Ghost of a Smile Read Online Free Page B

Happy. “Oooh . . . I think my fingertips are floating away . . .”
    â€œWalk on,” said JC.
    They made a full tour of the perimeter, sticking close to the factory walls. The shadows were growing longer, deeper and darker, as the light falling through the windows slowly faded away. The silence made the wide-open space seem even more oppressive than the encroaching night. It was growing colder, too, far more than the late evening could account for. Their breath smoked and steamed on the air before them; but only Happy could produce actual smoke rings. JC kept looking about him, convinced he could see something about to emerge from the deepening shadows, but everything remained stubbornly still and silent. They finished their tour without result, and rejoined Melody and Kim at the equipment centre.
    â€œDid the police find any physical evidence?” JC said immediately. “Anything useful, or indicative?”
    â€œNot a damned thing,” said Melody. “I read the official reports. They didn’t turn up a thing. Which is surprising, in this CSI day and age.”
    â€œTell me again about the state of the body,” said JC. “How did Albert Winter die?”
    â€œMessily,” said Melody. “Ripped apart. Bones broken, organs torn out, skin shredded. You’d have to put a man through a wood chipper to do that kind of damage.”
    â€œSo we are assuming a supernatural death?” said Happy. “A supernatural killer? Oh dear. I can feel one of my heads coming on.”
    â€œCould it be a werewolf?” Kim said brightly. “I used to love films about werewolves! I was up for a part in Dog Soldiers 2 , before I was murdered.”
    â€œMore likely the Big Black Dogges,” said Melody. “They’re not just a local legend; you get the same kind of phenomenon reported all over the British Isles. Dogges hunting . . . chasing, headless Dogges . . .”
    â€œHow do they smell?” said Happy. “Terrible!”
    He broke into giggles again. Melody glared at JC.
    â€œYou let him dose himself again, didn’t you!”
    â€œHe works better that way,” said JC.
    He slapped Happy casually across the back of the head, and Happy stopped giggling immediately.
    â€œOw! That hurt!”
    â€œServes you right,” murmured JC. He knelt beside the murder stain again and considered it for a long moment. He gestured for Happy to kneel beside him. The telepath did so, careful to keep out of arm’s reach, and glared at the murder site in a sideways fashion.
    â€œStop that,” said JC, not unkindly. “Look at the blood stain, Happy. Tell me what you See.”
    â€œBlood,” Happy said immediately. “Lots and lots of it, and a hell of a lot of spattering. If a man had done this, I’d have said there was serious passion involved. I’m picking up anger, rage, hatred, revenge . . . But this still looks and feels more like an animal attack to me.”
    JC nodded slowly. “Any ideas as to what kind of animal?”
    â€œOld,” Happy said immediately. “And wild. Not feral, though; there was intent and purpose behind this. And . . . the rush is wearing off, and I’d really like to go home now.”
    â€œYour metabolism eats pills alive,” said JC. He looked thoughtfully about him. “Bad places make ghosts . . . And this is a bad place. Made bad, long before Albert Winter was killed here. So what makes this factory building a bad place? There’s no record of any work disaster, or any great loss of life, and yes, Melody, I do occasionally do my homework . . . The real question is why did Albert Winter die now, when this place has been worrying but basically harmless for so many years?”
    â€œHush!” Kim said suddenly. “Someone else is here with us. Someone living.”
    â€œRetreat into the darkness, my children,” said JC. “Let us watch and learn.”
    They quickly