Charlie's POV

I heaved a sigh as I pushed aside yet another pile of reports. I still hadn't caught up on my paperwork from the days I had missed last week, and my desk was starting to look like somebody had emptied a trash can right on top of it. I eyed my computer, innocently perched on the very corner of the desk.

"You're no help," I accused aloud. It's not that I didn't know how to use the thing. It's just that I had never gotten around to getting my software set up. The state had paid for all these fancy programs that allowed me to access police databases and traffic cameras and all that stuff. But what good was that kind of thing out here in Forks? If I tried setting up a traffic camera, I'd probably get run out of town. Still, it might be nice to have less papers everywhere. If I could just get my junk organized, maybe I could use the computer for something other than collecting dust. I usually checked my email a couple times a week- hunting ordinance updates, missing person alerts, that sort of thing- but that was pretty much it so far.

The phone rang, and I cussed as I accidentally sent a stack of papers flying as I reached for the receiver.

"Forks Police Department, Chief Swan."

"Hey, Dad."

I smiled. I loved it when she called me at work, although there usually wasn't much to say. "Hey, kid! You sound weird. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just tired out. We had a great time at the Lake, though. You ever been there?"

"You kidding? The fishing is great there. So, what'd you kids do?"

"We just swam and stuff, and after lunch we played volleyball and swam some more. I'm so tired."

"Your leg okay?"

"Yeah. So, do you want spaghetti or fish tonight?"

I shook my head. I loved that Bella cooked for me- let's face it, I had given up on that sport a long time ago. But she sounded like she was about to fall asleep on the phone, and I wasn't a slave driver or anything. "Aw, Bells, don't worry about it. I've got a pile of paperwork here and I don't even know when I'll get done. Just relax and I'll get something on the way home."

"I don't know…"

"No, I insist. Teenagers are supposed to do this stuff in the summer- play with friends and wear themselves out in the sun. Take the night off, kid. You deserve it."

"Okay. Just promise me you'll get something slightly healthy?"

I held up two fingers in the air. "Scout's honor. I promise to eat something green tonight."

"Good. Love you, Dad. I'll see you whenever you get in."

"Bye, sweetheart."

I smiled as I hung up the phone. I was proud of her today- going out with her school friends was just what she needed. It seemed like she and Edward had been cooling off a bit during the last couple days, and even though I knew he had gone on the lake trip, at least they had met up with the other kids. It was healthy for her to be around someone other than the Cullens once in a while.

I grimaced. The Cullens. The so-perfect-it's-creepy Cullens. I still couldn't believe I had made all those calls the other day! Besides being illegal, it had been unfair. What had Carlisle ever done to deserve me checking up on him and his kids? I just hoped he never found out about the calls. Yeah, Dr. Cullen, just thought I'd check to make sure you weren't an illegal immigrant, and that your son hadn't been a crack baby. Ugh.

I opened my lowest drawer, taking out the folder that I had used to make the calls. I still couldn't believe Mark had gotten all this stuff together. This folder would be the first thing to go in my clean-up-the-desk project, and I might as well start this afternoon. I balanced the folder on top of the mess, staring at it again as I remembered the calls I had made the other day. Everything I had found had been perfect, of course. Carlisle was a star physician, the kids were all star students, everyone had a perfect driving record- well, except Esme's little tree incident last week. But that hadn't been a big deal, apparently.

I looked at the chair in front of my desk, remembering the horrified look on Edward's face when he had gotten the call about the accident. Poor kid. His sister could have told him it was just a fender bender! Lucky for him the call had come right when I was about to get him on the lie detector. The timing had been perfect for him- so perfect it was creepy. There was that knot in my stomach again. Why did everything always work out for them so perfectly? If I didn't know better, I'd say he planned for that call to come at just the right moment to get away from me.

I chuckled to myself. Sure, Charlie. It's all a conspiracy, and I was Santa Claus. I definitely needed to throw that folder out before I did anything else stupid.

