Condemned

by Christopher Renna

  Neither said a word as Trevor unleashed his pent-up emotions.

  * * *

  Adam, sprawled out on the sofa, intending to spend a lazy evening in front of the television, possibly even to fall asleep where he lay. After he'd found something mildly interesting to watch, his mother strolled into the living room.

  "What are you doing?"

  "Watching something about an asteroid hitting Earth, and then this guy in Australia has twelve hours left until the end of the world. But he finds this little girl and tries to help her get back to her family."

  "Instead of doing what?"

  "I don't know. Doing whatever he wants for the last twelve hours of his life, I guess."

  "So, he made a sacrifice, then."

  "Um yeah, I guess so."

  She sat on the light-gray loveseat across from the dark-gray sofa, a contrast of colors that Adam never understood. Reclining, she curled her legs on the seat and draped a pastel-blue throw blanket over her feet. "Pause the movie, please. I want to say something to you."

  Adam directed the remote at the TV. "Is this about last night again? I said I'm sorry, Mom. Seriously, I am."

  "Don't go on the defense."

  "Well, I thought we finished the talk last night."

  "I just want to make two things clear. One, you can't be drinking it up like some out-of-control frat boy."

  "I wasn't!"

  "And two, you better be using protection when you have sex. You don't need another pregnancy to throw your plans off course."

  "I know, Mom. Gimme some credit."

  "I'm just saying, you're going to college next year. Don't screw it up by making dumb, reckless mistakes before you have the chance to succeed."

  "I understand, Mom. Trust me, college will be much different."

  "Your father and I never made you suffer the consequences," she continued. "I think that was a big mistake on our part."

  This was a confession that neither of his parents had ever shared with him. He thought it might be his mother's way of expressing her regret about their laidback parenting tactics. Maybe his view that they'd been neglectful was incorrect. Maybe his lack of experience with consequences was simply because he was spoiled.

  "I know you're eighteen years old," she said. "But you'll always be my little boy."

  He wanted to curb the sappy talk before she totally embarrassed him. "Jeez, Mom, really?"

  She smiled as she rose to her feet. "Yes. I'll always want the best for you. But I'm going to worry from time to time. It's my job."

  "Don't stress, Mom. Like I said, college will be different."

  Passing the sofa, she ruffled his hair on her way to the kitchen. "Love you, honey. Enjoy your movie."

  "Love you too, Mom."

  * * *

  Conner thought Hailey was a good sport, hanging out with him and his brother. She endured the raunchy humor of White Chicks, which Conner and Mason thought was a hilarious movie. She briefly chatted with his parents before they went upstairs to bed at ten o'clock. Not long after, Mason followed.

  Alone in the living room, they paid no attention to the television as they remained seated on the sofa. Talk of Thanksgiving plans segued to the topic of her parents.

  "I'm surprised they let you stay out this late," he said.

  "I'm not under lock and key."

  He chuckled. "They must not know you're with me, then."

  Rolling her eyes, she smiled. "They know."

  "Don't they, like, think I'm a bad boy or something?"

  "No." She laughed. "They really don't know a lot about you."

  "That's good." He grinned and nudged his shoulder into hers. "I'm not a bad boy."

  She teased, "You can be."

  "What! Me?"

  "I've heard stories."

  "Uh, oh." He playfully swatted her knee. "Trust me, don't believe everything you hear."

  The smile disappeared from her face and she lowered her head, seemingly upset.

  "What? What did you hear?"

  Shaking her head, she replied, "Nothing. I was just thinking about Jared."

  "Oh."

  "When you first heard the stories about him, did you ever think it could be true?"

  He shrugged. They'd managed not to talk about Jared during the entire date. Now she'd asked about a topic he wished he could forget but knew he couldn't ignore. "Not really. Maybe a little. You never know what's really going on with someone when you're not friends anymore." He sensed his words about to drop out of his mouth in a jumbled mess. "Um. I can't . . . is there a reason . . . does it matter?"

  "I was curious."

  "Why?"

