Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.
Author's Note: I extremely sorry for the delay of this next chapter. I had massive writer's block for this chapter, and I wanted to get it out as soon as I could. I've been busy with stuff and I didn't really have time to write. I plan to finish this story before Christmas, and I want to make it as good as possible.
Hope you enjoy the chapter!
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Chapter Thirty-two: Truly Thankful
(CharPOV)
By six in the morning, half of the police officers sent out to find James and Philip were about to give up. We had searched every motel within a 30 mile radius, we hadn't gotten anything, and we were just about ready to give in to the thought that maybe James and Philip had boarded a plane back to Arizona.
I hadn't given up.
I was dead set on finding my granddaughter's kidnappers and making sure that they never saw the light of day again. What they had done to Bella – and my granddaughter – in the past several months was unacceptable, and I wanted to make sure that they got what they deserved for what they had done. I mean, if I was granted the ability, I would shoot both of them in the head, but, seeing as that was against the law even with me being the chief of police, that was sadly out of the question.
"Are we ready to call it quits, Chief?"
I looked over at the officer I had been paired with, and shook my head. "We're going to find these creeps and make sure they get what they deserve."
"Are we on some kind of race to find them first?" Larry asked.
I sighed. "No. These guys kidnapped my granddaughter and have been bothering my daughter."
"Oh, the little girl that was kidnapped was your granddaughter?" Larry asked. I nodded. "Oh. Well, then I guess I understand why you want to catch these creeps. Let's check this one, Charlie. The little girl said that the motel looked run down from what she could tell."
I pulled the squad car into the parking lot of Gordon's Motel and parked it in front of the main building. We got out and went inside. There was a man who looked to be about in his mid-fifties sitting behind the counter, and he looked up when we came through the door.
"Good morning, officers. Looking for a room?" he asked as we approached the front desk.
"We're looking for two guys who might have checked into a room a couple months ago," Larry said, pulling the pictures of James and Philip from the pocket it his jacket and handing them to the man. "Their names are James and Philip Stuartson and they're wanted for kidnapping and numerous other things. Do you recognize them?"
The man put on some spectacles and looked at the pictures. "I don't know about their names, but they sure do look like the two gents who checked into room 6 a couple months or so ago. They said their names were Henri and Jacques Bonbourki, and they had extremely bad French accents."
"Are you sure these are the guys?" I asked.
The man nodded. "I'm sure. I'm darn sure that those are the guys." He handed the pictures back to Larry and asked, "I'm, uh, not in any kind of trouble for letting two felons stay at my motel, am I?"
"No, sir, you're not. Now which room did you say they were in?" I asked.
"Room 6," the man said.
"Thank you," I said.
A couple hours earlier…
(EPOV)
Bella and I were eternally grateful that Elizabeth had come back safely to us – unharmed, with the exception of the gash on her knee.
Soon after Elizabeth had fallen asleep in the hospital bed, I pulled my chair up next to Bella's next to the bed, and wrapped my arm around Bella's shoulder. She laid her head on my shoulder, and I didn't need to look at her face to know that she was crying. I held her close to me as she continued to hold Elizabeth's hand. I kissed the top of her hair and silently let her know that Elizabeth was safe again.
No words could describe how eternally grateful and glad we were to see her in solid form, even in unconsciousness.
"She's going to be fine. She's going to be fine," I whispered into Bella's hair and hugged her tighter.
With her shoulders shaking from crying, she nodded and choked out in a wavering and watery voice, "I know. I'm just so glad she's alright."
00
Elizabeth was released from the hospital two hours later at 4 in the morning. We brought her into her bedroom back at home and just sat on the floor next to her bed, watching her while she slept. Bella was brushing Elizabeth's hair back from her face gently.
I took hold of her hand and she looked at me. I smiled gently at her and she gave a small smile back. I motioned my head toward Elizabeth's bedroom door, silently telling her that we should probably go to bed. She looked at Elizabeth sleeping on the bed one last time before giving a short, reluctant sigh and nodding.
I helped her up from the floor and led her out of the bedroom.
We collapsed onto our bed, too tired to change out of our clothes.
There a sudden meow and something furry and orange jumped onto the bed with us. It was the kitten. Bella chuckled quietly and pulled it up to us.
"You know, you never really did tell me why there's a cat here," I said.
