Lost And Found: A Cozy Ghost Mystery (Storage Ghost Mysteries Book 2) (5 page)

Chapter 13

Grace
found it hard to sleep that night, despite Clive assuring her that he would
stay nearby to defend her if needed.

Her
dreams switched between the horrible car crash and feeling powerless as it
flipped over, to being eaten alive by an Eddie-looking shark.

Clive
looked at her with concern when she came into the kitchen the next morning.
“You’re going to age yourself with those worry lines, young lady.”

“I
know, I worry too much,” Grace said. She reached for the tea bags. She couldn’t
face eating any breakfast just yet.

Clive
leant against a worktop and folded his arms. “You need to have some fun, enjoy
life. Have you got a boyfriend? Someone to spoil you?”

Grace
flicked the kettle on. “I did have a boyfriend once, we were getting serious.”

“What
happened?”

“You
probably heard Eddie talking about my mum and dad dying. Well, I was in the car
when it happened. I was in the hospital for a while with my injuries and they
didn’t tell me for a few days that my parents had died. When they did tell me
it was like my heart died, I couldn’t feel anything.”

Clive
nodded in an understanding manner. “Go on.”

“I
returned to my job as a history teacher shortly after I came out of hospital. That’s
where my boyfriend worked, he still does. I was so numb with grief that I
wasn’t thinking straight, I thought I was ready to go back. I was wrong. I
suffered a very public breakdown in front of the whole school. I’m still
mortified when I think about it.”

“And
the boyfriend? What happened to him?”

“He
was wonderful. He looked after me for a while but then he became too
possessive. He texted me all the time, prepared my meals, told me what to wear.
It was as if he didn’t think I could make any decisions for myself. It was nice
for a while.”

Grace
gave a small smile.

Clive
nodded. “But then it became too much? You’re an independent woman, Grace, you
know your own mind. Did you break up with him?”

“I
did. He was very nasty about it and I knew I’d made the right decision. I’m not
ready for a new relationship yet. I want to spend time on my own.”

“Like
me, a free spirit,” Clive said cheerfully but Grace noticed the sadness around
his eyes.

The
kettle boiled and Grace poured the hot water in to her mug. “Anyway, I can
hardly have a relationship now that I’ve started seeing ghosts! Any man would
think I was completely bonkers and run a million miles in the opposite
direction.”

Clive
considered this. “True. But if I was lucky enough to meet someone like you I’d
put up with your bonkerness – if that’s a word! When did you start seeing
ghosts?”

“After
the car accident. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. I haven’t told
anyone that I can see ghosts, not even Frankie.”

“I’ve
heard that people sometimes develop physic abilities after a near-death
experience. It must have been an horrific car crash,” Clive said.

“It
was,” Grace said with a forced smile. She looked over at her ghost friend.
“You’re a good listener, Clive, I feel better for talking to you. I think I’m
ready to face the day now. I’ll have this cuppa and we’ll go see Laura.”

Clive
wagged a finger at her. “Not until you’ve had some breakfast. You can’t go any where
on an empty tummy.”

Grace
grinned at him. “A slice or two of toast does sound tempting.”

“Have
one for me,” Clive added. “With butter, not some of that low fat stuff I can
see at the back of your fridge.”

Chapter 14

Grace
took the train to the neighbouring town. Clive sat quietly opposite her,
absorbed in people watching. He had a wistful expression on his face as if he
wanted to capture their faces on film.

Grace
was glad he wasn’t talking to her, it was impossible to talk to a ghost with
other people around. She noted that some people gave the impression of talking
to themselves when they were actually carrying on a conversation through a
hands-free phone.

Perhaps
she should get one for the future. She’d need one of those ear things. Or she
could just pretend to be talking on a normal phone. It was amazing how many
people had conversations when they were alone. For all Grace knew they could
all be talking to ghosts!

Clive
caught her smile and gave her a thoughtful look. He said, “You really are quite
beautiful when you smile. I wish I could have taken a photograph of you.”

Grace
raised her eyes and tutted to dismiss the compliment.

A
short time later they pulled into their destination. Grace had looked up the
directions to Laura’s office before they’d left. She’d also looked further into
what services Laura provided. One of them was to help new businesses. Grace
thought she could ask Laura about the storage locker business. She was sure it
could never be a viable business but she’d need some information to back her
claims when she next spoke to Frankie about it.

