no body, no crime

Chapter 4 : His Truck Has Got Some Brand New Tires

"So, I was thinking last night," Rosalie began.

Morning had finally come. Though Edward's bed – which he had lent to Rose, insisting to go sleep on the couch – was very comfortable, Rose hadn't managed to get a wink of sleep. After shuffling restlessly for about an hour, she'd given up and instead reflected on the varied ways she could kill Charles, and whether she'd kill Lauren too or not.

"And I think I know how to find where Charles hid Esme."

She refused to say Esme's corpse, though even if they succeeded in finding her Esme would probably be dead.

Edward, his mouth full of cereals (he was eating his breakfast), looked at her to show he was listening.

"Remember when I showed you the new tires of Charles' truck ?" Rose asked.

Edward nodded.

"Well, I think I know why he changed them. The real reason, not the bullshit he told me – that the previous ones were too old or worn out or whatever."

Edward nodded again, eager to hear her theory.

"What if," Rosalie spoke slowly, cautiously, "what if the ground of the place where Charles took Esme was – let's say muddy – and it left traces on the wheels ? In that case, when he got back to his house, he may have noticed the dirt on his truck and cleaned it ; then, he saw mud sticking to the tires, and he changed them. But why not just clean them as well ? There was no need to replace them. In fact, it's just more suspicious. Maybe he tried, but the mud had dried and encrusted in the tires."

"Or maybe he's just dumb," Edward suggested (he had finally finished his bowl of cereals).

"Most likely," Rose agreed. "Anyway, what do we do ?"

"Hear me out : step 1, we hide in Charles' garden. Step 2, we wait there until he leaves – he won't stay in the house forever. Maybe he'll go visit Lauren."

"Ew," Rose interrupted.

"I know, it's gross. But let's stay focused. Step 3, once Charles is gone, we break into the house (again), and we search whatever areas we haven't searched yet, and try to find the old tires."

"That's a great plan," Rosalie approved. "High five."

"Everything okay ?" Rosalie mouthed to Edward, looking at him across Charles' garden.

They had hidden between shrubs on opposite sides.

"Yeah," Edward replied from afar.

Rose nodded, then lowered her head, retreating behind the bush again.

They waited. And waited. It seemed Charles was still sleeping. It wasn't that early, but Charles had always been lazy, with a tendency to linger in bed in the mornings.

Finally, Rose heard someone shuffling. The sounds came from the bedroom. Then she heard someone talking. Had Charles gone mad ? Was he talking out loud to himself ?

But then someone answered him. He wasn't alone, Rosalie realised. The people talking were still in the bedroom. This meant that Charles had spent the night with someone.

Peaking again from behind her hiding place, Rose addressed Edward again :

"Looks like he won't have to leave the house to visit Lauren."

They waited again, and when at least the two people left the house Rose's suspicions were confirmed. She recognized Charles at once, but the woman at his side was unknown to her. She had blond hair and her face bore a permanent sneer.

"Time to go to work, my wild kitty !" Charles exclaimed.

Ugh, Rosalie thought. She was sure now that it was Lauren, because it was the same horrible nickname as in the letter.