Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or anything else for that matter.
Again sorry for the wait but I hope you will forgive me when I say that the reason for the delay arrived in the form of a boy- May 19th weighing 6lbs and 15oz. We are doing great and in celebration updating the story LOL! Please forgive me because if its full of mistakes because I couldn't get it to my beta but I got so excited I just couldn't wait to post. Again if you know how to add page breaks let me know still having fits. This said enjoy and PLEASE PLEASE review I love to hear your thoughts and theory.
I stood motionless at the dull pewter casket that was waiting silently to be lowered into the ground below me. The rain which I was hoping would hold off had until after Garrett's funeral had begun to lightly fall against my neck. I was one of the last people here, most of the high profile visitors that had shown up for appearance sake only had long ago left in their black Rolls Royce fearing that the mink coats adorning their mistresses or wives would dampen in the impending cloudburst. I stood quietly not quite sure what to say as I arranged two roses on the coffin and finally I sighed and began speaking to my unresponsive audience.
"One is from Kate, the other is from me. You were a good man Aro. I won't give up until I know who did this to you." I whispered as I quickly wiped the tears from my eyes.
"Not if I find them first." An irritated voice from behind me made me jump.
"You're intruding on a private moment, Cullen." I grumbled as I stared into his icy green eyes. He looked cold and menacing dressed in a plain black suit and tie, his chiseled features hard like granite. If it wasn't for the large umbrella over his head I would think he was the grim reaper himself.
I vaguely wondered how I looked to him, if I too looked as burdened as he did in my black v-necked dress. I had originally bought it for a night out with Jacob but it seemed appropriate for a funeral with its long sleeves and knee length hem. Inexpensive diamond studs were the only jewelry aside from my engagement ring making me feel out of place with most of the women here today but I couldn't complain too much because for once my hair seemed to behave itself and stay in the French twist I placed it in earlier this morning.
"You know not everything is about YOU." He huffed. "I have a right to a goodbye as well. Just so happened you were here. I figured you and Bozo would have left by now." He griped.
"No sorry JACOB and I haven't left yet, he's simply waiting in the car while I say goodbye. Where's the Bimbo I saw you with this morning?" I hissed.
"Again jumping to conclusions Swan."
"Am I?"
"Hate to burst your bubble but that would have been Garrett's younger sister Heidi, nice girl, but she plays for the other team apparently you're more her type."
"You're unbelievable, working every angle, even mourning family members. Nice Cullen."
"Well spying on my partner isn't my strong suit; I prefer more civilized method" he rebutted sarcastically.
"I'm tired of playing this game with you Edward." I sighed. "You win, Ok. I'm leaving with Jacob tonight. You have your job back, you have Garrett's case and most importantly you have your privacy." I paused to grab my coat from the chair behind me but before I could place a hand on it Edward grabbed my wrist swinging me toward him.
"How can you promise him that you're going to find out who did this when you're a million miles away?" He said angrily pointing to the casket.
I jerked my hand back. I was angry now I had just handed him everything important to me on a silver platter and he still acted as if I was beneath him. Frustration seeped from my every word.
"Just because I'm not here doesn't mean I can't find out who did this. I can still visit; I can still keep in touch with Seth. You act like I don't have contacts, like I'm some cub reporter doing obits instead of a investigative journalist, a damn good one at that!I have every bit of journalistic talent as you do Cullen, you act like I'm your little science experiment or something, like you created me. I can hold my own in this town and it has NOTHING to do with YOU!" I shouted storming off into the pelting rain, my small hilled shoes sinking in the mud making it difficult to walk. Edward quickly caught up.
"The hell it has nothing to do with me. Don't forget Swan you were a nothing little intern when you got assigned to me. You may have had the heart but you couldn't even write a decent Obit if you tried. All you knew was what you learned from your precious books at school. I was the one who showed you the ropes, I was the one got you those contacts and I was the one who made sure that your stories were worth the paper they were written on. You can say all the shit you want to about me but don't you ever say that I wasn't the one that taught you everything you know about this business because without me sweetheart you'd still be getting MY coffee!
