PART ONE:

Chapter Five

"This is quite the surprise," Leah remarked as she and Jacob rushed across the active street and into a two-story nondescript building. "I thought you didn't want their involvement in the Dahlia case?"

Today marked exactly three weeks since Jessica Stanley was found murdered.

Three long weeks.

"I'm starting to realize that we may have no other choice," Jacob said as they walked through the building's entrance. Once they checked with security, they walked up to the second floor, to the location of CPD's most secretive unit. "We won't be here long. Just want to ask him something."

The detectives were in Uptown to meet with Captain Paul Lahote, the head of Unit Five, a unit whose purpose wasn't exactly defined in the books. Neither was its jurisdiction. The public didn't know it existed; the mayor and superintendent liked to pretend it didn't exist, and the feds only tolerated its existence because – Well, who knew why the feds did half the things they did?

Leah liked Paul. Never had a problem with the man despite his reputation of being… Paul. He was damn good captain, but he could be little rough around the edges, perhaps should be a poster child for anger management, and had an affinity for toeing the legal line when it came to getting certain people to cooperate. Not to mention, bumping heads with Internal Affairs and the higher powers seemed to be one of his favorite pastimes.

But he had never been placed on administrative leave or sued.

It was late Monday morning, and the secret unit's office space was bustling with everyone feverishly running around and the phones ringing off the hook. Leah tried to avoid eye contact while Jacob greeted everyone with a wave or a fist bump. He was a personable guy, who knew practically everyone; Leah wasn't, and she accepted that.

Despite Leah's efforts to hide behind Jacob (for the record: she wasn't afraid of anyone, just not in the mood for questions, comments, and concerns), she could feel every single curious look from her coworkers. They knew about her and Sam. Hell, everyone did.

"Lahote!" Jacob greeted loudly before beelining to said-captain's offer. Not one cop on duty turned their head at the disturbance, but the detective's outburst did catch the attention of Paul, who was leaning against his office's doorframe with his arms crossed, uncharacteristically dressed in street clothes.

"Just when I thought I was going to have a good day," the captain griped, pulling at the neck of his black hoodie as the detectives approached him. His exasperated attitude was all an act; the two men went way back. "Terrific." He shook his head before turning his attention to Leah. "Good late morning, Detective Uley."

Leah acknowledged Paul with a handshake. "Captain Lahote."

Jacob gave the captain a once-over and let out a loud snort. "I thought people in your position had to look more presentable?" He jeered, completely ignoring the captain's glare. "I mean, no suit? Not even a polo? Isn't business attire the norm for guys like you? You're sure not setting a good example, Captain."

Paul flipped Jacob off, causing the detective to laugh and Leah to shake her hand. "I set the rules around here," he reminded Jacob with his patented smirk before leading the newcomers into his office. "You need to learn how to respect your superiors."

Jacob flopped into one of the chairs in front of the captain's desk. "The last time I checked, your name isn't Captain Joseph Morris," he quipped. "You're not my boss, and I hope it stays that way."

"So, do I," Paul quipped back, sitting behind his desk. Both men narrowed their eyes at each other before breaking into a hearty laugh. The captain then rolled his shoulders and delivered a hard hand to his tabletop, signaling he was ready to get back to business. "Alright. It's always nice to see you both, but I know you didn't come all the way up here for a simple hello. So, what happened?"

Jacob dropped the playful act. "Last week, we paid a visit to our favorite club owner," he said. "He gave his love, by the way."

Mike Newton most certainly had not given any kind of love to Captain Paul Lahote.

"Oh, Swiss! How's that fool doing?" Paul and Newton had crossed paths multiple times; none of their interactions had been pleasant. "It's been a while since I've seen or heard from him."

Paul almost sounded like he missed the shady businessman.

"Doing that he does best."

"He's fine," Leah said, taking a seat next to Jacob. "He claimed not to know anything about the Dahlia case, but he did mention something about a little skirmish happening around Midway."

"Skirmish?" Paul slowly nodded. "Oh yeah, I've heard a thing or two about it. Before you ask: that's not in my jurisdiction."

Jacob frowned. "You do know who's involved in said-skirmish, right?" When Paul confirmed that indeed he did, Jacob sucked his teeth. "And since when that's not in your jurisdiction?"

