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Vital Statistics

Original Air Date: 9th November 2006
Production Code: 3T5507
Writer: Cathryn Humphris
Director: Mike Rohl

Official Episode Description

Sam and Dean investigate the murders of a lawyer and his wife who claimed to have seen a ghost right before they died. However, after local detectives Ballard and Sheridan uncover the Winchesters' records, they arrest the brothers for a double homicide before they are able to find the ghost. When the ghost begins to visit Ballard, she begins to wonder if the tale Sam and Dean are telling her could be true, and if she might be the next to die.

Summary

A police detective in Baltimore, Maryland is talking on the phone about a suspect he’s investigating. After receiving a fax, he hangs up. Elsewhere, a group of police officer’s are staking out a Motel. The original detective starts talking to his suspect, reading a list of crimes, including the torture and murder of a young girl in St Louis, bemused as the murderer supposedly died in St Louis. It becomes clear once the police storm the motel and arrest Sam, that Dean is the man that was already in custody. Detective Diana Ballard starts to talk to Sam, who gives their standard background story, that he’s taking a road trip with Dean to get over Jessica’s death. Sam is offered a deal for giving them information about Dean, and so he tells them that Tony Giles (the first murder victim) served with his father, so they came when they heard about his death, to be there for Karen.

Sam and Dean did visit Karen, but under the guise of being from the insurance company, asking questions about his death. After Dean’s probing, Karen remembered that Tony had had a nightmare the day before he died, woken up and seen a woman standing at the foot of the bed. Det. Ballard tells Sam that she has eyewitnesses who saw the brothers breaking into Tony Giles office, which Sam explains that Karen wanted them to fetch some of Tony’s things for her. In the office, Sam and Dean found printouts of the word “danashulps”. They assumed that it’s a name “Dana Shulps,” but they couldn’t find any mention of her in the office. Dean headed back over to Karen’s while Sam tried to crack Tony’s password. Karen heard noises around the house whilst she was watching TV, and panicked when she saw a face at the window. She ran through the house, up the stairs to hide, locking herself in the bedroom. Then Karen called 911, gave her address before the line went dead, and the printer jumped into life. She pulled a torch out of the closet, turned around to see the woman staring at her. Karen screamed.

Outside, Dean knocked on the door, but with no answer opened the door with a spare key. He found Karen’s body in the bedroom, blood pooled around her throat, and bruises on her wrists. He picked up the paper from the printer, reading the repeated danashulps again, before approaching Karen’s body. He lifted a hand to examine the bruises, but was stopped by the sound of a policeman’s gun cocking.

In the present, Det. Ballard and the original Detective (Peter Sheridan) watch Dean in the interrogation room, and worry that they only have circumstantial evidence to pin on the boys. They walk down the hall and steal a kiss by a vending machine in private. Dean and Sam are both pondering the words Dana Shulps, independently come to the conclusion that it’s an anagram, and Sam starts writing down ideas. A man enters the interrogation room, introducing himself to Dean as Jeff Krause, his attorney. Dean ignores the lawyer and starts writing down possible anagram solutions, and gets Jeff to recognise Ashland as a street name (but can’t explain the ‘sup’). Dean asks Jeff to give a note to Sam, calling him “Matlock.” At her desk, Det. Ballard is typing a report when the word danashulps repeatedly types itself into the report. Sam reads the note from Dean, “Hilts – It’s a street Ashland – McQueen.” Jeff wants to discuss Sam’s case, and is slightly thrown when Sam calls him Matlock as well. Before they can talk, Det. Ballard comes in, as she needs him with Dean, who’s going to make a confession.

Against the lawyer’s strong objections. Dean gives a long speech to the camera. He says he didn’t kill anyone, but explains their theory of “Casper, the bloody-thirst ghost” and the anagram, which Ballard recognises. Det. Sheridan pins Dean against the wall, before he’s stopped and locked up. Going to find Sam, the detectives discover that he’s escaped. In the toilets, Diana turns on one tap, but the rest turn on themselves, and the word danashulps writes in the mirror, whilst the spirit is standing behind her. Diana goes to see Dean, asking about the supernatural. He spots the bruises forming on her wrists, and tells her how she can find Sam. Diana heads to the motel and shows Sam the bruises. He asks her about the spirit, and gives her crime scene photos to try and ID a victim. The spirit’s name is Claire Becker, aged 28. She was arrested twice for dealing narcotics, which is Diana used to work with Pete, which gave potential motive even though Diana doesn’t remember her. Her body was never recovered. Sam explains that they have to go to Ashland, find her bones to salt and burn, which is the only way to lay her spirit to rest.

In Ashland, Diana spots Claire, who points to her but doesn’t try and attack. She disappears when Sam gets there. From that point they can see writing on the window. The letters Ashland and Sup, cause a silhouette on an inside wall, which is giving off an EMF. While they dig out the body, Sam is confused as to why Claire showed them where her body was hidden. Diana spots a necklace and recognises it, she has one just like it, which Pete had given to her. Sam realises that Claire is a death omen. She wants justice and not vengeance. Diana tells Sam about an incident of a cop stealing heroin a couple of years before, who would have needed a heroin dealer, like Claire to distribute their substance. They head off to find Pete, but discover Pete’s not at the precinct. Pete has Dean in the back of the van, supposedly to extradite him back to St Louis in the middle of the night, but Dean is suspicious. Pete parks the van in the middle of woods, and pulls Dean out. He tells Dean that he’s going to die trying to escape, and aims his gun.

Sam and Diana show up, and let him know that they not what he did. Pete confesses and explains his motives. Pete killed Claire because she was going to turn him in, and Tony because he wanted to confess too. He though Tony had told Karen everything, so kill her as well. Pete wants to shoot Dean and pin all the murders on him. It looks like Diana is going to give in, but then she shoots him, and Dean manages to roll away. Pete aims the gun at Diana, until Claire grabs his attention, giving Diana the chance to shoot him. Claire should be at rest, and Diana said she can get their cases dismissed, except for the St Louis murder charges, unless she turns her back and they escape. Dean’s first concern is for his car, and Diana lets him know which impound lot the Impala’s in.

Dean and Sam leave, presumably to rescue the Impala.

Summary written by Krazy

Notes

The episode takes place sometime between October 2006 and May 2007, as Sam is mentioned as being 23 years old.
Sam was a straight A student at school and got into Stanford with a full scholarship.
The apartment where Jessica died is confirmed as his (rather than hers) and Jess was the only fatality that day.
The shapeshifter and the murder that the police are referring to happened in the first season episode, Skin.
Sam and Dean have a way of being able to find each other, even if they get split up. They look in the yellow pages and pick the first motel listed. The first one there checks in under the name of Jim Rockford.

Cultural References

What do you think, Scully? You wanna check it out?
I'm not Scully, you're Scully.
No, I'm Mulder. You're a red-headed woman.
Dean and Sam are referring to the two main characters in the TV show "The X-Files".
Hey, thanks for the law review, Matlock.
Ben Matlock is a character in the TV show "Matlock" who is a defense lawyer.
You remember "REDRUM". Same concept.
The word redrum was used in the Stephen King novel "The Shining" and spells Murder backwards.
Go to the first motel listed in the yellow pages. Look for Jim Rockford.
Jim is the main character in the TV show "The Rockford Files", a former convict who has become a PI.
For some reason I could really go for some pea soup.
This is a reference to the movie "The Exorcist" which starred Linda Blair (who plays Diana Ballard in this episode)