Chapter 14: Dead in the Water (Part Two)
Suddenly a boy appeared behind Andrea.
"Oh, hey there. What's your name?" Dean asked him. The boy just walked away. Andrea gave us an apologetic smile before following him out.
"His name is Lucas," the sheriff told us.
"Is he okay?" Sam asked.
"My grandson's been through a lot. We all have," he responded. The sheriff stood and walked over to the door of the office. "Well, if there's anything else I can do for you, please let me know." I guess that was our cue to leave. We all walked out of the office.
"Thanks. You know, now that you mentioned it, could you point us in the direction of a reasonably priced motel?" Dean asked.
"Lakefront Motel. Go around the corner. It's about two blocks south," Andrea told us.
"Thanks," I said nodding.
"It's no problem, I can walk you there if you want. I'm headed that way anyway," She answered.
""That'd be great," I said. She smiled and turned to her father. "I'll be back to pick up Lucas at three." She leaned down and said to Lucas, "We'll go to the park, okay, sweetie?" She kissed his head and then led us out.
Once we got to the motel and bought a room we started talking about the case. Sam got out his laptop to check for more local drownings, Dean went over to his bag, and I flopped onto the bed.
"So there's the three drowning victims this year," Sam said as he clicked away.
"Any before that?" Dean asked.
"Uh, yeah," Sam answered and started clicking again. "Six more spread out over the past thirty-five years. Those bodies were never recovered either. If there is something out there, it's picking up its pace."
"So, what, we got a lake monster on a binge?" Dean asked.
"This whole lake monster theory, it, it just bugs me," Sam admitted.
Dean walked over to read over Sam's shoulder and I sat up to listen.
"Why?" Dean asked.
"Loch Ness, uh, Lake Champlain, there are literally hundreds of eyewitness accounts, but here, almost nothing," Sam told us. "Whatever it is out there, no one's living to talk about it." As Sam scrolled Dean noticed something.
"Wait, Barr, Christopher Barr. Where have I heard that name before?" he asked.
"Christopher Barr, the victim in May," Sam said. "Oh. Christopher Barr was Andrea's husband, Lucas's father. Apparently he took Lucas out swimming. Lucas was on a floating wooden platform when Chris drowned. Two hours before the kid got rescued. Maybe we have an eyewitness after all."
"No wonder that kid was so freaked out. Watching one of your parents die isn't something you just get over," Dean commented.
"I say we should go talk to Lucas," I offered. They both looked at me for minute before nodding. Dean nodded. I looked over at the clock to see that it was only 2:30.
"So how are we gonna find him?" Dean asked.
I just shook my head as Sam answered, "You really should learn to listen, man."
"What was I not listening to?" Dean asked me.
I sighed before telling him, "You have to listen when people talk. Andrea was telling Lucas that she would pick him up and bring him to the park at 3."
Dean nodded.
At 3 we headed over to the park.
We saw Andrea sitting on a bench watching Lucas color across the park.
We headed over to her and Sam asked, "Can we join you?"
She looked up at us before answering, "I'm here with my son."
Dean looked over at him and then asked, "Oh. Mind if I say hi?" He headed over before she had a chance to answer. I knew he could see from Lucas's point of view. His situation with his dad reminded Dean of his situation with his mom.
"Tell your friend this whole Jerry Maguire thing is not gonna work on me," Andrea told us. I smiled to myself. Dean wasn't normally good with kids but I thought that if we were to have a kid Dean would be an awesome dad.
Sam and I sat down and he said, "I don't think that's what this is about."
We just sat and looked over at Dean talking to Lucas. It looked like he was drawing him a picture. We sat there for a while before Sam broached the subject of Andrea's husband.
"Lucas hasn't said a word, not even to me. Not since his dad's accident," She told us as Dean reached us.
"Yeah, we heard. Sorry," Dean told her. Andrea nodded.
"What are the doctors saying?" I asked her.
"That it's a kind of post-traumatic stress," she informed us.
"That can't be easy. For either of you," Sam told her sympathetically.
"We moved in with my dad. He helps out a lot. It's just...when I think about what Lucas went through, what he saw...," She trailed off, looking sad.
There was a pause before Dean told her, "Kids are strong. You'd be surprised what they can deal with."
"You know, he used to have such life. He was hard to keep up with, to tell you the truth. Now he just sits there. Drawing those pictures, playing with those army men. I just wish—," She trailed off as Lucas approached. "Hey sweetie," she greeted him. He didn't answer her, just handed him a picture.
"Thanks. Thanks, Lucas," Dean told him. I smiled at Lucas before he turned and walked back to where he had left his crayons. Poor kid.
AN: Finally wrote this chapter! Yay! Also because I couldn't figure out how to put my favorite quote from this part in my story I'm just gonna put it here. "Must be hard, with your sense of direction, never being able to find your way to a decent pickup line." Andrea said this in case you didn't know. So, anyway I'll try to update sooner this time but with NaNoWriMo this month it'll probably be harder. Reviews=Love!