"It never was."

"Then what is in your jurisdiction?"

Paul raised his extra-large cup of coffee to his lips. "It's complicated," he simply said before taking a large gulp.

Jacob wasn't having it. "You can't be serious."

"It's the truth."

Right when Jacob was going to continue with the argument, Leah jumped in, "Would you happen to know anything about the ATF, and what they're doing up near Wisconsin?"

Paul put down his coffee back. "Of course, I do. What did you think I meant when I said this situation wasn't in my jurisdiction?" He gave a side-eye to Jacob, who, in return, put up both hands and mouthed an apology. "Because God forbid, we can ever take credit for busting some asshole on an illegal arms charge without someone from the federal government butting in."

Leah made a mental note to be careful when discussing the feds around the captain.

"Only illegal arms?" Jacob asked.

"No," Paul said. He let out an exasperated noise as he dug into his bottom desk drawer, pulling out a file. He sifted through the pages until he stopped somewhere in the middle. "Blood," he said. "Blood. Human blood."

So, Mike Newton had been onto something.

"Since when is blood in such high demand outside of hospitals?"

"Anything can be in high demand," Paul said to Leah. He opened his mouth likely to add more to his statement, but then closed it shut. He glanced at Jacob with a questioning glint in his eye as if asking the other man if Leah was allowed to hear a little secret.

"She knows," Jacob told the captain.

Paul stiffened, but seconds later, a wide grin spread across his face. He seemed relieved. "Won't you look at that?" he said. "Congratulations, Detective Leah Uley. You've been officially invited to the shitshow that's been my life for the past few years."

"I'm flattered," Leah replied, deadpanned. "So, what can you tell us?"

"I have a few people shadowing the Olympic, the Volturi, and essentially everyone without a pulse, who has an affinity for breaking the law," Paul said. "It's been relatively quiet, but that's bound to change. Quiet before the storm. From what I hear, the blood business is the least everyone's worries at the moment. There's a new bullet in town: ultraviolet. Or 'UV' for short."

Jacob slapped a hand over his eyes. "Of course, there is," he groaned.

"UV?" Leah blinked a couple of times. "As in ultraviolet? Like from the sun?"

"Where else does ultraviolet light come from?"

Leah couldn't believe her ears.

Weaponized light – What, how, why?

"Why would one need to have light inside of a bullet?"

"Detective, what, rather who, does light kill?"

There was a possibility that Paul's question was a trick. Leah thought about responding with a smart-ass comment, but then the realization hit her. "Holy shit," she breathed out, eyes widened as she brought a hand to her mouth. Light. That was a vampire's kryptonite. "You can't be serious."

"Oh, I'm serious," Paul said, grave. "Look, we don't know who's the supplier or the main buyer. But if any of those assholes get their hands on those kinds of bullets, who knows what havoc will ensue."

"Sounds like the start of another conflict to me." Jacob ran a hand down his face. "Great."

"But why?" Leah wondered.

Paul shrugged. "Why not? The Olympic and the Volturi have hated each other for centuries for reasons I still don't know." He snorted. "Hell, I don't think they even know anymore."

"Hold on, that means that the ultraviolet bullets…" Leah tried to find the right words. "The bullets with the light, they got to be one of the hottest commodities on the supernatural black market. Even more than human blood."

Paul rose from his seat and walked around, stopping at the front of his desk. "Hence the ATF making my life difficult, and – "

He was interrupted by Jacob abruptly rising from his seat.

"Hold that thought. Gotta take a leak," Jacob announced. He cackled at the affronted expression on his partner's face. "Sorry, but when nature calls…."

Leah screwed up her face in utter disgust. "Thank you, Jacob, because I want to hear that," she snarked, rolling her eyes, which, of course, caused the man to laugh even more as he headed out of the office.

Paul tossed in a couple of snickers. When Jacob was out of earshot, the captain turned his attention to the detective in front of him. "Everything good since the transfer?" He was sincere. "Like the new unit?"

Although Leah and Paul didn't really interact outside of work-related matters and the occasional work-related get-togethers, it was not surprising the captain knew about Leah's troubles. Gossip within CPD was rather hard to suppress.

And anyway, Paul was cool. He always seemed to have Leah's back, even from afar. There was nothing more she could ask from the man.

