They had sat and talked with the girls for another half an hour before returning back to the room.
"Dude, how do we know they're not just yanking our chains about this too?" Dean wondered, flipping through the leather bound journal for what felt like the billionth time that day, trying to find any clue about the occurrences as Sam sat on the laptop.
"Because they're not," Sam announced. "Check this out."
Dean stood up and walked over to the desk, resting on hand upon the back of Sam's chair, the other upon the desk.
"...Napa Valley...sisters Clarissa 'C.J.', 20 and Amanda Ross, 22 - found the bodies of their parents Arthur Ross, an investment banker... his wife Laurel, a real estate agent... in the early hours of the 4th...markings upon the bodies...possible cult related. The sisters were taken in for questioning... cleared after their alibis checked out. No arrests have been made..."
Dean whistled low. "Any pictures of the markings?" He wondered, glancing at the press photos of the sisters.
"No, they were never released to the public in hopes of luring the real killers out."
"Real crack police work there. See how great it worked," Dean snidely remarked.
"And with no new information, the case has gone cold."
"So, they're a couple of rich chicks looking for their parents killer." Dean stated. "What are we gonna do about it?"
Sam cast a glance and Dean instantly shook his head in protest. "No. No way. We are not letting these chicks team up with us."
"They need our help," Sam countered. "We're both here for the same thing, we might as well team up and hunt this thing down."
Dean rolled his eyes, he knew this was one argument that he wasn't going to win, so he saw no point in even trying to argue any further. "Okay. Fine," he sighed. "Okay, so what if this isn't the thing that killed their parents? Then what?"
"One less demon to worry about."
Dean mused the thought a moment. "Oh, what the hell? They are hot. Maybe, if we're lucky, we can even get some action out of it all."
Sam rolled his eyes and reached for the cell, dialing the number that C.J. had given him. He found out that they were all staying at the same motel, the girls in a room at the opposite end of the lot from them - which made getting together to go over details much more convenient.
The girls had brought beer and had called out for Mexican that was delivered to the boys room. They spent a good part of the evening trying to somehow connect the murders as they exchanged what information they did have and tried to find new information, but had no luck in that department. Dean had tried his best to charm the girls, much to Sam's embarrassment, but he had been shot down at every turn.
So, after the two six packs of bottled beer were gone, as well as most of the take out, they all decided to call it a night and start fresh the next morning.
The next morning, after showering and getting dressed, Sam made his way across the lot to the sister's room while Dean stayed behind to finish getting ready. He approached the door to Amanda and C.J.'s motel room, his hand poised and ready to knock when the door cracked open and he heard the grumbling of C.J., "Impossible pain in the ass." The door came full open and he came face to face with C.J., who was noticeably startled by his appearance. "Oh, Sam, hey! What's up? You guys find something new?"
"Actually no," he confessed. "I was just dropping by to see if you guys wanted to have breakfast with us and work out a plan of sorts."
"That's sweet of you guys. I'd love to," she answered, reaching in and grabbing her small purse and cell phone from the door side table.
Sam peered in, but couldn't see Amanda anywhere, but heard the sounds of fighting coming from within the room. "What about Amanda?"
C.J. rolled her eyes and shut the door behind her as they made their way back towards the Impala. "I'll get her a go box. She's a total bitch if she doesn't get her Buffy fix in the mornings."
"Buffy fix?"
"Yeah, Mandy's obsessed with the show. She has to watch and episode every morning. I'm so sick of it, it's not even funny," she confessed. "She's so totally in love with Sarah Michelle Gellar."
"With her acting?"
C.J. shook her head. "No, like in love with her. She's had a huge crush ever since Buffy first came out. Mom was not thrilled at all, to say the least" she recalled.
Sam was a bit bewildered as he processed the information. "In love with...You mean...? Oh!"
"Yep, she plays for the home team."
Sam let out a scoff at the knowledge as they made their way to the Impala where Dean was waiting.
