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BUGGED." They both glared at me as if I'd offered them a Big Mac. Vampires, who individually have
incredible and various powers, are sometimes oblivious to the fact that humans have developed some
powers of their own. The two men gave each other a look of speculation, but neither of them offered any
practical suggestion.
Well, to heck with them. I'd only seen this done in movies, but I figured if someone had planted a bug in
this room, they'd done it in a hurry and they'd been scared to death. So the bug would be close and not
well hidden. I shrugged off the gray jacket and kicked off my shoes. Since I was a human and had no
dignity to lose in Stan's eyes, I dropped below the table and began crawling down its length, pushing the
rolling chairs away as I went. For about the millionth time, I wished I'd worn slacks.
I'd gotten about two yards from Stan's legs when I saw something odd. There was a dark bump
adhering to the underside of the blond wood of the table. I looked at it as closely as I could without a
flashlight. It was not old gum.
Having found the little mechanical device, I didn't know what to do. I crawled out, somewhat dustier for
the experience, and found myself right at Stan's feet. He held out his hand and I took it reluctantly. Stan
pulled gently, or it seemed gently, but suddenly I was on my feet facing him. He wasn't very tall, and I
looked more into his eyes than I really wanted. I held up my finger in front of my face to be sure he was
paying attention. I pointed under the table.
Bill left the room in a flash. Stan's face grew even whiter, and his eyes blazed. I looked anywhere but
directly at him. I didn't want to be the sight filling his eyes while he digested the fact that someone had
planted a bug in his audience chamber. He had indeed been betrayed, just not in the fashion he'd
expected.
I cast around in my mind for something to do that would help. I beamed at Stan. Reaching up
automatically to straighten my ponytail, I realized my hair was still in its roll on the back of my head,
though considerably less neat. Fiddling with it gave me a good excuse to look down.
I was considerably relieved when Bill reappeared with Isabel and the dishwashing man, who was
carrying a bowl of water. "I'm sorry, Stan," Bill said. "I'm afraid Farrell is already dead, if you go by what
we have discovered this evening. Sookie and I will return to Louisiana tomorrow, unless you need us
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further." Isabel pointed to the table, and the man set the bowl down.
"You might as well," Stan replied, in a voice as cold as ice. "Send me your bill. Your master, Eric, was
quite adamant about that. I will have to meet him someday." His tone indicated the meeting would not be
pleasant for Eric.
Isabel said abruptly, "You stupid human! You've spilled my drink!" Bill reached past me to snatch the
bug from under the table and drop it in the water, and Isabel, walking even more smoothly to keep the
water from slopping over the sides of the bowl, left the room. Her companion remained behind.
That had been disposed of simply enough. And it was at least possible that whoever had been listening in
had been fooled by that little bit of dialogue. We all relaxed, now that the bug was gone. Even Stan
looked a little less frightening.
"Isabel says you have reason to think Farrell might have been abducted by the Fellowship," the man
said. "Maybe this young lady and I could go to the Fellowship Center tomorrow, and try to find out if
there're plans for any kind of ceremony soon."
Bill and Stan regarded him thoughtfully.
"That's a good idea," Stan said. "A couple would seem less noticeable."
"Sookie?" Bill asked.
"Certainly none of you can go," I said. "I think maybe we could at least get the layout of the place. If you
think there's really a chance Farrell's being held there." If I could find out more about the situation at the
Fellowship Center, maybe I could keep the vampires from attacking. They sure weren't going to go
down to the police station to file a missing persons report to prod the police into searching the Center.
No matter how much the Dallas vampires wanted to remain within the boundaries of human law so they
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