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"Who’s the freak around here?" I hissed "Die, you bastard"

I didn’t know I had it in me I stood by the headstone in a crouch, the bloody knife still clutched in ered in circles, and I watched,his death crawl up behind him I stood ready to knife hiround When I was sure he couldn’t move, I went to Bill’s house, but I didn’t run I told myself it was because I couldn’t: but I’rand for her life in her own house

I fished Bill’s key out of my pocket, alered into the big living rooed to figure out which was the nine and where the one was I pushed the nu, I checked out of consciousness

I KNEW I was in the hospital: I was surrounded by the clean s I kneas that I hurt all over

And someone was in the room with me I opened my eyes, not without effort

Andy Bellefleur His square face was even ued than the last time I’d seen him

"Can you hear me?" he said

I nodded, just a tiny h ot him," he said, and then he proceeded to tell ht when I woke again, and this time, I seemed to be much more alert

Someone in the room

"Who’s here?" I said, and my voice came out in a painful rasp

Kevin rose froazine and sticking it into his uniforrinned at me unexpectedly "She was here for a couple of hours," he explained "She’ll be back soon I spelled her for lunch"

His thin face and body forh lady," he told ot hurt," he told me as if I didn’t know that

"Rene"

"We found him out in the ceood But he was still conscious, and he told us he’d been trying to kill you"

"Good"

"He was real sorry he hadn’t finished the job I can’t believe he spilled the beans like that, but he was so and he was soot to hi was your fault because you wouldn’t just lie down to die like the others He said it randmother" Here Kevin stopped short, aware that he was on upsetting ground

"She fought, too," I whispered

Kenya ca Styrofoa at his partner

"Good" Kenya sounded less overjoyed about it "She say what happened? Maybe we should call Andy"

"Yeah, that’s what he said to do But he’s just been asleep four hours"

"The ed, went to the phone at the side of the bed I eased off into a doze as I heard hi, but I could hear hi about his hunting dogs Kenya, I guess, was listening

Andy cahts, the pattern of his brain His solid presence ca to look at ulation shoes moved out into the hall

"He’s still alive," Andy said abruptly "And he won’t stop talking"

Ia nod, I hoped

"He says this goes back to his sister, as seeing a vaht she’d turn into a vaave her an ulti in her apartive up her lover She was tying her apron around her, getting ready to go to work as they were arguing He yanked it off her, strangled herdid other stuff"

Andy looked a little sick

"I know," I whispered

"It seeain, "that so that horrible thing if he convinced himself that everyone in his sister’s situation deserved to die In fact, the murders here are very similar to two in Shreveport that haven’t been solved up until now, and we’re expecting Rene to touch on those while he’s ra together in horrified sympathy for those other poor women

"Can you tell me what happened to you?" Andy asked quietly "Go slow, take your time, and keep your voice down to a whisper Your throat is badly bruised"

I had figured that out for , and I didn’t leave anything out Andy had switched on a little tape recorder after asking ht He placed it on the pillow close to my mouth when I indicated the device was okay with me, so he’d have the whole story

"Mr Compton still out of town?" he asked me, after I’d finished

"New Orleans," I whispered, barely able to speak

"We’ll look in Rene’s house for the rifle, now that we know it’s yours It’ll be a nice piece of corroborative evidence"

Then a glea woman in white came into the room, looked at my face, and told Andy he’d have to coave ave the doctor a backward glance of ad, but she was also wearing a wedding ring, so Andy was once again too late

She thought he seerim

I didn’t want to hear this

But I didn’t have enough energy to keep everyone out ofwoman asked a little too loudly She was brunette and lean, ide brown eyes and a full ine," she said, nodding repeatedly while lookingto bet she’d never been beaten up by a randmother, too, didn’t you?" she asked sympathetically I nodded, just a fraction of an inch

"My husband died about six h being brave, isn’t it?"

Well, well, well I let my expression ask a question

"He had cancer," she explained I tried to look , which was nearly i to her brisk onna live You have a broken collarbone, and two broken ribs, and a broken nose"

Shepherd of Judea! No wonder I felt bad

"Your face and neck are severely bruised Of course, you could tell your throat was hurt"

I was trying to i I didn’t have a mirror handy

"And you have lots of relatively s and arms" She smiled "Your stomach is fine, and your feet!"

Hohoho Very funny

"I have prescribed painfor the nurse"

A visitor stuck his head in the door behind her She turned, blocking my view, and said, "Hello?"

