Chapter 21
I left early Thursday morning—I was still on East Coast time—and headed for Forks. I kept glancing at the picture of Izzy's drawing I had on my cell phone as I progressed around the northwestern base of the Olympic Mountains. Eventually, Route 101 turned south, but it wasn't until I crossed the river that I was sure I was in the right place. I pulled over when I got to the Forks' side of the bridge and pulled out my cell phone. Looking up the valley to the left, the view was identical. "Bingo!" I shouted. Okay, I needed a plan.
I didn't have a recent picture of Izzy—Isabella—no Izzy, she was Izzy to me; anyway I didn't have a picture I could show around, but I did have a name. Probably the best place to start would be the library, but would a town this small have a library? I noticed a police car off the side of the road a few blocks up ahead and decided that was as good a place as any to start. I parked behind the cruiser, and then walked up the driver's side—the window was open.
"Good morning, officer."
He lowered the radar gun he was holding and looked up at me. His face was weathered, but despite the deep lines carved in his leather skin, he looked friendly. "What can I do for you?"
What could he do for me? Hi, I'm looking for my vampire girlfriend's parents—not. "I'm visiting, and well, I thought I'd look up the Newtons, we used to be friends."
He whipped up his radar gun as a car sped past. "Thirty-nine—not worth the effort. Newton from Newton's Outfitters, those Newtons?"
"Yeah." How many Newtons could there be in this tiny town?
He pointed up the road. "Three blocks, turn left, go another four—no five blocks, they're across from the corner in the back right." He aimed the radar gun at another speeding car, flipped on the siren. "You mind?"
I stepped back and he sped off.
I repeated the directions in my head so I wouldn't forget, puzzling over the last part, 'in the back right'. That was weird. Maybe it was an apartment building. I pulled out and passed the police officer leaning in the window of the car he just pulled over—I was going to have to remember to watch my speed. I made the left and started up the hill. There were several little alleyways so I wasn't exactly sure what counted as a block, but I quickly ruled out the apartment idea as the houses thinned the further I went away from the main road. I finally pulled over when I was pretty sure I'd gone five blocks. It wasn't a crossroad like I'd expected, it was an 'L' bend in the road and across from the corner was nothing but a cemetery. I stared down the road at the mailboxes, the first one read Anderson and the second, Filbert. Did he really mean the cemetery? I shut off the engine, got out and walked across the street.
It was an old cemetery, most—if not all—of the markers were coated in a thick layer of green moss from the constant humidity. "They're in the back, right," I repeated as I walked slowly through the gravestones. The further I went I noticed the dates on the stones weren't as old. I came to a 'T' in the walkway and turned right. Just a few plots down, there was one large, obviously newer, gravestone. I hesitated unconsciously. This wasn't what I'd expected at all. I gulped and walked the last few steps. It took me a minute, but I finally looked up at the inscription.
In Loving Memory
Michael, Jessica and Isabella Newton
I leaned over, hands on my knees, with the weight of what I'd discovered and then lost. Just a few hours ago I found out who Izzy really was—and now—she was dead. If Isabella Newton was buried with her parents, then she couldn't be Izzy. I glanced back at the stone, there was only one date, and they'd all died on the same day. "Dead, they're all dead?" I mumbled.
"Five years now," a familiar voice from the roadside startled me.
I looked up.
"I'm Chief Swan." He held out a hand.
I straightened up and shook hands—still speechless.
"I was a little abrupt back there, figured you probably didn't know."
I shook my head. "What happened?"
"Car accident while they were on vacation. Best anyone could figure, Mike hit a deer and lost control. Car clipped a tree and flipped. Folks around here chipped in to bring them home, didn't seem right to leave them in Montana—lived here their whole lives."
"They were all together then," I confirmed.
"Uh huh, best the authorities could figure."
"They weren't sure?"
"There were some—irregularities in the reports. No one was exactly sure how long after the actual accident before it was called in, and it took some time for the authorities to get there, but Mike and Jessica's bodies were laid out, side-by-side. The car was a twisted up real bad, so it took some serious effort to extract them from the wreckage, but no one is sure who did it.
"The people who called in the accident weren't there?"
"Nope, and according to the reports, the police thought the EMTs got them out and the EMTs thought the police did—just didn't make sense. I mean why would someone go to the effort to get their bodies out and then just leave like that."
"Wait a minute, you said Mike and Jessica's bodies were laid out, what about Isabella?"
"They never found Isabella's body. Did a thorough search of the area, even did an Amber Alert in case she wasn't actually with them, but nothing turned up. Best anyone could figure, animals must have gotten to her body."
As sick as it sounded, I was relieved. "So Isabella isn't actually buried here."
"No, but it wouldn't be right to—"
"No, no of course not. A person should be remembered, and I'm sure it helped the kids at school with some sort of closure."
"So, you're visiting, Forks? Mind if I see some identification?"
Uh oh, maybe going to the police wasn't such a great idea. I pulled out my wallet and handed Chief Swan my driver's license.
