~ Forks, Washington - August 10, 2004 ~
A week after my discovery in the Robert Mitchell case, I was back for another afternoon and evening at the police station. Shortly after my arrival, the Chief received a call from the insurance company that had paid out on Robert Mitchell's policy. They would be willing to proceed with charges for insurance fraud. After the Chief finished his investigation, he promised to forward the evidence to them to review.
With my help, this past week the Chief was able to close two of the other open case files. Both he and I felt pretty good about that. What made him even happier was his current phone call with his daughter, my singer. I was a bit ashamed that I had been listening in on the call through his thoughts, but I just couldn't help myself.
Bella was getting ready to start her junior year of high school in Phoenix, but before school started up, she wanted to come up for a visit. The Chief was ecstatic. There was a time, early on in Bella's life that she did not want to spend a lot of time with him. From the Chief's thoughts, I had gathered that it changed about eight years ago.
Maybe one day I would find out what changed between them. What ever it was, Chief Swan now saw Bella at least a couple times a year. From what I had just heard, Bella would be arriving next Tuesday for a visit. He was planning on celebrating her birthday a month early as a surprise.
I was concerned about how my control would be around her. Under normal circumstances my bloodlust was almost nonexistent. However being around my singer after such a long time away from her would challenge me greatly. Even just thinking of her delicious scent made my mouth flood with venom. Even if I decided to head back east next week, or just disappear, her scent would linger around the Chief for quite a while. I was looking forward to speaking to Alice later to see what she could see. Maybe I would have Emmett and Jasper come out early as an insurance against an accident.
"I'm heading out for the night, Charlie.", Chief Swan's most senior deputy, Mark, called out.
The Chief raised his hand in acknowledgment. He was writing down Bella's flight details.
"I'll see you, Sherlock." Mark called over to me. He was a good man, despite his teasing of me over the Mitchell case…and the pestering to meet his younger cousin. Both him and Betty are shameless when it comes setting up their family members with me.
"Goodnight, Mark. And before you ask, no I don't want you to set me up with your cousin."
"Okay, but she's a real nice girl. I'll bring a picture in, then you can decide." He said as he walked out of the building.
"Was Mark trying to set you up again?" The Chief asked. He folded the sheet of paper with Bella's flight details and placed it in his shirt pocket.
"Yeah. Both he and Betty are relentless." I replied while shaking my head in mock disbelief.
"That's small town living, " he replied. "Everyone gets up in everyone else's business. Whether that's snooping, gossiping, or match making."
I nodded in response before almost gasping at what the Chief was to ask of me.
"Edward," The Chief started while rubbing the back of neck while looking down at his shoes. "Next week my daughter is coming for a visit. She will be here for ten days. I feel a little odd asking you this, but would it be possible for you to hang out with her a bit. Especially during the days I'm working? I hate thinking of her alone here. I know I can trust you, and well, you both can keep each other company."
The Chief finally looked up at me. In the past few weeks since my arrival, he had gone from distrusting me to be alone, to asking me to escort his only daughter around Forks. If I wasn't shocked and fearful for her safety, I would be tempted to laugh at how ironic it was that the Chief trusted me with the safety of his daughter, my singer.
"Chief, I don't think…" I started to reply, but he cut me off.
"Listen, I know this must seem like an odd request, especially given how Mark and Betty have been, but I am not asking you to date her. Far from it! You seem pretty disinterested in girls, not that there is anything wrong with that."
My eyes widened at the Chief's thoughts. He wasn't worried having me around his daughter because he believed I was gay! After all, in his mind I would have to be gay to turn down meeting Betty's granddaughter and Mark's cousin. I wasn't upset over his assumption. However, I knew that Alice would be seeing this conversation. Hopefully she would not let Jasper or Emmett know what the Chief had been thinking…they would never let me forget it.
I held up my hand to stop the Chief from talking. "Chief, I'm not gay. I'm just not interested in having others set me up." The Chief's eyes darted away from me. He was mortified that he jumped to the wrong conclusion.
"Oh, well…I…I'm sorry?" He replied more as a question than a statement.
"It's okay. Really." I answered. I didn't want him to feel guilty. "It must seem strange that at my age I am not jumping at the chance to date, but I'm pretty old fashioned when it comes to romance. In fact, my brother's and sister's claim its like I was born and raised hundred years ago. Its just the way I've always been."
Before the Chief could answer further, a truck pulled into police station parking lot. I was surprised at the thoughts of the driver. I hadn't heard a mind like his since my last visit in the 1930's. A few minutes later the man, bound to a wheel chair, along with his son entered the station.
"Billy!" Chief Swan called out. He rushed over and shook hands with the man and then his son. "Billy, Jacob, I have great news! Bella is coming next week for a visit."