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By five o'clock, my stomach was grumbling so loud I couldn't think anymore. I had only managed to get half the mess filed away or thrown out, and now I was too hungry to do anything useful. That salisbury steak wasn't sounding too bad right about now. I'd get them to throw on a piece of lettuce, just to keep my promise to Bella. Still, I didn't look forward to sitting alone at the diner tonight. I had really gotten used to eating with Bella every night, and I was becoming downright conversational. I decided to call Billy and see if he wanted to meet me over at the diner.

"Hey Billy!" I said, jamming the phone into my shoulder as I continued to wade through the papers.

"Charlie! What's cookin'?"

"Nothing, and that's my problem. I gave Chef Bella the night off, so I'm lonely and hungry now. You wanna get together at the diner?"

"Sure. I haven't had anything good in a couple of days, what with Jacob being sick and all."

"Oh yeah, I forgot. How's he doing now?"

"Much better. I'll bring him along for dinner."

"I thought it was some bad contagious thing?"

"Nah, guess I was wrong. His fever's already gone and he's getting stir crazy, anyway. You want us to swing by the station?"

"Sure. I'm still buried in paperwork for now, though. Wanna come in a half hour?"

"Okay, bye."

I sighed in frustration. Just another half hour, and I could get away from this stupid desk.

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"Hey, Charlie!" a familiar voice called from the reception area. "Ready when you are!"

"Yo, Billy! Come on in." I opened my door, and Billy wheeled in, followed by Jacob. "Glad to hear you're feeling better, kid," I said, poking his arm. It was as hard as a rock, and he seemed even beefier than when I had seen him a few nights ago. "In fact, you look better than ever! Did you grow another inch while you were sick?" Jacob just frowned and glanced down at his father.

Billy laughed. "These kids. You turn around for a second, and they get bigger."

"Well, it's a good thing we're not eating any real food tonight, or he'd bust his shoes. I know what you mean, though. Seems like yesterday Bella was on her tricycle, and now look at her."

Jacob blushed and I winked at him, making him blush even more. It seemed like he and my daughter were starting to really get along. Not bad at all. Jacob was just the sort of guy she needed- nice and normal. Maybe not perfect in the grades department, but then who likes perfect, pale, anorexic boyfriends? Not me.

"Gimme a few minutes, you guys. I'm still cleaning off my desk." I waved my hand over toward my project.

Jacob gave a low whistle. "Haven't you ever heard of a computer, Charlie?"

"Hey. I have a computer. It's right there, see?"

"Leave him alone, Jacob," Billy said, chuckling. "You know he's scared of technology."

"I am not! If fact, as soon as I get this desk under control, I'm going to use one of those new software programs to start doing all this stuff electronically. This office is going to be a shining pinnacle of technological wonder."

Billy snickered, shaking his head. "Well, we'll hang out in the waiting room while you finish up. Come on, Jacob." He wheeled back out, and Jacob closed the door behind them, leaving me alone with the dreaded desk.

I reached down and took another swig of my coffee, thumbing through the papers on the stack nearest me. I'd show them! This was all going to be in a database by the end of the week. I'd even learn how to use that scanner on Doris' desk.

I sat down, vowing to do at least five more minutes of cleanup before I headed out with the guys. I picked up the Cullen folder again, and carried it over to the shredder. This was one bunch of papers I didn't need to keep- and the one that could actually get me in trouble if anyone found it. I shuddered at the thought of Bella stopping by the office to see me, and finding this. Yep, it was definitely shredding time.

I put in the first handful of papers, and the shredder whirred to life hungrily. But as I reached down and held the second bunch out toward the machine, I paused. The paper on top of this bunch was Emmett Cullen's transcript from their previous school in Alaska, where he had gone through his sophomore year. I stood back up, looking over the transcript- I hadn't notice this paper the other day. Of course he had perfect grades, I thought in disgust.

