Chapter Five

"You smell like death." Sam pointedly ignored his brother's comment as the trio climbed out of their car. John had decided to gather a few of the body parts and bring them back to the coroner's office to have Nicolette take a look at them. He was hoping that her trained eyes could see something that he couldn't. The human teeth marks had thrown him for a loop, thrown all of them for a loop. That had come out of nowhere. "Seriously, maybe you should shower or something." Dean rambled and Sam sighed, but still didn't grace his brother with a response.

Sam knew what he was doing. Dean was trying to make light of the situation. Not only the hunt, which had now taken an unexpected turn, but also the body pit that Sam had so pleasantly fallen into. Sam appreciated his brother's attempt at humor, but really, he didn't need it. Sure, falling into a pit and having decaying body parts break your fall wasn't something Sam would easily forget, nor even want to do again. But really, he was surprised with the fact that it didn't bother him as much as it should, other than the lingering smell that now seemed to be soaked into his clothes. Really, he didn't think it would cause any long term effects. He was pretty sure that he had already moved on, and he knew it had something to do with the fact that both his Dad and Dean had crawled into the pit with him. Now, if he'd fallen in and had been left there for several hours, that would be a different story. But this was part of the job, he supposed.

"Whose he going to impress?" John asked. Sam looked at his father, surprised that he was actually getting in on the stupid conversation. Usually their Dad just sat back and ignored whatever crude conversations Dean started up. He half smiled when he realized that their Dad must have been thinking along the same lines as Dean. He was an ex-Marine after all, he was probably well aware of how bad people could react to seeing dead bodies, let alone falling into them. Ah, the big lug did care. "That ditzy blonde coroner friend of yours? She works with dead bodies as a living, Dean."

Dean huffed. "If by ditzy blonde coroner friend you mean your future daughter-in-law, then yes." Sam couldn't help but chuckle at that. He tried not to let on that he noticed the triumphant look on both his brother and his father's face. Good, now they knew he was okay. No more babying, time to move on. "The future Mrs. Dean Winchester doesn't need a family that smells of death."

"In that case I'm going to advise her to find a new husband," John commented dryly as he pulled a box from the backseat. Sam glared at it. There was already a stain on the bottom. The box contained a few body parts. It was the enemy, Sam's arch nemesis.

"You're definitely not invited to our wedding," Dean whispered just loud enough for John to hear. John snorted and headed for the front door of the morgue, his sons in tow.

"I'd come anyway," John said and stepped aside to let Dean open the door for him. "Just to make sure my future daughter-in-law wasn't a succubus. Knowing you, you'd probably go for one of those."

"Are you saying something about my choice in women?" Dean asked in mock anger. Sam grinned as they approached the front desk. He loved the times when their Dad was in a good enough mood to joke around like this. He wished it happened more often. This was the side of John that Sam loved, the side he craved for, the side he associated with a good father. It proved to Sam that John was capable of being one.

"What choice?" John asked, looking around for Nicolette. He sighed when Dean rang the bell again zealously. "You go for anything that has a pair of legs and all their teeth." Dean snorted but the smirk on his face gave him away.

"Maybe not all their teeth, but at least half," Sam added as Nicolette rounded the corner. John was chuckling slightly and Dean could only glare in response. Sam sneered at him.

Nicolette smiled happily when she saw them, her eyes lingering on Sam for a moment, reminding Sam that he was still covered in mud and possible "human soup," which Dean had so elegantly named it. Then she turned to Dean, her smile widening. "Well, fancy meeting you again," she said. She eyed the box John held in his arms. "Did you bring me a present?"

"Something we need you to look at," John cut Dean off from saying something vulgar.

