Dean, Ophelia, and Natalie are sitting at a table outside a cafe. Dean reading a newspaper and Ophelia is leaning her head against his arm to look at the newspaper. Natalie is people watching, waiting for Sam to get back with her food.
Natalie turns around when she hears familiar giggles.
"Bessie. Elizabeth." Sam hisses. "Elizabeth, slow down." He's rushing after her, trying to balance the drinks and breakfast.
Libby reaches the table and turns to Sam, innocently grinning up at him as he walks over. Sam puts all the stuff down on the table. Sam pulls the middle chair out and then lifts Libby up on it, making her stand on it. He leans down so he's closer to her face.
"Do not do that again. When I tell you to stop, you stop." Sam tells her, his voice firm but gentle.
"Otay." Libby smiles. Sam sighs, knowing it won't be the last time.
"I mean it, Elizabeth." Sam warns.
Libby leans forward and brushes her nose against his. Sam feels some of the annoyance leave his body and he notices some of the tension leave his shoulders.
Libby pulls away, making sure her eyes are in full puppy dog effect and she cutely grins. Sam quietly sighs, softly smiling at her.
"Sit down and eat your breakfast." Sam tells her. He puts her on her butt and pushes the chair in.
"Weak." Natalie coughs out. Sam gently smacks her over the head and she slaps him in the arm.
Sam gives Libby her chocolate milk and banana nut muffin. Natalie already got her stuff and gave Ophelia her chocolate chip muffin and strawberry milk.
Sam sits across from Dean, giving his brother one of the coffees, and keeping the other one for himself.
"Anthony Giles." Dean states, giving Sam the newspaper.
"Who's Anthony Giles?" Sam asks.
"He's a Baltimore lawyer. Working late in his office, check it out." Dean says.
"Uh... throat was slit, room was clean. Huh. No DNA, no prints." Sam says, glancing over the article.
"Keep reading, it gets better." Dean says.
"Security cameras failed to capture footage of the assailant." Sam says.
"So I'm thinking either somebody tampered with the tapes--"
"Or it's an invisible killer."
"My favorite kind. What do you think, Scully? You wanna check it out?"
"I'm not Scully, you're Scully." Sam retorts.
"No, I'm Mulder. You're a red-headed woman." Dean states.
"Who the hell am I?" Natalie asks.
"I don't know." Dean shrugs.
They all get their stuff and start to leave. Sam grabs Libby's half finished muffin, but turns when he hears running.
"Elizabeth, I told you to stop!" Sam calls, running after her.
+++
It's nighttime and they get to Anthony's office, sneaking in. Sam shines his flashlight around, finding a pool of blood.
"Hey. Anthony Giles' body was found right about here." Sam says. ""Throat slit so deep part of his spinal cord was visible."" He reads and Dean whistles.
"What do you think? Vengeful spirit? Underlining vengeful?" Dean asks.
"Yeah, maybe. I mean, he did see that woman at the foot of his bed." Sam says.
"Take a look at this." Dean says, holding up a sheet of paper that Sam takes.
"Dana Shulps. A name?" Sam asks.
"I dunno, but it's everywhere." Dean says, looking through more papers. "Well, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." He grins.
"Who Jack?" Libby asks.
"Nobody you need to worry about." Sam says.
Sam breathes on the glass table to reveal the same name impressed in the surface.
"Wow. I'd say we've officially crossed over into weird." Sam says.
"Maybe Giles knew her." Natalie suggests.
"Or maybe it's the name of our pale red-eyed mystery girl." Sam says.
"Well, let's see what we can see." Dean says.
~ ~ ~
Sam is at the desktop computer with Libby asleep on his lap. Dean is standing by the door and Natalie is in the chair across from Sam and Ophelia is on her lap, half asleep.
"There's not a single mention of a Dana Shulps anywhere. There's not a D. Shulps. Or any other kind of fuckin' Shulps." Dean says.
"Great." Sam sighs.
"What have you got?" Dean asks.
"Nothing. No Dana Shulps has ever lived or died in Baltimore in the last fifty years at least." Sam says.
"So what now?" Dean asks.
"Well, I think I'm pretty close to cracking Giles' password. Maybe there's something in his personal files, you know?" Sam says.
"By close you mean..."
"Thirty minutes, maybe?" Sam shrugs and Dean glances at his watch.
"Awesome. So I guess I just get to, uh, hang out. Awesome." He mutters to himself. Sam continues to try to figure the password out. Dean sits in the chair next to Natalie.