I had run into Emmett a few times since they had lived here, and he was definitely the one Cullen I wouldn't have expected to see perfect grades from. It wasn't that he had ever been crude, or disrespectful, exactly. He just seemed like the kind of guy who would be a class clown, more brawn than brains. I had been truly surprised to hear that he had plans to attend college this fall. I looked back at the transcript again. Chemistry, A plus. Japanese, A plus. Algebra II, A plus. I got that suspicious knot in my stomach again, the one where I felt like I was missing something.

Maybe it wouldn't hurt to make just one more call. Emmett's grades would check out, of course, and then I could shred the whole folder, and never think about it again. Besides, what was the fun of being a small town Police Chief if you didn't get paranoid every now and then? I headed back over to my desk, taking another sip of my coffee as I tossed the papers down. I sat and slammed down my mug in determination- but I had been too dramatic, and a big slosh of coffee spilled all over the transcript. I cussed and shook the paper over the trash can, letting the coffee drip off as I picked up the phone with my other hand. But when I looked back at the transcript, I realized the coffee had messed up the part of the paper with the school's phone number. I couldn't remember the number offhand; and besides, it had had some extra extension to reach the records person.

Dadblame it! I glanced at the clock. Five thirty; Forks High would already be closed and I wouldn't be able to get the number from them today. Guess I'd just have to do it tomorrow. See, this was one of those times I wish I was a computer whiz. I could just type in the name of the school and get the number myself. What was it the kids called it? Googling? It couldn't be that hard.

I turned on the computer, waiting impatiently as it beeped and whirred at me. Finally it let me click on the blue "e" and the Google homepage came up. I typed in "Fairbanks High School" and smiled when a phone number and address popped up. Easy!

I dialed the number, wondering if the school would even be open. What was the time difference in Alaska again?

"Fairbanks High School, main office. How may I help you?"

"Hello, Ma'am. This is Charles Swan… I'm… " Suddenly I felt like an idiot. Policeman didn't call to check up on kids' grades, not even when they had a valid search warrant. "I'm a teacher over at our local high school here in Forks, Washington, and I was just checking some details on one of our student's transcripts. He was at your school a couple of years ago."

"I'm sure I can help you out. Now what was the student's name?"

"Emmett Cullen. He would have been a sophomore in the 2002-2003 school year."

"Cullen? We've never had a student by that last name before."

I frowned. How could anyone not remember the Cullens? "He was one of three siblings- they would have all attended together. The other two were Edward and Alice."

"None of that rings a bell. I know every student that comes through these doors, Mr. Swan. We're a pretty small school. And I certainly would have remembered such a big family if they were here so recently."

My stomach twisted again, and I looked back at the transcript. Could I have called the wrong school? "Well, I have his student ID number. Would that help?"

"I suppose, although I'm quite sure we've never had an Emmett Cullen. What's the number?"

"8029857."

I heard her typing, and I tapped nervously on the desk, feeling stupider every minute. How had I messed this up? I had obviously called the wrong school- I couldn't even Google right. Billy would have a field day if he found out about this!

"Oh! There is an Emmett Cullen under that number. That's odd. What did you say the other siblings' names were?"

I told her again, and she was equally surprised to find that they all had transcripts in the computer system. "I don't understand it," she said, sounding annoyed. "I don't know where these records came from, but there is no way I've forgotten a whole family of students! I would have been the one to enter this information, and I certainly never created this file. And here's something even stranger- every one of these files is missing the student's picture. It's like they all missed picture day, both years that they were here. I don't know what to tell you, Mr. Swan."

I thanked her and hung up. I just sat still for a few moments, rubbing my mustache. What could have happened up in Alaska? I obviously had the right school, but the lady had seemed certain that the Cullens had never been there. I looked down at my now-empty mug. Was the number that I had spilled coffee on the same number that I had ended up calling? Or was there something fishy going on?

