The Hysteria: Book 4, The Eddie McCloskey Paranormal Mystery Series (The Unearthed) Read Online Free PDF

couldn’t get a beat on them. I spoke to her sisters. I checked out her usual haunts.”
    “And, nothing?”
    He shook his head.
    “Not a single lead?”
    He shook his head again.
    “Nobody had any idea?”
    “Do I have to shake my head again?”
    I shook my head.
    “Now you know what I know. So beat it. I have work.”
    This guy and his cheap paperback talk were annoying me. But not as much as the fact that I didn’t believe a word he was saying.
    Morgan Turner wouldn’t have hired some shlub. He’d have made use of his many local connections and gotten a referral on somebody quality. So this guy was quality. And yet, he’d produced exactly zero leads. I was staring at a paradox. Which meant this guy wasn’t quality, or he was lying to me.
    Had to be the latter.
    “Who chased you off Megan Turner?” I said.
    He frowned convincingly. He was a good actor.
    “Come on. Your secret is safe with me. One pro to another.”
    He pointed at the door. The armpits of his shirt were sweaty.
    “Nice new office here,” I said. “But I’ll bet you didn’t get it by being helpful.”
    “I got it by outperforming asshat amateurs like you.”
    ***
    I’m not a car guy, but I decided to enjoy my drive to the police station from Leonard’s office. Rather than have Strongbow cart my ass around, Morgan had offered me the use of one of his many expensive cars. I “settled” on the corvette. It wasn’t that comfortable inside but man was it smooth. And fast. I could almost see how some dudes got carried away with cars. Not me, though. I’d lost interest in motors when I was nine.
    Drivers out here were unfailingly polite. No tailgating. Relative adherence to the speed limit. Signals used. Lanes not changed unless necessary.
    They wouldn’t have lasted one minute on Girard Avenue in North Philly.
    Mostly it was country driving. One lane roads. Strip malls separated by long stretches of forest.
    The police station looked brand new and was big and modern-looking. The parking lot was half-full of a fleet of cruisers. I parked in Visitor Parking, feeling very important in my corvette. I went inside.
    Where I witnessed administrative chaos.
    The desk sergeant had a phone to his ear and a palm on his forehead. He didn’t see me come in and didn’t look up when the door shut. Behind him, a dozen uniformed cops were having a heated conversation. Past them, four suits were talking in an office.
    Something, or a lot of somethings, was up.
    “Help you?” The desk sergeant was now balancing the desk phone on his trapezius.
    “Thanks, I was hoping to speak to the Chief.” Desk Guy made a face. “…Or somebody else in management.”
    His frown became a scowl. “We’re a little busy, sir.”
    “All the more reason I should talk to somebody.” I tried to lie convincingly.
    He sighed. “Have a seat, sir. I’ll see if anyone has any time. What is the nature of your visit?”
    “Wandering daughter job.”
    I’d always wanted to say that.
    ***
    Twenty-five minutes later, one of the suits came out of the office and locked eyes with me. I stood and he walked straight toward me like he was going to arrest me.
    “Help you?”
    He was tall, broad-shouldered, athletic-looking. He had a couple years on me but the age difference was negligible and only noticeable upon close inspection.
    “Somewhere we can talk?”
    He gestured with his head for me to follow him. He led me to an empty desk in the far corner of the open floor and sat on the corner of it.
    “My name’s Eddie McCloskey. I’ve been hired to do a job and I just wanted to let somebody here know.”
    “My name’s Quick.” He looked me up and down like I was part of some museum exhibit. “You private?”
    “Sort of.” I looked around. “You guys seem busy.”
    He said nothing. He wasn’t sure about me.
    “Morgan Turner hired me to find his oldest daughter, Megan. She pulled a Houdini recently. Chester Leonard was on it but he didn’t find anything. Old man Turner