The brothers arrive at Nerdlinger's apartment and meet a sheriff who has the countenance of a grandfatherly walrus. Skipping the musical references this week, Sam introduces himself and Dean as Special Agents Taggart and Rosewood. "FBI? You guys are quick," says Sheriff Walrus. "The FBI is all work, no play," Dean says with a pointed look at Sam. Sam asks for a look around while Dean stays behind. "I work better on my own," Dean says. Now that he's made the awful, awful choice to stick with Sam, he needs to drop the jabs. Anything else just reminds us of what might have been.

Sheriff Walrus takes Sam into the bedroom, where Nerdlinger's torso lies beneath a bloody sheet. It's actually less blood than one might expect from a violent detachment of one's limbs. There are puddles of blood at the shoulders and neat red lines showing the outward path of the departing legs. Sheriff Walrus tells Sam about the victim, which is that he was named Ed, was 31 and worked as an insurance claim adjuster. "So, what happened?" Sam asks. "No sign of forced entry," Sheriff Walrus says. "Near as we can tell, he was tied up and pulled apart." Sam notices something that he thinks are chains. Sheriff Walrus corrects him, because it's actually chain mail, which seems like the sort of thing Sam should know. He also notices the tree tattoo on Ed's arm and makes an interested sound. "So, anything missing from the body?" Sam asks. "You mean aside from the arms and legs?" asks Sheriff Walrus, looking at Sam like he's the biggest idiot he's ever seen, in both size and scope. Nothing beyond the obvious seems to be missing, but the neighbor downstairs says she heard horses galloping around. The sheriff discounts that notion, but points out the threatening texts on Ed's phone from someone named Lance Jacobson. "You shall bleed for your crimes against us," reads the sheriff. And another: "I am a mage and I will destroy you." Dean gets a serious look because he lives in a world where mages are real.