02x07 - The Usual Suspects

[bunniefuu]

2.07 The Usual Suspects

Air Date: 9 Nov 2006

Teaser

LOCATION TITLE: Baltimore, Maryland

INT. Police STATION - NIGHT

Background chatter as a man is led down a dim police-station hallway in cuffs. Pan into the bustling office, where PETER Sheridan is on his cell phone, a mug of coffee in hand.

Sheridan: Under what name? Oh, yeah, that's my favorite so far. Possible ID's in three states that we know of.

(He pulls a paper from the fax machine and stares at it.)

I gotta call you back.

EXT. MOTEL - NIGHT

A SWAT team approaches a motel room from the outside.

INT. Police STATION - NIGHT

Sheridan enters an interrogation room; the prisoner is not visible. He sits down.

Sheridan: Well, first I thought you were just stepping up your game. Credit card fraud, breaking and entering, and this one... puzzled me. Grave desecration. But still these are a long way from m*rder. Then we get a fax from St. Louis. Where you're suspected of torturing and murdering a young woman. However, no one could prove anything, of course, because supposedly you d*ed there.

EXT. MOTEL - NIGHT

The SWAT team breaks open a 2nd-floor door with a battering ram; inside, Sam stops, holding his hands up.

INT. Police STATION - NIGHT

Sheridan: But I gotta tell you something. You look pretty healthy to me.

INT. MOTEL - NIGHT

Diana Ballard advances on Sam, her g*n forward.

INT. Police STATION - NIGHT

Sheridan: So now we know Karen Giles wasn't the first person you m*rder*d.

INT. MOTEL - NIGHT

Ballard: Going somewhere, Sam?

INT. Police STATION - NIGHT

Sheridan: But I guarantee you she's the last.

He stands and walks out; we pan across to reveal that the prisoner is Dean.

END Teaser

ACT ONE

TITLE CARD: SUPERNATURAL

INT. Police STATION - NIGHT

The policewoman from earlier enters another interrogation room, where Sam is pacing by the window. She places a coffee cup on the table.

Ballard: Thought you might be thirsty.

Sam: Okay, so you're the good cop. Where's the bad cop?

Ballard: Oh, he's with your brother.

Sam: Okay. And you're holding us why?

Ballard: Well, he's being held on suspicion of m*rder. And you, we'll see.

Sam: (leaning forward, shocked)

m*rder?!

Ballard: You sound genuinely surprised. Or are you that good of an actor?

Sam: Who was he supposed to have m*rder*d?!

Ballard: We'll get around to that.

Sam: Well, you can't just hold us here without formal charges!

Ballard: Well actually, we can, for forty eight hours, but you being a pre-law student, would know that. I know all about you, Sam.

(She reads from a file.)

You're twenty three years old, no job, no home address. Your mother d*ed when you were a baby, your father's whereabouts are unknown. And then there's the case of your brother Dean. Whose demise was, well, just a little bit exaggerated. Feel free to jump in whenever you like.

(Sam leans against the wall, folding his arms.)

Shy? No problem. I'll keep going. Your family moved around a lot when you were a kid. Despite that, you were a straight-A student. Got into Stanford with a full ride.

(She closes the file.)

Then about a year ago there was a fire in your apartment. One fatality. Jessica Moore, your girlfriend. After she d*ed, you fell off the grid. Left behind everything.

Sam: I needed some time off. To deal. So I'm taking a road trip with my brother.

Ballard: How's that going for you?

Sam: Great. I mean... we saw the second largest ball of twine in the continental US. Awesome.

He pulls a chair up to the table and straddles it.

Ballard: We ran Dean's fingerprints through AFIS.

Sam: Okay.

Ballard: Got over a dozen possible hits.

Sam: Possible hits. Which makes them worthless.

Ballard: But it makes you wonder. What are we gonna find when we run your prints?

Sam: Yeah, well.

(He pounds his fist on the table sarcastically.)

You be sure to let me know, all right.

(pointing at the cup)

May I?

Ballard: Please.

Sam: Great.

He sniffs the cup and sips it as she leans over him, intently.

