“Porter,” I said. “It’s me, Sookie Stackhouse, Sam’s friend. And my buddy Luna Garza is with me.”
“Hands!” Porter said. “Anyway.”
“Okay.” I appreciated his caution. Luna walked over to me, and we turned our backs on the doorway and put our hands on the wall. “We’re ready,” I yelled.
You’d think I’d be distraught and upset. You’d think I’d be overwhelmed, having seen this horrible scene.
But you know what? I was tickled pink. I’d never been a squeamish person, and I’d seen other and worse scenes of carnage, featuring people I cared about to some extent or other.
As it was, it was hard for me to suppress a smile when I saw Sarah Newlin hauled off to the hospital under arrest. And since the dead man was Jim Collins, I didn’t feel a moment’s grief for him, either. He would have loved it if the tables had been turned, if he’d walked in on someone who’d just killed Bernie and Sam. He’d have patted them on the back. And I’m being honest when I say that after the hate I’d seen that day, I couldn’t be sorry that if someone had to die, that person was Jim Collins, and if someone had to be a murderer, I was fine with that murderer being Sarah Newlin.
“Sookie,” said Luna into my ear, “it doesn’t hardly get any better than this.”
“I think you’re right,” I said.
Porter Carpenter himself took our statements. I could tell that Luna—and the fact that she’d smelled the dead body—made him uneasy. But he wrote everything down, made note of our phone numbers, and then sent us on our way. Finally, we got to go back to the Merlotte house, where everyone was waiting anxiously to find out what had happened. I’d heard Sam’s voice raised outside several times while I’d been answering questions—or simply waiting to be asked questions—and each time I’d smiled involuntarily. Sam was on the offensive.
Luna and I were glad to enter Bernie’s kitchen, still crowded with weres, though the bulk of the party had drifted away—including Tijgerin and Quinn.
Sam grabbed me by the shoulders, looked intently into my face, and said, “You okay?” He was vibrating like a tuning fork with anxiety.
“Yeah, I’m okay,” I said. I smiled at him. “Thanks. I could hear you yell.”
“I wanted you to hear me.”
“We had quite an evening over there,” Luna said. “Man, getting questioned by the cops is thirsty work!” Her cute Chinese cop took the hint and got Luna a beer from the refrigerator.
“We still have some food, if you’re hungry,” Bernie said. I could tell she was exhausted, but she was upright.
“Not me,” I told her. Luna shook her head, too. “First, let me be sure you-all know Luna Garza from Dallas. Luna did me a good turn at the Fellowship of the Sun church some time ago, and seeing her here tonight turned out to be lucky for me again. . . .”
When we’d related the whole story, Brenda Sue began laughing. And she was joined by some of the other twoeys. “That’s just too good,” she said. “It’s perfect. I know this is probably wrong of me, but I can’t help feeling okay about this.” There was a lot of silent agreement in the room.
Gradually, the remaining guests of the unofficial party began to leave. I couldn’t avoid talking to Jannalynn anymore. She’d been sitting behind the table within reach of Sam since I’d returned, and she hadn’t said a word. I knew this situation was hard for her, and I felt sorry it was, but there was nothing I could do about it. She’d known when she’d come to Wright that it was the wrong thing to do.
What could I see in her brain? I saw grief, resentment, and envy. Jannalynn was wondering why Sam couldn’t see that she was just like me. She was brave and pretty and loyal, too.
“I have a boyfriend,” I said. “You know I go with Eric Northman.”
“Doesn’t make any difference,” she said stoically, not meeting my eyes.
“Sure it does. I love Eric. You love Sam.” Already I could tell that saying anything at all had been the mistake I’d thought it would be, that we were compounding the unhappiness. But I couldn’t simply sit there in silence staring at her.
Jannalynn could do that, though, and she did. She stared a hole through me and didn’t say a word. I didn’t know where she proposed to sleep that night, but it wasn’t going to be in the sewing room with me, and I was going to bed.
Luna was ready to depart (by a huge coincidence, so was the cute cop), and I gave her a hug and told her I hoped to see her in Bon Temps someday.
“Girlfriend, just say the word,” she murmured, and returned the hug.
I didn’t see Sam anywhere, but I told Bernie good night and took my turn in the bathroom.
I don’t know what anyone else did after that, but I took the quickest shower on record and slipped into my nightgown and unfolded the couch. I had time to pull the sheet up over me about halfway before I was out like a light. My phone buzzed a couple of times in the night, but all I did was moan and turn over.
The next morning, it was raining like hell when I woke. The clock told me it was after eight o’clock, and I knew I had to get up. I could smell coffee and a trace of a sweet scent that made me suspect someone had gone to a bakery.
In fact, Bernie had gone to the store and gotten some Pillsbury cinnamon rolls. Sam and Bernie were sitting at the table. Sam got up to get me a cup of coffee, and I hunched over it gratefully.
Bernie shoved the paper over to me. It was the Waco paper. There was a short article about the upset at the wedding.
“Was it on the TV?” I asked.
“Yeah, apparently,” Sam said. “But Jim’s murder is upstaging the wedding.”
I nodded. All my glee had faded, leaving me feeling sort of dirty.
“Bernie, you did great yesterday,” I said. Bernie looked ten years older than she had the day before, but there was vigor in her step and purpose in her voice.
“I’m glad it’s over. I hope I never have to go through anything like that again. I hope Craig and Deidra are happy.” Three true things.
I nodded emphatically. I agreed all the way around. “You going to church today?” I asked.
“Oh, yes,” she said. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
Sam said, “Sook, you think you can be ready to leave in an hour or so?”
“Sure. All I have to do is grab up my stuff and put on some makeup.” I’d pulled on my shorts and a shirt and packed my nightgown already.
“No hurry,” Sam assured me, but I could tell from the way he was sitting that he wanted to get on the road again. I wondered where Jannalynn was. I sort of felt around the house for her mentally, got no other brain signal. Hmmm.
We were actually out the door in forty-five minutes, after I said all the correct things to Bernie. I didn’t want her to think I hadn’t been brought up right. She smiled at me, and she seemed sincere when she told me she’d enjoyed having me in the house.
Sam and I were silent for a long time after we left Wright. I checked my cell phone for messages, and sure enough, I had two from Eric. He didn’t like to text, though he would if he had to. He’d left voice messages. First message—“I’ve seen you on the evening news. Call me.” BEEP. Second message—“Every time you leave town you get into trouble. Do you need me to come?” BEEP.
“Eric all bent out of shape?” Sam asked.
“Yeah. About like Jannalynn, I expect.” I had to say something. Better to get it over with.
“Not exactly. You and Eric have been together longer, and you seem to know each other a little better.”
“As well as a human and a thousand-year-old vamp can, I guess. You don’t think you and Jannalynn know each other?”
“She’s a lot younger than me,” he said. “And she has some impulse control issues. But she’s really brave, really loyal.”
Okay, that was just weird. It was like listening to an echo of Jannalynn’s thoughts the night before.
“Yes,” I said. “She is.”