I had many PMs and abusive messages. It was always our intention to put up an extra chapter this week. No one likes to wait to find out what happens.
But I do find it upsetting when I get personally threatened. It's a story, not real life. I take a while to write because of my dyslexia. We have got a pot with about 5 chapters in front. If they get used before, I have written anything else you will have to wait longer for an update. So please stop demanding I update more quickly than once a week.
Narrated by Shelly Cope.
Chapter 8
Things in Forks had changed. There were no longer children playing in the street or their yards without an adult present.
The Hammonds found a child's bike thrown into their yard. They put it in their garage until they heard of a child who had lost a bike. They knew how their neighbors, the Stanley's allowed their daughter to be a bully. It didn't surprise them how she had turned out. Her parents fought constantly and overindulged their child to compensate for how they were.
A group of Juniors from the high school found a backpack laid on the road. They worried a child might have been hit by a car as the backpack had tire marks on it. They took it with them to the diner. They decided they would see if the Littles, who owned it had heard of a kid losing one or getting hit by a car. It had power rangers on it, and the drawings inside were very good. It had to be owned by a middle schooler. But with no name in the bag, they couldn't return it. As most people used the diner, they decided it was the best place to leave it.
~T&I~
Alice drove up to the Call's house to pick up Teddy and Izzy. She just wanted to tell Jazz that they were through to the State finals.
"Teddy, come on. Where is Izzy?" Alice shouted.
"I've told you my name is Edward, and Issasmella didn't come. She wasn't even invited," Teddy growled.
"Get in the car. If I ever hear you call Izzy a name like that again, you can bet I'll be telling Rosie when she calls me. She will tell Emmett. Can you strap yourself in your seat, or do you need help?" Alice asked?
"I don't know why you make me sit in this seat. My friends don't have to," Teddy whines.
"You're six years old, and the law says you ride in a seat. So, suck it up, buttercup," Alice lectured.
Teddy sulked all the way home. He was getting on Alice's last nerve. The spoiled brat.
He had his straps undone before the car had even stopped. He stomped into the house and went straight upstairs.
"Hi babe, how did it go at the regionals?" Jazz asked.
"We got through to the state finals!" Alice screamed.
"Babe, that's great. Seattle, here we come. How about celebrating before my parents come home?" Jazz asked, kissing down Alice's neck.
"Teddy's upstairs, aren't we supposed to be babysitting him?" Alice giggled.
"I'll just tell him to go in the basement and play a game on the PlayStation," Jazz informed. "What about Izzy? Is she with him?"
"Izzy wasn't at the party. I think there must have been a misunderstanding," Alice replied.
Jazz knew that Teddy would probably tell his parents, but he would deny it, and with Teddy's always lying, they won't believe him.
"Did you enjoy the party, Edward?" Esme asked as she came home. "Where is Izzy?"
"It was great they had a magician. I want to learn magic. It was so cool," Teddy excitedly said. "Izzy wasn't invited."
"Oh, I thought Charlie said she needed picking up. What about the competition Alice?" Esme asked.
"I can't believe it, but we are through to the regionals," Alice replied, going into the whole day.
"I'm going to start dinner," Esme said, walking out the door.
~T&I~
Carlisle had come home from his shift at the hospital thirty minutes after Esme got home.
"Where are the kids, darling?" Carlisle asked as he hugged Esme from behind.
"They're down in the basement playing their games," Esme replied.
"Is Teddy being okay with Izzy?" Carlisle questioned.
"She's not here. I must have misunderstood she wasn't invited to the party. The poor girl doesn't have many friends now that Teddy has made all new friends. I can't remember when the last time was that she stayed overnight here. It's upsetting that Charlie doesn't trust us anymore," Esme sniffed as a tear ran down her face.
Esme loved Izzy like she was her own. Since Izzy was three years old, she had brought many animals she found to the surgery. Even that had stopped. All this because her little boy had turned into a bully.
Dinner was, as usual, full of talking about the day. Esme missed Emmett, Rose, and Izzy. She didn't know when her family would be complete again.
Dinner finished and cleared away. The nightly ritual began. Jazz and Alice went out to a party to celebrate the cheerleaders' win, and Carlisle went to his office to do his paperwork. He never got the chance to do it at the hospital. Esme got Teddy into the bath.
There was a knock at the door.
"Can you get the door, please, Carlisle," Esme shouted.
Carlisle opened the door; he was surprised to see Charlie on his doorstep in his uniform. Carlisle felt like the color drained from him. Charlie was here only if something had happened to one of his children? Why else would Charlie be here?
"Hi Carlisle, I've come to pick up Izzy," Charlie said.
