Midnight Sun(86)

A vampire angel-there was a stretch.
After about a half hour, Bella relaxed out of the tight ball. Her breathing got deeper and she started to
murmur. I smiled, satisfied. It was a small thing, but at least she was sleeping more comfortably tonight
because I was here.
"Edward," she sighed, and she smiled, too.
I shoved tragedy aside for the moment, and let myself be happy again.
11. Interrogations
CNN broke the story first.
I was glad it hit the news before I had to leave for school, anxious to hear how the humans would phrase
the account, and what amount of attention it would garner.
Luckily, it was a heavy news day. There was an earthquake in South America and a political kidnapping in
the Middle East. So it ended up only earning a few seconds, a few sentences, and one grainy picture.
"Alonzo Calderas Wallace, suspected serial rapist and murderer wanted in the states of Texas and
Oklahoma, was apprehended last night in Portland, Oregon thanks to an anonymous tip. Wallace was
found unconscious in an alley early this morning, just a few yards from a police station. Officials are
unable to tell us at this time whether he will be extradited to Houston or Oklahoma City to stand trial."
The picture was unclear, a mug shot, and he'd had a thick beard at the time of the photograph. Even if
Bella saw it, she would probably not recognize him. I hoped she wouldn't; it would make her afraid
needlessly.
"The coverage here in town will be light. It's too far away to be considered of local interest," Alice told
me. "It was a good call to have Carlisle take him out of state."
I nodded. Bella didn't watch much TV regardless, and I'd never seen her father watching anything
besides sports channels.
I'd done what I could. This monster no longer hunted, and I was not a murderer. Not recently, anyway.
I'd been right to trust Carlisle, as much as I still wished the monster had not gotten off quite so easily. I
caught myself hoping he would be extradited to Texas, where the death penalty was so popular...
No. That didn't matter. I would put this behind me, and concentrate on what was most important.
I'd left Bella's room less than an hour ago. I was already aching to see her again. "Alice, do you mind-"
She cut me off. "Rosalie will drive. She'll act pissed, but you know she'll enjoy the excuse to show off her
car." Alice trilled a laugh.
I grinned at her. "See you at school."
Alice sighed, and my grin became a grimace.
I know, I know, she thought. Not yet. I'll wait until you're ready for Bella to know me. You should know,
though, this isn't just me being selfish. Bella's going to like me, too.
I didn't answer her as I hurried out the door. That was a different way of viewing the situation. Would
Bella want to know Alice? To have a vampire for a girlfriend?
Knowing Bella...that idea probably wouldn't bother her in the slightest.
I frowned to myself. What Bella wanted and what was best for Bella were two very separate things.
I started to feel uneasy as I parked my car in Bella's driveway. The human adage said that things looked
different in the morning-that things changed when you slept on them. Would I look different to Bella in
the weak light of a foggy day? More sinister or less sinister than I had in the blackness of night? Had the
truth sunk in while she slept?
Would she finally be afraid?
Her dreams had been peaceful, though, last night. When she'd spoken my name, time and time again,
she'd smiled. More than once she'd murmured a plea for me to stay.
Would that mean nothing today?
I waited nervously, listening to the sounds of her inside the house-the fast, stumbling footsteps on the
stairs, the sharp rip of a foil wrapper, the contents of the refrigerator crashing against each other when
the door slammed. It sounded like she was in a hurry. Anxious to get to school? The thought made me
smile, hopeful again.
I looked at the clock. I supposed that-taking in account the velocity her decrepit truck must limit her toshe#p#分页标题#e#
was running a little late.
Bella rushed out of the house, her book bag sliding off her shoulder, her hair coiled into a messy twist
that was already coming apart on the nape of her neck. The thick green sweater she wore was not
enough to keep her thin shoulders from hunching against the cold fog.
The long sweater was too big for her, unflattering. It masked her slender figure, turning all her delicate
curves and soft lines into a shapeless jumble. I appreciated this almost as much as I wished that she had
worn something more like the soft blue blouse she'd worn last night...the fabric had clung to her skin in
such an appealing way, cut low enough to reveal the mesmerizing way her collar bones curled away
from the hollow beneath her throat. The blue had flowed like water along the subtle shape of her
body...
It was better-essential-that I kept my thoughts far, far away from that shape, so I was grateful to the