We stopped by a large tree, the rain pouring down on me. I hated him at this moment.
"You know Cullen; I never realized what an arrogant ass you really are until now. I don't know what I ever saw in you!" I reached into my purse and pulled out the wedding ring I had carried with me for so long.
"Here I don't need this anymore, in less than 48 hrs I'll have one that actually means something." I shoved it into his hands and quickly raced to Jacob standing a few feet from the car waiting patiently with his umbrella in hand.
He greeted me with a kiss, wrapping a free arm around me. "Are you alright?" he asked visibly shaking with anger.
"Fine," I said through gritted teeth, taking one last look at Edward as I got into the car, he was still standing by the large willow tree running his hands over the ring. He looked at me once and then turned his back on me walking back toward the gravesite.
"Are you finished here?" Jacob asked me nodding his head toward the cemetery.
"Yes, I said my final goodbye." I choked on the double meaning of my words. I swallowed back the tears and closed my eyes as Jacob put the car into drive and headed back to the apartment.
I changed out of my wet funeral attire into some jeans and a casual t-shirt and began the chore of packing some of my belongings. I would only be gone a week or so before returning to close up the loose ends of my life. Renting my apartment, storing my extra belongings were plaguing my mind as I tried to zip up my overstuffed suitcase but it wouldn't close no matter how much I fought against it, how much pressure I placed on its vinyl top; the black case refused to cooperate. I jerked the top back down calling it a name as the zipper stuck, finally giving up. I collapsed on my bed and let the tears of frustration slide down my face.
I heard Jacob rap his large fist on the door panel, looking in on me worriedly.
"Need some help?" he offered softly.
I quickly wiped the tears from my eyes; my head shook as I regained my stance and attempted again to shut the case.
" No" My raspy voice answered, my back toward him as I began to squish my clothing again as flat as I could almost jumping when I felt Jakes arms snake around my waist, his lips kissing my neck.
"You know Bella; we can wait if you're not ready. I just figured since we planned to get married anyway that Vegas would be a simple answer, I mean it's only a short stop on the way to Forks and the new job. It would be easier to get the matter of you as my wife settled on my employment papers, insurances but if you'd rather wait?" He whispered in my ear. "I will understand." He kissed me softly and I couldn't help but tense but he didn't seem to notice.
"I'm just tired Jake, spent most of the night going over paperwork, I'll be fine." I plastered a fake smile on my face, "I think your right, getting out of here and starting over will be good for me. Chicago holds nothing for me anymore. "I choked a bit on the last part. It was true; everything I loved about Chicago was now a memory.
"You really went over all those papers?" Jake looked shocked missing my whole point but it didn't matter.
"Yes, something keeps bugging me about this case and I can't nail what it is. I thought maybe I would find it in here." I sighed tossing the papers in the wastebasket.
"Well just be thankful you don't have to worry about it anymore." He smiled easily zipping up my suitcase. "In a few short hours you will be away from Chicago and all this chaos. Your biggest concern will be if you want Elvis impersonator you want to marry us."
"Great." I sighed.
The airport was as usual a crowded mess, people were waiting impatiently for flights that were either arriving shortly or delayed. Jacob and I were early and one of the few whose plane was unfortunately set for delay.
As we sat at our boarding gate, Jacob on a conference calls with the college. I tried to occupy my mind with anything than Edward and the judge's murder. I tried a number of activities from reading to fiddling with my cell phone before finally just giving in and enjoying my surroundings. A person watching was fascinating. I'd always loved investigation but part of me loved to just make up stories to these strangers lives. I watched as I had the day at Navy Pier, watched as children played with toy cars on the floor of the airport, watched as people dashed to and from shops and restaurants. I watched as a young couple looking at a Vegas brochure their future plans. I smiled at there hope for the future that is until I saw the cover of the brochure which was an long black stretch limo with a group of young people hanging out of the top of the limo roof and the realization of what I saw blindsided me.
