A/N: I just wanted to take a moment and send out a huge thank you to everybody who's been here since The Last Summer, and has taken the time to send me positive feedback in a PM or a review. You are all so lovely and kind and I can't even begin to tell you how exciting it is for me to read your thoughts and opinions each chapter. So, once again, thanks so much!
The First Spring
5. Stakeout
Three hours later, two police officers stood outside a run down four story building, casually talking about the epic failure of the last Mariners game in the early afternoon. Their laughter echoed down the street; passed a 1986 Volkswagen Rabbit that had wedged itself between a rusty Sedan and a large blue van. Had the two officers been paying attention, they would have noticed that the small red car parked across the street was not actually empty.
"I knew we should have brought doughnuts." Jacob grumbled from the drivers side. He had crouched down in an uncomfortable position with his seat reclined, scowling at the two men who were now loudly insulting each other for having different taste in baseball teams. "How long are they going to stand there?"
Bella remained silent as she watched, noticing an unmarked car that was parked in the visitors section of the small, beat up parking lot of the complex. She leaned forward, pretending not to notice that Jacob drew in a breath as her hair brushed against his chin.
"That's the Chief's car." She said. "Why is he here?"
"Whatever's inside that building must be interesting." Jacob answered. "Hey, look, someone's coming out."
Suddenly an older man pushed open the dirty glass doors and strode out with Emmett Cullen following behind, who was carrying a large yellow evidence bag. They briskly walked up to the two officers and began speaking quietly, Emmett pointing at the bag while the older man pulling out a cell phone.
"Is that the new Chief?" Jacob asked.
Bella nodded. "I need to hear what he's saying." She reached even further over Jacob - he pretended not to notice the shape her body took as she leaned - and slowly turned the crank, rolling the glass pane down. A lazy breeze of fresh air wafted into the car.
"Yeah, have forensics notified that Cullen's bringing the bag over." They heard Waylon say to whoever was on the other end of the phone.
Bella and Jacob exchanged a confused glance. "What's in the bag?" She whispered. When he shrugged they turned back to Waylon who had hung the phone up and tucked it back into the pocket of his jacket.
"Alright, let's head on back to the station." the Chief said. "We only have forty-eight more hours until the landlord gains his rights back to the unit."
The others muttered in agreement and all turned at once towards their parked cars, in the direction of the Rabbit. Jacob tensed and pushed Bella's head down roughly with his large hand - she sputtered in surprise - and he ducked his own head down as well. He looked at her blankly for a few seconds as she glared angrily at him, and then slowly turned around and raised his head, peeking out the half opened window. The four officers were climbing into their cars, completely unaware of any presence nearby. Jacob watched as they started their engines and pulled out of the parking lot, quickly disappearing down the road.
"Are they gone?"
"Yep." He let go of her head and straightened himself, still looking around.
"Alright, let's go." Bella said, turning to unlock the door.
"Wait, Bells." Jacob said, gently grabbing her arm to stop her. "Are you sure you want to go in? We don't even know what we're going to find."
"I need to know what's inside, Jake." She pleaded. "Please."
He chewed on his lip. "I don't like it. We could be walking into a murder scene."
"Then it's a good thing we didn't get doughnuts." She raised an eyebrow at him sarcastically. "And since when are you against breaking the rules?"
"Since it's probably a felony to trespass on a crime scene."
"Do you see any caution tape?"
"Well, no-"
"You can stay in the car if you want." She offered.
"Yeah, right. You don't even know how to pick a lock." He smirked at her and passed her a pair of gloves. "Come on, Nancy Drew. Before they come back."
She took the gloves and climbed out of the car, taking in her surroundings for the first time. The street was lined with old buildings and tall, narrow houses. None of them looked to be in good shape; some windows were boarded up and garbage littered most of the front yards. A few trees spurted up from the broken asphalt and cast an eerie shadow against the apartment building in question.
"He sure picked a trashy part of Port Angeles." Jacob observed as he stretched, then reached into the Rabbit and pulled out his jacket.
They quickly jogged across the road and into the front lobby. While Jacob looked behind them to make sure they weren't noticed, Bella looked at the list of names on the electronic buzzer. When she saw J. Witherdale - 306, she swallowed bile; feeling suddenly sick.
"Found him. So, how are we going to get in?"
Jacob narrowed his eyes as he read down the list and finally held in the button for L. Carter, earning him a slightly confused look from Bella. They waited for a few minutes until the raspy voice of an old woman came through the intercom.
"I already told you once today, I don't want no damn bibles!"
Jacob cleared his throat, clearly amused and spoke into the little speaker on the wall. "Hey there. Uh, I just moved in on the third floor and lost my key. Can you let me in?"
"Oh. Yeah, sure. Hold on."
It was silent for a moment and then the thick door next to them made a loud, buzzing sound. Jacob reached for the doorknob and pulled the door open for Bella, who nodded her approval and stepped inside. The yellow paint on the walls were chipped and dull, and the carpet was suspiciously stained by something crimson colored. Jacob and Bella exchanged disgusted faces as they climbed the rickety staircase to the third floor. Turning the corner, they quietly walked down the grotesque hallway until they found the door with the cracked 306 painted in the middle.
Bella took a deep breath and put her ear to the door. A few seconds later she backed up. "I don't hear anything inside."
Jacob nodded to her and knelt down, pulling out a paperclip and a pocket knife and twisting it around until he was satisfied with the shape. He worked slowly and quietly; his face concentrated and stoic, the same expression he had when he worked on a car. Bella admired him as he turned the tools around in his hand, silently appreciating that how no matter what happened between them, and how much time passed, he was still always willing to help her.
Finally a click, and Jacob turned the doorknob and pushed. The door opened with a creak. The two tiptoed inside and quietly shut the door behind them, looking around the small apartment.
