Hello, my lovely readers. I hope you're having a great holiday. Time for Jo, Lizzie, a couple of friends, and a guest star from Supernatural, go monster-hunting. On with the show…

Chapter 2: Self-Driver

Clicking away at her computer, Josie Saltzman tried to concentrate on a paper about the Salem Witch Trials. She'd been reading up on a woman who might be a Bennett relation. There was a connection between the burnings of innocent women and a rise in fatalities of female deaths, two hundred years later, in Mystic Falls. However, Josie needed to do more work to establish a direct link. She felt that Dr. Vardemus would be pleased with her work.

"Jo, you will never believe what I found at the mall!" Lizzie cried, coming into the room. "Get this! Patent-leather pumps! Fifty-percent off! And they're in your size!" Lizzie sailed into their dorm room, shaking a shopping bag, and settled on the end of her bed. "Tell me you're not dry-humping your computer all day long."

"What?" Jo frowned.

Lizzie laughed. "Just kidding." She came over and peered at the computer screen. "Or not. Grimm." Placing her hands on Josie's shoulders, she whirled Josie around. "I think it's time for us to go out. You need sun. It's summer. And you're as pale as Mom."

Jo opened her mouth and then shut it. "Lizzie, I did have fun with our last case. But this paper is due at the end of the week."

"I know." Lizzie nodded as she crossed the room and began to unpack her shopping bag. "But you can take one day off?" Her eyes twinkled as she grinned at Jo. "For me."

Jo glanced back at her work. "I guess. For one. Just one case."

Lizzie straightened up. "That's good. Because I already found the new one. Say 'Hello' to a nightmare on four wheels." She pulled her phone out. Moving to sit on Jo's desk, Lizzie angled the phone so they could both peer at the screen.

"You remember when self-driving cars came out?" Lizzie began and Jo nodded. "And how people were worried that they'd, like, kill people." Again, Jo nodded. "Well, as it turns out—they are—in Cali. We're going to L.A. So, slap on some sunscreen, get bikini-ready, and grab some shades."

Jo opened her mouth. "Yeah. About that. I think maybe we should do a little more research this time. We almost got killed last time, Lizzie."

Pivoting, Lizzie placed a hand on her hip. "If we don't get out of this school, I will literally die of boredom. Now, either you're ready by tomorrow morning to go to Cali with me, or I'm flying solo." Putting her sunglasses on; Lizzie stalked to the door. "If you want to talk—I'll be in the yard—not tanning."

Jo sighed and stared at the ceiling. "What did I do wrong?"

~0~

"Looks like Lizzie is right. None of the reports I can find can establish a reasonable failure in the vehicles. Or they can't find a cause that fits with all of the accidents. It's like there's something going wrong that no one wants to talk about," Landon Kirby said. He had his laptop open and Josie sat next to him in the library.

MG came in and sat down with them. "What are we doing?" he asked them with a smile.

"Nothing," Jo said automatically.

"Looking at cars," Landon supplied at the same time.

Landon and Jo looked at each other and then offered MG smiles that said they were abducted by little men, who scooped out their brains, and left them empty-headed.

MG blew out a breath. "Nice. Very nice, guys. I just wanted to help." He got up to leave.

"You're bored," Landon surmised with a nod.

Plopping back down, MG placed his chin on his arms. "So bored. Please? Help me!"

"Well…" Jo thought about how much Lizzie would kill her and then decided Lizzie could deal. "Lizzie thinks there might be self-driving cars killing people…"

"And…" MG looked mildly interested.

"And it might be supernatural. Anyway, she wants to go to Cali and find out what's going on." Jo watched MG straighten up.

"Lizzie needs help," MG said, his chin going out and his chest puffed up.

"Yup." Jo looked at Landon who shrugged.

Yes. Lizzie would kill her.

~0~

"Bags are packed. Flight is due to arrive in an hour. Are you coming?" Lizzie demanded, holding her bags.

"Yes." Josie forced a smile and went to their closet. She removed her packed bag. "Just one thing."

Lizzie's brows went up. "O-kay?"

~0~

Stalking through LAX, Lizzie ground her teeth while Jo smiled at a passer-by. "Don't smile at them. They might be serial killers," Lizzie snapped.

