The Family Business

It was morning when we finally made it into Jericho. Sam was going through the pile of cassettes in the front seat because he took it when I went to the bathroom. Dean walked back to the car with some food. "Hey!" He called and Sam looked up. "You two want breakfast?" Dean asked us.

"No, thanks," Sam said.

"Yes, please," I said. Dean gave me a bag of chips along with bottle of water.

"So how'd you pay for that stuff? You and Dad still running credit card scams?" Sam asked Dean.

"Yeah, well, hunting ain't exactly a pro ball career. Besides, all we do is apply. It's not our fault they send us the cards," Dean said.

"Yeah? And what names did you write on the application this time?" Sam asked before he swing his legs back inside the car and closes the door and so did I.

"Uh . . . Burt Aframian," Dean said. He climbed into the driver seat and put his soda and chips down before closing the door. "And his kids Hector and Charlotte. Scored three cards out of the deal."

Sam nodded, letting out a small laugh. "That sounds about right," He agreed before moving his eyes back to the box. He let out a sigh and shook his head before looking at our older brother, "I swear, man, you've gotta update your cassette tape collection."

Dean stared at him for a moment, a frown crossed to his face, "Why?" He asked, confused.

"Well, for one, they're cassette tapes," Sam pointed out. "And two, Black Sabbath? Motorhead? Metallica?"

Dean rolled his eyes, taking the box labeled Metallica from him. "It's the greatest hits of mullet rock."

I hold my laugh back so I don't get in trouble with Dean. "Scar -- What's the house rules?" Dean asked me.

"Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole. So suck it up, Sammy," I told Sam.

Sam huffed as he turned to me, giving me a look, "You know, Sammy is a chubby 12 old," He said.

"So stop acting like one," I commented. Dean laughed and Sam scoffed before turning back.

"That's my girl," Dean said as he started to the engines. I smirked and we pulled out of the station.

...................

After an hour or so, we finally reached a sign that read:

JERICHO 7

Sam got off the phone after speaking to the hospital, looking for Dad. "All right," He started, letting out a sigh. "So, there's no one matching Dad at the hospital or morgue. So that's something, I guess."

We pulled up to a bridge with police officers all in front of it. "What now?" I asked, leaning forward.

"Sam and I will go there, you need to stay here this time," Dean said and I nodded. I leaned back and crawled down a little as Dean and Sam got out with they ID cards. I was waiting for them a few minutes and they later got back and we drove off.

...................

After my brothers told me what they found out, we decided to go downtown to find the missing boy's girlfriend, Amy.

After we looked around, I soon spotted a girl putting pink flyers. "Hey, I bet you that's her," I said to Sam and Dean as I pointed to the girl.

"Yeah," Sam agreed as we walked over to her.

"You must be Amy," Dean said.

"Yeah," Amy said.

"Yeah, Troy told us about you. We're his cousins. I'm Dean, this is Sammy and this is Scar," Dean said.

"He never mentioned you to me," She said, frowning before she started to walk away and we followed.

"Well, that's Troy, I guess," Dean said.

"We're not around much, we're up in Modesto," I said.

"So, we're looking for him too, and we're kinda asking around," Sam said.

Some girl come up to Amy, "Hey, are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah," Amy said to her, giving her a small smile.

"Do you mind if we ask you a couple questions?" I asked Amy softly. Amy just nodded her head and lead us to a diner.

We went to a booth and I sat down between Dean and Sam while Amy and her friend sat down at the opposite side in front of us. "Can you tell us what happened?" I asked gently.

Amy took a deep breath before speaking, "I was on the phone with Troy. He was driving home. He said he would call me right back, and . . . he never did."

"He didn't say anything strange, or out of the ordinary?" Sam asked.

Amy shook her head, "No. Nothing I can remember," She replied.

I looked down at Amy's necklace, it was a pentagram in a circle. "I like your necklace," I said.

She reached to hold the pendant she was wearing, and looked down at it. "Troy gave it to me. Mostly to scare my parents," Amy informed and she chuckled a little, ". . . With all that devil stuff."

Me and Sam smiled a little. "Actually, it means just the opposite," Sam started. "A pentagram is protection against evil. Really powerful. I mean, if you believe in that kind of thing."

"Okay. Thank you, Unsolved Mysteries," Dean said sarcastically and leaned forward. "Here's the deal, ladies. The way Troy disappeared, something's not right. So if you've heard anything . . ."

Amy and her friend looked at each other. "What is it?" I asked, noticing their look.

"Well, it's just . . ." Her friend started nervously. "I mean, with all these guys going missing, people talk."

"What do they talk about?" Me and my brothers asked at the same time.

Amy and her friend looked at each other again and then back at us. "It's kind of this local legend . . . This one girl, she got murdered out on Centennial, like decades ago," Her friend informed. Dean glanced at me and Sam and then back. "Well, supposedly she's still out there. She hitchhikes, and whoever picks her up? Well, they disappear forever." With that information, Me, Dean and Sam shared a look. We knew where we needed to go; The library.

