~ Forks, Washington - July 24, 2004 ~
After showing the Chief around the cottage we headed towards the main house. He wanted to stop by the river so he could spy some good fishing locations. Our conversation remained fairly normal and mundane. He was impressed that a kid my age would be undertaking the renovation of the cottage by himself. He was worried that I could get hurt during the construction, and without my family being around, no one would be available to come to my aid if I needed it. The idea that I could get hurt working on the house was comical, but I could appreciate his concerns. Before we left the river, he made me promise to always keep a phone close by just in case I needed to call for help. He also made me promise to get the local building code inspector out here to make sure I knew what I was doing, which again was comical.
Once we got up to the main house, I offered him something to drink. Surprisingly, he accepted. As we sat on the back deck, he took a long sip of his lemonade, that Alice told me to purchase just yesterday. I held my glass, but I never took a sip.
We spent a bit of time talking about the Mariner's starting line up and their current bullpen troubles. Besides fishing, the Mariners' and the Seahawks' were the Chief's other off-duty obsession. After we exhausted the topic of the Mariners', he turned towards school.
"So you are going to be what? A senior? A junior this year at school?" He asked as he looked out over the forest to the river below.
"A junior," I replied. I didn't mind talking with the Chief. From his thoughts I knew he was good man and he seemed to enjoy talking to me. He thought I was old soul like his daughter. Which was another reason I liked talking to the Chief. Every once in a while his thoughts would drift to Bella, like they did after I answered about my up coming grade level.
"Just like Bells." He thought.
"And you have other adopted brothers and sisters moving west with Dr. and Mrs. Cullen?" I could see from his thoughts that he had already met Alice and Jasper. He liked Alice, but he was not too thrilled with Jasper's first impression. From his memories, it was clear that Jasper was having an off day with regard to his feeding schedule. His eyes in the Chief's memories were starting to get black. Jasper had always been tentative around humans to begin with, but when his thirst was up, he became even more withdrawn.
"I do." I replied, before telling him all of their cover stories. "I have a sister, Alice, and a brother, Emmett. Carlisle and Esme adopted the three of us around the same time. A bit later they adopted Rosalie and Jasper Hale, after their parents died. We are all one big mashed together family."
"All around the same age correct?"
"Yeah, Alice and Jasper are seventeen and will be juniors like me. Rosalie and Emmett are eighteen and will be seniors. And, I should warn you, as we know some people will like to gossip. Alice and Jasper, as well as Rosalie and Emmett are each a couple." The Chief raised an eyebrow in shock. He wondered how Carlisle and Esme would allow such a thing. The local statues regarding incest passed through his thoughts.
"I know it's…strange." I countered before he could respond. "But all of us are from broken homes. Carlisle and Esme are just glad they all found someone to share their lives with. They're not concerned what a few wagging tongues may say, as long as everyone is happy."
"And none of you are actually related?" The Chief asked. His thoughts flashed to our skin and our eyes. He knew from speaking with Carlisle that we weren't biologically related to one another, but after seeing first hand the similarities between Carlisle, Esme, Jasper, Alice, and now myself, his interest had become piqued. Luckily, the human body and its quirks provided us with a sketchy answer. Hopefully the Chief would accept it. If he decided to dig into our cover story, we would have to move on before we even got settled.
"No. We're all unrelated. However, we all share the same enzyme disorder. You have probably noticed the similar amber color of our eyes, the general paleness of our skin." I paused and reached out to touch the Chief's forearm with my hand. "And, a lower skin temperature." The Chief nodded so I continued. "A deficiency in our tyrosinase enzyme causes changes in our metabolism, skin, and eyes. I guess you could call it a cousin of albinism. It is not life threatening, but we all must limit our exposure to direct sunlight and follow certain diet restrictions. Carlisle met Esme because of their common affliction. When they decided to adopt, they sought out kids that suffered from the same deficiency. It makes living together less of a burden since we all share the same restrictions."
Chief Swan nodded and thought over my explanation. He quickly assimilated the enzyme disorder cover and accepted it. However, he was still hung up on four of the kids being a couple. The Chief himself was not one for idle gossip, but he knew in a small town like Forks, our unique living arrangement was bound to get people talking. Add in the illusion of incest, plus our physical similarities, and our arrival was destined to be a gossip cyclone. He hoped that my family had a tough enough skin to handle it. He did decide to talk to Carlisle directly about everything we just went over. It wasn't that he didn't believe me, so much as he was hoping for more details. The couple of times over the past year that he had met Carlisle and Esme he liked them both. He was amazed that a young couple would take on the responsibility of adopting five teenage children. He was equally astonished that a doctor of Carlisle's pedigree had chosen a small town to practice medicine. He guessed that Carlisle could make double, maybe triple, at a city hospital. He felt Forks and the surrounding area needed good people like Carlisle and Esme, so he was willing to give them, and the rest of our family, the benefit of the doubt. However, if our stories didn't mesh, he was not above doing some checking into our backgrounds.
We sat in silence for a bit before he spoke again.
"So, Edward, what are your plans for after high school?" He asked.
Normally, my stock answer had been to go to college for science or pre-med, but after my time alone I wanted to do something different.
"Well, I still have some time, but I think I want to study criminology." I honestly replied. Given my gift, determining guilt or innocence was easy, but I now wanted to better understand the intricacies of criminal behavior.
The Chief was beyond surprised and a bit skeptical. "Really? You're not trying to bullshit or brown nose me are you?"
"No, sir. I have always been interested in people's thoughts and their actions. So sociology was an option. But what has really captured my attention is what drives people to become deviants. After all, isn't the best way to stop a criminal to understand what's in their mind and anticipate their actions? If you do it right, the amount of illegal activities and violence can be minimized."
He studied me for bit. He was surprised how close my feelings on criminals were to his. For him, being a law enforcement officer was not about shooting his gun or the high-speed chases you would see on television. It was about protecting and helping people. I could see that when he worked a case he spent a lot of time thinking about the criminal and forensic details. He hated to chase false leads, or placing the people of Forks, his deputies, or himself in danger. He would use deadly force if needed, but that was his last resort. Chief Swan was a thinking man first.
"Well, I'm surprised." He glanced down at his watch and was further surprised at how long he had stayed. The Chief stood up and checked his pockets for his keys. "I've interrogated you enough for one day." He said with a smirk. "Thank you for the drink and the conversation."
"It was my pleasure." I answered as we shook hands. Luckily, he now accepted my cool touch as a side effect of my supposed enzyme disorder.
"Listen, if you're serious about criminology, I could use some help down at the station. I know Forks is not Seattle or New York, but we do get our fair share of criminal activity. I can't pay you anything, so think of it like an internship. Most of the work will be boring, but it would give you an opportunity to review some of our casework files. Maybe it can help you to see if this is really the life path you want to take."
Chief Swan's offer was sincere. He had his two deputies at the station, but the three of them traded shifts. He also had a receptionist, but her hours were not steady. He would like to have someone who could help review files and manage the office minutia that always seemed left undone. For me, it would hardly be a challenge, but it would allow me access to inside information on the Clallam County criminal scene, as well as allow me to make sure nothing bad happened to Bella's father. If I happened to learn more about my singer in the process, that would just be a side benefit.
"I would like that a lot, Chief Swan. How about I stop by the station on Monday."
Chief Swan nodded and smiled. He liked the idea of having a protégé.