The Unearthed: Book One, The Eddie McCloskey Series (6 page)

“That’d be great,” Tim said.

With much exertion, Mrs. Dilworth got out of her chair. Her first steps looked painful. Tim watched her leave the parlor before speaking to Moira.

“You look alright after last night’s barrage.”

Moira made a face and put a hand on her stomach. “Why do I still think I’m in college?”

“You’re telling me.”

“Evan’s never come to my branch as long as I’ve been working there.”

“I think he’s married, M.”

She swatted his shoulder. “Not what I meant. You figure he’d promote his books locally, right?”

“It’s been a couple years since they put one out, I think. Either way, you’ll always have Stan.”

“Excuse me?”

She was a good actress but not that good. “Hey, you can tell me. He’s a good guy and would make a good boyfriend.”

He figured she wouldn’t admit to liking Stan because of her history with Eddie.

She hesitated. “He is a nice guy.”

“And he’s got a lot of money.”

“Right, because I’m that shallow.”

“Just saying.”

“Okay, fine. He’s a great guy and I wish he’d ask me out. But then, there’s Eddie …”

“Look, he’s my brother and I love him to death. But he had his chance with you and he blew it. I mean …” Tim realized too late he had crossed a line. All the same, he didn’t want Moira to miss out on something with Stan because she was worried about hurting Eddie’s feelings. “... Don’t tell him I said any of this, okay?”

“I won’t.”

“Deep down, I know Eddie would just want you to be happy.”

“How’s he doing, anyway? Has he …”

“Eddie’s Eddie,” Tim said. “He does what he does.”

He did a lot of things.

Mrs. Dilworth reentered the parlor, her step not as pained. “Evan’s anxious to meet you. He’s on the phone in the kitchen.”

* * * *

When they got outside to Moira’s car, Tim said, “What do you think?”

“Bully older brother. Wife having an affair. Husband workaholic.”

“Yeah, pretty bad.”

“Or, typical suburbia.”

Tim laughed. “You’ve been reading too many literary novels.”

“And you haven’t been reading enough.”

“Got me there.”

She smiled. “So I’ll start working up the house tomorrow then.”

“Yes. I don’t want to assume anything, especially if these are residual hauntings. Look into the previous owners.”

“Will do. You off now?”

“Eddie and I are meeting the wife and son.”

“Good luck. And Tim?”

“Yeah.”

“Thanks.” She didn’t tell him what for. He got it. Even though she didn’t need it, she felt better having Tim’s approval to date Stan.

Thirt
y
minutes in to her workout on the elliptical, Talia heard a noise in the basement.

The machine was loud so she slowed and listened.

Drip
.

She jumped off the elliptical. The noise sounded like it had been right next to her.

She examined the rug next to the machine. There were no wet spots. Suddenly, the sweat on her body turned very cold.

Drip
.

Talia followed the noise. It had been in front of her this time. She inched forward, one foot in front of the other.

Drip
.

She’d heard the noise before and figured some water was hitting a pipe in one of the walls above. Today was different, though. The drip was loud, like it was striking the floor or something solid in the basement.

Drip
.

She shivered.

She studied the basement ceiling. It was the underside of the hardwood floor. The wood was dark. It had never been finished.

Drip
.

She couldn’t see any water marks on the wood above her. Or on the basement rug. She checked the bar, the TV, the few pieces of furniture they had down there. Nothing.

Drip
.

She looked up again. Her heart thundered in her chest now and she was shivering. It was so cold down here. She should have been heated up from exercising—

Drip
.

She stopped. The noise had come from directly above, she was sure of it. She tilted her head back and gasped.

She stood under the threshold separating the kitchen from the dining room.

She stood under the stain.

It had started to blossom on the underside of the hardwood. But she saw no water marks on the ceiling or the floor underneath.

She waited for what seemed like minutes there. There were no more drips.

Her hands were shaking. The longer she stayed still, the more anxious she became. Some force she couldn’t explain pressed on her.

Drip
.

A drop of liquid hit her forehead and Talia fell backward. She landed on her ass and swiped at her head. Her fingers were wet.

When she looked at them, she realized it wasn’t water.

It was blood.

* * * *

Talia scrubbed her entire body in the shower till she was raw.

* * * *

Talia was in the kitchen, her head in the fridge, trying to figure out dinner.

