One
Familiar Faces (cont'd)
The hotel Beth Mason’s parents were staying in was just a few blocks from the library, and after calling ahead to make sure the couple was still checked in, Dean pulled around and got his badge ready. Sam grabbed everything they’d found so far, and together, they got out of the car to make their way up to the floor where James and Melinda Mason were currently staying.
“So what do you think?” Sam asked.
Dean shrugged as they crossed the lobby. “There was no sulfur. No blood. She’s gotta be somewhere, and someone took her. If they’re not demons, then this is a whole new ball game for me. You?”
Sam also shrugged. “Shape-shifter, maybe.”
They stepped onto the elevator, and Dean thought over everything again.
“It can’t be a shape-shifter,” he said certainly. “Or this is the longest one I’ve ever tracked. I haven’t seen any skin shed, and as far as I know, both her parents — or whoever they are . . . I haven’t seen any of the signs.”
“So we don’t know what this is,” Sam deduced.
Dean shook his head. “Nope.”
“Good to know.”
When the doors opened, Dean led the way out, and he kept going over everything he knew so far.
“Witches?” he suggested.
“Did you find any hex bags in the house?” Sam asked as they walked.
Dean sighed, annoyed. “No.”
“Vampires?” Sam offered.
“Seriously?” Dean scoffed. “I think I’m a little better than to miss that. I still think we need to talk to the boyfriend.”
“After this,” Sam stipulated.
Dean glanced at Sam, still annoyed.
Finally, they arrived at the Masons’ hotel room, and Dean eyed Sam before he knocked. The door opened slowly, and the small, brunette figure of Melinda Mason appeared behind it with a confused look on her face.
“Agents,” she said, “how may I help you?”
Dean glanced at Sam again. “Well, first you can explain to me why you didn’t tell us that Beth isn’t really your daughter,” he pressed, watching color drain from her face.
She stepped aside. “Please come in.”
Dean stepped inside, and Sam followed, and when she closed the door, they both turned to face her with expectant looks on their face.
“Well?” Dean asked.
“Beth is our daughter,” she told them, adding, “we adopted her about six years ago.”
“What happened to her biological parents?” Sam asked.
Melinda stepped further into the hotel room where couches and two chairs were setting opposite each other, and Sam and Dean followed her, facing her silently as she continued. “We don’t know,” she answered somewhat rehearsed. “They never told us. She was in foster care when we met her, and she needed a home. So we gave her ours. Was that wrong?”
Dean leaned forward, looking over Melinda’s face as she fidgeted slightly. “Is there a reason why you didn’t tell us? That’s something we really should’ve known before.”
“Jimmy didn’t think it was important,” she insisted. “We took care of Beth for six years. She was ours. And now she’s gone.”
Dean looked at Sam curiously.
“Ms. Mason,” Sam said. “We’re going to find Beth. Any information you can give us, even if you don’t think it’s important, will help.”
“What do you mean, she’s gone?” Dean asked. “You sound like you know something’s happened to her other than being kidnaped.”
She continued to fidget, wringing her hands tightly. “I’m sorry,” she said rising and moving to the door. “I think you should go now.”
Sam looked at Dean, and together they stood up to follow her.
“Do you want us to find your daughter?” Dean asked, concerned over her lack of emotion.
“Of course I do,” she exclaimed. “What kind of mother would I be if I didn’t?”
“Ms. Mason, where’s your husband?” Sam asked.
“He’s out,” she said simply. She opened the door. “Now, please. Just go.”
Sam looked at Dean again, and even though they still didn’t have a clue what was going on, they obliged her just this once, stepping out of the room just before she shut the door. Dean sighed angrily, moving down the hall to the elevator.
“Now I know she’s hidin' somethin',” he told Sam. “We need to check her and her husband out, and I still want to talk to the boyfriend.”
Sam looked at his watch. “One-thirty,” he said. “I’ll see what I can find out about the parents. You go talk to the kid. He’s probably still at school.”
