A/N So this chapter is a little shorter than the rest of them. As usual, I don't own any of the characters. I just have fun with them. Hope you enjoy and leave a review.

Chapter Eleven

Nancy's POV

I watched from my vantage point of the chair as Bella leaned into Edward with her hot chocolate held between her hands. The love that those two had for each other shone in their eyes and made me feel slightly envious of them.

Even when Ned and I were a couple, I don't think there was ever a time that I could say we looked at each other with nothing but adoration shining through. A look that could block out a room full of people. I came to the realization that I had never really known true love.

That thought brought me to such awareness that I suddenly felt the urge to leave the room. I quietly stood up from my seat and walked out of the room. I looked around for a good place to hide and decided to step out the back door onto the patio. I needed to be away from that kind of outpouring of affection. It brought too many things to mind about my life that I wasn't sure I was ready to face.

I took a sip of my own hot chocolate and looked out onto the back yard. Like everything else with the Cullen house, the back yard was perfectly kept. I couldn't tell as much about it in the darkness of night, but it was easy enough to distinguish the blooming flowers and well groomed shrubbery and grass.

I let my mind drift over the events of the day as I looked up at the twinkling stars. There was something about this murder that was bugging me, but I couldn't decipher what it was. Not to mention that I still had some doubts about Demetri.

My time alone was interrupted by a presence behind me. I turned to see who had come out here with me and found Frank's eyes watching me from the doorway.

"I thought I might find you out here," he spoke.

"I needed to get away," I replied as I turned to look out upon the yard once again.

Frank walked the few steps to stand next to me. I could tell out of the corner of my eye that he was looking out upon the grounds just like me; although, I knew that Frank must have something on his mind. He wasn't the type to seek me out without something on his mind.

"What are you thinking?" I finally asked turning toward him.

He smiled as he looked down at me. "I was glad to be proven wrong by you. Not only about Edward's love for Bella, but also about Bella's innocence. There's no way she would ever hurt a fly."

I smiled at his response. "I just don't understand. There's something about this mystery that seems too easy. I mean we find Bella and Jacob with a fair bit of ease and they point us in the direction of the very person who murdered Jane. It just doesn't normally happen like this."

I was glad to finally get my thoughts off my chest. They were beginning to consume me.

"I know what you mean," Frank agreed with a sigh. "Regardless, we still need to go and check out Felix tomorrow."

"You guys have to go to work," I reminded him.

"I haven't forgotten," Frank replied with a smile. "I was thinking that you and I can head over to Felix's place tomorrow after work while Joe babysits Bella and Jacob."

"Sounds like a plan," I told him smiling.

Frank smiled back before asking, "So with everything going on, how are things?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"We haven't exactly had much of a chance to catch up with each other since we got here," Frank explained. "I wanted to know what you were doing. How's Ned?"

I looked up at him before turning my head down and away from his gaze. "I'm not really doing anything right now."

"And Ned?" Frank pressed.

"We broke up a while back," I said softly.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Frank responded.

I finally looked back up at him. "It's just that I was so sure of our relationship for the longest time. When he finally told me that I should find a real job instead of being a detective, things got ugly. Even though our relationship was declining, I was oblivious to it all. I continued to do what I love and dismissed Ned's rants about it. Finally, everything came to a head and Ned walked away for good. This is the first case I've taken since then."

"Why did you decide to take this case after all this time?" Frank asked.

"I just heard Edward's voice on the phone and it made me feel something," I told Frank honestly. "I had quit believing in love and relationships until I heard Edward plead for me to help him find Bella. That obvious love that he had for her gave me the resolve to jump in head first and do whatever I could do to find her again."

"I guess that's why you were so adamant that she was innocent all along," Frank supplied.

I nodded. "That definitely did play a part in it."

Frank stepped even closer so that our bodies were almost touching. I watched as he placed a hand on my cheek gently.

"You know, Nan, love really does exist for people. You should open your eyes and find it," Frank said softly.

Frank leaned over to lightly kiss my forehead before leaving me by myself with my thoughts.