Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from the books or True Blood. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Smart Enough to get Depressed
Chapter 25
Maybe it was a mistake sitting still. Now Sookie had time to think.
She had taken the biker guy's clothes home with her, besides letting Terry talk her into taking his pistol, but she had to be careful. She couldn't shoot first and ask questions later.
The guy might not even be around here anymore. There was no wallet or keys in his pants. However, Sookie doubted he would be scared off easily or that Steve Newlin wouldn't send someone else if this guy didn't get the job done.
Sookie was tired enough to hope Godric came early so she could get some sleep. Besides helping unload the delivery and put it away with Terry, she worked the lunch shift, got over to the bank, then went over to take care of paying for Eggs' funeral, besides paying off the balance on Gran's. It may not be enough for Tara, but it was a start. Eric's money could be put to some good use.
Then it was back home to clean more, until she was pooped enough to sit down here. It did not help her mood that the folded dirty clothes were now in her sight, and she picked up Terry's gun to hold in her lap, while listening to the old house creak.
Godric did not keep Sookie waiting long, and scratched on her front door soon enough.
He felt the weight of worry lift off her as she was relieved it was him at her door.
As Sookie opened the door, Godric asked, "Is something not right?" while wondering if his memory of being here the night before was correct. Perhaps it was two nights ago instead.
"Come in. There was a guy outside Merlotte's in the trees near the parking lot that was thinking about grabbing me today."
Godric considered what Sookie said. Thinking was thinking. Thinking of grabbing someone was not nice, but it did not mean this person was going to carry through with the thought. He may not realize that Sookie could read minds … or maybe he did. To stop his own mind from circling around this in confusion, he asked, "What happened?"
"He ran off, but I got his clothes. There was no wallet, but I bet he's working for Steve Newlin to get at you."
"He said something or thought about Mr. Newlin?"
"No, but why else would he want to grab me?"
Godric sat on one of the sofas, his eyes lingered momentarily on how much dirt there was in the room, and then looked at Sookie. Since her tight white shirt had a symbol that said Merlotte's on it, he suspected she wore this apparel to work. With her shorts so short, it made her bare legs look longer, besides him considering there was hardly anything in the way stopping him from sliding his fingers or anything else into Sookie's orifices that should be better covered while she served food and drink to customers. He was more accustomed to a tavern serving woman leaving her décolletage exposed.
Not understanding Sookie's logic regarding Steve Newlin, he asked, "The man was not a customer at the tavern that employs you?"
"We call it a bar now, and no, he wasn't."
"Could there be an enemy of your family that sent him?"
"No, the only thing that's new is I'm your girlfriend, and Steve Newlin ain't gonna let you alone after what happened."
Uncomfortable with the thought that a mortal would waste his limited time attempting to provoke him, Godric tried to consider why Steve Newlin would know he was in Shreveport, that Sookie Stackhouse was his human now, that Godric had failed to elevate her so she no longer dressed in such a fashion to serve drinks in a tavern in Bon Temps, and where to send men to find and abduct her so they could … do what? Godric's mental process tried to fill in that hole, and revisited the known facts, prompting him to question, "How did you get his clothes?"
"Well, he left them when he disappeared. There was a paw print in the dirt, after we were following the marks left from his motorcycle boots." Sookie held up one of the boots, to prove it was left behind.
Having tracked lots of muddy paw prints with Eric, Godric was interested, but could not come to a reason why one of them would be after Sookie. She was not one of their kind, and if that pack of werewolves realized it was Eric and Godric hunting them down long ago, why wait till now to respond? These poisons made it hard for him to think. Maybe there was no paw print, and he imagined Sookie said that.
Sookie sat down next to Godric and asked, "How are you? You're not looking well."
"The same," he said, then looked at the boots and folded clothes again. Why did the poison become worse when he was with Sookie? Godric recounted her story in his head, and it did not make sense. She saw a man in the parking lot where she worked, he took off his clothes, left them for her, and she chased him into the trees and found a paw print on the ground. No, that could not be what she told him because why would she chase some stranger after he took his clothes off? She did say she suspected he meant her harm? Steve Newlin was involved somehow. How was he involved? Why would he think Sookie would chase a naked man? Why did Sookie think a man removing his clothes was a threat? No, that's not what she told him. Steve Newlin was at the tavern?
