Author Note: Thanks for embracing this story!
Most of you want to see Edward get off with nothing worse than probation and a fine, though at least one person wants to see him do time, and one wants Bella to dump him and his drama!
Thanks again to moosals and NKubie for pre-reading. Stephenie Meyer owns all characters.
Chapter 28: An Innocent Man
Edward stares at Jasper, looking like a deer in headlights for a moment. "Yes, I'm guilty," he finally says.
"You stole from two women," Jasper clarifies.
"No… I stole from six women."
Jasper lets out a long sigh, staring back at Edward. "So there's a possibility that four other women could also see this photo and go to the police."
"One other woman, I think. Um, two of the women were… they were married. I doubt they want to bring attention to themselves."
"That still leaves one you're discounting," Jasper states, and I know it's time for me to confess my part in this.
"The last one is me, Jasper," I admit, hoping Edward isn't upset with me for speaking up. "I was one of Edward's victims." I hear his parents gasp at the revelation.
"You were?" Jasper questions in disbelief. "I don't remember you ever mentioning anything like that."
"I was humiliated enough going to the police! I wasn't about to tell anyone else, even Alice."
"You went to the police?" Edward whispers.
"Yeah, I did," I nod, squeezing his hand. "I wanted you caught and punished. They… they were able to get usable fingerprints from my house — the Newcastle police. But there weren't any matches when they searched the FBI database." I look over at Jasper anxiously, wondering if my actions could be Edward's downfall.
"Most police departments are pretty inept when it comes to talking to other departments. Unless the cases were very similar, I doubt the Bellevue police would know about your report in Newcastle, and vice versa."
"But what about finding him in the databases now?" I ask.
"Police departments typically submit the fingerprints of those arrested for serious crimes," Jasper explains, "So I doubt the fingerprints found at your house were submitted. If they had been, we would've already heard of a match from when Edward was booked and fingerprinted."
"The police really didn't seem to take my case seriously at all," I remember, hoping that means my report won't come to light now. "I had to do some of the investigating myself, but it still turned into a dead end."
"How did you end up here then?" Jasper asks curiously. "How did you eventually find Edward? And why didn't you turn him in?"
"Um, I ran into Edward in Monterey, on my vacation last year. He told me he'd turned his life around, and I made the decision not to turn him in.
"He explained that he'd grown up with an abusive father and gotten addicted to drugs," I continue. "He stole in order to pay back drug dealers who were threatening to hurt his mother. After the drug dealers put him in the hospital, he went to rehab in California and continued to live there before moving back to Seattle at the beginning of this year."
Jasper frowns, looking over at Edward's parents. "Dr. Cullen is his stepfather," I point out.
"He was telling the truth," Esme speaks up. "My ex-husband has been in prison for attempted murder for the last seven years. We learned about Edward's drug problem about four years ago and sent him to rehab, but we had no idea he'd stolen from anyone until his arrest yesterday.
"I blame myself for his mistakes. If I'd had the strength to leave his father sooner, he would never have turned to drugs. He would never have had to steal. I feel awful for the women he victimized, but he's on the right path now. He's turned his life around. I can't bear the thought of my baby going to prison," she sniffs. Carlisle puts his arm around his wife, comforting her.
Jasper is awfully quiet, staring at the fireplace; I hope that's not a bad sign. "What are you thinking, Jasper?" I finally ask.
"What did you tell the police, Edward?" Jasper asks.
"Nothing," he says. "I denied everything and told them it must've been a case of mistaken identity."
"Hmmm… and what exactly did you steal?"
"Um, cash and jewelry mostly, whatever I could grab easily."
"So you were inside the victims' homes." Edward nods a bit sheepishly. "And given your comment earlier about two of the women being married… I'm guessing sex was somehow involved."
I can feel my face heat up, wondering what Jasper must be thinking of me right now.
"When I came across a woman who seemed… wealthy, I'd charm my way into her home and seduce her, then steal from her while she was sleeping. You can say it — I was a horrible person and I deserved to get caught, especially now that I've got my life together."
Hearing the disgust in his voice, I reach over, hugging Edward to me.
"I'm assuming you've long since sold the jewelry, so it'd be pretty tough to tie you to the missing items," Jasper states. "Unless the police have got your fingerprints or something like that, their entire case rests on eyewitness identification, that you're the same Edward they met years ago."
"Wait!" I exclaim suddenly. "Edward told me his name was Ethan, and he was wearing green contacts when I met him." I turn to Edward expectantly.
"I wore the contacts for all except the first one," he confirms. "And I never used my real name. I-I'm not sure now what names I did use."
