A/N: First let me appologize. This is really frustrating, but I can't seem to remember, or be able to locate in Mrs. Harris' original work, the last name of the character Clancy. If anyone remembers, please PM me and I will be more than glad to correct the omission in this chapter. Secondly, to clear up a bit of confusion - when Sookie says in Ch 2, "That wasn't the truth. Those things weren't Bill" she wasn't implying that Bill is still alive, only that his possessions did not constitute who he was. Bill has met his final death, as some of you were wondering if that was the case. This will also be the last chapter for a couple of days (though I think I've had the most fun writing this one - fans of the movie will know why), since I have several more chapters to complete for I Know You're Dead - my sequal to Dead Promises. I also need a little bit of a break. I think my writing is suffering because I've been under house arrest due to the nasty weather here in Texas.

So enjoy this one, and if you get bored, check out some of my other material here or on my blog (link in my profile).

Love

***

Sookie took a taxi to the American Vampire League branch building in downtown Shreveport around six o'clock the next night. It was barely full dark ?when she arrived and took the elevator up to the sixth floor and the vampire financial acquisitions department. Room 603-A was labeled S. Byron, and the door was cracked. She peeked inside at an empty office.

"Mr. Byron?" she glanced around the room for a door leading into an inner office or a bathroon. There was none. "Hello?"

"Ah, you must be Sookie." She turned to see a tall man standing in the door way she had just walked through.

"Mrs. Compton, please," she corrected as she extended her hand in greeting. She would usually prefer her more familiar first name, but this seemed to be out of place under the circumstances. The man looked at her hand with disdain and she realized he was a vampire. Why wouldn't he be, working at the AVL? She pulled her arm back and placed her hands in her coat pockets.

"Please take a seat." He motioned to a plush chair in front of his desk. She moved forward and sank into the soft cushion. "Do you know what we do here, Miss Stackhouse?" He walked around the desk to take a seat himself.

"You represent the vampires of the U.S. in political movements and social activism." It was the tagline for the AVL. She, along with the rest of America, had memorized it by the end of the second year the vampires had gone public.

"No, Miss Stackhouse. This department specifically. Vampire Financial Acquisitions. We are sort of like the IRS. We monitor and regulate vampire financial holdings. We make sure the tributes due to each state are not abused or misappropriated. The Kings and Queens used to deal with these issues on their own, but we've taken a cue from your human government and sometimes there's a call for bureaucracy." He flashed a wicked grin.

"I'm sorry, but you keep calling me 'Miss Stackhouse'. My name is Compton. Are you sure you know why I'm here?"

"Yes, my apologies Mrs. Compton. I called you last night. You are here to discuss Bill with me." He waited as if she should speak next. But she didn't know what to say. "Your husband was wanted for questioning by this department in conjunction with some funds that have gone missing. Please take a look at this photo and tell me if you recognize anyone." He pulled a photo from a file on his desk.

From the looks of it, the photo had been taken some time during the last year or so. The lighting must have been terrible when the shot was taken, as the photo was very dark. Sookie could just make out Bill's face, nearly obscured by shadow.

"That's Bill. No wonder it's so dark. This was taken at night, huh?" He and three other men appeared to be standing outside of some kind of bar on the famous Bourbon Street.

"Take a look at the others, please, Miss… Mrs. Compton." The man turned on the desk lamp and handed the photograph to Sookie so she could get a better view.

"Those men. All three of them were at the funeral yesterday. When was this photo taken?"

"Mardis Gras a year ago." Right on the money. Bill had been in New Orleans helping the queen with… "Do you recognize any of these men?"

"No. Should I? Bill didn't exactly make a habit of introducing me to his business associates."

"I am afraid, Mrs. Compton, that you are in a great deal of danger."

"Mr. Byron, If you're trying to scare me, you should know that I don't scare easily." But it was bravado and nothing else that kept her from shaking out of her shoes. She had been able to count on Bill to keep her relatively safe and out of trouble as far as the vampires were concerned. Now he was gone. And what kind of mess had he gotten her into? "What is all this about? You haven't really told me anything useful."

Byron looked at her quizzically. "You don't mean you didn't know about the money? The 2.8 million."

"Yes, that's the money Bill made at the auction. I don't understand what it has to do with these three men."

"That's where things begin to get complicated, Mrs. Compton. William Compton, Stan Davis, Maxwell Lee, and Clancy the Vampire were all collaborators on the Vampire Identification database prototype. The same prototype your husband sold to the Queen of Louisiana last year, for 2.8 million dollars. It seems they've been overlooked in the distribution of that payoff, and they want the money back."

"But, I don't understand where you come into all of this, Mr. Byron, and the Vampire Financial Acquisitions Department for that matter." Sookie's head was beginning to spin. All these people, and all that money. What had been going on with Bill?

"You see, that program wasn't Bill's to sell. It wasn't any of theirs. They are looking for a payoff they weren't rightfully entitled to. The program belonged to the VFA, Mrs. Compton. We were preparing to market this program to the highest bidder, but Compton got it to the Queen before we had a chance to shop it around. Well, it's out there now, and that money belongs to us. You can see the kind of predicament that puts us all in, Mrs. Compton?" His smile was soft and threatening at the same time.

"You think these vampires killed Bill to get to that money?"

"We do. And we don't believe they've been very successful either, or else they would be as far from Louisiana as is physically possible. Now, if you could kindly hand over the money to the VFA, we can offer you guaranteed protection from these vampires."

"Well, I don't have it!" Sookie was beside herself now, trying to image where 2.8 million dollars could possibly have disappeared to.

"You must have it, Mrs. Compton. You're the last link to Bill."

"Believe me, If I had 2.8 million dollars just lying around I'd sure as hell know it. As far as I knew, when Bill died I had the clothes on my back. He sold everything while I was out of the state. No, if it's still around, I can't imagine where." Her hands were shaking now.

"I believe you when you say he didn't tell you. And you may not know where that money is, Mrs. Compton, but you have it somewhere. I'm certain of it. Just look for it, you'll find it." She began shaking her head and Mr. Byron held his hand up to stop her. "A safety deposit box key, a certified check, a coffin compartment. You'll find it," he repeated. "And you're to call me as soon as you do. Here's my personal number. If it's daylight hours leave a message. And tell no one that we have discussed this, or even met. It could prove fatal for us both."

The thought of that sent chills down Sookie's spine, but it didn't seem to scare Byron as much as she thought it should. She took his card and collected herself before walking out the door and to the elevator.