A/N: Sorry for the delay. I'm actually trying to write an original story for a French contest and it's eating all my available time.

This chapter shows the beginning of Leah's investigations. Hope you'll like it!

A huge thanks to Lolabean who is an amazing beta!

Enjoy!

Curiosity Killed the Wolf - Chapter 3

...

Leah had no idea why she'd stayed there while Jacob walked towards the silver Volvo parked not so far away from her car, but she did, and she was totally confused by what she'd saw. She hadn't recognized Bella Swan at first. They hadn't seen each other since the last time Charlie's daughter came to Forks – probably five years before Leah's leaving – and she was already obsessed with Sam then, so she didn't remember doing anything with her. What she did remember was the way Jacob tended to follow the little girl the day Charlie told him that he was responsible for her safety. Seeing as he was glaring at the owner of the Volvo, she wondered if Jacob wasn't still feeling the same as when they were younger.

She couldn't hear their conversation but she could guess it was pretty heated by the way Bella's boyfriend was shielding the poor girl from Jacob. The boys' aggressive stance worried her, because she would probably get the blame if something happened to Jacob. Not that she thought the other boy stood a chance against the massive Quileute, even if he seemed pretty aware of Jacob's moves.

When Bella stepped up in front of her boyfriend, Leah noticed that Jacob calmed down slightly. The way he was looking at the pale girl, as if he was relieved to see her, made Leah wonder if they weren't fallen out with each other.

Bella's creepy boyfriend then gazed at her direction and his frown sent a shiver through her spine as she finally pinpointed why Jacob was desperate to talk to his longtime friend. The Volvo driver was a Cullen kid, and the Cullens didn't have good press in la Push reservation.

She met him and his father once, and it was the weirdest experience she'd ever had; it occurred before Sam's return. She had landed at Forks hospital after three days of intense searching for Sam. The hunger, the worry and the exhaustion got the best of her and she collapsed at Forks' police station when Charlie said that they were calling off the search.

When she'd opened her eyes, she remembered the Cullen doctor talking to his son about the way she smelt, but she had no time to react to that because her father had barged into the room and told them that she was transferred to the Quileute medical center. She had never forgotten the way the Cullen kid stared at her, with a mixture of disgust and confusion. Exactly the same look he was throwing at her at that moment.

She shook her head and focused on Jacob and Bella, who seemed to have forgotten the third wheel near them. Anybody could see that there was something going on between the two friends, something more intense than friendship, at least on Jacob's part. But as soon as Creepy Cullen made his presence known, she saw Bella revert back to the girl mesmerized by her boyfriend's face.

Wait, is he wearing lip gloss?

The creepy paleface stared at her again, as if he'd heard her thoughts, and shot her a death glare before tensing and looking back at Jacob, who looked like he was trying to kill his rival by telepathy. Judging by the bewildered face the latter was displaying, it seemed to work quite fine.

The rest of the conversation was a blur and she didn't have a chance to comprehend what was going on before the principal broke it up. Bella was dragged to the school by her boyfriend while Jacob walked towards the road, leaving Leah completely confused by all this exchange.

She didn't know why she did it, but she started her car and followed him down the road.

"Jacob? Jacob! Stop!"

He did as he was told and she shivered when she looked into his eyes. His empty stare reminded hers when Sam had left her and made her heart clench. Without thinking twice, she opened the passenger door and commanded him to get inside the car.

Neither of them uttered a word until they arrived at the Forks Police Station. He was still sulking and she had no intention of comforting him. She always tried to stay away from love matters. It was better for her health as far as she was concerned. Her history with Sam had scarred her deeply and had made her wary of men, so she wasn't equipped to deal with Jacob's feelings.

"You can keep the car if you want to go home. I'll make Charlie drop me after our meeting."

"Sam would kill me if I leave you alone," he grumbled.

"Sam? Are you kidding me? I thought my father was the one who ordered you to come with me!"

"Well… Sam suggested that you shouldn't be alone and your father agreed."

A surge of anger overwhelmed her while she grasped the truth behind Jacob's words. She couldn't believe that her ex was already trying to control her every moves. Probably realizing that she was about to explode, Jacob put his hand over hers.

"Look, Leah. I know you hate him and that you can't understand why he's so protective of you, but you can't do anything about it. So do what you have to do, enjoy your family while you're here, and let us do our thing. I promise that you won't even know we're here. We won't bother you as long as you don't bitch at us for doing our job. Do that and you won't have to see Sam."

Her childhood friend then held out his hand, making Leah think about his suggestion.

"Ok. Deal. As long as you don't annoy me," she grumbled as she shook his hand.

"I'll keep a low profile, like a ninja!" he replied with a chuckle.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head, slightly amused by the mental image she got.

…

Unlike Leah's father who looked ten years older than his actual age, Charlie Swan hadn't changed at all, even if he seemed to be pretty tired.

"Sorry, I'm late. Had to drive Miss Daisy over there before coming here," she explained.

"No worries, kid," Charlie laughed. "So you wanted information about the last year's disappearance?"

"Yes, I learned that he disappeared on his way back to Seattle."

Charlie nodded and handed her a file which she took from him. She read everything carefully, looking for something special. Something that would be useful for her investigations.

Missing person

Name : Riley Biers

Age: 19

Missing : between April 15 and May 2, 2005

"Between April 15 and May 2?" she repeated, frowning. "You don't know exactly when he disappeared?"