"This Sookie’s roo her exa, by her naet ed a tiny "Sure"

JB du Rone drifted toas lovely as the cover leahts, his eyes were just the same color, and his sleeveless shirt showed ht have been chiseled with a - well, with a chisel He was looking down athiht?" he asked He lay a finger gently on my cheek He kissed an unbruised spot on my forehead

"Thanks," I whispered "I’ll be okay Meet , who practically tripped over her own feet to introduce herself

"Doctors weren’t this pretty when I was getting my shots," JB said sincerely and simply

"You haven’t been to a doctor since you were a kid?" Dr Sonntag said, a as an ox"

And the brain of one But Dr Sonntag probably had sh for two

She couldn’t think of any reason for lingering, though she cast a wistful glance over her shoulder as she left

JB bent down to , Sookie? Nabs or so to eat crackers made tears come to my eyes "No thanks," I breathed "The doctor’s a "

You could change subjects on JB without hi why

"Wow," he said, iled htta ask her out?" JB looked as thoughtful as it was possible for hiood idea" He s as you won’t date me, Sookie You’re always nuer, and I’ll couy I didn’t believe in his devotion for a ood, even if she was as sure as I was that I looked breathtakingly bad I felt pretty bad, too Where were those pain pills? I tried to s," he said "I’ll send the nurse down here"

Oh, good The reach to the little button had seeet ain as he left and said, "I’ll go track that doctor of yours down, Sookie I better ask her some more questions about your recovery"

After the nurse injected so forward to feeling no pain when the door opened again

My brother ca at my face He said finally, heavily, "I talked to the doctor for a minute before she left for the cafeteria with JB She toldwith you" He walked away fro "You look like hell"

"Thanks," I whispered

"Oh, yeah, your throat I forgot"

He started to pat otta say thank you, but it’s got ht"

If I could have, I’d have kicked hi, Sis I was so duood friend"

Betrayed He felt betrayed

Then Arlene cas just peachy keen

She was a le, she had no makeup, and her clothes were chosen at random I’d never seen Arlene without her hair curled and her ht

She looked down at ain - and for a second her face was hard as granite, but when she really took in an to crumble

"I was so mad at you, I didn’t believe it, but now that I’ive raph this to Jason, and for once I got through, because he put an ar before she reached the door "I didn’t know" she said, barely coherent "I just didn’t know!"

"Hell, neither did I," Jason said heavily

I took a nap after trying to ingest so excite to the bathroom, more or less by myself I sat in the chair for ten et back in bed I looked in thetable and was very sorry I had

I was running a little teh to ray and ht eye was puffy and alsoh, hell, I didn’t even want to check I lay back very carefully and wanted this day to be over Probably four days froo back to work?

A little knock at the door distracted me Another damn visitor Well, this was someone I didn’t know An older lady with blue hair and red-fra the yellow smock the hospital volunteers called Sunshine Ladies had to don when they orking

The cart was covered with flowers for the patients in this wing

"I’ you a load of best wishes!" the lady said cheerfully

I shastly because her own cheer wavered a little

"These are for you," she said, lifting a potted plant decorated with a red ribbon "Here’s the card, honey Let’s see, these are for you, too" This was an arrange pink rosebuds and pink carnations and white baby’s breath She plucked the card fro the cart, she said, "Now, aren’t you the lucky one! Here are some more for you!!"

The focus of the third floral tribute was a bizarre red flower I’d never seen before, surrounded by a host of other, more familiar blooms I looked at this one doubtfully The Sunshine Lady dutifully presented s

After she’d smiled her way out of the room, I opened the little envelopes It was easier to move when I was in a better mood, I noticed wryly

The potted plant was from Sam and "all your coworkers at Merlotte’s" read the card, but it ritten in Salossy leaves and wondered where I’d put it when I took it home The cut floere from Sid Matt Lancaster and Elva Deene Lancaster - pooey The arrangement centered with the peculiar red blossom (I decided that somehow the flower looked almost obscene, like a lady’s private part) was definitely theof the three I opened the card with sonature, "Eric"

That was all I needed How the hell had he heard I was in the hospital? Why hadn’t I heard froelatin for supper, I focused on the television for a couple of hours, since I hadn’t anything to read, even ifevery hour, and I felt weary to my bones, despite the fact that I’d only walked once to the bathroom and twice around my room I switched off the television and turned onto my side I fell asleep, and in hth the ceraves, encountering all the people I kneho lay there: randmother, Maudette Pickens, Dawn Green, even a childhood friend who’d been killed in a hunting accident I was looking for a particular headstone; if I found it, I was horaves and leaveht stone I whimpered

