DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT OR ANY OF

S. MEYER'S CHARACTERS… UNFORTUNATELY.

I JUST PLAY WITH THEM.

Blood In The Snow Chapter 26

Meanwhile… Back in Seattle… (*grin*…I always wanted to say that! LOL)

CHPOV

After James started to drift off, I quietly slip out of his room. I wonder if Dr. Cullen is still here, or if he's already left for the day. As I walk down the hall, towards the elevators, I see him sitting in front of a computer at the nurse's station. Walking over to the counter, I wait for him to look up.

"Oh… does Mr. Hunter need something?" The Dr. looked up at me, concern written across his face.

"No, he's out cold." I chuckle. "Apparently those pain meds are very good."

Dr. Cullen chuckles softly, nodding. "Yes, they do tend to either give the patient a major case of the giggles or put them right to sleep." He finished up his note on the computer, then turned his chair, got up and came around the counter to me. "What can I do for you?"

"Is there some place we can talk, privately?"

He raises an eyebrow at my request, then nods and motions for me to follow him. We walk down several hallways before he opens a door and indicates for me to precede him into the room. "My office will give us plenty of privacy." He rounds his desk and settles into his high backed black leather chair. "Have a seat, Officer…."

"Detective. Detective Charlie Swan."

"Well, Det., what can I do for you?" He leans back in his chair, folding his hands in his lap, patiently waiting for me to speak.

"This is gonna sound like something out of left field… but do you have a son named Edward Cullen?"

His eyebrows rise in surprise. " I do. Why?"

I could tell he was concerned. "He's not in any trouble." I hasten to assure him and watch as he relaxes back into his chair, motioning for me to continue.

"Have you spoken to him recently?"

"I spoke to him a couple of weeks ago and plan to call him tonight. Again… why?"

"Please bear with me for a minute." He nods. "I take it that since it's been a couple of weeks since you spoke, that's he's not in the city."

"No, he isn't"

"Can you tell me where he is?"

"Det. Swan, what is this all about? You tell me he's not in any trouble, then you start asking questions. Before I tell you anything else, I need to know exactly what you're getting at." He folds his arms across his chest, staring at me.

I sit back in my chair, running my fingers through my moustache. How much should I tell him? It is his son that could be in danger… at least I think it's his son. "Dr. Cullen… I just need one more answer and then I'll tell you what's going on." He looks at me for a minute, then reluctantly nods. "A couple of months ago, did he find and rescue an injured man somewhere near Seattle?"

He leans forward, resting his elbows on his desk, giving me an intimidating stare. "Det., I think you'd better start talking… right now."

I have my answer.

"Jasper Whitlock and his father had a small loan company in Chicago. It was completely legitimate and profitable. They treated their customers with respect and dignity…" The good doctor nodded several times through my story, paying close attention. When I finally got to the part about the house fire, he was horrified.

"Oh my god", he muttered, rubbing his face.

"Everyone thought that Whitlock was dead. Until a couple of weeks ago."

Dr. Cullen raised his eyebrows at me, a questioning look on his face.

"Apparently, Whitlock called Detective Black, in Chicago, to let him know he was alive and wanted the Volturi family taken down." I paused for a minute. How do I tell him the rest of this mess?

"What no one realized… Black had a mole in his department."

"What?" Dr. Cullen leaped up from his chair, shouting. "They know where the boys are?" He begins pacing, running his fingers through his hair, muttering to himself. "I've got to warn them. They have to get out of there. Oh god!"

"Doc." He didn't seem to realize I was still in the room. I stand, reach out and grab him by the shoulders, turning him to face me. "Doc." His eyes focus on me.

"We've got to get them out of there!" He is frantic.

"Doc… sit." I gently push him toward his chair and he sinks down into it. Looking around, I spot a small refrigerator. Walking over, I open it and pull out two bottles of water, handing one to the doc.

He opens it, taking a large swallow, then just sits there, staring at a picture on his desk. Slowly his eyes meet mine. "Tell me the rest." He says quietly.

"First of all… no one knows where they are. Whitlock didn't tell Black where he was."

"Oh, thank god."

"But we figure they're somewhere in Washington." I cock an eyebrow at him and he just nods. "Black caught his mole and took care of it. But he found that I also have a mole. Not sure which one of my guys is dirty, but I'm working on it."

He sat back in the chair, heaving a sigh of relief. "What do they know?"

