Read Online The Lost: Book Two, The Eddie McCloskey Series (The Unearthed 2) by Evan Ronan - Free Book Online Page B

them into his mouth and took a pull on the bottle to wash them down.
    The mood in the dark room seemed to change.
    Hollis said, “The water’s a pain the balls. It gets in everywhere.”
    Eddie leaned forward in his chair. “Where’s it getting in and how often?”
    Hollis rose and limped to the far side of the room. He switched on a lamp.
    Eddie saw something scurry out of the light and make a dash for some yellowing newspapers. He tried to ignore it.
    “Here.” Hollis tapped the wall with his boot.
    A dark water stain had formed a crescent in the corner of the room. Eddie looked at the ceiling for any tell-tale signs of a leak.
    “It ain’t coming from there,” Hollis said. “That’s the first place I looked.”
    “How long’s it been there?”
    “This one? It’s new.”
    “There’s more?”
    Hollis nodded. “Every few days there’s a new spot.”
    Eddie moved closer to the corner to inspect the stain. “How long’s this been going on?”
    Hollis shrugged. “Coupla months.”
    “And there’s no leak.”
    Hollis bristled. “I told you, there ain’t nothing wrong with the damn roof. This place is old but my son sent me money to fix that roof. It’s sound.”
    Eddie had been waiting for Hollis to bring up his son. “How’s Michael doing?”
    Hollis looked like he wanted to spit. “Still a pussy. He got hitched to a real hellcat. That bitch wears the pants. She says jump and he says, how high?”
    Eddie let that pass as he scanned the room for any additional weapons. Not seeing any, he did notice a few loops of rope hanging on hooks on the opposite wall, reminding him of the deer outside.
    “You’re pretty good with a rope, huh? Me, I wouldn’t know what to do.”
    “Course I am. I’m a man.”
    “You know how to tie one of those African tarantula knots?”
    Hollis thought about it for a second, then shook his head. He even managed to chuckle. “You’re full of shit, you know that?”
    Eddie smirked. “Just testing you. I saw that deer outside too. What kind of rifle do you use?”
    Hollis sneered. “You know anything about rifles?”
    “I had a water pistol once.”
    The old man cackled at that. “Guess you one of them city boys, huh?”
    “Not exactly. Can you show me where the other wet spots were?”
    Hollis pulled a toothpick out of his shirt pocket and jabbed it in the corner of his mouth. “C’mon, I’ll give you the grand tour. This here’s the living room.”
    Hollis mumbled something before limping into a room smaller than a rat’s nest. “Here’s the kitchen.”
    Eddie looked around. Saw an old freezer but no fridge. There was a rusty sink, an old formica counter with two cabinets perched above it and a seriously grimy linoleum floor.
    Hollis pointed to the middle of the floor with a long, crooked finger that looked like it had been broken half a dozen times.
    “Last time, the water was right there. Right in front of you.”
    Eddie knelt and examined the floor. The caulk had long ago disintegrated. Most of the tiles were loose. “How much water?”
    Hollis’s arms formed a circle. “About yea big.”
    “And it was just here, in a circle? It didn’t spread or run anywhere?”
    An edge formed in Hollis’s voice. “That’s the lowest point in the room. So it just stayed put.”
    Eddie checked the ceiling. Hollis wagged a finger at him.
    “No leaks, I said.”
    “Could it have come from somewhere else and collected here?”
    “Rest of the room was bone dry.”
    Eddie looked around the room as Hollis started mumbling to himself again.
    All Hollis’s claims were unverifiable. To do a proper job, Eddie would need someone to certify the roof and check the walls and plumbing for leaks. He’d also like to have a couple cameras on site for at least a couple nights.
    “You mind if I come back tomorrow and set up a camera or two? I’d love—”
    “No fucking cameras in here. You’re lucky I let your scrawny ass in.”
    Eddie held his anger in check and screwed