Chapter Eight

Charlie

I was still at work when I got the phone call from a very worried Jake.

"Chief Swan, Bella's gone missing"

"What do you mean missing. It was your job to keep an eye on her, has she gone off with Edward Cullen?"

"No, the Cullens weren't here. She went along the beach with Mike and Eric and stopped to look at the sea and daydream or something, while they picked up more wood for the bonfire. When they turned round she was gone, they thought she'd come back on her own so no one knew she was gone for a while"

"How long?"

"I'm not sure Chief"

"How long Jacob?"

"About an hour"

"Where are you now?

"I'm on the beach, we've sent out search parties along the shoreline but there's no sign of her."

"Well she didn't just fly away, what about footprints?"

"Loads, we've all been along here calling her"

"Great! Stay there I'm on my way."

"The tides coming in Charlie and we're going to have to move back"

I grabbed a couple of flood lights and called in all the off duty personnel getting them to meet me at La Push. When I got there the Car Park was packed, some of the kids had rung their parents and they'd come down to help. As Jake said the tide was coming in fast so there was little we could do on the beach. Instead we split the manpower into small groups and each went into the forest at a different point with the flood lights and torches.

Billy came wheeling over to me,

"Sam and the boys are here Charlie, if Bella's anywhere around they'll find her"

"I can't go through this again billy. When I get hold of her its straight on the next flight to Jacksonville. Jake said it couldn't be the Cullens but I'm not so sure."

"He's right Charlie, the Cullens don't come here. I can't tell you more than that.

"Well I hate to call you a liar but if they don't come here then who's that just driving up?"

He turned to see a monster truck screech to a halt. Only one door opened and Carlisle stepped warily out as Sam and the other Quileute boys surrounded him. Walking over I pushed through them,

"Carlisle"

"What are you doing here? You know its out-of-bounds" Sam snarled at the Doctor.

"Hey, enough." Billy snapped back.

"Chief Swan, we just heard about Bella and wanted to offer our help."

"We don't need your kind of help Leech"

I turned on the speaker, one of Jake's friends,

"Can it. I'll take all the help I can get. Yes she went missing about two hours ago along the shore."

The Doctor looked at Billy and Sam.

"We want to help.

Sam looked angrily at Billy who nodded reluctantly,

"OK, just for tonight."

Sam hissed and called his group of boys away as Carlisle motioned for the others who were still in the truck. I was pleased to see four get out, Emmett, Rosalie, Esme and Edward. Looking around Carlisle saw the way the Quileutes were going,

"We'll go the other way. If we find anything I'll call you."

I turned my back to answer a question from Eric's father and when I turned back they were.

By daylight it had become apparent that Bella was gone. She'd walked along the beach with Mike and Eric and just vanished, there was no sign of her anywhere and I questioned both the boys, not thinking for one minute they were involved, but they couldn't tell me anything new. I arranged for the Tracker Dogs to come down from Port Angeles but they called on by another case, that of a missing child, at the last-minute leaving me with nothing else to try.

"Charlie, the dogs won't help you, the boys have already followed up on any trails. There's only one, leading from the Car Park to the beach when she arrived."

"Billy with all respect these are Tracker Dogs not boys playing at tracking."

"These boys as you call them beat any trained dogs."

I didn't have time for this, the tide was going out now and I wanted to get along the sand, see if anything could help us although I knew that any evidence would have been washed away with the ebb.

By lunchtime I was forced to admit we had nothing, the Quileutes came back empty-handed as did Carlisle and his party.

"I'm sorry Charlie but there's no sign of her at all. Did you find anything?"

He directed the last to Billy who was watching him uneasily,

"No, nothing"

"How is that possible?"

"The tide was coming in"

"Of course. So any trail was washed away and nothing in the trees?"

"No. Scents from the kids mainly, but no trace of Bella we could detect"

"Well she didn't just de-materialize. She had to get off the beach somehow. I'm going to send search parties into the forest, maybe she wandered, got disoriented and lost in the dark."

"We'd have smelled her Charlie"

I glared at him,

"Sure you would Billy. Excuse me."

I'd put it off as long as I could but I was going to have to ring Renee now and break the news to her. As expected she hit the roof and I was reminded this was the third time our daughter had gone missing while in my care.

"I know that Renee. We're looking for her now, the whole town is on the beach"

"Where's Edward Cullen?"

"With the searchers and his Parents and Brother and Sister."

"Are you sure they aren't involved?"

"Yes Renee now calm down. I'll let you know as soon as I find out anything. Bella may even contact you."

"Why? What happened? Did you have an argument with her?"

"No. I just meant that if anything has happened maybe she'll contact you first"

"Such as?"

"I've no idea Renee I'm hanging in here by my finger nails so don't be difficult, I love her too you know"

There was a long silence and I braced myself for the next onslaught but her voice was very quiet,

"I know Charlie, I'm sorry. I'll ring you later, thank you for letting me know."

I disconnected with a sigh of relief as Billy came over,

"Renee give you a hard time?"

"At first, she's just worried Billy like me. What the hell happened? How could she just vanish from the beach and no one see anything? As if she was beamed up. You know sometimes I feel I'm living in the Twilight Zone, things are happening that I don't see or hear, but I feel them"

Billy laughed loudly as if enjoying a private joke.

"I'm glad someone finds all this funny,"

I turned frustrated and found Carlisle and his son Emmett at my back,

"I'm sorry Chief Swan but I couldn't help overhearing what you just said."

"Oh you find it funny too?"

"No and I don't think Billy found it amusing so much as ironic."

I heard Billy hiss in disapproval,

"There's something that you two know and I don't. Well its about time you came clean before I decide to run you both in as suspects and hold you for a few days. Then you wont find it all so amusing."