Chapter Seven

Liz was in Berlin when she first heard the news that Dean had been arrested. She had CNN turned on as background noise in case they mentioned Barrister Enterprises. She glanced at the screen and felt her heart catch when a picture of Dean flashed onto the screen. She fumbled with the remote in her haste to turn up the volume.

The newscaster read the report in a grave voice:

"The man you see on your screen is Dean Winchester. He was arrested earlier today for the murder of Elizabeth Barrister, daughter of Frank Barrister, founder of the illustrious Barrister Enterprises. Elizabeth and her brother, Thomas, gained a controlling interest in Barrister Enterprises when their father was brutally murdered more than five years ago. Now Thomas is claiming that Elizabeth was killed less than a month after their father by a man with no known ties to Elizabeth or the Barrister family.

"The twist in this case is that no body has been found as of yet, and there is no evidence that Elizabeth is even missing, much less that she has been murdered. She has never been reported missing and has a current address listed. Sources at Barrister Enterprises tell us that as recently as three months ago, a ballot was cast in Elizabeth's name regarding a stock issue.

"Authorities have been tight-lipped on the investigation, saying only that the evidence gathered is compelling enough to warrant an indictment of first-degree murder. They have refused to comment on what exactly that evidence is, however, and it may be weeks before news outlets are privy to any further information. The DA has promised to push this case through as quickly as possible and is considering seeking capital punishment. He hopes to have a scheduling order in place by the end of next week and a trial date within the next six months. Those familiar with the American judicial system know that it is unheard of for a high-profile case such as this to move through the system so quickly.

"The closed nature of these proceedings already has some crying conspiracy. Conspiracy or no, this case has certainly been handled in a bizarre fashion. Questions abound. Why did Thomas wait five years to claim his sister was dead? If she is dead, who has been masquerading as her all these years? If she is alive, where is she, and why has she not come forward to clear an innocent man? Only time will provide answers to these questions. We will keep you updated as more information becomes available."

Liz was on the phone dialing Jason the second the newscast ended.

"You son of a bitch," she said before he could say hello.

"Well, hello to you," Jason replied cheerfully.

"You had Dean arrested! You son of a bitch."

"Yeah? Well, you said you would come out of hiding. You didn't. Now we're even."

"Even? We're not even close, Jason. You had Dean arrested for murder! For my murder! He's in jail!"

"My connections can ensure that that doesn't change. I can make sure that he goes to prison for life. We might even get the death penalty. That is assuming he makes it that long. Prison can be a dangerous place, you know." Jason laughed. "Come on, Liz, you've got to admit that it's pretty impressive what I can do. Ready to come out and play yet?"

"You son of a bitch," Liz repeated dejectedly.

"You're sounding like a broken record, Liz."

"Why would you do this, Jason?"

There was a long pause before Jason answered. "Tom has my daughter, Liz," he told her anxiously. "He's starting to think that I lied about you being alive. I didn't see much of a choice but to force your hand."

"I told you that I would come out of hiding, and I will. You just have to give me time."

"I'm sorry, Liz. Time is the one thing I can't give you. Dean will suffer until you show yourself."

"I'm sorry that it has to be this way, Jason," Liz said mournfully.

"Me, too," Jason agreed. "See you soon."

Liz hung up and called Bobby.

"I caught the news. What the hell is going on, Bobby?"

"I'm handling it," Bobby replied in a clipped tone.

"Handling it?" Liz repeated dubiously. "The news said that they are trying him for murder one. I won't let Dean go to jail or worse over this."

"I said that I'm handling it," Bobby repeated. "Don't do anything stupid. We can talk about his later, Lindsey. I'm in the middle of something right now."

"Is he with you?" Liz asked. Her heart leapt into her throat at the thought.

"Goodbye, Lindsey," Bobby said and hung up on her.

Liz stared at the phone for a minute, trying to get her racing heart under control, then dialed her brother's number.

"Tom Barrister."

"Let Dean go," Liz demanded.

Tom laughed. "Well, if it isn't my baby sis come back from the dead. How have you been, sis?"

"Cut the crap, Tom."

