The address they'd received lead them to a typical suburban neighborhood, with trees that lined the sidewalk and houses that all looked similar in shape and size. Dean parked the car on the curb directly in front of a light gray single story home. Both of them simultaneously got out of the car, the sun lighting up the back of their heads. The angel didn't move from where he stood beside Baby. His eyes were locked on the house even as Dean stepped in front of his view.

"Remember," he said, reaching up to fix Castiel's blue tie, "let me do all the talking." He lifted his gaze, fixing his eyes to Castiel's.

"I don't see why I'm needed here if I won't be speaking at all."

Dean smoothed out his blazer, finishing with a gentle pat to the chest. Satisfied with the angel's appearance, he flashed a grin. "The buddy system, Cas." He turned to the house and started up the walkway with Castiel trailing close behind. "No one's going to believe we're FBI agents if we don't go together. Those guys always interview in partners for witnesses if they get lied to or some shit like that."

"But we aren't FBI agents."

"I know that, but for the sake of this case we are."

They step up to the porch and Dean takes a minute to straighten himself out before pushing his index finger against the white button to the side. They can both hear the doorbell's ringing echo throughout the house.

Seconds later, a mousy woman opened the door. She peeked her head out at them, looking from Castiel to Dean and then back to Castiel. Her hold on the door tightened until her knuckles turned white and she refused to show them anything aside from her head, using the wooden door as a shield of sorts.

"Linda Zanetti?"

Her eyes snapped back to Dean, and she slowly nodded her confirmation. "May I help you?" she asked quietly.

Smiling at her, Dean reached into the inside pocket of his suit, nudging Castiel as he took his badge out. "I'm Agent Mosley," he said, flashing her his identification. "This is my partner, Agent Moscone." He nodded over to Castiel, only to find out too late that the angel was holding his badge upside down. Awkwardly, he flipped it around in Castiel's hands. "He's new." Dean cleared his throat, putting the wallet back into his pocket. "Can we come in to ask you a few questions?"

"Oh, um, of course. Sure, right this way," she mumbled. She stepped aside, opening the door wider to allow the men to enter. Once they've both crossed over the threshold, Ms. Zanetti shut the door and silently moved in front of them. She lead them through a short hall, past several pictures of childish drawings taped to the wall, and into a decently sized family room. She motioned to the love seat that faced the television screen. "Please."

Dean picked up a teddy bear from the corner of the couch, setting it at his feet so he can properly sit down. Castiel joined him on the couch, bumping their knees together. Dean cleared his throat, his whole body stiffening, and he pushed his entire body against the arm of the chair.

Ms. Zanetti smiled softly at them, grabbing a wooden chair from the corner of the room. She didn't bother moving the miniature wolf before she dragged it to the sofa and sat down. She was leaning forward with her elbows on her knees and her hands clasped together, sitting right across from the two.

Ms. Zanetti started playing with her own fingers, moving her eyes down to her hands. "What is this about?" she finally asked.

"We're here concerning the death of Leopold Short and his family."

She went rigid and wide-eyed. Everything about her looked frightened.

Dean smiled, trying to calm her down. "We've been informed that you are somehow connected with Mr. Short," he said. Just by her reactions she was immediately put on his suspects list, but nothing about her gave him any sort of supernatural vibes.

Ms. Zanetti offered a curt nod. "Yes..." Inhaling deeply, she prepared herself to speak. "He and I were romantically involved for some time," she admitted. She licked her lips, making eye contact with Dean. "But I'm afraid I don't understand," she said slowly. "The police said they were mauled by wolves. I didn't think the FBI dealt with animal attacks."

Shifting, Dean glanced sideways at Castiel. "We have reason to believe that Mr. Short and his family were murdered."

The impact of those words startled Ms. Zanetti into a tense, alarmed state of awareness. Her brows drew close together, her wide eyes locked on Dean, her mouth hung open. "He..." She swallowed a lump in her throat. "Murdered?" she repeated breathlessly.

Dean nodded. "Where were you that night?"

"I, I was here," Ms. Zanetti told them. "I was right here at home..."

"Do you have anyone to vouch for you?"

A door from the hallway swung open suddenly, and a young girl came bounding into the room. She held a fairly thick book in her chubby fingers, her face alight with joy, and her dark hair pulled up into a lively ponytail.

"Mama!" She called out, skidding to a stop in front of Ms. Zanetti. "Can we read? Can we?" She lifted the book above her head to show her mother. "Please?"

Turning her head to her daughter, Ms. Zanetti's eyes lingered on the men before she turned them to the cover. "Not now, sweetie. We have company."

The girl went quiet, lowering the book to hug it at her chest. She peered over her shoulder, then pivoted on her heels to face them. Her eyes met with her shoes. "'M sorry for interrupting," she said, her voice lowered to a whisper. She peaked at them through her bangs, quickly averting her gaze back down when her eyes met with Dean's.

"Do not apologize," Castiel spoke.

The girl's head shot right back up to stare at him. Both the angel and the girl engaged in an intense staring contest with one another until Castiel lifted his arm to give her a very small, very awkward wave. Giggling, the girl lifted her book to hide her face behind it.