Jasper is in deep thinking mode again when Mr. Banner comes back into the room. "Got it," he says, holding up his iPhone. Jasper recites his email address, and Mr. Banner forwards the documents to Jasper, who then opens up his iPad.
"Let's see," he begins. "The first police report is dated June 5, 2010. Kate Garrett described you as being named Kyle, with auburn hair, green eyes and no body hair. Police dusted for fingerprints but found nothing."
I breathe a sigh of relief; that's one case with nothing they can use against Edward.
"Second case, dated April 25, 2011, reported by Tanya Denali. She said she was robbed by a brunette, green-eyed man named Corey… Police found only a partial fingerprint, but it was too smudged to be of any use."
Bless his unusual hair color… even the descriptions don't match each other, beyond the green eyes. We're all silent for a few moments. "So… that's good, right?" I finally ask.
"Yes, it's good," Jasper confirms. "There doesn't seem to be any physical evidence. Is there anything else that may positively identify you, Edward?" he asks. "Any tattoos, birthmarks, anything like that?"
"I have a tattoo on my back now, but I only got it three years ago. I can't think of anything else."
"Bella?" Jasper asks, turning to me. If it were possible for me to get any redder, I'm sure I would be now.
"Um, well, back then he… he worked as a dancer and waxed his body hair, like the first report noted, but he no longer does that. I can't think of any distinguishing marks." Having a very nice ass isn't an identifiable trait, I don't think.
Jasper nod, a slight smile on his lips. "Then the police have no case. They have two women who claim you're the man who stole from them four and five years ago. The names don't match yours, the eye color doesn't match yours…
"No jury today would convict based on that; they've all seen too many episodes of CSI. They're looking for some sort of physical evidence in order to convict, but there's nothing. You may resemble the man — or men — in question, but there's absolutely no proof it's you. It'd be far too easy to show reasonable doubt."
"What happens now then?" Esme asks.
Jasper looks back at his iPad, his fingers moving across the screen for a few moments, then nods. "I have two hours free after lunch tomorrow. That's enough time for me to talk with the police and prosecutor, point out that they'll never win a jury trial, and convince them to drop the charges."
"You'd do that?" Edward gasps. "Even though I'm guilty?"
"It's not the first time I've defended a guilty person. I don't make a career of that, but I'm a firm believer that no one should do time without real, solid evidence of their guilt. Years-old eyewitness accounts are not evidence. Too many people's memories fail them and they accuse the wrong guy. Fine, the police had to bring you in for questioning after the two women came forward, but I don't believe you should've even been arrested with what they had to go on, let alone charged."
"Thank you so much, Mr. Whitlock," Esme says, looking as if she's about to start crying. "Believe me, I know that what Edward did was wrong. I wish there was some way to compensate his victims without admitting guilt. If he still lived at home, I'd ground him until he's 30."
"Thank you, Jasper," I say fervently.
He nods at me, standing up. "Edward, meet me at the courthouse at 1pm tomorrow and we'll end this, all right?"
"I'll be there. Thank you, Sir."
"Bella, will you walk me out?"
"Of-of course." I follow Jasper to the door, and he turns to look at me once he's stepped onto the porch.
"Are you involved with him, Bella?" he questions quietly.
"Yes," I admit.
"Be careful, all right? I don't want to see you get hurt."
"Why does everyone keep saying that?" I exclaim, the stress of the last couple of hours getting to me. "I'm a big girl, Jasper. Edward isn't the same man he was the first time we met. I trust him."
"He seems awfully young."
"And a young man can't be interested in me?"
"I didn't say that," he says quickly, holding his hand up in surrender.
"You were thinking it, just like everyone else."
Jasper gives me a small smile. "I need to get home. This should all be over with tomorrow. Take care, Bella."
"Bye, Jasper. Thank you again," I call as I close the door behind him. I take a deep breath, letting it out slowly, before making my way back into the family room.
"Bella, I can't thank you enough for calling Mr. Whitlock," Esme says, smiling gratefully as I retake my seat next to Edward.
"It's no problem, really. Jasper's wife, Alice, has been my best friend since college, so I've known him for years. I know he's the best."
"So… you're dating my son."
A/N: See, an ironic title lol.
Bella had to speak up about how she fits in. Jasper thinks he can end this quickly, but is it that easy? Is the damage done?
And now that the immediate danger has lessened… Bella will have to face Mama Bear Esme.
Once again, I'm not a lawyer or involved in law enforcement in any way, so apologies if something isn't stated correctly. It's incredibly hard to Google some scenarios.
Umm… dipping into the hair band archives again for the next chapter title. I remember the song was our prom theme back in 1988, ha.
