"If there wasn't a car, I'd swear this place was abandoned," Dean commented as he parked out front. "Whoever this chick is, she's definitely used to having to pick up and go."

Sam nodded, looking around. "Not a good neighborhood either," he said. "She doesn't want to be noticed, figures she won't stand out in this part of town."

Dean nodded. Yeah, this had all the earmarks of someone used to moving around.

"We need to catch her before she leaves again, so let's do this," he said.

"How do we want to approach this time?" Sam asked quietly. "Just grab her or try some diplomacy and talking first?" Because based on the previous incidents, upsetting her too much could have very bad results.

"Grabbing might be a bad idea," Dean said. Though, honestly, he wasn't any better at diplomacy. "Guess we should try talking."

"Yeah." And they both knew how that went with Dean. "I'll see what I can do." He picked out his FBI badge and handed Dean his. Time for a cover story.

Dean took the badge and slipped it into the inner pocket of his jacket.

"Routine investigation?" he suggested. The best cover stories were usually the simplest ones.

"Alright," Sam agreed, getting out of the car and looking at the house again. It really looked unfriendly, and he had the feeling even just talking would be difficult.

Dean got out of the car as well, and braced himself for a moment before walking towards the door. He knocked a couple of times and waited.

Tiana answered the door, pulling it open enough that they could see her but they couldn't see inside. "Can I help you?" She kept her voice neutral.

"Miss, Agent Stark and my partner Agent Banner, we're just following up on something that happened in town recently," Dean said, holding up his fake badge. "Mind if we come in and ask a few questions?"

Tiana hesitated for a few moments, long enough to give Avery time to get out of the living room. "Alright," she finally agreed, moving out of the way slowly and letting them in.

"Thanks," Dean said, waiting for her to open the door for them. No sense in scaring her off. Once the door was open, he went inside to the living room and sat down.

Sam followed him in, glancing around as he sat. No family photos, nothing up on the walls. Definitely a very temporary place.

Tiana sat across from them, raising her eyebrows at them silently.

Dean looked at her for a moment, and then launched into his spiel.

"Well, we were asking around the neighborhood," he said. "Looking into what happened at the newspaper office recently. We just wanted to ask if you knew anything about it." He watched her carefully, gauging her reactions.

"What happened at the newspaper office?" Tiana asked after a moment of internal panic. At least Avery hadn't been out there, or she would have flipped.

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Dean replied carefully. Oh yes, he'd seen her moment of sheer panic before she got herself under control. "We heard one of the people who works in the office lives here. Would that be you?"

"No, I work over in the library," Tiana said carefully. "My house mate works in the newspaper office, but she hasn't said anything about any incidents there."

"Housemate?" Dean asked. He glanced at his brother and then back again. "We'll need to talk to her too, if you don't mind."

"She's not at home right now, sorry," Tiana said.

Sam frowned a bit. Okay, that was a lie. She was covering for her housemate. But he wasn't yet sure why, or where the other girl was.

Dean noticed the lie, as well.

"Look," he said. "We're just trying to figure out what's going on, alright? We're just trying to get the right information." And he wasn't even lying about it.

"I'm sorry, but she's not available right now, and I'm not sure when she will be." That wasn't a lie, but it was skirting the truth.

"Well, we'll leave you our number," Sam said, glancing at Dean as he reached into a pocket to pull out a business card. "Just let us know when she has some time."

Dean nodded.

"Anything you can tell us would be great," he said, getting up. "Let us know if you have any information."

"I will." Tiana stood and watched them head for the door. Time to pack up again.

Dean just nodded and followed his brother out, making sure that the bug he'd wedged into the couch wasn't noticeable. Charlie had outfitted them with some interesting technology, and Sam had been keen on trying it out. Dean just went along with it.