Insubordinate and argumentative, John groaned silently to himself. Well, now I know where Sam got his attitude from!
A short while later, at the Henrico County Coroner's Office:
John flashed fake credentials. "Special Agent Ronnie James Dio, FBI," he introduced himself briskly, noting that the man behind the desk looked surprised to see a federal agent."Hello, Agent. I'm Mick Harmon, Henrico County Coroner," the man at the desk stood and greeted John. He turned to a woman in medical garb who had just walked into the office. "This is my colleague, Dr. Jane Way. We were about to head down to the cafeteria for our lunch break," Dr. Harmon announced."Doctor," John greeted her, shaking her hand. "Care to join us, Agent Dio?" she asked casually.
John hadn't expected anything like the reaction he was getting from the medical professionals. Dr. Harmon jumped into the conversation. "Yes, join us!" he said, enthused. "The hospital cook makes a mean bowl of goulash."
"No time," John said. "I need to examine all your evidence on the Grable and Harlowe murders," he said, naming the two women employed as exotic dancers who had been killed.
Dr. Way frowned slightly and shook her head. "Murders? No, Agent, those poor women weren't murdered. They were unfortunately the victims of animal attacks."
"Animal attacks?" John couldn't help but repeat the doctor's claim in disbelief. "Their hearts were torn completely out of their chests!" he exclaimed. "Are you telling me the victims were mauled by grizzly bears, here in northern Virginia?" he asked, reining in the urge to let sarcasm slip into his tone."Of course not, silly," Dr. Harmon said, while Dr. Way chimed in, "That's just ridiculous!"
John felt his temper slipping. Of course the murdered women hadn't been mauled by grizzlies! The doctors' response, assuming he believed such an outlandish thing, annoyed him. Grizzly bears didn't even live east of the rocky mountains. John ground his teeth. "All right then," he said with exaggerated patience, "just what animal do you suspect of killing those women?"
"Pit bulls," the two said in unison.
John waited for them to burst out laughing at what must obviously be some sort of dark medical humor, but their expressions remained serious. "They may look cute and cuddly, but they have jaws like alligators," Dr. Harmon said."Each individual tooth can exert seventy-two foot-pounds of pressure," Dr. Way said knowledgeably.
...Which was pure bullshit, John thought, but both doctors seemed convinced. Through gritted teeth, John said, "Fine. I still need to look over the evidence. Please show me to the morgue." To himself he thought, these people are idiots! But he couldn't really complain too much, John reminded himself. At least he was having an easier time of it here than Mary must be having at the strip club.If John only knew. Mary wasn't having any trouble at all. In fact, she was enjoying herself, sipping a drink and admiring the dancers' athleticism as they defied gravity on the pole.  Armed with a wallet that never ran out of cash, and well aware that spending that cash liberally was the best way to get answers from the young women, Mary made sure to reward each performance generously.
Back at the hospital, Dr. Harmon was still singing the praises of cafeteria goulash as he led John to the morgue. "Are you sure you won't join us for lunch, first?" "No," said John brusquely. "I have work to do." "Suit yourself.""What a jerk!" Dr. Way said, once they were out of earshot. "What crawled up his ass and died?"Dr. Harmon chuckled. "Probably a pit bull!" Once free of the medical personnel, it didn't take John long to determine what he'd suspected all along. The two dancers had obviously been killed by werewolf attack. Back at the motel, he was surprised to find that Mary hadn't returned yet.John heard a car pull into the parking lot outside and couldn't stop himself from rushing to the window to check if it was his wife. He felt a rush of anxiety when it wasn't. What could be taking her so long? John was tempted to text Mary, but resisted the impulse. She was a grown woman and a competent hunter. He had to trust her.Money and alcohol flowed at the strip club and Mary set about questioning the dancers.
The women told her about their colleagues and how they'd simply disappeared, only for their mutilated bodies to be found days later. The dancers had always been cautious, simply due to the nature of the job. Some of the patrons tried to treat them like prostitutes... Or worse. Some even became stalkers, trying to follow them home from the club. The women had been resigned to those forms of harassment, but now they were terrified. Back at the motel, John was increasingly anxious. He picked up his cell phone again, on the verge of calling to check on Mary, but again, he stopped himself. I have to trust her, he thought. She'd call if she needed my help. She hadn't called, so clearly she was doing just fine. "Damn it, Mary," he muttered, "just come home already."If John could have seen Mary just then, his head would have exploded. Mary realized that one particular dancer was going to be difficult to interview. She bought the woman a drink.When alcohol didn't loosen her tongue, she suggested that money might. The information wasn't going to come cheap. Under normal circumstances, Mary might have tried a different tactic, but since every hunter had been supplied with a seemingly unlimited amount of cash, she increased the bribe.The dancer opened up and told the now familiar story of the two murdered dancers.But then she spoke of a third young woman, and how she'd been one of the most cautious of them all. She'd organized a buddy system so none of the dancers went home alone, but in spite of all her precautions, she'd also disappeared.The police had not recovered a corpse. With no evidence, it had been suggested she'd just quit working at the club. The dancers didn't believe it. Mary got the woman to text her a photo of the missing dancer. She had no hope of finding her alive, but the photo was evidence, one more piece of the puzzle she and John were trying to solve.When John heard Mary's key in the door, he pulled out a pillow and did his best to look relaxed. It wouldn't do for Mary to see how worried he'd been."Oh, there you are," he greeted her. "Good. I was getting bored with watching re-runs of 'House Hunters'.""I spent money like I had a magic wallet, but I found out a lot," she reported. John chuckled, in a good mood now that Mary had returned. "Well, you do actually have a magic wallet.""There may be three victims from the strip club. The police haven't found a third body, but the dancer I interviewed didn't believe she was the type to just quit without saying anything to the others.""Were you able to get a name? A description?" "Just her stage name: Lil' Red. But one of the girls did have a photo." Mary pulled out her cell phone. "I managed to find out a few things, too," John said. "The strip club wasn't this monster's only hunting ground. There's a local dive bar near where some of the other victims were found. The coroner's office mis-labeled all of the killings as animal attacks!" he told Mary, still incredulous.
