Hello

So, here's a view into Bella's work and how good she is... I hope you like it and I'm really hoping for some reviews, because this is a longer chapter than usual.

*Smiles*

The next chapter will be up soon enough, so please tell me what you think of the theorizing, clever Bella.

Read and Review and of course... ENJOY!

"Well?" I yelled at the imbecile on the other line. "I want an explanation! Do you even realize that you could be fired on the spot for negligence and obstructing an investigation?"

The young man stammered on the other line, swallowing convulsively with fright.

"I don't have all day," I said menacingly.

People these days could really be idiots sometimes.

I waited impatiently for the man to regain composure and in the meantime, the rest of the Cullens walked in the room. The smiles on their faces told me they had heard my shouting.

I smiled thinly at them, tapping my foot.

Finally the idiot spoke again. "We thought it was just a joke. Something to throw the Police off."

"What? With the string of other murder victims that had bite marks on their neck? I don't think so!" I laughed loudly in sarcasm. This guy was hilariously undertrained.

"I'm sorry, Miss." He said and I stopped laughing and frowned instead. "I went to my superior about it, but he laughed it off."

I huffed. "I want to speak to your Superior. What's his name?"

"Benjamin, ma'am."

I raised an eyebrow. "Alright; put him on, please and don't worry. If anyone loses their job, it'll be your superior. I see that you tried your best."

There were a few muffled words exchanged on the other line before a rough voice answered. "Hello? What seems to be the problem, Miss Swan?"

"You are, Benjamin." I said simply. "When did the body of Bree Tanner first come to the hospital?"

"Last Monday, why?" The rude man answered and I held back a hiss.

"The body of a woman with a bite mark and no blood has been in your lab for a week and you didn't think to call us?" Sarcastic or not, I was fucking pissed and it showed in the tone of my voice.

The man cleared his throat, "we found no need."

I snorted; this Benjamin seemed to be a right-out liar. "Obviously your young apprentice thought it necessary, but you laughed at him for suggesting such a thing."

I swear I could hear the gulp the man made when I said that. I looked over to the Cullens who were all in silent hysterics and winked.

"Yes, well, ma'am it sounded ridiculous at the time." He said nervously and I held back my snort. "Like a hoax."

"I'm sure, Benjamin," I said, faking pleasantries before going back to firm. "But I wanna see that body."

"Ok," he wheezed out and I hung up on him, slamming the phone down onto the receiver.

I passed the Cullens and walked out the door. I could hear them behind me and they easily caught up.

"Carlisle," I said, looking to my right to look at him. "If an unknowing human was looking for a COD, would they be able to find vampire venom in the veins of the victim?"

Carlisle frowned in concentration. "Not necessarily, but it takes great practice to not let it leek out when we feed, so it is most likely within the victim."

I nodded, thinking.

"What are your theories, Bella?" Edward asked, looking at me intently.

I shook my head, "just a hunch."

"What's the hunch?" Edward persisted and I stopped to turn around and face them.

"I think James was the one who attacked her." I said and they nodded along with me. "But I think he was trying to change her and he failed. He panicked and fled the scene, not caring for where he left the body. I think that the vampire in that house was someone he'd changed very recently. So, if there was no blood, would there still be venom?"

Carlisle thought for a moment before nodding "there would be some in the body tissue. But it wouldn't be there now."

"Fuck," I muttered. Any possibility we had in proving that theory surely just flew out the fucking window.

"Although," Jasper said and my eyes flashed to lock with his. "A human that is killed in a vampire attack's skin is slightly harder than another human who endured a more natural death."

"So all we need are two bodies, Bree's and another who we can say most definitely was not killed in a vampire attack."

Jasper nodded, "precisely."

I nodded with him, thinking through all the facts briefly. I knew Benjamin or perhaps the young man that he supervised would bring out another body if I wanted them to.

It was just about exercising power and control; both things I had because of my station at work.

"We set to go?" I asked the others and they all nodded.

