Thanks so much for the reviews, follows, and favorites! It's awesome to hear feedback on your work!
Author's note: Recently I've been getting things that say that people are sad that Alec is dead and don't want to read. I just wanted to say just because he isn't alive in the story, doesn't mean there will be no MALEC moments or anything like that.
Actually the next chapter is all Malec. But until then…
Here is the next chapter!
Saturday
"So what? You just expect us to scour parking lots and driveways until we find a red convertible?" Izzy asked her brother as she fixed her hair in front of her vanity. Jace sat on the end of her bed silently thinking it over.
"I don't know but I think we should at least try a little. What are the police doing exactly?"
Izzy didn't say anything as she curled the ends of her black hair. She had been surprised when Jace came to her room and relayed this bizarre story to her. She knew everything about Alec, and that included his friends.
"How do you even know they knew Alec? Could just be friends or employees of mom and dad."
Jace scoffed. He'd thought about that multiple times, but none of Maryse or Robert's associates or friends knew them very well. They surely wouldn't have looked as upset as that boy had been.
"I'm not saying we should go out of our way, but I think we should at least keep a wondering eye Izzy."
Izzy set the curler down and turned around in her stool to face her brother. She had never seen him like this. He was really pushing this issue. Really pushing it. In some ways, Izzy was glad he was finally talking to her, at least in some way, about Alec. She felt like she had to give in.
"Alright, but as soon as something gets out of hand or we're digging to deep into Alec's life, I'm out." She didn't want to ruin the image of her brother with something they may find. Either way, she didn't really want to know her brother's deepest, darkest secrets.
"Deal."
Izzy turned back to her vanity to finish her hair, but was stopped by a slight knock on the door.
"Come in." Jace yelled at the closed wood, as Izzy turned back towards the visitor.
One of their maids, Tessa, poked her head through the door, before opening it completely. Izzy smiled at her, Tessa had always been her favorite as far as the help went.
"Ms. and Mr. Lightwood." She nodded at each of them, blushing a little as she noticed Jace's appearance. "Your parents are downstairs waiting for you."
Jace looked over at Izzy, and Izzy mirrored him. "I thought they were supposed to be in Europe til the middle of June." Jace said as his eyebrows twisted to form a hard line in the middle of his face.
"They were." Tessa popped in. "They got a call from the FBI about the deceased Mr. Lightwood."
As soon as Izzy heard Tessa mention Alec, she about jumped from her chair, Jace in tow as they headed down stairs. Pushing past Tessa, they made their way hallway down the hall before Jace grabbed her arm.
"What?!" Izzy asked, her twisted together.
Jace looked at her for a minute before glancing over the banister to the foyer. "I thought the police were handling Alec's case. Why would the FBI suddenly be all over Alec's death?"
Izzy realized what he was saying, and suddenly getting downstairs didn't excite her much as it had. "The killers could have just been passing through." She tried in a swaying voice. She wasn't sure if that even convinced her.
Jace seemed to digest that bit and then released her arm, taking her word for it. Izzy bounded down the stairs, her long maxi dress just barely sweeping the stairs as they reached the bottom.
An uneasy feeling in her stomach bubbled as they approached the parlor room. Opening the doors, they revealed their well-dressed parents and two detectives with blue jackets that read FBI on the back. Maryse was sitting on the love seat, while Robert was next to her standing.
Izzy saw her mother stand, approaching them with a smile on her face. "Isabelle, Jace, this is Detective Sanders and Detective Charles. They are here to talk to us about something important."
Each of the officers waved as Maryse introduced them. Detective Sanders was a woman about 5'5", her brown mossy hair squeezed into a perfect bun at the back of her head, and her brown eyes were focused on the two of them. No smile. Nothing. Just cold.
Detective Charles seemed nice enough to Isabelle, and not to mention attractive. He was in his mid twenties, brown shaggy hair, and Izzy noticed his dimples as soon as he smiled.
"What's this about?" Jace asked suddenly from beside her, as they moved to the sofa their mother had been sitting on. Maryse now stood with Robert a few feet away.
"We need to ask you a few questions about Alexander Lightwood." Detective Sanders said as her partner took out his small black notepad.
