Chapter 62 - Toxic

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"Wait… are these?" Edward asked, tentatively flipping through the pages of text as though they might leap up and bite him.

"Yes, those are a selection of the Weber girl's journal entries wherein your name is mentioned," Seth Clearwater confirmed with a curt nod "Photocopies obviously. The actual notebooks have been bagged as evidence."

"Evidence of what: how much of a fool I've been?!" Edward stood abruptly and moved to the window, gazing out but not seeing anything.

"You are not the only one that was duped," Bella began at the same time as Seth said, "There's a rather detailed recount of how that boy of yours come to be. You should at least read that section, if nothing else. Though, I really think you should consider reading the whole thing - there's a lot of good stuff in there." He accented the word 'good' by rotating a finger over his template in a gesture for crazy.

"Great, I'll make sure to put it on my must-read list immediately," Edward quipped, though there wasn't an ounce of humor in his voice. "Glad we had this little chat. Was there anything else or can I get back to my breakfast?"

"Edward…geez! Don't be rude," Bella huffed, shuffling to get to her feet.

"No. Sit." he ordered. "I'm just saying that I'm not going to read anything right now, in this room, with the two of you here staring at me."

"But you WILL read it," Bella pressed. "For Anthony's sake."

"Eventually… sure… but not like this. Not here, not now."

"Fair enough," Seth nodded. "You have my number if you have anything you want to add or if you have any questions."

"You'll be the first one I'll call," Edward vowed grimly, though the eye roll at the end of the sentence told a different story.

"We're doing you a huge favor here. We have no obligation sharing anything from those journals with you."

"Some favor. Forgive me for not falling all over myself to thank you," Edward snorted, setting his chin in a stubborn line. "You call them journals, but how do you even know they are not just a bunch of well-constructed lies? You did bargain with the devil to get them after all."

"Edward," Bella started to rise to her feet again, but this time Seth was the one to push her back on the sofa again.

"Let me just clear one thing," Seth insisted firmly. "I think you both need to hear this. We did not cut Maria Nahuel any kind of deal."

"Then where did you get these from?" Edward questioned. "I distinctly heard you say…."

"No. What you heard was me letting Ms. Nahuel think that she was getting her way. I was simply buying us time to reevaluate and consider our options."

That didn't sit well with Edward. "What's there to think about?! This woman put an innocent child through hell."

"We're aware of that, but she's also considered a person of interest in a high-profile murder case."

"Endangering a child's welfare is a serious offense."

"It is, but in this case it will be difficult to prove who's responsible for what. The mother or the friend she entrusted her child to. The bottom line here is that we did NOT give in to her demands." Seth spoke slowly, firmly, every syllable stressed with great insistence.

"No, the bottom line is that Maria will be dealt with." Bella corrected him, because that was one detail that she felt was a matter of great importance. "She'll be facing charges for both identity and insurance fraud and um -"

"Money-laundering and whatever other charges we think are sustainable," Seth filled in with a grim twist of his lips. "Oh, she'll be dealt with alright. Ms. Nahuel has been moved to a safe house for protection and is currently under house arrest. In the meanwhile her apartment and workspace is being thoroughly searched and picked apart. It's too soon to tell whether any charges will stick, but either way she will be kept under a close scrutiny for a long, long time."

"So, wait?…You threatened the woman with various criminal charges and she got so spooked she immediately rolled over and handed in what little leverage and ammo she had?" Edward asked with a frown on his face.

"No. There was no need for threats. We simply pointed out that if she valued her life, her best bet was to cooperate fully and unconditionally."

"Meaning?" Edward and Bella asked at the same time.

"Meaning we presented her with evidence that her friend Angela was suffering from heavy metal poisoning at the time of her death."

"Wait…What?"

It was a revelation that confused more than it enlightened, for Edward at least. Bella on the other hand could sense where this was going.

"Interrogation tactics," she offered as a mean of explanation.

"What? I still don't get it…. "

"Neither did Ms. Nahuel at first," Seth supplied with poorly hidden satisfaction. "But once she realized what she was looking at; evidence of foul play, poisoning, death under suspicious circumstances…. "

"What Clearwater is saying is that Maria was presented with proof that there was foul play behind Angela's death; proof in form of a toxicology report."

