Disclaimer: Any recognizable Twilight characters and ideas are property of Stephenie Meyer. I am not profiting from the distribution of this story. No copyright infringement is intended.

Author's Notes: My little fic has reached 100 reviews on Twilighted and close to that on FFn, which is a first for me. While it may seem like just a drop in the bucket compared with other stories out there, I am deeply humbled and appreciative. Thank you to all my readers and those of you who have taken a moment to review. Each and every one brings a smile to my face.

I know. It's been awhile. I won't make any excuses, but I will say it's lovely be here!

As always, this final product wouldn't be possible without the amazing talents of my betas. Thank you to jrs_storm for comma control and general knowhow and latessitrice for keeping my characters in line.

From Chapter Four: Everybody Lied…

Fingers trembling, I carefully ripped into the manila envelope. A weight laid heavily on my chest. I couldn't have taken a deep breath if I wanted to. It all came down to this.

The document inside felt glossy on the front, obviously a photo. I asked for help with her best friend's possible disappearance, and Alice sends me a picture? How in the world did that make sense?

I pulled the photo out of the envelope and just stared. I'm not quite sure what I was expecting to see, but it sure as shit wasn't this.

"Alice…What the hell?"

Chapter Five – Wedding Bells

Charlie POV

March 2011

Not sure exactly how long I sat staring at the photo in my hands. I had already flipped it over a couple times like some magic answer would suddenly appear on the back. And the envelope? No letter was stuck on the inside. I had already checked it – twice.

I had asked Alice and the Cullens to contact me as soon as possible. They had sent me a wedding photo.

"How in the hell is this supposed to help me, Alice?"

Of course, it probably wasn't even Alice that sent the picture. The handwriting definitely wasn't right. So, if not Alice, then who?

Whoever was responding to the Cullens' PO box clearly knew the family well enough to have professional photos from Bella and Edward's wedding. It was actually a shot I'd never seen before – Bella and Edward with both families.

I still remembered the moment the picture was taken with total clarity - even though I had already calmed my nerves at that point with a couple of the fancy cocktails the Cullens were serving.

Bella and Edward had definitely won the weather lottery; the day had turned out to be pretty damn nice for a change. Overcast, but at least no rain. As we posed for the photo, one of Edward's big brothers stood behind me making my ears bleed with some God awful cracks about the newlyweds wanting to rush through pictures so they could go…be newlyweds.

The rest of the Cullens, Esme in particular, had thankfully come to my rescue by trying to put a lid on the kid's innuendos. I didn't even know it was possible to rattle off that many so fast Wouldn't have put it past him to have been working on those for weeks.

Meanwhile, Renee had been on my right side giggling away at Edward's brother's jokes and bouncing from foot to foot like usual – one great, big ball of energy. The photographer kept having to ask her to stand still. Clearly he didn't notice he was fighting a losing battle..

Then, of course, there had been my Bella – the pretty girl in white who had asked me to stand right next to her in the big group photo.

Not Renee. Me.

I'd been picturing Bella as a bride ever since she was a tiny little thing in my arms. Nothing I'd ever imagined came close to the real deal. Her dress and her hair and everything were nice, and I'm sure they were probably right in fashion, if Alice had anything to say about it. But her clothes and makeup weren't what made Bella beautiful that day.

It was just her.

Bella was so damn happy on her wedding day, and it completely lit her up. Totally struck me dumb. Never would have believed that my little, independent girl could be happy about getting married after all the crap I'm sure Renee used to tell her about marriage. Of course I had already grudgingly accepted that my daughter loved Edward, but seeing it with my own two eyes was somethin' else.

And the thing is, I almost missed it. After all the disappearing crap Edward had pulled, I wasn't his biggest fan, and I sure as hell didn't want my daughter committing to him when it seemed like he wouldn't even be capable of committing to a hair gel for very long. So I was all set to go handle the wedding weekend with all the grace of a total crab ass before Esme stopped by the house set me straight. She somehow sweet-talked me into letting go of my hang ups with Edward. I can be a pretty stubborn ox, but no one says no to Esme Cullen. And thank God I didn't. I would have missed…everything.

