Silver Giraffe

Chapter 3: Family Ties

Dean ambled back to Sam's table as he counted the bills. The diner at the truck stop outside Chanute, Kansas had proven to be surprisingly lucrative. None of the pool players approached his caliber. He could easily stay here a couple more days.

Dean slid into the chair opposite his brother. "Who were you on the phone with?" He waved his empty beer bottle at the waitress.

"Neal," Sam said, worry lines erupting on his face. "It sounds like he's being haunted by a vengeful ghost."

Sam filled him in on the pervert who'd abused Neal as a child. What he'd gone through in St. Louis made their childhood sound like a romp in Disneyland. No matter who their dad was hunting, he'd always made sure his sons were out of harm's way.

"Mozzie checked the tunnels," Sam said. "No sign of any rift from Oblivion."

Dean shrugged, tossing a smile at the waitress who'd brought him another frosty one. "The sicko may never have gone to Oblivion. Dad's journal has a long list of ghosts who hung around for retribution."

Sam nodded. "And there are bound to be other portals to Oblivion besides the one under Columbia University."

Dean took a swig of beer. "Assume Vance did break out of Oblivion. One of those pieces of jewelry could be his soul-object. If Vance thought Neal was responsible for his death, his hatred could have caused him to latch onto a ring, for instance, figuring Neal would inherit it eventually."

Sam nodded. "And get this, Neal said Vance was killed by an inmate at Leavenworth. Word had leaked out that the guy was a child abuser, and someone took it upon himself to act as his executioner. Vance could easily blame Neal for what happened to him."

"Does Neal know where Vance was buried?"

"No, but I could search for the location." Sam opened his laptop. "I was also thinking of letting Maia and Chloe know. They may be able to detect if one of the pieces of jewelry has a connection to Vance."

"Then Maia could dehex it?" Dean mulled over the idea. "The risk should be minimal, at least to them since they're not connected to Vance, but if the ghost manifests itself, there's not much they can do to defend themselves."

"That's why I want Bobby to go along," Sam said. "He's built a number of curse boxes to have on hand. If there's any problem, he could stick the piece inside one of them, rendering it harmless."

Dean was familiar with the boxes. They were meant for items with dangerous enchantments—a sensible precaution given they were living in a mansion formerly owned by Astrena. But so far they hadn't found any that merited extreme measures. That didn't provide Dean much comfort. Astrena was a Greek goddess who called herself the mother of witches. She could have placed a masking spell on objects, making the enchantments appear harmless or cloaking them completely.

"Leavenworth is only a couple of hours away from us," Dean noted. "Odds are the guy's buried nearby. We may be able to salt and burn the bones before he has a chance to carry out whatever revenge he's fixated on. Does Neal know what precautions to take?"

Sam nodded. "Salt around the perimeter. An iron poker is a weapon of last resort. Neal's cousin Henry is staying with him, although a second person won't add much protection."

"It might in this case. My hunch is the pervert wants to prolong Neal's torment before finishing him off. That fits the pattern of a child abuser. He may bide his time, assuming that Neal will suffer more if he's alone."

Sam frowned. "Vance may also believe that Neal will be less likely to seek help if there are no witnesses. Speaking of which, Neal asked me to pass on that he hasn't told Peter about Vance. He'd appreciate it if we do the same."