Oh, I remembered. “You couldn’t have known. Cody, we didn’t even suspect Boo Radley! We just went there to notify him.”

“Right,” he said brusquely. “And if we’d done it before the storm, I would have picked up the Tall Man’s scent.”

There wasn’t a lot I could say to that. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” Cody said. “You didn’t know any better. I did. But . . .”

The word trailed away, dangling a host of unsaid things. We hadn’t gone out to investigate immediately because I’d found Cody in a feral state, still moonstruck from the night before. I’d startled him. He’d yanked me down, and I’d liked it. I’d kissed him. I’d initiated a bout of savagely intense lovemaking. Afterward we’d lain together in a nest of woolen blankets and Cody had listened to me explain what had happened in the cemetery, stroking my back from the nape of my neck to the tip of my tail while lightning cracked the sky, thunder rumbled in the marrow of our bones, and the rain poured down, washing away the scent trail.

It had been one of the nicest moments I’d ever known.

“I don’t want to regret it, Cody.” There was a tremor in my voice. “I really don’t.”

“I know.” He slung an arm around my shoulders and kissed my temple. “Come on, Daise. Time to go back.”

By the time we returned to Main Street, things had quieted. Most of the crowd had dispersed. Somewhere in the aftermath, Lurine had shifted back into human form and vanished discreetly along with them. The EMTs were tending to the injured.

Clancy Brannigan was in custody in the back of a police cruiser. The Easties had clambered down the fire escape from atop the Birchwood Grill and were getting a stern lecture from the chief. They were doing their best to look abashed, but I was pretty sure they were delighted with themselves, and I couldn’t blame them.

The Tall Man’s bones still lay in a heap in the middle of the street, moldering under gleaming steel plate.

“Daisy!” Jen was standing in a small cluster that included her sister, Lee, Casimir, Sinclair, and, unfortunately, Stacey Brooks. Jen waved me over, and I saw that Lee had retrieved the spirit lantern and had it tucked into the crook of one arm. “We kept it safe for you.”

“Thanks.” A belated wave of guilt swept over me. In the heat of the moment, I’d forgotten I’d set it down. “You guys were amazing tonight.”

“You totally saved my life,” Stacy said to Sinclair. She shuddered at the memory, the plush cat ears on her headband trembling. “Totally.”

He glanced at me. “Actually—”