"He followed me home from the mailbox down the street yesterday afternoon. Alice and I gave him a bath – which was how we discovered that he does not like water at all – and Alice sort of wheedled me into letting him stay here. He looked like he was a stray," she said, rubbing his head. "Alice named him Gizmo."
"Gizmo, huh?" I asked, rubbing Gizmo's head as well.
"Uh-huh," Bella murmured sleepily. "Gizmo. Weird name, right?"
I laughed quietly. "Welcome to the family, Gizmo," I said, and Gizmo purred affectionately as he rubbed his head against my chest.
Bella laughed tiredly, and when I looked over at her the next second, she was fast asleep. I kissed her forehead and closed my eyes as well, falling asleep a moment later.
(JamPOV)
A few hours after our hotel room got barged into, Philip and I were being led to a jail cell by the same two police officers that had barged into our room.
"You don't know just exactly how glad I am to see you two in custody," said the police officer who was leading me by the arms which were in a very uncomfortable position.
"Yeah, well, that little good for nothing woman who calls herself a mother deserved it," I spit out.
At my comment, I was jerked and I saw the police officer's face turn fierce with anger. "That 'good for nothing woman' is my daughter, and that little girl who you kidnapped was my granddaughter. So you'd better watch what you're saying about them, otherwise I'm going to make sure that you and your brother over there never see the light of day again," he said.
With that, Philip and I were put in the cell.
As the cell door slammed shut, Philip piped up and said, "I told you we would get caught."
I growled and threw the pillow from the bed at him. "Shut up, Philip. Just shut up."
(BPOV)
It was about ten o'clock when Edward and I woke up and were in the kitchen, making ourselves something to eat, since we hadn't eaten anything since lunchtime the day before, and the baby was practically demanding me to give him food.
Just as I was spreading the mayonnaise on my turkey, roast beef, cheese and jelly sandwich (to which Edward had looked at me funny as I was making it), the phone rang and Edward picked it up.
"Hello...oh, hey, Charlie…yeah, she'll be fine…yes, we're all grateful…you did?"
I set down the knife I was spreading the mayonnaise with and raised my eyebrows at Edward in question.
"Really? Where?...uh-huh…. Alright, I'll tell her that…alright, thanks for calling Charlie…. Bye." Edward hung up the phone on the wall again and pulled me against his chest, wrapping his arms me as I wrapped mine around him.
"So what was Charlie calling for?" I asked.
"They got them. They had been hiding at a motel halfway between here in Forks and Port Angeles," he answered. "It was rundown, just like Elizabeth said."
I closed my eyes and leaned my head against his chest, breathing a sigh of relief.
"They're going to send them back to Arizona, and put them a strongly guarded prison facility for the rest of their lives, with no chance of a trial. They're probably the most wanted criminals in America right now," he added.
"They deserve to be the most wanted criminals in America," I said, bitterness towards James and Philip entering my voice.
Edward chuckled – without humor – in agreement. "They won't be coming after us any longer – not you, not me, not Elizabeth, not even the baby."
I didn't realize until then that tears had been flowing down my cheeks.
James and Philip were no longer a danger and a threat to us. They weren't going to bother us any longer – and I was happy about that.
I knew that it would take a while for us to get over the feeling of insecurity, but I knew, too, that the day would come when we would be able to live happy and normal lives again, with the knowledge that James and Philip were locked up in a strongly guarded prison facility for the rest of their lives.
All of us were safe. We had lived through the several months of pure torture that had come upon us.
And I was thankful for that.
Truly thankful.
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Author's Note:
Once again, I apologize for the delay. But - the good news is that James and Philip got arrested and are not going to be bothering Edward or Bella or Elizabeth ever again. You can all let out that breath you've been holding in (I know you have been).
Sadly, I think that this is the last chapter of this story. There will be an epiloque, however, so this story isn't over yet. Even though I have thoroughly enjoyed writing this story, it has sadly finally come to its end. I need to focus on my other stories and school (school hasn't really been getting along real well with me this year, but only in English and Geometry and Italian).
Anyway, read and review and I hope you all enjoyed it (even if it was the last chapter besides the epilogue). The epilogue will be up before Christmas, as a Christmas present to you all for being so faithful to this story. Until Next Time: NerdyGuRu2