Dead in the Family (Sookie Stackhouse #10)(26)
Author: Charlaine Harris

"Pam, what happened?" I wasn’t in the mood for playfulness.

"Bruno and Corinna didn’t show up in New Orleans for work today," Pam said solemnly. "Victor didn’t call here, because, of course, there was no good reason for them to come up here."

"Did they find the car?"

"Not yet. I’m sure the highway-patrol officers have put a sticker on it today, asking the owners to come and remove it. That’s what they do, I’ve observed."

"Yes. That’s what they do."

"No bodies will appear. Especially since after the downpour of last night, there won’t be a trace." Pam sounded smug about that. "No blame can attach to us."

I stood there, phone to my ear, on an empty sidewalk in my little town, the streetlight only a few feet away. I’d seldom felt more alone. "I wish it had been Victor," I said, from the bottom of my heart.

"You want to kill someone else?" Pam sounded mildly surprised.

"No, I want it to be over. I want everything to be okay. I don’t want any more killing at all." Sam came out of the restaurant behind me and heard the distress in my voice. I felt his hand on my shoulder. "I have to go, Pam. Keep me posted."

I shut the phone and turned to face Sam. He was looking troubled, and the light streaming from overhead cast deep shadows on his face.

"You’re in trouble," he said.

I could only keep silent.

"I know you can’t talk about it, but if you ever feel like you have to, you know where I am," he said.

"You, too," I said, because I figured with a girlfriend like Jannalynn, Sam might be in almost as bad a position as I was.

Chapter 5

The phone rang while I was in the shower Friday morning. Since I had an answering machine, I ignored it. As I was reaching out for my towel with my eyes shut, I felt it being thrust into my hand. With a gasp, I opened my eyes to see Claude standing there in his altogether.

"Phone’s for you," he said, handing me the portable phone from the kitchen. He left.

I put it to my ear automatically. "Hello?" I said weakly. I didn’t know what to think about first: me seeing Claude naked, Claude seeing me naked, or the whole fact that we were related and naked in the same room.

"Sookie? You sound funny," said a faintly familiar male voice.

"Oh, I just got a surprise," I said. "I’m so sorry… . Who is this?"

He laughed, and it was a warm and friendly sound. "This is Remy Savoy, Hunter’s dad," he said.

Remy had been married to my cousin Hadley, who was now dead. Their son, Hunter, and I had a connection, a connection that we needed to explore. I’d been meaning to call Remy to set up a playdate for me and Hunter, and I chided myself now for putting it off. "I hope you’re calling to tell me that I can see Hunter this weekend?" I said. "I’ve got to work Sunday afternoon, but I have Saturday off. Tomorrow, that is."

"That’s great! I was going to ask if I could bring him over this evening, and maybe he could spend the night."

That was a lot of time to spend with a kid I didn’t know; more important, a kid who didn’t know me. "Remy, do you have special plans or something?"

"Yeah. My dad’s sister died yesterday, and they’ve set the funeral for tomorrow morning at ten. But the visitation is tonight. I hate to take Hunter to the visitation and the funeral … especially considering, you know, his … problem. It might be pretty hard on him. You know how it is… . I can’t ever be sure what he’ll say."

"I understand." And I did. A preschool telepath is tough to be around. My parents would have appreciated Remy’s predicament. "How old is Hunter now?"

"Five, just had a birthday. I was worried about the party, but we got through that okay."

I took a deep breath. I’d told him I’d help out with Hunter’s problem. "Okay, I can keep him overnight."

"Thanks. I mean, really thanks. I’ll bring him over when I get off work today. That okay? We’ll be there about five thirty?"

I would get off work between five and six, depending on my replacement being on time and how full my tables were. I gave Remy my cell number. "If I’m not home, call my cell. I’ll be back here as soon as I can. What does he like to eat?"

We talked about Hunter’s routine for a few minutes, and then I hung up. By then, I was dry, but my hair was hanging in damp rattails. After a few minutes with the blow-dryer, I set off to talk to Claude once I was securely dressed in my work clothes.

"Claude!" I yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

"Yes?" He sounded totally unconcerned.

"Come down here!"

He appeared at the head of the stairs, his hairbrush in his hand. "Yes, Cousin?"

"Claude, the answering machine would have picked up the phone call. Please don’t come in my room without knocking, and especially don’t come in my bathroom without knocking!" I would definitely employ the door lock from now on. I didn’t think I’d ever used it before.

"Are you a prude?" He seemed genuinely curious.

"No!" But after a second, I said, "But maybe compared to you, yes! I like my privacy. I get to decide who sees me naked. Do you get my point?"

"Yes. Objectively speaking, you have beautiful points."

I thought the top of my head would pop off. "I didn’t expect this when I told you that you could stay with me. You like men."

"Oh, yes, I definitely prefer men. But I can appreciate beauty. I have visited the other side of the fence."

"I probably wouldn’t have let you stay here if I’d known that," I said.

Claude shrugged, as if to say, "Wasn’t I smart to keep it from you, then?"

"Listen," I said, and then stopped, because I was rattled. No matter what the circumstances, seeing Claude naked … Well, your first reaction wouldn’t be rage, either. "I’m going to tell you a few things, and I want you to take me seriously."

He waited, brush in hand, looking only politely attentive.

"Number one. I have a boyfriend, and he’s a vampire, and I’m not interested in cheating on him, and that includes seeing other guys naked … in my bathroom," I tacked on hastily, thinking of twoeys of all sorts. "If you can’t respect that, you need to leave, and you’ll just have to cry all the way home. Number two. I’m having company tonight, a little kid I’m babysitting, and you better act appropriate around him. You picking up what I’m laying down?"

"No nudity, be nice to the human kid."

"Right."

"Is the child yours?"

"If he were mine, I’d be raising him, you can bet your money. He’s Hadley’s. She was my cousin, the daughter of my aunt Linda. She was the, ah, the girlfriend of Sophie-Anne. You know, the former queen? And she became a vampire, eventually. This little boy, Hunter, is the son Hadley had before all that happened to her. His dad’s bringing him by." Was Claude related to Hadley? Yes, of course, and therefore to Hunter. I pointed that out.