Chapter Text
“I always said 90’s rock was the best music ever made,” said Griffin, bobbing his head in time to the music blaring from the speakers.
“I know,” said Harper with a fond roll of her eyes, “you only tell me every other day.”
“You just can’t beat the classics. I mean, listen to this! Everyone is dancing to it because it’s that good!” He indicated the crowded dance floor filled with young adults screaming along to Green Day.
“Harper brushed a piece of hair from her eyes and squinted into the crowd, scanning for their quarry. “Or they are all just drunk.”
“That doesn’t mean the music isn’t amazing.” Griffin sidled closer to her and lowered his voice. “The only thing better than the music is how amazing you look in that dress.” His fingers glided across her lower back where smooth skin met fabric, causing a shiver to run through Harper’s body.
“Griffin, now is not the time to get distracted.”
A mischievous smile played on his face, visible even in the dim light of the dance hall, as he continued to trace his fingers across her back. He leaned in closer so his breath tickled her ear. “I actually think it’s the perfect time to get distracted. We have a time machine, remember? We could go back right now. Come back a different day?”
Harper closed her eyes, briefly imagining it. With an enormous effort of will, she shook her head and pushed Griffin slightly away. “We promised Sage we’d try and find it this weekend.”
Griffin briefly tightened his hold on Harper’s waist, then let go with a sigh. “You’re right. I’ll focus.”
“Think of it this way,” she reached a hand up and twirled it around a strand of hair at the nape of his neck, “the faster we find that necklace, the faster we can go home.” With a satisfied smile at the look on his face, Harper let go and started searching in her purse for the photograph from Sage.
Griffin leaned over her shoulder to look at the slightly faded photograph. “I can’t see it in this light.” He took her hand and confidently led her past the bar to a small table illuminated by the golden light of a lamp. A waiter started towards them, but Griffin waved them off.
Harper placed the photo on the deep burgundy tablecloth, studying the pictured group of three. “This is Carmen Sanchez, aka Sage’s mother,” she said, pointing to a picture of a short, Mexican woman standing between two men. She was stunningly beautiful, with long, thick hair, bright eyes, and a graceful nose. “So we are looking for a girl in a gold dress.”
“That must be the necklace,” said Griffin, pointing to the diamonds resting against Carmen’s throat in the picture. “How are we ever going to find who stole it with all these people.”
“We can start by talking to people who were close to her. For example, this,” she pointed to the tall black man on Carmen’s right wearing a blue suit, “was her boyfriend at the time. Chris Skylar. And the man on the other side,” she pointed to a slightly shorter and stockier man in a grey suit, “was Chris’s best friend Mike.”
Griffin looked out at the sea of people dancing. “Right. That shouldn't be hard to find. There’s only about 200 people at this party. Seriously, did the entire college population of Baton Rouge come to this New Years Eve party?”
“Only the rich ones. And remember, it is 1999. In about 3 hours, it will be 2000. And if LSU is anything like it is now, people here will party for much less of a reason than the millennium.”
Griffin rolled his eyes. “According to my roommate, the only reason you need to throw a party is if you aren’t currently throwing up from last night’s party.”
“It’s a true miracle he hasn’t died from alcohol poisoning,” said Harper. “I’m glad Sage is my roommate. She may be a bit messy, but at least her lights are out by midnight.”
Griffin adjusted the photograph on the table. “Can we go over the facts one more time? I don’t want to miss anything.”
Harper poked him playfully in the stomach. “Look who’s focusing now.”
“Hey, I haven’t forgotten what you said. The faster we find this thief, the fast we can get back to my room.” He winked at her. “I’m afraid I have an ulterior motive.”
Harper bit her lip and turned away to dig for her notebook before Griffin could see her face and convince her to leave this party right now.
“Ok, here’s what Sage told us,” Harper said, flipping open her sparkly notebook Zoey had got her for her birthday. “On New Year’s Eve in 1999, Sage’s mom, Carmen Sanchez went to a party hosted by a few of the sororities and fraternities at LSU. She came here with her boyfriend at the time, Chris Skylar. She wore her grandmother’s diamond necklace. By the end of the night, the necklace was gone. She thought she may have lost it, but a few days later, she got a typed note in her mailbox that said “Thanks for the Jewels!” The police had no leads because the party was so big and chalked it up to a lost piece of jewelry."
“And this is the only picture we have of the necklace?”
“Well the necklace has been in Sage’s family for generations. They have pictures of it dating back to the 1800s, but this is the only one WE have. Sage also has the certificate of authenticity which was given to her instead of the necklace on her 18th birthday.”
“Right, and her mom said that if it ever turned up, it would be hers.”
“And that’s where we come in,” said Harper, closing her notebook. “Because we have a knack for finding out secrets.”
Griffin tapped his chin thoughtfully. “It could be because we have a time machine…”
“Or just that we’re nosey,” Harper reached up to tap Griffin’s nose, but he caught her wrist in his hand. Even in the dim light, she could see the heat flare in his eyes as he looked at her. She caught her breath and he dropped his hand, shaking his head slightly as if to clear it.
“Focusing. I’m focusing,” he said.
“You keep telling me that, but somehow I don’t believe you.”
“It’s not my fault you chose that dress for this party.”
Harper ran her fingers over the shiny fabric of her form-fitting purple dress and winked back at him. “It's not my fault that the dress code was so fancy. We have to blend in with all the rich sorority kids, remember?”
“Keep telling yourself that.”
Harper grinned up at him. “Come on, let’s go find Carmen and catch a thief.”