Seth was nodding in agreement. "We also made sure she knew that we have reason to believe that Maria's own brother had something to do with it."

"But Angela hung herself… in her holding cell, after being caught breaking into private property." Edward objected, scratching the back of his head. "She was mentally unstable. It was suicide."

"Right, that's all true," Seth agreed, "But sometimes planting a seed of doubt is all it takes."

"A seed of doubt?" Edward repeated, the jaw slacked confusion still very much evident on his face.

"We may also have led Ms. Nahuel to believe that she, too, has been exposed to the very same poisonous toxins that killed her friend."

"Why? No, I get why, but…Its just… This all sounds crazy to me. Why would she believe something as absurd as that?"

"Not absurd, genius." Seth mused. He was in his right element now, loving being the one leading the conversation. "She stopped going into work. She was planning on leaving town and her one non-negotiable demand was a one-way ticket to somewhere safe. What does that tell you?"

"She's afraid there will be consequences…?" Edward still looked skeptical.

"She should to be," Bella, nodded. " If words get back that she's been speaking with the authorities, with the feds, with you….. "

"I'm sure you could tell that Ms. Nahuel was acting all kinds of skittish… in the car, when I first questioned her. Skittish and perhaps a bit paranoid, as she should be. She accepted money from a person with criminal and violent tendencies and then she failed to fulfill her part of the agreement. Let's just say, she has every reasons to be cautious." Seth crossed his arms over his chest. "So far nothing has happened. No retaliation, no revenge or retribution… but remember, she did mention feeling as though she was being watched."

"She's is not stupid. She doesn't want to spend the rest of her life looking over her shoulder, waiting. Wondering."

"Exactly," Seth agreed. "As I said before, we had a bit of a chat with her where we made her see that full cooperation was her only option."

"So you scared her into cooperation with a bunch of lies. Is that even legal?"

"It's not all lies. That's the beauty of this. Angela did in fact have unusually high levels of heavy metals, including lead, arsenic and mercury, in her system when she died. So high, in fact, that they far exceeded what might be expected from natural exposure."

"I don't understand…"

"Remember the hair samples Alice helped us to collect?" Bella asked, glancing at Seth quickly for help. "The hairbrush used for the DNA test. Once the maternity was proved, we had the lab run some more tests..."

"This is brand new development. We're still considering all possibilities. The official cause of death is still, and will always remain, suicide by hanging." Seth supplied. "However everything points towards a scenario where she was intentionally or accidentally exposed to something that was very harmful to her health."

"Why didn't you pick up on this before? Surely there were other tests…"

"It doesn't necessary have to be foul play. Meds purchased from questionable sources for example could explain some, if not all of those elevated levels."

"But you can't rule out that someone was messing with her? You seriously think she was poisoned?" Edward was hitting his forehead with the heal of his hand. "Let me get this straight…. Angela, the crazy stalker girl, who put strychnine in my coffee, was poisoned?! "

"That's the leading theory, yes," Bella nodded. "We obviously need to look into this further, but it all fits. Some of the most telltale symptoms are depression, mood swings, insomnia, fatigue, brain fog, loss of memory and forgetfulness. Basically at this point we can't even tell whether the intent was to actually cause her deadly harm, or to simply make an unstable person even more unstable."

"Lead is a known neuro-toxin," Seth informed them, rather unnecessarily. "Turns your brain into mush, pretty much."

"No shit," Edward replied dryly. Then his frown suddenly turned into a face of horror. "It can cause brain-damage in children. Isn't that why use of lead in paint was banned years and years ago?"

"No" Bella shook her head vigorously; suddenly happy she was sitting down as the thoughts spun around rapidly in her head. "That's not… Who would… I…"

"Don't freak out on us now, Swan!" Seth warned, moving to take the seat next to her on the sofa. "It's just one of those possibilities we have to consider."

"Wait!" Edward protested. "You're saying there is actually a chance that Anthony…. That his health concerns is somehow related to this?! Are you saying that he, too, might have been exposed?"

