Chapter 13
Kyle returned to his essay, picking up where he left off. The low volume of his television served as background noise only. Any words spoken were intelligible. Twenty minutes passed, and his pen was blazing back and forth in his notebook.
He was nearing the end of the essay, feeling especially good about it. It was rare, but sometimes he could really do a good job with an essay. A soft series of words from the reporter on the television disrupted his focus. He turned to see a reporter point at numerous police cars surrounding a house. He set his pen down and turned up the volume to find out what was happening. It was a standoff taking place. The police received a tip that the judge for the Brian Kinkaid case and his wife may have been hurt. He leaned forward and turned up the volume even more. He sat in silence and disbelief, staring at the screen.
Hearing Brian Kinkaid’s name again was unbelievable. It’s as if Kinkaid had become a part of his life now. Somehow he developed an odd, intimate relationship with a dead serial killer, and an unwanted one. The reporter didn’t say anything relevant about the events occurring behind her, but instead, she was going on about Brian Kinkaid and his relationship to the judge. Behind the reporter, Kyle watched the officers standing near their vehicles with their weapons drawn. The camera panned from the reporter to get a close-up of the officers and the house they had surrounded. Kyle continued watching as the camera scanned sideways, showing some of the houses in that neighborhood.
The reporter’s unseen face continued blabbing on about the Brian Kinkaid case. Then the camera panned back to give the viewers a wide-angle perspective. That’s when Kyle noticed it. He stood up in awe. It was unbelievable. It couldn’t be true. He blinked several times refusing to believe what he was seeing, but each time, it was still there. Parked on the street at the corner, not far from the judge’s house was an older gray Nissan Maxima. That looks like the car Adam was driving earlier, but it couldn’t be? Why would Adam be there...unless. Could he be possessed by Kinkaid right now? Did Kinkaid take over Adam’s body again? A nightmare was unfolding. There was no way this could be true. Kyle was taking things a little too far, grasping at nothing. If it were true, it meant Adam may be in the judge’s house and there was no way Adam would do that…but would Kinkaid do it? He needed to talk to someone, so he ran downstairs to phone Vance.
He skirted by the kitchen where his mother was preparing dinner. He knew she had seen him, but he didn’t care. His movements were urgent…erratic. As Vance’s phone rang, he murmured,
“C’mon…C’mon!” drawing the attention of his mother.
As he paced back and forth, she came over to him. Finally, someone answered the phone.
“Vance, is that you?”
“No, this is his mother. Who is this?”
“Oh, hi Mrs. Gidwell. This is Kyle. Can I speak to Vance? It’s really important.”
“Sure hold on a second.” He heard her call out Vance’s name.
“Kyle, what’s wrong?” his mother asked, confused by the strange way he was acting.
“Hold on mom, I’ve got to talk to Vance first. I’ll tell you after I talk to him. C’mon Vance!” His mother stood there for a while longer then returned to the kitchen.
“Hey Kyle. What’s up?” Vance said.
“Vance, something’s wrong. Something’s really wrong. Have you been watching television?”
“No, I was doing my homework. Why? What’s wrong?”
“Turn on your television now. It’s on the news. There is a standoff with the police. Someone’s in the judge’s house.”
“Judge! What judge?”
“The judge who sentenced Brian Kinkaid to death. Vance, remember the car I told you I saw Adam driving? It’s there. I saw it. It’s there parked up the street right behind the reporters. Man, I think Adam is in there. I think he’s possessed by Brian Kinkaid right now and wants to kill the judge!”
“Whoa! Hold on! You really think Adam would do that?”
“No, I don’t think Adam would do it, but if he’s possessed, Adam wouldn’t know what he was doing. I bet anything Kinkaid would do it.”
“Wait, let me turn on the television. Which channel?”
“Channel 9.”
Kyle sensed a familiar, but unexpected presence, and that uneasiness made him turn around. His mother stood behind him silently listening to everything he said. Normally this should have upset Kyle, but that was not the case. It was her expression that confounded him. It was a look he’d never seen before, but he knew questions would be spewing from her mouth shortly.
“What the hell are you talking about and who are you talking to?” she said demanding an answer.
He stared at her eyes and knew this would be one conversation he’d loathe. It meant going into details that included speculations, and without an ounce of proof. He would be interrogated further, and there was a strong possibility he would be accused of some type of wrongdoing. He was trapped and on his own. Escape was impossible. He took a deep breath and put the phone to his ear.
“Vance, I’ll have to call you back. My mother just heard what we were talking about.”
“Damn! Okay then. She’ll probably be calling my house soon. Good luck!” Vance lamented, knowing full well that he would be the next one to get interrogated.
“I know she will. See ya.”
“See ya.”
Kyle hung up the phone and set it down on the bureau in the short hallway. His mind raced to create a quick lie, some fantastic tale, maybe something related to school, but he was suddenly interrupted.
“Why do you think Adam is trying to kill that judge?”
