The Sookie Stackhouse Companion

by Charlaine Harris

  SUNDAY, JANUARY 30. When the detectives arrive, Sookie is surprised at how much they know about her relationship with Debbie, but she is straightforward about her dislike of the shifter. They leave with no apparent reason to suspect her, and Alcide arrives to pick her up for the funeral.

  Once at the church for the service, Sookie realizes that her attending with Alcide has a larger import within the pack. She learns from Christine Larrabee, wife of the former packmaster and escorted by Alcide’s father, Jackson Herveaux, that her appearance with Alcide signifies her support of his father in his bid for packmaster. An angry Sookie confronts Alcide with the deception but remains at the service to honor Colonel Flood. Sookie also comes to the notice of Patrick Furnan, the other candidate for packmaster. A tall, handsome bald man at the service catches Sookie’s eye.

  That evening at work, Sam asks Sookie if Charles Twining can stay at her house, since the bar does not have an adequate light-tight space. Tara and Mickey arrive at the bar, and Sookie has an angry confrontation with Mickey.

  Sookie is asleep when Charles awakens her with the news of a prowler and slips outside. She turns on the porch light to see that Charles has captured a furious Bill Compton. Returning to bed, she is awakened again by Claudine with the news that her house is on fire. Charles kills the man who apparently started the fire, and the fire department is able to save her house. It appears that the man is a member of the Fellowship of the Sun. With Sookie’s home seriously damaged, Sookie and Charles go home with Bill for the rest of the night.

  MONDAY, JANUARY 31. Sookie’s insurance agent, Greg Aubert, arrives to assess the damage, the first of a steady stream of visitors, including Tray Dawson, who’s been sent by Calvin Norris with a message of support and an offer of his home while he is in the hospital. Sookie does not want to be obligated but worries where she will stay until her home is repaired.

  Sookie is dismayed when the family of the dead arsonist comes to see her at work. They struggle with his guilt but leave when the evidence seems overwhelming. Sam comforts Sookie, and they have a passionate moment, which is interrupted by Bill, who fights with the injured Sam. When Sookie is harmed trying to stop the fight, an angry Bill leaves, and she decides to spend the night at Jason’s.

  TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1. Terry Bellefleur has offered to help Sookie by demolishing the fire-damaged areas of her house and disposing of the refuse for a nominal fee. They are working at her house in the morning when Alcide arrives, anxious after hearing about the fire. Contractors Randall and Delia Shurtliff come by to arrange the repairs, and after they leave, Alcide asks Sookie to move in with him for the duration of the renovation. She refuses, admitting that she shot Debbie in self-defense, and although he claims it doesn’t matter, she tells him that now is not the time to consider starting a relationship.

  Sookie is upset when Bill brings a date, Selah Pumphrey, to the bar that evening. She is further disturbed when Eric arrives, angry that Charles had not rescued Sookie from the burning house. Eric tries again to get Sookie to tell him what happened between them when he had amnesia, but she is able to distract him. Sookie agrees when Sam offers her one of his rental houses until her own is repaired. She is pleased to have to spend only one more night at her brother’s place. She is surprised to find Crystal at Jason’s but relieved that the female werepanther doesn’t believe Jason is involved in the shootings.

  WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2. Sookie salvages enough linens and kitchenware to move into the duplex on Berry Street and makes her first meal in her temporary home. She visits Calvin at the Grainger hospital and decides to stop at the library on the way back. Out in the parking lot, Sookie feels another presence and ducks just as a shot rings out, creasing her shoulder. She wakes up in the hospital to her brother’s voice and later gets a visit from Detective Andy Bellefleur. Bill arrives to watch over her and spends the night.

  THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3. Sookie is released from the hospital the next morning and is mystified to find that her bill has been paid. She is just realizing that she has no way to get home when Claudine’s brother, Claude, arrives to take her back to the duplex. Tara comes to visit, and Sookie is horrified when she learns how Mickey is controlling her terrified friend. Tara begs Sookie not to interfere. When Tara leaves, Sookie realizes that she has only one alternative, and she calls Eric, who comes over immediately. Sookie tells Eric the full story of Tara’s problem with Mickey. She is not surprised that the price for the favor is the truth of the time they spent together. Sookie tells him all they did and what he promised her while he had amnesia. After a few minutes of stunned silence while he processes the information, Eric calls Mickey’s maker, Salome, and asks her to deal with Mickey, since he is acting against their laws and without permission in Eric’s territory. Eric is beginning to get amorous when a furious Mickey arrives with a beaten Tara and attacks, striking Eric with a rock. Sookie is able to revive Eric but is forced to let Mickey into the house when he threatens to kill Tara. Mickey attacks Sookie, but she is able to rescind the invitation. He is forced to leave and answer his maker’s call. Eric calls Salome back to inform her of Mickey’s disobedience and then calls Bill to help repair the apartment.

  FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4. Sookie and Sam realize that the shooter has to be a supernatural being of some kind. They decide to investigate the sites of the earlier shootings after work with Sam in bloodhound form. They are searching the alley across from the Sonic, where the first shooting took place, when they are interrupted by Andy Bellefleur. As Sookie is arguing with Andy, Sam barks to let them know someone else has arrived. Sweetie Des Arts, the new cook at Merlotte’s, is in the alley with a rifle pointed at them. She confesses to being the shooter, admitting that she has murdered many other shifters in retaliation for being attacked by a bitten Were, which causes her to partially shift each full moon. She plans to kill Sookie and the dog, but when Sweetie hears a noise and turns to fire, Andy is able to pull his gun and kill her. Sookie rushes over to see whom Sweetie shot and finds a seriously injured Dawson, whom Calvin had told to follow and protect her. Sookie is able to keep him alive until the ambulance arrives.

  SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5. Alcide comes by the duplex in the morning to invite Sookie to the Shreveport packmaster contest, but she is too weary to appreciate his presence and sends him away, telling him to leave the invitation. After finding a note on her door from Sam telling her not to come in for her evening shift, she decides to visit Calvin, who has been released from the hospital.

  Sookie prepares a chicken dish and biscuits to take to Calvin, and she is surprised to find a crowd already at his house to welcome him home. After being introduced around, she is led to his bedroom, where he is eating the food she prepared for him. As she is leaving, she finds Patrick Furnan—the other contestant for Shreveport packmaster, who has also been visiting Calvin—waiting for her with a strange warning about her being unprotected. Once in her temporary home and able to relax, Sookie considers the shifter shootings and calls Andy to question him as to whether all the bullets matched.

  SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 6. Alcide calls to tell Sookie that the packmaster contest is being held that afternoon in Shreveport. When she arrives at the deserted industrial park, she is relieved to see Claudine and Claude in attendance and stands with them. Before the contest begins, Sookie is surprised to see the handsome bald man she had noticed at the funeral and realizes he is the referee, finally “hearing” that his name is Quinn. As the contestants perform the second of three tests, Sookie realizes that Furnan is cheating. She calls out her accusation, and the contest is halted. When investigation proves her to be correct, the pack sends out the non-pack members, so they can vote on whether the contest will continue to the final test. As they wait, Quinn questions Sookie and learns from Claude that she is a telepath. The pack decides that the final test, one of battle, will continue but must be a decisive victory. Quinn asks Sookie to enter the cage where the final fight will occur to try to determine whether Furnan plans to somehow cheat again. He guarantees her saf
ety, but Furnan lunges at her, and her leg is slightly injured as Quinn pulls her out of the cage. As he administers first aid, a definite attraction springs up between them, and he promises he will see her again at a better time. Furnan defeats and kills Herveaux in the final contest and is declared packmaster. A devastated Alcide rejects Sookie, and she leaves, realizing he somehow blames her for the outcome.

  At work that evening, Sookie is surprised by a visit from Bubba with a cryptic message from Eric. As she is talking with Charles, she suddenly realizes that he has been lying about his past. He apologizes as he tries to kill her, but she is able to stuff her silver chain in his mouth, and the male patrons at the bar come to her aid, restraining him and staking him at his request. Charles’s body has already flaked away when Eric dashes into the bar to save Sookie. Eric explains that Charles was sent by a vampire named Hot Rain to kill Sookie in an effort to punish Eric for the death of Long Shadow, who was staked the previous summer for embezzling from Fangtasia. As Sookie recounts the events of the day, they both agree she is a lucky woman.