Ballard: Sam, you seem like a good kid. It's not your fault Dean's your brother. We can't pick our family. Right now Detectives in St. Louis are exhuming a corpse. They're trying to figure out how your brother faked his own death. After torturing all those young women. Dean's a bad guy. His life is over. Yours doesn't have to be.

Sam looks at her, incredulous.

Sam: You want me to turn against my own brother?

Ballard: No. We already caught him cold. Red-handed at the Karen Giles m*rder scene. We just need you to fill in some missing pieces.

Sam: Why would I do that?

Ballard: Because I can talk to the DA. Make a deal for you. You can get on with your life. Dean's as good as gone.

Sam thinks for a moment, looking distraught, then begins speaking quietly.

Sam: My dad and Tony Giles were old friends. They were in the service together. We've known him since we were kids, you know? So we came as soon as we heard about his death.

FLASHBACK: EXT. CAFE - DAY

Dean is sitting at a cafe table reading a newspaper; the headline reads

Man's Throat Slit Without A Trace.

Sam approaches with two cups of coffee and sets one down. As he sits, Dean hands over the paper.

Sam: There you go.

Dean: Anthony Giles.

Sam: Who's Anthony Giles?

Dean: He's a Baltimore Lawyer. Working late in his office, check it out.

Sam: (reading)

Uh... (mutters) throat was slit, room was clean. Huh. No DNA, no prints.

Dean: Keep reading, it gets better.

Sam: Security cameras failed to capture footage of the assailant.

Dean: So I'm thinking either somebody tampered with the tapes,

Sam: Or it's an invisible k*ller.

Dean: My favorite kind. What do you think, Scully? You wanna check it out?

Sam: I'm not Scully, you're Scully.

Dean: No, I'm Mulder. You're a red-headed woman.

INT. Police STATION

Sam is continuing his story.

Sam: Woulda been kinda hard for Dean to k*ll Tony, considering we weren't in town at the time.

Ballard: So tell me what happened next.

Sam: Okay, uh, that's when we went to see Karen. She was barely holding it together. We just wanted to be there for her. You know?

FLASHBACK: INT. GILES HOUSE - DAY

Karen, a young woman with dark hair and dark-framed glasses, is sitting in her home, on the verge of tears. She's looking at some forms that Sam and Dean, dressed as insurance company employees, have given her.

Karen: Insurance. I totally forgot about the insurance.

Sam: We're very sorry to bother you right now, but the company is required to conduct its own investigation. You understand.

Karen: Sure.

Sam: Okay. Um. If you could just tell us anything you remember about the night your husband d*ed.

Karen: Uh, Tony and I were just supposed to have dinner. He called and said he was having computer troubles and that, that he had to work late. That was it.

Sam: Do you have any idea who could have done this to him?

Karen: No. No, it's like I told the police, I, I have no idea.

Dean: Did Tony mention anything, you know, unusual to you? In the days before his death?

Karen: Unusual...

Dean: Yeah, like strange?

Karen: (shaking her head)

Strange?

Dean: You know, Karen, weird? Weird noises, uh, visions, anything like that?

Sam clears his throat and gives Dean a look; Karen turns to Sam, who turns on his concerned-face again, then sh**t Dean another look as she glances down.

Karen: He had a nightmare the day before he d*ed.

Sam: What kind of a nightmare?

Karen: Uh, he said that he woke up in the middle of the night and there was a woman standing at the foot of the bed, he blinked and she was gone, I mean, it was just a nightmare.

Dean: Did he say what she looked like?

Karen: What the hell difference does it make what she looked like?

Dean: Uh, it's just, our, our company's very thorough.

Karen: He said she was pale, and she had dark red eyes.

Sam (V.O): So I gave Karen a hug, told her to call me if she needed anything,

INT. Police STATION

Sam: ... and that was it. End of story.

Ballard: Sam, I am trying to help you here. But you have got to be honest with me. Now we have an eyewitness. Someone who saw two men fitting your and your brother's description breaking into Giles' office.