"I see you finally got the news. Ready to come home yet? I noticed the number. Isn't that Germany's country code? You could be home in twelve hours if you just said the word."

"Screw you, Tom," Liz told him.

"That's a little kinky, sis," Tom replied with a laugh.

Liz rolled her eyes. "Let Dean go, and I'll come to you."

Tom laughed humorlessly. "How about this, Liz? You don't tell me what to do, and I won't kill that waste of space you call a husband. There we go. It's a win-win situation."

"What do you want, Tom?" Liz asked tiredly.

"I thought I wanted Dean's head on a platter, but Jason convinced me that you would be less likely to bow to my will if I did that. I'm settling for putting him in an itty bitty cell for the rest of his natural life."

Liz had known that this call would be pointless and regretted having made it. "I'll see you in court, Tom," she said and hung up. She took the battery out of the phone she was using and tossed it into the trash.

She pulled out another phone and dialed a number that she read off a sheet she had in her pocket. The phone rang twice.

"Hello?" Cassie answered, unsure of who was calling.

"Cassie, it's Lindsey. I know that I don't deserve your help, but I need a favor."

"Lindsey? Where did you get my number? I thought Bobby wouldn't let us talk to one another anymore."

Liz cringed and took a deep breath. "That's ridiculous, Cassie. I wouldn't let us talk to one another. I thought you needed a clean break." Liz rushed ahead. "So, what do you say? Do you want to do one more job together?"

Cassie wasn't going to be so easily won. "What kind of job?" she asked.

Liz knew that she had Cassie even if Cassie did not. "The dangerous kind," Liz replied. "The kind that will piss off Barrister Enterprises."

Cassie smiled. "Those are the magic words, Lindsey. What do you need me to do?"

Liz breathed a sigh of relief. "Did I ever show you a picture of Tom's fiancée?" she wondered.

"Tom has a fiancée!?! You mean someone actually agreed to marry that pile of crap."

"Yes. I'm sure you'll find this hard to believe, but he's absolutely smitten with her. Always has been."

"Tom knows how to feel something other than hate?"

Liz laughed. "Apparently. She's just as over the moon about him. They're like a super evil Bonnie and Clyde."

"Okay. That's disturbing. Moving on. What about the fiancée?"

Liz hesitated. "I have a plan to get at Tom that involves getting at Marisa. Well, I have an idea for a plan. It would require you and Alex to help me."

"I'm listening."

"Good. I'll get back to you with what I'm thinking. I'll send it through the dog."

"Don't do that. Star tree would be better."

"Star tree it is then. Later, gator."

Liz could tell Cassie was smiling. "Goodbye, Lindsey."

A grin broke onto Liz's face as she hung up. Her phone started ringing and she looked to see who was calling. Her face fell when she realized it was Bobby.

"Bobby, hey," she greeted. "I'm kind of in the middle of something. Can I call you back?"

"No."

"What's up?"

"You switched phones."

"Yeah, I did."

"Why?"

"It had been a while since I'd changed," Liz said flippantly. "Can never be too careful, you know."

"That's probably a good idea," Bobby admitted. "Listen, I'm calling because I need to know what you told Sandy about you and Dean."

Liz rolled her eyes. "Nothing."

"Lindsey, I need to know."

"Alright, fine. I told her that we share a supernatural bond that can't be broken and that only a combination of self-control, charms, and amulets were keeping him from being able to see into my head. She guessed the rest."

Bobby ground his teeth together. "Lindsey, cut the crap. What did you tell Sandy about you and Dean?"

There was a long pause before Liz answered him. "Nothing. Well, I mean, nothing that could trace back to me even if she blabbed."

"Oh, really? Dean wanted to know if he'd met you. He said that Sandy mentioned you to him and thought that you had…hooked up."

"Hooked up? Really? I didn't think I'd ever hear you use the term 'hook up,' Bobby."

"This isn't a joke. What did you tell her?"

"Nothing!" Liz insisted. "She, Cassie, and I were all drunk one night and exchanging hunting stories. I might have mentioned that I ran into Dean once and spent the night with him."

"That's it?"