August 13, 2006

"Gees, kid, how many times are you gonna mess with this tie?"

Alice sighed as her fingers partially untied and retied the knot at my neck. "I don't know, Charlie. How many times are you going to loosen it and mess it up?"

I could only laugh in response. I'd done it about a hundred times, already. The second she was down the stairs I would –

"Charlie!" Alice exclaimed while my traitorous daughter smiled to herself next to me. "I'm serious. You can fuss with it all you want once you're sitting. Just leave it alone for the walk, okay?"

Her eyes met mine as she gave the bowtie one last tug. "Sorry."

"Alright, alright," I surrendered with hands in the air. "I promise not to touch it until I'm sitting. Deal?"

Alice thought about it for a moment before nodding her approval. "Deal. Much better! Bella? Bouquet?"

Bella handed Alice back her bouquet and gave her maid of honor a tight smile.

Nerves are hitting right on schedule, I see.

Having picked up on Bella's worry just as I had, Alice leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "You're going to be fine, Bells. Just remember to go slowly."

She turned to me and added, "Wait until the music changes, then follow me."

With that, Alice started down the stairs leading to the Cullens' living room and left me alone with the bride for the first time all day. Now was my chance to say what I'd been wanting to say since I had first laid eyes on Bella in her dress.

Just as I was about to speak, the damn music changed just like Alice said it would. Bella took a wobbly step towards the staircase, but I tugged her back to me. "Dad, seriously if we miss our cue, I'm turning Alice on you."

"I know, Bells, I know. It's just…Can you promise me something?" I said, my voice a lot quieter than I had intended.

Bella looked up at me and the smirk disappeared. "Yeah, Dad. Of course."

"Promise me you know you'll always be my baby girl. I know you've gotta go to him. I just…I don't know. I need to make sure that you know…Always mine, too, right?"

I watched Bella's eyes become glassy and said a silent prayer that she wouldn't cry. I didn't know if I could handle her tears right now, and I knew I couldn't handle Alice's wrath for ruining her makeup when she wasn't there to touch it up.

Luckily, Bella was able to get a handle on them before they made a complete showing. Just as softly as I had spoken, she replied, "Yeah, Dad. Always."

Well, alright, then. Let's do this.

I led Bella down the stairs, more than a couple beats too late. I thought about walking at a faster pace once we reached solid ground, but I was already up Shit Creek with Alice. Definitely didn't need to add going up the aisle too fast to the list.

As it turns out, I didn't need to worry about being the one to mess up the pace. My job shifted quickly from escorting Bella down the aisle to restraining her from running down it. The minute her eyes caught sight of Edward at the other end, everything about her body language changed. Gone were all the nerves that I'd picked up on since the moment I came into her holding area in Alice's room. Now all she wanted to do was get to her groom.

"Slow it down, kid," I muttered out of the corner of my mouth.

Bella listened to me. Mostly. I could still feel the eagerness coming off her in waves, but at least Alice wouldn't crucify us both for power walking down the aisle.

I turned my eyes back to Edward and tried to find the cocky, rich bastard that had broken my daughter's heart and then stolen her from me. Problem was, he just wasn't there. All I could see was this kid who was obviously madly in love with the pretty girl on my arm.

Suddenly, it didn't seem so damn wrong to hand her over to him.

Of course, that didn't stop me from silently launching into a slew of threats generously packaged with the f-bomb just for him. If I thought them hard enough, maybe they would be clear enough in my eyes for Edward to get it.

Don't mess this up again, or it's your ass, son.

What I thought would be the longest walk of my life ended before I could really take in the moment. Bella and I suddenly stood right in front of Edward, and it was time to give her away. At that moment, I wished I could have been anywhere else in the world - getting some dental work done or even yet another fitting with Alice. My entire life as a father had been about getting Bella for a short time and then having to hand her back to Renee.

I would do anything to not have to give her away again.

But in the same moment that I hesitated and bargained for a way out, Bella turned towards me and smiled that damn smile she gets whenever she's around that kid. Right then, I knew I what I had to do.

I had to smile.

I had to kiss her on the cheek.

And then I had to give her away.

So I did.

"Son, this is my little girl," I started.

