Horror Stories from Horrified - Volume One (2)

Other shapes emer ged fr om the cloud. Denholm stood among a lar ge number of
figur es w ear ing clothing of assor ted styles and ages, some tr aditional and some
much finer. They w er e an incongr uous gr oup that had no r eason to be either
together , or in point of fact, to be ther e at all.
The man in blue stood befor e the investor. The gr oup stood silently behind at a
r espectful distance. He extended a smooth hand, w hich pr oved to be w ell
manicur ed and cold to the touch as Denholm shook it tentatively.
?Mr Denholm ...We ar e the dead.?
Denholm was usher ed into his ow n casino, past the planned gaming floor , to a
near ly completed office at the back by the figur e in blue. It was har d not to think of
him as a fellow man r ather than a shade of a man fr om beyond the ear thly r ealm.
They sat together in the lar gely unfur nished office. Denholm was r eminded of his
fir st meeting w ith Lucky.
He consider ed in his ow n mind w hether the law yer may also have had such an
inter view w ith the same ghost at some stage. He w onder ed too w hether the law yer
tr uly held the gr ounded view s that he had pr eviously expr essed on such matter s to
him.
It has been said that a man can r ealise a thing in a single moment, and still lose it
in the long hour s that follow. For Denholm, the sw ift r ealisation that not only did
the dead co-exist in the same w or ld that he did, but that they may r equir e
something of him, became lost in such a way in the time that follow ed. It was lost
among the dr eams held of his futur e empir e, w hich he for esaw as spr inging fr om
the pr ofits of the casino?s success. It was lost in the r oute to this dr eam that the
figur e befor e him began to descr ibe.
?We ar e the dead, Mr Denholm. I believe w e may be able to help you w ith your
hotel. Per haps w e may help our selves at the same time. We have a shar ed aim. We
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