It's the shrill ringing of her cellphone that wakes Elizabeth up, loud in the otherwise silent hotel room and making her groan. Without opening her eyes, she reaches out and runs her hand along the top of the nightstand until she finds the phone, flipping it open and pressing it to her ear.
"This had better be good," she grumbles irritably," because my moral compass allows early morning murder."
"Nice to talk to you, too," Dean remarks on the other end. "You still workin' that werewolf case with Zane?"
"Finished it about three hours ago, why?"
"Sammy and I could use your help in California." She lets out a long sigh, pushing Zane's arm off of her so she can sit up in the bed. The hotel they'd decided on is one of the fancier ones around, the type with room service and sheets made of Egyptian cotton instead of the scratchy blankets and lice that's often found in the motel rooms Elizabeth's grown used to.
"Give me the address and I'll meet you there." She writes it down as he rattles it off, nodding along to what he's saying and trying her hardest to keep her eyes open. "Alright, give me an hour or so and then I'll meet you there."
"Thanks, Liza, you're a life saver."
"I'm well aware." With that, she hangs up the phone and looks down at Zane, who's still sound asleep. He's handsome most of the time, but not so much when he's drooling all over his pillow with his ass in the air. The rest of the room isn't better off, beer bottles scattered across the floor, various pistols taking up the tables, and silver bullets tucked into Elizabeth's socks. "Thank Christ I don't have a hangover."
"I got one," Zane grumbles beside her, one eye cracked open. "I feel like my ma's sucker punching my stomach."
"I told you to stick with beer, but you just had to open the Jack." Zane mumbles something and flops onto his side, holding his pillow over his head. There's a dark stain on the front of it, but she can't tell if it's from dried mud or blood. Honestly, this early in the morning, she doesn't really care either. "Come on, the boys need my help with a case and you're my only ride."
"I got somethin' you can ri— Ow! Fuck, woman, no need to be so punchy, I was jokin'." He sits up in bed with a scowl, rubbing at his sore arm. "Let me take a quick shower and then we'll head out."
"You realize you actually have to get out of bed to take a shower, right?"
"Can't you just bring it to me?" She arches a brow, sending him a pointed look until he holds up a hand in surrender. "Yeah, yeah, I'm moving my ass." It's not until he's in the bathroom and she can actually hear water running that she bothers to get out of bed herself, grabbing her bag and setting it down on the table. She may not have a hangover, but she's only half-awake and she can only manage to pull on a simple pair of jeans and a dark red tank top that morning. It's not like she has anyone around to impress, so she might as well go for comfort.
"Do you remember where we shucked our shoes?"
"Under the bed!" Elizabeth kneels in front of the massive bed and digs the Converse out, pulling them on and throwing Zane's boots so that they're beside the bathroom door. While he's still washing away the worst of his BO, she forces a brush through her hair and then begins to gather the rest of her crap. It's been a long two weeks, but a pack is dead and she's no worse for wear, so she'll call it a win.
It's another ten minutes before Zane is able to get dressed and another twenty on top of that before they're finally parked in front of the address Dean had given Elizabeth. It's a nice house for the most part, though the bright yellow crime scene tape doesn't do it any favors.
"I'll call you later to check up on you," Zane promises, focusing the entire force of his gaze on his companion. He's an intense guy, able to pin someone in place with a look and fully capable of making women—and men—squirm in their seats with a charming grin.
"I'll be fine, Zane."
"Well, maybe I just want to have phone sex." He winks to show he's just teasing, pulling Elizabeth in for a tight hug. "Take care of yourself, babe."
"You too, Zaney." She gets out of the car and shoulders her bag, waiting until he's driven off before crossing the yard and walking into the house, forced to duck under the tape. There's blood everywhere, almost like someone had walked around slinging it all over the place, splattered over walls and even the fruit that had fallen out of an overturned bowl on the coffee table.
A dog barking outside, angry and snarly, almost drowns out the sound of footsteps further in the house. Elizabeth turns just in time to see three people coming back into the living room, the two boys she's looking for with a pretty blonde leading the way. She's petite with red-rimmed eyes, looking like she can fall apart at any moment.
"Can I help you," she asks in a strained voice.
"Um, I'm their sidekick." Elizabeth points at Sam and Dean, the woman shrugging when Dean gives a confirming nod. She gives Elizabeth a tired smile, holding out a hand for her to shake.
"I'm Becky, Sam's friend."
