A Deadly Lesson (Storage Ghost Murders Book 5) (3 page)

Chapter 7

“What
was the argument about?” Grace asked.

“I
think it was to do with money. I told you I was taking driving lessons. Mum and
Dad couldn’t afford to pay for them so I got a job working at a shop in town. I
paid for the lessons but Dad said he’d pay half. I told him no, but he
insisted. He told me not to tell Mum or Julianne, he said they didn’t need to know.
I think Julianne found out somehow, that’s what we were arguing about. I told
her I was trying my best to pass my test, she said I wasn’t trying hard enough
and that I should just give up.” Abbie sighed and looked down at her top. In a
quieter voice she added, “I didn’t know that Julianne could be so mean, she
never used to be.”

Grace
asked, “Do you know when she changed?”

Abbie
looked up. “Yes. It’s when she met Carlos. She met him on holiday in Spain one
year. She said he was the love of her life. Mum and Dad got the shock of their
lives when he came over here to live with her. I overheard Mum saying that she
didn’t trust him. Dad said they had to let Julianne make her own mistakes.”

“What
did you think about Carlos?”

Abbie
shrugged. “He was always nice to me, asked me about school and my friends. Julianne
never liked him talking to me. He even offered to give me extra driving lessons
but I heard Julianne mutter, ‘Over my dead body’. I don’t know why she acted
like that.”

“Sounds
like she was jealous,” Grace suggested.

Abbie’s
eyebrows rose. She waved a hand over herself and said, “Jealous of what?”

“You’re
a pretty girl,” Grace said. “You don’t seem to have much confidence in
yourself.”

Abbie
looked towards the sink. “Julianne’s the pretty one in the family, not me. I’m
supposed to be the brainy child but I can’t even pass my driving test.”

Grace
took a sip of her tea. Who had been speaking to Abbie in such a negative way?
Grace noted that Abbie spoke about her life as if she was still alive. She
wasn’t the first ghost to talk that way, it took a while for ghosts to come to
terms with their deaths.

Grace
said, “Tell me about your friend, Brooke.”

Abbie
looked back at Grace and smiled. “She’s awesome! We were going to go on holiday
together, we were planning on going round Europe. I’ve got a map in my bedroom
with all the cities marked out that we’re going to visit. We’ve been planning
it for years.”

“When
did you meet each other?”

“At
primary school. On my first day at school I was in tears because I didn’t want
Mum to leave me. The teacher told me to be quiet and shoved me towards the
sandpit. Brooke was there, she grabbed my hand and said she’d be my mum. She
looked after me all day, told me where to go and what to do. She was there for
me every day. She’s great, she always knows what’s best for me.”

Grace
said nothing.

Abbie
carried on, “We were friends all through school. I wanted to go to university
but Brooke didn’t. She was going to work in her dad’s travel company so she
didn’t need any more qualifications. It was Brooke’s idea for me to take a gap year
before university so that we could go travelling together. She’d even paid a
deposit for me as a surprise! I couldn’t say no.”

I
bet you couldn’t, Grace mused.

“Brooke
told me which cities to go to, she knew much more than me. I can’t believe how
lucky I am to have her as a friend.”

Grace
said, “What about boys? Did you have a boyfriend?”

Abbie
giggled and covered her mouth up as if trying to keep the sound in. “Brooke is
gorgeous, she had boys around her all the time but she wouldn’t go out with
anyone unless they had a friend to go out with me too.”

“How
thoughtful,” Grace said dryly. Brooke sounded like a control freak but it was
obvious that Abbie didn’t see that. Grace remembered something. “Tell me about
Ethan, you said he was at the party.”

Abbie
sighed happily. “He’s my second-best friend. I met him at primary school too.
He used to make me laugh all the time. Brooke didn’t like him, she said he was
a show-off. He was a bit, but I liked that. He knew what he wanted out of life,
he made plans all the time. He told me to do the same, he said you couldn’t
have a dream come true unless you knew what that dream was. I made plans of
everything! Brooke said I was being silly, but I made them anyway.”

“Didn’t
Brooke and Ethan get on?”

“Not
at all. All the girls at school fancied Ethan but Brooke said he was common and
that he looked like he needed a good wash. Ethan joked about us getting
married, I told him to stop being an idiot. He passed his driving test before
me. He was the first to give me a driving lesson, in his dad’s car. In a quiet
car park, of course, not on the main road. He told me I should take lessons and
he said he’d help me with the theory side of the test.” Abbie grabbed hold of the
bottom of her shirt and began to twist it in her hands.

