The Death Planner (Storage Ghost Murders Book 6) Page 5

  Grace turned away from her brother as he walked through the door. Pearl came to her side and immediately caught her sad look. “What’s wrong? Don’t let him get to you. You know how thoughtless he is.”

  Grace waved a hand at Pearl, annoyed with herself for suddenly becoming emotional. “It’s not that, Pearl. What if this thing between Frankie and Beth is real? What if he moves out? What if they get married? What if they don’t want anything to do with me?” Grace’s voice became louder.

  “There, there, lass. Calm down. This romance of Frankie’s could fizzle out in a day. What’s really going on, Grace?”

  Grace wiped her eyes. “I think I’m scared of being on my own. I’ve never been on my own before. There was always Mum and Dad. And Frankie of course. I’ve had a few boyfriends but nothing serious. Do you think I should start looking for someone, someone to settle down with?”

  “No, I bloody don’t!” Pearl exploded. “What’s wrong with being on your own? You can do what you want, when you want! Don’t think you have to be with someone just because Frankie has a girlfriend. Do you really want a man in your life at the moment?”

  Grace thought about Pearl’s question. Then she remembered how relaxed she’d felt at home, about how she could eat what she wanted, and watch what she wanted on the telly. She smiled at Pearl and said, “Why are you so wise?”

  “I don’t know, I just am,” Pearl replied. She tapped Grace on the arm. “The right person will come along at the right time. And it’ll be someone who accepts your gift. Now, forget about idiot-boy upstairs. Did you find Elsa?” Pearl looked around the kitchen. “Where’s Jenny? I could have sworn I saw her come in with you.”

  Grace heard a mumbling coming from the corner of the kitchen. She walked over and saw Jenny crouched on the floor. Jenny was fixated on her clipboard and was scribbling furiously.

  Pearl cocked her head. “What’s she going on about?”

  Grace lowered herself next to Jenny and listened. She frowned and looked back at Pearl. “She’s going on about flowers, food and guests. Pearl, what’s wrong with her?”

  Pearl looked closer at Jenny. “She’s covering something up. She knows something but her mind is protecting her, her memories won’t come forward.”

  Grace gently called Jenny’s name. Jenny didn’t respond, she kept scribbling on her board and muttering to herself.

  Grace stood up. “I’d better get on with my investigations.” She told Pearl what they had found out about Elsa, and what Grace intended to do next.

  Pearl nodded. “I think that’s the only thing you can do. You’d better leave young Jenny with me, she’s not going to be any use to you at the moment.”

  Grace returned the headset to the cleaning cupboard. She called up the stairs to Frankie and told him she was going. She added that he was more than welcome for the flowers. Frankie shouted something that sounded like a goodbye. Grace realised she wasn’t going to get a thank you from him any time soon.

  She left the shop and drove back to the car park where Elsa’s flower van was. She’d noted the closing times written on a board at the side of the van earlier. It was nearly time for Elsa to close up now.

  Grace was going to follow Elsa to her home, knock on her door and tell Elsa that she was helping her dead sister find out who had murdered her. She had a feeling that Elsa would accept the fact that Grace could see ghosts.

  It was a simple plan. What could go wrong?

  Chapter 12

  Grace pulled into the car park for the second time that day. Elsa’s van was still there and Grace could just about make out some movement near the van. She could really do with a pair of binoculars if she was going to start spying on people.

  No need. She could use the zoom facility on her phone. Grace took her phone out and aimed it towards Elsa. The zoom facility was adequate. Grace saw Elsa packing up the van whilst talking to someone on her phone. If Grace was a spy, or a professional private detective, she could have placed a listening device on Elsa’s van on her earlier visit.

  Grace shook her head at her own thoughts. What kind of person was she turning into? But there again, she was doing this to help Jenny, not because she was a busybody who couldn’t mind her own business.

  Grace put her phone down as Elsa climbed into the van and drove out of the car park. Grace slowly followed her, allowing another car to come between her and the flower van.

  Grace drove behind Elsa’s van for the next twenty minutes. They headed towards a less well-to-do part of town and Elsa struggled to get her van up some of the narrow streets.

