“What’s up, boss?” I asked. “Everything’s fine, here.”
“Good to know, but not why I cal ed,” he said. “Sookie, this morning Jannalynn and I went down to Splendide to make a payment on a table she’s buying.” Sam had been the one who’d recommended Splendide to me when I’d cleaned out the attic. It stil seemed strange to me that the young Jannalynn was an antiques fan.
“Okay,” I said when Sam paused. “So, what’s going on at Splendide?”
“It got broken into last night,” he said, sounding oddly hesitant.
“Sorry to hear that,” I said, stil not getting the importance to me of this situation. “Ah … her table okay?”
“The things you sold to Brenda and Donald … those things were dismantled on the spot, or taken.”
I pul ed out a chair and sat down in it abruptly.
It was lucky no one was waiting for service for the next few minutes while Sam told me everything he knew about the break-in. Nothing he told me was il uminating. A few little items that had been in the display cases had been grabbed, too. “I don’t know if you sold them anything smal or not,”
Sam said.
“Was other stuff taken? Or just mine?”
“I think enough else was gone to kind of camouflage that the targeted stuff had come from your attic,” he said, very quietly. I knew other people were around him. “I just noticed because Brenda and Donald pointed out your pieces to show me how they’d cleaned them.”
“Thanks for letting me know,” I said, strictly on autopilot. “I’l talk to you later, Sam.” I shut my phone and kept to my seat for a moment, thinking furiously.
Danny was talking so earnestly to Kennedy that I could tel he’d final y told her why he’d been out of her sight lately. She leaned across the bar and kissed him. I made myself get up to carry the bin of dirty dishes back to the kitchen. Behind me, the door swung open. I looked over my shoulder to check on the size of the party and got yet another unpleasant surprise.
Bel enos was standing in the doorway. I glanced around quickly, but no one—not that there were more than five people in the big room—seemed to be paying the elf any attention. They were not seeing the same creature I was seeing.
Bel enos, who looked very strange in regular human clothes (when he was being himself, I’d seen him in a sort of kilt and a one-shouldered Tshirt), looked around Merlotte’s, slowly and warily. When he didn’t spot anything threatening, he glided over to me, his slanting dark eyes ful of mischief. “Sister,” he said. “How are you today?” He showed his needle teeth in a big smile.
“I’m good,” I said. I had to be very wary. “How’re you?”
“Happy to be out of that building in Monroe,” he said. “I see you are not busy. Can we sit and talk?”
“Yes,” I said. “Let me clear this table.” I was sorry that didn’t take longer to do. By the time I sat down with the elf warrior, I was no closer to having a good idea about how to handle this visit than I had been the moment Bel enos walked in. I pul ed out a chair to his right. I wanted to talk in a low voice, because I certainly didn’t want anyone to overhear our conversation, but I also wanted to keep an eye on the few people in the room.
In the fae way, Bel enos took my hand. I wanted to snatch it back, but there wasn’t any point in offending him. The bones stood out so much that his hand hardly looked human—which, of course, it wasn’t. It was pale, freckled, and very strong.
Past his shoulder, I saw Kennedy glance our way. She shook a playful finger at me. She thought I was flirting with someone besides Eric. I gave her a stiff smile. Ha. Ha.
“There are too many of us crowded under one roof at Hooligans,” Bel enos said.
I nodded.
“Claude is a leader. Dermot is not.”
I nodded again, just to show I was fol owing his conversation. He wasn’t voicing any new ideas, so far.
“If you have any means of reaching Nial , now is the time to make use of it.”
“I would if I could. I don’t have any such secret.” His slanting eyes were a bit disturbing close up.
“Is that the truth?” An auburn eyebrow rose.
“The truthful answer is that I real y don’t have any certain means of contacting Nial ,” I said flatly. “I’m not completely sure I would get in touch with him, if I had the ability.”
Bel enos nodded thoughtful y. “The fairy prince is capricious,” he said.
“That’s for damn sure.” Final y, we were in agreement.
“I’m sorry that you can’t help,” Bel enos said. “I hope nothing worse happens.”
“Like what?” Did I real y want to know?
“Like more fights breaking out.” He shrugged. “Like one of us leaving the bar to have some fun amongst the humans.”
That sounded like a threat.
I suddenly remembered that Claude had brought me a letter from Nial , one he said he’d received through the portal in the woods. That was what he’d told me when he’d delivered the letter, if I was remembering correctly. “I could write a letter,” I offered. “I don’t know if it would reach him, but I can try.”
I was sure Bel enos would press me for details, but to my relief he said, “You had better try anything you can think of. You don’t know me wel , but I’m tel ing the truth in this matter.”
“I don’t doubt you,” I said. “I’l do my best. And I have a question to ask you.”
