Forest Ghost Read Online Free Page A

She seemed to him to have a conflicting personality, needy but remote – lonely, but wary of allowing anybody too close to her. It could be grief, he guessed, for her recently deceased husband. As his mother had once said to him about his father, you don’t stop loving somebody just because they’re dead.
    She climbed off her barstool, in that awkward way of hers, as if she were just about to lose her balance. ‘Thanks, anyhow, Jack. I guess this is something I’ll have to deal with on my own.’
    But at that moment, Sparky came down the stairs. He was carrying a sheet of paper and he looked very serious.
    ‘Sparky!’ said Corinne. ‘Are you all right, sweetheart?’
    Sparky walked up to them and said, ‘It’s OK, Mrs Cusack. We’ll come with you to Owasippe.’
    ‘Sparky?’ said Jack.
    ‘No,’ said Sparky. ‘We will definitely come with you.’
    ‘Are you sure?’ asked Corinne. ‘Your dad here thought you might get too upset.’
    ‘We have to come with you,’ said Sparky. ‘It’s important.’
    ‘What’s that you have there?’ Jack asked him.
    Sparky held it up. ‘It’s a star chart. I drew it with Mrs Hausmann’s astrological globe.’
    ‘Is it for Malcolm?’
    ‘No, it’s for us. There’s a connection between what happened to Malcolm, and our family. That’s why we have to go to Owasippe.’
    ‘What connection?’ asked Jack. ‘How can there be a connection?’
    Sparky said, ‘I don’t really know yet, but there is. The stars show it clearly.’
    ‘You’re sure you haven’t made a mistake?’
    Sparky shook his head. ‘I’ve done it three times over. It’s always the same. Every time I check today’s date, and the way that Malcolm died, the globe comes up with
our
chart, too. They match exactly.’
    Jack looked at Corinne, and shrugged. He could tell by the look on Corinne’s face that she didn’t believe any of this. All the same, she said, ‘I would really like it, if you could come with me, you and your dad.’
    ‘We have to,’ Sparky repeated.
    ‘In that case, I’ll call Sally Faulkner, and tell her. Corinne? You want to stay for something to eat? Sparky? You ready for some soup yet?’
    Sparky said, ‘That’s all my dad ever does. Tries to force food down people’s throats.’

Fears of the Forest
    I t was warm and sunny when they arrived at Muskegon County Airport, with a soft summer wind blowing and the blue sky streaked with mares’ tails. Altogether there were 51 of them, parents and relatives of the scouts and scout leaders who had died, as well as five police officers from District 24.
    Their conversation as they had flown over Lake Michigan had been subdued, barely audible over the sound of the engines, with some of the mothers quietly sobbing. Sparky had said nothing at all, but busily continued to scribble astrological signs in his notebook, as well as lists of figures, and geometric diagrams. He had never once looked out of the window to see the sun shining on the lake like hammered glass.
    Sally approached Jack and Corinne and Sparky as they came out of the airport building. ‘So glad you could help out, Jack,’ she said. ‘And you, Sparky.’
    Jack thought of telling her that Sparky had insisted on it, and why, but then he decided against it. No matter how strong it appeared to be in Sparky’s star chart, he didn’t think there could really be any astrological connection between Malcolm’s death and the Wallace family. Even if there were, how would it help the police to determine how and why these scouts and their leaders had taken their own lives?
    ‘There’s a bus here to take you all up to the Owasippe Scout Reservation,’ said Sally. She turned to Corinne and added, ‘We’re so sorry for your loss, Ms Cusack. If there’s anything at all that you need, you have only to ask us.’
    In a husky voice, Corinne said, ‘Thank you, Detective.’
    It took them a little over 40 minutes to drive north to Owasippe Scout Reservation. Through the