Sam: Okay, look, Karen called us later, said that there was some stuff that she wanted from Tony's office, but the police weren't letting her in. I, like, a picture of the two of them in Paris, and some other stuff. Look, it was wrong to enter a crime scene, but she gave us the key!

FLASHBACK: EXT. GILES' OFFICE - NIGHT

Sam picks the lock on GILES office and he and Dean enter, ducking under the police tape. Sam shines his flashlight on a pool of blood on the floor.

Sam: Hey. Anthony Giles' body was found right about here.

(reading)

"Throat slit so deep part of his spinal cord was visible."

Dean: (whistling)

What do you think? Vengeful spirit? Underlining vengeful?

Sam: Yeah, maybe. I mean he did see that woman at the foot of his bed.

Dean picks up a sheet of paper lying on the desk.

Dean: Take a look at this.

Sam takes the paper. It contains small-font printing of the word "danashulps" repeated over and over to fill the page.

Sam: Dana Shulps. A name?

Dean finds another paper.

Dean: I dunno, but it's everywhere.

(grinning)

Well, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

Sam shines his flashlight down on the glass table in front of him, pausing. He breathes on the glass, revealing the Same letters - "DANASHULPS" — impressed in the surface.

Sam: Wow. I'd say we've officially crossed over into weird.

Dean: Maybe Giles knew her.

Sam: Or maybe it's the name of our pale red-eyed mystery girl.

Dean: Well. Let's see what we can see.

LATER, they are frustrated and have found nothing after searching through all accessible paper and computer files in the office. Sam is at the desktop computer.

Dean: There's not a single mention of a Dana Shulps anywhere. There's not a D. Shulps. Or any other kind of friggin' Shulps.

Sam: Great.

Dean: What have you got?

Sam: Nothing. No Dana Shulps has ever lived or d*ed in Baltimore in the last fifty years at least.

Dean: So what now?

Sam: Well, I think I'm pretty close to cracking Giles' password. Maybe there's something in his personal files, you know?

Dean: By close you mean...

Sam: Thirty minutes, maybe?

Dean: (glances at his watch)

Awesome. So I guess I just get to, uh, hang out.

(muttering)

Awesome.

Sam types, concentrating. Dean sits down, annoyed, and starts making clicking and mouth-fart noises.

Sam: Dude, seriously.

Dean: All right, I'm gonna go talk to Karen again, see if she knows anything about this Dana Shulps, huh?

Sam: Great.

Dean: Keep going, Sparky.

END FLASHBACK

INT. Police STATION

Sam: Then Dean went back to Karen's place to check up on her. I mean, you know, she had been pretty upset earlier.

Ballard: So why didn't you go with him?

Sam: I just went back to the motel.

(b*at)

How'd you know I was there, by the way?

Ballard: We found the motel matchbook on your brother when we arrested him. Let's quit fooling around. Now you were with your brother the whole time you were in Baltimore. Why separate now? Because your brother left you. To go m*rder Karen.

Sam: He didn't k*ll anyone.

Ballard: (hitting the table)

I heard the 9-1-1 call! Karen was terrified. She said someone was in the house.

FLASHBACK: INT. GILES HOUSE - NIGHT

Karen is sitting on the sofa in pajamas, crying. The TV is on, low. As she blows her nose, she hears a figure pass by. She takes off her glasses to rub her eyes; she pauses, then puts them back on. Across the room in a mirror she sees a ghostly figure. She yelps. She turns on the light and the figure is gone. She gets up, panicked, and goes into the hallway, then into the bedroom and shuts the door. She calls 9-1-1.

Operator: Hello, emergency services.

Karen: Hello? I think I saw someone in my house.

Operator: What is your address?

Karen: It's 421 Clinton Avenue. Please, can you -

(There is a click, and the call is disconnected. )

Hello?

The printer on her desk flicks on and starts printing out the Same repeated pattern as before: "danashulpsdanashulpsdanashulps". Karen fumbles for a flashlight, turns, and sees the ghost behind her - it's a young blond woman with dripping red eyes. Karen screams.

END ACT ONE

ACT TWO

EXT. GILES HOUSE - NIGHT

Dean arrives at Karen's and knocks on the door.

