TREVOR: You're being serious? [Laughter.] Hugging or even a kiss on the cheek doesn't mean we were banging each other. Jeez, you old people today are so uptight, man. I mean, seriously, get over it. Today's kids aren't scared to be close to their friends. [So, you never had an intimate relationship with Jared?] Really? I thought you'd understand that my answer is no. [Just clarifying. Mr. Smith doesn't care either way.] Are you a homophobe? [No. Of course not.] Well, I already gave you my answer. Jared and I didn't have a thing going on.
ADAM: His dad said that? Then I guess he knows something. It wasn't me. Sometimes we cuddled when we were hanging out. But that's like totally harmless stuff. The other guys too. [Like I said, Mr. Smith suspected. He's fine with it.] Wait. Does Jared's dad think we were all, like, screwing each other? [Laughter.] I wasn't Jared's smo-guy. [What's a smo-guy?] Um, you really don't know? [If I did, I wouldn't ask.] Smo is suck me off.
When Jared started to change for the worse, did he push you away or did you pull away from him?
CONNER: Probably both. I definitely stayed away more when he started getting angry. Maybe I should have been a better friend, though. [How so?] Maybe I should have tried talking to him more. You know, to see if he was okay. Maybe he needed our help.
TREVOR: Well, I know I pulled away from him after he . . . well, after he acted different. He wasn't the same Jared anymore, and I didn't want to be around that.
ADAM: I didn't hang out with him that much anymore. And then he just stopped being friends with us. So, it was like, his decision to not be friends. I mean, I don't know if I would have stayed his friend. He wasn't the same guy.
Do you know if he was interested in the occult?
CONNER: Like witches and stuff? No.
TREVOR: He didn't even like scary movies that much.
ADAM: What do you mean? [Supernatural stuff.] Uh. He didn't, like, worship the devil or anything.
CONNER: I did see him looking something up online, once. [What was that?] Cambion. I didn't ask him about it. But I looked it up later. A cambion is—[The offspring of a human and demon.] Yeah. [Interesting. And that's it? Nothing else?] No. That's it. But I never saw any other occult-type stuff.
He never played with a Ouija board or had a sudden interest reading about black magic? Anything like that?
CONNER: When we were kids, he was afraid of the dark for a long time. Like, longer than any of us were. I doubt he was interested in scary stuff.
TREVOR: No.
ADAM: Nope. I don't think he liked any of that stuff.
So, nothing supernatural? Nothing strange? No experience that you can pinpoint as maybe being the cause of his condition?
CONNER: Um. [Long pause.] I guess there was something that could be considered strange. Maybe supernatural. I don't know what to call it. [What happened?] Well, it was when we all went on the camping trip to Lake Bantam. In June. [You think something happened there that instigated his possession?] I think so. Maybe. Yeah. [What was that?] When we found the goat.
TREVOR: Yeah, we think something happened during our trip to the lake. [Lake Bantam?] Yeah. I guess that means Conner told you. [He told me his version. But I need to hear yours.] Yeah, right. Okay. [What do you think happened that instigated Jared's possession?] I think . . . no, I know it was when we found the goat.
ADAM: Yeah. At Lake Bantam, during our trip. [When the four of you discovered the goat?] That's when we think it started. [Pause. Teary-eyed.] Yeah, it started at Lake Bantam. [Are you ready to tell me what happened to Jared—to all of you—during that trip?] I guess so. If Conner and Trevor told you, then I'll tell you. [They did.] Okay.
SIXTEEN
Lou thanked Adam for his time, shook his hand, and promised to be in touch. Once he closed the door to his hotel room, he turned with an excited smile. "Well, that was interesting, wasn't it?"
Exhilarated, Dave asked, "Are you kidding me? Yeah, it was."
"I certainly didn't expect all of that."
"Me neither. But this is great. We got one hell of a story now. This is fantastic. That production company is gonna go nuts when they hear everything we got."
Kneading his hands, Lou walked to the minibar. "Would you like a drink? I need a drink to celebrate."
"I'll take a beer."
Lou set a bottle of beer onto the coffee table and then grabbed a glass for his vodka and orange juice. "When the priest provides all the exorcism details, this story will be too good to pass up. Looks like you and I are gonna be TV stars soon."
Dave raised his beer in a cheer. "Hell yeah. Things are gonna change for the better real soon"
Sitting again, Lou grabbed his cell phone from the table. "We'll tell Stella and Walter at dinner."
"Hell, she's gonna flip when she hears the kids' stories."
Tapping on his cell, Lou agreed. "This is gonna go down as one of our best investigations."
For minutes, they discussed the many tidbits revealed by Conner, Adam, and Trevor. When Lou's phone signaled the receipt of a text, he swiped it from the table and read.
"She can't wait to hear what we got. Meet for dinner at six."
* * *
When