Billy Black smiled at his friend before his eyes narrowed as the leveled on me. I had never met Billy, but I knew his grandfather, Ephraim Black. Ephraim was the chief that negotiated the treaty between the Quileutes and my family. One look and Billy knew exactly what I was. He registered that my eyes were not red. He knew I fed from animals, but that meant nothing to him. I was demon to him and I was standing not ten feet away from his best friend.
Billy's son, Jacob had no idea I was a vampire. In fact he barely registered I was standing in front of him. His mind was preoccupied with the Chief Swan's daughter and whether he would be able to spend time with her next week. Apparently, young Jacob had a crush on my singer, causing a flash of anger and jealously to shoot through me. I felt my finger's flex at some of the images going through Jacob's mind.
I was pulled away from plotting Jacob's demise by Billy's thoughts. He caught me flexing my hand and believed I was doing so because of his presence. He knew nothing of Jacob's adolescent fantasies about the Chief's daughter.
"I'm sorry." Chief Swan said. He was oblivious to the rising tension in the room. "Billy, Jacob, this is Edward Cullen. He is the one that has been helping me on the Mitchell case." The Chief then turned towards me. "Edward, this is Billy Black and his son Jacob. Billy's damn near my oldest friend."
Billy continued to seethe hate as he stared at me. Chief Swan was beginning to notice, so I reached out my hand and greeted them. I decide to address Jacob first as it would be harder for Billy to ignore me if Jacob was welcoming.
"Hello, Jacob." I said. As we shook hands I squeezed ever so slightly until I registered pain in Jacob's thoughts, then I squeezed a bit more. He would get a lot worse if he didn't stop seducing my singer in his thoughts.
"Hi, Edward." Jacob nearly groaned as the pain spiked before I let go of his hand. Next I turned towards Billy holding out my hand.
"Hello, Mr. Black. It's a pleasure to meet you." My voice was light and engaging. The Chief liked that I was so respectful and engaging to his friend.
Billy stared at my hand for a moment before looking away. Instead of taking my hand, Billy eased his chair back a couple of inches. The Chief narrowed his eyes at his friend for not shaking my hand. He was wondering what was wrong with his friend. Chief Swan was about to say something when Billy finally spoke.
"Edward." Billy nearly spat while he gave me a terse nod of his head before turning toward the Chief. "Charlie, I have some fish on ice out in the truck. Harry caught them this morning and thought you might enjoy them. They're all scaled and cleaned. Jacob, why don't you go out with Charlie and put the cooler in his car. Oh and show him the new picture of Rachel I brought with us. It's behind my seat. I'll just wait here and chat with Edward."
Chief Swan was still upset that his friend had been rude, but reluctantly went outside with Jacob. He hoped that Billy would soften up after speaking with me.
"It's been a long time since one of your kind has been in the area." Billy said disdainfully. He glanced over his shoulder to ensure Chief Swan and Jacob were both safely out of hearing range. "I am only going to ask this once. I want to you leave now and never come back."
I couldn't help but have a lot of respect for Billy Black. He knew I was superior in strength and speed. He knew that there wasn't any way he could defend himself against me, yet he was resolved not to show any weakness. He was a proud man, but he was also a hateful man. His heritage and his blood called for him to despise me; as such his desire to see me destroyed was great. However, I wasn't about to allow him to dictate anything. As far as I was concerned, as well as my family, the treaty was still valid. My family had every right to live here as long as we abided by the treaty.
"Mr. Black, I respect your position as one of your tribe's elders, but neither I or my family will be leaving anytime soon." Billy opened his mouth to interrupt, but I continued on. "I remember you grandfather. Ephraim Black was a great man and great chief. He was also a very wise man. He set aside the hatred that boils in your blood and listened. Granted, your grandfather never fully trusted us, but he understood that my family chose to live a different way from the rest of my kind. He knew, as well as you do that I do not feed from humans. Neither does my family. We pose no direct threat to your tribe or the other humans in the area. The treaty your grandfather forged with my family is still in effect. We will abide by it, as we expect your people to do the same."
Billy Black did not like me referencing his grandfather. He felt I had no right to even utter his name. However, his own thoughts betrayed him. His anger and hatred for my kind was real, but he also hated that he would never be the kind of warrior his grandfather and father were. Billy's diabetes had stolen the use of his legs, and more importantly, stolen his ability to phase into a wolf. He resented me calling his grandfather a great man and chief, because he felt he could never live up to his memory. He arrogant and hardline stance towards my family's presence in Forks was, in his mind, the only way for him to come close to being worthy of his grandfather's legacy. What Billy didn't know was that his grandfather desired peace beyond anything else. The current vanity and jealous pride Billy embodied would have been foreign to his grandfather.
"I am aware of the treaty and its contents!" He hissed. "But you're involving yourself in the lives of people I care about. I don't want you near them! You pretend to be human, but you're not. You are not alive. You're a dead soulless demon from hell! You are as far away from a human as one could possibly be. Your entire existence is a lie!"
