The Unearthed: Book One, The Eddie McCloskey Series (7 page)

“Sorry.” He put his head down. He plopped down on the floor of the living room and played with his toy.

“Honey, why don’t you go upstairs and play your video games? I’ve got to talk to these men, okay?”

Billy looked up. “Okay. See ya,” he said to Eddie, waving before he ran off.

“How old is he?” Eddie asked.

“He’s just turned thirteen.”

“The dreaded teens,” he said. But when Eddie thought about it, he realized he’d misbehaved more after his teens.

Tim stepped back into the room. “Okay. Is there anything else you want to tell us?”

Talia sat back, leveled her eyes on Tim. “This is going to sound crazy. But I get this feeling of dread when I’m alone.”

“Dread?” Eddie asked.

“It’s a feeling, Like I’m not alone and …”

“And what?”

Her eyes darted. “I’ve heard noises from the bedroom. And I think … I think I’ve seen something. Someone.”

“You think?” Tim asked.

“It’s happened two or three times. But definitely someone. A woman in the living room … in there.”

She pointed.

“I try not to go in there anymore.”

“What does she look like?” Tim asked.

“I never get a good look and she vanishes quickly.”

“How do you know it’s a she?”

“She has long black hair. And the body of a woman.”

“When did this last happen?” Tim said.

“A month or two ago. It’s … it’s terrifying.” Her voice cracked. “I haven’t told anybody …”

“I can only imagine,” Eddie said.

Talia looked at Eddie gratefully.

“Is anyone else with you when you see this woman?” Tim asked.

She shook her head. “Do you think I’m imagining it?”

“Just a routine question we always ask.”

“I saw it with my own eyes.”

Eddie leaned forward. Damage control, as always. “We like to ask to see if people have different perceptions of the same event. That’s all.”

“I mean, here we are, asking for help and paying you this money … and then you call us liars?” Talia asked.

Tim sure did have a way with people.

“That is not our intention, Mrs. Rosselli,” Tim said. “We just have to be scientific about this. For your sake.”

Eddie asked, “What about the noises from the bedroom?”

Talia looked around, like she was checking for Billy. “Like someone having sex.”

Eddi
e
took a long drag on his cigarette, savoring the smoke. It settled him. He stared down the Rossellis’ driveway. Night had begun to fall. He watched as a breeze rustled the trees. In the distance he heard a dog bark.

The air around him changed. The hackles on his neck came to attention.

A cold sweat broke out on his back. Just the night air, he told himself.

He worked on the cigarette.

The air moved again. It smelled like a thunderstorm was lurking, the air charged. But there was not a cloud in the sky.

He figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask, so he did. “Is there anyone there?”

Nothing.

He finished his cigarette but remained where he was.

“Hello?”

Nothing.

He walked up the porch steps to the front door and opened it. He hesitated in the doorway, still feeling that tingling along the back of his neck. He looked out at the yard again.

He couldn’t see anything.

But he knew something was there.

* * * *

“We have good acoustics,” Stan explained to Tim. He’d found good vantage points for the cameras and digital recorders. “They’ve kept the hardwood in most places. That helps us. Carpet eats up sound.”

He and Tim stood on the back deck, looking out into the woods beyond. The sun had disappeared behind the tree line, leaving the backyard in twilight. Stan was smoking a cigarette. He’d quit a few times, but he couldn’t stay quit.

“The layout is conventional, we don’t have any obstructed cameras. We can work the setup around what they’re telling us. So that’s good,” Stan said.

Tim folded his arms. “We’re going to need more cameras.”

“Okay, Howard Hughes.”

Tim smiled. “We’ll definitely need one in the living room. I’d love to get a time lapse on the stained carpet too. The more we talk to these people, the more there is to know.”

“That’s two. We’ve got four total. Does that work?”

Tim thought about it. “Yeah.”

“Because if not, I know this guy that won the lottery.”

“Is he vertically challenged?”

“Yeah, but he gets more ass than a toilet seat. Now what about recorders?”

“There’s noise all over the house. Kitchen. Living room. Bedroom. And the son is talking to someone. We might need to use him to get some voice recordings. I’m thinking five will do it.”

“Five is what we got. And I’m assuming you and Eddie will want EMFs?”

“I don’t care what they say about you, you’re a smart guy.”

