Title: The Boys Went Down to Georgia
Author: Razorbackgal0225
Rating: PG-13--A little language, but that's all
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, cars or situations from Supernatural, but I sure wish I did. Anything you don't recognize is mine.
Author's Note: Thanks so much to the lovely reviews I received on the last chapter. The next couple of updates will be full of action (I hope.) Please continue to let me know what you think!
"You're seriously going to go talk to him?" Katie asked disbelievingly. She, Sam and Dean had returned to her house when Dean had informed her that they were planning to pay Mr. Bennett a visit. She was expressing her doubts. "You're kidding?"
"No, I'm not kidding," Dean stated. "We got absolute zilch from searching the petting zoo. We've got to find out something about what's going on with this freaking ghost." Dean's voice grew in volume the longer he talked. "Bennett might be our only chance to get anything about why Jacob is still around."
Sam sat silently on the couch, his eyes going back and forth between his brother and their host, much like watching a tennis match. Katie had her hands on her hips, as if she were preparing for battle. Sam had a feeling he was going to enjoy this conversation.
"What happens if Bennett had something to do with Jacob's death?" Katie questioned, frowning as she did. "The people in town could have been wrong. He's not going to be happy if ya'll start snooping around when he's gotten away with it for 30 years."
Dean took a deep breath and released it slowly, but loudly, his exasperation showing. "He's a sixty year old man, Katie, I'm pretty sure we can take him. There's absolutely nothing to worry about."
"Nothing to worry about!" Katie came close to shouting. "We just got caught sneaking around some poor man's farm and now you're charging in to face some guy that could be a killer. How is that not something to worry about?" Dean shook his head and stalked into the dining room, effectively ending the argument. Katie's mouth dropped open in shock. "He's walking away," she commented more to herself than Sam.
Sam responded anyway. "Yeah, that's pretty much the normal MO for him. It's easier to ignore a problem than solve it." He stood and walked to where Katie was standing. "But honestly, he's right." Sam saw that she was about to interrupt and hurried to continue. "We do this kind of thing all the time. We know how to ask questions without anyone getting suspicious. We'll be alright."
Katie sighed. "Are you sure?" she said, her eyes filled with worry. Sam smiled, a little part of him glad to see someone concerned about their safety.
"I'm sure. You said it takes about an hour to get there, right?" She nodded in response. "We'll be back in three hours or so."
Dean reentered the room as Sam finished convincing Katie. He didn't immediately meet her gaze, instead looking at his brother. "You ready?" he asked.
"Yeah, let me grab my computer." Sam reached for his laptop and slid it into his bag. He glanced between the two other people, noting the large amount of tension that was in the room. Pulling a page from his brother's book, he smiled at Katie and headed to the front door.
Left alone, Dean and Katie exchanged borderline nervous looks. Katie didn't normally shout at people she barely knew, but for some reason, Dean brought out the worst in her. She wasn't sure if this reaction was caused by her trying desperately to not like him or if he genuinely rubbed her the wrong way. She guessed the former, but she really didn't want to think about it.
Dean considered his options. He could either apologize for walking away when she was talking to him, which would be completely out of character, or he could pretend nothing had happened. For reasons unknown to him, he didn't want Katie to be upset with him. Generally he couldn't care less about what people thought about him, but she was different. Before he could make a decision, Katie made it for him.
"I'm sorry about the yelling," she apologized softly. "I don't have any right to put in my two cents on something I know nothing about." When Dean tore his eyes from the floor, he saw she meant what she was saying. "I'm just scared, that's all. I've never dealt with this kind of thing before."
This time, when Dean smiled at her, it wasn't the cocky grin he gave her most of the time, or even the self-satisfied smirk he wore when he knew he was right. It was a honest-to-goodness smile that forced Katie to remind herself to breath. "We'll be alright Katie," he responded. "Besides, Sam can always bore him to death if anything goes wrong."
Katie laughed at him, shaking her head. "Just be careful, alright?"
Dean held up two fingers in a salute. "Scout's honor," he replied as he walked to the door. He joined his brother on the porch. "You've got my cell phone number. If anything happens, if you see anything out of the ordinary, you call me right away." Katie nodded. "And I think steak would be a great idea for dinner."
"Oh, like you were ever a scout. Get out of here," she muttered as she shut the door behind them. She leaned against the door, listening for the roar of the Impala's engine. Realizing she had plenty of time before Lilly came home from Casey's house, she decided to catch up on her housework. The laundry wouldn't do itself.