He looked it over carefully before handing it back. "Long way from home, your parents know where you are?"
"Yes sir, I call my mom twice a day."
"And she let you drive clear across country?"
"Yeah, honest. Cell phones in my Jeep. We could call her if you don't believe me."
"Why don't we do that."
He waited until I started and then followed. I glanced back at the tombstone. I'd gained another piece of information, but wasn't any closer to finding Izzy. "Anyone else ask about the Newtons' lately?"
"Not that I'm aware of—like I said, it's been five years."
We got back to my Jeep and I called Mom.
"Jason, what's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong, Mom. I'm in Forks and well, the police would like to talk to you."
"I thought you said nothing was wrong."
"It's okay, Mom. They just want to make sure I'm not a runaway or something. Here, I'm going to put Chief Swan on."
"Chief..." I heard her say as I handed him the phone.
"Mornin' ma'am. I'm Chief Swan... no ma'am, your boy is fine... yes ma'am, he says he has your permission to be out here...okay then, just wanted to be sure... yes ma'am. I'll keep an eye on him... yes ma'am. Nice to talk to you too. Here's your son." He handed the phone back to me.
"Yeah Mom, I'm fine... I love you too, I'll call you later." I flipped the phone closed.
"You plan on staying for awhile?"
"I guess a couple of days."
"Foley's over on Maple is a decent place, reasonable rooms, good food."
"Thanks, I'll check it out. Does Forks have a library?"
"We're small son, not backward."
"I didn't mean—"
"Couple blocks up from Foley's, red brick. You didn't drive all the way out here to see Isabella Newton did you?"
"No, of course not, I came out to visit some friends in Port Angeles. We used to live there, and well, we knew the Newtons so..." I pulled out the photo. I was getting a lot of mileage out of the picture.
"That's Isabella alright. I'm guessin' you're the boy?"
"Yeah, I guess I was maybe seven when this was taken."
"Whitaker? No, can't say I remember the name.
Well, if you need anything, the station's just the other side of town. I'm there most of the time." He nodded and walked back to his cruiser.
I climbed back in the Jeep and turned on the heater. It wasn't terribly cold, but the dampness cut right through you. So maybe the tombstone wasn't as bad as I'd originally thought. Without a body, it was possible that Isabella Newton could still be Izzy. It seemed insane that the girl I had a crush on when I was seven could really be Izzy, but so far, everything seemed to fit. I figured there was no hurry to check in the hotel, so I headed straight for the library.
The library was another shocker. From outside the old red brick building, I'd expected to have to dig through old newspaper clippings, or at best, an old microfiche, but it turned out everything had been updated to digital a few years ago. The librarian said they were the beneficiary of some government program. She got me situated at a terminal, showed me the basics and turned me loose. I started with the date on the tombstone figuring I'd work back from there. As I scrolled though the pages, I suddenly gasped, there was a picture of Mike, Jessica and Izzy as she looked today. Whatever doubts I had, were gone. Isabella and Izzy were one and the same. So I was on the right track, but no closer to finding her. I sat back, considering where Izzy might be. By my calculations, she'd been gone for eleven days. Depending on how she was traveling, she was probably here, but Chief Swan said no one else had asked about the Newtons. Of course, she couldn't just walk into town and start asking questions, people would probably recognize her. Maybe that gave me an advantage. If she wasn't here yet, I could stake out the library and wait for her to show up. I leaned back in the chair.
"Problem?" The librarian asked.
"No, I was just trying to remember."
She glanced at the pictures of the Newtons on the monitor. "That was so tragic, the Newtons were nice people and Isabella was such a sweet girl."
"You knew her?"
"Yes, she used to come in a lot, loved to read. Did you know her?"
"Yeah," I pulled out the picture again. "We lived in Port Angeles and our mothers used to shop together."
"What's your name?"
"Jason Whitaker."
"No, doesn't sound familiar."
"Yeah, I don't ever remember coming to Forks." I noticed another picture and scrolled down, it was a photo of the funeral. There were a lot of kids—probably high school age—and their parents, and I recognized Chief Swan standing with another small group separate from the others. It was difficult to tell from the photo, but it looked like two girls and a guy. I pointed to the group. "Do you know who that is with Chief Swan?"
She slipped on her reading glasses and leaned closer to the monitor. "Oh yes, that's his daughter Bella, her husband Edward, and his sister Alice."
"They're kind of separated from the others."
"Yes, they kept to themselves, and left right after the ceremony. I think Bella was really shaken. Edward had his arm around her the entire time." She pointed to the picture.
"So Bella knew the Newtons?"
The librarian pulled out the chair from the station next to me and sat down. "Jessica always said Bella was responsible for getting her and Mike together. I think Mike might have had a thing for Bella, but Bella only had eyes for Edward. Poor Charlie—"
"Charlie?"
"Chief Swan. I don't think he was a big Edward fan especially after Bella's accident junior year."
"Accident?"
