Unbreakable Hope

28. The Curious Case of Dean Winchester

"Oh, you mean my legs. Well, I'm just weepin' in my Haagen-Dazs. Idjit." He hung up.

HOUSE

Dean sat on an ottoman, looking at a framed photo of an old man, Cliff Whitlow. Elena stood nearby. Sam sat in an armchair and Mrs. Whitlow sat on the sofa.

"That's the most recent," Mrs. Whitlow said as Dean handed her the photo.

The photo was of Cliff as a golf tournament champion, Miami Palms June 2009, holding a golf club and trophy. A USMC tattoo was visible on his right arm.

"How long has he been missing?" Sam asked.

"Oh, I knew right away when he didn't come home Tuesday night," Mrs. Whitlow replied.

"Is there someplace he likes to go after work, maybe?" Dean questioned. "A favorite bar?"

Mrs. Whitlow laughed. "No. Tuesdays, he always works a bit late, but he always comes straight home."

"May I use your facilities, ma'am?"

INT. OFFICE – DAY

Dean entered the room, looking back over his shoulder.

He scooped a pile of papers off the desk.

Dean rifled the rest of the desk and the pockets of Cliff's coat.

He pulled out a receipt and they looked at it: it was for Madame Liu's Golden Palace and totaled over $250.

"'Working late' my ass," Dean muttered.

INT. MOTEL CORRIDOR – NIGHT

Dean, Elena and Sam walked along the corridor.

"Well, at least he's consistent," Sam said. "Same room every Tuesday, hourly rates."

"Hope I got that kind of kick when I'm his age," Dean commented.

"Yeah, like either of us will live that long."

"True."

Elena looked between them. "So... what do you think's in there?"

They paused.

"A wrinkly, gooey corpse," Dean guessed.

They went on to stop outside room 44.

Sam pulled out his lock pick kit and selected two while Dean and Elena kept watch. A man started shouting inside the room.

"Oh, God!" the man cried. "Oh, God! Oh! Oh, God!"

Sam, Elena and Dean looked at each other and slammed the door open.

"Hey! What the—" the man trailed. He was apparently naked, in bed with a woman, barely dressed.

"Oh," Sam said.

"God," Dean commented.

Elena immediately covered her eyes, not wanting to see more than she'd already seen.

Another woman came out from under the covers.

"It's gooey," Sam stated.

Both women fled the bed.

"Sorry," Dean apologized. "Uh, got the wrong room."

"Close the door!" the man yelled.

Dean and Elena were outside and Sam was about to close the door behind them when he noticed something.

"Hey," Sam said, noticing the man had a USMC tattoo that looked exactly like Cliff Whitlow's. "Nice tattoo."

Sam came back into the room and asked, "Happen to know anybody named Cliff Whitlow?"