  "I didn't believe it when I first heard the rumor. But then I thought about the way he acted and the way he looked. When we went to his house, I didn't like the way it felt in there. And then when we saw his bedroom"—she gently shook her head—it scared me."

  "There's nothing to be scared of."

  "Last night," she said, "you know, at Adam's."

  He shied away from a full smile. "Uh, huh."

  "I saw something in the corner. I know it sounds stupid. And you don't have to believe me. But I swear, I saw something that looked like a man. Like, human shaped but just a shadow."

  "It was kinda dark in there. It was probably just your eyes playing tricks on you."

  "I don't think so."

  "Maybe you were just nervous," he said, echoing his conversation with Trevor and Adam. "Having second thoughts about what we were doing. Maybe that made you paranoid."

  "I'm worried that the bad energy in Jared's house followed us."

  "What? Like the devil or whatever that possessed him was still in the house?"

  "I don't know." She swept strands of blonde hair from her eyes to behind her ear. "What if it did?"

  "But what if it didn't?"

  She inhaled deeply. "Okay. Maybe I'm being stupid. And paranoid, like you said."

  "You're not stupid. Seriously, you're going to be the valedictorian."

  "Yeah, we'll see."

  He tilted her face toward his. "Nothing bad is going to happen. The evil was gone before we walked into that house."

  "You're right. Good conquers evil."

  "Yep. It does." He didn't want to talk about demons and evil, so he pressed his lips against hers.

  Seconds later, she pushed against his chest. "Wait. Not here. I don't want to get caught by your parents."

  Smiling, he nodded. "Two nights in a row. That would be a bad sign, huh?"

  "I'm sorry."

  "No, it's okay. You want to watch something? Or do you need to go home now?"

  She glanced at her phone. "It's eleven. I should probably get home. My curfew's at midnight. I might get bonus points if I show up early."

  "All right."

  "You're not mad, are you?"

  "No. I'm not mad. Really."

  Sitting upright, she said, "I don't want you to think I'm leading you on. Like, being a tease or something. I'm not like that."

  "I know you're not." He pulled her to her feet. "It's time to get you home so you can earn those bonus points."

  After dropping Hailey off, Conner drove through the neighborhood, taking random lefts and rights with no destination in mind. Nearly midnight, there was little traffic on the streets. Most of the homes were dark. The trees were dark, their naked limbs and branches stretching in all directions. The lack of foliage exposed most of the houses normally obscured by abundant masses of green leaves. Now, winding slowly through the streets, Conner felt like each unsheltered home revealed details about its structure and the people who resided inside.

  Then he found himself on Cottage Drive, and he couldn't resist the urge to visit the Smiths' house. He parked in their driveway. Without turning the engine off, he sat and studied the house. The indigo shutters. The curtains still hanging from rods, concealing the interior from prying eyes. The navy-blue front door. The dent in the gutter above the garage caused by a basketball that had deviated so far from it
s intended target that it was embarrassing.

  What happened in that house? What did Jared go through?

  He thought of Hailey's fear that something evil had remained in the house after Jared died. But he wondered, did the priest chase the devil away before Jared died? If not, did the devil return to hell because Jared had died?

  He scrutinized the shadows on the house, near the windows. The dark splotches darkening the yard. Were any of them a human-shaped entity hiding and watching Conner? He glanced in the rearview mirror and shuddered at the blackness of the street behind him. It was time to go home before he completely freaked himself out.

  Driving to his house, he constantly checked the rearview mirror, fearful that he'd discover a humanoid shadow sitting in the back seat. The longer he drove, the more panicked he grew. When he arrived home, he jumped out of the car and rushed to the front door. He aimed the fob, securing the car as he scanned the yard for moving shadows.

  The lamp on the side table illuminated the foyer. The rest of the house was dark. While the thump of his heart accelerated, he locked the front door and then retreated to his bedroom.

  Now I'm paranoid.

  FIFTEEN

  "Thanks for the wake-up call," Dave said as he settled onto a chair at Lou's table. "I'm gonna fill my plate, then we'll get to work."