She
gave herself a small shake as she stood up to leave the train. She wasn’t going
to think about Frankie or their money problems. And she certainly wasn’t going
to think about Eddie Tominski, she had taken a long shower to get his
disgusting scent from her skin the previous evening.

Clive
followed Grace as she left the train station and walked for a few minutes
through the town. She stopped outside a glass fronted building. Laura Opalson’s
name was printed in gold letters above a revolving door.

“Good
grief!” Clive declared. “Do you think she owns the whole building? It must be
four, no, five, storeys high.”

“I’ve
no idea,” Grace muttered hoping that no one was near enough to hear her.

She
walked in to the revolving doors. A childish impulse ignited in her and she had
the sudden urge to run round in circles. If Frankie was here she was sure that
one look between them would have incited such behaviour.

She
sedately walked in to the building and held her head up. She was above such
behaviour, she was a grown woman.

She
came to a security check-in centre, it had a walk through metal detector.

Clive
whistled. “What’s going on here? Who does Laura work for, the Prime Minister?”

Grace’s
step faltered. How was she going to get past that grim-faced guard? Her flimsy
excuse of staring up a new business seemed as weak as a thrice used tea bag.

The
grim-faced guard spotted her and gave her an assessing look.

Does
he think I’m a terrorist? Is he going to search me? Grace gulped. Strip-search?
She hoped not, she wasn’t wearing her best pair of knickers.

The
guard beckoned her closer. Grace meekly obeyed. Clive must have noticed her
discomfort. “Just tell him the truth.”

Grace
didn’t dare mutter, ‘What truth?’ The guard would surely fling her out if she
started talking to herself.

She
reached the guard. He spoke sharply, “Who are you and what are you doing here?
Do you have an appointment?”

“Grace
Abrahams, wanting to speak to Laura Opalson. No, I don’t have an appointment.”

Grace
waited for the guard to march her out. He narrowed his eyes and said, “What do
you want to see Ms. Opalson about?”

“Tell
him about the storage thing,” Clive said. “Trust me.”

Grace
took a steadying breath and said, “I’m thinking of starting a storage locker
business. Buying things from lockers and then selling them. For more money, of
course. There’s no point selling things for less money is there? That would be
silly. I’m not silly, I’m a serious business woman.” Grace stopped suddenly as
she realised she was waffling.

The
guard gave her a searching look. “Storage lockers? Like those shows on the
telly?”

“Exactly.”

The
guard burst in to laughter. “I love those shows! You never know what’s going to
happen. And the stuff that they buy! Have you been to any auctions yet? I’d
love to go to one, you’ll have to tell me where they take place.”

“I’ve
been to two. I met Sylvester Sylver,” Grace said.

She
had no idea the effect that Sylvester’s name would have on the guard. He
actually swooned and had to lean on his desk for support. His eyes widened as
he whispered reverently, “THE Sylvester Sylver from the telly?”

Grace
nodded. “I can give you the details of his UK website, you can sign up and
he’ll let you know when the next auctions are going to take place.”

The
guard was too stunned to speak. Grace wrote down the website address and handed
it over. The paper was received with trembling hands.

The
guard carefully tucked the paper inside his wallet. He then brought his
attention back to Grace. “Who did you want to see?”

“Laura
Opalson. I don’t have an appointment though,” Grace said with a hopeful tone.

The
guard smiled at her. “I know for a fact that Ms. Opalson has a free afternoon.
I’m sure she wouldn’t mind you calling in. She’s always got time for anyone,
she’s a lovely lady. Take the lift to the top floor and tell her receptionist
that I sent you.”

Grace
peered at his badge. “Thanks, Bert, I really appreciate it.”

Bert
held his hand up. “No, I’m the one who should be saying thanks. Perhaps we’ll
meet again at an auction!”

Grace
walked through the metal detectors and in to the lift. She turned to Clive and
said, “How did you know that I should have told that guard about storage
lockers?”

Clive
gave her a mysterious smile and said, “It was just a feeling. Perhaps my
psychic powers are growing.”

“Good,
then you can tell me what to say to Laura.”

“Leave
it to me, I’ll know exactly what to say,” Clive said firmly.

Clive
was wrong. A few minutes later they stood in front of Laura Opalson. Clive
stood there dumbfounded, his mouth hanging open.

Chapter 15

Grace
felt awful. She was intruding on this woman’s time when it was obvious that Laura
had been crying.