"Oh yeah?" Nicolette asked and walked around the desk. She scooted past Dean, biting her bottom lip almost seductively. Sam felt like gagging. He'd prefer the body pit over this hormone festival. But as Nicolette started to open the box, she paused, sniffing the air. "What's in here?" she asked, aiming the question at John, who merely looked back at her, wanting the coroner to see for herself. She eyed him suspiciously before opening the box and leaning over to see inside it. Her eyebrows shot up and she looked at John. "Where did you get those?" she asked, voice suddenly not so friendly.

"We found them," John gave. "We were hoping you could…"

"No," Nicolette interrupted and closed the box back up, shaking her head. "Who are you guys?" she demanded, her playful manner gone, replaced with suspicion and anger. Sam was taken aback by how professional she looked. She seemed to have aged at least ten years right in front of their eyes.

John set the box down and held his hands out to the side, trying to show they weren't dangerous. Nicolette's glare didn't let up. "We told you…"

"No," Nicolette repeated and pointed a finger at John's chest. "Any state official, from any agency, even Wildlife and Preserve, would know that they couldn't move a body, or body parts, without the coroner pronouncing it first." She looked between them all, her eyes looking betrayed when they landed on Dean, who looked just as guilty. "You don't work for Wildlife and Preserve. Who are you?" she demanded again.

"Please," John said patiently. "We just need you to take a look at these…"

"I'm calling the police," Nicolette decided finally and turned around, only to run into Dean, who had stepped right behind her. She looked surprised at first before she shoved him a bit, trying to get him to move. "Get out of my way."

"Just listen," Dean said, as gently as possible. It seemed to do the trick, because Nicolette paused, giving Dean the chance to explain. Sam guessed that she was still a little taken with him, even if he had lied to her. He never thought he'd admit Dean's flirting was a good thing. "Yeah we lied to you, but only because we knew you wouldn't help us otherwise."

"And that's supposed to make it better?" Nicolette asked and scoffed. "I could have you all thrown in jail."

"But do you really want to do that?" Dean asked, the smile coming back to his face. Nicolette just stood there, her eyes not leaving Dean's face. When she didn't say anything more, Dean decided to press on. "We're here trying to help. We want stop anyone else from getting hurt. If you help us, we'll be able to do it faster than any government department could." Sam was impressed. Damn his brother could be smooth when he wanted to.

Nicolette sighed and turned around to look at John and Sam again. John was leaning against the desk, looking relaxed, obviously letting Dean handle the situation. Sam tried to look as innocent as possible. She chewed on her lip before shaking her head. "So, what, you're like freelance crime solvers?"

"Sure," John finally pitched in with a mild smile.

Licking her lips, Nicolette rolled her eyes and reached for the box. She took it and then looked at all of them again. "Okay, I'll help," she said. "But only because I don't want anyone else to get hurt and I know how long the police take with something like this, especially in a small town like ours." She looked pointedly at John when she said her next remark. "But I'm going to have to involved the police sooner or later."

"Give us a day before you call them," John negotiated. "We can tell you where to find more of these and heck, maybe we'll be able to tell you whose doing it by then. But just give us a day's head start."

Nicolette looked reluctant. "I could lose my job," she said hesitantly.

"Do you really think they'd fire you if you helped find a murderer?" Dean asked and she turned to look at him. "They'll probably give you a raise and an extra week's vacation time. Hey then we could go to Maui." She let out a small chuckle, shaking her head again.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," she said to herself as she turned to walk into the backroom. Dean grinned triumphantly at John, who just rolled his eyes and followed after her.

Sam followed and when they got into the autopsy room, Sam decided that he'd had enough of being muddy and smelly. "Is there someplace I could clean up?" he asked. Nicolette looked up at him and smiled.

"Bathroom down the hall," she said. "I've got some extra scrubs back there too, you're free to have them. They make me look big boned."

Dean snorted and Sam heard him say, "I doubt that," as he disappeared to go and try to wash the mud and smell off of himself. At first he wasn't going to worry about his clothes, but after noticing that the mud and other substances had saturated into the fabric, he knew he'd never be able to stand it. So he changed into the scrubs, surprised that they actually fit.

