Chapter Ten:
The Significance of Others

"So, if I'm understanding you right, what you're saying, Agent McQueen, is that Robert was mauled to death? In Roanoke city? By...what?" Courtney Conrad asked, slightly confused. Dean took a sip of the warm tea she had brought out to him and Sam a few minutes earlier. "A bear?" Dean searched the woman's face as she tried to make sense of her husband's death. "That doesn't make any sense. I'm sorry, Agent McQueen, but there's no bear in the city limits of Roanoke." she said firmly. Dean looked over to Sam who was eating one of the homemade cookies.

Dean knew it was a flat out lie, and a bad one, but it was one that he would have to figure out a method of selling if he was to extract information out of this woman. "Well, his body was found outside the Gold and Silver Gentleman's Club," he said shifting his weight in the couch, "but we believe that he was out camping when he was attacked by a bear. We believe that he was able to escape from the campsite and found himself at the club's door when he died and bled out. Had the dancer not been there to call the ambulance...well, he wouldn't have lasted much longer than he had." Dean tried to explain. He could tell that the Conrad woman wasn't buying what he was trying to sell.

"We know it doesn't make a lot of sense," Sam interjected, "but you have to understand that we're working from speculation alone." Sam rested his hand on the table for the woman to take, but she only looked away. "I know it won't be easy, but can you think of a reason Robert might have been in the woods? Or, dare I ask, near the Gentleman's Club?" Dean took another sip from the tea and directed his attention to the woman Sam was trying to comfort and ease the information out of. Still, Dean had his doubts about what the woman would reveal.

The widow looked out the window and back to Sam before speaking. "We...have been having trouble in our marriage." she replied looking down at her hands. Dean could feel a slight pang of pain tracing back to his short lived life with Lisa and Ben. "And, while it makes no sense on how he came to be...mauled...I'm pretty sure he was at that whore house with his friend Eric. Eric Carlyle. That son of a bitch has been fueling Robert's distance from me for months now." Dean could hear the edge in her tone and knew that Sam was striking a nerve.

"If this is too difficult to talk about, we understand." Dean comforted. Sam looked over at him and Dean tilted his head. "I had a family once, but, uh, the job came between us. So, I can understand some of what you're dealing with, Mrs. Conrad." Dean continued to comfort the woman. He watched as Sam drew a confused look across his face, but said nothing. Dean returned his attention back to the widow. "But, we could really use your help in this." The widow sighed visibly and took her first sip from the tea she had brought out for the brothers.

"No, no." the widow defended her emotions, but Dean could tell it was becoming increasingly difficult to speak about. "I'm fine. I should talk about this before I let it bottle up." There was a long silence between the three as Dean nervously drank his tea and Sam chewed on the cookies. There was something soothing about the woman's tea, Dean had to confess, and the woman smiled. "Robert used to say it made him feel better." she replied looking down at her hands again. Dean noticed she seemed to be studying them, almost as if they were alien to her.

"That will be all for now, Mrs. Conrad." Sam said finishing his cookie and standing up. Dean shot him a confused look. "I believe we have all we need and there's no sense in making matters worse for you." he said shaking her hand. Dean, still confused, stood and shook. "If there's anything you can think of that might make sense of what Robert was doing...at that campsite...or club...call us." Sam said offering the widow a business card. Dean watched as she studied the card and smiled. Sam, it would seem, was 'working it' and Dean had missed it.

As Sam finished with the formalities, Dean snatched himself a few cookies for the road. "Do you mind?" he asked the widow. A smile played at the edges of her lips as Dean took about six cookies. "These are wonderful, and it's a long drive, and..." The widow smiled and offered Dean a plastic bag and a few more cookies to take along with him. "Oh, you're too kind, Mrs. Conrad. Thank you!" Sam was on his way out of the house as Dean took the cookies and left with him. Once outside, he saw that Sam was musing over the information neither one of them had received.

"What was that back there, Dean? 'Such wonderful cookies'." Sam mocked Dean as they walked down the long driveway to back to the Impala. "You would think that you had never done this before." Sam was becoming annoyed and Dean said nothing. Considering his brother's tone for a moment he shot his arm out with a cookie. "No," Sam said smacking his elder brother's hand away, "I don't want a fucking cookie. What I want is to know what that was back there."

