***
"I found him in here," Anna told them, leading them up the stairs. "In the closet..."
Sam and Chance followed, having left Dean behind at the motel to do research.
"Why was he in the closet?" Sam asked.
Anna wore a panicked look; "My daughter locked him in there."
"Why would she do that?" Chance asked.
"She said her imaginary friend told her to lock him in," Anna rolled her eyes in exasperation. "I don't know where they get these things from, I swear."
"Kids will be kids," Sam answered. "What happened after that?"
"Nothing..." Anna said. "I guess a couple of hours had passed...I already told this to the police—"
"We know...we're just fact-checking," Chance assured her. "Please...go on."
Anna nodded, and tears rolled down her cheeks. "I was calling for Jacob...but he didn't come. When Sally came to me, she told me he was in the closet...and I found him..."
"Um...may I speak with your daughter?" Chance asked, knowing Sam could take it from here.
"Sure...but I'm not sure what good it will do..." Anna nodded, sniffling slightly.
Chance glanced at Sam, then walked off to do her work.
Sam turned to Anna, "Um...Anna...what do you know about this house?"
Anna looked up at him in wonder, "What do you mean?"
"I mean, what do you know about the original owners?" Sam asked carefully.
Anna wrapped her arms around herself, "Nothing...the house was empty before we moved in."
"Empty?"
"Nobody'd lived here for years," Anna explained. "A few people would move in...Then quickly move out...I'm starting to see why."
Sam chuckled nervously; "Yeah...I guess so." He hesitated, "Anna, how many children do you have?"
"Five...er...four..." Anna sniffled. "Jake and Sally are my two youngest...the other three are in school at the moment."
Chance knocked softly on the little girl's door. She sat on her bed, and looked up at Chance with wide brown eyes.
"Who are you?" She whimpered, hugging her teddy bear close.
"My name is Maryanne Booth," Chance said, kneeling so she was eye-level with the girl. "I'm a detective...I'm here to see how your brother died."
"I didn't know what would happen...I knew I wasn't supposed to, but I did it anyway—"
"Wait...first, tell me your name, and we'll start there, if you don't mind," Chance said, after she'd shushed the girl gently.
"My name's Sally Hargate."
"Good...now you can tell me the story from the beginning," Chance said. "Slowly please."
"He told me it was a game," The little girl whimpered. "Said it would be fun...I don't know why...he just said lock him in the closet."
"Who said to lock him in?" Chance asked.
"Jake...he said it would be fun..." Sally said, "Like one of those escape people...he said it would be fun."
"Then what happened?"
"She told me not to," Sally replied.
"Who?"
"Our friend Millie," Sally said. "Jake and his friend Andrew told me to do it...Millie tried to tell me not to."
"There were four of you?" Chance asked.
"When Mommy started calling for Jake, Millie and Andrew disappeared..." Sally whimpered. "I don't get it...Mommy says Andrew's imaginary...but me, Jake, and Millie could see him..."
Chance smiled weakly, "Maybe you've all just got active imaginations."
"Did you have an imaginary friend?" Sally asked.
Chance blinked, "Me? No."
"Why not?" Sally frowned.
"I had a sister," Chance said. "Didn't need an imaginary friend...she was always there to be my real friend."
"Where's your sister now?" Sally asked.
Chance frowned, "We don't speak anymore. I haven't seen her for a long time."
"Why not?" Sally asked.
"It's a long story," Chance sighed. "Sorry, I have to go. But thanks for talkin' with me Sally."
Sally's eyes filled with tears, "I killed my brother. It's my fault he went away!"
Uh-oh...Chance thought, when Sally started crying. Awkwardly, Chance wrapped her arms around the little girl to comfort her. "No...Sally...you didn't kill him...it's not your fault."
Sally sobbed into Chance's shoulder, "It is! It is!"
Chance sighed, "Sally, I'll find what killed your brother. It's what me and my friends do. It wasn't your fault."
Sally withdrew, and sniffled, "You promise?"
Chance smiled, "Hey, that's why I'm a detective. I'm the one that catches the things that kill big brothers."
Sally smiled through her tears, "I really didn't do anything wrong?"
Chance shook her head, "No. But I have to leave now."
"Find what did it and punish it!" Sally told her, as Chance got to her feet.
Chance gave her a salute and a nod, then walked into the hallway, finding Sam standing outside. "Hear much?"
"Some...nice way of lying to a kid," Sam told her, as they walked down the hall.
Chance shook her head; "It was a white lie, so sue me."
They were in Chance's car when Sam spoke again, "Any theories?"
"She said her brother had an imaginary friend," Chance said, starting the car. "What she didn't get was why her little friend and her brother could see him, as well as herself."
"So, malevolent spirit...that takes the shape of a kid?" Sam asked.
"Possibly, what did you get out of the mother?"
"The house was empty when they moved in," Sam responded. "Flickering lights, scratching noises...signs of a malevolent spirit," he shrugged.
"Hit the records...see what kids died in the house...and what it has to do with that closet," Chance said, heading toward the motel.