Not too long ago Billy's words would have resonated with me, but not anymore. Many of my kind match his description, but not my family, and not me. I wished Carlisle were here with his endless reserves of patience and goodwill, because mine were starting to run empty. I knew picking a fight with the Quileutes was in none of our best interests, but I was not going to allow Billy to continue defaming my family.
"It would be a lie for us not follow our hearts and our desires, Mr. Black." I worked hard to keep my voice level and calm. "Your grandfather understood that, despite his inborn hatred of vampires. He saw beyond your tribe's ancient stories. He saw how we chose to live this way. Evil is defined by actions not biology. I do not deny that many of my kind would fall into the category of 'dead soulless demon from hell'. But I will not allow you to claim that of my family. Just how do you think the people of Forks and the surrounding area would handle finding out that your tribe can shape shift into extremely large wolves? Do you think you would be treated with respect and acceptance? Or would they view your kind as monsters? In their eyes how different would a werewolf be from a vampire?"
"How dare you compare us to you blood suckers!" He spat back. Billy's breath was coming in pants. He knew I was right, that to humans outside our supernatural circle, his tribe would be seen as monsters, but he refused to ever acknowledge that to me.
"Why?" I asked. "We are both just twists and quirks of evolution. Some would say both our species are the next step in evolution. I am not here to argue with you over the obviousness of our existence. You know as well as I that evil is independent of the being." I paused before leveling my strongest argument. "Ephraim confided in us what happen to his brother, Manasseh."
Billy's eyes went wide and the mention of Manasseh Black. I could tell from Billy's thoughts that his story was rarely told by the tribal elders, as it is one that is filled with jealousy, betrayal, and death. Manasseh's story does not speak of heroic spirit warriors, but rather of a brother who become so jealous of Ephraim's choice of wife and his position as tribal chief, that he decided to murder his own brother and then take what he coveted…namely his brother's position and wife. The story ended with Ephraim's and Manasseh's own mother being slain when Manasseh phased into a wolf and lost control of his anger after a failed attempt on Ephraim's life. As the chief, Ephraim had to exile his own brother from the tribe, but not before giving him an alpha command to never phase into a wolf again, or to come back to the tribe.
"Mr. Black, it was Manasseh's path to evil that allowed Ephraim to realize that if such wickedness can exist in the hearts of a Quileute spirit warrior, then maybe good could exist in the heart of a vampire. All I am asking of you is to give my family a chance to prove to this generation of Quileute, that despite our biology, my family respects humanity and has no desire to take a human life."
Billy slumped back into his wheelchair as glimpses of other tribal stories passed though his mind. It would seem that Manasseh's story was not unique. He hated to admit it, but over the centuries multiple atrocities against his people happened from within. He doubted he could ever feel towards my family the way Ephraim had, but as it stood, his hands were tied by the existence of the treaty. He decided that he and Jacob would return to the reservation and let the other elders know that the Cullen coven was back in the region. Preparations would be needed for when the spirit warriors reemerged from within the current generation of young Quileutes.
Billy looked over his shoulder at Jacob who was still outside talking to Chief Swan. He knew it was now just a matter of time before young Jacob's blood transformed him into a spirit warrior. He was both sad and proud over that thought.
Billy turned back to me and set his shoulders square and strong. "All I can promise, Edward, is that we will be vigilant and uphold the treaty." Billy responded in defeat. "Only time will tell if more can be achieved between us."
"That's all I can ask." I answered. I slowly held out my hand. Billy eyed it tentatively before giving it one firm shake and then releasing it immediately.
Throughout our conversation, Chief Swan had been keeping any eye on both Billy and I. He passed the time talking to Jacob about his upcoming school year. During their conversation, Jacob had kept asking the Chief probing questions about Bella. After the third or fourth time, the Chief had started to wonder if Jacob had more than friendly feelings towards his daughter. He loved Jacob, but in his heart and mind no one was good enough for his daughter, not even Jacob Black, son of his best friend. It was Jacob's continued thoughts about Bella that cemented my decision to accept the Chief's request to spend time with Bella during her visit. If I had my way, Jacob would not come within a mile of her. In the end, I had to agree with Chief Swan…Jacob Black wasn't good enough for his daughter.
At one point in their conversation, Chief Swan asked Jacob if he knew why Billy would act so rude to me in when we met. Jacob answered that it might have to do with my family's wealth. Billy and Jacob had spotted my Mercedes SUV in the parking lot when they pulled in. Jacob guessed his father disliked me because I was spoiled rich kid. The Chief thought this over while Billy and I verbally sparred with one another. It seemed possible to the Chief that money might be the reason. Luckily, it was enough. Especially after he watched Billy and I shake hands. The Chief was happy we had reached some understanding.