After Midnight

Chapter Three

Once everyone was moderately comfortable in the small den, Charlie started talking. From the hesitation and stress in his voice, the boys could tell that Charlie wasn't used to speaking for a long period of time. How he could witness in court, something he was sure to have done in his past, Joe couldn't quite fathom. But he and Frank ignored the anxiety in the man's voice and concentrated on that of his story.

"So tell us about Bella," Frank said lightly, trying to fight some of the tension. "Dad said she used to live with her mom in Arizona. When did she come to Forks? And why?"

Charlie grumbled about that not seeming important, but he complied. "Bella's mom got…" he growled out the word, "…remarried. To a baseball player. Phil. He's on the road a lot, and Renée misses him, but she stayed home with Bella. And Bella, well, she's always thinking of other people."

Frank shot a glance at his little brother, who was the exact same way, but to a greater extent. Many times Joe had put himself in harm's way to protect someone else, whether it be a friend, family member, or someone he just met. Joe never gave a thought to his own safety, which meant more work for Frank, having to save his baby brother's butt again and again. But Frank didn't mind, as long as his brother was safe in the end. The two boys had a very, very close relationship, closer than most siblings. They had almost a telepathy thing going on; many times they could almost feel each other's pain. They were that close.

Frank was jerked out of his reverie with an elbow in the ribs, courtesy of Joe. He glared at his brother and focused on Charlie again. Even though they were so close, there were times when they still ground each other's nerves, as siblings must do.

"So she offered to move to Forks with me so her mom could travel with Charlie. She wasn't happy here at all." He frowned. "I don't know why." Joe snorted, and Frank took the opportunity to jab him in the ribs. Charlie continued, "She was depressed until she met him." Charlie spat the name like it was poison.

"Who?"

"The youngest Cullen boy. Edward. See, Dr. Cullen—great man—adopts these kids. I think he and his wife, Esme, have five now. She's not able to have children, you know. So they adopted Rosalie, Emmet, Alice—she's great, unlike her ungrateful brother—Jasper, and Edward."

"What's wrong with Edward?"

"He started dating my daughter and then left her for months," Charlie said, anguish dominant on his face.

"Well, that happens all the time," Joe pointed out. "Guys dump girls for someone else, come back, beg, and get the original girl back. Not that I approve or anything," he added quickly. "But it happens."

"But what it did to Bella—she was dead for months. Wouldn't speak, would barely eat, just went about her life like a robot or something. Anyway, then she gets a call from Alice, his sister, and runs off to Italy—Italy of all places—to help him out of some sort of trouble. He came back and now they're together.

"It gets worse. A few months ago, Bella became Mrs. Cullen."

Joe looked shocked and disheartened. "They got married?"

"Yes. Before they left on their honeymoon—they went to an island somewhere in South America—Bella hugged me and said goodbye in a way that made me feel as if it were goodbye for good. Forever. I thought I was being stupid.

"But then Edward brought her back early and I got a call that she had gotten some rare South American disease that was so deadly that I couldn't be near her. Dr. Cullen is a good man, and a good doctor, but I had to see Bella. I called, again and again, but there was never an answer. I went to the Cullens' house, but no one answered the door, and there was no noise from inside, no cars in front of the house.

"I think the South America disease is all a cover. For some reason, Edward has kidnapped my daughter—his wife—and his family is covering for him. I would've never thought this of Carlisle Cullen. He's a good man. But he loves his son, just as I love Bella. And I suppose he, too, would do anything to help him.

"I know it's a lot to ask, but they're going to get suspicious if I start investigating. Can you try to track her down for me? If she hasn't been kidnapped, that's fine, just tell her to come home when she wants. But I don't feel right about this. I think she's in trouble. Please find her."

Frank and Joe looked at one another and nodded. "We're on it," Joe said.

Frank agreed. "We'll do our best."

"Forks High School," Joe mused, staring at the bleak, boring campus. "Are you sure this is the best place to start? I mean, Bella graduated a few months ago. Why would anyone here know where she is?"

"I dunno," Frank answered slowly. "But Charlie seemed to think we should talk to some of her friends, find out if they could have any knowledge of her whereabouts. He already cleared it with the principal. "Today, we're talking to…" he looked down at the list of names Charlie had provided for him, "…Jessica, Mike, Eric, Tyler, Angela, and Ben. Hm. Seems like she had more guy friends than girl."

"I can see why," Joe said. "She was gorgeous."

The brothers met with the principal and were soon on their way to the cafeteria at lunchtime. The graduates from this year were doing a summer program, taking college classes for credit in the fall. That was the only reason they were here—all Bella's friends had graduated with her. They spotted a group of kids, many of which matched the descriptions that Charlie had given them of Bella's friends. Quickly they hurried to the table. A tall, acne covered Chinese-American guy was talking to a girl he addressed a "Jess". She was very pretty, and seemed to be good at talking. The boys decided to talk to her first.

"You're Jessica, right?" Joe said, grinning at her. She smiled back.

"Oooh, new guys," she squealed. "Okay, dish. No, wait, I'll tell you about the school." She started babbling, talking more about her social life than the school itself. Finally Frank cut her off.

"We're not staying, just taking a tour of the school and meeting some of the students. We're college students from Washington U, and we're going to help with some Drug-Free programs at your school in a few weeks, so we decided to get the layout and find out what you all want." Jessica stared at him.

"That's even more exciting!" she exclaimed.

"But, uh, tell me, do you know Bella Swan?" Joe cut in. "We're a friend of her dad's and we're surprised she's not taking the courses."

Jessica rolled her eyes. "You mean Bella Cullen. We were friends, before she completely cut me off. I mean, the last time any of us heard from her was her wedding, like, four months ago. She's gone."

"Any idea where she might be?" Frank asked.

"No way," a blonde kid with spiky hair answered. He must be Mike, according to Charlie's description. "She hasn't talked to anyone, even her own dad in forever. No one knows where she is."

"Maybe she's with Jacob Black," a quiet girl who must be Angela piped up. "He seemed like a nice person, and she liked him about as much as Edward."

"Who's Jacob Black?" Joe asked.

"He was this kid—I say kid, he was more like a mountain with arms—" Mike said, "that lived down on the La Push reservation. He and Bella were great friends, like the best. Needless to say, he and Edward didn't get along. He disappeared a few weeks before the wedding. His dad didn't care, didn't do anything to find him. So nothing was done."

Later, after they had left the school, Frank turned to his brother and asked, "How do you feel about a trip to La Push? Maybe we're onto something with this Jacob Black thing."

~Emachinescat ^..^