"She asleep?" Dean nods to his daughter. Natalie looks down at Ophelia's face and gently blows on her forehead, not getting a reaction. Natalie nods and Dean pouts, having wanted his daughter, but he doesn't want to risk waking her up by moving her.
After a few moments, Dean starts making noises with his mouth.
"Dude, seriously." Sam deadpans.
"All right, I'm gonna go talk to Karen again, see if she knows anything about this Dana Shulps, huh?" Dean says.
"Great." Sam says.
"Keep going, Sparky." Dean says as he leaves.
+++
Sam is in an interrogation room and pacing by the window. He's slightly freaking out, but mostly since he doesn't know how Libby is doing since she hates being away from him and being stuck in a room probably isn't helping her.
The door opens making him turn and see the lady who arrested him walk in with a coffee cup.
"Thought you might be thirsty." She says, placing the cup on the table.
"Okay, so you're the good cop. Where's the bad cop?" Sam asks.
"Oh, he's with your brother." Ballard states.
"Okay. And you're holding us why?" Sam asks.
"Well, he's being held on suspicion of murder. And you and your sister, we'll see."
"Murder?!"
"You sound genuinely surprised. Or are you that good of an actor?"
"Who was he supposed to have murdered?!"
"We'll get around to that."
"What about the two innocent little girls you brought in? Hmm? What could they have possibly done?"
"Well, it's partly that leaving two children alone that young isn't the most acceptable thing. Plus, depending on where all this ends up going, there's a chance they'll be put in child protective services."
"CPS?" Sam asks, feeling his heartbeat pick up a little at the possibility. He can't fathom losing his daughter.
"Yes. Can't really live with their dads or aunt if they're all in jail, right?" Ballard says. "We're bringing in a couple social workers in now. They should be here soon." Ballard states. Sam nervously swallows, but quickly regains his composure.
"Well, you can't just hold us here without formal charges." Sam states.
"Well actually, we can, for forty-eight hours. But you being a pre-law student, would know that. I know all about you, Sam." Ballard says, opening a file.
"You're twenty-three years old, no job, no home address. Your mother died when you and your twin sister, Natalie, were babies. Your father's whereabouts are unknown. And then there's the case of your brother, Dean. Whose demise was, well, just a little bit exaggerated. Feel free to jump in whenever you like."
Sam stays silent, crossing his arms.
"Shy? No problem. I'll keep going. Your family moved around a lot when you were a kid. Despite that, you were a straight A student. Got into Stanford with a full ride. Your daughter, Elizabeth, was born on January 26th in 2003."
"Then about a year ago, there was a fire in your apartment. One fatality. Jessica Moore -- your girlfriend, mother of your child. Your sister's boyfriend, Noah Robertson, died the same night by having his throat slit. After they died, you and your sister and daughter fell off the grid. Left behind everything."
"I needed some time off. To deal. So I'm taking a road trip with my sister, daughter, brother, and niece." Sam says.
"How's that going for you?" Ballard asks.
"Great. I mean... we saw the second largest ball of twine in the continental U.S. Awesome." Sam smiles, sitting on a chair backwards.
"We ran Dean's fingerprints through AFIS."
"Okay."
"Got over a dozen possible hits."
"Possible hits. Which makes them worthless."
"But it makes you wonder. What are we gonna find when we run your prints?"
"Yeah, well. You be sure to let me know, all right. May I?" He points to the cup.
"Please." Ballard motions for him to take the drink.
"Great." Sam picks the cup up and sniffs it before taking a sip.
"Sam, you seem like a good kid. It's not your fault Dean's your brother. We can't pick our family. Right now, detectives in St. Louis are exhuming a corpse. They're trying to figure out how your brother faked his own death. After torturing all those young women. Dean's a bad guy. His life is over. Yours doesn't have to be. Natalie's doesn't have to be. Maybe you can still watch Elizabeth grow up."
"You want me to turn against my own brother?"
"No. We already caught him cold. Red-handed at the Karen Giles murder scene. We just need you to fill in some missing pieces."
"Why would I do that?"
"Because I can talk to the DA. Make a deal for you. You can get on with your life. Maybe you'll get to keep the girls... or at least have some sort of visitation arrangement. Dean's as good as gone."
+++
Natalie is sitting in an interrogation room, slouching in her seat with her arms crossed. She looks around out of boredom, huffing out a breath.
