Chapter 07 - The Usual Suspects
Addison looks up when the interrogation room door opens. She hated being in the police station, even through her and Sam hadn't technically been arrested. But that didn't make her feel any better. The woman didn't seem intimidating at all. She carried a file along with a coffee cup. "Figured you'd like something to drink."
"Thank you, Detective..." Addison trails off.
"Ballard."
Addison nods, watching as Ballard sits down across from her. "I'm guessing the bad cop is coming later."
"He's with Dean Winchester."
"So, why am I here?"
"Dean's being held on suspicion of murder. And we're waiting to see about you and Sam, Addison Sloan." Ballard opens the file. "You're twenty-seven years old. Your mother died from a wild dog attack while she was hiking in the woods when you were a baby. You and your father, Patrick Sloan, immigrated here from London, England, when you were about two years old. About every six months, you moved, except for when you lived in Saw River, New York for a year. But you were able to remain a straight A student. Got into Yale with a full ride and graduated magna cum laude. Your last known address was for an apartment in New Haven, along with Wesley Bennet, who you were engaged to."
"Wow, you guys really do your background checks here."
"We like to be thorough. Except you left New Haven right after graduation."
Addison shrugs. "The man I thought I was gonna spend the rest of my life with called off our wedding and kicked me out of our apartment. I wanted to be far away from him or anything that reminded me of him."
"And how's that going?"
"Saw the second largest ball of twine. Boring."
"We ran Dean's fingerprints through IAFIS." Addison stares at Ballard. "Got over a dozen possible hits."
"And?"
"Makes me wonder what we'll find when we run your prints."
Addison shrugs indifference. "I'm sure you'll let me know."
Ballard sighs and closes the file. She leans forward. "Addison, we know that you're one of the young women that Dean tortured in St. Louis. And detectives there are exhuming a corpse, trying to figure out how he faked his own death. You don't have to be afraid anymore. We caught him red handed at Karen Giles' murder scene. You tell us what you know and you'll be able to walk out of here."
Addison sighs. "Apparently their dad and Tony Giles were old friends. Their dad and Tony were in the service together. So, when we heard about his death, we came as soon as could."
Addison gives Sam a thankful smile when he sets a try of coffee cups down on the table they were sitting at. They were sitting at a coffee shop in Washington D.C. It had been her idea to go there for a vacation, which only lasted a day. But she enjoyed getting to see some of the monuments and museums, even if Dean bitched the entire time. Dean was reading the paper and then lays it on the table. "Anthony Giles."
"Is he any way related to Rupert Giles?" Addison amusingly asks and Dean stares at her. "Buffy's watcher. Did you only pay attention to Willow and Tara?"
"Baltimore lawyer. Working late at his office, check it out." Dean replies, ignoring Addison's question. He slides the paper to Sam.
"'His throat was slit but the room was clean.' Huh. No DNA, no prints." Sam reads out loud.
"Keep reading, it gets better."
"'Security cameras failed to capture footage of the assailant.'"
"So, someone either messed with the tapes or..." Addison trails off.
"It's an invisible killer." Sam finishes.
"My favorite kind. What do you think, Scully? We'll check it out." Dean asks and Addison rolls her eyes.
"I'm not Scully, you're Scully."
"No, I'm Mulder. You're a red-headed woman."
"As long as I get to be Buffy, I don't really care." Addison comments and smirks over the top of her cup. "Dean can be Xander."
"We weren't even in town when Tony died." Addison says.
Ballard nods. "So, tell me what happened next."
"We decided to go see Karen." Addison shakes her head. "Poor Karen. We all just wanted to be there for her. You know?"
Addison gives Karen Giles a sad smile as the woman digs through paperwork, crying. She wanted to give the woman a comforting hug, but it would break their cover. "Insurance." Karen sniffles. "I totally forgot about the insurance."
"We're so sorry to be bother you right now, Mrs. Giles." Addison softly tells her. "But the company is required to conduct its own investigation."
"Sure."
"Well, if you could just tell us anything you remember about the night your husband died." Sam softly says.
