Chapter 6

"Found anything yet?" Dean asked again.

"Not since the last time you asked…" Sam looked at his watch, "two minutes ago." Dean huffed and continued staring out the window and fidgeting. "Why don't you just call her?"

Dean's head snapped in Sam's direction, "I don't know who you're talking about." Sam rolled his eyes and looked back at the computer. "Look, what if this really isn't our kind of thing? I mean what if there really is just some serial killer running around out there; so there is nothing to find?"

"Dude, if that's the case then how does this guy get around without ever being seen in the middle of downtown on the side of the road? And, how does he get the jump on over-muscled grown men?"

"I don't know; but if we don't find something soon…"

"What? You're gonna leave? Dean, it's been a day and a half. We've spent longer than this on research on a lot of cases. Just take a deep breath, relax, and…" Sam slides a stack of papers towards Dean, "it would go a lot faster if you helped out."

Dean took a second to try and think of another excuse; but he came up empty and settled more comfortably into his chair before setting the papers on his lap.

Three hours and many complaints later, Dean was starting to drift off when something grabbed his attention. "Might have actually found something," he handed the paper to Sam.

"Man attacked outside jewelry store; critical condition…" Sam glanced up at Dean. "You think he's like that doctor's daughter a few months back? Haunting people while not completely crossed over?"

Dean raised his eye brows, "Okay Jennifer Love. It's not that uncommon; I mean I did it. You talked to me at the hospital after the crash and I wasn't completely gone yet." He stood up and stretched, "But, no I don't think that." He handed Sam another paper, "This Emmett Hale, died last week…a few days before the killings started."

"Why didn't you say that in the first place?" Sam said and Dean smirked and shrugged. "Did they ever find out who killed him?"

"I don't know. I didn't get that far," Dean grabbed a beer and plopped back into his chair and waited for Sam to read further.

Sam started to open his mouth to yell at Dean but he bit his lip and closed his eyes while he tried to calm himself down. He looked over the paper quickly and found what he was looking for, "As of the day he died, there are still no suspects. This could be it."

"I have been doing this longer than you Sammy; you don't have to sound so surprised." Sam just smirked. "So does this mean we're done with the homework and get to go a field trip now?" Dean bounced up and down with feigned excitement.

"That depends…"

Dean stopped mid-bounce, "On what?"

"Did you remember your permission slip?"

Dean rolled his eyes and was already walking towards the door before Sam even had the computer closed.

Dean pulled the Impala up to the curb at the end of the walkway that led to Jasper Morris' house. The police officer was the latest victim and had direct ties to Emmett Hale. Sam handed Dean his fake F.B.I. badge and they found Mrs. Morris digging in the flower beds around the front steps.

"So Mrs. Morris, your husband was leaving the gym that night?" Sam asked.

Leah Morris pulled the gardening gloves off her hands before speaking, "No. There was this mission just down from the gym you're talking about." She cleared her throat, "He used to go down there every weekend and drop off leftovers from some of the local restaurants. It wasn't exactly allowed; but he said it was his little way of helping." She shook her head, "Which is stupid, I know. He was a cop after all; he helped a lot of people."

"He did that every weekend?"

"Like clockwork," she glanced from Dean to Sam. "You think whoever did this learned his routine, followed him. Easy way to kill a cop; knowing their every move outside of the precinct." Sam and Dean's eye brows shot upward and they glanced at each other. "My husband was a cop and though he lived it everyday; he watched a lot of Law & Order. After awhile you get pretty good at guessing their next move."

Dean got sidetracked, "Oh yeah, SVU; Mariska's hot," he stared off into the distance. Sam cleared his throat to pull his brother back to reality, "Oh. Sorry, I get easily distracted."

She gave him an odd look, "Yeah, you and my husband both."

Sam jumped in before Dean could get started again, "Your husband was the lead investigator in the case of Emmett Hale, correct?"

Surprise flashed across Leah's face before she looked away. "Yeah, he was the first one to get to the scene. It was horrible…" she paused for awhile, "that one stuck with him. He kept saying that he should have gotten there faster; that it was his fault. But he got there before everyone else… That was when he started going to the mission. I think he felt like…like somehow he could make him wake up; make Emmett get better…"

"Why did he feel so guilty about this case? Why did he take it so hard?"

"He did all he could, I know that; but he didn't. He felt like he should have known something to do to keep him conscious or to stop some of the damage. Rebecca didn't make it any easier…"

"Rebecca?" Dean interrupted.

"Emmett's wife. Sorry, maybe you know her as Becca; that's what he always called her."

"What did you mean; 'she didn't make it any easier?'" Dean asked.

"She just pressured him a lot. To find out what happened. Understandably; I'd want to know too…but it took a toll on him. He hardly ever looked like he wasn't thinking about it. He was always beating himself up. She called everyday, until the day Emmett died." She stopped herself, as if just remembering something, "The last conversation they had was intense. Jasper took it hard and I'm pretty sure she was yelling at him…I don't know why. He was even worse after that…"

"You don't know what she said to make him so upset?" Sam gently asked.

She shrugged her shoulders, "I have no idea. She was always pretty understanding, you know. I mean she wanted to know who killed her husband; but she never got nasty about it."

"Could it have been something else?"

She looked at him confused for a long time, "Like what?"

Sam glanced uncomfortably at Dean, "She was a widow….and she might have…found comfort in Jasper."

"Are you asking me if I think my husband could have been cheating on me?" She stared at Sam until he looked away. "My husband has his past just like everyone else; but he changed a long time ago."

"No offense, mam, but how can you be sure?" Dean asked.

"Because the last time he was with another woman, I got in a car accident. A drunk driver ran a red light and t-boned me at 70 mph. The ER did everything they could to keep me alive while they tried to reach him. I needed someone to sign papers to do some procedure; and I have no other family so he was…who I needed. He just…didn't answer. Finally someone saw that he was a police officer and they called the station and had them radio him. He came right down, signed the papers, stayed there all week and he hasn't strayed since. So, you ask how I can know that he wasn't cheating on me; that's how. He realized what he could lose and didn't like that reality." She looked straight at Dean, "Near death experiences with the ones you love; they make you realize what you can and can't live without…they change you."

Dean couldn't look away, until Sam cleared his throat, "Well, thank you Mrs. Morris. We apologize for the forwardness and we're very sorry about your loss." Dean glanced from Sam to her and nodded in uncommitted agreement before he followed Sam back to the car.

"Guess we better so and see Rebecca Hale…" Sam glanced over at Dean.

Dean's head snapped to face Sam, "Huh?"

"I said I guess we need to go and talk to Rebecca Hale. So we can find out what was going on with her and Jasper."

"Yeah…" Dean settled into the seat, "Where we going?"