The wooden fence of Cubic inch is opened and behind it awaits a black Chevrolet Impala from the year 1967, patiently holding ground until she will be able to pass through. Danny greets them as he holds the gate and the sedan enters the yard. When Zoë gets out, a cool ocean breeze plays with her hair, cheering her up. The boys get out as well and leave the car next to one of the garages, from which different sounds of craftwork reach them. The smell of rubber, oil and gasoline, Dean almost feels like getting his hands dirty himself.
"How's it going, guys?" Danny walks up to them. "Follow me".
He opens the garage door and lets the sunbeams from outside shine a light on the jewels that are parked inside. It's an orderly mess, that's the way this garage has always been. Anyone who walks into this place for the first time would think that you'd be looking for your tools all day, but somehow it works. Bob Marley sounds from the amplifiers, singing Here I Am. The stars and stripes hangs in front of a broken window, posters from different car brands decorate the wall. Together with 3 page long pin up girls and supplies stocked up to the roof, not even one inch of the walls is visible. Two cars are on the bridge, one is parked under the other. Some of them are unrecognizable, completely stripped and with parts all over the place. A puddle of oil lies on the ground under a silver/white classic Datsun 240Z from 1973. Marley is working on it, currently trying to get the transmission underneath the car in one piece.
Danny's own red '02 Acura has all four wheels on the ground though, it looks like it just got out of the paint shop, the way it's shining. Now that they see the racecar up close the details become clear. The black hood, roof and spoiler with wicked red and gold graphics highlight the fine lines. The golden big rims match with the custom made interior. Like it has never left the shop the car rests there; Zo isn't even gonna ask how Danny got his wheels back from the cops. Next to the Acura they find a fine looking purple Honda CRX type R '02. The car is lowered to the ground to the point that it would be impossible to park with two wheels on the curb, but it looks fantastic. The huge spoiler on the back provides enough down force for grip during high speeds. The hood is open and Tweed is bending forward, turning a wrench. His skate jeans have dropped that far down his waist, that his crack is visible. Zoë can't help it to grin.
"Nice view, Tweed".
The tall dude looks up and only now notices Zoë next to his car. Because of the music and loud sounds of equipment in the garage, he didn't hear them walk in. He smirks before he pulls up his pants.
"You'd like to see more of that, wouldn't you, Daisy?", he gives her an over exaggerated wink, hinting at her shorts.
Zo laughs out loud. "Rather not, dude".
She doesn't use that word often, but Tweed is one of those guys who is a dude, you can't help call him that. The blonde dreadlocks, shark teeth around his neck, low shorts, he has Californian surfer written all over him. The guys catch up on her, staying behind a bit, intrigued by the whole happening in the tiny garage. Zoë smiles, she remembers coming in here for the first time herself, she didn't have enough eyes to observe it all. She can see the excitement on Dean's face, this must be his favorite job up to date; cars, chicks and California.
"So, do you guys have news?", Danny suspects.
"We made some progress", Sam confirms. "Ever heard of a guy named Brayden Garner?"
Danny doesn't need long to think, in fact he responds immediately.
"Yeah. Driver from San Clemente, we raced against each other a couple of times. Good guy, got killed about a year back".
Dean frowns, surprised that Danny is so well informed. "You were there?"
But the young man shakes his head. "No, I jammed the gearbox of the Acura the day before the race. It's one of the few gigs I missed".
"I presume we don't have to tell you where that gig was", Zoë lets him guess.
The pieces start to fall into place for Danny, who leans against his ride.
"He died on that road, didn't he? On the same road Jay crashed?"
All three nod and Danny looks away. This might be normal material for the hunters, but for a guy who's biggest challenge is to win a race, this is insane. He huffs in disbelief and looks them in the eye one by one.
"It's him?"
"We think so", Sam applies.
But Danny shakes his head. "No, Brayden wouldn't do that. Sure he raced, but he's not a killer".
"Danny, you can't compare a person with a spirit. He's stuck here and can't move on. He is frustrated, furious, driven by hate. That's how evil spirits are born. Ghosts are capable of everything, beyond your scariest dreams", Zoë tries bring to him.
He looks away and stares outside through the dusty window. The sills are filled with empty beer bottles, Corona. Danny feels like he could use one already.
"Brayden isn't the only one who died on those tracks. It was called Death road a long time ago", he brings to mind, still finding it hard to believe that a goodhearted guy could do such a thing.
"We're aware, but Jays car had custom paint on it from a second vehicle, it matched Brayden's Nissan", Dean fills in.
"That's not possible, there was nothing left of that Fairlady, Crunch said the parts were all over the… place…"
Danny is almost unable to finish his sentence as the words sink in. In his response he understood what Dean was actually saying. Dean smirks, it's somewhat entertaining to see how Danny's mind works, the mind of the people who have no idea of what's waiting in the dark. What he claims to be impossible is usual business for the Winchesters.
"Exactly".
