Immortal Beloved

Chapter 23

As Alice had foreseen, the police did have some questions for me. Police Chief Charles Swann was waiting for me. I later found out he had been there for about ten minutes before Alice, Jasper, and I returned home, and Ana had been merrily entertaining him in the living room.

Before we got too close to the house, however, Jasper told us to hang back. "We shouldn't be seen in this state," he said. I glanced down at the state of my clothes. My jacket was torn open, and my shirt underneath had been shredded from my escape from the car. The knees and thighs of my jeans were torn as well, exposing the skin of my legs. Alice's clothes were in the same state as mine. Jasper's clothes weren't as shredded, but they were deeply stained with dirt and oil from the pavement. And beyond all that, the three of us were soaked from the rain. Besides the lack of blood, cuts, and bruises, we did look as if we had emerged from a horrid car wreck. One look at us would have the chief on alert.

Jasper led us through a neighbor's yard to my own backyard, and from there, as silent as three cats, we jumped up to my bedroom window. I never locked it, and after carefully pulling off the outer screen, slid the window open. The three of us entered my bedroom. Jasper made a gesture to suggest he and Alice would wait in there, and I deftly changed into fresh clothing. I discovered that my phone, which I had left in my jacket pocket, had been destroyed. The two halves of the clamshell device had separated, the screen was shattered, and several of the buttons had come loose. I mouth a few curses as I dropped the useless phone on my futon.

I traced my path out of my room through my window, the yards, and back to the street. From there, I walked through the front door of my home as if nothing was amiss.

Ana turned to me with a smile as I walked in. "There you are!" she said. "I tried calling you, Belle, but your phone's off. Chief Swann here said your car was apparently in a gnarly accident." I could hear the question behind her statement, and in her eyes, I saw concern.

I turned to Mr. Swann with a smile. I had never met the chief of police before, and I was quite struck by how much he and I resembled each other. He was a middle-aged man, with ruddy skin and dark hair now streaked with gray. He had the same chocolate eyes I had had in my life. I wondered distantly if I was looking at a descendant. I had never had children, but I did have cousins who procreated.

"Miss Swanson," he started, standing. "About an hour ago, your car was seen speeding through the center of town. It collided with a curb and crashed into a parking lot down on Milton Street. Now, I can tell by looking at you that you weren't involved in that at all." He chuckled awkwardly.

"My car?" I asked, widening my eyes to look surprised. "I was wondering why it wasn't in the driveway." I shook my head. "I never lock it," I said in quiet admittance.

Mr. Swann let out a quiet sight. "Well, I can't hardly blame you there. Ain't much joyriding happening in Forks, usually."

"The driver," I inquired carefully, "are they okay?"

Again, Mr. Swann let out a breath. "Can't say, really. They're alive, most certainly, but they weren't at the scene. I was hoping maybe you'd seen something."

I shook my head. "I've been out walking."

He raised an eyebrow. "In the rain?"

"I prefer the rain," I said with a smile.

"Well, you're in the right place for it," he said.

"You don't have any witnesses?" I risked asking. "It's broad daylight." I had to know if we had been spotted.

"Not really much that's helpful," he said. "The rain has most people inside. Got plenty of calls about a car speeding through the streets, but haven't been able to find anyone who saw the driver. Add to that—" He stopped short.