Silent Lucidity

LXIV

[Hibbing 911]

Jody entered a lodge with a sign for the Sheriff's Retreat. She wasn't pleased to be there.

She sighed. "You can get through this." She noticed a girl who looked homeless. "How old are you?"

"19," the girl answered.

Jody handed her some money. "Get yourself some lunch."

She entered the lodge and Sheriff Donna was greeting people. "Thanks a lot for coming. Yup. Thanks. Here ya go. Have fun!"

Sheriff Donna addressed Jody. "Hi! Hiya. Yah, welcome. Come on. Sheriff... Sheriff Jody Mills. Sioux Falls. Okay. I'm Sheriff Donna Hanscum. I work out of Stillwater, but I grew up here, so you have any questions -- you know, best burgers, cheapest gas -- just ask." Jody didn't answer. "What's wrong? Left your smile back in Sioux Falls?"

"I left a kid back in Sioux Falls," Jody replied. "Plus a pile of work. But when the mayor insists you go-"

Donna interrupted her. "You gotta go, yeah. Yah, yah, yah, I hear yah. Here. Have a sucker."

"No, thank you." She paused as Donna continued holding out the sucker. "O-okay."

Doug, Donna's ex-husband, entered. "Donna."

"Doug," Donna said.

"Well, aren't you looking good, huh?"

"I lost six pounds."

"Hey! You're a quarter of the way there!"

"Hey, you, uh -- you think you could toss me a couple extra meal vouchers? I mean, since you won't be using them." Donna handed him the meal vouchers. "Oh. You are true blue as ever, Donna, huh?" He left with a handful of suckers.

Donna explained to Jody, "Doug and I used to be married."

"Got it," Jody answered.

"Have fun, yah."

Jody left.

BUNKER

Sam entered the library carrying his laptop. Dean and Kennedy were seated at the table surrounded by books and papers.

Sam looked between them. "Hey. We good?"

"Aces," Dean said with a pause. "Yeah, I love the sell of parchment in the morning."

"I mean, how much lore is even left? We've got nothing on the Mark?"

"Right? You'd think these eggheads, with all the crap they amassed over the years, would have actually collected something important." He picked up a collection of papers and read the title. "Uh, here. "He-Wolf/She-Wolf: A study in Werewolf Transgenderism." 600 pages, volume 1. But, uh, not something like -- I don't know -- maybe the oldest symbol known to man. That's not worth our time. It's not weird enough."

CONFERENCE ROOM - LODGE - HIBBING, MN

Sheriff Len Cuse was standing at a podium addressing the room of sheriffs, his uncomfortableness showing. "Uh, good morning. Uh, excuse me. If I could get you all seated, please. Uh, good morning."

"Morning. Morning," the audience answered.

"I'm, uh, Sheriff Len Cuse, uh, Hibbing P.D. I'd like to say first off, uh, what an honor it is to have you all here in Hibbing this year. It, uh..." his cell phone went off with the sound of a police siren and he hurried to turn it off. "Sorry. Sorry. Uh... Uh, sorry, folks, sorry bout that. Uh... What was, I, uh -- Oh, right. Right. Um, s-seeing as how this is, uh, m-my first time hosting one of these things-"