Treasured Heart

Chapter 9

A/N: Thanks so much for reading/reviewing! I just love getting those alerts in my inbox telling me a review has been left.

I do hope everyone's had a good weekend. I went to Heroes and Villains Fan Fest in Chicago yesterday and got a photo op with John Barrowman (Doctor Who, Torchwood, and Arrow) and Stephen Amell (Arrow). You can see the pic on my twitter (handle is bookwormeg) or my Instagram (zimphella) if you're interested.

As always, a huge thanks to my beta, Heather, for putting up with me and my lack of commas.

Now, on you go!

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Thirty minutes later, Maria arrived with her partner, Peter, and they got down to business right away, pulling out a tape recorder and a small file.

"Is that my father's case?" I asked, gesturing toward the manila folder.

Peter nodded his head as he opened it up.

I could see pictures of my father's body, pictures of Edward, and several pages of typed notes which I assumed were statements taken from Esme, Carlisle, Edward, and me as well as any notes the coast guard might have made.

"For the record, I'm FBI Agent, Peter Charlotte, along with my partner, Maria Whitlock. We are here regarding the investigation into the murder of Charles Swan. It is alleged that Mr. Swan was murdered on August 14, 2002, onboard the Breaking Dawn by Marcus Caius," Peter said for the tape recorder.

"We are here with Jasper Whitlock, chief biologist for the Poseidon Marine Exploration Group, Rosalie Hale, computer specialist for Poseidon, Bella Swan, daughter of Charles Swan, witness, and maritime archeologist for Poseidon, and Heidi Caius, daughter of alleged murder suspect, Marcus Caius. Let's begin."

He asked us all to state our names, once more, as well as to agree that we were speaking of our own free will.

Agent Charlotte started with Jasper and Rose, asking them questions about the shipwreck and what they knew about Marcus Caius. It wasn't much, but Rose told them all that she had learned, leaving out, of course, how she'd learned it.

Once the agents were done speaking with them, Agent Charlotte turned to me, and I took a deep breath. I hated talking about what had happened on the Breaking Dawn, but I'd already done it once today, so what was once more.

I started at the beginning, recalling it as if it had happened yesterday. I told them how I'd been woken up by shouts of panic and how I'd seen my father lying lifelessly on the deck. I told them how Caius had tried to play it off as an accident, but we'd all seen through it.

"What happened next, Bella?" Agent Whitlock asked.

"Marcus ran toward his boat which was tied together with ours, and Edward—"

"Edward Cullen?" Agent Charlotte asked.

"Yes, Edward Cullen tackled him to try and keep him from leaving while Carlisle went to find some rope to tie Marcus up so that he couldn't leave before the coast guard arrived. That was when Marcus shot Edward. He shot him in the stomach and then threatened to kill all of us if we didn't let him leave. Esme and Carlisle had no choice. Their son was bleeding to death on the deck. They had to let Marcus leave, and he's never been caught," I said, anger evident in my voice.

Both agents jotted down some notes before they turned to Heidi who was beside me and looked scared to death.

"How did you get involved in of all of this?" Agent Whitlock asked, and Heidi explained she'd overheard her father saying Charles Swan's death had been an accident and how no one was supposed to be killed.