Innocent Until Proven Cullen by manywords

A/N: The first installment of the Cullen Siblings series, Cullen For Hire, can be found in the Fandoms Fight The Floods collection (fandomsfightthefloods(dot)blogspot(dot)com). It will be published on FFdotnet and Twilighted in June 2011.

Banner by MDealsWithIt at pics(dot)livejournal(dot)com/0_manywords_0/pic/0000352g

Stephanie Meyer has the copyright to Twilight. I own a yarn stash that is taking over my living room, a box of chocolate donuts and an undying devotion to ProjectTeamBeta (really, they rock and any errors remaining are mine alone). I hope you enjoy this!


The phone rang six times. Alice's heart skipped in her chest as she waited for an answer. Finally, just before it would have rolled to voicemail, the line was picked up.

"Swan." The voice of her brother's fiancée came on the line. She'd never been so happy to hear the woman's voice. Actually, she'd never been happy at all to hear Bella's voice until now.

"Bella, it's Alice Cullen." There was a long pause. "I need help."

"Of course, what can I do for you?" Bella was being gracious, something she'd never been to any of the Cullens before she started dating Alice's brother Edward. Alice tried not to grind her teeth.

"I need…" she gulped, "…a lawyer."

Another long pause.

"Are you all right?" Bella actually sounded concerned.

"I'm kinda, umm, in jail." She sighed. "They arrested me. Mom and Dad are out of town, and I couldn't get a hold of Emmett or Edward."

"Where are you being held?" Bella's voice was tight. Alice sighed. As if Bella needed another reason to think badly of her.

"King County Jail on Fifth Avenue."

"All right. I'll be there as soon as I can." She could hear rustling on the other end of the line and knew Bella was already moving. Alice was surprised that she felt relieved. She'd never thought of Bella as someone on whom she could rely.

"Okay. And, Bella?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you." Alice swallowed her pride, knowing Bella could have blown her off. Hell, as much as Alice had objected to the relationship between Bella and Edward, she probably deserved to be left to sit in jail.

"It'll be all right." Her voice was compassionate, and Alice had the feeling Bella really meant it. "Hang in there, and don't say anything without a lawyer."

Before Alice could say anything else, Bella hung up. Alice sighed heavily as she the handset in the cradle of the payphone. She followed the portly corrections officer back to the holding cell and tried not to flinch when the door clanged shut.

She looked around the large room, trying to find a place to sit that wasn't occupied or covered with dirt. She ended up perched on a bench nearest the door. Alice tried to calculate how long it had been since she'd been arrested. Her best guess told her it was mid-afternoon, maybe early evening.

Getting arrested had been, to put it mildly, a shock. As the vice-president of Sales and Marketing for Cullen Publishing, and more importantly, Esme Cullen's only daughter, she'd never had so much as a parking ticket. Alice could just picture her mother's expression – horror mixed with disappointment. But Bella was bringing a lawyer; they'd be able to prove she didn't do it.

While running errands and making sales calls this morning, she'd stopped in at the house of one of their authors, Demetri Guardiano, to pick up his latest manuscript. He was a dinosaur who refused to use email, but he was one of their biggest sellers, so they humored him. Since her parents were on vacation, it fell to Alice to deal with him.

The door had opened under her hand when she knocked. A tall man in a ski mask – who seemed as surprised to see her as she was to see him – had stood there for a split second before running out of the house, colliding with her where she stood in the doorway.

Landing hard on her side, she watched him scramble to his feet and disappear into a small black car. She'd picked herself up off the porch and gone in. Guardiano had been lying in a puddle of his own blood, a knife sticking out the side of his neck.

She'd screamed and dropped to her hands and knees, not paying attention to the fact that she was getting blood all over her clothes. She'd tried to remember first aid. Was she supposed to leave the knife alone or take it out?

In the end it didn't matter because the police had burst through the door, guns drawn, and arrested her. After that, it was a blur – the ride to the police station, the fingerprinting and finally waiting in the cell for however long before she'd been allowed to make her one phone call.