After we thanked the girls, we went to the library. I was reading some books that I picked up while Sam and Dean were doing the research. I saw that they had no luck so I decided to step in. "Let me try."

"Shhh," Dean shooed me with his hand. "I got it." I rolled my eyes before I grabbed his chair and pushed him out of my way. "Dude!" Dean whined as Sam laughed quietly.

"So angry spirits are born out of violent death, right?" I asked and they both nodded. "Then it wasn't a murder," I mumbled as I change Murder to suicide. I pressed enter, making it calculate. I pressed the one article and surfing through it. The report was created on April 25th, 1981. I looked at Dean and stuck my tongue out at him, and he pulled a face while Sam chuckled.

A local woman's drowning death was ruled a suicide, the county Sheriff's Department said earlier today. Constance Welch, 24, of 4636 Breckenridge Road, leapt off Sylvania Bridge, at mile 33 of Centennial Highway, and subsequently drowned last night.

Deputy J. Pierce told reporters that, hours before her death, Ms. Welch logged a call with 911 emergency services. In a panicked tone, Ms. Welch described how she found her two young children, 5 and 6, in the bathtub, after leaving them alone for several [minutes]. She reported that their complex-[. . .]

What happened to my children was a terrible accident. And it must have been too much for my wife. Our babies were gone, and Constance just couldn't bear it," said husband Joseph Welch. "Now I ask that you all please respect my privacy during this trying time."

At the time of the children's death and Ms. Welch's subsequent suicide, Mr. Welch was at the Frontier auto salvage yard, where he works the graveyard shift as associate manager.

"Connie might have been quiet, but she was the sweetest, most caring girl I ever knew," said Deanna Kripke, a neighbor. "She just doted on those children."

"This was 1981. Constance Welch, 24 years old, jumps off Sylvania Bridge, drowns in the river," I read.

"Does it say why she did it?" Dean asked.

"Yeah," I mumbled sadly.

"What?" Sam asked.

"Um . . . An hour before they found her, she calls 911. Apparently her two little kids are in the bathtub. She leaves them alone for a minute, and when she comes back, they aren't breathing. Both die," I informed.

"Hm," That was all Dean could say.

"'Our babies were gone, and Constance just couldn't bear it,' said husband Joseph Welch.'" Sam read.

"The bridge look familiar to you two?" Dean asked, pointing to the picture of the bridge and I nodded.

...................

It was the middle of the night and we got to the bridge. Me, Sam and Dean looked over the railing. "So this is where Constance took the swan dive," Dean said.

"Do you think Dad would have been here?" I asked.

"Well, he's chasing the same story and we're chasing him," Dean replied as he put an arm around my shoulder and we walked.

"Okay, so now what?" Sam asked from behind us.

"Now we keep digging until we find him. Might take a while," Dean said.

"Guys, I told you." I glanced behind me to see Sam stopped. "I've gotta get back by Monday --"

"Monday. Right. The interview," Dean cut him off as he turned around.

"Yeah," Sam mumbled.

"Yeah, forgot about that," Dean said. "You're really serious about this, aren't you? You think you're just going to become some lawyer? Marry your girl?"

"Maybe. Why not?" Sam asked, shrugging.

Dean took his arm off my shoulder and I walked backwards a little, knowing this was going to end of a big fight. "Does Jessica know the truth about you? I mean, does she know about the things you've done?" Dean asked.

Sam glared at him, stepping closer. "No, and she's not ever going to know."

Dean gave a small chukle, "Well, that's healthy." He then licked his lips before shaking his head, "You can pretend all you want, Sammy. But sooner or later you're going to have to face up to who you really are." With that he turned around and keep walking.

Sam followed and I slowly followed too. "And who's that?" Sam chllanged.

"You're one of us," Dean said, throwing his arms up his sides. Sam rushed to get in front of Dean and they stopped.

"No. I'm not like you," Sam snarled. "This is not going to be my life. Look at Scarlett, this shouldn't be her life too! She's 14. What gonna happen when we can't protect her?"

I walked away a bit, glancing over my shoulder at my brothers. "If it weren't for pictures I wouldn't even know what Mom looks like," Sam said. "And what difference would it make? Even if we do find the thing that killed her, Mom's gone. And she isn't coming back."

All of a sudden, Dean grabbed Sam by the collar and shoved him up against the railing of the bridge. "Dean! Stop!" I yelled as I ran in.

Dean looked at me with a softened expression and then slowly looked back at Sam. "Don't talk about her like that," Dean said, slightly calm. After a moment, he let go of Sam and walked away but them froze. "Guys."

We looked up and saw Constance. She looked over at us, then stepped forward off the edge. We ran to the railing and looked over but saw nothing.

"Where'd she go?" Dean asked, searching the river.

"I don't know," Sam said. Then I heard the engine of the car. I turned my head to see the car turned on. Who was in the car?

"What the?" Dean asked, confused.

"Dean, who's driving your car?" I asked.