"Okay?" Izzy said a bit confused about what this could possibly be. "As in?"
The two officers looked at one another before looking back at her. Detective Charles offering her a mid smile before it lost itself on his face completely. "Your parents were telling us you two and Alexander were pretty close, correct?"
Jace and Izzy nodded. "We would like to think so, yes. The three of us weren't too far in age, so we all were kind of into the same things." Lie. Well half lie. They all did a lot together, but never the same interests. Alec had his own life too. They all just seemed to meet in the middle at times. Izzy watched as the officer scribbled something down after Jace stopped talking.
"I'm sorry," Izzy spoke suddenly. "What do you want to know? Is this about my brother's mur-death?" She still couldn't say the m word. It made everything so much darker. So incomplete. Empty.
"Do you know if your brother was in trouble?" Detective Sanders cut to the point.
"What kind of trouble?" Jace asked.
"Anything you can tell us will help." Detective Charles offered his opinion.
"With all do respect, I think you have the wrong Lightwood. Alec hasn't been in trouble a day in his life." Izzy laughed a little, kind of surprised they would ask such a question.
Jace agreed with his sister before looking towards the faces of the officers, trying to assess what they knew that they didn't.
"Jace, Isabelle, you won't be in any trouble, even if it involves the two of you. Not with us or the officers." Maryse said from the sidelines.
"What are you talking about? Alec didn't do anything! He wasn't in trouble! He was a good person." Izzy shouted, trying to bounce to her feet when Jace put a hand on her shoulder. She relaxed a little and Jace shook his head at her.
More scribbling and then Detective Charles looked at them again. "Was he prone to significant spending when it came to your family's money?"
Izzy looked at them as if they had slapped her. "Where is this coming from?"
"Just answer the question Isabelle." Her father said, becoming increasingly angry at his children.
"No, okay. No. Alec spent his money only on things he needed. He didn't splurge or anything extravagant. Now can you please tell us what the hell is happening?" Jace demanded.
Detective Sanders grabbed a piece of paper from the confines of a black briefcase that had been resting on the floor beside them. She placed in on the coffee table in front of them gently, and Izzy leaned over to look at it. Alec's bank statement.
"This is a copy of Alec's bank statement the day after his murder." She explained as Izzy picked up the piece and held into between her and her brother.
"As you can see, there was a transaction of $125, 000 taken out of his account the day before his murder. Can either of you tell me what that's for?"
Jace's eyes widened, and Izzy seemed to be thinking the same thing. Their brother never spent that kind of money on anything. Alec had sweaters that had holes in them for Heaven sakes.
Izzy shook her head. What the hell would Alec need that kind of money for? The worst things flooded into her mind, stuff that she didn't think were possible with her brother. But the thing that scared her most is that she didn't know her brother like she thought she did. "No. We can't." She said automatically, almost like a robot. Jace looked at her, taking the paper from her and setting it back on the coffee table.
"No. Sorry." Jace said shortly as they looked at him for his response. He moved to rest his elbows on his knees, balling his fist in front of his mouth as he tried to think of any possible situation where Alec would have needed it. Not only that, but he would have said something, no matter how bad, to Jace or Izzy.
The detective stuck it back into the brief case and nodded. More scribbling. The questions continued, some more outrageous than the next. "Was Alexander ever involved with narcotics?"
"My brother was not on drugs!" Izzy snapped at them. "He barely even drank alcohol!"
"Ms. Lightwood, I want to put things in perspective for you." Detective Sanders said a condescending tone that made Izzy want to climb across the table and strangle her with her bare hands. "Alexander came from a wealthy family, went to a good school, had good grades, and played a variety of sports. From the way it seems he had lots of friends and apparently he was close with his family. " She gestured to them. "Essentially a poster child for good behavior."
"Alec was well liked. That doesn't make him a criminal." Jace defended.
"That may be true, but we can't rule out the possibility." Detective Sanders looked at Maryse and Robert. "I think we're done here for today."
"Hey wait a second!" Izzy said standing and Maryse grabbed on to her arm to try and silence her. Shaking her off, her wild charcoal eyes found those of the detective's. "What do you think happened to my brother?"