"They know that Whitlock is alive. That's about it. Black and I got together and concocted three different stories about where he is to try to flush out my mole. We figure he'll run to the Volturi and then we just watch to see where they go." I took a sip of my water and watched while he took it all in. "James Hunter is here because he caught one of our men meeting with the Volturi. When he tried to arrest him, the mole shot him and James was forced to defend himself, killing him. I just don't know if he was the only one."

"Does Hunter know the truth?"

"He knows that I've given out false information and he knows we think they are here in the state."

"You trust him?" He looked skeptical.

"Yeah, I do, he's never given me a reason not to. But being a cop most of my life, I never trust anyone 100%. He won't know their location. Hell… I don't know their location." I looked at the good doctor. "Do you?"

He sat, just staring at that picture. I wait. After a few minutes he looks up at me. "I'm not at liberty to say."

"Doc… you need to tell me. I can't protect them if I don't know where they are."

"How do I know that you aren't the 'mole'?"

"Good point." I ran my hand across my face, thinking. "Okay. How about this... You can contact your son, right?" He nods. "All right. Call him. Tell him about our talk today. Tell him that if they are not comfortable talking to me, then have Whitlock call Black. He needs to know what's going on."

"All right. I can do that."

I stand up. "Thank you, Dr. Cullen. I know this has to be hard for you to hear. Please don't wait too long to contact them."

"I won't. Oh. One more thing… do they know he's with my son? Do they know his name?"

"No. Only Black and I know about your son."

"Good."

With that, I leave his office, closing the door behind me. I hope he can get them to call Black, so we can get them some protection.

As I walk out the main doors of the hospital, I am almost run down by an extremely well built blond. She apologizes and goes on in. I turn and watch her as she wanders over to the elevators. Somebody is gonna be very happy with her visit. Chuckling, I go to my car, get in and head home.

CPOV

Sitting at my desk, I once again look at the photo on the corner. It was taken right before Edward graduated high school. I can see the pride on all our faces… especially his mother's.

What am I going to do? I have to warn them. But, can we trust Det. Swan? Should I encourage them to call Det. Black or just simply stay put and hope no one finds them?

I know that if I don't do something, Swan may take it upon himself to start digging around. All he has to do is go down to City Hall and pull property records to see every property my family owns in Washington.

I sit and stare at the photo of my family. Edward is a good soul… always willing to help out his fellow man. I just wonder if he's taken it too far this time. Shaking my head, I know that's wrong. He couldn't leave the man to die out in the snow. I just wish that Jasper hadn't felt the need to contact Det. Black. My mind races frantically, trying to figure out the best way to protect them.

If the police can't even guarantee that they've gotten their mole, then how can we trust them to protect the boys? How can Swan expect me to tell him where they are? And how much longer can they expect the Volturi to not know about Edward… if they don't already?

Groaning, I lean back in my chair, fingers pinching the bridge of my nose. Once again, I wish I could talk this over with Esme, but I haven't told any of the family about Jasper. I don't believe any of them would talk about it, but something could slip and I don't want any of them in danger, too.

The buzz of my cell phone vibrating in my pocket brings me out of my thoughts. Pulling it out, I see that Esme needs me to stop and get a couple of things from the grocery store on the way home. Glancing at the time, I see it's nearly 7pm. Time to head home and spend Christmas Eve with my family. I just wish Edward was here, instead of at the lodge. Pulling on my coat and grabbing my briefcase, I turn off the light and close my office door.

While waiting for the elevator, I decide to think this over carefully. When we call Edward to wish him a Merry Christmas, I will have to be careful not to let on that there is anyone else there with him. I know he will be careful. I'll wait until the women are busy with Christmas dinner and Emmett is caught up in his video game… then I can slip up to my study and give the boys a call. I certainly can't do it with Esme, Alice, Emmett and Rosalie listening in. I will not allow any more of my family to be put at risk.

Christmas Day dawns with soft light, a gentle snowfall… and Emmett bouncing through the house like a little boy. Can't help but chuckle at him. Underneath that big, burly man, lives a small boy. I don't think he'll ever change… and quite frankly, I hope he doesn't.

After the gifts are opened and the resulting mess cleared away, we all gather in my study to place the call to Edward. I put the call on speaker so we can all talk to him. Unfortunately we get a recording saying that due to the weather all phone service in the area is down. Everyone is disappointed, but we know that that sometimes happens. We'll try again in a day or two.

AN: And so it begins….

Apparently, FF has been pulling a lot of stories off the site. If this one should disappear, you can find it over on The Writers Coffee Shop. .com (slash) library I am shewoolf over there, too.