"I'll take care of her, Charlie. I promise," Edward said to me and shook my hand.

Message received. Good.

I took Bella's hand and laid it gently in Edward's, all the while feeling like I did every blessed time I let her board an airplane back to Phoenix. Only this time, she wouldn't be coming back next summer.

Edward would be good to her, but that didn't really make letting her go any easier.

Pastor Weber welcomed the guests and asked everyone to be seated as I made my way over to my reserved chair in front. Renee laid her hand on mine for a moment, but withdrew it faster than I would have liked so she could focus on whatever the pastor was saying about love.

But it was the gentle squeeze I felt on my shoulder that brought everything back into focus for me. I turned around and smiled at the woman I knew would be there. Sue Clearwater. I banished the familiar feelings of guilt that came along with being around her and just accepted her comfort for what it was.

I wasn't sure what would happen between Sue and me in the future, but just maybe we'd get our own happy ending one of these days.

Present Day

Of course, we didn't get any sort of happy ending. Life completely changed for me so soon after the wedding, and Sue had acted funny around me ever since.

Meanwhile, that same happiness I enjoyed seeing on my daughter's face on her wedding day had also eaten away at me for years. Woken me up in sweats. Gave me heart palpations. Drove me to drink a few more beers than I should have.

It wasn't exactly her happiness that day that killed me. It was how damn little time she'd had to be happy.

My finger brushed over Bella's face, smiling back at me from the photo. Two weeks later, there had been an accident in the woods, and Bella wasn't ever going to get to be happy again. It was devastating.

At least, it had been.

Now, I didn't know what the hell to think about the accident. The PO box and the photo in my hand were not making anything any easier, either. In a weird way, I guess I was kind of appreciative to have this photo. When Bella had gotten back from her honeymoon, she gave me a framed picture of one of her favorites – a candid shot of just her and Edward. It was beautiful.

It had also turned out to be one of the only photos I had of the wedding. Alice asked me numerous times if I wanted a larger collection during the year we kept in contact. Even though I had told her no, I did eventually get a few more of Bella and I about six months after the accident. The photo I received today was the first one to have not only Edward, but the Cullens, too.

I just…I didn't get it. The note on the envelope had said I should have had the picture years ago, and I couldn't argue with that. What was stumping me was why in the hell this was the answer to my request for contact. How was everything connected? I picked up the envelope and stared at the handwriting on the front. "Who are you?"

My letter had been addressed to Alice, but she definitely wasn't the one responding. At least, if it was, she hadn't acted alone. Alice had given me enough handwritten prewedding assignments and itineraries; I would recognize her curlicue letters anywhere. But I certainly didn't put it past her to have someone else write for her if it fit her agenda.

I just had no idea what the hell that agenda might be.

So who could have written for her? Esme? Her sister? Maybe one of their cousins helped her out.

I couldn't help the smile that crossed my face. "The cousins."

August 13, 2006

"Charlie Swan, father of the bride," the prettiest little voice said from behind me.

I turned around and almost lost my grip on the sweaty can of Reiner Emmett had managed to score for me. One of the blonde knockouts that Esme pointed out to me earlier was now standing directly in front of me. They were first or second cousins of the family or something. I didn't know exactly how they were related. Right now, with her smirking at me in that low-cut, silvery dress, she could have been the Cullens' plumber for all I cared.

"Uh, yeah, that's me."

Mmm-hmm. That's the smooth ladies' man everyone's talkin' about, right there, boys.

Over the top of the girl's head, I could see both of Edward's brothers on the other side of the dance floor pointing and laughing. Couldn't blame them. I'm sure the two of us looked ridiculous together.

Bless her heart, Edward's cousin just giggled off my awkwardness. "Well hello, Charlie. I'm Kate. I think Esme might have already told you that we're family?"

"Yep. She did. She did say that."

More of that giggling, followed quickly by a gentle hand wrapped around my arm. Good Lord, this woman smelled amazing. I could tell Kate was saying something, but I was having a hard time focusing beyond her golden eyes and long lashes bobbing up and down every time she-

"Care to finally ask the maid of honor to dance? I've only been waiting all night."