Dean: Karen, you in there?

Dean looks around, then picks the lock and enters. He tries the light by the door, but it doesn't work. He goes further into the house, up the stairs and into the bedroom. He pushes open the door and sees Karen lying on the floor in a pool of her own blood. Her throat is slit deeply. He sees the pages from the printer and frowns.

Dean: Seriously, what the hell?

Dean kneels down by Karen's body, noticing bruises on her wrists. He takes one wrist in his hand.

PoliceWoman: Freeze.

Behind Dean, two cops have their g*ns trained on him.

PoliceWoman: Stay on your knees. Hands where I can see them. Now!

(He complies.)

Cuff him.

END FLASHBACK

INT. Police STATION

Sheridan is sitting in an observation room from which he can see Dean, handcuffed to a table. Ballard enters.

Ballard: You getting anywhere with him?

Sheridan: No. Just a lot of wise-ass remarks. You?

Ballard: Sam's story matches Dean's to the last detail.

Sheridan: Hmm. Yeah, well, these guys are good. I'll give 'em that.

Ballard: If we don't get Sam to flip we have nothing but a lot of circumstantial evidence.

Sheridan: Hey. We've got Dean at the crime scene with blood on his hands. Juries have convicted for less.

Ballard: Yeah, but, I mean, where's the m*rder w*apon? What's the motive? You talk about reasonable doubt.

Sheridan: Diana.

(He touches her face)

Do you have reasonable doubt? We keep leaning on these guys, one of them will tumble. And don't forget about St. Louis. I'm telling you. This Dean guy is our guy.

Ballard: I know Tony Giles was a friend of yours.

Sheridan: Yeah. He was, he was a good friend.

Ballard: Look, and I know you want to clean this mess up quick. But come on, Tony knew a lot of criminal types, I mean, maybe we're just...

Sheridan: Criminal types? He was a defense Lawyer, for godsakes, of course he knew criminal types.

Ballard: All right, let's get back at 'em.

Sheridan: No, you know what? Let 'em stew in their juices for a bit. Come here.

(He kisses her.)

INT. Dean's INTERROGATION ROOM

Dean, still handcuffed to the table, is muttering to himself, thinking.

Dean: Dana Shulps, Dana Shulps, Dana ShulpsDana, DanaShulps...

INT. Sam's INTERROGATION ROOM

Sam pulls a pad of paper and a pen to him and writes "DANA SHULPS" in block letters, frowning in thought.

INT. Dean's INTERROGATION ROOM

Dean: Maybe it's not a name. Maybe it's not a name.

INT. Sam's INTERROGATION ROOM

Sam: Anagram, maybe?

He writes "ANDA SH..." underneath the first line, then continues.

INT. Dean's INTERROGATION ROOM - DAY

Head down, Dean continues to mutter to himself. There's a knock on the door; he looks up. A smiling middle-aged man pokes his head in.

Kraus: Mr. Winchester?

Dean: Yeah.

Kraus: I'm Jeffrey Kraus. I'm with the public defender's office. I'm your Lawyer.

Dean: (deadpan)

Oh. Thank god. I'm saved.

(as Kraus sits...)

Hey, could I, uh, steal a pen from you? Some paper?

Kraus: Sure.

(he hands over the items and Dean starts scribbling)

Uh, well, the police haven't found a w*apon yet. So that's good. But, uh, they got your prints. And literally blood on your hands. And with your police record, uh...

(seeing that Dean is ignoring him)

Mr. Winchester? What are you doing?

Dean: I think it's an anagram.

Kraus: A what?

Dean: An anagram. Same letters, different words.

The pad of paper now reads: DNA SHULPS

DAN SHULPAS

LAND PUSHAS

SUPASH LAND

PUSH LANDAS

PLUSH DANAS

Dean: Uh, do me a favor? See if you recognize any of these words, you know, local names, places, anything like that?

Kraus: Do you understand how serious these charges are?

Dean: I'm handcuffed to a table. Yeah, I get it. Humor me. Take a quick look.

Kraus pulls the pad over to him.

Kraus: Well, S-U-P, I don't know about that, but Ashland is a street name. Not far from here.

