"Dead as a dodo", the eldest of the Winchester brothers states as he gets into his car.
"Damn it!", Zoë curses from the back seat.
Dean parked his Impala in front of the ER of the Arkansas Methodist Medical Center, between the several police cars from which rotating lights shimmer blue and red on their surroundings. He slams his door with frustration, apparently this bugs him just as much. The Kinks are playing You Really Got Me on the local radio station, which gives off an awkward happy vibe. No one bothers to turn it off though.
"Laura attacked him while other people were around?", Sam presumes surprised.
"She didn't actually, she waited till he went to the supply storage… alone", Dean tells. "Same deal, beat up, broken neck, the whole shebang".
"Seems like we're not having a little chat with him after all", Zoë comments disturbed.
"Okay, we have to act fast now", Sam cuts to the chase. "The only ones who might know something about Laura's location is what's left of the Shire family".
"Better step to it then", Zoë says as she looks over at Dean.
"I'm on it", he starts the engine and backs out, glaring over his shoulder to make sure he doesn't run into anything.
"Hit me, GPS", he glances at his brother as he turns drives his baby back to S 9th Street.
Sam need a moment to orientate himself as he checks the road signs, but still answers pretty rapid.
"Highway 412 up west, right to Reynolds Road and then take left on Reynolds Park Road", he remembers from his previous visit to the Shire residence.
As soon as Dean gets the queue he puts the peddle to the metal, rotating the wheel to the left in order to make the turn. Rubber burns off the tires as they slip, causing the rear end of the Impala to swing out.
"Damn it, Dean! I'm nauseous already", Zoë comments, trying to prevent herself from rolling to the other side of the car.
"Woos", he huffs softly as he pulls the car out of the turn and gasses it up on the highway ahead.
But Dean's rush isn't necessary, because between Linwood Cemetery and Zoë's motel, they are forced to stop by a red light and a line of cars. Dean curses as the cars on Linwood Drive pull up and cross over.
"Come on!", he cries out frustrated.
"If I only had a bike…", Zoë comments joyfully, knowing that with her Dave she could have passed this little jam.
She leans back in the seat and looks straight into Dean's eyes, who glare at her from his backmirror. After what seems to be an hour, the cars in front of him slowly drive off as the light switches from orange to green. As soon as the opportunity is there, Dean accelerates and passes the cars with high speed.
"We must be missing something here", Sam claims, not being able to let it go of the big question of this case. "Where is Laura?"
"Right now it doesn't matter where Laura is, it matters what her spirit is gonna do next. For as far as I can see, her next target is gonna be her own family. One of us has to protect them", Dean comments on the case.
"We all have to protect them in order to protect ourselves", Sam brings to mind, which is followed by a moment of silence.
"Say what?", Dean glares at his brother, not understanding his point.
"He's right", Zoë realizes, resting her arms on the back of the boys' seat. "Laura kills everyone who stops her, but only if they are alone. If we split up, Dean and I will die".
"Well that's a comforting thought", Dean sighs.
"You don't think she'll kill me?", Sam wonders.
"I don't think so. She made clear she wants me on her death list and now that Dean put a bullet through her head, she probably wants to waist him too. You, on the other hand, never actually had contact with her", Zoë explains.
"Why am I always the one with a price on the head?", Dean complains as he turns right on Reynolds Road.
"We're almost there", Sam informs, looking down the street.
"So basically, I'm stuck with her?", Dean checks with his brother, hinting at the young woman in the back seat.
"Hey, I'm still in the car", Zoë crosses her arms in front of her chest after which she corrects herself smartly with a whining tone. "Excuse my French. Hey, I'm still in the Chevrolet Impala".
Dean rolls his eyes. Of course she has to return that ball at him. He swallows back a response, he knows he will only make it worse. Zoë is unstoppable when it comes to arguments, even when she's slightly slowed down by a violent ghost.
"He has a point", Sam intervenes before the arguments starts either way. "Whatever happens, you two have to stick together, or it will be the end of you. The second one of you ends up alone, you're dead".
Sam's penetrating eyes look from one to the other. He made himself clear, but neither of them are happy about it.
"Great, sounds like this is my lucky day", Zoë comments sarcastically after which she looks away and watches the houses rush by.
"Could you two stop bitching at each other for one second?"
Dean looks aside at his brother with his eyebrows raised, sounds like the youngest of the Winchesters had enough of the mocking and fighting. His little break out helps, because both shut up instantly.
"Thank you", Sam sighs and continues on his theory. "We can't split up, so we have to locate Laura with the information we already have. What do we know?"
