Chapter 13

Angela stared at the brick building that served as the main office to the school as she sat in her car. She was still apprehensive about the whole plan since she was convinced that she was no teacher. Still, as Sam pointed out, she lived history and could pull it off and of course she said that a 16th century education in Latin and Greek did not make one qualified to be a teacher. Then of course Dean mentioned her university education and she said that it was a fine arts degree with a minor in history. So now she was stuck with it still pointing out inadequacies and the dreaded moment of truth had come.

"Well, are you going in?"

Angela turned to look at Alex who was sitting in the car riding shotgun and Mason and Kelly were in the back peering at her. She replied, "I'm tempted to go and bolt. She sighed as she pulled the key out of the ignition and unlocked the doors. Well time to face the firing squad."

"I wouldn't call it that," Alex replied as he got out of the car. Habitually, he opened Kelly's door and held it open. This morning he had the brilliant idea of asking Angela to drive them to school. He appealed to his parents and they called her just as she was leaving. He had no idea what they said to convince her but they told him that she would be by to pick him, Kelly and Mason up at the house. She came and they had a fast ride to the school. He grinned a bit and said, "Try more as a trip to the race track."

Angela pulled out the satchel she had packet with her laptop and a few books and the notes that Hardman left her the night before. She gave a wry look at Alex and replied, "I choose to go to race tracks to actually race, not get myself killed."

"Isn't that your profession anyway, Angie?" Alex asked with a smirk.

Angela gave a mock glare at the boy. "You know I have the mens rea to take you out. Bad ankle or not." She gave a slight grin to indicate that she was teasing.

"I bet you would," Alex countered as he slung his backpack over his shoulder. "Then again that is what is expected of my favorite aunt." He gave a smile as he reminded Angela about the cover she was to take while at the school.

Angela gave a slight groan and tugged the strap of her bag over her head. She was so going to drive the Impala when they left town. It actually had been Hardman's idea for her to take the Davidson name when he dropped by the night before after the little pie session. How he managed to scrounge up the necessary papers she didn't dare ask, not after the whole discussion she had with the Winchesters. How Alex knew, she wasn't even going to go there. She gave a ruffle through the boy's hair, "Well I guess I better go hang myself. I expect you to class on time. All three of you."

"Sure thing Angie," Alex replied with a smirk. He then started walking since his ankle was much better and Kelly and Mason followed leaving Angela alone to lock up the car.

Angela glanced back at the car and then towards the kids. Sighing she straightened up and started walking towards the main office. Hell she had faced worse than a room full of adolescents who had no idea that there were things out there more scary than zits and failed tests. She took a breath and started towards the main office.

"I must say that it is truly fortunate you are able to fill in on such short notice and while you are visiting your family."

Angela sat in the chair watching the principal of the school open up a folder. She plastered a smile on her face and replied, "Well I guess being a teacher is really my calling. It really is no problem." She shifted in her seat while still keeping her leg crossed at the knees. At least she was dressed in professional casual. She didn't think she would have been able to handle it if she had to wear a suit skirt. She wouldn't have heard the end of it from Dean.

The principal looked at the young woman in front of her. The woman carried herself well and she seemed knowledgeable. Hardman recommended her from his room at the hospital. It was terrible that he had been mugged and the police had no leads. At least he was not seriously injured. His replacement just had her concerned physically. The girl was fairly tall but she had a posture that could give the wrong idea to the boys.

Angela was aware that she was being studied. She recognized it as the curse of her Mediterranean heritage. With men, it was like moths to a flame though with the Winchesters, they acted like overprotective watchdogs at times. The memory at the bar came to mind with that. With women it was admiration or jealousy and it was usually the latter. Sitting there, Angela could see the principal was thinking that she might be a distraction. She said, "The school I normally substitute for has a few cases but they learn quickly that they are there to learn."

The principal replied, "Yes. I contacted your last school and they were very impressed with your performance."

"Then may I presume that we are agreeable to my teaching the honors sophomore history class?" Angela smiled politely with that disarming smile she used when she used one of her law enforcement IDs.

"I think that would be agreeable," the principal replied. She picked up a stack of papers and handed them to the substitute teacher. "These are the class rosters. They must be completed and submitted to the attendance office."

Angela kept smiling and replied, "Of course." She exited the office still smiling. Once she was out of sight of the principal, she gave a slight eye roll. She started down the hall to get to the classroom. She checked her watch and saw that she had about five minutes before her first class. It was then her phone rang. She answered it, "Yes?"

