Valley of Joy

09. Crossroad Blues

Sam, Dean, Abby, Havilah and Hayden were sitting at a table, Sam with his laptop open. On the screen, there was a mugshot of Dean from the St. Louis Police Department.

"So much for our low profile," Sam said. "You've got a warrant in St. Louis, and now you're officially in the Fed's database."

Dean grinned. "Dude, I'm like Dillinger or something."

"Dean, it's not funny. Makes the job harder, we've gotta be more careful now."

"Well, what do they got on you?"

Sam muttered, "I'm sure they haven't posted it yet."

"No accessory? Nothing?"

"Shut up."

Dean laughed. "You're jealous."

"No, I'm not!"

"Uh-huh. All right. What do you got on the case there, you innocent, harmless young man, you?"

Sam shut his computer, annoyed, and pulled out several pages of research. "Architect Sean Boyden plummeted to his death from the roof of his home, a condominium he designed."

"Hmm. Build a high-rise and jump off the top of it. That's classy. When did he call Animal Control?"

"Two days earlier."

"Did he actually say black dog?" Abby asked.

"Yeah. A vicious, wild, black dog. The authorities couldn't find it, no one else saw it; in fact, the authorities are a little confused as to how a wild dog could get past the doorman, take the elevator up and start roaming the halls of the cushiest joint in town. After that, no more calls, he doesn't show up for work, two days later he takes a swan dive. Well, maybe. We'll keep the twins safe, Abby."

"What's the lore on it?" Dean questioned.

Sam passed Dean the pages. "It's pretty vague. I mean, there are spectral black dogs all over the world, but... some say they're animal spirits, others say death omens. But anyways, whatever they are, they're big, nasty-"

"Yeah, I bet they could hump the crap outta your leg, look at that one, huh?" He held up a picture and smirked; Sam glared and his smirk slipped. "What? They could."

APARTMENT

In a posh, well-lit room, Sam and Dean were in suits, Abby and Havilah were in dresses, Hayden was wearing a nice shirt and pants, and interviewing a man.

"So, you and Sean Boyden were business partners for almost ten years, right?" Sam questioned.

"That's right," the man said. "Now one more time, this is for...?"

"A tribute to Mr. Boyden," Dean explained. "Architectural Digest." The man laughed. "This funny to you?"

"No, it... it's just, a tribute. Yeah. See, Sean always got the tributes. He kills himself, leaves me and his family behind... well, he gets another tribute."

"Right," Abby noted. "Any idea why he'd do such a thing?"

"I, I have no clue, I mean he lived a charmed life."

"How so?"

"He was a flat-out genius. I mean, I'm capable, but next to him, I... and it wasn't always that way, either."

"No?" Dean asked.

"You wanna know the truth? There was a time where he couldn't even design a pup tent. Hell, ten years ago he's working as a bartender at this place called Lloyd's. A complete dive."

"Right. So what changed?" Sam wondered.

"You got me. But overnight, he gets this huge commission, and he starts designing... he starts designing the most ingenious buildings anyone has ever seen. It was like, the level of Van Gogh, and Mozart..." he cut off abruptly.