The FBI personnel glanced at each other, before Detective Charles took his turn speaking up. "Brutal attacks like Alec's rarely happen. Most of them are centered around a common cause."
"So what? That makes him a drug addict?" It was Jace's turn to stand in rage.
"No." Detective Sanders snapped. "We never said that."
"Then what?" Jace pushed.
"It could mean a variety of things. A more popular opinion is he could have done something to someone physically and tried to pay them off."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Izzy asked, knowing she wouldn't like the answer.
"Isabelle Lightwood, watch your language!" Maryse yelled before looking at the officers with a softer expression. "I apologize for my children's rudeness. I know you are just trying to do your job."
Detective Sanders smiled gracefully, nodding in acceptance of the Maryse's apology. "Anyway, he means, it's not uncommon for some males of wealthy and social standing to express his urges into…an unwilling participant."
Jace let out a humorless laugh and Izzy's jaw dropped. "First he was a drug addict, now he's a rapist! This is rich." Jace threw his hands in the air, before they came back down slapping his sides.
"Look. There are lots of options to what this could be. We aren't saying that he is or is not something. We are just trying to explore all of the avenues and mark them out one at a time. People get wrapped up into things all the time that is…unusual for them. " Detective Sanders acted like she was speaking to children, and that couldn't be further from the truth.
Izzy wanted to strangle her, and judging by Jace's expression, he was thinking the same thing.
"Thank you for your time. We'll show ourselves out." And with that they left. Maryse shut the doors to the parlor behind them. Her eyes slitted into a glare and her mouth went into a hard line. She was silent for a few moments.
"How dare you act that way in front of people that are only trying to help." She said as she smoothed out the folds of her blue dress. "You might as well embarrass us in front of the entire city."
"Are you serious? Is that what your worried about right now? Your image?" Jace scoffed, pushing himself back into the loveseat, his arms crossed over his chest.
"In case you failed to notice mother. They are trying to say our older brother, your son, was a drug addict dealer who rapes girls and pays them off."
"Don't smart mouth your mother young lady." Robert warned, as Tessa entered with a pot of tea for Maryse's daily tea hour.
Pouring herself a cup, she sat down in the chair across from them, Maryse gave them a small smirk. "It's quite alright Robert." Just then Robert's phone rang and he took it outside with no word on whether he would return.
"I'm just as anxious to close this case as I'm sure you both are. But just because you didn't know if Alexander was any of these things, doesn't mean he wasn't." Maryse took a sip of her tea, looking at her two children. "And even when someone asks you a question that you don't like, doesn't mean you get to act like savages. Take it-"
"—In grace." Izzy finished, rolling her eyes. "I can't stand you anymore. Where is my mother? When did you stop caring about your own children?"
"Izzy-" Jace started but Isabelle's hand shot up to cut him off.
"I know you weren't around much, but I know damn well that you know Alec is none of those things that they were questioning about. I also know the woman who used to care about her own children would throw image out the window when it came to finding her son's murderer."
Izzy strided towards the door, sliding it open as she made a move to flee towards her bedroom.
o.O.o
Magnus sat on a beach chair on the Conta's private shoreline, soaking in the warm morning sun. When they arrived yesterday, Magnus wasn't too sure if he really up to mingle with the rich and famous. Yet, now that he was here, he couldn't think of doing anything but. It helped him not to think about Alec. It was easier to think about outfits than his dead boyfriend.
"So I was thinking, we could do this for a few hours then maybe go out for lunch. There is this great café right on the water that I'm sure you'll love. Then maybe back here to get ready for one of the many parties this year." Camille looked over at her friend, her sunglasses lifting a little as she smiled at him.
"Sounds wonderful darling. Thank you." He assured. Trying to make sure she knew he really appreciated everything she had done for him. Not just for this weekend but for the past 6 months.
"What are friends for?" She said simply before going back to tanning.
o.O.o
After they had finished tanning they cleaned up a little. Magnus, deciding that it might be a tad fun to dress like a posh rich kid, found himself in front of a mirror sporting white pants, a white polo shirt, and a light pink sweater tied at the neck. He could have vomited at the near sight of himself, but on one hand he was kind of fond of the attire. He imagined Alec in something similar, even though he knew he would never wear anything even remotely like this, it was still nice to think of him dressed like this having lunch with his own family.
