Assuming Dean wouldn’t need assistance with questioning a groundskeeper, Sam had stayed behind at the Holcomb residence with Castiel, but he was beginning to doubt he’d mine much more information out of the family or Vargus. Before Dean left, they’d established a pregnancy connection between the murders, but Sally’s pregnancy remained an X factor. It seemed as if only Sally and her grandmother knew about the pregnancy, and then only for a day. But four male victims involved with four pregnant women was a bit much to chalk up to coincidence.
“Yes, moving to a new home is stressful,” the grandmother said, in the kitchen with Sam. “But she hasn’t really had time to settle in here. Better to think of it as an ongoing move.”
“Won’t be easy,” Sam said. “Repacking everything.”
The Winchesters traveled light and never had to consider packing up a lifetime of accumulated belongings. Until they’d found the bunker, they had no furniture at all. Every possession they had could fit in the trunk of the Impala, alongside their hunters’ weapons cache.
From the other room, Sam detected a change in volume as Stanley Vargus said his goodbyes.
“Ramon will help, and the Holcombs,” Mary said, walking from the kitchen before Vargus left. “I can’t lift much, but I can pack plates, tape up boxes. We’ll hire movers for most of it.”
Stanley Vargus paused in the doorway facing Ramon, who held the door open for him, and Sally, who stood with her hands clasped before her, a polite smile flickering off and on as she struggled to retain her composure. Castiel hadn’t strayed too far from the wingchairs.
“These aren’t just words, Sally,” Vargus said. “I mean to help out, however I can.”
“Thanks,” Sally said.
“I convinced Dave to come here. So I want to cover his funeral expenses. You don’t need to worry about that.”
“I appreciate that,” Sally said, her lips trembling.
“Dave always called you Sally, but going through the paperwork to have a check cut, I noticed a different name listed for spouse…?”
“Oh, Sally is a nickname,” she said. “Not my legal name.”
“That’s my fault,” Ramon said. “When I was a kid, I couldn’t pronounce Dalisay so I called her Sally instead. And it stuck.”
“Why do you think these two insist on calling me Grandma Mary, instead of Marilag?”
“Well, I’m glad I’ve cleared that up,” Vargus said. “I’ll have a check sent over tomorrow if not later today.”
“Thank you, Mr. Vargus,” Mary said with a slight bow of her head. “Ramon and I appreciate the kindness and support you’ve shown our Sally.”
“Believe me,” Vargus said, clearly moved. “It’s the least I can do. Dave was a good friend. And I feel somehow responsible for this whole situation.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Sally said, wiping away a tear. “There’s no way you could have known something like this… how this could happen.”
He shook his head, at a loss for words.
Sally stepped forward and hugged him.
Vargus shook Ramon’s hand. “Job offer stands, son.” He took the grandmother’s hand gently and thanked her for her hospitality. Then he turned to Sam and Castiel, who hung back a little from the group. “Find whoever took Dave away from us,” he said grimly. “And lock the bastard up for the rest of his worthless life.”
After he left, Ramon closed the door so it hardly made a sound.
Sally turned away and hugged herself, looking somewhat lost as she surveyed the house which hadn’t yet become a home and now never would. “I don’t know anymore,” she said. “Sometimes I feel Dave’s presence here. Maybe I should stay. Maybe I won’t feel completely lost and alone…” She turned, facing the backyard but staring off into space. “But then I close my eyes and I see him out there, how I found him…”
“That will never change, Dalisay,” the grandmother said. “You made the right decision. Best to leave as soon as possible.”
Ramon shook his head. “You don’t need to stay here, in this house, sis,” he said. “But you could stay in Indiana. Evansville, maybe.”
Mary shook her head. “Too close,” she said. “Start making new memories far from here.”
“No matter where she goes,” Ramon said, “she won’t forget what happened here.”
“This place is bad for her now,” the grandmother said. “I wasn’t sure before, but I am now. Bad omen.”
“What’s changed?” Ramon asked, looking back and forth between them. “How is it worse now than before?”
The old woman crossed her arms, her mouth clamped shut, but stared at Sally, not Ramon. Clearly, she felt the answer wasn’t hers to give.
Sally sighed. “Because I’m pregnant, Ramon.”
“What?”
“I suspected, but I only found out for sure this morning,” she said. “As sure as I can be without seeing a doctor. But I didn’t want Stanley to know.”
“Why not? He could help!”
“He’d want me to stay,” Sally said. “He feels guilty for some reason and wants to help. But I need to make this decision on my own. And I don’t think I should stay—could stay.”
“Good. Trust your instincts,” Mary said. “Don’t have the baby here. I believe this place is cursed for you.”
“Cursed?” Castiel asked.
“Because of what happened to Dave?” Sam asked, not quite rhetorically, as he sensed something else factored into the old woman’s newfound conviction that Sally should leave as soon as possible.
“Yes,” she said and took a deep breath. “And because of what happened long ago.”
