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The Impala pulled up to the small parking lot, just about 30 yards from the waterline. Sam and Dean watched quietly as a group of high school students walked past them, laughing and smiling as though nothing were wrong.
Of course to them, nothing was wrong.
Sam got out first, pulling his notebook from the inside pocket of his jacket. He reviewed his notes as he met Dean around the front of the car.
“There have been sightings since the 1930s,” he said, his mind already lost in the legend. “Always a lady in white, sometimes a nightgown, sometimes a nicer dress…” Sam paused to laugh. “One woman in the 40s was sure it was a dress from Neiman-Marcus, but that might have just been for advertisement.”
Dean grunted, looking across the lake. During the daytime, it seemed like a normal lake. People were riding their bikes along the path that circled it and he saw a few high school crew teams practicing in the water. It all seemed normal.
A young woman drove her car into the lot, catching his eye. It wasn’t that she or the car were anything special – just a blonde girl in a CRV – but he knew she’d be easy to talk to. He waited for her to park and get out of her car, popping a piece of gum in her mouth before closing the door. She hooked her keys to her belt loop before starting across the grass toward the walking path.
“Excuse me,” Dean called, getting her attention. She stopped, turning to him quickly. Her hand went to her keys, probably ready to use them as a weapon if needed.
“Yeah?” she asked, looking between Dean and Sam. Dean pulled his fake ID out of his pocket.
“Can we ask you a few questions?” he asked, flashing his badge. The woman nodded, but Dean could tell she was still on guard a bit. She glanced around before walking a few paces toward him.
“What can I do for you?” she asked.
Sam took the lead. “Have you ever heard of the Lady of the Lake?”
The look on the woman’s face was a little surprised at first, but she smirked. “Uh, yeah. I mean, it’s kind of one of those things you hear about around here.”
“What do you know?” Dean asked, wanting to hear it all from her.
She shifted on her feet before taking a breath to speak. “Lady of the Lake. A woman in a white dress or negligee, hangs out around the lake and is soaking wet. She asks people for rides home, either to Oak Cliff, or over on Gaston, or somewhere in the heart of Lakewood. After she gets in the car, she disappears and leaves a puddle in the back seat.”
Sam nodded, the woman’s story matching the legend. “Do you know anyone personally who has seen her?” he asked, wondering if the story had any truth to it.
She laughed. Dean liked her laugh, it was breathy and cute. “I mean, sure. I grew up around here, heard the story since I was a kid. There are probably a dozen people I know who claim to have seen her, but I never have. The closest I’ve come is in high school when we put on an outdoor play and my friend Lizzie donned the white gown.” She laughed again, as though the memory was funny.
Sam’s head tilt encouraged her to continue.
“We might have pushed her in the lake at the end of the night,” she admitted. Dean grinned, knowing that he would have been all about that prank.
The woman shrugged. “I teach at Woodrow now, the high school just down the road that I went to. Most of the alumni have stories about the Lady of the Lake, and I’ll admit that I always tell the story to my kids around Halloween. It’s a fun way the community bonds, I guess.”
Sam and Dean shared a look, wishing there wasn’t anything here for them to do. It didn’t sound too bad when she talked about it.
“Have there ever been claims of the Lady hurting anyone?” Dean asked.
The woman frowned, shaking her head. “Not that I’ve heard. She just asks for a ride and disappears. That or just stands by the lake…most sightings have been from far away, just seeing a girl walking around. I feel like it would have been a bigger deal if someone got hurt.”
Sam sighed, his spirits obviously down a bit. Dean knew Sam wanted an easy salt-and-burn, but maybe this trip to Dallas was going to be more complicated than they thought. If no one knew about the deaths, the Lady might be a smarter ghost than they’d expected.
“Thanks for your help,” Dean said, offering his hand. She shook it, smiling.
“No prob. I’m sure you can find me if you need anything else,” she said, nodding at Sam before heading toward the lake.
Dean thought maybe he would try to find her for a nice dinner before he and Sam headed back to Kansas, wanting to hear more of that laugh. Little did he know that they’d just spoken to the exact person they were looking for.