BPOV
THREE YEARS AGO
Jasper wheels me down to the very bottom floor in silence aside from the literal elevator music that plays low in the speakers. It seems to take forever for us to get to the morgue but in reality, it was really only five minutes possibly a bit longer. It's even colder down here with the… with the dead. I suppose that's to be expected. My heart is beating uncontrollably as I try to keep my breathing under control. We slow down at a set of double doors where he presses a button to open said doors and wheel me in.
A woman comes walking out to greet us in a white coat covered with a yellow gown. "Detective," she nods before turning her attention to me. "Mrs. Cullen I'm so sorry for your loss. Whenever you're ready, he's ready for you. I do have to warn you though… while I haven't done an autopsy, the damage to his outside body is extensive and he will not look like what he would if he were alive."
I clear my throat. "I understand. Thank you. I'd like to see him now please."
There is a silent exchange between the woman and Jasper before she leads us into another room where he locks the wheelchair and helps me carefully into a standing position. I walk slowly to table where my husband lies forever unmoving.
"Uncover him," I demand softly when I reach the table.
Too slowly for my liking she peels the white sheet from over Edwards head but only down to his collar bone. I reach my hand up to trace his very bruised up and fractured face.
"What did they do to him?" I question thickly as tears begin to form.
"Mrs. Cullen- "
"Bella- "
The two of them try to say at the same time. "Tell me," I interrupt calmly. "I need to know."
"Let me pull his file again," she says walking away.
As she walks away, I begin to pull down the sheet to uncover my husband's body only to feel Jasper's hand cover my arm making me pause. "Think about what you're doing," he tells me lowly before taking his hand back.
"My mind comes up with the worst," I tell him. "I need to see so I know what's real." I continue to peel down the sheet low to his hips before going down to his legs and doing the same thing.
Black and blue bruising. Very evident broken bones. I can see where he was shot multiple times.
"Broken collar bone…" she begins walking back in with a folder.
Broken collar bone, broken nose, fractured eye socket, multiple broken ribs, broken leg in two places with a fractured foot on the same side. Six bullet holes, through and through. He was sexually assaulted, it's what I woke up to that night… The list goes on and she hasn't even opened him up. By the time she's finished I'm a sobbing mess only being held upright by Jasper. When I am able to calm down once again, I demand to be alone with him. I need to tell him how sorry I am and that I love him without feeling like an idiot for saying it out loud, I need to tell him I don't blame him for what happened.
"I'm going to make a phone call," Jasper tells me. "I'll just be right outside the doors."
I simply nod my understanding and listen for them to leave.
JPOV
"Hey, Cap," I begin. "She's seeing the body and then she's going to tell me everything she remembers. Have we got any hits on the DNA?"
"You're not gonna believe this," the captain tells me. "We got a hit from two of the DNA samples retracted from Isabella Cullen. Marcus Volturi and Demetri Volturi."
"As in the fucking mafia?" I angrily question. "How does an accountant get tangled up with the damn mafia?"
"I don't know, but you're going to find out. You do know what this means though, don't you?"
I sigh. "We get to stow her away until she's safe."
"And you," he informs me.
We hang up the phone and I think about everything we talked about as I turn around to look in the morgue to find Bella bent over her dead husband with her hands in his hair. I frown. Walking back into the room, I make my way over to her to find that she has fallen asleep leaning over him. Sighing softly, I place my hand gently on Bella's shoulder and call to her to wake her up. Luckily, she only wakes up slightly startled and stands back upright.
"Let's get you back to the room, yeah?" I say softly, grabbing her hand to walk with her back to the wheelchair.
"They were supposed to leave," she murmurs in a broken voice, her eyes dazed as I get her settled down in the chair.
I say nothing, instead I wheel her back towards the elevators to get her back into her room and into bed. She looks as if she will collapse at any moment and that is one of the last things I want to happen. Dr. Lee is there to meet us to hook up her IV for fluids as she carefully gets into the hospital bed wincing while doing so.
"I'll order a mild pain blocker for you," Dr. Lee tells her. "It'll make you sleepy, but you need the rest to help you heal."
"But what about- "she begins to protest, looking at me.
I raise my hand to stop her. "We'll get as far as we can and when you need to rest, we rest."
"Okay," she whispers resting against the pillows.
Taking out my tape recorder along with a pen and notebook, I sit down in the bedside chair. The nurse comes in and scans the medication along with the wristband attached to Bella before injecting it into the IV.
"There you are," she says sweetly. "Can I get you guys anything? Water, coffee, food?"
Bella shakes her head in response while I tell her no thank you. She walks out closing the door behind her and now the silence is deafening.
