Lost And Found: A Cozy Ghost Mystery (Storage Ghost Mysteries Book 2) (6 page)

Chapter 16

The
photo was of a young girl wearing a tattered shawl. It had been taken during a
local uprising in the middle-east. Her face looked terrified but it was her
eyes that rocked the world. The photographer had managed to capture the shocking
reflection of what was happening in front of the child, the child had dark eyes
and the image showed clearly in them. The famous headline of the newspaper that
printed it was, ‘War Through A Child’s Eyes’.

 “It
caused an uprising around the world, people knew that atrocities were going on
but to have that image recorded in a child’s eyes was too much. The uprising
had been ignored up until that point. Clive did that, he made something good
come out of something terrible. This was the first of many heart-wrenching
photos that showed what was going on in the world. Clive had this amazing gift
of capturing the important moments. How could I put an end to that?”

Clive
looked back from the window, a look of understanding on his face. “She still
should have told me, to let me decide for myself. Will you ask her about the
baby, please, Grace?”

Grace
did so.

Laura
passed the photos back to Grace and clicked on her keyboard again. She proudly
declared, “I have a montage! From when he was young to how he is now. He gets
so embarrassed when he sees this! I told him it’s a mum’s job to embarrass her
child, no matter how old they are.”

Grace
pushed the photos back to Laura and said, “You keep these.”

“That’s
kind of you, I’ll keep the ones of me but not the others, they’ll be worth
something. The early photos of Clive T Arthur are highly collectable,
especially since he...”

She
swiftly stood up and said, “Don’t get me started again! I’m like a human
waterfall today. I haven’t even offered you a drink, please excuse me for a
moment while I organise something. Do look at David’s photos, he lives in
Australia now with his wife. He had the silly notion of asking me to move there
with them. Can you imagine that? I’d just be in the way.”

Laura
left the room but not before Grace saw fresh tears appearing in her eyes.

When
she’d gone Clive came over to Grace’s side and they looked at the photos
together.

Clive
chuckled. “What a bonny baby, he’s got my nose. Look at him in the school play.
He looks happy, Laura’s done a good job.”

“I’m
glad we came to see Laura but why did we need to? You said it was urgent, I
can’t see that she needs any help.”

“Isn’t
it obvious?” Clive said.

“No.”

“You
don’t know Laura like I do, and,” Clive wiggled his eyebrows theatrically,
“with my new psychic powers, I can tell what’s wrong with her. She’s putting
everyone else’s needs first. She put my career before her happiness and now
she’s doing the same with our son.”

The
last two words were said with pride.

“Do
you think she wants to go and live with David?” Grace asked.

“Of
course, she’s falling to pieces without him. You’ve got to convince her to go,
she’s always wanted to go to Australia.”

“But
how can I convince her? I don’t know her well but I can see she’s the type to
stick to a decision once she’s made her mind up.”

Clive
nodded. “We’ll have to play to her greatest strength, it’s also her weakness -
her kindness, she’ll go out of her way to help anyone.”

Clive
outlined his plan to Grace.

Grace
said, “That sounds sneaky, I don’t like it.”

Clive
pointed to the last image on David’s photo montage. “Look at the date, it was
taken this morning. And look.”

He
pointed something out to Grace. She nodded in understanding and said, “Okay,
I’m going to convince Laura that she has to go to Australia.”

Grace
sounded much more confident than she felt.

Chapter 17

Laura
returned a few minutes later carrying a tray of tea things. Grace noticed that
there was also a plate of chocolate biscuits. Clive was right about Laura, she
really did think about others.

Laura
set the tea down and said, “I’m assuming you drink tea?”

Grace
nodded.

“And
I’m assuming you eat choccy biscuits?”

Grace
nodded again.

Laura
gave her a satisfied smile. “Good, you’re my kind of person. Help yourself,
you’d better hurry up with the biscuits though, I’m liable to eat them all!”

Grace
glanced over at Clive’s face. Pure love radiated out from his eyes as he looked
at Laura.

Grace
helped herself to tea and biscuits, Laura did the same. Remembering what they
had agreed during Laura’s absence Grace said, “The photos of your son are
lovely. It must have been difficult bringing him up on your own. Can you tell
me about David, and what he was like?”

Laura
dunked a biscuit in her tea and then put it in her mouth. After a moment she
said, “Are you sure you want to hear about him? I love talking about him and I
might not stop!”

“I’m
sure,” Grace said. Following Laura’s lead she dunked her biscuit in her tea.
She must have left it there a second too long because when she lifted it up the
soggy half plopped back in to her tea. Laura didn’t notice, she was gazing
fondly at the images on her screen.

“He
was a lovely boy but a little terror! Never still, always exploring, always
asking questions. Just like his father I suppose.”

“Did
you have any help with him?” Grace asked. She put the rest of the biscuit in
her mouth, she didn’t have the courage to try dunking again.

Laura’s
smile faltered. “No. My parents were in shock at finding out I was pregnant.
There was still a stigma attached to unmarried mothers at that time. My aunt
took me in, she didn’t give a fig what anyone thought. She encouraged me to go
back to work after David was born. I don’t know how I would have coped without
her. She gave up her own career to look after me and David. Whenever I said
thank you she waved her hand as if it was nothing. She was the kindest person I
knew. She died a few years ago. Once Mum and Dad disowned me she was the only
family I had left, her and David.”

“You
said that David had moved to Australia with his wife,” Grace prompted.

A
look of pride appeared on Laura’s face. “He’s going to start his own branch of
this business. He worked here for a while after university and loved it. He’s
much better at business than me.”

“But
you must be good, you’ve built this whole company,” Grace pointed out.

“I
enjoyed it. I liked helping people. You should see their faces when we solve
problems together, my job is so satisfying.”

