Chapter Forty Eight

Charlie

When I got up I cleaned up knowing that Bella would be back after school, I'd missed her and I found that feeling strange, the house seeming empty although I'd spent years here alone. Bella had certainly made an impact here. I was about to leave for the station when I got a call from my dispatcher,

"Chief I've got an urgent call for you from a Detective Andre of the Seattle police, shall I give him your number?"

"Sure, I'll be a little late in that's all."

I wondered what a detective from Seattle wanted with me, I didn't recognize the name but I didn't have time to think on it much as my phone rang moments later.

"Chief Swan? This is Detective Andre of the Seattle murder squad. We have one of your cruisers. It was found ten miles from the airport."

"One of my cruisers? Why is the murder squad involved?"

"We found one of your deputies dead in the trunk. He'd been stripped of his uniform and we assume it was taken by whoever killed him, the crazy thing is that his service revolver is here with him and his wallet with his warrant card."

"Who is it?"

"Well the card is in the name of Andrew Crane. Does that ring any bells? The photo does match the body as far as we can tell but he was hit hard in the face at least three times, fractured his skull and jaw and broke his neck."

"I'll get to the station , see what I can dig up."

"Was he working on anything that might put him in danger?"

"No, nothing. Look give me half an hour and I'll ring you back."

"I'll be waiting."

I drove to the station wondering what the hell was going on and found the others standing around in shocked silence.

"What happened Chief? Is it true Andy's dead?"

I nodded,

"Yes I'm afraid so. Did he act normally when he came on shift?"

"Yeah he was fine, talking about his upcoming vacation with his family. I can't believe it."

"Check his locker Eddy, see if he's written anything down."

Debs came over to me looking worried,

"Chief I think Andy was headed back from the old bridge when he went missing."

"Why?"

"We got a report of possible vandalism and he went to check. He radioed in that there was nothing when he got there and he would be headed out on his usual patrol. After that nothing but you know what he's like."

I did, like me Andy wasn't one for idle chatter, he wouldn't report in unless he had something to say.

"What about his tracker? Won't that tell us where he went?"

Eddy shook his head,

"Remember Chief it's faulty, we were waiting for a new one and apart from a stop at the high school there's nothing, it went on the blink then."

Deciding it would be worth checking why he'd stopped at the school, I rang the Principal who knew nothing about a visit but put me on hold to check with the office. When she came back on she sounded concerned,

"Is there something wrong Chief? We let Bella straight out of class and she went off with the deputy."

"I'm sorry?"

"The office tells me they had a call from your office to tell them you were sending a deputy to pick Bella up, that there had been an accident involving your ex wife and your deputy would take her to meet you."

I felt sick hearing these words, Bella had gone off with Andy or whoever was impersonating him, but where?

"Did the staff see the deputy?"

"No the cruiser turned up as Bella left the office. She got in and it drove off, why is there something wrong?"

"Yes, the deputy has been found dead in the trunk of his car and there's no sign of my daughter."

An hour later I was on my way to Seattle with Debs driving, having checked the house again in case Bella had somehow come home and the Cullens house which was deserted too so she wasn't with them. In the squad room in Seattle I learned nothing helpful, Andy had been dead for some time so it seemed likely that the person who picked Bella up wasn't Andy but an imposter. I had no idea why she would be targeted, I had no high profile criminals operating in Forks, certainly no one who would kill a deputy and snatch my daughter. They promised to keep me informed but so far there were no clues, no known fingerprints inside the car other than Andy's and those they thought would probably be Bella's.

A crime scene team would come to Forks to conduct their own investigation and take fingerprints and DNA to enable them to recognize Bella if they found a …..body. I couldn't believe my girl was dead, there had to be some logical explanation for this kidnapping although I received no ransom note, nothing.

I stayed there until the middle of the night when Debs and the Detective insisted I go home for a few hours, the Seattle police had been as good as their word and kept me in the loop but so far no one had seen my daughter at the airport where it was believed the cruiser may have been spotted and she hadn't boarded a plane as far as they could tell, she seemed to have vanished into thin air. As we pulled up I saw lights on in the house,

"It could be her Deb's, wait just a second."

I ran up the porch steps hoping it meant Bella was home but instead I found Sue and Harry Clearwater there and waved the news to Debs who went on home. They'd heard the news and waited for me to get home with a meal and support. Sue hugged me talking encouragingly about the chances of tracing Bella while Harry said little but I was grateful for his quiet presence. Soon after I sat down to eat, or at least to try to, Billy and Jake also appeared with their own words of encouragement. Pushing my plate away a few mouthfuls later I excused myself to use the bathroom and check for any updates. There were none but as I came down stairs I heard part of a conversation that had me freezing on the stairs.

"You know who's responsible don't you?"

"We can't tell him Billy, he'd never believe us."

"We should have told him years ago, this would never have happened then."

"Keep your voice down Billy."

I finished descending to see the two of them walking through to the kitchen.

"What should you have told me? What do you know Harry? Billy?"

They looked at each other guiltily then shook their heads,

"Nothing Charlie, you misheard us, we were just deciding if we could help the search for Bella that's all.

I shook my head but they refused to say any more no matter how much I continued to question them but I hadn't misheard, they knew something.

"We should get back and arrange the guys, they can hunt between here and Seattle for clues."

Before I could stop them the two had disappeared into the darkness and Sue seemed genuinely confused then I repeated what I had heard.

I sat drinking the strong coffee Sue had made but I couldn't shake the feeling that the words I had heard meant that my friends knew a darn sight more about Bella's disappearance than they were willing to say. Suddenly I got up and grabbed my jacket and keys,

"Where are you going Charlie?"

"To get some answers Sue."

I drove straight to the res determined to speak to Billy and Harry even if I had to drag them out of bed to do so. As I arrived in the village I was surprised to see a bonfire burning and at least a dozen figures or more seated around it. As I parked, faces turned to look and I saw Harry and a man I recognised as Sam Uley stand and walk over to meet me.

"Before you start Harry let me tell you that I am not leaving here until, I know exactly what it is you know and if you refuse to speak to me then I'll get the Seattle police involved and they won't be so friendly"