From Dead to Worse

and contempt there, but I couldn’t blame him.
    “I’m Sookie Stackhouse,” I said.
    Jonathan was a smallish man, maybe five foot eight, with the light copper coloring and dusky black hair of his country. He was really handsome. His nose was small and broad, his lips plump. His brown eyes were topped with absolutely straight black brows. His skin was so fine I couldn’t detect any pores. He had that little shine vampires have.
    “This is your husband?” he asked, picking up his glass of blood and tilting his head in Sam’s direction. Sam was busy mixing a piña colada for one of the bridesmaids.
    “No, sir, he’s my boss.”
    Just then, Terry Bellefleur, second cousin to Portia and Andy, lurched up to ask for another beer. I was real fond of Terry, but he was a bad drunk, and I thought he was well on his way to achieving that condition. Though the Vietnam vet wanted to stand and talk about the president’s policy on the current war, I walked him over to another family member, a distant cousin from Baton Rouge, and made sure the man was going to keep an eye on Terry and prevent him from driving off in his pickup.
    The vampire Jonathan was keeping an eye on me while I did this, and I wasn’t sure why. But I didn’t observe anything aggressive or lustful in his stance or demeanor, and his fangs were in. It seemed safe to disregard him and take care of business. If there was some reason Jonathan wanted to talk to me, I’d find out about it sooner or later. Later was fine.
    As I fetched a case of Cokes from Sam’s truck, my attention was caught by a man standing alone in the shadows cast by the big live oak on the west side of the lawn. He was tall, slim, and impeccably dressed in a suit that was obviously very expensive. The man stepped forward a little and I could see his face, could realize he was returning my gaze. My first impression was that he was a lovely creature and not a man at all. Whatever he was, human wasn’t part of it. Though he had some age on him, he was extremely handsome, and his hair, still pale gold, was as long as mine. He wore it pulled back neatly. He was slightly withered, like a delicious apple that had been in the crisper too long, but his back was absolutely straight and he wore no glasses. He did carry a cane, a very simple black one with a gold head.
    When he stepped out of the shadows, the vampires turned as a group to look. After a moment they slightly inclined their heads. He returned the acknowledgment. They kept their distance, as if he was dangerous or awesome.
    This episode was very strange, but I didn’t have time to think about it. Everyone wanted one last free drink. The reception was winding down, and people were filtering to the front of the house for the leave-taking of the happy couples. Halleigh and Portia had disappeared upstairs to change into their going-away outfits. The E(E)E staff had been vigilant about clearing up empty cups and the little plates that had held cake and finger food, so the garden looked relatively neat.
    Now that we weren’t busy, Sam let me know he had something on his mind. “Sookie, am I getting the wrong idea, or do you dislike Tanya?”
    “I do have something against Tanya,” I said. “I’m just not sure I should tell you about it. You clearly like her.” You’d think I’d been sampling the bourbon. Or truth serum.
    “If you don’t like to work with her, I want to hear the reason,” he said. “You’re my friend. I respect your opinion.”
    This was very pleasant to hear.
    “Tanya is pretty,” I said. “She’s bright and able.” Those were the good things.
    “And?”
    “And she came here as a spy,” I said. “The Pelts sent her, trying to find out if I had anything to do with the disappearance of their daughter Debbie. You remember when they came to the bar?”
    “Yes,” said Sam. In the illumination that had been strung up all around the garden, he looked both brightly lit and darkly shadowed. “You did have something to do with it?”
    “Everything,” I said sadly. “But it was self-defense.”
    “I know it must have been.” He’d taken my hand. My own jerked in surprise. “I know you,” he said, and didn’t let go.
    Sam’s faith made me feel a little warm glow inside. I’d worked for Sam a long time now, and his good opinion meant a lot to me. I felt almost choked up, and I had to clear my throat. “So, I wasn’t happy to see Tanya,” I continued. “I didn’t trust her from the start,