She looks over as the door opens, Ballard walking in.
"You the good cop or the bad cop?" Natalie asks.
"Thirsty?" Ballard asks and she puts a paper cup on the table.
"Good cop. Got it." Natalie says. "What exactly are you holding us for?"
"Your older brother is being held on suspicious of murder. You and your twin, we'll see." Ballard says.
"Murder?" Natalie lets out a shocked laugh.
"You seem genuinely surprised. Or you're just that good of an actress." Ballard comments.
"Who would he have murdered?" Natalie questions.
"We'll get to that." Ballard says.
"Oh, yeah? And, um... what about the two children? What, you think they went around and helped him out?" Natalie asks.
"They're here so they weren't left alone in a motel room. Also, if this doesn't work in any of your favors, CPS will step in." Ballard says.
"CPS?" Natalie asks.
"Yes. You're familiar with them, aren't you?" Ballard questions.
"No. No, not really." Natalie argues. "You can't hold us with zero charges." She says, changing the subject.
"Actually, Natalie, we can for 48 hours." Ballard states, opening a file. "You're twenty-three years old, no job, no home address. Your mother died when you and your twin brother, Sam, were babies. Your father's whereabouts are unknown... and then there's the case of your brother Dean. His demise was a bit exaggerated. Anything to add?"
"Kudos on learning how to read." Natalie remarks.
"I'll keep going. Your family moved around a lot when you were a kid. CPS got called a few times by a couple of your former teachers and even by yourself one time. Also a young teenage boy called one time. Under the name Peter Deetz."
Natalie keeps her head down as her eyebrows furrow. Her eyes slightly widen when she recognizes the name, but hides her reaction from Ballard.
"You always seemed to be "bumping into" things. According to you when they would show up... and according to your father." Ballard comments.
"I was a clumsy child." Natalie says.
"Sure the things you were running into weren't your father's fists?" Ballard asks. Natalie doesn't say anything, biting the inside of her cheek. "You moved to Palo Alto at nineteen. You got a job at a restaurant near the Stanford. You then got a second job at a bookstore."
"About a year ago, your boyfriend, Noah Robertson, was found dead in your apartment with his throat slit. You were apparently out of town when it happened. It happened the same night there was a fire at your brother's apartment that killed his girlfriend, mother of his child, and your friend, Jessica Moore."
"After their deaths, you and Sam both fell off the grid, along with his daughter. Left everything behind."
"We both needed time off. We're taking a road trip with our big brother and his daughter." Natalie says.
"How's that going for you?" Ballard asks.
"Perfect. We saw the second largest ball of twine in the continental U.S. It was awesome." Natalie smiles.
"We ran Dean's fingerprints through AFIS." Ballard informs.
"Okay." Natalie shrugs.
"Got over a dozen possible hits." Ballard states.
"Possible. So therefore, useless pieces of shit that really mean nothing." Natalie retorts.
"It makes you wonder. What are we gonna find when we run your prints? Or Sam's?"
"You let me know." Natalie says, faking a smile at the woman.
"Look, you seem like a good kid. One who's probably had a hard life if you called CPS on yourself. Even though you never did it again." Ballard says.
Natalie knows she didn't do it again because when John found out, it was one of the worse punishments he ever gave her. She had hope that she'd be taken away, even though it would've meant being taken away from Sam and Dean. But she was nine and terrified of her father. John had practically beaten her to death after CPS left. He kicked her out, though the girl didn't go far, spending two weeks sleeping in the Impala before John would let her back in after she apologized. Even after the apology, he still left her in the closet for a day to "think about her actions."
After those two weeks, John still seemed angry so he dropped Natalie off at Bobby's, leaving her there for four months. Natalie always told Sam they were the best four months of her life and she always wished that Bobby was their dad instead of John.
"Told you. Clumsy kid." Natalie says.
"I'm sure." Ballard hums. "Hey, it's not your fault Dean's your brother. We can't pick our family. Right now. detectives in St. Louis are exhuming a corpse. They're trying to figure out how your brother faked his own death. After torturing all those young women."
"Maybe it's just a freaky doppelganger situation." Natalie suggests.
"Dean's a bad guy. His life is over. Yours doesn't have to be." Ballard says.
"You want me to betray my brother?" Natalie asks.
"No. We already caught him cold. Red handed at the Karen Giles murder scene. We just need you to fill in some missing holes." Ballard says.