Generally Alice was a positive person, but she had to admit she was scared. A shiver went through her as she thought about being stuck in a place like this for the rest of her life. She closed her eyes as the cell walls seemed to close in on her. Deep breaths through her nose steadied her.

She glanced down at the hideous orange jumpsuit and flimsy white flip flops she wore. The cops had taken her clothes as evidence, even her Manolos. These horrible clothes would be the least of her worries if the cops didn't find whoever actually killed Guardiano.

Alice sat there, hunched over with misery, until another corrections officer came for her. This woman led her to a small gray room with the almost-clichéd two-way mirror, plain metal table and a couple of chairs. A man in a suit stood next to one of the chairs. He had dark blonde hair that was long enough to tuck behind his ears. Piercing gray eyes studied her as she entered the room.

He indicated that she should sit, and he did the same, putting a mahogany leather briefcase on the table between them. She chose a chair a few feet away from him, turning it to face him with a screech of metal against the concrete floor. He flipped his briefcase open and pulled out a manila file folder, setting it in front of him.

"Miss Alice Cullen?" he asked. He didn't take his eyes from the papers.

"Yes." Bella had told her not to answer any questions, but she was pretty sure they already knew who she was.

"I'm Jasper Whitlock, ma'am." His voice had a touch of a southern accent. "I've been retained by Isabella Swan to be your legal counsel."

"That's… um, that's great, thank you." He didn't look at her, jotting notes in the file in front of him. She noticed he wrote with his left hand. They sat there, him making notes, her fidgeting in the uncomfortable metal chair. The quiet was making her nervous. "Are we just going to sit here or what?"

He looked up at her, taking his time. His gaze swept her from the top of her head down to her red painted toenails. The intensity of his frank appraisal made a fluttery feeling start up in her belly and it scared her. Alice crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at him. He met her stare for a long moment, his face showing no emotion, but his eyes darkened to a stormy gray. After what felt like forever her looked down at the file in front of him.

"Here, sign this." He slid a piece of paper and a pen over to her. Uncrossing her arms, she picked up the paper. It was a contract for his services. She read through it completely, balking when she got to the compensation part.

"A thousand dollars an hour?" She choked. "I can't afford that."

"That's irrelevant. My salary is being paid by Ms. Swan."

"But…" Alice couldn't think of anything to say.

"Just sign the form, Miss Cullen, and we can get you out of here." He looked at his watch.

"I'm sorry, am I keeping you from something?" She didn't mean to be catty, but it came out that way anyway.

"Actually, yes. I was in the middle of something when Ms. Swan called." His voice was even, and he sat back in his chair to regard her with a cool gaze. "I understand this has been a trying day, but I am here to help you."

She flushed and looked back down at the paper, hesitating another moment before she signed it. He reached over the table to retrieve both pen and paper. She noticed his hands were large, with long elegant fingers. He put the paper in the file folder, closed it and put it in his briefcase. The pen he tucked into a pocket in his suit jacket.

"Wait here." He closed the briefcase and rose.

"Oh, sure, 'cause I thought I'd go get an ice cream cone instead." He looked down at her with narrowed eyes. She met his gaze, defiant. He quirked a smile, and it lit up his whole face, transforming the severe and angled lines into something handsome and engaging. She couldn't stop herself from smiling back. It was a small smile, but it was the first time she'd smiled since her arrest.

"Everything will be okay, Miss Cullen."

She watched him as he left. His shoulders were broad, and he walked with confidence. When he'd left and the door shut firmly behind him, she lowered her head to the table, cradling it in her folded arms. The fear and exhaustion started to get to her, and she closed her eyes just for a moment.

The next thing she realized was Bella shaking her awake.

"Alice, come on, it's time to go." Bella leaned over her, and Jasper Whitlock stood by the door.

Alice rubbed her face, blinking rapidly to focus her eyes. She ran a hand through her short black hair, wishing for a brush. She felt certain it was sticking straight up. Sure enough, the lawyer was looking at the top of her head with a smirk.

She rose and followed Bella out of the room. When they reached the lobby of the jail, Alice wanted to plaster herself to the windows, grateful for just the sight of the normal world on the other side of the glass. She breathed deeply, as if she could already taste fresh air, untainted by the jail's smells of sweat and fear.

