471Disclaimer: I am not the owner of these characters. The original story and the characters belong to Charlaine Harris. I am only borrowing them for a little while.
Before I start, I hope everybody is being careful with COVID. Stay healthy!
Chapter 25
I woke up and stayed in bed for who knows how long. My schedule was empty. At this time, on a normal day, I would be working at Merlotte's. Instead, I had nothing to do and it bothered me. The sunlight brightened my room, and with it, came the undesired heat. I knew it would be impossible to go back to sleep. Although my blanket was soft and warm, the bright sun was warming up my room too fast, and with it, my blanket. I tried to remember the last time I washed it, and I couldn't recall. Well, time to wash it again. This blanket was my favorite because it had been a gift from my grandmother several years ago. Its flower pattern was fading away, but there was no way I was going to replace it.
I went over yesterday's events multiple times and it slowly dawned on me that Sam was dead and I didn't have a job anymore. I was part owner of Merlotte's, but how could I continue running it without Sam's input?
Now that Sam wasn't here, what was going to happen to his half of the business? Without Sam, his family would be the new owners, and they didn't even know what happened to him.
I made a mental list of the things I needed to do today and that gave me a purpose to get out of bed. My kitchen was as bright as it could be with sunlight and somehow it energized me. I fixed a hearty breakfast with a large cup of coffee to give me the courage to face the first item on my to-do list; to call Sam's family. Since I didn't have their contact information, I had to go to Merlotte's and look for it in his office.
I cleaned up the dishes as fast as I could and went on to take a quick shower. I was tempted to just stay home and clean my house. It was getting really dusty and my grandmother would have scolded me for allowing the house to get this dirty. I really debated about calling Sam's family later, but it was something that needed to be done as soon as possible. Maybe I could clean up the house afterward.
A knock on my front door spooked me, but since it was daytime, my chances of being in danger were lower.
At least I wanted to believe that.
My visitor's brain told me it was human, and listening to her thoughts made me dread this conversation. Yet, I went ahead and opened the door with a fake half-smile.
"Good morning, Miss Stackhouse. Is this a good time? I have a few follow up questions to ask you," the FBI agent said with a big fake smile. Yesterday she was dressed up with a black office suit, maybe representing death. Today, she wore a navy blue one. Her hair was up on a ponytail and even though she wore full makeup, I could still see dark spots under her eyes due to lack of sleep. It had been a long night for her.
"I'm on my way out, but I can answer a couple of questions," I put my best effort to not show her how much I was dreading it.
"Excellent! I would like to revisit the moment when you found Sam shot. Jannalynn's mom and the two new employees were part of the crime scene, who left the crime scene first and exactly which direction did they go?"
"Like I said yesterday, Jannalynn's mom left first. The two new employees, Tina and Sandra, took off running for their lives."
"When they crossed Merlotte's door to leave, did they turn right? Left? Straight? Did they run towards a car?"
"As far as I know, neither one had a car. And I didn't see when they left because I was too busy staring at Sam as he took his last breath. The next thing I knew, everything was silent and I was by myself."
"Well, you see, our experts can't find their footprints and our search dog lost their scent right outside Merlotte's front door. It's like they disappeared three steps after they exited Merlotte's business."
"I don't know what to tell you. Did you check their apartments? Tina is renting an apartment from Sam and Sandra lives with her boyfriend in one of the mobile holes community of Lebron Road."
"Nobody has seen them since yesterday when they left to work."
I frowned at her response, "I'm out of choices. I don't know much about them; they just started working at Merlotte's."
"Jannalynn confessed to the murder of Kym Rowe; we want to sit down with her and ask her some questions. Kym Rowe's parents deserve justice. Now, her mom is also a murderer. Why kill Sam Merlotte? He was dating Jannalynn, what went wrong? We can't locate Jannalynn's dad either. What is his involvement in all of this? Is he hiding them? As you can see Miss Stackhouse, we have more questions than answers and two families that would like justice for their lost loved ones. So, we would appreciate it if you could remember anything that could help us find these three individuals."
