Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris Read Free Book Online Page B

nice that Sam liked to take care of his home, even if it was parked behind the bar.
    What gave me the most pleasure was seeing the tension ease out of his shoulders now that Merlotte’s was on an even keel again.
    I was a little early. I had the time to make some measurements in the storeroom. I figured if I had the right to accept beer shipments, I had the right to institute a few changes, too—subject to Sam’s approval and consent, of course.
    The guy who drove the truck, Duff McClure, knew exactly where to put the beer. I counted the cases as he unloaded them. I’d offered to help the first time we’d dealt together, and Duff had made it clear it would be a cold day in Hell before a woman helped him do physical work. “You been selling more Michelob lately,” he remarked.
    “Yeah, we got a few guys who’ve decided that’s all they’re gonna drink,” I said. “They’ll be back to Bud Light before too long.”
    “You need any TrueBlood?”
    “Yeah, the usual case.”
    “You got a regular vamp clientele.”
    “Small but regular,” I agreed, my mind on writing the check for the shipment. We had a few days to pay it, but Sam had always paid on delivery. I thought that was a good policy.
    “They take three, four cases at Vic’s,” Duff said conversationally.
    “Bigger bar.” I began writing the check.
    “I guess vamps are everywhere now.”
    “Um-hum,” I muttered, filling it out carefully. I was serious about my check-writing privileges. I signed with a flourish.
    “Even that bar in Shreveport, that one that turned out to be for werewolves, they take some blood drinks now.”
    “Hair of the Dog?” Hadn’t Mustapha mentioned a vamp who was hanging out at the Were bar?
    “Yeah. I delivered there this morning.”
    “Huh.” This news was unsettling, but husky Duff was a huge gossip, and I didn’t want him to know he’d shaken me. “Well, everybody’s got to drink,” I said easily. “Here’s your check, Duff. How’s Dorothy?” Duff tucked the check into the zippered pouch he kept in a locked box in the passenger floorboard. “She’s good,” he said with a grin. “We’re having another young’un, she says.”
    “Oh my gosh, how many does that make?”
    “This’ll be number three,” Duff said, shaking his head with a rueful grin. “They gonna have to take out some college loans, do it themselves.”
    “It’ll be fine,” I said, which meant almost nothing except that I felt goodwill toward the McClure family.
    “Sure thing,” he said. “Catch you next time, Sookie. I see Sam’s got his fishing pole out. Tell him I said to catch some crappie for me.”
    When the truck had gone, Sam came out of the trailer and came over to the bar.
    “You did that on purpose,” I said. “You just don’t like Duff.”
    “Duff’s okay,” Sam said. “He just talks too much. Always has.”
    I hesitated a moment. “He says they’re stocking TrueBlood at the Hair of the Dog.” I was treading on shaky ground.
    “Really? That’s pretty weird.”
    I may not be able to read two-natured minds as easily as I can human minds, but I could tell Sam was genuinely surprised. Jannalynn hadn’t told him a vampire was coming into her bar, a Were bar. I relaxed. “Come on in and let me show you something,” I said. “I’ve been in there measuring.”
    “Uh-oh, you want to move the furniture?” Sam was half-smiling as he followed me into the bar.
    “No, I want to buy some,” I said over my shoulder. “See here?” I paced off a modest area just outside the storeroom. “Look, right here by the back door. This is where we need us some lockers.”
    “What for?” Sam didn’t sound indignant, but like he genuinely wanted to know.
    “So we women won’t have to put our purses in a drawer in your desk,” I said. “So Antoine and D’Eriq can keep a change of clothes here. So each employee will have their own little space to store stuff.”
    “You think we need this?” Sam looked