When Pete meets Emmett at the station, he has more news to share.
"The team found a second bug at Edward's house," he states.
"Oh, yeah? Where?" Emmett asks.
"Downstairs in the living room area, near the kitchen. You know how those rooms are kind of open, with just the breakfast bar separating them?"
"Yeah."
"Well, this bug would have been able to pick up almost everything in both rooms."
"But nothing else?" Emmett's tone relays his confusion.
"No, nothing. That's really strange."
"No shit. So we have the one in the bedroom that Angela told Bella about. Let's assume it was put there for the specific purpose of getting audio to use for the sex tape made in Edward's office."
"Sounds viable," Pete concurs.
"Then we have a second one downstairs in the common area that will pick up conversations there. But nothing else?"
"Nope. Nothing in the doc's den or the basement gym or anywhere else," Pete confirms.
"A professional would be a little more thorough," Emmett observes. "They'd want to make sure they got whatever it is they're listening for. So, this was a piss-poor pro or –"
"Or someone who knows Edward and Bella pretty well. Who knows they'd get whatever they needed by just listening in the common area."
"Right. Someone like a family member. Someone like Esme," Emmett says.
Pete nods.
"Okay. Well, let's go have a chat with her then," Emmett says.
Emmett rings the doorbell to the large home situated on a sprawling property outside the city. Pete rocks back on his heels as they wait for an answer.
"Any idea if she's home?" he asks Emmett.
"Not for sure, though Edward said that she didn't have a standing commitment today as far as he knows."
They waited a moment more before the door is opened by a housekeeper.
"May I help you?" she asks.
"Yes. My name is Detective Emmett McCarty, Seattle PD" he says, showing her his badge. "This is my partner, Detective Peter Martin." Peter also displays his badge. "Is Esme Cullen home? We'd like to speak to her for just a moment."
"Oh!" her surprise is evident. Having the police appear on the Cullen doorstep is not a common occurrence. "Come in, and I'll see if she's available." She opens the door wider and they step into a richly appointed foyer.
"Wait here, please, and I'll be back momentarily," she says before bustling toward the back of the house.
"Nice place," Pete remarks as he takes in the tasteful, yet clearly expensive furnishings.
"No shit," Emmett murmurs.
A few moments later, they hear the clicking of shoes on the marble floor just before they see the housekeeper returning, walking a step behind a handsome woman dressed flawlessly in a skirt suit, complete with a pearl necklace and high-heeled shoes.
"Hello, gentlemen. I'm Esme Cullen. How may I be of assistance?" she asks, all genteel politeness.
"Mrs. Cullen, I'm Detective Emmett McCarty with the Seattle PD," he says offering his hand for a handshake. She takes it and gives him a respectably firm shake.
"Detective," she replies by way of greeting.
"This is my partner, Detective Peter Martin."
"Ma'am," he says, also shaking her hand.
"What may I do for you?"
"As you know, your daughter-in-law, Bella, has gone missing," Emmett begins. "We're doing everything in our power to find her, and we were wondering if we could ask you a few questions?"
"Oh, yes. Poor Edward is so distraught. I do wish she had spoken to him before she left town," she says.
"So, you don't think she's missing? You believe she left town by choice?" Emmett asks.
"My goodness! What do I know about the poor girl? But, gentlemen, please pardon my manners. I'm sorry for making you stand here in the foyer. Let's retire to the library, shall we? Would you like some coffee or tea?"
"No, thank you, ma'am," Emmett replies. "We're fine."
"Very well. Matilda, bring me some tea in the library," she says to the housekeeper. "This way, please, detectives." She leads them down the hallway to the library.
Once there they sit in a tastefully arranged seating area near the unlit fireplace.
"So, Mrs. Cullen, is there any reason why you feel Bella may have left by choice? Edward, Bella's father, and her best friend are all quite certain she's gone missing, perhaps been kidnapped," Emmett begins.
Esme lets out a light laugh. "Well, as I said, I don't really know Bella all that well. However, she has dropped some hints to me in recent months that she wasn't as happy in her marriage to Edward as she wanted everyone to believe."
"Why would she share something like that with you, her husband's mother, when you acknowledge the two of you aren't close?" Pete asks directly.
"Really, who knows what goes through that child's head? I agree I didn't particularly appreciate hearing that she was less than satisfied with Edward. I mean, what mother would want to hear that kind of talk? Not to mention it seemed she was less than grateful for all he was doing for them. After all, what are a few missed dinners and evenings alone when your husband is building a sterling medical career? A small price to pay, I say. Very ungrateful."
"So, she was unhappy with Edward's time away from home, at work?" Emmett clarifies.
"That is what she implied to me."
"So much so that she would just up and leave him, without a word?" he presses.
"That's my opinion," she says, coolly. "I mean, how likely is it that a girl walking in Seattle to get coffee on a random Sunday morning is abducted? That is the alternative you're exploring, is it not? Seems a bit far-fetched. Isn't there some rule of police work that the simplest answer is usually the correct one?" She raises an eyebrow at them.
Just then, there's a knock on the door, and the housekeeper enters carrying a tray loaded with a tea service.
"Set it here, Matilda," Esme says, indicating the table nearest her, "then leave and close the door behind you."
"Yes, ma'am," she replies. After she leaves, Esme pours herself a cup and takes a dainty sip.
"Well," Emmett says, clearing his throat, "the area we believe Bella went missing from certainly is not a hotbed of crime, but, unfortunately, abductions are not as rare as you might want to believe here in our fair city."
"Ah, well, I'm sure you know more about all of that than I would," Esme replies lightly.
"Mrs. Cullen, do you know an Angela Weber?" Pete asks.