Stan smiled. “I don’t care what you say about me either. I’m heading home to see what I have for their phone. Make sure they don’t kill each other while I’m gone, or that Eddie doesn’t make a pass at Talia.”

“I’ll have better luck making sure they don’t kill each other.”

* * * *

“Hi, Talia,” Tim said. “Do you have a minute?”

He’d found her in the kitchen, hand-washing some pots. Tim knew he’d upset her during the interview. No way around that sometimes because he needed the best possible information. Still, he regretted upsetting her.

Talia folded her arms. “I’m sorry I got emotional.”

“I’m sorry. My brother is a much better people person than me.”

Talia smiled. “I spoke to Billy. He’d like to talk to Eddie.”

Eddie was good with people and especially children, but Tim wanted in on the conversation. “Great. I’ll be a fly on the wall then.”

They met Eddie in the foyer and Talia took them upstairs to Billy’s room. More family portraits on the walls, some of Billy in a soccer uniform that were a few years old.

Billy’s door was open. Tim heard a video game.

“…told you.”

Talia stopped in her tracks and looked at Eddie and Tim. The voice had been Billy’s, but as far as Tim knew there was nobody else in the room with him.

Talia knocked on Billy’s door, and the sound from the game cut off.

“Billy, Eddie and Tim are here to speak with you,” she said.

“Okay.”

Talia opened the door.

“Hey, Billy,” Eddie said.

Billy gave Eddie a curt nod and Tim a suspicious look. He was sitting in his game chair in front of the TV. Tim stopped in the doorway.

“Do you mind if my brother sits in here with us?” Eddie said. “His name’s Tim.”

Billy shrugged.

“Don’t worry, he looks mean but he’s really not,” Eddie said.

Billy took a long time to answer. “It’s cool.”

* * * *

Billy thought Eddie’s brother was fat and bald.

“Do you mind if I sit on your bed?” Eddie asked.

He shook his head and stayed in his gaming chair while Eddie took a seat. Everyone was watching him nervously. He didn’t like it and glued his eyes to the TV.

Eddie asked, “Do you mind if we tape this?”

“Why?” He hit a button on his controller, and his video game came back to life.

“We’re collecting a lot of information, and we’ll have to review everything over the next few days. We might not be able to remember everything you say.”

He really didn’t want them to, but it sounded important. “If you promise not to put it on the internet, it’s okay.”

“The internet?”

“I don’t want anybody to know you were here. They’ll …” He dropped his voice so only Eddie could hear. “ … make fun of me.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Eddie said.

He looked over at Tim, prompting him. Tim caught the gesture.

“This won’t be anywhere near the internet, Billy. We promise.”

Billy didn’t trust Tim. He looked at Eddie.

“He’s right,” Eddie said.

“Okay.”

“Billy, you need to turn off your video game,” Mom said.

He did.

“Did your parents tell you why we were here?” Eddie asked.

“Yes.”

“And do you know why we need to talk to you?”

“You want to know if I’m a weirdo or not.”

Eddie chuckled. “No, that’s not it at all. We think there’s a lot of strange things going on here and we want to help you and your parents.”

“Can I ask a question?”

“Sure.”

He waved Eddie over.

Eddie sat cross-legged on the floor next to him.

Billy dropped his voice so nobody else could hear. “Am I a fag if I look at girls’ butts?”

“Huh?” Eddie asked.

Billy stayed there, waiting for an answer.

Eddie half laughed. “No. The operative word in that sentence is girls.”

“You sure?”

“Trust me. I’m sure.”

“Okay. I just got afraid because I didn’t know if other guys did that. I thought I was weird or something.”

“You’d be weird if you didn’t.” Eddie smiled.

Relief washed over Billy’s face. Eddie stayed where he was on the floor.

“Billy, can you tell us about your friend?” Eddie said. “What’s he like?”

Billy wondered how much to share, with It listening to his every word. “He’s invisible. But I know when he’s around.”

“How do you know?”

“I can feel him.”

“What’s the feeling like?”

“Static cling.”

“Is he around now?”

These guys are assholes, especially Eddie
, It said.

Billy liked Eddie but still found the joke funny. He fought a grin, was only half-successful.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Eddie smiled. “How long have you two been speaking?”

“Since like after we moved here.”

“And do you talk every day?”

He makes it sound like we’re gay.

Billy chuckled again.

“What do you talk about?”