Dean: A street.

Dean takes the pad back, tears off a sheet of paper and starts writing again.

Kraus: Let's start with where you were the night Anthony Giles d*ed.

Dean: Can you get in to see my brother?

Kraus: Mr. Winchester, you could be facing the death penalty here.

Dean: Hey, thanks for the law review, Matlock. But. If you want to help me...

(holding up the folded note he's just finished)

I need you to see my brother.

INT. Police STATION - DAY

Ballard is writing an email at her computer. Suddenly the repeating string DANASHULPSstarts scrolling across the screen. She looks around, nervous.

INT. Sam's INTERROGATION ROOM - DAY

Sam is looking at the note Dean sent him, which reads: HILTS —

IT's A STREET

ASHLAND.

-MCQUEEN

Kraus: I hope that's meaningful. But I'd like to discuss your case now.

Sam: (gesturing to the chair)

Sure thing, Matlock.

Kraus: You two really are brothers, aren't you?

(sitting)

Now. As you know, the DA might be interested in...

A knock on the door is quickly followed by Ballard, who addresses Kraus.

Ballard: We need you. With the other one.

INT. Dean's INTERROGATION ROOM - DAY

Several others have crowded into the observation room outside where Dean is being held; across from his seat a digital camera has been set up. Ballard and Kraus enter.

Sheridan: Counselor? Your boy decided to confess.

Kraus: Mr. Winchester? I'd advise against that strongly.

Sheridan: Talk directly into the camera, first stating your name for the record.

Dean clears his throat and leans forward, looking into the camera.

Dean: My name is Dean Winchester. I'm an Aquarius. I enjoy sunsets, long walks on the beach, and frisky women. And I did not k*ll anyone. But I know who did. Or rather what did. Of course it can't be for sure, because our investigation was interrupted. But our working theory was that we're looking for some kind of vengeful spirit.

Ballard: Excuse me?

Dean: You know, Casper the bloodthirsty ghost?

In the observation room, the spectators start laughing.

Dean: Tony Giles saw it. I'll bet you cash money Karen did too. But see, the interesting thing is the word it leaves behind. For some reason it's trying to tell us something. But communicating across the vale, it ain't easy. You know, sometimes the spirits, they, they get things jumbled. You remember "REDRUM". Same concept. You know, it's, uh, maybe word fragments... other times, it's anagrams. See, at first we thought this was a name, Dana Shulps. But now we think it's a street. Ashland. Whatever's going on, I'll bet you it started there.

Dean spreads his hands and smiles.

Sheridan: You arrogant bastard. Tony and Karen were good people, and you're making jokes.

Dean: I'm not joking, Ponch.

Sheridan: You m*rder*d them in cold blood just like that girl in St. Louis.

Dean: Oh, yeah. That wasn't me either. That was a shape-shifter creature that only looked like me.

He smiles at the camera. Sheridan loses his temper and hauls Dean up by the collar, slamming him against the wall.

Ballard: Pete, that is enough!

Dean: You asked for the truth.

Sheridan: Lock his ass up.

Another cop takes over, shoving Dean face-first against the wall and handcuffing him.

INT. Sam's INTERROGATION ROOM - DAY

Sheridan and Ballard return to find Sam gone; the coffee and the note are still on the table.

Sheridan: What the hell? Where is he?

Sheridan goes to the window, which is open, and looks out - it's a (four?) story drop with no visible fire escape nearby. Ballard sees the note on the table and picks it up.

Sheridan: What'd he do? The fire escape's way over... what?

Ballard: These two guys.

She hands him the note.

Sheridan: Hilts and McQueen?

Ballard: Hilts is Steve McQueen's character in the Great Escape.

INT. BATHROOM - NIGHT

Ballard enters the bathroom and the lights flicker. She sighs. As she approaches the sink, it turns on by itself. She recoils. All the faucets start pouring out hot water, steam rising. In the fogging mirror the letters DANASHULPSare formed; Ballard scrubs them away to reveal THE GHOST. Her throat is slit deeply, her eyes deep red. She struggles to talk.

