The Reporter-Part Three
They arrived at the home early with hopes of getting a look around. It was the average suburban neighborhood with kids playing in the streets, SUV’s lining the drives and parents working on their lawns. Unfortunately for them that meant they couldn’t just walk around to the backyard to go in the house. Vangie stayed out by the car while Sam and Dean tried to blend in with the early evening shadows of the trees. They finally made it around back, happy that there wasn’t a dog to deal with and were able to go in one of the basement windows. Once inside they came back out in around five minutes.
“Anything?” Vangie asked Sam as Dean wrapped her in his arms and leaned his back against the car.
Sam shook his head as he went to the other side of the car so he could keep a look out while they waited. Dean and Vangie were still kissing when the lady Miriam drove up with her daughter. Sam cleared his throat in time for them to avoid being caught kissing. Dean and Vangie followed them into the house while Sam stayed in the car to do more research.
“You’re the lady I spoke with?” Miriam, a petite brunette, asked as she shook Vangie’s hand before they sat down on the worn but comfortable sofa.
She pointed to the two other chairs as she and her daughter were seated.
The home was middle class no extras just enough space for a couple with a teenager. It was neat and tidy with a fresh scrubbed smell.
“Yes, I’m Evangeline Benson with the The Register. This is my associate Dean Winchester he is a new reporter that I’m training. I hope it’s okay if he is here.”
The older lady nodded with a sly smile as her blue eyes softened, she could sense that connection the two of them had from across the room. She was happy for them even though they were strangers to her. Every night she lay awake hoping her husband would make it back in one piece. He had been a salesman for fifteen years and she still wasn’t comfortable with him being gone all the time, especially now that she was terrified her daughter would be the next victim in this strange family suicide situation.
“I know you’re probably disturbed about the recent deaths in your family, what do you think of all that?”
“I think it’s a tragedy. Those children had their entire lives ahead of them; I don’t know why they would kill themselves. They were smart kids headed for college both of them; their parents had money much more than we have. I have never heard rumors of any type of abuse or addictions in either family, it just all seems so senseless to me,” she said as she looked sadly at her daughter.
Monica cleared her throat as she wiped at her eyes.
Her mother went to the kitchen to get them some water.
“Monica, we want to help if there is anything you want to tell us that you might not want your mom to know, call me,” Vangie whispered as she handed the girl her card.
Monica took the card and put in her jacket pocket.
Sam, heard a phone ring and noticed Vangie’s cell in the back seat.
“Hello?”
“Hey Sam, why do you have Vangie’s phone,” Dawn asked laughing.
“Oh, looks like she left it in the car, her and Dean are inside doing an interview. How are you doing,” Sam asked.
“I’m fine just waiting to hear from you,” Dawn teased.
“I haven’t forgotten we’ve been a bit busy lately.”
“I know I was joking I work with Vangie actually she works at the paper were my Dad is the Editor. I know all about you guys and your travels.”
Sam smiled he was glad Dawn didn’t think he had blown her off. They made tentative plans for when they got back to Des Moines.
“Why were you calling?”
“Just to see if she had gotten in to talk to the family yet I guess I was getting a little antsy. I’m sure she’ll do her write up tonight and email it like she always does. She’s good and punctual that one.”
“She sounds like a dependable lady,” Sam said.
“Vangie is crazy about Dean, though normally I wouldn’t say anything but I just figured she has told Dean by now,” Dawn revealed.
Sam was quiet.
“Sam?”
He cleared his throat he had to let Dean do things the way he saw fit.
“Yea, I’m here.”
“Tell me if he is planning on breaking her heart because then I would have to beat his butt," Dawn teased.
“I try to stay out of Dean’s love life; believe me its easier that way,” Sam said with a smile in his voice.
“He seems nice enough,” Dawn consoled herself aloud.
“He is a good egg,” Sam told her.
Once Mariam sat down they asked a few more questions.
“Have the other relatives that had children die mentioned anything strange happening before or after the deaths? Anything that seemed odd or out of place? Strange odors, odd sounds, just anything different?”
Mariam thought a minute but couldn’t think of anything she had heard like that.
“Maybe its just too soon to be anything other than just down right sad,” she said as she wiped her eyes again.
Monica got up to go to her room and her Mom just watched. But Dean jumped in.
“Monica, can I talk to you for a moment?” he asked pointing to the dining room table just out of ear shot of Mariam.
Monica hesitated only for a moment before taking a seat at the table with him.
“You don’t have to answer anything you are uncomfortable with okay,” he said in a soothing voice.
Monica, who was a little on the chunky side with mousy brown hair, wide set blue eyes set in an oval face, and braces thought Dean’s voice was sexy so she listened close.
“Did either of the cousins who died contact you before their suicides?”
“We talked all the time on the internet, you know, chatting and email. We were fairly close,” she said sadly.
Dean nodded.
“Did you find anything odd about their recent correspondence?”