"I mean, personally, I rather not deal with the Dahlia case, but I have no one but myself to blame for getting into Homicide. But all in all, I can't complain."

"And the new arrangement?"

"Good," Leah paused. "Actually, it's pretty good."

"You sound almost surprised."

"Can you blame me?"

"No, I suppose I can't," Paul replied, looking past Leah and through his opened door, which provided a perfect view of the open office space. "Jacob's a good guy. You shouldn't have any issues with him."

"I don't."

Paul was glad to hear it.

"And he seems to like the reassignment," he said, giving Leah a sly smile. "I'm glad it's with you. I need someone to make sure he doesn't do something stupid." Leah lightly chuckled at that. The captain joined in, but seconds later, his mood changed into something a little more guarded. He took a deep breath. "So, he told you everything."

"About the supernatural? Yeah, he told me." Shaking her head, Leah let out an incredulous laugh. "My goodness, it's been a couple of months, and it's still hard to believe…"

"That they exist?"

"Not even that. I still find it hard to believe that they've been able to operate under the radar all this time without everyone finding out."

Paul returned to his seat. "Well, we all have to keep our secrets," he said. "When the stakes are high enough, the need to remain in the dark becomes just that important."

For a moment, Leah wondered if the captain was speaking from experience, but she shook the thought out of her mind. "Yeah," was all she said.

"You gotta do what you gotta do," Paul said with a simple shrug and then with a snap of his fingers, "Listen, I'm hosting a Happy Hour this Friday. Nothing too big. Just some folks from work and outside. You should come. You can even invite that brother of yours so I can kick his ass at pool again."

Leah had to chuckle at the mention of Seth – She still didn't understand how her little brother, who was months away from graduating from college and moved around in a completely different social circle, managed to know a bunch of folks in CPD by first name basis, but he did.

To be honest, Leah considered politely declining the offer, but deep inside, she knew there was more to life than going to work and heading straight home.

"I should be able to make it."

Paul was pleased. "Great, and I wouldn't worry about a thing about anyone talking about your situation." He gave Leah a knowing look before adding, "If anyone dares to mention anything about your marital problems or anything of the sort, I'll punch their face in and make the black eye look like an accident."

That would be something Paul would do.

"I'll be there," Leah promised. "Appreciate the invite."

She thought about asking about Sam. After all, the two men had been work buddies during the years on the same gang squad. Though, their acquaintance did seem to have waned throughout the past year – she ultimately decided not to bring up the topic of her husband.

"Ah, no problem," Paul said with a shrug, and then announced in a mocking voice, "Oh, look who finally decided to come back. You better pray you didn't destroy my bathroom."

Jacob rolled his eyes as he walked office and back into his seat. "Oh, I know you're not talking… "

Leah shook her head. Men. With the raise of a hand, she effectively ended the childish argument before it began. "As much as I would love to learn about both of your bowel movements, I think we have more important matters to discuss, yes?"

Jacob put up both hands, backing off while Paul delivered yet another hard hand to his desk. "You're absolutely right, Detective Uley. Speaking of important matters, I know this isn't my investigation, but what do you think happened to the Dahlia? I'm curious."

Jacob snorted. "Yeah, we've heard," he said, crossing his arms. "Jared told us about your people sniffing around our case."

Paul rolled his eyes. "He can never keep his mouth – " He took a deep breath. "For the record: we're not sniffing around anything. Only keeping an ear out. There's a difference."

Jacob was obviously not convinced. "Yeah, okay."

"We think it's a hit," Leah said.

Paul raised both eyebrows. "That's one hell of a hit," he said, wrinkling his nose. "I've seen the unedited photos." He shook his head. "Pardon my French: but what happened to her was all kinds of fucked up."

One could say that was a slight understatement.

"Since when do you care about 'pardoning your French?'" Jacob joked, but almost immediately, his demeanor became more serious. "We have reasons to believe that they may be involved. We also have reasons to believe that the Dahlia was affiliated with the Olympic."

Paul slowly nodded. "Yeah, hence why I'm keeping an ear out," he said. "Listen, I know they operate, how they handle their problems. That, right there at LaPush? That's not how they work. First off, they don't mess with humans."