“Mom.”

She screamed and jerked out of the fridge. “Jesus, you scared me.”

Billy watched her with nervous eyes. “What are you doing? Are you okay?”

She’d picked him up after the call from the Principal. She’d heard all about his confrontation with that Kenner kid. About how Billy had kept kicking him after he was down. The Principal had tried giving her a stern talking to, but she wouldn’t have it. Sure, Billy overreacted, but where the hell were the monitors while Kenner was humiliating Billy? Where had anybody been the last couple weeks while Kenner had bullied her son?

“Sorry, I just …” She didn’t know what to say.

Billy waited for a moment, then went to the living room.

She followed him. “So these men are coming over today to help us out.”

Billy kept his eyes on the TV. “I know. Ryan Kenner told me all about it.”

“I’m sorry about that.” She cursed Kenner and all the gossiping assholes in Town.

“They’re coming to help us.”

“Are they going to ask me questions?”

“Yes.”

“Will they ask me about today?”

“I don’t see why they would. But what I want to say is this—make sure you tell them the truth. Even if there are things you haven’t told me or your father, you should tell them. Everything. The more they know, the better they’ll be able to help us.”

“Will you be there when they’re talking to me?”

“That’s up to you, honey. Either way just make sure you tell them everything.”

“Are they going to ask me about you know who?”

“Yes.”

He seemed to be deep in thought and not wanting to talk, so she turned to leave.

“Mom?”

“Yes, dear?”

“Do you think I’m crazy?”

She sat next to him on the couch. She squeezed his shoulders. “No, Billy. You are not crazy. Don’t ever feel that way. Okay?”

He nodded, tentatively.

“You know, sometimes we need to talk to someone. I had to before, when I wasn’t feeling very well. It made a world of difference. You might be able to tell this person things you don’t feel you can tell us.”

“You mean, like a shrink?”

She chuckled. “Yes.”

“You talked to one before?”

“I did.”

“About what?” he asked. “When?”

“I was having a difficult time with some things. It’s not important. What’s important right now is you. I want to make sure you’re happy.”

“Do you want me to talk to a shrink?”

“I think it would do you good.”

“The kids at school are going to make fun of me for it.”

“They won’t even know about it. No one has to know except the three of us.”

“Just like they didn’t about the ghost hunters?”

Ti
m
pulled into the Rosselli’s driveway and saw Stan and Eddie getting out of Stan’s Mercedes SUV. Stan was dressed professionally in khakis and a blue button down shirt.

Eddie looked like he’d slept in his t-shirt and jeans.

Tim got out of the van. “Hey, fellas.”

“Get any juice?” Stan asked.

“Some good stuff.” It was a good beginning to the investigation. Mrs. Dilworth’s insider information made the Moriartys seem less a news story and more a real family.

“You guys ready?” Tim asked.

“Let me catch a smoke,” Eddie said. “Stan wouldn’t let me in his drug dealer hoopty.”

The front door of the house opened and Jackie stepped onto the porch. “How are you guys?”

Tim introduced Stan. “He’s our technical specialist. While we’re speaking with your wife and son, Stan will detail the house to see where we can set up our equipment.”

“Let’s get started then,” Jackie said. “I have the signed contract and waiver for you.”

Tim waved at Eddie to hurry up. His brother stamped out his cigarette in the driveway and came over.

Before they went inside, Jackie lowered his voice. “Listen, my son was in a fight at school today. Some bully picking on him. In case he seems out of it, I just wanted you to know why.”

Tim said, “I hope he’s okay?”

“He is.”

“I hope he put the guy in his place,” Eddie said.

“And then some.”

* * * *

Eddie was taken aback by Talia Rosselli when he saw her in the dining room. He’d seen her in family portraits yesterday but everybody can be made to look good in professional photos. The living, breathing Talia, despite having twenty years on him, was a total babe. She sat with her legs crossed and hands folded in her lap. She was wearing a cream colored blouse and off-white capris. Her jet black hair was pinned back in a short ponytail.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Tim said.

“Likewise,” she said. “Thank you for setting all this up on such short notice.”

“It’s no bother,” Tim said.

“It’s what we do,” Eddie said.

Talia smiled pleasantly at both of them. Eddie placed the recorder on the table.

Tim gave Talia the same instructions he’d given Jackie the day before. She took everything Tim told her very seriously.