I clear my throat before pressing the play button on my recorder. "This is Detective Jasper Whitlock interviewing the victim Isabella Cullen on October 16, 2014, at eleven in the morning," I look up at Bella to see she is looking at the wall in front of her. "Whenever you're ready, Bella, start going through your day leading up to the attack."
"I got up at six for my shift at work, I went to work at the café- "
"Did you see anyone unusual? Did someone pay special attention to you or just seem out of place?" I interrupt.
"Just our normal regulars for the most part," she shakes her head before going silent, squinting her eyes remembering something. "No… I mean there was someone I guess…"
"Was it a man or a woman?" I jot down the café and a possible lead.
"Man. I'd never seen him before, but I mean its Chicago, I uh- I took his order and went to give it to him. He had grabbed my hand to stop me when I was walking away talking about my wedding ring," she frowns. "I thought it was weird, but he let me go and told me to have a good day with my husband Mrs. Cullen…"
"How did he know to call you Mrs. Cullen?" I automatically ask.
She rolls her eyes. "Boss man insists on us wearing name badges with our last names instead of first names in case a customer has a complaint. It's easier to pinpoint us out for the wrongdoing and discipline us."
"Can you remember what he looked like?" I continue on.
"Umm… I think? Uh… long jet-black hair pulled back into a ponytail, pasty skin, dark eyes," she shakes her head. "I- I don't know how tall because I never seen him come inside and I never seen him leave. He just left a twenty-dollar bill on the table."
"Any facial hair? What was he dressed in?"
"No. It didn't even look like it was possible for him to grow any. Black suit with a red tie," she answers. "He had some type of brief case with him with an emblem on it I think."
"Good. You're doing good. What did you do after work?" I ask after writing the description down on my notebook.
"I get off at two and then start my other job at two forty-five," she answers making me raise an eyebrow in question.
"You have two jobs?" I question to confirm.
"Just because my husband is- was some hotshot accountant doesn't mean I let him pay my way," Bella snaps at me angrily.
I hold my hands up in surrender. "I didn't mean anything by it, I apologize. I need to know the names of where you work and your shifts you normally work if it's a set schedule." I place the notepad down on her lap and hand her the pen for her to write.
*Mugshot Café: Monday-Friday 7a-2p *The Twilight Club: Monday-Wednesday 2:45p-10:30p
I raise my eyebrows surprised at the hours she works. "How the hell do you function?" I let slip from my mouth.
"Barely if I'm honest, but I'm taking photography classes and cameras and film among other things aren't cheap," she shrugs as if it's no big deal. "I do what I need to so I can pay for everything. I'm not letting someone else pay for my debt."
You might have paid for your husbands. "Do you go on campus or take online classes?"
"Campus," she tells me. "It's easier not to fall asleep if I'm in person."
I chuckle at that as I nod. "Understandable. What days do you go?"
"Thursday to Saturday from four to six thirty. Every now and then we get released early," she shrugs, "it depends on what we do or the lesson."
"And nothing out of the ordinary on campus? Same people around and such? No substitutes or anything of the sort?"
"No, nothing like that. I normally keep to myself in classes but there aren't many people in them so it would be easy to pick out a new face."
"Okay, so the attack happened on Monday the thirteenth. You got up at six in the morning and got to work by seven in the morning," I look up for confirmation that is a nod. "You get off work at the Mugshot Café at two. Do you automatically leave the café to get to The Twilight Club or do you stop to get something to eat or…?"
"I typically make myself a coffee and a sandwich from the café before I leave but if I don't do that I'll sometimes go to the small mom and pop shop just around the corner from the club," she explains, and I take notice the bobbing of her head and the glazed-over look in her eyes that take over. "Everything is walking distance, so I walk unless the weather doesn't permit me to."
"Okay, you did great Bella," I tell her softly. "Let's take a break so you can get some rest."
As I turn off the recorder and close my pen, she begins to doze off making me think it's okay for me to get up and stretch. I was wrong. She suddenly lets out a gasp, jerking her body as her eyes fly open looking around the room.
"I'm right here, Bella," I whisper calmly, wrapping my fingers around her hand.
She settle's back down quickly and grasps my hand as well. "Detective?"
"You can call me Jasper, Bella."
"Jasper?" she tries again making me let out a small laugh.
"What is it, darlin?"
She doesn't answer as the medication and pure exhaustion take over her body finally. I'm not sure if I want to know what she was going to say or ask but now I can't help but wonder. Going over my notes I message my boss and tell him to get ahold of the security cameras from Mugshot Café if they have any. From the sounds of it, one of the two once happily married couple got the attention of the mafia, and my money is on the husband as he deals with money. Transaction gone bad? Only time will tell right now.
A/N: As always, let me know what you think! I'm loving this story myself so far and I want to know how well I'm doing. Until next time!
-bellacullen166