"There are so many symptoms… Rashes, allergies, headaches, frequent colds and flues as well as intolerance to medications and vitamins," Bella rambled, racking her brain, trying to remember everything she had read on the subject. "A lot of those fits, don't they?"

"True, but mother and child were separated months before her death, so he should be safe," Seth pointed out, before giving his full attention to Edward, who looked like he wanted to punch something or someone.

"I'm sure the little guy is fine, but I would suggest you allow me to bring back a hair sample to the lab just to make sure."

"Sure, of course," Edward agreed. "Blood, nails, hair… take whatever you need… without hurting or scaring him, of course. He's been through enough."

"Agreed. A few strands of hair will do."

Just then Seth's phone went off in his pocket. He instantly dug it out to check for messages and then held up a finger to signal that he needed a second.

Edward still looked like he wanted to disassemble someone and Bella found herself overwhelmed with a sudden urge to explain, to rationalize, to reassure..

"Edward, I swear I literally only just found out about this new toxicology report, like thirty minutes ago. Seth called on his way over here. I would have told you about it, but… there was breakfast on the table and people were waiting… and then Seth arrived before I got a chance to speak with you in private." The words tumbled out of her mouth like water from a burst dam. "It wasn't on purpose. I just never thought…"

"That's the problem with you, you never do."

Bella swallowed hard, she didn't realize until now that Edward's fists were clenched and his knuckles were white.

"She's telling the truth, you know, " Seth offered, his eyes still glued to his phone. "I called her from the car. I, myself, have only known for a day and a half, but I was sworn to secrecy. Swan is officially suspended from the case, as you might recall."

When Edward didn't respond other than turning his head away and folding his arms tighter against his chest, Bella drew a deep, shaky breath and continued. "The whole thing has been a regrettable oversight on our part. The initial autopsy and toxicology report come back inconclusive, but seeing as she had a history of being heavily medicated and seeing as it was clearly a case of suicide, it was never investigated further. However, with this new round of tests…. There was a more thorough testing process involved resulting in a more in-depth analysis of the substances present in her body at the time of death."

"Again, she's telling the truth," Seth cut in, when Edward opened his mouth to speak.

"What? Am I not allowed to say anything at all about this?"

"Depends on whether or not you can keep it civil, Cullen," Seth responded, puffing his chest out in a silent challenge.

"You don't even know what I was about to say."

"Why do you have to say anything? Why can't you just listen and give her benefit of a doubt? She deserves at least that much. You do realize how many times she has put her neck on the line for you, don't you?"

"Seth, don't you have plane to catch?" Bella tried to intervene, but Edward talked right over her.

"I never asked her to do that," he grunted. His fists clenching and unclenching as he loomed above the smaller man. "She is her own person and makes her own decisions. If you don't know that about her, then you don't know her at all. "

"I know her well enough to know that she, herself is her biggest devil."

"Yeah, well I've known her since we were teenagers, I'd like to think I kno-..:"

"Hey, cut it out! Don't turn this into a pissing contest," Bella snapped, interrupting them. "And don't talk about me like I'm not here."

"Sorry Swan," Seth amended compliantly, but not before giving the other man one final menacing glare. "I guess my work here is done, but remember, I'm only a few hours away if you need me."

Edward let out a disgruntled snort, but said nothing.

"I'll remember that." Bella gave her colleague an apologetic smile. "Thanks again, for everything. I don't mean to run you out of here or anything, but…"

"No worries. I can tell you two have some serious talking to do. Talking and listening." The last part was obviously aimed to irk Edward, and from the way the other man's jaw tensed, it was working. "Don't bother showing me to the door, I'll see myself out. Just tell me where I can find the kid and I'll be on my way."

"Oh, of course. He is somewhere downstairs with his cousin and his grandparents. I could sho-…"

"Never mind. I'll just follow the noise." Seth was already halfway out the room at this point.

"Let us know how it goes," Bella called after him.

"Will do," he responded with a wave over his shoulder, before Edward slammed the door shut, cutting him short.

Needles to say the silence that followed in the wake of his departure was deafening.

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