“Let’s start with what you’ve experienced,” Tim said.

“I hope you don’t have any other appointments today.” She laughed. “There’s a drip in the basement.”

“A drip?”

She nodded. “I hear it when I’m down there … I heard it today and …”

She was tearing up. Eddie wanted to reach across the table and take her hand. But Tim would have disapproved.

“What happened?” Tim said.

“I always thought it was something in the pipes overhead but today it was really loud. So I tried to find it.”

“Did you?”

She nodded. “It was coming from under the stain behind you.”

Eddie looked over his shoulder. In a day the stain had noticeably grown.

“How do you know?” Tim asked.

“Because it dripped right on my forehead.”

“Water?”

She shook her head. She was unable to speak.

“What?”

“Blood.”

“Blood?”

“Yes.”

“Is it still down there?” Eddie asked.

“I didn’t see it on the floor and … I just had to get out of there.”

“Okay, Talia. We’re going stop for a moment because I don’t want any evidence to disappear.” Tim stood. “Eddie will stay here.”

Tim hurried out of the room.

Talia didn’t know what to do with her hands. She kept putting them on the table, folding them, unfolding them.

“Everything will be okay,” Eddie said. He wasn’t supposed to say things like that but Tim wasn’t around to catch him.

“Can I get you anything?” she said.

“I’d love a glass of water.”

She went into the kitchen. She poured him a glass and came back to the dining room. “Here you go.”

“Thanks.” He gulped the water down.

“Thirsty?”

“That’s what a night of heavy drinking will do to you.” And when she chuckled, he added, “I guess I shouldn’t have told you that. Please don’t tell my brother.”

“I won’t talk. But what are you going to do for me in return?”

“We’re going to find out what’s going on in your house,” Eddie said, smirking.

“You were already going to do that. What else are you going to do?”

Eddie looked at her and wondered whether she was implying what he thought she was implying. Her face remained inscrutable—just the hint of a smile. She was looking better by the minute. Eddie’s eyes strayed down her neckline, but he stopped them before they reached inappropriate.

“How old are you?” she asked, as if she had read his mind.

“Twenty-eight. Why do you ask?”

“You remind me of my brother. You look like him.”

Eddie relaxed a little bit. What an idiot he’d been to think that a married client, nearly twenty years his elder, would come on to him. It was good she wasn’t interested. Because chances were he’d do something incredibly stupid.

Tim came back and sat down. “Okay, let’s continue.”

“Hold on a minute.” Talia sat up. “Did you see anything?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t.”

“Did you look where I told you?”

Tim nodded. “Let’s talk about some of the other things you’ve experienced.”

“What are you going to do about the drip?”

“We’re going to set up a camera in the basement.”

“We’ll follow up on the basement,” Eddie said. “But for now we have to get everything on the record.”

“Okay.” Talia’s face softened. “First, the phone. It rings randomly. Once or twice, then it cuts off.”

“Are there any particular times that it rings?”

“More during the day. Very occasionally at night.”

“So mostly when you’re home?” Tim asked.

Talia nodded. She seemed grateful for their help, but also embarrassed.

“When did it start?” Tim asked.

“As soon as the phone company switched the line on.”

“Have you called them about it?”

“Yes—”

Eddie said, “Did you have them turn the phone back on? Or did you get a new number altogether?”

“New number. We didn’t want the same number as … you know, in case there were calls.”

“Good idea.”

Tim said, “What did the phone company tell you?”

“They don’t know what it is. It could be some jackass using a device to fool the caller ID. They say there’s nothing they can do about it.”

“Did you request your phone records?” Tim asked.

“I did, but they don’t give those out unless they’ve received a subpoena.”

“That’s stupid,” Eddie said. “Your phone, and you can’t even see your own records.”

“I was pretty ticked off by it.” She smiled at Eddie, warm and genuine.

Talia held his gaze for an extra moment.

Tim asked, “Have you ever answered it before it cut off?”

“Yes. It started to annoy me, so I sat next to the phone one day and caught it. There was nobody on the other end.”

Eddie turned to look at Tim and saw him put a question mark next to the phrase “crank caller” on his legal pad. Tim had his poker face on.

“Did you do this more than once?” Tim asked.

“Yes. There was never anyone on the line, though.”