"That's it. I swear. He was nothing more than a one night stand to Lindsey Nightingale."

Bobby sighed in relief. "I can deal with that. How have you been?"

"Well, the German people have been characteristically warm. I've made quite a few friends here."

"Lindsey." There was an edge to Bobby's voice.

Liz sighed. "I'm fine, Bobby. I've been feeling stronger ever since I got back from Seattle. The nosebleeds have stopped."

"Nosebleeds?"

"Did I forget to mention those?" Liz said. "Yeah, well, I was having some pretty severe nosebleeds before I went back to Seattle. I haven't had any since."

Silence answered Liz.

"Bobby?" she prompted.

He cleared his throat several times before answering. When he finally spoke, he was a little choked up. "Nosebleeds, huh? That can't be good."

Liz took a shaky breath and clasped her hands together to stop their shaking. "I know. Honestly, I'm scared, Bobby. I keep telling myself it's gonna be okay, though."

"You'd better tell me before it gets that bad again."

"I promise, Bobby."

"Are you sleeping?"

"I don't want to talk about this, Bobby. I need to let you know that I'm leaving Germany, though."

Bobby laughed humorlessly. "You called Jason again, didn't you? That's why you switched phones."

"Yeah. I called Tom, too."

Bobby sighed. "I'm not going to yell, Lindsey. I'm tired. Too tired to fight about this, and I know it wouldn't do any good anyway because you wouldn't listen. Let me just say this, though: you need to remember why we did what we did. We've gone five years without even a hint of who you are getting out, and now, in the span of a few weeks, everything has started to unravel. Go to your next assignment and stay there. Let me handle the situation with Dean. I've got everything under control."

"You say you have everything under control, and I'm going to believe you for now."

"I want to hear you say that you're going to stay put, Lindsey."

"I gotta go, Bobby," Liz replied.

"Don't you dare hang up on me!" Bobby yelled.

The line remained open as Liz continued to listen to Bobby.

"Lindsey, don't do anything stupid, please. Just let me handle this."

Liz took awhile to answer. "Okay. I'll stay put for now. I can't make any promises about later on, though. I'm sorry, Bobby."

"I'm sending Roy to meet you."

"What!?! No. I won't go meet him."

"You will, too, Lindsey. So help me, you will, too."

"Why would you send him?"

"Because I obviously can't control you. I'm hoping he'll have more luck. He'll be in tomorrow. I'll text you his flight information."

"Fine," Liz huffed.

"You did this to yourself, Lindsey."

Liz heaved a sigh. "I know, Bobby. I'll be at the airport waiting."

XXX

"I like the new digs," Jason told Dean as he glanced around Dean's cell. "It suits you."

"Did you come all this way just to gloat?" Dean asked. He remained seated but was coiled to spring at a moment's notice.

"Why else would I be here?" Jason asked. "It's my job to observe the situation and make sure you don't try to make a break for it."

Dean glared at him. "I'm sure you can do that from somewhere other than where I have to sleep," he said.

Jason smiled. "Fair enough. I'll leave you alone. Take care of yourself, Dean."

As Jason walked out of the cell, something fell out of his pocket.

"You dropped something," Dean called after him.

Jason looked down at the charm on Dean's floor. "Why don't you keep it for me?" he suggested and walked down the hall.

Dean tried to swallow down his fear as he stared at the charm. He wanted to move it, but he was afraid to touch it.

When he was called to the visitation room to see Bobby, Dean finally got up the nerve to grab the charm. He used his shirt to pick it up off the floor and kept it surrounded by cloth so that he wouldn't have to touch it.

He waited until he and Bobby were alone before showing it to him. "Jason paid me a visit and dropped this in my cell. Think you can get rid of it for me?"

Bobby grabbed the charm from Dean. "Jason dropped this in your cell!?!" he asked.

Dean nodded. "Yeah, what is it?"

Bobby kept inspecting it. "A very powerful protection charm. It took some serious magic to make this. I guess him being in love with Liz came in handy after all, huh?"

Dean shrugged. "I'd still kick his ass if I got the chance."

"Maybe you should thank him first. This charm may keep you alive while you're in here."