Gunpowder and Lead

XLIV

[There's Something About Mary]

Eileen Leahy was running through the woods. A Hellhound was barking as it chased her. Eileen shot and the Hellhound attacked. Ketch blew a dog whistle to stop the attack, but Eileen was dead. Ketch congratulated the Hellhound and fed him a treat.

---

Sam, Kennedy, Nadia and Dean entered a motel room.

"Mom? Mom," Dean called.

Kennedy checked around the room. "Well, looks like she hasn't been here for a while."

"Yeah. All her stuff is gone. Did she say she was moving on or–" Sam was cut off.

"No, I told you two what she said," Dean interrupted. She said, "Dean, call me. We have a problem." And then that was it. She didn't sound happy. Like, at all."

"Okay, well, when she's not here, she's been bunking with the Brits. So maybe–"

"Well, dude, Kendy and I've called Mick, like, six times. He's been radio silent since they sent him to London."

Dean made a call. "Ketch, calling to see if my Mom's with you. It's Dean. Winchester. Because I'd like to speak to her, that's why. No, I'm not being terse. Look, if you haven't seen her, do you know where she is? No, I'm not being curt either. Look, I don't have time for Manners 101 from you, okay? If she's with you, I wanna know about it. Fine."

Ketch hung up.

"Such a dick," Dean muttered.

"And?" Kennedy pressed.

"He says he hasn't seen Mom in over a week."

Sam frowned. "But Mom called two days ago, said she was working a case with him."

"Which means he's lying."

"But why would he–"

Sam pulled his phone from his pocket and looked at it. "Jody." He answered. "Jody, hey. No, what? No. Uh, no, we hadn't heard."

"Mom?" Dean asked.

Sam shook his head. "Um, when? What the hell happened? Oh, no. No, I-I Yeah, thanks for letting me know. Bye." Sam hung up the phone.

"Who?"

"Eileen."

Kennedy's face fell and Dean questioned, "How?"

"She was, uh, mauled by a wild animal in a wooded area that doesn't have animals that do that, in South Carolina."

Kennedy cleared her throat before saying, "But I thought she was in Ireland. Sam..."

"Dean, Kennedy, that's the second hunter death we've heard about in two weeks."

"I know. But two doesn't mean a pattern," Dean reasoned.

"Three would," Kennedy noted.

"Meaning?"

She met her husband's eyes. "Your mom's a hunter, and no one knows where she is."

---

They drove down the road in the Impala.

---

They stood inside a morgue, around Eileen's body.

Sam was the first to speak. "People who do what we do, you know there are gonna be deaths, but... This-"

"These wounds – I mean, we've only seen something this bad a few times," Dean said.