That was it, the fatal question, and the one he feared the most. He looked at his mom and words slipped freely from his mouth. He spilled everything, starting with the accident Adam had. He held nothing back.
Ten minutes later, and after several umms and ahhhs, he finished his fantastic tale, and was relieved, but he didn’t understand why he felt that way. This was something he’d kept between Vance and himself. Allowing an outsider, especially an adult, into their inner circle was unheard of. His mother was silent, much too quiet. Now he was in for it. It was beat down time. The hammer was about to fall upon him, totally obliterating his being.
“Do you really believe everything you just told me?”
With wide eyes and an intense look, he couldn’t believe she asked that question. There was no yelling, no interrogation, and to his surprise, no put downs. This was his chance to be honest and tell her exactly what was on his mind
“Yes, mom, I do believe it. I know I don’t have any proof, but I did see him driving that car today. The same car parked on the street near the judge’s house. Come to my room and I can show you.”
He tugged her towards his room and felt her reluctance to go, but she gave in. They stood on each side of the television waiting for the cameraman to pan the area. Kyle rubbed his fingers as his impatience grew. The cameraman unknowingly teased Kyle many times as he moved from the reporter to the officers. Then it happened. There was a shot of the car Adam drove.
As they watched, with Kyle feeling quite vindicated, the cameraman suddenly panned back to the officers standing behind their vehicles. A group of four officers, crouched down and gripping their pistols with both hands, began making their way up the driveway. The unseen reporter continued giving her commentary on the actions taking place. Kyle's heart beat faster as he watched the officer’s move in. They split up, with two officers heading toward the back of the house and the other two standing stationary at the front corner.
“Mom, I think they’re going in. They’re gonna kill Adam!” Kyle said raising his voice.
“Wait, honey. They may not do anything. Besides, it might not be Adam in there,” she responded.
Kyle found her voice strange, like she was trying to force herself to believe something.
The lead officer in the front spoke into his shoulder mounted radio, then both men closed in on the front door. A fift
h officer darted up the driveway carrying a black battering ram, and the three of them met at the door simultaneously. Kyle trembled as they watched. He couldn’t be sure, but it looked like the officer with the battering ram did a silent count before the large object smashed the door open. The two officers rushed inside with their weapons pointing forward and disappeared into the darkness of the home’s interior. The reporter kept yapping her gums, speculating on everything that was taking place, and Kyle wished she would shut up. More officers began moving toward the entrance, pausing at different times to assess the situation. Then the reporter said she could hear yelling coming from inside the house, but couldn’t tell who was yelling.
“Mom?!” Kyle yelled, not sure if he was asking a question or exclaiming his fear.
She didn’t respond. The cameraman jerked unintentionally, which caused Kyle to rear back. Then the unbelievable happened. He saw Adam running out of the front door. The officer outside yelled at him, insisting that he halt and put up his hands. Kyle’s mom grasped her mouth and dropped to her knees. Kyle remained motionless, unable to utter a sound. On the screen, Adam looked crazed, bearing his teeth, then with his arms flailing and the utility knife in his right hand, glinting in the sunlight, he ran directly at one of the officers. Pop…pop…pop. Shots continued to ring out. Adam went limp as he fell to the ground. It was over. Kyle just witnessed his best friend getting executed on television. His confusion led to sadness, then anxiety, and finally relief. The person running from that house wasn’t Adam, he was sure of that. It was the reincarnation of Brian Kinkaid, and it was Kinkaid that killed Adam. Adam was free from his tormentor, whether he knew it or not. But Kyle had lost a dear friend, a schoolmate, and confidant. The reporter continued babbling, sounding like the teacher from the Charlie Brown cartoons. Kyle noticed tears falling from his mother’s eyes, a look of disbelief smothered her face.
“I can’t believe they showed him getting shot on television!” she exclaimed.
The station switched back to the newsroom right after she said those words, and the reporter apologized for showing such graphic content, explaining that it was difficult to control unfolding events. There was stunned silence. Kyle could barely hear the birds chirping outside his window. A cool breeze buffeted his shoulders when the air conditioner switched on, the air making a soft low hiss as it passed by his ears. Then Kyle spoke,
“Mom, did you see that? Did that look like the Adam you know?”
“I don’t know. He was crazy. It looked a lot like Adam, but I’ve never seen him act that way.”
“That’s because he doesn’t act that way. That’s what I was telling you. Adam was possessed, possessed by Brian Kinkaid. Why would Adam go to the judge’s house? He didn’t know the judge. I don’t even think he knew where he lived…unless.”
Kyle paused as a crazy memory blossomed in his head. The judge’s address was on that list he emailed to Adam. So were the names and addresses of many of the people involved in the case. If Adam had the list, so did Kinkaid.
“Mom! We gotta call the police. Call them now! Adam…I mean Brian Kinkaid may have hurt other people. Adam had a list with the names and addresses of many people involved with Kinkaid’s case. Let’s go. Get up and call them now!”
