Disclaimer: I do not own most of these characters. They are the wondrous creation of Steph Meyer!
A/N: Aww, thanks everyone! You're comments were the highlight of my rather glum day. Perhaps that explains my rather glum chapter. A little long, but I was trying to set everything up in one post. Let me know what you think.
Chapter Four Phase One
Bella POV
North Carolina was not vampire friendly with its perky weather. We'd spent most of our second day here locked away in our hotel room waiting for twilight to come. I'd already arranged a meeting with a few of the local police officers. Alice and Mia were coming, as well. It was actually less of a meeting and more of a date. At least that's what the cops thought.
Jasper and Santiago were pouting even as we primped. Never mind that none of us were interested in our dates. That we were just using them to find out what kind of evidence they had and any leads they might have, seemed to have eluded them.
Jasper and Justin were supposed to start tracking David tonight. I hoped that Jasper could keep his jealousy at bay and concentrate on his part of the job.
Jealousy…hmph. I seemed to have been bitten by the green-eyed-monster as well. I could still hear that girl's voice clearly and it was burning through me like vampire venom. We'd all reached a silent understanding. No one was to bring up Edward in any way shape or form. I could keep myself together as long as his name wasn't uttered, questions weren't asked. So far, they'd followed this rule to the letter, even Alice.
Actually, she seemed off. Where she was pestering me relentlessly hours earlier, now she was withdrawn-almost closed off. I had enough going on right then, I certainly did not have time to decipher what the change in her moods meant.
Mia plopped down beside me, her black hair piled high on her head exposing her sculpted shoulders which were emphasized by her strapless burgundy dress.
"She just kept redoing my make up," she complained in a thick accent. Fortunately she talked rather slow and I was able to understand her. I'd heard her arguing with Santiago about which soap opera they were going to watch and even though they were both speaking English, I made out very little of what they said because they were speaking so fast. Two guesses who actually won that argument, but I'm sure you'd only need one.
"Better you than me," I pointed out with a satisfied grin. I'd been trusted to primp all on my own. Shocking, I know. Alice hadn't seen me yet, so I wasn't exactly safe. She might take one look and demand a whole make over.
The door flung open and Alice stood there practically glowing in her cream and gold sequin dress. She made the rest of us look like slugs. I glanced down at my navy halter dress and cringed. She'd never be satisfied.
But she walked right past me and grabbed up the keys. "Come on, ladies. We're wasting time."
I had the pleasure of spending my evening with Deputy Richardson. Fortunately, he was cute and nice. Mia hadn't been quite so lucky. Oh, he was a perfect gentleman, but his looks left a lot to be desired. His was overly tall and gangly which made him look even younger than his twenty-two years. His mop or red hair was unruly and when I say red, I mean red! I'd never seen anything like that in nature, but he swore he'd never dyed his hair. Seriously, we asked. He would have been pale if it weren't for the freckles that seemed to cover every inch of his body. Well, at least the exposed parts. Still, he was adorable, and Mia didn't look like she was miserable and he was chatty. I knew she was getting all kinds of useful info.
Alice wasn't even trying, I don't think. She was out on the dance floor with Deputy Clarkson who was the embodiment of a male stripper. "Yummy" didn't even begin to describe him. Thank goodness Jasper couldn't read minds. I'd hate to see how he'd react if he saw the way they were dancing.
"So, you traveled all the way down here to catch a glimpse of a vampire? I hope you haven't been too disappointed," my date murmured.
I laughed, acting embarrassed. "I've always been a little obsessed with them. After I watched the news I couldn't stop myself from coming here. And I'm glad I did. I got to meet you, after all." I cringed. Flirting wasn't something that came naturally to me, but the smile on his tanned face assured me that I was doing okay.
"That is a good point."
"So, what's the verdict? Do vampires exist?" I asked playfully while unleashing Alyria's power. I had to be careful not to use too much. Yesterday I'd used it to charm one of the paramedics on the scene and he'd practically stripped down and begged me to do with him whatever I wanted. In front of everyone! Not my finest moment. Still, we'd gotten all the medical reports on the four deceased victims and even got to check out the bodies at the morgue, so I guess it had been worth it.
"Couldn't say really. He seems to have just disappeared. We've had teams looking night and day. The FBI and Army Reserves are even down here searching."
"You're kidding."
"Nope. But we have found several bodies."
I gave a gasp like a frightened human girl would and super wide eyes. "How many?" This was what we'd been afraid of. I'd hoped he'd had the sense to dispose of his food, but apparently not.
"So far we've found eight. But, there are nearly thirty missing."
"My god. This thing…man has killed thirty people?" I asked not having to fake the horror in my voice, etched into my face.