I knew she was being dramatic because Sam's family didn't know what happened to Sam yet. But at the end of the day, she was right, like mother like daughter.
"I really don't remember anything besides what I already told you, but I'll definitely give you a call if I do. I want justice too. Sam didn't deserve to die."
"Very well Miss Stackhouse. You have my contact information. Call me if you remember anything else," the FBI agent said as she turned to leave, but then stopped and turned again, "I hope there won't be any more murders around you Miss Stackhouse or I'll start thinking you're the angel of death," she said with a half-smile and left.
The angel of death... that was one way to put it! If she knew the long list of living creatures that either I have killed or that have died around me, she would change my name to something worse. I wondered what name it would be. I decided not to think about that and went upstairs to grab my purse when somebody knocked on my door.
Another uninvited visitor.
This time, according to his or her brain, it wasn't human.
"Coming," I said as I walked down the stairs. I continued searching my visitor's brain trying to find a clue of who he or she was. It was difficult to read until a glimpse of thought told me his identity; a visitor I was eager to talk to.
"Alcide," I said as I opened the door. His smile was welcoming. I gestured for him to come in and guided him to my small kitchen table.
"Please excuse my house; I haven't had time to clean it," I said apologetically.
"I didn't come here to see your house," Alcide replied with a friendly smile.
Alcide's presence always filled a room with an aura of leadership and strength. He had grown since he became packmaster, but today his low-key look caught me off guard; maybe he was trying to get off packmaster mode for today. Since today was a regular working day, it surprised me to see him wearing blue jeans and a casual blouse instead of his construction attire stained with concrete, and instead of his usual construction boots, he wore casual shoes. I really hoped for him to find a female that would see his value and would treat him right. He hasn't been that lucky in the love department.
"I'm on my way out, but that can wait until after we are done talking," I said.
"Where're you heading?"
"To Merlotte's. I have to call Sam's family and let them know what happened and I need to search Sam's office to find their contact information. Would you like something to drink? Ice tea?"
"Thank you, Sookie, but I ate breakfast before coming here."
"Alright then. What happened with the two new employees and Jannalynn's mom?" I asked as I sat across from him.
"Pam took care of your employees. You have nothing to worry about it. Regarding Jannalynn's mom, just don't ask. It's better this way."
"The FBI agent was here and left a couple of minutes before you arrived. She's looking for Jannalynn, her mom, and dad. Apparently, her expert can't find which way Tina, Sandra, and Jannalynn's mom went from Merlotte's.
"Let them search," Alcide said dismissing it. He wasn't worried.
"What if they track them down to us?"
"Nah. That won't happen; trust me."
"I hope you're right. I have too many worries in my head." My own words made me shiver of just thinking about the past events, and I haven't had time to consider Eric's warnings of the dangers that are coming my way for killing Freyda.
"I have a favor to ask," Alcide said waiting for my reaction.
"What do you need?" I replied. It wasn't like I could deny him a favor after everything that has happened.
"Tonight some members of the pack and I would like to hunt, but the property next door to mine is being renovated. I don't want to risk it. Do you mind if we use your land?"
"Just so you know, something is going on in the vampire world and last night Eric sent Bubba to guard my house. I don't know if he will be here tonight again, but if so, you guys wouldn't be alone in the woods. I don't want any confrontations."
"There will be none if we stay out of each other's tail."
"Then, in that case, sure; you can use my land."
"Thank you, Sookie. We need to burn some steam. If you are going to Merlotte's, I can come with you. You shouldn't be there alone after what happened yesterday."
"Thank you, Alcide, but I'll be ok. I need to face what's coming."
"But you don't need to do it alone."
"What about your business? Don't you have to be with your employees?"
"They know what to do and I have a field supervisor taking care of things. So, let's go; I'll drive."