"Statiscally speaking, you're just as likely to run into a serial killer in a small town," MG told them brightly, moving his sunglasses up his nose, and hauling Lizzie's baggage behind him.

"Ugh," Lizzie moaned.

Landon fell into step with Jo. "So, this is where people are getting killed. And we're getting on the road. Great." He looked less than happy as they made their way to a line of cabs.

Lizzie leaned down and peered inside one. "Hell no," she uttered.

"Self-driver?" Landon inquired.

Lizzie sneered. "No. Creepy surfer who reeks of pot. Smoke on your own time. If I wanted to die; I'd let Mom know so I could join Team Vamp." Pushing her glasses up her nose, Lizzie kept looking until she spotted a young blonde man standing by a cab. "Hello smoky goodness. Hi, excuse me! Are you a driver?" she called, waving.

The man turned and looked confused. "No. I'm not old enough to drive," he told them.

MG and Landon traded a look and Jo also felt that was a strange reply. "O-kay," Lizzie's smile dropped a fraction. "How old are you? You look like you're twenty."

"Oh, yes." The man nodded and offered them a smile. "I am twenty…three."

"And you're not old enough to drive?" Lizzie giggled. "Right."

"No. I prefer for someone else to drive. Usually Dean drives. But Dean is not here. He and Sam have other work to do. So I am here. Checking out…cars." The man looked at the cab in front of him. "There seems to be nothing wrong with this one."

"Hey! Are any of you going to get in?" the driver demanded. "Cause you're losing me fares!"

"We're getting in!" MG said, moving to open the door. "My lady." He directed his words at Lizzie.

Lizzie finally snapped out it. "It was nice meeting you…"

"Jack," the so-called twenty-three-year-old replied. "It was pleasant making you acquaintance…"

"Lizzie" sighing out her name, Lizzie moved inside the cab. She seemed to have forgotten their aliases. "Hopefully we'll bump into each other again," she called as Josie and MG climbed in the back and Landon took a seat up front.

Lizzie waved out the back window at Jack, the weirdo, while MG muttered to himself and Josie hoped that Lizzie did not spend the majority of their time hitting on guys who were too old.

~0~

"Whose idea was it to get adjoining rooms?" Lizzie demanded as Landon walked into their room. "Privacy," she snapped, wrapping a sarong around her waist.

Jo rolled her eyes. "Hi, Landon."

"Hey, Jo. So, I just found a new report about one of the self-driving cars. There's been an accident. It's about five blocks from here."

"Really?" Lizzie cried, pouting. "I wanted beach time."

MG appeared with a bottle of suntan lotion. "They can check up on the case, and I can cover your back, Lizzie."

Rolling her eyes, Lizzie shook her head. "Not now, Milton. Apparently I have to go hunt our self-driving monster." She waved her hands. "Go away. No boys while I'm changing."

Shoulders drooping, MG left with Landon behind him. "This is such a nightmare," Lizzie moaned. "I hoped Jack might be on the beach. He seems like a beach guy. Don't you think?"

"Seems like a guy who you escaped from and never returned home," Jo retorted, pulling up a news report about the accident Landon mentioned while Lizzie changed. "It says here that the vehicle 'Seemed to have a mind of its own' witness says. It sped through three red light and then slammed head-long into a phone pole." Looking up from the story, Josie frowned. "That does not sound good."

"Sounds like someone was pissed at the passenger. Are you sure it wasn't our cabbie. He was a bit of a douche." Lizzie slid into a pair of sling-backs and then headed for the door. "I'd rate him a one-star."

Josie shook her head. "I guess we'll find out if this is human-related or supernatural soon enough."

~0~

As they arrived, the cops seemed to be heading out of the scene. Josie's brows went up when she saw the back of a familiar head. Then Jack turned around. He'd been talking to one of the cops before he patted the man on the arm and then bent down to examine something at the scene.

"You think he's part of it?" MG whispered, moving to lean in close to Jo.

Josie shrugged. "I have no idea." She shook her head.

Lizzie leaned over. "Is that Jack?" she demanded. "What is he doing?"

"Looking like a suspect." Landon leaned in on Lizzie's side.

"No one asked you, go back to your rainbow, and hide the gold," Lizzie snapped. Then she started to leave them.