Hey you smacked any palms?

"Eat me Dean, "Angela replied. "Don't you have a job to do?"

Yeah but the right girl isn't here.

"Get one of your fifty cent whores. Or did you eat the ones we picked up before rolling into town?" Angela heard the bark of laughter from Dean at the other end. She then heard a conversation at the other end. She knew that Sam had heard exactly what she said. She added, "Just manning your innocent ears up Sammy."

Go bore some kids.

I would but this is much better, Angela replied hearing the humor in Sam's voice. She knew he was hiding his embarrassment. She continued walking down the hall. At least you two are doing what we do best not minding our own damn business.

Exactly Angie.

At least you're in a better mood.

"When I have the two Winchester brothers who are like two old married women in their arguments with a touch of four year old riding in the same car as me, I feel twenty years younger," Angela replied. She came to the door of the classroom and peered inside. Already most of the kids were in their seats. A few were trying to stir up mayhem. It wasn't Roslyn but the kids were virtually the same.

You look good for your age.

"Sure thing Dean."

Glad to lighten your day.

"Don't forget the game is on tonight and you two have guard duty. Later." She hung up her phone. Taking a breath, she opened the door and walked in. She looked at the kids who were staring at her as she went to the teacher's desk. That look told her that she was going to have some fun after all. She gave a smile and said, "Alright settle down."

Dean was chuckling as he hung up his phone. It was his idea to call Angela and give her a reason to get through the day since she was still grumbling about her inadequacies as a teacher. At that point he swore it was like talking to the feminine version of Sam and he said so, earning one of his bitch faces that clearly said he wasn't all that funny. He had to laugh though at her reference to the mini mart pies. It was a joke that had started when Dean told Sam to bring back pie while going out on a supply run. As usual Sam forgot the pie and Dean was more or less pouting when Angela came in. One look and she was gone. Twenty minutes later she was back with a bag full of mini mart pies. Dean grumbled and called them cheap whores while giving a grateful smile to Angela. Since then Dean educated Angela on the philosophy of pie and in turn added to Angela's obsession with carb loaded food.

Dean was thinking of this as he drove the Impala towards an empty parking lot by some old building. That morning after Angela had left, the police scanner crackled on stating that there was a dead body and that the circumstances were suspicious. That had Dean glance at his younger brother and silently ask if he thought it was related to the other two. Sam returned it with a slight shrug and a head movement that suggested it was a maybe. Dean gave a nod that said they were going to take it. So now they were driving towards the scene.

The Impala made a smooth stop at the curb that was close enough but far enough away to not attract too much attention. Sam and Dean checked their pockets and made sure that they had their IDs ready to present to the cop at the scene. The cop was a burly fellow who eyed them with a great deal of suspicion even though the brothers flashed their badges. Dean was ready to get into a staring contest with the guy if it hadn't been for Sam to drag him along after thanking the officer for letting them pass.

"Dean, what is up with you?"

Dean shook off his brother's hand and replied, "The guy was sizing me up. You can't let that go Sammy."

"Can you at least pretend to be a professional at it?"

"I am being professional. The guy just reminded me of that Nebi douche," Dean replied trying to blow it off as an innocent thing. "I don't like how he treated us, how he treated you Sam."

Sam didn't say anything. Dean was always looking after him since he was a baby and whenever anyone or anything did anything that would cause him pain, Dean was quick to defend him. If it was a lasting pain of any kind, Dean was known to hold a grudge which explained Dean's current attitude and why he wouldn't hesitate to knock Nebi's lights out. He just gave a pat to Dean's shoulder and walked up to where the coroner was making an assessment of the body.

Dean managed to focus and started inspecting the site around the body while Sam got to work asking questions of the coroner. As soon as Dean came close, the smell of burnt flesh hit his nose and it took much effort for him not to gag at the stench. He glanced over at his brother who seemed to be handling it much better than he did. Focusing on the scene surrounding the body, Dean was able to ignore the stench as he poked around the grounds.

Sam made a slight face when the stench reached his nostrils. He gave a slight clearing of his throat while he went to look at the body. He approached the coroner, who was taking his necessary measurements and asked, "So, who's the crispy critter?"

Liam had to work hard to keep a straight face as he went about in his examination. He felt guilty at the fact that he had witnessed this man's death and wasn't able to stop it. The small, miserable comfort that he had was the fact that he didn't have anything to do with the dumping of the body and add to the possibility of his being charged with criminal charges. Now he had to go on as if he had never seen the man who was now a corpse before and do his job to the best of his ability. He was taking the body temperature though he already knew the time of death when the 'agent' from yesterday came over and asked about the victim.

