Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here is chapter twenty-eight of 'Into the Shadows.' This chapter marks the first appearance of Perry and Piper Peterson. They are friends of the Newtons. I felt it was time to introduce them. Stay tuned for chapter twenty-nine.
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Chapter 28: Up and Down
A black-throated sparrow flew through the sky above a Port Angeles neighborhood. It spotted the Peterson residence and flew downward. The house happened to be very large. It had five bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms. The back door was of a glass sliding door type. It led out to an indoor pool that was rectangular-shaped. Eight longue chairs surrounded it on all sides. A swing was on the front porch.
Fifty-year-old Perry walked down the second-floor hallway toward Brian's room. He was Caucasian and happened to be quite tall. He possessed a muscular frame. His black hair was cut in a buzz style. Both of his blue eyes had scars underneath them. The upper part of his right arm had a birthmark in the shape of a line on it. His face didn't have a single wrinkle on it.
He arrived at Brian's room, which was the third one on the right. He walked in, only to find it empty. He looked around and saw everything was in its place. The room was rather large. It contained a twin bed, a pine nightstand, and an oak dresser. A TV sat on top of the dresser, as did a VCR. The walls were painted light blue. A desk sat in front of the window with a laptop computer on top of it. Red carpet covered the entire floor.
He smiled to himself. He knew Brian had gone on his usual Sunday morning walk. His son liked to do that to clear his mind for the upcoming week, especially when he was in school. He remembered when he used to do that as a high school student. It was for the same reason. He still walked, just not on Sundays anymore. Of course, Brian walked on other days, but Sunday was his favorite day for it.
He cupped his chin in his hand. He recalled finding Brian asleep in his bed when he and Piper got home from Oliver's birthday party. He had thought the boy looked so peaceful. He had wanted to wake him up and tell him they were home, but he had decided not to. He set up the coffeemaker for morning and went to bed.
He headed back down the hallway toward his room. He stopped as fifty-two-year-old Piper came out of the third one on the left. She was Caucasian and was petite. She was lean, though she had some muscle. Her long dark brown hair was up in a bun. A few strands stuck. Some gray streaks could be seen. Her light blue eyes had scars underneath them. Her face had almost no wrinkles. She ran her hand over her hair.
"Good morning, honey," he greeted.
"Good morning yourself," she responded as a sweet smile formed on her face. "Is Brian—"
"Yep," Perry interrupted. He knew he was talking about their son being gone. "His bed is made just like it always is when he goes out. Everything is in its place."
"He's such a good boy keeping his room neat and clean," Piper said and giggled lightly. "He learned from the best, namely us."
"I remember when I was a boy. My parents made sure I kept my room spotless," Perry said and crossed his arms. "If they found one little thing on the floor, they reprimanded me big time. They were that strict."
"So were mine," Piper said, wincing quietly.
"I can look on the bright side. They never spanked me, unlike most parents of their generation. They thought exerting physical punishment on child for whatever reason wasn't right," Perry commented.
"So did mine," Piper responded.
"It's great we have many things in common, don't we?" Perry asked seductively.
"Yes, it is," Piper replied lovingly and kissed her husband. "You want to race to the kitchen?"
"Sure. The loser has to cook breakfast, okay?" Perry asked.
"You're on!" Piper yelled in delight.
"On your mark, get set—Hey!" Perry yelled as his wife took off running down the hallway. "I'm going to get you!"
Piper ran toward the stairs with Perry chasing after her. He increased his stride, getting close to her. She reached the stairs headed down them. She slipped about halfway, but she managed to keep herself from falling by grabbing onto the railing. He laughed as he passed her very quickly. She went after him, managing to get ahead of him after reaching the bottom of the stairs.
The couple headed toward the kitchen. Perry caught up to Piper and grabbed her waist, causing them to stop in their tracks. He put her aside and resumed running. She growled playfully and chased after him. They reached the kitchen at the same time. They panted hard while looking at each other. They formed big smiles on their faces.
"I guess we both have to cook breakfast," he said.
"How about I cook the bacon while you do the eggs?" she suggested.
Perry gave a thumbs-up. "You got it, dude. First, I will turn on the coffeemaker to get the coffee going."
Piper nodded at him. "Okay."
Piper looked around the kitchen as Perry walked away. It was rather large with light yellow walls. The cabinets happened to be dark yellow. The floor was made of gray marble. The table was rectangular-shaped and had six matching chairs around it. A bar with four stools could be seen. Scratches were along the top and sides of the doorway. A dent in the wall was next to it just above the middle on the right.
Perry went over to the coffeemaker. He turned it on, hearing the water begin to boil. He rubbed his hands together as Piper went to the cabinets next to the sink. She opened the lower ones and grabbed a skillet. She went to the stove to lay it on the first front burner. She headed over to the refrigerator, opening it and grabbing the bacon. She closed it before returning to the stove. He came up beside her.
"I had a wonderful time at Oliver's birthday party," she said in much warmth.
"Me too," he agreed. "He loved the gifts we got him."
"It was hilarious to see you try to play Pin the Tail on the Donkey like you used to when you were young. You wandered all over the place before you managed to make it to the picture," Piper said, a giggle coming from her.
