A/N: As always, sending all my gratitude to Pamela and Ninkita for everything they do for this story.

DISCLAIMER – You already know I don't own Twilight. My research is heavily dependent on Google and TV shows. I'll try to make everything as realistic as possible, but I might exercise creative license at some point. Cope, okay?

CHAPTER 4

SCRATCHING THE SURFACE

Tanya rolled her shoulders as we walked out to a shaded spot under a large tree in the corner of the garden. Several meters away, I noticed a few men in black and white uniforms roaming around, stacking the chairs off on one side, while three women worked on dismantling the floral arch, under which, I supposed, the ceremony was supposed to have taken place.

"Maybe they'll pick City Hall next time," my partner commented dryly.

I side-eyed her. "The marriage will be the last thing on their minds. I think they have more pertinent matters to attend to at the moment."

I didn't know which one of us I was trying to convince of that notion.

"Didn't you hear what they said?" She turned to face me with raised eyebrows. "The father was ecstatic about the match. I bet they'll give in to the sentimentality of the whole thing and get married tomorrow to fulfil his dying wish or something."

"Can we just focus on our jobs?" I snapped at her, immediately regretting it when she gasped in shock. I closed my eyes for a moment, begging whatever higher power was listening to help me hold onto my composure. "I'm sorry, Tan."

"What is with you today? You seem . . ." She squinted, searching for the right word. ". . . distracted."

"Sorry," I said again, rubbing my temples. "It's just the after effects from last night's scotch. I'll get over it."

"You do that. McCarty's going to want an update as soon as we're back. I need you on top of your game."

I lifted my hand in a salute. "I'll get right onto it," I told her, sarcasm lacing my tone.

She shook her head. "Anyway, we've talked to them at length now. What's your take?"

"Jacob seems genuine enough. Not too bright, though, because he kept insisting that this couldn't have been an accident, but didn't even consider murder as a possibility? How the fuck did he manage that?"

Tanya frowned, looking around to make sure no one had heard me. As if I would've said anything with someone in hearing distance. "Don't you think you're being too hard on him? The man just lost his father on what was supposed to be the happiest day of his life. The mind doesn't work right in such situations."

"Now you sound like Banner."

"Shut up. You wanted to talk about the case, I'm talking about the case. Stick to it. What about the bride?"

"What about her?" I hedged.

"She seemed honest when she talked about her interaction with Billy. She's known him since she was a kid. She's marrying his son. I don't see any motive there."

"We've barely scratched the surface," I said and looked around, hoping for a distraction. "Shouldn't we head to the bureau? What are we waiting for?"

"Oh, we have to speak to Rachel Black," Tanya explained. "She's got a toddler who's not doing so well right now. I figured it would be more convenient to interview her here. I ran into her in the hallway while you ended up in Miss Swan's room, and she told me— over the awful racket of her son's cries— she'd like to speak to us."

"Convenient for her, you mean."

She threw me an irritated glance. "You know as well as I do McCarty is going to want to treat this family right— his definition of right. I'm just making sure he gets no excuse to nail our asses for treating the crème de la crème with anything less than the respect they deserve," she announced, using the words McCarty had thrown at us in our last high-profile case.

"Yeah, yeah," I muttered before something else I'd meant to bring up with Tanya popped into my mind. "I noticed you seem to know a lot about this family."

"It's mostly through society gossip magazines and websites. They're frequenters there," she said with a simple shrug. "You'd know, too, if you bothered to have a life outside of work."

I ignored the jibe, folding my arms across my chest. "Anything relevant to the case pop up recently?"

"Hmm, not really." She pursed her lips in consideration. "They've only been raving about the wedding of the year. Given Jacob's past, his decision to settle down came as a shock to many."

My eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"He was pretty much—" she looked around, checking for eavesdroppers again before whispering "— a man-whore before he got into a relationship with Isabella Swan. Every party he attended, he'd show up with a different girl on his arm. I think The Society Diaries even did a feature on the number of women he'd been seen with, and while I don't recall the exact number, I know their pictures spanned over three pages. There were even rumors about a possible threesome he had when he was found entering a hotel hand-in-hand with a blonde bombshell and another one following closely behind."

