Family Ties
A Supernatural Fan Fiction
By: Stefani140
Chapter One
The moonlight glinted over the tops of the deserted wheat field. A hotel stood off to the side, the only one in this one stoplight town in Iowa. Two men shuffled toward the door to one of the rooms. It had been a long night. They were dirty, sweaty, and thoroughly exhausted. All they really wanted was a hot shower and a good night's sleep. They chatted as they opened the door.
"Jeez, that bitch just wouldn't go down." Dean complained loudly.
"Rough night?" Sam asked, look up from his laptop. "Can one safely assume that the zombie is back in its grave?"
"Of course it is. Have you found anything useful yet?" John wandered toward the window, listening to his sons bicker. He rolled his eyes, still fighting like they were four.
"Maybe. There's been a string of suspicious deaths in Seattle."
"And how is that up our alley exactly?" Dean raised his eyebrows, sarcastic as always.
"Well, they're al men, six so far. Found dead in their own homes, which are completely locked up from the inside. And the only obvious trauma is that their hearts are missing."
"And? Still doesn't sound like out problem."
"There's no incision or wound of any kind, anywhere on the victim's bodies.
John looked over from the window and said, "The hearts are just gone?"
"Exactly, but the coroner still ruled the cause of death as natural causes."
"Yeah, that sounds likely. We'll leave first thing in the morning. Right now all I want to do is go clean up and get to bed."
Three hundred miles away, Delia put her headphones on and lounged back on the ratty bed in her cheap Chicago hotel room. Her laptop stood open, waiting. Normally, she wouldn't just wait for a case to fall into her lap, but Tony had sounded rather desperate for her help. Her cell phone rang from the bedside table, and she jumped. Throwing the headphones aside, she grabbed for the phone.
"Yeah." She barked.
A raspy, stern male voice responded, "Where and when could one find a decent bar in New York?"
Delia rolled her eyes, "Tony, I'm really not in the mood right now."
"Should I repeat the question?"
"Oh, Lord help me. I hate you. One could find a good bar in New York at a crossroads on a blue moon, sometime between now and the fifth of never. Satisfied?" She was weary of this little routine. Her security hadn't been compromised in years, yet Tony still insisted on treating her like a child. "Now what do you have for me?"
"A really weird case. I'm sending you all the info I have via email. And, by the way Delia, it's nice talking to you too."
"Is it a preternatural case or an ordinary one?" She had no time for small talk, and frankly, she wasn't in the mood for his shenanigans anyway.
"It's anything but ordinary. But, I suppose, its not completely out of range for a psychotic human on a rampage."
Great, this was exactly what she needed. "Hmmm…deranged humans. My favorite kind. I'll call you back when I've had a look at your case file." With that, she hung up. She really was starting to despise Tony, but she did owe him a favor. It served her right for letting him save her life last year.
Her laptop announced the arrival of an email. Delia sighed; hopefully she could find a reason to turn this case down. She opened the email, and was shocked to find the actual police file. How in the world had Tony managed to steal that? Autopsy reports, crime scene photos, interviews with friends and relatives. All said the same thing. All six victims were found with their home or apartment locked from the inside. Found in their beds dead, six men, with no wounds or trauma; except for a small burn mark on their chest. Weirder still, their hearts, were missing. The autopsy reports had the same findings, just missing, no cuts or wounds to suggest that the killer had taken the organs with them. More like they'd never existed in the first place. And the moron at the coroner's office, still ruled the deaths as natural, and the cases were closed. Damn, she'd better call Tony back. She grabbed the phone again and punched in the number.
He answered on the first ring. "Alright Tony, so listen, here's the deal…"
"Whoa, hold on there sparky. Isn't there something you wanted to ask me?" Tony asked, voice laced with amusement.
Delia sighed again; and responded, the venom in her voice was apparent. "I swear Tony, I'm going to kill you one day. Here's you stupid question…In what direction does a sparrow fly in March?"
"South except on March 7th. Thanks for humoring me. And Delia, I do believe you by the way. I know that one of us will end up killing the other eventually. But since you're not killing me today, are you taking the case?"
"Yeah, unfortunately. Seattle's definitely got a spook on their hands."
"What kind?"
"Don't know yet. But I'll handle it. I'll leave in the morning." She hung up.
He was right to take her seriously. One day she would kill him, unless he killed her first; but that day wasn't today. No today she had to go chase down something unnatural in Washington. Delia mumbled a protection spell under her breath. She didn't really think it would help, but it couldn't hurt. You never knew when someone might try to kill you during the night, someone like Tony. Feeling slightly safer, she drifted off, images of the crime scenes fresh in her mind.