Forest Ghost Read Online Free PDF

committed suicide by cutting his throat only yesterday morning was
gay
?’
    ‘I apologize for having to ask it, ma’am, but if there was something of that nature going on in your boy’s scout troop, and it was on the point of being discovered – well, that could have been a motive for mass suicide.’
    Corinne said, ‘I think you need to get the hell away from me. Right now.’
    ‘Yes, ma’am. Like I say, ma’am, I apologize for having to ask it, but we have to consider every possibility.’
    At that moment, Sparky came up to them and said, in that clear, expressionless voice of his, ‘It was something very much scarier than that.’
    Deputy Jeppersen looked at him, and then at Corinne, and then at Jack. Then back to Sparky again. ‘What makes you say that, kid?’
    ‘Because it’s true.’
    ‘So – OK – what was it, this something that was so much scarier?’
    ‘I don’t know yet.’
    ‘You don’t know?’
    ‘No.’
    With that, Sparky turned around and walked away toward the edge of the lake. A sudden gust of wind made the trees swish and the surface of the water ruffle, and over in the distance Jack saw lightning flicker.
    Deputy Jeppersen stood there, confused, with his pencil poised.
    ‘My son has Asperger’s,’ Jack explained.
    ‘Oh, yeah?’ Deputy Jeppersen obviously had no idea what that meant, but he tucked away his pencil and folded his notebook and said, ‘Thanks for your help, anyhow. And I’m sorry if some of my questions offended you.’
    He walked off to question some of the other bereaved relatives. Jack and Corinne followed Sparky to the edge of the lake, where he was standing with his face tilted toward the wind and his arms held stiffly down by his sides.
    ‘What was that about?’ Jack asked him.
    ‘There’s something here,’ said Sparky. ‘I told you there was.’
    ‘There’s something here but you don’t have any idea exactly what it is?’
    Sparky looked around. ‘It’s in the woods,’ he said, at last.
    ‘Do you think it’s still here?’
    Sparky nodded. ‘It’s watching us. Can’t you feel it watching us?’
    ‘I can’t say that I can, no.’
    Sparky pointed toward the trees. ‘It’s over there somewhere. It’s watching us.’
    Corinne said, ‘Is it a person? Or what? Don’t you have
any
idea?’
    ‘I don’t know,’ said Sparky. ‘But I can feel it.’
    ‘You’re scaring me now,’ said Corinne.
    Jack said, ‘Maybe we should go take a look. I mean, whatever it is, how can it hurt us? None of us are in the mood for committing suicide, are we? We don’t even have any knives, do we, that we could kill ourselves with?’
    ‘I think we should tell the police,’ said Corinne.
    ‘The police won’t believe us,’ said Sparky.
    Jack said, ‘OK. You can feel that it’s watching us. Where from, exactly?’
    ‘Over there.’
    ‘Can’t you be more specific?’
    Sparky shielded his eyes with both hands and peered toward the woods. After a long pause, he pointed again, and said, ‘
There
. Between those two big trees. That’s where it’s watching us from.’
    ‘Well, come on then,’ said Jack. ‘Let’s see if we can flush it out.’
    He didn’t really think that there was anything there. This was just Sparky’s autistic imagination inventing an explanation for something that was inexplicable. Sparky always believed that there had to be a logical reason for everything, no matter how trivial it was, and if he couldn’t work out what it was, he would become highly agitated and start biting his lips and twisting his hair around the end of his finger.
    They circled around the clearing where the CSIs were still hunched over like a family of large white bears. Corinne was hesitant at first, but Jack took hold of her hand and said, ‘Listen – it’s going to be fine. There’s nothing here, but if I don’t give Sparky the chance to look for whatever it is, he’s going to be upset for hours. Days, even.’
    Sparky led them through the woods,