My eyes traversed the grounds as Tanya clued me in on Jacob's past. Every word she spoke nagged at me, rattling my thoughts into a jumble.

The Bella I knew would never have given someone like Jacob Black the time of the day.

The Bella I knew believed in true love and all that it entailed with the one person meant for you.

The Bella I knew would've taught Jacob a lesson about treating women right and yelled at him until he changed his philandering ways.

Clearly, I knew nothing about the new Isabella Swan.

Tanya and I discussed a few pertinent points about the crime scene, but neither of us had any particular insights that could give us a lead we could follow. We halted our discussion when a soft voice called for our attention.

I turned around to see a slim woman dressed in a peach dress, her black hair tied up in a twist on the top of her head. Her eyes were hazel and red-rimmed, the make-up on her face unevenly washed away by the tear tracks running down her russet skin. Her fingers twisted and untwisted around a much-abused piece of tissue paper.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that this was Rachel Black.

"You asked to speak with me, Agent?" she addressed Tanya in a broken murmur, but her eyes flickered to me, too.

"Miss Black, yes, if you don't mind." Tanya stepped forward with a small smile.

"Call me Rachel, please. Come with me."

She led us a few steps away to where a large evergreen loomed tall and proud, gifting the expanse of the garden under it with the gentle blessing of its shade. Underneath the tree was a wooden bench. Rachel took a seat on it and motioned for Tanya and me to do the same.

"I'm sorry I didn't quite catch your name back then," she started, looking between Tanya and me uncertainly. "My son was just . . . he was distraught, and I couldn't focus on anything else."

"We understand, ma'am," Tanya assured her. "I'm Agent Tanya Denali and this is my partner, Agent Edward Cullen. We will do our best to find out who did this to your father."

Rachel frowned. "Did this to him? I thought this was an accident. I mean, that doctor was saying . . . But you think . . ." she trailed off in a whisper.

"We can only be more certain once we have the autopsy results, but for now, we're not ruling it out, ma'am," I told her gently.

She nodded once, eyes wide and troubled. "I'm sorry I'm not making any sense. None of this is making any sense. I can't believe . . . My father was a good man, Agents. I can't think of anyone who'd do this to him."

I shared a look with Tanya. "That's actually something we wanted to ask you. We asked your brother, too, but he couldn't tell us of anyone in particular who held a grudge against your father. Would you have any information in that regard? Can you recall anything out of the ordinary about his behavior recently?"

She shook her head, one hand coming up to cover her trembling lips. "No, there was nothing. He was so happy about Jacob's and Isabella's wedding. He was constantly checking in with me about the decorations and the flowers and the food and . . ." She sniffled. "This was the happiest I've seen him since he was diagnosed."

"Maybe something at work, then? Maybe a past employee, business associate or a rival harboring resentment?" Tanya suggested.

"My father was rigid about his principles, but very fair in his dealings," Rachel told us, clearing her throat and wiping at her cheeks as she composed herself. "I'll try to wrack my mind, but I doubt there was anyone who could've wanted to do this to him. He was a good man," she reiterated earnestly. "He took Seth and me in when we had nowhere else to go. Please, if this was . . . if he didn't do this to himself, then you have to find out who did."

"We'll do everything we can," I promised. "If you don't mind me asking, Seth is your son?"

"Yes, he's four. He's the best part of my life," she replied softly. Her mouth curled up into a tiny smile, though her eyes still remained wistful. My gaze drifted to her fingers, still tearing the tissue paper apart.

"And his father?" I prodded and watched as her face fell.

"Paul Lahote."

Tanya sat up straighter. "Paul Lahote as in . . ."

"I can tell from your expression that you've heard of him," Rachel commented with a wry grimace. "He's one of the worst choices I've made."

I didn't know who this man was or how Tanya had come to know of him, so I made a mental note to ask her later. The conversation had been enough to clue me in on the fact that Lahote was not a man up to any good.

"You said Mr. Black took you in when you had nowhere else to go," I stated. "Did that have anything to do with Mr. Lahote?"

"He left Seth and me in a bad situation. If Dad hadn't been there for us, I don't know what I would've done."

