Chapter 4:
Sam and Dean walk up to the Cathedral, one building standing tall among the destruction. Sam was glad to notice that the church did not escape with zero damage as two or three windows stood devoid of their stained glass. They slipped into the heavy oak doors, their black suits enveloped in the darkness of the gothic cathedral. The air inside was sticky and heavy with the smell of incense. Candles burning everywhere cast the entire place in an eerie glow, a point which did not escape Sam or Dean as they entered.
Walking down the center of the church they see the priest kneeling before the altar, his coat hanging over the back of the first pew. Sam looks carefully at the priest while Dean checked the altar looking for anything out of the ordinary or strange. Neither one betrayed what they perceived but made mental note to share with the other what was going on.
Dean cleared his throat, the sound echoed through the empty chapel, a moment that surprised him. Quickly composing himself after his surprise though, the pair stepped up to the priest who had turned to see them, pushing himself up before grabbing his coat. When they reached him Sam began, "I am Agent Theban, this is Agent West, we have a few questions about some girls who have gone missing recently."
"Oh yes, it has been a tragedy for the community." The priest said turning to look to the cross as though for help, "First the hurricanes, now these attacks, sometimes it seems God is insistent on diminishing my flock just as he reduced Gideon's armies before he attacked the Philistines."
Jumping on that thought, Sam asked, "Do you believe that perhaps this is some kind of divine intervention for some evil?" He shooed away Dean's perplexed look, silently promising to explain later.
"Perhaps. God works in mysterious ways through his people." The priest replied with a smile.
"So," Dean said, taking over, "It was reported that these girls all attended Confession shortly before being taken. Have you noticed anything or anyone strange around the church lately?"
"There was one girl," The priest said shaking his head, "She seemed harmless enough, but I have often seen her at the entrance to the church, watching."
"Did it seem like she was looking for anyone in particular?" Dean pressed, "Have you noticed a strange smell following her, perhaps like sulfur?"
"No, but she was always looking," the priest replied, something like fear crossing his face, "her look was- it was like she could see in my soul. She seemed troubled, upset, almost like something was driving her to do something she didn't want to do."
"Could you describe her for us?" Dean asked, always the same questions in close to the same order. It was all a matter of getting the information they needed to know to solve the case, not figure out the meaning of life or anything.
"Umm, shorter in stature, young, brown hair… Oh, yes, I have this." The priest said as he pulled a picture out of his pocket, it was a black and white security camera photo, somewhat fuzzy, but showing a good picture of the girls face. "I was going to bring it over to the police station after mass. Perhaps you will get more use out of it than they would."
"Thank you very much." Sam said as he took it, looking at the face of the girl.
"When you saw her did her eyes ever appear black or maybe red, perhaps a trick of the light?" Dean asked after glancing at the photograph, she was cute but probably a killer. The cute one's were always the killers.
"No, not that I remember, I have never gotten close to her, I have just seen her waiting outside the church. You don't think she had anything to do with this?" The priest told them, seemingly at a loss as to how he could help.
"We just want to be thorough." Sam reassured him.
"Yes, of course." The priest seceded, "If there isn't anything else, I should prepare for Mass."
"Sure Father. Thank you very much for you time." Sam replied as he pocketed the picture.
