The First Spring

3. Concerns

"Bells, are you alright in there?" Jacob called from outside the bathroom door.

"Yeah." Bella managed to croak before retching into the toilet bowl once more.

When she emerged from the bathroom some time later she found him sweeping the remaining pieces of the mug into an old dustpan. She sat down in a slump at the small kitchen table and put her head in her hand. She felt ill, staring at the note on the counter next to their breakfast that had gone cold. The words ringing in her ears on an endless loop, I know what you did I know what you did I know what you did I know what you did.

Jacob knocked the shards into the garbage bin, bringing Bella back to reality. She watched him tuck the broom away and join her at the table.

"I'm installing cameras." He said after a few minutes of silence.

When she didn't answer he looked at her and frowned. "Bella, I think you should stay here for a while."

"What?"

"Whatever asshole sent that note knows you were here, so they obviously know where you live. You'd be safer here, where I can protect you."

"You think I'm in danger?" She asked, turning to look at him.

"I don't know, Bells. But I don't want to find out the hard way. Again."

"Again?" She demanded, suddenly angry. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I don't want you to put yourself in harms way again!" He yelled, his frustrations seeping through his usual cool demeanor.

"So I'm supposed to just move all my things in here and hide in your apartment until Forks PD catches a murderer that doesn't exist because it was me?"

Jacob took a breath in, and rubbed his forehead. "Whoever it was that sent that note, I'm taking it as a threat. So we need to prepare ourselves."

She was quiet for a moment, hugging her knees and staring down at the floor. Finally, she asked the question they both had been wondering but were too afraid to ask. "Jake... Did anybody see us that night?"

"I don't think so."

"If they did, and they're threatening to expose us, what are we going to do?"

"I don't know, Bells."

"Well, do you know anything?" She snapped, suddenly looking away.

Before he could answer her, Bella's cell phone rang. With a sigh, Jacob stood up and retrieved her phone from the sofa in the living room, then waited patiently while she spoke to somebody on the other end for a few moments before hanging up.

"That was the station." She said. "They want me to come in right away. It must be about James."

Jacob ran a hand through his hair. "Then they figured it out already."

She nodded. "What do we do?"

"All we can do, for now. Play dumb. As long as they're not looking at us, we're fine."

"What about the gun?"

"What about it? We got rid of it. They'll never find it unless they like the taste of salt water."

"Alright." She said. "Will you come with me?"

He nodded, then looked over at the plate of untouched pancakes on the counter. "But can we eat first?"

When they arrived at the police station later that morning, Bella and Jacob were led into a small interview room. They sat down next to each other in front of a rectangular table, and waited for a few moments before a tall and burly man walked into the room - clad in his police uniform - and sat down in front of them. He had dark curly hair that was cropped short, and soft brown eyes.

He smiled at them both, despite the uncomfortable situation. "Hey, Bella. And you must be Jacob Black." He reached over and offered his hand to Jacob.

"Cullen isn't here?" He asked, a hint of sarcasm in his voice as he returned the handshake.

"Not the Cullen you're thinking of." He winked.

When Jacob raised an eyebrow Bella sat up in her seat to clarify for him. "Jake, this is Officer Emmett Cullen. He's also Edward's brother."

Jacob made a face. "Is everybody in this town a Cullen?"

Emmett boomed with laughter. "I like him."

"Where is Edward, anyway?" Bella asked, changing the subject.

Emmett's face suddenly grew serious. "Right. He's in the middle of an investigation right now, so he asked me to take the lead here."

"What sort of investigation?" Jacob asked, trying to keep his suspicion neutral.

They had both rehearsed in the car on the drive over, that they would keep their faces calm and neutral until the news was delivered and then they would react with shock and sadness. Bella had felt all her confidence wither away the moment Emmett grew serious.

"I can't say yet, but I called you here to tell you what I am allowed to say. Unfortunately, Bella, we have to treat you like the wife of the victim here, despite you working here and despite what we know Witherdick put you through."

Jacob smirked. "I like him." He mocked, causing Emmett to smirk back at him in return.

Bella frowned at them both and then sighed. "Go on, Emmett. Please."

He shuffled through some papers on the desk, then folded his hands on top of them. "There's no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to be real with you here. Alright?"

"Okay." Bella braced herself, her heart pounding in her chest. She resisted the urge to look at Jacob.

"The autopsy was concluded last night and was revealed that James Witherdale was as we originally suspected, murdered. He was shot five times in the chest and then buried in a grave off highway one-ten. We haven't located the pistol yet. I'm so sorry Bella. I know he abused you but he's still your husband, so whatever mixed feelings you have, it's alright to feel them."

He let his words sink in for a minute, and Bella noticed he was watching both of their faces carefully, probably to see what their reactions would be. She let her eyes will with tears - it wasn't hard given the stress she was under - and looked at Jacob who frowned deeply.

"Shit..." Jacob said at last, shaking his head sadly. "I hated the guy but that's an awful thing to happen."

"You're telling me. The press has been having a field day with this; they think there's a murderer on the loose. Been calling and trying to get an interview since yesterday." He chewed on the bottom of his lip. "Cheif's held them off so far but we're going to have to quote something official soon."

"Yeah, we saw the news report last night. Have you found the person responsible yet?"

"We have a few leads we're currently working on, and we'll update you when we have any solid evidence. But for now, I suggest you both take extra precautions and remain here in Forks where we're close by in case you need our protection."

"I'll protect Bella." Jacob said firmly, putting his hand on her knee. She instinctively leaned into him.

Emmett nodded. "Fair enough. I'm glad you were able to move on after everything, Bella."

"Thank you, Emmett." She answered with a small smile. "Was that everything you had to tell us?"

"Not quite. The report also states that James has been dead for about eight months, meaning he was murdered sometime in August."

"Oh, God."

"Yeah, I know. Now, we need to cover all our bases so I'm going to ask you two if anything happened in the month of August that might have any connection to James's death, besides the night he attacked you, Bella."

Bella thought for a moment before shaking her head slowly. "No, I never heard from him again, after that night."

"Jacob?" Emmett asked.

Jacob also shook his head. "We never really talked, but no, that was the last time I heard of anything to do with James."

"Alright then. You'll have to make an official statement and then you're free to go. I'm sure Edward will call you when he has anymore news."

"I'm sure he will." Jacob muttered under his breath.

When they climbed back into the Rabbit, Bella and Jacob both stared straight ahead. "I feel like I was holding my breath the entire time." Bella said, putting her hand against her chest.

Jacob wiped his brow and sighed. "I thought we'd have more time before they figured it all out. This isn't good."

"He said they have leads." Bella offered. "That means they're not on our trail."

"Not yet." Jacob answered as he turned the key in the ignition.

She looked at him and frowned. "Do you still want to confess?"

He took a minute to respond, focusing on the road ahead of them. "No." He said. "It's too late now."

"I'm sorry, Jake. Maybe we should have called the police the night James attacked us and I... killed him."

He took her hand in his and squeezed it. "Don't apologize, Bells. We'll figure this out somehow. We just need to pretend like you're a grieving widow and I'm a supportive boyfriend."

"And how do we do that?"

"We have a funeral." He said simply.