Dead in the Family

and his presence was usually a standout in any crowd.
    I spotted Annabelle. She was in the center of the room on her knees, though she was not constrained in any way. There was an empty space all around her.
    “Don’t approach,” Ham said quietly as I took a step forward. I stopped in my tracks.
    “You can talk to her later, probably,” Patricia whispered. It was the “probably” that bothered me. But this was pack business, and I was on pack land.
    “I’m getting me a beer,” Jason said after he’d had a good look at Annabelle’s situation. “What do you want, Sook?”
    “You need to go upstairs,” Jannalynn said very quietly. “Don’t drink anything else. Alcide’s got a drink for you.” She jerked her head toward the stairs to my left. I puckered my brows together, and Jason looked as though he were going to protest, but she jerked her head again.
    I found Alcide in a study at the head of the stairs. He was looking out the window. There was a glass of cloudy yellow liquid sitting on the desk blotter.
    “What?” I said. I was getting an even worse feeling about this evening than I’d already had.
    He turned to face me. His black hair was still in a tumble, and he could have used a shave, but grooming had nothing to do with the charisma that surrounded him like a cocoon. I didn’t know if the role had enhanced the man, or if the man had grown into the role, but Alcide had come far from the charming, friendly guy I’d met two winters ago.
    “We don’t have a shaman anymore,” he said with no preamble. “We haven’t had one for four years. It’s hard to find a Were who’s willing to take the position, and you have to have the talent for it to even consider it anyway.”
    “Okay,” I said, waiting to see where he was going.
    “You’re the closest we’ve got.”
    If there’d been drums in the background, they would’ve started an ominous roll. “I’m not a shaman,” I said. “In fact, I don’t know what a shaman is. And you don’t have me.”
    “That’s a term we use for a medicine man or woman,” Alcide said. “One with a gift for interpreting and applying magic. It sounded better to us than ‘witch.’ And this way, we know who we’re talking about. If we had a pack shaman, that shaman would drink the stuff in this glass and be able to help us determine the truth of what happened to Basim, and the degree of guilt of everyone involved. Then the pack would decide on proportionate justice.”
    “What is it?” I asked, pointing at the liquid.
    “It’s what was left over in the last shaman’s stash.”
    “What is it?”
    “It’s a drug,” he said. “But before you walk out, let me tell you that the last shaman took it several times without any lasting ill effect.”
    “Lasting.”
    “Well, he had stomach cramps the next day. But he was able to go back to work the day after that.”
    “Of course, he was a Were, and he’d be able to eat things I can’t eat anyway. What does it do to you? Or rather, what would it do to me?”
    “It gives you a different perception of reality. That’s what the guy told me. And since I clearly wasn’t shaman material, that’s all he told me.”
    “Why would I take an unknown drug?” I asked, genuinely curious.
    “Because otherwise we’ll never get to the bottom of this,” Alcide said. “Right now, the only guilty person I can see is Annabelle. She may only be guilty of being unfaithful to me. I hate that, but she doesn’t deserve to die for it. But if I can’t find out who killed Basim and planted him in your ground, I think the pack will condemn her, since she’s the only one who was involved with him. I guess I’d be a good suspect for killing Basim out of jealousy. But I could have done it legally, and I wouldn’t have blamed you.”
    I knew that was true.
    “They’ll put her to death,” he said, harping on the point that would have the most effect on me.
    I was almost tough enough to shrug. Almost.
    “Can’t I try to do this my way?” I said. “Laying my hands on them?”
    “You’ve told me yourself it’s hard to get a clear thought from Weres.” Alcide said it almost sadly. “Sookie, I’d hoped we’d be a couple one day. Now that I’m packmaster and you’re in love with that cold ass Eric, I guess that’ll never happen. I thought we might have a chance because you couldn’t read my thoughts that clearly. Since I know that, I don’t think I can rely on you laying on your hands and getting an