Thief in the Woods

Chapter 4: Stakeout

"You're joking, right?"

Neal shook his head. "Not after the events of the past year. Need I remind you of Scotts Bluff?"

Sara winced. "I'm not likely to forget."

Their summer vacation with Peter and El had been interrupted when they became toys for a Greek god's amusement. Was something similar happening again? Neal glanced at his watch. "It's two o'clock. We don't need to wake up the Winchesters about this. Our tipsy thief hasn't inflicted any bodily harm."

"And that dance was rather endearing," Sara said then quickly added, "Not that I for a moment condone the crimes. We should alert the police so they can notify the homeowner."

"And tell them we saw a drunk spirit go poof in the night?" Neal shook his head. "That's not going to help our reputations."

Sara gave a small sigh. "You're right, plus the homeowners are also probably sound asleep. If the pattern holds, the police won't find any evidence."

"And now we know why. I doubt seriously a spirit has any fingerprints to leave."

Sara nodded in agreement. "Is the same true for footprints?"

Neal flashed her a smile. "Let's find out."

They exited the car to examine the spot where they'd seen the spirit. The night was warm. A heavy dew had already condensed on the broad expanse of lawn in front of the large Colonial brick house. Neal and Sara's footprints were easily seen on the wet grass, but their spirit had vanished without a trace.

Sara chuckled. "Your first case for Win-Win and it involves the supernatural. I worked at Sterling-Bosch for over two years and didn't have a single similar incident. Maybe Peter was right. You are a magnet for the paranormal."

Neal grinned. "Didn't I promise you our lives would never be dull?"

* * * * *

Sara was glad everyone was present when they went over to Maia's house the next morning. Dean, Sam, Bobby, Maia, and Chloe were all on hand to hear their description of the mystery thief. They sat in the living room, not Sara's favorite room in the world despite the new furniture and poker table. The stained-glass angels were still there. They were undeniably beautiful, and she knew they'd been disenchanted, but she had the uneasy sensation they were listening in. Which was ridiculous. Neal didn't appear to be bothered. She shouldn't be either.

"That thief doesn't sound like anything we've encountered," Sam said with a worried frown. He turned to Bobby. "You ever run into anything similar?"

Bobby thought for a couple of moments before slowly shaking his head. "It doesn't sound like a trickster. I suppose it could be some minor spirit who gets her jollies out of jewelry, but why did she show up now?"

"Have you noticed anything missing?" Sara asked. "Is your jewelry secure?"

"I rechecked this morning and everything's safe," Maia said. "Chloe and I don't own anything expensive. As for Astrena's jewelry, we had Bobby place them in a curse box. That's where they'll remain until we're sure they're not enchanted."

"The only item that's missing is Bobby's flask," Dean said with a pointed look at him. "You haven't found it yet, have you?"

"Nope, but it ain't worth squat."

"The spirit was carrying a flask," Neal said, exchanging excited glances with Sara. "The photos we obtained are too dark to show much detail, but the flask appeared to be a dark color."

"The outer case was probably leather," Sara added. "A large square cut out in front showed a silver liner. I'm not positive, but it might have been engraved."