“Hmmm,” I said. I made a mental note that Appius Livius was worried about Alexei being alone with humans, and I knew that should scare me quite a bit. The night was growing older, and I had things to find out. “I hate to change the subject, but there are a few things I need to know.”

“What, Sookie?” Eric asked, looking directly at me for the first time since Old Master had popped up. He was pouring caution down the bond between us.

“I just have a couple of questions,” I said, smiling as sweetly as I could. “Have you been in this area for any length of time?”

I met the ancient dark eyes again. It was hard to take Appius all in, somehow; I found I couldn’t look at him as a cohesive individual. He scared the shit out of me.

“No,” he said mildly. “We have not. We’ve come here from the south-west, from Oklahoma, and we have only just arrived in Louisiana.”

“So you wouldn’t know anything about the new body buried at the back of my land?”

“No, nothing. Would you like us to go dig it up? Unpleasant, but doable. You are wanting to see who it is?”

That was an unexpected offer. Eric was looking at me very oddly. “I’m sorry, honey,” I told him. “I was trying to tell you when our unexpected guests showed up.”

“Not Debbie,” he said.

“No, Heidi says there’s a new burial. But we do need to know who it is, and we need to find out who put it there.”

“The Weres,” Eric said instantly. “This is the thanks you get for letting them use your land. I’ll call Alcide, and we’ll have a meeting.” Eric looked positively delighted to get the chance to do something bosslike. He whipped out his cell phone and dialed Alcide before I could say anything.

“Eric,” he said into the phone by way of identification. “Alcide, we have to talk.” I could hear the buzz on the other end of the line.

A moment later Eric said, “That’s not good, Alcide, and I am sorry to hear you have troubles. But I have other concerns. What did you do on Sookie’s land?”

Oh, crapanola.

“You should come here and see, then. I think some of your people have been bad. Very well, then. I’ll see you in ten minutes. I am at her house.”

He hung up, looking triumphant. “Alcide was in Bon Temps?” I asked.