The Unearthed: Book One, The Eddie McCloskey Series (16 page)

“All right,” Tim said. “Charlie, back us up. If you hear anything and think you need to act, come on in. But just make sure you let us know you’re coming in.”

Charlie nodded.

“Here we go.”

* * * *

Talia followed Eddie, Stan and Tim into the foyer. It was strange with all the lights out. It reminded her of coming home from a long vacation. Things looked different in the dark, too. It was almost as if she were seeing her house with fresh eyes.

She felt very out of place.

Eddie was directly in front of her. His camera light beamed onto Stan and Tim. She shut the door behind her and left it unlocked. Just in case Charlie needed to get in fast.

“It is eleven-eighteen PM, October the ninth,” Tim said into his digital recorder.

The ninth. Talia suddenly remembered what she’d been planning to tell Jackie. When she’d realized it, she’d figured it was nothing. But now?

In the last twenty-four hours she’d experienced things in this house she’d never thought possible. Her son was talking to someone, and he’d never done that before. Ever. And now he was missing.

It would be the tenth in forty minutes. And the tenth marked the three-year anniversary of the Massacre. Hadn’t Tim said that Eamon Moriarty used to run away? She wondered whether he had run away the day before, or the day of, the massacre.

It couldn’t be a coincidence.

She heard Tim saying, “We are moving through the Rosselli house. Eddie, Stan, Talia and myself are present. The entrances and windows have been secured; the front door is being watched by local law enforcement. There is no one else living in this house.

“We are currently in the foyer and will begin by trying to reproduce the phenomena described to us by the Rossellis. First, we are moving into the kitchen. Do we have any readings yet?”

Talia peered ahead and watched Eddie. He kept the digital camera trained in front of him while checking the small black box in his other hand. “Negative.”

Stan did much the same thing with whatever he was holding. None of the lights on his meter were on.

Tim said, “Talia, what’s the temperature at baseline?”

It was a little cold in there. Talia fumbled with the thermometer. “It’s sixty-eight right now.”

“Okay. Let’s move into the kitchen.”

* * * *

Billy sat perched in a tree, a hundred yards deep in the woods behind his house. He figured he’d be safer in an elevated position, as opposed to being on the ground, in case anyone or anything was walking around.

He kept hearing spooky noises, the rustle of leaves, the breeze sweeping through the branches. It sounded like someone was constantly approaching. The darkness around him deepened as more clouds rolled in and veiled the moon.

And all the lights in the house were out. He didn’t know if the investigators had done that or if something was wrong.

He knew It was here. For once, he was grateful for the company and didn’t feel so alone. When he’d run out of the house, he hadn’t figured on having to sleep in the woods overnight. It was pretty creepy.

“What are they doing?” Billy said.

Looking for me.

“Why?”

They think I’m bad.

“This is all wrong. Dad’s not going to be scared. He’s just going to be more pissed.”

Then stand up to him. Be a man.

“I … will.”

Did you do it?

“Yeah.”

What did it look like?

“Like a skeleton. All rotty.”

Did it still have its hair?

He hadn’t spent much time examining it. He’d been too scared of getting caught. When the job was done, he’d climbed out of the grave and scrambled into the woods. It had told him that the unearthing of the grave would scare his Dad into thinking William was trying to return.

“Dude, I didn’t stay and look at it. I had to get out of there before I got caught.”

There were people around but they didn’t see you digging up a grave?

“No. I mean, yes. I was being careful and taking my time.”

You’re fucking lying.

“I’m not.”

Did it still have hair?

“Dude, I can’t remember.”

But you had to see the head. Or did you crack open the wrong side?

“No, dude. I’m telling you I saw the head.”

But you have no idea whether there was hair?

“It was getting dark, I couldn’t see. You know.”

You didn’t even fucking do it.

“No, I told you, I—” Billy got angry. He’d done what It had told him to. He’d found and dug up William’s grave and opened the coffin. Nobody else would have done that. And why would he check to see if it had hair still?

You fucking pussy.

“I am not. Shut up.”

I guess I gotta do everything myself, because you’re a bitch.

“What—what do you mean?”

You were supposed to scare them. So that Jackie would listen to you. Dads never listen. And so that your Mom would treat you better.

“Mom treats me great. What’re you talkin’ about?” It wasn’t making any sense now.

Now I have to do everything.

“Wait—” By the time he’d said it, the air around him had changed. The coldness evaporated, and the sounds of the night returned to life. It had left.

What had he done?

Billy stood up on the limb he’d been sitting on, taking hold of a branch at chest level. Straining his eyes, he saw a vague outline of the house beginning to take shape in the darkness. He had to warn them that something was going to happen.

But then he remembered being in the basement with Dad. Dad had been getting rough with him; Dad had made him feel like a wimp. Mom always understood what he was going through. Mom always understood how he was feeling.

No, he wouldn’t feel guilty. He would not feel guilty. It was time Dad listened to him and stopped pushing him around. It was time Dad felt fear and remembered what it was like to be a kid.

Eddi
e
could feel Talia right behind him, probably scared out of her mind.

“We are in the kitchen,” Tim said.

