Longhorn

Chapter 03 | Officer of the Law

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Y/N

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"You're sure this is okay?"

"Yeah, of course," Dean hums. He gets out of the Impala, opening the door for Rebecca. "I'm an officer of the law."

You hold back a scoff and walk toward Zach's home. Inside, the furniture and walls are smeared with blood. It reeks of death and decay, the smell of old blood pungent in your nostrils. Rebecca stays on the porch steps.

Sam stops just before the edge of the door, turning to her. "Bec, you wanna stay outside?"

She audibly gulps, but pushes through and says, "No, I wanna help." Ducking under the police tape, she makes her way inside, unable to look at the overfill of blood.

Sam stops her just before fully entering the living room. "So, tell us what else the police said."

She starts off her sentence tearfully. "Well, there's no sign of a break-in. They say that Emily let her attacker in. The lawyers - they're already talking about a plea bargain." She pauses to look around the room, choking on her sobs. "Oh, God..."

You're quick to step forward, bringing her head down onto your shoulder. She cries into you, her entire body shaking with grief.

"Look, Bec, if Zach didn't do this, that means that someone else did," Sam says. "Any idea who?"

Becky lifts her head off of your shoulder but stays close to your side, your hand rubbing up and down her back as she begins to remember something.

"Um, there was something, about a week before. Somebody broke in and stole some clothes - Zach's clothes. The police - they don't think it's anything. I mean, we're not that far from downtown. Sometimes people get robbed."

Sam begins walking away, and Dean moves closer to the open door. He eyes the barking neighbor's dog, and Rebecca moves away from you to head towards him.

"You know," she says. "That used to be the sweetest dog."

You and Dean exchanged a look before he asks, "What happened?"

"He just changed."

You step forward, bringing her attention to you. "Do you remember when that happened? Did something attack him or the house?"

"I... I guess around the time of the murder."

Dean glances at her before moving away. You stay with Rebecca, giving the boys the chance to explore the home.

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Dean

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Sam's standing in the hallway when Dean walks in, staring at a picture of him with Zach and Rebecca.

"So, the neighbor's dog went psycho right around the time Zack's girlfriend was killed."

Sam barely looks away when he says, "Animals can have a sharp sense of the paranormal."

Dean risks a look down the hall at you and Rebecca. You're standing in the doorway facing in, making sure she doesn't look toward the bloodied living room. His heart aches for the both of you, for the pain Rebecca is in and for you being the go-to comforter in their cases. It can weigh on you, he knows that, but he knows you comforting the victim is better than either of the boys doing it.

"Yeah. Maybe Fido saw somethin'."

Sam finally turns to him, arms crossed and brow cocked. "So, you finally think this is our kinda problem?"

"No," Dean scoffs, but he knows Sam's right. There's something off about this. "Probably not. But we should look at the security tape, you know, just to make sure."

Footsteps alert them to you walking Rebecca over to them.

"So, the security tape," Dean says. "The footage - you think maybe your lawyers could get their hands on it? 'Cause I just don't have that kind of jurisdiction."

"I've already got it," she says. "I didn't wanna say something in front of a cop." Dean laughs, the familiar role of deceit comforting to him. "I stole it off the lawyer's desk. I just had to see it for myself."

"All right."