"I don't think he'll come now, now that you're here," Sookie said, seeing Godric staring at the man's things. The guy would have to be an idiot to try and kidnap her while Godric was around.
Knowing he lost track of what she was trying to tell him, but seeing proof that something must have happened, Godric responded, "What if he wants his clothes back?"
"That's why Terry loaned me his gun."
"Who's Terry?"
"I work with him. He helped me look in the woods for the guy."
"You should return his possessions, not shoot him."
"Godric, not everyone's an ancient vampire that can afford to let people get away with things. If he answers my questions, I'll let him have his stuff, but if he's doing anything illegal, I'll call the sheriff."
"What has he done that's illegal?" Godric asked. The answer should clarify what he could not remember or figure out on his own.
"Nuttin' yet, but if he meant to kidnap me and take me to Texas, then that's a crime."
"He is from Texas?"
"If Steve Newlin hired 'im, then that's where he'd need to take me." Frowning at Godric's lack of understanding, Sookie put the back of her hand against his splotchy, gray forehead. It felt dry and cool.
"Why aren't you starting to look better yet?"
"I don't know," Godric answered, even though he suspected it could be related to how little human blood he drank this time. Many years ago when fairies poisoned him with silver, he drained a human a night, sometimes two or three, till he was cured. He would not do that this time. He would wait. His appearance was not important. That was vanity, something he wished to avoid, besides injuring anyone. He had Sookie and she was wearing her work clothing. Yes, she was. Godric suddenly asked, "You worked today?"
"Yeah, Sam had to go away and I said I'd take care of things for him. I told you that. I gotta go to work."
"You did? Oh."
"What?"
"I had blood from you last night. I should not do it again so soon."
"I'm fine, Godric. Go 'head and bite me."
"No, I should not. You will weaken and get ill."
"You said because I had your blood, I won't."
"I don't recall saying that," Godric said.
"Just bite me," Sookie said, teasing her neck near his mouth, then pecking him on the cheek. "You need blood. Do it."
When Godric turned his face away, Sookie nipped at his neck and climbed onto his lap. He smelled like soap.
"Come on," she urged.
Godric's nose wrinkled and he asked, "Do you keep an animal indoors?"
"You can't change the subject, and if you think you smell something on me, it's probably burgers and beer. Now get with the bitin', buddy."
Instead of obeying Sookie, Godric audibly inhaled and frowned.
*** Tru Blood *** Tru Blood ***
Finding a drainer in Shreveport had taken long minutes for Eric, but he now had plastic blood bags, tubing and needles. Ideally, he would have brought the newly acquired dead body with him but he needed to be fast so Godric did not pass him on his way back from Sookie's. He did not doubt Sookie's ability to keep Godric occupied, but once he left her home, his maker's senses might pick up that Eric was not where he expected him – in Bill Compton's shack, so close to Sookie's that there was risk that he could be discovered.
If he was, Eric knew what he would tell Godric. He suspected Bill Compton of dealing V, and was visiting him as sheriff. The Magister's visit yesterday was sufficient incentive to start looking, and if Bill was the most negligent maker ever, even he'd wonder one night what happened to Jessica and may look for her.
Eric's attempt at sneakiness with hiding her remains in Compton's house may not be successful, yet if Compton did not suspect it was Eric that caused her to meet the true death, he should report her demise to the area sheriff. So far, Bill had not done that.
Jessica was where Eric left her in what used to be the nursery of the Compton home. It was used for storage of some huge, broken furniture. Eric wondered what Compton was trying to accomplish with his claim to restore his family estate. He remodeled a bathroom, and made the largest bedroom upstairs look presentable. If Compton had bothered with the expense of getting a dumpster, all this could have been cleared out, along with much of the vermin-gnawed trash in the closets.
The slimy puddle that had been Jessica had soaked through the old, worn thin carpet and stained the worn floorboards beneath nicely. Eric put some of the paraphernalia near her, and purposely rolled other items under the furniture, including expensive samples of Sophie-Anne's finished product. It would not be hard to imagine Compton being a slob, looking at the rest of his abode that could contain pounds of accumulated dust, if it was ever gathered. Eric also crushed some empty vials, to leave the glass in crevices of the floor here and downstairs along with a couple IV needles. He also shoved one into the wall, burying it in a seam of the peeling wallpaper.
