Salt and Blood 9/25
Chapter 9
"That was helpful." Dean loosened his tie when they left the Wrights. Mr. Wright had no idea what had happened to his wife and he still hoped that she'd be found alive somewhere. According to him his wife had nothing to do with the robbery and didn't run away with the money.
If the Winchesters were right with their assumption Cecelia didn't run off but wouldn't come home either. If they were right which they doubted more and more.
"Did you get a reading?" Sam asked and slipped in the car. While Sam had questioned the husband Dean had asked to use the bathroom which gave him the opportunity to sweep the house with the EMF meter.
"Nothing." Dean tossed the meter in the back. "Ran into the son, though. He hasn't seen or heard anything. No cold spots, nothing unusual. Despite that mommy didn't come home one day." He gritted his teeth. Dealing with the families always was tough but when there were kids involved? Not his thing. Totally not his thing.
Sam checked his watch. "LaGuerta should be at the station at this time."
"You're really serious about this, aren't you?"
"Dean." Was all Sam said, all he needed to say. Combined with his puppy dog eyes - turned on at one hundred watt - Dean never stood a chance.
"Alright."
An hour later Dean parked the car near LaGuerta's place. Peering out of the windshield he considered his options. A quiet neighborhood and at this time of the day most of the neighbors would be out to work.
"You sure she's at the department?" Dean got out of the car followed by Sam.
"She should be." He looked around. "That's it." He pointed at an apartment building.
Just to make sure they knocked first and when nobody opened the door Sam got his lock-picks out. Dean stood guard and asked himself what the hell he was doing there. This wasn't one of their brighter ideas. Seconds later the door swung open and the Winchesters slipped in.
Dean whistled when he had a closer look. "The job of a lieutenant seems to pay off."
The apartment spoke of money and style but to Dean it had the vibe of cold calculation. This was something put together for the only purpose to impress and fulfill the expectations of others. It didn't feel like somebody actually was living here.
In the bedroom he opened the closet. Colorful and expensive.
Dean took out the EMF meter and made a quick round through the bedroom. Nothing. On a dresser he found pictures. Some showed LaGuerta with her family but mostly LaGuerta getting promoted or with important people and some framed newspaper articles with her picture. One picture showed her with her partner Doakes both in uniform. Doakes as her lover was nowhere to be found.
"Nothing here." Dean shouted and stepped into the bathroom. All the things women needed to get presentable but nothing triggered the meter.
They met in the living room.
"Anything?" Dean spread his arms already knowing that Sam had found exactly as much as he had. Nothing.
They made sure that everything was like they had found it and then they left the apartment. Forcing himself to walk slowly like he had every right in the world to be there Dean led the way back to the Impala. With a squeak the doors shut and only then Dean allowed himself to breath easy.
"Okay, it's official." He said starting the car. "No case here, this one is a bust."
"No argument here." Sam arranged his leg and got comfortable in the passenger seat. "So what do we do next?"
"Dude, we're in Miami." Dean reminded him as if the bright sun and the palms bordering the street didn't give a clue. "I promised to pick up Debra after work. But until then …" He trailed off and made a turn.
"Where are we going?"
Dean glossed over Sam's skeptical tone.
"C'mon." Dean smirked. "The beach, the ocean, women in bikinis, sun cream. Get any ideas?"
"I've heard that words before."
"Congratulation, you're not suffering from Alzheimer's."
"Ha, ha, very funny." But Sam didn't sound annoyed. "So the beach?"
"What?"
"I'm just trying to picture you in swimming trunks."
"Dude, I'm not doing swimming trunks."
In the end they sat in the sand with their shoes and socks taken off and their jeans rolled up to the knees.
"Have that legs of yours ever seen any sunlight?" Sam remarked at the sight of Dean's chalk-white legs stretched out in the sand. However, the pale legs didn't seem to dim his charm. As soon as Dean got rid of his shirt and leaned back on his elbows to enjoy the sun, he spotted a couple of girls admiring the view.
"C'mon, Sammy." He nodded towards the nearest girls. Sun kissed and looking really good in those bikinis, too bad he was kinda dating Debra. Which was a scary though by itself. Dean Winchester didn't do the dating stuff. One-night stands, yes, maybe a second round too but honestly dating? No way. That didn't change the fact that he was going to see Debra for the third time today.
At Dean's attention the girls quickly looked in another direction, heads stuck together and he could hear them giggling.
"Show the merchandise, Sammy. Those muscles have to pay off for something." Dean nudged his brother in the side.
Laughing Sam took off his shirt. The girls almost fainted.
"Atta boy." Dean joined his brother's laugh. "Bet we'll have the starring role in some wet dreams tonight."
They both relaxed in the warm sand, the soft breeze and the waves a pleasant sound in the background, ans let their eyes fall shut.
Suddenly somebody blocked the sun and Dean blinked at the person hovering over him. One of the girls with chestnut hair and a warm smile. She shook a bottle of sun cream.
"I could need some help." She said with a little blush. "Could one of you …?" She hold out the bottle.
"My brother's glad to help." Dean said before Sam even had the chance to open his mouth. "Right, Sammy?"
"It's Sam." He pointed out. "But yeah, yeah, I can help."