“Like normal stuff.”

“Like what?” Eddie asked.

“About school, about me getting picked on.”

“Is that all?”

Don’t tell this guy anything. You can’t trust him.

It was acting strange. Almost like It was afraid, but Eddie wasn’t being mean or anything. “He teaches me to draw. Wanna see?”

“That’d be great,” Eddie said.

Billy went to his desk and opened the top drawer. He pulled out a large sketch pad and opened it a few pages in. Eddie came alongside him.

“I’m not that good,” he said. “But I’m getting better.”

Eddie examined the first drawing, a picture of the house.

“That’s great, Billy, you’ve given it a lot of depth.”

Billy couldn’t tell if Eddie was just being nice. Grown-ups were supposed to tell kids nice things when they showed off.

“It’s the vanishing points.” Billy pointed to the corners of the drawing, to the imaginary horizon. “It showed me that. He said I should be artistic since I couldn’t play sports.”

“Why artistic?”

“So I could get girls.”

Eddie laughed. “You don’t have to worry about girls. You’re a good-looking guy.”

I think this guy’s a fag too.

“What else did he help you draw?” Eddie asked.

“Just more houses.” Billy flipped through the pages. He’d never counted before but he must have had thirty drawings alone of their house. He stopped halfway through. “It’s just a lot of houses.”

Eddie smiled encouragingly.

Billy said, “The voice tells me I should be an architect. He says his name’s Billy too.”

Eddie pointed at the sketch pad. “How long have you been drawing now?”

“Since we moved in.”

“You’ve gotten better. I can definitely tell.”

Eddie sounded sincere. Billy smiled.

Tim went back to the bean bag in the corner. Billy closed the sketch book.

“So you use charcoals,” Eddie said. “Do you use anything else?”

“Dad told me to start with these and see if I liked it. Before he spent all this money on art stuff, ya know.”

This guy asks too many questions.

“So what else do you guys talk about?” Eddie asked.

“Stuff.”

“Has he ever told you to do anything you felt you shouldn’t?”

Billy decided to lie. “No.”

“Did he tell you to beat up that kid at school?”

Billy lowered his head. “He’s my friend. He doesn’t want me getting picked on.”

“I’m sure he doesn’t,” Eddie said. “Has he ever told you to hurt anybody?”

Eyes on the floor, Billy shook his head no.

“Are you sure?” Eddie asked.

Billy nodded.

“Aside from Billy, have you heard any noises around the house? Weird noises?”

He perked up. “That dripping noise in the basement.”

“What dripping noise?”

“I don’t know. There’s a noise but I can’t find the drip. I turned all the lights on and went down with my Mom and a flashlight but we couldn’t find it.”

“Does it happen the whole time you’re in the basement?”

“Yeah. Dad tells me to ignore it. He says it’s a pipe or something.”

“Could you take us downstairs and show us where you think the noise is coming from?” Eddie asked.

“Now?”

“We can do it tomorrow if you’d like.”

“Okay,” Billy said. He didn’t feel much like going to the basement now that it was nighttime.

Tell them not to come back. Ever.

* * * *

Tim watched Stan setting up the recording device on the phone in the kitchen. He felt they’d made a lot of headway. Tomorrow they’d meet with Evan Ronan and get more information before they went dark. So far, so good.

Talia came into the kitchen and Stan pointed at the device.

“Okay, fairly self-explanatory here. It turns on automatically when you answer the phone.” He pointed to a button next to the digital display. “If you want to switch it off, just hit STOP. If you want it to come back on, just hit—”

“RECORD, got it.” She gave him a smile before facing Tim. “How’s Billy?”

“Very helpful. He told us about the dripping too.”

She grimaced. “Jackie’s going to order some takeout. Are you fellas hungry?”

“Thanks,” Tim said. “But I’m meeting someone for dinner.”

“I have a little more work to do,” Stan said. “That’d be great.”

“I’ll see if Eddie’s interested,” Tim said. “Be right back.”

“Tell him I’ll give him a lift home,” Stan said.

Tim found Eddie standing on the walk leading up to the porch. “What did you think of Billy?”

“Good kid.”

“Did you get the feeling someone else was in the room?” Tim asked.

He was still skeptical about the whole thing. Could have been Billy’s way of getting attention. Plus, why would the spirit manifest to him and him alone? Why could nobody else hear it?