That was an easy question to answer and Liam replied, "Hoyt McKenna, based upon identifying markers provided by family. I'll have to get dental records to confirm."

Sam nodded as he knelt by the body and used a silver tipped rod to look over the body. Aside from the burnt flesh, there was nothing at a glance that stated that this was even remotely related to the other two murders. Frowning he looked sideways and peered as close as he could without touching the body.

Sam noticed that there were some markings on the body that were not consistent with burnt flesh, though he wasn't sure what was consistent. Angela usually handled burn victims like one case where it turned out to be a really badly burned cow of all things. Sam at the time wondered how she was able to handle the smell since by then he and Dean had discovered how good her olfactory senses were especially when she said that Dean's cheeseburger smelt like a ham sandwich dropped in a dirty ashtray that one time.

He poked at the markings around the neck and asked, "Is this normal in a burn victim?"

Liam leaned over to peer at what the agent was looking at. He was surprised that he was able to see the slashes at all since the body was burned to the point where it could potentially obscure anything unless one looked hard enough. Liam suspected that this agent was really indeed a hunter and was on to something more than a murder made to look like a satanic ritual. He peered at it and prodded with his fingers. He replied, "No. In fact theses look more to be lesions probably perimortem. I would have to run tests back at the lab and do a more thorough examination. For the moment though I can say that this man was not killed here."

Sam listened to the coroner and watched the man's expressions. When approached, he got the feeling that the man knew more than he was letting on. However he answered the questions as per the routine in a crime scene with professionalism. Sam couldn't shake the feeling though that the guy might know something more and quite possibly might be a member of the Freemasons. He continued his line of questioning, hoping to draw him out some more. "So you're saying that he was roasted and then dumped?"

"If he were killed here, there would be evidence of a burning. Scorched earth, accelerants but there are none," Liam replied as he probed the body for other injuries. "I suggest that you look for a connection between the three victims if you believe they are connected."

Sam looked at the coroner who was looking at the body and making notes for his file. "You think they are connected?"

Liam continued to make his notes, not answering the question at first. He couldn't reveal his knowledge since he was bound by sacred oath. Yet maybe he could push them in the right direction and if the time came when he would need to reveal himself, he would do it. He replied, "The initial prognosis was that they were satanic rituals given the manner in which the bodies were slain and the certain organs removed. This may or may not fit. It may be that someone decided to kill a man because he didn't like him and did it in the worst way possible."

Sam nodded as he stood up. He asked, "Were any of those strange bags found on the body?"

He would remember that detail, Liam thought as he finished his notes. He then stood up and beckoned his crew to come and take the body away. "There was a bag found but as to the contents, they will be examined at the lab. You and your partner are welcome to come down and review the findings. Maybe it has something to do with the case you are working on?"

"That'll be fine," Sam replied and offered his hand for a shake. He glanced over to where his brother was rifling through the dirt to uncover something. He caught Dean's eye and Dean gave a nod.

Liam took the agent's hand in a shake before turning back to his notes and missed the look the two agents shared. He did notice though after the tall one walked away, the officer guarding the scene was looking at him with a peculiar look. Liam knew that he was a brother himself but the question was whether or not he was one within the Master's circle. Of course he knew that he would be under scrutiny to make sure that none of the brothers were fingered however his own sense of integrity wouldn't allow him to do anything except report the evidence found. What happened afterwards, he would answer for.

While the coroner and Sam were talking about the body, Dean was surveying the scene. He stayed within a few feet of the body since he overheard that the body had been dumped there. He figured on that as well since he didn't see any signs of burning or scorching from fire. The poor guy was probably killed in some place and then brought out here and dumped. Funny thing was this place was pretty clean. There were what could be considered the usual signs of road wear in a parking lot: oil, grease and possibly food stains. It was when he felt something under his foot that he made a discovery.

If he had been wearing his biker boots, he wouldn't have felt it at all. Since he was wearing the shoes he usually wore when he dressed as a fed, he felt the lump and something that felt like it was pushing into his foot. He lifted his foot to find that he had stepped on a weird shaped emblem.

Kneeling, Dean reached out and picked it up. It was a pin, almost like one of those lapel or tie tack pins. The shape was in the design of a compass along with a letter. Dean knew he had seen it somewhere before but couldn't place it at the moment. Glancing around, he made sure no one was looking when palmed it and stuck it in his pocket. He took the opportunity to scour the area he found the pin to look for more clues.

