Sookie Stackhouse Boxed Set (Books 1-8) - Charlaine Harris [629]
“Sookie,” Bill said behind me, by way of letting me know that he was standing right outside the doorway. I didn’t tell him he could come in.
“I have to get to bed now, Bill. I’ll see you tomorrow. Do I have the queen’s phone number?”
“Cataliades stuck a card in your purse while you were sleeping.”
“Oh, good. Well, night.”
And I shut the door in his face. I was rude, but he was hovering, and I just wasn’t up for talking to him. It had shaken me, finding my head in his lap when I woke; it was like we were still a couple.
After a minute I heard his footsteps going back down the stairs. I was never more relieved to be alone in my life. Thanks to the night spent in a car and the brief sleep I’d had, I felt disoriented, rumpled, and desperately in need of a toothbrush. Time to scope out the place, with emphasis on bathroom discovery.
I looked around carefully. The shorter segment of the upside-down L was the living room, where I now stood. Its open plan included a kitchen against the far right wall. On my left, forming the long side of the L, was a hall lined with French windows that opened directly onto the gallery. The wall that formed the other side of the hall was punctuated with doors.
Bags in hand, I started down the hall, peering into each open door. I didn’t find the light switch that would illumine the hall, though there must be one, since there were fixtures at regular intervals on the ceiling.
But enough moonlight streamed through the windows of the rooms to enable me to see as much as I needed. The first room was a bathroom, thank God, though after a second I realized it wasn’t Hadley’s. It was very small and very clean, with a narrow shower stall, a toilet and sink; no toiletries, no personal clutter. I passed it by and glanced in the next doorway, discovering that it opened into a small room that had probably been intended as the guest bedroom. Hadley had set up a computer desk loaded with computer gear, not items of great interest to me.
In addition to a narrow daybed, there was a bookshelf crammed full with boxes and books, and I promised myself I’d go through that tomorrow. The next door was shut, but I cracked it open to peer inside for a second. It was the door to a narrow, deep, walk-in closet lined with shelves full of items that I didn’t take the time to identify.
To my relief, the next door was that of the main bathroom, the one with the shower and the tub and a large sink with a dressing table built in. The surface of the surround was littered with cosmetics and an electric curler, still plugged in. Five or six bottles of perfume were lined up on a shelf, and there were crumpled towels in the hamper, spotted with dark blotches. I put my face right down to them; at that range, they emitted an alarming reek. I couldn’t understand why the smell hadn’t pervaded the entire apartment. I picked up the whole hamper, unlocked the French window on the other side of the hall, and set it outside. I left the light on in the bathroom, because I intended to revisit it shortly.
The last door, set at right angles to all the others and forming the end of the hall, led into Hadley’s bedroom. It was big enough, though not as big as my bedroom at home. It held another large closet, crammed full with clothes. The bed was made, not a Hadley trademark, and I wondered who’d been in the apartment since Hadley had been killed. Someone had entered before the place had been sealed by magic. The bedroom, of course, was completely darkened. The windows