"And we weren't arrested," Hailey said and then smiled. "That's the power of prayer."
Zach arrived at the table with two other seniors, Alex and Rachel. As they sat, Alex said, "I heard about your adventure last night. It's so fucking crazy, dudes. Possessed by the devil. That's creepy as hell."
Alex and Rachel were two of Hailey's least favorite people in school. She certainly didn't hate them—she did her best not to have a hateful heart. But Alex acted like he was the king of the school, and by association, Rachel believed she was the queen.
Hailey rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Can't you talk without using a bunch of profanity?"
Palms up, he teased, "Oh, sorry, Sister Mary Hailey."
Zach and Rachel laughed.
"Go away." Hailey removed her salad and apple juice from the tray. "There's no reason to talk like that. I mean, seriously, Alex. It doesn't make you cool. It makes you a kid with a bad vocabulary."
"Fine." He swung his legs under the table and faced her head-on. "Anyways, so the crap about Jared is pretty creepy, right? And you guys were in his house. Did you see anything scary in there?"
"Aren't you worried?" Rachel asked.
Miguel tilted his head. "About what?"
"That the devil was still in that house."
Jasmine giggled. "Yeah. The devil's in one of us now. He's looking for a slut to possess. You better run or he's gonna getcha, Rachel."
"A slut calling me a slut? Who are you hooking up with this week, Trevor or Jason?"
Jasmine recoiled. "Jason?"
All week, Hailey felt like she'd been bombarded with sexual innuendo and flat-out vulgarity. It was bad enough that Adam had reminded everyone about her handsy incident with Conner. Now she had to endure yet another conversation that was sexual in nature. Profanity was one thing, but the sex talk is where she wanted to draw the line. Especially since Conner's good-looking chiseled face and muscular body made it difficult for her to resist temptation. And the way his hair sometimes hung over his eyes, and the way his ears stuck out slightly from his head.
Returning her salad and juice to her tray, Hailey asked Miguel, "Wanna go to another table? I don't want to listen to this."
As the two stepped away, Alex said, "Hey, Sister Mary Hailey. Why are you running off with the homosexual?"
Hailey twisted around, "Oh, my G–goodness. You're so foul."
"Just asking. Homosexuality is a sin, isn't it?"
"Screw you," Miguel replied. "Why the hell are you dragging me into this?"
"Hey," Alex said, "I don't care that you're sucking Levi's dick. It's 2018, right? No one cares anymore."
"Then why are you talking smack?"
"Because Miss Almighty-Good-Girl is running away because of words and you're like a walking sin."
Instead of gasping, Hailey held her breath. She didn't want to give Alex the satisfaction of thinking he'd scored with his taunts. Before she could respond appropriately, Miguel lunged forward and punched Alex in the face.
* * *
Dave took a large bite of his falafel pita and then lowered his head as he chewed, hovering over his cell phone. Several seconds later, he said, "You know Nancy Sanders from that Rhode Island paranormal group, right?"
Not sure, Lou nodded anyway.
"She knows someone in Connecticut who talked to someone who went to church with the Smith family. According to this person, the kid started acting oddly several months ago, and he was getting into trouble a lot. Then a few months ago, he displayed some violent behavior that worried his parents. They took him to a psychologist. But one of the priests also paid the family a visit at home. I guess it was his observations at the house that considered the possibility of demonic possession."
"Well, we're gonna interview everyone we can. Hopefully we'll get more information. Did she say why the priest thought the boy was possessed? Or how an exorcism was approved?"
"Noises. Banging on walls. Furniture moving on its own. The boy's change in personality. I guess there was a transient sulfur smell in the house. And the priest said he heard the sound of squealing pigs too. All the typical stuff you'd expect."
"Is there any indication that the family is willing to talk?"
Picking chunks of fallen falafel from his plate, Dave shrugged. "I haven't heard anything about the family talking. As soon as this story blows up, they'll be forced to make some sort of statement. But if we can get to them and let them know that they only have to share their story once, maybe that'll be enough to get them talking."
"So, give them the opportunity to set the record straight, then they can disappear into oblivion."
Dave swiveled his iPad toward Lou. "Look at this. I found info on the kid online. He was one of those popular jock types. Which means he had a lot of friends. We should start with his social circle. Kids will pretty much talk about anything."
Lou studied the online photo of Jared. He was a nice-looking teen with dark hair and light eyes. Brown. Maybe hazel. A muscular upper body on display in a tank top. Even the kid's smile was joyful, like he didn't have a care in the world.
He rotated the iPad back to Dave. "An attractive, happy kid. And to think that a demon tormented him and inhabited his body." He puffed out a strong exhale. "Gives me the heebie-jeebies."
"We've been in some scary situations before."
Lou scoffed, "Yeah, things that go bump in the night. Opening doors. Some possible voices. Lights flickering. Some odd things, for sure. But this could be our most intense case."
Dave chomped on the last bite of his pita, oblivious to the shredded lettuce on his chin. "If it's not a hoax."
* * *
"Miguel was suspended," Trevor said, dropping his phone onto the sofa as he sat. "He got into a fight with Alex."
On the floor, Conner lowered the TV remote and glanced over his shoulder. "Really? What happened?"
"Alex was harassing Hailey, and he called Miguel a fag."
"I would have thrown a punch too,"
