Thief in the Woods

Chapter 5: Emancipation

Maia's House. Tuesday, October 3, 2006.

Neal heaved a sigh that only one who'd spent time with Crowley could appreciate. On the one hand, he was glad that the demon didn't shower Maia with attention, but was it necessary to fixate on Sara instead? Adding insult to injury, he called her Scarlet, one of Neal's favorite nicknames for her. Not that Sara seemed to mind.

Still, at the moment they had a higher priority than a capricious demon.

"I'm going to the basement for a curse box," Bobby announced. "All those netsukes need to be inside it."

Dean squatted in front of the cabinet to wince at the rabbit. "Sorry, little fella. You'll be safe in there till we figure out how to disenchant you."

"Crowley knows a lot more than he told us," Neal said. "Did you notice the look he gave Sara when she mentioned her mother's surname? Does MacLeod have any significance to you?"

"No, but we'll look into it," Sam offered. "If we find out anything, we'll get back to you."

Chloe and Maia were murmuring among themselves next to the fireplace.

"Are you trying to figure out how to dehex the tanuki?" Dean asked.

"That's on our list but a more immediate concern is Crowley's warning," Chloe said. "He as much as admitted he knows one of Astrena's sisters is searching for the crystal ball and grimoire, possibly to communicate with Astrena."

Maia stood up. "I'll verify that they haven't already been stolen."

"I'll go with you," Chloe offered. The two dashed upstairs. The hiding place Mozzie had made was in Chloe and Dean's bedroom. The work had been done shortly after Crowley led them to the grimoire. The relocation was a smart move. Had Crowley divulged the old location to anyone? At the time, they'd been more worried that he might steal the grimoire. There was no doubt in Neal's mind that Crowley was more involved than he let on, but for whatever reason, he was being surprisingly helpful. Dean and Bobby kept warning the group not to trust the demon. They claimed he was a wolf playing nice for the moment but ready to turn on them in a flash. But Neal was starting to agree with Maia. Crowley appeared to relish the role of an exceptionally wayward uncle. Neal's hunch was that he wouldn't do anything to jeopardize that relationship.

"Any ideas on how to return the jewels to the owners?" Dean asked.

"We'll also have to alert the police," Sara said and frowned. "Explaining they were stolen by a drunken enchanted spirit isn't going to cut it."

"But this might," Neal said. "The police know we're investigating the crimes. We could claim we spotted her—which we did—and then followed her to ..." He thought for a moment. "How about the neighborhood swimming pool? It's closed for the season. There's probably a maintenance shed where we could stash the loot and then lead the police to the location."

"That should work," Sara agreed. "Even though we didn't catch the thief, we can give the police our photos. Sterling-Bosch will be thrilled at the return of the property. If all the jewelry is in the bags, the total appraised value is in the millions." She smiled at him. "Not bad for our first joint case for Win-Win."

Neal turned at the sound of footsteps on the stairs. "The grimoire and crystal ball are still in place," Maia reported happily.

"I strengthened the wards as an additional safety measure," Chloe said. "In addition to us, only Dean, Sam, and Bobby can access them."

Neal suspected the reason Chloe included the men was as a precaution in the event something happened to her and Maia. The group joked around so much, it would be easy to forget how dangerous their jobs were.