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

for a bit of flattery. “I saw the family portraits in the hallway. Your daughters are all beautiful women.”
    One corner of his mouth smiled. That was all.
    “Megan has maintained several of her friendships from high school. Several of her visitors fall into that category. There was also a new man, whom I’d never met before.”
    “I’ll need all the info, but who was this new guy?”
    “His name was Anthony Bostwick. Early thirties, not a hair out of place, always well-dressed.”
    “Who was he?”
    “He worked for a software firm in the city. They’d met on one of those professionals-only dating sites, according to her.”
    “But?”
    He grimaced like he was about to say something distasteful. “Megan has never lied to me in her life. Not even in high school when you’d have expected her to. When I caught her behaving inappropriately, she always owned up to it and took her punishment. We’ve never kept anything from each other, with the exception of her work. But, there was something about that man.”
    “What?”
    “I couldn’t put my finger on it. He didn’t act like any software designers I’d ever met. I don’t know. I have a lot of connections locally and statewide. I put the feelers out and not much came back on him. Just his name and business.”
    “How long were they dating?”
    “I don’t know. I don’t know if it started before she came back or if they met a month ago when she got back. But I saw him, five or six times.”
    I thought it all over. I had three pages of shorthand. I’d make sense of them later.
    “Mr. Turner, I’m still confused that you asked me to find Megan. This isn’t what I do.”
    “Are you refusing?”
    The way he said it made it sound like he’d never been refused anything in his life.
    “Not yet. I’m just trying to understand the thought process here.”
    “If it’s money, I can—”
    I held up a palm. “This isn’t about money. This is about me making sure I can be of service. You see, in the last few years, I grew this thing called a conscience.”
    He put his drink down and wiped his palms on the bar towel. “Come with me.”
    ***
    We passed the chair he’d deposited Melanie in. It was empty. But I could still smell her perfume.
    He led me down the hallway Strongbow had taken. We took stairs up to a second story. We rounded a corner and there were a row of bedrooms. Megan’s was the last. He opened the door.
    “After you.”
    I didn’t know what I was going to find in there but I hoped it wasn’t sex toys. Awkward .
    Megan had a four-poster bed that looked like it had never been slept in. Heavy drapes over the windows. Her own bathroom. A dresser, a bureau, a walk-in closet. Nothing jumped out at me as weird.
    Then I took note of her bookshelves.
    Not only was she a big reader like me, she shared my eclectic interests. Various tomes on the paranormal, including the classics and some new ones I’d heard of but hadn’t gotten to yet.
    Then I saw it.
    A copy of The Unearthed , non-fiction book co-starring Yours Truly. I picked it up.
    “She kept tabs on you,” Turner said.
    “Me?”
    He nodded. “It’s why I called you.”
    I said nothing and went back to looking at her collection. Many texts on psychology and paranormal psychology. The DSM-IV got its own shelf. Some medical texts too, like Gray’s Anatomy and Rosen’s Emergency Medicine. There were two books on remote viewing too.
    Turner’s voice almost made me jump. “She was very interested in your field, Eddie. And she always maintained that this house was haunted.”
    Ghosts didn’t kidnap people, though. Nothing in it for them. “What else did she say, about the haunting?”
    Turner stepped into the room. He went to her bed and carefully touched one of the posters like it was an exhibit in a museum.
    “That it was a benevolent spirit. She referred to it as…residing?”
    “Residual.”
    “That’s it. Though she later started to believe it was intelligent.”
    “You think