I turned and made my way to the car-park under the building.

We all jumped into the one black four wheel drive and headed off. The drive would be around twenty minutes max.

"You'd all be able to hear everything if you were in the car from where we're parking." I said and they were about to protest, but I stopped them. "I meant that only two of you should come. The others would stay in the car and listen in."

"I'm coming in with you," Edward said firmly, his brow creased.

I frowned and sighed. "You can't Edward; the ones who stay in the car would only be able to hear without you. You need to stay so you can describe what you see and tell the others what Benjamin and his apprentice as well as Jasper and Carlisle are thinking."

"But then you won't know what the men are thinking either," he said and he frowned too.

"But Jasper will be there to tell us their emotions; that's close enough and I'm armed." Edward was still uneasy and I sighed. "Edward, love, please; we need to do it this way. You're very protective and we won't get any information out of them if they're scared. That means I'll be in danger of James for that much longer, too."

Edward growled at that and I almost felt bad for playing with him like that. But we needed to do it this way, and he needed to see that.

So, instead of pressing, I used the magic word. "Please?" I said the word softly, looking into his eyes from the rear-view mirror.

He sighed heavily, but slowly nodded. I smiled softly at him, telling him I was sorry with my eyes and he nodded again, swallowing.

When he looked down I called his name softly and his eyes flashed back to meet mine before he could help it. "You have my permission to come to me if you sense any sign of distress on my part, ok? I wouldn't begrudge you that; I know this is hard for you and you know I'd react the exact same way if you were in my position and I in yours. But we need to do it this way, my love. I wish there was another option, but there really isn't."

He nodded and this time it reached his eyes. While he may have still feared for me, he wasn't as worried as before because he knew that he could come to me in my time of need.

I smiled at him before concentrating on the road again.

We arrived at the hospital not five minutes later and Jasper, Carlisle and I quickly jumped out. I kissed Edward through the half-open window of the back seat and we made our way to the morgue. We didn't bother going to the main reception area and we bypassed all the other faculties.

This was not the hospital my mother was in; it was one farther away from mum's house and the Office.

Though I knew my way around, I was not as familiar with the layout of the hospital, so I really had to concentrate.

Jasper and Carlisle didn't mind, however, so they were quiet as we made our way down to the basement-area of the hospital.

When we reached the door into the morgue, we did not hesitate.

My hand twitched to the gun at my belt, but I resisted.

Something was off about this place. And I was not just talking about the strangely god-awful smell.

I thought hospitals were more hygienic, but apparently not.

"Smell anything?" I asked Carlisle and Jasper quietly. They sniffed inconspicuously and shook their heads. "Neither do I."

"Benjamin?" I called out.

Nothing.

Absolute fucking silence.

I knew there was something iffy about this place, god-fucking-dammit!

My hand twitched, aching to get itself onto my gun and this time I allowed it.

I pulled out my gun and loaded it quickly. I cocked it and raised it, edging my way around the corner.

What I saw pissed me off and worried me to fucking hell and back at the same time.

Benjamin was dead as was the young man beside him. Their blood-shot, terrified eyes were staring back at me and I ran to them, stopping in front of Benjamin.

I twitched my nose, making myself a pair of gloves. I pulled them on quickly and silently and got to work.

I checked for pulses, though I knew that there wouldn't be any; we were too late.

I closed their terrified eyes, not wanting to look into them.

I could have laughed at the irony; two human doctors killed in a morgue by a vampire pretending to be a human.

I knew it was a vampire because it was James' style… which meant, he knew that I was coming here.

"Doesn't make sense," I murmured to myself. "No blood splatter, no 'visual dynamics', but the set-up of the victims point to the fact that they were scared when they died and I don't doubt he made it painful for them. That points to James' sadistic personality. But it's not right… so he must have been rushed. But what by? Definitely not by our arrival; with his vampire speed and strength, he'd sure be in and out in all of five minutes. He had no one to help him… that much is clear in the prints on the floor, they're one singular pattern… but they are barely there, which again points to speed…"

I stopped there and turned around when I smelled my Edward's scent.

