Soulstice by Simon Holt Read Free Book Online Page A

front of the Coles’ house. Police held back the crowd milling on the edge
     of the lawn, and a few cameramen had set up across the street. Local media had found out about a possible new lead in the
     Quinn Waters case. Reggie imagined a mob of townspeople gathering like the angry villagers from
Frankenstein
, with Aaron as their monster. The stores downtown were probably having a rush for pitchforks and torches at that very moment.
    She cut through a few neighboring backyards and made her way to the Coles’ back door. Aaron’s father answered, his face taut
     with concern, but he smiled when he saw it was Reggie.
    “Hello, Reggie. I was worried you were one of the reporters. Come on in.”
    “Oh, Reggie!” Dr. Cole pulled Reggie into a bear hug when she saw her. Her eyes were red from crying.
    Reggie had often found solace with the Coles, in no small part to Aaron’s parents, who treated her like their own daughter.
     Dr. Cole was a locally well-known therapist who had a weekly radio show on a community channel, and Mr. Cole was an engineer.
     They were kind and intelligent, and Reggie relished the normalcy of their household, where voices were never raised, meals
     were home-cooked and on time, and both parents were around to kiss their son goodnight.
    She looked around her. The house was spotless as ever, but all the drapes were drawn, and jazz played from the sound system
     to drown out the activity outside.
    “How is he?”
    “He’s got bruises all down his arms. The Wennemack Police are going to have one hell of a lawsuit on their hands when I’m
     done with them.” Dr. Cole sighed. “He’s been in his bedroom since we got back. He won’t talk, he won’t eat—and you know Aaron
     always has a healthy appetite. He’s exhausted but can’t sleep.”
    “When did you guys get home?” Reggie asked.
    “Sometime around two,” Mr. Cole said. “I thought they were going to keep us there all night, but then that Mr. Bloch showed
     up.”
    “I don’t know what that man did,” said Dr. Cole, “but ten minutes after he arrived we were signing Aaron out and packing him
     into the car.”
    “With a warning not to leave town, of course,” Mr. Cole added.
    Reggie wondered just what cards Eben held, that he’d been able to make good on his promise to get Aaron released so quickly.
    “Well, I think I’ll go up then,” she said.
    Dr. Cole put a hand on Reggie’s shoulder. “Honey, I just want you to be prepared when you see him. He’s in a post-traumatic
     state. Community Mental Health wanted to place him in a hospital. It’s a good thing I know a few people on the board—and Dr.
     Unger, of course.” She sucked in her lips and took a breath. “Aaron will be fine, but right now he’s a little fragile.”
    “Don’t worry. I just want to see how he’s doing,” Reggie said, thinking that Aaron’s mom had no idea how tough her son actually
     was. “Thanks.”
    She made her way to Aaron’s room. The door was shut, but she could hear both the radio and the television blaring inside.
     She knocked loudly and called out, but there was no answer.
    Puzzled, Reggie gently pushed the door open and peered inside. Every light in the room was on, along with all three computer
     monitors, the TV, and the stereo. The noise was deafening. Aaron’s bedroom had never been what one would call “tidy,” but
     these days it was a disaster. Energy drink cans littered the floor, and a glacier of printouts leaned against the computer
     desk. The ripped and tattered remnants of overnight shipping envelopes were scattered everywhere. Reggie assumed they were
     from the books piled all around. Every title had something to do with ghosts, psychics, secret societies, psychology, or demonic
     possession. The place had once looked like the bedroom of a teenage horror buff and computer geek. Now it seemed more like
     the den of an occult-obsessed lunatic.
    Aaron slouched in an office chair, wrapped in a blanket. Reggie