by Lari Smythe
Chapter 22
It was that time of day—which day I wasn't sure—kind of between day and night. The library was still open so it wasn't likely that Izzy would show up there. I decided I'd take a short break and drive up the road a few miles to the old outfitters to see if they had a pair of those electric socks. I was tired of having cold feet.
As I pulled into the gravel parking lot of Wilson's Outfitters, I noticed you could still see where the name Newton had been painted over. The store was really cool inside. They had all sorts of interesting outdoor stuff, and I wished I could have stayed longer. As it was, I was already getting antsy about missing Izzy. I found the electric socks and got a few strips of deer jerky to help pass the time. I paid the guy—presumably Wilson—and headed for the door.
Suddenly the store lit up in a harsh blue/white glow as a car rounded the corner, headed toward town. Not just any car, a black European sports sedan! I raced out to my Jeep and followed. This had to be Charlie's daughter, Bella. This was great, I'd follow her to wherever she was going and then casually walk up to her and ask her if she knew Isabella Newton, you know, the vampire? What? No way was that going to happen. She'd probably have her dad lock me up—or worse.
Okay, I'll pull in front of her and force her to pull over—right, that's a great idea. It didn't matter now, we were already in town, I'd just have to play it by ear.
I hung back, so I didn't attract attention, and followed her through town, and then up one of the small side roads toward the mountains. I lost her for a moment as she crested a hill, but when I had her in sight again, she was pulling off in front of a small, white, two-story house with a police cruiser in the driveway. Visitin' Dad, I was right. I killed the lights and pulled off the side of the road. Okay, now what?
The car door opened. A cloaked figure emerged and headed toward the house, the front porch light came on. When she reached the front steps, the door opened and I got a glimpse of Chief Swan as he ushered her inside. So again, now what?
I wait.
The longer I waited, the more nervous I got. I had no idea how to approach Bella. It wasn't likely I could keep up with her car once she was out of town, and as impossible as it seemed, I doubted Chief Swan knew anything about her condition—I mean how could he? So, no way I could just walk up to the door and ask to talk to her. All the while, there was a chance I'd miss Izzy at the library. I shut off the engine—didn't need another incident like back at Mrs. Anderson's—and slipped on my new, electric socks.
After a couple of hours, not even the socks helped—I was freezing. I wanted to start the engine, but the steam out the tailpipe would be a dead give away. It must have been around two in the morning when the front door finally opened. All that time and I still had no idea what to do. Chief Swan held the door for Bella as she stepped out on the porch. They embraced, somewhat awkwardly, and then she moved gracefully toward the car.
"See ya, Bells," Chief Swan said, with half a wave.
"See ya, Dad." Bella reached for the door handle.
At the same time I turned the ignition key to start the Jeep, but caught myself before the engine turned over. Bella looked toward me immediately. Damn, she heard the solenoid click, just like the cloaked figure in the woods heard the camera shutter. Maybe she couldn't see me—no way. I was made.
Bella glanced back at her dad, he was at the top of the steps now. She made an ever so slight nod toward me and Chief Swan went back inside. When I looked back at the car, Bella was gone. She must have gotten in, but the glass was so dark, I couldn't be sure. Would she kill me? I mean not to drink my blood obviously, but to make sure her secret was safe. Suddenly her car started and the lights came on, flooding my Jeep with light.
She knew I was here anyway, so I started the Jeep. I nearly wet myself from a harsh tap on the windshield. My foot slipped off the clutch, the Jeep jerked forward, stalled and rolled into the underbrush of a huge pine. Before I could get my bearings, there was another tap on the windshield and then the beam from a flashlight blinded me. I sat there helplessly as Bella's car sped away. I peeled back the side curtain.
"Mind telling me what you're doing parked outside my place?" Chief Swan said.
"Uh, well, I had a few questions I wanted to ask you."
"Ah, huh."
"No, seriously, like uh, well, was that your daughter, in the black car?"
His brow rose with surprise, but he recovered quickly. "Ah, huh."
Neither of us spoke for a long minute. The awkward silence was broken when his cell phone rang.
"Yeah... Ah, huh, the boy I mentioned..." He glanced at me. "That's right, the Newton girl... you sure... okay then, I'll talk to you later... Yeah, I love you too." He whispered the last part, closed the phone and dropped it back in his pocket. "Let's see, stakein' out the cemetery, the library, my place, stalking my daughter, am I missing anything?"
"Uh, no, no sir, that pretty much covers it. About your daughter, I wasn't—"
"Bella means everything to me—nothin' I wouldn't do for her, nothin'."
"Sure, I get that."
"If I didn't know better, I'd think you were looking for someone." He scratched his cheek with the butt of the flashlight. "Eight o'clock, tomorrow morning at Foley's place, you're buyin'. About time you ate something besides energy bars."
Okay, how did he know that? Was he watching me? Was everyone watching me?
"Go on, get out of here."
"Right."