"Sweetheart, you’re safe," came a familiar cool voice

"Bill," I muttered I turned to face a stone I hadn’t yet touched When I lay ers on it, they traced the letters "William Erasmus Compton" As if I’d been dashed with cold water, my eyes flew open, I drew in a breath to screareat throb of pain I choked on the extra air, and the pain of the coughing, which prettyI’d broken, co A hand slipped under ainst my hot skin I tried not to whih ," Bill said, his voice very light and casual

I’be been sleeping with ht the nurse had left on, the one in the bathroom Now I rolled obediently to my back and looked up at my vampire

Bill hissed

"I’ll kill him," he said, with a sih tension in the roo for their tranquilizers

"Hi, Bill," I croaked "Glad to see you, too Where you been so long? Thanks for returning all ht hi an effort to calm himself

"Sookie," he said "I didn’t call because I wanted to tell you in person what has happened" I couldn’t read the expression on his face If I’d had to take a shot, I would’ve said he looked proud of himself

He paused, scanned all visible portions ofered over it in a way that sent a faint tingle through le was ht I was capable of

"Tell me what has been done to you," he commanded

"Then lean down so I can whisper This really hurts"

He pulled a chair close to the bed, lowered the bed rail, and lay his chin on his folded arms His face was maybe four inches from mine

"Your nose is broken," he observed

I rolled my eyes "Glad you spotted that," I whispered "I’ll tell the doctor when she co to deflect me"

"Okay Nose broken, two ribs, a collarbone"

But Bill wanted to examine me all over, and he pulled the sheet down Myan awful hospital gown, in itself a downer, and I hadn’t bathed properly, and my face was several different shades, and my hair hadn’t been brushed

"I want to take you home," he announced, after he’d run his hands all over and minutely examined each scrape and cut The Vampire Physician

I motioned with my hand to make hi He eyed it with some suspicion, but of course he had to knohat one was

"I can take it out," he said

I shook my head vehemently

"You don’t want me to take care of you?"

I puffed out my breath in exasperation, which hurt like hell

Imotion with my hand, and Bill searched the drawers until he found a notepad Oddly enough, he had a pen I wrote, "They’ll let h"

"Who’ll take you ho down at me with stern disapproval, like a teacher whose best pupil happens to be chronically tardy

"I’ll get thes had been different, I would have written Arlene’s name automatically

"I’ll be there at dark," he said

I looked up into his pale face, the clear whites of his eyes allooive you sohtened, re as I’d ever been I shook my head

"Why not?" he said, as if he’d offered me a drink of water when I was thirsty and I’d said no I thought uided it to ently I held the hand to ," I wrote, after a "

He bowed his head for a moment, and then looked at me sadly

"You knohat happened?" I wrote

"Bubba told rew scary as he mentioned the half-witted vampire "Sam told me the rest, and I went to the police department and read the police reports"

"Andy let you do that?" I scribbled

"No one kneas there," he said carelessly

I tried to iave hi look

"Tellto feel sleepy again

"You will have to know a little about us," he said hesitantly

"Woo woo, secret vaive anized," he toldto think of ways to keep us safe froement

"I knew if I were an official, like Eric, it would be much more difficult for hi, or at least I tried to

"So I attended the regional h I have never been involved in our politics, I ran for an office And, through so, I won!"

This was absolutely a Bill was a union rep? I wondered about the concentrated lobbying, too Did that ht the voters a bottle of A positive apiece?

"What is your job?" I wrote slowly, i I tried to look proud, which see for

"I’ator," he said "I’ll tell you what that means when you’re ho at him I sure hoped he didn’t take it into his head to ask me who all the floere from I wondered if I had to write Eric a thank-you note I wondered why ents Must be the pain estured to Bill to draw close He did, his face resting on the bed next to mine "Don’t kill Rene," I whispered

He looked cold, colder, coldest

"I may have already done the job He’s in intensive care But even if he lives, there’s been enough murder Let the law do it I don’t want anyafter you I want us to have peace" It was beco very difficult to talk I took his hand in both of ain to my least-bruised cheek Suddenly, how ed in e of the bed, and leaning toward me, he carefully, carefully, slid his arms under me and pulled ive me time to tell him if it hurt

"I won’t kill him," Bill said finally, intocould pick it up "I htened a little, his hands began their gentle stroking down my back "I wonder how quickly you can heal," he said, "without my help?"

"Oh, I’ll try to hurry," I whispered "I’ll bet I surprise the doctor as it is"

A collie trotted down the corridor, looked in the open door, said, "Rof," and trotted away Astonished, Bill turned to glance out into the corridor Oh, yeah, it was the full ht - I could see it out of theI could see so else, too A white face appeared out of the blackness and floated between olden hair Eric the Varadually disappeared fro

"Soon we’ll be back to norently so he could switch out the light in the bathrooht," I whispered "Yeah Back to normal"