The Hysteria: Book 4, The Eddie McCloskey Paranormal Mystery Series (The Unearthed) Read Online Free

lush.
    “That was Melanie.” He sipped his G and T, then seemed to remember he was dressed like Jeeves. “I have a function this evening. Last minute. I’m more or less a figurehead at the firm anymore, but they still need me to attend these things.”
    “What’s on the schedule tonight?” With a daughter missing, I wondered what could be so important. But maybe he needed something to keep his mind off the troubles.
    “I won’t bore you with the details of local politics,” he said. “But I keep a pulse on all things I can. My firm employs a lot of people around here, so naturally I have to keep up appearances.”
    I waited for him to say more but he didn’t.
    I said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t recognize you from your picture online.”
    No hard feelings there. “Old picture. I have aged a lot in the last few years.”
    So had his middle daughter. “You’ve had a rough go of it.”
    “Strongbow must have told you about my wife. And now Megan and Melanie.”
    I didn’t want to get the local guy in trouble after he’d fed me some info. “He only told me that Mrs. Turner had passed after I prodded him.”
    He nodded and got a faraway look in his eyes.
    I said, “Now what’s this about Melanie?”
    “It’s Megan that’s missing.”
    “I know, but you just said and Melanie .”
    “Yes.” He squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his forehead as if to smooth it. “Dear Lord, I don’t even know where to begin.”
    I’d already taken out my notepad. “Just start talking. It’ll all come out. If it doesn’t I’ll ask questions.”
    “Before Megan disappeared, do you know what she was doing?”
    Then I put it together. “She was fainting.”

Five
     
    Turner said, “And not acting herself.”
    “That’s why you think she was possessed?”
    “She was possessed, Eddie. Or she suddenly developed a second distinct personality.”
    False choice, but I didn’t call him on it. The client is always right. Until you can show them they’re indisputably wrong.
    “Tell me about her. Strongbow said she’s very career-oriented.”
    “Very. She works for the government in some capacity.”
    That was vaguer than tea leaves. “That’s all you know?”
    “Yes.”
    He obviously had his own theories. This was a test of sorts. He wanted to see how my mind worked.
    I didn’t like tests. But I also didn’t like not doing a good job.
    “She has some kind of security clearance then, otherwise she would have been able to share her work with you.”
    “My thoughts too.”
    “Has to be federal.”
    He nodded.
    “DC?”
    “She has an apartment there but she’s away for long stretches. She’s probably spent as much time here in the last few years as she has there.”
    “She came back here recently?”
    He sipped his G and T. “About a month ago. She said she’d taken a sabbatical. Obviously I have the room for her.”
    I laughed. “Mind if I move in too? You’d never see me, I swear.”
    He smiled but made no offers. Damn.
    “How does it usually work? When she goes back to DC or goes away for a stretch?” I asked.
    “She always tells me. There are no details, but she always tells me.”
    “And this time?”
    “This time, nothing. I went to bed one evening and the next morning she was gone. All her things are still in her room.”
    “Car?”
    “Her car is still here.”
    “She say anything the night before she left?”
    “No.” He folded his arms. “She usually sends me a code through email when she’s going to be away. She didn’t this time.”
    “What’s the code?”
    “A blank email with nothing in the subject line.”
    “That’s it?”
    “That’s it.”
    “What was her degree in?”
    The change in gears tripped him up. “…Psychology.”
    “She speak any foreign languages?”
    I could see him thinking really hard about it. “She took French in high school.”
    Not exactly a resume that would attract the eyes of Homeland, the CIA, or any of the other intel agencies. Not that I was