Read The Lost: Book Two, The Eddie McCloskey Series (The Unearthed 2) for Free Online Page A

left arm to see his parents and Tim again.
    “What is it?” Ana went to the fridge for another cold one.
    “Nothing. So let me guess. Weird things are happening at the lake. Where else?”
    Ana cracked another beer and seemed to stumble a little when she took that first step away from the fridge. She was holding two beers and handed him one.
    “There’s been activity reported at the lake ever since Tessa died. But the activity at Kindler’s and the other two guys’s houses is recent.”
    Eddie gave her room to get by then slid down the wall till he was crouched. He took a long pull. He was starting to enjoy the beer again. The buzz from earlier was coming back. It was like running into an old friend from childhood. You just slipped into conversation easily, naturally, like it was only yesterday you had been jumping ramps on your ten-speeds.
    “Kindler says the whole town’s haunted,” Eddie said. “You know how unlikely that is?”
    “Everything’s unlikely until it happens for the first time.” She wobbled as she sat down on the carpet.
    “You okay there?”
    “I’m good … Dad.”
    “We’re going to work tomorrow, you’ve gotta be sharp. That’s why I’m asking.”
    “You’re right.” She sprang up like a jack-in-the-box, suddenly full of energy again. “This is going to be wicked. You know they’ll write a book about this if we find something. This’ll be a big story.” She deposited her half empty beer can on the table.
    Eddie held out his palm in a stopping motion. “Slow down there, rock star. I’ll do what I can but you gotta have reasonable expectations. I’m no miracle worker and chances are we’ll find rational explanations for everything. That’s the mindset we take going in. Better to be cynical about this than to talk yourself into believing things because you want them to be true.”
    “Then who’s leaving wet footprints in Kindler’s locked house overnight while he’s sleeping?” she asked.
    “Probably Kindler. He’s an addict and under the circumstances not the most reliable of witnesses.”
    “He’s an addict?”
    “I think that’s enough for tonight.” Eddie stood and put his half-finished beer next to his other empty can. “You okay to drive?”
    She looked at him like he’d grown another head. “Of course I’m okay to drive. It’s only eleven-thirty and I’ve only had two and a half. I can go all night.”
    Eddie tried not to picture her in his bed, going all night.
    Ana said, “On the other hand, maybe you’re right … If you want to keep working, I could just crash here. No big. My boyfriend won’t care.”
    Eddie didn’t buy that for a second. It took all his will power to say no. “Sorry, I’m running on empty here. I got a shift in the morning then you and I are going to work. You sure you can drive?”
    Ana folded her arms and jutted a hip playfully. “You are L-A-M-E, Eddie. And don’t worry. I’ll be alright getting home, I’m not some over-the-hill thirty year old.”
    She stopped next to him on her way to the door and touched his hand.
    “Thanks, Eddie.”
    He nodded, already regretting his chivalry.
    “See ya.”
    She walked out and left the door open behind her. He wanted desperately to call after her, to feel the warmth of her in his arms, to smell her hair, but he let her go. He was tired, and she was too young. Last thing she needed was to get mixed up with him when she already had a boyfriend.
    So he didn’t chase after her. That was what the old Eddie would have done.

Fifteen
     
    Eddi e didn’t go to sleep. Instead he worked his way through a six-pack and rewound his memory back to his mid-twenties, when he and his brother Tim worked together. Tim was the boss and Eddie was more than happy with the arrangement. He didn’t want the responsibility. Just wanted the work and the experiences. Some of the things they’d seen were beyond belief.
    Now Eddie was drawing on his memories of Tim for guidance.
    He thought back to