Eddie panned the camera in a slow 360-degree circle, making sure to get all the angles of the kitchen. It was important to have a visual record of everything. Later, when they scrubbed the data, they might spot something they’d missed during the investigation. Maybe a picture or a lamp or a knife would move, and the camera would pick it up. Eddie was glad he didn’t usually do the data scrubbing though, as it was a mind-numbing job that too often yielded zero results.

“Is there anyone here?” Tim asked the room. Anal as he was, Tim was good at this. He was probably overly methodical and too slow, but he never missed anything.

Tim was saying, “If there is anyone here, you can talk to me. If I can’t hear you, hopefully this microphone will pick up what you’re saying.” He waved the mike. “Talia, what do you have?”

“It’s seventy in here.”

He caught her eye, bobbing his head to ask if she wanted to move in front of him. Grateful, she stepped forward and stood in the middle of the group.

“Is there anyone here?” Tim asked again. “If you are here, this is your chance to talk to us.”

Tim waited.

“Anything?”

The needle on the EMF detector in Eddie’s hand flickered. “I’m moving from zero to just under one mG right now.” He held out the EMF and moved it left to right, then up and down, making the sign of the cross. EMFs were tricky. A reading anywhere between two and twenty milliGlausses could indicate the presence of something. A sudden spike might also indicate a presence, and a sudden drop could mean that something was drawing from the energy around it in an attempt to manifest itself. All he could really do was keep an eye on the needle and wait for something strange.

“No hits for me,” Stan reported. He started moving around the kitchen slowly, keeping the K-2 in front of him, away from his body.

“If you can, move in front of Stan or Eddie to let us know you’re here,” Tim said.

Eddie stayed put, and Stan stopped moving and waited.

“If you move in front of them, you will set off their equipment, and we’ll know you’re here,” Tim said. “We just want to talk.”

“Nothing,” Eddie reported.

Then, Stan: “Nada.”

Tim asked, “Can you make a noise for us?”

A sound, barely audible, came from the floor near the kitchen table. They waited. Eddie felt his heartbeat ramp up. They were onto something already! Normally, it took a few hours of investigating before anything turned up. He’d known it all along—this one was going to be different.

“Can you do that again?”

The noise started once more, this time a little louder, and it continued for a few seconds. Stan kneeled and put the K-2 near where the sound was coming from. “Two lights, not a full reading.”

Eddie did the same with the EMF. “I’m almost at two mGs.”

“Talia, could you come over here and get the temp?” Tim asked.

Eddie looked up at her. Talia seemed nervous. She took short, hurried steps and didn’t come as close to the source of the noise as Stan and Eddie had. Fully extending her arm, she put the thermometer out. “Sixty-nine degrees.”

The noise ceased.

“It might be easier for you to move in front of Stan or Eddie than to make that noise,” Tim suggested.

Eddie watched Talia stand and move away from where the noise had come from.

“Could you move in front of Stan or Eddie?” Tim asked the room again.

Eddie stood and held out the EMF. The needle was wavering between 1.5 and 2 mGs, which was hardly anything to write home about. But to Eddie, this was validation enough. Due to the fickle nature of EMFs, they always tried to build in redundancy. So, if there was an EMF reading that was positive, they’d also try to use the K-2, or they’d look for orbs on the digital film later that correlated time-wise to the EMF reading, or they’d try and make contact through other means. Eddie was certain they’d found something—the EMF reading and the noise had occurred around the same time and in the same general vicinity.

“Sixty-seven degrees,” Talia said suddenly. “Sixty-six, five, four…”

Eddie snapped his head back around to look at her. She was holding the thermometer way out in front of herself and taking a few steps backwards, nearly reaching the foyer before Tim said, “Talia, please stay in here with us, okay?”

She stopped. Eddie figured she hadn’t even realized she was moving away.

She shivered once. Then: “Sixty-two, sixty-one … Sixty. It’s right here.”

“Can you lower the temperature to fifty-seven for us?”

Eddie didn’t think it was possible, but Talia’s eyes widened even further. “Fifty-nine … eight … still fifty-eight … still fifty-eight … fifty-seven. My God.”

“Stan, let’s build in some redundancy,” Tim said.

Stan moved cautiously toward Talia.

“Stan is going to stand next to you. Do not be alarmed.”

Stan reached Talia and held out his K-2.

“Can you move in front of, or next to, Stan?”

Stan shook his head no.

Talia said, “The temp’s going back up—Sixty-five … sixty-nine … It’s stopped.”

“Maybe it’s a woman afraid of men,” Eddie said.

Bump.

“Where did that come from?”

“Sounded like the living room.” Talia spun to face that direction. “What the hell’s going on?”

“Are you okay?” Eddie moved closer to cup her shoulder. “Do you want us to keep going without you?”

“No, no. I’m … just not used to this. I’m fine.”

“Okay,” Tim said, stepping toward them. “Talia and I will go into the living room alone, for now. Talia, switch meters with Stan. All you have to do is keep an eye on the lights. Let me know if they activate.”

She nodded bravely.