“What are you talking about?” Sally asked.
The old woman walked over to the nearest wingchair and lowered herself into it, gripping the padded arms for support. “My aunt, Malaya Mercado,” she said. “She left the Philippines before any of our family. Married an American G.I., a medic, after World War II and moved to Indiana.”
“Aunt Malaya?” Sally said. “I never knew that. I remember someone in the family saying she left the Philippines when she was young, but not much else. She really lived in Indiana?”
“Briefly,” the grandmother said solemnly. “Moved to her husband’s hometown. When I heard you were moving here with David, I looked for it on a map. Somewhere in southern Indiana. Carson County—or maybe it was Carter City. Memory’s not as sharp as it was. I thought the town might be close to Braden Heights, but couldn’t find either of those names on the map.”
“You mentioned she stayed in Indiana briefly,” Sam said, hoping to steer the conversation toward the source of the old woman’s misgivings.
“No, I said she lived in Indiana briefly.”
“She died here,” Castiel guessed.
Mary nodded. “Malaya was expecting when she came to Indiana,” she said. “Hoped to start a new family here with her husband, but there were complications during childbirth. Hemorrhaging. She lost too much blood.”
“And her baby?” Sam asked hesitantly, expecting the worst.
Mary smiled briefly. “Beautiful child, from the few pictures I saw. But willful and disobedient, like she resented the hole in her life, not having a mother, and it angered her.”
“What happened?” Sally asked.
“All we know is what little filtered back to us from her father,” Mary said. “Riza never contacted anyone on our side of the family. We must have seemed half a world away, and I suppose we were. Anyway, her father told us she met a boy who was no good for her, from the wrong side of the tracks, as they used to say. He disapproved. Naturally, for a rebellious teenaged girl, that was all the encouragement she needed. One thing led to another and she got herself in a family way. Her father threatened to separate them, send her to live with us and never see that boy again. You can imagine what happened.”
“She ran away,” Sam guessed.
“Her and the boy,” the old woman said. “Before she left, she promised him he would never see her again, or the baby. And she kept her word. I often wonder what happened to little Riza. If she eventually found happiness… or more heartache.” She sighed, still gripping the padded armrests as she looked up at her standing granddaughter. “You see, Dalisay? That is why you must leave this cursed place. There is only death and sadness for pregnant Mercado women here. First Malaya, then Riza, and now losing your David… history is repeating itself. It’s already started. If you stay, more sadness will come for you.”
An uneasy silence fell across the room. Until Sam’s cell phone rang. He excused himself and walked away from the group to take the call.
“This is Agent Rutherford.”
“Hello, Agent,” said a familiar woman’s voice. Before he could identify the caller, she spared him the trouble. “This is Dr. Vanessa Hartwell from LMC.”
“Hello, Dr. Hartwell,” Sam said. “Of course, I remember you.”
At the mention of the doctor’s name, Castiel crossed the room to stand near Sam, a look of concern in his eyes.
“Agent, have you ever had the feeling that strange things were happening all around you without your knowledge?”
“All the time,” Sam said honestly. “I don’t like not knowing. That’s why I got into this business. What’s up?”
“Not sure if it relates to your case,” Hartwell said mysteriously, “but there’s something I need to tell you—well, show you. But I can’t really show you because technically it’s gone, but… I think it would be best if you could come here and see—or not see—for yourself.”
“I’ll go,” Castiel said, having heard enough over the receiver to make his decision. “You stay here. Wait for De—Agent Banks.”
Sam pressed the mute button. “You sure?”
“I’m sure,” Castiel said. He turned to the others and excused himself, slipping quietly out the door before Ramon could open it for him.
Sam switched off mute. “Agent Collins is on his way there now.”
“Thank you.”
While Sam took the call, Sally had begun to pace behind the sofa, hugging herself as if to ward off a chill. As he rejoined the group, she asked, “Was that about Dave’s attacker?”
“Maybe,” Sam said. “It might be related.”
She nodded in resignation, perhaps accepting the possibility she might never get closure for the murder of her husband. Looking toward her grandmother, she placed a hand on her abdomen and said, “Leaving here won’t bring back David. Either way, this baby will never know her father. And there’s already a hole in her life, before she’s born. Just like Riza. Maybe it’s too late…”
“That is dangerous thinking,” Mary said. “You are this baby’s hope and future. You must light the way for her—but not here. This place will always want to pull you into darkness.”
“Maybe she’s right, Sal,” Ramon said. “You should go.”
Sally looked at Sam, as if seeking an objective opinion from outside the family. Though Sam couldn’t tell her what to do with her life, he could try to keep her safe from the immediate threat. “Look, I don’t know if this place is cursed,” Sam admitted, though he wouldn’t rule it out. “But whoever is responsible for killing your husband is still out there. A real, tangible threat. If you want a fresh start, in this instance, a change of scenery might not be a bad thing.”
Sally nodded thoughtfully and rubbed her palms together. “Guess I better start packing.”