  Elsa parked up outside a mid-terraced house and jumped out of her van. Even before she headed into a house, Grace could guess which one belonged to Elsa. The small front yard was full of flowers in all the colours imaginable. Hanging baskets adorned the windows and front door. Pots stood proudly on the three stone steps that Elsa now walked up.

  Grace parked a short distance from the house and considered her next move. She was taking a chance on telling Elsa that she could see ghosts, and that of her deceased sister in particular. Grace was counting on Elsa to understand and accept this. She was basing this on the short conversation that she’d had with Elsa earlier. Grace had learnt to trust her instincts. Sometimes they were wrong but Grace had to just go ahead and take action anyway.

  She opened the car door and was about to step out when something stopped her. There was a movement outside Elsa’s house.

  An expensive-looking car had parked right outside and a middle-aged man was getting out. Grace quickly whipped her phone out and zoomed in on him. He’d already turned away from Grace’s view and was heading up the steps towards Elsa’s front door. Some instinct told Grace to take photographs. She took the first one as the mystery man raised his left hand to knock on the door. Grace immediately noticed his wedding band. The door was flung open and Elsa’s happy face looked out at the man. She opened her arms and leaned in for a kiss. The man roughly shoved her out of the way and stepped into the house, closing the door behind him.

  Grace put her phone down. She’d taken photos throughout the short exchange. She’d show them to Jenny later and see if she recognised the man, albeit from the back of his head.

  It was obvious that Elsa had been pleased to see her visitor, but he hadn’t been pleased with her reaction. Why was that? The man was married. He couldn’t be Elsa’s husband because he had knocked on the door. Was Elsa having an affair with him? That could explain why he didn’t want a public display of affection. Grace looked up and down the road to see if anyone would have seen their greeting anyway. No. There was only one person spying on them, and that was her.

  Grace waited ten more minutes to see if the man left. He didn’t. Grace sighed. She couldn’t approach Elsa now, she’d rather speak to her on her own.

  Grace’s phone beeped. There was a text message from Beth. Grace was so lost in her thoughts that she couldn’t think who Beth was.

  Then she remembered. Beth was Frankie’s very new girlfriend. Why was she sending Grace a text? And how had she got hold of Grace’s number?

  Grace tried to feel indignant at this invasion of privacy, fancy interrupting her when she was spying on someone! She was prepared to feel angry at Beth’s forwardness and was already planning a curt reply, then she read the text:

  ‘Hi Grace, this is Beth. I hope you don’t mind me contacting you! Frankie gave me your number. I wanted to say thank you for the beautiful flowers, they smell amazing. Frankie said he’d bought them but I knew a woman with good taste must have got them (men are useless at buying flowers). I hope we get to meet soon, Frankie has told me so much about you. Have a great evening.’

  Grace sniffed. She supposed that was nice of her to send a text. She wasn’t sure how she felt about this stranger who had so suddenly entered their lives. Grace looked through the windscreen. Frankie deserved some happiness, he’d been through as much sadness as she had. She shouldn’t judge Beth, she hadn’t even met the woman yet.

 
; Grace sent a friendly reply and wished Beth a great evening too. She didn’t put any kisses at the end of the text, there was no need to go overboard.

  Grace looked towards Elsa’s house. The bedroom curtains were now drawn. There was no point hanging around. Grace started up her car and drove away.

  When Grace arrived home she put the kettle on and put a ready meal in the oven. She opened up her laptop and began to search for other party organisers in the area. She was hoping to find someone who knew Jenny. There were quite a few companies. Grace checked each site. Some had been in business for over five years. Could one of these business be run by a rival of Jenny’s? That was a possibility. Grace would mention the older businesses to Jenny and see if she recognised any of them.

  Grace switched off her laptop and then settled down with her hot lasagne.

  So, there was now a mystery man on the scene. Was he somehow involved in Jenny’s murder? There was the mystery couple at the wedding, the couple who had upset Jenny for some reason. And there was the identity of Jenny’s best friend to uncover, the one who had given her the headset.

