Esme's eyes scanned the screen of her laptop as she sat in her room re-reading over the articles she could find that spoke of Riley Biers.
"Didyme killed... driver Riley unharmed..." Esme's continued to read aloud. "Survived by her brother Aro... a local fisherman."
Dread hit Esme like a truck, she rose from her chair, sending it scraping across the floor.
Could this be him? she wondered, reaching for her keys. I have to get to Rosalie.
Esme hurried out of the house, shouting to her mother that she was on her way to the Croaker Pageant, which led to a brief conversation and a promise that she wouldn't be home past midnight. Esme surprised herself at how well she managed to keep her cool and her mother seemed happy that she was at least getting out of the house rather than sitting and moping around up in her bedroom.
It was the opening she needed, and Esme quickly cruised across town to where she knew the pageant was taking place. While a collection of cars still lingered outside of the beachside place that housed the event, Esme recognized that the pageant had ended when only a handful of people were still inside.
The floors were littered with popcorn, empty soda cans and food wrappers while the last few people shared laughs and conversation.
Esme's eyes scanned the room for Rosalie and Emmett, but she didn't see them anywhere. She glanced up toward the empty balcony and hurried back stage but there was nobody.
She took a deep breath and hurried back outside, recognizing Emmett's BMW on the corner. She ran up to it, but quickly realized it was empty.
They have to be close by, Esme thought to herself. She stood in the street for a moment, and then saw Carlisle's car in a lot across the street. She glanced down the docks, and then felt a flutter of comfort run through her body as she thought of him. Despite all of the horror and the guilt of the events from the past year, Esme trusted Carlisle in ways that she trusted no one else. He had been her rock for so long, and not having him by her side for so long had been a struggle. Now, she knew she could lean on him again in hopes that they could solve the puzzle of their lives together.
Esme ran toward the water down the pier and at the very end she saw Carlisle lifting a crate from the dock to his boat. His blond hair was a mess compared to how it had looked when they'd left off at Rosalie's house and the fishing attire he sported was enough to indicate that he had been hard at work for the latter half of the day.
"Carlisle!" Relief filled her for the first time. She had to tell somebody what she had found out about Didyme's brother. Maybe Carlisle even knew Aro from the working the boats and the entire ordeal would be over. They could go find Rosalie and Emmett, tell the police and find at least safety if nothing else. On top of it, they could come to terms with the reality that they had never actually killed Riley Biers in the first place. "Carlisle!" she called out his name again and he looked up from what he was doing.
"Esme." He lifted his eyebrows. "What are you doing here?"
"We didn't kill Riley Biers," she told him, "It was somebody else on the road that night!"
Carlisle shook his head, "What are you talking about?"
Esme stood on the dock, ratting off the information she had just discovered. "I think it was Didyme's brother Aro... he's a fisherman, Carlisle."
"But they found Riley's body in the water."
"Yeah, I know but I think Aro killed Riley Biers."
Carlisle closed his eyes for a moment and then reopened them as he attempted to catch up. "Wait a second..." He swallowed hard and looked at her. "You think this Aro guy killed Riley... and then we killed Aro?"
Esme knew it sounded crazy, but she also knew it was true. "Yeah, but what if he didn't die, Carlisle? What if he's still alive?"
Carlisle stared at her almost in disbelief. He paused, not breaking eye contact before replying. "This is crazy..." He shook his head and Esme nodded as she took a deep breath. He held out a hand. "Come aboard. Come inside."
She shook her head, "We have to go find Rosalie and Emmett."
"We will..." Carlisle kept his hand extended and Esme paused a moment before slipping her hand into his. They stared at each other for a moment before Esme's eyes traveled to the side of his boat. In big, blue lettering across the white paint was the name BILLY BLUE.
Billy Blue... Esme's mind began to spin out of control. That was the name of the guy who went to Riley's sister's house. Why is Carlisle... Her thoughts drifted and she pulled her hand away from his, making him almost wince.
Horror filled Esme's body and she now stared back at him with accusation. She could almost hear Missy's voice as she described Billy Blue
"He was cute and smart," the woman had said, "I felt like it hurt him to be around me..." The words echoed in Esme's mind now as she continued to stand frozen staring at Carlisle. She didn't want to believe it, but she why would have Billy Blue written on his boat? Why did he refuse to make the trip with her to Missy's? Esme answered her own question. It was because Missy would have recognized him... because he had already visited Missy.
Esme wanted to cry as she spoke the words. "It's you... oh my God, it's you."
Carlisle followed her gaze to the name on the side of his boat and began to shake his head. "What are you talking about?" his voice shook and there was pain in his eyes.
"Billy Blue... you... you went to Missy's." Esme felt like her world had suddenly been turned upside down. She stared at him in shock. "You're the friend. You're the fisherman."