"What was all that about, Bella?" Carlisle asked, he and Jasper both looking at me in awe.

Edward looked at them, probably hearing everything I'd just said through their thoughts.

"My deductions on the scene," I said simply but they waited for more. "I'm usually first on scene because I like and need to see it completely untouched; we all learned that when I got to the scene after forensics had fiddled around and shit and I got so fucking pissed everyone ducked for cover." I laughed at that, remembering the look on the men's faces as the regarded me.

"It was James?" Jasper asked.

I nodded at him, waiting for his next question.

"How do you know it was only him?" Edward asked. He must have missed that part of my analysis or he wanted to double check.

"Well," I said, looking around on the floor. "The pattern of the shoe markings on the floor clearly indicates it; there's only one pattern, one pair of shoes. That and this crime scene has traits of James' personality everywhere." I turned back to the victims. "Now, if you'll excuse me; I need to examine the victims now."

I examined Benjamin first, and then his young apprentice. Only Benjamin had an ID, so for now the other was a John Doe.

There was something in the air – apart from the already-starting rotting flesh smell – and I couldn't quite place it.

That was until I found the tell-tale bite marks on both the victims' forearms.

"Odd that it would be there…" I said, tracing the pattern carefully. "Though I suppose it makes sense; he doesn't want anyone to figure it out that isn't me… and after the catastrophe that was Bree Tanner he had to make sure it was inconspicuous… Though I wonder…"

I leaned down, sticking my nose right next to the bite marks on Benjamin and then the young man. Besides the blood I could smell-

"Vampire venom," I said to myself and I started up again. "So this is how he tortured them… though it hasn't spread that far into the body, so it could only have been left idling in their bodies for a few minutes before he killed them… but that isn't like him at all, so of course he must have been rushed… but what by?"

I growled in frustration, hating that I didn't know yet.

I stalked around the room, looking for anything that would point to the answer, but there was nothing.

Satisfied and confident that there was nothing else to find in this room, I took out my phone and called Cheney. I gave him a brief description of the scene and told him I'd fill him in on everything else later. He assured me that he'd send a team over to recover the bodies and bring them to the lab in our offices.

I hung up and made my way – forgetting about my curious audience, it seemed – to the reception area.

"Hello," I said pleasantly to the woman across the counter.

"Hi," she said. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"I need to talk to your security detail, please, immediately." She nodded and called the Head of Department down to the main area.

The man that came down was a fit but short man who was well built, but nothing to really go for. His semi-greasy, black hair told me he hadn't cleaned it for around five days and he was wearing contact lenses.

"Hi," he said and we shook hands briefly. "I'm Diego, head of Security."

"Hi," I said and I took out my ID work badge. He previewed it briefly then nodded. "I'm Isabella Swan and I'm gonna need access to your security tapes for today."

"Sure, Isabella," he said and we walked through to the security department area. It was a small area, probably inapt for such a large hospital and desperately in need of a clean, but it would have to do, I supposed.

Edward came up behind me, closing the gap between us and we held hands. I relaxed into our electrical connection, but stayed alert of my surroundings.

Diego did some digging around, and fumbled with the recorder, making the surveillance a tape for us to use at the office.

He finally had it ready and I took it, shaking his hand deftly.

Edward, Carlisle, Jasper and I made our way back to the car to meet their anxious mates and they reassured the fact that they were fine.

There were two things that were bugging me as I drove the car back to the office.

One: What had rushed James so much?

Two: We had fucking missed him and he'd killed again.

That meant only one thing.

He meant business and it was a matter of life and death now.

Well, well, well... Bella's very smart, isn't she?

I wanna know what you think, you know I do so please review!

Tell me some of your theories? Do you have any? Because I wanna hear 'em!

Thanks,

Bexie25