When he came back out, Nicolette already had the body parts spread out on an examination table. They were three of them: the arm Dean had found the bite mark on, what looked like the remains of a hand, and a skull with the skin peeled away. The skull was Sam's least favorite. It made it too personal. Nicolette was examining the arm, with Dean standing next to her and John standing across from her. Sam came to stand next to his father, who glanced at him and smiled.

"Did you notice the bit marks on these?" Nicolette asked, distracted.

"Yeah," Dean answered. "They look human."

"Because they are," she said and turned the arm around. "Look here," she said and held the arm out in the middle so they all could get a good look. All four of them leaned in to see where she was pointing. "This looks like someone just bit into the skin. But these marks," she pointed to one up the arm a bit from the first one. "Someone bit in and pulled a chunk off." She let out a wry laugh. "They aren't defensive bite marks." She turned the arm and pointed to where it had been cut from the rest of the body. "See this? This detachment wasn't done with a blade. Someone chewed this arm off."

Dean suddenly straightened and Sam glanced up at him, seeing his brother's face had paled. "Where was that bathroom?" he asked. Sam pointed, but Nicolette turned her head to look at Dean before his brother could make his escape.

"Why? You gonna be sick?" she asked, her tone obviously teasing.

Dean looked at her and Sam didn't know how his brother could keep back the obvious sickness churning inside him. He shrugged and with a half smile said, "Well, you know I prefer my human arms sautéed with mushrooms. Raw meat doesn't sit well without a few good doses of Pepto-Bismol before hand." Even as he was speaking, the color was coming back to his face.

"So you don't like Sushi?" Nicolette asked, putting down the arm and picking up the remains of the hand next. Sam saw John watching closely, looking mildly annoyed with the high levels of flirtation in the room. Sam could sympathize.

Dean shrugged and then looked at her. "Why, do you?"

Nicolette smirked and held up the hand, eyeing it. "It's a good date meal."

"Ah," Dean said with a nod. "I could acquire a taste for it."

Nicolette grinned but then something on the hand caught her attention. Her face lit up, almost comically, like a kid who had just found the hidden prize in a cereal box. "Look at that," she said, excited. Sam looked, but he wasn't seeing anything.

"What?" John asked, leaning in closer.

She pointed to the wrist bones still attached. "See, this one was definitely sawed off. But if you look at this skin," she touched a flap of it that was still dangling there. Sam closed his eyes for a second. It was time to switch to Vegetarianism. "It's been torn, chewed."

"Like a chicken wing?" Dean asked.

"Sick," Sam couldn't keep it in any longer. His brother looked over at him and grinned. Sam sighed, knowing he'd opened himself up for a new level of teasing. Maybe he'd play the sympathy card and pretend to be disturbed about the body pit. That would get Dean off his back. Yeah right, his brother had always been able to see right through him.

"That's a gross comparison," Nicolette said but then tilted her head to the side. "But yeah. Someone cut off the hand and then ate the meat, and it looks like they got part of the finger bone on the ring finger too. Hope they didn't choke," she said with a snort. It was a bad joke. Sam could see why this girl and Dean connected so well.

Putting the hand down, she leaned against the table and looked at John. "Want my honest opinion?" she asked, her face still excited. John nodded, trying not to lash out and tell her that he'd been ready for her honest opinion this entire time. She pointed at the body parts. "You're dealing with a cannibal. Though not the conventional kind."

"What does that mean?" Dean asked, looking at her.

"Well, contrary to what people believe," she said, pulling off her gloves and throwing them away. "Modern American cannibals aren't usually this sloppy. They're sophisticated, like Hannibal. They cut and prepare their meals. They don't eat it raw and they don't eat all of it either. Normally just parts. Livers, kidneys, muscles, and even the brain. They don't cut off someone's hand and eat it just like that." She sighed and shook her head. "I'm no criminal profiler or psychologist, but I'd say you're looking for someone who isn't a very stable person. Maybe even someone with a mental illness."