"Charlie, Izzy isn't here. She wasn't at the party," Carlisle rambled.
"Carlisle, I took her myself and watched her go into the backyard," Charlie replied.
"Charlie, what brings you here tonight?" Esme asked.
"Esme, Izzy is supposed to be here. You said you would pick her up from the party," Charlie insisted.
"Come in; there must be some miscommunication," Carlisle said.
"Edward come down, please," Esme shouted up the stairs.
Teddy came down abruptly and stopped on the stairs when he saw Charlie.
"Teddy, what can you tell me about why everyone thinks my Izzy wasn't at the party when I took her there myself," Charlie growled. "And don't think about giving me bullshit; you've done enough damage to her."
"Look, Charlie, I don't like you speaking to my son like that. I know you are worried about Izzy. But it's not Teddy's fault. She wasn't at the party," Carlisle said.
"You haven't left her here since we found out about the bullying. I was happy to help. We all miss Izzy," Esme added.
Charlie interrupted.
"What do you mean I don't let Izzy come here? She's been sleeping here and coming on the weekends," Charlie replied.
"Charlie, I don't know where she's been staying, but it hasn't been here," Carlisle offered.
"What the hell have you done to my girl, Edward? You and your friends are at the bottom of this. Once I find her, you and I will talk," Charlie said as he started to panic.
Charlie realized Izzy was missing.
Rushing to get into the cruiser, he put the lights on and rushed to the Call's home.
Banging at the door, he was getting more and more anxious. It was turning into every parent's nightmare.
"Hi, Chief, what can we do for you?" Mrs. Call asked.
"Did Izzy attend the party here today? She's missing," Charlie gasped.
"Yes, she came, but she never had an invitation. She went to play with the kids in the bouncy castle, but I noticed she wasn't there when the entertainment came. I thought she might have been embarrassed by her mistake and left," Mr. Call replied.
"Could you ask the girls, please? I need to know where my baby girl is," Charlie insisted.
"Sure, come in, Chief," Mrs. Call invited.
Going into the den, Charlie saw the girls look at him and then take each other's hands.
"Girls, this is very important. Izzy is missing, and you might be able to help find her," Charlie asked. "So, what happened this afternoon with Izzy. She was excited to be coming to your party."
"We didn't want to do it. It was Jess, Lauren, and Edward's idea. We just wrote the invitation out. She never gets invited to any parties," Racheal added.
"She gets invitations all the time," Charlie puzzled.
"No one ever invites her. When Edward and Jess started laughing at her, she climbed over the fence and ran into the forest," Rebecca replied.
"Chief, we are so sorry we had no idea," Mrs. Call offered.
"I bet you are," Charlie choked. "It's not your kids that are missing."
He ran out of the door to radio into the station.
"Mark, are you there? It's Charlie," Charlie said on the radio.
"Hi, Chief, you just left. What's up?" Mark asked.
"We need an Amber alert sent out."
"Shit, Chief, what's the kid's name?" Mark asked.
"My Izzy," Charlie choked.
"Fuck, when did she go missing?" Mark asked.
"Sometime around three this afternoon. I will ask April to start the phone tree from school to see if anyone has seen her this afternoon. Then I'm calling Billy from the rez to get his boys and their dogs into the forest. That's where she was last seen running," Charlie informed as he got into the car, putting the lights on again.
When Charlie got to April's, Tanya and Riley were there. Charlie was struggling to hold it together.
"Evening, Chief, what brings you here tonight. Has the football team been causing problems again?" Riley chuckled
"I need April to start the phone trees and anyone else you can think of to help," Charlie began.
"Charlie, come and sit down. You look pale. Do you want something to drink or a doctor? What's happened?" April asked.
"Izzy's gone missing. The Call twins gave her a birthday party invitation. It was a joke. She jumped their fence and ran into the forest. She knows not to go in there. I've told her so many times." Charlie sobbed.
April had already started the phone tree. In minutes parents knew that Izzy was missing and met at the school to help with starting a search party.
"Chief, I'm going to the school to open it up so we can use it as a base. I'll call the station, so they know that's where the base is. You go home and see if anything is missing. She might have run away," Riley offered.
Riley was right. He needed to check the house and the treehouse. He needs to see if anything could have happened to her.
Charlie first went to her treehouse. He looked around, finding food and drinks stashed in the cupboard, and when he looked in the storage box, which Izzy also used as a seat. He found all the birthday presents he had bought for the kids in town. Izzy had done this to protect Charlie from all the bullying she's put up with. She knew he was struggling to cope, and she had tried to make it easier on him.
When he found the backdoor key, he realized she wanted the alarm clock because she had been staying on her own when he worked nights.
