A Deadly Lesson (Storage Ghost Murders Book 5) (15 page)

Chapter 36

Grace
lifted the ice pack off her hand. She winced as she gingerly touched her
bruised hand.

Pearl
chuckled at her side. “Tell me again how hard you hit him. I knew those
self-defence lessons would come in handy.”

Grace
flexed her fingers. “I’ve never punched someone in the face before. I can still
hear the crack as his nose broke.” She shook her head. “The blood went
everywhere, I didn’t know there was so much blood in a face.”

“Serves
him right. Taking advantage of young Abbie. From what you’ve said, it seems she
wasn’t the only one. Tell me again what his wife said when she turned up, she
must have sworn at him.”

Grace
replied, “She was really calm, as if she’d been expecting something like this.
She was more concerned for my safety, kept asking me if I was all right.”

Pearl
folded her arms and leant back in her chair. “She must have known something was
going on.”

“Perhaps,
but I don’t think she suspected murder. Anyway, that’s for the police to deal
with now. It seems that Ted wasn’t teaching Abbie properly on purpose, that’s
why she couldn’t pass her test. He wanted to spend more time with her.” She
flexed her hand again. “I hope I don’t have to punch anybody soon, I don’t think
my hand can take it.”

“You
did well, I’m proud of you,” Pearl said.

“Thank
you,” Abbie said from across the table. “I’m sorry I couldn’t remember about
Ted, I feel like an idiot for not remembering!”

Pearl
explained, “Sometimes, memories are hidden from us, to keep us safe.” She
smiled. “How’s the little one doing?”

Abbie
smiled down at her newborn son. “He’s wonderful. Thank you for helping through
his birth.”

Pearl
shrugged. “That’s okay, I’ve done it before.”

Grace
added, “Thanks for doing that away from me. I’m not sure I could have dealt
with seeing a ghost birth.” She looked closer at the infant. “He’s cute, looks
a bit like your dad.”

Abbie’s
smile faltered. “Do you think Dad will be okay?” She looked behind Grace, her
face lit up. “Oh! She’s here!”

Grace
knew who she was talking about. The ghost of Dorothy Quill floated through the
kitchen table and over to Abbie’s side. She smiled down at her daughter and
said, “He’s a bonny chap, my first grandchild. Can I hold him?”

“Of
course, Mum. I’m so glad you’re here. Well, not glad that you had to die, but
glad that you’re here with me. You look like did before I died.”

Abbie
handed her son over. Dorothy took him and then looked over at Grace. “You knew,
didn’t you? At the home, when you came to see me, you knew I was going to die
soon.”

Grace
nodded. “I saw a white line around you. Abbie saw it too. Does Derek know that
you’ve gone?”

Dorothy
nodded. “He had his arms wrapped round me when I went. He told me all about Ted
Fairway, what an evil man he is! I hope he gets his just desserts. I told Derek
it was time for me to go, I said I needed to look after Abbie, and he needed to
look after Julianne. He was tearful but I think he’ll be okay. He said
something about becoming a private investigator!”

Grace
laughed. “He’d be good at that. How’s Julianne? Did you see her? I need to
thank her for trying to warn me about Ted. She was the one who was phoning me
as I set off with Ted after speaking to her. She knew about Ted’s reputation,
lots of people did. And yet, no one did anything about it.”

Dorothy
nodded sadly. “Don’t worry about that now, Grace. I can’t say thank you enough
for all you’ve done. We have to go now, you take good care of yourself. Perhaps
you could keep an eye on Derek, maybe he could help you with your
investigations.”

Abbie
added, “Can you tell Ethan what happened between me and Ted? Tell him I was a
fool to fall for him, I didn’t know what I was doing.”

Grace
promised to do so. She wasn’t sure that Ethan would understand though. She felt
her eyes prickle as the cosy-looking threesome lit up and then disappeared. She
sighed, “I always feel sad when they go.”

“I
know, but they have to,” Pearl said. She studied Grace for a moment. “Are you
okay? Is something bothering you?”

Grace
shook her head. “It’s this whole murder business, it always makes me feel sad.
I don’t feel like I’m helping much.”

“Of
course you are! You got that scumbag locked up. He could have done it again in
the future for all you know. And you’ve helped Julianne and Derek. That’s not a
bad idea about Derek helping you in the future. I wouldn’t mind laying my eyes
on his lovely knees again.”

Grace
smiled. Then she said, “Oh! I’ve just remembered something. Frankie heard your
voice the other day. How can he hear you? Can he see you too?”

Pearl
smiled and tapped the side of her nose. “That’s a mystery for another day. I
have to go now.”

“No!
Explain yourself! Come back!” Grace called out. Pearl disappeared. Grace sighed
and shook her head. “That woman!”

A
note from the author

I
love watching storage auction programmes. I’ve never been to one but I’d love
to visit one of the big ones in America, I’m sure I’d be useless at bidding
though – I’d be too excited.

When
I watch the shows I always wonder where the items have come from, and who they
belonged to. I wondered what would happen if some of the items had ghosts
attached. I reached a point where I couldn’t stand it anymore and I knew I had
to write some stories down, I was inspired by the variety of items that have
been discovered in storage lockers. Also, I am a big fan of ‘cozy’ murder
mysteries and I wanted to combine items found in a locker with a murder!

I
hope you enjoyed this story. If you did could you post a quick review? Thank
you, I read all my reviews and I really do appreciate them.

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Kind
regards

Gillian