Night Call (Book 2): Demon Dei by L.J. Hayward Page B

away down a hall.
    Presuming I was to follow, I did so. “You know Kermit? I mean, Afzal.”
    He laughed. “He told me you called him Kermit. He doesn’t really understand the meaning, but he doesn’t like it all the same. Yeah, I met him couple of months back. I was doing some studies in the Dutton Park Cemetery and came across him. Neat fella. Knows a lot of stuff about ghosts.”
    Kermit, aka Afzal, was a ghoul. As far as ghouls go, he’s pretty decent. He’s only tried to kill me once, so that’s a tick in the pro column. As a species, ghouls are disgusting creatures. They eat rotting flesh and hence, love graveyards. Further hence, they stink of corrupting flesh and decay. Personality wise, they’re as varied as your average conniving, mercenary, low level scum can get. A ghoul convention would make Mos Eisley look like Disneyland. But, like I said, I can tolerate Kermit. If I’m in a good mood. Him talking about me to strangers didn’t really put me in a good mood.
    “You want to know about ghosts?” Tobias asked, leading me to certain doom amongst the endless seeming corridors of a university building.
    “Yeah. Specifically, how solid can they get?”
    “Solid? You mean, like poltergeists? Where they can affect their physical surrounds? That’s not really solid. They use a lot of psychic energy to do that, not physical.”
    “Could a poltergeist break a man’s nose?”
    We went up a set of narrow stairs about as steep as the slops on Mount Everest.
    “Sure. Poltergeists are well known for breaking things, bones amongst them. They’ve even been documented to pick people up and throw them out of windows.”
    “Cool.” Morbid, but you can’t deny that’s not cool. “And poltergeists are generally very angry, right?”
    “Generally. It takes a strong residual emotion after death to bring back a spirit with the ability to affect its physical environment. A lot of the strong emotions have negative connotations.”
    The stairs ended in another long corridor. But this one had a distinctive smell. Tobias hurried along and then stopped abruptly. He put down his bucket and began mopping with furious intent. I caught up just in time to get a glob of vomit on my shoe.
    “Sorry. Let me get that.” He mopped off my shoe. “Bloody kids. Go out drinking all night then think they can come to lectures. Where’s your poltergeist? Need me to come along and help with the banishment?”
    “It’s in Adelaide and I don’t know anything about banishments. I just wanted to find out if what this guy told me is even possible.” While Tobias mopped with surprising efficiency I related Nick Carson’s story.
    “Nick Carson? Wow. He’s really big in the shark world.” He finished and we were off and racing once more.
    “I’m sure he’ll be pleased you recognise him. Can you help him with his girlfriend?” I hadn’t done this much cardiac exercise in a long time. I’d need a nap when I got home.
    “Probably could. But I’ve never been to Adelaide. And it’s a really fascinating case. I’ve not heard of a ghost watching TV before.”
    “Me neither.” Not that that said much. “Perhaps you could talk to Nick personally. Maybe you can help him over the phone.”
    “That would be great. I can ask him about this book I read.” He stopped suddenly and looked wistful. “It’s about a giant, prehistoric shark that comes out of the Mariana Trench. I don’t think it could ever really happen.” Then he shook off the mood and rushed on. “What’s his number?”
    “I don’t have it. Our phone conversation was cut off abruptly. I’ll have to hunt down his contact details or wait for him to call back.”
    “The ghost cut off the phone?” he asked excitedly.
    “No, I think he did, to stop her from talking to me. Their relationship hasn’t been so crash hot since she died, I guess.”
    “She thinks she’s alive. If he’s calling her a liar, that’s got to be making her angry. Strange case, but