Dean was able to find out what school Beth Mason went to before he headed over while Sam pooled all of his computer skills at the hotel to find out everything he could about James and Melinda Mason. Lafayette High School was only ten minutes from the hotel, and on the way, Dean checked all of his information. He’d done this so many times it was like breathing, and at this point, he wanted to be ready for anything. More importantly, he wanted to know what the hell was going on in this town. He wanted to know for sure if this was the little girl they’d save ten years ago, and he wanted to know what had taken her. If anything, he was sure the boyfriend would know. More like he was hoping the boyfriend would know.
Lafayette High School was the oldest high school in Buffalo, and it looked it on the outside with turn of the century brickwork on the outside and tarnished steeples atop the structure. It took Dean a lot of work to find the front office, but as soon as he did, he looked around to make sure class was in session before he took out his badge and stepped into the office to find a middle-aged brown-haired woman in glasses whose name appeared to be Betty. She looked up to see him there, and Dean flashed her a smile before he stepped forward and held up his badge.
“Good afternoon, ma’am,” he greeted, “I’m Special Agent Dean Gamble. I’m here about Beth Mason’s disappearance.”
The smile that had started to form on her face faded, and she folded her hands in front of her. “That’s such a horrible situation.”
He nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I just have a few questions for you, if you have time, Betty.”
“Oh, of course,” she insisted. “I’ll help you in any way I can, Agent Gamble.”
“Did you see Beth the day she disappeared?” he inquired putting his badge away.
Betty nodded. “She was at school that day.”
“Did you see anything strange that day?” he asked as he leaned over the desk in front of her.
“Strange?” she repeated.
“Yes, ma’am. Was anyone following her? Did anyone come in looking for her? Did she seem okay that day?”
She looked away, appearing to think over his questions. “Um, well, I don’t think anyone was following her. Not that I saw. Beth works in the office just after lunch, and no one came around asking for her. I mean, she was with Sullivan most of the day.”
He stood up straight. “Who’s Sullivan?”
Betty blushed, chuckling. “Well, that’s her boyfriend. Sullivan Travis. He’s on the football team.”
Dean reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out the photo he’d taken from Beth’s room and showing it to Betty. “Is this him?” he asked her, knitting his eyebrows together.
She smiled as her eyes lit up. “Oh, yes. They’ve been dating about eight months.”
Dean thought about everything he’d seen in Beth’s room, switching modes slightly. “How long has Beth been going to school here?”
“About four years,” she answered with a nod. “She started here when she was 12, almost thirteen.”
“And when did she meet Sullivan?” he asked, putting the photo back in his jacket pocket.
“About a year ago,” she nodded. “He was a transfer from Albany.”
“Any chance I could talk to Sullivan?”
“Oh, of course. He’s probably in the gym.”
Dean smiled. “Thank you, ma’am.”
He bowed his head and turned to leave the office.
“Sullivan’s a nice boy,” Betty added before Dean could leave. “He was really protective of Beth. I’m sure he’ll want to help in any way he can.”
Dean started to speak, but he stopped himself, smiling and nodding.
He found his way to the gym, thinking over everything the secretary had told him and wondering how it added up. If this was really a girl they’d saved before, then how had she ended up here? None of this was making any sense, and Dean didn’t like it when things didn’t make any sense. It always led to things going wrong and people getting killed. That was never a good thing in Dean’s book.
He recognized Sullivan the moment he entered the gym, and he moved around the basketball court to where the gym teacher was standing with a clip board and a stop watch. There were about twenty-five boys on the court, scrimmaging and running drills. Dean could still remember that job he and Sam had done where he’d had to pretend to be a gym teacher, and at that thought, he grinned. Then the guy with the stop watch saw him, and he snapped back into his hunter mode. He had work to do. He could
reminisce later.
“Who are you?” the guy asked him.
Dean pulled out his badge and showed it to the guy. “Special Agent Dean Gamble,” he announced. “And you are?”
“Coach Abel Garrison,” he greeted, and Dean reached for his hand. “What can I do for you today, Special Agent?”
“I’m here about the disappearance of Beth Mason. I need to talk to one of your students, Sullivan Travis.”
“Beth’s boyfriend?” Coach Garrison asked.
Dean nodded. “Apparently.”