Kyle helped his mother up, but could tell she was still in shock from what she saw. He led her downstairs to the hallway and picked up the receiver. His finger quickly tapped 911, then he put the receiver to his ear. His mother leaned up against the wall next to him. Shortly, someone answered the phone,
“9-1-1. What’s your emergency?”
“Hi. I’m calling about the guy who was shot on television a few minutes ago. He may have hurt some other people, and I can prove it. Please send the police over to my house.”
“Are you being hurt right now, sir?”
“No, I’m not being hurt but others may be hurt. You have to send someone here now. Look, I know I’m not supposed to call you guys with this but there may be other people hurt and I may be able to help them if you send the police to my house.”
It took a little more convincing, but Kyle’s request was granted, and a police unit would be sent. After he hung up the phone, he knew his mother was still in shock, so he left her leaning against the wall and ran upstairs to print out that list of people.
The phone rang as he was coming back downstairs. He bypassed his mother and answered it.
“Hello?”
“Kyle, did you see what happened to Adam?”
He knew it was Vance from the high pitch of his voice, and said, “That wasn’t Adam. That was Kinkaid!”
“You mean Brian Kinkaid?”
“Yep, Brian Kinkaid. He took over Adam’s body and now both are dead. See, I told you something was up with Adam.”
“I hate that I saw that. He was my friend and they killed him like an animal.”
“I know Vance, but you have to remember that wasn’t Adam. Blame Kinkaid on Adam’s death.”
“I know you’re right, but it’s so hard to understand.”
“Hey, let me tell you this. The cops are coming over here to see the list of names Adam had. Remember that list I made of everybody involved with the Kinkaid case? Remember?”
“Yeah. So what?”
“So I still have the list. Adam, I mean Kinkaid, may have hurt other people that we don’t know about yet. Remember, they found that juror yesterday dead. Maybe Kinkaid did it.”
“You think so?”
“Could be. I haven’t heard anything else on the news about it. This list may break that case.”
“Boy, I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes right now. They may think you had something to do with it.”
“But I didn’t. I just made the list for me. I didn’t know Adam was going to ask for it.”
“Well…that’s true. I’ve gotta tell my parents. Since Adam was my friend too, I’m pretty sure they’re going to have some questions for me. Boy, I’m gonna hate explaining this to them. I don’t know if they’ll believe me. If they don’t believe me, will you help me out?”
“Sure. I’ll get them to believe you. Once everybody sees what I have, they’ll have no choice.”
“Thanks Kyle. I’ll let you go. Bye.”
“See ya, Vance.”
Kyle knew his meeting with the police may be the precursor to what Vance will experience with his parents. Still leaning against the wall, his mother let out a small sigh, and although she was right there, he’d forgotten about her. He helped her into the living room and spoke softly to her. She was responsive but awkward. He let her know the police were on their way to talk to him and she nodded. He led her to the couch as she mumbled something about being okay before sitting down. In his wildest dreams, he never imagined all of this would happen. He sat down next her, embracing the sheet of names in his hand. He heard his mom sigh,
“Kyle, I’m sorry you lost a friend today. I know it must hurt.”
“Thanks mom. I’m going to miss Adam, but I’m going to help him too. When the police get here, I’m going to tell them everything I know.”
“I know you will. I should have listened to you, but it seemed so fantastic.”
“Mom, I’ve been keeping this to myself for months. I knew something was wrong ever since his accident, but I had no proof. And over the last few months, things just started piling up, but I never thought it would end like it did.” He faced the living room window and said, “I wish the police would hurry up and get here.” He stood and ventured to the window, parting the beige curtains revealing the open, white blinds behind them.
Epilogue
The police arrived at Kyle’s residence, and he gave them the piece of paper containing the names. He pleaded with the police to check with everyone on the list to ensure they were okay, but there was plenty of reluctance. His story seemed too fantastic to be taken seriously. He needed corroboration, and Vance could help with that. He called Vance and told him to come over.
Vance backed
up everything Kyle mentioned. Being cautious, the police agreed to check on everyone. On the ten o’clock news, they reported on the bizarre events leading to Adam’s death along with the deaths of the judge, his wife, and the two officers who entered the house to capture him. They also linked Adam to the death of jurors Marta Rivera and Thomas Abbott, and finally, to the murder of his first victim, Valerie Kelsey, the young woman found in the parking lot. Adam was laid to rest in an interior location of the Southern Pines Cemetery far from Brian Kinkaid’s burial plot and away from the perimeter fence.
The town paid to have Brian Kinkaid’s burial plot demolished, and his body cremated.
#####
Thank you for reading my novella. If you enjoyed it, won’t you please take a moment to leave a review at your favorite retailer or website?
Thanks!
Pernell Rogers
Discover other supernatural titles by Pernell Rogers:
The Dark Stalker
The Meek Curtis Weems
Casualty of Coincidence
The River
Duane’s Secret
Through Brian's Eyes Page 25