"Are you arresting us?" Hailey asked with a slight tremble to her voice. "We didn't do anything bad."
* * *
Conner expected a dimly lit police lobby with officers passing by, coffee and junk food in hand, maybe paperwork, and potential felons handcuffed to a bench. But the scene was far less energized and far more mundane than he'd anticipated. Seven teenagers being escorted inside by two officers seemed to be the most interesting thing happening at that moment.
When his parents arrived, their entrance was just as he'd imagined. His father strolled into the lobby as if more inconvenienced than concerned. And his mother walked in with a look that demanded I–want–to–speak–to–the–person–in–charge–NOW.
Trevor's parents entered soon after.
Then Adam's dad walked in with Miguel's mother. Jasmine's father arrived with Hailey's parents, who appeared distraught as though their daughter had been arrested for shoplifting or vandalizing property.
Zach's parents hadn't yet made an appearance.
Shaking his head, Conner's dad sat next to him and slapped him on the knee. "I suspect I don't need to ask what influenced your decision tonight."
"We didn't do anything that would get us arrested."
"Breaking and entering is something people get arrested for."
"You know what I mean."
His mother stationed herself next to the bench. "This was totally uncalled for. They should be out looking for real criminals."
Conner watched Trevor's mom, Diedre, march to her son at the neighboring bench.
"Trevor Helms, you've got to be kidding me. What happened to your good judgement? This situation could have ended in a much more horrifying manner."
"Ma," he said, "calm down. Everything's cool."
"Cool? You think being hauled into the police station is cool? You're an African American man, Trevor. Thank God you were with Adam and Conner. I'm sure the sight of white skin kept the cops from aiming their guns."
"Ma, you're being dramatic."
"You see the same news stories that your father and I see. Don't be ignorant."
Conner's mom rubbed Diedre's arm. "Our boys shouldn't be in trouble for any of this."
The women continued to talk in whispers.
Glancing to the side, Conner caught sight of Hailey, crying while her parents scolded her.
The officer who'd discovered them in the house appeared. "All right," he said. "Mr. Smith doesn't want to pursue this matter. So, we're not pressing charges against anyone."
"Of course not," Conner's mother said. "You're just harassing a bunch of teenagers."
"They entered property without permission."
"I understand, but this is ridiculous. They knew the Smith family."
"Jen," Conner's dad said, "Let the man finish talking so everyone can go home."
"Like I said," the officer continued. "No charges will be filed. But you kids have been warned. Don't go back to that house. The Smiths won't be so generous next time. Is that understood?"
Everyone mumbled a variation of yes.
"The neighbor who called in the disturbance told me why you kids were probably there. Don't listen to crazy gossip. You all could have gotten into much more trouble tonight if the Smiths weren't so forgiving."
"What gossip?" Diedre asked.
"Ask your kid," the officer said, then walked away.
"Trevor, what's he talking about?"
"Let's go home, Ma."
Conner's dad rose to his feet. "Yeah, let's all go home."
"Oh, shit," Zach muttered as his dad walked into the station.
"What the hell, son? What trouble did you get into now?"
"Nothing, Dad. We're not in trouble. They're letting us go."
"Well, get your ass in the car, then."
As Conner's dad pulled out of the parking lot, he said, "Would you like to tell us what you guys thought you'd accomplish by going inside that house?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know? You must have had a reason."
"Yes," his mother said, "I agree with your father. What the hell were you thinking? Why would you guys go into a family's home uninvited?"
"They don't live there anymore."
"What do you mean? How could they not live there anymore?"
"They moved, Mom. After Jared died. They got the hell outta that house. It was empty. Well, almost empty."
"Almost?" his dad asked.
"Yeah. Everything was gone except for Jared's bed."
His mother turned toward the back seat. "Everything but Jared's bed? Why would they leave that?"
"Does it really matter? Can't we just go home without talking about all of this?"
"No." She faced forward again. "I'd like to know."
Conner met his dad's eyes in the rearview mirror.
"This is about the gossip the officer mentioned?" his father asked.
"Yeah. We wanted to check out the house to see if we could maybe figure out what happened to Jared."
His mother glanced over her shoulder. "What's to figure out?"
"Um. Well, we wanted to . . ."
"What? You wanted to what?"
Conner exhaled heavily. "We thought we might figure out if he was possessed by the devil."
For a moment she appeared intrigued, if not somewhat confused. Then she snickered in the way that always reminded Conner that his mother had once been a young girl. "You can't be serious."
"I know it sounds crazy, Mom. But that's the story. And all of us are starting to believe that it's true."
"Oh, dear Lord, Conner. Your friend passed away. Don't do this to his memory. Don't get yourself mixed up in the rumor mill."
"But Mom, his bedroom really looked like something happened there. Maybe something bad. Something like an exorcism. And that's why we think—"
"Stop talking about that. We're not a religious family. We don't go to church, but we're a Christian family. And talk about the devil and exorcism, it's not right."
Turning onto the next street, Conner's dad said, "Let the gossip die down, Conner. The longer you and your friends are preoccupied by it, the longer it'll take for the story to go away."
His mother shook her head as if still amused.
Conner slouched and brought his knees up to the back of his father's seat. Glancing out at the darkened street of his neighborhood, he muttered, "Uh, huh. I guess so."
"This possessed–by–the–devil story," his dad said. "You know it's a crazy story, right? You can't possibly believe that it's true. There are medical and mental explanations for that type of thing."
"I don't know, Dad. Strange things happen
