It was only Tuesday, but I already felt like the week had gone on forever. I was ready for a quiet evening at home involving homework, a little light reading, and then bed. My evening didn't turn out that way.
"I heard Elise is coming home," Ryan said when we met in front of the vending machines after third period. "There's going to be a little welcome home party at the Wilders' tonight."
"What time?" I said. "I could bake a cake."
Ryan looked at his feet. "I'm sorry, Daisy," he said. "This is a shifters-only party."
I stared at him, unable to believe what I'd just heard. "What? Are you serious?"
He burst out laughing. "I was just kidding!"
"It's not funny," I said. "There's been enough of that kind of stuff going on."
He stopped laughing. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."
"Well, you did," I said. The tension in Nightshade was getting to me, and I was taking it out on Ryan. I took a deep, calming breath. "Now, do I have time to bake a cake or not?" I asked.
"It's not until seven," he said. "You have plenty of time. I can take you to the store right after school if you need me to."
I couldn't stay mad at him. "I think I already have everything I need at home, but thanks for the offer."
When I got home, I whipped up a quick three-layer cake and started the frosting while the cake baked. After the layers had cooled, I used fresh raspberries and whipping cream as a filling and topped it off with Grandma's coconut frosting.
The party was being held in the Wilders' private quarters. When Ryan and I arrived, Bianca was putting up a welcome home banner in the living room, which was huge. There was a large stone fireplace at one end and a baby grand piano at the other. A group of kids from Nightshade High were milling around, and I noticed a few people I'd worked with when I'd had cooking lessons from Circe.
Elise came in with Mrs. Wilder a few minutes later, and a bunch of kids immediately surrounded her.
"Let her sit down first," Bianca said. She took Elise's arm and guided her to an overstuffed chair. Mrs. Wilder sat on a spindly little gilded chair that looked uncomfortable, but it was next to her granddaughter, so she seemed happy.
An antique buffet was lined with china and gold cutlery, and another table held chafing dishes full of delicious-smelling food.
I saw Pierre and remembered that he was a world-class pastry chef. I immediately felt foolish that I had brought a cake from home.
But he made me feel better when he rushed over and took the cake container from me. "Daisy, how thoughtful of you. I can't wait to have a piece of your handiwork." He put the cake on the table and removed the cover.
I squirmed as he observed the cake from all angles. "Very nice," he said. "And the frosting? You made it yourself?"
I nodded. "It's an old family recipe."
"Very nice," he repeated.
"Thanks." Pierre was making me blush.
"Don't forget about my pastry class," he said. "The first class is at the end of June."
"I won't," I promised.
Chief Mendez and Officer Denton stopped by, but they didn't stay long. They said hello to Elise and Mrs. Wilder and then went into a corner and conversed briefly with Bane.
I nudged Ryan. "What was that all about?" I asked.
He shrugged. "I didn't know Dad was going to be here either. Probably something to do with the case."
"Maybe," I said. But what was so important that they had to track Bane down at Elise's welcome home party?
"I'm going to go say hi to my dad before he leaves," Ryan said.
"I'll go say hi to Elise," I said. "It looks like the crowd has dwindled a bit."
I lucked out. She was alone when I crossed over to her.
"Hi, Elise," I said. "Welcome home."
"Daisy, thank you so much," she said. "You saved me. If I can ever repay you, just say the word."
"You don't need to repay me," I told her. "But you could clear something up for me. I thought I heard you say 'vamps' when I found you."
She shook her head and then gestured for me to lean in. "The chief asked me not to say anything, but I can tell you. I was trying to say something else entirely."
"What were you trying to say?"
"Trap," she said. "I was trying to say it was a trap."
"What? I can't believe I was so far off."
"I can't believe I fell for the lost-kitten routine," she replied.
"You mean, some guy came up to you and asked you for your help finding a kitten?"
She nodded.
"Elise, that's the oldest trick in the book," I said. "Creepy guys have tried that for ages."
"I know," she said. "But it wasn't a guy. And it wasn't a vampire. It was a woman."
"Have you ever seen her before?" I asked.
"No, but she had this scar or something on her face."
"Could it have been a birthmark?" I wondered if it could possibly be the woman who had shown up at the Devereaux's door.
She nodded again. "Maybe." She put one hand to her throat.
"Let me get you some tea," I said. There was about every option under the sun for beverages. When I went to the buffet line, I found hot water and about fifty gourmet tea bags. I fixed her tea and headed straight back to her.
"This should help soothe your throat a little," I said. Elise was wearing a high-necked shirt that covered most of her injury, but I couldn't help wondering how bad the scar was.
"One last thing. I could use a little information about your grandmothers sister Lily."
When she frowned, I said, "I've kept my promise not to bother your grandmother with this, but I think I know where Lily is. I just need a couple of questions answered."
She nodded.
"Do you know if your grandmother has anything of Lily's that might have been a gift from her fiancé?"
"He was the heir to a big department store," she said. "Grandmother said he gave Lily lots of gifts."
That didn't narrow it down much.
"Is there anything specific you can think of?"
She shook her head. "Sorry."
"I borrowed a dress for the Nightshade Through the Ages ball," I said. "Your grandmother said it belonged to Lily. Do you mind if I borrow it again? Just for a day or two?"
"It's in storage," she said. "Go ahead and take it. Bianca can help you find it." She waved to Bianca and gave her instructions.
When I came back with the dress, I ran into Bane in the hallway.
"Hi, Bane," I said.
He hesitated when he saw me. "Daisy," he said.
His clothes looked like he'd slept in them, and there was three days' growth of hair on his face, which for a Were was a considerable amount.
"Is everything okay?" I asked, alarmed by his appearance.
"I'm fine," he said. "I just haven't been sleeping much. I'll catch up on my sleep now that Elise is home."
"How's Wolfgang? He wasn't in school last week. This week either."
"Uh, yeah," he said. "He's sick."
"Is that why he isn't here?" I asked.
I was picking up a weird vibe from Bane.
"I could come by with tomorrow's homework," I said.
"No!" Bane said. "He's, uh, still contagious."
I met his eyes. "If Wolfgang is in some sort of trouble, I can help."
That got are action, I was sure of it. But Bane still didn't tell me what was really going on.
"Listen, I can't talk right now," he replied. "I need to get back to Elise."
He took off, practically running to get away from my questions. Interesting.
Bane was lying to me about Wolfgang. But why? He didn't want me to go to their house? Why? Because Wolfgang wasn't there? Then where was he?
The idea of adding a lost Were to my list of mysteries to solve didn't exactly thrill me, but I couldn't ignore my intuition. Wolfie was in trouble. He was a pain, but he was our pain.