Chapter 5

Sam stares at the tall brick building in front of him. A large metal "C" is mounted to the front of it.

Sam and Dean spoke to the local law enforcement after they interrogated Anthony. They were given permission to view Denise's body, but first they decided to interview her friends.

"This is the building, right?" Sam asks his brother as he smooths out his black suit.

"Yep, this is it. Dorm building C," Dean says while glancing at a paper in his hand, "Denise lived on the second floor. It's also where our mermaid happens to live. What a coincidence."

Sam bites his tongue to stop himself from speaking out. He knows that Dean believes the mermaid murdered Denise. For some reason though Sam cannot accept it. He does not know why, but he knows that the girl is innocent.

Sam follows Dean to the second floor and waits behind him as he knocks on the door. A girl answers shortly with curly brown hair.

"Hi my name's Charlotte. I'm the RA for this floor. You must be the FBI agents. First of all, I want to thank you for coming. Denise was a friend to all of us," Charlotte pauses and tucks a piece of hair behind her ear before continuing, "Uh, I called all the girls into the common room. If you want to interrogate them individually you are welcome to use my room. It's the first door on the left."

"Thank you," Sam and Dean say in unison. They enter the floor and walk towards the common area. The RA stutters and softly grabs Dean's shirt.

"Um, just be gentle please. Some of the girls are really upset."

"Of course, Charlotte. We understand," Sam replies with a smile and Dean nods.

Charlotte nods her head in return and leads Sam and Dean to the common room where about fifteen girls are squished onto a couple of couches and chairs.

"We are deeply sorry for your loss. I'm Nathaniel, and this is my partner David," Sam says gesturing to Dean, "We have been assigned Denise's case. I know it is difficult for some of you to speak right now, but any details you give us will be immensely helpful. Would anyone like to talk first?"

Sam's eyes scan the room and immediately fall onto a group of girls huddled together in a corner. At the right side of their small circle is the mermaid. Sam recognizes her from the picture Bobby showed him. She is a petite girl with long blonde hair and pale skin. Sam feels Dean stiffen beside him, and he can only assume that his brother spotted the mermaid too.

None of the girls seem ready to talk. So Sam and Dean divide the girls into two groups and question them both. They send away the girls who were only acquaintances of Denise and decide to interview her closer friends individually.

"Lina, would you mind following us?" Dean says as he leads her to the RA's room.

Sam and Dean positioned three chairs in the small room. Sam and Dean take the two chairs next to each other and gesture for Lina to have a seat across from them. The RA's brightly poster-filled walls contrast the somber mood.

"Once again, I'm sorry for your loss," Sam begins, "Was Denise a friend of yours?"

"Yes, I met her this year on my floor. I didn't know her before then," Lina answers quietly.

Sam studies her intently. Her grief appears genuine. He quickly glances at Dean and sees his jaw set in a defiant manner. His brother still thinks she's the culprit.

"We heard from an outside source that you and your friends immediately thought something was wrong when Denise went missing. Could you elaborate on this?" Dean questions.

Lina casts her eyes down and shuffles her feet uncomfortably. Her face is down-turned, but Sam spots a tear slide down her cheek.

"Well, Denise is… was clinically depressed. We were worried she might try to…" Lina pauses and covers her mouth. Her tears fall steadily now, leaving spots on her jeans.

"Had Denise ever attempted suicide before?" Sam probes.

"No, no. She was managing her symptoms well. I just, I can't believe this happened," Lina breathes in deeply and lets out a shaky sigh, "She was doing so well."

"Where were you last night?" Dean suddenly asks.

Sam shoots him an annoyed look, but quickly conceals it when Lina looks towards them in surprise.

"You don't think I had anything to do with this, do you?" She asks wide-eyed.

"We just have to collect as much information as possible," Sam quips before Dean has a chance to comment.

Please come quickly

Sam gasps as the words suddenly force themselves into his head. He grunts and drops his head to his knees. What was that? Those weren't my thoughts, Sam thinks, It wasn't a vision either. I only heard words.

"S-Nathaniel, are you okay?" Dean asks as he places a hand on Sam's back. His eyes are round with concern.

"Yes, I'm fine. Sorry about that," Sam responds. He shrugs Dean's hand away and sits up straight. He's telling the truth too. Besides a dull ache in his head he feels perfectly normal. When Sam returns his gaze to Lina he finds that she's already staring at him.

"I believe you were telling us where you were last night," Sam says trying to break her uncomfortable gaze.

"Yes… um, I was up doing homework pretty late and then I went to bed," Lina says to Dean, though she keeps shifting her eyes to Sam. Sam is about to ask her more questions, but Dean beats him to it, speaking in a fast-paced tone.

"Thank you Lina, I think we have enough information for today. If you think of anything else don't hesitate to call us." Dean hands Lina a fake business card, and nearly shoves her out the door. Lina just rounds the corner back to the common area when Dean unloads on Sam.

"Okay, what the hell was that?" Dean demands, "Was it a vision? Are you really okay?"

Sam sprints to the open door and shuts it for privacy. He then sits in the chair across from Dean.

"I'm okay really, and no it wasn't a vision. It was…" Sam's words taper off and he stares down at his hands. What was it? Random words?

"It was…?" Dean interrupts impatiently.

"I don't know. I heard words in my head," Sam says slowly, immediately regretting the way he worded it.

"You're hearing voices? I don't think that's a good thing, Sammy," Dean replies half mocking, half serious.

Sam remains silent, contemplating the turn of events when Dean clears his throat loudly.

"So? What did you hear?" Dean says rather loudly. Sam puts his finger to his lips, and motions his brother to be quiet.

"Calm down, Dean. All I heard were the words, 'Please come quickly.'"

Dean scratches his head and repeats Sam.

"Please come quickly? What does that mean? Do you think someone's in trouble?"

"I'm not sure," Sam replies out loud, and truthfully he does not know.