"Tony and I were just supposed to have dinner. He called and said that he was having computer troubles and that he had to work late. And that was it."
"Do you have any idea who could've done this to him?"
"No. No. It's like I told the police. I-I have no idea."
"Did Tony mention anything unusual to you in the days before his death?" Dean asks and Addison resists the urge to look at him.
"Unusual?"
"Yeah, like, strange."
"Strange?"
"You know, Karen, weird. Weird noises, visions, anything like that?" Dean asks. Sam clears his throat, glaring at Dean. Addison just shoots Dean a dirty look.
"He had a nightmare the day before he died."
"What kind of nightmare?" Addison softly asks.
"Uh, he said that he woke up in the middle of the night and there was a woman standing at the foot of the bed. He blinked. She was gone. I mean, it was just a nightmare."
"Did he say what she looked like?" Dean asks.
"What the hell difference does it make what she looked like?"
"Our company is just extremely thorough." Addison quickly answers.
"He said she was pale and she had dark, red eyes." Karen replies and they nod.
Addison brushes back some of her hair. "I gave Karen a hug and told her to call me if she ever needed anything. I figured it was the least I could do."
"Addison, honey, I am trying to help you here, but you have got to be honest with me."
"I am being honest, Detective."
"We have an eyewitness, someone who saw two men and a woman, fitting yours and the Winchesters description, breaking into Giles' office."
"Karen called. She said there were things in Tony's office that she wanted, but the police weren't letting her in. So, we said that we would get the stuff. I know it was wrong since his office is still a crime scene. But I wanted to make Karen feel better and if getting that stuff for her helped, then..."
When they enter Anthony Giles' office, the first thing Addison sees a blood stain on the floor. She quickly adverts her gaze and moves away from the door. A desk and a couple of chairs were towards the back of the room, while filing cabinets were along the wall. "Hey. Anthony Giles' body was found right about here," Sam says and Addison shakes her head in disbelief. "Throat slit so deep, part of his spinal cord was visible."
"What do you think? Vengeful spirit? Underline 'vengeful'," Dean asks them.
"Could be. I mean, he did see that woman," Addison replies.
Dean grabs a piece of paper from the printer and hands it to Addison. "Take a look at this."
Addison raises an eyebrow at the words 'Dana Shulps' written over and over. "Is Dana Shulps some kind of name," she asks, handing the paper to Sam.
"I don't know, but it's everywhere. 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.'"
Addison turns as Sam blows on the glass desk and sees the name written again. "Wow. I'd say we've officially crossed over into weird," he says.
"Maybe Giles knew her."
"Could be the name of our red-eyed mystery lady," Addison comments.
"Well, let's see what we can find," Dean replies, pulling out a drawer from a filing cabinet. Time passes as the three of them searches Giles' office and Addison lets out a sigh. Dean closes the filing cabinet and takes a seat in front of the desk. "There's not a single mention of a Dana Shulps anywhere. There's not a D. Shulps. Or any other kind of fucking Shulps."
"I haven't found anything either."
"What do you got," Dean asks Sam.
"Nothing. No Dana Shulps has ever lived or died in Baltimore in the last fifty years, at least," Sam replies.
"So, what now?"
"Well, I think I'm pretty close to cracking Giles' password. Maybe there's something in his personal files, you know?"
"By 'close,' you mean…"
"Thirty minutes, maybe?"
"Awesome." Dean plops down in one of the chairs. "So, I guess I just get to hang out. That's awesome." Addison turns her attention back to the file she was looking through and lets out a sigh when Dean starts making noises.
"Dean," Addison warns and he shoots up from the chair.
"All right, I'm gonna go talk to Karen again, see if she knows anything about this Dana Shulps, huh?"
"Great." Sam says, not looking away from the computer.
Dean starts to walk out, but pauses by Addison, causing her to look up at him. "You coming?"
"No. I haven't finished going through these files yet." Addison explains and Dean nods, quickly exiting the office.
"So, Dean decided to go check up on Karen." Addison continues. "She had been so upset and he just wanted to comfort her."
