Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight Saga or anything related, it is owned by Stephanie Meyer.
Chapter Two: Forks Police Department.
Waking up the next morning, Leola stared at the ceiling of her bedroom for a moment as she listened to the rain that pounded against her window; she had hoped that it would be dry so that she could go exploring. The fact that she didn't have a car hindered her slightly especially since she had seen it pointless to hire a rental car when she would have her own squad car in a matter of days.
Pushing back the covers, Leola swung her legs over the side and stared out of the window as her feet touched the soft rug that lined the side of her bed. It was dark out and Leola wouldn't have believed that it was nearly nine in the morning if it wasn't for the clock beside her bed; it was something that she was going to have to get used to while she was here.
Climbing from the bed, Leola yawned before padding towards the bathroom glad that she had been remembered to unbox her towels when she had arrived the day before. Most of her things were still in their boxes waiting in the rooms that they needed to be unpacked in; she had done what she could upon arriving but had decided to put it off when she had grown bored.
Taking the time to shower and do her morning routine, Leola couldn't help but feel nervous about what she had planned for that morning. There was nothing that could dissuade her for heading to the police station that morning, she wanted to get this over and done with before her first day on the job.
Leola had heard how much Sergeant Wayland Forge had been loved in the community and his death had come as a shock to those who had known him. It did make her wonder just what sort of reception she would receive when she started work, especially since she was here as his replacement; the last thing Leola wanted to do was rock the boat when she was starting a new job.
Once she had finished getting ready, Leola headed downstairs and made a mental note to pick up some milk on her way back; she didn't want to rely on anyone else when she would have to know her way around town for work. Leola checked the fridge to see if there was anything else that she needed to pick up while she was out; there wasn't much in and she was thankful that someone had picked up some things for her before she had arrived.
There had been enough in the fridge to do her for a couple of days but Leola didn't want to wait until the last moment until she had to do a shop; there was also no harm in exploring the place she now called home. Making a list of the items that she was going to need to pick up, Leola could only hope that the store wasn't going to be too far away from her home since she was on foot.
Deciding that a proper shop while she was out would be beneficial for her, Leola closed the fridge and moved to grab her coat hoping that it would keep her dry while she was out of the house. Making sure that she had her keys, Leola headed for the door and paused as she stared out at the rain for a moment; her nose wrinkling a little at the thought of getting soaked but knowing that there was no way around it especially if she wanted to leave the house.
Opening the front door, Leola stepped out of her home and closed the door behind her; she hesitated on the porch for a moment before pulling her hood up over her head. The rain seemed to have eased off slightly and it wasn't pouring down too hard now, it made Leola hopeful that the rain might come to an end soon.
Heading down the steps and across her front lawn, Leola had a feeling that she was going to get lost; she just hoped that the small town wasn't going to turn into some sort of maze.
Staring up at the police station, Leola was rather surprised with how different it looked compared to the last one that she had worked it; it looked more like the tourist centre and she would have mistaken it for something like that if the sign wasn't there to tell her what the place was. The station looked small and Leola wondered just how big the force was here, she only knew the name of the chief of police and she had only spoken to him really over the phone before her transfer.
Not wanting to linger outside and look like a crazy person in the rain for a moment longer; Leola had her way up the steps and into the building without another moment of hesitant. The reception area didn't consist of much and was rather cramped in space with several chairs shoved into it so that people could sit down.
"Hi," Leola greeted looking to the woman that was sat at the reception desk, she walked over to the desk glad to see that someone was here; she still felt nervous about coming here today. The woman behind the desk jumped and nearly dropped the glasses that she had been cleaning before sticking them back on; she blinked a couple of times trying to focus on the new-comer.
Diana Forbes had lived in Forks her entire life and had spent most of her career working behind this desk; she practically knew everyone in town so the sight of a stranger confused her for a moment.
"Can I help you honey?" the woman asked a polite smile filling her face, she was sure that it was probably a tourist that had gotten lost or had managed to lose a friend while she had been camping in the surrounding area. It wasn't an unusual thing and most of the time there wasn't much to be worried about around here; the most they had to deal with was the animal killings that occurred every now and then.