She could see that it was evening. Streetlights were on, and the moon occasionally peeked out from between the clouds. She waited impatiently as Mr. Whitlock handled some more paperwork at the desk, separated from the rest of the room by bullet-proof glass, which stretched across half the lobby. She bounced on the balls of her feet, anxious to be free. Bella waited patiently, working on her Blackberry.

"We can go now, Ms. Swan, Miss Cullen." The lawyer's voice was low as he ushered them out of the building that housed the jail, courtrooms and offices. Alice shivered as they left, feeling the tall structure looming over her. It was a relief to get into Bella's Town Car and she couldn't help returning the driver's friendly smile.

"Hey, Eric."

"Hey, Alice. So, what were you in for? Did you kill someone or something?" Alice's face froze. How did one discuss getting arrested for murder?

"Eric, please raise the privacy barrier." Whitlock coolly cut into the silence. The driver stiffened, obviously offended, but did as he was asked.

Once they were all settled in the back of the car, the inquisition started.

"What happened, Alice?" Bella asked.

"I was going to pick up a manuscript," she began to explain.

"Whose manuscript?" Whitlock had a yellow notepad on his knee, pen out.

"Um, Demetri Guardiano. He's an author we publish."

"Picking up a manuscript? Why didn't he email it?" Bella asked, leaning forward with an intent expression.

"He doesn't use email. He's one of our last hold-outs." Alice shook her head. "Mom's going to be devastated when she hears."

"So what happened next?" He brought her back on track, tapping the notepad with his pen.

She told the story as best as she could with either the lawyer or Bella interrupting every other sentence to ask questions.

The car stopped in front of the Halverton building. Alice looked up at the skyscraper, reminded of how only a few months ago Bella had tried to take over Cullen Publishing. If she hadn't happened to fall in love with Alice's brother and decided to call everything off, she might have succeeded.

"Thank you for your help today, Mr. Whitlock." Bella's voice was warm. "It means a lot to me, and I won't forget it."

He simply nodded brusquely before getting out of the car. Alice watched him leave. He didn't even look at her as he left, disappearing into the steel and glass edifice.


Jasper walked down the hall to his office. As soon as the door to his office closed behind him he banged his head against it.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid." He couldn't believe how hard it had been to remain professional with Alice Cullen. She'd looked so lost and frightened at times, so full of sass and fire at others. Not to mention she was beautiful. Short black hair framed a pale face with big green eyes. The hideous orange jumpsuit hadn't hidden lush curves his hands had itched to touch.

With a sigh, he sat down behind his desk. He knew he should call Maria and Nessie back, but instead he pulled Alice Cullen's paperwork out of his briefcase and started going through it. He looked first at the arrest record, reading the paperwork the police had provided. It had been a fairly simple thing to get her released – the police hadn't had any real evidence for arresting her in the first place. The assistant DA, an old college friend, had agreed to drop the charges and let her go before arraignment with the standard "don't let her leave the city" order.

One section of the report caught his eye. The police had been tipped off by an anonymous phone call that Guardiano had been killed. It was why they'd gotten there before Alice had even had a chance to call 911. He frowned and made a note to check if anyone knew she was going to be there.

He kept at it until his eyes blurred. He put the papers away for the night, slipping them into an empty folder in his desk. He glanced at his watch, surprised by how much time had passed. It was eleven o'clock – way too late to call and finish his conversation. They were on east coast time which was, what, three hours ahead? He sighed.

He missed Nessie. His daughter was five years old and getting bigger every day. His ex-wife was great about letting them talk a lot, and he was grateful for Skype, which allowed him to actually see her. But it wasn't the same as holding her. Maria's move to DC was great for her career, but stunk for his relationship with his daughter.

Jasper turned off his computer and left the office. Officially, he was the youngest partner of Meyer, Little, Brown and Whitlock, but really he worked for Isabella Swan. It was why his office was in her building and why, at only thirty-six, he was full partner. He left the Halverton Building, walking the two blocks to the club district to catch a cab.

