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Leanne:

Wasting Company Time presents Tell No Tales, Episode Thirteen: Little Sea-Monster

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[SFX: Recording Begins, Classical music playing]

Leo:

Audio diary of Leo Quinn, assistant to Frank Williamson, director of Better Place. Okay, so, plugging forward with the next category one. No distractions. No thinking about whether or not Julia’s going to call me back after that god-awful voice mail I left her asking her out. Nope, not thinking about that. Only thinking about the case file that Riley gave me. A case file that’s going to help me in so many ways. It’s going to help me finally make sure the recorder is ready for Mr. Whitley, and as an added bonus it’s going to help me not wonder what it means that it’s been over a day since the voice mail disaster and she still hasn’t called me back, but that’s beside the point because I’m supposed to be not thinking about that.

So. Case RM#2251, Category one, case status-active. Reported by Luke Murray via phone call, transcript of initial report:

Better Place Customer Services how can I help you?

Oh, hi there, I’m calling on behalf of Edgeware Leisure centre, we’re having an issue with, um, a haunting? Just a… y’know, a mild one.

A mild haunting? Can you tell me a little more about it?

Ah, well, it’s in the pool. Staff have mentioned it, a weird chill, like a draft has hit them wrong, and a feeling like they’re not alone, even when they’re locking up and the place is empty. It’s apparently worse during the, er, the swimming lessons, for the kids? So, I mean, like I said it’s not causing any harm right now but, that’s a bit concerning right? That it’s more intense during the kids’ swimming lessons? We have a, you know, a duty of care.

Of course, well, we’ll put our research team right on it. They may be in touch if they need any further information, and in the meantime, we’ll work on drawing up a quote for the estimated cost of removal and will aim to have that to you within five working days.

Oh, okay yeah thanks. Just, yeah as soon as you can, thanks for your help.

Right so, yeah, this guy’s right, it seems a bit iffy at first glance, but Riley was the research lead on this case, and Riley is exceptionally good at digging way too deep to get the information they want, which, despite being a massive headache for me 90% of the time, I suppose occasionally works out in my favour. So they searched through the lists of all the attendees who were signed up for swimming, and they found an Abigail Walker. She’s a young girl who had been taking swimming lessons once a week, but stopped for a few years when her mum, Jackie, passed away. She came back after a while, finished her classes, and kept coming back. She got really into it, swims competitively at school, and by now she’s a teenager, who volunteers as a teacher at the Saturday morning junior classes.

Further digging from Riley found that Abigail Walker’s mum, the one who passed away while she was taking lessons, had been divorced from her wife for a couple of years before she died. In terms of custody, Jackie only weekends with her daughter. So it makes sense that those Saturday mornings with her daughter meant a lot to her. Enough for her spirit to stay behind there. So, I’ll head out there today. Frank will be back by three today, so if I take an early-ish lunch break that’ll give me plenty of time to go over there, get the recording, and hopefully edit the audio and make some more notes. So. I’m going to get all my work done quick as I can, then head off for my lunch break as early as possible. See you on the other side!

[SFX: Recording Ends]

[SFX: Recording Begins, Classical music playing]

Leo:

Right, so! That wasn’t nothing! We’re getting somewhere, finally! I mean it wasn’t perfect, but I think with a few more tweaks, especially since Mr. Whitley moved over to a category two recently. I mean, there’s also the added issue of the pool having terrible acoustics. Don’t know exactly how that effects Ghost Voices but I mean, I doubt it’s helpful.. So a bit of context, I went down to the pool, gave them a fake name and told them I was from Better Place taking an initial evaluation of the area, so they closed the pool off for me for a little while.

[Atmospheric: Classical music fades out, heartfelt atmospheric music fades in]

It was strange, the feeling I got, you know, the staticky presence feeling, it didn’t feel quite so terrifying. I think it was because, at the exact moment it happened, small ripples disturbed the stillness of the empty pool. I think it tricked my brain into mistaking it for an oddly icy breeze or something. Not sure I fully understand the psychology of it, but for once, that tightening in my chest, it was almost something that I could ignore. She just wanted to help her daughter learn to swim, spend her Saturday mornings with her. She didn’t want to maim anyone, least of all me. Even if she could. So I sat, cross-legged on the side of the pool, watching the surface ripple and flutter, wondering if that meant that she was close to becoming a category two.