Coach Garrison pulled out his whistle and blew on it sharply. “Travis!” he shouted, and Sullivan turned around from the middle of his scrimmage. “Make it quick!”
Instantly, Sullivan jogged to where they were, stopping just short of the boundary line. “Yeah, Coach?”
“This is Special Agent Dean Gamble, with the FBI,” Coach Garrison gestured to Dean. “He needs to have a few words with you about Beth.”
Sullivan looked at Dean, glancing at his coach before he nodded and followed Dean away from the court into the stands so they could be alone for a few minutes.
“So,” Dean said once they were sat down. “You and Beth, huh? She’s really pretty.”
Sullivan tilted his head curiously. “Yeah. She is. But what’s that got to do with what happened?”
“How old are you?” Dean asked, dodging the question easily.
“I’m gonna be eighteen in three months.”
“And Beth was sixteen?”
Sullivan sat up straight. “Yeah. So?”
Dean leaned closer. “She was sixteen,” he repeated.
“It wasn’t like that,” Sullivan insisted. “I love Beth. I have since the day I met her. And it was okay with her parents.”
“You mean her adoptive parents?” Dean interjected.
“Well, yeah, but how did you know she was adopted? I didn’t find out until last week.”
Dean tried to brush it off. “Lucky guess,” he grinned. “So how was Beth acting when she told you she was adopted?”
“She was fine, I guess. She said it was when she was ten after her real parents died.”
“And did she know how her parents — I mean, her real parents — died?” Dean asked hoping it would actually be that easy.
“No,” Sullivan said, confused. “Well, she said she didn’t want to talk about it. She said it wasn’t a good time for her, and I didn’t want to upset her.” He paused, looking around. “Why would Beth’s disappearance have anything to do with how her parents died?”
“She never wanted to talk about it?” Dean asked, again dodging the question easily.
Sullivan shook his head. “She told me she wanted to remember them in a good way,” he shrugged. “Beth never really talked about it. I mean, before she told me she was adopted. And there was never anything really wrong with her. She never acted strange when I was around. Do you think that has anything to do with her disappearance?”
“It’s possible,” Dean shrugged. “We’re still investigating. When did Beth tell you about her adoption?”
“Friday,” he said. “Like I said. Last week.”
The day she disappeared, Dean thought.
“Were you the last person she saw before she disappeared that night?” Dean asked, more straightforward than he ever had.
That made Sullivan uncomfortable, and Dean could tell immediately, making a note of the flicker of fear in Sullivan’s green eyes. He remembered it from something before, but he couldn’t quite place it.
“Well, I was at her house that night,” Sullivan stated, rehearsed the same way Beth’s mother’s response had been. “We had dinner, and Beth and I watched a movie in her room. But then I went home. It was after eleven, and like you said, she’s sixteen.”
Dean decided to push his luck, leaning in a little closer and lowering his voice. “Come on, Casanova. She’s a pretty girl. You’re a good-looking guy. Are you sure you just watched a movie? I mean, seriously?”
Sullivan furrowed his eyebrows. “Of course, we watched a movie. Her mom checked on us before ten. Then they turned in. Listen, I told you, it’s not like that. I — ”
“Yeah, I know. You love Beth. I get it. I loved a girl once.” Dean paused, grinning. “Maybe twice.”
“That’s rude,” Sullivan told Dean. “Beth’s not that kind of girl.”
“Eventually, they’re all that kind of girl,” Dean chuckled.
“That’s enough,” Sullivan shouted, and that made Dean smile even more.
“Hold it there, cowboy,” Dean soothed. “There’s no need to get rowdy. I’m just tryin’ to get the whole picture here. And your girlfriend is kind of missing.”
“Beth is a really nice girl,” Sullivan stated clenching and unclenching his fists. “And she doesn’t deserve to be talked about like that. I know she’s missing. And I’m done talking to you,” he hissed, rising to leave.
He was a bleacher section away when Dean stood up and called after him. “Thank you,” he said with a small grin.
Sullivan glared, continuing on down the bleachers to make it back to the basketball court, and Dean watched, remembering every detail of their conversation and knowing something seriously messed up was going on.
