“I’ll be fine,” Sam replied through gritted teeth. “And, yeah, I’m sure about this. I saw the street name, and that’s definitely the house.”
Dean sighed and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. Usually, he was fine with going into a job, smoking out a demon, burning some bones, staking some vamps, and adding a dash of salt to the mix to add some spice to it all. This job, though…Well, he just wasn’t sure about this whole monster in the closet deal. And, yeah, he was the last person to say that things didn’t go bump in the night because, with his job, he’d seen it all and then some. But still…
“Dude, you didn’t even see a monster.”
“The kid was screaming, Dean.” Sam’s head had stopped aching now, and he, too, studied the house where some sort of demon or monster or creature was lurking.
“The kid could’ve screamed because he had a nightmare, too.”
Sam frowned and studied his brother curiously. “What is up with you, Dean? Since when do you hesitate over taking a job?”
Dean shrugged. “I just think we should do a little more research about this before we go knocking on their door. Or gate.” He shook his head. “I bet they’ve got cameras in there, too. Friggin’ rich people.”
“You’re afraid of a security system and a gate?!” Sam choked back the laughter when he saw Dean’s murderous expression. “Come on, Dean. We’ve gotten past much worse. Besides, we’re not breaking and entering. We’re going to ring the doorbell—er, gate bell—and ask to talk to the owner.”
Dean rolled his eyes. “Gate bell,” he muttered under his breath as he pulled out a box from under the backseat of his classic Impala. Rummaging through it, he tossed Sam a card. “Here, we haven’t done this one in a while. And I sure as hell am not afraid of a damn security gate.”
“Pest control?” Sam considered then glanced over at the trees, shrubbery, and flowers that seemed to cover the estate where their next job awaited. “Could work. We still got the uniforms?”
“Why do you even need to ask?” Dean pushed out of the car and walked around to the trunk.
It was Sam’s turn to roll his eyes as he followed his brother. “The family’s name is Littrell. The husband, Brian, is in a pop band that was ridiculously popular, thus the enormous estate. It’s his son that we have to save.”
“Great, and they’re famous, too.” Dean pulled out dark blue uniforms and attached a patch bearing the symbol of a local pest control company to the collar. “They’ll probably think we’re some crazy fans trying to break in.” He rolled his shoulders. “Can’t wait to see you explain your way through this one.”
Sam stopped, one hand in the jumpsuit, and stared at him. “Seriously, Dean. Why are you so hesitant about taking this case on? What have you got against a little boy who’s seeing monsters?”
“It’s not the kid,” Dean muttered. It was the dad.
He knew who Brian Littrell was. He’d known since Sam had done his research about the family, and he’d dreaded the job because it would probably wreck his reputation. He’d be damned if he’d ever admit to hiding a Backstreet Boys’ cassette under the driver’s seat of his baby, but, well, he was. Sam would probably laugh his way right out of town, and then Dean would be honor-bound to kick his baby brother’s ass. And, hell yeah, it was a cassette because there was no way in hell he’d ever buy a friggin’ CD player because, really, CDs and MP3s and whatever the hell else there was were for pansies like Sam anyway. “Look, just forget it, okay? Let’s get in there and find out what the hell we’re dealing with.”
When Dean stalked away towards the Littrell property, Sam stared after him. So Dean could be broody at times, but this was weird. Even for them. Well, whatever had crawled up Dean’s ass, Sam didn’t think now was the time to worry about it, so he hurried to catch up to his brother, who was currently in the process of ringing the gate buzzer.
“Good news,” Dean said, staring past the gates and at the house that stood several yards off.
“Yeah?”
“There’s no cameras.”
“This is getting ridiculous,” Brian muttered to himself as he made coffee at 8 AM on Saturday morning. He could’ve been sleeping still, but, after Baylee had woken him up at four in the morning, screaming again about the monster, he hadn’t been able to get back to bed. Three nights in a row, now, Baylee had claimed there was a monster in his room, and Brian was really starting to worry about his little boy.
Baylee had never in all of his four years of living been afraid of the dark or, really, anything scary, and, here he was, freaking out over something that was going bump in the night. Of course, there was nothing moving around in his room, but Brian knew the way a child’s imagination worked didn’t really leave room for any logic.
Well, at least Baylee had managed to fall asleep once the sun had come up. As if sure that nothing was going to get him in broad daylight, he’d crawled back into his own bed and conked out. Of course, Brian was now wide awake, but that was okay. It was okay because he wasn’t really worried about himself at the moment, anyway. He was worried that there was seriously something wrong with Baylee that was making him so afraid to be in his room at night.
Because the problem had gone from just being afraid of sleeping in his room at night to sheer terror of being anywhere in his bedroom at all during the night hours. And, for the life of him, Brian couldn’t figure out where the heck Baylee’s sudden terror had come from.
Maybe it was time to call Leighanne.
“Or not,” Brian told himself. Leighanne deserved the next day and a half with her sister and new niece without having to worry about Baylee. Besides, his wife was sure to never leave Baylee alone again because she would think that Brian wasn’t good enough to take care of their little boy.
And that was such crap, Brian scolded himself as he poured the coffee into his favorite mug. Leighanne trusted him with her life, and she knew as well as he did that they were great parents. Contrary to the current evidence, anyway.