Grace
saw the look on her face. She said to Abbie, “You love him, don’t you?”

Abbie
pressed her lips together and nodded.

Grace
said, “Did Brooke know how you felt?”

Abbie
released her shirt, a panic-stricken look on her face. “No way! She hates
Ethan, she’d kill me if she knew I loved him!”

Chapter 8

Grace
now had two suspects in mind – Julianne and Brooke. But she couldn’t
mention her suspicions to Abbie, the girl didn’t look as if she could handle that
information. Oh! Where was Pearl? She really needed to talk to her.

Grace
decided to go in a different direction with her questions. She said, “Abbie,
tell me about your party. You mentioned receiving some information that made
you sad, can you remember what it was yet?”

Abbie’s
forehead furrowed in concentration.

Grace
jumped as the kitchen door was flung open. Frankie stepped through carrying a
big box. He gave Grace a scathing look and said, “I see, having a rest again,
getting me to do all the work. Typical! Anyway, I’m still not talking to you.”

“Good,”
Grace said. She stood up and took her empty mug to the sink. Big Bob followed
Frankie in to the kitchen, he was carrying two huge boxes. He smiled at Grace.

Grace
returned his smile and said, “Cup of tea?”

“Aye,
that would be great, thanks. I’ll start putting this stuff in the shop. Your
Frankie’s bought loads of stock.”

Frankie
raised an eyebrow at Grace and said, “Yes, I have. I’ll have a cuppa too.”

Grace
folded her arms. “I thought you weren’t talking to me.”

A
look of confusion passed over Frankie’s face. Grace could almost hear the cogs
in his brain whirring. He stuttered, “I’ll talk to you when I need to. Doesn’t
mean I’ve forgiven you.”

Big
Bob shoved the boxes into Frankie’s back and said, “Stop being such an idiot,
and don’t talk to your sister like that. Come on, we’ve got work to do.”

Frankie
looked like he wanted to say more to Grace but he withered under the look that
Big Bob was giving him. Grace smiled as she turned away. Big Bob was right,
Frankie was an idiot sometimes, but he was her idiot and she wouldn’t change
him. Well – maybe she’d change his attitude, and his hygiene habits, or
lack of hygiene habits. She reached for the kettle and filled it up.

Abbie
flew to her side and said, “I wish I had a brother, it must be great.”

“It’s
awesome,” Grace said in a dry tone, then she laughed. “Actually, it is awesome.
He might not show it but Frankie cares about me. I can’t talk to you at the
moment, we can talk later. I’ll take that driving book home with me and you’ll
come along with it too.”

Abbie
said, “Doesn’t your brother know you can see ghosts?”

Grace
shook her head. “No, he wouldn’t understand.”

A
few minutes later Grace took two mugs of tea through to the shop. Frankie and
Big Bob had walked back and forth through the kitchen unloading the contents of
Big Bob’s van. Grace whistled when she saw the shop. “Wow! You have been busy.
Where are we going to put everything?”

“On
the shelves, of course,” Frankie said as he took a mug. “No biscuits? Have you
eaten them all – again?”

Grace
reached into her cardigan pocket and took out a pocket of unopened biscuits.
She purposely handed the packet to Big Bob who ripped the wrapper off. Frankie
muttered something under his breath and turned away.

Big
Bob tipped his head towards the book-filled shelves. “You’ve done a good job
there, Grace.”

Frankie
tutted. “No one buys books these days. What’s the point when you can watch
stuff on TV? You’ll never sell these.”

Big
Bob walked over to the books and reached out a hand. His other hand was still
clutched around the biscuits. “Westerns! I love a good western. How much for
this one?”

“Nothing,
you can have that for free,” Grace said. “You’ve helped us out today and we
appreciate it. Take as many as you like.”

Big
Bob put the biscuits on an empty shelf and opened the book he’d just picked up.
His smile grew as he read.

Frankie
grabbed the biscuits and turned to Grace. “Some businessman you are, giving
stuff away for free.”

“I’m
not a businessman, I’m a businesswoman. I’m going to put a sign up about those
books, buy one – get two free. They’ll soon go. I know what our customers
like.”

“Humph!
We’ll see,” Frankie muttered. His glance landed on something. “That might sell,
that book about driving, Steve’s missus has read that, she said it helped her
with her driving. Steve says she’s still useless though. Why isn’t it with the
others?”

Grace
snatched the book up. “That’s not for sale!”

“Whoa!
No need to shout! What do you want that for?”