He didn’t say anything to the coach as he left, moving around the side of the school to where he’d parked the car and pulling out his phone to call Sam. Hopefully, his brother had been able to find out a few things about James and Melinda Mason. The wife at least had some more to tell them, and it was possible the husband did too. Surely, the reason why they’d never told anyone that she was adopted.
That was another thing. How had she been adopted in the first place? What had happened to her birth parents? Dean seriously needed to know the answers to those questions, and most importantly, he wanted to know where Beth Mason was. He wanted to know who she was, and he wanted to know how Sullivan Travis was connected to all of this. What teenage boy could sit in his girlfriend’s bedroom without at least getting a little action out of her? Even if she was a good girl.
“Yeah, Dean?” Sam answered.
“You got anything on the Masons?”
Sam scoffed. “Well, they’re not saints,” he began. “But that’s another story. What did you find out from the boyfriend?”
Dean grinned. “His name is Sullivan Travis, and he loved his girlfriend. He was also the last person to see her before she disappeared. And he got just a little more interesting if the way he reacted when I started talking about her is any indication.”
“You think he knows anything?” Sam asked.
“I think that’s a very good possibility. And I also think there’s something wrong with a guy who doesn’t make a move on his very beautiful girlfriend even if she is only sixteen. I mean, seriously, it’s not like he’s saving himself for her or something — ”
Dean stopped on the last word, suddenly remembering something from a job they’d done ten years earlier — when they’d saved Mary. Pure. Virgin. Ritual. “Sam,” he said after only a few seconds. “We need Cas. And we need to talk to Beth’s adoptive parents.”
“Well, that’s part of the story,” Sam said. “It’s not just Beth.”
Dean paused as he got to the car. “What else could there possibly be?”
Sam inhaled, sighing loudly. “Her name is Annabeth,” he revealed. The hair on the back of Dean’s neck stood on end. “Annabeth Miller.”
Dean barely hesitated. “I’m on my way,” he said turning off his phone and getting in the car to get back to the motel.
Familiar Faces (cont'd)
The hotel Beth Mason’s parents were staying in was just a few blocks from the library, and after calling ahead to make sure the couple was still checked in, Dean pulled around and got his badge ready. Sam grabbed everything they’d found so far, and together, they got out of the car to make their way up to the floor where James and Melinda Mason were currently staying.
“So what do you think?” Sam asked.
Dean shrugged as they crossed the lobby. “There was no sulfur. No blood. She’s gotta be somewhere, and someone took her. If they’re not demons, then this is a whole new ball game for me. You?”
Sam also shrugged. “Shape-shifter, maybe.”
They stepped onto the elevator, and Dean thought over everything again.
“It can’t be a shape-shifter,” he said certainly. “Or this is the longest one I’ve ever tracked. I haven’t seen any skin shed, and as far as I know, both her parents — or whoever they are . . . I haven’t seen any of the signs.”
“So we don’t know what this is,” Sam deduced.
Dean shook his head. “Nope.”
“Good to know.”
When the doors opened, Dean led the way out, and he kept going over everything he knew so far.
“Witches?” he suggested.
“Did you find any hex bags in the house?” Sam asked as they walked.
Dean sighed, annoyed. “No.”
“Vampires?” Sam offered.
“Seriously?” Dean scoffed. “I think I’m a little better than to miss that. I still think we need to talk to the boyfriend.”
“After this,” Sam stipulated.
Dean glanced at Sam, still annoyed.
Finally, they arrived at the Masons’ hotel room, and Dean eyed Sam before he knocked. The door opened slowly, and the small, brunette figure of Melinda Mason appeared behind it with a confused look on her face.
“Agents,” she said, “how may I help you?”
Dean glanced at Sam again. “Well, first you can explain to me why you didn’t tell us that Beth isn’t really your daughter,” he pressed, watching color drain from her face.
She stepped aside. “Please come in.”
Dean stepped inside, and Sam followed, and when she closed the door, they both turned to face her with expectant looks on their face.
“Well?” Dean asked.
