty of food.”

“I could sing for my supper.” Kira grinned. “It’s been a week of clear, starry nights in Hidden Creek, so it feels like a ‘When You Wish Upon a Star’ kind of evening.”

“I love that about Hidden Creek,” Ivy said, but her wistful voice held an unmistakable sadness.

Tempest wanted to assure Ivy that she’d find a nice apartment so she could stay in town, but she didn’t believe it herself.

“Why do I feel like I’ve joined a pity party?” Kira asked.

“Because you’re letting the food get cold.” Cameron handed her a plate, and they all tucked into the food. As they did so, Tempest’s phone pinged. So did Cameron’s. Then Ivy’s.

Gideon’s phone didn’t make a sound, but when he pulled it from his pocket, he looked confused. “Why would someone text me the letter E ?”

“I’d say it was a butt dial,” said Tempest, “except I got an L —and it’s from Lucas .”

“Me, too,” Ivy whispered.

“What the—” Tempest took Ivy’s and Gideon’s phones and set them on the table.

“Let’s not get sauce on the phones,” Cameron murmured as he pushed the food out of the way, almost knocking over a glass of water in the process. “Sorry. There are too many boxes of food on this table.”

“Here.” Gideon lifted the phones and put them onto the music stand set up against the wall next to the table.

“L-L-H-E,” read Tempest.

“Oh my God,” Ivy whispered. “H-E-L-L. He’s texting us from hell! So he is dead.”

“I got a text, too,” said Kira. Tempest took it from her hand and set it next to the others. “ O . He’s not texting from hell. He’s saying HELLO .”

As they stared at the message spelled out on their phones on the music stand, a deep voice shouted from above.

“ What are you—? No! Help! ”

The disturbing words were followed by a horrifying scream.

“Upstairs,” Tempest said, the first one to jump to her feet. Normally sure-footed, the scream must have shaken her, because she tripped over someone’s foot and had to right herself by bracing the table. In an attempt to help her, Ivy knocked over the music stand holding their phones. Their phones fell to the carpeted floor and bounced under the dining table and bureau.

“No time,” said Tempest as Ivy leaned over to right the stand, pulling Ivy along with her. Why had the voice sounded familiar? She was sure she’d heard it before, but she couldn’t place it.

“She’s right,” Cameron said. “Whoever that was needs help.”

They sprinted toward the sound and reached the vaulted door leading out of the kitchen at the same time. It was almost comical as they stumbled over one another. Or at least it would have been if not for those frightened words and distressed scream.

As they stumbled out of the kitchen, a banging sounded. But this new sound wasn’t coming from upstairs.

“Let me in!” Mrs. Hudson’s voice called through the front door. “I heard Harold calling for help. What are you doing in there?” The banging continued.

“We don’t have time for this.” Tempest yanked open the door. “Come inside already, if you’re going to help.”

“The voice came from upstairs,” Cameron said. Which was rather unnecessary, since he was halfway up the stairs, and Gideon, Kira, and Ivy were already at the top.

Mrs. Hudson gave Tempest a curt nod and headed straight for the stairs. Tempest quickly locked the door before following.

“Where are you going?” Ivy asked as Cameron hesitated and headed down the stairs.

Kira and Gideon had already disappeared from sight, and Tempest kept going up the stairs behind Mrs. Hudson.

“Grabbing a weapon,” Cameron said. “We don’t know what we’ll find up there. I’m getting the poker from the fireplace.”

It wasn’t a bad idea. That scream had sounded tortured.

As Tempest reached the top step, Mrs. Hudson’s words sank in. She’d said Harold . That it was Harold, a dead man , who’d screamed.