An hour later, Sam and Dean arrived at the address given in the phone book for Tom Bennett. Wordlessly, Dean reached across to the glove compartment, pulling a pistol from it. When Sam raised his eyebrows at this action, Dean shrugged. "Can't be too careful. After all, he might have killed Jacob." Sam didn't protest, instead getting out of the car and moving to the sidewalk, as Dean placed the gun in the waistband of his jeans.
The boys' had discussed their cover story on the way to Watkinsville. They had been researching their family tree for an anniversary present for their parents and had run across the name Jacob Smith. After digging a little further, they had discovered that Jacob had been in the Hilltop Orphanage and were looking for more information. Sam hoped it would work and that they would find out something from this trip. Unfortunately, they were getting nowhere fast.
They reached the front door and Sam knocked on the door. A few minutes later, it was opened by an old man, mostly bald. He wore glasses and was slightly hunched over. But Sam noticed his eyes were sharp and bright, which he took as a good sign. "Can I help you?" he asked, speaking with a heavy Southern accent.
"Yes sir, are you Mr. Tom Bennett?" Sam asked, using his nicest voice. When the man nodded in response, he continued. "The same Mr. Bennett that used to run the Hilltop Orphanage?"
At this question, Mr. Bennett's smile faded for a moment, before returning. "Yes, that's me," he replied, his voice a little sad. "Would you like to come in?" he opened the door further, gesturing for the boys to enter. Dean and Sam accepted the invitation, walking into the house.
As always, Dean began noting the exits out of house, in case everything went south. He also noticed the place was immaculate, with everything in its place, even though the entire house appeared to be packed with stuff. Folders and papers were stacked in the three bookcases that lined the walls. Surprisingly enough, everything seemed to be in some sort of order. Dean met Bennett's eyes and was surprised to see the old man smiling at him. He had somehow managed to make a good impression.
"Please, have a seat," Mr. Bennett offered. Sam and Dean both took a seat on the worn but clean couch. Bennett sat in the chair opposite them and adjusted his glasses before asking. "Did you boys have a relative at the orphanage?"
Sam was surprised by his 'correct' conclusion. "Yes sir, we think so. How did you know?"
"There's a few people every year come by to ask about some boy that I had while I ran the place. And since you're strangers to me, I can't imagine you having another reason to talk to me," Bennett explained. Dean was impressed by his rationale.
"Yes sir, we were working on a present for our parents' anniversary and came across a name that we didn't recognize. After doing a little more research, we found out he had been at your orphanage," Dean added. "Do you happen to remember a Jacob Smith?"
At the mention of the name, Bennett's happy expression disappeared completely. "Oh," he started, removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes. "I always dreaded the day one of Jacob's kin would come asking questions." When he saw that Sam and Dean weren't surprised by his reaction, he continued, "I suppose you know that Jacob died while in my care."
"Yes, we did find out that. We were wondering if you could tell us a little more about how he died," Sam said. "Just so we'll know what happened."
Bennett leaned back in his chair, obviously disturbed by the memory he was recalling. "I can tell you everything I know. I can tell you that what happened to little Jacob is the reason I stopped running the home." He paused a moment before launching into the story. "Jacob was a good, smart kid. He was about 10 or so when he came to the home. He was always helpful, never complained about his chores like some of the other boys. To this day, I can still see his smiling face in my mind's eye. Because he was so cheerful, he was quickly picked by a family for adoption. Three days before the adoption was final, I found him in his room, beaten to death." Bennett stopped for a moment. "I don't mind telling you boys, I had some bad apples back then. It was a difficult job to begin with and Jacob's death pushed me over the edge. I couldn't handle it anymore, so I retired."
Sam waited a minute before asking, "Do you have any idea who might have killed Jacob?"
The old man shook his head. "There was at least a dozen of those boys who could have done something like that. Kids were passed from home to home whenever they caused a problem, so I ended up with a lot of troublemakers. It wasn't a good system. I tried my best to help them, but some of them were beyond help."
Dean and Sam exchanged a glance, knowing the next question would be the hardest to explain. "Mr. Bennett, do you know if any of Jacob's possessions were left? Anything that might have his DNA on it?" Sam asked. When he saw this surprised Bennett, he quickly added, "We wanted to make sure he was actually related to us before we shared this story with the family."