"It was Oliver's idea to play that game. I missed pinning the tail in the right spot by inches," Perry commented.
She shrugged. "I did not place the tail in the right area either. I placed it in the middle of the picture."
"You looked pretty embarrassed when you saw where it was," Perry said, making a funny noise.
"You win some. You lose some," Piper commented.
"That is true. Some people are such sore losers," Piper grumbled with a roll of his eyes. "They think they should have won their games."
"Do not forget about sore winners. They will belittle the losers of a game," Piper hissed irritatingly.
"Of course not. What do you think I am, stupid?" Perry wondered and raised his eyebrows.
"You act stupid sometimes," Piper said and smacked her lips. "I know I can."
He nodded in agreement. "Yeah."
Just then, the doorbell rang. Perry walked to the front door, followed by Piper. They ran their hands through their hair before clearing their throats. He looked through the peephole to see Walter and Bernard. He unlocked it and opened it, and she joined his side.
"Perry and Piper Peterson?" Bernard asked.
"Yes?" Perry asked cautiously.
"I'm Detective Walter Fulton of the Forks Police Department," Walter answered, flashing his badge. "This is my partner, Detective Bernard Focker. We've come to tell you something."
"What? What happened?" Piper wondered, becoming very concerned.
"Do you mind if we come in?" Bernard asked.
"All right," Perry said. "How about we go to the kitchen and sit down?"
Walter and Bernard nodded in agreement. Perry and Piper stepped aside, allowing them to enter. The group went to kitchen after Perry closed the door and locked it. The detectives sat on the right. The couple took the left.
"We do not know how to tell you this, but—" Walter started.
"What? What happened?" Perry asked in much confusion.
"Bella was—" Bernard said, unsure if he could continue.
Piper raised her eyebrows. "What happened to Bella?"
Walter showed determination. He hoped the couple would not freak out. "Bella was brutally raped by Mike last night. She is recuperating at Forks Hospital."
Perry and Piper gasped in much shock. They looked closer at the detectives. They realized the duo was telling the truth. They began to breath heavily. Walter and Bernard swallowed hard.
"I know this is hard for you to believe, but I assure you that everything we've told you is true," Walter said sympathetically.
"It is hard to believe. Why would Mike do such a terrible thing? He's always been a good boy. We never saw any problems, though Bruce and Karen did tell us he was jealous of Edward because he was with Bella. They also told us about grounding him for breaking his curfew once," Piper whispered, swallowing hard.
"We don't know, Piper. We thought this was just a case of a man raping a woman because he was angry she rejected him," Bernard explained.
"That is until your friends revealed he sneaked out on multiple occasions and could never get the truth about what he was doing from him. Then we realized it wasn't that anymore," Bernard answered.
"They agreed to sign a release to allow the police search their house for clues," Walter added.
"But why would Bruce and Karen turn on their son so quickly? Was it a trust issue?" Perry wondered.
"It could have been. They never told us when we questioned them," Walter muttered with a heavy sigh.
"We're aware you went with them to a birthday party for a friend named Oliver Hartson," Bernard said and clasped his hands together. "Bella told us that. So did Bruce and Karen."
"Yes, we did. Bruce and Karen decided to head home early while we stayed. We didn't get home until close to midnight," Perry responded.
"Whatever questions you want to ask us, we'll do our best to answer them," Piper added honestly.
"Our son, Brian, is out of the house on a walk. He won't be back until later," Perry commented.
"Okay," Walter replied with a nod. He rubbed his chin and emitted a soft snort. He and his partner grabbed their notepads and pens from their pockets. "Anyway, how long have you known the Newtons?"
"We have known the Newtons since Mike was a little boy. Our sons used to play together all the time when we lived in Sacramento. They were close friends. The Newtons moved out here several years ago. We alternated visits between each other's homes once every four months. We moved to Port Angeles when Brian was thirteen. We have alternated visits between our cities every two weeks," Piper explained.
Walter and Bernard laid their notepads on the table. They wrote down everything Piper told them. They returned their attention to her and her husband.
"Did Brian ever get in trouble when you lived in Sacramento?" Bernard wondered in much curiosity.
"No," Perry admitted truthfully. "He was just as good a boy as Mike seemed to be."
"Has Mike confided in Brian about anything that was happening to him?" Walter asked.
"Mike often talked to Brian about stuff. If Brian knew something was happening to him, he never told us. We would ask him what they talked about. He would say they talked about video games, music, and movies. We accepted it as those subjects are commonly discussed among boys," Piper responded calmly.
Walter wrote down the details, as did Bernard. "Okay. Has Brian ever promised to keep secrets his friends told him?"
"A few times. We almost always got them out of him," Bernard commented and suppressed a yawn. "His friends would get mad when they learned he told us, but they would forgive him."
"If someone is in danger, it is best to tell trusted family members and friends. It does not matter if it was promised to be kept a secret. The longer it is kept quiet, the more danger the person will be in," Piper pointed out.
Bernard rubbed his chin. "That is true."
"One thing is clear. Protecting people from harm is more important than keeping secrets," Perry said.
Piper exhaled. "Yep."
Piper let out a long yawn before smacking her lips. Walter proceeded to ask her and Perry about Oliver's birthday party.