  The Secret Dialogues of Bill and Eric

  Phone: Bill calling Eric.

  BILL : “Eric, I understand one of your vampires is staying at Sookie’s house.”

  ERIC : “I loaned my new bartender to Sam Merlotte. So he’s staying at Sookie’s? Good. I want him to keep an eye on her.”

  BILL: “Why?”

  ERIC : “I have my reasons.”

  BILL : “Well, he has not done a good job ‘keeping an eye on her.’ Her house was set on fire last night.”

  ERIC: “Did she get out?”

  BILL : “Yes. But she was not rescued by your ‘Charles.’ She was rescued by a fairy. She was able to wake Sookie and get her out of the house.” ERIC : “She?” Pause. “A female fairy. Sookie certainly has interesting friends.”

  BILL : “Charles did manage to kill the culprit. He was carrying a Fellowship membership card.”

  ERIC : “I see. I’ll need to have a talk with Charles.”

  Phone: Eric calling Bill.

  ERIC : “Bill, I understand that Sookie is no longer staying at your house.” BILL : “True. We had a little . . . misunderstanding.”

  ERIC : “So you brought a date into Merlotte’s.”

  BILL: “I am free to see whomever I please.”

  ERIC : “And who is it you are pleasing, Bill? She was attractive in her own way.”

  BILL : “No one you know.”

  ERIC : “It’s no matter. She was not my type. Where is Sookie staying?” BILL : “Her brother’s.”

  ERIC : “I doubt that will last very long. Please keep me informed as to where she winds up while her house is being repaired. Charles remains at your house?”

  BILL: “Yes. I have a place for him to sleep.”

  ERIC: “Good. Have you seen Mickey?”

  BILL: “I’ve heard he’s in town.”

  ERIC: “He’s involved with Sookie’s friend Tara.”

  BILL: “That won’t end well.” ERIC: “No, I’m quite certain it won’t.”

  Phone: Bill calling Eric.

  BILL : “Eric, Sookie has been shot.”

  ERIC : “Is she all right?”

  BILL : “She will recover. I spent the night with her in the hospital.”

  ERIC : “Just to keep her safe, I suppose.”

  BILL : “Sookie is staying at one of Sam Merlotte’s rental houses. I believe that a fairy picked her up from the hospital.”

  ERIC : “The same fairy who rescued her from the fire?”

  BILL : “I don’t believe so. From all reports, this one was very much a male.” ERIC : “Very much a male?”

  BILL: “Apparently a quite attractive male.” ERIC : “So yet another fairy. Interesting.”

  Phone: Eric calling Bill.

  ERIC : “Bill, I’m at Merlotte’s rental with Sookie. Mickey broke in. He was angry because I called Salome.”

  BILL : “Is Sookie all right?”

  ERIC : “We ask each other that a lot, don’t we? Yes, Sookie is fine. She had to invite him in because he had her friend, but once they were both inside she rescinded his invitation. I’ve already let Salome know that he is on the run.”

  BILL : “She’ll have him soon.”

  ERIC : “Undoubtedly. Right now, we need 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 wrink
led, 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 there.”

  BILL: “She was. She remained in the car until after we staked Waldo.” ERIC : “Interesting.”

  BILL : “Indeed. Sookie knew she was in the car. I cannot help but feel that Sookie was actually in control of the situation more than we realized at the time.”

  ERIC : “It wouldn’t surprise me. She has unexpected depths.” BILL: “Indeed.”

  Definitely Dead

  Timeline

  MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2005. Sookie spends the early part of the day at Alfred Cumberland’s studio in Shreveport, posing for photographs with Claude, who is building his portfolio for the Mr. Romance contest. She is pleasantly surprised to see Maria-Star Cooper, the Were she took to the hospital after the skirmish with the witches at Bill’s house, fully recovered and working as Al’s assistant, although Sookie experiences a flicker of pain when she realizes that Maria-Star and Alcide Herveaux are now dating.