I crumpled the half-destroyed paper and tossed it in the trash. Now the paper on top was the list of Carlisle's employment references, which I had used the other day to call the hospital in Fairbanks. I had scribbled "Scott Fallston , HR dept" next to the number I had called. I idly wondered if there was something screwy with that phone number, too. Well, only one way to find out. I typed the hospital's name into Google, and frowned when I saw a number that didn't match the one I had called the other day. I dialed the new one, unsure what to expect. After some wrangling with the phone menu, I finally reached Human Resources.

"Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, Human Resources. This is Sherry White."

"Hi Sherry, I'm trying to reach Scott. Is he in today?"

"Who?"

"Scott Fallston. I just spoke with him a couple days ago."

"I'm sorry, sir, there's no one working here by that name."

My stomach twisted harder this time, and the stack of paper rattled as my fist tightened on them. "That's okay, maybe you can help me. This is Charles Swan, Chief of Police in Forks, Washington. I was calling regarding one of your former employees, Dr. Carlisle Cullen. He was there up until two years ago."

There was a pause. "I don't recall us having a doctor by that name. Dr. Cullen, you said?"

"Yeah. C-U-L-L-E-N."

"Okay, I'll check, but I'm pretty sure I've never heard that name before." I waited while she did some typing. "Oh!" she said in obvious surprise. "We do have a record for him, after all. He must have just slipped my mind. Although I don't see how. I'm pretty familiar with our staff. Hmmm… this is odd."

"What?"

"I don't have an employee picture for him. We have pictures for all our employees. Anyway, what information did you need?"

"Never mind," I said coldly and hung up, fuming.

Something was definitely wrong here. I flipped through the folder, and came to the page with the contact information for Edward's adoption agency. My hand hovered on the page, and a cold feeling came over me. Had I called the wrong number for this one, too? I searched online for the agency, gritting my teeth when an unfamiliar number appeared yet again. I called it, and got the same response as before: they had never heard of the employee I had just talked to the other day. The lady helping me today was quite befuddled; she had been working at the agency for twenty years, and had no memory of any child named Edward Masen, and no memory of the Cullen family. I asked her to check the computer anyway. And, just like the others, she was surprised to find that there was a file on Edward Masen's adoption by the Cullens. There was a picture of the five-year-old Edward, but she couldn't find any pictures of the adopting parents. Surprise, surprise. She was flustered, wondering how she could have forgotten an entire case. She was even more flustered when she found her own name listed as the case manager for Edward's adoption. "I don't understand it! I never forget a child. I don't know what to say," she said in apology.

I slammed the phone down, getting angry now. My instincts had been right all along! The Cullen family's perfection wasn't all it was cracked up to be. There was something seriously wrong here, but I couldn't figure out what it was. There was obviously some kind of identity theft going on, but who had answered the bogus numbers when I had made the calls the other day? How come nobody I called today had heard of the Cullens, but their computers had? How come everybody's pictures were missing? Was Carlisle even a real doctor? I flipped back to his reference page from the hospital, and my finger rested on the name of the medical school he had attended. But instead of using the number and extension provided, I got the number off the internet, and called it. Same problem again: the person who answered had no memory of Carlisle, but was surprised to find that they did have a file on his time there. And yet again, no picture was available.

I leaned back in my chair, rubbing my forehead as a hundred possibilities flew through my mind. Maybe Carlisle was part of some kind of drug cartel. Maybe he worked for the government…. Or some other government! And what about the kids? I ground my teeth. What was the real reason Carlisle had adopted so many kids? What had they been doing back in Alaska, if they had ever been there at all?

There was a knock on the door, and Billy poked his face in. "Come on, Charlie, I'm as hungry as a- what's the matter?"

I just stared at my best friend. He had been trying to tell me for over two years that I shouldn't trust the Cullens. He had always been vague, never quite giving me any actual leads, and so I had never taken him seriously. I had let them waltz into my daughter's life, and-

I froze, and Billy said something, but I couldn't hear him. All I could think about was my little girl- and how I had let her spend all this time with criminals. I wasn't sure what kind of criminals, yet, but it was clear that I had stumbled onto something big. Something ugly.

