CHAPTER NINE – PAYMENT

BELLA POV

I started to frantically search my bag like a crazy person. My purse was gone but it wasn't the purse I was upset about it was my bear.

"What's up?" Jasper asked concerned about my worried face.

"My bear it's gone?"

"Come again?" he stared at me blankly.

"My bear!" I almost shouted. "And my purse, it's gone"

"What do you mean it's gone, you have been sitting here the whole time?"

Then I suddenly remembered going to the bathroom. How could I be so careless and forget about my bag? So much was going on lately I swear I would have forgotten my head if it were loose. I looked around and viewed all the people that were in here. The couple were still in there booth and the old man was still sat at the counter this time talking to the other waitress...

"Waitress" I said.

"What, you want the waitress?"

"No, the waitress from before remember, she must have taken them"

If I could only remember what her name was.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure I put my bag under the table when we first came in and when you went out to your car I went to the bathroom but I left my bag here, when I came back out the other waitress was gone and coincidentally so are my purse and bear"

I don't think he even had a clue to the bear I was referring to and now wasn't the right time to tell him the story behind it either.

"Excuse me" He held his hand up in the air to signal the other waitress.

Call it instinct or what you wish but I didn't even know this Sabrina girl and I disliked her already. What made me curious was when she saw the photo of Edward. Something flashed in her eyes that she covered up very well but to me it didn't go unnoticed.

"Yes sir" she said

"My friend thinks that the waitress before you might have tak..."

"Left" I interrupted him "She left without giving me her number"

I don't really know why I said that but something told me to play this sneaky.

"Who, Jane?" she replied.

Jane, that was her name, now for the hard part. I had to lie to a complete stranger and hope Jasper would improvise with me. As I said a thousand times before I hated lying mainly because I was never good at it and the other person would have know that I was lying, but this stranger didn't know me after all so I really didn't care.

"Yeah, Jane, erm, we lost touch a few years back and, what a coincidence I bumped into her again after all this time. It seems she might have left without giving me her number. I don't suppose you have it do you"

I smiled inwards at my lie, it was the best one yet and I was happy that Jasper caught on quick too.

"Or maybe her address" Jasper perked up "We would love to stop by to surprise her"

Why didn't I think of that? I pouted to myself.

She gave us both an uneasy look. I knew she had some way of contacting this Jane girl the same way I knew she was lying about the photo.

"I know all of Jane's friends" she sarcastically said.

"Great, so you would be able to put us in contact with her" Jasper sarcastically said back.

I had to cover my mouth with my hand and pretend to caught to hide the laugh that came out. I didn't turn to see her face but quick enough she walked off and around the side of the counter. I knew for certain that she wasn't going to help us.

"After we have words with Jane, we will start looking for him so eat up and get some strength" He told me.

I had totally forgotten about the food in front of me which looked too inviting. I wolfed down the pancakes quickly and chugged back some of my chocolate milk. Before we left Jasper went to the front counter, paid and received a note from Sabrina. I left the diner without looking back but I felt her eyes on me, if she would have glared any more she would have burnt a whole right threw my back.

"Any luck?" I asked walking back to the car.

"A number and an address"

That's weird I wondered what could have possibly changed her mind.

"Let me guess you worked your charms on her" I sarcastically said climbing in the car.

"Nope but my friend Benjamin did?" He smirked before pulling out his phone from his back pocket.

By Benjamin I can only guess he was referring to a one hundred dollar bill.

He flipped his phone out and dialed the number that was on the note. I sat patiently as I listen to it unfold.

"Hello"

There was a slight pause.

"I'm sorry I think you're mistaken, my names Jasper I just wanted to speak to..."

There was another pause then he flipped the phone back down.

"I'm guessing by the look on your face you should have met Benjamin's friend S. Grant" I said sarcastically using his choice of words, and by that I meant she gave us a fake phone number so he only should have paid fifty bucks.

"Who answered anyway" I asked out of curiosity.

"Some boy" he replied then he started laughing.

"What"

"What sort of name is Minty anyway" he laughed again pulling out of the parking lot.

"Nothing" he shrugged.

I didn't have the patience for charades so I let him keep whatever the conversation was about to himself.

"So where to next" I asked.

"Centre of town, we can start asking around down there"

"Aren't we going to her address?"