"She had their mark on her inner wrist," Jacob reasoned, "and we're pretty sure she died from the bite. Now, whether or not it was the Olympic or the Volturi? We don't know, but a member of their kind killed her."

Paul scoffed. "So, now the Volturi's involved? Damn, they're even more discreet than the Olympic."

Leah frowned. That wasn't what she wanted to hear. But then again, Paul agreeing that the Volturi or the Olympic (or someone) was behind the murder would have been too easy. Nothing in this investigation was easy, she had to remind herself.

She stood up and pulled out a folded piece of paper from her back pocket. She handed it over to the captain. "Any idea?" she asked.

All it took was once glance at the photo for Paul to abruptly sit up in his seat. He took another look and then glanced up at the detectives before looking down. "Where did you… find this?"

The detectives exchanged a glance before Leah responded, "Inside Jessica's apartment." She sat back down. "We were able to get a quick warrant; her roommate mentioned something about a piece of jewelry in Jessica's possession. That's what we found."

"Where is it?"

"In evidence back at our place," Jacob said. "Secured inside a vault."

Paul dropped the page from his hand and leaned back in his seat. "Her roommate mentioned it – She had it – Found at – " He shook his head. "That doesn't make sense." He held up the colored photo, expression perplexed. The captain would study the page for a bit before carefully placing the picture on his desk. He let out a sigh. "Do you know what this is?"

The detectives looked at each other.

"No," Leah answered for the pair, becoming extremely interested in the captain's look of concern. This wasn't like him. At all. "We were hoping you'd be able to provide us with some insight."

"And the necklace was found in Jessica's apartment?"

"Yeah, it was in a locked box," Jacob said. "The box was located inside the top drawer of Jessica's desk."

"How did she get it?"

The detectives shared another look.

Paul's questioning was becoming increasingly unnerving.

"We don't exactly know how," Jacob said. "We assume it was a gift."

Paul let out a rather loud snort. "There's no way in hell this was a gift. Not to someone like her."

"Are you…" Leah cleared her throat. "Are you insinuating that it was stolen?"

Paul folded his hands on his desk as the detectives gawked at him. "This very necklace was reported as stolen via unofficial channels some months back." He squeezed the bridge of his nose. "Now, what I want to know is how the Hell did a waitress get her hands on it?"

That was the 159-million-dollar question.

That was a question that had to be put on the backburner for the meantime due to a new and rather unwelcomed development in the Dahlia case that came about two days later.

Grumbling under her breath, Leah adjusted the scarf wrapped around the bottom half of her face in an attempt to shield herself from the biting, frigid air. It was a freezing Wednesday morning, and she was starting to wonder if taking a break from work to stroll along the frozen shores of Lake Michigan had been the best idea.

The view was nice, at least.

She retrieved her notepad from her coat pocket and with her gloved hand, quickly flipped to the page labeled The Swan Incident. She gave the title a second look before turning to Jacob, who was walking by her side. "I'm starting to wonder if your girlfriend has a death wish."

Jacob rolled his shoulders and stuffed his hands deeper into his coat pockets. "I'm starting to wonder that myself," he mumbled, and then, "For the last time, she's not my girlfriend."

Leah hid her smirk behind the woolen fabric. "Yes, of course."

Girlfriend or not, Dr. Isabella Swan had managed to find herself smacked in the middle of the Dahlia investigation, and it wasn't because of her position as a medical examiner. Well, not exactly.

At face value, last night's incident at the Office of the Medical Examiner shouldn't have been that big of a deal. Due to the nature of her job, Swan had a history of interacting with colorful characters, such as unruly visitors, petty criminals, their persistent attorneys, and, of course, the devastated relatives of the unfortunate dead – Swan was used to this, as she reminded the detectives hours after the incident. Sure, but what happened last night? That was different.

Despite what Swan wanted the detectives to believe, last night's incident was nothing to brush aside. Late night's visit to the Office of the Medical Examiner without an appointment was concerning. So was requesting the medical examiner to stop an autopsy of the victim of the most controversial murder of the year without good cause. The man had even offered Swan a bribe to ensure that the results of Jessica's autopsy weren't made public, which she didn't take.

Thank goodness, Leah couldn't help but think because that would've been another headache.