"Oh, Jake!" I slapped my hand to my forehead in realization. "It's been right in front of us the whole time." I screamed digging through my luggage and shoving my wallet and cell phone into my coat pockets.
"Bella what are you talking about?" Jacob looked panicked as people started to turn our way to see what the commotion was all about.
"The judge! Jake I think I know what happened!" I buzzed with excitement. "I just have to check, I mean it's crazy but…"
"But Bella, we have a plane to catch?" he seemed hurt, and confused.
"Just call Charlie, tell him to stop the presses, I'll be back soon. I have to know." I gave him a small kiss and darted from the gate leaving my luggage and a disappointed Jacob behind.
My thoughts were rampant as the taxi made its way through the busy streets of Chicago; I couldn't believe everyone had missed the obvious. Of course, that's what you get when you try to over think things.
When we arrived outside the judge's home, I gave instructions to the driver to head back to the city, I didn't know how long I would be, or what I would find but I knew that having him wait around to see what I did next would probably involve having to call Edward to come bail me out of jail again.
I watched the red lights of the vehicle slowly make the turn onto Webster Street and quickly ran a few feet past the Judges house. It was getting darker but thanks to the streetlights I was able to find exactly what I was looking for…a metal grate cover.
It had made perfect sense to me now; looking back to the police report that if no one entered or exited the house according to the security cameras the killer must have already been inside. It never occurred to any of us that the killer might have gone in underneath it. It was perfect really, bypassing all of the security cameras, the alarm system and never having to touch a window or a door.
I struggled lifting the heavy lid from the street, and trying my best not to attract attention but no one seemed to notice me and I eventually managed to slide the large piece of circular metal out enough to slip inside. As I stepped down I misjudged the distance of the built in ladder and ended up dropping to the ground, somehow I managed to land on my hands and ankles in the cold concrete tunnel instead of breaking my neck. It was much darker down here; I was barely able to see the hand in front of my face. I dug in my pocket for my cell phone, turning the backlight on in order to make my way through damp corridor filled with shallow stagnant water.
As I walked through the chamber water dripping down its walls, I vaguely remembered the judge joking that we shouldn't be worried about him, that even without his security system; he would make it of this case alive. What he didn't know was his secret escape route that he considered his insurance policy for survival is exactly what had cost him his life.
I smiled as I stumbled through the split in the concrete, a door in theory, which shouldn't have been here, letting me know I was on the right track. I squeezed through the narrow opening and my phone began to buzz, making me jump. I checked the number and grimaced.
"Ugh, Edward" I hissed his name like a profanity. The phone buzzed again so I quickly placed it on the vibrate setting and put in back into my pocket. I wasn't going to let him scoop me, if I was going out in the newspaper business it was going to be with a bang. This would be my last big story; I was going to nail it. ALONE!"
In my Edward cursing stupor, I almost failed to notice a small stream of light coming from up ahead of me. I slowly made my way feeling the wall making sure I wouldn't fall and hurt myself. I was now close enough to see the light was above me. I found a small set of makeshift steps, climbing it to the top and gently pushing on the area surrounded by the light. It moved easily out of my way; the shrill blinding brightness of the room hurt my eyes.
I reach my hands above me placing them on either side of the opening and lifted my upper body and knees onto the soft carpet. I raised my head banging against something hard.
"Ouch" I muttered, rubbing it quickly before I finished pulling myself from the under what I now determined was the Judges desk. I was in his office.
I smiled at myself, as I stood, I had cracked the case wide open by myself and I knew exactly who had killed Judge Aro. Take that Edward "I taught you everything you know" Cullen.
My celebration however was quickly cut short by a small, heart stopping "click" and the feeling of a cold metal object against my head.
I felt the color drain from my face as I heard the familiar voice of a killer chuckle darkly,
"Hello, Ms. Swan...I've been expecting you."