I dragged my eyes away from the vision in silver to find another, more familiar vision. This one was in purple, and even though she was in some seriously high heels, she was still comically shorter than I was.

"Oh, yeah, sure. Of course, Alice." I looked back to her cousin. "Uh, I'm going to-"

"You two go ahead, Charlie. It was a pleasure. Truly."

With one last squeeze, Kate dropped her hand from my arm and walked back into the crowd around the dance floor.

I felt the beer can ripped from my hand, and I looked back to Alice just in time to see her put it on the table closest to us a little harder than she needed to. "Beer can? Really, Emmett? I said absolutely no cans," she muttered.

"Well, I don't know, Alice. I don't think anyone cared about –"

Alice put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow at me. Aw, crap. Back pedal.

"No, no. You're right. I should have stuck to that fruity…blue thing."

A small smile. Alice dropped her hands from her hips and said, "It's called 'Something Blue,' and is maybe not the most manly of drinks. But someone would have had to really go out of his way to get a can past me and into this reception."

Behind Alice, I could see Emmett shrugging wildly and saying something like, "What? What?" over and over to anyone around him that would listen. Must either have hearing like a damn bat or he guessed exactly what his sister was probably thinking.

"Look, Alice-"

"No, no, no. Don't you apologize. I have a feeling I'll have an opportunity to get back at that one soon enough. For now, you still owe me a dance."

Much as I hated to disappoint the girl that was as close to a second child as I was going to get, the idea of dancing with Alice was making me more than a little nervous for some reason.

My eyes quickly found the reason not a moment later. I hesitated. "Uh, Alice? You sure that boyfriend of yours is gonna be okay with that?"

Alice glanced over her shoulder to see what I was seeing. Jasper was standing next to Emmett and glaring at me in a way that told me he was definitely not okay with that.

"Oh, don't mind him. He just has a hard time putting a lid on the jealousy. Come on!"

Before I could put up any more of a fight, Alice had me by the hand and was dragging me toward the dance floor. We darted in between groups of guests talking around the outskirts and pushed our way to the center of the dancing couples. When she'd found room on the dance floor, Alice swung around and placed her free hand on my shoulder. She looked up at me expectantly.

I laughed and placed a hand on her hip. "Really don't ever take no for an answer, do you?"

"Mmm, no. Never," Alice replied simply.

My fingers gripped her waist harder as we began to sway, and I realized they weren't sinking into her side at all. Even her fingers on the hand I held in mine were all bone. "Alice, you been eating okay, kid? I know how much stress you must have been under putting this thing together."

Alice's lips twitched into a smile. "Oh, please. It's summer vacation. I had all the time in the world to pull this off. Piece of cake! And to answer your question, of course I've been eating. You should have seen me pigging out just last night. Don't worry about me."

I'd read enough about eating disorders in the weeks before Bella first got to Forks to not fully buy what Alice was trying to sell me. "Well, you know, you just eat like a bird when you're over, is all."

A funny expression crossed Alice's face, almost like my stupid suspicions had made her happy. I felt her squeeze my shoulder gently. "I eat, Charlie. It's okay."

We spent a few moments dancing in silence, which gave me an opportunity to finally figure out a way to ask the question I'd been dying to ask. Too bad it didn't come out as eloquently as I had planned.

"So, what's wrong with your cousins?" I blurted out.

Alice's eyebrows shot up. "I'm sorry?"

"That didn't come out right."

"That's what she said!" Emmett called from a few yards away where he was dancing with his girlfriend.

Good God, that kid never stops. How the hell could anyone hear over the music, anyway?

"It's okay," Alice said, following it up with a little laugh as we both noticed the glare Esme was sending Emmett's way. "No, seriously, I understand what you're trying to say. I was actually hoping you might have been too distracted by Kate to notice."

"Aw, come on, Alice. Give me a little credit, will ya? You came swooping in like a mama hawk to save me, and I'm not supposed to notice?"

Alice hesitated for a second, but relented with a shrug. "Okay, it's just…I mean, don't get me wrong. I love those girls and all, but…"

"But…" I prompted her.

"But, they're just difficult to rein in, sometimes."

