hapter Thirty Seven

Charlie

I didn't know how Darius had managed to get hold of all this information, it was held in secure police computers but I didn't care, this was Renee and Bella and I needed to know exactly what was going on. I listened to the description of the place Renee had been found,

"It sounds like whoever dumped her there must have been pretty sure she wouldn't be found for a while, unless the body was dumped recently. What does the M. E's report say?"

"The body had died elsewhere and was transported to the place it was found."

"So its likely the perp lives in or close to San Diego."

"Close to La Jolla if he knew about that particular site I would think Charlie, that's local knowledge which might help us track him down."

"But he could have dumped her ages ago and moved on with the others."

I shook my head at Rosalie's words,

"If Renee is dead then so is Phil. Anyone would be mad to keep a strong healthy male around, they are difficult to control and that poses a danger, no I think Phil's dead, we just haven't found his body yet. In fact I think he was probably the first to die."

Jasper took one of the papers from Darius,

-*96+"According to the M.E. Renee has been dead over three months which means she was murdered soon after they left me, soon after they left that truck stop so I'd say Phil died within hours of leaving and Renee was kept alive a little longer to satisfy this sick bastard's needs. If that's the case then what do you think of Bella's chances of still being alive?"

I wasn't sure what to say, I wanted my little girl to be alive God knows I did but from what we'd heard so far it didn't sound hopeful.

"I guess that depends on what he wanted her for. Phil never surfaced and you have to wonder why, was his body hidden that well? Renee would have outlived him only a short time but her body has only just been found, why? Sheer luck or did he only dump it a short while ago?"

Darius shook his head,

"We all know what state it would be in after three months especially this time of year in Southern California. Unless he had access to a large freezer and there is no sign the body was subjected to cold temperatures. No, I think it was dumb luck but that might work in our favor, if he thinks he got away with disposing of the body he'll have no need to run with Bella."

"Unless she's also been murdered and dumped somewhere else and just not been found."

My voice broke as I spoke these words but it had to be said, it was after all entirely possible.

Jasper

I knew Charlie could be right but I couldn't allow myself to think that Bella might be dead, I would continue to act as if she were alive until such time someone could present me with her body. The thing that still confused me was the ring.

"Darius, I told you about the rings. Why would Renee be wearing Bella's engagement ring?"

"Well, the perp could have taken their jewellery as trophies then put some back on after Renee was dead I guess."

"Why would he though? If he'd taken them as trophies it wouldn't make sense that he put them back, No I don't believe that."

"Maybe it was a message."

We all looked at Rosalie who continued determinedly,

"If Bella saw her mother murdered and had time maybe she swapped rings knowing that when Renee was found Jazz would recognize her ring and know she was still alive. She had no way of knowing it would take so long to find her mothers body."

Charlie nodded,

"Makes sense to me. So we assume that not only did Bella see her mother's death or at least her corpse but she also swapped the rings."

"Resourceful and extremely brave of a girl who had just witnessed such brutality."

"My girl is resourceful Darius and strong."

"Was there any DNA evidence on Renee's body?"

Again Rose had hit the nail on the head and Darius looked quickly through the papers scattered all over the table by now,

"Yes but too degraded and contaminated by the paint and solvents from the paint buckets to be of any use. Sorry."

"Can we get a hold of a sample?"

I was puzzled by Rosalie's question, why did she want to know that?

"You want it? I'll get it for you."

"I just wondered if I...I mean my scientifically minded friend might get more from it. No promises but I guess it's worth a try."

"We have to leave now people but as soon as we get to San Diego I'll get you a sample Rosalie."

Jasper

If Bella were still alive she would be in bad shape after seeing her mother murdered or at least the corpse plus God knows what she herself had been subjected to so we needed somewhere safe we could take her to allow her to heal.

"Rosalie, you and Esme find a house close to San Diego, a base in case we need it for Bella."

Rose understood and nodded but Charlie didn't,

"What about the police? They're going to want to speak to Bella if we find her. You can't just whisk her away to some safe house and hope you can help her. I know your foster father is a doctor Jasper but she's probably going to need hospital treatment."

I turned to look at him and I know I looked intimidating,

"If we find Bella we will decide what's best for her Charlie, Carlisle is a doctor and Rosalie and I both have degrees in psychology, plus Esme makes a great nurse, Bella will be looked after better with us than with anyone else."

Charlie

There was something strange about this family and that included their friends. Something just didn't quite sit right but I had no doubt they were looking for Bella and would do all in their power to find her and get her out safely but they were a little too confident, as if they thought they were far better than the police at tracking people, at getting her out safely when they did find her. I didn't know why but I felt more optimistic with them than I did with the Seattle police, they had found the first clue and they had access to all the information the police had and put it all together much more quickly. Now they were buying up plane tickets and talking of renting a house in San Diego just in case! It was as if money were no object even if it might turn out to be thrown away if Bella weren't there.

Something else was nagging at me, Jasper had said both he and Rosalie held degrees in psychology and she had slipped up when talking about the samples, she was the one who would be looking at them not some friend. But Jasper and Rosalie were the same age as Bella and even if they were prodigies it was a stretch to think they had all the skills they referred to.

"You ready to move Charlie?"

"What? Oh yeah but I need to go to the ATM first and ring Forks. Let them know I'm not gonna be going back yet."

Darius threw me his cell phone,

"Ring on the way and there are plenty of ATM's in San Diego I'm sure."

"But I need some cash for the ticket."

"All bought and paid for so don't sweat."

"You can't pay my flight ticket."

"Wrong, can and did now are you gonna stand there arguing or are you coming with us?"

I shrugged and decided to sort it all out later, for now I wanted to get to San Diego hoping against hope that my little girl was still alive and not being raped or tortured by some sick pervert. It was hard, being a police officer and feeling so helpless especially when it was one of my own. I followed Rosalie and Jasper down to the car only to find Darius had beaten us to it complete with computer bag and his own flight bag. Now he didn't pass us so how the hell did he get here before us? I was about to ask when they shouted at me to hurry up and get in the car.