In front of them was a leather sofa and a sleek wooden coffee table sectioned off in what was the living room, complete with a large flat screen mounted on the wall and a modern shaded lamp in the corner. Dark curtains covered the windows, giving it a shaded illumination.
The kitchen to the right had a toaster, a coffee maker, and a sink full of dirty dishes. A kitchen table was littered with opened bills and empty envelopes, magazines and empty coffee mugs.
Bella looked at Jacob and furrowed her brow. "It's... nice in here."
"Yeah, it definitely looks lived in." Jacob ducked into the kitchen and opened the cupboards. "There's food in here. Think he'd mind if I snagged a bag of Mr. Noodles?" He smirked, winking at Bella.
She frowned. "No! The police would have listed everything inside. If something goes missing they'll know somebody was in here."
"Sure, sure." He said and closed the cupboard door.
Bella circled around the living room, taking every detail in.
A stylish afghan blanket lay crumbled on the sofa, the remote on top. A DVD box set of pornography lay open and on display, splayed across the coffee table. An empty bottle of Jim Bean sat on the floor next to a fallen pillow. James had definitely been here.
As she studied the living room, Bella noticed something the police hadn't: the corner of a piece of paper had been sticking out from underneath the sofa cushion. She knelt down and lifted up the cushion, revealing two folders labeled Confidential: Property of Forks Police Department.
"What're those?" Jacob asked, suddenly next to her. He reached down and picked one up, flipping it open without ceremony. Bella looked up at him as his eyebrows shot up. He then reached down and grabbed the other one.
"What's in there?"
"Our records." He growled.
"What?" She stood up and peered into the pages he was staring at. "What's it say?"
"The first pages are just regular stuff, Our addresses, date of birth, if we're related of anybody important-"
"Important?"
"Yeah. Yours says daughter of Charlie Swan, Chief of Police. Mine says son of William Black, Quileute Council member."
"What else?"
Jacob couldn't help but smirk. "Well, there's an incident report from when we we're sixteen and somebody called the cops on us for underage drinking at First Beach."
Bella smiled. "Charlie was the responding officer. He was so mad."
"And an accident report from when you rear ended Mike's Punch buggy at Homecoming."
"You mean when you rear ended Mike's Punch buggy at Homecoming. I just took the fall so you wouldn't get charged."
Jacob smiled down at her. "That was an accident, Bells. And besides, he was drunk and forced himself on you. He was hardly the victim."
"Mhmm." Bella's smile disappeared when she came back to reality. "Jake, why does James have our files?"
"I don't know. Studying us I guess."
As he kept reading, Bella moved on to the next room. The bathroom was simple; a large tub combined with a shower head, a single sink, and a large cabinet with a mirror bolted on. She opened the shower curtain and looked into the tub at the skinny bottles lined up on the ledge. There was James's usual body wash and shampoo, which Bella instantly recognized. But when her eyes caught the strawberry scented body scrub she paused.
"Aha..." She breathed out loud as she picked it up and examined it. That was definitely not James's.
Backing up, she then turned around and slid open the cabinet. Inside was both men and women's deodorant, floss, toothpaste, and two toothbrushes. Bella took a deep breath in, steadying herself. She slammed the cabinet shut, everything inside clattered.
"Bella?" Jacob called from the living room.
"Yeah. I'm alright." She called back.
She looked into the mirror at her reflection, the anger that started in the pit of her stomach started to bubble even though she had already knew the truth. Finally she turned and strode into the last room they hadn't checked: the bedroom.
Inside there was a queen sized bed, decorated with black and grey sheets and blankets that had been wrinkled up at the foot of the bed. Two nightstands on either side, each with a lamp. A dresser was on the far wall with a gigantic mirror on the other. The closet was still open, and Bella could see the clothes hanging from the hangers. Her stomach lurched, but what brought her into the room and over to the laundry basket was not her fear, but her female intuition. She looked down, her face a mask of uncertainty until she pinched two fingers together and pulled up a pair of black laced underwear.
Edward's voice rang through her head. "Aside from everyday furniture and belongings, we found men and women's clothing."
"Jacob!" She yelled.
He was in the room in seconds, standing behind her. His eyes widened when he noticed what she was holding. "So Cullen wasn't lying."
Bella nodded slowly. "That explains why he was always working late."
"You okay?" He asked.
"Yeah, I thi-"
She was cut off by the loud, shrill ring of a telephone. They both looked over to see a white phone on one of the nightstands, its cradle rocking slightly from the vibration.
Jacob stiffened, his brows pulled together. "A phone?" He was whispering.
"Do we answer it?" Bella asked, her eyes wide.
"Hell no!"
"What if its her?"
"What if it's the police?"
Jacob and Bella remained still as the phone carried on. By the twelfth ring Bella walked over and grabbed the phone.
"Bella, don't!" Jacob yelled but she had already picked it up.
She hit a button, activating the speaker mode. It was quiet on the other end. "Hello?" She asked.
Silence.
"Hello?" She asked again.
The line disconnected and the dial tone started.
"We need to leave, now." Jacob said, taking the phone from her and setting it back into the cradle.
She dropped the panties back into the laundry basket and hurried out behind him. As they opened the door to leave, Jacob turned around abruptly.
"Jake?"
"Just a sec." He ran over to the coffee table and grabbed the folders. "We're taking these with us before the police come back and find them."
As the dirty glass doors to the apartment building were thrown open and Jacob and Bella hurried across the street - both looking over their shoulder and back at the building - they both jumped into the Rabbit, slamming the doors shut. The engine roared to life instantly and Jacob sped off down the street, the tires squealing. Had the two both been paying attention, they would have noticed that the large blue van parked behind them was not actually empty.