“No,” she said a little to fast for Dean.
“No you aren’t sure or no I don’t want to discuss it?”
Monica licked her lips.
“I just want to help,” Dean insisted.
Then the tears came, great I can deal with the mom crying but not a young hormone filled fifteen year old girl. In an attempt to avoid hugging her he got up to get a tissue then came back to give it to her.
“Thank you,” she said.
Dean waited a few minutes for her to be okay before he began again.
“No it wasn’t what they wrote that was the problem,” she whispered so low Dean almost didn’t hear her.
He could tell she was scared. He nodded to let her know it was okay.
“You don’t want to tell your mom about this?”
She shook her head just as her mother came around the corner.
“Everything okay here,” she asked.
Monica got up from the table as she kept her eyes on Dean who looked a bit frustrated.
“We're done, thanks for letting me share about my cousins,” she said as her eyes never left his face.
Then she left the room. Dean wanted to stop her but he couldn’t without revealing her secret, he closed the note pad he brought with him as a cover. Fortunately, Vangie intercepted Monica before she made it to her room.
“Hey, don’t forget to call if you need to okay?” Vangie said in a low voice to the girl.
Monica gave her a small smile as she bit her lip and rushed into her room.
“We’re sorry for your loss,” Dean said as they prepared to leave.
“Your quotes should be part of the update in tomorrow’s paper,” Vangie said as she held the ladies hand in a gesture of comfort before turning to go to the car.
Miriam nodded as she held back more tears when they were gone.
“Monica knows something,” Dean said once they were inside the Impala.
“Yea, I hope she gives us a call before it’s too late,” Vangie said as she buckled her seat belt.
The filled Sam in on the situation as the drove out of the suburbs headed back toward the highway. They chose a hotel that had an actual restaurant on site and that looked like it might lead to a good night sleep thanks to Vangie’s connections with the paper.
“Nice work,” Dean said as they headed off to eat.
“Why thank you,” Vangie said as Dean tucked his finger into her belt loop to slow her down enough to give her a kiss on the cheek while they were walking. She grinned as Sam looked away.
“So what did you and Dawn plan?” Vangie enquired while they waited on their food.
“Just to spend some time together; maybe a dinner, a walk in the park, just something to get to know one another. Nothing definite,” Sam said as Dean watched his little brother blush.
“It’s okay Sammy if you just want to you know….”
"We just met Dean give it a rest."
Sam raised his eyebrows a Dean, since he was the one not having sex to show someone he cared. Maybe Dean needed to live vicariously through him for a change. Boy, that’s a hoot.
After dinner Dean and Vangie went for a ride. They rode around until the came across a park where they stopped to look out at the man made lake. Dean had his arms around her as she laid her head on his shoulder. He kissed the top of her head.
Her phone rang just as he was considering declaring his love.
“Hello?”
“Yes Monica, we can meet you, we are on our way.”
She wanted them to meet her in the arcade area at the mall.
“She sounded really frightened Dean.”
“It’s okay hopefully that means she is ready to talk,” he said as he floored it.
They found Monica in the food court across from the arcade she looked like she had been crying. They led her to a table that was out of the traffic flow. Vangie hugged her to make her feel more comfortable talking to them.
“I can’t do it,” she said.
“Do what,” Dean asked.
“Kill myself. But I promised and we all made a pact if I break it my parents will die,” she said as the tears flowed again.
Dean looked at Vangie as she shook his head. Once she seemed all cried out they asked her who was involved in the pact and why it existed.
“It is a game but it has real consequences, Randy the first one that died didn’t even kill himself he killed the guy he was playing the game but it didn’t matter,” she said with a why aren’t you getting it look on her face.
“So who besides the two that died are playing the game?”
She bit her lip as she looked from one of them to the other.
“Sandra, my cousin in L. A.”
“When does it have to be done?” Dean asked in problem solving mode.
“I have to do it by midnight.”
“Okay, first there has to be a way to break the pact; all games have backdoors,” Vangie volunteered.
“Second, Monica I know you don’t want your mom involved but that may actually be a way to weaken the pact,” Dean said.
“We will take you home and try to help her understand, okay,” Vangie said to the scared teenager.
Monica nodded. She didn’t want to die why had they played the stupid game. Now she wanted to save herself as well as her parents and Sandra. Monica was inconsolable in the car; Vangie sat in the backseat with Monica trying to be comforting. Dean could see Vangie’s face in the mirror, she was being strong for the young girl something she was good at doing. She had been a comforting presence before when he had spent time with her. It was one of the reasons he had fallen for her. Not that he was prone to being emotional but she had helped the people at the home when he met her the first day. He thought her true calling was counseling though he wasn’t a believer in all that psycho babble. When they arrived they saw that Mariam’s car was in the drive but once inside they didn’t hear her moving around. Monica screamed when she saw her mother lying on the kitchen floor.
TBC
