Chapter 33 - Means

Things seemed to quiet down after I returned home. Billy said they had questioned everyone, but they had come up with nothing. I found that hard to believe, but I also knew the Forks PD wouldn't have just brushed things off, either. I suspected they were trying to lull the perpetrator into a false sense of security.

The security footage gave the officers the approximate height and weight of the person, but they had been dressed all in black and had had their back to the camera the whole time. They had arrived on foot and had left on foot, making me suspect even more that it was Leah, because she wouldn't have needed transportation to cross the street. She might have seen where the cameras had been put up, when Jake had installed them, so she'd know how to get around them. Needless to say, Jake and Billy had been spending a lot of time across the street, checking on the pair of women, trying to proactively keep them out of trouble.

I was enjoying a quiet, healthy lunch with Rosalie, when she randomly asked, "Is it just me, or is Esme a little weird?"

"I don't know. We honestly don't see her much...well, I don't. Edward helps out with Jerry on occasion, but I've never really gotten along with her."

"But she helped you with the wedding. You've obviously spent some time with her."

"Most of that was with Edward. She was okay, though, when we picked out my dress. Why do you ask?"

"Things have gotten more complicated with Emmett and I. We hadn't ever planned on getting married because of Tanya. I didn't want her to feel excluded from our relationship, but now I'm pregnant, and it's just me and Emmett."

"Do you want to get married?"

"I don't know, I think so, but I don't know how to bring it up with Emmett. Did you know he has a really nice house two doors down from his mother's place?"

"Why the heck is he renting from us if he has a house?" I asked, shocked.

She smiled giddily. "He just wanted to be closer to me. He'd suggested at one point that Tanya and I should move in with him, but Tanya was against it. Next thing I knew, he was moving in across the hall. Anyways, when we went to dinner at his mother's house, she was just odd."

"I've never been there for dinner. I don't think she likes me."

"Well, you're lucky. She spent the whole night bugging Emmett to move out of the shop and back into his home. She didn't want him encouraging Edward's 'silly salon' venture."

"Silly salon? She was the one who drew up the original blueprints to remodel it! Of course, her design was so extravagant that he would've gone out of business within the first few months. If I hadn't stepped in and cut it all back and added the apartments to give us additional income, he would've lost everything."

"Do you think she wanted him to fail?"

"No, I think she doesn't have a business mind. She knows how to draw pretty buildings, not finance them," I said, trying to dismiss Rose's theory.

"Well, she was pretty negative about the shop through the whole dinner. I wondered if she remembered I actually worked there. I know Jerry knew I did, because he looked uncomfortable the whole night. I can see where he got such a negative view of the place."

"Thankfully, Jerry seems to have accepted Edward's decision to open the salon. He even knitted me the most adorable booties for the baby." I showed her the tiny pair of booties I kept safely tucked in my purse.

"I don't think Jerry is going to be knitting me booties. When we told them I was pregnant, he looked like he was going to keel over, and Esme's eyes just got really wide, like if she looked at us hard enough, we'd take the words back. I thought they'd be old-fashioned and ask if we were getting married, but they never suggested Emmett marry me. I think I'm a little offended by it."

"Jerry will warm up to you, once he gets to know you better. He can be pretty nice, if he wants to be. I know Emmett has a way with him. Jerry still buys candy for the big goof."

"I hope so. I have a feeling Esme won't warm up to anyone. You should've heard her rant at him about being wasteful with his money, and how she couldn't believe he'd live in such a bad neighborhood, when he had a lovely house in a safe one just up the street. She basically told him that his tires were slashed, because God was punishing him. It was ridiculous. I don't think I want her around my baby."

"I don't blame you. I'd steer clear of her. There's no reason to stress yourself out over her. As for getting married, I'd bet Emmett would be open to it. He probably just doesn't know it's an option."

As soon as humanly possible, I pulled Edward aside and told him to pass it on to Emmett that Rosalie wanted to get married. My sweet husband was excited and ran out the door to call his brother with the good news. I had no doubt that Emmett would be planning something as soon as he heard.

Jasper started harassing me about having Alice move into the apartment again. I was ready to scream at him that it was never going to happen, when Esme showed up with Jerry for an appointment. She gave me a fake smile and a nod. "It would piss Esme off," Jasper whispered under his breath with a smirk.

I chuckled and waved Jerry back.

"What were you and the Marine giggling about?" Jerry asked.

"He wants me to let Alice rent an apartment here. I'm inclined to say no, because she kept stealing things from Eddie's house before. The last thing I need is her stealing something from the shop."

Jerry was quiet for a while, and when I finished his PT, I was surprised by what he had to say. "I think you should let her move in. I know you don't trust her, but if you have that Marine on her, she should be fine. You have a mess of cameras up everywhere, too. She wouldn't be getting away with anything."

"How did you know about the cameras?" I asked, shocked he knew about them. He had to know about all of them, because we only had two visible ones, and he said they were everywhere. Was he exaggerating?

"Eddie told us about them. I think he did it to warn Alice not to try anything, or she'd be caught on camera. The little brat was getting desperate, but she was set up to fail by Esme. Granted, I do believe the fault lies solely on Alice, but Esme definitely encouraged her grand plans. It'd do her good to get out of that house. Esme just hasn't been the same, since she lost her husband and then after she lost her mother...I think it'd be beneficial to everyone to get Alice out of that house," Jerry pleaded his case.

