Twenty-Two
Jenny rubbed the back of her neck as she read about the Mainchester Motel online, frowning. "Kelly wasn't the first murder in that room."
Sam and Dean looked up from their book and computer, intrigued. The woman sighed heavily, reading. "Three mont, sheriff Apcott was found brutally murdered at Mainchester Motel in room 213. Witnesses say, before his death, a masked woman had snuck out before running to her car. Police still haven't found the suspect. Sounds like adultery to me."
"The kids never said anything about seeing or hearing a man in Kelly's room. What time did they get there?" Sam asked as Jenny huffed, thinking.
"I think Sheriff Hopper said they got there after Kelly was asleep. Says here that Apcott had a wife and... two kids." Jenny stopped, leaning back. "Stuart... And Daniel." She looked over to see Sam and Dean's eyes widen. "I don't think they were there just to party." Jenny said, Sam and Dean glancing at each other.
"They thought they'd find the killer." Dean stated the obvious, and Jenny nodded. "Try and find Apcott's address. We have more questions for them."
———
Jenny knocked in the door to the Apcott's home, Daniel answering the door. His eyes shot open in surprise and fear, slamming the door closed quickly.
"Stu! Gen! the feds are here!"
"What?! Do you think they know?"
"Why the fuck else would they be here?!"
"Your door is very thin." Dean called out, silence following. The door slowly opened to Stuart, Gen and Daniel, smiling nervously.
"Agents! What can we do for you?" Jenny pulled out the printed paper of Sheriff Apcott's murder, the three's smile dropping.
"Oh boy." Genevieve mumbled, Jenny's brows raising.
"More and more these kids freak me out." Dean mumbled, swiping at his lips. "Care to tell us the truth about what happened last night?" He asked the three, who sank in their position.
Genevieve looked at the two brothers, then back to the Hunters. "I was dragged into this. I mean, I'm just his girlfriend." She pointed to Stuart, Jenny and Sam retching. They shook their heads.
"Why would you try and go after your fathers killer? You guys are kids." Jenny said with a worried look as Stuart invited them in.
"It was Daniel's idea. I mean, there were zero suspects. And he thought that maybe if we went back there... We'd find something." Stuart admitted, the three teens sitting down on the couch across from the three Hunters.
"I've been reading old newspapers. Over the last four decades, people have been getting killed in that room have been happening left and right! I mean, can you really blame me for wanting to catch my dads killer?" Daniel frowned with a heavy look. A look the three Hunters knew all too well.
"Daniel, we get it. Finding your dads killer is something that we can very much understand. But you're a kid. You can't be putting your life— your brother and his girlfriends life in the line for that." Jenny said, gesturing to the other two teens.
"I know, I know, alright? I just... I feel like I could have done something to stop Kelly from getting killed." Daniel reiterated his brothers words, hands on his knees. "Do you guys have any suspects?"
Sam, Dean and Jenny all looked at each other. "We can't discuss that when the crime is ongoing—"
"Please! I just need to know. I don't need to know their name." Daniel begged, Jenny staring at the kid for a moment as she realized how much he was starting to resemble Dean. Slowly, she shook her head.
"We're sorry, truly. But we can't have you three caught in the loop in this. It's dangerous." Daniel shook his head and stood up quickly, walking out and up the stairs. After a few seconds, a door slammed shut.
Stuart and Gen were quiet for a moment. "He doesn't handle his emotions very well." Stuart apologized quietly, following after his brother. Genevieve was now left with the three Hunters, looking at them.
"What is it?" Sam frowned, Gen messing with her nails anxiously. "Genevieve?"
"When... Danny was doing his research on the motel... He found that the first murder in that room happened in 1964. A man— Mick Palmer, had the suspicion that his wife was... cheating on him. So he followed her. He waited in his car until a man entered room 213. The room his wife booked. After the man left... Mick went up there while she was asleep... He tied her by the wrists and... He gut her like a fish." Gen looked horrified as she imagined the scene, Jenny leaning back as she listened. "He killed himself i. the bathroom because of the guilt."
