CHAPTER 3
Bella~~~
When we walked into the Cullen's house everyone stopped talking immediately. It happened a lot when I was with Edward. They hid everything from me and never really give me any straight answers to any questions I asked them. I wondered if they really believed I never noticed it? Or if they thought I couldn't process or handle it.
Carlisle turned off the television. Rubbed the back of his neck before he began to speak. "It happened again. About forty miles from here."
"They arrived this afternoon and were talking to Charlie when I picked up Bella." Edward always communicated with Carlisle well. In a group setting, he spoke up the most.
"Did you get a read on what they were thinking?" Carlisle further interrogated Edward on the situation.
"Most of it was about how to proceed with their investigation. Except for two of them. One was thinking about medical terms and Dancing With the Stars. The other one, I got nothing from him."
"Edward, is he silent to you like Bella is?" It made me let out a little gasp when Carlisle asked him. Edward could read everyone's mind except me.
"Yes. I tried to focus on Shawn alone and didn't pickup anything. He said he saw me at the airport though." It was a huge revelation Edward couldn't pickup on his thoughts. I was led to believe he couldn't me because we were mates. Was it all lie?
"When you went to California to see about the other murders?" When those words were spoke by Carlisle, it brought me out of my current thoughts.
"Wait. You told me Shawn was wrong. That you never left here today Edward. Why wouldn't you tell me that? Is it why you weren't at school?" Once again, Edward kept secrets from me and I was furious.
"I didn't want to worry you Bella. I'm trying to protect you."
"Protect me from what?"
"The Volturi. Once they find out newborns have started killing and we will be exposed, they will come here." Emmett was the only one who was ever honest with me. Then they got mad because he talked freely around me.
"The Volturi is coming here?"
Emmett went to say something to answer my question but, Edward cut him off quickly. "We don't know for sure. We are going to do whatever it takes to keep you safe Bella. I promise."
"If they come here they will see that I'm still human." It would mean they would kill me for certain. Then tear apart Edward and burn him to ash. He kept prolonging my transformation to be a vampire. The more I protested it, the more excuses he found.
"Yes, worry about yourself first Bella why don't you? Do you know what they will do to all of us for allowing a human to know our secret?" Rosalie had never liked me and she made it known to everyone around, every chance she got.
"Rosalie that's enough. Bella is a part of this family and we protect our family." Rosalie didn't care much for what Carlisle had said. She tossed the magazine on the coffee table while staring me down as she left the room.
"Any thoughts Carlisle on how we handle this situation?" The more rational and calm Jasper spoke. Nothing ever seemed to rattle him much.
"The killings are getting closer to us and I don't know how much longer we can contain this. You have knowledge of newborns Jasper. I am going to refer to your expertise in this area."
Before Jasper could respond Alice took in a gasp of unnecessary breath and looked like she was in a trance. Jasper was by her side. "What is it Alice? What do you see?"
"Newborns, hundreds of them."
Carlisle was now beside Alice with a lot of concern in his voice. "What else do you see?"
"They are coming to Forks. For Bella."
Shawn~~~
Charlie had one of his deputies drive along with us. Of course Chief Vick rode with Charlie and thankfully so did Lassie.
Jules was looking kind of puny and she wasn't feeling well. Chief Vick had one of the deputies take her back to the hotel so she could lay down for a while. I got worried about her but, she kept saying she thought it was a flu bug.
This killing took place deep into the woods. Hell, there wasn't anything around here but land and woods. "Everyone needs to stay together and stay on the trail as much as possible." If Charlie thought I would wander off by myself, well, he was correct.
The run down on what happened came from my dad. "They think they were hikers and some kids found them. It was another animal attack."
"Something doesn't smell right to me Gus." His super sniffer went into overdrive when I said it.
"It smells like possum shit to me." That wasn't exactly what I meant but, hey that was what he smelled.
"So, Chief Swan. Have you ever had this problem out here before?" No one else asked the obvious, so, I done it.
"It was shortly after Bella moved here. There was one animal attack. It was large wolves that killed him. She actually saw them. He was a good friend of mine. I ended up losing two friends because of it. Harry Clearwater from the Quileute tribe. He went out with us a guide to hunt them down and it kill them. He had a heart attack."
"I'm so sorry for your loss. Was Dr. Cullen by chance on duty at the time?"
Charlie seemed in a dazed when I asked. He cleared his throat and recovered fast. "Yeah actually he was. Why do ask?"
"No reason. I think he will be a big help in this investigation." Yeah, big help actually. I already thought the good doctor was guilty as sin and I hadn't even met him yet.
"We'll be meeting up with him after we pass to the clearing. His property butts up against where it happened."
How convenient was that? The killings were near Dr. Cullen. He was the doctor when the other animal attack happened before. If I just went on speculation alone, he has something to do with it. Or at least he knows more about it than anyone seemed to think.
