Death by Life / Book Eight / The Life Series / Supernatural

Rock and a Hard Place

I walked into the bunker to see Sam and Dean talking. My phone rang before I could say a word. I answered. "Hello?"

"Hey, Ness. Jody Mills."

I smiled. "Sheriff Mills. Hey, Jody. It's been..."

"Forever, I know. Uh... I got a bit of an oddball to pitch your direction."

"Shoot."

"A small town I cover outside of Sioux Falls. Only crime to speak of being the occasional cow tipping. Then last week... four people go missing."

"All right, so, what makes you think this is our kind of weird."

"I've got a witness who says he saw someone lift an SUV to nab a girl last night."

I looked at Sam and Dean. "Looks like I'm going back home. Or, close enough, anyway." Sam and Dean looked at me in confusion. I smiled a small smile. "You two can come with, if you're up for it."

    ~~~~~~~~     

Dean drove us up to Casey's Great Plains Diner, parking net to Jody's truck. We got out of the car.

Sam and Dean embraced Jody.

I embraced Jody, smiling. "Sheriff. Laying off the blind dates, I hope."

Jody pulled away, giving me a half-hearted look. "Yeah, you bite your tongue, girl."

I smiled a small smile.

"Hey," Sam told her. "So?"

"So, car was right over there, ass over teakettle," Jody answered. "Now, normally, if somebody would tell me that one guy lifted an SUV, I'd tell him to take a flying leap, but after what I've seen..."

"Nothing's impossible," Sam finished.

"Uh-huh," Jody answered.

"And this matches up with the other missing how?" Dean asked.

"Well, four abductions, strong evidence left at every scene, literally," Jody answered.

"So, first vic was a pastor?" Sam asked.

"Yeah," Jody answered. "Door of his study was punched in. And then, the next two? An engaged couple."

I looked at Sam and Dean. "Locked bedroom window was ripped open."

"Yeah," Jody agreed. "And then we have our waitress here with the topsy-turvy ride."

"Any other connection among them?" Sam asked.

"Yeah," Jody answered. "They were all members of Good Faith church here. My, uh, my church group back in Sioux Falls was in a tizzy over it."

I nodded in amusement. "Hmm."

"What?" Jody asked.

"I didn't peg you for a churchy," I answered. "I mean, you weren't one when I knew you."

Jody looked down. "Yeah. You know... zombies taking your family kind of makes a higher power seem relevant."

"Jody, are you sure you're, uh, ready to jump back in the fray?" I asked.

"This wackadoo stuff keeps coming," Jody told us. "More I know, better armed I'll be."

"Okay, so, we have, uh, missing church folk and super strength," Sam told us. "Maybe angels harvesting vessels? Could be a Buddy Boyle type thing."

"Wha--Angels?" Jody asked. "You're joking."

"Don't get your pants on fire," Dean told her. "They suck."