"Okay," Dean said, nodding, his mouth twisted to the side in thought. "So we're looking for a guy who likes his hot wings alive and clucking."

"I'd say so," Nicolette said. She looked at John. "I'd like to look at these a bit more closely. Do you have a phone number I could call if I find anything else that could help?" John looked almost hesitant at first and Nicolette smiled warmly. "Don't worry, I'll keep you guys anonymous when I call the police. Actually, I'm kind of excited to be alone with these. If I call the county police, they'll take them away from me." Sam stared at her. He could see why she was a coroner. All of them had the same way of thinking. They all had a field day when they were left alone with dead bodies. Sam didn't understand, and he sure as hell didn't want to.

John wrote out his cell phone number and handed it to her. She nodded her thanks and then glanced at Dean. She looked almost nervous as she asked, "Is this your number too?"

Dean's eyes widened slightly at that, but then he seemed to compose himself and that cocky grin returned to his face. "Sure is."

"Well," Nicolette said as she walked them to the door. "Maybe sometime I could introduce you to the world of Sushi."

Sam grinned at his brother, thinking that Dean must be beaming to finally have all that flirting pay off. He'd never known Dean to actually get a date out of it before. Dean had dated a bit in high school, but nothing serious. He'd always told Sam that girls just wanted to get in his pants. Sam thought it was crude, but he couldn't disprove it. However, when he looked at his brother, he saw that Dean's eyes had toned down a bit. The grin was still on his face, but it was obvious to Sam that the fire was gone behind it. He frowned. Why was his brother suddenly so sullen?

"Yeah," Dean said. His eyes flashed towards John before he looked back at Nicolette. "Maybe." And Nicolette stared at him for a moment, frowning slightly before she nodded in understanding. She knew what that "maybe" meant, they all knew what it meant. Sam didn't understand why his brother was turning her down. Sure, they lived a couple hundred miles away, but that never stopped Dean from getting what he wanted.

"Okay," Nicolette said, the smile on her face forced. "Well, I'll call you, if I find anything."

"I hope you do," Dean said sincerely. Then he walked past her and headed out the door. Sam watched Nicolette turn around, just as confused as he was. She glanced at Sam, who tried to give her an encouraging smile. She smiled back before getting back to work on the body parts. Sam hurried after his Dad and Dean. Dean was already in the car, looking pensive. Sam climbed in the same time his father started up the car. But they sat for a moment and Sam wondered what he was missing.

Finally, John broke the silence. "Dean, I…"

"I know," Dean interrupted, voice distant, foreign. "If she calls, maybe I'll keep her number for when this is all over." Sam frowned. For when what was over? This hunt? They'd be done soon, why hadn't Dean just kept up the flirting? He'd struck gold, why abandon it now?

"You do that," John said and backed out of the parking lot. Sam looked between John and Dean, wondering if it would be wrong of him to ask what was going on. He decided he didn't want to be reprimanded for his naivety, so he kept his mouth closed. He'd ask Dean when it wasn't so fresh.

"So, what do you think?" Dean asked, obviously wanting to change the subject. Sam's thoughts lingered on the mysterious secret between his brother and father for a moment before knowing he'd have to let it go for now. He'd find out later. "Are we dealing with a cannibal?"

"Could be," John answered as he pulled into the motel, intent on getting Sam some of his clothes so he could change out of the scrubs he was in. Then they would head back to their campsite. "But it could be other things too."

"Like what?" Sam asked.

"Ghouls, woodland gods, possession, Wendigo…" John trailed off, knowing he'd have to try and limit his frame of thinking. There were so many possibilities. "Hell, it could even still be a werewolf."

"Wendigo?" Sam asked, having been caught up by the word. "What's that?"

"Something you better pray you never go up against."