"You talked to Sam, right? Sounds like all the holes are filled." Natalie says.
"I can talk to the DA if you cooperate. Make a deal for you, offered the same for Sam. You two can get on with your lives. Raise the girls. Dean's as good as gone." Ballard states.
"My father and Tony Giles were old friends. They were in the service together, we've known him since we were kids. So we came as soon as we heard about his death." Natalie begins to explain. "Would've been hard for Dean to kill Tony since we weren't in town when it happened."
"So tell me what happened next." Ballard says.
"We went to see Karen. She was barely holding it together, an absolute wreck, obviously. Completely understandable. We just wanted to be there for her. Told her if she needed anything, we'd be there, then we left. Done. End of story. Here we are."
"Natalie, I'm trying to help you. But you need to be honest with me. Now we have an eyewitness. Someone saw two men, a woman, and two children, fitting you and your brothers' and your nieces' descriptions, breaking into Giles' office." Ballard states.
"Okay, yeah, fine. Karen called us and told us about some stuff she wanted from Tony's office, but the police weren't letting her in. A-A picture of the two in Paris and some other stuff. Was it wrong to enter a crime scene? Sure. But she did give us the key, so we didn't exactly break and enter."
"Dean went back to Karen's place to check up on her, given her distraught state from earlier."
"Why didn't you, Sam, and the girls go with him?" Ballard asks.
"We went back to the motel. We were tired. The girls were already asleep. How'd you know we were there, anyway?" Natalie asks.
"We found the motel matchbook on your brother when we arrested him. Let's quit fooling around. No more sass."
"Well, if you don't want any stupid remarks, you're just gonna have to talk to somebody else." Natalie says.
"You were with your brothers and nieces the whole time you were in Baltimore. Why separate now? Because your older brother left you... to go murder Karen." Ballard says.
"We annoy Dean a lot. You know, kind of the younger sibling job. Also, he's not a people person. Super anti-social. Hates everybody. He didn't kill anybody, though." Natalie says.
"I heard the 911 call from Karen, she was terrified. Said someone was in the house." Ballard says.
"Someone who wasn't Dean." Natalie states. "Have you seen any slasher or crime movie? They tend to escape prior and sometimes, people get framed... like Dean."
+++
Ophelia is sitting in an interrogation room and twirling the ends of her hair around her fingers, mostly out of nervousness. She doesn't know where her family is, knowing they're probably in the building, but could be on a different floor or something.
Ophelia's head snaps to the door as it opens, Ballard and a middle aged woman wearing a nice blouse, pencil skirt, and four inch heels walk in. The second woman has a satchel and is holding a file.
"Hello, Ophelia. I'm Leslie Blanchard." She introduces, holding her hand out for the young girl, but Ophelia only stares between Leslie's hand and face with a disgusted look.
"I want my family. I want my daddy." Ophelia states, turning to Ballard.
"I don't see that happening. Your father is facing some very serious crimes and your uncle and aunt aren't making it any easier on themselves." Ballard says. "You and your cousin will both be placed into foster care. Leslie here is your social worker."
"I don't know what that is, but I don't want it." Ophelia states.
"You don't really have an option, Ophelia." Ballard remarks.
"I want my daddy." Ophelia demands.
"I'm sorry, but that isn't able to happen." Ballard says.
"Tell me about yourself, Ophelia." Leslie tries to get the girl to open up.
"I hate people who aren't daddy, Uncle Sammy, Aunt Natty, Libby, and Grandpa Bobby." Ophelia says.
"Grandpa Bobby? He hasn't been mentioned. He your dad's dad?" Leslie asks.
"He's, uh... he's nobody." Ophelia says.
"Nobody, hmm? Sounds like somebody." Leslie comments.
"He's nobody you need to know." Ophelia's eyes narrow slightly.
Leslie lets out a small sigh, opening the file, regretting taking this case.
"It says here you were born in 2000 on February 16th." Leslie says, looking through the file, making the young girl huff and roll her eyes. "Ah, in Detroit, Michigan. I have some family there."
"I didn't ask." Ophelia grumbles.
"You live there long?" Leslie asks.
"I want my dad." Ophelia glares between both women.
"Your dad is in some serious trouble, sweetheart. I don't think you'll be seeing him again." Leslie says, earning a heated glare from the six year old.
"Then let me see my uncle and aunt." Ophelia demands.
"The... situation that we're dealing with is too complicated. They're also in some trouble. You can't see them either." Ballard says.