* * * *

Talia followed Tim into the living room. She felt the cold sweat on her back now, the heaviness of her breathing. She kept the K-2 meter fully extended in front of her, as if that could protect her from whatever awaited.

Eddie circled behind them, his digital camera providing an eerie backlight. Their shadows stretched across the entire room and climbed the walls.

“Is there anyone in here?” Tim stepped toward the bay window and settled there, scanning the room.

Talia’s toe caught the corner of the sofa as she was walking by, nearly sending her toppling into the coffee table. She caught herself on the adjacent sofa. She felt embarrassed more than anything else—too scared to remember where things were in her own house.

Talia brought herself up, and suddenly, the air around her felt cold and damp. There was movement around her but she saw nothing.

The K-2 came to life. All the lights on her display flashed several times.

“It’s … It’s here,” she said.

Eddie directed the light at Talia. He seemed excited, whereas she was utterly terrified. She was afraid her hands would start shaking and betray her nerves.

“If there is someone here, I want you to make the meter in Talia’s hands blink twice,” Tim said.

Talia angled the K-2 so that Tim and Eddie could see it. The lights blinked twice.

“Okay, you can talk to us through the meter in Talia’s hand,” Tim said. “One blink means no, two means yes. Do you understand?”

Two blinks:
Yes
.

“Are you afraid of men?” Tim asked.

Two blinks:
Yes
.

“I can step out of this room and talk to you from the foyer if you’d like.”

Talia opened her mouth to object, but her voice failed her. She didn’t want Tim leaving the room and leaving her alone. Or, not alone, as it were. Talia shot him a look of pleading, but he continued, “Would you like me to move away?”

Yes
.

“Okay.” Tim started toward Eddie.

When he reached the threshold, he began again. “Is your name Siobhan?”

Talia gave Tim and Eddie a desperate look.

One blink:
No
.

“Did you live in this house?”

Yes
.

Talia looked into the foyer at Eddie. She wanted him to come in. Or at least for him to stand in the dining room behind her. She didn’t see Stan, and wondered where he was.

“Is your name … Sylvia?”

Yes
.

“Sylvia Thompson?”

Yes
.

Talia had no idea how Tim knew that. How could he know that? Did he have some sort of sixth sense? Could he read its mind? She felt powerless as the world around her disappeared. Everything she knew was not true. All her deeply held beliefs were called into question. If there were ghosts, what did that say about the afterlife? Was there a God? She felt an emptiness in her chest, and tried to shake it off. Tim had probably just done some research on their house before the investigation. That was how he knew the name. It had to be. Maybe things weren’t so bad after all.

Tim continued. “And you lived here before the Moriartys?”

Yes
.

Tim’s brow furrowed. “Did you ever try to contact the Moriartys while they were here?”

No
.

“Are you afraid of men because of how your husband treated you?”

Yes
.

“Was he abusive?”

Yes
.

“Are you angered by that?”

Yes
.

“Are you angry with anyone presently living in this house?”

Talia’s breath caught in her mouth. They had reached a moment of truth she hadn’t been prepared for.

Nothing for a moment, then:

No
.

Why the pause? Surely it was easier to make the K-2 blink once than twice. It had paused because it had to think about its answer. But Tim had asked a very simple yes or no question. It was the kind of question one didn’t need to think about before answering.

It was lying.

It had to be.

The emptiness in her chest grew. She looked around her. It felt like the walls were closing in. She was having trouble breathing.

Tim asked, “Would you ever try to hurt anyone in this house?”

No
.

“Is there anyone else in this house, with you?”

Yes
.

“Tell me how many by making the meter blink for each one.”

One. Two. Three. Four
.

She shuddered. Four other things in her house, aside from the one that might be lying to her now? This was impossible. It had to be a trick. There was no such thing as ghosts. There just wasn’t. She tried to breathe deep, but couldn’t. Her lungs took in shallow gulps of air.

Talia wanted to scream. She had to get out of this room, out of this house. If she could just turn all the lights back on, maybe things would go back to the way they’d always been. She’d feel better if they just turned one light back on.

“Aside from you, there are four other beings present in this house?”

Yes
.

“Do you interact with them?”

No
.

“Do they interact with you?”

No
.

“Do they know you’re here?”

No
.

“Do you know their identities?”

Yes
.

“The other four—is it the Moriartys?”

Yes
.

“All four of them are here?”

Yes
.             

Then
no
.

Then
yes
.

Then
no
.

“Sylvia, are you still here?”

Nothing.

“Sylvia?”

Nothing.

“What’s going on?” Talia asked Tim, suddenly finding her voice. She could feel her pulse in her temples.

“She dissipated.” Tim stepped back into the room and went to her. “It takes a lot of energy for spirits to manifest themselves. Sometimes it’s difficult for them to do it for long periods of time.”

He looked at Talia more closely and realized she was panicked.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded, but knew she needed to get out of this house. “I just need a moment.”

Tim put his hands on her shoulders. “You did great. Let’s take a break in the foyer, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Tim!” Stan shouted.

“What’s up?”

“In the family room. Now!”

* * * *

Eddie reached the family room first, to find Stan kneeling in the middle of the floor with a flashlight directed at the corner.