Laura’s
eyes flickered as if she’d just thought of something else.

Clive
moved closer and studied her. He turned to Grace and said, “She’s tired of this
business, I can tell, she’s done all that she can with this job.”

Grace
didn’t doubt the wisdom of Clive’s words but she knew there was something else.
She suspected that Laura needed to feel useful and not in a business way.
Losing her aunt and son had left an emotional hole that work couldn’t fill.

Grace
said, “Are you going to see David and his wife? I’d love to go to Australia, it
looks beautiful.”

Laura
gave a laugh but there wasn’t much emotion in it. “He calls me every day to
tell me to go there, not to visit but to live! Can you imagine that? I’d been
in his way, he doesn’t want me there, he’s just saying that.”

Clive
cried out, “For goodness sake! Of course he wants you there! Why wouldn’t he?”

Grace
flinched at Clive’s loud voice. It was draining trying to ignore a ghost. She
said to Laura, “I think he does want you there, I know I’d want my mum and dad,
if I could.”

Grace
stopped to gather her wits, she’d felt the familiar prick of tears as she spoke
about her parents. She couldn’t cry now, she was here to help Laura.

Laura
shook her head. “I can’t think of a reason why they’d want me.”

“I
can,” Grace said. “Can you look at the latest photo that David sent you? The
one of him, and I presume, his wife?”

“Sarah?
Lovely girl, almost like a daughter to me. Yes, it’s here in front of me.”

Grace
came around to Laura’s side and pointed at the screen. “Sarah’s not looking
straight at the camera, she’s looking slightly off to the distance. A bit like
you were in Clive’s photo.”

“Oh,
so she is.”

Grace
moved her finger down. “Look at where her hand is resting.”

Laura
focused on the image a bit more. She suddenly gasped and her hand flew to her
mouth. “She’s pregnant!”

“Could
be,” Grace said.

Laura
started to laugh. “That’s amazing! But why haven’t they told me?”

“Perhaps
they want to tell you face to face,” Grace suggested.

A
glow settled on Laura’s face. “A grandma, fancy that.”

Grace
wasn’t good at being firm but she knew she had to do it for Laura’s sake. “You
can’t be a distant grandma. You’ll have to move there. Sarah will need your
help if the child is anything like David.”

“No!
No! I can’t do that,” Laura protested.

Grace
folded her arms and said, “You have to. Your aunt did the same for you. You
can’t be selfish, Laura, think about your family all the way over in Australia.
Surely you can leave work behind. What’s more important?”

There
was a pause. Laura turned to look up at Grace. Grace couldn’t read the emotion
there.

Had
she gone too far?
Was Laura going to throw her out of the office?

Chapter 18

Laura
gave a slow nod. “You’re right. You’re absolutely right. I have to go, they
need me.”

Laura
jumped up and gave Grace a fierce hug. “I don’t know how you’ve managed to come
in to my life today but I’m so glad you did! I could have turned into a bitter
old woman with only my own memories for company. But instead I’m going to be a
grandma! In Australia! Oh! There’s so much to sort out.”

Laura
released her. Grace noted that she looked ten years younger. Clive had noticed
too, he stood at her side with a soppy smile on his face.

“Don’t
you think you’d better find out if Sarah is pregnant first?” Grace asked.

“She
is,” Clive said.

Laura
said, “She is, I can tell from her expression. But if she’s not I’m going
anyway, they need me! And...” she paused, “it’s time I told David the truth
about his father, about why he wasn’t around. I hope he understands.”

Grace
collected her things and said goodbye and good luck to Laura. She looked over
at Clive. He said, “I’m going to stay here for a while, I want to make sure
everything goes to plan.”

A
pang of disappointment shot through Grace, it wasn’t for Clive or Laura, it was
totally for herself. Then she felt ashamed, she should be happy for Laura. She
was happy for Laura.

As
Grace walked out of Laura’s office Laura called out, “Don’t forgot about those
early photos of Clive’s, they’ll be worth something. If would have been better
if you had any of his early cameras, they would be almost priceless.”

Grace
hesitated as she looked at Clive. He beamed and said, “You do have them! In
your shop, under the counter.”

Grace
closed the door. Could the cameras really be worth something? And the photos?

Hope
jumped up like a playful puppy in her heart. Would it be enough to pay Eddie
off?

Grace
was still smiling as she walked past Bert, the security guard. He raised both
thumbs and winked at her.

She
was still hopeful as she caught the train. The daydream of paying Eddie off had
now expanded to getting Frankie somewhere decent to live.

Grace
nearly jumped as a voice suddenly spoke into her ear.

It
was Clive, he appeared at her side. “I know you can’t speak so just listen.
First of all, thank you for helping me. You’ve changed the course of Laura’s
life. She is going to be a grandma and I’m going to hang around her for a
while.”

Grace
muttered under her breath, “I thought you were supposed to move on at some
point.”

“I
haven’t felt the urge to. I know why you’re asking me that though, you told me
that when you helped that other ghost, Jacob, he sent you a message from your
father.”

Grace
gave a slight nod.

Clive
sighed. “I’m really sorry but I’m not getting any messages. I don’t think I can
force that to happen.”

Grace
studied Clive. It didn’t matter, she was glad she had met him, and she was happy
they’d helped Laura. She reached out her hand and touched Clive’s ghostly one
in the hope of conveying her thoughts without speaking. Her hand sank through
to the seat underneath.

Clive
jumped as if he’d received a shock. “Grace! Your brother, Frankie, he’s in
danger. You have to help him! Quick!”

Clive
shimmered and then he disappeared leaving Grace alone with a heart that began
to pound.

Frankie!
What had happened? And did it have anything to do with Eddie Tominski?

Grace
leant forward in her seat, her hands tightly clenched, willing the train to
speed up.