"Leola Hart," Leola said introducing herself, she was sure that they would be expecting her and she hoped her decision to drop in like this wasn't going to back-fire; her eyes scanning the small reception feeling even more nervous than before. They wouldn't be expecting to see her today and she didn't want to get under anyone's feet; she just thought that dropping in early would make her less nervous on the day that she did start working here. The woman furrowed her brow wondering why the name sounded so familiar, she had heard it somewhere that morning and it took her a moment to realise why it sounded so familiar to her.
"The new Detective… you aren't meant to start until Monday," Diana Forbes greeted surprised that she had shown up early, she quickly introduced herself to the new member of staff pleased to see someone eager to work here with them. The chief wasn't here right now to meet her since his daughter had a hospital appointment after the terrible 'accident' that she'd had but Diana was sure that there were other members of the department here that Leola could meet.
"I couldn't resist dropping in to check the place out," Leola replied with a shrug of her shoulders making Diana smile at her, she felt a little more at ease speaking with the woman before her and not like she was being a pain in the ass. The last thing that Leola wanted was to get in the way if they were busy, she could easily just go to the shops now and come back when she wasn't likely to be a problem.
Diana was quick to offer Leola a tour of their small precinct, it wasn't much but it was where they worked and she was sure that they would bump into other members of the team that worked there. The station was rather simple and Leola was relieved to find that everything was in an easy location to find without having to constantly ask where things might be.
"And this is the staff room," Diana announced pushing open the door that lead to the tiny room where most of them had lunch; there was a microwave in the far corner of the room with a kettle, a couch on the wall next to it and a small table in the centre of the room with four chairs cramped around it. The people inside seemed to stop what they were doing and turned to look at the newcomers, they clearly hadn't realised that there was a tour going on; they watched Diana curious about what was going on. The only other woman in the room leant back in her chair and raised an eyebrow at Diana, she was sure that she would have been notified about this tour during their meeting that morning.
"Captain Stephens, Detective Ashton, Deputy Thompson and Deputy Jones… this is Detective Hart," Diana introducing pointing out each of Leola's new co-workers for her so she knew who was who. The detective and two deputies frowned at the sight of their new detective and hoped that there hadn't been some sort of mistake; they were sure that the Chief had said that they would be working with a Leo.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Captain Stephens greeted getting to her feet and moving to shake Leola's hand, it had been a long time coming and it was about time that they had the position filled. It had been a couple of months now since Wayland had died and they had been understaffed since their friend had been mauled to death in the forest; she had been requesting a new detective with no hope until Leola had been hired.
"I am sure that you will find Forks are rather welcoming place," Captain Stephens stated doubting that Leola would fall foul of the local gossip mill anytime soon; it was too busy talking about the 'accident' that had befallen the chief of police's daughter. It was all that anyone talked about since Isabella Swan had taken that tumble down a flight of stairs after she had taken off in the night after a fight with her boyfriend.
Detective Ashton snorted at the statement, he doubted that it would be long before the rumours started about their new detective and he had his money on her being corned by the local gossips sooner rather than later. It was only a matter of time and the detective knew that the people around here did not do well with anyone new; they would be quick to jump on the fact that Leola had replaced a man that had been beloved in the community even if he had died.
"I hope so," Leola replied not entirely sure what would happen, she hadn't run into a lot of people yet and she knew what a small town this was; there was bound to be talk about her soon when people realised that she was living here. She peeked towards the other members of the team and hoped that they would be just as welcoming as Captain Stephens was when she got to know them; it was bound to be strange for them after losing such a close friend from what she had heard.
The job would be a lot easier for her if she didn't have to worry about clashing with any of the team that she was going to be working closely with. Saying farewell to them, Leola followed Diana back towards reception and she felt a lot more relieved about this now that she had a feeling about what working here would be like. Diana was more than happy to give her directions to the nearest store and she had offered to help Leola since the young woman didn't have a car right now but she was declined.
"I will see you Monday," Leola called heading out of the door and waving to Diana before she headed out into the street. The rain had died off even more while she had been in the station and she was relieved about that; she didn't have to worry about being completely soaked by the time that she reached the store.
Things were getting off to a great start for her in Forks and Leola hoped that it would stay like that.
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