Chapter 42

It was still early afternoon when the Barrs left the hotel, and since Fitchburg was just south of Madison, less than an hour's drive; Sam decided to take advantage of their time in Madison. They took the cooler to the cold storage and secured it with locks and spells. It was possibly the most precious thing he had ever trusted someone else to safeguard; but he agreed with Amelia, they couldn't risk taking it on a hunt.

Of course, he was taking his other valuable asset, Amelia, on this hunt; and he needed to make some preparations. They hit a second-hand store and found her a decent, 'cop' suit, and a place to get a fake ID made. Sam decided they would explain her hair color was the result of a recent undercover operation, rather than have her color it again. She absolutely refused to carry a gun, or any weapon; although she thought the handcuffs were kind of cool.

They also decided to leave the hotel. Even with their adequate cash, the upscale hotel was expensive; and the tryst cover story was a little harder to believe a second night. As they walked out the front door, Amelia couldn't help herself and left another, weaker but longer-lasting, love spell in the lobby. They loaded all the gear in the Tahoe and moved to a motel on the south side of town. They ate at the diner attached to the motel. Amelia smiled and occasionally giggled all through their dinner. Sam was curious about what she found so amusing, but there was something in her eyes that told him it was better he didn't know.

It was only 8:30 when they had unloaded the bags and secured the room. Amelia called first shower again, remembering to take her stuff with her tonight. Sam pulled out his laptop to do more research on the details Asher had given him. He had hacked into the police reports about Mike's accident and the local paper's coverage, and was reviewing the information when Amelia came out of the bathroom. That wonderful wild-flower smell of hers wafted over him as she walked by on the way to her bed.

He went back to his laptop and started with police reports from the University of Indiana, and Bloomington police departments. Asher had mentioned that things had started while Mike was still at school in Indiana. Without Mike's notebook, he didn't have dates or circumstances to cross-reference with the police reports; so, he set his search engine to look for anything involving young men named Mike, college sophomores or listed as unexplained. He glanced over at Amelia and saw she was already asleep. He wasn't really surprised; she hadn't slept much last night.

He got up from the table and stood next to her bed. It felt like it had been days since he had watched her sleep; it hadn't, but she was so miserable that night in South Bend, and snuggled so close to him he couldn't really see her. Sam sat on the edge of his bed and watched the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. Despite her bad haircut and its unusual color, she seemed more beautiful to him than the first time he had watched her sleep. 'Crap', he thought to himself, 'I really am in way over my head'.

Sam stood up, went to the other side of the bed and turned back the covers. He came back around and gently picked Amelia up, walked back around the bed, tucked her in and covered her up. She rolled over and took his hand, just as she had at Missouri's. "Not this time." He said as he slipped his hand out of hers. He went back to the table and his laptop. Sam was pretty sure he knew why she had been so upset when she had explained they would have to make love to collect his fluid. It would probably be the first and quite possibly the last time they would be that close, and it would make their parting that much harder. And, because he wasn't 'pretty sure' he loved her any more, he knew he loved her as much as he had ever loved any woman. Even though he wasn't sure if she could even be called a woman.

X

He tried to read the police reports, but concentrating had been impossible after Sam had tucked Amelia into her bed, so he stacked the printouts, turned off the computer and went to bed. But he also found it was impossible to sleep, so he quietly flipped on the TV to a Chicago station and the news just in time to catch the story of a group of self-proclaimed witches, meeting in the Windy City, complaining about being harassed and wide-spread police inaction. Sam huffed his distain; if they were really witches, they'd take care of their harassers with magic. But then the head of the Studies in Folklore and Mythology from Indiana University came on the screen; Dr. Elizabeth Proctor was being interviewed about the harmless and misunderstood nature of the modern witch.

Sam turned up the volume and sat up in bed; listening and watching the woman intently. She gave the impression her interest was strictly professional; but Sam caught several 'tells' in her speech and behavior that told him she was much more personally acquainted with her subject. "It's brilliant." He exclaimed. Amelia stirred but didn't wake. 'Hiding in plain sight,' he muttered to himself. Pretending to be an anthropologist in Mythology and Witchcraft; she'd have a valid reason to openly keep all the tools of the trade in her home and office. Anytime her behavior was questioned, she could just claim to be immersing herself in her studies. Sam would stake his reputation, well, he would if he had one; that not only was that woman a witch, but that she was probably leader of a coven.

As the station went to a commercial, the coincidence that the reporter had used an expert from Mike's college struck him. Except, he didn't believe in coincidence. Mike had thought witches were out to get him; and a large group of witches just happen to be at a convention a few hours away, two days after he died. There were still a lot of unanswered questions, and Sam would start looking for answers in Fitchburg in the morning; but he was positive he and Amelia would be heading to Indiana by this time tomorrow.

