4 Dead to the World

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"Hey," I said, by way of greeting, giving the tall witch and her stalwart sidekick a neutral smile. I raised
my eyebrows at Sam to ask him what he'd wanted.
"Marnie Stonebrook, Mark Stonebrook," he said.
I nodded to each of them.Hallow, indeed , I thought, half-amused. "Hallow" was just a tad more
spiritual than "Marnie."
"They're looking for this guy," Sam said, indicating the poster. "You know him?"
Of course Sam knew that I knew Eric. I was glad I'd had years of concealing my feelings and thoughts
from the eyes of others. I looked the poster over deliberately.
"Sure, I've seen him," I said. "When I went to that bar in Shreveport? He's kind of unforgettable, isn't
he?" I gave Hallow Marnie a smile. We were just gals together, Marnie and Sookie, sharing a gal
moment.
"Handsome guy," she agreed in her throaty voice. "He's missing now, and we're offering a reward for
anyone who can give us information."
"I see that from the poster," I said, letting a tiny hint of irritation show in my voice. "Is there any particular
reason you think he might be around here? I can't imagine what a Shreveport vampire would be doing in
Bon Temps." I looked at her questioningly. Surely I wasn't out of line in asking that?
"Good question, Sookie," Sam said. "Not that I mind having the poster up, but how come you two are
searching this area for the guy? Why would he be here? Nothing happens in Bon Temps."
"This town has a vampire in residence, doesn't it?" Mark Stonebrook said suddenly. His voice was
almost a twin of his sister's. He was so buff you expected to hear a bass, and even an alto as deep as
Mamie's sounded strange coming from his throat. Actually, from Mark Stonebrook's appearance, you'd
think he'd just grunt and growl to communicate.
"Yeah, Bill Compton lives here," Sam said. "But he's out of town."
"Gone to Peru, I heard," I said.
"Oh, yes, I'd heard of Bill Compton. Where does he live?" Hallow asked, trying to keep the excitement
out of her voice.
"Well, he lives out across the cemetery from my place," I said, because I had no choice. If the two
asked someone else and got a different answer than the one I gave them, they'd know I had something
(or in this case, someone) to conceal. "Out off Hummingbird Road." I gave them directions, not very
clear directions, and hoped they got lost out in somewhere like Hotshot.
"Well, we might drop by Compton's house, just in case Eric went to visit him," Hallow said. Her eyes cut
to her brother Mark, and they nodded at us and left the bar. They didn't care whether this made sense or
not.
"They're sending witches to visit all the vamps," Sam said softly. Of course. The Stonebrooks were
going to the residences of all vampires who owed allegiance to Eric the vamps of Area Five. They
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suspected that one of these vamps might be hiding Eric. Since Eric hadn't turned up, he was being
hidden. Hallow had to be confident that her spell had worked, but she might not know exactly how it had
worked.
I let the smile fade off my face, and I leaned against the bar on my elbows, trying to think real hard.
Sam said, "This is big trouble, right?" His face was serious.
"Yes, this is big trouble."
"Do you need to leave? There's not too much happening here. Holly can come out of the kitchen now
that they're gone, and I can always see to the tables myself, if you need to get home. . . ." Sam wasn't
sure where Eric was, but he suspected, and he'd noticed Holly's abrupt bolt into the kitchen.
Sam had earned my loyalty and respect a hundred times over.
"I'll give them five minutes to get out of the parking lot."
"Do you think they might have something to do with Jason's disappearance?"
"Sam, I just don't know." I automatically dialed the sheriff's department and got the same answer I'd
gotten all day "No news, we'll call you when we know something." But after she said that, the
dispatcher told me that the pond was going to be searched the next day; the police had managed to get
hold of two search-and-rescue divers. I didn't know how to feel about this information. Mostly, I was
relieved that Jason's disappearance was being taken seriously.
When I hung up the phone, I told Sam the news. After a second, I said, "It seems too much to believe
that two men could disappear in the Bon Temps area at the same time. At least, the Stonebrooks seem
to think Eric's around here. I have to think that there's a connection."
"Those Stonebrooks are Weres," Sam muttered.
"Andwitches. You be careful, Sam. She's a killer. The Weres of Shreveport are out after her, and the
vamps, too. Watch your step."
"Why is she so scary? Why would the Shreveport pack have any trouble handling her?"
"She's drinking vampire blood," I said, as close to his ear as I could get without kissing him. I glanced
around the room, to see that Kevin was watching our exchange with a lot of interest.
"What does she want with Eric?"
"His business. All his businesses. And him."
Sam's eyes widened. "So it's business, and personal."
"Yep."
"Do you know where Eric is?" He'd avoided asking me directly until now.
I smiled at him. "Why would I know that? But I confess, I'm worried about those two being right down
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the road from my house. I have a feeling they're going to break into Bill's place. They might figure Eric's
hiding with Bill, or in Bill's house. I'm sure he's got a safe hole for Eric to sleep in and blood on hand."
That was pretty much all a vampire required, blood and a dark place.
"So you're going over to guard Bill's property? Not a good idea, Sookie. Let Bill's homeowners
insurance take care of whatever damage they do searching. I think he told me he went with State Farm.
Bill wouldn't want you hurt in defense of plants and bricks."
"I don't plan on doing anything that dangerous," I said, and truly, I didn't plan it. "But I do think I'll run
home. Just in case. When I see their car lights leaving Bill's house, I'll go over and check it out."
"You need me to come with you?"
"Nah, I'm just going to do damage assessment, that's all. Holly'll be enough help here?" She'd popped
out of the kitchen the minute the Stonebrooks had left.
"Sure."
"Okay, I'm gone. Thanks so much." My conscience didn't twinge as much when I noticed that the place [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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