As Isabel sped back home, she wondered if she should call the police, but eventually decided against it. She didn't know if she had enough evidence to prove Jack had anything to do with the girls' disappearances, and she didn't want to risk the girls' lives. She pulled onto the side of the road and dialed Dean's cell.
"Dean?" She yelled into the phone as she heard him pick up.
"Isabel?" He asked "What happened?"
"Where are you?" She asked.
"We're on our way back" He said looking at Sam, who for a change was driving "What's wrong?"
"Meet me at home. I think I've got something" She said all in one breath.
She quickly hung up and kept driving. Her phone rang four times. Once it was Dean, but three of those missed calls were from Jack. She decided against answering, not knowing what to say. She reached her home and her heart leapt in relief to find Dean's car already there. Dean and Sam rushed out to meet her as she pulled in.
"What have you found?" Dean asked.
She ran into the house, motioning for them to follow her in. Once they were inside she shut the door behind her, locking it and leaning back against it as she tried to catch her breath.
"Isabel, what happened?" Sam asked.
"I saw Jack at the hospital" She said panting.
She ran into the lounge room and the boys followed her in, looking at each other in confusion as she peeked out through the blinds and onto the street.
"What was he doing there?" Dean asked.
"I don't know, I didn't ask him" She said turning to face them again "He didn't see me. I saw him go in and I went to his place. I broke in and searched…"
"You what?" Dean interrupted.
"What did you find?" Sam asked.
"I found this" She pulled out the picture she'd found of the girl, together with some of the clippings and held them out to boys. Dean grabbed them and looked at them "He came home, so I just took them and ran"
"Did he see you?" Asked Sam.
Her face was now a mask of fear and despair "Yes, and there's more" She looked from Dean to Sam anxiously "He moved here recently from Portland, like you said, around the time of the first disappearance and there's all this mountain and hiking gear at his place. I think he may be involved somehow"
"You think?" Dean asked sarcastically passing the pictures to Sam. He turned and knelt next to his duffel bag which was resting on the floor next to the TV stand "We should go find him"
Isabel watched and her face paled as he pulled out a shotgun "Are you going to kill him?"
"First we find out where he's keeping the girls" He said as he loaded the weapon "Then we kill him"
"Wait, Dean" She said grabbing his arm "We don't know for sure if it's him"
He looked at her "I think we can safely assume…" He started.
"There's no safely about it" She protested "You're just assuming"
"What do you want to do then Isabel?" He asked brusquely as he stood again, passing a small pistol to Sam.
Her cell phone rang and she looked at it with a sense of fear. She took a deep calming breath and answered it. It was Deputy Stillwell. Sam and Dean watched her closely, concern on their faces as they watched their cousin's face crumble and tears fall down her cheeks. She hung up the phone and looked at them sadly.
"Catherine's dead" She said "They think she may have killed herself"
"Like hell she did" Dean said as he cocked his shotgun "Bet you anything Jack was at the hospital tying up loose ends. He needed to shut her up"
"Dean, I don't think Jack is capable of doing this" Isabel pleaded as she wiped the tears with the back of her hand.
"Isabel, you've just met this guy"
"Something tells me it's not him" Her voice was seconds away from breaking "Dean, I've slept with this man. It can't be him. Please, let me go with you" She saw that Dean's stern expression was unwavering
"No"
She tried Sam "Sam?"
"I'm with Dean on this Bel" Sam said, although his tone was gentler than his older brother, still left no room for argument.
"Please?" She pleaded one more time hating that she sounded so desperate.
"Isabel, for all you know he's just been playing you and you are next on his list" Dean said shaking his head at her "You are staying right here"
The three of them froze mid argument as a pair of headlights illuminated the lounge room and they heard a car stop at the front of the house. Isabel made a move towards the window, only to be stopped by Sam's firm grip on her arm. She tried to shake him off, knowing in the back of her mind that it was no doubt Jack, and if she didn't diffuse the situation, Dean, who was now standing by the door with his shotgun loaded, cocked and ready to fire, could potentially kill him. She opened her mouth to protest as Sam's grip tightened and she looked at him questioningly. He looked down at her harshly and almost threw her on the couch.
"Don't move" He said quietly but deadly serious.
"Sam" She warned him desperately before turning to Dean "Dean, please don't do anything stupid"
The doorbell rang and Dean motioned Sam to open it, while he moved to the other side. Sam opened the door and Jack walked in, immediately spotting Isabel sitting on the couch. He moved forward before flinching and turning around in surprise as the front door slammed shut loudly behind him. He back up a few steps when he faced the barrel of Dean's shotgun.