X

Feeling he had found a starting point in the hunt for whatever had happened to Mike; Sam was finally able to fall asleep. And despite staying up several hours later than her, Sam was up before Amelia. He looked out at the cloudless summer morning as he stretched. He thought back to last year, when he had briefly taken up running to help keep his mind clear and focused, and not hallucinating Lucifer. For over a week now, he had hardly done anything but sit while driving, or in motel rooms; so, he decided to go for a run. Something was nagging at the back of his mind; but couldn't quite remember what it was. Maybe clearing all the cobwebs with a long run would help him focus.

Sam grabbed a piece of paper from the table, to leave a note for Amelia; and something caught his eye. It was a police report from the Bloomington police department from six months ago. The mother of a young woman was insisting the police arrest a young man, a Michael Sorenson, for attacking her daughter; even though the girl was over 18 and said she was just making out with her boyfriend in his car. The police had questioned the boy because the woman was the head of her department at the university, a Dr. Proctor. But they had not pressed any charges, since it was obvious no crime had been committed; just an over-protective mother trying to make a stink.

And there it was again, coincidence. What were the odds that the University of Indiana had two different department heads with the last name of Proctor? It looked like Mike had been dating the daughter of a witch, and that she wasn't at all happy about it. Asher had mentioned all the weird stuff Mike had experienced had started while he was still at school. The witch had probably started by trying to scare Mike off. So, either it didn't work, or she killed him for some other reason. It had been his experience; most witches were just a little crazy.

His workout forgotten, Sam peeled off his running clothes and started going through his bag for something clean to wear. He heard a sigh from the other bed and looked up to see Amelia, propped up by an elbow, watching him. She smiled. "Just admiring the view." She said.

Sam gave her a half-hearted glare and quickly finished dressing. As he was pulling on his shirt, he told her what he had found. "I think Mike pissed off a witch at school, and she followed him home and killed him."

Her pleasant awakening shattered, Amelia saw how all his research had led him to this conclusion. She hoped Sam was wrong, for a couple of reasons. First, because they both called themselves witches, most people didn't understand the difference between the natural energy and healing strength of the Wiccan religion, and learned the skills Witchcraft. If this woman practiced the Craft and had used enough dark energy to kill Mike, she was seriously channeling evil. And, if she was using the name of woman whose life had been destroyed because she was accused of being a witch during the Salem trials; she was just plain vulgar.

Amelia also saw Sam was eager to get to Fitchburg, to talk to Asher and read Mike's notebook. She climbed out of bed and started to dress; when she turned to see Sam watching her. He smirked at her and thought, 'just admiring the view'. She stared at him stoically for a second, then shrugged her shoulders and said, "Fair is fair."

Amelia went to the diner to grab them breakfast while Sam packed their gear into the car. She couldn't sense Leviathan food additive in any of the food being served to the seated diners, or from the kitchen. With the food being safe, it gave her more menu options to choose from; she splurged and got them hearty meals made with the all things Sam had been avoiding from months. As they sat at the table in their room, eating their delicious, safely sweetened, pancakes and waffles, Sam said, "Dean will be so happy he can have his junk food when he gets back."

X

Sam called Asher from the parking lot of the motel before they left since it was less than an hour's drive to Fitchburg and the Sorenson's motel. As he had suspected, Asher didn't want his mom to see Sam; and they made arrangements to meet at a nearby park. That early in the morning, the park should have been nearly empty; but it was July third and crews were setting up displays for the city's festivities tomorrow. Even so, it was easy to spot Asher, sitting alone on a park bench. Sam thought he looked a lot like Mike had when they had been here seven years ago.

"Asher?" Sam asked as he approached.

The boy stood and eyed Sam and then looked at Amelia. "Sam? Who is she?"

"This is Amelia; she's helping me out on a different thing." They had decided earlier to not tell Asher about Dean unless they had to. Amelia nodded her head very discreetly at Sam, indicating the boy was who and what he said he was; and then smiled at Asher and put out her hand to shake his. He warily took the strange woman's hand, and immediately felt some of the pain and fear he was feeling lessen.

"Is there somewhere we can go that's a little more private?" Sam asked, looking around at all the activity in the park. He didn't need Amelia's mind-reading skills to see the boy was unsure of trusting these strangers and wanted the safety of lots of people around. "Asher, it's okay. You don't know me, and you have reason not to trust strangers right now. You pick the place; we just need someplace no one will overhear us."

Asher had seen them arrive and looked over at the Impala. "How about in your car; but my door stays open and I hold the keys."

Sam smiled sadly at the kid. He was smart and knew how to stay safe; and was way too young to know such things. They walked over to the car and Sam gave Asher the keys and let him pick where he wanted to sit. Asher resisted the urge to sit behind the wheel of the muscle car; he didn't even have his learner's permit yet and didn't want anybody stopping to ask why he was driving a car. Sam took shotgun and Amelia climbed in the back seat.

"So, where's your brother?" Asher asked as soon as they were in the car.

"He's on another gig." Sam replied. It wasn't exactly a lie, but it stretched the truth, a lot.

Asher just nodded, pulled Mike's notebook out of his backpack and handed it to Sam.

"Asher, tell me everything Mike said." Sam said as he opened the notebook.