The three Hunters watched as Gen got up shortly after, following the boys trial up the stairs. Jenny, Sam and Dean all looked at one another.
———
"Gen's story checks out." Sam spoke from the dining table, laptop open to an old news article. In 1964, Michael Palmer, or as everyone knew him as Mick, killed his wife after finding her commuting adultery. After realizing what he had done, he went into the bathroom and sliced his stomach open. And these crime scene photos are not pretty."
Sam turned the laptop to Dean and Jenny, who both grimaced at the sight. Mick's wife, Sarah, was covered in blood. Her wrists were marked tied with rope and bruised, and her stomach was split open. Her face had been sliced.
"Does it say what the murder weapon was?" Dean asked as Sam turned the laptop back to himself, looking.
"Just a regular... very sharp kitchen knife..." Silence, then followed by an agitated groan from Sam. "And it also says that Mick was marked with an unmarked grave in a separate cemetery that his wife was buried in." Jenny slammed her head on the table, huffing.
"Always with the unmarked graves. How many cemeteries are here?" Jenny asked, slowly looking up to Sam. He opened a new tab, searching. His face dropped in irritation.
"In Springfield alone? Thirty-Seven."
"Oh you've gotta be kidding me. They didn't bother to mention where?" Dean asked, standing up with a roll of his eyes as Sam shook his head. "It's going to take us forever to search for this guy. And we have zero clue who the next victim could be."
"Sam, how many murders have happened since '64?" Sam did another search, his brows raising.
"In the last four decades... 36." Jenny leaned her head forward in shock. "How the hell is that motel still running?"
"I don't know and I don't care. But when we salt and burn these bones, it's over, and we can get the hell out of here." Dean grumbled, looking through his bag for his keys. "Where the hell are my keys?"
"Left pocket." Jenny said, standing up. Dean frowned at her, rummaging through his left pocket to pull out his keys. "Alright. Let's fill up the gas and check out the furthest cemetery from Sarah Palmer." Jenny turned to Sam, who was already searching.
"She was buried in... Clyod Cemetery. Furthest one from there is Crucifixtion Hill Cemetery."
"Hm. Flattering." Dean and Jenny said in unison as the woman clapped her hands, rubbing them together. "Alright. Dean and I are going to go to CH, you go back to Mainchester. Just in case any man or woman decides cheating there sounds safe."
Sam nodded as they all started walking out of their motel room and to the Impala.
———
Dean pulled up to the cemetery and sighed heavily, turning to Jenny. "You know, this isn't really the best time right now, but I think we should talk."
Jenny turned to Dean in confusion. "About what?"
"You. It hasn't been by much... But since the hellhound thing you've been acting... different." Jenny tried to hold a poker face, scoffing.
"Different? How?" Dean shrugged, looking out to the graveyard.
"You've been somewhat quieter than usual. You look like you see a ghost every time you zone out." Jenny shook her head, shrugging as well.
"I'm fine, Dean. Don't worry about me."
"You know I'll always worry about you, Jen. I mean, you're my best friend. My girlfriend, too. And with this line of work we do, how could I not?" Jenny messed with Dean's hair and smiled, scooting closer for a moment.
"I understand that, Dean. You can worry about my safety. But I'm okay. I promise." She kissed the top of his head, holding that fake smile of hers she played off so well. Dean hummed, giving her a slow kiss. "Now. Time to dig up a body. And then maybe we can celebrate. We don't usually get a place to ourselves." Dean smirked in amusement, nodding.
"I like that idea."
———
"This is officially the biggest cemetery I've ever walked through. Not to mention, we haven't seen a single unmarked grave." Jenny breathed heavily, looking around in the darkness. Dean nodded in agreement, using his shovel as a cane.
"This? I don't miss about hunting vengeful spirits." Jenny heaved, walking up to stand next to Dean.