He did manage to find a scrap of cloth that didn't feel like cotton or anything that he knew clothes were made of so he pocketed that too. It was then that he caught Sam looking at him. Dean responded with a slight nod and stood up and dusted his pants where they had touched the ground. He started walking towards the Impala and passed the cop who was guarding the scene. He paused a moment while he waited for his brother and said, "So you do anything besides stand there?"

The cop gave a look that would have made a lesser man than Dean flinch. The cop didn't say anything at all. Dean watched the stoic expression and had the thought that the guy looked constipated or something. Dean asked, "What's the matter? You under the queen's command?" Just to emphasize his point, Dean began waving his hand in front of the cop.

When the cop didn't move, Dean started making conversation, mostly innuendos and jokes. He quit when Sam came up and indicated that they should leave. As Dean was walking away, the cop said something. Not completely hearing it, Dean turned around and asked, "What did you say?"

The cop was looking at Dean in the eye. There was a certain smugness about the smile that had formed but there was also a calculated coldness to it. It was the kind of look that a guy got when he knew he had the upper hand and Dean caught on that immediately. The cop then said, "You heard me. That girl of yours is rather pretty if you can keep an eye on her. Those young ones can run a person exhausted."

They were not that far from the Impala so the comment could have been made about her but Dean knew better. He played it off though and replied, "My baby is pretty good at mowing down douches. All that power in the engine she's a beauty." He gave a hard smile that at face value could have been taken as two guys having a joke over a car. If one looked closer, they would have seen the warning that was in Dean's eyes.

Sam had heard the comment as well and noticed the threatening posture his brother took. He had a vague idea of what it was about but at the moment he had to get his brother away before he started a scene and they both got thrown in jail. "Come on Dean," he said and put a hand on Dean's shoulder.

Dean looked once more at the cop and left it at that. He turned to walk with his brother at a fast pace which looked like it was in overdrive since Sam was taller than he was. Once they were a fair piece away Dean said, "Sam, call Angie once we're in the car."

Sam recognized that tone that Dean used when he meant business. He asked, "Think there's a problem?"

"Might be. We'll drive by the school to make sure."

They got into the car with expert precision and Dean started the car's engine. He would have peeled away but that would have tipped off the cop. Once they were away Dean said, "Call her Sam."

Sam checked his watch. It was in the middle of the school day and he pointed that out, "Dean she could be in the middle of a class right now."

"Then leave a voicemail or try again. Sam, I think that cop was one of those Freemasons and they probably know that Angie is with the kid." Dean stepped on the gas but toeing the line so they didn't get pulled over.

Sam understood the implications and dialed Angela's number and prayed that she would answer. He glanced at Dean who was busy keeping his eyes on the road. He had no idea how many ringtones had gone by but he knew the voicemail would kick in soon.

Hello?

Sam sighed in relief that she picked up. He replied, "Hey Angela, um how's school going?"

Peachy. You and Dean find anything?

"Yeah actually we found another body."

Dean grew impatient and grabbed the phone from Sam and flipped the speakerphone on. He said, "Angie has there been any trouble?"

Unless you count a fistfight between two hormone induced boys trouble, then no. Should I expect any?

Dean realized he was stuck but he decided to stick to the truth. It wouldn't do them any favors since they did have a kid to look after. "I may have heard something. It could be a threat."

Then again it couldn't. Thanks for the heads up. Did you find anything on the body that Sam mentioned?

Sam managed to snatch the phone back and say, "It could be a Mason thing. Your book is back at the motel right?"

Yeah. Think it might be another punishment for spilling secrets?

Might be, Sam replied, We'll check it out. Just focus on the job you have.

Oh I have focus. Don't worry about it. Take care of your end. I have to go now.

"Be careful," Sam got in before she disconnected. He looked at his brother and asked, "So what do we do now. We can't just barge into the school."

Dean hated to admit that Sam was right. He still couldn't shake that feeling. It was like the feeling he got when Sam was in trouble and they were separated on a hunt. He trusted that feeling but there was nothing wrong and Angela could take care of herself even if she was in trouble. There was one thing left and that was to do what Sam did best. He replied, "We can't do anything right now. Let's do what you do best College Boy."

"Eat me Dean."

A/N: Angie starts her first day as a teacher and the Winchesters are on the case of the third dead body. It looks like the Masons know it too. Where does this put our heroes? Find out next time on The Order of Melchizedek...