Laura
looked up as Grace was ushered through, her tear-stained face showing a
different person to the business woman that Grace had seen on her website.

There
was an embarrassed air as the women looked at each other.

Grace
spoke first. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I don’t have an appointment. Sorry to disturb
you, I’ll come back another time.”

Laura
sniffed and took a tissue from her desk. She dabbed her eyes. “Don’t be silly,
come in. How did you manage to get past Bert? He’s very protective of me.”

Grace
stepped further into the room. “I told him I was thinking of starting a
business up, one that involves storage locker auctions.”

An
unladylike snort of laughter escaped from Laura. Grace instantly warmed to her.
Laura said, “He’s mad about those storage shows! Tells me all about them. He’s
a good judge of character. Please sit down and tell me about your proposed
business.” She waved a hand towards her face. “Ignore this, I was just feeling
sorry for myself.”

Laura
composed herself. Grace shot a look at Clive. There was such tenderness in his
eyes that it almost made Grace’s heart break. She couldn’t continue with the
storage story, she needed to let Laura know why she was here.

Grace
reached into her handbag and took one set of photographs out. She passed them
to Laura and said, “I have to tell you something. I found some undeveloped
films in a storage unit. I had them developed. They’re of you.”

Grace
had a story ready about finding Laura’s name somewhere with the camera equipment,
in case Laura wanted to know how Grace had tracked her down.

There
was no need for Grace’s story.

Laura
opened the envelope and slid the pictures out. Clive came to stand at her side,
his eyes firmly fixed on her face.

“Oh!
I can’t believe it! I’d forgotten about these being taken. Look at me! I
haven’t got any wrinkles. And look how slim I am! I never appreciated it at the
time.”

Laura
laughed as she looked at each picture. Her smile died when she came to one of
them. Grace knew straight away that it must be the one of Laura staring into
the distance, the one where her hand rested on her tummy shortly after the
photo was taken.

A
tear slid down Laura’s cheek. “I should have told him.”

There
was silence as Laura continued to stare at the photo. Clive hunkered down at
her side and laid a ghost hand on her arm. There was no reaction from Laura.

“Would
you like to talk about it, about whatever’s upsetting you?” Grace asked gently.

Laura
waved her hand in a forced casual manner. “You don’t want to hear about my
problems.”

Clive
gave Grace an expectant look and said, “Please get her to talk, I want to
understand why she did it.”

After
a bit of cajoling Laura started to open up. It was just as Grace suspected; she
didn’t tell Clive she was pregnant because he was going off on his travels.

“I
would have stayed! We could have travelled together later,” Clive argued.

Grace
said, “What do you think would have happened if you had told him?”

Laura
gave a sad smile. “He would have stayed, he would have supported us. He would
have even said that we were more important than his job. But I knew the truth,
he would resent losing his big opportunity, maybe not straight away, but when
the baby was crying in the middle of the night he would have thought of all the
places he could have been at that moment.”

Clive
straightened up and threw his hands up. “You don’t know that! You never gave me
the chance!”

Grace
ignored him, she could see Laura’s point of view, she probably would have done
the same in her position. She said, “What about later? Why didn’t you let him
know later on?”

“I
couldn’t. It broke my heart to return his letters unopened but I had to do it.
You mentioned that you had found more than one film, did you get the other
photographs developed?”

Grace
took the other photos out and passed them to Laura. She didn’t understand why
Laura hadn’t told Clive later about the baby but she wasn’t going to push it.

Laura
smiled when she saw the other set of pictures. “Typical Clive, he ignores the
stunning landscapes and takes pictures of people.”

Clive
made an ‘Humph!’ sound and said, “Anyone can take photos of mountains, people
are far more interesting.”

Grace
leaned over the desk and said, “He really seemed to catch the soul of a person,
they all look so beautiful.”

Laura
looked up from the photos and said, “That’s why I couldn’t tell him you see, 
he had this great talent that he needed to share with the world. You do know
who he was, don’t you?”

Grace
shook her head, out of the corner of her eye she saw Clive walk over to the
window and look out.

Laura
continued. “Clive T Arthur? He took some of the most amazing photos, world-famous
photos?”

Grace
was still none the wiser.

Laura
clicked on her keyboard and turned the screen to show Grace. “This is his most
famous picture.”

Grace
gasped. Everyone knew that photograph!