A knock at the front door interrupted our conversation. "Another visitor," I said as I went on to open the door with Alcide right next to me.
"Jason!," I said surprised, "aren't you supposed to be at work? Did something happen?" Opposite to Alcide, Jason was wearing his usual construction attire with boots that had seen a better day. Maybe I could give him a new pair of boots for his birthday. Jason was very responsible at work, so seeing him here instead was unusual.
"Morning Sook," Jason said as he walked in, "Hey man, nice to see you here," Jason told Alcide followed by the same secret handshake that I saw the day we went to pick up Eric's body the other day. "I came here to check on Sookie when I saw your truck. Is everything ok? Is last night's business taken care of?"
"Jason, please come on in, would you like some ice tea?" I asked sarcastically.
"That's sweet but thank you," he returned my sarcasm.
"Everything has been taken care of," Alcide said.
Jason nodded in approval and then turned to me, "did you get some sleep?"
"I did, but today won't be any easier."
"Sookie needs to contact Sam's family, let them know what happened," Alcide explained.
"You shouldn't do that alone. I'll come with you," Jason said.
"I offered too but she doesn't want me to come with her," Alcide said.
"Sookie, you just lost Sam. You're hurting and it's not good to face it alone. If you don't want Alcide to come with you, then I'll come," Jason said.
It was touching to hear them say that. My heart hurt, and I was doing my best to put a strong front to handle the storm I was in, but I realized I didn't want to be alone. "I'm strong and I like my independence, but maybe this time I don't need to be strong," I said. Jason hugged me and I almost broke down but didn't. Jason let go followed by a warning, "either Alcide or I come with you. Choose."
"I already took the day off and made arrangements at work. Do you want to take over tomorrow?" Alcide asked Jason.
"Works for me," Jason replied.
"Thank you both," I said. I was really thankful.
"Alright, I'm out of here and I'll see you tomorrow Sookie," Jason said as he walked to the door.
"Should we leave too?" Alcide asked me and I nodded. It was best to leave before another visitor decided to stop by and delay the phone call even more. I grabbed my purse and locked the house on our way out. Alcide drove his personal car today, the fancy one. I liked it; it was big, but not too big. Of course, he asked me about my new SUV and we talked about it briefly.
Our drive to Merlotte's was mostly quiet. We parked on the back and went in through the employees' entrance. Would this be the last time I'll use it? It felt lonely and out of place to find Merlotte's empty and with the lights off. I think that Alcide felt the same because he went to turn on all the lights. I went to the dining hall area and it was a mess, including the pool of dried blood on the floor. I didn't realize how chaotic the area was after what happened. There were a couple of misplaced tables, a few flipped over chairs, and remnants from the lunch crowd. It saddened me to face this reality.
"Sookie," Alcide called from Sam's office and I just left things as they were in the dining hall and went on to meet with him. His presence kept me grounded, and right now, I needed that.
"Sookie, where do you think Sam would have that information?" Alcide asked as I entered Sam's office. Sam's desk was a mess as usual. He always had a pile of paperwork on top of it and I always wondered how he could find things in it.
"Let's find his cell phone. He used to keep it here," I said as I opened the desk's second drawer to the right. "Here it is!" I grabbed it and entered his secret password to unlock it.
"You know his password?" Alcide said confused.
"He gave it to me a while back when he left his phone in the office and he needed a list he had made of things he needed to fix on one of his rental apartments."
"Okay, well it's coming handy now," Alcide said and proceeded to sit down on one of Sam's chairs. I scrolled down his contacts until I found his mom's number. I stared at it for a couple of seconds and decided to sit down too. This was not going to be easy.
"I got his mom," I said followed by a deep breath.
"Would you like me to talk to her instead?" Alcide offered.
"I would take your offer, but because he was my business partner, I think it's best for me to deliver the news."
"I'm here if you need me."
I nodded to Alcide and since the cell phone was low battery, I proceeded to call Sam's mom with the office phone instead. I didn't want to run out of battery halfway through the conversation.