“Beth is our daughter,” she told them, adding, “we adopted her about six years ago.”
“What happened to her biological parents?” Sam asked.
Melinda stepped further into the hotel room where couches and two chairs were setting opposite each other, and Sam and Dean followed her, facing her silently as she continued. “We don’t know,” she answered somewhat rehearsed. “They never told us. She was in foster care when we met her, and she needed a home. So we gave her ours. Was that wrong?”
Dean leaned forward, looking over Melinda’s face as she fidgeted slightly. “Is there a reason why you didn’t tell us? That’s something we really should’ve known before.”
“Jimmy didn’t think it was important,” she insisted. “We took care of Beth for six years. She was ours. And now she’s gone.”
Dean looked at Sam curiously.
“Ms. Mason,” Sam said. “We’re going to find Beth. Any information you can give us, even if you don’t think it’s important, will help.”
“What do you mean, she’s gone?” Dean asked. “You sound like you know something’s happened to her other than being kidnaped.”
She continued to fidget, wringing her hands tightly. “I’m sorry,” she said rising and moving to the door. “I think you should go now.”
Sam looked at Dean, and together they stood up to follow her.
“Do you want us to find your daughter?” Dean asked, concerned over her lack of emotion.
“Of course I do,” she exclaimed. “What kind of mother would I be if I didn’t?”
“Ms. Mason, where’s your husband?” Sam asked.
“He’s out,” she said simply. She opened the door. “Now, please. Just go.”
Sam looked at Dean again, and even though they still didn’t have a clue what was going on, they obliged her just this once, stepping out of the room just before she shut the door. Dean sighed angrily, moving down the hall to the elevator.
“Now I know she’s hidin' somethin',” he told Sam. “We need to check her and her husband out, and I still want to talk to the boyfriend.”
Sam looked at his watch. “One-thirty,” he said. “I’ll see what I can find out about the parents. You go talk to the kid. He’s probably still at school.”
Dean was able to find out what school Beth Mason went to before he headed over while Sam pooled all of his computer skills at the hotel to find out everything he could about James and Melinda Mason. Lafayette High School was only ten minutes from the hotel, and on the way, Dean checked all of his information. He’d done this so many times it was like breathing, and at this point, he wanted to be ready for anything. More importantly, he wanted to know what the hell was going on in this town. He wanted to know for sure if this was the little girl they’d save ten years ago, and he wanted to know what had taken her. If anything, he was sure the boyfriend would know. More like he was hoping the boyfriend would know.
Lafayette High School was the oldest high school in Buffalo, and it looked it on the outside with turn of the century brickwork on the outside and tarnished steeples atop the structure. It took Dean a lot of work to find the front office, but as soon as he did, he looked around to make sure class was in session before he took out his badge and stepped into the office to find a middle-aged brown-haired woman in glasses whose name appeared to be Betty. She looked up to see him there, and Dean flashed her a smile before he stepped forward and held up his badge.
“Good afternoon, ma’am,” he greeted, “I’m Special Agent Dean Gamble. I’m here about Beth Mason’s disappearance.”
The smile that had started to form on her face faded, and she folded her hands in front of her. “That’s such a horrible situation.”
He nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I just have a few questions for you, if you have time, Betty.”
“Oh, of course,” she insisted. “I’ll help you in any way I can, Agent Gamble.”
“Did you see Beth the day she disappeared?” he inquired putting his badge away.
Betty nodded. “She was at school that day.”
“Did you see anything strange that day?” he asked as he leaned over the desk in front of her.
“Strange?” she repeated.
“Yes, ma’am. Was anyone following her? Did anyone come in looking for her? Did she seem okay that day?”
She looked away, appearing to think over his questions. “Um, well, I don’t think anyone was following her. Not that I saw. Beth works in the office just after lunch, and no one came around asking for her. I mean, she was with Sullivan most of the day.”
He stood up straight. “Who’s Sullivan?”
Betty blushed, chuckling. “Well, that’s her boyfriend. Sullivan Travis. He’s on the football team.”
Dean reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out the photo he’d taken from Beth’s room and showing it to Betty. “Is this him?” he asked her, knitting his eyebrows together.
