No Humans Involved
Page 29

"Amityville?" I mouthed to Becky.
"Yes!" Grady's face was feverish now as he spit the word. "Thank you, Bob. Bob has reminded me of another case similar to this. An American case in Maine, I believe."
" Long Island," I mouthed for him.
He nodded his thanks. " Long Island, thank you, Bob. The infamous Amityville horror. I have long believed that the rituals conducted within those walls were part of a wider ring of satanic activity."
"Faked!" I mouthed, gesturing to get his attention.
"Yes, Bob? Bob is trying to tell me about something but- Bob? Are you still there?"
Grady signaled for the camera to stop filming. "He's gone, I fear. This happens from time to time, particularly in places with such intense negative energy." He rolled his shoulders and rubbed his neck, then looked at me. "Jaime, I believe you were saying something?"
"Amityville was a hoax," I said.
I explained. The house had been the site of infamous killings-a young man who'd murdered his parents and four siblings. A year later, a family bought the house, claimed they saw blood dripping down the walls, demonic pigs, what-have-you, but stayed there- with their terrified kids-until they had enough details for a book. A best-selling book. And the guy who killed his family? His lawyer had been trying for a "devil made me do it" defense, and had been in contact with the haunted homeowners. The lawyer later claimed he and the couple had dreamed the whole scheme up over a bottle of wine. The family had since admitted, in court, that at least some of the things they claimed had never happened.
When I finished, Grady glanced at Claudia, who eyed me as if suspecting I was making it up.
"All true," Becky said. "A couple of years ago the Catholic Church revealed it had submitted a list of inaccuracies to the book publisher which ignored them. Big hoax. Paid well, though," she added with admiration.
"I'm not surprised," Claudia muttered. "It's America. Land of 'anything for a buck.' "
Grady waved her to silence and went still, head cocked as if listening. "Bob has returned. We may begin again."
The camera started rolling.
"Thank you, Bob. Bob tells me the events of Amityville were, I fear, a false case predicated on greed and the lust for fame." A slow, sad shake of his head. "Unfortunately, such counterfeits do exist and we must be vigilant for them. However, as Bob also says, we must be careful not to let one falsehood blind us to the overwhelming truth of evil. It seems those responsible for Amityville used real events elsewhere as the basis for their fabrication, and here, in this house, we see one such example-"
His head jerked back, eyes closing. Her started shaking so violently that Becky tensed as if fearing a convulsion, but Claudia waved her down.
Grady's arms shot around his body, hugging himself, his teeth chattering, and I realized that his "convulsions" were supposed to be shivering.
"Momma?" he said in that high-pitched voice. "It's cold, so cold and so dark. I'm's-s-scared." A whine, more like a car engine than a child. "The bad man is coming. The bad man is-"
Grady roared, his head whipping back, teeth bared. His eyes flew open, rolling. Anyone who'd watched enough of his shows would have seen this coming, but Becky jumped and dropped her clipboard. As she scrambled for it, Grady allowed himself a tiny smile of satisfaction that morphed into a snarl, his head jerking back and forth, hands clawing the air.
"He's fighting possession by an evil spirit," Claudia explained in a monotone.
"I see," Becky said. "Is there any chance this spirit will win?"
"About ninety-five percent."
Becky smiled.
Grady jolted up onto his tiptoes, then went still. A moment's pause before he collapsed against the wall, panting and trembling.
"Damn," Becky muttered.
"Wait," Claudia whispered.
"Outside," Grady said between gasps. "Bob has shown me a room, a small, dark room. We mistakenly believed it was this one, but now he has realized his error and says we must go outside, to a shed."
He motioned for the camera to stop filming.
As Grady marched for the stairs, Becky hurried up beside him.
"The shed idea is great," she said. "It avoids, you know, connotations of Amityville, but there's a small problem. There isn't one."
"One what?"
"Shed."
He threw a smug smile over his shoulder as he started up the steps. "My dear, I never said there is a shed. I said there was one. It has, of course, long since been torn down to hide the evidence."
OUTSIDE WE went. On the way, Grady thanked me for the information about Amityville. While unwarranted, he appreciated the thought. It was a step back into his good graces.
He stopped beside a koi pond. As our shadows passed over the water, the fish zoomed from under the lilies, their mouths breaking the surface. Was someone feeding them in their owner's absence? Probably. They looked expensive.
"Here, Bob?"
Grady lifted a hand for silence, although no one had spoken. Then he checked to make sure the camera was rolling before continuing.
"The shed was here? You're quite certain?" He paused. "No, no, I understand."
Grady turned to the camera. "Bob says he can't be certain this is exactly the right spot. The sense of darkness in this entire yard is overwhelming. This, however, appears to be reasonably close to the original location."