In an effort to make sure that Jacob didn't have a major freakout because his not-girlfriend had decided to be her (or demand that the medical examiner should be assigned a security detail for the rest of the year), Leah offered to help find the perpetrator via background check. It wasn't much, but it wasn't nothing.

"Based on the name and description provided by Swan, I can only find one match… but I doubt it's him," Leah told Jacob. She pulled out a couple of folded pages paperclipped to the notepad and unraveled them before handing everything over to her grateful partner.

"Lay it on me."

"Edward Anthony Masen. Born on June 20, 1899. Chicago native. Son of a prominent lawyer. Enlisted in the US army during the Great War, but before he could be shipped out to Europe, he came down with the Spanish Flu. That was in early 1918. He was treated for his illness in this city, and that's where the record ends."

No death certificate was filed.

Jacob stopped in his tracks and skimmed the results of the background check. He was particularly interested in the man's photo. It was grainy, black and white, but the profile certainly fitted Bella's description to a tee. "Maybe, maybe not."

Leah blinked. "Maybe not?"

"His record ends at age eighteen," Jacob pointed out. "Don't you find that odd? He contracted the flu and was treated, but there's nothing about his progress."

Leah shrugged. "It was 1918."

"And his father was a big-shot lawyer." A line formed between Jacob's brows. "There had to have been a record on this Edward. Heck, even a death record."

"Maybe he's still alive?" Leah offered. "Maybe he got better and was released?"

"Yeah, but there should still be a record somewhere." Jacob returned to reports. "Unless.…"

Leah didn't like the tone behind her partner's words. "Unless?"

"He escaped before anyone could notice – "

Leah raised her hand. "Maybe this one did," she said, "but don't you see the issue? This Edward, if he's still alive, would be well over a hundred years old. Not in his mid-twenties like Bella had described." Then a theory popped into her head; the kind that Leah would've never considered months ago. "Unless… maybe that's why there aren't any records. Maybe he was turned back in 1918 to offset his illness?"

Jacob snapped his fingers. "Bingo."

"So, if this is the same Edward, then he's likely a vampire," Leah concluded. Vampires were a thing. They existed in real life. Goodness. "Well, he must be working for the Volturi or their allies. Maybe he doesn't want the truth behind Jessica's death to come out for the implication?"

Jacob shook his head as he carefully walked on a particularly icy patch. "No, they wouldn't have gone to Bella for a favor. The Volturi don't ask for favors, they just get it done. They would've simply taken Jessica's body or bride the court to keep quietly." He twisted his mouth. "Maybe this guy works for the Olympic? They have interest in this investigation."

"Perhaps the suspect?"

"Perhaps."

"I don't recall Mike Newton mentioning anything about him being a member of the Olympic."

Jacob frowned.

"No, he did not."

"A newcomer, then?"

"Something tells me no."

Minutes after returning to the police station, the detectives provided their captain with everything they knew regarding The Swan Incident. Captain Morris told the duo they could look into it, but since Swan hadn't pressed any charges and no one had died or gone missing, all they could do was find this Edward, gather more information, and focus their attention on the Dahlia and her connection to the necklace.

And as expected, Morris' nonchalance towards the Incident frustrated the hell out of Jacob, who was convinced that Swan was now on the Olympic's hit list.

For Swan's (and Jacob's) sake, the detectives didn't intend to simply brush aside the Incident. It was fishy, and this Edward, being a suspected vampire, made the situation just that more interesting.

The moment Jacob was out of sight, Leah picked up her desk phone and called Captain Lahote. "Edward Anthony Masen," she said in lieu of a greeting. "Ever heard of him?" She could hear the captain's unit in the background, shuffling about and with a few giving the rundown for an upcoming raid. "Sorry. I didn't – "

"Not a problem. Masen? I haven't heard someone with that name in a while." Leah could hear an office door opening. "Sorry about the noise; we're getting ready to execute an interesting arrest warrant we have to serve for an interesting group of people. Hold on a sec – Cameron, stop fooling around and hurry up! I swear that guy's gonna…" Paul took a breath. "Anyway. "

"Cameron?" Leah leaned back in her seat. "Doesn't he work at the 1-7? Since when he's working under you?"

