Murder Vows (Storage Ghost Murders Book 4) (7 page)

Grace
nodded. She waited until Mrs Brown walked further into the shop before quickly
filling Pearl in about her visit to the hotel. “I have to go back tomorrow to
officially look at the honeymoon suite. It would be good if Archie could come
with me, he might be able to remember more things. I suppose I’ll have to take
the suitcase with me.”

Pearl
tapped her chin. “Unless he’s attached to that necklace, the one with the
hammer pendant. It seems to have a special meaning for him. He still hasn’t
told us the story behind it.”

Pearl
was right about the necklace. When the last customer had gone, and Grace had
checked the building to make sure that Frankie wasn’t hiding anywhere, she took
the necklace outside to the yard.

Within
moments Archie appeared at her side. He nodded towards the necklace and said,
“So, that’s what I’m attached to.”

“Looks
like it,” Grace said. “It’s going to be easier for me to carry this around
rather than your suitcase. Do you mind me holding it? It obviously means a lot
to you.”

Archie
looked at the necklace for a while. “I don’t mind you carrying it, I know
you’ll take good care of it. I wish Jessie could have seen it.”

“Perhaps
she will get to see it.”

Archie
gave a forced laugh. “She might have been the one to kill me, she won’t want
any reminders of our time together.”

“Don’t
say that, you don’t know who killed you.”

Archie
sighed. “I’ve watched enough TV shows, and read enough books to know that the
murderer is usually someone close to the victim. Grace, you have to suspect
everyone.”

Grace
and Archie returned to the shop. Pearl was waiting for them. She said, “He’s
right, you know. You need to treat everyone as a suspect.”

“How
do you know he said that?” Grace asked.

Pearl
gave her a satisfied smile. “One of my many talents is lip-reading. Now, it’s
time for you to go home. Take Archie with you and get all the information that
you need.”

Grace
looked at Archie. “Is that all right with you?”

“Of
course.”

Pearl
grinned at Grace. “Just make sure you don’t fall in love with him. I know you
haven’t had the company of a man for a while but Archie isn’t the one for you!”

With
a cackle Pearl disappeared.

Grace
shook her head, her cheeks burning.

Archie
laughed. “She really is a character, isn’t she? She’ll be mad if she hears me
saying this but she cares for you a great deal. And I can see why. Shall we
go?”

Grace
nodded. She knew Pearl was being ridiculous but it would be easy to fall for a man
like Archie, dead or alive. 

Chapter 14

Grace
decided to catch the bus home, she’d come back for the van in the morning. On
the ride home she promised herself that she would look into buying her own car
soon.

Archie
didn’t appear on the bus and Grace hoped that he was still attached to the
necklace. Her worries disappeared as soon as she stepped inside her home.

“What
a lovely home, so cosy and welcoming,” Archie said. He turned around, nodding
his head appreciatively.

Grace
hung her coat and handbag up. She motioned for Archie to take a seat in the
living room. She said, “It is a bit small but I like it.”

Archie
smiled. “You’ve got a good eye for decoration, I love your style. How long have
you lived here?” He suddenly held his hand up. “No. Don’t answer any of my
questions until you get yourself a drink and prepare something to eat. You need
to look after yourself, Grace. If I was able, I’d do it for you.”

Grace
felt a warmth slide down her back at Archie’s concern. Pearl’s warning came
back to her but Grace decided to enjoy the moment anyway. She made her way into
the kitchen and quickly put together a cheese and pickle sandwich. She threw a
bit of lettuce inside to make sure she had some nutrition. With a large mug of
tea in her hand she returned to the living room and set her mug and plate on
the table in front of the sofa.

Archie
sat next to her on the sofa. He pointed to the sandwich and said, “You’re not
to speak until you’ve eaten. You can be my captive audience whilst I tell you
about myself.”

That
suited Grace, she wanted to know all about Archie, and her tummy was starting
to growl in an unladylike manner. Grace began to eat and Archie began to talk.

“I
worked in the computer business. I’ve always been fascinated by them. I didn’t
go to university, I wanted to get stuck in to paid employment as soon as I
could. I started off in sales. I was one of those annoying people that phone
you up at night when you’re having your dinner. I got a lot of abuse in that
job! It was justified abuse too, I was so arrogant, I didn’t care that I was a
nuisance.

