window as Jack concentrated on a crossword.
**********
In the morning, Jack paused on his way to the bathroom. He could hear his parents talking in the kitchen so he crept down a few stairs to listen to their conversation.
“Jones said they had the blood team in there,” said his dad.
“So they think Bill had Gabe back at his house?” asked his mom.
“I guess so. They showed up at Vigues at the same time. Had a psychologist talking to Andy while they led Anderson out. Guess they knew he has a temper.”
“Can they do that?” she asked. “He hasn’t been convicted of anything yet.”
“Who knows. Andy Vigue has a lot of relatives who are cops, maybe they gave him special treatment or something.”
“I just can’t believe Bill would do something like that. He was the sweetest guy,” said his mom.
Jack crept back upstairs to catch Ben up on what he had heard.
**********
Later that day Ben and Jack were allowed to return back to their freedom of camping out. They were subdued though—they couldn’t shake the implications of what they had seen the night before. The reality of what had happened to Gabe Vigue, or what had
likely
happened to Gabe Vigue, was fresh in their minds. What had been a fairly light subject at the quarry the previous day had a new gravity.
Ben tossed out a couple of half-hearted ideas for activities, but nothing captured their imagination. They spent a while trying to devise a way to guarantee their cooler would be out of harm’s way, but in the end decided it would be easier to just store it in the basement at night. They both knew this was a lame concession; it destroyed the spirit of being independent from the house.
Jack suggested they rig up a tarp over the tent in case it started raining and that sparked a review of the entire campsite. They evaluated the likelihood that their tent was going to “swamp out” and debated moving it uphill. But there was no motivation to undertake that amount of effort. Their mode of living had moved from adventure to chore. By evening they were downright dejected and they decided to see what Jack’s mom had for dinner. Jack’s parents had a sense of why the boys had given up on camping, and encouraged Ben and Jack to return to the tent for the night. They were up late, talking and looking at the shadows the moonlight cast against the walls of the tent.
“So you think he got him?” asked Jack. Ben knew what he was talking about.
“They have to have some proof to show up and take him away like that,” replied Ben. “They must have something.”
“My mom talks to that guy all the time. He always seemed so nice.”
“You never know about people,” said Ben. “I heard my dad talking about this guy one time, he murdered a whole family and everyone thought he was the best guy in the world. He had all this money, and a perfect job, but he just snapped. Like nothing, then he killed a bunch of people and nobody could believe it.”
“Stop talking about it. You’re freaking me out,” said Jack.
“Yeah, but they got him—your neighbor, I mean,” replied Ben. “So what’s to worry about?”
“I guess,” Jack said and paused. “But if he could do that, somebody else could be the same way. Do you think people are born that way?”
“Nah, it doesn’t work like that,” said Ben. “Something bad has to happen. And the odds are crazy that you would have two of those guys in the same area. You ever heard of two sets of guys running around killing people in the same town? No way.”
“I guess,” said Jack.
“That’s weird that it was right down the block like that,” said Ben. “When I heard about it I knew it was over this way, but I didn’t think it would be right there.”
“Let’s talk about something else,” said Jack.
“Good point. Did I tell you what my dad’s new girlfriend said?” asked Ben.
“You didn’t even mention he had a new girlfriend—what happened to Ms. Broyhill?”
**********
In the morning, Jack paused on his way to the bathroom. He could hear his parents talking in the kitchen so he crept down a few stairs to listen to their conversation.
“Jones said they had the blood team in there,” said his dad.
“So they think Bill had Gabe back at his house?” asked his mom.
“I guess so. They showed up at Vigues at the same time. Had a psychologist talking to Andy while they led Anderson out. Guess they knew he has a temper.”
“Can they do that?” she asked. “He hasn’t been convicted of anything yet.”
“Who knows. Andy Vigue has a lot of relatives who are cops, maybe they gave him special treatment or something.”
“I just can’t believe Bill would do something like that. He was the sweetest guy,” said his mom.
Jack crept back upstairs to catch Ben up on what he had heard.
**********
Later that day Ben and Jack were allowed to return back to their freedom of camping out. They were subdued though—they couldn’t shake the implications of what they had seen the night before. The reality of what had happened to Gabe Vigue, or what had
likely
happened to Gabe Vigue, was fresh in their minds. What had been a fairly light subject at the quarry the previous day had a new gravity.
Ben tossed out a couple of half-hearted ideas for activities, but nothing captured their imagination. They spent a while trying to devise a way to guarantee their cooler would be out of harm’s way, but in the end decided it would be easier to just store it in the basement at night. They both knew this was a lame concession; it destroyed the spirit of being independent from the house.
Jack suggested they rig up a tarp over the tent in case it started raining and that sparked a review of the entire campsite. They evaluated the likelihood that their tent was going to “swamp out” and debated moving it uphill. But there was no motivation to undertake that amount of effort. Their mode of living had moved from adventure to chore. By evening they were downright dejected and they decided to see what Jack’s mom had for dinner. Jack’s parents had a sense of why the boys had given up on camping, and encouraged Ben and Jack to return to the tent for the night. They were up late, talking and looking at the shadows the moonlight cast against the walls of the tent.
“So you think he got him?” asked Jack. Ben knew what he was talking about.
“They have to have some proof to show up and take him away like that,” replied Ben. “They must have something.”
“My mom talks to that guy all the time. He always seemed so nice.”
“You never know about people,” said Ben. “I heard my dad talking about this guy one time, he murdered a whole family and everyone thought he was the best guy in the world. He had all this money, and a perfect job, but he just snapped. Like nothing, then he killed a bunch of people and nobody could believe it.”
“Stop talking about it. You’re freaking me out,” said Jack.
“Yeah, but they got him—your neighbor, I mean,” replied Ben. “So what’s to worry about?”
“I guess,” Jack said and paused. “But if he could do that, somebody else could be the same way. Do you think people are born that way?”
“Nah, it doesn’t work like that,” said Ben. “Something bad has to happen. And the odds are crazy that you would have two of those guys in the same area. You ever heard of two sets of guys running around killing people in the same town? No way.”
“I guess,” said Jack.
“That’s weird that it was right down the block like that,” said Ben. “When I heard about it I knew it was over this way, but I didn’t think it would be right there.”
“Let’s talk about something else,” said Jack.
“Good point. Did I tell you what my dad’s new girlfriend said?” asked Ben.
“You didn’t even mention he had a new girlfriend—what happened to Ms. Broyhill?”
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