"Hey, where are you going?" Josie demanded as her sister waltzed closer to the scene, ignoring Jo's question. "Damn it!" Jo groaned. She hurried after her sister and away from the stinking dumpster they'd been hiding behind. If Jack was a baddie, Jo would be damned if he would hurt her sister.

"Hey, Jack. Fancy running into you…at this…whatever it is." Lizzie waved a hand at the front fender of the car and the paint on the phone pole. "Seems like we just keep running into each other. Could it be fate?" She offered him a smile.

Jo wanted to go back to the dumpster and hurl. "Yes, Jack, what are you doing here?" Jo asked, folding her arms over her chest.

Jack straightened up from his crouched position. Pulling out his wallet, he waved an FBI badge at them that said: Foxx Mulder. "Sorry, ladies, but this is a crime scene. And you." He pointed a finger at Lizzie, "are standing in someone's blood."

"Ew!" Lizzie cried, backing up and into MG. He seemed pleased. She did not. "Why?" she moaned, shuddering.

"Better than vomit," Jack said. He watched them. "What you doing here?"

"She asked you first," Landon said, nodding at Jo.

Jo jutted her chin out and folded her arms over her chest. "Well…"

Jack looked at his badge. "Because I am FBI. We solve cases. This is a case. You are civilians. Children. Children are not supposed to be involved in this." He waved a hand at the crime scene.

"Says the guy who can't remember how old he is," Jo snapped.

"He's twenty-three." Lizzie looked at Jack. "Are you really twenty-three? You seem kind of young."

"Since when does the FBI send out agents alone?" Landon added.

"Young agents," MG said, nodding.

"That is classified," Jack told them. "Now, please, go back to whatever it is people your age do. Go to the beach. It's nice. Or so I've heard," he said as he went back to looking at the crime scene.

"Have you ever been to the beach?" Lizzie inquired.

Jack looked up. "I do not recall."

"The surf. The waves. The music. You seem like the kind of guy who would really like a nice, cozy bonfire, for two," Lizzie told him, eyeing him with another grin.

"Lizzie!" Jo snapped.

Lizzie rolled her eyes. "Fine. Sorry. We have to go. See you around," she called, waving to Jack.

~0~

Jo sat on the edge of her bed, shaking her head. "Now, what do we do?" she demanded. She really did not like Jack. He'd kept them from being able to investigate the case.

"Well, this might help," Lizzie said, slipping out of her shoe. "What if we used a spell to find out what the victim has to say?"

Landon's brows went up. "You can do that?"

Jo thought about it. The kind of magic that Lizzie mentioned was something they had yet to try. However, she found herself smiling. If the spell worked, they would be able to use it during finals this year. "Okay. Let's try it."

Nodding, Lizzie sat down on the floor. She placed the shoe between herself and Josie. Taking Lizzie's hands, the twins began to chant. Blood drops began to remove themselves from the shoe. Jo and Lizzie watched them shimmer in the air.

The blood began to make a shape. And then a scream rent the air. "Oh, God!" Josie cried, dropping Lizzie's hands.

"What? What happened?" Landon asked, kneeling down beside Jo, who shook her head, drawing her knees to her chest.

"Something dark. This was definitely supernatural," Lizzie told them. "But we might have to talk to the actual victim, in-person, to confirm what happened."

"She's in a coma," MG said. He held his cell phone. "I put a Google Alert on my phone," he added with a frown.

Sighing, Lizzie shook her head. "Looks like we're at a dead end."

Thinking about it, Josie shook her head. "We could talk to the car's designer."

"How?" Lizzie shook her head. "I'm sure that someone like that is super busy."

"He is. Craig Gregson," Landon said. He'd left the room and come back with his laptop. "One of Silicon Valley's It boys. He made his money from the new self-driving cars. Branded for Gen Z. After a series of crashes in 2020, Gregson had the cars put on halt. But then they were started up again, just this year." He looked at the others. "Wonder what changed Gregson's mind."

"That doesn't help our being able to meet with the geek, Frodo," Lizzie snapped.

Landon turned his laptop around. "Thanks to InstaWatch, and Gregson's, love of all things tech, we know that he likes his latte at the Eagle's Cup. On Sunset Boulevard."

"So, you geeks watch each other drink coffee," Lizzie looked disgusted. "Whatever. Let's go."

~0~

Stopping outside the Eagle's Cup, Lizzie marched over to one of the outdoor tables. "Hi, is this seat taken," she asked.

