Dean scowled as Sam finished up their protective hex bags. He didn't like the reminder of Ruby's influence in his little brother's life. So much had changed while he was downstairs. He hated Sam's dabbling in the gray moral areas of their job, even though it was necessary in this instance. With the body count rising as fast as it was, they couldn't be too careful.
The brothers weren't in their motel room for more than thirty minutes before Dean's phone rang. It was the coroner.
"You and your partner wanted me to call if anything out of the ordinary came up..." Dr. Schorsch's hesitantly skirted the subject.
"Yea doc. Whaddya got for us?" Dean was impatient for the news.
"Well.. you could definitely call this death...interesting. Freak accident in a local..business.." An awkward silence ensued.
"What is it?" Dean said a little more gruffly than he intended
"The local dungeon, I mean.. er... sex dungeon. Guy died of a broken neck. Apparently, he was tied up and the ropes tangled. But, I'm telling you... I've never seen anything like this. The rope tangled in just the right way for a knot to break his neck. The odds are astronomical. Anyway, I thought you'd like to know." Dr. Schorsch's said awkwardly.
"Yea, thanks doc." Dean hung up the phone. "Sammy, hurry it up with those bags. We've got another stiff."
Sam and Dean made their way down the dark, sketchy alley. They stopped at a black door, set so far in the wall that anyone would miss it if they didn't already know what to look for. Dean raised his eyebrow at his brother. Sam looked more than uncomfortable as they stepped over the precipice of the establishment. They were greeted by a buxom receptionist. She was clearly having trouble maintaining her aloof demeanor.
"Welcome." Her seductive voice seemed forced.
"Well hey there." Dean's lips formed his signature smirk, and Sam rolled his eyes.
"Couple's session tonight, or will you be wanting individualized attention?" Dean's smirk turned to a grimace at the receptionist's words.
"Actually, we're here about the dead body." Dean flashed his counterfeit badge.
The receptionist's countenance turned in an instant from forced sensuality to distress.
"It was an accident. I'd never seen a dead body before. I heard Mistress Genevieve scream, I thought he'd gotten too rough with her so I ran in with security.. but...but..." She took a deep breath and composed herself.
"His neck. He wasn't breathing! There was nothing any of us could do, he was gone in an instant. I don't know how the ropes gathered like they did. It seemed impossible!" Her eyebrows furrowed as she recalled the ghastly scene
"We believe you." Sam reached out and squeezed her shoulder lightly, and she visibly relaxed. "Can you look up any information he gave?"
"Not without a warrant. You can see why that would be a problem for us. Our clients value us for our privacy." She shrugged.
"It would really help us. We only want to make sure he doesn't continue being labeled a John Doe." Dean gave her his best flirtatious look.
"Let me ask Mistress Genevieve.. follow me." She turned down the black velvet hallway. She knocked briefly at one of the painted black doors, before turning the handle and ushering the boys inside. Sam tensed as he took in the the garish decorations and what looked like instruments of torture lining the wall. His brother's characteristic smirk had returned, however, as he took in the sight of the strikingly beautiful woman before him.
"Hello, I'm Mistress Genevieve." Dean noticed her dark red, exquisite lips. His eyes trailed down her form quickly enough to where he wasn't blatantly rude.
"We were hoping you could tell us about the.." Dean started.
"The dead guy? I don't disclose my client's personal information." Mistress Genevieve cut in. She approached Dean, her slender fingers grasped his chin. "But maybe I will for you. Wouldn't want to poor boy to go unclaimed downtown." Her lips formed a smirk which rivaled Dean's.
"Uhhh... thank you Genevieve." Dean didn't know whether he liked or disliked what was happening. His gaze moved down again. Being this close to such a gorgeous woman? He was beginning to lean towards liking this situation.
"It's Mistress to you." Mistress Genevieve released Dean moved to the corner, lowering herself gracefully into her throne like chair. "And his name was Sheldon Langley. He was a pretty popular niche writer around here." She crossed her legs as she spoke.
"You may leave now." She flicked her wrist, motioning for the brothers to leave.
Sam and Dean made their way towards the exit, Sam more eagerly than Dean. The taller Winchester almost broke into a jog.
"Where's the fire?" Dean followed Sam out of the door.
"That place was creepy." Sam said as he walked down the alley and toward the Impala.
"At least we got a lead." Dean answered as he unlocked the door and slid into the driver's seat. "Plus, there's nothing wrong with some furry handcuffs." Dean grinned.
"Those handcuffs weren't furry." Sam rolled his eyes. "More like spiked."
"Whatever, Sam." Dean stepped on the accelerator and drove towards the motel. It was time to research this Sheldon Langely.
"I got a hit." Sam scrolled down the website. "It's a local bookclub, looks like he was a member. They have a whole list right here. Looks like they had a meeting the night he died."
"It's definitely a start. We can interview people in the morning. I'm gonna go grab something for us to eat, you write down the addresses." Dean said as he threw on his coat and made his way out of the motel room.
Sam sighed, and leaning back against the flimsy chair he wondered if his brother would be an hour or five. He never knew nowadays. Ever since his older brother came back from hell, his drinking had increased to the point of concern. Who could blame him though, after all he'd been though? Sam leaned forward and rested his head against his hand tiredly as he began to scroll through the names of the book club members. There were only six or seven, but he knew that interviewing each on would be time consuming. He wrote down their addresses and waited another hour for his brother to come home. Giving up, he raided the vending machine for some dinner, before passing out for the night.
A/N: I know I said I'd update every other day, but I had a really crazy day yesterday! I'll try to stay on schedule, but you know... life happens! :) I hope you like this chapter, I tried to contrast the comedic with the dramatic. Please read and review, it really makes my day!