Disclaimer: I still don't own the characters and, sadly, am making no money from them.
Thanks for the feedback. Seems to be not a lot of love for Wally out there.
Scars from the Past
Chapter 4
John was walking toward his car outside of Ellen's apartment building when his cell phone rang.
"Hey, Dad." Dean said when his father answered.
John felt his heart quicken when he heard his son's voice and was mildly annoyed that he let Ellen get to him. "Things going okay?"
"Actually, no. I stopped for gas and now the car won't start. A mechanic is looking at it; I couldn't find anything wrong."
John glanced back toward the apartment building. When he saw Ellen standing in the window, he continued around the corner. "Are you all right?"
Dean thought he heard more concern in his father's voice than the situation warranted. "Yeah, just irritated. I talked to the Carters and told them I'd be late. Dad, I'm sorry."
"There's no need to be sorry, Dean. You had no control over the car breaking down. How far did you get?"
"A couple of hours out of town. I got enough information from Mr. Carter to get started on some research. There's a library here."
"Good thinking, Son."
"How are things there? Did you meet with Ellen?"
"Yeah, I'm just leaving there now. It looks like I have a little more digging to do." John paused. "Dean, watch your back, okay?"
"I always do." Dean said, noting again what he thought was unnecessary concern in his father's voice. "Is there something going on?"
"I'm dealing with a powerful witch here. I just want you to be careful."
"I will. You, too."
"Call me in a couple hours, okay? Give me an update."
"Okay."
"Two hours, Dean."
"Yes, Sir. Two hours."
After hanging up with Dean, John called Jim and told him about the meeting with Ellen. He also voiced his concern that they had missed something in their investigation.
"I'm going to Wally's."
"Let me go with you."
"That's not necessary."
"John –"
"It's fine, Jim. I'll see you later." he hung up before Jim could say anything else.
John knocked on Wally's apartment door, but didn't wait for an answer before kicking it open. Wally wasn't there and John wasn't entirely surprised to see that his clothes were gone from the closet. He slammed his hand against the wall and a string of profanities escaped his mouth.
OOOOOOOOOOO
John paced inside Jim's living room, trying to sort things out. What he knew about Michael Barrett was true, but now he believed Barrett was just a pawn in a much bigger game. Ellen had cursed him, but not because the successfully represented tenants in a building she owned. It made John sick to think that he was even a bigger pawn in the game – Ellen wanted him for something; wanted to punish him for some injustice she thought he was responsible for.
While Jim made phone calls, John forced himself to calm down and think logically. With a cup of coffee in front of him, he searched his journal for something he might have forgotten.
"Anything?" Jim asked later as he sat next to his friend.
John ran a hand over his face. "No."
"So where does that leave us?"
John sat back in his chair and sighed. "We still have an innocent man with a curse on him and his supposedly caring stepbrother has skipped town. You find out anything?"
Jim shook his head. "No. No one has seen or heard from him for the last few weeks, but everyone is looking out for him now. He won't be able to hide for long."
"Unless Ellen is helping him."
"Tell me about the last time you saw her."
"I only met her once; about five years ago. I was working a job a few hours away and stopped here to drop off the boys."
"What was the job?"
"Some idiot conjured the spirit of his dead grandfather and lost control of it. Turns out the guy had murdered a few people while he was alive and his spirit missed the action."
"She have anything to do with it?"
John nodded. "Ellen gave him the spell to do it and gave him some remedial training. It was just a paying job for her though, nothing she took personally."
"Are you sure?"
John looked at him, then glanced at his watch. "Dean should have called by now."
Jim handed him the telephone.
OOOOOOOOOOO
"I'm going to see the witch."
"John, wait." Jim grabbed his arm.
John glared at the other man.
"You have to be smart about this. There could be a logical reason Dean hasn't called. You got his voice mail – maybe he doesn't have reception."
"He'd call from a pay phone. Have you ever known him not to get in touch when he knew I was expecting him to?"
Jim let go of John's arm and shook his head. "No, but what good will it do to confront Ellen? She'll just lie to you, or bait you. Maybe it would be more productive to go look for Dean."
OOOOOOOOOOO
Dean opened his eyes, his head pounding. There was almost complete darkness around him; he was quiet and still as he waited for his eyes to adjust. His hands were tied behind his back and his feet were bound together; he felt like he was on a concrete floor. He heard no sound other than his own breathing, and when his eyes became used to the blackness that surrounded him, he confirmed he was alone. The room was small and the only light coming in was from the crack in what appeared to be a door.
Fighting panic, Dean tried to remember how he got here. He remembered leaving the car at the service station where he had stopped for gas. He remembered speaking to one of the family members he was supposed to meet that afternoon to say he would be late. He also remembered talking to his father – he was supposed to call John two hours later with an update on the car. He wondered how much time had passed and if John was looking for him yet.
The pain in his head was almost unbearable. With his hands tied, he couldn't check for injuries. As best he could tell, everything still worked. He didn't know if there had been a struggle; he had been on his way to the library, but he didn't remember anything after ending the call with his father.
Dean struggled against his bonds, but the effort made the pain in his head worse and he thought he might throw up. He forced himself to breath as he lay calmly against the cool concrete around him. He didn't know how he was going to get himself out of this.
TBC