Emmett was so glad Edward accompanied him. Every visit to his mother broke his heart. This time she didn't recognize him. She was so happy to have two gentlemen visiting!

He decided to talk to her psychiatrist before leaving. So he looked for a nurse to take them with Dr. Protheroe.

She led them through a hallway, and at the end of it, another two men were outside the doctor's office.

"Alec?"

"Jasper?"

Oh no! It was impossible!

"Edward, Emmett, Alec, what are you doing here?" Jasper asked.

"Me, what are you doing here?"

The doctor felt the tension between the men, so he led them to his office.

"Gentlemen, I see you know each other. Why don't we continue this conversation at my office with a glass of whiskey?"

When they were seated, Dr. Protheroe asked "Where do you meet each other?"

"We all live in Forkshire."

"What a fortunate coincidence! The family of two interns living on the same town!"

"Two interns?" Alec was confused. "I only knew of Mrs. McCarthy."

Jasper face paled. "My wife was a patient here."

"Wife? Are you married?"

XXX

Meanwhile at the police station, Aro was trying to get some answers from Esme. But the woman gave a new meaning to the word stubborn.

"Miss Platt, you're in a very difficult position. We have witnesses who saw you with her at the lake!"

"And I told you, I only had a few words with her, and left. Your witnesses probably saw me leaving. Our conversation lasted less than two minutes."

"They saw you two arguing!"

"She had a flair for the dramatics, but otherwise it was a mere exchange of ideas."

Now Aro was pulling his hair. Esme was so infuriating!

"I believe you don't understand the seriousness of the accusations bestowed upon you. Miss Platt you had the opportunity to commit those crimes!"

"But I lack of a motive."

"That became irrelevant when we can place you alone with both victims near the time of the crimes."

Esme just closed her eyes. How could she prove her innocence?

In that precise moment, a commotion started outside the office. Aro left to see who was interrupting the interrogatory. He was back five minutes later, with Charlie, Tanya and Demetri. Esme gasped at the same time Tanya ran to her side.

"Esme, I think we must say the truth this time."

xxxxx

Edward was the first to recover from the shock.

"Could you elaborate? We thought you were single."

Jasper sighed. That was the reason he tried to keep a low profile in town. "My wife, Maria, got sick with a cerebral fever after we came back from our honeymoon. She recovered physically, but her mind... First, she was distrustful. She wanted to know where I was the whole time. It was a nightmare to visit my female patients! It got to the point, where she followed me when I was doing my rounds in town. I had to make it stop, patients rather go to the next county when they became sick. So I brought her mother to live with us. I thought who could be better to take care of Maria than her own mother. I was so wrong. Soon enough, she started accusing us to try to poison her food. She only ate boiled eggs, because nobody could poison those. One day she threatened the maid, said the poor child was spying on her! We decided to bring her here, Dr. Protheroe could check her and give us a diagnose. But when it downed to her the kind of doctor and institution we were going, she went mad. She stole a pair of scissors, God knows from where, and attacked me." He lifted his shirt to show us the mark of the attack. Dr. Protheroe put his hand on Jasper's shoulder, to let him know he would continue.

"We determined it would be better if Mrs. Whitlock remained under our care."

"How long ago?" Emmett asked, a curt tone in his voice.

"Four years. I tried to keep my practice, but the people in town was avoiding me. So I moved to Forkshire."

"Jasper, I understand how much you suffered. Believe me, I feel terrible. But you are a married man! And Alice..."

"Was. That... woman you are worried about, she made something to make sure I was single again."

"But you can't divorce a woman who's committed!"

"No, she died."

xxxxxx

Esme and Tanya made a simple but complete account of Carlisle actions. How Esme left when pregnant with Jane, and how he forced her to come back. If Aro hated Carlisle guts, now he was sure he was rotting in hell. But sadly, it gave Esme the elusive motive they were looking for.

"Miss Platt, do you realize where this confession leaves you?"

"I'm aware. But, you have to understand, the day of the party, Carlisle was terribly tense. Some of his deals, which we know nothing about, went wrong. He was in a bad mood at the party. Then Alice made the scene, he was murderous! We left him the things he required to relax and left."

"But we have witnesses that heard him arguing with a man and a woman."

"I was the last man talking to him." Demetri stood to draw the attention to him.

"Excuse me."

"I was talking to him, we had an argument that night."

"Why? Did he fire you? Did you take the car without asking permission?"

Tanya stood and walk to Demetri, then she took his hand. "He protected me from Carlisle. He was... violent. And one time Demetri watched how Carlisle..."

"Shhh Tanya. Let me tell him. They need to know the truth." then Demetri turned to Aro. "That man was beating her, so I did what any man would have, I stopped him. The next day he threatened to take me to the police, but Mrs. Cullen and Miss Platt intervened. Since then... he was more careful. That's why Mrs. Cullen slept in Miss Platt's room. To hide from him."

Aro was massaging his temple. This was getting more complicated with each step.

"But you seem to cozy with them, anything else you want to mention?"

"Mrs. Cullen, Tanya and me, we developed a friendship." Aro turned to him with a 'no more lies' face.

"But with time it became more. She asked for the divorce hundreds of times, but Carlisle had an inkling of the reason behind her request, so he denied her the divorce."

"Until that night?"

"Oh no, he became obsessed with Isabella Higginbotham. That's why he conceded the divorce, he wanted that young woman."

Aro wished he could turn back time and get the chance to kill Carlisle himself.

XXXX

Emmett was confused. "What do you mean with 'she died'? And what did Alice do?"

Dr. Protheroe decided to help Jasper, it was a painful and difficult issue for him.

"One day Mrs. Whitlock had a visitor from Forkshire, he brought her a package with a letter and a picture. We thought it was from Jasper, so we gave it to her. The letter claimed Jasper had a relationship with another woman, the picture was one of him with her."

Jasper started to cry. If only he knew what kind of woman was Alice!

"Now, now Jasper. We already agree that Maria didn't recognize you at the time. She wasn't the woman you married. You suffered alone for a long time. It wasn't your fault. Men need distractions, from time to time."

"The worst part is that we didn't really do a thing. We only kissed."

Emmett immediately stood. "You're a liar! She told me that you..."

But Jasper stood taller. "We didn't make love, if that's what she told you. She is the liar. She was there, every day. wherever I was. She followed me. And I was so lonely..."

"But then, what happened to your wife?"

"It wasn't the picture. There we appeared standing side by side. Not even a hug. But the letter..."

"What did it say?"

"It said despicable things. That I lived with Alice, and we were going to get married. And that we were going to have a baby."

And Jasper started to cry again, while his friends watched without words of comfort to say to him.

Ok, two more chapters and the epilogue. Anyone else wants to kill Carlisle again? Or Alice?