"Where's Miss Sunshine and Light?" Dean sarcastically wondered, not seeing Amanda.
"She's not a morning person," C.J. told him, nodding a wink Sam's way.
Dean shrugged, missing the glance between the pair as they climbed in the Impala and headed out for breakfast.
They made small talk over coffee and the topic of the sister's parents had come up. C.J. confessed that police thought that her and Amanda had killed their parents for insurance, but they had eventually been cleared. Sam and Dean said nothing about having found most of the information out about it already. They dropped her back to her room after, agreeing upon meeting up later, before they returned to their own room.
The afternoon session proved to be fruitless as the previous. They all grew restless and a bit irritable so they ordered more take out, hoping to lighten the mood and maybe to get some fresh thoughts flowing.
"So, has anyone been able to see the police report for James Aders?" C.J. wondered, taking a bite of her stir fry, trying not to drop any on the floor as she used her chopsticks.
Dean shook his head. "No, they're keeping a really tight lid on the details."
"Maybe someone could go and talk to him. Where is he?" Amanda wondered.
Sam sighed. "Ohio State Penitentiary, which is about a three hour drive east of here."
Shaking her head, Amanda replied, "Wonderful."
Dean sat at the desk near the window, trying to think of something - anything - that would help. He looked over to where Sam and C.J. sat, opposite each other, on the beds laughing at Sam's attempt to use chopsticks. It was then that he noticed that there was something going between the pair - something unspoken. He had already caught both of them glancing at the other when one wasn't looking earlier in the session. It was like...
"Okay," Dean suddenly chimed, grabbing everyone's attention, "Here's the plan: Sam, you and wonder girl here," referring to the Wonder Bread logo t-shirt she had on, "head over to the Ader's place tonight and see what you can find. Then we'll go from there."
Everyone nodded, agreeing to the plan.
Later that evening, Sam and C.J. took the Impala and parked a block from the house, walking the distance. Sam was now at the side door of the house, trying to pick the lock. C.J. stood nearby keeping watch, all the while trying not to be seen. Cars went up and down the street, lights illuminating the homes as they pass. One set passed and then another.
She heard the snikt of the lock as it clicked open. "Okay," Sam said, opening the door.
They slipped in, quickly shutting the door behind them. Sam pulled out the mini-cam and flashlight, switching them both on. C.J. followed suit with the small flash light that she puled from her jacket. Cautiously, they began the investigation.
"Okay, they said the bodies were found in the basement," Sam quietly announced.
"So, on to the basement," C.J. added, sighing. "Maybe through the kitchen."
She glanced around as they searched through the house, finally finding the kitchen. "Damn this place is huge. Way bigger than our old place in Napa."
Sam nodded in agreement. This house was huge. The kitchen had top of the line everything and was twice the size of their motel room. Their old place in Lawrence was barely a quarter of the size of the place, in comparison. As they worked their way through the kitchen they found the door leading to the basement. C.J. shined the light down the stairs and they carefully made the descent, Sam leading the way.
"I hate basements," C.J. muttered under her breath. "Even the really nice ones too."
Sam grinned. "Not terribly fond of them myself," he added. "Ah, what a glamorous life we lead."
C.J. chuckled. "Paris Hilton eat your heart out." She shined the light around above then to the floor. "Bingo."
Sam looked to where the light was directed and saw the markings on the floor, the crimson of blood now tinged brown from age. He made a sweep of the area with the video camera and flashlight as C.J. directed her light up towards the ceiling beams, then back down to the floor. He noticed her expression darken; her jaw clench.
"What is it?" He asked.
She turned to him. "The bodies... See where the blood runs off here..." She kneeled down to point to where she was talking about.
Sam nodded. "Yeah."
"They were laid out on the floor here before they were cut...marked," she told him as she stood up. He nodded, then saw that C.J.'s eyes were brimmed with tears.