"Why didn't you go with him?"
"Dean and I...we don't exactly get along. I mean, he's a sweetheart when he wants to be, but otherwise he's just a dick all the time. I went back to the motel with Sam. I get along better with Sam. I think it's cause we're a lot alike." Addison sighs. She moves her gaze to the top of the table. "I know what it looks like, but Dean's a good guy. He wouldn't hurt anybody."
"Addison, I really do want to help you."
"Couldn't Dean have found Karen like that? What if you're just deciding it was him because you found him there? What if someone else killed Karen? You're letting her real killer get away."
Ballard sighs. In her mind, Addison had a bad case of Stockholm Syndrome. One that went back farther than that incident in St. Louis. She had found evidence that Addison and the Winchesters had been at schools at the same time. But she hadn't divulged that information to anyone yet.
Addison watches as Ballard walks out of the interrogation room. She knew exactly where Ballard was heading during the questioning and had played to it. After sitting in the room for a couple of hours, without anyone visiting her, Addison makes her way to the door. She unbuttons a couple of extra buttons on her shirt. A young uniformed police officer was sitting a desk. "Excuse me." she softly says, causing the officer to look up. "Where's the bathroom?
"It's, uh, it's just down the hall." the young officer stutters.
She smiles at him. "Thank you."
"But I'm not supposed to let you leave interrogation."
"What if you just stood right outside the door, Officer..."
"Franklin. Joey Franklin."
"I really have to use the bathroom, Officer Joey."
Joey stares at her, then stands up. "I can stand outside the door." He leads her to the bathroom and stops in front of the door.
Addison presses a soft kiss against his cheek. "Thank you, Officer Joey." Once in the bathroom, she locks the door and notices that there isn't a window. After a few minutes, she opens the door and sheepishly smiles at Joey. "This is so embarrassing, but you wouldn't happen to have a quarter, would you?"
"No. But I can go get some change. Just stay here."
"Of course, Officer Joey." She watches he darts off, then continues down the hallway. After glancing into some rooms, she finally finds one with a window and a fire escape. "Jack pot." Addison locks the door and opens the window. She climbs out and quietly closes the window before making her way down the fire escape.
With no credit card, cash, or phone, it takes Addison a few hours to find their meeting place. Exhausted, she knocks on the door. And she tiredly grins at Sam, who immediately pulls her into a tight embrace. "I've been worried about you, Ads." he murmurs against the top of her head.
Addison smiles against his chest. "I staged my own prison break...is it still a prison break when someone was never actually arrested?"
Sam laughs. She feels the vibrations in his chest. "Yeah."
After a short nap Addison stands to the side of Sam as he looks over Detective Ballard's wrists. They had continued with the hunt, even through Dean was in custody. Sam had filled her in on what Dean had discovered. But both had equally been surprised when Detective Ballard showed up at their motel room. Bruises encircled the older woman's wrists. "These showed up after you saw it," Sam asks.
"Yeah, I guess," Ballard answers.
"You have to tell us exactly what you saw," Addison says and Ballard looks at her.
"You know, I must be losing my mind. You're both fugitives. I should be arresting both of you."
"All right, well, you know what? You can arrest us later, after you live through this. But right now, you've gotta talk to us. Okay," Sam tells Ballard and she reluctantly nods. "Okay, great. Now, this spirit - what did it look like?"
"She was, um, really pale, and her throat was cut. And her eyes, they were this deep, dark red. It appeared like she was trying to talk to me, but she couldn't. There was just...a lot of blood."
Addison grabs the photos from the table and hands them to Ballard. "I researched any woman who died or went missing from Ashland Street."
"How'd you get these? They're from crime scenes and booking photos."
Addison exchanges a look with Sam. "You have your job, we have ours. Tell us if you recognize anyone," Sam answers.
Ballard looks through the photos and pulls one out, handing it to Sam as Addison moves over to the paper covered table. "This is her. I'm sure of it."
"Claire Becker? Twenty-eight years old, disappeared about eight or nine months ago?"
