"That's all I'll say for now. Goodbye Detective! I expect to meet again soon."

Ludwig feels an extremely hard thump to his head and fades into darkness…

I'm not sure if I put a disclaimer up: I don't own Twilight; wish I owned Edward and Carlisle. Sorry about the wait, I'm taking a break from homework.

Vendetta

Chapter 7: Fear

Death Toll: 6

Ludwig wearily opens his eyes and immediately blinks in response to the harsh white light. Blinking once more, he discovers that he is in a hospital. He sits up, but feels nauseous.

"You might want to sit down," says someone in the room. Ludwig sits back down slowly and he makes out Dr. Cullen, the only person in the room, at the end of his bed holding a clipboard.

"My head…" moans Ludwig, feeling a strong headache.

"Yes. You were hit very hard," says Dr. Cullen, not making eye contact with him. When Ludwig makes no response Dr. Cullen continues, "You were hit very hard. Alice brought you here last night. It's three o'clock in the afternoon right now."

The moment Dr. Cullen said Alice, all the memories of the previous night rush back to him, and with that, Ludwig takes a deep, shaky breath. Dr. Cullen finally looks at him.

"You were with Edward," he whispers. Ludwig only stares, wide-eyed and frightened. "I'm so sorry you had to see that side to him. He usually tries hard to control that…monster inside him, but ever since Bella died he…" Dr. Cullen doesn't finish.

"He said you weren't human," whispers Ludwig.

Dr. Cullen nods and says, "Yes, he came in today while you were sleeping. He told me everything. I am very disappointed in him."

"What are you?" asks Ludwig, thoroughly confused.

"Please don't try to figure it out," says Dr. Cullen, "It's much better if you don't know. Your ignorance can save you."

Ludwig thinks about Dr. Cullen's comment before agreeing, "Yes, it could have. If I didn't figure that it was-"

"Shh!"

"Let me rephrase: If I didn't figure out who killed those teenagers, I wouldn't be in danger," revises Ludwig.

"You're not in much danger compared to Emily," says Dr. Cullen sadly.

"What do you mean?"

"Detective, I want to give you a fair warning. To Edward, hurting the person you love is more painful than hurting that person himself or herself. Edward, believe it or not, has been in a lot of pain and still is in a lot of pain."

"And killing people helps him cope," finishes Ludwig.

"You're not completely wrong. I think Edward will kill himself when he has finished his vendetta," the doctor's voice drops to a whisper, "And I don't think I'll be able to stop him."

"I don't understand and I don't care," says Ludwig, "I want to leave. I need to get out of here and take Emily with me. Doctor, I simply can't take it anymore! The secrets, vendettas, killing many innocent people in such grotesque ways! I won't stand for it!"

"Detective, calm down. I think Edward hit your head harder than I thought."

"Stop it! I won't go out there! I'm going, Dr. Cullen. And frankly, I hope we never see each other again, you and your family and especially Edward. I don't want him with a hundred yards of Emily."

"You're scared," says Dr. Cullen.

"I can't leave," whispers Ludwig "Can't I?"

"No, I think you have a concussion. You need to stay and let me make sure that you don't have long-lasting damage."

"Please, let me go."

"I'm sorry," sighs Dr. Cullen, "For everything…"

"Ludwig? Ludwig? Are you awake?"

"No, Miss, he's very tired."

"But, doctor, I think he's solved the case."

"Really, Emily, do tell."

The last voice belongs to the voice that Ludwig has dreaded…Edward. Why is Edward here?

"But I think he's going to wake up soon. What do you think Carlisle? He's fidgeting a lot."

"Edward, don't you dare try my patience today."

Silence. Ludwig forces his eyes open and he sits up quickly, too quickly.

"Whoah, didn't see that coming." Edward...

"You might want to lie down," says the doctor, gently lying him back down. Ludwig's eyes sweep the room: he sees Emily holding a thick, brown envelope, Edward at the foot of the bed and the other side of the bed from Emily and Dr. Cullen stands right over him making sure everything's all right.

"Ludwig! Are you alright?" asks Emily worriedly.

"Y-yes," he stutters, "Very dizzy."

"Well, I wouldn't be surprised," says Dr. Cullen, "You shot up like a rocket."

"Emily has something for you," says Edward.

"Oh yes," she says, "The DNA test results arrived." She gives Ludwig the brown envelope. "No one's opened it yet."