I spoke to her for a little while before I asked my questions. I told her who I was, why I was there. Told her what I knew of her daughter, what I’d found on her online, showed her her instagram on my phone. I’m not sure how well she could see it — again, still a little hazy on how the positioning and point of view works with category ones — but the goosebumps on my forearms faded away the more I talked. I still got the feeling I wasn’t alone, but it felt warmer, less hostile. More like Mrs. Daniels had felt at St. Joseph’s church. That was when I asked her my usual questions. I’ve cleaned the audio up as best I can, and I’ve spliced it together with an added voice over of my questions, same as the last few spirits, just… Here, listen for yourself.

Leo (On Recording):

Alright Ms. Williams, so to start, can you tell me a bit about yourself for the record?

Jackie (On Recording):

(DISTANTLY, A LITTLE TOO MUCH REVERB) Well, it sounds like you know most of it already. My name is Jackie Williams. When I met my now ex-wife Claire, she was already pregnant with Abigail, who was born on the 8th of January 2005. Abigail was my whole life, really, after that. I suppose that’s all you really need to know. I had hobbies and such, but they all feel somewhat unimportant now. Oh, I died in 2012, when Abigail was seven. Car crash. Nothing dramatic, just a broken traffic light and a blink of an eye. Then I was here, and a few years had passed.

Leo:

Can you tell me why you believe your spirit remained here, specifically?

Jackie:

Like I said, my daughter. She was everything to me in life, it’s unsurprising that my afterlife kept me connected to her in some way. When Abigail was five, her mother Claire and I split. No one reason why, we split mostly cordially, until custody became an issue. No affairs or hurt, just a slow realisation that we we’d grown into people who were no longer perfect for each other. Claire got custody, except weekends. We didn’t want anything too disruptive, so it hurt, to only get her on the weekend, but it was what was best for her. I wanted something special, to mark the weekends I got her. I didn’t just want her to come to my place and do her homework and watch cartoons. So I signed her up for swimming lessons. She took to them brilliantly, loved the water, it made her so happy, and it made me so happy to see her that way. Every other Saturday, I’d come here, I’d sit on the sidelines with the other parents and cheer her on, take her for ice cream afterwards, get her extra toppings whenever she got a certificate for being able to float on her back for ten seconds, or one of those milestone patches to sew onto her swimming costume. She got one near every week. I paid for a lot of extra toppings.

Leo:

And what has it been like, your after-life here?Jackie:
It’s been unusual, that much is certain. When I first became aware of my surroundings I had no idea how much time had passed. I didn’t even fully understand what had happened, my death had been so sudden, part of me wondered for a while if maybe I was in a coma, dreaming of Saturday mornings with my little girl. But my little girl wasn’t there any more. Then, after a while, she was. A young girl that I almost didn’t recognise right away, I hadn’t been expecting her to have grown so much. She was almost nine. And I watched, unseen, unheard, as her mum spoke to the swimming instructor. Explained that she’d stopped taking her classes due to bereavement, that it had been a long time but she wanted some help to get back into it. That was when it hit me. That was when I knew I had died. But it was also when I realised that my daughter valued our Saturdays together as much as I did. She came back, every other Saturday, and when she got her certificate, she came just to do laps. And I worked as hard as I could to make sure she felt my presence here. I think she did, sometimes. A strange look, a small smile. I can’t be sure, but it got me through the endless weeks, looking forward to seeing her again, cheering her on in my own way. When she got older, faster, better, she began volunteering at the same classes I used to take her to. She’s great with the kids. Tells them the same thing I used to tell her, “look at you go, little sea-monster. One more certificate and you’ll be putting the fish out of a job.” It’s like she’s letting me know she remembers me. Like she’s showing me she knows I’m still here.

Leo:

I’m sorry to tell you, Better Place have been called to initiate your removal. I don’t think it’s something I can stop, but I have to ask, is this something you consent to?