I don't know why I even asked in the first place if she gave us a fake phone number then she defiantly would have given us a fake address. I took the note and ripped it up into pieces before placing it in my back pocket.

We started driving around aimlessly, I knew we were only a couple blocks from the diner where we first started because I made little mental notes in my head as to which streets lead to others as we drove up and down. We pulled up outside a row of shops and we both climbed out the car.

"I think it would be faster if we split up" I told him

"Bella I think we should stick together" he protested.

I could understand why he didn't like the idea. Me being such a klutz, big city, and unfamiliar territory, did not mix at all. But I stood by what I said this would be a lot faster and besides I wanted to find Edward as quickly as possible.

"I'll be fine, I've got my phone on me" I said feeling my back pocket. I was glad I didn't pack this in my bag this morning because she would have taken that as well.

"Bella I don't think..." he started to protest again.

"Jasper, it's not your job to protect me, I know you mean well but we can cover much more area if we split up"

I watched as he thought about this scenario in his head and was pleased when he nodded in response, obviously knowing I was right.

"Ok Bella, you head in that direction and keep going straight. I'll take the opposite side and do the same. After an hour circle back around and we will meet back up here at the car."

That sounded like a good plan, I opened the car door and put my bag inside only taking my phone and Edward's photo with me.

"And Bella..."

"Yeah"

"If you see him or find anybody who has seen him check in and ill do the same"

"Ok"

"Oh and one more thing" he said before I turned to walk off.

"Yeah"

"If you happen to attract any bad things" he said choosing his words carefully "Run for the hill and call me immediately, do you understand"

I felt like I was being treated like a five year old.

"Yes" I said rolling my eyes.

"Bella, I know it's not my job to protect you but considering the circumstances and your track record I'm not taking any chances. Despite us not having a very good relationship I still consider you a part of the family, and besides I owe it to my brother to keep you safe"

I didn't know if to cry or to give him a big hug. His little speech really shined a light on the situation. I have never been close to Jasper before, we barely said two words to each other before this day and it felt really nice that he felt this way about me. He really did think of me as a sister. I decided to save the water works for another time so I opted for the hug. Without warning I hugged him without giving him chance to back away. I locked this memory away in a secure place because I knew he would never repeat that speech to either me or anybody else in the future.

"Thank you and don't worry, I will" I said pulling away from him.

"Let's get a move on then" he said clearing his throat and walking away from the awkwardness.

"One hour" he shouted before disappearing down the street.

I continued walking down the opposite street stopping everybody that crossed my path. I could have showed his photo a hundred times to hundred different strangers and not one of them had seen him. Edward was a person that is not easily forgotten so I began to wonder, if he was indeed in Seattle then why had not one single person sin him or new anybody that sin him. Every 'Sorry No' I received shattered a tiny piece of hope that I had left. After an hour I retreated back, Jasper had the same luck as me the other side, which was nothing. It was nearly 1.30pm before we decided to give it another go but this time we headed in a different direction.

Another half an hour passed and still nothing, I started to wonder exactly how many times I would walk these streets in search of him. A hundred times? A Thousand times? How long would it take me before I found him? Days? Weeks? Years maybe? Would I walk these streets until I was old and crippled? My last thought was the only one I knew the answer to, and the answer was yes. I would walk these streets if took me my whole life because I would never give up looking for him, even if it turned out that the thing I was searching for would never be found.

I didn't realize that I had made a wrong turn until I focused on the movie theatre in front of me. The posters indicated that there were a few new movies now on release. I read the titles in my head as I scanned down the list.

'Just go with it' 'Night of the living dolls' 'Breaking dawn' 'Hot Fuzz' Just then a horror movie that sounded familiar stuck out like a sore thumb it was a sequel to the horror movie we all went to watch a while ago. Seeing this brought back more depressing memories so I turned back around and headed back to where I came from. Just as I was about to cross over I sin the name of the road which also seemed familiar. I stopped and pulled out the torn up note that was in my back pocket. The address that was on the note was on this street. I knew I would probably be wasting my time but since I was here I might as well check it out. I folded up the photo and placed it inside my other back pocket along with the note. I was glad my jeans had pockets because I had left my jacket in the car.

I crossed the road on the opposite side of the movie theater and noticed some shops on this side of the road. I followed the numbers of the shops until I found which looked like an apartment block set in-between two shops. The numbers on the buzzers didn't have names on but I knew the number from the note. I pressed the number 23 and waited for a response. After the third buzz I was about to give up but a lady carrying some shopping bags was coming out of the building. When she opened the door I used this as my chance to slide in after.