He took the remaining tubes and a 500cc bag into the study, and also to look around for anything interesting Billy might have stashed in here.
Sitting down, Eric pulled open drawers of the desk, and found some worthless papers, including the paperwork from William T. Compton buying this house from the estate of another Compton. Land was cheap in Bon Temps, though even at this rock bottom price Eric suspected Bill of using glamour to be a total cheap ass to transfer this money by certified check drawn from the account of a holding company in New Orleans … Eric's memory was perfect. He was vampire. Phone numbers, FTP hosts, and account numbers. Eric had many accounts, mostly in Europe, and here too. Here in Louisiana, Eric made a payment monthly as tithe to the vampire queen of Louisiana, in addition to any money made from this little V endeavor, and he knew where to send the money, even though he did not handle it personally. This was the same bank routing number and account as Sophie-Anne's.
Sophie-Anne had financed Bill's purchase of this quaint fixer-upper. Now why would she do that when she was so broke she feared the IRS? No vampire that knew Sophie-Anne loaned her money because she would not repay it. She had a horrible and wide-known reputation. Therefore, she was not paying Bill back, in Eric's opinion.
Eric had trouble coming to a conclusion. If Sophie-Anne was returning some favor to Bill, she was not likely to part with money. Had Bill did something she considered extraordinary, or did he have hidden friends in high places that impressed Sophie-Anne? From his experience, Eric thought Sophie-Anne only admired money and possessions, not other people. An associate of Compton's would have to be someone of note to get Eric's attention.
Having exhausted the desk and studying the width and depth of the draws, Eric stashed half his remaining drainer gear in the back of a drawer and restored the pile of paper in front of it, before looking at what Compton kept in the rest of the room.
There was nothing to indicate Compton's previous addresses or associates, and Eric suspected there must be a computer somewhere because Compton's cell phone plan had limited minutes and texting, and the only texts listed on this invoice were Eric's number. The phone calls were also only from one number, and Eric suspected it was Sookie. There was no cell phone bill for a second number stored here with the other items such as his electric bill and the invoice from a local electrician.
Eric gave that some thought. There was no refrigerator in the kitchen. If the electric service was fixed, why was there no refrigerator? A mainstreaming vampire would need one for his Tru Blood. A vampire who only said he was mainstreaming would not, unless he wanted it to look like he was.
He was spending too much time here. Eric would be able to pull apart Compton's house once Jessica was identified as the missing vampire that was drained.
Wait, the wood on the bottom of this antique drawer was unstained particle board. New particle board, Eric guessed based on the concentration of formaldehyde he smelled. A smell he found repulsive.
It was no trouble to pry the thin board up and find the manila file folder beneath. That was the only item there.
Another puzzle. Why was Compton investigating Sookie? Did he need some confirmation regarding her ability to spell at a young age? Eric frowned at the family tree. Vampires could develop obsessions over the years, and fixating on a neighboring family and the generations that came and went was not impossible, but one that Eric found unappealing. He generally stayed away from his farm for long periods so he did not get entangled with human affairs, besides the need to reestablish himself as someone new every few generations, rather than the same person that never aged.
*** Tru Blood *** Tru Blood ***
"Come on," Sookie said, getting annoyed. She knew Godric had something about not hurting people, but she felt fine and was willing. It was like he did not care if he got better or not.
Godric pushed Sookie off his lap onto the couch and stood.
"Hey …" Sookie started, but heard a growl. It wasn't coming from Godric. There was a snarling wolf in the doorway.
She grabbed Terry's gun and shot it, or would have if Godric hadn't suddenly moved in the way and got hit in the chest.
Godric's mind had been filled with questions when he heard the gunshot, and his initial reaction was they would not be answered if this werewolf was killed. Regular bullets could kill a werewolf, contrary to what humans believed.
What surprised Godric was how much it hurt. Did Sookie load the gun with silver bullets? He could feel it still in him, rounder than he expected, more like an old musket-style ball, and there was a great deal of internal damage.
Sookie let out a bit of a scream when Godric heavily fell onto the floor. It got louder when the wolf turned into a person, and Sookie clearly heard him think 'V!', before he jumped on Godric and tried to get his mouth onto the bullet wound to drink the blood that was freely bubbling forth from it.