His mom picked up the call on the third ring.
"Hello?" Sam's mom said.
"Good morning, is this Mrs. Merlotte?"
"Yes, it is. How can I help you?
"Mrs. Merlotte, this is Sookie Stackhouse from Bon Temps. I'm Sam's business partner; we co-own Merlotte's."
"Since when Sam got a business partner? Because he has never mentioned it," Sam's mom said interrupting me.
"Ma'am, we became a business partners recently, and I don't know why he didn't mention it," I said.
She didn't reply to my statement, so I moved on from a topic that clearly didn't make her happy, "I'm sorry to have to deliver bad news to your family, but yesterday Sam got shot here at Merlotte's," my chest got heavy as I said those words and I continued trying my best not to cry, "ma'am, he died. I'm very sorry," and I started crying. There was a full minute of silence where I cried and Sam's mom was mute. There was no sound coming from there.
"Hello, Mrs. Merlotte, are you still there?" I thought she had hung up on me, but I was wrong.
"I'm still here," she said with a sad voice but in control. "Who killed him?" she asked.
"Jannalynn's mom shot him. She's on the loose, but the police are looking for her," I said. There was no way I could tell her the truth over the phone and risk that either, our phone was under surveillance and the FBI was listening, or that she would rush to talk to the police about what really happened. If she were to find out the truth, it would be because a member of the pack told her, and if something went wrong, it would be the pack's problem, not mine.
"Did he suffer?" her sad voice broke my heart.
"No ma'am. He didn't," I replied.
"Thank you for letting us know. We will take care of the funeral and will let you know what we decide to do with Merlotte's. Have a good day."
"She hung up without letting me say anything regarding Merlotte's! I was expecting to at least make future plans to talk about it, but I was wrong," I told Alcide.
"They will come around. Give them time Sookie," Alcide replied.
"I hope so," I really hoped that was the case.
"It's past lunchtime; do you want to grab something to eat before we clean up the dining area?" Alcide asked.
"I don't want to go anywhere. We can cook something here. We have everything," I proposed.
"Let's do it," Alcide stood up and walked towards the door, then turned around to see me sitting down still, "let's go. Don't be getting lazy on me," he smiled.
I put the cell phone back in the drawer, closed the door, and followed him. We went straight to the kitchen and started cooking together when two of his pack members arrived. I have seen them before. They were the ones that were guarding the U-Haul full of vampires after the big war.
"Is everything alright?" I asked worriedly. They weren't supposed to be here.
"Our packmaster is here, so we came to see if he needs our help," one of them said.
Alcide washed his hands after handling the frozen chicken and came by to meet with us. "It's good that you are here. Sookie, he's Frank and he's Matthew," Alcide said pointing at each one while introducing them.
They were both dressed casually. I wondered if they worked with Alcide in his construction business too.
"Nice to meet you," I said.
"Nice to meet you Sookie," they both said.
"The dining area needs to be cleaned," Alcide told them.
"We're on it," they replied and went on to work.
That actually surprised me. They didn't even question Alcide. It was almost as if they came prepared to clean the bloody mess.
"Sookie, do you mind if we include them in the lunch menu too? Alcide asked.
"Of course! We aren't going to leave them without food," I replied. They were cleaning the bloody mess; a meal was the least I could do for them.
Alcide smiled and went on to get more chicken from the freezer. I started the fire and got all the cooking pots ready.
We talked about different topics, completely unrelated to Merlotte's or Sam. Even Frank and Matthew joined our conversations. I found out they were crazy. They came up with the craziest ideas. It was relaxing and we even laughed multiple times.
After we finished eating, Alcide helped me clean the kitchen, and by the time we were done, Merlotte's was spotless. Frank and Matthew cleaned the dining area and the bar so well that there was no trace left of yesterday's incident. They even cleaned up the walls, because as they explained, there were blood spots from the gunshot. I didn't even notice them.
