“At least she leaves a legacy.” His voice cracked, and he cleared his throat. “A legacy of beauty, and of mystery. Her style shift to surrealism…I always wondered if there was something she was trying to say, something that none of us understood, or will ever understand.”
“Maybe she really was seeing something at the Perles Mansion,” said Tariq.
“What do you mean by that?”
Tariq shrugged. “Nothing really.”
Asher and Tariq had a momentary staring contest.
“Delilah was fascinated by that old place,” Asher continued. “As kids we used to escape our house whenever we could, and roam free. The Perles Mansion had been abandoned for years by then, and we used to tease each other that it was haunted, dare each other to go in.”
“And did you?” asked Gabe.
Asher smiled. “Of course we did. We were looking for the Lady in White.”
“Why is she always in white?” asked Tariq as an aside.
“Why is she always a lady?” asked Gabe, one eyebrow raised.
“I remember we found a book, a kind of old journal, full of notes and potions. Delilah was fascinated by the recipes, but I was more enthralled with the language. We made up our own patois, partially based on it,” Asher said, with a shake of his head. “Can you believe that?”
“What kind of language?” Harper asked.
“It was a mélange of Spanish, Latin, German, a little Rumsen.”
“Rumsen? I’ve never heard of that.”
“It’s the language spoken by the original inhabitants of the area. We had no idea how it was pronounced, of course, but there were words and phrases written in the journal, and we felt no compunction about stealing liberally. I still remember we’d say:Kuu ku me koypon, which we figured out meant ‘don’t be afraid.’ Looking back, I feel as if it were a sort of folie à deux…”
“What’s a folie à deux?” Tariq asked.
“It’s French for the ‘madness of two.’ ” Asher gazed at the amber liquid in his glass as if seeking answers or insight. “It’s a psychiatric syndrome in which two people share the same delusions and egg each other on. I’m exaggerating when I use the term, of course, but for years Delilah and I lived in our own little world. As we got older, our worlds expanded. But Delilah never lost her fascination with the Perles Mansion, and when it came up for sale, she jumped at the chance to buy and renovate it. Poured her heart into it, and it still wasn’t done.”
“I saw a journal down in the basement,” Harper said. “It looked like parts of it were very old, and there were recipes inside. Would you mind if I looked through it? That sort of thing is gold to a historian.”
Asher nodded but stared into the distance, as if he were listening to their conversation with half an ear. “I should probably start emptying the place out anyway, now that the big old disaster of a house belongs to me.”
“Do you have plans for the mansion?” asked Gabe.
He shook his head. “Nothing solid. My attorney says to wait until probate clarifies that I have a clear title. I’m in no hurry. I already have a place in Pacific Grove and an apartment in San Francisco.”
“And after all,” Gabe quipped, “how many houses can a person have?”
“You’re joking, but it’s true,” said Asher. “If it were up to me, I’d bulldoze it. If it was haunted before, it’s even more so now.”
“But it’s a historical building, Asher,” Harper protested. Despite finding the Perles Mansion deeply unsettling, she was compelled to defend it. It felt as though she could not turnaway, like finding a puppy in the rain. “It should be preserved, despite…everything. Would you consider donating it to the antiquarian society? They do really important work.”
He shrugged. “I suppose I’ll try to unload it on someone. But Delilah loved it so much…in a way, selling it feels like losing her all over again.”
“They say one shouldn’t make big decisions for a year or so after a great loss,” Harper said. “You could always hold on to it for a while, decide later. It’s not going anywhere.”
Asher nodded, his gaze on Harper. “Would you like to see it? The police released the house this afternoon, so you could get that journal if you want. I’m supposed to meet Alastair Highbaugh there early tomorrow morning to begin cataloging Delilah’s remaining paintings.”
“I’ve seen it,” said Harper. “Parts of it, anyway. The detective wanted me to look at the laboratory.”
“Whatever for?”
“I’m still not sure. We were interrupted…which reminds me, you should probably get someone in to clean up the mirror room.”