He'd originally intended to go right home, but curiosity got the better of him. He gave Guardiano's address to the cabbie. He watched as downtown fell away and the buildings got shorter and sparser, signaling the change from city to suburbia. The cab driver turned into a residential development full of older single-family homes. They pulled up in front of a blue house with green shutters. A large maple tree stood in the front yard, and someone had planted roses by the porch.

"Can you wait here a few minutes?" he asked.

The cabbie grumbled, but left the meter running. Jasper went up the stone walkway to the porch, stopping at the foot of the stairs and looking up. No lights were on, though the streetlights let him make out the barest details of the house. He wasn't quite sure what he expected to see in the dark. There were black splotches on the white wood of the porch that he guessed were footprints. Yellow crime scene tape blocked off the front door.

He turned his attention to the rose bushes. One of them had been horribly mangled, probably from the man who had nearly mowed Alice down. Or maybe it had been like that before. Hard to tell. Something white fluttered by the base of the rosebush, and he crouched down to take a closer look.

The paper had been crumpled and ground into the dirt. Jasper pulled a pair of gloves out of his pocket. They were leather, but they'd do to make sure he didn't ruin any evidence – if this was evidence and not a flyer advertising a dog walking service or pizza delivery specials. He stretched his arm towards it, catching his jacket on the thorns. He disentangled himself carefully and tried again, his fingertips just brushing the edge of the paper.

He pushed, snagging and ripping his jacket, but he managed to grab the document.

"Hey, you coming or what?" He looked up to where the cabbie was leaning across the front seat to holler out the window.

"Yeah, just a second." Jasper held the paper up. It was too dark to read, but the type was double-spaced and filled the whole page. He folded it carefully and put it in his pocket before returning to the cab.


At first it had been a relief to get home and see both Edward and Emmett waiting for them. Emmett had been pacing back and forth across the living room while Edward sat more calmly on the couch with his elbows on his knees. She'd burst into tears and thrown herself at her brothers. They'd held her as Bella explained what had happened.

But then the questions started flying at her. What was she doing going to a stranger's house by herself? Why hadn't she called them? Was she hurt? Who did they have to sue, kill or mangle to get her out of this?

"Really, guys, I'm okay. Bella…" she threw a grateful look at the woman, "…got me a lawyer. He got the charges dropped, but they said they're still considering me a suspect."

"That's my girl." Edward's voice was adoring, and Alice rolled her eyes at the sappiness. Thankfully, she had her face buried in Emmett's chest so no one saw.

"We should let Alice get some rest. I'm sure she could use a shower." Bella was being nice again. Alice bit her tongue to keep from saying something snarky.

"You're right. I really want to get out of this awful thing," Alice said, picking at the jumpsuit she was wearing. "They really need to have Vera Wang redesign these awful things."

Her brothers laughed and let her go. She stopped on the staircase, her hand on the banister.

"Have you guys called Mom and Dad?" Emmett and Edward shared a look.

"Not yet, Allie." Edward shrugged his shoulders. "We weren't sure what was going on and, well, you know how Mom worries."

"Yeah. Thanks." She started up the stairs to her apartment. Her parents had made some modifications when the house had become the headquarters for Cullen Publishing, turning the second level and the basement into apartments, the garage into the office with a room above that and giving themselves a luxurious master suite on the ground floor. Edward had the basement, and Emmett had the garage. She had the upstairs.

Alice climbed the stairs slowly; she'd never been so tired in all her life. She dragged herself into the bathroom, stripping off the awful clothing and kicking them aside. She looked at her naked body in the mirror. There was a bruise on her shoulder from where the man had knocked into her. It wasn't very big, but it was a deep purple color, and it hurt. She rubbed it gently.

She was surprised it was the only physical mark from the day. She felt as if everything else had changed, so shouldn't she look older or something?

Alice dismissed the maudlin thoughts with a shake of her head. She turned on the shower and waited a few moments for the water to heat up. Once under the spray, she finally began to relax. Her muscles unknotted, and she found herself slumping against the tiled wall, trying to stay awake long enough to finish shampooing her hair.

She stumbled out of the shower, wrapped a towel around herself and managed to walk from the bathroom to her bed. That was the last thing she remembered before oblivion took her.