She smiled as her eyes lit up. “Oh, yes. They’ve been dating about eight months.”
Dean thought about everything he’d seen in Beth’s room, switching modes slightly. “How long has Beth been going to school here?”
“About four years,” she answered with a nod. “She started here when she was 12, almost thirteen.”
“And when did she meet Sullivan?” he asked, putting the photo back in his jacket pocket.
“About a year ago,” she nodded. “He was a transfer from Albany.”
“Any chance I could talk to Sullivan?”
“Oh, of course. He’s probably in the gym.”
Dean smiled. “Thank you, ma’am.”
He bowed his head and turned to leave the office.
“Sullivan’s a nice boy,” Betty added before Dean could leave. “He was really protective of Beth. I’m sure he’ll want to help in any way he can.”
Dean started to speak, but he stopped himself, smiling and nodding.
He found his way to the gym, thinking over everything the secretary had told him and wondering how it added up. If this was really a girl they’d saved before, then how had she ended up here? None of this was making any sense, and Dean didn’t like it when things didn’t make any sense. It always led to things going wrong and people getting killed. That was never a good thing in Dean’s book.
He recognized Sullivan the moment he entered the gym, and he moved around the basketball court to where the gym teacher was standing with a clip board and a stop watch. There were about twenty-five boys on the court, scrimmaging and running drills. Dean could still remember that job he and Sam had done where he’d had to pretend to be a gym teacher, and at that thought, he grinned. Then the guy with the stop watch saw him, and he snapped back into his hunter mode. He had work to do. He could
reminisce later.
“Who are you?” the guy asked him.
Dean pulled out his badge and showed it to the guy. “Special Agent Dean Gamble,” he announced. “And you are?”
“Coach Abel Garrison,” he greeted, and Dean reached for his hand. “What can I do for you today, Special Agent?”
“I’m here about the disappearance of Beth Mason. I need to talk to one of your students, Sullivan Travis.”
“Beth’s boyfriend?” Coach Garrison asked.
Dean nodded. “Apparently.”
Coach Garrison pulled out his whistle and blew on it sharply. “Travis!” he shouted, and Sullivan turned around from the middle of his scrimmage. “Make it quick!”
Instantly, Sullivan jogged to where they were, stopping just short of the boundary line. “Yeah, Coach?”
“This is Special Agent Dean Gamble, with the FBI,” Coach Garrison gestured to Dean. “He needs to have a few words with you about Beth.”
Sullivan looked at Dean, glancing at his coach before he nodded and followed Dean away from the court into the stands so they could be alone for a few minutes.
“So,” Dean said once they were sat down. “You and Beth, huh? She’s really pretty.”
Sullivan tilted his head curiously. “Yeah. She is. But what’s that got to do with what happened?”
“How old are you?” Dean asked, dodging the question easily.
“I’m gonna be eighteen in three months.”
“And Beth was sixteen?”
Sullivan sat up straight. “Yeah. So?”
Dean leaned closer. “She was sixteen,” he repeated.
“It wasn’t like that,” Sullivan insisted. “I love Beth. I have since the day I met her. And it was okay with her parents.”
“You mean her adoptive parents?” Dean interjected.
“Well, yeah, but how did you know she was adopted? I didn’t find out until last week.”
Dean tried to brush it off. “Lucky guess,” he grinned. “So how was Beth acting when she told you she was adopted?”
“She was fine, I guess. She said it was when she was ten after her real parents died.”
“And did she know how her parents — I mean, her real parents — died?” Dean asked hoping it would actually be that easy.
“No,” Sullivan said, confused. “Well, she said she didn’t want to talk about it. She said it wasn’t a good time for her, and I didn’t want to upset her.” He paused, looking around. “Why would Beth’s disappearance have anything to do with how her parents died?”
“She never wanted to talk about it?” Dean asked, again dodging the question easily.
Sullivan shook his head. “She told me she wanted to remember them in a good way,” he shrugged. “Beth never really talked about it. I mean, before she told me she was adopted. And there was never anything really wrong with her. She never acted strange when I was around. Do you think that has anything to do with her disappearance?”