"What was what?" Dean asked chewing his cookie, "Because it kind of seemed like you were working it on that widow back there. That's what it looked like to me. God, these are wonderful cookies. You sure you don't want one?" Dean asked again offering Sam a cookie. Sam drew an annoyed look on his face and Dean reigned himself back in. "Okay," he said exasperatedly, "I know we should be looking for more information, but that woman's lost her husband and she has wonderful cookies. I have been out of the deal for a year. I'm sorry if I'm not David Caruso. Not that you're much better." Dean said climbing back in the Impala. Sam climbed in and looked over to his brother, clearly annoyed.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I was able to suss out some information that you might have missed while you were busy...devouring...the woman's cookies." Sam said settling into his seat as Dean turned the Impala over. "Her husband has been cheating around." Dean narrowed his eyes and looked over to Sam. "She mentioned that the two of them were having trouble in their relationship. Chances are, one of them, if not both, are cheating." Sam said matter-of-factly.

Dean tried to hide his satisfaction in what Sam was saying, but knew Sam would see through him. "That's the brother I knew and loved, back before all of this Purgatory, Apocalypse, and all of that." he boasted. Sam looked down and hid a smile playing at the end of his mouth. "So, where does this leave us? Head back to the morgue? Try and smooth things over there? Or club - again." Dean mused aloud. Sam let out a long sigh and blew the hair out of his eyes. "What?"

"I think it would be best if we split up on this one, Dean. You can slip in and out of the morgue a lot easier than I can, as they don't think you're working for the CIA - which, honestly, might work to our benefit - and I can focus enough to talk to those at the club." Sam said. Dean chewed on what his brother's offer was. "It's the best chance we have." Sam reasoned. Dean hated when he knew that Sam was right and the idea of splitting up was one of the best he had heard all day. "Take me to the club and you can sit in at the morgue. Simple, easy, no trouble."

Dean considered what his brother was saying for a moment longer before speaking. "You're right, Sam. That would be our best chance. I'll talk to the doctor over at the county morgue and you can handle that bastard Michaels. Heaven knows he doesn't much care for me." Dean offered trying to anon his brother's request. "I'll call when I'm on the way back. If I'm not back by the time you're done talking to them hail a cab. I'll see you back at the motel. Just, uh, call? Before you leave." Dean said as he continued on the way to the club.

As the Winchesters arrived at the club Dean knew he was about to play with fire. He knew that Sam was up to something, but what that something might have been was an unknown. It was like dealing with Cas. Still, he wasn't as innocent as he would have liked the others to think. He had been in contact with Benny, who he was having run down a few leads, in the absence of having Bobby around. Dean knew damn well he could trust Benny to find what he was looking for. If it could be found. Sam broke through Dean's thoughts when he motioned for Dean to pull into the parking lot before he drove past it like he had been doing this whole case. "Remember, you're not in the CIA, Dean." Sam said as he climbed out of the Impala.

"Yeah, yeah," Dean said dismissing Sam, "want some cookies for the stay?" Dean asked offering Sam another cookie. Sam scoffed and Dean shrugged to himself. His loss, because that meant that it was all the more for Dean. "I'll be back as soon as I can. If not, you know what to do." Dean said as Sam walked to the club's front door. Dean watched as he stopped and talked to the other bouncer, the one from the other day. Sam could work his magic there and he could work his magic over at the morgue. Fair enough, right?

As he left the club Dean ran through everything that had happened on the case thus far. He had tried to have a night off with Sam, but that was ruined when Cas showed up with a dead body. Cas had lied to him about raising the dead woman, who he still couldn't place but he knew her from somewhere, and then continued to lie to him about it being a case involving Leviathans. Sam was acting strange and disappearing when it benefit him. Something was up, but no one would tell him what it was. He was also aware that there was another death, the reason Sam was at the club, the bouncer Trent Riley. And then there was the fact that he was hunting down what might or might not be, based on what Garth's wonderful contact had provided, a mimic. Dean found himself knee deep in the shit and no shovel to toss it out of his way. Still, he would have to press on.

Coasting along he decided it was about time for some music to soothe the mind. Reaching over to the dial on the Impala to switch on the music he felt something cold rush through the car. He didn't know what was going on, but he knew he was no longer alone in the car. Glancing over he was shocked to see Cas sitting next to him and swerved the Impala, out of reaction more than desire, heading into on-coming traffic. Panicked, Dean slalomed between the cars speeding at him, horns honking, as Cas reached across the vehicle. "Cas, I would love to talk, but right now isn't the best...time..." Dean shouted narrowly missing another car head-on. Cas reached over and rested his hand on Dean's shoulder. "What the fuck?!" he shouted as he heard the faint screech of tires and a loud echo shot through his head. And then, everything suddenly went black.