Simon Green: Ghost of a Smile

The sound stopped abruptly, and Tiley shouted his last few words into an echoing silence. The air was still, the building was steady, and the floor was calm and certain again, as though nothing had happened. But there was still something… in the dark, out beyond the light.

“Can you feel that?” said Happy, stepping forward reluctantly. “There’s a definite presence here…”

“Of course there is!” snapped Tiley. “And you and your young friends have upset it, with your modern scientific attitudes! You people need to get out of here. You’re making things worse. Leave me to get on with my work.”

“We can’t do that,” said JC.

“Why not?” said Susan. “Who are you, really? And don’t give me that professionals bullshit. Who wears sunglasses at night, in a deserted building? You’re not from any of the official ghost-hunting groups, like FOG and PIS.”

“Fog and what?” said Happy.

“Friends of Ghosts, and Paranormal Investigation Society,” said Tiley. He stabbed an accusing finger at JC. “You’re journalists, aren’t you? Bloody tabloids!”

“No,” said JC. “We’re really not interested in publicity. The horror of ghosts, for most people, is that they’re beyond all the usual methods of control. People feel helpless before them, terrified by the unknown, not knowing how to cope. But we are from the Carnacki Institute, and we know what to do with ghosts.”

“Like what?” said Tiley.

“Whatever’s necessary,” said JC.

Again, there was something in his voice that seemed to reach the old man and calm him down. JC gave him his full attention.

“What was it like, Mr. Tiley, working here, back in the day? Was it a bad place, back then?”

“Not really,” said Tiley. “Hard work, but steady. Regular work that you could rely on, year in and year out. And that meant a lot, back when I was a young man. I spent most of my working life here, man and boy.”

“I don’t know how you can be sentimental about it, Gramps,” said Susan.

“It was work you could depend on,” Tiley repeated. “And we were all grateful. Nothing much to show for it, mind. We just made parts, for other machines. We never made anything complete.”

“Ah, interesting,” said JC. “No sense of closure. Could be significant.”

He walked slowly out across the great expanse of open space, head cocked to one side, as though listening. “Huge machines, heavy machinery, working endlessly, doing the same things over and over, tended by people doing the same things, over and over. For decades.. . A ritual, impressing itself on Time and Space, digging psychic grooves into the surroundings…”

“Hold on,” said Melody. “Are you suggesting that this place is haunted by the ghosts of heavy machinery?”

“Think about it,” said Happy. “If a man were to walk through the space where the machines manifested… they’d tear him apart.” And then he stopped and shook his head slowly.

“No. Sorry, JC, but very definitely no. I told you, I sensed emotions-raw and harsh and wild.”

“You’re all talking nonsense,” Tiley said firmly. “Ghosts are the restless spirits of departed people. That’s it. I’ve read all the books, and I believe what’s needed here is a lay exorcism.”

“Not a bad idea,” said JC, walking back to join the others. “But first, I think we should hold a seance. Summon up all the players, so to speak, so we can get a good look at them. Get some idea of what this is all about. I’ll say it again. Albert Winter didn’t just die here. There was more to it than that. There was purpose, and intent, to his death.”

“We don’t have a medium,” said Tiley, concentrating on the one thing that made sense to him.

“Actually we do,” said JC. “A medium is a link between the worlds of the living and the dead. And there is one member of my little team who fits the bill perfectly. Kim, dear, come forward and make yourself known, would you?”

Kim came floating out of the shadows, smiling brightly, only hovering an inch or so above the dusty floor. She allowed herself to become semi-transparent, to make it clear what she was. Graham Tiley and his grand-daughter stared at her with open mouths. Susan actually fell back a step, and Tiley had to grab her to steady her. They huddled close together, for mutual support. Kim stopped a tactful distance away and gave them both her most charming smile.

“Hi,” she said. “My name is Kim, and I’m a ghost. Please. Don’t be afraid. I don’t bite. I’m part of the team.”

Of the two, Graham Tiley seemed the most affected. He breathed heavily, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on Kim. He looked like he would have turned and run if Susan hadn’t been holding on to him. He finally closed his mouth with a snap, swallowed hard, and nodded slowly to Kim.

“Dear God… All these years, looking for ghosts and spirits, for some actual sign that the soul survives… but I never saw anything. Not even sure I really believed, deep down… But here you are. I was right all along. You’re a ghost. I can tell, I can feel it… Oh my dear, are you trapped here? Is something holding you to this world?”

“Yes,” Kim said happily. “JC, my love, my very dear. Isn’t he wonderful?”

“Get away from her, Gramps,” whispered Susan. “Don’t talk to her. She can’t… She can’t be…”

“I’m not worthy of her,” said JC. “But believe me when I tell you, no-one is holding Kim anywhere against her wishes.”

“Like to see anybody try,” said Kim.

“How did you… die?” said Susan.

“I was murdered,” said Kim. “But JC avenged me.”

“You never believed,” Graham Tiley said to Susan, a slow smile coming to his lips. “Don’t worry; I always knew you were here to keep me company. So, a real live… real dead ghost. Right before us. What do you think of your old gramps now, eh, Susan? Not so daft in the head after all?”

“We should get out of here,” said Susan. “We shouldn’t be here. This isn’t right! It isn’t natural!”

“It’s only a ghost!” said Tiley. “A person, with the body removed. Get a grip on yourself, child, and stop embarrassing me. Talk nicely to the young lady ghost. She looks to be about your age.”

“What do you say to a ghost?” demanded Susan. “Hi, nice to meet you, how’s your ectoplasm? Give me a break, Gramps, my whole world has just been turned upside down and inside out, and the pieces have fallen all over the carpet. You talk to her. I’m going to find a corner and mumble quietly to myself.”

“Youngsters today,” said Tiley. “No stamina.” He smiled at Kim. “It is nice to meet you, young lady. Are you sure there’s nothing keeping you from passing on? I’d be happy to help…”

“The only thing keeping me here is my JC,” said Kim. “And I wouldn’t be parted from him for all the worlds that may be. I had to die to find true love, and I won’t give it up now.”

“Well, well,” said Tiley. “My first real encounter with a spirit. Not at all what I’d expected, but still, most exhilarating! Pardon me for asking, my dear, but if you’re a ghost, why can’t you speak to whatever ghosts might be haunting this place?”

“Doesn’t work that way, I’m afraid,” said Kim. “There are all kinds of ghosts, and all kinds of hauntings.”

“But you can act as a medium, help us make contact with what’s happening here?”

“I don’t see why not,” said JC. “Kim has a foot in both worlds, the living and the dead. What better medium could there be?”

“You have such wonderful ideas,” said Kim. “Let me see what I can do.”

“Hold it, hold it!” said Melody, rushing over to her equipment. “I want to record everything that happens! If only so I can clear myself of all responsibility if it all goes pear-shaped in a hurry.”