After everything was cleaned, we hanged out at Merlotte's a little bit longer. That's when Alcide dropped the news on me.
"Sookie, this isn't the right time, but it's never the right time. I think you need to know that the humans that attacked you and Jason when you were on the way to get Eric and your car ended up in the lake were Fellowship of the Sun. I got the official confirmation yesterday," Alcide said.
"I suspected as much," I replied.
"Frank, do you want to tell her?" Alcide asked him and he nodded.
"My informant told me that there's a group of Fellowship members that have met a couple of times and your name was mentioned. They have your personal information too," Frank said.
His words sent chills down my spine.
"I don't want to scare you, but you need to be careful," Alcide said.
I didn't know what to say and I think that Alcide sensed my internal turmoil because he leaned forward to get my attention and looking into my eyes he said, "We got our eyes and ears on this. The moment they try something, we will be there. You're a friend of the pack and we protect our own."
"It seems like there is something coming at me day and night. When do I get a break?" I asked sarcastically.
"We will be ready," Matthew ensured me.
"There's nothing I can do right now but to be alert and trust those around me," I said resigned.
"It will be ok Sookie," Alcide said confidently.
I just nodded. For all I knew, the vampires from Oklahoma are either planning my death or on the way here to get me and now the Fellowship of the Sun are too.
"It's late; let's go back to your house. The pack will be arriving soon," Alcide said.
We turned off the lights and were about to close Merlotte's when a police car entered the parking lot. It was Andy and he was here on official business. He parked next to Alcide's vehicle and walked towards the four of us.
Andy was proud of his uniform and it showed. While it was clean and ironed, his pants were getting a little bit too tight, but nothing that a few days of dieting wouldn't fix it.
"Andy, do you need to investigate more? Because we just cleaned up everything," I said, confused with his presence.
Andy nodded to the guys and went on to business, "no, the investigation here is over. We just need to find the murderer, the murder weapon, and her family. I went over to your house and with nobody home, I figured you were here. We found your two new employees this morning. They were sad but calm; unreasonably calm. They testified at the station. We might call them again if we need more information," Andy said as a matter of fact. He stared at me with a weird look and for one second I wondered if he suspected anything. I smiled at him while I opened my brain and invaded his thoughts, "If angels exist, would she really be an angel of death? I mean, vampires, shifters, and who knows what else exists that I don't know, so why not angels of death too?"
So Andy and the FBI agent have been talking about me.
Great.
I think I held my smile for far too long because his weird look changed to darker. "I'm glad they are both ok and nothing happened to them. I'll need to talk to them soon. They might not want to return to Merlotte's after what happened," I said breaking the awkward silence.
Andy nodded and then added, "Also, Sam's body was picked up by his family a little while ago."
I was shocked.
"That fast? What happened with an autopsy and the investigation?" I asked.
"I wasn't there when his family picked it up, but I don't find it normal either. Do shifters get buried the next day? I don't know what the procedure is anymore," Andy said confused but there was a hint of anger in his tone.
"I don't know either, but I was expecting to attend his funeral. I guess I'm not now. Nobody will get to say goodbye to him," I said, saddened at the realization.
"You can have a memorial without the body where everybody gets together, says a few words, and gives Sam a final goodbye," Alcide said. Since Alcide was a werewolf, I was sure he knew this was going to happen within the shifter community; maybe the same thing happened when werewolves die.
"There's no other option. I'll plan it for tomorrow afternoon. I'll make a few phone calls to specific ladies and they will let everybody in Bon Temps know about it," I said. Those ladies knew every piece of information about everything that happens in Bon Temps and they loved to talk about it. I'm sure Sam's memorial service without a body will be the hot topic for the next few months.
"Sam will be there in spirit," Andy said apologetically.
"Thank you Andy for the information and please let me know when you catch that woman," I said.
Andy nodded to me and then to Alcide, Matthew, and Frank before leaving. As soon as Andy's police car left the parking lot I locked Merlotte's and off we went. Matthew and Frank drove together in a ford explorer; they followed us to my house.
