Sam was gone for almost three hours. Dean reflected that he probably should have been the one to tackle the research—knowing his brother, he'd love to spend an entire day in a big library like the ones in DC. But he knew Sammy was the right one for that job. He'd get more information in half an hour than Dean could in two.

Besides, Sam hadn't been on the Illinois hunt all those years ago—he had never met August Anderson. Dean and Auggie had been pretty close in age (Dean 12, Auggie 14) and had actually gotten along really well for those three days they had known each other. Well enough to remember each other years later as easily as they had.

Dean found himself fascinated with Auggie's skill at maneuvering around his apartment. He had asked Dean if he'd wanted a beer and the hunter had graciously accepted. He had watched, impressed, as the man stood up with no hesitation and easily made his way into his kitchen. If Dean hadn't been watching his unfocused eyes, he never would have guessed the man was blind.

As they twisted the caps off their beers, the phone rang. Auggie groaned and set his bottle down, once again making his way to the kitchen. "Annie Walker," said a cool female voice in between the rings. Dean grinned slightly as Auggie's speed increased.

"Annie! What a surprise!" His voice was different, too—warmer, somehow. Dean's smile grew. So, the man had a girl in his life. Good for you, Auggie.

"Ah... it's Friday, isn't it? Shoot." He ran a hand through his long brown hair. "I'm sorry, I forgot. And I kind of have some friends over..."

Dean stood up, motioning to Auggie to talk with him. When the man didn't respond, he almost had to give himself a smack on the forehead. Blind. Duh. "Auggie!" he hissed.

"Could you hold on just a sec?" Auggie brought the phone down to his shoulder.

"If you've got plans, that's no problem. Actually, it's probably better if you're not here when Sam and I get rid of your little visitor. Spirits can get nasty when they figure out what you're doing. It'll be better if you're out of the apartment."

He nodded and put the phone back to his ear. "Annie? It's all good. No, they have some other plans for tonight. Yup... seven? I'll be waiting anxiously." He hung up the phone, smiling to himself. "A coworker," he said to Dean. "A good friend."

"Good friend," Dean repeated, grinning. "Sounded like it."

Auggie laughed. "Yes, good friend. Annie's had some relationship troubles. She isn't looking for romance again anytime soon." But from the look on the man's face, Dean guessed he wouldn't mind it if she did show an interest.

They sat back down on the couch and Dean took a swig of his beer. Auggie's hand reached out and encountered nothing but empty air. "What the hell..." he muttered.

Dean glanced down. "Table's empty."

Auggie sat back. "Well, shit," he said easily. "Little brat." And the next second he let out a yell of surprise.

Dean whirled around—and burst out laughing. The spirit he had seen before was back. Again, he thought she must be ten or eleven years old. She had long straight brown hair and a few freckles dotting her pale cheeks. She wore pretty modern clothes: a green dress and a jean jacket. She was grinning widely at him, revealing a missing tooth. She had turned the missing bottle upside down over Auggie's head, and beer was gurgling out into his brown curls.

"Dean!" Auggie sputtered. The hunter choked back his laughter and stood up, approaching the girl. The minute he got near her she vanished. The bottle fell behind the couch, almost empty. Auggie shook his head, droplets of beer flying.

"Thanks for the warning," he growled. He stood up and made his way to the kitchen for a third time, groping in a drawer and retrieving a towel. He ran it through his hair. "What does she have against me?"

"I saw her again. She was smiling. It's fun for her, Auggie." He picked up the beer bottle and put it on the counter. "Give me a rag, I'll take care of your couch."

Auggie tossed it toward the direction of his voice and Dean caught it easily. He began to mop off the dark splotches on the couch, still grinning. "Man, you should have seen your face."

"I'm just glad I didn't see yours," Auggie muttered darkly. His head turned toward his apartment door a second before Sam knocked. Man, the guy's got ears, Dean thought. Auggie went to let him in.

Sam thanked him briefly as he entered the apartment, and then his gaze turned to his brother. "Sherry Mason," he said. "Died here five years ago. There was a gas leak in the basement of this building. She was down there at the time."

Dean raised his eyebrows. "It took you three hours to get that information?"

"No. Ten minutes. That library was awesome." Dean gave him a look and he just shrugged.

Auggie laughed. "Man! I feel so left out of the conversation."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

"These silences... you have a lot of nonverbal communication going on." He leaned against the wall, smiling. "You guys must be really close."

Dean glanced at his brother. "Yeah, closer than I'd like. I've been less than two feet away from this guy for over a year now. Never ending road trip with Sammy here." He grinned and Sam rolled his eyes.

Auggie chuckled again. "If it were me and any of my brothers, we wouldn't have lasted two days like that." His hand found his wrist and he pressed a button on his watch. "6:42 pm," read another voice. "Well. I guess I've got a date pretty soon. I'd better go get ready." He walked away, into his bedroom.

Sam walked toward Dean, keeping his voice low. "That's not all I found out. Sherry and her mom Sabrina lived in this apartment. Sherry died five years ago, and her mom moved out almost immediately. Packed up all of her daughter's things and left."

"You think Sherry is still waiting for her mom to come get her."

His little brother shrugged. "Something's making her stay. She comes back every year around the same time her mom moved, the week after she died." He glanced toward Auggie's bedroom.

Dean scrutinized him. "There's something you're not telling me."

Sam sighed. He lowered his voice until it was only a whisper. "I talked to Bob Windor, too - asked him if he knew Sherry. He said yeah, she was a little trickster. Loved to pull pranks on everyone in the apartment. He always suspected that she was the spirit. And he told me something else. Every year, on April Fool's Day, he hears noises coming from this apartment. Really loud noises, thumping and crashing. And then, at exactly 11:58 at night, he hears a little girl screaming. Hasn't strayed from that schedule in five years."

The older hunter leaned back, breathing out a sigh. "Probably the moment her mom left for good, and she realized she was getting left behind. I bet she doesn't know she's dead, Sam. She probably feels like she fell asleep in that basement."

"Poor kid," Sam murmured. "Anyway, we should probably burn her bones as soon as possible. It sounds like she's going to get crazy in just a few hours."

Dean nodded in agreement just as Auggie reappeared. He was dressed in a dark red shirt and black jeans. His hair was wet, as though he had dunked it in the sink. "Muttering about me?" he asked with a wry smile.

Sam gave his brother a guilty look. Dean just shrugged. "Gonna get exciting around here soon, so we're gonna do our thing while you're out."

Auggie paused, tilting his head slightly. "Should I be worried about my apartment? You guys aren't going to set any fires in here or anything, are you?"

"No, nothing like that," Sam reassured him.

The blind man shrugged. "Just don't mess up my furniture," he said, "and we'll be fine."