The People v. Jonathan Ludarac (Abridged)

Transcript-Interrogation of Edith Molewitz

Transcript-Interrogation of Edith Molewitz

Interrogating Officer: Sgt. Eric Renfield

Location: 6334 Mallum Ave.-Home of Edith Molewitz

Date: 10/18/2012

Time: 4:25 PM

Renfield: Do you mind if I record our conversation, Ms. Molewitz?

Molewitz: Oh, that's fine, and it's actually pronounced Molewitz.

Renfield: Molewitz?

Molewitz: No, Molewitz

Renfield: Molewitz?

Molewitz: Yes, that's right.

Renfield: Well, thank you for speaking with me, Ms. Molewitz. I'm sure you're very busy.

Molewitz: Oh, it's no trouble at all. I'm retired these days. Would you like some tea? I was just about to fix myself a cup.

Renfield: That would be great. Thank you.

Molewitz: Chamomile or Earl Grey?

Renfield: Early Grey sounds good.

Molewitz: Two Earl Greys then. What can I help you with Mr. Renfield?

Renfield: It's Detective Renfield actually. Is there a Mr. Molewitz I could speak with as well?

Molewitz: Oh, no. Walt passed in the summer of oh eight. It's just me now.

Renfield: I'm sorry to hear that.

Molewitz: He was such a wonderful man-a doctor. You would have liked him. Everyone liked Walt.

Renfield: Doctors have such a noble profession. I actually wanted to ask you about your neighbors, the Ludaracs.

Molewitz: Oh, that poor family. It's a tragedy when someone that young is taken from us.

Renfield: You mean Lucy.

Molewitz: Yes. She was such a sweet girl. Did you know that when she was just a little thing, Walt and I used to babysit her so that Jon and Dana could have a night out? She was a joy. I don't think I ever heard that girl cry. I'm glad Walt never had to hear what happened to her.

Renfield: Did you follow the trial at all?

Molewitz: Oh, yes, of course. It left a sour taste in everyone-I-talked-to's mouth. I guess we'll never really know what happened that night.

Renfield: Did you notice any change in the Ludaracs after it was over?

Molewitz: When you've lived as long as I have, you learn some things about the world. One of the things that I've learned is that an event that [PAUSE] vicious, something that [PAUSE] evil changes people. There's no escaping it. That family went through hell, and that does things to a soul. Did they change? Of course they changed. How could they not? They lost a daughter and sister. Now, I've lost people in the seventy-eight years I've been riding around on this planet, but I've never lost anyone in that fashion. I think there are precious few people who can even imagine what that's like, much less go through it unchanged. And you know what? Those people who could go through that kind of horror and emerge unchanged, those people scare the hell out of me. What kind of person would you have to be to not let that affect you? Here's your tea.

Renfield: Thank you. Oh, this is good.

Molewitz: It's organic.

Renfield: It's delicious. Did you happen to notice any strange behavior on the night of October 6th?

Molewitz: No, I can't say that I did. What is this in regards to?

Renfield: There have been some incidents recently.

Molewitz: Oh lord, it's happening again, isn't it?

Renfield: What do you mean by that?

Molewitz: Something is going on in that house. I don't know what it is, but something is going on over there.

Renfield: Why do you say that?

Molewitz: Walt and I moved here in the spring of 1985. We used to live in New York, but just couldn't handle all that fast-paced, crowded downtown life. We came out here to get away from all that, well, madness. The Hady's lived next door then, a nice family, like the Ludarac's. There was Michelle and Harper; those were the parents, and Sarah and Leah were their two daughters. Well, Walt and I didn't make it as far away from madness as we thought. Six months after we moved in, Michelle had some sort of, I guess they called it a breakdown. She took an axe to Harper first, then the two girls.

Renfield: I've heard stories about the Hady case from some of the older guys on the force, gruesome stuff.

Molewitz: Yes, very unsettling. Naturally the house was put on the market, and I didn't think anything of it then. Do you recall 1998?

Renfield: What about 1998?

Molewitz: The incident over at Haven Park High?

Renfield: You mean the shooting?

Molewitz: Yes, that's right.

Renfield: What does that have to do with the Ludarac's house?

Molewitz: Guess where Jimmy Macklin lived. I don't want to add the Ludaracs to my list of infamous neighbors.

Renfield: I see. These are unrelated incidents as far as I'm concerned, but I must admit, that is certainly an odd coincidence.

Molewitz: I don't believe in coincidences-another thing you learn with age. It's not a coincidence. It's a fact. Before the Hady's, the Burton's lived there. Leonard Burton used a power sander to kill his dog before stabbing his son thirty-eight times. Before the Burton's, a man named Stanley Lincoln lived at 6336 Mallum. He tried to set St. Mark's church on fire. Before him, the Liefer sisters both committed suicide there. Before them, a dozen other atrocities happened in that house.

Renfield: You've done some research.

Molewitz: With Walt gone, I spend more time at the library. They have old local newspapers and public records. The tragedies are separated irregularly by time, but sooner or later every person that lives in that house meets a terrible end. Oh, would you like another cup?

Renfield: I'm alright, thank you. So you don't recall anything of interest occurring at the Ludarac's home recently?

Molewitz: You still don't understand, young man. You don't need to capture that family. You need to save them from whatever ghastly thing is being done to them in there. That house preys on perfection. It sucks families in and twists them into something disgusting.

Renfield: Am I to understand that you believe the Ludarac's home to be haunted?

Molewitz: Only schoolchildren believe in a silly thing like hauntings. Adults believe in what children fail to see behind ridiculous stories. Adults believe in evil.

Renfield: And you believe the house to be evil.

Molewitz: You think I'm a an old kook whose losing her mind, don't you?

Renfield: I think I can't arrest a house.

Molewitz: I guess I can't expect you to believe me. Your world is based in facts, you being a detective and all. I know what I've seen. I've watched families come and go out of that house and they all share a common trait when they leave-misery, real misery. They leave in tears and caskets. I know the feeling I get when I walk by that house. Have you ever felt like someone is watching you when no one is, Detective.

Renfield: I suppose.

Molewitz: Spend enough time outside that house and you'll feel something stronger than that, like someone is grabbing you when no one is. There's something bad in there, and whatever it is, it's miserable, and misery loves company, Detective. It doesn't want to be left alone.