Grabbing the filthy, long-haired man by the throat, Godric worried that the poison weakened him more than he thought because this werewolf was strong. Once he had Godric's blood, he would be much stronger.
Initially Sookie did not realize that Godric was grabbing the man's hair with his other hand to pull his head around until she heard the snap, and the naked man fell lifeless onto Godric.
Godric pushed him, and the corpse flew off to lie chest down on the floor, while also being face up because his head had been turned to allow him to look at his own back.
Sookie crouched next to her boyfriend and pulled at his shirt to see the wound. It was partially closed until the metal mushroom that remained of the bullet pushed its way out and rolled off him to the floor.
"Godric?" she asked.
"I'll call Eric to take care of that. I'm not feeling up to disposing of a body at the moment."
"What's wrong?"
"When there's supernaturals around, do not go shooting a gun."
"I would've hit him, if you hadn't moved."
"I wanted to find out why he was here."
"I already told you that I think he's workin' for the Fellowship."
"You did," Godric agreed, trying to remember why he doubted her. Werewolves were welcomed by fundamental Christians. No, they weren't … maybe they were.
"Sookie," Eric called from outside. Through the window, he could see Godric lying on the floor on his back, along with a dead, naked body that clearly had his neck snapped.
Sookie went to the front door, opened it and said, "Come in, Eric. You got here pretty fast."
Since he had the folder about Sookie from Bill's house still in his hand because he wanted to speak to Godric regarding it, he admitted, "There's a reason for that," before speeding to Godric's side.
"What happened?" he asked his maker.
"Mr. Newlin's a werewolf."
"I didn't say that," Sookie denied. "There's no such thing as … oh, I guess this guy's not a shape shifter like Sam?"
"No," Eric replied, growing annoyed because Godric was talking nonsense, and the source of his misinformation was standing here, claiming werewolves weren't real. "That is not Newlin," he pointed out.
"No," Godric agreed, "but is he converting werewolves to his religion?"
Frustration mounting, Eric growled before asking, "Why are you on the floor?"
"I was hurt, and did not want to alarm Sookie."
"So are you going to lie here till dawn?" Eric asked.
Godric sat up and replied, "No, I am well now. We need to get rid of that body and … and … oh, we need to deter Mr. Newlin from abducting Sookie."
Eric looked to Sookie and asked, "How is the Fellowship involved with this werewolf being in your house? What did he say?"
Sookie tore her eyes away from the puddle of blood under where Godric's back had been and said, "He didn't say nuttin'. He was thinkin' earlier today at Merlotte's that he was gonna grab me and then when I chased him he got away 'cause he can change into a wolf. I grabbed his clothes and was waitin' for him to show up."
"Alright, so he said nothing, but you knew that he was thinking about his work for the Fellowship?"
"No, but who else would want to grab me? I am Godric's girlfriend, and Steve Newlin wants to get even with Godric."
"He was thinking about Newlin's revenge and Godric?"
"No, he wasn't. You're not lissenin', Eric."
Eric was listening, and his conclusion was that the poison that was effecting Godric's comprehension was also causing Sookie to not make any sense at all.
"No," Godric interrupted, "I don't think it's Eric. I want Eric to hear everything that happened, and then we'll decide who could possibly be behind this. It may be this werewolf was acting on his own."
Eric lifted the folder and said, "I think there's another problem beside Newlin that might object to your relationship status update, Sookie."
"My what?"
"Whatever people do on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Twitbook or whatever. You didn't post a photo of Godric while he's ill, did you?"
"What?"
Looking for assistance to explain something that he did not bother with himself, Eric only had Godric who was slow to adapt and adopt new technology. He changed the subject and asked, "What happened to you that you were injured? Was there only the one werewolf?"
"Yes, but Sookie shot a gun."
"I wasn't aiming at you. You got in the way!"
"I am not disagreeing," Godric calmly stated.
If there was not a dead body lying here, Eric would suspect they were attempting to play a prank on him.
He said, "Get off the rug. I'll wrap the body up in it."
"I can clean it," Sookie protested.
"One of us will buy you a new one."