END ACT TWO

ACT THREE

INT. Dean's LOCKUP ROOM

Dean is handcuffed to another table as Ballard enters, nervous. She shuts the door.

Dean: Can we make this quick? I'm a little tired, it's been a long day, you know, with your partner assaulting me and all.

Ballard: I want to know more about that stuff you were talking about earlier.

Dean: Time Life. Mysteries of the Unknown. Look it up.

Ballard: Let's pretend for the moment you're not entirely insane.

Dean: Mmm.

Ballard: What would one of these things be doing here?

Dean: A vengeful spirit? Well, they're created by violent deaths. And then they come back for a reason, usually a nasty one. Like revenge on the people that hurt 'em.

Ballard: And uh, these, they're capable of k*lling people?

As she rubs her neck, Dean notices something on her wrist.

Dean: Where did you get that?

She pulls up her sleeves to reveal deep bruises, like those on Karen's wrists.

Ballard: I don't know. It, it wasn't there before.

Dean: You've seen it, haven't you? The spirit?

Ballard: How did you know?

Dean: Because Karen had the Same bruises on her wrists. And I'm willing to bet that if you look at Giles' autopsy photos he's got 'em too, it's got something to do with this spirit, I... I don't know what.

(She turns away, looking into the mirror)

I know. You think you're going crazy. But let's skip that part, shall we? Because the last two people who saw this thing? d*ed, pretty soon after. You hear me?

Ballard: You think I'm going to die.

Dean: You need to go to Sam. He'll help.

Ballard: You're giving your brother up.

Dean: Go to the first motel listed in the yellow pages. Look for Jim Rockford - it's how we find each other when we're separated. Now you can arrest him if you want. Or you can let him save your life.

INT. MOTEL - NIGHT

Sam is sitting at a motel desk, going through files. There is a knock on the door; he opens it to find Ballard; he hesitates, she shrugs and comes in.

Ballard shows Sam her wrists.

Sam: These showed up after you saw it?

Ballard: Yeah, I guess.

Sam: All right. You're going to have to tell me exactly what you saw.

Ballard: You know, I must be losing my mind. You're a fugitive. I should be arresting you.

Sam: All right. Well, you know what? You can arrest me later, all right? After you live through this. But right now you've gotta talk to me. Okay?

(She nods)

Okay, great. Now, this spirit. What did it look like?

Ballard: She was, um, really pale, and her throat was cut, and her eyes, they were like, this deep dark red? It appeared like she was trying to talk to me. But she couldn't. It was just... a lot of blood.

Sam: You know what? Here. I've been researching every girl that's ever d*ed or gone missing from Ashland Street.

He leads her over to a table, where he gathers up a stack of crime scene photos.

Ballard: How'd you get those? Those are from crime scenes, and booking photos.

Sam: You have your job, I have mine. Here. I need you to look through these, tell me if you recognize anyone.

Ballard sits and flips through the stack. On the third photo, a young woman's booking photo, she stops.

Ballard: This is her. I'm sure of it.

Sam: Claire Becker? Twenty eight years old, disappeared about eight or nine months ago.

Ballard: But I don't even know her. I mean, why would she come after me?

Sam: Well, before her death, she was arrested twice. For dealing heroin. You ever work narcotics?

Ballard: Yeah, Pete and I did. Before Homicide.

Sam: You ever bust her?

Ballard: Not that I remember.

Sam: It says that she was last seen entering 2911 Ashland Street. Police searched the place, didn't find anything. Guess we gotta check it out ourselves. See if we can find her body.

Ballard: What?

Sam: Well, we gotta salt and burn her bones. It's the only way to put her spirit to rest.

Ballard: Of course it is.

INT. 2911 ASHLAND STREET - NIGHT

Sam leads Ballard into a Dark And Creepy Warehouse.

Ballard: So what exactly are we looking for?

Sam: I'll let you know when we find it.

They split up, Sam checking up a flight of stairs and Ballard continuing on the lower level. She turns towards a window and sees CLAIRE, standing by the window. The ghost struggles to talk.

Ballard: Sam? Sam? Sam!

