Chapter 5: Victim Number Four…and Five

Sam and Dean were sitting in the café eating breakfast. Once more Patty was their waitress. She had asked them all about the incident last night with Sarah and Tom. They had assured her it was just an unfortunate misunderstanding.

They were almost finished when suddenly three police cruisers went racing down Main Street with their sirens blaring.

"Oh no," Sam gasped. "You don't think?"

"Yeah, yeah I do. Come on."

Both hurried to the register to pay for their meal, then rushed to the car and drove to Sarah Beth's house as fast as possible.

Sure enough, all three police cars were parked outside, as was an ambulance. Dean parked the car on the grass and they got out.

"Hold it," a deputy said. "Who are you?"

"We're friends of Sarah's. Please, what's happened? Is Sarah all right?" Sam asked.

"Sarah's okay. I'm going to need your names."

"Dean and Sam Winters." Dean decided to give them both the same last name just in case Sarah mentioned they were brothers. "What's happened? If it isn't Sarah, then is Tom okay?"

The look on the deputy's face said it all. Dean and Sam knew Tom was dead. They looked up to see the Sheriff leading Sarah out of the house. She was crying and clinging to the man as if her life depended on it.

Sam and Dean walked past the deputy and hurried over to her. "Sarah?" Sam called. She saw him and let go of the Sheriff and hurried over.

"Sam! Sam he's dead. It came back last night." She threw herself into his arms and almost collapsed.

"Sarah, what happened?" Sam asked.

"The Headless Horseman came here last night. He busted down the door. Tom tried to fight him, but it…it…oh god, it was awful. He cut off his head!" Sarah broke down again. The medics from the ambulance walked up and pried her off of Sam.

"We're going to take her to the hospital," one of them explained. "Just for observation until she calms down some."

"Where is the hospital?" Dean asked.

"On Oakwood. Go down Main Street until you just leave town and you'll hit Oakwood. Turn right. You can't miss it."

"Sarah, we'll see you soon," Sam said, but she was in a daze now and didn't hear him.

"Take good care of her," Dean told the medic.

"Don't worry. She'll be looked after."

Dean and Sam were suddenly alone with the Sheriff who was looking them over pretty closely.

"Who are you boys exactly?"

"I'm Dean and this is my brother Sam. We were passing through town and heard what happened."

"I wanted to meet Sarah, to help her," Sam said. "I lost someone I loved a few months back, and our Dad is missing, we've been looking for him for a while now. I just knew how she felt. We talked last night at the Café for a while."

"I know, I heard all about your talk," the Sheriff replied.

"Hey, we didn't do anything wrong. One minute we're drinking coffee, the next minute a giant is smashing my face in," Sam explained.

"I believe you," the Sheriff said. "I know…knew Tom pretty well. Believe me, you aren't the first guy to get his face smashed in. For the record, where were you two last night?"

"We were at the motel just outside of town. We checked in about ten," Dean answered.

"Did you leave after checking in?"

"No, we put some ice on Sam's nose, he took a shower, I did some laundry, and we went to bed. I swear."

"I believe you. I just wish I could believe Sarah. Anyway, you boys best get out of here. We've a lot of work to do."

"Yes, sir," Sam said. He and Dean quickly made their way back to the car.

"We need to do some research," Dean said. "We need to find out who this headless guy is and what his deal is."

"We also need to question Sarah. Last night she didn't tell us the whole story," Sam added.

"In her current state I honestly don't know if she can help us or not," Dean sighed. "She's a mess."

"You would be too," Sam said.

"I know. We may as well go to the library. It's as good a place as any to start."

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At the library Dean researched the history of the property where Sarah lived while Sam looked to see if any one from the town's history had been decapitated. They worked for nearly four hours before Dean finally threw a stack of papers down on the table in frustration.

"I've got nothing," Dean said.

"Same here. Until last month there had been no decapitations in this town. I did learn something useful though."

"What?"

"There actually was a headless horseman. He was a Hessian soldier who died in the Revolution. The problem is he didn't die here."

"Did he at least die in New York?" Dean asked.

"Yes, but not where we are."

"Maybe a descendent of his is living here and that's the connection," Dean thought out loud.

"It's possible, but slim at best. This man lived hundreds of years ago. By now the bloodline would be so watered down that I doubt a relative today would have enough of a bond to call him forth."

"Well something is bringing him to Stars Common."

Sam shook his head. "I still think this has something to do with Sarah Beth. Think about it. This thing has managed to kill everyone who was close to her."

"Not just people close to her, but the people who protected her," Dean added. "Think about it, she's alone in the world now. All her guardians are gone."

"Except for Jacob Rains. He wasn't her protector."

"No, he was a threat. Maybe that's why it killed him. It killed him first in fact. The ghost killed an unwanted suitor, and then everyone else." Dean paced back and forth as he talked out his ideas.

"We're still missing something," Sam said. "And what ever we're missing, it's big."

"I agree I just haven't got a clue what. Let's get out of here and get something to eat." Dean started putting papers and blue prints back in their boxes.

"Hang on a second," Sam said and went to the card catalog. He began skimming the cards looking for "The Legend of Sleepy Hallow." Finally he found the card and scribbled down the number on a piece of paper.