Dressed like that and looking the way they did, I bet they were. If it weren't for whatever the hell was going on between Sue and me, even I might have been seriously tempted to give it a go. "I gotcha. Real man eaters, huh?"

Emmett burst out laughing at something so loud it drowned out whatever Alice was trying to say in reply. As he was almost immediately herded off the dance floor by both Carlisle and Esme, I finally connected the dots with his behavior – exactly how much alcohol had that boy been sneaking?

Instead of insulting Alice's family even further tonight, I simply asked, "What's the matter with that kid, tonight?"

"If only I knew, Charlie."

Bella caught my eye from where she was dancing with Edward. She mouthed, "Are you okay?"

Ever the worrier, that one. I rolled my eyes and nodded back, both of which Alice caught.

Giggling, Alice said, "She just worries, Charlie. You know how Bella is."

"Guess she probably doesn't want her old man getting caught up in bad news, huh?" I asked, steering the conversation back to where I wanted it.

Alice sighed and pulled a face. "It's…They're not bad news. Just…Intense?"

Intense? Sure. And gorgeous.

Happy to keep that thought to myself, I instead asked, "So, I think Esme said you were all close?"

"Mmm-hmm."

I wondered why Alice had suddenly become more tight-lipped. Hopefully she wasn't too offended that I'd called the girls bad news. "Look, I didn't mean to say that your family was bad news. That was-"

Alice squeezed my hand with a giggle. "Charlie! I didn't think twice about it! Like I said, I love them, but they are who they are." She groaned and lifted her pointer finger from my hand to gesture across the dance floor. "See what I mean?"

I scanned the other side of the reception area and found Kate and her sister tag-teaming a very skittish-looking Mike Newton. He clearly couldn't choose between doing whatever they asked him to do and running away as fast as he could. At the moment, he was opting for staring at them with his mouth hanging open like a cartoon character.

Been there, buddy.

"Poor kid," I mumbled.

As I turned my attention back to Alice's golden eyes, I was surprised to notice that they were almost the same, odd color as the girls hitting on the Newton boy.

"How did Esme say you were related to them, again? Cousins?"

Alice nodded. "Kate, Tanya, and Irina – the one who isn't here – are all Carlisle's cousins. Carmen and Eleazar are related to Esme, but I always lose track of that one. I'm pretty sure there's a 'twice removed' in there somewhere," she ended with a laugh.

"So you're not actually related to any of them? Your eyes are very similar to Kate's, Alice. Really, almost identical."

"Oh, you know, light brown is actually a very common mutation. Were you even paying attention in high school biology?"

Before I could answer, the slow song we were dancing to ended, and the band leader began talking to the guests. Alice pointed and exclaimed, "Ooh – look!"

I followed her finger and saw Edward practically dragging my daughter onto the dance floor. "It's time for the bouquet and garter belt tosses! I can't believe you let me get so distracted, Charlie! Come on!"

I didn't follow Alice, though. Didn't really think I'd survive watching Edward stick his hands up my daughter's dress without a trip to the ER for one of us being involved.

As least there's a doc on site, already, I thought with a smirk.

Instead, I wondered off to find Billy and intended to scrounge up another beer while I was at it.

Present Day

Alice's eyes.

God, that's right.

After dancing with her at the reception, I'd gotten pretty distracted. Between Emmett gleefully pointing out the cooler of Vitamin R he'd hidden for me and Jake showing back up from north of God-knows-where to crash the party, I had completely forgotten about the conversation I'd had with Alice by the end of the night. Now, looking at the wedding photo in my hands, I couldn't stop thinking about it.

Alice's eyes were as pretty as ever in the wedding photo, that almost unnatural goldish color I'd convinced myself was the same as Kate's. The cousins weren't in this group picture to compare, but it didn't matter. Not anymore.

Since when did the Cullens have the exact same color eyes?

I studied Edward's family in the photo like I'd never seen them before. Sure, I'd seen the Cullens all together a couple other times – Bella's graduation…the memorial. Nothing had ever struck me as particularly odd about their eyes before the wedding and hadn't since then. But this was undeniable evidence.

Holy crap, had I picked up on something five years ago?