Ophelia glares and sits back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest, refusing to say another word.
+++
Libby is playing with some of the old blocks a policeman found for her to keep her entertained. The door opens making her look up, hoping to see her dad or one of her other family members, but her hopes are crushed as two unfamiliar men walk in.
"This is the kid." Peter tells the social worker.
"Hi, there Elizabeth." The man kneels in front of her, offering her a small smile. Libby shrinks back a bit, holding a block close to her as a form of attempted comfort, not having Sam to hold onto. "I'm Anthony. I'm here to take you to a house full of other kids."
"Daddy." Libby says, wanting her father, not feeling very comfortable around the two unknown men.
"No, kid. Sorry. Your dad can't take care of you anymore." Anthony says.
"Daddy!" Libby repeats louder.
"Nope, no dad." Anthony repeats in a firmer voice. Libby grows teary-eyed and soon enough starts sobbing, demanding for her dad.
"Thought you said she was easy to deal with." Anthony turns to Pete.
"The hell if I know. I didn't see her. We put some blocks next to her and she just started doing shit. She ain't my issue." Pete says.
+++
Natalie sits in the interrogation room, going over the name Dana Shulps in her head.
"Is it an anagram?" Natalie quietly asks herself. She looks around, finding a pad of paper and a pen. She returns to the table, starting to write different variations.
~ ~ ~
Natalie looks at the paper that the lawyer gave her, saying it was from Dean.
"I hope it means something, but I'd like to discuss your case now." Kraus says.
"Have at it, Matlock." Natalie quips.
"You three really are related." Kraus mutters. "Listen, you know the D.A. may be interested in--" He's cut off by a knock on the door and it opens to reveal Ballard.
"We need you. With the other one." Ballard says.
"You do realize he's not, like... Voldemort, right?" Natalie remarks as the two leave.
Natalie waits a few minutes before getting up. She goes over to the window and pulls the blinds up. She slides the window open, leaning out. Luckily, the fire escape is right there so she climbs out the window and gets down the fire escape as quickly as she can.
~ ~ ~
Sam sneaks out of his interrogation room, getting to the fire escape and finding the room with Libby. Sam smiles slightly, relieved to see her at least physically okay.
Sam looks around for other people and when he doesn't see any, he taps on the window. Libby looks over, eyes lighting up at the sight of her dad.
"Daddy!" She rushes to the window, putting her hands on the glass.
"Hang on a sec, baby girl." Sam tells her. He soon manages to get the window open and slides it up. "Hey, sweetie." He softly smiles. Libby grins, reaching up for her dad, and he pulls her out of the window.
Libby immediately wraps her arms around his neck and he hugs her back.
"Oh, I'm so glad you're okay." Sam says. He smooths some of her hair down, kissing her on the head. "You are okay, right?"
"Mm-hmm. Scary men left after I kept crying." Libby says.
"Well, it's okay, baby. I'm here now, and I got you." Sam says. He gets up, going off and soon finding Ophelia's room.
Sam taps on the window and Ophelia looks over and grins. She rushes over.
"Can you open the window?" Sam asks. Ophelia slides the window open. When it's cracked, Sam finishes helping her slide it up the rest of the way.
"Hey, honey." Sam greets. He puts Libby down and helps Ophelia onto the fire escape.
"Ophi!" Libby grins.
"You okay?" Sam asks his niece.
"Mm-hmm. Are daddy and Aunt Natty okay?" Ophelia asks.
"They'll be fine. We'll see them later." Sam assures, even if he isn't completely sure. "Come on, we gotta go." He says.
~ ~ ~
Natalie sneaks around the building, bumping into somebody else.
"Shi--" She looks up, seeing Sam, Libby, and Ophelia.
"Aunt Natty!" The girls cheer and Ophelia hugs her.
"Hey. Hey." Natalie softly laughs. "Oh, thank God. It's just you." She sighs in relief.
"Yeah. Yeah. Hey, Ashland--"
"Is a street. Yeah, I know." Natalie says.
"Come on, let's go." Sam says.
+++
It's nighttime now and they're in the motel and going through files. Libby is asleep on one of the beds and Ophelia is sitting on Sam's lap. Natalie messes with her bracelets.
There's a knock on the door making them look over at it.
"Is it daddy?" Ophelia asks.
"Probably not, sweet girl." Natalie sympathetically smiles.
Sam puts Ophelia down and gets up and goes over, opening it slightly. He hesitates, but lets the person in.