“And it always comes back as No Number?” Tim asked.

“Yes. It did last night.”

“It happened last night?”

“Yes.”

“What time?”

“Before dinner. Around six-thirty.”

“One ring or two?” Tim asked.

“Two.”

“What were you doing at the time?”

Talia looked somewhat confused by the question.

“Nothing. We were in the kitchen. I was making dinner.”

Eddie heard the scratch of Tim’s pen on his legal pad. Talia folded her arms.

“Is your number listed?” Eddie asked.

“No.”

Tim said, “We’d like to set up a recorder on your phone. Is that okay with you?”

“I don’t know what good it will do. There’s never anyone on the line.”

“Have you ever heard of EVP?” Tim asked.

“What’s that?”

“They made a movie about it a few years back, with that guy… He was the first Batman—” Eddie was saying.

“Electronic voice phenomenon,” Tim interrupted. “Sometimes spirits talk to us but we can’t hear them. Sometimes their voices are captured electronically. The recorder might pick something up.”

Talia shivered. “Okay.”

Eddie assured her, “You’ll have total control. You can switch it on and off.”

She nodded but didn’t look happy. What had been a potential technical problem with the phone company had become terrifying calls from the great beyond.

Tim said, “What else have you experienced?”

Talia’s eyes drifted over Eddie’s shoulder. “There are noises in the kitchen. It’s almost like … something is dragging across the floor.”

Eddie asked, “Something heavy, something light?”

“Heavy.”

Eddie caught himself staring at her mouth. What was it about her? She had twenty years on him. Maybe it was just because he hadn’t been with anybody in a month. That was eons for him.

“Is there any place on the floor in the kitchen where you think the sound is coming from?”

“It’s like something’s being dragged from the middle of the room toward this room,” she said.

“How long does the sound last?”

“Not long. Maybe a few seconds.”

“Is it loud?” Tim asked.

“It’s noticeable.”

“How many times has it happened?” Eddie asked.

Talia’s eyes wandered upward. “A lot.”

“Once a week, once a month?” Tim asked.

“Somewhere in between.”

“Does it happen at any particular time?”

She thought about that a moment. “Usually at night.”

“Do you do anything that sets it off? Have you tried to cause the noise?” Eddie asked.

“I’m not trying to set it off … it’s unnerving.” She put on a brave face and smiled.

Eddie scribbled a note: Kitchen sounds—position of bodies.

“When was the last time it happened?” Tim asked.

“It’s been a week or so.”

Tim scratched his head. “Let’s take a short break. I’ll talk to Stan about the phone recorder and the drip downstairs.”

They sat in silence for a moment.

Eddie said, “We believe you about the basement.”

She said nothing.

“We just have to be scientific about it.”

She pursed her lips.

Time to lighten the mood. “So your brother, he must be a good-looking guy.”

She laughed. “Oh, yes. Very.”

They held each other’s gaze. Was she—

Billy Rosselli appeared in the adjoining living room. Eddie had met him a few minutes before they started interviewing Talia. Billy was carrying an action figure in his hand. He had a black eye that looked fresh.

“Hey, Mom.”

“Hey you.”

Billy didn’t say anything to Eddie.

“I heard you were in a scuffle today,” Eddie said.

Billy shrugged.

“I heard you beat up a bully,” Eddie said, grinning. He could remember being bullied in school, when he was eight or nine. The guy was one grade ahead and two years older. He’d chased Eddie all the way home from the playground. Eddie had just barely gotten the front door closed. Nobody had been home, except Tim. Eddie for once was grateful to see his brother. Tim had looked out the window to see what was going on, gave Eddie one look, and without explanation had forced Eddie back outside, onto the porch, to confront the kid.

Eddie and the kid fought mostly to a draw, till Tim came back out and broke it up. At first Eddie had been pissed at Tim but years later he was grateful Tim had done it. He’d never since experienced paralyzing fear when it came to a fistfight. Sure, he still got the butterflies but he knew he could handle himself in a storm.

Billy cracked a smile. “Yeah, it felt good, too.”

“Billy …” Talia said with obvious disapproval.

“Sorry, Mom. But he had it coming.”

Billy sounded like he was trying to act tough.

“William Rosselli,” Talia said. “That’s enough. You’d better behave, young man. I don’t want to hear any more of that talk.”