  Too many mysteries. Grace switched the TV on and tried to take her mind off the mysteries by watching a recorded episode of Morse. How long would it be before Morse asked Lewis to buy him a drink? Grace smiled ten minutes later when the duo headed into a country pub. Morse always solved his mysteries, and Grace was confident that she would solve this one.

  A prickly thought jumped into her mind - she had to solve it soon, before someone else was murdered.

  Chapter 13

  Grace woke up early the next day and soon discovered a text from Frankie. He informed her that he would be late into the shop that morning. Grace noticed that the text had been sent at 3 a.m. What was he doing at that time of the morning? She quickly shook her head as an unwanted image tried to make its way into her thoughts.

  She jumped out of bed, eager to begin her day. She sang as she put the kettle on. Pearl was right about her being on her own, it was nice to do what she wanted without having to refer to anyone else.

  Grace was still in a happy mood as she walked into the shop at 8 a.m. She went into the kitchen and found Pearl sitting at the kitchen table.

  Pearl smiled and said, “You look lovely this morning, I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a sparkle in your eyes. Are you drunk? Have you been taking some happy pills?”

  Grace laughed. “No! I feel good today. I feel like I’ve got a purpose in my life.” She paused, unsure whether to carry on. “I could help those ghosts of yours, the ones that need help.”

  Pearl stood up. “No, thanks. Tell me what you found out yesterday. Did you confront Elsa? What did she say when you said you could see ghosts? Did she slap you? Swear at you? Show you the door?”

  Grace shook her head. “None of those. Sit back down and I’ll tell you everything.”

  Pearl did so. She listened as Grace told her about the mystery man. When she’d finished, Pearl said, “We need to get some answers from Jenny. I think you should try going into a vision again.” Pearl tapped the kitchen table in an irritated manner. “I don’t mind helping these ghosts but it would be a lot easier if they stopped wallowing in self-pity!”

  “Where’s Jenny now?”

  Pearl waved vaguely towards a wall. “Organising something or other.” She stood up and walked towards the door that led to the shop. “You’ve got customers queuing up outside. You’d better let them in before they break the door down. I’ll have a word with Jenny, I might need to get tough with her. This murder business needs sorting out quickly.” Pearl frowned and looked away from Grace.

  Grace could see that Pearl was worried about something. She didn’t have time to question her as a knock sounded out from the shop door.

  Pearl tutted and said, “Some people are so impatient. Off you go, Grace. You do what you have to do, and I’ll … I’ll see you later.” She vanished without another word.

  Grace made herself a quick cup of tea. It wasn’t even 9 o’clock yet. The impatient customers could wait a few more minutes.

  Five minutes later, Grace unlocked the shop door. She opened it a fraction and said in a firm voice, “No shoving! No pushing! And no haggling! The price on the label is the only price! Okay?”

  The customers nodded meekly, unused to Grace using such a firm tone with them.

  Grace gave them a smile and opened the door. She wasn’t sure where that surge of confidence had come from. Perhaps she was channelling her inner-Pearl.

  Two hours quickly passed as Grace dealt with one customer after another. Her feet began to ache and she became desperate for the toilet. She checked her phone a few times to see if Frankie had an update on his expected time of arrival. Nothing.

  Grace was about to ask a trusted customer to take over for a moment when the door opened and Frankie came in. He was holding the hand of a woman.

  All thoughts of paying a visit to the toilet disappeared as Grace looked Beth up and down. She had short dark hair, a slim figure and was dressed in jeans and a light purple jumper. At first sight, she didn’t look anything special. But then Grace looked at Beth’s face. It was a kind face, the face of someone who cared about others. She had twinkly brown eyes which now focused on Grace.

  Beth took her hand from Frankie’s and stepped forward. She smiled at Grace, her front tooth was slightly crooked which only added to the friendliness of her face. She wasn’t some impossibly beautiful ‘angel’. She was normal. And Grace took to her immediately.