It was all because of the Cullen boy. Why would he bully Izzy when she did nothing but help him?
Charlie checked the shed to find her bike was missing. Now he worried he was looking at her running away.
He called Billy and asked for help. He advised him he would be at the elementary school. That is where any volunteers were meeting.
Charlie was surprised at how many people had come to help. Many apologized for their child bullying, Izzy. But to Charlie, it was too late for that.
They all thought that Mark should coordinate everything. Charlie couldn't stay calm.
"Charlie, some juniors brought this backpack to leave at the diner. They found it on the road. Collin thinks it could be Izzy's," Peter Little offered.
Charlie took the bag and checked inside. There were things in the bag that Charlie had never seen before. These paintings and drawings were Izzy's. But what was upsetting was the fact that it had tire marks on it.
"Mark, it's Izzy's bag. Some Juniors from the high school found it. We need to find out who they are and where they found it," Charlie instructed.
"Thanks, Charlie. Who brought it in?" Mark shouted.
"Charlotte and me," Peter answered.
Mark asked one of the deputies to take any information about the kids who found the bag.
"Charlie, what can we do to help?" Esme asked.
"I think you and your family have done enough. Please ask that little thug of yours why my Izzy was too frightened to sleep at your house. She was sneaking into the house. She wanted that alarm clock so she could get up so I wouldn't know," Charlie growled.
"I'm not defending Teddy, but why are you blaming him for everything?" Esme sobbed.
"Garrett, could you go to the Cullens and bring Edward Cullen in for questioning about Izzy's disappearance," Charlie instructed one of the deputies.
"Charlie, please, you can't do this," Esme cried.
Esme rushed from the gym. Taking her cell from her bag, she called Carlisle.
"Carlisle, Izzy is missing. Esme sobbed. " Charlie has instructed one of the deputies to take Teddy to the station to ask him questions."
"Keep calm, Esme. I'll call Jenks. They can't charge him with anything," Carlisle replied.
Deputy Garrett arrived at the Cullen's home just before Esme pulled up.
"Garrett, you can't arrest Teddy. He hasn't done anything," Esme sobbed.
"I'm sure neither did Izzy, but they have managed to put her in danger. We won't take him to the station if he answers our questions. But I won't put up with him shouting at me and being rude," Garrett explained.
Esme couldn't help running into the house to run into Teddy, pulling him into a hug as he cried.
"I don't want to go to prison, mommy. It was Jess and Micky's idea," Teddy sobbed.
"Come and sit down, Teddy, and answer some questions," Garrett asked. "You and Izzy used to be best friends. If anyone knows of any secret hiding place, it would be her best friend. So has Izzy got a hiding place she would go to?"
"No. We haven't been friends since September. That's a whole nine months," Teddy replied.
"Yes, but before you stopped being her friend. Where did you go? Did you have a hiding place or a den or something like that?" Garrett pressed.
"No, we never left our drive without someone watching us. We went to the park with someone as well. She then played in our treehouses. I know she goes into the forest behind the house. She's been doing that since I don't want to be her friend anymore. She just doesn't know how to share. I wanted other friends, and she didn't like it. It's all Izzy's fault this has happened. All she had to do was make new friends," Teddy growled.
"I can see why the Chief wanted him brought in. You don't seem bothered that Izzy is lost," Garrett asked.
"She's not my friend, and I didn't do anything to her," Teddy answered, shrugging.
"You were her friend. I saw how she taught you to climb on the jungle gym. Did Jessica and Michael help you do that?" Garrett asked.
There was a knock on the door. Carlisle answered it. Before he even spoke, Jenks pushed past him.
"Don't answer any more questions, Edward. Are you charging my client with anything?" Jenks asked.
"For god's sake, Jenks, we have a missing child who was his friend. We are just trying to work out if she could be hiding anywhere. They have been bullying her," Garrett answered.
"He's already told you he doesn't know anything. We're finished here," Jenks replied.
"You are unbelievable. You say you wanted to help, and you stonewall us. I hope this nightmare never happens to you. But there again, you have three children. Izzy is the Chief's only child. She is all he has. Have a nice evening," Garrett got up to leave as Jazz rushed in.
"Is it true Izzy is missing?" Jasper asked.
"Yes, she was last seen this afternoon at three when your brother and his friends played a joke on her. They pretended she was invited to a party and threw her out once she got there. She ran into the forest," Garrett advised.
"Jared thought he saw her in the drive just after four this afternoon. He said he thought she was on her bike," Jasper said.
"You said Jared thought. Why wasn't he sure?" Garrett asked.
"You don't have to answer that, Jasper," Jenks interrupted.
