Two nights later, the Giordano family went to Mort's, along with what seemed like everyone else in Nightshade, for Mr. Davis's memorial service. It was rare that Mom got out of work so early, and I was a little sad that we couldn't spend the evening doing something fun together instead of hanging out at a funeral home. But I hoped I'd be able to pick up some clues at the service about Mr. Davis's mysterious death.
The Eternal Rest Room was packed. I drifted over to where Samantha was standing with a gaggle of weepy cheerleaders. I craned my neck to get a look at the casket over the crowd standing around it. It was closed. It seemed I wouldn't get a look at Mr. Davis's body after all.
A tiny woman wearing a lace veil stood in front of the casket, greeting mourners.
"Who's that?" I whispered to Sam.
"Mrs. Wilder. Matriarch of the Wilder clan. I met her when I booked the Wilder mansion for prom. Strange lady. Sweet, though."
I was confused. "Wilder?" I said. "Was she related to Mr. Davis?"
"Didn't you know?" Sam said. "Mr. Davis was Mrs. Wilder's grandson."
"That makes Elise and Mr. Davis cousins," I said.
"Duh, Daisy," hissed Penny, who was obviously listening in on our conversation. "Everybody knows that."
Sure enough, there was Elise at the front of the room, looking gorgeous even with red-rimmed eyes. I felt a little less sympathetic when I saw who she was talking to. Ryan.
"Excuse me," I mumbled, and pushed my way out into the hall. I could see Penny's gloating smile out of the corner of my eye.
I leaned against the wall and sighed deeply. Evidently there were others who needed a break from the service, too. There was a commotion in a little sitting room across the hall, but nobody else seemed to notice. It was Bane Paxton's parents, their youngest son, Wolfgang, and a beautiful woman I didn't recognize. She had shiny midnight black hair that hung long and straight, past her waist. She was petite but muscular-looking. I was drawn to the feeling of immense power she gave off in waves.
As I watched, Wolfgang started to shake, and a minute later hair sprouted all over his face, his jaw elongated, and sharp fangs jutted from his mouth.
"Wolfgang!" his mother said. "Please control yourself."
"He's so upset," his dad said to the raven-haired woman. "Mr. Davis was his favorite teacher."
The beautiful woman put a comforting hand on his arm. "He's young," she said in a soothing voice. "Controlling a shift takes years of practice. Let me talk to him." She threw her cloak over Wolfgang to hide his condition and led him out of the building.
I had no idea that the Paxtons were shape-shifters. Was the beautiful woman a shape-shifter too? She seemed to know what she was talking about when she spoke of shifting.
I heard someone calling my name from another doorway down the hall. It was Poppy summoning me to the Tranquility Room.
"I should have figured you'd be in here," I said. There was Gage, pacing in front of the fireplace.
"Gage just told me there was a Nightshade City Council meeting here last night," Poppy said excitedly. My ears perked up.
"Was it about Mr. Davis?" I asked.
Gage nodded. "They think they know who killed him. The Scourge."
I frowned. Who or what was the Scourge? Where had I heard that before? "Are you sure that's what they said? They didn't mention a werewolf?" I asked Gage.
Gage nodded resolutely. "I was there the whole time. The Skull with the gavel said the Scourge was involved."
I flopped down on a velvet-covered couch to think. So much for a spy on the inside. Gage's information wasn't much help. But he and Poppy weren't focused on the case anyway—they were flirting in the corner. I had to admit there was something appealing about Gage. He was still sexy, even though he was see-through.
The door inched open and Rose and Nicholas entered. "I noticed you two disappeared," Rose said. "I figured you must be here."
I could hear Elise's voice wafting from the Eternal Rest Room. I couldn't hear everything, but it was clear she was giving a speech about her cousin.
"I recognize that voice," Gage said. "The girl with the amber eyes. She was at the city council meeting." Poppy looked a little annoyed at Gage's wistful description. I didn't want to remind her that she shouldn't be the one jealous of Elise.
I sat up, eager to hear more. "So if the Wilders are part of the city council, that must mean there's something ... different about them," I observed. I looked to Nicholas for confirmation.
"Yes, Daisy, the Wilders are shifters," he admitted.
"So Mr. Davis was a werewolf?"
He shook his head. "There are many kinds of shifters—wolves, big cats, even fluffy little bunnies."
Fluffy little bunnies? I swallowed a giggle.
"Well, do you think it was a Were that killed Mr. Davis?" Poppy asked, tactful as usual.
Nicholas looked stung. "No, in fact I know it wasn't," he said. "But whoever did it went to great lengths to make it look like a Were attack."
"How do you know?" I asked.
"I thoroughly inspected the body before my father prepared it for burial," Nicholas said. "Those marks were made by a human, probably using some sort of metal instrument to make it look like he was clawed. We Weres have excellent olfactory senses, you know." With that he swept out of the room.
"I hope we didn't offend Nicholas," Poppy said. Rose shot her a sharp look and followed after him.
I didn't feel like being a third wheel on Poppy's date with the dead, so I returned to the Eternal Rest Room, which was clearing out after the service. Ryan wasn't there. Neither was Elise.
My mom was still there, talking quietly with Chief Mendez. Were they flirting? It was hard to tell. "I'm telling you, Pete," I heard her saying as I got closer. "I can't help that. It's what I see. A cup. Nothing more."
The chief's brow was creased in concentration, but he snapped out of it and smiled when he saw me approaching.
"There you are, Daisy," Mom said. "Let's get going. Are your sisters coming?"
"I think they want to hang out here a little longer," I said.
We said good-bye to the chief. "Daisy, Ryan told me to tell you good night for him," he said. "He's sorry that he had to go without talking to you, but something came up."
I shrugged. What else was new?
In the car, Mom asked me if everything was okay with Ryan and me.
"He's avoiding me," I admitted. "Something's wrong, but I don't know what."
Mom looked sympathetic. "Oh, don't worry about it so much, Daisy," she said. "It's probably just temporary. A hormonal thing."
A hormonal thing? What was she talking about? It's not like guys had to worry about that time of the month. Besides, she of all people should understand why I have abandonment issues. I decided to change the subject.
"Mom, what's the Scourge?"
Her eyes widened and darted away from the road and onto me for a second. "What did you say?"
I repeated my question. Mom pulled into our driveway but left the car running. She seemed relieved not to be on the road anymore—obviously what I had said had her distracted, though I didn't know why.
"Daisy, how did you hear about the Scourge?" she asked in a shaky voice.
"Let's just say a ghost told me," I said.
Her expression was grave. "Don't joke around about them," she said. "They're very, very dangerous."
"Them?"
She hesitated a fraction of a second before explaining more. "They're a group of people who have sworn to eradicate all paranormals."
"Eradicate? You mean..."
"Kill? Yes, that's exactly what I mean." She shut off the car engine and spoke to me in her most serious tone. "Daisy, I know you've got the makings of a great psychic detective. But this is way over your head. You do not want to get mixed up with the Scourge. They can make people disappear if they want to."
Disappear? Now who did that remind me of? I nodded, chilled by my mom's words. Sure enough, she was fiddling with her wedding ring. She only got this emotional when Dad was involved. But what was my father's connection to the Scourge?
"If you know something, please tell me," Mom said.
I wished, more than anything, that I had the answers she wanted. But the truth was, I was more confused than ever.