  Lou poured a splash of creamer into his coffee. "We're gonna get the boys to sign off on audio and video, right?"

  "That's the plan."

  "Shouldn't take too much convincing, I wouldn't think."

  Dave shrugged. "Doesn't everyone want the chance to be on TV?"

  "I guess so."

  "Should be an easy day."

  "Who's first up to bat?

  "Conner, Levi, Trevor, and then Adam," Dave said as he headed toward the breakfast buffet.

  Lou removed the small spiral notebook from the pocket of his jacket. If the young men had an intriguing story to tell, he needed each to follow the same formula. Sticking to a script was the best way to get the boys to enhance the story with personal details. Although he hadn't done so in a long time, Lou set out creating a list of questions.

  * * *

  Conner arrived a few minutes before ten o'clock. The front desk clerk called Lou to announce his arrival, and then she politely hung up the phone. "Room 407."

  He shoved his hands into the pockets of his olive-green hoodie, said thank you, and then sauntered across the lobby. In the elevator, he inspected his appearance in the reflective silver door. He lowered the hood from his head and smoothed his hair. Then he ran his hands across his face and released a nervous exhale.

  One knock on 407 and the door immediately opened.

  Lou smiled in an encouraging way and cupped Conner's shoulder. "Are you always so punctual?"

  "I try to be."

  Stepping aside, Lou gestured to the small sofa against the far wall. "Come on in. Make yourself comfortable. Would you like anything to drink? I don't have much. But I can get you a bottled water or a cup of coffee if you want."

  "I'm good for now."

  "I think the little coffee maker has a couple packets of hot cocoa."

  "No. I'm fine."

  "You sure?"

  "Yeah."

  "Okay." At the sofa, Lou said, "Have a seat. Dave should be here in just a minute, then we'll get started."

  Conner tugged the hoodie over his head, his T-shirt rising with the pullover. Suddenly self-conscious, he jerked the hem of his shirt down and then situated himself on the sofa.

  "Nervous?" Lou asked.

  "Eh. A little, I guess."

  "Don't worry. It'll be painless."

  The door swung open, and Dave hurried into the room. "Sorry. I had an issue in my room."

  Lou raised an eyebrow. "Really? What was that?"

  "Damn toilet clogged up on me."

  With a chuckle, Lou said, "I always said you were full of shit. Now the hotel staff knows too."

  Dave extended his middle finger as he approached. "You're a real comedian." He set the mini audio recorder onto the small coffee table and then assembled a tripod.

  Conner observed the interaction taking place, curious if they ever argued. They seemed to have a good working relationship and even appeared to be friends. "You guys work together a long time?"

  Lou laughed. "This damn son of a bitch has lasted longer than my marriage did."

  "Ah, thanks," Dave replied sarcastically as he adjusted the camera settings. "So, Conner Preston. We're doing video too. You need to sign a form for us to use your footage."

  "I don't know if I wanna be filmed."

  "It's okay," Lou said. "If you decide that you don't want us to use your video, then we'll have it for duplicate audio. At the end of the session, you let us know. Sound good?"

  "Uh. Yeah, I guess so."

  "Great." Lou sat and flipped open his small notebook. "Ready?"

  Conner glanced at the video recorder. He gripped his knees and took a deep breath. "Yeah. Let's get started."

  Reclining in the armchair, Lou smiled and then winked. "There's nothing to be anxious about. You're gonna provide details that will help us form a full profile of Jared. We'll start with your friendship."

  CONNER: Yeah, okay.

  LEVI: Sure.

  TREVOR: That's fine.

  ADAM: Yep.

  We reached out to you because we were told that you and Jared were really good friends. Is that correct?

  CONNER: His family moved to town in the second grade. I don't really remember hanging out with him then. We became friends in elementary school.

  LEVI: I remember him in school when we were kids. But it wasn't until, like, seventh grade when we started to be friends.

  TREVOR: Yeah, we were best friends for a long time. Until . . . well, until the end.