"Elizabeth, the devil on Sammy boy's shoulder." That gets a small laugh out of Becky, but she still looks sad as hell. Shit, if someone I care about was involved in this, then I'd probably look ready to break, too. "I'm gonna go get the rest of the information, so why don't you get some fresh air?" Becky shakes her head, chin raised stubbornly in a way Elizabeth can understand. Elizabeth gives her shoulder a comforting squeeze before following the guys out of earshot. "So, what's going on exactly?"
"There's video evidence that her brother came home and slaughtered his girlfriend," Sam explains. "Except he was at Becky's house at the time it happened. I still want to get ahold of the video, but I believe her."
"Or she could be covering for him," Dean shoots back. "I mean, the dude's her big brother and she doesn't believe he could do any wrong. I'd cover for you two if y'all committed a murder just like y'all would cover for me."
"Becky can't lie for shit, Dean." Dean purses his lips, sending a look in Elizabeth's direction to see who she'll agree with and rolling his eyes when she nods towards Sam. He mumbles something under his breath before turning to glance at Sammy's friend, seeming none too pleased about the whole thing.
"You think your lawyers could get their hands on the security footage for me?" A guilty expression filters across Becky's face for a second, cheeks turning a dark red as she looks down at her shoes.
"I've already swiped it off my lawyer's desk," she admits shyly," I needed to see it for myself." With a laugh, Elizabeth wraps an arm around her shoulders and steers her outside towards the Impala. It's always nice to have another woman around that doesn't seem to give two shits about laws, it means Sam can't heap all his don't-break-the-law bitch faces at Elizabeth.
"You are officially one of my favorite people," Elizabeth tells her with a wide grin. "Now, how's about we make some popcorn and watch the tape?" She nods, looking over her shoulder to make sure the two boys were following them. Dean has a certain look in his eyes that makes Elizabeth shudder and look away, a light blush forming on her cheeks. He hasn't looked at her like that in a while and it does things to a girl.
It's a fifteen-minute drive to the place Becky's staying, practically a fucking mansion compared to Elizabeth's apartment. The lawn is perfectly trimmed and green despite the chill in the air heralding autumn's arrival, the white paint in pristine condition with no sign of flaking, and a little family of lawn gnomes standing guard in front of a flowerbed.
"Damn, your parents have good taste," she remarks as they get out of the car.
"They think so too," Becky replies with a smile. There's color in her cheeks again and her smile looks a little less brittle now that they're away from the murder scene. Elizabeth can't begin to imagine how she's feeling, it has to be horrible to believe that your big brother is capable of cold-blooded murder. "Come on, I'll show you where you can put your things." The inside of the house is just as nice as the outside, comfortable and warm while still maintaining a modern feel. There are family pictures on the walls alongside nature scenes, some of them looking professional while others are drawn in crayon. Becky opens a kitchen drawer and hands a DVD case to Dean before gesturing for Elizabeth to follow her through a short hallway and up some stairs.
"How big is this place?"
"Pretty big. Zach and I used to play hide and seek for hours when we were little."
"This is the perfect house to play that in. My niece would have a field day here." Speaking of, I need to call Tanya later and check up on all of them. She couldn't call when she was hunting the werewolves because there hadn't been any time and she knows Lilly will be worrying. She's only three—almost four as she keeps reminding everyone—but she gets so anxious when Elizabeth goes more than a week and a half without calling to check in.
"Here's your room." Becky opens the door and lets Elizabeth walk inside first, smiling at her wide-eyed expression. "I take it you're not used to big bedrooms?"
"Honey, I ain't used to big rooms period." The guestroom is painted a pale blue color, the white carpet soft and unstained; there's a queen-sized bed with cream-colored blankets and pale blue pillowcases positioned against the left wall. The wall across from the door has a couple pictures of the ocean on it, a window with a decent view of the front yard, and a dresser made of pale wood.
"My parents love to entertain friends, so they made sure to have a house big enough to accommodate." She shrugs, leaning against the doorframe. "The bathroom is across the hall and Sam's room is right next door. Do you approve?"
"I may never leave." Elizabeth gives her a teasing smile, setting her duffle bag on top of the dresser. "You must have felt like a princess growing up here."
"I did actually. What about you?"