"These showed up after you saw it?" Sam asks, looking at the bruises on the woman's wrists.
"Yeah, I guess." Ballard says.
"All right. You're going to have to tell us exactly what you saw." Sam says.
"You know, I must be losing my mind. You're both fugitives. I should be arresting you two and putting those two in foster care." Ballard states.
"All right. Well, you know what? You can do what you want later, all right?" Sam says.
"What?" Ophelia asks, her eyes widening.
"Excuse me?" Natalie asks.
"After you live through this. But right now, you've gotta talk to us, okay?" Sam tells the detective who nods. "Okay, great. Now, this spirit. What did it look like?"
"She was, um, really pale, and her throat was cut, and her eyes, they were like, this deep dark red? It appeared like she was trying to talk to me. But she couldn't. It was just... a lot of blood."
"You know what? Here. We've been researching every girl that's ever died or gone missing from Ashland Street." Sam says, going over to the table, getting a stack of photos.
"How'd you get those? Those are from crime scenes and booking photos." Ballard says.
"You have your job, we have ours." Sam says. Ballard looks at Natalie who grins. "Here." He hands her the papers. "I need you to look through these, tell me if you recognize anyone."
Ballard flips through a few of them.
"This is her. I'm sure of it." She shows them the photo.
"Claire Becker? Twenty-eight years old, disappeared about eight or nine months ago." Sam says.
"But I don't even know her. I mean, why would she come after me?" Ballard asks.
"Well, before her death, she was arrested twice, for dealing heroin. You ever work narcotics?" Sam asks.
"Yeah, Pete and I did. Before homicide." Ballard states.
"You ever bust her?" Sam asks.
"Not that I remember." Ballard says.
"It says that she was last seen entering 2911 Ashland Street. Police searched the place, didn't find anything. Guess we gotta check it out ourselves. See if we can find her body."
"What?" Ballard asks.
"Well, we gotta salt and burn her bones. It's the only way to put her spirit to rest." Sam says.
"Of course it is." Ballard mutters.
They get ready and Sam picks Libby up, holding her, and Natalie grabs Ophelia's hand.
"You're bringing children with us?" Ballard asks.
"Well, since we had our last motel room found, I'm not exactly too stoked about leaving them here." Sam says.
"Ditto." Natalie nods.
+++
"So what exactly are we looking for?" Ballard asks as they walk into 2911 Ashland Street building.
"We'll let you know when we find it." Sam says. They all split up, looking around.
"Sam? Natalie? Sam?" Ballard calls. They rush to where she is.
"Hey! Hey, we're here. What happened?" Sam asks.
"Claire..." Ballard says shakily.
"Where?" Sam asks, the twins looking around.
"She-she was here." Ballard says.
"Did she attack you?" Sam asks.
"No. No, she was just like, reaching out for me. She was over there by the window." Ballard points to a window that's blocked by a shelving unit. "Help me move this."
Sam gives Libby to Natalie before he and Ballard move the shelves to reveal the window to see what's on it from the outside.
ASHLAND SUPPLIES
"Our little mystery word." Ballard says. They turn to a shadow on the opposite wall, casting the words in a clear reflection.
"Now the extra letters make sense." Sam says, pulling his EMF reader out and turning it on as he goes to the opposite wall.
"What is that?" Ballard asks.
"EMF reader. Spirits and certain remains give off electromagnetic frequencies. All that science-y stuff that I usually don't understand." Natalie says.
"So if Claire's body was here, that would indicate that?" Ballard asks.
"Supposedly." Natalie says.
"Yeah, well, that's the theory." Sam says. The reader starts making noise as Sam runs it over the brick wall. Sam breaks through the wall with a sledgehammer, getting a good sized hole cut out before he shines his flashlight in it.
"Yeah. Yeah, there's definitely something in here." Sam says. He breaks through more of the wall with his elbows and fists. "You know? This is bothering me."
"You are using your hands. It seems painful." Ophelia comments.
"Not that, Ophi." Sam softly chuckles.
"You are digging up a corpse." Ballard says.
"No, not that either. The, uh, the corpse is pretty par for the course, actually. And, uh, doesn't hurt that bad." Sam says.
"Then what?" Ballard asks.
"It's just, I mean, no vengeful spirit I've ever tussled with wanted to be wasted, so why the hell would Claire lead us to her remains? It doesn't make any sense." Sam says. "All right, here. Nat, give me a hand."