"She was wet through, that has to mean something", Zoë contemplates.
"That's just weird, we know she didn't drown", Dean muses as he turns on Reynolds Park Road.
"What if that fact has something to do with her cover up and not with her death itself?", Sam brings to mind.
"Little Laura took a swim", Dean concludes when he gets his point.
"And I think I know where", Sam suddenly realizes, staring ahead.
Surprised Zoë follows his gaze and ends up at the Reynolds Park Lake, which appears in the distance. Dean slows down when he sees it.
"Take a right", Sam says, still stunned.
His elder brother does as told and drives the Chevy into Lake Front, a street where along both sides beautiful large homes are built. On the left side of the road stands a gorgeous house with blue woodwork, a big driveway and a nice yard, located right next to the lake. It's the perfect picture of a family home, the one you'll see in real-estate commercials. A dock runs out into the silent waters, goose bob at the surface as guardians of what's underneath. Sam's gaze at the large house on their left tells Dean that this is the place; he pulls over. Through the window they see Mrs. Shire doing dishes and her son is out on the dock, absently bouncing a basketball on the wooden floor.
"Seems like we're right on time", Dean comments as he gets out of the Impala.
He crosses the street followed by Sam and walks up to the front door. When they halt at the bottom of the porch, they notice Zoë isn't directly behind them. The eldest glances further ahead and spots her, stumbling towards them with her hand in her waist.
"Coming, Speedy Gonzalez?", Dean comments sarcastically.
"Shut up, I'll be there before Christmas", she returns.
With a grin he climbs the stairs to the front door and pushes the bell. Before Mrs. Shire opens, Zoë joins them.
"So what are we? FBI? State Police?", Zoë leafs through the several ID's she's got in her inner pocket of her leather jacket.
"Just follow my lead", Sam says without any further explanation.
Before she can ask about it, the door opens. A chain prevents the door from opening entirely; seems like this family took precautions after the attack. Completely useless of course, they need a lot more than a little chain to stop a ghost from entering the house. A tired and worried face of a woman in her mid thirties partly shows.
"Can I help you?", she asks gently, but slightly careful.
"Yes, we are…"
Zoë automatically takes the lead and is about to flash her badge, when Sam intervenes.
"I'm Sam, this is my brother Dean and this is Zoë. We're here to help", Sam says honestly.
A bit startled Zo looks up at Sam, but recovers quickly. This is certainly not the approach she expected or had chosen herself. He's actually going to tell her the truth? She exchanges looks with Dean, but he doesn't seem worried. Apparently he's use to this tactic and has full confidence in his brother.
"Help me with what?", Mrs. Shire asks puzzled.
"We know what happened to your husband, our sympathies", Sam continues compassionately. "But there are some things we need to talk to you about".
Doubtful she looks from one to the other. They can't blame her, after the yet unexplained murder it's only normal to mistrust anyone to show up at her doorstep, especially three complete strangers.
"I don't know who you are, but I already talked to the police", she claims after which she intends to close the door.
With a quick movement Zoë places her hand against the door to prevent it from locking. Her piercing dark eyes look straight into those of Mrs. Shire.
"We know who killed Robert", she states straight to the point.
Mrs. Shire's eyes widen as she freezes on the spot, she can't believe what she just heard. On their turn now Sam glares at her, talking about the direct approach.
"Smooth…", Dean clears his throat while pronouncing the word.
Normally Zoë would have glared at him, but this time her piercing gaze remains on Mrs. Shire, trying to get to her and make her realize how important this is. It seems to work though, because the widow takes off the chain and steps back completely stunned, unable to say a word. They enter the house calmly. Zoë observes it, like she always does when she's some place new. It's a common house, classical decorated. Pictures of the happy family as it was two months ago fill the walls, portrays of an illusion. While they walk in the living area, Sam hastens to the back of the house.
"I'm gonna make sure her brother's okay", he tells them before he leaves the room.
Puzzled Mrs. Shire looks at both Dean and Zoë. They can see from her face that she's worried and a bit frightened, she knows something's up. But two words in that sentence raze one big question.
"Her brother?", she repeats dazed. "Is this about Laura?"
"It's about both", Dean gestures at the couch as he sits down himself.
Hesitating Mrs. Shire settles on a comfortable chair opposite of Dean. No one asked her to sit down, but something inside her tells her it might be wise. Zoë on the other hand remains standing. Although she isn't feeling well, she doesn't wanna sit down next to Dean, how childish it may be. The only man in their company leans forward and rests his arms on his knees, forking his hands together. He bites his lip before he starts off, he know this will hit hard. But before he can speak, the mother across from the table does.