Magnus fumbled through Alec's world from the start. Even with Camille being his best friend, it was different when you were dating someone from a different universe. Not to mention, Alec's family were socialites. They had an image to uphold, and Magnus knew he didn't fit it. He was a poor, hopeful musician working at a trashy club.
Alec never made a mention to these things, and even said time and time and again that his family would love him. He just needed more time. More time kept turning into more until finally their time was up. Or rather Alec's was up.
Sighing, he found himself staring at the same picture all over again. Placing it on the nightstand, he left the bedroom to navigate downstairs to meet Camille.
Pulling her sunglasses down her nose a little, she flashed him a wicked grin, her hand resting against her light blue summer dress at her hip.
"Well, well, looks like someone decided to finally lose that depressed weird funk and switch to posh snobby rich kid. Should I expect a costume at all events?" She giggled. "And no glitter?" Her mouth dropped in mock horror. "I'm in shock."
"I do know how to clean up." He popped his collar a tad, before looping an arm with hers.
"Shall we?" Camille suggested.
"We shall."
o.O.o
Izzy jumped at the soft knock on the door. "Go away!" She yelled from her vanity.
"It's just me." Jace said as his head reared through the doorway before entering and shutting the door behind him.
Taking a seat on the bed next to his sister, she laid her head against his shoulder, tossing her magazine aside. "Well?" Isabelle said through the silence.
"I don't know." He put his hand on her knee, patting it slightly before he felt Izzy shift to stand.
"You don't believe them do you?" She asked suddenly afraid of the answer. For some reason, Jace didn't have as much to say in the meeting with the FBI like she did.
"They must have something Iz. I mean the FBI is involved. It has to be something big. As much as I don't want my older brother to be a villain who deals drugs doesn't mean he wasn't. And considering it was the FBI, it could be a national or even international trade."
"So let me get this straight, you think our brother is a drug lord?" Izzy couldn't believe what he was saying. " An hour ago you were in here preaching to me about how we need to look for Alec's killers and how the police weren't doing shit!"
"And I still think that, but if Alec was any of those things, there could be so many avenues to look Izzy."
The raven-haired beauty couldn't believe this. How can he just assume such horrible things? Their brother was the definition of saint, and here he was trying to sell him short. "If you won't help me, than I'll do it myself. I'll find the blonde girl with the red car and the guy with her."
Jace ran a hand over his face, giving a silent groan. Izzy crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at the golden haired boy. He wasn't as sure about this as he had been earlier. Earlier things were different. Very different. Then again things had been different since Alec died, and he felt that he needed to do this with sister. If the cops beat them to it, then so be it.
"What the hell, I'll help." He said giving her a goofy grin. She smiled in return, before grabbing his hand to pull him off the bed.
"Now before we get started, I think we should go to my favorite spot in all of the Hamptons to eat."
"Could it be The Golden Pear?!" He said in the same excited tone that matched hers, attempting to mock her. She returned his attitude with a punch to his arm.
"Come on. It'll be fun. Maybe we could do some scoping while we're there. "
Jace weighed his options. Clary and Simon were busy today with family affairs, and nothing was really happening until later tonight.
"All right. Let's go before I change my mind."
o.O.o
Lunch with Camille was interesting. It wasn't everyday that he enjoyed the luxuries of the rich, especially with how they treated their guests with a special kind of charm. There wasn't a thing that Magnus couldn't ask for. It was different. Although he was hoping that Camille would change into Alec, as he watched her munch on her lettuce bowl that they called a 'salad' here.
"So? What do we think so far? Having a good time?"
"Why? Are you worried I wouldn't?" He was actually having a great time with Camille. He just wished things were different.
The blonde took the napkin to her face, dapping the cloth to her mouth to wipe away a few drippings of dressing. "This last year has been up and down. Then way down. I just thought this would bring out the old Magnus a little."
"The one that slept with people and woke up in a pool of his own vomit? Gee thanks Camille. I desperately need him back." The last part coming out in a sarcastic growl, which is not what he intended.
