Ghostfinders 03 -Ghost of a Dream

that came his way, keep himself busy and occupied, and be ready to jump when the opportunity arose.
    Happy stuffed his face with junk food, drank fizzy stuff straight from the can, and made a point of looking down his nose at the various smart-suit-and-tie business men sharing the first-class compartment with him. All of them tapping busily away at their laptops and doing their very best not to stare too openly at the strange creature that had invaded their territory.
Work for the Man, monkeyboys!
Happy thought loudly but had enough sense not to say out loud. He sniggered, and turned his attention back to the latest issue of
FHM
magazine.
    “The train will be coming into Leicester soon,” said Melody, glaring meaningfully at Happy and JC. “And, for once, it would be nice if we could all arrive knowing why we were there.”
    “She’s going into lecture mode,” Happy said to JC. “Indulge her. She’ll only make a fuss otherwise, and I can feel one of my heads coming on. Try and keep it down to a précis, Melody, there’s a dear. Some of us have important eating and drinking to be getting on with. Or important existential brooding, in JC’s case.”
    “Go ahead, Melody,” JC said courteously, not looking around. “Distract me. I could use something else to think about.”
    “We’ve been called in to investigate a suspected haunting at the old Haybarn Theatre, in the city of Leicester,” said Melody.
    She looked around to see if any of the business men were paying attention…but they all gave every appearance of being absorbed in their work. Possibly in self-defence.
    “Ooh, the theatre!” said Happy, unexpectedly. “Does that mean we’ll get free tickets for the shows?”
    Melody actually lowered her file to get a better look at him. “Since when have you ever been interested in going to the theatre?”
    “Take your freebies where you can find them, that’s what I say,” Happy said complacently.
    “Well, unless we can sort this mess out, it doesn’t look like there’s going to be any more shows at the Haybarn,” said Melody, returning to her file. “Says here, the place was shut down twenty years ago. It was about to berestored and reopened…But recently there’s been a series of unnatural happenings. The workmen have downed tools and scattered, and restoration has ground to a halt.”
    “This is all starting to sound depressingly familiar,” said JC.
    “There’s no way this case could turn out as complicated as Bradleigh Halt,” said Melody.
    “God, I hope not,” said Happy. “I mean: Ghost Callers, trains full of insane souls, and people wandering around with sawn-off heads…Why can’t things be simple, now and again?”
    “Quiet in the stalls,” said Melody. “Keep the noise down and pay attention; or after all this is over, I won’t take you back to our hotel room and play medical experiments with you.”
    “Far too much information,” said JC, shuddering genteelly. He turned around to look at Melody, doing his best to appear professional and interested. “What kind of unnatural happenings are we talking about here, Melody? Actual ghosts, with names and histories and legends?”
    “No actual visitors from the spirit realms, as far as I can see,” said Melody. “Only voices, glimpses, bad feelings…all the usual atmospherics. General unease and a certain amount of What Was That?”
    Happy frowned. “Why have we been called in for such a minor haunting? I thought we were officially an A team now? Not that I am in any way keen on throwing myself into danger; but I’m damned if I’m giving up on the danger money. It’s not the principle of the thing, you understand; it’s the money, every time.”
    “Apparently,” said Melody, in that particular tone ofvoice that meant she suspected much but could prove little, “a homeless guy found his way into the Haybarn and was discovered there the next day, quite dead. Possibly frightened to death. The workmen and restorers have refused point-blank to go back into the building, until Something Is Done…”
    Happy sighed heavily. “That still doesn’t explain why we…”
    “The Boss is sending us in as a personal favour for an old friend,” said JC.
    “Wish she’d do one for us,” growled Happy. “Like approving my expense claims without laughing in my face.”
    “Dear Catherine Latimer, our revered Boss and leader of us all, spoke to me personally about this,” said JC, and the other two immediately gave him