Once at home, I went straight to the phone and called Maxine Fortenberry. She was extremely helpful and even offered to bring food. She also offered to talk to our parish church to hold the memorial service there. Three phone calls later and I knew they would take care of everything else.
"I'm starving," Alcide said. They were hanging out in my house waiting for the pack's arrival.
"Let's order pizza," Matthew said.
I was actually hungry. Frank ordered three pizzas courtesy of the pack, and two slices later I was done eating. Between the three of them, there was nothing left afterward, and soon after the pack arrived.
The whole pack was here. Alcide had said a few of them were coming but oh well. I said hello to everybody and met a couple of new members, then they went on to hunt and I locked myself inside the house. It was nighttime and I really wanted to see Eric.
I finished cleaning the dishes when I sensed an empty presence in my backyard. I opened the back door to find Bill standing there. Why couldn't it be Eric? Ugh!
"Bill," I said. He was dressed all black as usual and smelled clean. I bet he was on his way to Fangtasia.
He gave me his accustomed southern nod and continued, "I wanted to give you my condolences. I know Sam was important in your life and losing him hurt you. I'm very sorry and I'm here if you need me."
I smiled at his gesture. "Thank you, Bill," I replied.
"She will never need you," Karin said as she walked out of the woods followed by Bubba.
"You know where I live," Bill told me, then nodded slightly to Karin and Bubba, and then left.
Whoa! What just happened?
Karin and Bubba approached me right away, "Would you like True Blood?" I asked them, trying not to think about the weird exchange with Bill.
"Yes, thank you," Karin said.
"Thank you, Mrs. Sookie," Bubba said.
I invited them in and they sat on the kitchen table while I heated up the bottles. As soon as they were ready, I gave them the bottles.
Karin was a vampire of a few words and it was a little challenging for me to have a conversation with her. So, I went on the safe route and told her about my day and tomorrow's plans.
"Does Eric know about this? Will the service end before sunset?" Karin asked.
"Yes, it will end before sunset and I'll talk to Eric today," I said.
I was about to ask her if Eric was coming today when she beat me to it, "Eric send a message. He will come tomorrow and for you to stay inside your house at night."
"Why not tonight?" I asked her.
"He's not in town. He will return tomorrow assuming it all goes as planned," Karin replied.
"What do you mean? What is he doing?" I asked worriedly.
"He's trying to save your life," Karin said giving me a sharp look.
"How?" I asked.
"Eric was very specific. He will be the one talking to you," Karin said.
"When?" I asked.
"Tomorrow he will come here," Karin said.
"Is he in danger?" I asked.
"We are all in danger. We might get perished, but not without a good fight," she said calmly.
"What?" I asked.
"That's life. We live and then we die," she said as if nothing was wrong with her words.
"Bubba, do you know what's going on?" I asked hopeful.
"No, Mrs. Sookie. Eric told me to protect you with my life." Bubba replied.
"Protect me from what? What's going to happen?" I asked Karin.
"If something happens, I'm to take you to a safe place," Karin said.
"What if I want to stay here?" I asked.
"Not a choice. I will take you to a safe place." Karin said.
I wanted to ask more questions and to argue about my free will to choose whether to stay or not when she continued, "We have to go," she said collecting Bubba's bottles and giving them to me. "We will be outside, away from the wolves," Karin said and they both disappeared.
There was no way I could sleep tonight knowing that Eric was in danger. Where was he, and what was going on? Suddenly, I realized my land was full of werewolves and two vampires. Eric had sent them!
Did Eric go to Oklahoma to exterminate all the vampires before they came here, or were they here already?
Impatience was killing me. I called Pam and Eric and neither picked up the phone. I called Fangtasia and it was closed for the night.
Fangtasia never closed. I felt my blood pressure drop to dangerous levels. Where was Eric and what was going to happen in my backyard?
Note: *evil smile*