Bill exited his bedroom of the Premiere Suite they were staying in at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. The sun set about a half hour before, so he was not surprised to find Eric already up and in the living room.
The Beverly Wilshire Hotel, the one made famous in Pretty Woman, was one of the first Los Angeles area hotels to renovate several floors to accommodate vampires. Bill was initially surprised that Eric invited him to share the suite, but Eric pointed out that the two of them working together to find her would be much more productive. Eric always was the pragmatist.
Eric was sitting on the couch, his feet propped up on one of the leather ottomans, talking on the phone. The conversation seemed rather one-sided, with Eric doing the bulk of the listening, while uttering an occasional "I see" or "but of course."
Bill helped himself to a True Blood from the fridge, warmed it in the microwave and went out to the balcony. He sat on one of the chairs and gazed out at the Hollywood Hills. When they arrived, it was daylight and Anubis Airlines had their coffins delivered directly to the hotel. As soon as the sun set, Eric contacted Robert, the sheriff for the area that encompassed Los Angeles. He did not want anyone mistaking their intentions in the city. At nine o'clock they headed to Robert's club, The Dead Zone, located on the Sunset Strip. On the way, Eric pointed out The Whiskey A Go Go, where he said he had seen The Doors play in 1966.
They bypassed the line of fangbangers waiting to get into The Dead Zone, and were admitted by a burly vampire who was working the front door. Unlike Eric, Robert did not put himself on display, but remained in the VIP section, working the celebrities and other notable luminaries that graced his club.
They were shown into Robert's office, and he entered a moment later. Robert was somewhat short, but very broad and barrel chested. His hair was a very dark brown, long and gathered in a ponytail at the nape of his neck. He had green eyes, that sparkled with exactly the same joie de vivre as Eric's. In fact, despite their completely dissimilar appearances, something about the man made Bill think that he and Eric could be brothers.
In the space of a second, Robert crossed the room, stood in front of Eric and bellowed, "YOU!"
Bill's fangs began to run down as he prepared to defend his sheriff and, his bonded's bonded. My bonded's bonded. There's something I never thought possible.
However, another second later saw Robert wrapping Eric in a bear hug that lifted him off his feet and exclaiming, "forty years Northman! It's been forty years! You don't call, you don't write!" Robert set Eric back down.
Eric smiled at him. "I was not sure you had forgiven me yet."
Robert grinned, "you mean about Yvette?"
Eric nodded.
"There was nothing to forgive! Besides, after you left she spent the next two years in my bed! If I'd known that was what it took, I'd have run you off myself!"
Eric and Robert proceeded to laugh, while Bill examined the room. The desk was a smooth slab of granite, and the furnishings were all very modern. It was stylish. The type of room you see in Architectural Digest. One that looks nice, but does not seem to actually be used. It lacked any of the warmth and character that Robert seemed to exude. The only remarkable feature was an original Kandinsky hanging on the wall.
Robert caught Bill the direction of Bill's gaze. "That is my touch. The rest? What can I say? I've learned to let Marie make the decisions regarding decor. What is it the humans say? 'Happy wife, happy life?'" And he let out another of his loud laughs.
"You must be Bill Compton." Bill nodded deferentially to him. "Great work on the database. That was a stroke of genius."
"Thank you."
There was a knock at the door and a young woman entered with a tray containing a decanter and three glasses. She stared wide eyed at Eric, as women were wont to do, but managed to set the tray down without spilling anything. Robert dismissed her with a flick of his hand and she all but scampered out of the room. He proceeded to fill the three glasses, then handed one to Eric and one to Bill.
"A drink, then business."
Eric and Bill nodded, then each took a sip. Eric murmured in appreciation and Bill's eyes widened slightly. They were drinking Royalty Blended, one of the top bottled bloods, a mix of synthetic and actual blood of royalty. Robert was either a very generous host or, wanted to impress them. Either way, it was a delicious vintage and they enjoyed it to the fullest.
When they had drained their glasses and set them down, Robert looked at Eric. "So, what is a Louisiana sheriff doing here in my town? Is de Castro setting his sights on yet another territory?"
Bill was slightly taken aback by the directness of Robert's question, but Eric took it in stride. "Robert, do you really think I would be here, talking to you, if that was his plan? No. Bill and I are here on a personal matter that has nothing to do with the king. It is why we came to see you immediately, so you would know that we are not here on his business and, that we are in no way a threat to you."
"Personal business or personal pleasure?" Robert asked, never taking his eyes off Eric's face.
"We are attempting to locate someone. Someone who is important to . . . our community, but who has taken it upon herself to 'disappear' for a little while. Unfortunately, she has a tendency to attract trouble. In fact, she's much like you in that respect Robert." Eric answered with a smile.
"Ah, a woman. I should have known." Robert smiled at Eric and, with that, the official business of the evening was over. After exchanging some more pleasantries and, Robert regaling Bill with a few stories of his and Eric's escapades during the 1960's, they made their departure. As they left, Robert promised to give them any assistance he could.
That was four nights ago. Bill continued staring out at the view of the Hollywood Hills and the city, waiting for Eric to finish. A moment later he heard the sliding door open and Eric stepped out onto the balcony with him.
They had been randomly scouring the city each evening, hoping to pick up her scent, but in a city of millions, they knew it was unlikely. Therefore, they each also played to their strengths. Eric had decades old contacts in the city, supernatural and human, and he put out the word. They now had hundreds more eyes and ears looking for her. Bill was using his computer skills and was attempting to hack Sookie's bank accounts to look for any activity.
"That was Robert. He is asking for our help, unofficially of course, to put down a little power play that is going down tonight at a supe owned bar in Hollywood that is open to vampires and weres called Molly's. Robert does not want this getting back to California's king. He thinks it might make it look like he is losing some control. If we happen to be there and, 'help out' an old friend, he can make it look like disagreement gone bad. We are 'neutral' third parties of course. I could not very well refuse. We are going to meet him there at ten thirty under the pretext of checking out a band that we may want to hire at Fangtasia. What have you come up with?"
Bill fixed Eric with a look that only another vampire would recognize as one of concern.
"I think I know where she's staying. I finally managed to hack her bank account, but her credit card has been most difficult. She has purchased coffee at the same Starbucks three out of the last five days, has eaten at Musso and Frank's, Venice Pizza and, Gaucho Grill. There are a number of hotels in the area, but I think at least I've narrowed it down to the neighborhood and several possible hotels, if you can call them that. If I could hack into her credit card account, I would be able to find the exact hotel as they would have charged her room."
Eric found Bill's snobbishness amusing. While Eric enjoyed the finer things money had to offer, throughout his thousand years on this earth he had slept, both as guest and prisoner, in some exceptionally horrific places. He doubted any cheap hotel in Hollywood could compete. He turned to look out over the city.
"Eric."
Eric turned back to look at Bill, his underling, his rival, possibly his friend, and the man who was apparently fated to remain a part of his life.
"Molly's is in the middle of the area I've narrowed down."
Eric imperceptibly clenched his jaw. Again, only someone skilled in reading vampires would notice the concern written there. Sookie had an uncanny knack for winding up in the middle of disputes, fights and wars that involved supes. What were the odds this would be any different?