So what could it be that had Baylee so scared of his room? Brian carried his steaming coffee up the stairs and down the hall towards his son’s room. After all, there were no trees near Baylee’s window that could leave shadows on his curtains, nothing in his closet, and he’d put away anything at all that could cast any sort of shadow on the walls by the glow of the night-light. So what could it possibly be? he wondered, watching Baylee sleep peacefully. What could possibly be making his son think there was a monster in his closet?
When the telephone rang, he left his dreaming child behind and picked up the cordless receiver in his bedroom. “Hello?”
“Hey, hon! I know it’s early, but I thought I’d find out how my two favorite men were doing.”
Brian smiled at the sound of his wife’s voice. How was he supposed to tell her that their child was currently traumatized? “Hey, baby. It is early, but you’re lucky I wasn’t in the mood to sleep in.” He paused. “We’re doing pretty well. Though we’re missing Mommy around here.”
“Aww, I know. I miss you two, too, but my sister and the baby are just so adorable. Wait until Baylee meets his newest cousin!” Leighanne laughed. “She’s just the sweetest thing.”
“Good. I’m glad, but I bet she can’t beat Bay, right?”
“Of course not. He’s in a league of his own.” She sighed. “Brian, I hate to do this to you, even though I know you’re not supposed to be anywhere for the next four days, but I was wondering…”
He frowned. “What’s up?”
“Well, I’ve just really enjoyed spending time with my sister, and we don’t do this very often. I was just thinking it would be really great if you didn’t mind if I stayed for another three days or so.” She waited a bit. “Do you mind?”
Okay, so he knew that tone of voice. It meant that spending more time with her sister was something she desperately wanted to do. After all, whenever he was gone, which was often these days, she didn’t really go out and spend time with her family all that much, while he was always off with the other Boys or dropping by Kentucky every so often. Besides, if she stayed away a few more days, he could try to figure out what was really bothering Baylee. He didn’t want his wife to come home to a cranky, terrified child.
“Go ahead and stay a couple more days, Leigh. We’ll be fine,” he assured her.
“Great! I miss you and Baylee, but I’ll be home Tuesday. Give him a kiss for me, will you?”
Before he could reply, the buzzer on the gate rang, and he frowned. Who was visiting at practically the crack of dawn? “One sec, Leigh.”
“Who is it?” she asked as he made his way down to the front door and pressed the intercom button.
“I don’t know. Let me see,” he told her and leaned close to the microphone. “Hello?”
“Hi. We’re here from Bust-a-Bug Pest Control.” A gruff, male voice greeted him. “There appears to be an insect problem in the neighborhood, and we just wanted to make certain that your home is protected. May we come in?”
“Pest control? Bug problem?” Brian frowned. This was news to him.
Leighanne interrupted his thought. “Baby, I’d rather we didn’t have bugs to worry about, don’t you?”
“Well, yeah, but-” He shook his head. “Sure. Let me open the gates for you.” And he pressed the button to release the gate. “Well, at least we’ll be safe from pests, huh?”
“I think the last thing either of us wants is crazy insect problems. Ick.”
Yeah, he didn’t really like the creepy crawlers either. “Well, I guess I should get off the phone and see about these insect control guys. I’ll see you in a few days?”
“Absolutely. ‘Bye, Brian.”
“I love you.”
“Love you back.”
Hanging up, he set his now-cold coffee and the telephone aside and, when the doorbell rang, he pulled the door open. The men on the other side were nothing like what he’d expected. Call him crazy, but he’d figured they’d be middle-aged men with paunches in the middle and have thick mustaches…Well, he could go on for a while, but he studied them for a moment.
One was tall, his dark hair curled riotously over his ears and fell into his dark eyes. He looked like he should be in college still, and the smile he gave Brian reminded him of the innocent way Baylee smiled. He wasn’t scrawny but definitely more on the lean side, while his co-worker was closer to Brian’s height. He had a sturdy, muscular build and currently wore a smirk on his face.
“Mr. Littrell? I’m Dean, this is my fellow associate, Sam.”
Brian blinked. “Yeah, hi. Good morning. So, uh, there’s a bug problem going around?”
Dean stepped into the house, Sam following him. Glancing around, he took in the furnishings and basic structure of the house before looking at the man whose voice he’d heard a good number of times. There was no way he’d admit exactly how many times he’d really listened to the damn tape, but it was still a little awe-inspiring to know that this man was one of the singers he’d rewound the tape to listen to.
“Yeah, it’s pretty bad,” Sam replied when Dean showed no signs of answering. “Your neighbors have got stink bugs and bees making nests all over the place.”
“Stink bugs?”
Dean turned to look back at Brian when he heard the other man’s nervous voice. “Sure. You know, they’re the big, flat disgusting things that buzz around like crazy. They get into the strangest places and build their nests. We’ve found some in people’s closets, sometimes. They can chew through walls if they get really hungry. Even the thickest of outer walls. The worst part is, your regular domestic insecticides don’t kill them off that easy. They just come right back.”
What, had Dean done research on stink bugs? Sam wondered. ‘Cause he sure seemed to know his stuff. And then he remembered that this was Dean, Storyteller Extraordinaire. “Actually, closets are usually the first places we check,” he added. “Most people don’t even know they have nests until they hear noises and start seeing things.”
Nests in closets? Dark, flat bugs? Noises? Brian was starting to come off the skepticism as he considered. Baylee thought there was a monster in his closet, and he’d heard weird noises and seen something. Maybe these pest control people were the answer to his son’s problems.
“Well, fellas. I think I might have a stink bug problem after all.”