Dean practically had to kick him in the ass but in the end Sam went over to "help" the girls. Dean watched the spectacle and could only hope that Sam would score some phone numbers.
Right on cue his phone buzzed with a text message from Debra: Pick me up in an hour. Bring Sam.
For a second Dean stared at the message and really hoped that it didn't mean what it looked like it meant. He was so not doing a threesome with his brother.
"Maybe she has some information she wants to share." Sam guessed when they entered the police station.
"I hope it's something like that." Dean grumbled. "Because I'm not taking you with me on a date."
"Dude, there are things I never want to do in my life." Sam hold the door open. "And going with you on a date is under the top five."
"Really? What's number one?" Dean snipped his fingers. "Going to a clown convention, right?"
Sam just glared at him.
When they entered the main office Debra wasn't at her desk. Instead LaGuerta headed for them.
"Dude." Dean half turned and rubbed the back of his head so that she couldn't see him talking. "Think she knows?" Shall we run? Was the real question but nobody else was on alert so this was probably harmless.
"Gentlemen." LaGuerta greeted them with a smile which didn't reach her eyes. "One word?"
Without waiting for an answer she led the way to her office.
They took their seats and the brothers waited for her to make the first move. She folded her hands on the desk.
"How is the research going?" She asked. "I hope my department was able to help."
"Yeah, it was." Dean spluttered, the question kinda blindsided him. He had expected something in the line of "What were you doing in my apartment?" or a gun pointed at his head with a "Freeze!".
"I think we got quite a good picture of the case, thanks for your assistance." Sam stepped in with this smile of his. Had worked on her before.
"I want to add one more thing." She opened a drawer and carefully placed a file on the desk. "This is nothing official and I know how it looks for James but I have reasonable doubt that he is responsible for those murders."
They sat in stunned silence for a moment.
"How can that be?" Sam was the first one to find his voice.
"James has an alibi for at least two of the murders." She said tapping the file. "They wouldn't admit this as evidence but I made you a copy. If you can use it for your book …" She trailed of and for the first time Dean saw real emotions on her face. Not the calculated mask, this was the woman mourning her ex-partner and lover. Maybe she was like Mr. Wright who couldn't even imagine that his wife could have done something illegal. Or maybe she had a point. Either way, it didn't point toward something supernatural so it didn't really matter to them. But it gave the case an unexpected twist.
"Thanks, ma'am." Sam took the file and flipped through it. "We'll have a look."
"If you have any questions, feel free to ask." She said with a sad smile.
"We will." Sam promised. "If there really is a reason for doubt we will mention it."
They shook hands and LaGuerta was once again the calculating woman they knew. Before she could hush them out of her office, the brothers left.
"Dean." Debra shouted and for a second it looked like she wanted to kiss him in the middle of the office but then she glanced at Angel and Quinn and Dean was glad she went for a light brush of his arm instead. Even Masuka was watching the scene and if there was one thing Dean didn't want to deal with than it was that pervert.
"Hey, you ready to leave?" He smiled at her but kept an eye out on Masuka who clearly wanted to say or do something. Dean had no intention to wait and find out.
"In a minute." She bent over her desk giving Dean quite a nice view of her ass which he appreciated till Sam and Detective Batista harrumphed in unison. Dean shrugged it off and met eye with that Quinn guy who just grinned. Dammit, a nice ass was a nice ass. He was a man and not dead what did they expect?
"So what's the plan?" Dean broke the uncomfortable silence. "Why should I bring Sam?" She didn't know that they were brothers but inviting a second man on a date was kinda strange. Especially if it was the third date and neither of them had suggested anything kinky till now. On the side Quinn made a strangled noise.
Found what she had been looking for Debra turned around but her eyes didn't quite meet Dean's.
"I know this kinda comes out of the blue but Dexter wanted me to invite you two over to Rita's for dinner." She explained and tucked a lock back behind her ear. She did that a lot when she didn't feel comfortable with a situation, Dean noticed. Maybe he should play a round of poker with her. Not for real money - no way would he hustle her - but strip poker came to mind.
"Stop grinning like a pervert." She clapped his shoulder. "I'm talking about dinner with Dexter, Rita and the kids."
Dean needed a second to process that thought. There were kids?
"Is this a family thing?" Dean asked. At his side Sam stepped from one foot to the other. They both didn't have much practice with the normal family stuff. Maybe Sam was a little bit better with this due to his time at Stanford and with Jess and all that but over the last year he had gotten a little rusty as well, Dean figured.
"Hey guys." Sam hold his hands up in surrender. "I don't want to get in the way or something. You can just drop me off at the motel."
Dean shot him a "Don't you dare and leave me dealing with this family stuff alone" glare but Debra insisted on Sam coming along anyway.
"This is not a date." Debra explained and Dean breathed easier. Like he'd said before taking Sam with him on a date? Just no.
"It's dinner with some friends, nothing more." However, her glance in Dean's direction hold the possibility of more after said dinner and Dean was totally okay with that.
Without really knowing how it happened all three of them sat in the car a minute later. Sam generously offered his place in the passenger seat to Debra and went into the back seat.
"Okay." Dean started the car. "Lead the way."
continue to chapter 10
back to Masterpost