  Beth handed over a paper bag and a cardboard-covered cup. “Hello, you must be Grace. I’m sorry I’ve kept Frankie out so late. I’ve brought you a sandwich and some coffee. You probably haven’t had time to think this morning, let alone have a hot drink!” Beth quickly took in her surroundings. “I didn’t know it would be this busy! Frankie, you shouldn’t have left Grace alone all this time!” Beth leaned closer to Grace. “Do you need to go to the … you know. I have to go all the time!”

  Grace warmed to Beth even more. She took the coffee and sandwich. “Thank you. I do need to go, but I can wait.”

  “Nonsense. You go now.” Beth placed her handbag on the shop counter. She turned to Frankie and said, “Get round there, Frankie. Your poor sister has been run off her feet.”

  Frankie nodded and gave Beth a soppy smile. He looked like he was under some sort of spell. He moved round to Grace’s side of the counter.

  Beth pointed at the paper bag. “I hope you don’t mind but I bought you a chocolate brownie too.”

  Grace smiled at her new friend. No wonder Frankie had fallen for her.

  Beth came round to Grace’s side and said, “You go and have a break. I’ll help Frankie.”

  Frankie gave Beth another soppy smile. Grace took the paper bag and cup with thanks. She quickly walked away from the counter before Frankie came to his senses. She headed towards the kitchen, hoping that Jenny would be there.

  Jenny was there. Grace stopped in her tracks when she saw what Jenny was doing.

  Chapter 14

  Jenny was standing in the corner of the kitchen. She was screaming and waving her clipboard madly in front of her.

  Grace felt like screaming too when she saw what, or who, Jenny was waving her board at. Grace quickly put her coffee and paper bag on the kitchen table, planted her hands on her hips and said firmly, “Right! That’s enough! Stop right there!”

  The wailing ghosts that were converging on Jenny stopped in their tracks. There was silence for a moment then a thin man in a business suit shouted, “She has to help us! I have to see Sarah! I have to tell her something!”

  The other ghosts began moaning and groaning. Grace held her hands up. “No one is going to help you if you carry on like that! Step away from Jenny. Can’t you see that you’re scaring her?” Some of the ghosts lowered their outstretched hands. Some took a step closer to Jenny who was now whimpering. Grace felt anger rising in her. There was steel in her voice as she hissed, “I said that was enough.”

/>   All the ghosts turned towards Grace. The thin man pointed a bony finger at her. “You! You have to help us!”

  Pearl suddenly appeared at Grace’s side. Grace had never seen her look so angry. Pearl raised her fist towards the ghosts and yelled, “What have I told you lot? I told you to be patient! I told you to wait! How dare you come into this world without my invitation!”

  The thin man began to argue, “But we …”

  “Oi! Skeleton-face! I’m talking. You get back to where you belong. Now!” Pearl advanced on them. “I’m not even sure I want to help you any more! You ungrateful mob of hooligans!”

  A smaller ghost gestured towards the thin man and muttered, “It was his idea, Pearl.”

  Pearl threw her hands up. “Enough! Get back to your side and think about what you’ve done!”

  The ghosts moved towards the far wall of the kitchen and disappeared. Pearl let out a sigh of relief and turned to Grace. “I’m sorry you had to see that. The buggers sneaked out whilst I had my back turned.” Pearl looked towards Jenny, her face softened and she walked over to her. “Jenny, love, they’ve gone now. There’s no need to cry.”

  Grace moved over to the two ghosts. She jerked her thumb towards the far wall. “Pearl, what was going on there? What do they all want?”

  “It’s nothing to do with you. I’ve told Jenny about your visit to Elsa’s house yesterday. Show her the photos, she might recognise that man.”

  Grace frowned as she looked at Jenny. “She doesn’t look as if she’s able to talk.”

  Pearl patted Jenny on her shoulder and said, “Come on, Jenny. We need to get this sorted out. Wipe your tears and have a look at those pictures that Grace has taken.”

  Grace didn’t miss the urgent tone in Pearl’s voice. She took out her phone and showed Jenny the photos.

  Jenny narrowed her eyes. “That could be anyone. I don’t recognise the back of his head. But it could be … no … it couldn’t be. Could it?”