"But I don't even know her. Why would she come after me?"
"Before she died, Claire Becker was arrested twice for dealing heroin. Have you ever worked narcotics," Addison asks.
"Yeah. Pete and I did, before homicide."
Sam holds up the photo of Claire. "You ever bust her?"
"Not that I remember."
"Well, apparently she was last seen entering 2911 Ashland Street. Police searched the place and didn't find anything. Which means we have to go and check it out, see if we can find her body," Addison explains.
"What?"
"Well, we've gotta salt and burn her bones. It's the only way to put her spirit to rest," Sam replies.
"Of course it is," Ballard deadpans.
"So, what exactly are we looking for," Ballard asks as they enter the abandoned building on Ashland Street. The building was an abandoned hardware store in a rough neighborhood. A few of the windows were broken and graffiti was on the walls.
"We'll let you know," Addison answers, walking in a different direction as Sam heads up the stairs. She uses the flashlight to search around the room empty room, which consisted of metal shelves and trash. Ballard shouts and she runs back over to the detective as Sam reaches her.
"Hey," Sam says, grabbing Ballard's attention. "Hey, we're here. What is it? What happened?"
"Claire," Ballard answers.
"Where was she," Addison asks.
"She was here."
"Did she attack," Sam asks.
"No. She was just reaching out to me. She was over there, by the window," Ballard explains and moves over to a large shelving unit. "Hey, help me move this." Addison hands Sam her flashlight and helps Ballard move it, allowing the street light to come in. The words 'Ashland Sup' filter in. "Our little mystery word."
"Explains the extra letters," Addison comments and turns as Sam pulls out the EMF meter.
"What is that?"
"EMF meter. Detects the electromagnetic frequencies that spirits and certain remains give off."
"So, if Claire's body was here, that would indicate that?"
"Yeah. Well, that's a theory," Sam replies. The EMF meter goes off nears a brick wall. Sam exchanges a look with Addison. Looking around, Addison grabs a pole off of the ground and uses it to smash a hole in the wall. "I can…never mind." Sam takes a step back when Addison glares at him.
After a few minutes, Addison steps back and lets out a cough. "Whoa. There is definitely something in there."
"This is bothering me."
"Well, she is digging up a corpse," Ballard comments and Addison lets out a laugh.
"Yeah, well, it's part of the job. One that I usually try not to do," Addison replies, pulling bricks away.
"Then what," Ballard asks Sam.
"It's just...no vengeful spirit we've ever tussled with wanted to be wasted, so why the hell would Claire lead us to her remains? It doesn't make any sense," Sam answers.
"Sam, come help," Addison orders and Sam helps pull out a heavy bag. The two of them set it on the ground. Addison stands back as Sam cuts the rope. He opens the bag, revealing Claire's skeleton and Addison sees Claire's wrists are tied together. "Her wrists would be bruised exactly likes yours."
"That necklace mean something to you," Sam asks, motioning to the necklace on Claire.
"I've seen it before. It's rare. It was custom-made over on Carson Street," Ballard explains and pulls out an identical necklace that she's wearing. "I have one just like it. Pete gave it to me."
"Now this all makes perfect sense," Sam says and Addison nods.
"I'm sorry?"
"Yeah. You see, Claire's not a vengeful spirit. She's a death omen."
"Excuse me?"
"Claire isn't killing people. She's trying to warn them. Sometimes spirits don't want vengeance, they want justice and that's why she led us here. She wants us to learn who her killer is," Addison explains to Ballard. "How much exactly do you know about your partner?"
"Oh my God."
"What," Sam asks.
"About a year ago, some heroin went missing from lock-up. Obviously, it was a cop. We never found out who did it. But whoever did it would need someone to fence their product."
"Somebody like a heroin dealer," Sam states.
"More like someone like Claire," Addison finishes.
"All right, thanks," Ballard says, hanging up her phone. They were driving to the police station, ready to confront Ballard's partner. Addison leans forward from her position in the back and exchanges a look with Sam when they see the look on Ballard's face.
"What is it," Sam asks.
