From Dead to Worse

commenting.
    “Sure.” I accepted the box, a little puzzled. It had come from Fangtasia. Huh. As soon as the truck had wheeled back out to Hummingbird Road, I opened the package. It was a red cell phone. It was programmed to my number. There was a note with it. “Sorry about the other one, lover,” it read. Signed with a big “E.” There was a charger included. And a car charger, too. And a notice that my first six months’ bill had been paid.
    With a kind of bemused feeling, I heard another truck coming. I didn’t even bother to move from the front porch. The new arrival was from the Shreveport Home Depot. It was a new front door, very pretty, with a two-man crew to install it. All charges had been taken care of.
    I wondered if Eric would clean out my dryer vent.
    I got to Merlotte’s early so I could have a talk with Sam. But his office door was shut, and I could hear voices inside. Though not unheard of, the closed door was rare. I was instantly concerned and curious. I could read Sam’s familiar mental signature, and there was another one that I had encountered before. I heard a scrape of chair legs inside, and I hastily stepped into the storeroom before the door opened.
    Tanya Grissom walked by.
    I waited for a couple of beats, then decided my business was so urgent I had to risk a conversation with Sam, though he might not be in the mood for it. My boss was still in his creaky wooden rolling chair, his feet propped on the desk. His hair was even more of a mess than usual. He looked like he had a reddish halo. He also looked thoughtful and preoccupied, but when I said I needed to tell him some things, he nodded and asked me to shut the door.
    “Do you know what happened last night?” I asked.
    “I hear there was a hostile takeover,” Sam said. He tilted back on the springs of his rolling chair, and they squeaked in an irritating way. I was definitely balancing on a thin edge today, so I had to bite my lip to keep from snapping at him.
    “Yeah, you might say that.” A hostile takeover was pretty much a perfect way to put it. I told him what had happened at my house.
    Sam looked troubled. “I don’t ever interfere in vamp business,” he said. “The two-natured and vamps don’t mix well. I’m really sorry you got pulled into that, Sookie. That asshole Eric.” He looked like there was more he wanted to say, but he pressed his lips together.
    “Do you know anything about the King of Nevada?” I asked.
    “I know he has a publishing empire,” Sam said promptly. “And he has at least one casino and some restaurants. He’s also the ultimate owner of a management company that handles vampire entertainers. You know, the Elvis Undead Revue with all-vamp Elvis tribute artists, which is pretty funny when you think about it, and some great dance groups.” We both knew that the real Elvis was still around but rarely in any shape to perform. “If there had to be a takeover of a tourist state, Felipe de Castro is the right vampire for the job. He’ll make sure New Orleans gets rebuilt like it ought to be, because he’ll want the revenue.”
    “Felipe de Castro ... That sounds exotic,” I said.
    “I haven’t met him, but I understand he’s very, ah, charismatic,” Sam said. “I wonder if he’ll be coming to Louisiana to live or if this Victor Madden will be his agent here. Either way, it won’t affect the bar. But there’s no doubt it’ll affect you, Sookie.” Sam uncrossed his legs and sat up straight in his chair, which shrieked in protest. “I wish there was some way to get you out of the vampire loop.”
    “The night I met Bill, if I’d known what I know now, I wonder if I’d have done anything different,” I said. “Maybe I would’ve let the Rattrays have him.” I’d rescued Bill from a sleazy couple who turned out to be not only sleazy, but murderers. They were vampire drainers, people who lured vampires to spots where the vamps could be subdued with silver chains and drained of blood, which sold for big bucks on the black market. Drainers lived hazardous lives. The Rattrays had paid the full price.
    “You don’t mean that,” Sam said. He rocked in the chair again ( squeak! squeak! ) and rose to his feet. “You would never do that.”
    It felt really pleasant to hear something nice about myself, especially after the morning’s conversation with Quinn. I was tempted to talk to Sam about that, too, but he was edging toward the door. Time to go to work, for both of us.