Camille gave him a pointed stare, shaking her head in defeat. "That's not what I meant Magnus."
"Why can't you like me for me? Why do I have to be your party animal friend all the time?" He could feel himself becoming increasingly agitated with the conversation.
Camille's mouth opened a little, and she threw down her napkin on the table. "Magnus that's not fair. You know I don't see you as just that. I'm just worried about you."
Magnus snorted a laugh. "All you've been trying to do since we got here is take me to a party." He was twisting her words, and maybe it wasn't making much sense but he was angry. Not at her, but the emotion was getting to be overbearing on him. He felt like he might drown in it if he didn't let some of it out.
Camille puffed, letting out a humorless laugh. "How dare you. You said that you wanted to come here, that you wanted to come to lunch, that you wanted a weekend at the Hamptons. Well here it is. This is it." She gestured to the people around them.
"I never said that. You forced me into this. Do you really think I don't know you? You would have thrown a tantrum if I didn't come here."
"I don't know if you've noticed lately, but your number of friends has been slowly dwindling since you lost Alec. It's time to stop moping. It's been 6 months. Even his family has moved on." Magnus shook his head, tears threatening to escape from his eyes. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction of crying though.
The metal of his chair graveled as it slid out from underneath him. Throwing the napkin off his lap, he started towards the bathroom, away from his friend.
Camille's eyes widened at the realization of what she said. "Magnus, I swear I didn't- Magnus!" She said to his retreating figure, turning to grab him, but she was shaken off.
Turning back around, a pair of charcoals eyes was sitting across from her, and a pair of golden ones to the right.
"Hello Camille."
o.O.o
Jem pulled up to the entrance of the café, dropping the two siblings off at the luxurious café. It was all outside of course, and the hostess stand wasn't too far from the place where they were. Walking a bit, Izzy felt chunks of gravel weed their way into her shoe.
"They really need to pave this, or at least add stepping stones." Jace rolled his eyes, laughing a bit as she jumped every so often at the rock catching her feet. Gravel turn to sidewalk in a matter of moments, and Izzy seemed happier.
As they reached the hostess stand, the girl at the front gave them a quick smile. "How many for lunch today?"
"Just two." Jace said holding up his fingers. His Sperry's slapping against the wood of the dock as they made their way to the table.
As she set their menus down, Jace tugged on Izzy's arm. "Izzy!" He said in a hushed whisper, his eyes focused on the blonde girl pouting over a salad not 15 feet away.
"Ow, Jace! What the hell?!" She ripped her arm from his, attempting to hit him.
"Will you just look?" Jace said pointing to the girl two tables over.
"Yeah so? It's Camille Conta, aka number one supreme bitch." She put her handbag down on the table as she started to sit.
"That's her Izzy. The girl from the funeral."
Izzy's eyes widened as she looked back and forth between her brother and Camille. "Are you sure Jace? She's a model. She could just have that familiar face."
"80% positive." He admitted, looking at Camille again.
"80%?" Izzy screamed in a whisper. "You have to be sure!"
"She had sunglasses on at the time and I was kind of at a distance." He reasoned, growling at his sister a little.
"The Contas' are so rich they might as well own their own universe. Mr. Conta won't even give mom or dad the time of day. Why the hell would she be at Alec's funeral?"
"I don't know. I'm about to find out though." Jace said starting over towards the table.
"Jace!" Izzy panicked trying to think so some way he would come back over and sit down so they could at least talk about what they would say. Maybe even see if her car was here as more defining evidence. Yet, here he was rushing in to battle.
Falling in line with her brother, she watched as Camille tried to yell for one of her friends, but apparently he wasn't having it. She was left alone. This was their chance for some answers.
Sitting down at the table they watched as Camille turned her head to find two new guests had arrived.
"Hello Camille." Jace said with a sickening grin.
o.O.o
Camille sat back in her chair a little, looking over the new party at her table. "Isabelle Lightwood. I haven't seen you since high school. Still trying to be a model I presume?"
Isabelle's blood boiled, she always hated Camille. They attended the same all girl's prepatory school, and it wasn't what one would call a nurturing environment for students. More like prison, bitch edition.