"What the hell is this?" Jack asked Dean, before turning around to look at Isabel.
Isabel sat on the couch, unmoving. It was all so surreal.
"What were you doing in the hospital?" Dean asked.
"What was I doing at the hospital?" Jack scoffed back "What the hell were you doing in my house?" He asked Isabel accusingly.
She stood up but didn't make a move towards him "I saw you at the hospital this afternoon. I thought you might have had something to do with Catherine, so I went to your house to check it out"
Jack looked at her for a few seconds "You think I'm the one responsible for those missing girls?" He asked in disbelief, his eyes not leaving Isabel's. It was almost as if he'd forgotten there were two armed men in the same room "You really think that?"
Isabel swallowed and shook her head in confusion "I don't know" She said in frustration "I saw pictures, with clippings about the other girls in Oregon. The hiking gear…"
"I didn't do this!" He yelled taking a step towards her. He froze as he felt the end of Dean's shotgun barrel press against his spine
"That's close enough" Dean warned him. Sam moved around to stand closer to Isabel, who seemed unaware that there had been any movement at all.
"Just explain it to me Jack" She pleaded "There's obviously a connection"
Jack let out a deep breath and closed his eyes "Think you can call off your bodyguards"
She looked around to Sam and Dean, but both boys shook their heads at her in the negative. Somehow she didn't think they'd budge on this.
"Sorry" She said.
Jack opened his eyes and looked at her, a wounded expression on his face and Isabel knew right there and then, that even if Jack had no involvement in the disappearances, any chance they may have had as a couple was pretty much shattered.
"My sister went missing last year" Jack started, his voice devoid of emotion, as if he'd practiced this same speech before "That picture you saw was taken three years ago when she moved to Portland. That was the last time I saw her"
"You lived in Portland" Dean stated.
"I moved there when I found out she disappeared" He continued looking at Isabel "I wanted to know what happened to her. I collected clippings about the other girls that went missing hoping there'd be a lead, a connection. Months went by and then nothing was heard again"
"Why are you here now?" Sam asked curiously.
"I moved here after the second girl went missing. I recognized the pattern. Whoever's doing this, they've done it before in other towns" He took a deep breath "I just want to know what happened to my sister. I wanted to talk to Catherine today. I couldn't get much out of her, but from what she said, there are other girls where she was being kept"
"You spoke to her?" Dean asked, still not lowering his weapon.
"Yeah" Jack said guiltily "I snuck in. But she wasn't making much sense. I thought I'd try again tomorrow"
Sam and Dean shared a look, and Dean eventually lowered his shotgun, seemingly satisfied that Jack was not involved with Catherine's death.
"Catherine died this afternoon" Dean said.
Jack whirled around to face him "What?"
"She killed herself" Dean said.
"How?" Jack sounded unconvinced, just as they all had when they'd first heard of Catherine's supposed suicide.
'We don't know" Sam said "The police didn't say"
"The police" Jack snorted derogatorily "They're not doing anything! I've been following their investigation. They should have called in the FBI by now"
"They might now that they have two bodies" Dean said.
Jack suddenly eyed the two men suspiciously before turning to Isabel "What's your interest in this?"
Isabel saw Sam and Dean share a look and she knew immediately that they were milliseconds away from launching into their incubus-demon-ghost hunter storyline and she beat them to it, not wanting Jack to think they were some sort of psycho family.
"They heard about the disappearances and were worried about me on my own" Isabel said casually "Especially since I know one of the girls"
"You do?" Jack asked.
Isabel nodded "Leslie"
Jack nodded too and then turned to Dean "Am I free to go now?"
Dean looked to Sam then Isabel, who nodded her head. She couldn't do this right now.
"Go" Dean said, motioning to the door.
"I'll call you once I've cooled off" Jack said to Isabel, giving her once final angry look before storming out.
The three of them were quiet as they listened to Jack's car speed off. Isabel was the first to speak.
"20 bucks I never hear from him again" She said with bitter humor.
"If it's any consolation" Dean said "I think he was telling the truth"
"You think? Dean, you pointed a loaded gun at him! I distinctly remember telling you not to do anything stupid" She said sarcastically as she stood up "You probably didn't hear me with your head stuck so far up your ass"
"Just taking precautions" He said defensively.
"You are not Dirty Harry" She said walking to the kitchen.
"Maybe you should stay away from her tonight" Sam said once he and Dean were alone. The sound of pans clattering and cupboards banging reached him "Maybe we both should"