Grace
looked down at the book and mumbled, “It might help me. I haven’t told you
before that I’m having trouble driving cars. I’m all right with the van, but I
can’t drive a car. It brings back memories of ... you know. And I’ve booked
myself a driving lesson tomorrow, a sort of refresher thing. I thought it might
help.”

Grace
was suddenly grabbed in a tight hug. Frankie held her against his chest and
said, “Why didn’t you tell me? I would have understood. I’ll pay for that
driving lesson and any others that you might need.”

Grace
muttered a thanks into his chest. Frankie patted her back and said, “You can do
it, you’re one of the strongest people I know.”

Grace
muttered another thanks. She heard a crunch. Was he eating a biscuit? She moved
out of his hug. He was munching a biscuit!

Frankie
waved the half-eaten biscuit at her and said, “I did have my suspicions about
your driving. You can do this, I know you can. And I’ll tell you something
else.”

Grace
looked from the biscuit to Frankie. He was totally ruining the effect of being
a caring brother.

Frankie
put the biscuit on a shelf and reached into his jacket pocket. He pulled out a
little blue book and handed it to Grace.

She
took it. “What’s this?”

“A
savings account. I set it up in your name. I’ve put a bit by every month. It’s
for you, to buy yourself a car.”

Grace
couldn’t stop her tears.

Neither
could Big Bob. He sniffed and said, “Frankie Abrahams, what a thoughtful thing
to do, you’ve just become my hero.”

Chapter 9

Despite
Big Bob’s protests, Grace insisted on helping with the unloading of the rest of
the items from his lorry. The driving book was secure in her handbag.

A
few hours later the task was complete. Grace stood with her hands on her hips
and surveyed the shop. “Well, we’ve certainly got a packed shop. It looks great.
You’ve done a good job, Frankie.”

“I
know. Right! Time for the pub. Big Bob?”

Big
Bob nodded. “I’ll take the lorry home and meet you there. Grace, are you
coming? You’re more than welcome.”

Grace
shot a glance at Abbie, the young ghost was swooping around the shop with a
look of glee on her face. Grace wanted to find out a lot more about her. “No,
but thanks for the offer anyway. Frankie, can I take the van home? I don’t
think the buses are running at this time of the day.”

“Course
you can. If you get chance, give it a tidy out. There’s rubbish everywhere.”
Frankie sniffed his armpits and then shook his head. “I’d better change, never
know who I’m going to meet at the pub! It could be some lady’s lucky night.”

Frankie
winked at Grace and then shot towards the stairs at the back of the shop.

Big
Bob said, “Is he still living in the stockroom upstairs?”

Grace
nodded. “I’ve given up on trying to convince him to move out. We’re planning to
do some alterations, make it more habitable. Thanks again for all your help
today, we really appreciate it.”

“Anytime.
Sure you won’t come to the pub? I don’t like the idea of you being alone all
the time.”

Grace
jumped slightly as Abbie flew too close to her. She wasn’t going to be alone.
She said, “I’ll be fine.”

Twenty
minutes later, Grace walked through the door of her house. Abbie wasted no time
in exploring it. The first port of call for Grace was the kitchen. Kettle on
and ready-made lasagne in the microwave. She smiled to herself. The good thing
about having ghosts around was that you didn’t have to offer them food and
drink.

She
took the hot meal and drink into her living room and sat on the sofa. Abbie
descended to her side.

Grace
said, “Do you want to tell me more about the night you died?”

Abbie
shook her head. She pointed to Grace’s collection of DVDs. “How come you’ve got
the next two seasons of Downton Abbey? They haven’t been on the telly yet. Are
they imports from somewhere?”

Grace’s
fork paused in mid-air. Ah. Of course. She’d forgotten to ask Abbie an important
question. She put her fork down and said, “When did you have your eighteenth
party?”

“August
twentieth. Can we watch Downton Abbey? I haven’t seen the next series. I
watched it with Mum, Dad used to grumble all the way through it but I think he
liked it too.”

Grace
hadn’t finished with her questions. “Abbie, what year were you eighteen?”

Abbie
tutted and rolled her eyes. “This year of course!”

Grace
carried on, “What year do you think it is?”

Abbie
gave her a pitying look as if Grace was losing her mind. “It’s 2011, everyone
knows that. Is there something wrong with you?”

Grace
paused for a moment. Should she tell her the truth now? How would she react?
Grace sighed. Abbie had to know sooner or later. Grace said, “It’s November
2014. You’ve been dead for nearly three and a half years.”