"Did you go to the police?"
Zoë can't help but to raise her eyebrows. They are about to tell her who killed her husband and she's worried about the police? Dean and Zoë exchange a look, after which Zoë answers.
"No, we haven't", she says. "They usually don't handle things like this that well".
"Things like what?", she asks.
Dean sighs and glances up at Zoë; here goes nothing.
"Things like ghosts", he says.
A bit flabbergasted, the woman across from the table observes them both and then starts to laugh nervously.
"You've got to be joking", she chuckles.
But both Zoë as Dean keep a straight face.
"Do we look like we're joking?", Zoë returns that question.
The smile slowly disappears from her face as she stares at them. Anyone can see it, both of them are serious. Nevertheless, she refuses to believe it.
"This is insane, I can't believe I'm still listening to this", she gets up as the anger sets in.
"I don't think you want to be doing that", Dean gives her a penetrating look. "Sit down, Mrs. Shire".
The widow can't quite put her finger on it, but there's something about the way they act and talk, that almost make her believe their telling the truth. Slowly she settles on the chair again and places her hand on her lap, nervously pulling her skirt down.
"Like I said, we know what happened to your husband", Zoë gets to the point. "but we also know what happened to Laura".
"I don't know what your talking about", she states stubborn.
"That's funny, because Laura was pretty good on the details during our little chat", Zoë claims.
Her eyes widen as Mrs. Shire stairs up at the young woman, who still stands next to the couch. Zoë sighs, this is taking too long. It's not like she has all the time in the world. Bored she glances at the backdoor, she wonders how Sam is doing.
"We know what Robert did to his daughter, Mrs. Shire. Don't go denying that, we know everything", Dean makes clear before she throws in more crap.
Not believing what she's hearing, tears well up in her eyes. She swallows apprehensively.
"How could you possibly know this?", she asks stammering.
"Take in consideration that ghosts are real and I believe you can answer that question yourself", Zoë bounces back.
Speechless her gaze wonders off as her blue eyes shimmer. Then she closes them and tears role down her face, she cries silently. Now Zoë too looks down at her shoes, she always finds it hard to deal with this. She isn't the person who puts her arm around some one to comfort him or her. Dean doesn't undertake action either and so they let her be. After a while she starts to talk.
"Robert always had an unstable personality. He could be a loving guy and just like that…", she flicks her fingers. "he could change into this bad tempered, aggressive man. I hoped that having a family would change him".
She shivers during a short pause as she wipes away her tears. Dean observes the elder woman while listening as Zoë leans against the back of the couch. The sympathy they have for the widow grows, now that they learn that Laura wasn't the only one Robert Shire use to beat up when he was in a bad mood.
"When Tommy was born, it seemed like things did change. Tommy meant everything to him, he never laid a finger on him. But then, when Laura was born…", Mrs. Shire closes her eyes as teardrops find their way down her marked face.
"He never wanted to kill her, he just lost it that evening. She was stubborn and he lost it…", crying she buries her face in her hands. "We had to cover it up. Tommy and I and even Robert, we would have lost everything. Our home, Tom's school, what was left of our family, everything. We just didn't want to make it worse".
Son of a bitch, Zoë mouths without a noise. Dean notices her expression and shakes his head himself. He would almost give Laura credit for what she did to her father, but this has to stop now before it escalates even more.
"Mrs. Shire. I know this is tough, but we need to know where Laura's body is", he confronts her.
"She's buried at Linwood Cemetery", she cries.
"No, she's not", Zoë immediately cuts in.
Puzzled she looks up and glances from her to Dean. They can see from the look upon her face that this time, she really doesn't have a clue what they are talking about. As Zoë observes her response, another theory starts evolving in her head. What if Mrs. Shire never knew about the bodyswap? What if she thought that she really buried her daughter at Linwood Cemetery? Maybe all who knew about the switch were Robert Shire and Dr. Judigtsteyn.
"Where else would she be?", Mrs. Shire says staggered.
"Don't play tricks on us", Dean says fierce.
"No Dean, wait. Was the coffin ever open during the ceremony?", Zoë asks out of the blue.
Both Dean and Mrs. Shire look up at her disorientated. The only man in their company gives her a questioning look; where is she going with this?
"No, Robert insisted it was closed. Why?", she answers, even though she finds the question irrelevant.