"No. Well, I don't really know. This has been happening for a while. For the last few months. But this is the first time we've actually found any bodies."
The waitress came over and leaned in close to my date. "Can I get you two another round?" He nodded and handed her some cash.
"How about a dance?" I took his hand and let him lead me near Alice who seemed very entertained by Mr. Chippendale. Damn. It was not fair. No human should look that good. He had captured the attention of every female in the bar. The only humans I'd ever seen come close to his beauty were Justin and Alyria's blood donors.
The song ended quickly. Could it be that I was actually having fun? Actually enjoying dancing? After some more small talk I steered us back to the important stuff. "What was this David guy like before his camping incident?"
"Fucked up," he admitted then blushed. "God, I'm sorry. That was rude." he shook his head, embarrassed. "He had to spend a month at a mental institution for attempted suicide after his girlfriend dumped him," he explained.
"And then?"
"They got back together and everything was fine. Her best friend even said that he'd proposed to her."
"Let me guess, that didn't go quite the way he expected?"
"No," he chuckled. "No, not at all. She said they were too young, that they'd never been with anyone but each other." He brushed a strand of hair away from my face before continuing, "They were childhood sweethearts, you see?"
I nodded thinking back to my whirlwind romance with Edward. It had been so intense. I'd been certain that there would never be anyone else for me. That no man could ever stir in me what Edward had, but I'd been so wrong. Christian had managed to charm me. I was now a huge proponent of 'Don't make lifetime commitments until you'd experienced all there was to experience'. Not that I regretted marrying Edward and giving him my humanity so young. But maybe if we'd taken our time like he wanted, we wouldn't be in the mess we were in now.
"Anyways," he went on completely oblivious to my lack of attention. "He left that night to clear his head and he never came back. Until a week ago," he shrugged.
"How awful."
"You feel bad for the murder?" he asked, perplexed.
"I feel bad for the boy that had his heart broken."
"Doesn't excuse him."
I smiled. "No it doesn't. How about one more dance?"
"Uh-oh. Did I say something wrong?" He asked as he took me into his arms and we began to sway to the slow song playing on the old jukebox.
"No, why?"
"You said one more dance. Sounds like you're calling it a night."
"I am. Sorry. I have to be up early tomorrow."
"How long are you here for? Maybe we could meet up again?" He asked hopefully as he pulled me tighter against his strong body.
"I'm not sure. Give me your number, and if I'm still here in a few days, I'll give you a call. Maybe I'll take you up on your offer to take me sight seeing."
Back at the hotel, I explained everything to Felix, Ben and Santiago. Their only chore was to purchase tons of vampire paraphernalia. Everything from custom fit fangs to B movies were sitting in a pile on the bed.
Mia rummaged through it, her brows creasing as she read over the plot of one of the books. "This is absurd."
"We need one more thing," Alice noted. "Riley told me that he personally interviewed Rachael's best friend." She sat on the only part of the bed not covered in vampire junk and crossed her legs, a huge grin spreading on her face. "What? Did you think I was just enjoying the scenery?" She laughed.
"From where I was sitting, it didn't look like much talking was taking place," I admitted while Mia nodded in agreement..
"Oh, hush." She threw a catalogue full of vampire merchandise at me. "She was an artist and you'll never guess what her favorite piece was."
"You're right, so why don't you just tell us."
She hissed at me, but her eyes still twinkled good-naturedly. "She painted him as an angel. But what's important is that she had him coated in glitter from head to toe. Riley says that when he proposed to her he was also covered in glitter because she'd been so…well, she'd liked that look on him. Supposedly as soon as she was done painting him she christened her art studio properly," she snickered. "I bet it was messy. And damn near impossible to get all that glitter off."
"How on earth does this help us, Alice?" I asked, thoroughly confused.
"I think Christian's blondness has rubbed off on you, Bella."
My face shut down and I tensed at the mention of his name. I knew she meant it as a joke at my moment of ditziness, but her words were truer than she knew. He'd rubbed every inch of that golden hair over my body and it had been wonderful. More than wonderful.
"Bella? You okay?"
I forced myself to smile warmly like she was expecting and nodded.
"His infatuation with the glitter can explain why he was glittering at the church, you see?"
"I guess."
Santiago pushed my extended feet off the couch then sat beside me. "Why so glum all of a sudden? This is working out perfectly. All we need to do is plant these vampire items in his house and add a few lines to his medical file, and we'll be able to leave this place."
Yeah, it sounded so easy. But when had anything that involved me ever gone off with out a hitch? "I forgot to ask Alex whether they were able to access to his medical files."
