Chapter Thirty Three

Carlisle

Of course the family insisted on flying back with me but I took only Edward to the police station, the others booked into a nearby hotel until we understood exactly what had happened. I met with Jenks first who told me he was sure there was no need to worry about Jasper, they just needed to be seen to be doing something quickly as Bella's father was a police officer himself.

"This morning should be merely a formality Dr Cullen."

He eyed Edward uncomfortably but I was more interested in what Edward picked up from Jenks mind, was he telling the truth or just what he thought I wanted to hear? Edward nodded once and I started to relax, that is until we found Peter, Charlotte, and Jasper pouring over a map spread out on his dining table. The room looked as if a woman lived there, the few finishing touches men usually forgot were present and I could smell Bella's scent albeit faintly now.

Peter had turned up last night and gone looking for any sign of Bella and the others on the road between Yellowstone and Seattle and had found someone, an employee of a restaurant at a truck stop about two and a half hours from here who was almost sure he'd seen Bella and her parents the day they went missing.

"He said the two women came in and ordered coffees while the guy who acted like the older woman was his wife did something to the truck. They had coffee and then they left, about half an hour after they got there. Nobody took any special notice of them and no one followed them out as far as he can remember. Its not much but it shows they were on the right road and fine when The Major reached the airport."

With Peter's finding and my statement the police gave up on Jasper as a suspect the following day and ruled him out but he was so wound up I thought if they hadn't he might well have broken out anyway,

"You need to calm down son, we'll find them I promise you."

After leaving Jenks at the station with another client we drove back to the apartment but the bad news was just beginning. Waiting for us sitting patiently talking to Esme and Alice who had followed us were Aro, Renata, and Felix.

Aro's eyes alighted on Jasper and he smiled a little coldly.

"I'm so glad to see you here Major Whitlock, I was almost afraid you might have gotten yourself into some kind of trouble with the human police and that would have been most worrying."

"I'm free and cleared of any involvement."

"I'm pleased to hear it, it saves us from any unpleasantness but I am concerned about the human girl you have been...cohabiting with shall we say."

"She doesn't know anything about us Aro, I haven't told her my secret."

"Good, but she is your mate apparently?"

"Yes she is and I intend marrying her."

"You mean if you find her, I understand she is missing. Regrettable but I'm afraid we have been informed of her presence in your life, as your fiancée and we feel it would be too dangerous to have her that close as a human. Understanding you have enough problems on your plate at this moment we are prepared to be lenient with you. As a result we are giving you six months to change Bella into a vampire. If you do not then I'm afraid she will have to be killed. Six months should give you long enough and of course any longer and I might, we might, be accused of favoritism as friends of Carlisle and that certainly wouldn't be a good thing for anyone but I wish you good luck Major."

Jasper

They left then and I knew I was now working to a deadline, one I couldn't afford to miss without losing Bella for ever, provided of course she was still alive...No I couldn't go there, surely I would have felt something if she had died, even as a human.

"Now that's what I like about the Volturi, they're always ready to make a bad situation even fucking worse. Why didn't the great and mighty Aro Volturi offer us the services of the fabled blood hound Demetri.?"

"Because he's on another far more important mission at the moment and the brothers are unwilling to call him back for a mere human Peter, I did ask."

Esme sounded annoyed but where it would have cowed anyone else Peter just ignored the tone.

"Thought he'd have some excuse, mind you Major, six months gives you plenty of time. All we have to do is find her. We know where she was so I guess its a case of following the route they would have taken, the trucks gotta show up somewhere. Unless of course Mystic Meg has come up with something in her crazy crystal ball. Isn't she supposed to see the fucking future or something?"

Carlisle jumped in defending Alice.

"We already asked her Peter, before we got here but it seems she can't see Bella's future or Jasper's because there's someone involved who isn't decisive and until that person makes a decision that will affect Jasper's life she can't help us. She will continue to look however."

"Well that's big of her, its amazing how blind she can be when you really need her gift. Still we'll see what we can find without her."

I had told Charlie he could stay with me while we were looking for Bella but with Peter here that was going to be almost impossible without Charlie finding out my secret but then there was a break for me at least when Peter suggested he and some of the Cullens follow the route, they could do it much quicker then the police and with Edwards help they might discover something helpful so they left, all except Rose and Esme,

"Would you like us to stay Jazz? Help with Bella's father? We promise not to do anything to give him any idea there's something strange about us."

"No Esme, if he sees too many pale skinned, golden eyed people in my foster family he's going to smell a rat, Charlie is a cop and he didn't get to be Chief of Police without noticing things like that."

"I could stay though Jazz, you told him you had a sister and that would account for our differences from the norm, siblings can have the same genetic defect and I really don't want you to be alone. You can't do anything until he arrives, its all under control so let me help...please."

I couldn't refuse Rose, it was very courageous of her to make the offer, she was usually very wary of humans and steered clear and she was right, I didn't want to be alone, even with Charlie around.

When he arrived he'd already been to see the local police and spoken to Yellowstone's senior ranger who was almost positive that Bella and her parents had never arrived there although they were still searching but the park was huge and parts very remote so that would take time. The police had a trace out so if Phil's cell phone was used they would know straight away, Renee's voice mail was full and so was Bella's mainly with messages from me, becoming more frantic each time but both were switched off and untraceable for now. The last time Phil's had been used was when Bella sent me the voice message I received when I was in Rio. He was surprised but pleased to meet my sister who soon had him eating out of her hand asking questions about Bella and feeding him.

"I thought maybe we could speak to her friends on campus. See if anyone heard from her or knows anything."

I shrugged, I'd already spoken to Toni and even traced Clarissa but neither had heard from Bella since she left for her camping trip. They were both worried too and promised to let me know if they heard anything and I promised the same to them. We were sitting at the table staring at the map when my cell phone went and I grabbed it, praying it would be Bella but it was Toni,

"Jazz I did think of something but I don't know if it was just a story or the truth. When we had our slumber party someone told us about a girl who disappeared from campus a couple of years ago and was never found. I don't know any details but if its true then there should be something in the papers. I'm not saying the same thing happened to Bella but it does make me wonder."

Rose was on the internet immediately, Charlie watching over her shoulder as she tapped the key words into the search engine and waited. Within seconds there were a whole slew of hits regarding a girl of 21 called Sophie Green who went missing from the campus a couple of days before finals. There was an investigation but she was never traced. Her family even put up a reward for information but it was never claimed. Reading through it my body felt leaden, if one girl could go missing then so could another. Rose felt my mood and squeezed my hand,

"There's one big difference Jazz. Poor Sophie didn't have the combined efforts of the Cullens and Whitlocks looking for her, Bella has."

Charlie grimaced,

"True but the police have the resources individuals don't Rosalie. I'm going back to the station and find out what the real story is, there's always more than you read in the press."

As he walked out I saw the slump of his shoulders and knew he thought Bella might be gone for good but the other girl had been alone, Bella wasn't and making three people disappear was much more difficult than doing it with a single person.