My high heels would make too much noise on the marble staircase, so I kicked them off and tucked them in a corner before I went after Duke.
He seemed to be searching for something in particular. We were on the top floor of the mansion, which was clearly private living space for the Wilder family.
He almost caught me when he glanced back unexpectedly, but I ducked behind a huge statue. When I got the nerve up to peek out from my hiding spot, Duke had disappeared.
I tiptoed to where he'd been standing. The door was open a crack, so I looked inside. Duke was standing in what was obviously a lavishly decorated woman's bedroom. I suspected it was Mrs. Wilder's.
There was a cup of tea cooling on a carved ebony tray. Duke crossed to it and fumbled in his pocket. He found whatever he was looking for and dropped it into the tea.
I entered the room. "Is that how you did it?"
"Daizee," he said. "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same question, but I already know the answer."
"Don't keep me in suspense," Duke said. He smiled nastily. I don't know why I ever thought he was cute.
"You poisoned Mr. Davis. And you used his own garden to do it."
"Why would I want to kill Mr. Davis?"
"Maybe because he knew that you're not actually a high school student and he threatened to expose you?" I ventured.
"You have no proof," he said, but he didn't look so cocky. I noticed that his accent had completely disappeared.
"Are you sure? I saw a photo at his house of three guys in a college play. I thought I recognized one of them. It took me a while to put it together because back then you had blond hair and glasses."
"Very good, Daisy," he said. "It's a pity you have such liberal views of those paranormal scum. We could have used someone with your brains." He drew a gun from his jacket.
I'd made a huge mistake confronting Duke, I realized as I stared down the barrel of a gun. I needed to stall him.
"What was the deal with the T-shirt in your car?" I asked, but I already knew the answer. The shirt I'd seen hadn't been for Cal State at all. Why would Duke want to go there? He'd already graduated from college with Mr. Davis.
"You're observant, Daisy," he said. "Yes, the T-shirt in my car was from my alma mater, Charles Fey College. A careless mistake on my part. I'd been assigned to track Dexter even back then."
Now I knew the real reason he had killed Mr. Davis. "You're part of the Scourge!"
"I'm impressed you figured that out," he said. "Now drink," he ordered, shoving the teacup to my lips.
Suddenly, the door opened and Bianca stood in front of us. She moved in a blur, and a second later she was gone and Midnight stood in her place. She flew at Duke and raked her claws in his face. He screamed and dropped the gun.
I dropped the tea as I scrambled to pick up the gun. I held it, hands shaking, as Duke grabbed my cat.
"Let her go," I said. "Or I swear I'll shoot."
He released his grip, and with an angry hiss Midnight came to my side and nudged my leg affectionately.
A minute later, Bianca stood beside me again. "Give me the gun."
"Don't do it, Daisy," Duke begged. "Come with me and I'll bring you to your father!"
My resolve wavered for a moment. Could it be that the Scourge had my father and that Duke really could take me to where he was? I thought how wonderful it would be to see him again, to hug him, just to know he was still alive.
"Daisy!" said Bianca urgently. She had saved my life. Duke had done nothing but lie to me and everyone in Nightshade. I handed her the gun.
"Good. You're doing great. There's a phone on the bedside table," Bianca said. "Call the police. Ask for Chief Mendez. Do not speak to anybody else."
After I called the chief and explained the situation, I helped Bianca tie up Duke while we waited for help to arrive.
"It was lucky you found us," I said.
She hesitated. "Not exactly," she confessed. "The council was suspicious of Duke from the beginning. Duke's not his real name. It's Herbert Hanson. Mr. Davis and Herbert attended the same college. Mr. Davis remembered his old friend expressing great distaste when he admitted to him he was a shifter, back when they were in school together. So you can imagine his concern when this person showed up in Nightshade claiming to be someone else."
"But I don't understand," I said, "If the city council knew that Duke—I mean, Herbert—was a bad guy, why didn't you expose his real identity and pull him out of school?"
"Well, we didn't know for sure that he was the killer," Bianca admitted. "Not until now. But we thought that until we had proof, it would be best to keep him under observance. And what better way to do that than to allow him to remain in high school, with Penny Edwards keeping an eye on him at home?"
Bianca winked at me. I wondered if there was more to Penny than I had previously thought.
"I can't believe he hated paranormals so much that he joined the Scourge," I said, shaking my head in disbelief. "How could anyone be so cruel and narrow-minded?"
"Unfortunately, paranormals are in more danger from his kind than you might think," Bianca said. "That's why we have to look out for each other. My assignment was to watch after you, Daisy." She smiled.
"But I'm not part of the paranormal community," I said. "Why would I need a guardian from the Scourge? Why would they want to kill me?"
"We don't think he was trying to kill you, Daisy," Bianca said. "We think he was trying to recruit you."
I shivered, then smiled at Bianca. "Lucky for me you're good at your job."