It's the only thing the eldest brother says. Just a confirmation and nothing more. The Nissan Fairlady was there in full glory, on that road next to Jay's Mitsubishi and yet it was stored at the SDPD Vehicle Litigation and Evidence Storage, not to mention in how many pieces. By now Danny sits down on a rim and stares in the distance, flabbergasted. Abigail told him that ghosts were real, even that some mythical creatures weren't that much of a myth. She'd leave for a hunt and always returned without telling much, she never involved him. Even though Abs was the one hunting these things down, it always seemed so far away. He prayed that Abs would return from the hunt unharmed, she prayed that he wouldn't get hurt in a race. Even though he knew that there was so much out there, it never crossed his path, until now. The roads he races are haunted.
"This is some acid trip", he huffs.
"Nope, this is the real thing. You better start dealing with it, Dan", Zo advises.
He nods without looking at her, still thrown off his feet.
"How dangerous is this?", he asks, wondering what the risks are.
"About as dangerous as racing these streets with a 120 miles an hour; if you know what you're doing", Zoë tries to make him understand.
"We need to combine those two specialties", Dean realizes.
The only girl in the company turns around to face him with a frown on her face. "We need to do what?"
"If we want to stop Brayden, we need to be in the field. We're stuck on the motive, unless Jay forgot to mention something", Dean brings to mind, giving Danny a piercing look.
But without questioning he rules out that possibility. "Jay told me everything about what happened. He's my best friend, he would've told me if he thought someone was coming for him".
"And what about the night Garner died?", Sam ponders. "Was he there?"
Dan nods confirming. "He raced him".
Now he has their attention.
"Who else raced him?", the youngest Winchester asks, trying to put it together in his head.
"Crunch and Juaxoo, the four of them. Jay was in the lead, Brayden was second when he crashed, Crunch was the first to find what was left of his car".
"So maybe Garner is after everyone who raced that night", Zo brainstorms. "When is the next race?"
"We never know", Danny acknowledges. "We don't set a time 'till the last possible moment, to stay ahead of the cops".
"We need to make sure that Crunch and Juaxoo are not racing", Zoë states.
"Crunch won't be a problem", Danny looks over at the tall Afro American. "Juaxoo will be a bit harder to convince".
"Let him race, one squirt eye more or less won't matter", Dean huffs, still pissed about his insult towards the Impala.
"Dean", Sam warns with a glare.
His brother shrugs, mumbles something about his car, then shuts up.
"What if Brayden Garner isn't after the racers which challenged him the night of his death?", Zoë keeps all their options open. "What if he doesn't want anyone to race?"
"That wouldn't make sense, it's been over a week since Jay crashed and everyone else who raced since the reopened that road is still walking", Sam doubts that option.
"Maybe he's attached to the road", Dean brings forward.
"Excuse me, 'attached'?"
Confused Danny looks from one to the other, he's not following. Zoë starts to explain.
"A ghost is here because there's something left of him here. A body, bones, even some blood is enough to keep a vengeful spirit away from the afterlife. When it stays behind, it usually appears at the scene of death. When it's attached to the location, the ghost can't leave that place. That's how hauntings start".
Danny takes it in, the hunters can see that he's trying to get everything straight.
"And how do you get a ghost to move on?"
"You burn whatever is left of the body", Dean answers.
Puzzled Dan looks him in the eye. "Brayden was cremated".
A short silence, Zoë lets out a huff. Great, the more she wants this case to be over, the longer it's seems to take.
"That's just fantastic", she sighs.
"How come he's still here?", Dan doesn't get it. "You're telling me that they didn't burn it all?"
"Yep", Zoë confirms and checks her cell and intends to leave.
"Where are you going?", Dean follows her with his gaze as she walks back to the entrance of the garage.
"I'm gonna torch that Nissan Fairlady", Zo lets him know and then turns to Danny. "Can I borrow a car?"
Danny rummages in his pocket and takes out a key with a key fob of a Dodge logo on it.
"The pick-up is in front", he throws the key at her after which Zo skillfully catches it with one hand.
She exits with a playful smile on her face. "Thanks".
The three men left continue their conversation.
"What if there's no blood or tissue in the car?", Dean asks out loud.
Danny follows his gaze at Sam, he'd like to know that as well.
"Then it's somewhere on the road", the youngest sighs. "Which will be like searching for a needle in about a hundred haystacks".
"So what then? You can't solve this?", Danny presumes disappointed.
"Oh we will solve this", Dean assures with a smirk. "Just not the way we planned we would. There's one way to find out if burning that Nissan's enough".
Sam waits for an answer. "How?"
A sparkle appears in Dean's piercing green eyes. It might not be Zoë's favorite case now that the past is catching up with her, but it will end up high in his charts. Brayden has only shown himself during a race, so if they want to put to a test rather this case is over, they need to get out on that road.
A grin that characterizes Dean Winchester; it's clear that he's up to no good.
"We race".