  ADAM: Yeah. Like, since the third grade or something.

  Was there something special about Jared that made you want to be friends with him? Some quality or common interest?

  CONNER: He was funny. When we were kids, he always made the other kids laugh with things he said or did. You know, like telling jokes or playing pranks and stuff. Like, if I was in a bad mood or something, he'd try to make me feel better.

  LEVI: Me and Jared were on the same soccer team in seventh grade. That's how we became friends. We liked the same sports. Like soccer and wrestling. Softball during the summer. Conner and Adam and Trevor were always focused on basketball. Sometimes they played softball. But me and Jared became friends on the soccer field.

  TREVOR: He was fun to be around. We were in a lot of the same classes, so we'd always be partners in biology or work on team projects together.

  ADAM: He punched another kid in the face once when we were in the fourth grade. Or maybe . . . no, I think it was the fifth grade. This one guy always liked to start shit—oh, shit, sorry—um, this one guy always started crap with me. And one day, Jared punched him in the nose. I don't know, I thought that was cool. Then we were best friends.

  Being pretty good friends, you must have been close to his family too.

  CONNER: Yeah. The four of us hung out a lot. We all knew his parents pretty good. Maybe not Levi so much. But yeah.

  LEVI: Not like I was a part of the family or anything. But my cousin, Brayden, he was friends with Jared's sister, Leah. So, like, I knew the family. Just not totally. You know what I'm trying to say?

  TREVOR: I think I hung out the most at his house. We all did. But sometimes when we weren't all together, it was just him and me at his house. So, yeah, I knew his family pretty good.

  ADAM: Well, yeah. I mean, we went to school together, and we hung out. Why wouldn't I know his family good?

  Did he have a good relationship with his family?

  CONNER: Huh? Well, yeah. Didn't you interview his dad? [Yes.] Yeah, okay. So, didn't he tell you? I mean, I know Jared got along with them. Sometimes his dad was really hard on him about sports or grades. Typical stuff.

  LEVI: As far as I know, he did. He neve
r told me he didn't.

  TREVOR: What? Why are you asking me that? Aren't I here to talk about Jared and me? So, it's kinda weird that you asked me that. He had a good relationship with his family. If there was something that happened, or they didn't get along, I didn't know about it.

  ADAM: Yep. They were like one of those families that didn't yell at each other or anything. It was all good.

  Now, this is important to the investigation. I know you might think the question is inappropriate or too private. But we really need to piece together everything to know exactly what happened to Jared.

  CONNER: Okay.

  ADAM: [Laughter] You gonna ask me something embarrassing or something?

  Everyone agrees Jared started acting differently several months ago. Do you know of anything that might have influenced that change in him?

  CONNER: I don't think so. [Nothing that veered from his normal routine of things?] Not really.

  LEVI: No.

  TREVOR: You mean like drugs or something? He didn't take any drugs. Even if we drank some beers, he never really got buzzed or anything crazy.

  ADAM: Like something bad that happened to him? Um. Well, no. I don't think so. Wait, what do you mean exactly? [Anything that you might have considered out of the ordinary.] Oh. Uh, I gotta think about it for a minute.

  Do you know if he made any new friends? Maybe someone that was a bad character.

  CONNER: We would have known about it.

  LEVI: I never saw him with some new strange friend.

  TREVOR: A bad character? Please! We were always together. He didn't have any new friends. Why would he? He had us.

  ADAM: Nope. He didn't hang out with anybody else.

  No shady character that you might have seen him with once or twice?

  CONNER: No.

  LEVI: No.

  TREVOR: I already told you no.

  ADAM: Nope.

  So we ruled out drug abuse and new friends. Did Jared have any secrets? Something about his lifestyle that his family didn't know.

  CONNER: Secrets? I'm pretty sure Jared didn't do anything that was a secret from his parents.

  LEVI: Uh, I don't think so. I mean, no drugs and stuff, right? So that would have been a secret. [Nothing you can think of?] No.