"Oh God…", Zoë sighs deeply and rubs her face, then she turns to the woman in front of her again. "I'm sorry to tell you this, but Laura was never buried in Linwood Cemetery".
Completely overwhelmed and hardly believing what she just heard, Laura's mother stares at her with her mouth opened. This woman has to handle a lot and it's starting to show.
"What?... But, where is she?", she cries. "Where's my Laura?"
Damn good question, Dean realizes. But he also knows that if Mrs. Shire doesn't have a clue where her daughter is, they might be on a very dead end, literally.
"We hoped you could tell us", Zoë admits.
Out of pure desperation the elderly woman huffs and looks away. Dean can see she's about to break, but now that he understands where Zoë was going towards, he decides to fill in the blank lines for the poor mother.
"We believe your husband and a friend of him inside the hospital switched two similar bodies, because he was afraid someone might start talking", he explains.
"I can't believe this is happening…", she whispers, unable to face them.
Then she turns to both Dean and Zoë as she swallows back the tears.
"If, and I say if, what you just said about Laura's… 'ghost' is true, why didn't she tell you where her remains are then?", she questions.
"Laura isn't quite cooperative", Dean tries to explain. "She doesn't want to be found. The hate and frustration she feels right now is driving her to get to the people who never helped her, while they could".
"The murders, first Robert, then her principal Mr. Van Dyke, after that her teacher Mrs. Dawlson and a colleague of your husband about an hour ago. They all knew about her situation, but failed to do anything about it. Laura's taking revenge for that", Zoë fills in.
"She would never do that. She's ten, she's not capable to murdering people", her mother claims in disgrace.
"I think she's capable of a lot after what her father did to her", Dean brings to mind.
"As a spirit, she doesn't think or act like a person anymore. All she feels is rage, she's out of control. That's why we have to find her and stop her. Otherwise you and your son might be in great danger", Zoë tells her.
"She'll… she'll come after us?", she asks stunned.
"You listened, you saw, but you didn't act up", Zoë says harsh.
For a moment Mrs. Shire is able to look Zoë in the eye, but then she can't take it anymore and bursts out into tears. The young feminine hunter glances down at her and then throws a look at Dean. This is all very sad, but it isn't helping either one of them. Time is ticking and they've got nothing. Yeah sure, a lake by the size of multiple football fields. Even then, they aren't sure if the lake behind this house are the right waters. There are a dozen lakes near by, Laura could be anywhere. Desperately Dean gives it one last try.
"Don't you have any idea where he might have left her? Any clue at all?", he sighs.
"I know where she is".
Surprised Dean and Zoë turn around and face a young boy. He's about twelve years old and has dark brown hair, but the same blue eyes as his mother. Sam's standing behind him, watching over.
"Tommy? What are you talking about, honey?", his mother asks emotional.
He looks up at Sam, who puts a hand on his shoulder.
"It's okay, you can tell her now", he ensures.
Scared he turns back to his Mom and takes a moment before he starts talking. But when he does, he stuns each and everyone in the room.
"That night, when Laura…", he swallows apprehensively and takes a breath, then continues. "I saw Dad out at the lake. He rowed the boat out and dropped a big bag in the water. When he came back, I pretended I was sleeping".
"Oh Tommy…", Mrs. Shire says as she walks up to him.
She folds her arms around him and he hugs her back as tears start rolling down his cheeks.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Mom. I'm so sorry", he cries, holding her tight.
"It's okay, hon. Don't worry, it's alright", she whispers while caressing him, but she barely holds it together herself.
The three hunters look each other in the eye. Seems like they're gonna solve this case anyway. Zoë concentrates on Tommy and levels with him as he turns to her.
"Tommy, do you remember how far he went out?", she asks gently.
"Not that far, he didn't pass the goose nests", the teenager tells her.
Zoë remembers the birds on the lake. Good, they have a mark now, something to go on. She straightens her back and glances at the boys.
"Seems like we have work to do", she comments on the case.
"You're going to bring her to the surface?", Mrs. Shire asks, still upset.
"Yeah, it's the only way we can lay her at rest", Sam answers.
"I have snorkel equipment in the boathouse. Tom and Robert use to swim in that lake all summer", she offers.
"Thanks, that might come in handy", Zoë takes it as she checks her watch. "It's gonna be dark in about an hour".
"Okay then", Dean claps his hands once and looks aside at his brother and Zoë.
As much as he likes a good hunt, he's not quite fond with the fact that he's on the menu of this nasty little spirit. Seems like they'll be done with this case by tonight, which is good, because they all need to move on. With strong words he finishes.
"Let's do this".