"Billy," I said slowly, "I'm going to ask you something, and you better be honest with me, or so help me-"

"Whoa! Calm down, buddy. I'll tell you anything you want to know. What's wrong?"

"I've been- ah- unofficially investigating the Cullen family, and I'm turning up some pretty weird stuff. Like how none of their previous schools or employers have ever heard of them, and nobody ever seems to have a picture of them. And I know that you know something. So cough it up."

Billy had suddenly become very interested in his fingernails, and he leaned back in his wheelchair thoughtfully. "Well... well now. I'm not sure what to say."

I stood up, my chair flying back into the wall as I yelled at him, my face growing hot. "This is my daughter we're talking about here, Billy! Tell me everything you know about the Cullens, now!"

Jacob suddenly appeared behind his father. "What's going on in here?" He looked back and forth between his father and myself, frowning. "I thought I heard you say the Cullens."

"What do you know about them, Jacob? Anything would be helpful, since your father seems to have suddenly lost his voice." I glared down at my friend expectantly, but he remained silent.

"Well, I…" He looked down again at his father, who was shaking his head slightly. He straightened up to his full height, and I noticed again how much he had grown. "I know the Cullens pretty well," he said confidently. "And I think they're a nice family. And even that one Bella is dating seems like a good guy."

"Come on, Jacob. I know you don't like Edward. Are you seriously going to tell me that your dad has never told you anything about the Cullens?"

Jacob's jaw was working, and he exchanged another nervous glance with his father. "Uh…"

"Jacob, go sit down and wait for me in there," Billy said sternly, pointing back toward the reception area.

Jacob didn't move, and Billy jerked his head toward the door. "Now, Jacob. And shut the door behind you." Jacob looked once more at both of us in turn, and stalked out of the room, slamming the door.

"So, what? You're really not going to tell me anything?" I asked Billy angrily. "My daughter is over there all the time, and you're really not going to help me?"

Billy shifted his weight in the wheelchair. "It's not that I don't want to help you, Charlie," he said uncomfortably. "It's just that…"

"That what? And don't give me that crap about you and the elders having a bad feeling about them."

"But that's all it is, Charlie, I swear. We Quileutes, we're…" he looked around the room, as if he was searching for inspiration. "We're very spiritual, you know? We're sensitive to these things. Sometimes we can just tell when something's not right, even though we can't put our finger on it. I didn't want to explain this before because I thought you would laugh at me. I know you like cold, hard facts, but I can't give you any."

I looked him in the eyes, making sure he held my gaze. "Are you telling me that you really don't know anything?"

He gripped the handrests of his chair, and locked his jaw. "I really don't know anything," he said through his teeth. He looked like he was trying to hold the wheelchair together, like it might explode any second. "But if I were you…" he added in a whisper, leaning forward, "I'd trust your gut. If you think something's not right, don't let it go." He looked at me intently, as if he was trying to tell me something.

"Okay… that's not exactly helpful, but um, thanks." I scratched my head. Did Billy really not know anything, or was he hiding something, too? And what about Jacob? There was that stomach pain again. "So… give me a few more minutes, okay?" Billy shrugged and rolled back out.

"Take all the time you need," he said encouragingly as he closed the door.

I propped my elbows on my desk, leaning my face in my hands. What was I supposed to do with all this? I had to get to the bottom of it, but I knew I was already in over my head. But before I called the State Police in, I needed to get all the information I could. I sat up straighter, scooting toward the computer again. Might as well put the thing to good use again. I typed in "Cullen", frowning at the thousands of results that popped up. Apparently, it was a common name. I tried again, with "Edward Cullen". Still, too many results. Now I tried "Edward Cullen Alaska".

My eyes drifted over the results- there were much less now, and the first result caught my eye.