"Could Mr. Lahote be holding a grudge because of that? Is it possible that he had something to do with this?"

"I doubt it, Agent," she answered, sighing tiredly. "Last I heard, he was in prison. I don't think he has been released yet."

"We'll look into it," Tanya told her. "Just one last thing. Your brother didn't see anyone passing through the hall after you went downstairs. He told us and we verified that there was no other way to reach the study."

"That's right," she confirmed quietly. "I was checking if Jacob needed anything before I went out to the garden to keep a watch on the final preparations. There's just so many things that could go wrong at weddings, so . . ." Her voice dimmed until it drifted into silence.

"What time would you say this was?"

"It was just a few minutes past ten," she answered. "I'm sure of it because I was constantly dealing with the caterers on my phone, and there was something wrong with the damn chicken. It was a race against the clock to get everything done in time."

"Did anyone pass you by on the stairs while you were headed down, or was there anything unusual you noticed?" I asked. "Dr. Banner's estimate puts the time of death about an hour after you left the floor."

Rachel's brow furrowed for a moment as she considered her response. "No, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Nobody passed me on the stairs. Mrs. Cope found me in the living room, and we walked out to the garden. I didn't go upstairs after that until Jacob found . . ."

Tanya glanced at me, and I nodded. She turned to Rachel and said, "I think that'll be all for now, ma'am. Thank you for your co-operation. Here's my card. If you recollect anything that might be significant, don't hesitate to give us a call."

Rachel stood with us and accepted the card. "Thank you, Agents. I know you must hear this from every family, but . . . please find out who did this," she choked out.

"Rest assured, ma'am, we'll do our best," Tanya said.

"Excuse me."

We turned at the sound of Bella's voice. She stepped forward tentatively and looked at Rachel.

"Seth woke up," Bella informed her softly. "I tried to get him to sleep again, but he's asking for you."

Rachel sighed, rubbing her palm over her forehead. "He was absolutely hysterical earlier. I tried to hide the news from him, but he overheard someone talking about it and hasn't stopped asking what happened to Grandpa ever since. I don't know how to calm him down. I just . . ." She shook her head, looking a bit lost. She nodded at us in parting and started walking toward the house.

Silence lingered for a few seconds as our eyes followed Rachel's slow, shuffling gait until she was inside.

"Here," Bella said finally, holding out a piece of paper. "This is a print out of the guest list. I've spoken to Mrs. Cope. She's still a little shaken, but I'll get her to send you the names of her entire staff as soon as possible."

I stretched my arm to take it from her. She didn't let go, so my fingers brushed hers. Our eyes met, and for a moment, all I could feel was the soft warmth of her fingertips brushing against mine.

Locked in her gaze, I drowned in the onslaught of memories and yearning, tugging and pushing at me every which way, leaving me breathless.

If I could, I would've clasped her hand in mine and pulled her to me, wrapping my arms around her and burying my face in her hair until the last six years were annihilated from my mind. I would've tipped her head up and pressed my lips to hers, drowning in her until the pain of losing her and longing for her became nothing but a distant memory. I would've told her how much I loved her, how I'd always loved her, and how I'd lost a part of myself the day I'd walked away from her.

But I couldn't.

She had a fiancé.

And I had no right.

"Thank you," I murmured, pulling back. "We'll be in touch."

There were more questions than answers in the depths of her eyes as she nodded. My parting words lingered in the air between us as we looked at each other, hidden meanings and intentions swimming in my mind, and probably hers, too.

Yes, I was certainly going to be in touch.

As soon as possible.

A/N: I know Ninkita has lots of theories cooking already. Chapter-wise, Pamela is way ahead of you guys, so she already knows half of it ;) I'm curious about your thoughts, though.

Next time, we'll head to the Bureau and start digging.

For teasers and pics related to the chapters, join us in my FB group – Fanfiction by ForeverRobsessed. The link is on my profile.

FIC REC – Once Bitten by Elise de Sallier – Edward finally meets the love of his existence but can't resist her singer's blood. Can their fairytale love survive a horror beginning or will Bella's newborn grief, an outraged wolf pack, and the offended Volturi deny them their happily ever after?