When we walked into the clearing there seemed to be a heated discussion going on. Chief Swan went through introductions of all of us. But, I noticed that these so called kids were bigger than line backers from the Chicago Bears.
"Jacob, you were the one to find the body is that correct?" Chief Swan didn't waste any time starting to conduct his investigation.
"It was me and Paul actually. We were on pat... a walk and found the bodies." Meant to say something else but caught himself before he finished.
"Bodies?"
"Yeah it was a man and a woman. They were at the edge of our land and the Cullen's." Jacob's body language was on the offense and tense. Spat the word Cullen from his mouth. Glares of death at the good doctor.
"What do you think happened Jacob? It is Jacob right?"
"Mr. Spencer perhaps we should let Charlie, Chief Swan, lead this." Chief Vick gave a little smile to Charlie when she said it.
"Well Jacob. Go ahead and answer the question. This is Shawn Spencer and he is a psychic here to help us."
They stood giving looks between each other. Not that I don't get that a lot from the non believers. So I gave a demonstration for them. Putting my fingers to my temples. "I'm getting something. I see an argument. No wait. It was a definitely a recent conflict with Cullens you've had in some way."
Stains of dark purplish red on the fingers on one of the other boys. Thorns in his hand. Scrapes on his arm.
"You love blackberries. Can't get enough of them."
"Wow dude. That's pretty good. Do you see anything about a super model wanting to marry me?"
"Embry, shut up." Jacob was quick to stop the communication between us.
"Sorry Jake."
Embry took steps back. Head dropped lower. Jacob has some sort of authority over him. No shirts on and matching tattoos on their arms. All wearing cut off shorts with no shoes.
Putting my fingers up again. "I'm seeing something else. Jacob seems to be the leader of the group around here." That seemed to strike a nerve in all of them for some strange reason.
"We should probably go examine the bodies and get everyone out safely before night fall." Dr. Cullen cut off my know and show gig I was doing by wanting to go examine the body.
When Dr. Cullen went to walk with us, Jacob and one of the others stood in front of him. They were talking back and forth but, I couldn't make out what they were saying to each other.
They were speaking so low it would have been hard for anyone to make out what was said.
On the walk there I made general conversation with the good doctor. "I met your son, Edward, earlier. You look really too young to have a teenage son."
"Edward is my adopted son. My wife, Esme and I weren't blessed with the ability to have children. So we adopted. I have three sons and two daughters."
Pale white skin and chiseled features. Smelled like chocolate chip cookies.
"Wow that's a big family now days. Are they all teenagers?" The old man entered with the conversation.
"Yes they are and sometimes they're a real handful. But my wife and I wouldn't change a thing about it. We love all of our children."
"I would know all about kids being a handful. I'm Harry Spencer, Shawn's father." Since dad took over my conversation with Dr. Cullen. I just hung back and listened to everyone talk on the way. You would be amazed if you just listened to people talk and ramble on the things you could learn about them and their lives.
Jacob and the other boys hung back together when we got to the bodies. I don't know what they feed their children around here but, damn they grown them big.
Dr. Cullen took out a pair of rubber gloves out of his bag to examine the bodies. "This was an animal attack."
"How do you know for sure?" Finally Lassie was up someone ass other than mine. With his what, when, why, how and you're wrong Spencer... I mean you're wrong Cullen.
"See the long gashes down through their chests and how the animal must have bit out the jugular vanes." Everyone seemed to agree with him, even Lassie. What the hell? He never agrees with me that easily.
"I'm not convinced of that yet." At least the old man wasn't convinced by Doctor Hollywood. Dad was a true cop with a true cop inquisitive mind.
"Harry, why do you say that?" The doctor was good at this game. He wanted to confirm what the old man saw and knew.
"Because look at the woman's knees. Their bruised, swollen and have abrasions on them. Which means more than likely she was dragged on the ground somewhere. But I don't see any marks around here on the ground to show it."
"It is possible the animal chased them and she fell down at some point. Maybe before the animal caught up with them and it's why we don't see any markings on the ground." Dr. Cullen always seems to have an answer for everything. Now doesn't he?
"Shawn do something." Gus smacked my arm to get my attention.
"I was Gus. Dad already said the obvious I was going to say. I need to stall for some more time." Mocking the wind blowing with my mouth. Moving my arms slowly like they were branches in the breeze. "Dad is right. It wasn't an animal that killed these people."
"Is that all you got kid?" Dad was so pleased with himself. It had to come to a quick end now didn't it?
"Mr. Spencer you better have something to say about how you know this information." Chief Vick doubted me. We couldn't have that now could we?