"C.J., what's wrong?"
He saw her swallow hard. "When we...Amanda and I...found our parents - they were strung up by their feet from the ceiling. Their throats were..." she trailed off, but Sam knew she meant their throats were cut.
He felt helpless at that moment, not quite sure if he should try and comfort her. He had seen horrible things in his life too. He knew the loss she was feeling; he had felt it to when Jess had died. He always would and so would C.J.
"These symbols are different than the ones we saw, they were old, maybe some dead language; no one could decipher them. These are almost runic in origin. Also this layout is circular, the one with my parents was triangular." She grew silent a moment, then sighed heavy. "This isn't the thing that killed my parents, Sam"
"I'm sorry," he said and began to approach her but the sound of a car door slamming very close by stopped him short.
A door creaked open and footfalls sounded on the floor above them. Sam turned off the camera and flashlight, quickly tucking then away and C.J. doing the same, as they glanced for a way out. Motioning, Sam directed C.J. to an outside entrance to the basement. She nodded and followed. They quickly and quietly left the confines of the basement, taking extra care to softly close the heavy wooden door. As they turned a corner of the house, they were met by a bright light shining in their faces.
"Evenin' folks," the officer greeted glancing over the pair. They squinted with the light in their eyes and held up their hands to shield their eyes.
"You folks mind telling me what you two are doing snooping around?" He questioned, finally lowering his light. "You do know that this is a crime scene and that you shouldn't be poking around?"
Sam swallowed hard, trying not to look panicked as he worried that he and C.J. might end up spending the night in a jail cell. C.J., however, looked as calm as someone could be barring medication or a coma.
"Yes, sir. Sorry, it's all my fault," C.J. 'confessed', her voice now carrying a pronounced southern accent. Sam cast a confused glance her way, not quite sure what to think of it, as she continued, "When I heard about the murder so close to home, I figured I'd come have a look-see at the murder house. I've never seen a murder site before, so I begged Danny to bring me." She smiled up at Sam, wrapping her hand into the fold of his arm.
"He didn't want to, but he finally gave in and brought me? Right, sweetie?" She flashed a mega-watt smile at Sam, who was seriously beginning to wonder if they would get out of this without a trip to jail.
The officer gave Sam a questioning glance, who nervously grinned. He freed his arm from C.J.'s hand and flung it over her shoulder, giving an affectionate squeeze. "She's just so hard to say no to," Sam announced, doing his best to sound convincing, despite the awkwardness of the situation.
"Now, Miss..."
"Borden," she answered. "Elizabeth Borden. My daddy has a morbid sense of humor."
"Miss Borden, I know that it may seem all exciting to you, but it's no place for a young lady such as yourself to be. Now, I suggest you and your boyfriend go back to your car and head on home. I don't want to see you back here, understand?"
"Yes, sir" the answered in unison.
"Thank you officer," C.J. added sweetly. "Well, sweetie, I guess we should get goin' like the nice officer said and let him get back to his job."
Sam forced a smile. "Night officer," he replied.
They made their retreat down the drive, the officer watching them the whole way, and headed down the block to where the Impala waited. They climbed in. C.J. turned to see Sam
giving her a gaze that seemed to be a cross between annoyed and amused.
"What?" She questioned defensively, suddenly self-conscious.
"Laying it on a bit thick back there, weren't you, Lizzie?" He wondered as he started the car.
She cocked her head to the side and announced, "I had to be convincing. It got us out of an overnight at the charming Iron Bars inn, didn't it?"
Sam continued his glance, a bit more amused now. She barely glanced over to him, before looking forward.
"Just drive," she requested, trying to hide the grin wanting to creep across her lips. She saw Sam grin as he finally put the car into gear and headed back to the motel.
After sharing the details of the markings in the basement and the amusing story of their near escape, it was a unanimous vote to get a good nights sleep and get to work on trying to figure out the markings the next day.