"Word was she and Edward had some kind of spat and she ran off back to Phoenix to be with her mother—they were divorced—Charlie and Rene. Edward went after her; and well, Bella wound up falling down a flight of stairs and broke her leg. Edward got her to come back, but I think Charlie was always afraid she was going to run off again; and well, he wasn't too happy they got married right out of high school, either. They haven't been around much since the wedding, but they come by to visit now and then."
"So they live close?"
"Can't really say for sure. The Cullen family seems fairly well off—family money they say—for all I know they fly into Seattle and drive down. I'll tell you something though—don't get me wrong—Jessica and Mike were a great couple, but I think Bella and Edward were a match made in heaven. The few times I've seen her, I swear she hasn't aged a day since the wedding. That tells you something."
It sure did, but not what she thought. Could the Cullens be special like Izzy?
"How about Edward, marriage agree with him?"
"Yes, Edward has a kind of old world charm about him, I think that's what the girls found so alluring. He...hovered around Bella, like she was his whole world." The librarian stood. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ramble on, I've kept you from your research."
"No, you've been a big help, really."
She started back toward her desk.
"Do you know where the Cullens lived, when they were here?"
"Doctor Cullen had a place somewhere outside of town—if I recall, it was back off the main road. I don't think they sold. I heard the house was all boarded up." She shrugged, "Maybe they plan on moving back one day so Bella can be close to Charlie." She continued on to her desk.
Boarded up, just like the Faulkner's back in Boonsboro. If Doctor Cullen was a vampire, then the Cullens had even more in common with the Faulkners—no way you could be a doctor and drink human blood. Besides getting ahead of myself, I still didn't have a sure fire way of finding Izzy. Could Izzy's mother really have named her after her friend Bella? There were too many facts that pointed that way for it to all be one huge coincidence. Bella, Bella Cullen, Bella Swan—Chief Swan. The librarian said Bella came to visit Charlie from time to time—she also said Bella hadn't aged a day since she was married, right out of high school—Izzy's parents were married shortly after that... If Izzy was seventeen when she died—that felt so weird to think—then I would need to go back seventeen years and go back from there.
I found Izzy's birth announcement, and two years before that, Jessica Stanley and Mike Newton's wedding announcement. I kept going, another year back, then another, and there it was, Isabella Swan and Edward Cullen's wedding announcement. So, that meant Bella and Edward were married twenty years ago—I don't care how beautiful you are, you're going to age in twenty years—and your dad would notice, if you didn't. "So what?" I mumbled. It wasn't like I was going to go marching up to Chief Swan and ask about his vampire daughter.
"Did you have another question?" The librarian asked, apparently hearing my outburst.
"I was wondering the last time Chief Swan's daughter visited."
She seemed a little bothered by the question, like my curiosity might have turned to stalking. "She visits once a month or so. You can be reasonably sure if you see a big black sports sedan in town, the Cullens like their cars."
"Well, thanks again." I printed out a few pictures as kind of proof, paid the librarian for the copies and headed out.
Foley's had a small parking lot next door, so I pulled in there and then checked in—I made it for two nights—not because I had a plan or anything, it was actually because I didn't. I called Mom when I got to the room. While I waited for her to pick up, I realized I really didn't have much to tell her, at least not about Izzy. She was sad to hear about the Newtons, and wished she would have known so she could have sent flowers. I promised to mail her a copy of the article. She told me things were quiet in Boonsboro—they always were—and we signed off. I got something to eat downstairs, took a shower and went to bed.
I was tired, still on East Coast time, but I couldn't sleep with everything racing through my head. The road out front made a small turn and from my window, I could see the front of the library. I pushed back the sheers, propped up a pillow under my head and waited. It would be a miracle if Izzy just walked up to the library, but with everything that had happened so far, I kind of half believed she would.
Even though I loved her, I was relatively certain she hated what she was, or maybe more accurately, what she'd become. On multiple occasions, she'd
referred to herself as a monster—I know—ridiculous—but it's how she saw herself. So, it stood to reason that she would hate whoever changed her. Maybe this whole trip wasn't about finding out who she was, but finding her murderer—that gave me a chill, but it all added up. So where did that leave me—on a wild goose chase? Still, she had to find out who she was in order to figure out who killed her. So maybe all wasn't lost, at least not yet.
I was relatively sure Izzy hadn't been to Forks yet, so there was a chance I could catch her—the problem was, where? As I saw it, the two most likely places were either the cemetery or the library. It was impossible to watch both at the same time, and the way the weather was around here, Izzy would have no difficulty moving around in the daytime—even if I tried not to, I would have to sleep at some point.
The library was only open during the day and early evening, but during those times, there were people around, people who might recognize her. She had to know that, so maybe that ruled out when it was open.
If she were able to establish the connection to her family, the cemetery could be on her list. It was more secluded and would be easier for her to slip in and out of unnoticed. Maybe the best way to do this was to watch the cemetery during the day and the library at night. Then there was that outside shot I might be able to talk to Bella—unlikely, but a shot. Okay, it wasn't a great plan, but it was something.