The Sookie Stackhouse Companion

pair had a huge following. I would love to catch Sarah Newlin and turn her over to the law. It was no thanks to her that I hadn’t been raped or murdered at the Fellowship building.
    Nothing could drown out all the noise from the street, but the vestibule of the church was calm and relatively quiet. I could see through the open doors into the sanctuary that the candles were burning and the flowers were in place. Deidra’s army brother, Jared, had brought a rifle with him, and he was standing by the church door ready to use it. Sam was with him.
    I could see that the Lisles were waiting in the aisle, though Deidra’s mother was struggling not to cry, and Deidra’s father looked very grim. He had come armed, too. I didn’t blame him. Craig and Bernie were right by them, along with Brother Arrowsmith’s wife. She’d brought their son with her, cast and all. He looked angry and horrified and humiliated, and most of all he looked ashamed, because Bernie stood in front of him and looked him right in the face, not letting the boy dodge her gaze.
    A door in the east wall of the vestibule opened, the door to the bride’s room, and Deidra’s sisters peeked out in their bridesmaid dresses, both pretty and very young. And very frightened. Their older brother nodded at them, trying to look reassuring.
    “Where are Denissa and Mary?” the younger sister asked.
    “The girls who were supposed to sing? They didn’t make it,” Jared said. The door closed. I knew Deidra was waiting in the little room in her wedding dress. “Their parents were too scared to let them come,” Jared told Sam and me. “Sookie, you want to sing instead?”
    Sam snorted.
    “That’s one thing I can’t help with. You hear me singing, you’d run the other way.” I wouldn’t have thought anything could make me laugh, but I did. I took a deep breath. “I’ll stay right here and watch the door. You two are members of the wedding.”
    Jared hesitated. “You know how to use this?” he asked, handing me the rifle. It was a .30-.30. I looked it over. “I prefer a shotgun,” I said. “But I can make this work.”
    He gave me a straight look and then vanished through the double doors. Sam patted my shoulder and followed Jared.
    I heard the music starting up in the sanctuary. The older of Deidra’s sisters came out of the side room, her lavender dress rustling around her feet, and her eyes widened at the sight of me standing there with the rifle.
    “I’m just insurance,” I said, trying to look reassuring.
    “I’m going to ring the bell,” she told me, as if she had to get my permission. She pointed at the door in the west side of the vestibule, the bell tower door.
    “Good idea.” I had no idea whether it was or not, but if tradition demanded the bell be rung at the time of the wedding, then the bell would be rung. “You need me to help?”
    “If you wouldn’t mind. My little sister needs to stay with Deidra. She’s real nervous. You’ll have to put down the rifle for a second.” She sounded almost apologetic. “My name’s Angie, by the way.”
    I introduced myself and followed her through the little door into the bell tower. A long red velvet rope hung down like a big thick snake. I looked up at the bell hanging overhead, wondered how many pounds it weighed. I hoped the builders had known what they were doing. I laid down the rifle, and Angie and I seized the rope, braced ourselves on our heels, and pulled. “Four times,” she said jerkily, “For a four o’clock wedding.”
    This was actually kind of fun. We almost came off our feet when the bell swung up, but we managed the four rings. And I heard the crowd go quiet.
    “I wonder if there’s a speaker outside,” I said.
    “They put in one for Mr. Williston’s funeral,” Angie said. “He was in the state legislature.” She opened the door to an electrical panel and flipped a switch.
    I could hear a crackle outside, and then “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” poured over the heads of the crowd. I heard a yell or two, but I could tell that people were turning to listen.
    Angie went over to open the door to the bride’s waiting room, and Deidra and her youngest sister came out. Mr. Lisle joined them, and I could tell he was trying to focus on his daughter instead of on the mob in the street. Deidra was a vision in white, and her hands were holding a happy bouquet of sunflowers and daisies.
    “You look beautiful,” I said. Who could not smile at a