"I... I have the children." Natalie says.
Sam rolls his eyes and then pulls out a wrapped body and places it on the ground. Natalie makes Libby hide her face in her shoulder and then she covers Ophelia's eyes with her hand. Sam pulls out a pocket knife and cuts the ropes holding the shroud together, uncovering the corpse.
"Her wrists. Yeah, they'd be bruised just like yours." Sam says. Ballard touches the necklace on Claire's neck.
"That necklace mean anything to you?" Natalie asks.
"I've seen it before. It's rare. It was custom made over on Carson Street." Ballard pulls a matching necklace out from under her clothes. "I have one just like it. Pete gave it to me."
The wheels turn in Natalie's head.
"Oh, my God." She realizes.
"Wait." Sam seems to put the pieces together.
"Death omen." The twins chorus.
"Um... excuse me?" Ballard looks between them.
"Claire's not a vengeful spirit, she's a death omen." Natalie states.
"I'm still not following." Ballard says.
"Claire's not killing anyone. She's trying to warn them." Sam says.
"Sometimes spirits, they don't want vengeance, they just want justice." Natalie says.
"Which is why she led us here in the first place. She wants us to know who her killer is." Sam says. The twins share a look, both glancing at the necklaces. "Detective, how much do you know about your partner?"
"Oh, my God." Ballard mumbles.
"What?" The twins ask.
"About a year ago, some heroin went missing from lockup. Obviously it was a cop. We never found out who did it. But whoever did it would need someone to fence their product." Ballard says.
"Someone like a heroin dealer." Sam says.
"Somebody like Claire." Natalie says.
~ ~ ~
"All right. Thanks." Ballard hangs her phone up as she drives.
"What is it?" Sam asks.
"Pete just left the precinct... with Dean." Ballard says.
"What?" The twins question.
"He said the prisoner had to be transferred, and he just took him. Dispatch has been calling but he won't answer the radio." Ballard says.
"Is daddy in trouble?" Ophelia asks.
"I--" Natalie sighs, not sure what to tell her. Ophelia can feel her aunt's reluctance which only makes her worry more.
"Radio? He took a county vehicle?" Sam asks.
"Yeah." Ballard nods.
"Well, then they should have a lo-jack. You've just gotta get it turned on." Sam says.
+++
"Pete! Put the gun down." Ballard orders as they get to where Pete is aiming the gun at Dean who is on his knees.
"Daddy!" Ophelia rushes to him, having not listened to her aunt and uncle telling her to stay in the car. The two look back as Ophelia rushes towards Dean, Libby trailing after her.
As she runs past them, Dean's eyes widen, as Pete goes to point the gun at his daughter. However, before she gets too far, Sam snatches Ophelia, lifting her into the air and holding her against his chest.
"No." Ophelia whines, fighting against her uncle's grip.
"Hey, hey. Calm down. Calm down. Baby, the bad guy has a gun. You can't run." Sam whispers. Ophelia stops struggling so much, looking worriedly between her dad and Pete.
Natalie picks Libby up, keeping a tight grip on her niece.
"Diana? How'd you find me?" Pete asks.
"I know about Claire." Ballard says.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Pete says.
"Put the gun down!" She orders.
"Oh, I don't think so. You're fast. I'm pretty sure I'm faster." Pete says.
"Why are you doing this?"
"I didn't do anything, Diana."
"It's a little late for that."
"It wasn't my fault. Claire was trying to turn me in, I had no choice."
"And Tony? Karen?"
"Same thing! Tony scrubbed the money, he got skittish, and then he wanted to come clean. I'm sure he told Karen everything. It was a mess. I had to clean it up, I just panicked."
"How many more people are gonna die over this, Pete?"
"There's a way out. This Dean kid's a fucking gift. We could pin the whole thing on him, right? No trial, nothing. Just-just one more dead scumbag."
"No!" Ophelia screams, fighting against Sam's hold making him tighten his grip so he doesn't accidentally drop her. "No. He's gonna kill him."
"Hey!" Dean protests. Pete aims his gun at him making him back down.
"Sweetie, we'll figure it out. We'll figure it out." Sam mumbles.
"No one will question it. Diana, please. I still love you." Pete says. Diana lowers her gun. "Thank you. Thank you." He turns to Dean and Diana fires her gun at him, hitting him in the stomach.
Dean rolls out of the way, creating distance from him and Pete.