"Ah, but I did not," Mia replied in her throaty voice. "They are still fighting with his doctor. The doctor is most adamant that no one sees those files. However," she smirked. "I imagine a few minutes alone with you, Isabella, and he'll happily hand them over once we edit them a little."
Washington
The screams echoing from the detention center chilled me. I knew he hadn't received permission to kill her, but apparently he was allowed to torment her. Everything in me wanted to go down there and save her from that crass man, but I wasn't foolish enough to believe that I would ever stand a chance against him. I might have spent most of my life in the military, but I was no warrior. I was a tech geek. You needed a micro anything and I could build it. You wanted someone to go in and kill everything in sight with their bare hands-you sent Kinly.
I continued down the corridor, each step taking me further from her savage cries. "Dr. Anderson," I greeted as I entered the small room where Sergeant Lee was lying on the table being monitored. "How'd it go?"
"Marvelous. Come look," he motioned. "I have mixed a little of everything into him. Watch," he insisted as he helped Sergeant Lee to his feet.
The man transformed into a wolf and then back again. I'd seen that particular trick before, so I wasn't terribly impressed, but when he began to quote my thoughts back to me, I found my brows quirked in surprise, and then he reached out and touched my arm and began telling me everything that I'd ever done. Every secret I had was laid bare to him. I wrenched my arm from him.
"That is most impressive."
"You have no idea," the doctor said with such enthusiasm. "Even in his human form he has all the senses of the wolf. They are all heightened. Nothing could sneak up on him. Nothing could hide from him. Not to mention that his strength has increased exponentially."
"Any luck tracking the vampire?" I inquired. I was doubtful despite the footage I'd watched earlier. It was one thing to have shape shifters. Who knew? Maybe someone else had the idea to mix animal DNA with humans and created them? But vampires? Well, I'd believe that when I saw it.
He sighed in frustration. "No. But we will. If there is one out there, we will find it no matter how far we have to search. No expense has been spared. We have been given extra personnel. It's only a matter of time."
"And the voodoo priestess? What of her?" I was almost afraid to hear his answer, but guilt was running rampant through me.
"What about her? She's played her part," he replied dismissively. Once upon a time he'd been a doctor of such renown. Had dedicated his life to bettering humanity. I'd watched as our government had slowly consumed the great humanitarian in him until all that was left was an old, soulless man who was only happy when causing someone else pain.
"You do not need her for further experiments?"
"Yes. A few more."
"Then why is Kinly down there?"
He shrugged as he recorded Sergeant Lee's vitals. "He's been warned not to terminate her. What more do you want from me?" He asked, his voice rising as he set the clipboard down roughly. "If Kinly doesn't take care of his needs here, he will do so elsewhere, Kayden.
New Hampshire
"Are you alright?" Anna asked hesitantly as I steered the car through a set of S turns.
"Fine," I muttered, my thoughts wholly centered on Bella. Maybe the universe was trying to tell us something. Maybe we'd been wrong and didn't really belong together. It seemed that every time we turned around one of us was hurting the other, whether we meant to or not.
I was just trying to help Alyria find Melody, and now Bella thought I was cheating on her. As though I ever could.
"Where are we going?"
I closed my eyes briefly and inhaled deeply trying to calm myself. "Alyria tracked her as far as St. Louis. We'll pick up the trail there if we can," I explained.
The day after Alyria and her coven had arrived in Seattle her blood donor, Melody, had gone missing. No matter how much I wanted to rip Christian apart, it would have to wait until we got Melody back. Alyria sent Anna to help me. So far she'd just been a nuisance. After all, she was just a human. What could she really do? Aside from get in my way, slow me down, and become a liability. But Alyria had been so distraught; I couldn't bring myself to refuse her. Better the human than Christian. I doubted my restraint was that good.
Every moment, each hour that ticked by, was spent in hell. All I saw anymore was my Bella in Christian's arms. I hated them both. My anger had only grown since the day she confessed to me. And now she was back in the states and was expecting me to simply go to North Carolina and help her as though nothing was wrong.
This was one mess she'd have to dig herself out of, because I had more important things to take care of.
Ah, who was I kidding? The only reason I wasn't with her right that instant was because I was afraid that my anger would push me to say something I'd regret. She still held my heart. Always would.
A/N 2: Just wanted to mention to those who aren't American that Chippendale is a term for male strippers and my most sincere apologies to all the blonds out there. I do not in any way believe that blonds are dumb, just making use of a typical stereotype. Please, don't take offense. Thanks for reading and comment please. I want to know what you think and what you'd like to see happen. MickeyandMinnie, I have taken your numerous suggestions in your last review under consideration LOL. I'll see what I can do!
Sabrina