"Angela Weber? Oh, yes. Carlisle and I are friends with her parents. They lived here years ago before moving away when the girl was just a toddler. She moved back a couple of years ago and works as a nurse at the same hospital where Carlisle and Edward work."
"How well do you know her?" Emmett probes.
"Oh, well, I've spoken to her a few times since she moved back, but we're certainly not bosom buddies or anything of the like."
"I see," he replies. "So, you never asked Angela to help you make Bella believe that Edward had cheated on her? Or to discourage Bella from confronting Edward, and instead pursue revenge sex to get back at him? Or videotape said revenge encounter and blackmail Bella with it?" By the time he's finished, his voice is harsh, and his face is red with anger.
"What?" Esme replies, sitting back, flabbergasted.
"Emmett, I think maybe –" Pete begins, but Emmett cuts him off.
"What do you know about the man called 'J'?" he demands. "We know you introduced him to Angela and set up the entire encounter with Bella. Who is he? How can we reach him?"
"J? Do people do that? Use initials as names? How silly. Detective, I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about. And Angela, she's a sweet girl but not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer, you know? I've no idea why she would say any of that."
Just then, the door to the library opens, and Carlisle enters.
"Esme, Matilda said we had visitors," he says, approaching the group.
"Hello, Carlisle," she says with a small smile. "These police officers are trying to find out what happened to poor Bella. This is Detective McCarty and Detective Martin." She indicates each of them in turn, and they stand to shake Carlisle's hand.
"Pleased to meet you both," Carlisle says warmly. "Do you have any news of Bella? We've all been quite worried, and last I spoke with Edward, there wasn't any progress in finding her."
"Well, at the moment, we don't have any concrete leads as to where she might be," Emmett says, shooting a glance at Esme.
"We just stopped by to see if Mrs. Cullen might have any information that could help us. No detail is too small," Pete says.
Carlisle huffs in surprise. "Esme? What could my wife possibly know that could help you?"
"It's a wild goose chase, dear," Esme says. "Apparently, they think Angela Weber may be involved so they were inquiring as to what I may know of her."
"Yes," Pete concurs. "And we were just getting ready to leave, right, Emmett?" He gives Emmett a hard look.
"Yeah, yeah. We're done here," he grumbles.
"Thank you for your time, Mrs. Cullen. Nice to meet you, Dr. Cullen," Pete says. "If we get any lucky breaks in the case, I'm sure Edward will keep you informed. We can find our way out."
He gestures for Emmett to lead the way out of the room and closes the library door behind them. With a curt nod to the housekeeper who scurries down the hall when she sees them, they exit the house and go to their car.
Once in the privacy of the vehicle, Pete rips into Emmett.
"What the hell was that, Em? You let her know almost everything we suspect about her! Angela? J? Christ! I thought we were going to play it cool," he says angrily.
Emmett runs his hand through his hair as he stares out the window at the landscape flying by while Pete drives.
"I know, man. I know. But the way she was sitting there . . . Couldn't you just tell that she wasn't going to give up anything? I was trying to rattle her a bit. For all the fucking good it did," he mutters, frustrated.
He taps his fingers on his knee for a moment.
"Listen, this thing with Bella is moving really fast. If Esme is involved, I don't think what I said can make it move much faster than it already is. We just need to catch a fucking break!"
"Yeah, that's the truth. Listen, I think we should see if Banner will let us put someone on her to track her activity. If she heads anywhere unusual, we'll know."
"That would be good. I'll talk to him as soon as we get back to the station," Emmett agrees.
After their return to the station, Chief Banner agrees to allow Esme to be watched by an undercover unit, for the next forty-eight hours. He wasn't thrilled with the idea and wants to re-evaluate the situation in a couple of days.
On his way back to his desk, Kate, a staffer from the human resources department, approaches Emmett.
"Hey, McCarty, got a second?" she asks.
"Not much more than that," he replies, pausing to look at her. "What's up?"
"You're working on the Bella Cullen disappearance, right?"
His interest is immediately piqued. "Yeah, I am."
"And, Officer Mike Newton was involved in that early on, wasn't he? I mean, before he was suspended?"
Emmett is suspicious now, anxious to hear where this is going.
"That's right. He was the first officer sent out to talk to the husband," he replies.
"Well, whenever an officer gets any kind of disciplinary measure, we need to do a full review of his file. I was assigned to exam Newton's."
"Okay."
"So, per department policy, we all have annual, mandatory drug screens, plus the occasional random one, right?"
"Yeah."
"Usually those test results are reviewed and signed by whatever doctor is rotating through the department's Employee Health program at the time."
"I'll have to take your word for that. Why is that of interest to me?"
"Honestly, I don't know if it is or not, but something caught my eye. Due to his poor performance, Newton's had several random drug screens during the past of couple of years. Every single one of them, for the past thirty months, has been signed off by the same doctor. Now, that could be a huge coincidence, but the odds of that are slim, I think."
"I see," Emmett says, nodding as his thoughts start running furiously. "Who's the doctor?"
"A Dr. Cullen," she replies.
"Cullen?" he repeats, surprise evident in his tone.
"Yes."
"What's the first name?"
A/N: So, what do you think? Esme is an ice queen, eh? Thanks to everyone who has hung in there with me. I have three more chapters back from my beta (the rockin' SunflowerFran!) and two more already done. We're cooking with gas now!
A lot of people have helped me in this process as prereaders, betas and cheerleaders (often all three at once). You all have my sincere gratitude: Owlsarebirdstoo, Ana Rodfranco, SunflowerFran, Tiffany L Cullen. Oh, and Beegurl13 made me this awesome banner. You can see it on my Facebook page, Amy Gold (Amethyst Gold).
Standard Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I don't own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.