The impala pulled up to a large brick apartment building in the center of Boston. "Smell that air, Sammy. That's the smell of beer, motor oil and smokes." Dean smiled, rubbing his hands together.
"Yeah, it smells like every motel we've stayed in... ever." The brother replied sarcastically.
"Yeah, but this is the fresh air, here." Dean informed Sam, who rolled his eyes while straightening his tie as they both walked up the cement stairs to enter the building's lobby.
The room was practically made of marble, and a worn out red carpet stretched to meet the fireplace that housed a flame the size of one that normally resided on the wick of a birthday candle.
Both the boys approached the front desk where an old man stood staring off at nothing. His beard was an even mix of gray and white, but his eyes were a pale blue that stood out.
"Hey." Dean waved a hand in front of the man. When a response wasn't given, the older brother turned to Sam who sent back a confused shrug. "Wakey wakey." Dean said, tapping the gold bell on the desk. The old man jumped at the noise.
"Oh, hello, boys!" He exclaimed. "Do speak up. I'm a trifle deaf in one ear." A thousand sassy comments spun around Dean's mind like 'right, HEARING is the main problem with you', but he managed to suppress them. Sam decided it would be best if he took over from there.
"We're with the F.B.I. We've come to investigate some disappearances in the area. A girl went missing in this building a few nights ago."
The man looked apprehensive. "Can I see some ID?"
"I dunno. Can you?" Dean couldn't help but mumble under his breath. Sam stomped on his brother's foot as hard as he could at the moment they both raised the fake IDs and badges they had in order to investigate different crime scenes. Dean shot a glare to Sam that could have killed him, but the man at the desk didn't even see it happen because he had to grab Sam's hand and pull it an inch away from his face, before he finally evaluated it and spoke.
"All right." He nodded. "First apartment on the right. Third floor."
"Thank you, Sir." Sam nodded, his lip turning up in a thankful smirk.
As they both headed to the elevator, Dean lashed out in an angry whisper. "Dude! Really?! You and stomping on people's feet..."
"Call me when your filter comes in the mail!" Sam whispered back harshly. Both boys turned away from each other to roll their eyes. Soon the elevator bell went off, and they both filed inside. "you know…" Sam started.
"I swear if you try to sass me again, Sam-"
"This is about the case, Dean." He interrupted. It looked like Dean wanted to comment, but he couldn't argue with his brother wanting to get back to work.
"What?" He granted Sam the right to continue.
"This is a pretty big building, right?"
"Sure." Dean nodded, not sure where this was going.
"Where is everyone?" Sam asked. "That lobby was empty and so is this elevator." The bell rang as they arrived on the third floor, before Dean had time to answer.
"What?" He asked as they walked out, "You think there were more disappearances than we know of?"
"I dunno. It's just something to think about." Sam shrugged. They turned to the right and knocked on the door. It opened just a slit a few minutes later, the chain lock was still latched.
"Who are you?" The voice was stern and uptight. It belonged to a middle aged man whose eye was peering into the hall.
"F.B.I" Dean said as he and Sam held up their badges. "We're here to investigate a disappearance." They listened to the door close followed by several locks unlatching. The door then opened completely and granted the boys entrance.
"I suppose you're here about my daughter." It wasn't a question. Both Sam and Dean spun around to look at the man who had opened the door.
"She vanished a few days ago, right?" Sam asked gingerly.
"She was taken!" He corrected. "I'm sure of it!"
"Robert." A woman cautioned from the kitchen, which was a few meters away from the doorway. The room was behind a wall, so she was out of sight when she spoke. Eventually, she came out, clad in a small blue dress and apron.
"Baking is her stress reliever." Robert told the brothers quietly as she approached them.
"Hello" She greeted and wiped her hands on her apron. "I'm Mary, and this is my husband, Robert." She turned to him "You didn't tell me we were going to have company."
"That's our fault." Sam assured the woman. "Uh, we didn't call ahead. We're with the F.B.I, and we were wondering if you'd be willing to talk with us for a few minutes and describe what happened with…"
"Meredith." She said with tears forming in her eyes.
"Uh… Yes. Your daughter, Meredith." Sam nodded.
All four of them walked toward a small coffee table positioned in front of a TV. The apartment was small, but not any smaller than the motel rooms the Winchesters often occupied. Mary and Robert sat on the couch, while Sam and Dean pulled two loveseats away from the wall and positioned them toward the couple.
"Could you two walk us through that night?" Dean asked.
"Well…" Robert started. "Meredith is our only daughter… and we were just sitting here watching Jeopardy, you know, because it's a fantastic family program?"
"Sure." Sam and Dean showed off their acting skills with slight nods.
"So Meredith was beating both Mary and me by about $1,000, when all of a sudden, the power went out."
"Meredith screamed." Mary added fearfully.
"Next thing we know-"
"The lights are back and Meredith's gone." Dean finished.
"Correct." Robert affirmed. "We already gave our statement to the police-"
"Was anything weird beforehand?" Sam asked "Noises, smells?"
"Meredith had been growing quiet for a few hours; you know, she was slightly less vocal than usual. but other than that, everything was normal. She was a relatively quiet girl anyway." They both shrugged and looked at each other sadly.
"When you let us in, you mentioned that you thought your daughter was taken?" Dean asked Robert.
"Well… it's just a theory…"
"You can tell us." Sam encouraged, but the subject seemed to push Mary to look away uncomfortably.
"Meredith has always been a straight A student… and then she met this girl, Hayley, who seemed a little… out of Meredith's league."
"Dangerous?" Dean asked.
"Who knows?! The girl's a juvenile delinquent!"
"Robert!" Mary interjected.
"It's true!"
"And they became friends?" Sam asked.
"Best friends." Mary said quietly.
"Could we have her address?" Dean asked. Robert was all too eager to write it down and hand it over. Then there was an awkward silence.
"I think it's time we wrap this up." Mary suggested.
"Thank you for your time." Sam nodded to them, "Here's our number if anything else comes up." Sam handed Robert the card, and both brothers left the apartment. Once again, they found themselves in the elevator.
"She was 'growing quiet'?" Dean repeated with confusion.
"'Think she knew something?" Sam asked.
"I dunno, but some of this isn't adding up. No signs of forced entry. No sounds, smells. Absolutely nothing?"
"At least we know how to confirm if it's definitely our thing." Sam shrugged. The elevator doors opened, and the two brothers made their way through the lobby and to the impala.
"What's that?" Dean asked as he started the car and pulled out of the parking lot.
"Go to this Hayley girl's house and find out if she really had a part in this, or if it's just a case of overprotective dad."
"I don't know about that, Sammy. Actual investigating? That's a little above our pay grade. Wouldn't the police have arrested her by now if she was involved?"
"Maybe Robert only mentioned her to us. You know, F.B.I; we're a bigger deal than state police." Sam said. "We have to go, Dean."
"You can go hang with Hayley Hannibal. I'm going to investigate the other girls'houses." Dean said happily. "One of them was living with no one but her older sister, who now needs some serious consoling."
"Whatever." Sam shook his head "Can you drop me on the way?"
Dean shrugged "It's your funeral."