"My uncle Bobby used to call me Cinderella a lot if that's what you mean. I got so obsessed with that movie when I was younger that I had a pet mouse named Gus." A surprised laugh leaves Becky and Elizabeth's grin widens at the sound. It's nice to hear her laugh and she looks like she needed it. "I'm serious, I used to carry him around in this little basket when I did my chores. Of course, Uncle B found out and made me release it in the woods so I wouldn't catch the plague or whatever."
"Oh no, that's awful."
"My poor five year old heart was broken."
"Liza," Dean calls from downstairs," Becky, enough with the gossip! C'mon, we got the tape ready!" Becky sends Elizabeth a look at that, one brow raised questioningly. Elizabeth rolls her eyes in response and nods her head, looping her arm through Becky's and walking downstairs beside her.
"Yeah, he's always like this. I don't think there's a professional bone in that boy's body."
"Don't be telling lies about me, Liza."
"Not a lie, babe." Elizabeth grabs the bowl of popcorn from Sammy and makes herself comfortable on the arm of the couch, Dean plopping down beside her with a hand on her knee. He used to do that when they were still kids, just trying to make sure she didn't fall off, but now he squeezes a little and it's a completely different feeling that rushes through her. They lock gazes, those green eyes of his darker than usual as his thumb rubs small circles.
"You okay?" Elizabeth swallows hard, nodding her head quickly when Sam and Becky look at them. Dean smirks, leaning back and making himself comfortable. In retaliation, she reaches out a hand and runs her fingertips along the nape of his neck, grinning when she feels him shiver.
"Turnabout's fair play," she whispers in his ear, nipping at the lobe afterwards.
"Just wait until tonight," he whispers back as Sam presses play.
"Don't make promises that you don't intend to keep."
"Trust me, honey, this is one promise I won't have trouble going through with." And, going off the way his grip on her knee tightens ever so slightly, Elizabeth has no doubts that she'll be wonderfully sore come morning.
Elizabeth sighs for the fifth time, shifting her position on Becky's couch to keep her ass from going numb. They've been watching the security footage for what seems like hours and the only criminal behavior she's seen is a neighbor not having the blinds completely closed when he decided to dance around his house naked. It wouldn't have been so bad had the guy looked more like Slater and less like Screech.
"Here he comes," Becky says and they can see her brother walking up to the door. From what Elizabeth can see, the guy is a little shorter than Sam and pretty broad through his back and shoulders, obviously used to working out. Even with the crappy surveillance footage, he seems strong enough to overpower just about anyone, which doesn't exactly work in his favor.
"22:04," Dean says, eyes never leaving the TV," that's right after ten." He lets out a heavy sigh, hand shifting from Elizabeth's knee to her hand, holding onto it loosely. "And you said that he was supposed to have committed the murder around ten-thirty, right?" Becky nods sadly, arms crossed over her chest as she watches the video.
"The lawyers hired an expert and he says this tape's the real deal." Groaning, Elizabeth shifts again so that she's sitting in Dean's lap, resting her head on his shoulder. She's had barely two and a half hours of sleep and all she wants to do is crash.
"Hey, Beck," Sam asks, turning to face his friend," can we take those beers now?" She shrugs, walking out of the room. "Maybe some sandwiches, too?"
"This ain't Hooters," she smirks, walking around the corner.
"I wish it was," Dean sighs. "Think you could pull off one of those little tank tops, Liza?" He waggles his brows at the blonde and she gives him a smile in return.
"I've pulled off plenty of them," Elizabeth answers, tugging on the collar of his tee," though not in the way you were asking." It's his turn to groan, resting his cheek against the top of her head. "I've been told by several reliable sources that I'm good when I put my mind to it."
"Could you guys stop flirting and take a look at this," Sam quickly interjects, looking like he'd just walked in on his parents doing the dirty. Snorting, Elizabeth stands up and walks over to him, wrapping an arm around his waist.
"Sorry, sometimes I just can't help myself, Sammy. What'cha got?" Sam makes a face, briefly using the remote to tap her head before rewinding the tape and making it go in slow motion. She isn't sure what made him want to get rid of Becky until Zach's eyes flash silver for an instant on camera one.
"Camera flare," Dean asks.
"I've never seen one like that before."
"Remember how that dog started freaking out the night of the murder," Sam asks, keeping his voice low. The other two nod, the older man coming to stand on the other side of Elizabeth. "Well, maybe what he saw was some kind of evil double of Zach and it freaked him out."
"You thinking Doppelganger," Dean asks, he and Elizabeth turning to look at Sam.
"It'd sure explain a whole hell of a lot."