It was one of those MySpace pages that kids like to set up. Bella had never been interested in doing much online, although that might have been due to the old computer I had put in her room. I clicked on the link, and a photograph came up.

It was nothing interesting- just a couple of teenage girls hugging each other in their graduation gowns and grinning. One of the girls was pointing to her diploma. There was "Posted yesterday" and a caption underneath the picture:

Blast from the past, East Anchorage class of 1980! I just found this picture in one of my old albums. Can you believe what we did to our hair back then?

I looked again at the girls in the picture- I noticed now that their hairstyles were nothing like I had seen for several years. One of the girls' hair was teased into a puffy cloud, and the other one looked like she had dumped a can of hairspray right on her bangs. They both had huge neon green earrings, and their eye makeup was hideous. I was about to close the website, but I was curious why this picture had come up for the "Edward Cullen Alaska" search. I scrolled down, glancing at the comments that the girl's "friends" had made about the picture.

OMG Sarah would you please burn this one? I can't believe my eye makeup!

I remember that day. You girls were so excited! Can't believe you're both moms now. Love you both!

Hey guys is that Edward Cullen back there? I wonder what he's up to these days. I had SUCH a crush on him in high school. Bet he's bald and/or gray now, though. The cute ones always go bald the earliest LOL!

As soon as I read the final comment, which had today's date on it, I scrolled quickly back up to the picture. Sure enough, there in the background behind the girls, was Edward. He was dressed in the same cap and gown as the girls, and he was looking away from the camera, but there was no mistaking it: it was definitely him. But how could it be? This picture had been taken twenty-five years ago. There was even a bright orange time stamp on the picture: 06/05/80.

Could it be some kind of cousin, with the exact same name? But it looked exactly like him. He even had that stupid smirk on his face- the one I always wanted to smack off. He was looking down at another girl, who was much shorter than he was. I couldn't see her face, but my breath caught in my throat as I realized how much she reminded me of Edward's sister Alice. The same short, spiky black hair- it was really all I had to go on, but now that I had made the connection, it seemed like it had to be her.

But it wasn't possible! If that was really Edward and Alice in the picture, they should be forty-three years old by now! I was getting a headache, but I was on a roll now. I went back to the search engine page and easily found the contact information for East Anchorage High School. I dialed the number with shaking fingers. What would I find out this time?

When the school secretary answered, I repeated my usual introduction and asked if she remembered a family of Cullens graduating back in 1979 and 1980.

"Oh! Yes, I remember the Cullens!" she said pleasantly. "What a unique family. That young doctor and his wife were such angels to take in all those kids, and they were such good students!"

"Yes, perfect students, I imagine," I said as I wiped my sweating forehead with a napkin. Now my stomach just felt sick. I finally find someone who actually remembered them- only to find that that memory was twenty-five years too early. "I'm particularly interested in Edward Cullen," I said nervously.

"Yes, Edward was one of the younger ones wasn't he? With the messy, bronze-colored hair? Tall and handsome?"

"That's the one," I growled through my teeth. "Can you send me any information you have on him? Grades, address, anything?"

"Hold on, I'll look him up. We didn't have computers back then, so I'll need to check in the filing cabinet." I heard the rustle of papers. "My goodness, Edward must be in his forties by now. How is he?"

"He's in a bit of trouble," I ground out. Trouble, indeed. I was going to wring his scrawny neck, if I didn't have a heart attack first. How was any of this happening?

"Well, I would be surprised. He was such a perfect student, and so well-mannered!" she gushed.

"So perfect he was creepy, right?"

She laughed. "I don't know if I would put it that way. I wasn't much older than the students back then, and I admit I had quite the crush on him. And his father- the doctor- was quite a looker himself. Like a blonde movie star. Well, that's odd… the file seems to be missing. Hold on."

Of course the file was missing. Why wouldn't it be?

"Well, I don't understand it!" she said a moment later. "I can't find any of the Cullen kids' files."