"But …"
"Either of us can afford it," Godric said, moving off the carpeting, before removing his ruined shirt and throwing it onto the other clothing the man was going to be buried with. "There is so much available that you can pick something similar if you like, or have someone find it for you."
"But …"
"Godric," Eric hissed, finding a brand on the dead man's shoulder.
"Yes?"
Eric switched to Old Norse and asked, "[You saw this not?]"
Moving to look at what Eric was pointing out, Godric paused and responded with his confusion, "[How is this here?]"
"[Where is he from?]"
"[I know not. She said his clothing had no wallet or keys.]"
Moving fast, Eric snatched at the man's clothes to examine them for himself. There was nothing. He ripped them in frustration and threw them at the body.
"Did he have a car?" Godric suddenly asked.
"I don't know," Sookie answered.
"In the tavern parking lot?" he suggested.
"No, when I got there it was only Terry and me. There weren't no other cars."
Angry, Eric demanded, "Why did you kill him?"
"Apologies, Eric, I did not know."
"We need another one."
They were unprepared for this now, so Godric switched back to Old Norse to instruct his child, "[This is different. We need to remain cautious. Instead of us going after them, they are coming to us. I forbid you from acting rashly. As your maker, you are to consult with me before acting and receive my permission to act.]"
"[You are thinking of her first? This came after her.]"
"[How can we know that?]"
"[You were not with her during the day when this thing first approached her.]"
"[I agree, but I cannot understand why an ancient vampire would be working with that church.]"
"[It's not that church. It's Compton.]"
"[Compton?]" Godric repeated.
"[These papers I brought are from his house. He investigated Sookie's family and specifically her. Look at them while I get rid of this,]" Eric snapped, handing the folder to Godric.
"What about me?" Sookie asked.
"Eric suggests that it may not be Mr. Newlin who wants you abducted, but William Compton. You said he proposed marriage and you declined?"
"What?" Eric blurted out. "When was that?"
"When Sookie wore the purple dress the other night to meet me at Fangtasia."
Sookie shifted uncomfortably. Godric had it a little mixed up, but it wasn't important to this conversation to correct him.
Interested in where Bill was and what he was doing, Eric asked for clarification, "By phone?"
"No, I saw Bill before I saw Godric that night."
"The night after we took care of the maenad in your house, and Bill was nowhere to be found, he turned up proposing marriage to you?" Eric said, trying to establish a timeline. Jessica's remains were still in the house. Had Bill been home and ignored all the dead vermin that Eric had left to partially obscure the smell, or was he going to ground somewhere else close by?
"Uh … yeah," Sookie answered. She already told Godric about the dress, dinner and dancing.
Eric was scheming, he needed to conclude Jessica, Compton and the V as soon as possible so he could concentrate on this dead werewolf. Did he want to use Sookie or not? She was a link to Compton, and Compton may be the link to the werewolves. What about Sophie-Anne? She bought that house for Compton, would she let him take the fall for the V, or was she trying to set up Eric? No, he was her sheriff. He was worth a hundred Bill Comptons to her. Hell, he probably had enough money to pay her IRS bill, if properly motivated, though her threat to his manhood would add to the price she would pay.
Since Sookie never seemed to tire of the sound of her voice, her short answer seemed out of character. Eric prompted, "That seems odd. What did he say? I recall you leaving him voice messages while you were with us in Dallas. Did he not hear them?"
Annoyed that Eric was being a pest, when her personal life was none of his business, but understanding enough that Eric was only asking to protect Godric, Sookie said, "I didn't ask him over or out. Bill had plane tickets and a ring. I still got them because he left."
"Plane tickets?" Eric repeated. That sounded very interesting.
"To Vermont for the next day. Today … no yesterday."
Eric wondered if Bill needed to leave town for a reason, and his plan was to cover it up by taking a trip to Vermont with Sookie? Did he feel Jessica's death and improvise with this scheme? It was clear from that file that Bill was fixated on Sookie, so it was unlikely he would go far without her, unless his life was threatened, as it was in Dallas when Compton could not control his impulses. Why did he accept her refusal, rather than abducting Sookie? Did Bill know she had Godric's blood?
"What did he say when you turned him down?"
"Nuttin'. He took off."
"Did you say you still had the plane ticket?"
"Yeah, but it's no good now."