"Hopefully, you can figure out Bella's murderer and have him arrested," says Dr. Cullen.

"For his sake," murmurs Edward so softly that Ludwig isn't sure that he said that. "Well," says Edward, louder this time, "I should be going. I don't think I'm allowed to view the results anyway." He winks at Ludwig. "See you around, detective."

"I think I might open it when I get out of the hospital," says Ludwig as Edward leaves.

"You might want to hurry," says Emily, "It's about to rain."

"Rain? I think it will storm," says Dr. Cullen, "Look at those clouds. Let me do a last minute check up. I finished most of the work while you slept."

Ludwig weakly nods and looks at the brown envelope in his hands. He feels Dr. Cullen's hands on his head feeling for any tender spots.

Rumble...

"The storm is closer than I thought," says Emily, "Doctor? Are you almost finished? I don't mean to rush you, but…"

"I understand and I'm finished," says Dr. Cullen, "Just take it easy for awhile, Mr. Ibott."

Ludwig nods and with help from Emily and Dr. Cullen he manages to get out of the bed without feeling too dizzy. The walk out the hospital, thankfully, proved uneventful. Emily said little to Ludwig to which he did not reply. Ludwig has a lot on his mind and he is certain that Edward left to kill some more innocent people. He can't do anything about it. Trying to stop Edward will cost Emily's life and he knows that Edward is more than capable of killing her. That aside, he feels something more, something he hasn't felt before coming to this town.

Fear. It pounds his veins and freezes his blood. It cripples him, battles him, and defeats him. Again and again. The mere idea of trying to stop Edward chills his bones, makes him gasp for breath, and makes him want to scream aloud. Edward is ruthless, cunning, murderous, and insane and Ludwig blames Bella for these murders. If Bella had not died, none of this would have taken place. He would have stayed in New York, fighting with his superiors and Emily would be safe. It's horrible, though, to blame the death of somebody on another person's…sanity. The girl could not have controlled her death; it's not her fault.

"Ludwig," says Emily, "What are you thinking about?" Ludwig looks around him; he's sitting in his rental car and Emily has already started the car and is driving to Chief Swan's house.

"Emily, we should not have come here," says Ludwig.

"Ludwig?" He doesn't answer. They've arrived at Chief Swan's house, but Chief Swan is running toward his car, frantically and unsuccessfully trying to unlock his car. Ludwig opens the door and stands half outside his car. He immediately feels the soft drizzle of rain before the storm.

"Chief Swan?"

"Two more murders!" Chief Swan shouts, "Two more! Both murdered in the same room in their house!"

Ludwig feels the blood drain from his face, "And who are the victims?"

"Mr. and Mrs. Newton. Their bodies are a mess and Mrs. Newton is…beheaded…"

"Beheaded?"

"Both are disassembled," says Chief Swan, "Come on, Detective, we need you at the scene!" Chief Swan finally unlocks the car, gets in, and drives away toward the murder scene.

"Emily, follow him," says Ludwig getting back in the car.

Rumble...

"Ludwig, the doctor said to take it easy," says Emily nervously.

"Emily, please just drive me there."

"The storm…"

"Please, I need to finish this case. He needs to be brought to justice!" exclaims Ludwig with a new determination. As Emily drives away, Ludwig slips his thumb under and the seal and slides it across the seal. He opens it and slowly takes out the contents of the envelope…

Author's Comments

It should be pretty obvious who Bella's murderer is, but please don't mention it in your reviews. I know some people, like myself, like to read the reviews before reading the story. Just wait till the next chapter to see if you're right.

Sadly, the purpose of this chapter is a filler chapter. I hate those, but this was unavoidable. And I'm sorry for the long wait. I had to work out some issues and finish homework and some more stuff that you don't care about.

Darkness-Chill, in a lot of reviews you say that you're on the edge of your seat. The next chapter will make you fall out of your chair…I will write it so perfectly and suspenseful and whatnot that you will. Muhaha… Thanks for loyally reviewing; this thanks also goes to pearberry. (You know who you are, I don't know your full screen name, sorry).

For the rest of you, the next chapter is the official last chapter, not counting the tentative epilogue. It might take me awhile, but I want it to be perfect. I might send it to Darkness-Chill, my beta, to edit it, just to make sure, but it will be awhile. Sorry! I suggest reading either stories on my favorites or some other fandoms I write to keep you busy. See you next time!