The Sookie Stackhouse Companion

supplies to repair the window for the night.”
    BILL : “I’ll be there shortly.”
     
     
     
    Phone: Eric calling Bill.
    ERIC : “Bill, have you heard anything about Sookie in an alley with a naked man?”
    BILL : “Yes.”
    ERIC: “And?”
    BILL : “And what? Sookie was in an alley with a naked man. And the woman who was shooting the shifters. I assume the naked man was a shifter as well. There was also a dog, so Sam was there, too.”
     
     
     
    Phone: Eric calling Bill.
    ERIC: “Bill, are you in Bon Temps?”
    BILL: “No, I’m with Selah in Clarice.”
    ERIC: “I need information from your database.”
    BILL: “I have my laptop. Give me a few minutes.”
    ERIC: “Look up Charles Twining.”
    BILL: “Charles? Didn’t you . . . ?”
    ERIC: “Now, Bill.”
    BILL: “Charles Twining. His sire was . . . Eric, his sire is dead, but he is pledged to Hot Rain.”
    ERIC : “Goddammit!”
    BILL : “How could you have sent him to Sookie without checking him out?”
    ERIC : “I did. I called Russell. He thought Charles had been at his home. Fucking idiot!”
    BILL : “You or Russell?”
    ERIC : “I’m sending Bubba to Merlotte’s to warn Sookie.”
    BILL : “I’ll return to Merlotte’s immediately.”
    ERIC : “No. She just needs to stay clear of Charles until I deal with Hot Rain. Killing Charles after Long Shadow’s death would not go well for either of us. I’m calling his ruler now to advise them that he has gone against the ruling and sought revenge.”

“One Word Answer”

Timeline
    THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2005. Sookie is out in her yard at midnight raking up bush clippings with Bubba when a black limousine pulls into her drive. Bubba immediately vanishes into the woods, and Sookie can only hope that he has left to find Bill, her nearest neighbor, as she faces the large man who emerges from the limo. From his brain pattern Sookie can tell that the man is some sort of supernatural creature. The stranger, Mr. Cataliades, informs her that she is the beneficiary of a legacy from her cousin Hadley, who had not only become a vampire—and personal favorite of Sophie-Anne Leclerq, Queen of Louisiana—but met her final death a month prior. Mr. Cataliades summons his driver, a vampire named Waldo, from the car at Sookie’s request. Bubba returns with Bill, who joins Sookie in questioning Mr. Cataliades and Waldo as to the circumstances of Hadley’s death. Waldo claims that he witnessed Hadley’s murder at the hands of members of the Fellowship of the Sun, but Sookie soon suspects him of doing the deed himself, an accusation confirmed by Mr. Cataliades. He reveals that Sophie-Anne has realized Waldo’s duplicity and sent him on the trip to Bon Temps so that Sookie can stake him. She refuses, telling him she will send Waldo back to the queen instead. Heartbroken that his queen knows of his betrayal, certain her torture will make him wish for death, Waldo attacks Sookie, knowing that Bill and Bubba will stop him and put an end to his existence. As Waldo flakes away in Sookie’s yard, the queen herself steps from the limo. She questions Sookie as to the events of the night, wondering if Sookie set it all up to play out just as it did. Sookie carefully responds with enigmatic one-word answers, and the queen and Mr. Cataliades are soon on their way back to New Orleans.

The Secret Dialogues of Bill and Eric
    Phone: Eric calling Bill.
    ERIC : “Bill, Bubba has told me that Sophie-Anne was at Sookie’s house, and the two of you killed a wrinkled, red-eyed vampire. What the hell is he talking about?”
    BILL : “Sophie-Anne was at Sookie’s house, and Bubba and I killed a wrinkled, red-eyed vampire.”
    ERIC: “Bill . . .”
    BILL: “Cataliades arrived to inform Sookie of her cousin Hadley’s death.” ERIC: “The queen’s favorite was Sookie’s cousin?”
    BILL: “Yes.”
    ERIC: “Why wasn’t this information in your vaunted database?”
    BILL: “Including information about the queen’s favorite didn’t seem like a good idea, Eric.”
    ERIC : “I see your point. A red-eyed, wrinkly . . . Wait, you and Bubba killed Waldo?”
    BILL : “Yes.”
    ERIC : “May I ask why?”
    BILL : “He killed Hadley. The queen brought him here so that Sookie could exact vengeance.”
    ERIC : “But you did it instead.”
    BILL : “Sookie could not bring herself to do it and was sending him back to the queen. He attacked her, and I took care of it for her.”
    ERIC : “I thought Sophie-Anne was