"I'm curious as to whether it was one-way or round-trip. His sudden proposal may have been a ruse to get you far from here."
Even though Sookie had not been planning on marrying Bill, Eric's suggestion hurt. Why would Bill want to get her up to Vermont if he didn't want to marry her?
Sookie looked at the tickets before handing them to Eric. It was a Delta flight from Monroe to Atlanta, then they switched planes and went to Burlington. If everything had gone well, she could be Mrs. Sookie Compton right now.
She said as she handed the paper folder containing the tickets to Eric, "I only see the tickets for going to Burlington in here. Maybe Bill held onto the others."
Eric looked at them. An evening flight on Delta? Wasn't Bill taking the mainstream act a might too far?
Godric had been listening while looking through the papers from Bill's house regarding Sookie, and interrupted, "Compton had this in his house?"
"Yes."
"Why were you there?"
With a glance to Sookie first, Eric said, "The Queen and Magister are concerned about the sudden increase in V availability in Louisiana. They think a vampire's involved, unless there are some missing that have not been reported yet. I'm starting within my own area since it could be an embarrassment if I point my fingers at other sheriffs first."
"If Compton was seen recently, that is not missing, Eric."
"Till now, I had not known Sookie had seen him. I entered the house because it reeks over there. The man's a swine. There's dead vermin everywhere, and I wanted to make sure he was not hiding bodies in the crawl space."
Sookie wanted to disagree, but it did stink at Bill's place when she went over there to return the ring and tickets.
"This was under his house?"
"No, it was in a drawer in his study. I had only begun to look for other clues to where he could be when you summoned me. Since I was holding that, I thought I could bring it along since Sookie is yours now."
Looking at whatever paper was on top now, Godric said, "Isabel told me that in modern relationships research can be done on the past of another. Is this what this is?"
"Godric," Eric said in exasperation, "no. I don't need to know that Sookie's a spelling bee champion to want to fuck her."
"Eric!"
"Show it to her," Eric said. "Maybe Sookie can tell you that's all normal for today's modern human-vampire mainstream relationship. I got a body to bury, and then I'll look around for an out of state vehicle to give you time to discuss what you need to know about Sookie's other academic achievements."
"Only if she wishes to tell me," Godric replied. "This seems an odd way to do things. It curtails subjects for pleasant conversation, especially presented in such a manner."
"What is it?" Sookie asked, taking the papers from Godric.
He let her have them.
Sookie exclaimed, "Oh my God! What did Bill need my SAT scores for? And this dorky picture of me winning the spelling bee? What was he doing with all this? And my family tree?"
"This is not normal?" Godric asked.
"Maybe for vampires. Do you get all this on your girlfriends?"
"No, I let people tell me what they like."
"But now you've seen my high school transcript and SAT scores."
"I don't know what those mean."
"You know it's hard for a telepath to concentrate in school and taking tests. I'm not stupid."
"I have not said that, and whatever in there that might lead me to believe so is meaningless to me. I did not go to school or take tests."
Sookie's indignation lost steam. Why would Godric care about her SAT scores? He was a vampire that was over two thousand years old. There was a time when SAT scores did not determine a person's life, and things were probably great back then. Anybody could do anything.
"So … I think this is creepy, like stalker creepy, and maybe whatever you two were saying in whatever about Bill sending the werewolf after me might be true."
"It's a possibility. Not the only one, yet werewolves are dangerous. You need to be protected."
"You can't be lockin' me up somewhere 'cause I told Sam I'd help out while he was gone."
"Werewolves do kill," Godric said, thinking he needed to use stronger, blunt language to make his point.
"I gotta gun."
"If they kill you, I can no longer find you through my blood."
"I gotta go to a funeral tomorrow."
"Yours?"
"No, Eggs. He was Tara's boyfriend, and he got shot – not by me, but by the cops because there was a mistake made."
"There is much gun violence here."
Sookie sighed, then said, "Not really. This ain't New York."
"Or Dallas?"
"Right. I can't let Bill go ruinin' my life because I don't wanna marry him."
"Eric and I will not be idle regarding the werewolves, yet using you as bait to draw out more is not a sound plan."
"Good, 'cause I don't wanna be bait."
Concerned by Sookie's aggressive tone, Godric asked, "Have I said werewolves are dangerous?"