As Sam runs down the stairs to Ballard, the ghost disappears.

Sam: Hey! Hey, I'm here, what is it? What happened?

Ballard: Claire...

Sam: Where?

Ballard: She, she was here.

Sam: Did she att*ck you?

Ballard: No. No, she was just like, reaching out to me. She was over there by the window.

(The window is blocked by a shelving unit.)

Here, help me move this.

Sam: All right.

They shove the shelves aside, revealing the window. It is labeled from the outside: ASHLAND SUP(plies)

Ballard: Our little mystery word.

They turn to see a shadow on the opposite wall, casting the words into clear reflection.

Sam: Now the extra letters make sense.

Sam pulls out his EMF reader and approaches the opposite wall.

Ballard: What is that?

Sam: Spirits and certain remains give off electromagnetic frequencies.

Ballard: So if Claire's body was here, that would indicate that?

Sam: Yeah. Well, that's the theory.

The EMF reader purrs as he waves it over the brick wall. He turns.

Sam starts breaking through the wall with a sledgehammer. When he's knocked out a sizable hole, he pokes his flashlight inside.

Sam: Yeah. Yeah, there's definitely something in there.

(He starts breaking through the wall with elbows and fists.)

You know? This is bothering me.

Ballard: Well, you are digging up a corpse.

Sam: No, not that. That's, uh, that's pretty par for the course, actually.

Ballard: Then what?

Sam: It's just, I mean, no vengeful spirit I've ever tussled with wanted to be wasted, so why the hell would Claire lead us to her remains? It doesn't make any sense.

(He's broken open most of the wall.)

All right, here. Give me a hand.

Together, they pull out a shroud-wrapped body and place it on the ground. Sam pulls out a pocket Kn*fe and cuts the ropes holding the shroud together, uncovering her. Ballard holds out her wrists.

Sam: Her wrists. Yeah, they'd be bruised just like yours?

Ballard notices a necklace on the corpse and touches it cautiously.

Sam: That necklace mean something to you?

Ballard: I've seen it before. It's rare. It was custom made over on Carson street.

(she reaches into her neckline)

I have one just like it. Pete gave it to me.

END ACT THREE

ACT FOUR

INT. 2911 ASHLAND STREET - NIGHT

Sam: Now this all makes perfect sense.

Ballard: I'm sorry?

Sam: Yeah. You see, Claire is not a vengeful spirit, she's a death omen.

Ballard: Excuse me?

Sam: Claire's not k*lling anyone. She's trying to warn them. You see, sometimes spirits, they don't want vengeance, they want justice. Which is why she led us here in the first place. She wants us to know who her k*ller is.

(b*at)

Detective, how much do you know about your partner?

Ballard: (thinking)

Oh my god.

Sam: What?

Ballard: About a year ago, some heroin went missing from lockup. Obviously it was a cop. We never found out who did it. But whoever did it would need someone to fence their product.

Sam: Someone like a heroin dealer. Somebody like Claire.

EXT. HIGHWAY - NIGHT

Sheridan is driving an armored van with Dean in the back.

Dean: So I'm being extradited to St. Louis, huh? And you just decided to transfer me yourself, eight hundred miles? At two in the morning? This can't be good.

EXT. HIGHWAY - NIGHT

Ballard is driving Sam down a similar stretch of road, finishing a call on her cell phone.

Ballard: All right. Thanks.

Sam: What is it?

Ballard: Pete just left the precinct. With Dean.

Sam: What?

Ballard: He said the prisoner had to be transfered, and he just took him. Dispatch has been calling but he won't answer the radio.

Sam: Radio? He took a county vehicle?

Ballard: Yeah.

Sam: Well, then they should have a lo-jack, you've just gotta get it turned on.

EXT. CLEARING - NIGHT

The armored van pulls off the road and stops.

Dean: Pee break? So soon? You might want to get your prostate checked.

(Sheridan gets out and circles to the back.)

Son of a bitch.

(Sheridan opens the van.)

Hey, I'm cool in the van, you go do what you gotta do.

Sheridan hauls Dean out and throws him to the ground.