Using my mouth again, I was in a wind storm. Going over to Lassie and with my fingers gave him a windblown hairdo "Stop that. Spencer get on with it. How do you know?"
"It's simple, the trees told me."
"Oh shit." Gus was sitting this one out, I could tell by his response.
Dad just rolled his eyes. Charlie had his mouth open. The Chief had her eyes on Charlie. I heard snickering behind me coming from Jacob and the other boy.
Turning my body in circles like a whirlwind. Leaning on one tree then quickly ran to the next one. Like a dog marking its territory.
"I swear I will shoot you if you don't stop that Spencer." Lassie went to reach inside his jacket when Chief Vick stopped him.
"Mr. Spencer if you don't have an answer, then I'm afraid we are going off of what Dr. Cullen has found." We couldn't have that, now could we?
The muscles in my arm flexed as I pushed on a tree like I was trying to knock it over until; a footprint. A human footprint.
"The evidence is right here. Just like the trees said it was."
Dr. Cullen of course had to give his analyses of it ."The Quileute wanders around this land all the time without shoes on. One of the boys could have made the track."
"Not unless they have a very small foot. And since it rained a few hours ago, it's a fresh print. Jacob stated only he and Paul had been out here walking around when the bodies were found." It was check and mate Doctor Doolittle.
There wasn't anymore argument from Dr. Cullen about it. Although he still wrote it as the cause of death was from an animal attack.
More prints. Large paw prints. To large for a dog. To small for Cujo, well maybe not Cujo. I'd need to surf the web later and check it out.
The phone came out of pocket and I took pictures of it. Then I laid my hand inside the print and snapped another.
"Did you find something else Mr. Spencer?"
It almost felt wrong to lie to Cheif Vic but... I done just that. "No I didn't."
Charlie had his deputy measure the foot print first. It would be a women or small male child at best with a size seven shoe. They took pictures and made a cast of the print so it could be submitted into evidence.
Today wasn't exactly in the win column for me but, it wasn't a loss either. That would be point and match to the good doctor.
We waited around with Charlie until they came to pick up the bodies. "Well Shawn, what do you think is going on?"
"I don't know Dad. But I know there is one person that keeps coming up all the time."
"Yeah I know, Bella."
"Yeah Dr. Cull...what?"
"Think about it Shawn. The first murder happened shortly after Bella arrived here. Charlie said that much. She was the one who saw the large wolves, the only one. The small footprint was found along with the two boys. Bella has small feet. Who would be least expected by Charlie?"
For the longest time I ponder the old man's words. I still came up with nothing though. "I don't know, who?"
"Damn it Shawn. Bella would be the last one anybody would ever suspect of doing it. Things are not always as they seem. I taught you this lesson time and time again."
My dad took a quarter and bit it in half. Then magically spit it out of his mouth and it became whole again.
'Wow, how did you do that?'
'I want you to think about it Shawn. Then come back and tell me how I did it.'
The first thing I done was dumped quarters out of my piggy bank, I tried the same trick and nothing. I even soaked it in a glass of water overnight thinking it might make it soft enough to bite it in half.
My old man made me obsessed with it. I would go through the house finding different quarters to try. Until one day I was so determined to do this trick when I bit down, I broke a tooth doing it.
When I set in the dentist chair about ready to get a shot of novacane from the dentist. I finally broke down and begged him. 'Dad please tell me how you did it?'
'No Shawn.'
'Please.'
Dad took a quarter out of his pocket and bit it in half again. Only this time he kept his mouth shut and the other half just magically reappeared to be whole. It was a trick quarter which hinged. With his thumb he would push the other half back up as he pretended to blow it out of his mouth.
'Things are not always as they appear to be Shawn. Never forget that son.'
As much as I hated to admit it, the old man was right. I had learned the same lesson a million times over. We looked at something and when someone else looked at that same thing, they saw it differently. "Okay. So let's say Bella is the killer. What would the motive be?"
"That she's crazier than a June bug."
"A June bug Gus?"
"Yeah. Those things jump around all spazmatic and shit. You know like this." Gus was being all being all kinds of spazzy.
"Stop it Gus. You're really creeping me the fuck out. So what is her motive old man?" Dad just shook his head. "Come on, spit it out, old man."
"Regardless of the motive. A killer is still a killer."
"Thank you Dad for your helpful insight. Well, I guess there is only one thing to do."
"What?" Poor Gus, he was always gullible enough to ask me.
"We are going to break into Bella's house and steal a pair of her shoes."
"We, do you have a mouse in your pocket?"
"Of course, I don't Gus. You and me are we buddy."
"Oh hell no. I like my jugular just how it is. Thank you very much." Gus covered his neck with both hands for protection. He would come around to my way of thinking, I was sure of it.
I hope you enjoyed reading me. My son loves this story except for the vampires in it. LMAO!
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