Abbie
crossed her arms and pushed herself further into the sofa. “You’re lying. I
haven’t been dead that long. I’d know.”

Grace
picked up the remote control and aimed it at the TV. The date automatically
showed up as the TV came on. Abbie stiffened and looked away. Grace caught
sight of her tears. She felt awful but Abbie had needed to be told. Grace put
her meal to one side and stood up. She picked up a couple of DVDs and showed
them to Abbie. Keeping her voice bright, she said, “Let’s watch these. You
won’t believe what’s happened!”

Abbie
brusquely wiped a tear away and turned back to Grace. “Can we watch all of
them?”

Grace
nodded and placed the first DVD in the player. It was going to be a long night.

The
following morning, Grace rubbed her neck as she stood in the shop with Frankie.
It had not been a good idea to fall asleep on the sofa last night.

Frankie
was getting ready to open the shop. He rubbed his hands together and said, “I
bet we make a ton of money with my items today. I don’t think anyone will buy
those dusty books of yours, they already look as if they’ve done thirty rounds
with charity shops.”

“We’ll
see,” Grace said. She wiped her palms on her jeans. “I’m just popping to the
toilet.”

“Again?
What’s wrong with you? Got some sort of water infection? You need to get
yourself to the doctor. I’ve heard that women of your age start experiencing
all sorts of problems as they get older.”

“You’re
older than me. I’m nervous, that’s all.”

“Nervous
about what?” Frankie said. Then realisation dawned. “Your driving lesson! I’d
forgotten.” He waved a hand at her. “You’ll be fine. Shall I move those china
cups higher up? You know what our older customers are like, clumsy lot.”

Grace
ignored him and paid another visit to the toilet. She gave herself a quick
talking to in the mirror. It was no use, she was nervous and no amount of
positive self-talk was going to help her. She decided that when the driving
instructor turned up she’d apologise and send him away.

Frankie
yelled through to her, “Grace! He’s here! That driving instructor bloke. Hurry
up! The idiot’s parked right in front of the shop.”

Grace
wiped her hands again. Where was all the sweat coming from? She grabbed her
handbag. The driving book was inside. Abbie said she wanted to come with Grace,
and Grace had been comforted by the thought of having her there. What was Abbie
going to say when Grace cancelled the lesson?

Frankie
was holding the front door open.

Grace
began, “Frankie, I don’t think I ...”

Frankie
beamed at her and said, “I’m so proud of you. And I know Mum and Dad would be
too. You can do it! I know you can.”

Grace
swallowed. She could hardly back out now. She stepped into the street, Abbie at
her side.

The
driving instructor was waving at her from the passenger side of the car. What?
Was he expecting her to get in the driver’s seat now? Straight away?

Abbie
clapped her hands together. “It’s Ted! He’s lovely, you’re lucky to get him and
not his wife. She’s a right cow!”

Frankie
called out, “Hurry up, Grace! That car’s in the way, it’s starting to cause a
jam.”

Grace’s
shaking legs managed to move her forward. Her hand trembled as she pulled open
the driver’s door. She gave Ted a wobbly smile. He said something but the
buzzing in her ears drowned him out. Grace tried to start the car up, but it
was hard to do that with a shaking hand.

Abbie
sat in the back seat. She said, “Come on, Grace, you can do it.”

Grace
felt her heart speeding up, it sounded like it was thudding in her ears. She
turned to the smiling face of Ted and said, “I’m sorry ... I can’t ...”

Ted’s
smile didn’t falter. In a cheerful voice he said, “Not to worry. Let’s swap
places. I’ll drive first. We’ll go somewhere quiet and you can tell me what’s
worrying you. Come on, no need for tears.”

Grace
hadn’t realised she was crying. She gave Ted a grateful smile. They each got
out of the car and swapped places. She could feel Frankie looking at her from
the shop, she put her head down as she got into the passenger’s seat.

Ted
started the engine and said, “Now then, that’s better. You might not believe me
but I used to be like you. I had a bad experience and it put me off driving for
life.” He quickly pulled into the traffic. “Now look at me! A driving
instructor! If I can do it, then so can you. Let’s put some music on.”

Music
filled the car, Ted sang along loudly and Abbie placed a cold hand on Grace’s
shoulder. Grace was thankful for the support. Her heartbeat slowed down and she
began to feel normal.

Could
she actually do this? Drive a car again?

She
suddenly remembered something. Abbie knew Ted. Could she pump Ted for
information about Abbie? That would take her mind off her driving for sure.