Without taking his eyes off, Dean pulled out the keys and jingled them. The tires of wheel squealed, coming straight toward us and it started picking up speed. "Run!" Sam yelled.

We all took off but the car sped up; We were going to be trapped. "Jump!" I yelled. And that's what we did; We jumped. I heard a splash down below me. I tried to grab the rail but my hand slipped and I screamed, starting to ready myself to hit the water.

But the impact didn't come. I looked up and saw Sam held onto the railing and then I realized he was holding my wrist. He started to pull up his arm and when I was high enough, I grabbed the railing. "You okay?" Sam asked and I nodded.

We looked down, to see Dean but he wasn't there. "Dean?" I called but there was no response.

"Dean?" Sam called as well but again nothing.

"Dean!" I screamed.

All of a sudden, a filthy and annoyed Dean crawled out of the water and onto the mud, panting. "What?!"

"Hey! Are you all right?" Sam asked as I sighed in relief.

Dean hold up one hand in an A-OK sign. "I'm super," He said sarcastically. Sam and I let out a laugh before we started to pull ourselves back to the bridge.

Once Dean got back up on the bridge, he checked me to see if I was okay and then he went to his car. He shut the hood of his car and leaned on it. "Your car all right?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, whatever she did to it, seems all right now. That Constance chick, what a bitch!" Dean called out into the night.

"Well, she doesn't want us digging around, that's for sure," I stated and then I cringed my nose in disgust before looking at Dean, "No offense, dude . . . but you smell like a toilet."

Dean glanced down at himself and I started to laugh with Sam joining me. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it out," Dean mumbled, huffing.

...................................

By the time we got to the nearest motel, it was already early in the morning. We walked to the motel and the clerk was shocked with Dean, who was still covered in the mud. He put down the credit card, "One room, please."

The clerk looked at the card before grabbing it, "You guys having a reunion or something?" He asked. I frowned and shared a glance with Sam before looking back at the man.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

"I had another guy, Burt Aframian," The clerk replied. "He came and bought out a room for the whole month."

My eyes widened. Dad? Was he here? The three of us shared a glance before looking back at the clerk. "Um, can you tell us the number of the room?" I asked.

"23," The clerk replied.

"Can you give us the keys?" Dean asked.

The clerk frowned and shook his head, "Can't do that. You'll have to wait for him to come back."

I did the whole lock picking while Sam and Dean were doing the lookout. "Done," I said. I pushed the door open and we walked inside, looking around as we froze; Every vertical surface has papers pinned to it: maps, newspaper clippings, pictures, notes. There are books on the desk and assorted junk on the floor and bed, including something with a hazardous - materials symbol.

"Whoa," Sam breathed out before we walked around.

Dean turned on a light by the bed and picked up a half-eaten hamburger sitting there. He sniffed the burger and recoiled. "I don't think he's been here for a couple days at least," He informed.

Sam looked down to see a line of salt at the doorway and kneleed down. "Salt, cats -eye shells . . . he was worried," He said, running his fingers over the salt. "Trying to keep something from coming in."

He got up as Dean looked at the papers covering one wall. "What have you got here?" Sam asked.

"Centennial Highway victims," Dean replied. "I don't get it. I mean, different men, different jobs, ages, ethnicities. There's always a connection, right? What do these guys have in common?"

While Sam and Dean were trying to figure it out, I walked over to the other side of the room. I flicked on the lamp and saw bunch of articles and article on Constance's suicide, with a handwritten note pinned above it:

Woman In White.

I scoffed, "Dad figured it out," I said out loud, making Sam and Dean to look over at me.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked.

"He found the same article we did. Constance Welch. She's a woman in white," I replied as Sam walked over.

Dean looked back and scoffed, "You sly dogs."

Dean looked back at me and Sam, pointing a finger at us. "All right, so if we're dealing with a woman in white, Dad would have found the corpse and destroyed it," Dean said.

"She might have another weakness," Sam said.

"Well, Dad would want to make sure," Dean said as he walked up to us. "He'd dig her up. Does it say where she's buried?"

"No, not that I can tell. If I were Dad, though, I'd go ask her husband. If he's still alive," Sam said.

Dean nodded, "All right. Why don't you, uh, see if you can find an address, I'm gonna get cleaned up." With that he started to walk away.

"Hey, Dean?" Sam started and Dean turned around. "What I said earlier, about Mom and Dad, I'm sorry."

Dean holded up his hand, "No chick-flick moments," He said, making Sam and me to chuckle.

"All right. Jerk," Sam said.

"Bitch," Dean said and walked away as Sam chuckled again.

I looked around and found a picture on a mirror. It was Dad, Dean, Sam and me. Dad was sitting on the hood of the Impala, next to Dean who was wearing a baseball cap, me as two years old, sitting on Dean's lap and Sam was sitting on Dad's lap. I grabbed the picture and smiled sadly at the memory.

"What did you find?" Sam asked as he stood beside me. I showed him the picture and he smiled sadly as he wrapped his arm around me.