Chapter 5

Sam looked at himself in the mirror and thought it was weird to be dressed in a deputy's uniform for real. He had passed the gun certification class and strapped on his belt, adjusting the holster with a gun in it. Once he was sure he looked okay, Sam grabbed the keys for the cruiser that was parked outside. He got in and drove to the sheriff's office to start his other job. He was going to pull the files for the missing people and start going over them to see what he could find.

As Sam pulled into the parking lot his cell pinged that he had a text message. He parked and killed the engine before digging his cell out to check it. He sucked in a sharp breath when he saw it was from Dean. He began to read it and frowned the more he read. 'Sammy, I hope you get this. I know how Dad can be and I understand why you left. I wanted you to know Dad was hurt on our last hunt and I'm at the hospital with him. Docs think he'll be okay but will need to take it easy for a while. I'm having Pastor Jim come and get him when he's released. Will you at least let me know you're okay? I'll come and get you when I can. Stay safe but if you need me before then, you had better call me. Dean.'

All Sam could do was sit there for a few minutes and re-read the text. Now he knew why Dean hadn't come after him yet. He thought about his father and wondered what had happened to him. He knew his Dad and how much he hated hospitals, so he knew it had to have been bad. He drew in a long breath before typing quickly on his cellphone an answer. 'I'm okay Dean. Keep me posted on Dad's condition. Sam.' His finger hovered on send for a moment until he finally pressed it and put his cell away before he got out of the car. It still felt strange riding around in a cop car.

Sam hurried toward the front doors of the sheriff's department and walked into the foyer, pausing for a moment before speaking to the older woman at the front desk.

"Hi, I'm Sam Winchester, the new deputy," he greeted the older woman at the front desk.

"Sheriff Watts said to be expecting you. I'm Marge, the receptionist. It's nice to meet you. You can go on back to the squad room."

"Thanks." Sam went through the swinging half door and through another door into the large room that had desks situated around it. There was a breakroom off to one side and another office that was Sheriff Watt's office. He headed toward the office, rapped on the door, and waited for a response.

"Come in," Sheriff Watts replied, looking up from the paperwork he was doing.

"Morning," Sam said.

"Good morning Sam, I want to thank you again for helping me out."

"My pleasure, I could use the extra money."

"Alright, there's nothing going on right now. Why don't you take the desk by the window, and I have your username and password for the computer right here," he told Sam handing him a slip of paper. "You can go over the missing person cases and if any calls come in, you can go check them out. I have one deputy in the field checking out a disturbance at one of the big farms outside of town. Just introduce yourself when he comes back in. His name is Patrick Hughes. Good guy, but he can be annoying sometimes when he won't stop talking. There are radios charging on the table out there. Be sure to take one with you if you get a call."

"Alright, Sheriff, I'll get started," Sam nodded, giving him a cautious smile before stepping back out into the squad room. He went to the desk and took a seat, checking it out for a minute before signing on to the computer. Once it was up, Sam studied the folders before clicking on one marked open cases.

He pulled a clean pad closer and as he read the reports, Sam took notes on things that stood out and what caught his eye. So far, four people had been reported missing in a three-week period, which was high for the small town. He looked around to see if there were any maps of the town and surrounding area. He stuck his head out to ask Marge about a map and she told him where to find one.

After finding the map, Sam began to mark the locations where the people were last seen. He leaned back and studied the map for a moment and looked back to his notes. All the victims were young males between twenty-five and thirty-five, in good health, active lifestyle, had jobs, and were single. The abductions all took place in the evening, and he noted a couple of the victims' cars went missing along with the owners. Two of the missing persons were not driving and the last one's car was found in a paid parking lot a few blocks away from where he was last seen.

Sam knew whoever was taking the victims had to have a place isolated if they were holding them for some reason. There were no ramson demands, no dead bodies had turned up, but he couldn't help thinking he was missing something. He planned on checking out the area where they had been taken from and seeing if anything stood out to him.

The phone on the desk rang startling Sam for a second before he picked it up. He was given a call about a domestic disturbance and quickly took down the address to respond to it. After finding it on the map, he folded it to take with him, grabbed a radio, and headed out letting Marge know where he was going.

Spn

Before Sam headed back to the office, he drove to the area where the victims disappeared from to check it out. There were a couple of bars and a restaurant within the three-block radius and wondered if the victims were being lured out to be taken. He remembered in a couple of family/friends' statements that the victims enjoyed going to bars located there. After making notes of the area, Sam headed back to the sheriff's department. He was going to check on any video from the area around the time of the disappearances.

"How was your first call out?" Marge asked Sam when he got back.

"It wasn't too bad," Sam replied. "At least I didn't have to arrest anyone. It was more of a disagreement that involved throwing a few things. The couple had pretty much worked it out by the time I got there."

"You're lucky. I hope they'll all be that easy, but don't count on it."

"I can only hope." Sam continued back to the squad room and to his desk to fill out the necessary paperwork for the call. He stepped into the breakroom and got a bottle of water to quench his thirst. He shuffled through the papers and started filling in the details of the call.

Sam looked up when Marge stepped into the back. She approached his desk and laid a menu on it.

"The sheriff and I usually order takeout from the diner for lunch. They will deliver to us only. If you didn't bring anything for lunch, I can add your order to ours," she told him.

"Thanks, that's kind of you," Sam answered picking up the menu and giving it a quick look. He looked at the lunch specials and wrote down what he wanted. He slipped money from his pocket and gave it to Marge with a warm smile. She went to the sheriff's office and knocked before opening the door to get his order.

"I'll call it in at eleven and they usually have it here by eleven forty-five."

"That's fine Marge." Sam thought she was a kind, motherly woman who liked to take care of people. He didn't meet many people like her and thought it was nice for a change. He finished the reports and put them in the box for the Sheriff to look over. He pulled up the missing person cases and checked for any videos connected to the case, hoping they would give him some insight into what or who took them.

A/N: Can Sam figure this out? What is he going to find? Thanks for coming on this journey. I do like reviews/comments. NC