Deaths Excellent Vacation

well-cut pants, her low heels and conservative jewelry.
    “So where are we going?” I asked, after the valet had retrieved Pam’s car. We turned north on 61. The traffic was heavy. Though it was a weekday, everyone seemed to be in a great hurry to lose their hard- earned cash and experience something a little different from their everyday lives.
    “We’re going to a club that’s just west of this highway, about ten miles north of here,” Pam said. “It’s called Blonde, and it’s owned by a vampire named Michael.”
    I remembered my conversation with the couple on the bus. “This would be a ‘gentleman’s club’?”
    Pam looked massively sardonic. “Yes, that’s what they call it.”
    “Why are we going there? Eric said a vampire runs it. We’re across the state line in Russell Edgington’s territory.” Russell Edgington was the vampire king of Mississippi. Though most humans didn’t know it, there were other systems of government in the USA besides the one in Washington, D.C.
    Not every state has its own vampire ruler; some states are populous enough to have two or even more. (New York City has its own king, I understand.) Visiting vamps were supposed to check in when they had to cross into another vamp’s territory. I’d met Russell, and he was no joke.
    “This must go no further, you understand?” Pam gave me a very meaningful look before turning her attention back to the road. The oncoming traffic heading south from Memphis was moving easily, but it was also nonstop.
    “I understand,” I said. I didn’t sound enthusiastic. Vampire secrets are unpleasant and dangerous.
    “Our new masters have been chipping away at Edgington’s control of Mississippi,” Pam said.
    This was very bad news. Louisiana, where Bon Temps lay, had been taken over from its previous management by the vampires of Nevada. Since Arkansas had previously allied with Louisiana (long story), the king of Nevada (Felipe de Castro) had gotten two states for the price of one. His ambitious lieutenant, Victor Madden, had apparently decided to go for the trifecta.
    “Why would they want to do that?” Felipe owned two poor states. If he added Mississippi, he’d have the equivalent of one prosperous state, but his people would be spread thin.
    “The casinos,” Pam said.
    Of course. The big business in Nevada was casinos, and there were lots of casinos in Mississippi. Felipe had already acquired casinos in Louisiana, and had the state of Arkansas thrown in for free.
    “Vampires can’t own casinos,” I said. “It’s against the law.” A powerful human lobby had pushed that legislation.
    “Do you imagine that Felipe doesn’t control what happens at the casinos in Las Vegas? At least in large part?”
    “No,” I admitted. I’d met Felipe.
    “In fact, our king is bringing a lawsuit to challenge that legislation through the human courts, and I’m confident he’ll win,” Pam said. “In the meantime, Victor told Eric to use us as an advance team.”
    I had seen Victor much more often than the king himself. Victor Madden was Felipe de Castro’s man on the ground in Louisiana, while Felipe stayed at his castle in Las Vegas. “Ah, Pam, do you think this is all on the up-and-up?”
    “What do you mean?”
    I thought she knew perfectly well what I meant. “Victor specified us. Why do we have this top secret mission, instead of someone better at negotiation? Not that you’re not a great fighter,” I added quickly. “But you’d think if we’re trying to pinch off parts of Mississippi, Victor would send Eric himself.” Eric was the only remaining sheriff that the previous ruler had put in place. All the others were dead. I remembered Victor’s adorable, smiling face, and I got worried. “You sure this Michael is willing to ditch Russell?”
    “Victor says so.”
    “And Michael has a human companion.”
    “Yes, a man named Rudy.”
    “This is dangerous, no matter what Victor told Eric. We’re in foreign territory. This isn’t a real vacation. We’re poaching .”
    “Russell doesn’t know why we’re here.”
    “How can you be sure?”
    “I told his headquarters that I was having a weekend here, so they wouldn’t think my presence was caused by business of any kind.”
    “And?”
    “Russell himself came on the phone to extend his hospitality. He told me to feel free to enjoy myself in the area, that Eric’s second in command was always welcome.”
    “And you don’t think that’s