"Pete just left the precinct. With Dean."
"What," Addison blurts out.
"He said the prisoner had to be transferred and he just took him. Dispatch has been calling, but he won't answer the radio," Ballard explains.
"Radio? He took a county vehicle," Sam asks and Addison frowns, confused.
"Yeah."
"Then it should have a LoJack. You've just gotta get it turned on," Sam replies and Addison leans back, letting out a frustrated sigh.
When they arrive at the empty field where Detective Sheridan and Dean are, Addison and Sam skid to a stop seeing that Sheridan was holding a gun and aiming it at Dean. "Pete! Put the gun down," Ballard orders, pulling out her gun.
"Diana? How'd you find me," Sheridan asks.
"I know about Claire."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Put the gun down!"
"No, I don't think so. You're fast. Pretty sure I'm faster."
"Why are you doing this?"
"I didn't do anything, Diana."
"It's a little late for that."
"It wasn't my fault. Claire was gonna turn me in, I had no choice."
"And Tony? Karen?"
"Same thing! Tony scrubbed the money, then he got skittish, and then he wanted to come clean. I'm sure he told Karen everything. It was a mess. I had to clean it up. I just panicked."
"How many more people are gonna die over this, Pete?"
"There's a way out. This Dean kid's a friggin' gift. We can pin the whole thing on him, okay? No trail, nothing. Just one more dead scumbag."
"Hey," Dean exclaims.
"No one will question it. Diana, please. I still love you," Sheridan begs and Ballard slowly lowers her gun. "Thank you. Thank you." Sheridan aims his gun at Dean and gets ready to shoot when Ballard suddenly shoots him in the leg, causing Sheridan to fall to the ground.
"Then why don't you buy me another necklace, you ass," Ballard angrily replies. Sheridan grabs her leg and she falls to the ground. He stands up and aims his gun as Addison and Sam move to help Dean.
"Don't do it! Don't do it," Sheridan warns. Claire appears by the van and Sheridan turns in shock. Ballard grabs her gun and shoots him in the back. They watch as Sheridan falls to the ground and Claire disappears.
Addison gives Ballard a sad smile as the detective walks over to them after examining Sheridan's body. Dean was unhand cuffed and taking care of some business behind one of the trees. "You doing all right," Sam asks.
"Not really. The death omen, Claire - what happens to her now," Ballard asks.
"She should be at rest now," Addison answers and Ballard nods.
"So, uh, what now, Officer," Dean asks, walking back over to them.
"Pete did confess to me. He screwed up both your cases royally. I'd say there's a good chance that we can get your cases dismissed," Ballard explains.
"You could take care of that for us," Sam disbelievingly asks.
"I hope so. But the St. Louis murder charges - that's another story. I can't help you. Unless, I just happened to turn my back and you walked away, I could tell them that the suspects escaped."
"Wait, are you sure?"
"Yeah, she's sure, Sam," Dean tells him.
"No, it's just you could lose your job over something like that."
"I just want you three out there, doing what you do best. Trust me. I'll sleep better at night. Listen, you need to watch your back. They're gonna be looking for all of you right now. Get out of here. I've got to radio this is in," Ballard replies.
"Hey, you wouldn't happened to know where my car is by chance," Dean asks and Addison rolls her eyes.
"It's at the impound yard on Robertson...don't even think about it."
"Don't worry. We'll just improvise. Kinda good at it," Addison reassures.
"Yeah. I've noticed," Ballard replies and smiles at them.
The three of them start walking down the dirt road and Dean rubs his wrists. He hits Addison's shoulder and she glares at him in annoyance. He shrugs, grinning, and she rolls her eyes, a light smile on her face. "Nice lady," Sam comments.
"Yeah, for a cop. Did she look familiar to either of you," Dean asks.
"Nope. Why you ask," Addison replies.
"I don't know. Anyway, are you hungry?"
"No," Sam answers.
"For some reason, I could really go for some pea soup," Dean explains and Addison shakes her head in disbelief. Sam's hand brushes against Addison's hand. They smile at each other.