"Try looking under Hale."

"Why?"

"That's the last name of two of the siblings."

"No, it wasn't. I distinctly remember thinking how funny it was to have to write "Cullen" five times in a row every time they were absent- which was quite a lot. Never seemed to hurt their grades, of course."

"Well, it was a long time ago. Maybe the files got thrown away."

"Absolutely not! My files are always in perfect order, Chief… what did you say your name was?"

"Swan. Thank you for your help." I hung up, resisting the urge to throw the phone across the room.

I had seen enough. I had been angry before, when I had found the identity problems. I had been ready to call Carlisle and tell him to get his butt over to the station to do some explaining. But now I was just plain confused, and scared. What was up with Edward being eighteen back in 1980? This was bigger than just identity fraud. Was Carlisle some kind of cloning scientist? Or could he have done plastic surgery on his kids to fake their ages? But that didn't make sense- the secretary I had just talked to placed Carlisle himself at the same age he was now, only that should have placed him well into his fifties by now. And there was no way Carlisle was in his fifties. This was turning into some kind of science fiction nightmare. I was definitely in over my head now.

I picked up the phone, and called the State Police down in Seattle. I didn't tell them everything I had found- after all, most of my evidence had been obtained illegally. I left out the weird part about the old photo, but the identity theft issue perked them right up, especially when they heard that it involved a doctor. They agreed to come up the next morning- they promised three squad cars and a detective- and look through everything, and make any necessary arrests. I hung the phone up and sat staring at the wall, clutching my stomach.

What had I gotten myself into?

Well, one thing was certain. I had lost my appetite, and I needed to go straight home- for all I knew, Edward was there with my daughter. Just the thought of her spending another minute with him made me want to scream. I walked out to the reception area, where Billy and Jacob seemed to be in the middle of a heated argument. "I'm sorry, but something's come up," I said absently. "You guys go ahead without me, okay?"

Billy eyed me with interest, but I wasn't about to tell him anything. I was still mad at him for not helping me- I still thought he might be hiding something. And Jacob was acting weird too, like he was trying to convince his dad of something. Well, I'd deal with them later.

I stormed out of the station and got in the cruiser. I had to talk to Bella. It might break her heart, but I'd be damned if I ever let Edward Cullen see my daughter again.

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I called Bella's name anxiously when I walked into the house, but there was no answer. Fear rose up in my throat; what if she was with the Cullens? I told myself I was being silly; they had never done anything to her before. But now that I knew they were up to something, I felt uneasy at the thought of her being alone with them.

I rushed up the stairs, and peeked into Bella's room. I sighed with relief; she was fast asleep. She was safe, and I forced myself to breathe normally again.

Okay, Charlie. Calm down. She's safe, and everything's all right. The State Police will sort this out. By this time tomorrow, the Cullens will be out of your hair forever.

I started to head down the stairs, but stopped in the upstairs bathroom to wash my face- I had been sweating bullets in my worry. I had a headache, too. I didn't like mysteries, and the facts I had put together today just weren't jiving.

I opened the medicine cabinet in search of some Tylenol. It was a rare day that I took anything at all, and I hadn't even looked in here since Bella had moved in with me. I frowned at all the girly stuff that had taken over the medicine cabinet- nail polish, purple deodorant and stuff like that. I finally found the Tylenol and tossed a couple into my mouth, swallowing them without water. As I put the bottle away, I accidentally knocked the purple deodorant down into the sink. Why did girls have to have so much bathroom stuff, anyway? Back when Renee had lived here, it was the same story.

When I went to replace the deodorant to its spot, I noticed three little cylinders of what looked like makeup. It looked like they had been hiding behind the deodorant. In any other girl's bathroom, I would have expected a million makeup bottles. But considering that this was Bella's stuff, it seemed like there were three too many. I knew she never used makeup- she had told me once that she hated the stuff. I looked closer- there were two smaller cylinders, that had words scribbled on top, and one larger one, without words on top. I picked up the two little ones, finding the word "arm" on one and the word "face" on the other. They were nearly empty, while the third, larger container was almost full. They were all slightly different shades of skin tone.

