A Meeting with Swan

Mara hummed to herself as she walked into the police station the next day for her meeting with Chief Swan. She felt like she was finally getting somewhere with the story and was determined to push him for answers.

The families of the victims deserved to know how their loved ones truly died. And if the police weren't going to deal with it, then she would.

"Hey, missed you last night," a voice said. Mara stopped and nearly jumped, not hearing Mike step up to her side. She glanced over at Swan sitting at his desk in his office, but then turned back to the deputy, pasting a smile on her face. She felt slightly guilty about forgetting to text him.

"Sorry about that. I guess I got so caught in work that I forgot to check in with you," she said, tucking her hair behind her right ear. "Hazard of being a reporter." Mike smiled and shrugged as he put his hands in his pockets.

"It's not a big deal. Figured as much. We could try again tonight if you're free. Surely even reporters get a night off," he said, leaning towards her. Mara quickly tried to come up with an excuse. An odd sensation filled her stomach at the thought of meeting him for drinks. Which was ridiculous. She wasn't dating either man, so why did matter if she went for a couple beers with Mike?

But still… it didn't set well with her for some reason.

"Can I get back to you?" she asked. "I mean, I've started on some good leads and my editor really wants me to focus on the story right now. He's got me doing overtime just to get updates."

"Not a problem. I understand," Mike said. "Just let me know, yea?"

"Sure," Mara said, watching as he started back towards his desk. She then took a deep breath and exhaled as she turned back towards the chief's office and walked in, shutting the door behind her. "Morning, Chief Swan."

"Take it you're here about the coroner's report," he said, sitting back in his chair as Mara sat across from him.

"It was a bit scant, like the others," she said.

"Thought it was pretty straight forward. They're all animal attacks," he said. Mara studied him a moment before leaning towards the desk.

"There's something else going on here, Chief Swan. I know it. And I'm pretty sure you know it too," she said, fixing him in a stern scowl. "Now, I've been nice and I'm grateful for all the information that you've been giving me, but I think it's time that we were straight with each other."

"Just want makes you think something is going on?" he asked, keeping his face neutral.

"This isn't the first time you've had strange deaths," she said bluntly. "Did you tell everyone out in La Push to keep things from me as well?" Chief Swan frowned.

"You went out to La Push?" he asked.

"Stop playing with me. I know you know," Mara replied. Charlie sighed and looked down at his desk. He did know. Sam had called him.

"Look, Ms. Winslow. Truthfully, I don't know what's out there doing this. I know they look like animal attacks. And I've got an entire town on edge afraid to go out of their houses," he said. "I understand why you may think there is something strange going on or that there's some sort of cover-up, but the last thing Forks needs is some newspaper reporter riling everyone up with conspiracy theories."

Mara frowned as she straightened up in her chair.

"They're not conspiracy theories," she replied. She didn't have much evidence other than what she had felt at the crime scenes, but she didn't want him to know that.

"Whatever it is, you have no proof that these are anything other than animal attacks," Charlie said. "And you promised to only write the facts." Mara looked down at her hands. He was right in a way. She couldn't print anything without evidence backing it up. What she had so far wasn't enough, but she wasn't about to give up.

"I'm not going back to Seattle yet. Not until you catch whatever is doing all of this," she said, looking up and meeting his eyes. "Not until you can prove to me that these are animal attacks and nothing more."

Not until I can prove that these are murders, she added mentally.

"You might be here awhile then, because so far we haven't been able to track the damn beast down," he said. "And while you're here, you really shouldn't be going out in the woods alone."

"How did you know about that?" she asked.

"Same way I knew you were out at La Push yesterday," he said, confirming her suspicions that he was keeping tabs on her.

"Fine. If I go out again, I'll make sure someone is with me," she said, crossing her arms in front of her.

"You shouldn't be going out at all," Charlie replied. Mara just glared at him. "But at the very least, take one of the deputies or call up someone at La Push." She nodded. "And if you're interested, the Martins have agreed to meet with you. You can go out this afternoon."

"Really?" Mara asked.

"You said you wanted to tell the victims' stories. Well, I'm doing what I can to help you out there," he said. Mara nodded slowly.

"Alright. I'll go meet with them," she said. He grabbed a piece of paper and handed it to her. There was an address and phone number on it. "Thanks, Chief."

"Don't mention it," he said wearily. Mara then stood and walked out of his office, likely off to prepare for the interview. As soon as she shut the door behind her, Charlie reached for his phone and dialed.

"Hey, Sam. She just left," he said as soon as the other end picked up. "I sent her to the Martins for an interview."

"Good. We need to keep her distracted until we can take care of the situation," Sam replied.

"I'll give her this, she's determined," Charlie said, glancing out into the squad room. "Said she's not leaving until we find what's causing the deaths."

