A Gust of Ghosts Read Free Page A

of them are too shy to appear until they know what kind of reception they’re going to get.”
    The Malones walked through the gate, then stood still, staring in silence at the headstones. Some humble markers had sunk into the earth and almost disappeared. Even the grander monuments, including a granite tomb and a marble column, looked weathered and worn.
    There were gravel paths that meandered between the graves and a stone bench in the shade of a spreading oak tree. But much of the gravel had washed away, the bench seat was covered with moss, and broken tree branches blocked several of the paths. There was even an uprooted tree lying across the path just inside the gate, its dirt-covered roots sticking up into the air.
    â€œThis place looks abandoned,” said Franny. “Like no one cares about it anymore.”
    A wind seemed to rise from nowhere, sweeping through the trees and causing the grass and wildflowers to flatten to the earth. Poppy had been staring at a marble column, which had sunk into the ground and now listed to one side. She was trying to calculate the exact angle of the tilt by studying the shadow it cast in the light of the setting sun. As the branches of an oak tree tossed wildly in the air, she could have sworn that she saw the column’s shadow slip along the ground in her direction....
    And then the wind died down and everything was still once more. Poppy blinked, then stared hard at the shadow, but it lay dark and motionless.
    She gave herself a little shake. The cemetery was rather creepy, of course—all cemeteries were—but she mustn’t let her imagination run away with her. After all, she was a scientist. She had to observe everything closely and ask penetrating questions about what she saw … such as why a well-visited cemetery, famous for its hauntings, would look so run down.
    â€œI thought lots of people came out here,” Poppy said. “I thought it was like a tourist attraction, with people driving by at midnight to see the famous glowing headstone.”
    â€œI don’t think that happens much these days,” said Mrs. Malone, panting slightly as she hauled a cooler filled with sandwiches through the gate. “At least, not since that highway bypass was put in twenty or thirty years ago. Not many people have a reason to drive down this road anymore.”
    â€œWhich is excellent news for us,” said Mr. Malone heartily. “No visitors means no interruptions, no inane questions, and no silly jokes about Ghostbusters . So!” He rubbed his hands together. “Let’s start by finding the Glowing Angel. That’s obviously the center of all the paranormal activity in the cemetery.”
    Mrs. Malone pulled a piece of paper from her pocket. She had photocopied a map of the cemetery from Hill Country Hauntings . An arrow helpfully pointed out the location of the Glowing Angel statue.
    â€œHmm, let’s see....” Mrs. Malone raised her head and squinted into the middle distance. “The book said the statue was on a small hill toward the east....” She walked a few feet along a path that soon disappeared into a thicket of bushes. Mrs. Malone referred to the map again, then pointed. “It should be back there, I think, just beyond all this undergrowth.”
    She pushed her glasses up more firmly on her nose and stared at the bushes. “Goodness, what a tangle! I’m not sure how we’ll get close enough to the angel statue to set up our equipment.”
    â€œNot a problem,” said Mr. Malone. “We’ll simply bushwhack our way through. All it takes is grit, a good sense of direction, and a sharp machete.” He dropped his backpack to the ground, rummaged through it for a moment, then pulled out a short metal sword. “Fortunately, I always carry a machete with me, ever since my near-death encounter with the Moth Man in 1975. Did I ever tell you—”
    â€œYes,” said Franny, who