Free The Traveler: Book 5, The Eddie McCloskey Paranormal Mystery Series (The Unearthed) by Evan Ronan Page B

probably shut down so they could endure.”
    “My thoughts exactly,” Christie said. “But at the end of the day, we couldn’t tie anybody else to the crime scenes, couldn’t question Perks, and it was unlikely he was working with anybody.”
    “Long odds,” Eddie said.
    “Yes.”
    Eddie watched her. He could tell this loose end had been bothering her ever since the close of the investigation.
    ***
    Daria Snow’s house could only be described as a bungalow. Eddie thought it looked pretty cool, but it was horribly out of place in the Pennsylvania woods.
    Christie parked on the street.
    Eddie said, “How solid were her alibis?”
    “Harney ran them down this morning. She’s in the clear.”
    “How about the three people I mentioned this morning. Perks, Schubert, and Engel. Any connections?”
    Christie nodded. “That’s what I’m going to ask. I’ll leave the paranormal stuff to you.”
    “Sounds like a plan.”
    They got out of the car. It started to drizzle as they walked the flagstones that led to Daria’s front door. Christie got there first and knocked.
    “I hope you don’t mind that I brought a gun,” Eddie said.
    Her eyes went wide. The first time he’d seen her surprised and outwardly pissed off. “You’re kidding.”
    He smiled at her. “I left it in my bag.”
    This time, her remarkable calm did not return. “No guns.”
    “I’ve got a permit.”
    “I don’t care.” She leveled her eyes on him.
    “Ever since Oregon, I promised myself I’d always carry.”
    “Tell you what, Eddie. If we’re in the shit and I go down, you can take one of my guns. I carry one on my hip and have a backup piece on my ankle. But until then—”
    The door opened and Daria Snow stood in the doorway. She was wearing a different pair of glasses this morning, but these too bugged her eyes. She had on a pair of ripped jeans and a tie-dye t-shirt that had been through the washer a million times.
    “Oh-my-God if I knew you were coming, I would have cleaned up!” She seemed more embarrassed than nervous. She addressed Eddie like Christie wasn’t even there.
    Christie said, “Ms. Snow, do you mind if we come inside and ask you a few questions?”
    “Questions?” she said, as if she didn’t know the word.
    “Yes,” Christie said.
    Daria’s eyes shifted from the detective to Eddie. “Sure.”
    ***
    Daria introduced her significant other. He was approaching sixty and was bald on top but still rocking the ponytail. Classic case of the skullet. Eddie hadn’t seen one in years and oddly enough, it made him feel nostalgic.
    “I’m Charles, but everybody calls me the Big C.”
    “Like cancer!” Daria chortled. “That’s because he survived testicular cancer!”
    Of course Eddie immediately had a mental picture he didn’t want. He smiled politely.
    Daria and C walked hand-in-hand to a living room with a low sectional and a high coffee table. The setup looked uncomfortable as hell. Eddie tried sitting down, but there was no sitting on the couch. He had to lounge or slouch. Christie watched him struggle to find a position and decided to remain standing.
    Christie told C they needed a few minutes alone with Daria. He eyed them both suspiciously, looked ready to force the issue, but Christie’s eyes just bored into him. C finally relented and announced he was going to the garage, no doubt to listen to the police scanner that wasn’t actually illegal.
    Eddie noticed that Christie angled herself in the living room so she had line of sight down the hallway where C had just headed. She didn’t want anybody sneaking up on her.
    “You know, Eddie, I was thinking I could help you,” Daria said.
    Eddie said nothing.
    “Nobody knows this area better than me. I’ve developed relationships with many of the entities around here. I can get you information.”
    Eddie smiled. “Thanks, Daria. We’ll think about it.”
    She beamed, not realizing he was brushing her off. “Wonderful!”
    Christie said, “Did you