I was going to kill Eddie for giving away our cameras. I wondered if the vandal who had slashed Emmett's tires lived in Edward's childhood home. Rose had said Esme called it a punishment from God of sorts.

When we stepped out of the room, Jane was finishing off Esme's fingernails. "Hello, Bella, how is your house in Forks?" she asked.

"My dad and brother are taking care of it. I know the Forks PD is still on the case as well," I said, trying to emphasize that Jake and I were not anywhere near having an affair.

"I'm sure," she said snidely.

"Bella was just telling me, Alice is going to move into their vacant apartment," Jerry cut in. Jasper spun around, looking hopeful.

I looked over at Esme to see her reaction. It looked like her head was about to explode. Her eye and lip started twitching. "I'm sure that's not right," she tried to sound casual. "I know Bella and Alice have had their differences. I'm sure my Alice is amicable to Bella, but she'd never want to live here." I could tell she was holding back.

I glanced at Jasper and knew he most likely understood the dynamics of Edward's family better than me. I'd grant him this favor, and in return, he'd better let me know what he thought was really going on.

"Jasper being here makes dealing with me worth it. I like to keep my employees happy, so I'm approving her application," I said smugly.

"You want to keep Jasper happy? First, you whore yourself out to my baby boy, then you use my Emmett to keep your lesbian sluts satisfied, and now you want to whore out my daughter! Absolutely not!" Esme was livid.

"Hey, what's going on here?" Edward asked, coming in the back door. He had been helping Eddie with something.

"Your wife is selling your sister to that bastard!" Esme shouted, pointing her finger at Jasper.

Edward looked to me for answers. "I told Jasper I'd approve Alice's application for the vacant studio apartment. Esme's not happy about it," I explained.

Edward gave me a sweet smile. "Thank you, sweetheart," he said, kissing me softly, then he turned to his mother. "You should get grandpa home."

"I can't believe-" his mother started.

"She'll be living across the hall from Emmett, in her own place. Alice will be fine," Edward tried to placate, but I knew it wasn't working. I also knew me opening my mouth would make it worse, so I didn't.

Jerry hooked his arm in Esme's and pulled her out of the shop. I was so glad he had progressed enough in his therapy that he could handle dragging her out. Just a few months ago, she could've landed him on his butt.

"You're letting Alice move in?" Jasper asked hopefully, and my sweet husband had a beaming smile.

"Yeah, Jerry thinks it'd be good to get her out of that house," I conceded.

Edward pulled me into a tight hug and whispered, "Thank you."

I hadn't realized he felt so strongly about his sister moving in, or I'd have likely caved much sooner.

"I'm going to call Alice," Jasper squealed excitedly. He'd obviously been spending too much time with Jane and Laurant.

We had to get back to work, since my next appointment was already waiting. After I finished up with her, Jasper found me and Edward and told us that Alice would be coming over that evening with all her things. I was surprised, when Jasper handed me an application for the apartment, filled out in his name, not Alice's.

"I don't understand," I looked at it confused.

Jasper's eyes darted to Edward, I think exchanging some silent understanding. "Alice doesn't have the credit or the income to qualify to rent the apartment, but I do. I can afford both of them."

"Are you sure you want to do this, Jasper?" I asked, worried my friend was being taken advantage of.

"Positive," he said firmly.

"Thanks, man," Edward said, shaking his hand, leaving me even more bewildered. There had to be more to them wanting Alice to move out of her mother's home than they were letting on. I just didn't know what it was, and I had a feeling Edward wouldn't be open about it.

That evening, Jasper and I were waiting out front for Alice, while Edward waited in the office, working on the books. I took our rare moment of privacy to ask about Esme. "It seems as if you, Edward and even Jerry wanted Alice out of her mother's house. Is there a reason why?" I asked.

"Esme is very controlling. She likes to keep her family close to her. It makes it difficult for Alice to move on with her life. Esme encouraged her to go to an expensive trade school, so Alice took out a bunch of student loans. Esme told everyone she was going to help with them, but she didn't. Then, Alice got a few contract jobs, including this place, and she made a little money and wanted to be on her own. Her mom picked out her apartment. There was no way she could afford the place. It was the same with her car. Then, Esme told Alice to start selling Edward's things. I wouldn't have believed Alice, if I hadn't seen it for myself. Apparently, their Grandma Elizabeth had left Edward an extensive collection of rare books that was stored at Esme's house. They were selling it off piece by piece. I heard Esme tell Alice that she had another box of Elizabeth's things that she needed to list, and she should swing by Edward's and pick up a few more things. I didn't know Eddie's wife's name was Elizabeth until later. I'm sorry. I didn't put two and two together, until after the confrontation you had with her in the shop."

"Do you think Esme has a problem with living within her means and is pushing Alice to be the same way?"

"No, that's the thing I don't get. Esme makes really good money as an architect. She could've easily helped Alice with her school loans, and she could've helped Edward open this place, no problem, but she didn't. I don't get the woman," he said, shaking his head.

Alice pulled up in Jerry's station wagon. It was filled with boxes. I called Edward out of the office, so he could help Alice unload. For the first time in her life, she gave me a genuine, humble smile and thanked me for letting her move in. I hoped it wasn't a mistake, but with as happy as Edward was, I was willing to give it a try.