What was it that Alice had tried to tell me about their eyes at the reception? "Oh, you know, light brown is actually a very common mutation."

The hell it's not, Alice. At least not this golden color, anyway.

Everyone had been lying to me for who knows how long. I should have known that even Alice, the sweetest little thing I'd ever known, would have been hiding something from me, too.

My fingers twitched and grabbed onto the wedding photo too tightly, forcing me to lay it carefully on the table next to me. I didn't want to wreck one of the last pictures I had of Bella, no matter where it came from or what it meant. Besides, it could be the piece of evidence I needed to get to the bottom of what had been going on right under my own nose.

I stared at the Cullens again, smiling up at me from the glossy picture. There'd be no way I could excuse this as my overactive imagination, now. There they were – all seven of them – with the same eye color. The exact same, weird-ass eye color.

No matter what line Alice had tried to feed me, gold was not a common eye color. Now how in the hell had seven people with the same freaky eyes wound up living together by chance? It just didn't add up.

As a cop, I'd been trained to never accept coincidences. The Cullens had a secret worth keeping. Every bone in my body was telling me that their eyes meant something.

"Shit," I mumbled as I pulled out the list I had started with everything I'd found about the Cullens and that day in the forest.

- B's hair – hairspray?

- K-9 unit refused to track E's scent

- Wedding photo missing from B's wallet

- Food at the campsite

- Mourning…did the Cullens know?

- Transcripts missing – all Cullen kids pre-adoption

- Money

- Not allowed on the Rez

- Weird diet – never ate

- Uneasy around them

- California?

I grabbed my pen and made an addition to the growing list:

- Golden eyes

"Shit," I said again, this time tossing my pen down and flopping back in my chair as I did so. I still had no idea where any of this was taking me. All I did know for sure was that I was quickly losing my focus. The lies and manipulation were getting the best of me and making me really pissed off at the whole damn Cullen family.

And Billy.

And Jacob.

And anyone else involved who'd known more than Bella's own father.

"Shit!"

What the hell had I gotten into? What the hell had Bella gotten into?

There it was – the centering agent I needed to refocus. Bella had gotten herself so involved in this, she had to leave everything…and everyone behind. Billy was right; I was sure of it now. That meant that Bella was out there and could need my help. I just needed to figure out what the hell had been going on so I could decide on a next step.

I grabbed the photo from the side table, convinced I could handle holding it, again. While I was still wearing my angry father's hat, I could also feel my inner cop itching to think logically about what I had uncovered.

Nothing the officer in me liked more than a mystery.

Of course, I wasn't so sure I deserved to be the police chief, right now. Had the Cullens' eyes always been like that? Could I have really been that unobservant?

Unfortunately, I really had no way knowing for sure one way or the other. The only two other photos I had of any of the Cullens both had just Edward in them - the one Bella had given me from the wedding and one I had taken of them at their graduation. In both pictures, Edward wasn't even looking at the damn camera, but down at her. Lotta help those would be.

Wait, wasn't even looking at the camera?

Was he purposely not looking at the camera in those photos? Had he known to not have his eyes captured on film? That little son of a bitch.

But it made sense. Why Edward was hardly in any photos and didn't look into the camera when he was. Why Bella had chosen a similar wedding picture of them to give me. Why Alice hadn't given me any other wedding photos with the Cullens.

Their eyes gave them away.

But that wasn't all. The Cullens weren't just a fuzzy memory, anymore. They were right in front of my eyes, and I wasn't going to miss anything this time.

Once again, I traded the photo for my list of oddities and added, "Pale. Very pale."

I leaned back in my chair and studied the list for a moment. The notes I had jotted down were quickly separating themselves into two groups – mysteries about the accident and observations about the Cullens themselves.

Huh.

I flipped back and forth between my original list and a new sheet of paper, creating a new list of just the items I'd written about Edward's family:

- K-9 unit refused to track E's scent

- Not allowed on the Rez

- Weird diet – never ate

- Uneasy around them

- Golden eyes

- Pale. Very pale

"Jesus, what the hell are these people?"

And there it was.

