Chapter 20
November 30th
Dean and Sam had spent the last couple hours staring at the wall and scratching their heads. "This has to have something to do with Emmett Hale, nothing else makes any sense," Sam said for the fourth time.
Dean rolled his eyes, "So you've said." He was starting to get cabin fever, "This is taking too long. We should have this thing solved by now." He ran his hand through his hair, "Who or what do you think it is?"
Sam gave him a frustrated look, "It must be some kind of monster that lives in the sewer or something; somewhere with easy access to the gym, the one guy's apartment, and that alley."
"So you're thinking it's a 'what?'"
Sam nodded, "And you don't?"
"No. This one's different; I just can't put my finger on why. For one thing, this whole days of the week pattern? Have you heard anything like that before? I haven't. And why would all these killings focus around one guy unless it was him doing it or someone close to him is. He didn't have any close family other than Rebecca and we didn't find anything at her house. If this is his ghost, then we're stuck waiting and hoping that no one else dies as proof. Then it still might not of been him; it could have just been a coincidence that they stopped after we salted and burned the guy," Dean threw up his hands and plopped back down on the bed.
"Whatever it is, it has started a pattern; so I highly doubt that it's just going to stop without finishing it."
"If it even is a pattern. It could just be a coincidence."
"Dean, how many things in our lives have just been coincidences?"
"Yeah, yeah I know..." Dean looked at his watch, "It's almost 4:30; why don't we get something to eat and then go check out the buildings and sewers on that block?"
Sam blew a frustrated breath through his lips, "Yeah, alright."
"Hardly any of these are empty..." Dean said as he looked down the road.
"Yeah, not very many places to hide... You take that one and I'll check out this one? Call if you find anything."
Dean grabbed his favorite hand gun and shoved it in his waistband and loaded his cut-off shotgun, "Sounds good. See you in a few." He jogged across the street while Sam closed the trunk and started toward the only other empty building on the street.
They had already been through five buildings one the other three streets that made up the infamous city block and found absolutely nothing. A door a little ahead of Sam opened and a young woman stepped out. Sam quickly tucked his gun inside his coat and then he realized she was the same sarcastic girl from the alley the other day. She was slipping on her coat while she walked towards him and then he caught her eye, "Hey, I know you. You're the fed poking around, right?" As she spoke she took in his very un-federal agent wardrobe.
He smiled, "Yeah. This is taking longer than expected. Hey, do you know Rebecca Hale?"
She shrugged, "Who doesn't? Her husband was beaten and left for dead right down the street."
"She from around here?"
She gave him an odd look, "Why don't you just ask her?"
He looked uncomfortable as he answered, "Well, she doesn't really like me that much and I feel bad; she's still grieving you know..."
"Whatever," she shrugged. I don't have anything better to do and, he is pretty hot. "She was born and raised here. In fact, for years her family owned most of the town."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah. Most of this block is made up of Sayer buildings."
"Sayer. That was her maiden name?" Sam asked and she nodded. "So she probably knows these buildings pretty well..."
"Yeah, I guess," she shrugged.
"Does she own any of them?"
"Uh...yeah..." she looked around. "The dance studio down the street, she rents out the building the newspaper is in on Monroe, a couple of empty places on Franklin, and another one on Monroe down by the hospital. I think that's it..." she looked around again, "oh, I forgot about that one across the street," she pointed at the building Dean had entered moments earlier. "That one creeps me out, it used to be an old hardware store. People say it's haunted; but it just gives me the creeps. It's no wonder she can't sell the thing."
"Haunted, huh?"
"Yeah. You now, the usual, store owner can't leave the place even after he's kicked the bucket." Sam smirked; she had a way with words.
"So she has keys to that place?"
"People tend to have keys to the places they own..." she gave him a questioning look.
"Right," he smiled. "Thanks again, you've been a big help."
He started to cross the street and find Dean when she stopped him, "Hey, where you from?"
He looked confused, "Kansas, why?"
She shrugged, "Just curious, you don't read like a Kansas boy."
He laughed, "I was born in Kansas," he shrugged, "haven't really been any place long enough to read like anywhere..." he wondered if that made sense.
She laughed, "O...kay. Good luck."
"Thanks."
He was about to cross the road when his phone rang. He grabbed it thinking it was Dean in trouble and hurried across the road while he looked at the name that came up. He hesitated as read "unknown" on the id; it obviously wasn't Dean. "Hello?" he answered it as he stepped onto the sidewalk. No one answered but an unfamiliar song played loudly in his ear. He turned the volume down and was about to hang up when he heard a familiar voice at the end. He froze just before he reached the door and played the message again just to be sure. It was her, no doubt about it. He'd forgotten all about her little quirk from Stanford. Whenever she just wanted to say something quick or didn't want to talk, she would send a song instead. He smiled and was about to hurry and find Dean when he realized that she'd called him, she didn't call Dean.
He chewed on his lip and then saved the number under Mantis; the old nickname he and Jess used to call her; it seemed more polite than Man-eater. Who would've thought the Mantis would fall for Dean? He figured Dean wouldn't be coming out anytime soon so he went back across the street and into his assigned empty building. He did a quick sweep throughout the inside and found nothing, so he grabbed his phone and called her back.
He smiled at the sound of her voice. "Hey Nadia."