The Forest Remembers- C3

 The Forest Remembers

Chapter 3

“The Case of the Missing Fragment”

29 June 2025,

Dear diary. 

Solving this case is quite big to start with. Well, I’m not trained to do these kind of stuff, I’m just a nurse working in a retirement home. But, all it takes to solve this is passion. I would be honest, I am quite passionate with solving these types of cases.

(End of Diary Entry)

Annie went through the name of list of all the elderly. And on number thirteen, there was ‘Johnson Harley Crooks’. “That has to be that old mans’ name, Natalies’ father,” Annie saod quietly t herself. But, no female name with ‘Crooks’.

Annie started wondering where and who is Natalies’ mother? All the negative thoughts ran down her mind. But of course she has to ignore it. Annie thought of ways on how to start with this case. One way is to interview Mr.Croooks, and other elderly.

Next day, she got up, and head straight to the retirement home with her notebook. As usual, first task is always tea. The old man sat down alone again. 

As Annie distributed the last tea to Mr.Crooks, she asked, “Hey, are you Mr.Crooks? The one I talked to last week? May I have a little talk with you?”

 Mr Crooks replied, “ Yes dear, I’m indeed Mr.Crooks and I would be certainly happy to have a little talk with you.”

 Annie sat down , and her heart started racing. She was holding her notebook below the table, making sure that he doesn’t see it. As Annie started talking her first question she was holding her bracelet tight, “D you mind if I ask you about your daughter?”

 “Sure, I don't mind about it.” He replied with his deep old voice. “She was our beloved daughter. She went. Missing on 24 January 2004. She was last seen with blue jean overalls and pink shoes. Beside our house we had a forest and a tree, which became my daughter’s tree house. One day she had a playdate with her friends, but after awhile, they stopped coming. Said they didn’t like it up there. I never understood why. Natalie never told me.”

Annie leaned forward. “What do you think happened?”

Mr.Crooks rubbed his hands together slowly. “I don’t know. I wish I did. Her mother always said that forest wasn’t safe. Too quiet, too dark. I told her it was just trees. But then one day… Natalie said she wanted to pay outside. I was fixing something in the shed. When I went to check on her…” he stopped. His voice cracked. “She was gone.”

Annie didn’t say anything. She just sat there, letting the silence speak for both of them.

After a few minutes, Mr.Crooks looked at her again. “Her mother couldn’t handle it. We… we stopped not long after. She’s in another home now.”

She nodded gently, she would already noticed Mrs.Crooks’s name missing from he list earlier that day. But hearing him saying it out loud somehow made it even harder.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly.

He gave hr a small, tired smile. “You remind me of her, always asking quations.”

Later that night, Annie went back to the staff office. She couldn’t stop thinking about what he said. She searched through the near by retirement home records until she found the name she was looking for: Margaret Crooks

And another name too, she hadn’t seen before, in the reports mentioned. Claire Crooks. The younger sister. Annie wrote both names down in her notebook, then closed it slowly.

The story of Natalie Crooks was just beginning to open up, and she wasn’t sure if it was ready for what she’d find next.