The Accused and the Damned: Book Three, the Eddie McCloskey Series (The Unearthed 3) by Evan Ronan Read Free Book Online

here. “…it got worse, you know? Like erratic and aggressive.”
    Ross had had enough of this bullshit but he kept his cool. “How did its behavior change? Give me some examples.”
    It was the easiest way to spot a lie. If the subject couldn’t contextualize what they were saying, they were full of shit.
    “Before it would show up once a week, stay for a few minutes. After Giles’s visit, it showed up almost every day, sometimes more than once a day. But it would only visit for a minute, sometimes less. It was like it was agitated. Or like it wanted to stay but couldn’t. I don’t know. It drove Alice mad. She couldn’t get anything done around the house or with her painting. She’d started leaving the house for even longer stretches.
    “Then, two weeks ago, I came home from work early and found all the windows of the house open and the house smelled weird. Like she’d used incense. Before I could ask any questions, Alice said she’d just wanted to air the place out because it was a nice day and she’d burned some candles. We had a big fight and I stormed off. That night, I found these tiny ashes in random places in the house…I don’t know what they were but I figured they were from the candles that Alice had burned.
    “Finally I told Alice that we were so bad off that we had nothing to lose by asking for Giles’s help—things couldn’t get worse. She still feared the public perception and what it would do to her in the church but after a week or so, she reluctantly agreed.
    “Giles came out and attempted to summon the spirit. That’s when things got crazy. The spirit came and went a dozen times in the span of two hours. And Giles was…affected. He was exhausted like it had taken a huge toll on him. We ended the session without having figured anything out, but Giles wasn’t discouraged. If anything, just the opposite. He left excited, asked to come back.
    “But Alice told him no.”
    Ross said, “Why?”
    “She thought he was just making it worse. And she’d never liked him really. She didn’t want him around anymore.”
    “But what did you decide to do about it?”
    Anson shook his head. “We couldn’t decide on anything. We weren’t communicating. The spirit visited more and more. It was showing up every two or three hours, almost like clockwork. Alice couldn’t take it. She’d contacted her realtor, said we needed to move. I told her we needed Giles’s help. She wanted her pastor to come and do an exorcism. She was gone the whole next day. We didn’t speak for a couple days after. Then last night, I was so fired up that I left the house and decided to have a few beers. I needed something to take the edge off.”
    “Then what happened?”
    “After I got home, it visited us again, and…you know the rest. I already told you guys.”
    Ross stood and went to the door. “Anson, you’re not telling us everything. I want to know what really happened last night.”
    “Why would I make this up? Why would I tell you this crazy story when I know no one’s going to believe me?”
    “Double bluff, Anson.”
    Anson wasn’t familiar with the term. He kept talking. “It’s the truth. I could have made up a million more plausible stories but I want to cooperate.”
    “Then start cooperating.” Ross closed the door.

Eleven
     
    Spencer was in his office at seven the next morning. Ross met him there. The cop looked like he’d logged three hours of sleep. Spencer, on the other hand, had gotten his usual five. He rarely slept more than that these days with his reflux.
    “Well,” Spencer said. “I haven’t heard from anybody yet.”
    “You will.” Ross sat down. “He finally lawyered up.”
    “Green?”
    Ross nodded. “But he didn’t use his call on Green. He used it on Giles Tyson.”
    Spencer finished his first cup of coffee and went for his second. He refilled his mug and offered one to Ross.
    “Trying to quit.”
    Spencer shrugged and came back to the desk. “Your expert