"Jenna Biers, his older sister, had reported him missing two weeks after his last visit, because he didn't answer to her calls. She didn't worry before because he was pretty lonely and he'd told her that he wouldn't see her the next week, but when he didn't come home the week after, she panicked. His car was found in Port Angeles, with his cell phone and all his papers. Jenna found it strange because that's not the road he usually takes to go back to Seattle."

"What about his parents?" she asked.

"He only has his sister and a younger brother. Their parents died in a car accident when Riley was 16."

That information triggered her instinct.

"So he was an orphan and wasn't too close to the rest of his family. He was reserved. He had probably no friends nor any girlfriend because no one reported his missing in Seattle," she deduced.

"That's right. You should have studied profiling, Leah. You're pretty good at defining situations."

She smiled sadly at her father's friend, realizing while Charlie might be right; she wasn't skilled enough to figure out what was going on in her own family.

"Why are you interested in that guy disappearance?" Jacob asked as he dipped into Charlie's doughnuts box.

"My boss asked me to come here because there is a series of disappearances and unexplained murders in Seattle. We think that Riley Biers was linked to this."

"Seattle is a big city, kid," Charlie intervened. "There's a lot of people missing in big cities."

"I know but... There's something really weird with all of this. I worked on all of those cases, since I'm the one who writes the missing reports given by the Seattle PD. Like Riley, those people are reported missing after a week or a month with no news of them. All of them were last spotted on their way to Seattle. And like Biers, they have few or no family left. I don't know why, but I think that the disappearances are all linked together. We have a list of 40 persons missing in a year length showing the same profile, and when I heard of Riley Biers, I felt like I had to check his story by myself."

"So, if those disappearance are linked, what does it mean?" Jacob questioned, his face full of icing from the doughnuts showing real concern.

"I believe that there is a serial killer in Seattle who preys on people with no strings," Leah answered before casting a glance at Charlie. "Did you see anything strange with Biers' car?"

"I wasn't there when they found it. It was found on the Port Angeles area, so it wasn't my jurisdiction, but... I heard some weird stories from my PA colleague."

"About the car?"

"Yeah. They'd brought search dogs near the car, hoping to find a trail or something to begin the searches, and the dogs went crazy."

"Crazy? Like what?" Leah insisted, noticing Jacob tensing from the corner of her eyes.

"Well, they didn't want to go near the car. They were yelping like they wanted to leave the place. One of them bit its trainer and fled. They never found it."

"That's weird..."

"But very common, nowadays. We had the same issue with them a few months ago. There were a few missing hikers around the area and we asked for some back-up. The dogs refused to approach the campsite and -"

"Maybe they weren't so well trained," Jacob cut in, his harsh voice startling Charlie and Leah.

"I don't think so," the sheriff retorted. "They're the best search dogs known in the Washington State."

"So either they were frightened by something around the crime scene, either the responsible of the disappearance did something to prevent them to find their trail... It means that someone is really behind it." Leah concluded.

"Maybe it's because of a wild animal?" Jacob suggested, apparently more agitated. "Like... A bear or something... Bear attacks had been common for the last two years..."

His words made Leah raise an eyebrow.

"I don't believe that bears could make trained dogs freak out like that." Charlie said.

"And I don't think people in Port Angeles would have missed it if a bear was in town, either," she added. "So it had to be someone."

Jacob literally ran toward her and grabbed her by her arm.

"Ok, that's enough. We have to go, Leah."

"What? Why? Charlie was telling me something important!"

"Sorry, Charlie, but we really have to go. You'll talk to him about that later." he said as he dragged her outside the police station.

"What's wrong with you, Black?" she snapped, yanking her arm with all her might, but with no effect.

"You're playing with fire and it's not good for you, nor for Charlie. Now get inside the car and let's go!"

He didn't leave her time to react as he pushed her inside the car and ran to the driver's side.

"Who do you think you are, telling me what I have to do? You're not my father!"

"No, I'm not, but I know he will agree with me when I'll tell him what you're doing here!"

"I'm only doing my job!"

"You're going to get yourself killed if you keep doing that!" Jacob roared angrily.

Leah gasped, completely taken aback by his outburst. She could hear the steering wheel cracking under his hand.

"I'm an adult, Jacob. I understand your concern but I know what I'm doing. If there really is a serial killer in Seattle, people need to know the truth. It's my job to alert our readers and to make sure that there will be no more disappearance if I can prevent it."

"You don't understand, Leah."

"So tell me! Talk to me, Jacob. Tell me why you're reacting this way, because I'm really confused right now..." she pleaded.

Jacob opened his mouth several times, but nothing came out. She saw the pain in his features, and she could see the conflicted emotions through his eyes, as if he was fighting with himself. The distress in his voice when he spoke made Leah flinch.

"I - I just feel that you shouldn't be involved into this. If really a serial killer is involved, you're taking a great risk by poking your nose into his business. And... We won't be able to protect you in Seattle."

"I don't need protection, Jacob. And I have a pen name. You don't have to worry about my safety," she tried to reason him.

"You're Seth's sister, and you're family. I'll always worry about you."

Leah's heart skipped a beat. For the first time in years, she felt that someone truly cared about her. She wasn't ready to give up her investigation but she knew that he wouldn't get rid of him if she kept confronting him.

"Ok. You gave me a headache. How about we go eat somewhere? I'm starving and I really want to forget this awkward moment," she suggested.

Jacob smiled softly and went off like a shot, leaving a confused Charlie in the parking lot.