"Get real, man. Our little sister is missing you prick. Could I get a ride to the school? I'll talk to you in the car. But I think my little brother may know more than he says," Jasper was disgusted. "I can't wait to leave this house when I go to university. I may look further away to go to school. You two disgust me how you protect him. One day you will be sorry you have."
Once they arrived back at the school, it was busy with people all over the halls in groups. Charlie sat with his head in his hands.
"Charlie, the Cullen boy was not helpful at all. But Jasper thinks he saw her around four this afternoon in their driveway," Garrett said.
"Jasper, can you be sure of the time?" Mark asked as he looked at a timeline they had made.
"Somewhere between three-thirty and four o'clock," Jasper replied.
"Alice picked Teddy up at four-thirty, so we are looking at the hour between three-thirty and four-thirty. Garrett, see if you can find anybody who has any form of cameras between the Cullen's and the Chief's house," Mark instructed.
"I'm sorry to be a bother, and it might not have anything to do with Izzy going missing. But we had a small pink bike thrown into our garden. We have it in our garage. We were waiting to see if anyone asked about it," Robert Hammond said.
"Does it have tassels on the handlebars," Charlie choked.
"Oh yes, it does. Have I been holding evidence? Julia said I should have come down straight away. But you know how that Stanley girl is. We didn't know if she was responsible. It's not the first thing we have found because she bullied some child," Robert rambled.
"Where did the backpack get found?" Mark asked.
"We are still trying to find the juniors that found it," Charlie said.
"They could be at Logan Mallory's house. There's a big party there tonight," Jasper informed.
"On it," Deputy Lee yelled as he ran to his car.
"A news team wants us to do a television interview. Charlie are you up to it or do you want me to sort it out? If she has been taken, it will help if someone has seen her," Mark asked.
"It will be a waste of time. Izzy will be in the forest and got lost," Charlie replied.
"Charlie, I would like to be proactive on this. If she has been kidnapped, it could be a full four hours in front of us, if not longer now. She could be in Canada by now. I'll speak to them," Mark advised.
~T&I~
Two days have gone by with no sightings of Izzy anywhere. The whole forest had been searched as well as the empty houses in town.
A stolen car had been abandoned at the edge of town. But unfortunately, there were no fingerprints.
Alice confessed that she had shown Izzy the senior trail between houses in the forest. It soon became apparent that this was how Izzy had been traveling between the Cullen's and their house.
Charlie wasn't upset with Alice. At least Izzy hadn't gone too far into the forest. While Billy was searching, he came across an empty cabin that had been deserted years ago. While checking inside, they found a man hiding.
Mark instructed them to fetch him in for questioning. When asked if he had seen Izzy, he said no.
But he was responsible for all the break-ins and things missing from people's gardens.
Charlie had made an appeal on national news. Already the phones were constantly ringing. The Cullens came to see if they could help.
Charlie had a meltdown, and Mark took him home to rest.
While looking through CCTV. They noticed a van driving around town. But it had false plates on it, so it didn't bring them any closer to finding her.
~T&I~
"A van has been found burned out in the forest near Coupeville," Lee advised.
"Are there any signs of Izzy there?" Charlie hoped.
"No sorry Charlie. All we can do is map it out to see where they would be seen next," Lee sighed.
There was a commotion coming from an office.
"Charlie, a store in Seattle thinks they have seen Izzy; they are going to send some CCTV footage. We are looking at a kidnapping if it is Izzy," Mark informed.
"It's come over the internet. Are you sure you want to watch this, Charlie? We can watch it if you would like," Lee asked.
"Lee, this is my little girl. I think I would recognize her better than you," Charlie replied.
Mark wasn't happy about it. But they gathered around one of the screens.
They watched as Izzy was dragged through a store and into a bathroom. About 5 minutes later, a woman came out with a little boy. When they brought the picture up, they saw something that made Charlie's blood run cold. It was his Izzy, and they had cut her hair off and dressed her in boys' clothes.
She was small for her age. People would mistake her for a five-year-old. The only thing that anyone would recognize is her eyes.
"Charlie, we are handing this over to the FBI Innocent Images department they deal with kid's abductions. Just in case it could be connected to any other missing children," Mark gently said.
"Don't even think that traffickers have taken her. I know she will fight until they let her go. She'll be home before we know it. She's a smart girl," Charlie replied.
None of them liked to say anything, but they hoped for the best and dreaded the worst.
Thanks as always to my dear friend Kellie (Klcivinski) for pre-reading through the chapter and helping me with mistakes I've made.
Thanks also to Donna (EdwardsFirstKiss) for all her hard work editing the chapter and helping it make it readable.
Any mistakes are all mine.