Dead to the World (Sookie Stackhouse #4)(39)
Author: Charlaine Harris

Holly stuck her head out the kitchen door, glimpsed Hallow, ducked back in. Hallow’s eyes flicked over to the door, but not in time to glimpse Holly, I hoped.

I thought of jumping Hallow, beating on her until she told me what I wanted to know about my brother. That was what the pounding in my head was urging me to do – initiate action, any action. But I had a streak of common sense, and luckily for me it came to the fore. Hallow was big, and she had a sidekick who could crush me – plus, Kevin and Kenya would make me stop before I could get her to talk.

It was horribly frustrating to have her right in front of me and at the same time be unable to discover what she knew. I dropped all my shields, and I listened in as hard as I could.

But she suspected something when I touched inside her head.

She looked vaguely puzzled and glanced around. That was enough warning for me. I scrambled back into my own head as quickly as I could. I continued back behind the bar, passing within a couple of feet of the witch as she tried to figure out who’d brushed at her brain.

This had never happened to me before. No one, no one, had ever suspected I was listening in. I squatted behind the bar to get the big container of Morton Salt, straightened, and carefully refilled the shaker I’d snatched from Kevin and Kenya’s table. I concentrated on this as hard as anyone can focus on performing such a nothing little task, and when I was through, the poster had been mounted with the staple gun. Hallow was lingering, prolonging her talk with Sam so she could figure out who had touched the inside of her head, and Mr. Muscles was eyeing me – but only like a man looks at a woman – as I returned the shaker to its table. Holly hadn’t reappeared.

"Sookie," Sam called.

Oh, for goodness sake. I had to respond. He was my boss.

I went over to the three of them, dread in my heart and a smile on my face.

"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 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.

"And witches. 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?"