Dead Ever After

weren’t for her, that shouldn’t bother you at all.”
    Arlene mulled that over for a moment. “I guess it doesn’t,” she said.
    “Well, you know she’s at work now,” said the medium man. “So I think right now would be a good time to go there. And in case her house is warded, carry this.” He handed her a strange old coin. At least, it looked old, and it was surprisingly heavy for its size. “Keep it in your pocket at all times,” he said.
    Arlene was startled. She looked down at the small object dubiously before she put it in her pocket. “Well, okay. I’ll go to Sookie’s now. Then I got to go look at rental places. When will that money be in my account?”
    “Tomorrow,” the tall man assured her. “And you’ll find your own place, and your kids will be able to move back in with you.”
    “And this is all you want me to do? I asked her for a job, and in a little bit I go get a scarf from her drawer? With this thing in my pocket?”
    “Well, you’ll have to meet us and give us the scarf and coin,” the tall man said, shrugging. “That’s no big deal.”
    “Okay,” said Arlene. “If my old car will make it there. It isn’t doing too good after being parked in Chessie’s backyard since I been in jail.”
    “Here’s some gas money,” the tall man said, pulling out his wallet and handing Arlene some cash. “We wouldn’t want you running out of gas.”
    “No,” said the medium man. “We wouldn’t want that.”
    “I’ll call you on that cell phone you gave me, when I got the scarf,” Arlene said. “We can meet tonight.”
    The two men looked at each other silently. “Tonight will be great,” the tall man said after a second or two. “Just great.”

Chapter 5
    I saw Terry Bellefleur for the second time that day while I was putting gas in my car at the Grabbit Kwik. He was filling up his pickup. Terry’s Catahoula, Annie, was in the back of the truck. She was interested in everything that was going on at the gas station, though she was panting heavily in the heat.
    I knew just how she felt. I was glad I’d waited until evening to take care of this task. At least the pavement didn’t look like it was rippling, and I didn’t have to let my tongue hang out.
    After Terry pulled his charge slip from the pump, I called to him. He turned and brightened. “Hey, Sook. How’s Sam doing? I was glad to see you today. I wish I’d sat at your tables instead of that An’s. She talks the hind leg off a donkey.”
    He was the only guy I knew who didn’t want to howl at the moon when he saw An Norr. “Sam may be back on the job tomorrow,” I said.
    “Crazy, you both getting sick at the same time.”
    He was also the only person in Bon Temps who would say that without leering. I’d “overheard” several comments in the bar today about Sam and me both being AWOL for four days. “So, how’s Jimmie?” I asked. Jimmie was his girlfriend; at least I thought that was their relationship. I was pleased to see that Terry’s hair had been cut and combed, and that he’d shaved in the past couple of days. Jimmie was a good influence.
    “She’s real good,” he said. “I asked her dad if I could marry her.” Terry looked down a little nervously as he told me this important fact. Terry had had a rough time as a POW in Vietnam. He’d come away with a multitude of physical and mental problems. I was so happy he’d found someone, and proud of his determination to do the right thing.
    “What did her dad say?” I was genuinely curious. Though Jimmie was a little younger than Terry, I was a little surprised to hear she still had her father.
    “He said if Jimmie’s kids didn’t mind, it was okay with him.”
    “Kids,” I said, scrambling to get a foothold on the slippery slope of the conversation.
    “She got two sons and a daughter, nineteen, twenty, and twenty-two,” Terry said, and to give him credit, he seemed happy about that. “They all got children. I now have me some grandkids.”
    “So her children were happy about the idea of a stepfather?” I smiled broadly.
    “Yeah,” he said, turning red. “They were real pleased. Their dad passed away ten years ago, and he was a mean bastard, anyway. Things ain’t been easy for Jimmie.”
    I gave him a hug. “I’m so happy for you,” I said. “When’s the wedding?”
    “Well.” He turned even redder. “It was yesterday. We went across the state line to Magnolia and got married.”
    I had to exclaim a little and pat