They told the truth.
Sam watched Carena carefully as Dean said they were investigators looking into the dead and missing. He didn't say they were hunters but that they suspected her dad's death had something to do with it.
Carena was hiding something. Sam couldn't put his finger on it, but Carena wasn't being honest either.
Her eyes were hard and flicked around the room with concentration. Her shoulders were set, strong and tense. Her fingers fiddled loosely at her side as well, as if she was about to ball them up and throw a punch. He wasn't sure why but Carena was more important to this case then he originally thought.
"You're kidding me right?" She asked disbelievingly, "Enemies? No one hated my dad! Even when people lost in a race they still loved him! They begged him to take their cars and build them better so they would beat my dad!"
"What about this Devil's Ex? Was he the first person to go over?" Dean asked.
"Pft, no. The Devil's Ex is the most dangerous canyon road in Southern California. Thousands of people have crashed into the mountain or spun out over the edge. And I'm not talking newbies, I'm talking experienced canyon drivers with 20, 30 years under their belt. Of course not a lot of people have been down the canyon lately. I certainly won't go down there."
"Well then what about all the missing? They vanished right after your dad." Sam offered.
"Ya, but none on The Devil's Ex." Carena argued.
"Ok what about these places then?" Dean asked, pointing to the fliers, "Fifth and Los Posas? Seaward? The harbor? Channel Islands University? Main Street? The Town Center? MB2 Go Karts? Super Shops? The Hat?"
"Ya they're all cruise spots. Or show spots, car places. Tonight we're all hosting a pass for Jon on Los Posas."
"Jon?" Dean asked.
"Jon Anders. He was the one they found this morning." She sighed, "He was a good man. He didn't deserve that."
"Deserve what? How did he..." Dean asked.
"He was sliced up. From his shoulder to his waist. Some sort of knife, but that wasn't what killed him. A broken neck is what did it," She explained.
"I'm so sorry," Sam said, moving to hug her.
"Don't," He eyes flashed dangerously, "You think someone killed my dad and now my dad is killing people! Ghosts don't exist! Ghosts don't go killing their friends!"
"We didn't mean to offend you," Dean said quickly, "We just have to look at all possibilities."
"Ya well look somewhere else, cause I'm telling you now, no one hates my dad!" She shouted, and left the room, the door swinging wildly behind her.
The roar of her Chevelle sounded and Dean watched her peal out angrily, leaving twin tire tracks in her wake.
"We should go." Sam said.
"Go? We're on a case!" Dean stared at his brother.
"Go to Los Posas. They're doing something for this Jon guy. Maybe we can find out if Paul was really all good with everybody," Sam offered.
"Why do you say that like you don't believe her?" Dean asked, noting the apprehension in Sam's voice.
"Cause she is his daughter. The only family they each had. Regardless what people say and how the town spins it, Carena had her dad and Paul had his daughter. It was all they had really. She'll defend his honor till she dies. You can relate to that can't you?" Sam asked pointedly.
"Really? We're going over this again?" Dean asked angrily.
"Just saying you've always followed Dad's footsteps. It looks like she's doing the same. If someone bad mouthed Dad, you'd jump on them, and you can see that in her can't you? She's too close to this. We need to find another source," Sam explained.
Dean bit his lip, he could see himself in Carena. He could see the same dedication and devotion he had. Their dads may have had different professions but he knew Carena wanted out of Ventura. With her dad's mechanic shop and being known solely as Paul's daughter, she had to take up the mantle.
Here he was doing the same with his own dad.
"Well then lets go," Dean said, "If we're showing up to a car thing, we gotta make Baby look good."
They went out, cleaning up Baby at a handwash and made their way back to Los Posas.
They passed over the railroad tracks and Fifth Street where flowers had quickly covered Jon's final resting place. They continued down Los Posas, overlooking fields as the sun began to set. Soon they came up on a collection of classic cars.
"Damn," Dean whistled.
Parked all over the two lane road were beautiful candy colored cars from all eras and makes. There were antique T Buckets from the 20s, classic Bel Airs from the 50s and massive Chargers from the 70s. They were all different, some were customized and some were original. They had unique paint jobs, from primer grays to exotic chameleon, they had chrome accents that shone in the dying light and blowers that jutted out of the hoods. Classic rock blared somewhere and the smell of barbeque wafted in the air.
Dean drummed his fingers on the lip of his door. His windows were down once more and him and Sam were enjoying the unique view. In all of their traveling their dad never allowed them to stray too far for fun. Dean had always wanted to go to a cruise and now that he was here, he was glad he waited, it seemed to be worth it.
Sam on the other had eyed the crowd. Their car had always been out there, different and out of place. Here it wasn't, but the way some people eyed them, he felt as if he were still driving down the freeway next to Toyotas and Hondas. These people didn't know them and they were right to be suspicious after so many of their "family" had gone missing.
"Hey!" A voice called, Sam looked past his brother as Carena jogged up to their car.
"Hey what's up?" Dean asked.
"You guys cruising? Taking this car thing seriously I see."
"Hey we may be investigators but I'm still a car guy," Dean winked.
Carena's face darkened.
"Not here. Not with us Dean. You can park by me. I just hope you're up for the call out. We haven't had any new meat in a while."
Before Dean could ask her what she meant, she walked away quickly. He noticed that she hadn't changed much since they saw her last, only changing her shorts and shoes to tight jeans and boots.
He found her car easily and backed in next to her. The brothers walked through the crowds and glanced at the cars.
"Don't get distracted Dean," Sam cautioned his brother.
"Uh huh," Dean nodded, clearly eying a gorgeous black '64 and a half Mustang.
"You're in luck." Carena said as she came up behind them.
"What?" Sam asked.
"No one's calling you out right now. They all think you're posers."
"Excuse me? Posers? We are not posers! I'll show them!" Dean began to rant.
"Uh no. You will show respect. You will shut your trap and watch from the sidelines. You will not talk to anyone." Carena corrected him harshly, "This is our town. Our rules, our game. We run things here, not you. So watch and learn."
Sam stifled a laugh as Carena walked in front of them, beckoning to follow her. Dean gaped at her as she led them up to a truck where one man stood above the crowd, calling them forward.