I made Bella stay home the next day, much to her dismay. I was expecting the day to go quietly, but there was more arguing and bitterness instead.

"I don't need to be nursed," she stated harshly.

Surely, she must have known that I only wanted what was best for her. It's what Renée would have wanted, anyway, and it was for my own peace of mind that she was at least close by. "I won't bother you much. Just try to stay in bed as much as possible today," I tried to bargain with her, keeping my eyes diverted from her direction.

"Everyone's going to talk about me now." She crossed her arms.

I squinted at first, wondering why she seemed bitter at the fact people were concerned for her safety. "I'm sure this would probably make you popular." I hoped that would make her feel a little better.

Her expression was unreadable, and she turned around to stomp back upstairs.

I was right, as it turned out. When she returned to school, every day she'd come home overwhelmed with the amount of people that tried to talk to her more. As a man of my word, I never added to the stress and kept a safe distance with quiet dinners and nights spent in front of the TV while she locked herself away in her room, but it worked. I hoped that she considered me safe or comforting, because guilt ate away at me for being distant.

Two weeks passed, and she was surprised to see me in the kitchen one morning, cleaning up from my breakfast. "Why aren't you at work?" she croaked, rubbing an eye.

"I'm just getting ready to go down to Mason County," I explained, "There's been a murder down at the mill, apparently some sort of animal got in there. They asked me to assist."

Her brow knotted. "An animal?"

I grabbed my jacket to toss on. "You're not in Phoenix anymore, Bells. I'm going to be late for dinner."

She brushed her hair behind her ear, then nodded. "Alright. Be safe."

I smiled back at her with a nod. "Always am." Without another word, I left and started my drive down to the scene.

I'd never actually been to the Grisham steel mill before; it was an old building. From what I remember, it was a family-owned business and the boys that worked there were all about as close as brothers would be. The ones that lingered around were all grey in the face with their heads hung low.

By the time I got there, the body had already been taken to a morgue. The county detective was in charge, and I wasn't about to get in his way. If anyone from Forks had suffered such a fatality, I knew how stern I would be about the situation.

The air inside the mill was surprisingly cold and musty. It was probably standard procedure for everything to be shut down for the investigation's sake, but it only added the eeriness to it all. As we split up into teams, I started to wonder if this was actually an investigation, or a hunt.

To my relief, there were no questionable noises. Any sound I wasn't used to ended up being old pipes or wires, or could be accredited from someone else. There was no animal to be found, but I heard tale from the local officers that this was the fifth report around Washington in recent weeks.

The first floor of the mill was completely clean, as was the second. The third was where the kill took place, and everyone grew a lot more nervous. The thing was, there were really no signs of an animal. No scratch marks, no fur or animal blood left behind. I think that's what spooked the others most.

I stayed around the mill until the evening and I was told there wasn't much else I could offer. I had a lot to think about on the way home, though, about this murder. If the victim was bitten to death, sharp teeth and everything, what sort of creature could be lurking around? I felt crazy for imagining this to be something out of a monster movie.

My thoughts returned to Billy for a moment, and the tales that his tribe grew up on. He was a sole believer in whatever monsters his parents had told him, so did I have to keep an open mind?

It was well past dark when I finally returned home, but I was surprised to see Bella still up. She was still at the dinner table, finishing up what looked like some sort of pasta with white sauce. She stood up when she noticed me, wringing her hands.

"Um, I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to Seattle for the day a week from Saturday… if that's okay?" This was unexpected.

"Why?" Seattle was three and a half hours away, and she was hardly even familiar with this small town yet.

"Well, I wanted to get a few books — the library here is pretty limited — and maybe look at some clothes."

I grew more nervous for her safety. "That truck probably doesn't get very good gas mileage."

"I know, I'll stop in Montesano and Olympia — and Tacoma if I have to."

"Are you going all by yourself?" That's what worried me the most.

"Yes."

Damn it. "Seattle is a big city — you could get lost."

"Dad, Phoenix is five times the size of Seattle — and I can read a map, don't worry about it."

"Do you want me to come with you?" I offered, my voice softening.

I understood my question would make her cringe the way she did, but that didn't mean it hurt any less. "That's all right, Dad, I'll probably just be in dressing rooms all day — very boring."

"Oh, okay." I sighed, shrugging my jacket off to hang it by its usual spot at the door. I knew in the back of my head that me hanging around girl shops would make us both uncomfortable in the long run.

"Thanks." She smiled when she got her way.

I just nodded to her and headed straight upstairs to brush my teeth and get to bed. The investigation had me beat.

The next day, I was taken aback when I had a visitor. Mrs. Cullen stepped into my office and closed the door.

Part of me was scared, but that was mostly drowned out by the curiosity as to why she was in my office. "I hope you don't mind me stopping by," she said calmly, setting her purse in her lap after she sat across from my desk.

"Yeah-" I was at a loss for words at first. I rarely got visitors as it were, let alone from the elusive Cullen family. Her pallor was exactly like the good doctor's, but her jawline was softer. I did my best not to keep eye contact with her for too long, even though I did notice that there was that moon-yellow color to her irises as well. "-Of course. What can I do for you?"

She breathed in sharply, gripping the top of her purse. "I understand that you've crossed paths with my husband a few times. I'm very relieved that your daughter is safe, after that incident at school...but I came here to warn you."

I leaned forward, folding my hands.

"Please try to keep your distance from Carlisle. It's for your own good."

It took me a solid minute to process that, while silence thickened the air. "I beg your pardon?" I eventually asked.

"He is a good and kind man, but I believe it's in your best interest if you just remain acquaintances." She seemed sincere enough, but I felt a pinch of anger in her voice.

I was aghast. Even though I wasn't usually so vocal, she still had me at a loss for words. All the questions in my head seemed to jam in the back of my throat. The way Dr. Cullen's made my chest tighten kept me up at night, but now I was afraid to question if I was just putting him on a pedestal.

"Do you understand me, Chief Swan?" she asked. The silence must have been dragging on too long.

I blinked, then tried to relax my shoulders a bit. "Yes. I hear you." My head was swimming. "Can I ask if everything is alright...at home?"

She lowered her head. She was getting frustrated with me. "I only came down here to...protect you. Maybe you should see your friend Mr. Black soon."

"Billy?"

When she looked at me again, she gave a slow nod.

I didn't know what to believe at this point. Her vagueness did nothing to settle my nerves, and part of me felt it was my obligation as a police chief to investigate further. The fact that she even mentioned my personal friend had me hooked. "Why Billy?"

She smiled at me sadly before she stood up. "Your town values you," she told me, and nothing else.

I blinked, and got to my feet as well. I didn't know why, considering my confusion was only stronger. "Mrs. Cullen, you do know that you can tell me if anything is wrong, correct? My duty is to serve and protect."

She nodded. "Thank you, I appreciate that very much."

I escorted her out to the front door and put on my best face for everyone else. Thankfully, they were all too busy with other things, but I was somewhat angry at myself that I was distracted for the rest of the day.

Was Dr. Cullen some sort of vicious killer parading around as a beautiful savior? The more I thought about it, the more I became afraid, but I wanted to know more than anything. I put a sticky note near the bottom of my computer monitor, just with 'CARLISLE CULLEN' on it and nothing more.

Unfortunately, there were other things that required more of my attention, but I wasn't going to let this get swept under the rug.