"We're already working on a viable story for that," Sam replied. "But I think there's more we can do on our side to throw her off." Charlie frowned.

"What's that, exactly?" he asked. Sam chuckled.

"Don't worry. It's nothing you need to know about and nor is it illegal," Sam replied. "But perhaps if we get on friendlier terms with her, she might be easier to distract." Charlie sighed.

"You might be right there," he replied. "I've got an idea on my end."

"Alright. I'll check in later," Sam said.

"Bye," Charlie said before he hung up the phone. He then reached for his cellphone and dialed up Sue.

"Hey, Sue. Think we should invite Mara over for dinner soon…"

Mike watched as Mara strode out of the station, obviously caught up in whatever Chief Swan had given her as she didn't even stop to look around. He sighed as he looked at his computer.

They hadn't really talked since the night he took her dinner. While anything romantic had been secondary, he had hoped to spend more time with her and thought they had got on well. He wondered what had changed. At the same time, he figured she was just focused. She was here for the story, after all. And it seemed like she was finally getting information and didn't need his help anymore.

"What's got you down, Newton?" Ryan asked as he sat as his desk.

"Nothing," Mike said glancing up at him.

"She hasn't agreed to go out with you again," Ryan said, starting to smile. Mike frowned.

"So? I was just helping her out with the story," he replied.

"Come on, it's written all over your face," Ryan said. Mike shrugged, not answering. "Heard she spent the day out at La Push yesterday." Mike looked up at him.

"Doing what?" he asked.

"Interviews," Ryan said. "Overheard Chief talking about it with someone on the phone."

"She's got gumption, I'll give her that," Mike said. "Been keeping up with the articles she's written so far."

"Everyone has," Ryan said. "Whole town is nervous about what she's going to write."

"That piece on Nick White was good," Mike countered.

"Yea, but doesn't change the fact that she's a reporter from Seattle. We can't trust her completely," Ryan said. "And you heard the Chief. He doesn't want any of us talking to her."

"About the case," Mike added.

"Yea, but you take her out for drinks, what's saying your lips don't loosen up a bit," Ryan said. Mike rolled his eyes.

"It's not like any of us know more than she does at this point," he said.

"Still, not the best idea to get too close to her," Ryan said. "Even the Chief is telling La Push to be careful."

Mike sighed and shook his head.

"Not going to stop me," he said, cracking a smile at Ryan, some of his charm starting to kick in. Ryan just rolled his eyes.

"Good luck, Casanova…"

Later that day, Embry was busy stocking shelves in the drugstore. It was empty, but he needed to keep his hands busy, or else he'd likely send Mara a million text messages. He wasn't about to come on too strong and scare her off. Even though she was still in town, he felt sharp pains in his chest every so often. He wasn't sure how he was going to handle it when she went back to Seattle. He had a newfound respect for Jacob. It couldn't be easy with Nessie so far away.

"Embry," Sam said, walking into the store. "Can we talk?"

Embry looked around, noticing his boss was still in the back. He looked back at Sam and nodded.

"We need to keep Mara distracted," he said. "The chief is working on things with the case, but I think there are some things you can do to help with that." Embry frowned slightly. He knew that Sam was asking him to spend more time with her – and it was something that he would eagerly agree to do – but at the same time, he didn't want to manipulate her.

"It's for her own safety, Embry. You know this," Sam said, sensing his hesitation.

"I know," Embry said. "And all I want is to keep her safe."

"We both know what's behind this," Sam said. "We can't chance that she'll cross paths with the vampire. She'll get herself killed." Embry frowned as he looked at the ground. They had picked up the trail again last night but were once again too late. The bloodsucker had already left the area, though luckily, he didn't leave a body in his wake this time. More and more it felt like he was toying with them.

"Okay," he said finally, looking up at him. "I'll do what I can." Sam nodded.

"Try taking her out on a date. That could be a good start," he replied, starting to smile slightly.

"I thought you weren't keen on… this?" Embry replied, a bit surprised by Sam's reaction. Sam sighed.

"At the end of the day, you imprinted on her. That means she's one of us now. So, the pack will do what we can to protect her," Sam said. "And we all want what's best for you. I know how painful it can get to be away from her." A grimace passed over his own face as Embry remembered how difficult it was when he first phased and imprinted on Emily. "So, if there is anything I or the others can do to help out, we will."

"Thanks, Sam. I appreciate it," Embry said. Sam nodded.

"You should take her to that new place in Port Angeles. She'll probably like it," Sam said, smiling as he turned and walked out of the store. Embry glanced at the boxes at his feet and then reached into his pocket, pulling his phone out.

"Here goes nothing," he said.

So… realized that I accidentally skipped a chapter… oops… Here is the real chapter seven…