Arm and face. Now why did that ring a bell? Arm and face…

The makeup containers snapped in my hands. Arm and face! The burn and the bruise that Edward's hand had made, that day when they went hiking! Had she been covering them up? But why would she do that? I had known about them- there had been nothing to hide. And besides, the injuries had healed pretty quickly.

Or had they? Had she covered them up so that I would think they had healed?

Now I was really getting paranoid. Were the injuries still there, without my knowledge? This was the perfect opportunity to check- Bella was so deeply asleep she had been snoring a little when I had checked on her a minute ago. I crept back into her room and slowly nudged the covers aside.

She was laying on her left side, and I nearly bit my lip clean off when I saw several ugly bruises just below her right elbow. There were four little ones, and a slightly larger one on the other side of her arm: a classic handprint bruise. I remembered back to last week, when I had thought Edward had been abusing her, and I distinctly remembered that the handprint had not had the classic pattern of a grabbing injury. The hiking scenario that Bella had given me had explained the unusual arrangement of the fingers. Come to think of it, wasn't the handprint above her elbow before? I glanced up a few inches, to the spot I remembered examining before. That handprint was still there, too- although there was no redness, just peeling skin like a sunburn.

A burn?

I glanced up at her neck, and found the same peeling skin. So they had both been burns, after all. And Bella had been hiding them both from me.

Why?

I glanced down again to the new handprint, the one that really was a bruise. It looked like someone had grabbed her arm as hard as they could. I hissed as the truth dawned on me. The hiking story was obviously fake, since the original handprint above her elbow was really a burn. It didn't matter how it was a burn- which didn't make any sense- all I could think about was that I had been right all along.

Bella finally stirred in her sleep. My eyes jerked up to hers automatically, and I found something else: a brand new bruise all around her nose and across part of her left cheek. Her nose itself was swollen.

I backed out of the room, shaking my head in disbelief. Edward really was abusing her, and she had been hiding it from me all along! I ran back into the bathroom, barely making it in time to vomit into the toilet. He had been abusing her, and it had obviously just happened again...today!

What kind of father was I?! I had known the truth last week, and I had let it slip through my fingers. Why on earth was Bella protecting Edward? What kind of sick hold did he have on my daughter? And did it have anything to do with the weird age issue? Did Carlisle know about this?

I gasped as the next thought hit me. Carlisle! He had been the one to get me off track when I had asked him about Bella's injuries in Phoenix. What if he knew about this? What if he was the one hurting her?! What if I was also right about Bella's injuries back in March? Who were these people? My original theories about benign identity theft twisted in more malicious possibilities- though nothing I came up with could fit all the facts.

My breath was coming in short gasps now, and I turned on the water with a shaking hand, splashing my face. I ran back downstairs, and I called the State Police again, begging them to come right away instead of waiting until tomorrow. They promised to add two more state troopers to their envoy tomorrow, but they refused to rush up today, saying that my situation didn't seem to be an emergency. I wanted to scream at them. Not an emergency! I didn't want to disclose all my evidence yet –again, most of it had been illegally obtained. I didn't care what happened to me anymore, but if I told them too much weirdness, they wouldn't come at all. And besides, I didn't want to bring Bella into this if I could get them arrested without having to involve her.

I reluctantly agreed again to their plan to visit tomorrow morning, and hung up angrily.

It was obvious that they thought I was nuts. I could just imagine them, sitting in their fancy office down in Seattle, sharing a laugh over the small town cop who thought he had uncovered the scandal of the year.

Well, I was just glad they were coming tomorrow. Illegal or not, I would show them what I had found. I would probably lose my job over this, but Bella was all that mattered. She was everything to me. She was my whole world.