“It’s possible,” Dean shrugged. “We’re still investigating. When did Beth tell you about her adoption?”
“Friday,” he said. “Like I said. Last week.”
The day she disappeared, Dean thought.
“Were you the last person she saw before she disappeared that night?” Dean asked, more straightforward than he ever had.
That made Sullivan uncomfortable, and Dean could tell immediately, making a note of the flicker of fear in Sullivan’s green eyes. He remembered it from something before, but he couldn’t quite place it.
“Well, I was at her house that night,” Sullivan stated, rehearsed the same way Beth’s mother’s response had been. “We had dinner, and Beth and I watched a movie in her room. But then I went home. It was after eleven, and like you said, she’s sixteen.”
Dean decided to push his luck, leaning in a little closer and lowering his voice. “Come on, Casanova. She’s a pretty girl. You’re a good-looking guy. Are you sure you just watched a movie? I mean, seriously?”
Sullivan furrowed his eyebrows. “Of course, we watched a movie. Her mom checked on us before ten. Then they turned in. Listen, I told you, it’s not like that. I — ”
“Yeah, I know. You love Beth. I get it. I loved a girl once.” Dean paused, grinning. “Maybe twice.”
“That’s rude,” Sullivan told Dean. “Beth’s not that kind of girl.”
“Eventually, they’re all that kind of girl,” Dean chuckled.
“That’s enough,” Sullivan shouted, and that made Dean smile even more.
“Hold it there, cowboy,” Dean soothed. “There’s no need to get rowdy. I’m just tryin’ to get the whole picture here. And your girlfriend is kind of missing.”
“Beth is a really nice girl,” Sullivan stated clenching and unclenching his fists. “And she doesn’t deserve to be talked about like that. I know she’s missing. And I’m done talking to you,” he hissed, rising to leave.
He was a bleacher section away when Dean stood up and called after him. “Thank you,” he said with a small grin.
Sullivan glared, continuing on down the bleachers to make it back to the basketball court, and Dean watched, remembering every detail of their conversation and knowing something seriously messed up was going on.
He didn’t say anything to the coach as he left, moving around the side of the school to where he’d parked the car and pulling out his phone to call Sam. Hopefully, his brother had been able to find out a few things about James and Melinda Mason. The wife at least had some more to tell them, and it was possible the husband did too. Surely, the reason why they’d never told anyone that she was adopted.
That was another thing. How had she been adopted in the first place? What had happened to her birth parents? Dean seriously needed to know the answers to those questions, and most importantly, he wanted to know where Beth Mason was. He wanted to know who she was, and he wanted to know how Sullivan Travis was connected to all of this. What teenage boy could sit in his girlfriend’s bedroom without at least getting a little action out of her? Even if she was a good girl.
“Yeah, Dean?” Sam answered.
“You got anything on the Masons?”
Sam scoffed. “Well, they’re not saints,” he began. “But that’s another story. What did you find out from the boyfriend?”
Dean grinned. “His name is Sullivan Travis, and he loved his girlfriend. He was also the last person to see her before she disappeared. And he got just a little more interesting if the way he reacted when I started talking about her is any indication.”
“You think he knows anything?” Sam asked.
“I think that’s a very good possibility. And I also think there’s something wrong with a guy who doesn’t make a move on his very beautiful girlfriend even if she is only sixteen. I mean, seriously, it’s not like he’s saving himself for her or something — ”
Dean stopped on the last word, suddenly remembering something from a job they’d done ten years earlier — when they’d saved Mary. Pure. Virgin. Ritual. “Sam,” he said after only a few seconds. “We need Cas. And we need to talk to Beth’s adoptive parents.”
“Well, that’s part of the story,” Sam said. “It’s not just Beth.”
Dean paused as he got to the car. “What else could there possibly be?”
Sam inhaled, sighing loudly. “Her name is Annabeth,” he revealed. The hair on the back of Dean’s neck stood on end. “Annabeth Miller.”
Dean barely hesitated. “I’m on my way,” he said turning off his phone and getting in the car to get back to the motel.