Jackie:

Oh. Oh that’s… I’m not sure. I don’t think I want to spend eternity haunting a swimming pool. Especially since Abigail won’t keep coming here forever, I know that. But I don’t think I’m ready to let go yet. I want to see her grow up for as long as I can. Even if that means endless stretches of days between each visit. It’s better than the alternative. Better than never seeing her again.

Leo:

Thanks for answering my questions, Jackie. Just before I go, would you like me to find a way to get this recording to your daughter? And if so, is there anything you’d like to tell her?

Jackie:

Oh. I… Yes, please, if you could. I wasn’t ready for this, didn’t think I’d ever get to speak to her again. If you could… Let her know that I’ve been here, please? Let her know that I love her, that I’ve been looking out for her, cheering her on, and that… Well, if I’m gone soon, let her know that she’ll be okay, she’ll do great things. And… I mean, if you know when Better Place are due to come, could you let her know that too? So that, if she’d like to, she can come and see me one last time, now that she knows I’m here? That way, if there’s anything she’d like to say to me… we both get closure.

Leo (No longer on recording):

So, yeah. It’s not the clearest, but it’s clear enough. Definitely clear enough to be utterly heartbreaking.

[SFX: Mouse clicks, classical music continues]

I’m going to send Abigail the recording, but without my voice. I’ll send it under a private account with a false name, and just a list of the questions I asked to give her some context. I don’t want… I don’t know her, you know? She’s a teenager, and she could tell her friends, and if it gets out that someone’s recording the voices of ghosts, and that gets traced back to me somehow… Yeah. I can’t risk that. But I can’t do nothing. I already feel so helpless, going to these places, talking to these spirits, hearing their voices and knowing that in a few days they’re going to be removed, whether they like it or not. And I haven’t even started being able to research what actually happens to the spirits once they’re sent to the warehouse. But one mystery at a time. I’ll put the Mr. Whitley thing to rest first before I start digging up any more unanswerable questions. I’ll have to head down to Highgate Cemetery as soon as possible, maybe even tonight? No, not tonight, tomorrow after work. I’ll have to see if Riley wants to…

[SFX: Distant muffled footsteps, getting closer]

Leo:

(HUSHED) Is that…? Oh, crap it’s three o’clock already, that’s…

[SFX: Door opens, office chair rolling as Leo jumps up]

Leo:

(LOUDLY) Hi, Mr. Williamson!

Frank:

(WARMLY) Leonardo, is everything well on the home front? Nothing burned down while I’ve been out?

Leo:

(FORCED LAUGHTER) No, sir. Just, er, a few messages. And a couple of scheduling issues, are you free for me to come discuss them in your office?

Frank:

I always have a free moment for my dutiful assistant, come on in. Where would I be without you, Leonardo?

[SFX: Frank’s office door opens]

Leo:

(STRAINED) mhmm!

[SFX: Footsteps as they both leave, and the door closes again. After a brief pause, in which the classical music continues playing, Leo’s office door opens slowly. Quiet rummaging through papers and drawers can be heard]

Mystery spy:

What are you hiding Leo?

[SFX: More Rummaging]

Mystery spy:

Hold on, this isn’t a work laptop. What have you got here, huh? Oh, now that’s interesting, why are you recording lil buddy? Wonder what else you’ve been recording…

[SFX: Recording Ends]

Closing theme begins

Leanne:

Episode Thirteen of Tell No Tales, Little Sea-Monster, was written and performed by Leanne Egan. You also heard the voices of Sophia Leggett as Jackie Williams, Asher Amor-Train as Frank Williamson, and a mystery cast-member as the un-named spy. If you enjoyed this episode, the best way to support the show is to spread the word. Leaving us a rating and review in your listening app of choice is a huge help, or you can follow us on Twitter or Tumblr @tellnotalespod Links and information about transcripts can be found in the show notes. Tell No Tales is distributed by Wasting Company Time Productions, under a Creative Commons attribution non-commercial share-alike 4.0 international license. Thank you for listening, and remember: the dead don’t bite.

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