Sheridan: You're a cocky son of a bitch. You think those people in St. Louis are gonna buy that crap you're peddling? Here's the thing. You're not gonna make it to St. Louis. You're gonna die trying to escape.

He pulls out his g*n and points it at Dean's head.

Dean: Wait! Wait. Let's, let's talk about this. I mean, you don't want to do something that you're gonna regret later.

(Sheridan cocks the g*n.)

Or maybe you do.

Ballard: (arriving)

Pete! Put the g*n down.

Sheridan: Diana? How'd you find me?

Ballard: I know about Claire.

Sheridan: I don't know what you're talking about.

Ballard: Put the g*n down!

Sheridan: Oh, I don't think so. You're fast. I'm pretty sure I'm faster.

Ballard: Why are you doing this?

Sheridan: I didn't do anything, Diana.

Ballard: It's a little late for that.

Sheridan: It wasn't my fault. Claire was trying to turn me in, I had no choice.

Ballard: And Tony? Karen?

Sheridan: Same thing! Tony scrubbed the money, he got skittish, and then he wanted to come clean. I'm sure he told Karen everything.

Dean glances at Sam, who's giving him "How do we get out of this" looks. Dean shakes his head, Sam grits his teeth.

Sheridan: It was a mess; I had to clean it up. I just panicked.

Ballard: How many more people are gonna die over this, Pete?

Sheridan: There's a way out. This Dean kid's a friggin' gift. We could pin the whole thing on him. Right? No trial, nothing. Just, just one more dead scumbag.

Dean: Hey!

Sheridan raises the g*n; Dean backs off.

Sheridan: No one will question it. Diana, please. I still love you.

(She lowers the g*n.)

Thank you. Thank you.

As he turns back to Dean, Ballard brings her g*n up and fires, hitting Sheridan in the stomach. He goes down; Dean rolls out of the way.

Ballard: Then why don't you buy me another necklace, you ass?

He tackles her legs, knocking her down; she loses her g*n and Sam tries to go for it, but Sheridan gets there first.

Sheridan: Don't do it! Don't do it!

Ballard stares past Sheridan, who turns to see the GHOST behind him, staring through her bloody hair. She smiles. A g*nsh*t goes off: Ballard has recovered a w*apon and sh*t Sheridan in the back. He goes down, more permanently this time.

END ACT FOUR

ACT FIVE

EXT. CLEARING - MORNING

Ballard is kneeling by the body of her late partner. She gets up and approaches Sam and Dean, standing nearby.

Sam: You doin' all right?

Ballard: Not really. The death omen Claire. What happens to her now?

Sam: Should be over. She should be at rest.

Dean: So, uh. What now, officer?

Ballard: Pete did confess to me. He screwed up both your cases royally. I'd say that there's a good chance that we could get your cases dismissed.

Sam: You'd take care of that for us?

Ballard: I hope so. But the St. Louis m*rder charges? That's another story. I can't help you. Unless... I just happened to turn my back, and you walked away. I could just tell them that the suspects escaped.

Sam: Wait, are you sure?

Dean: Yeah, she's sure, Sam.

Sam: No, it's just, I mean, you could lose your job over something like that.

Ballard: Look, I just want you guys out there doing what you do best. Trust me, I'll sleep better at night.

(she turns to go)

Listen, you need to watch your back. They're gonna be looking for both of you right now. Get out of here. I gotta radio this in.

Dean: Hey, uh, you wouldn't happen to know where my car is, by chance?

Ballard: It's at the impound yard down on Robertson.

(seeing Dean's calculating look)

Don't... even think about it.

Sam: it's okay, it's all right, don't worry. We'll, uh, we'll just improvise. I mean, we're pretty good at that.

Ballard: Yeah. I've noticed.

Sam and Dean walk off down the road.

Sam: Nice lady.

Dean: Yeah, for a cop. Did she look familiar to you?

Sam: No, why?

Sam shoves Dean playfully.

Dean: I don't know. Anyway, are you hungry?

Sam: No.

Dean: For some reason I could really go for some pea soup.

END EPISODE

transcript by gelasius 11/10/2006