The elevator was broken, typical, so dragged my feet up the three flights of stairs until I got to the 20's. The hallway consisted of three separate apartments. I passed number 21 and got a strange urge to look at number 22 before continuing to the last door on the left.

The door looked like it had taken a beating which made me feel slightly uneasy. I gently knocked on the door but there was no answer. When I knocked a second time the flimsy door gently eased away from the doorframe. I knew it was rude to enter without permission but I needed to talk to her.

"Hello" I said using my foot to open the door.

It looked like nobody was home.

"Hello" I said again louder this time.

Still no answer, just as I was about to leave I noticed a familiar red uniform draped over the sofa. It was the same uniform the waitress wore so I knew I had the right place. I slowly walked in examining my surrounding carefully trying to detect what sort of place I had just stepped into over the threshold. The place looked clean and presentable. But let's face it, you could be a serial killer and own a palace.

Before I took another step I stayed true to my word with Jasper. I reached in my back pocket and pulled out my phone. I hit speed dial and waited for him to answer.

"Hi"

"Bella are you alright?" he asked worried.

"Yeah I'm fine, listen I took a detour and..."

"Where are you? Are you alright?" he started to bombard me with questions.

"Yes I'm fine now shush, listen you remember that address"

"Yeah"

"Well as I was saying, I took a detour and ended up at this address by chance. Nobody's home but I think this is definitely her apartment"

"Ok, I'll circle back round to get the car and ill come to you, don't go anywhere or do any think until I get there"

"Alright"

I quickly told him the address again before I hung up. I didn't really know what to do now, the apartment was clearly empty so I decided to close the door and wait for Jasper inside. I didn't know what to say if the tenant came back and found me in here, I just hoped Jasper was quick enough that it wouldn't come to that.

I decided to take a look around being as I was here I might as well see what sort of life our little thief had. I scanned the living room and kitchen but nothing was of interest to me. I walked down the hallway and into the first bedroom I came to. It was decorated in blue with a huge double bed that hadn't been made. There were empty food wrappers and plates on the floor. This room in the apartment was a dump. There was a dartboard nailed to the wall half hanging off but that wasn't the thing that made me force the lump in my throat down, it was the things sticking out of it. They weren't darts they were syringes. This was the sort of things that made alarm bells ring. I knew I had to get out of here, fast. Just as the thought passed through my mind there was a knock on the front door.

I knew Jasper was a quick driver but by all means he defiantly was not that quick. I swallowed the lump in my through and tried to calm my nerves. I considered not answering the door at all but taking the flimsy door in consideration and how I managed to get in here didn't really leave me much choice. I even considered hiding under one of the beds but from observing the state of the first bedroom I think I would be safer just to take my chances with whoever was behind door number one.

I slowly walked over to the front door and opened it without hesitation. There was a large man dressed in black with gold chains wrapped around his neck. He had black spiky hair with a little goatee beard. My mind was screaming for me to run but where could I run to? I just froze.

"Hi" His surprisingly husky voice startled me.

"Hi" I managed to push out while my mind was everywhere.

Yes, say hi to the rather large man who could possibly be the rightful owner of bedroom number one I argued with myself. Why not invite him in for tea and biscuits?

"You must be Jane" he smirked.

His smile was sinister which made me want to run for hill and scream bloody murder.

"Erm..."

"Don't worry pet me and Alec had an agreement, well more like a disagreement but what's the difference these days" he interrupted me.

I slowly started to back away from him but my movements didn't go unnoticed to him as he began to walk forward.

"I don't know what you're talking about" I admitted to him my voice was no more than a whisper.

"No games sweet thing" he wagged his finger at me like a dog "Your brothers been playing a lot of games with us lately and I think it's about time he paid up"

"I'm not Jane, I don't know what you're talking about!" I snapped.

My pleading with him didn't do any good, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a cloth. My heart started to race frantically, I kept looking at the front door in the hope that the one person I was thinking about would appear in it, but I knew that wasn't going to happen. The man lunged for me but before he covered my mouth with the cloraphom cloth I sucked in all the air I could, and shouted to the top of my lungs with my last breath the only name I ever wanted to hear in the darkness.

"EDWARD!"