It didn't take long for the Winchesters to change clothes and head out to the bar that John suspected was where the monster hunted its prey. I know we're here for the hunt, Mary thought as she looked across the table at John, but I can't help but feel like this is a date. There was the same excitement, the same hope of making a meaningful connection that she remembered from her single days. Even though she and John were married, their bond had been strained by all they'd been through. But with John's hand holding hers, Mary felt as though they'd make it."Mary, you look so beautiful," John said. "When this is over, I want to take you out on a real date. Someplace really nice.""I'm honestly happy just to be with you, John. Even in a dive like this.""Can I see that photo of the missing dancer again?" John asked. "What was her name?" "Lil' Red? Sure," Mary said, and passed him her phone."I have a bad feeling about her," John said. "Why didn't the police find her body? The others were all just dumped at the side of the road."
(Lil' Red's photo as seen on Mary's phone.)John's attention was drawn to a rowdy group of young men gathered around the pool table. "Time for me to go make some money."
Mary laughed at John's eagerness to go play pool. "We're on a hunt, remember?""Our best hope of catching this creature tonight is to try to lure it to us," John countered. "You go hang out at the bar. Try and look like a helpless victim...""...While I go make a drunken ass of myself at the pool table." John ran his hands through his hair, leaving it sticking up wildly."Have fun," Mary told him, grinning. It was fun, she thought, seeing this side of John, similar to the joking, happy young man she'd married, but so different. For one thing, though she'd never seen John hustle pool, Mary knew he'd win.She played her part, pretending interest in the other patrons of the bar...
...While John pretended to be a loudmouth drunk eager to lose a game of pool.Then Mary saw that she wasn't the only one working the room. She caught John's eye. It was the missing dancer, Lil' Red. The two hunters shared a silent look, confirming what they now knew: Lil' Red wasn't a victim. She was the killer.
"You look like the most interesting person here," Mary purred. "Let me buy you a drink."It didn't take long for the monster to suggest they leave the bar. Mary played the role of victim and eagerly agreed.John hastily finished up his game, took his winnings, and left by the back door to lie in wait for the werewolf. The hunters' impromptu plan was coming together nicely.Mary's instincts were screaming for her to run, but she followed Lil' Red, playing her role and trusting John to carry out the attack.Instead, someone else attacked her, throwing her violently against the wall of the alley. Mary heard one set of heavy footsteps running away."John Eric Winchester, you've got some explaining to do." But Mary's heart sank when she heard John's phone ringing from inside a garbage can.Just a few minutes before the women had passed his hiding spot, John had had his own encounter with the creature who'd attacked Mary.Mary remained calm, her years of experience as a hunter kicking in. She soon narrowed her search to buildings near the bar that held fallout shelters, leftovers from the Cold War era. Sure enough, she found John, battered but alive, tied to a chair. "John!" Mary cried in relief. Now that she'd found him, Mary let go of the tight rein she'd placed on her emotions. She rushed to untie him.
"Oh, hey, Mary." John roused himself and greeted her with the stoicism she'd learned was his habit now. "I knew you'd find me," he told her. The words warmed Mary's heart."I'm so glad you're all right!" The couple embraced. Mary drew back reluctantly after just a few moments and checked her husband over for injuries. He had more than a few. "Your arm!" "It's just a little road rash from where he dragged me down the alley," John assured her. "Your knuckles are bloody," she pointed out, cradling his hands in hers. "I tried to get at least a few licks in while he was beating the crap outta me." "That's my leatherneck*," Mary praised, hugging him tightly. "Let's get back to the hotel," she urged. "No. You have to tie me back up." Mary resisted the urge to argue. "Intriguing proposition," she said lightly. "In any other context, I'd be game to give it a try." "Ah, you're killing me," John groaned, his tone a mix of humor and longing that ignited sparks. "No, that girl, Lil' Red, keeps checking on me. She's curious about hunters--would you believe, it was a surprise to them we exist? Now she keeps questioning me about werewolves and the supernatural." So much for sparks of passion; his words extinguished them as effectively as ice water. Now Mary did argue. "You don't owe Lil' Red anything! She's as much of a monster as the werewolf. John, she lured people to him to be slaughtered! And I don't care if they realize you've escaped," she went on, her voice rising. "I just want to get you out of here!" "I know, and I'm sorry," John said. "But if they see I'm gone, they'll lure another victim. We can't put a civilian in danger!"
(*Nickname for a United States Marine: John Winchester is a veteran of the Marine Corps.)
Author's note: I'm sure you noticed the switch to cartoon speech bubbles and minimal narrative toward the end of this episode. I started uploading this episode's photos to this blog and writing the text in June. As I type this, it is September 13th. It's just become too time-consuming and, frankly, tedious for me to post two different version of each episode. It seemed like a good idea when I started posting to Instagram, but it became something I dreaded having to do. As a result, I abandoned this blog for a while. I do want to keep this blog up and running! I like the larger photos, the option of adding more text if I want, and most importantly, the option to link all the episodes in order for easy reading. So, from here on out, I will be posting the same format both here and on Instagram. I hope you will continue to enjoy reading my stories, and thank you for your understanding.
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