AN: Next up are a couple of Bree chapters. I'll try to get them out in quick succession. After that Carlisle wants to have his turn at getting some truths out of the kids as he returns home from the press conference. He'll invite Ed & Em into his office for some stern talking. It will go down in similar fashion as Esme's little chat with Alice and Rose…

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-=[ Isabelle Higginbotham, the present]=-

26.

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"Her brothers…?" Bella said, trailing off.

"…comes with quite the track record, yes. Car theft, illegal transfer of vehicle license plates and illegal possession of drugs," Mike Newton answered. "Embry has managed to stay out of prison and now holds a steady job at the timber transport terminal. Laurent has served time for violation of probation on a drug possession conviction. He's been out for six months now. I don't think he has a job… not that I've heard of anyway. "

They were in Newton's car on their way out to the saw mill farm where Bree Tanner lived with her father and her two brothers. It was Bella's suggestion they'd head out there together and Mike had agreed it was probably for the best that he came along to handle the introductions.

"And the old man Tanner? What's the word on the street? Is he still dealing?" Bella asked, trying to prepare herself for what she was about to get into. Chances were that her visit would not be a welcome one.

"No, not to our knowledge. There were rumors about a meth lab, but we've kept an eye on him and have yet to catch him doing anything worse than speeding."

"How is his relationship with his daughter? How is he taking this all?"

"Tanner? He was shocked at first, threw a chair across the waiting room, but he calmed down after a while. From what we've seen, he's been on his best behavior around the girl."

"That doesn't mean much though, seeing as you've only allowed him supervised visits so far."

"Well…" he scratched his head. "That's true."

"And you say the records show that she's a bright kid, no troubles in school," Bella continued. "She seems like a well-adjusted, well-rounded kid. Have you interviewed any of her friends?"

"Her friends?" Mike echoed the word as if it was foreign to him and frowned. "Not really, no. She's a bit of a loner, not that many friends to speak of. Understandable, perhaps, considering her handicap and also, the farm is located quite far out… makes her a bit isolated when she's not at school."

"What about her medical history? No signs of any underlying mental or emotional disorders. Anything else, I should know about? Any records of injuries or concerns?"

"Hm? "Mike looked up from the road quickly to ask, "You mean things like broken bones, bruises and head injuries?"

"Yes."

"She had a broken arm over the summer. And also, the school has reported some alarming bruising on two different occasions in the past. It's been investigated by Social Services."

"And?"

"And nothing. There were satisfactory explanations given. No wrong doing or neglect could be proven. Everything checked out."

"Riight… What were those explanations, if you don't mind me asking? I'd like to hear them."

"Is not as dubious as it sounds. The broken arm was the result of a rather nasty fall. I can personally attest to this, as I happened to be around to witness this particular incident with my own two eyes. I'm sure if you speak with the new caseworker he can dig up both mine and the girl's statement about it."

"Right, I'll do that." Bella nodded. "What about the two cases of bruising?"

"Caused by the dogs, I believe…"

"Her dog?"

"No, her father's dogs. Tanner loves to hunt and has several largish dogs that he hunts with. Don't ask me about the breed cause that's something I never have a clue about. They are powerful and strong minded and the girl simply isn't physically big or strong enough to manage them on leash."

"Okay, I assume the caseworker can confirm this as well."

"Yes, of course."

"I'd like to speak with her teacher, Emily Young, too, if that's alright?"

"Sure… why though? I'm not trying to talk you out of it, or anything. I'm just curious how you think that will help. I mean, your job is to get the girl to talk."

"My job is to get the girl to trust me enough to open up to me. In order to accomplish this I need to learn more about who she is and what I can do to make her comfortable and at ease."

"Okay, good answer," Mike threw her an approving nod. "Just remember, you can't tell anyone about the assault and her medical status. We don't want that to become public knowledge."

"I know. I'll be careful with what I say. I'd also like to speak with some of the students from her school. I'll ask her teacher if there is anyone in particular I should speak to. "

"You'll need the parents' permission, before you speak with any minors. Let me know which ones and I'll sort it out for you… as long as it's not half the school or anything…"

"Thanks, Mike."

"You know what, you should probably speak with a few people over at the Newton's too, my wife included"

"Why is that?"

"Well you know, we've had a lot of school kids working for us throughout the years. Bree Tanner is one of them. One of the youngest we've ever taken on, actually. She restocks shelves and handles the daily cleaning of the store. It's been working out pretty well."

"Huh? I didn't know that. How did that come about?"

'And why?' she wanted to add, but refrained by biting her tongue. A girl that young wouldn't typically go looking for a job unless she was highly motivated to do so…. or pushed on by her parents.

"How it came about?" Mike repeated the question back to her. "Well… she came into the store after school one afternoon and pointed at the 'help wanted' sign and started gesturing with her hands, like she was writing with a pen. I believe she was eleven at the time and simply too young, but my wife didn't want to discourage her for taking up such a brave and forward-thinking initiative, so she had her fill out the usual form we give all applicants. Fast forward a couple of years, and now she actually DO work for us — with her father's permission, of course..."

"So, you and your wife must know her quite well then?"

"Not really, there's the language barrier, you know… I've always been a people person, as I'm sure you remember from when we went to school together. I enjoy talking to just about anyone, but it's difficult to strike up a conversation when you get nothing in return. "

"Ah, of course, Mike - the people person… I actually DO remember that about you," she deadpanned, rolling her eyes internally.

Mike simply grinned at her and continued talking. " I can't say I know Bree Tanner, but from what I've heard from my wife, the girl's shaping up to be a good employee. She's awfully quiet, for obvious reasons, but she's also a quick learner and hard worker. She even insisted on coming to work while her broken arm was healing… no calling in sick, no slacking on the job. Now that's good work ethics."

Perhaps, but it kind of raised red flags in Bella's mind. It was quite telling that the girl would rather work than spend her late afternoons/early evenings at home. Of course, it could be that she was simply saving up money with a specific purchase or goal in it could be that she was looking for ways to avoid something, or someone... Unusual reluctance or fear of going home after school could indicate issues on the home front.

Bella kept those thoughts to herself though. This wasn't the time or the place to be too pushy or ask too many questions.

She couldn't afford to come across as too nosy or unprofessional – not in front of Mike and definitely not in front of Eleazar Tanner. She was simply heading out to the farm to introduce herself, ask a few general questions and to speak to Tanner about Bree's dog.

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AN: I've forgotten to mention that I've uploaded a banner (or two) for this story.

The first one is a bit spoilish, but the second one is 'safe'. There are links in my profile to both of them