𝐃𝐎𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐀𝐍

𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐓𝐘

"We could use all the good ink we can get!"

Katherine's gaze is more cool and analytical than Sam or Dean's. If there's one thing she knew how to do, it's hold a grudge, and she is holding it against the owner of the mystery spot, Dan Carpiak, for something he did yesterday. Er...didn't do?

Every time she looks at his face, his wide grin, all she can see is his deer-in-the-headlights expression when he put a two and a half inch shell in Dean's lung. She doesn't like his greasy hair, his bushy eyebrows, his deep-set blue eyes. He gives her the creeps.

"How long have you owned the place, Mr. Carpiak?" Sam asks, much more forgiving than Katherine could ever dream of being. And Dean is his brother!

"My family's been guarding the secrets here since you don't want to know when." Dean and Katherine trade awkward, puzzled glances. What the fuck?

"So you'd know if anything strange happened?" Sam asks. 

The smile drops from Carpiak's face. "Strange? Strange happens here all the time. It's a mystery spot."

"Cue X-Files theme," Katherine mutters. Carpiak frowns at her. "What does that even mean, exactly?"

"Well, uh..." he chuckles, holding his hand out, palm up. "It's where the laws of physics—" he flips his palm over. "Have no meaning."

"Okay, like how?" She asks, frustration obvious not only in her tone, but her gesturing her hands. 

And Carpiak, the seedy little shit, leans forward with a smile. "Take the tour."

Katherine raises an eyebrow at him. "Dexter Hasselback take the tour?"

"Who?"

"The guy who went missing," Dean chirps. 

He laughs a little. "Now hold on a minute...what kind of article is this?"

"Just answer the question," Katherine presses.

"The police scoured every inch of this place—they couldn't find him, and I'd never seen him before." He looks over his shoulder and starts to speak. "We're a family establishment—"

"Listen to me," Katherine snarls, taking two quick steps towards Carpiak. Dean glances to his brother, surprised he's letting it ride as long as he is. "There's something weird going on here. Do you know anything about it, or are you as oblivious as you seem?"

Carpiak swallows, glancing to Dean first, then Sam. Once he realizes he's not getting saved from his emasculation, he looks back to Katherine. "Okay look," he whispers. "I bought the joint at a foreclosure auction last March. All right? I used to sell bail bonds." He seems angry he was forced to reveal that secret.

"Maybe you should just give up on that 'family secret' thing or whatever," Katherine says. "Property purchases are easy to find and exploit."

"O-kay." Sam taps Katherine's elbow. "Let's blow this popsicle stand."

"Popsicle stand?" Carpiak scoffs. "Get the hell out of here, all three of you!" Katherine's blue eyes rake the smarmy owner up and down before she turns on her heel and starts away. 

It's just past lunch time. It's windy and cold, nipping at Katherine's nose, but it'll be colder once the sun goes down.

"I thought Florida was always hot?" Dean asks, blinking moisture into his contacts.

"We're not impervious to the influences of mother nature," Katherine retorts. "Can we stop for lunch? I'm starved."

Sam and Katherine made sure Dean took smaller bites of his cheeseburger to avoid choking, and no one said a word. Katherine said she'd stick her fingers down Dean's throat to clear any blockage he may have, but would like to avoid it if at all possible.