DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT OR ANY OF
S. MEYER'S CHARACTERS… UNFORTUNATELY.
I JUST PLAY WITH THEM.
This chapter is shorter than usual, but I felt it was the right place to stop... Catherine
Blood In The Snow Chapter 11
Previously:
Breaking away for a badly needed breath, I nuzzle his hair, whispering in his ear. "I love you, too. Edward, you are my life… my best friend… my everything. Forever."
APOV (Chicago)
"I don't give a damn WHATthat cop, Black, thinks he has! You get this case thrown out." Aro paced across his office to the floor to ceiling windows, stopping and staring out at the city skyline as he listened to his lawyer, Caius. Huffing, he whirled around, stomping back to his desk. "Caius! Caius, shut up and listen to me." He sat down, leaning back in the plush, high-backed chair. "Have you forgotten our inside connection?" Nodding his head, an evil smirk on his lips, he listens for a moment, before interrupting. "I have spoken to him. He will destroy both sets of books. They will have nothing." He pauses for a minute, listening. "Yes, I know. Trust me Caius, I know want I'm doing and my people know where their loyalties lay. Yes, Demetri dumped his body in a National Park, well away from any main roads, during a blizzard. Whitlock is dead and they have no witness. Take care of it" Slapping his cell phone closed, he ended the call.
JBPOV
I just don't know how Aro's people found Jasper and his family. I've gone over and over every little detail in my mind and I just don't know. There has to be a leak. Has to be! I'm the only one in Chicago who knew where they were. Didn't even have the address written down for someone to find. The informer has to be in the Seattle office. I just can't imagine Charlie Swan snitching. But I'd put money on it being someone in his office.
My phone ringing jolts me out of my thoughts. "Black."
"Jake… man, someone has taken that evidence in the Volturi case." Sam Uley sounded frantic.
"What!"
"Yeah, I went down to get it for the chief and it's gone."
"I want this investigated. Right now. Pull the surveillance tapes for the evidence room and bring them to my office." I sat back, running my fingers through my hair as I listened to my partner making suggestions. "Sam. Sam! Just bring the tapes up here." I figure that they'll at least give me an idea of where to start looking. Jasper and his family can't have died for nothing. I won't let that happen. I'll get Aro if it's the last thing I do. Thank heavens I kept the original books at my place. I just had a feeling that I should keep them close. Damn. Just as my fist slammed on my desk, the door to my office burst open and Sam stood there giving me this weird look.
"What is it?" He really looks rattled.
"The tapes, Jake." He almost acted scared. Wonder why.
"What about them? Did you pull them? Holding out my hand, Sam placed three tapes in my hand. Each one was labeled with the date they had been recorded, along with the location. The first one is dated two days ago and is from the entry door to the evidence room. The next one is from the same location but from yesterday. The last one is from this morning and is from the inside of the evidence room. "Have you looked at them? Could you see anything unusual?"
Sam flopped down in the chair in front of my desk. "Man, you are not gonna believe this." He rubbed his hands over his face. I waited for him to tell me what is going on, I've never seen him so rattled. It's weird. "Jake, the tapes are blank."
"What!" Oh crap. We've got a problem in my precinct. Those surveillance cameras are maintained and checked weekly. No way they malfunctioned. It's too much of a coincidence for that to happen at the same time that evidence goes missing. Picking up my phone, I called down to the IT department. " Anderson… I need you to run a diagnostic on the surveillance system at the evidence room." I listened to him for a minute. "Yes, right now. I am sitting here with three blank tapes. Yes! Blank. I want them analyzed, too. I need to know if they were tampered with or if the system failed." Rolling my eyes, I listened to him try to pt me off. "NO. I want it done today, right now. Do I need to get the Chief involved? Okay. Yeah… I'll bring them right down." As I hang up the phone, I notice a strange look on Sam's face for just a second. Damn. I hope I'm wrong. I hope that Sam is not involved in this.
"I'm taking these tapes down to IT for analysis." Grabbing the tapes, I stride out the door and down to the elevators. Sam catches up with me as I wait for the elevator doors to open.
"Do you think we've got a problem, Jake?" He's very nervous.
"Well, duh. What do you think, Sam? Let's see... evidence goes missing and at the same time the surveillance system appears to fail. Gee, I don't know… what do you think?" Sam flinched at my sarcasm. "Well?"
" I guess I just don't want to think we've got a mole."
Shaking my head, I step into the elevator, pressing the button for the basement. "Sam, just go down and get the sign in sheets. Not that I think our thief signed in, but you never know." I watched as Sam walked down the corridor. I need to set up surveillance on him. I'll get Anderson to set up phone taps and surveillance cameras. I really hate this feeling. I've known Sam since junior high school. Sam, Jasper and I hung out together all through high school. I just don't want to believe that Sam could turn on Jasper like that. Surely he knew it would get Jasper and his family killed. He's always been straight as an arrow. I know his wife has had a lot of health problems, but I just don't want to think he'd do something like this. If he needed money, he should have come to me. I sure hope I'm wrong.
I need to talk to Charlie Swan. Get him to start checking on his end. Since Aro has contacts in the Pacific Northwest now, he could have his fingers in law enforcement there, too.
What a mess.
AN: Sorry for the delay…ya'll know how it can be. On the up side, I've got a good start on the next chapter and if all goes well, will post early.
Thank ya'll so much for your support and I will continue to try not to disappoint!