The Accused and the Damned: Book Three, the Eddie McCloskey Series (The Unearthed 3) (25 page)

Judge Metnick faced the jurors. “And have you reached a verdict?”

The foreman stood. “We have, Your Honor.”

That morning, the lawyers had made closing arguments. Green referred to yesterday’s events. The DA quickly objected and the judge sustained the objection but little good that did. The jury had heard Green and more importantly had seen the activity themselves. Any juror not sold on the existence of the paranormal at that point was in denial and would be browbeaten by their colleagues in deliberations.

The DA did his best. Eddie almost felt sorry for him. If the victim had been anyone other than the local councilman’s daughter or the police chief’s niece, Eddie got the feeling that Spencer would have dropped the case. Before closing, he’d approached Green with a new offer of manslaughter, sentence of three years, out on parole in two. Green didn’t even hesitate when turning him down, Eddie later heard. For his closing, the DA harped on the physical evidence and lack of paranormal evidence supporting Anson’s defense. He referred to Ockham’s Razor and argued again and again that the simplest explanation was the most likely. It was an impassioned presentation but doomed by yesterday’s events.

The jury began deliberations after lunch. They came back to the courtroom two hours later. Green had told Eddie before the trial that a short deliberation usually meant an acquittal.

The courtroom was packed with Alice’s extended family, one of Anson’s distant cousins, and a handful of reporters. The tension in the room was palpable.

“The defendant will rise,” Judge Metnick said.

Anson and Green rose together. Anson’s hands were twitching at his sides.

Eddie’s heart raced. After the inexplicable events yesterday afternoon, Eddie had come to believe that Anson was innocent though he still didn’t understand why the spirit had attacked Gracie, let alone shown up at that very opportune moment.

“And what is that verdict?”

“On the charge of murder, we find the defendant not guilty.”

Eddie held his breath.

“On the charge of voluntary manslaughter, we find the defendant not guilty.”

There was an outcry from the gallery and the judge yelled for order but Eddie didn’t really hear anything else. He’d done it. He’d helped save an innocent man. Numbed and unbelieving, he didn’t realize he’d gotten up and left the courthouse until he felt the humidity of the overcast August afternoon.

Officer Thieler was parked next to him, her window open. She wore civvies, had her blonde hair down.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost, Eddie.”

Eddie laughed. “And you wouldn’t let me make a Balzac joke. Shame on you.”

“Well?”

“They acquitted him.”

“Figured they would.” He couldn’t tell if she was pleased or upset by the news. “So are you hitting the road now?”

“How about I buy you dinner first?”

“Eddie! Hold on a minute!”

Green stood on the front steps of the courthouse and waved at Eddie excitedly. The old lawyer shouted for him to stay. Eddie turned back to Thieler.

“I have to make one stop, officer. Then let’s go someplace you like.”

She smiled. “Call me Becky, alright?”

* * * *

At the hospital, Becky waited in her car while he went inside.

Gracie was waiting to be discharged. She sat on the corner of her bed, thumbing her smart phone while one of her assistants spoke in hushed tones into a cell in the corner of the room. There was always something going on in the glamorous world of Gracie Barbitok.

“How you feeling?” he asked.

Gracie started, surprised to see him. Then she sprang off the bed and gave him a grateful hug.

“Thank you, Eddie.”

“Forget it. You would have done the same.”

She gave him a wry look. “How do you know?”

“Because it would have been good for ratings.”

She flicked his shoulder playfully, then went back to the bed a little unsteady on her feet.

“Easy there.”

“I’m alright,” she said, shooing him away, already back to the old Gracie. “I heard the news. I hope you didn’t come to gloat.”

“No. Just wanted to see how you were.”

“Good. Still have a bit of a headache.” She looked up at him. “I’ve been thinking. I’d really like to have you on the show for this special. We can talk about our different approaches and this surreal turn of events. I don’t mind sharing the spotlight, Eddie. It’d be great exposure for you. Maybe you could be a recurring guest from time-to-time. I know I can trust you to be an honest investigator.”

He knew the offer was being made out of necessity. This story would be too big for her show to ignore without her losing credibility. The old Eddie would have thrown that in her face. The new Eddie, the businessman, decided to be gracious about it.

“That’s very nice of you, Gracie. I’d be happy to.”

“Good. My people will be in touch then.”

Eddie walked to the window and looked out to the parking lot. He spotted Becky leaning against her car, her dirty blond hair swaying in the breeze. He wondered what a relationship with her might be like, and the thought saddened him because he knew it was all academic. After today, he’d probably never see her again. He’d never known of any long distance relationships that had worked. Aside from Ulysses and Penelope, and that had been a long time ago.

“What’s got a hold of you right now?” Gracie asked.

“Everything. Nothing.”

“I still don’t get where Mrs. Oliver learned how to break necks. It seems like a very unwomanly attack. It’s too…”

“Aggressive. Clinical.”

“And final.” Gracie sighed. “But the bottom line is, the bitch tried to break my neck in that courtroom. That’s for damned sure.”

Eddie smiled. “I like the uncensored Gracie Barbitok.”

She came up beside him at the window. He’d forgotten how short she actually was. Barely to his shoulder. And yet her presence was enormous.

She looked at him with kind eyes. “It’ll come to you. You just have to let it. And when you figure it out, let me know.”

Eddie had wanted to say this since he met her. “You know, you did a screw job on Giles.”

“He had it coming.”

“Most ghost hunters would have been fooled by your sting.”

“Then that makes them either incompetent or crooked. Proves my point.”

