Chapter 4

The next morning saw the brothers pulling up in front of Felicity's home where she was sitting on the front verandah waiting for them. She climbed into the back seat of the Impala.

"Morning." She said, smiling warmly.

"Hey Felicity, how you feeling?" Sam said, turning around and returning her smile.

"Well, to be honest, I didn't get much sleep last night but…. I guess I'm doing okay." She replied.

Dean didn't turn around or say a ward but watched Felicity in the rear view mirror where his and Felicity's eyes met. Felicity shifted her eyes away and turned back to Sam. "So, what's the plan for today then?"

"We're gonna take you back to the Conrad Mansion so you can get your car. Then, we'll take if from there." Sam replied.

Through the entire drive out to the Conrad Mansion, Dean sat quietly; his eyes only on the road.

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As Felicity walked towards her car, she noticed the day caretaker of Conrad Mansion, George Radinski, just saying his farewells to the first tour group to complete the viewing of the Mansion and its grounds.

Felicity quickly ran back to the Impala and rapped on the driver's side window. Dean wound down the window whilst Sam reached for the volume on the cassette deck.

She jabbed her finger repeatedly toward the old man entering the Mansion grounds. "That's George Radinski! He's the last person that saw Karla before she disappeared!"

Dean turned off the engine and both brothers exited the vehicle and looked toward the disappearing figure of the caretaker.

Sam turned to Felicity, "You go on home and we'll go and have a chat with him and catch up with you later."

Felicity looked from Sam to Dean with the same stony glare Dean recognized from their first meeting the previous night. He turned to Sam and mumbled, "Sammy, this ain't gonna be pretty."

Sam scowled back at Dean. "What?"

That was when Felicity blew her stack. Through gritted teeth she said, "You expect me just to go on home like a good little girl and sit and wait there for my lifesaver and his trusty sidekick to come and fill me in on what's happening! Bull! No way! Just ain't gonna happen!"

Sam and Dean looked at each other with raised eyebrows. "See?" Dean said. "Told you she was a fiery little thing."

Felicity grabbed Dean's jacket. "Don't you dare speak as though I'm not even here! Just don't you dare!"

Dean pulled his arm out of her grasp. "Okay, okay. You win……this time."

Felicity released his jacket and stood very still, her eyes travelling from Dean to Sam and back again several times. When she spoke, her voice was very calm and low, "I haven't won anything; I've lost my best friend and I need to know what happened and where she is. So please, do not patronise me. Okay?" She turned and began to walk away towards the Mansion.

Dean looked sideway at Sam. "This is gonna be fun."

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The three of them entered the Mansion, spying George sitting at his desk completing some paperwork. He looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps and a with a smile of recognition on his face said, "Felicity! Nice to see you!"

"Hi George. I'd like you to meet some friends of mine that have just come in from Seattle. This is Sam and Dean. They've come to help in the search for Karla."

Dean reached into his pocked and produced a fake police ID. Before George could get a good look at the ID, Dean had it closed and back in his pocket.

"Ah George," Sam began, "We'd just like to ask a few more questions regarding Karla's disappearance. I believe you were the last person to see her?"

George looked at Sam and said, "That's true but I've already given my statement to the local police."

"I understand that George, but we're doing this as a special favor to Felicity. Any further information you could give us, may be beneficial to helping try and locate her."

George shrugged, "I'll tell you again but I don't see how it's gonna help any. When I came off duty at 8pm, Karla was just getting ready to start her shift. We said a few words to each other – y'know general chit-chat and I left to head on home. That's about it."

"And there's nothing else you can remember about that night?" Dean asked.

"Now come to think of it, just before closing time, I did hear some strange noises coming from one of the upstairs rooms." George said.

"What sort of noises?" Sam asked.

"Kinda hard to describe really. Sort of a moaning sound." He said. "Like someone was in a lot of pain. I guess it was just the wind though. After all, it's a mighty old building."

"Well thanks again George. We'll catch up soon." Felicity said.

"Yeah you do that Felicity. In fact, Joan wants you to give her a call. She'd like to have you over for dinner soon."

"Thanks George, I'll give her a call." She smiled.

The three of them left the Mansion and proceeded back to their cars.

"Sort of a moaning sound. I'm thinking we're gonna be back here later on tonight." Dean said.

"I'm coming too." Felicity said.

Dean sighed. "What is it with chicks and red hair?"

"It would be much safer for you to wait at home for us. There's no telling what we may come across." Sam said.

Felicity made a small strangled sound. "I will be here tonight whether you like it or not! I am so sick of having to justify myself!"

Sam and Dean looked at each other. "Okay, we'll pick you up after dark." Dean said. "Until then, why don't you just stay out of trouble?"

"What is your problem Dean?" Felicity said, trying to control her emotions. "Were you born in a bad mood? Just don't take your problems out on me all the time, okay?" Felicity turned on her heel and made her way to her car. With tears of anger and frustration clouding her eyes, she fumbled for her keys before dropping them several times. On the fourth attempt, she gave up. Throwing her arms in the air, she walked away from her car towards a bench on the outskirts of the car park and sat down heavily.

Sam and Dean had watched the whole saga unfold. Sam went over to Felicity's car and picked up her keys and walked over to where she was sitting and sat down beside her, handing her the set of keys.

"I just wanna go home and go to sleep and when I wake up, everything should be back to normal." Felicity said in a small voice.

"That's not gonna happen." Sam said.

Felicity turned to Sam, as the tears coursed down her cheeks. "It's just not fair! If Karla doesn't come back, then I've got nothing!"

"We'll do our best to find her for you. Y'know my brother means well, he's just got a weird way of showing it." Sam said.

"I know and I'm not helping with the way I'm acting either." Felicity said, wiping away her tears.

"Are you going to be okay?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'll see you later." Felicity said, running a hand through her hair. Sam got up and went back to where his brother was waiting in the car. He climbed into the passenger seat.

"So?" Dean asked.

"Huh?"

"So, what's the problem?" Dean prompted.

"She's just upset, is all. Dean, you gotta be a little more sensitive! Her best friend is missing and all you can do is act like a jerk!"

Dean didn't respond. He just started the engine and guided the Impala out of the parking lot.

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