Peace of Mind
Boston's Peace of Mind was blaring out of the '69 blue Ford Mustang as it flew down the highway. Inside was a woman in her early twenties with her dark hair tied in a ponytail out of her face. Driving with the window open was impossible for a woman with long hair. The sound of an old Ford engine and Boston mixed together was truly a priceless cacophony.
The vehicle slowed as it rolled into a tiny desert town. The woman parked the Mustang at a local diner, rolled up the window and got out of the car. The woman looked at the title of the restaurant with her bright blue eyes. Sal's Diner looked back at her. She observed the people coming in and out of the diner holding newspapers to their noses as they walked.
There was no doubt about it. The Winchester brothers had been through here recently.
The name of the town was basically insignificant to the woman's goals. However its name was printed on the headline of every newspaper in sight. The Alamogordo Tribune's headline was "Orogrande Rising Motel Burned". The dusty New Mexican dirt tried to collect on the woman's shoes. She knocked some dirt clods from her shoes before pushing the door aside and entering.
The diner looked more like a period style saloon than anything else. The floors were wooden and creaked when you walked. The light was dim considering the bright light shining in the windows from outside. The only thing that reminded a customer that this was a diner was the intermittent order call and the boards behind the counter with the daily specials on it. The lack of bottles was also another tip that this was certainly not a saloon. The woman looked momentarily at her feet and all of the cracks in the panels were covered in a fine orange dust. The doors imitated the swinging doors of a saloon even.
Taking a breath the woman put aside her reaction to the strange set up and walked to the counter.
"Welcome to Sal's Diner," a short Hispanic woman said her voice rough from years of smoking. "How may I help you?" Her name tag read "Sal."
The woman smiled and leaned forward. "I need your help Sal," she said brightly trying to make the woman feel important. "You see I have no signal out here and I'm afraid I may be a bit lost."
"Do you need to use a pay phone?" Sal asked as her forehead wrinkled under a dark curl that had escaped from her hairnet. "I'll lend you some money for that."
Putting her hands up to refuse the woman said, "That's not necessary. I just need to know if you've seen two boys driving through." Sal put her head to one side in confusion. "They would be brothers and drive a black 67' Chevy Impala," she explained. After a moment of no recollection on Sal's part the woman added. "They're my cousins. We go to car shows together a lot. I just need to know if they came through this way."
Sal's formerly bright face seemed to turn a leathery brown as she frowned. "I know of two men who came through here. They weren't going to any car show though," she pointed out.
Raising her eyebrows, the woman wondered why Sal seemed in such a bad mood. "What do you think they were doing?" she asked and decided to take a seat at the counter.
Shrugging her shoulders Sal guessed, "They came in here to eat and started to ask about the new motel."
"You mean the one that burned down?"
She nodded. "Just a week ago it was up and fine," Sal commented. "There were a few issues of people coming through and leaving with no notice but," she sighed. "No one has to worry about that anymore."
The woman smiled slightly because the two brothers Sal described had been nothing like the cousins she had described. It didn't matter that Sal was plenty useful in letting her know if the people she was looking for had been in town. "Well thanks for your time," she replied. "I bet a few miles down the road I'll get the signal back and I'll be able to call them."
Sal's face softened as the woman turned to leave. "It is lunch time honey," she called. "You should have something to eat before you head out again."
"That's very kind of you, but."
"No buts," Sal said with a firm smile. "I like you. You aren't nosy like those two men were. They just came in and asked questions like having a motel here was a crime." She harrumphed at the memory and then put her hand on the counter. "This is my diner and I'm going to give you today's special on the house. All you have to do is pay a tip."
The young woman was surprised but smiled slightly at Sal's opinionated personality. Sal reminded her of her grandma. "Seems fair enough," she resolved and sat down to eat and talk to Sal before she went on her way again.
El Paso, Texas
Sam passed the last of his salad from his fork to his mouth and chewed. Dean had already scarfed down his dinner and was gazing over at the bar. The waitress had a strange mole on her chin so Dean hadn't flirted with her. She seemed to be a bit jealous because she walked over in front of Dean's view of a couple girls at the bar.
"Would you like anything for desert?" she asked in a sugary sweet voice. Her voice made Sam want to claw out his ear drums.
Dean sat back and looked up at her. "Do you have any pie?"
"Nope," she replied and walked off to get their check. There was clearly a pie on the display counter. Sam sniggered slightly and took a drink of water.
His face filled with confusion, Dean gestured at the pie on display. "What?" he exclaimed.
"I don't think she liked you," Sam told him as he tried to hold back his laughter.
Dean frowned at Sam. Then he shook his head disbelievingly. "I'll just order a piece to go," he said and looked over at the two girls at the bar.
Sam looked over his shoulder at the two girls. They were pretty and most likely Dean's type, not very giggly but definitely flirtatious. "I'll pay for the check," he told Dean. As if simply waiting for the word Dean sprang from his seat and made a bee line straight for the two girls.
With a sigh Sam got up to pay for the food. The Orogrande case was still pretty fresh in his mind. His sympathy for the vengeful spirit who was haunting the walls of the Motel had put a small space between him and his brother. He knew that Dean was just as affected by the story as he was. The way Sam and his brother dealt with emotional cases had always been different. Dean would go out and do what he could to forget about it while Sam would sit there and think the situation through over and over again.
The waitress came back with the check and gave Sam a look of concern. "Are you okay sir?" she asked in a more normal voice than before.
"Yeah I'm fine," Sam replied with a small smile and pulled out a twenty. "Keep the change," he added and got up. He wanted to go to a library nearby to see if there was another case. Dean would probably need to crash in a motel since they hadn't really slept in the last one they stayed at. Sam would text him the info once he found a place and then settled down in a library before they closed.
A blue Ford Mustang followed the Impala to the motel Sam had picked out and parked next to the room. Once Sam drove the Impala to the nearest library a woman got out of the Mustang and booked the room next to them. She wore a wide brimmed hat that covered most of her face. Then she waited at the window for the two brothers to come back for the night.
This is a one shot that I've had lying around. Figured I'd go ahead and publish it.