Eddie shrugged. “You didn’t give him a chance. After he had an opportunity to review the evidence, he might have changed his mind.”

“Would you have been fooled?”

“Probably.”

Gracie gave him a look. She knew he was lying.

He said, “I would have qualified all of my findings, even if I was fooled.”

“Fair enough.”

They gave each other a professional nod, an acknowledgement they needn’t be adversaries and could even be allies if not friends.

Eddie smiled. “Okay. That’s as far as my loyalty to Giles goes.”

“Eddie, you don’t know him owe anything else. You paid back the debt and then some.” She smiled too. “Don’t let a fraud like Giles Tyson pull you any further down. You’re one of the good guys, Eddie.”

He winked at her. “If you knew me from the age of fifteen to thirty, you wouldn’t have thought so.”

* * * *

He followed Becky’s car through town. His mind kept trying to fit the puzzle of the last two weeks together. He’d lay a few thoughts down into the beginnings of a foundation but then some piece of information would come to mind that would demolish the whole weak structure.

“Let it go, you damned fool. You won.”

Becky pulled into a quiet parking lot in front of an old inn that had been converted into a restaurant. He parked next to her and they went inside. The hostess recognized Becky and sat them in the back, away from the other patrons. The place was dark, the shelves were lined with books, and everything was made out of wood.

“So what’s good here?” he asked.

“Everything.”

“How about what’s not on the menu?”

She smirked. “What’s off the menu is off the menu.”

“Damn.”

They shared a pleasant silence. Enough that Eddie forgot about the trial and everything that was bothering him. It was good to share a meal with an attractive, intelligent woman, even if nothing was going to come of it. He’d been up to his elbows in work since the Pennsylvania job. His few relationships in that time hadn’t lasted much longer than a night.

The waiter came and she ordered eggplant parm and he got a roast beef sandwich. She sipped her wine cautiously, like she didn’t want to do it in front of him.

“It’s okay. Go ahead.”

“Is it difficult? Not drinking?”

“Yeah, but not as difficult as drinking was.”

She put her glass down. “Were you in AA?”

He shook his head. “I looked into it but the program requires a belief in a certain higher power.”

She looked at him sideways. “You’re not religious?”

“When I was younger. Not anymore.”

“I’m a lapsed Protestant. I used to go to the same church as the Ketchers.”

“What’s your family think about that?”

“Mom’s upset, Dad puts on a show of moral outrage when Mom’s watching him. But I don’t think he really cares.”

“Any brothers or sisters?”

“Two older brothers. They terrorized me growing up. Especially in ninth grade.”

“What happened in ninth grade?”

“The worst of awkward phases. Braces, glasses, bad haircut, lots of freckles.”

“You’re drop-dead gorgeous now.”

She tried to play off the compliment but the blush betrayed her. “What about your family?”

“There’s not much family left. My parents died when I was a kid. Car accident. And my brother…you know.”

“I do.”

She leaned forward and lowered her voice. “I’m a cop so I’m supposed to believe in the rule of law. But I’ll tell you what. If somebody killed one of my brothers...”

He smiled. “The thought has crossed my mind.”

Seven hours away, in a psychiatric facility in New Jersey, the killer of Eddie’s brother resided. His name was Eamon Moriarty and he was nineteen years old. Eddie had imagined what killing the boy—now a young man—would be like for the last six years. And if he had the bottle for it.

Becky sensed his sour mood. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.”

The food came and they dug in. She wasn’t shy about eating in front of him. He liked her for that. They locked eyes between forkfuls and sips, and they shared laughs they’d be hard-pressed to explain.

* * * *

Detective Mark Ross coasted the cruiser to a stop on the shoulder of the road. Officer Billy Towson was parked in his favorite bear trap, about a mile from where the Ketchers used to live. Ross lined their windows up so they could talk.

“Figured I’d find you here,” Ross said.

Billy looked like he was a million miles away. He nodded absently. “Why?”

“I’m a detective.” Ross smiled. “And this is where you were parked the night of Alice’s death.”

Billy shrugged.

“You’re not on duty today.”

Bill shook his head. “I couldn’t go home. I couldn’t go…anywhere. I figured it was best for me to be doing something. I need the distraction.”

Ross liked that answer. The kid could have been at the bar or could have been brawling or doing any one of a million other stupid things to cope with the outcome of the trial. But instead he’d punched in, taken a shift that wasn’t his. He was good people, unlike his dickhead father.

“Listen, Billy. I need your help.”

* * * *

“You know what bothers me the most about this job?” Eddie asked.

“Do tell.”

“I did Anson a service but now nobody speaks for Alice. Her killer will never see justice. I feel like I only got half the job done.”

Becky put her fork down and dabbed at her mouth with a napkin. He imagined what those lips felt like and what kind of kisser she was, how she liked to be kissed. What kind of sweet sensual sounds she made.

She said, “One of the first things I learned on the job is that we cops usually can’t make things right. The differences we make are small. That burns some out.”

Eddie smiled. “The last thing I am is a cop.”

“But the idea applies. You said that most hauntings aren’t real, and you can’t do much about the few that are.”

“It still burns me.”

She finished her wine. “As the saying goes, if you want justice go to a brothel...”

“And if you want to get screwed, go to a courthouse.”

She pursed her lips for a moment. “What do you get if you go to a psychic? Bad advice?”

Eddie shook his head. “I gave the Madam the third degree when I was there. But she made a good point. If she didn’t tell Alice, then Alice would have just gone online and looked it up herself anyway. Same result.”