Gregson pushed his glasses up his nose and grinned. "No."

"Good. Grab some chairs," Lizzie ordered the others.

Josie sat down beside Gregson who no longer looked as happy. "Can I help you?" he asked them suspiciously.

Lizzie pulled out her fake ID. "Eliza Parker. P.I. My partner, Jo Salt," she nodded at Jo who wiggled her fingers at Gregson, "are investigating a crash, involving one of your cars, this morning."

"Who are they?" Gregson asked, looking at Landon and MG.

"Other people. They're not important. Craig, people are dying. You need to help us stop that from happening again," Lizzie said, leaning closer to Craig. "You don't want people to get hurt, do you?"

Gregson shook his head. "No one was supposed to get hurt. I checked all of the bugs. We tested, and tested, and re-tested. The first models…my backers pushed and pushed for them to come out. They wanted their money back. I knew I needed more time, but I allowed them to bully me into putting those cars on the road. Once the crashes began; I pulled them back off the line. But this should not be happening."

"You think it might be a hack?" Landon asked.

"Or a competitor who wants to make you look bad?" Josie suggested.

Gregson shrugged. "I don't know. I need to get one of the cars back, but the police are holding them as evidence. If I can't look at them; how can I figure out the failure?"

Lizzie looked at Jo before she opened her purse and turned to Gregson. "Here's my card. Call me if anything new comes to mind."

"Okay." Gregson fell back in his seat.

Getting up, the four walked down the sidewalk. Jo turned when she saw a flash of blonde hair on the opposite side of the street. "Jack?" she said, turning to watch Jack cross the street. He sat down across from Gregson and flashed his badge.

"Let's go in here." Josie waved for the others to go inside an old vinyl music store.

They peered at Jack and Gregson for the next ten minutes before Jack got up and left the table. "Let's follow him." Josie left the store and crossed the street. "Oh, Jack!" she called. "Can we talk?"

Jack stopped. "I think I told you four to go home."

"But, see, we don't really take orders from you," Jo retorted. "And since you're not who you say you are; why don't you just help us? We'll help you. Everyone will be happier that way."

Jack paused. "Fine. Gregson is lying. He has the mark of a demon on the inside of his wrist. We need to go to the manufacturing site and exorcise the cars."

"Gregson is evil?" Lizzie shook her head. "He just seemed like a dork."

"Gregson is not evil. His actions were evil. Although I think he may not be working for the demon by choice. I believe he owes the demon money." Jack looked thoughtful.

"A demon loan shark," Josie supplied. Jack nodded. "How do we exorcise the cars?"

Jack smiled. "I'll show you."

~0~

Josie and Lizzie felt impressed as Jack stood by the machines that were making the cars. He threw holy water on it and chanted in Latin. "That should be it," Jack told them. "Now what do we do?"

"Beach," Lizzie said with a grin.

Jack smiled. "I think I'd like to visit a beach."

~0~

Sitting beneath an umbrella, Josie watched Lizzie flirt with Jack. "Why do you not flirt with your friend, Milton Bradley?" Jack asked Lizzie.

MG and Landon had gone to get hotdogs and drinks. Jo was watching the sunset and pretended to nap.

"He's, well, MG is…he's my everything. No. Jo is my everything. But MG is…he's my best friend, and I love him so much. I feel like if I ever allowed anything to happen, I would screw it up, and break him. And I can't be the person who breaks him. He's too important to me. I'd never forgive myself," Lizzie confessed.

Peering out the side of her eye, Josie spotted MG and Landon coming back. MG had stopped. He clutched a bottle tightly, spraying pop all over Landon. Josie mouthed: "Not today," to MG who looked at her before she tipped her head back, feigning sleep.

"Hey, you're back!" Lizzie cried and Josie sat up. Josie took a hotdog from a dripping Landon. "Thank you," she said, taking a drink from MG. MG nodded.

"Jack says he's Satan's son! He's just so funny," Lizzie said, patting Jack's knee.

Jo's brows lifted as Jack's eyes flashed. Another mystery, for another time. Right now, she was just going to enjoy the company, the food, and the bonfire someone was setting up down the beach.

Happy Halloween!

Thank you for reading, faving, following and reviewing.

Peace,

-J