He walked up and down the shelves looking for his book. Finally he found the place where the book was supposed to be but wasn't. With all the rumors spreading around town someone must have already checked the book out. Oh well, he could always buy the book at a book store.

"What's taking so long?" Dean asked.

"Nothing. I'm ready."

They left the building and noticed the sun would be going down soon. The days were growing shorter, especially since daylight savings had ended. The air was cold and Sam could see his breath. He shoved his hands into his pockets to try and keep warm.

"We're going to have to get you a warmer coat," Dean commented. He could see Sam shivering.

"I'm fine; besides, we're running short on money. We need to hold on to what we have to pay for food and our room."

"I'll get you a warmer coat," Dean said dryly. "In the mean time you can borrow my sweat shirt to wear under your jacket."

"Dean, I don't want you to steal a coat. Really, I'm fine. Your sweatshirt will be enough."

"Who said anything about stealing," Dean replied. "I'll think of something." Dean hated to admit that money was becoming a problem. When he was with Dad they would often just sleep in the car, but after tearing Sam away from his perfect life he felt obligated to provide some form of domestic living for his brother, especially since Sam had been so emotionally fragile after Jess died. Tonight after Sam fell asleep he would have to make some new identities and then tomorrow he'd find an Office Max and get to work.

"It also didn't help that Sam had to be such a boy scout. He hated doing anything illegal, but the fact of the matter was, their life style called for it occasionally. Dean never took anything he didn't need, and he never stole for the fun of it. Dad had taught him right from the beginning that life had necessities and life had wants, and he was to focus on the necessities only.

Dean started the car and cranked the heat on high so Sam could warm up. The cell phone rang and Sam picked it up.

"Hello? Sarah? Sarah where are you?" He had given Sarah the number last night at the graveyard, but he didn't expect to hear from her so soon after the murder.

"Sam, he raped me."

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Jacob Rains. He raped me." Her voice sounded unbelievable calm, so calm the Sam was hesitant to believe her.

"Sarah, did you tell the Sheriff that Jacob raped you?"

"No, only Jim and Brian knew."

"Where are you? We'll come and get you."

"I needed you to know that. I needed you to understand."

"Sarah, why are you telling me this?"

"Because I want you to have all the information you'll need to find this thing and kill it for me."

"We'll find it and stop it, I promise. Tell me where you are and Dean and I will come get you."

He looked at Dean and saw the same concern he was feeling reflected in Dean's eyes. Something was wrong.

"I didn't know Jim and Brian were going to kill Jacob. I thought they would just beat him up for raping me, but he got his revenge. They're gone now. They're all gone, and I'm alone, but not for long."

"Sarah…Sarah what are you doing? Sarah, please tell me where you are and I promise we'll come to you."

"Good bye Sam. I hope you find it and kill it for me."

"Sarah! Sarah!"

BAM!

The sound of the gun shot was so loud that Dean was able to hear it clearly. They both just stared at each other for a moment, and then Dean punched the accelerator while Sam dialed 911 to report the suicide of Sarah Beth Roberts.

Dean broke every speed limit in existence but by the time they pulled in front of Sarah's home the medics were already loading her dead body into the back of a van.

Sam got out of the car and walked on shaky legs towards the gurney carrying the body bag.

"Excuse me, but you have to stay back." It was the same deputy from this morning.

"You said she would be looked after!" Sam yelled to the medics loading the body. "You were supposed to take care of her." Dean was pulling at Sam, trying to get him to calm down before he did or said something that got them arrested.

The Sheriff appeared suddenly. "How did you boys know about this?"

"Sarah called us," Sam said. "She called to say good bye and then she shot herself. Why was she here? Why wasn't she at the hospital under supervision? You people had to know she would have been suicidal!"

"Please, excuse my brother," Dean said. "He's just a little freaked out. We just listened to a girl kill herself."

"I understand. I'm sorry for what you went through tonight. I want you boys to go to the hotel and get some rest. I'm going to need you to come to the station in the morning and give a statement."

"Fine," Dean said. Once again he pulled at Sam's arm and literally dragged his brother away from the crime scene.

Sam was a little out of it. Dean literally opened the car door and nudged Sam inside. He got into the driver's seat and started the engine.

"I told her we would help her."

"Sam, it's not our fault."

"We failed her. She trusted us and we failed."

Dean literally grabbed Sam by the shoulders and shook him, hard. "Now you listen to me right now, damn it. We did everything we could. We just didn't have enough time. The murder and the suicide came to fast for us to even have a chance of stopping it. It's not your fault! It's not my fault! Sometimes shit happens and you can't stop it no matter how much you wish you could!"

"She said she wasn't going to be alone anymore," Sam said. "That's why she did it. She'd lost everyone she'd ever loved. She told me to find it and kill it. I want to find this and kill it." Sam was fighting to hold back the tears that threatened to fall. The grief and anger he was feeling was for more than just Sarah, it was also the grief and anger he felt over Jessica. The truth is, he never really stopped to grieve her loss.

"We will. I swear Sammy, we will, but I need you to be strong. You can't let this turn into another thing you feel guilty for. You can't let this drag you back down again."

"I won't," Sam said, and Dean wanted to believe him, but he didn't.