The knot in my gut that had been twisting around on itself suddenly clenched hard. I swear I had meant to ask myself, "Who – Who the hell are these people?" But I didn't. I had asked what they were, and now I couldn't stop asking myself that question.

That wasn't normally like me. Billy was always the one who'd believed that there was more in our world than just regular Joes like us. But right now, I couldn't get his last words to me out of my head, "There's still a bunch of stuff out there in this world you haven't learned yet. Make it your mission to find out."

How the hell much had Billy known? Could there really be something…more out there? Was I going crazy for even considering it?

I tossed my notebook onto the table and rubbed my strained eyes. Of course I was crazy for considering it. But I couldn't deny that something weird was going on, and the more I let the shock settle, the more I also couldn't deny that something weird was going on with the Cullens, specifically.

The one question I kept coming back to more than anything else, even more than what the Cullens were, was why Billy hadn't just given me something more to go on. Something. Anything.

I turned my head and looked at the empty space where my best friend had parked his chair so many times to "watch the game," which was always just code for bullshit around and drink beer. "I know exactly why you didn't tell me anything more. Because you're a stubborn, superstitious, old man!" I leaned forward in my chair and continued, "Always knee-deep in all your damned traditions and customs, and I got it. I always got it. I knew when to keep my nose out of tribe business, but Jesus Christ, Billy! I'm her father! Don't you think you could have told me what was going on with the Cullens when she started seeing that boy? When they were going to get married? When she was still here and I could have…done…something?"

By the time I'd gotten my tirade out, my face had grown hot, and I could my feel my heart flop heavily in my chest. "WHAT THE HELL, BILLY?" I yelled.

The empty space didn't have an answer for me. No one did. Billy was gone and yelling at the floor sure as shit wasn't going to get anything done, except maybe riling me up enough to have the big one and join him up there at the Pearly Gates.

At least then I'd be able to kick his ass for keeping this from me.

I relaxed back into the chair and tried to focus around my emotional haze and think like a cop. Even though something seriously funky was going on, it seemed like both Bella and Billy knew what it was. That had to count for something. This…whatever "this" was…didn't have to necessarily be bad. Problem was, without either of them in the picture, getting answers was going to be difficult.

That left me right back where I started from – the PO Box.

It was becoming very unlikely that it had been Alice – or any of the Cullens, for that matter – who had sent me this photo. They'd taken too many precautions in the past to blend in. I'd like to think that as both Bella's dad and Chief of Police, they'd had to have done a pretty damn good job if they'd been able pull the wool over even my eyes. This picture? It made everything too clear. Whoever had sent it would have had to have known I'd notice something.

Unless, of course, it was one of the Cullens. Hadn't I already considered that someone would have to be pretty close to the family to have a formal portrait like this? Wouldn't someone close enough to have a copy of such a damning picture also have to be close enough to know what was really going on?

"Charlie, you should have had this years ago."

It was very possible that someone in the family might not have been comfortable with me not getting an invitation into their little Club for Secret-Keepers. But who? If someone else had physically handwritten the note, say a cute, little cousin in Alaska, then any of the Cullens could have been behind the photo. My money was still on Alice.

For now, I was going to have to let the sender remain a mystery. I would put some kind of response together for the PO Box, later. Right now, I still needed to get down to the Rez. Jacob was gonna talk whether he liked it or not. The time for game-playing was over. Besides, his old man he is not. Jake never was very good at keeping secrets secret for long.

I forced myself out of the chair and grabbed the wedding photo. Hopefully, it would be okay out of the envelope. I sure as hell wasn't going down there with the PO Box number and note because honestly? I wasn't sure I completely trusted that information with my best friend's son.

Since Renee left Forks with Bella, my life had been about waiting for Bella to come back. I had waited for to her come back every summer. I waited for her while she flitted off to Phoenix junior year and California her senior year. Now, Bella was out there…somewhere. Time for waiting around was over. Time to go get her back, if I had to go to the farthest corners of the earth to do it.

Starting with La Push.

To be continued…

Author's Note: Thank you for coming back and hanging out with me after my long hiatus! Hope it was worth the wait. Take a moment to leave some feedback, or catch me on Twitter - _Horizon77_! See you soon with chapter six!