"But this isn't even technically a vengeful spirit. Mick got his revenge on his wife, so him still being here means either the man that she cheated on him with is alive, or he continues to kill people who cheat just so their spouse doesn't feel betrayed."
"You put a lot of words into nothing, Jen." Dean said, earning a jab in the gut. He stifled a laugh, pausing when he spotted an unmarked grave ahead of them. "Hey I think I found it!"
The two ran over to the grave, checking it out for a moment. "There's a rope around it, couldn't be anymore obvious, could it?" Jenny said as Dean started digging.
———
After around half an hour of the two digging, Jenny's phone rang. Sam's name appeared on the screen, immediately knowing either he was about to ask if they found it, or that someone was about to cheat.
"Hey, Samurai. We found the gra—"
"Stu, Gen and Danny are back." Jenny looked at Dean, who frowned at her as he continued digging. "They think they know what's going on."
"How would they know? There's no way that—"
"They know Mick is dead, like Gen mentioned. And they know the killings have been happening the exact same way Mick killed his wife. They know that he's haunting the motel and want to help." Jenny out Sam in speaker.
"Well, tell them it's too late because we're digging up Heatwave right now." Jenny frowned, Dean still confused.
"I told them you guys were already on your way to find his grave. They've been standing outside of room 213 since."
"Well, maybe now they're just trying to play 'Catch Casper'." Dean hoped as his shovel hit something hard. "I got it." Jenny jumped out of the hole as Dean started breaking open the coffin.
"You got the salt?" He asked as Jenny picked up the canister. Dean reached for the lighter fluid on the grass, spraying and salting the bones before hopping out. "Say nighty night."
———
Jenny and Dean rolled up to the motel, where Sam, Stuart, Daniel and Genevieve were all waiting. Sam looked uncomfortable, standing a few feet away from them.
"You didn't say anything, did you?" Jenny asked Sam as she and Dean walked over. Daniel crossed his arms.
"We already know ghosts are real. It's obvious now. Unless there's a copycat killer." He frowned, Dean and Jenny looking at one another.
"Do we really have to? Dean, they're kids." She whispered to him, and he nodded.
"It's pretty obvious they'll figure it out eventually." Jenny sighed quietly, turning to the three teenagers.
"Alright, you guys are right. Ghosts are real, and we aren't the FBI." The three kids' eyes widened in surprise, all of their arms uncrossing.
"You do know lying about that is illegal, right?" Stuart stated the obvious as Jenny stifled a laugh.
"Yeah, well, a lot of what we do is illegal." After a short second of silence, she continued. "Ghosts aren't your only worry. Wendigos, wraiths, demons, any evil you can think of, it probably exists." Gen frowned, thinking.
"Flying Dutchman?"
"Oh no that's actually horse shit. Doesn't exist."
"Mermaids?" Daniel asked, Jenny opening her mouth to answer before closing it again.
"I'll get back to you on that one. Sirens exist, though. Dangerous bastards."
"Cool." The three laughed, but the Hunters shook their heads.
"Not cool, if you think about it. We hunt things like those for a living." Dean said, his shoulders dropping as he looked to Sam and Jenny. "You guys gotta be careful now that you know about these things. Don't go all out and try and hunt them just because you know they're real, alright? And don't even think about asking us to teach you, because we won't."
"But why not?" Stuart frowned, crossing his arms again.
"Because you never leave this line of business. And it gets you killed. You can try all you want to live a normal life after becoming a Hunter, but you won't ever get it back." Jenny answered, glancing to Sam. He turned away.
"Does that mean we won't ever have normal lives again?" Genevieve asked, and Jenny shrugged.
"That's up to you to decide. You know the supernatural exists, but you can still live your life without hunting them. Don't be like us. It won't end well for you guys."
The three teenagers all nodded slowly, walking away to their car. Sam, Dean and Jenny watched them leave with solemn looks, hoping they'd listen to their words.
Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: Truyen247.Pro