"Luci, why don't you go into your room and play for a little bit while I talk to these kind gentlemen?" said Ms. Zanetti.

"Okay," she drawled, looking back up from the novel. For another few seconds, she watched Castiel watch her. Then she broke out into another fit of giggles and scurried back to her room.

Dean raised his eyebrows, watching her disappear behind the door before looking back to the angel.

"That was my daughter, Lucille." Ms. Zanetti's lips curled up in a fond smile. "She's almost seven, can you believe it?"

Castiel nodded, saying, "Yes" just as Dean grinned and said, "They grow up so fast."

Dean shot Castiel a look, but the angel only returned it with a confused one. He rolled his eyes, looking back to the woman in front of them. Castiel continued to squint at him.

Posture now much more lax, Ms. Zanetti sighed. "I was with her the night that Leo died," she said. She frowned, rubbing the fabric of her sleeves between her index finger and thumb. "He's actually..." Her eyes moved to her lap. "He's her father."

Dean looked at Castiel, who was then watching Ms. Zanetti.

"Him and I were childhood friends," she explained. "About seven years ago, his wife suffered a miscarriage. It hit them hard. I can only imagine what it feels like to carry your dead, unborn child around..." She had to stop speaking for a moment, no longer fiddling with her clothes. "He invited me for drinks that night. We both had much more than necessary." She looked back up at them. "You see, at the time I was also undergoing a divorce. We were both under a lot of stress... One thing led to another, and here we are. His wife never found out, but he always sends us money and buys Luci wonderful things for the holidays." She took a deep breath. "Well, he did. When he was alive."

Castiel frowned. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thank you."

Dean straightened his back out. "Did you experience anything... Weird, leading up to his death?"

"Weird..." she looked at him skeptically. "Weird how?"

"Some people reported seeing a flying creature that night," he explained. "We're just trying to find out if this could be possible."

"That's absurd!"

"I know it sounds a little strange, but you can trust us. If you've seen anything out of the ordinary, we won't think you're crazy."

Ms. Zanetti shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I haven't witnessed anything as weird as that."

Dean frowned. This couldn't really be just your regular, run-of-the-mill animal attack could it? Ellen and Jo knew what they were doing when they started the investigation, there was no way they could have misinterpreted the evidence.

"Do you know of anyone who might have wanted him dead?" he asked.

"Leo?" She mimicked his frown, looking back to her lap. "No, no, Leo was a great man."

"The kind of guy that everybody loved?"

"Well, no..." She glanced up at him. "I, I can only really think of one person who could possibly resent him. But everyone has people that dislike them, it's normal!"

"I'm sorry, but we need to be thorough," Dean said. "If you give us the name, we can give them a quick interview and check them off our list."

Hesitantly, she lifted her head. "My brother, Sebastian Foley."

"Brother," Dean said with raised eyebrows.

The woman sighed. "Half brother, I should say. He knew about everything that had been going on at the time. I don't think he was very happy that Leo didn't stick around after that." She frowned. "But for heaven's sake, he's not a cannibal! He could never hurt another human being."

"We understand," Dean said. "We just need to explore every possibility. Has your brother been acting strange lately?"

Ms. Zanetti narrowed her eyes. "Strange as in growing wings and flying from the crime scene?" Immediately she downcast her eyes, wringing the hem of her shirt.

Dean forced a smile. "This'll definitely sound weird, but stick with me," he said. "Has he experienced an irregular increase in appetite?"

The woman looked back up, openly staring at him. "Ah – I – what?"

"Is your brother constantly in search for food," said Castiel.

Dean glared at the angel from the corners of his eyes, quickly looking back at Ms. Zanetti, who was squirming in her chair. "I know it's kind of out there," he said, "and it might not seem like it but it will help us in this investigation."

"You two are nuts!" she exclaimed, voice trembling. "I, I haven't spoke to him since his birthday, I couldn't tell you his eating habits. But he would not just randomly start craving human flesh!"

Dean and Castiel looked at each other. Then, a little awkwardly, Dean asked, "How old did he turn?"

"Thirty," she stated. "Why? Is this at all important?"

Dean stood up. "No, don't worry. We're about done here."

After a short pause, Castiel reluctantly stood.

Ms. Zanetti looked from Dean to Castiel. She jumped to her feet, clutching at her own shirt with both hands. "I swear he wouldn't do anything like this! That's just not him!"

"We believe you, ma'am," said Dean. "It's just procedure."

The woman didn't look convinced, but she slowly nodded her head anyway. "Okay..." she wrapped her arms around herself.

"Thank you for your time," Dean said.

He turned to Castiel, but the angel was distracted, his eyes directed to the hallway. Lucille stood just outside her bedroom, book still in hand, eyes glued to Castiel. Slowly, she raised her arm to wave in a way that mirrored the one Castiel had given her earlier. The angel furrowed his eyebrows, nodding at her in acknowledgment.

Lucille giggled, disappearing back into her room. The door shut behind her.