"Then why don't you buy me another necklace, you ass?" Diana says. Pete tackles her legs, knocking her down, her gun escaping her grasp. Natalie puts Libby down and races for the weapon, but Pete gets it first.
"Don't do it! Don't do it!" He warns, pointing the gun at her.
Natalie holds her hands up, backing up a bit. Sam moves over, standing in front of Libby who hugs his leg tightly, quietly whining in fear. They look past Pete as Claire's ghost appears. Pete turns to her and she smiles. Diana grabs her gun and shoots Pete in the back, him falling to the ground, dead.
Ophelia squirms in Sam's arms until he puts her down. Ophelia beelines for her father and tightly hugs him.
"Hey. Hey, baby girl." Dean quietly greets, resting his chin on her shoulder. He manages to reach his cuffed hands up to her back. "I'm okay." He assures, kissing her on the side of the head. "I'm okay."
~ ~ ~
It's now daytime and they're still in the woods. They unshackled Dean and he hasn't been able to put Ophelia down since given she refused to let go of him. Sam is holding Libby and Natalie stands next to them.
"You doin' all right?" Sam asks Diana as she gets up from kneeling next to Pete's body.
"Not really. The death omen Claire. What happens to her now?" Diana asks, walking over to them.
"Should be over. She should be at rest." Sam says.
"So, uh, what now, officer?" Dean asks.
"Pete did confess to me. He screwed up both your cases royally. I'd say that there's a good chance that we could get your cases dismissed." Diana says.
"You'd take care of that for us?" Sam asks.
"I hope so. But the St. Louis murder charges? That's another story. I can't help you. Unless... I just happened to turn my back, and you walked away. I could just tell them that the suspects escaped."
"Wait, are you sure?" Sam asks.
"Yeah, she's sure, Sam." Dean says.
"Of course she's sure." Natalie says, giving her twin a look.
"No, it's just, I mean, you could lose your job over something like that." Sam says.
"Look, I just want you guys out there doing what you do best. Trust me, I'll sleep better at night." She says. "Listen, you need to watch your back. They're gonna be looking for you right now. Get out of here. I gotta radio this in."
"Hey, uh, you wouldn't happen to know where my car is, by chance?" Dean asks.
"It's at the impound yard down on Robertson." Diana informs. "Don't... even think about it."
"It's okay, it's all right, don't worry. We'll, uh, we'll just improvise. I mean, we're pretty good at that." Sam says.
"Yeah. I've noticed." Ballard says and they walk off.
"Nice lady." Sam says.
"Yeah, for a cop." Dean says. "Did she look familiar to you?"
"No, why?" Sam asks, Natalie shaking her head.
"I don't know. Anyway, are you hungry?" Dean asks.
"Yes." Ophelia rapidly nods.
"No." Sam answers.
"Maybe a little." Natalie says.
"Food." Libby grins.
"For some reason I could really go for some pea soup." Dean comments.
"Ew." The two children grimace in disgust.
Natalie got Dean to walk behind Sam a bit.
They're still walking, Sam walking a few feet ahead. Ophelia is resting her head on her dad's shoulder, slowly falling asleep given she didn't get much last night.
"Hey, um... did you-- did you call CPS when we were kids?" Natalie asks.
"What? Wh-why would you ask that?" Dean asks, scoffing a little.
"Cause, uh... cause Ballard told me that, um... that a Peter Deetz called CPS when I was a kid. And, uh... that was the name I made you use back when I could force you into playing games."
"Okay, I... yes. It-- you were, like, eleven. I just... I wanted to get you out and... and I didn't know any other way. I mean, I could've killed you, but... you know, that's a little drastic. And traumatic."
"Yeah. Yeah, no, definitely not the way to go." Natalie comments.
"I also called after he, uh... held a gun to your head while you were asleep. I mean, I... I didn't wanna be away from you, but... you know, maybe you could've been safer in foster care or something."
"You don't hate me for that, do you?" He asks.
"No. No, of course not. You had good intentions. You were putting my wellbeing over you wanting me to stay. I mean, it-it's the same reason I called them." Natalie says. "You didn't get in trouble, did you?"
"Nope. Dad never found out it was me." Dean says.
"Good." Natalie quietly sighs in relief.
"I'm sorry for what he did when you did it, though." Dean frowns.
"I know." Natalie says, smiling slightly. "But you know, he's pretty hard to stop when he's that angry. Not like it was your fault."
Dean ruffles her hair, gently shoving her away.