"Actually taking a break. My brother died." Camille nodded in response, picking at her salad in front of her.
"I'm sorry about your loss. Weird how the world works sometimes."
Izzy plastered on a fake smile. "Yeah weird. But I'm sure you already knew that because you were at his funeral if I recall." She said pretending to think a little.
Camille laughed a little. "You and I aren't even in the same realm. Why on earth would I be at your brother's funeral? Not that I'm not sorry and all."
Jace scoffed. "Cut the crap. We know you were there. I saw you with some guy."
"Didn't you here? Making out at graveyards is all the rage now." She said shrugging a little with a smile on her face. This was a joke to her, and Jace couldn't even process how to feel. All he saw was red.
Isabelle clenched her teeth, trying to hold back her temper. "Bullshit, and you know it."
"Just tell us why you were there Camille." Jace ran a hand through his hair, frustrated.
Camille folded her arms in her lap, leaning back into her chair a bit. "Look Lightwood. I was there to pay my respects. I met Alec a couple of times and he seemed like a nice guy, that's all." She snorted, letting them process that information as she turned her head to search the crowd for her friend. The last thing he needed was to see the Lightwood siblings.
"Not buying that shit at all. You don't just pop by to pay respects to someone you barely knew. You wouldn't even go to your great uncle's funeral because 'he smelled like fish while he was alive.' So I know there is something else going on." Izzy glared at Camille, and she seemed to copy the expression.
"So what if I was at your brother's funeral? Does it matter?"
"Actually it does." Jace spoke up from Isabelle's side, and Camille's eye found his. "My brother's murder case still hasn't been solved.
Camille started to laugh, "and you think I killed him?" More laughter. "Do you know how crazy you two sound right now? What would I gain by killing him?"
At first Isabelle wanted to say yes, that she thought that Camille murdered her brother or at least had something to do with it. Then, Isabelle really thought about it. What would Camille gain by killing a Lightwood? Not money, status, or anything worthwhile. Just jail time.
"I'll tell you what-"
"No Jace. She didn't do it. Let's just go." Jace was baffled as she stood to leave the table in such a rush. "I'm sorry we wasted your time, Camille." Although to be honest, she actually didn't care.
"Hopefully I won't see you again." Camille said waving a little as the siblings left her table just as Magnus returned.
"Who were they?" He asked at their retreating figures, sitting back down in the patio chair.
"Just some friends from high school. No one important." Camille felt the raw tension between us. "I'm sorry about before." She sighed. "I got angry and-"
He put a hand up to save her from her apology. " I'm sorry. I freaked out on you. I'm still re-learning to be without him, you know? I don't really know where I fit anymore."
Camille smiled a little. "I get that."
"Let's just finish our lunch and leave." Magnus said with a slight smile himself.
o.O.o
"What the hell was that Isabelle? We had her sitting in front of us! She was going to give us answers." Jace yelled as they walked back to the town car, deciding it was better to just leave then pretend everything was fine and eat lunch.
Isabelle kept her eyes on the ground, thinking over the events that just panned out since this morning.
"We might have finally gotten some truth out of this muddled mess. I can't believe you would just take her word-"
"Enough, Jace!" Isabelle said, whirling around to stand in front of him, one hand on the door of the black town car. "She didn't do anything! She has nothing to gain and everything to lose! So unless you can think of a reason why she would have anything to do with Alec, just drop it for now, okay?"
Jace stood there stunned at his little sister. After a moment though, his shock subsided and was replaced by reason. She was right. Camille wouldn't do anything to Alec, even if she did, she wouldn't tell them.
Izzy climb into the car with Jace shortly behind her. "I'm sorry that I yelled." He said as they sat there in silence on the way home.
"It's okay." Isabelle stared out the window, watching cafes and restaurants blend in a weird arrangement. "This doesn't mean I'm giving up."
Her brother smiled from his side of the car, and Izzy did too at the reflection outside. "We'll just have to start somewhere different." She added thinking for a moment, before popping up slightly in her seat.
"What?" Jace asked.
"If we find the where Alec's money went, we find out what happened to him." Jace grinned at the idea.
"We better find him before the police do."
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