I backed off the tree, did a U-turn and headed toward the hotel. I was freaked. All this time I thought I was being so stealthy and it turns out the whole freakin' town is watching me. The first thing I noticed when I got back to the hotel was the deserted library outside my window. The library was dark, no sign of activity, but I could have missed her? I had to hope I hadn't since I'd totally screwed up trying to hook up with Bella.
The idea of just leaving crossed my mind, but I couldn't give up on Izzy—no way. I took a quick shower to warm up and calm down, then sat down across from the window. I set the alarm clock just in case and settled in to watch the library for another night.
The buzzer jolted me out of a sound sleep. The clouds were so thick it was almost dark outside—I did a double take at the clock to make sure it was morning. I was already dressed, so I brushed my teeth and headed downstairs to meet Chief Swan. This whole me buying him breakfast thing was weird. After my little stunt last night, I was afraid he was going to send me packing. He hadn't arrived yet, so I got a table next to the window and ordered orange juice. Guess I was about half finished, when Chief Swan's cruiser pulled up out front.
"Mornin', Jason," he said sliding into the booth across the table from me.
"Good morning, sir."
"Ah, huh." He pulled out a menu from behind the napkin dispenser.
"Good morning, Chief, what can I get you?" the waitress said, appearing out of nowhere.
"Jason here is having the special with a side of hash browns. Do you have any fruit?"
"We have peaches today."
"Okay, add a side of peaches and a glass of milk." He glanced at me. "Chocolate?"
"White's fine."
"And for you?" The waitress asked.
"Coffee to go, and put it on my tab."
"I thought I was buying?"
"Ah, huh."
The waitress left and I braced myself for what I—at the very least—expected to be a stern lecture.
"Like I said before, we're a small town, most folks around here have known one another all their lives. So when a stranger starts poking around asking questions, folks get a little nervous." He leaned back in the booth and crossed his arms. "Must say, I can't figure you out."
"I was just trying to find out what happened so I could tell my mom."
"Ah, huh. So you're telling me you're not waiting for someone."
"No, seriously, who would I be waiting for?"
The waitress came back with a glass of milk and a Styrofoam cup of coffee. "Black, two s
ugars."
"Thanks, Betty." Chief Swan slid out of the booth. "Do me a favor and make sure Jason here eats everything on his plate."
"Sure will." Betty went back to the kitchen.
"I'd advise you to stay away from the cemetery. Ol' Mrs. Anderson is a crack shot, and it would leave me with a ton of messy paperwork."
"Right, got it."
"Enjoy your breakfast." And with that, Chief Swan was gone.
Okay, this made no sense. He came all the way over here just to make sure I ate breakfast? No way. He had a good point about Mrs. Anderson, though. I'd have to park a few blocks away and watch from the woods. I glanced out the window. At least it wasn't raining. One thing was for certain, I was wearing out my welcome in Forks. I needed a break and soon.
By the time I finished breakfast and headed out, it was pouring. No way was I going to be able to watch the cemetery from the woods. So I did drive byes every fifteen minutes or so—problem was, all that food made me tired. After an hour, I had no choice but to head back to the hotel. I rationalized that Izzy wouldn't be out in the rain, but I knew the opposite was more likely. The rain was perfect cover it kept people inside. I hadn't been back in my room ten minutes before I fell asleep. A dream—really a nightmare—kept it from being a restful sleep.
I was outside the cemetery. It was night and pouring. In the darkness, I could make out the faint silhouette of a person, or at least I thought I could. 'Izzy, is that you?' I whispered knowing she could hear me. The image turned toward me. Water streamed down my face, into my eyes, and I tried frantically to wipe it away so I could get a clearer look. Whoever it was, was close enough now that I could hear twigs snap with each step. 'Izzy?'
'Close enough!'
A cloaked, female figure, teeth bared, shot forward, so fast I couldn't react. She hit me with a bone crushing thud, burying her fangs into my throat.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
I jolted up in bed.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
"Room—hotel—a dream," I mumbled deliriously. "Just a minute." I'd fallen asleep dressed, so I went to the door pausing to collect myself. "It's not a vampire," I whispered and opened the door.
"Sorry to bother you," Chief Swan said, looking past me. "Hope you weren't busy."
"Listen, it's my fault. I thought I heard you tell the waitress to put it on your tab."
"That's not why I'm here." He held up a lavender envelope. "There are things I don't know about my daughter. Things I don't think I want to know. She's a wife, a mother, but most importantly to me, she's my daughter and I promised I would never let her fall if you get my meaning." He pressed the envelope into my hand and then pointed straight into my face. "Nothing better happen to her." Without another word—no explanation—no nothing, he turned and walked away.
I stood there, frozen, unable to process what just transpired, until an old woman walking in the hall stopped.
"Are you alright, son? Do you want me to call the front desk?"
"No, I'm fine, thank you." I closed the door and fell back against it, staring at the envelope in my hands. Jason was written in the center, but that's not what drew my attention. Scrolled gracefully in the upper corner the name Bella.
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