Bennett frowned, deep in thought. "No, I don't think so. We got rid of everything after Jacob passed. I remember that state made us burn his clothes and he didn't really have anything else. The officials weren't real keen on the news getting out, but of course, in a small town like that, everyone knew what happened. Most people thought I had something to do with it." He looked at his watch. "Oh, excuse me just a minute boys, it's time for my heart pill. If I don't take it now, I'll forget it later," he remarked, laughing at himself. He shuffled into the kitchen, leaving Sam and Dean alone.
"Great," Dean muttered, "nothing's left. How is this kid still appearing?"
"I don't know," Sam answered quietly. "I was expecting there to be something, a stuffed animal, a piece of clothing that had some of his blood on it. What are we supposed to burn if there's nothing left of him?"
"I doubt he had a doll with hair made out of his. Wouldn't that have been convenient?"
Sam slumped into the couch. "I have no idea what to do next."
"Well, let's ask about the list of names and then head back to Katie's," Dean suggested. "I'm getting hungry."
The younger Winchester couldn't help but grin at his brother. "I think you miss her."
Dean rolled his eyes in response. "Oh, would you stop with that crap?" He would have continued if Mr. Bennett hadn't strolled back into the room. Dean and Sam both rose from their seats. "We've taken up enough of your time today, sir," Dean said.
"Oh, it's not a problem at all," Mr. Bennett appeared to have regained some of his good spirits. "I don't get that many visitors, so it's nice to have someone to talk to."
"I do have one more question," Sam commented. "Do you happen to have a list of the boys that were in the orphanage at the same time as Jacob? We'd like to see if we could get in touch with anyone that knew him and find out more about him."
Bennett was happy to help. "That's something I can do for you. As you can see," he gestured towards the full shelves behind him, "I'm a little bit of a packrat. I kept all the paperwork from when I turned the orphanage over to the new manager. I'm pretty that included a roster." He moved directly to one particular section of the bookcase, pulling a folder from the many lined up. "Ah yes, here it is." He took two sheets of paper from the folder and handed them to Sam. "I hope that helps you out."
"Thank you sir, we appreciate your time and the information," Sam concluded, holding out his hand. Mr. Bennett accepted it, then Dean's as the boys headed to the door.
"No problem at all. If you come up with anything else, I'm always at home," Bennett said holding the door open for them. "And boys," Sam and Dean turned to face him. "If you do find any other relatives of yours and Jacob's, please give them my regrets. That boy's death haunts me to this day."
"We will sir, and thank you again," Dean smiled at the older man, understanding the guilt he carried. He would have felt the same way. The boys walked down the sidewalk to the car.
Katie sang along to the radio as she put away the clean clothes she had folded. Checking her watch, she saw that she had a little more time before Lilly came home, wanting supper. And Lilly would be closely followed by two hungry grown men, one who had requested steak for dinner. Mentally going through her supply of groceries, she decided steak was out of the question, but she could throw together some baked chicken without any problem. She admittedly couldn't cook much, but what she could, she did well.
She walked down the hall and down the stairs, entering the kitchen. She shuffled through a few cabinets, getting out ingredients for the meal. Still singing, she grabbed a glass measuring cup off the shelf and spun around, starting to the refrigerator. As soon as she did, her heart skipped a beat. Reflexively she dropped the cup, which shattered as it hit the floor. Standing in the doorway to the dining room was Jacob, eyes boring into her. After a long moment, she remembered the instructions she had been given and reached into her pocket for her cell phone. She spared a glance at the phone, pulling up Dean's number. She looked back up and Jacob was still there. But something had changed. Instead of staring at her, as he had been before, he appeared to be looking behind her. His expression changed to one of terror and his mouth opened as if he were screaming. Her heart was pounding so loud in her ears, she didn't hear the back door open.
Terrified, Katie took a huge step away from the ghost boy. An arm grabbed her from behind, closing around her neck and placing a massive hand over her mouth. She screamed, but a cloth was blocking any sound she emitted. The cloth also covered her nose and filled her nostrils with a sickly, sweet smell. Katie fought as best she could against her captor, trying to escape, but she quickly wore down. She swung her arms one final time, dropping her cell phone and looked toward the door. The last thing she saw before she lost consciousness was Jacob's face, tears running down his cheeks.