"Since his captain practically tossed him at me on Monday. It's not a problem. Cameron's not bad; he just needs… Anyway, yeah, so that Edward-guy. Heard his name in passing, but never needed to look further into him."

She looked over her computer monitor to see Jacob having an animated conversation with another cop; seemed like he was going to be occupied for a while.

"Would you happen to know if he works for the Olympic?"

"Not confirmed," Paul admitted. "The captain at the time didn't deem investigating the guy as necessary. Frankly, we all kinda thought he was some low-level thug, who dressed nice. Why do you ask?"

Leah sat up in her seat. "You heard about what happened to Swan?"

"Yeah." There was a pause. "Unfortunately, I did."

"So, we think that this Edward Anthony Masen might have the one who visited her, asking for a favor."

"Oh, him?" Paul sounded surprised. "Interesting. No one in their right mind would visit a damn medical examiner at ten o'clock at night to stop an autopsy. Especially, not the Dahlia's. You're gonna need an act of God to pull off something like that. Honestly, I wouldn't worry even about it."

"Wasn't really worried," Leah insisted, though she still had her concerns. Everything about this situation, this case was bizarre. "Curious, more than anything."

"You want me to look into it?"

"Don't worry about it. You got your own shit to deal with."

"It won't be a problem. I'll let you and Jacob know if anything pops up – Cameron, if I have to tell you again – Hey, I gotta go."

Leah had to smile as she overheard the commotion in the background, followed by a crash. "Please, don't kill Cameron," she told the captain. "He just turned twenty-three. He's practically a baby. Have fun with your warrant."

When Jacob returned to his desk sometime later with two bags of chips (Doritos for him and vegetable chips for Leah), he asked about the conversation with Paul.

"He said he'd check it out," Leah said; she thanked Jacob for the healthy-enough snack option and opened the bag before carrying on, "Said he's heard of him, but as far as he knows, Edward isn't a concern. Perhaps, a nobody?"

Jacob took a seat across from Leah as their workstations were conjoined at the front. "A nobody wouldn't have pulled a stunt like that."

"Yeah," Leah said between taking bites of her snack. "Yeah, I know, but he also mentioned that there was no chance in Hell that anyone would attempt to stop the Dahlia's autopsy. The case is too hot, and the media will have a field day if they find out about…"

"They don't have to find out."

"It's going to come out," Leah said. "Someone's going to slip up."

And then all Hell would break loose.

"Is this the man you saw last night?" Leah asked Swan, holding up a sharpened, colorized version of the only photo she could find of "Edward Anthony Masen." The detectives would need an actual confirmation from Bella before they could go after the man.

Neither detective intended to inform the medical examiner of her prospective intruder's true date or birth or possibly status of a vampire.

To her credit, Swan didn't appear spooked by last night's visit. She took the picture from Leah's hand, studying it for some time before returning it. "Holy crow. Yeah, that's him," she said. "I'm sure of it. The height and body type match, too."

With a nod, Leah turned to Jacob, who was roaming around the lab, frantically in search for additional clues. "And he came here, asking you to stop the autopsy?"

Swan shoved her hands into the pockets of her medical coat. "Yes, that's exactly what he did," she said. "He was really nice about it. He did not once threaten me, even after I told him to get lost."

"What did he wear?"

"A navy suit with a dark gray overcoat," Swan said. "Well-tailored. He certainly didn't get it off the rack. Honestly, he looked like a businessman would look."

"Anything else?"

"Oh yes!" Swan snapped her fingers. "He wore cufflinks. I didn't catch a very good look at them, but I think like the mark found inside Jessica's wrist."

The detectives immediately turned to each other.

"I know what Morris said," Jacob grumbled as he paced around his car parked outside the Office of the Medical Examiner. The detectives had left Swan's lab ten minutes prior. "But this isn't something we can put on the back burner. Jessica had the Olympic's brand. Edward's cufflinks. He wanted – " He stopped, facing Leah. "Am I overreacting? Tell me if I'm overreacting."

Crossing her arms, Leah took a glimpse of the building behind her. She didn't have much insight to give, perhaps except for, "You're right." She turned around, dropping her arms. "This is something we can't ignore, so…." She couldn't believe she was even entertaining this idea. "So, it's been a while since we've last spoken to Mike, no? Shall we pay him a visit? Perhaps in the morning?"