PIECES OF EIGHT
-Fit the Second-
Last night Dean had been spending money they didn't even have in the first place on Blackjack and Roulette, earning them a small fortune while Sam had stayed back in the bar doing more research until Becky got off her shift. Against Sam's expectations he had a really pleasant night, which did not end in anything. Becky and Sam just talked, until it was eventually time for Sam to collect a drunken, yet jolly Dean and escort him to his bed at around 3 in the morning.
The next morning, reasonably early so the sun was still low, they were on their way westwards into California, shooting down a lonely desert highway. Sam was driving, as Dean didn't quite feel up to the task yet.
"So you are telling me that you and that Becky chick..?"
"Nothing happened, Dean! You can put your dirty mind away again!"
Dean looked at Sam; his black Ray Ban's shading an amused glance.
"So you two only talked all night?"
Sam sighed with frustration staring ahead.
"Why is that so hard for you to accept?"
Dean shook his head, regretting it immediately. His brain felt like it was made of Jell-O. Who could have known they'd serve Purple Nurples at an Indian Casino!
"Remind me why we are heading towards San Diego again, my mind is still a little fuzzy" and my brain won't stop wobbling, he thought.
"Hah! As if that's new!"
"Hey!" Dean tried to sound hurt but was actually enjoying their banter.
"We are going to Cali not to go surfing, that's for sure! Last night Becky told me that just over a week ago a woman from San Diego died at the casino during a game of bingo!"
"Let me guess! A cute old lady gambling away her retirement money?"
"Amanda Bellman. She was 72 and indeed the last thing she yelled was Bingowe!" - Sam put a lingering intonation on the "o" - "Then she had a stroke and died on the spot."
"Is that so unusual? I mean considering her age and all?" Dean contested.
"I don't know. Could be a coincidence or not. Maybe her son can tell us more."
"While we are there, is there any chance we can head down the beach too?"
Sam just gave Dean an annoyed look.
San Diego, CA
Against Dean's pleads to head straight to the beach to check out the female merchandise, both Winchester brothers ended up in a nice suburban neighborhood, pretending to be representatives from the National Gaming Association.
"We are sorry for showing up unannounced, but we would appreciate if we could ask you a few questions Sir."
Chuck Bellman, a chubby guy in his forties, led them into the living room. Dean kept scratching his shoulder discreetly as the suit always itched after it came back from the dry cleaners.
His head was still buzzing from those Purple Nurples shots last night so he was happy for Sam to do all the talking, since he was much better at all that sensitive crap anyways, Dean thought.
"Did your Mother have a history of any related illnesses or sustain any injuries before?"
"No, she was as healthy as 50 year old, the doctors always said. It happened completely out of the blue."
Sam looked compassionately while Dean just wanted to die in a dark room.
"Did she act strange in any way, or confused, before she went to Yuma? Please understand that we have to ask these questions for our records."
"I only remember that this time she seemed overly excited, I mean she was always excited about Bingo, which I never quite understood " – Dean acknowledged that comment with a sympathetic smile- "but this time she was really excited, like she had already won the jackpot, you know what I mean?"
Sam looked intrigued. "Did she say anything to you?"
Chuck was scanning through his memory. "She actually did. She said something about her fortune being on her side this time. I had no idea what that meant and then 8 days later I get the call that she is dead. Dies during the game she loved most."
"We are very sorry for your loss" Sam said truthfully, his forehead in wrinkles.
"But you know what? The crazy thing about it is…" Chuck suddenly pulled a card out of a pile of paperwork on the coffee table.
"What, Sir?" Sam asked as Chuck handed him her last Bingo card.
"She had won the game! But I never had the heart to take the money. It was just too weird!"
Sam looked at the bingo card in his hand. The pattern on it resembled the number 8 and it was filled out perfectly…
On the way back to the Impala, Dean immediately fished for the sunglasses, covering his eyes with a sigh of relief.
"Can we now go to the beach?" He asked Sam with a begging look as they both opened their doors simultaneously. The sand was still trapped in the hinges, giving Dean goosebumps every time he had to hear that painful crunchy noise.
"Is there nothing else on your mind? We have a case to work here!" Sam said folding his hands on the roof of the car.
"Yeah, but doesn't that mean we can't have fun once in a while? I mean, what are we supposed to do now? Do we have anything to investigate? Any leads?" Dean asked, his arms spread wide open to embrace this fact.
Sam looked towards his feet "No" he said disappointed that he had nothing else to say to that.
"The beach it is then!" Dean said with an evil grin and back in the driver seat.
And the beach it was.
The ocean smelled great. Fresh and salty, the exact opposite of the dry desert they had left behind. But Dean wasn't interested in the big endless blue puddle that lay stretched out in front of them, as he parked the Impala at San Diego's busiest beach.
The brother remained seated for a few breaths while taking in the scenery. It was like watching an episode straight out of Baywatch. While the beach was clad with babes, surfer dudes were riding the waves like there was no tomorrow.
The Winchesters being from rural Kansas, had never tried their luck at surfing, but Sammy had always been one of the best swimmers in his class, wining some trophies during high school. As he was biting his lip wondering what to do with himself while Dean would go off on babe-watching, he considered maybe going for a swim.