“I
moved on to other companies and started learning more about computer sales.
Now, this is the ironic bit, when I got home after a long day I used to get
those irritating phone calls! The very same kind that I used to make. I soon
realised what a pain they are, you’d think I’d be more patient with the people
on the other end but I’m ashamed to say I used to swear at them. It’s the
intrusion that used to bother me. How dare people ring up and expect your time?”

Grace
nodded through a mouthful of sandwich.

Archie
continued, “It wasn’t just the intrusion at home, it made my blood boil
whenever a virus attacked my computer. Have you ever had those?”

Another
nod from Grace.

“It’s
the scam behind those viruses that irritated me. They always wanted you to buy
their product to stop the very virus that they had attached in the first place.
I knew how to get rid of them but many of my colleagues were taken in by them.
I was the one that people came to whenever they got attacked by a virus in the
office. We had virus protection but it was never good enough. I was determined
to make something better. And I did. Not only does it prevent the virus attack,
my system also locates the sender.”

Grace
had finished her sandwich. “I didn’t know you could do that. What do you do
with that information? Tell the police?”

Archie
gave her a wry smile. “The police have enough to deal with. Until there is a
better security system controlling the Internet we deal with these matters
ourselves.”

Grace’s
eyes widened. “What do you do? Send the heavies round? Threaten them?”

Archie
laughed. “We don’t have heavies! All we can do is send an email letting them
know that we’ve located them and we know how they are operating.”

“Oh.
That doesn’t sound very threatening.”

“You’d
be surprised. These people are nothing but bullies. Online bullies are cowards
as well. As soon as they know they’ve been spotted they usually give up. Or
change their operating names. The people in charge are not that clever, we
always find their new identity.”

“That
sounds like a full-time job,” Grace said.

“It
is. That’s dealt with by our fraud department. We have other departments that
help people with online security. It’s big business. I think our products are
the best on the market. I shouldn’t be telling you this but you look
trustworthy, I’m sure you’ll keep this to yourself. We recruited some high-level
computer hackers. You’d be amazed at what they can do. They keep a low profile,
some of them have been in prison, I think some of them are wanted by the
police.”

Grace
frowned.

Archie
noticed her concerned look. “What is it?”

“It
sounds as if you were doing business with some dodgy people. Could one of them
be holding a grudge against you? Could one of them have killed you?”

Chapter 15

Archie
shook his head. “I don’t think so. I trusted all of them, I often didn’t
understand them but I made it clear how much they were appreciated. And I paid
them well. They taught me a lot of things. Anyway, that’s enough about my background,
tell me about you.”

Grace
said, “Nope, nothing about me yet. That isn’t nearly enough information. You
haven’t told me about Jessie, or the hammer necklace.”

Archie
looked down at his wedding ring and smiled. “Of course, I have to tell you
about Jessie.” He brought his attention back to Grace. “Well, my business grew.
We offered a good service, we had one-to-one meetings with businesses and made
sure they were getting the right product. I was soon the manager and needed
bigger office space. Have you seen the buildings down by the canals in Leeds?
They used to be warehouses.”

“I
have. And I’ve seen the apartments that they’ve been converted in to. I thought
the asking prices were a typing error when I saw them online! Is that where you
lived?”

“No,
but it’s where we set up office. We got one of the warehouses further down the
canal. It needed renovating and I’m sentimental over old buildings. I wanted to
retain as many of the original features as I could. That’s when I met Gordon
West. He’d done work for a friend of mine and was highly recommended. As soon
as I met him I knew he was the right man for the job. He gave me detailed
quotations, a good price and a starting date. I agreed to everything. He was
due to start with his team on a Monday morning in June.

“That
was the Monday that my life changed. Gordon turned up with his team, one of
which was his daughter, Jessie.”

“Your
Jessie?” Grace asked.

“Yes,
my Jessie. She’s a skilled carpenter. She took my breath away. She turned up in
denim overalls and big industrial boots. Not a speck of make-up on her face,
she didn’t need it, she’s beautiful. She’s got this elfin kind of face with spiky
short hair. She hates me saying this but she has the cutest dimples when she
smiles. I fell in love with her on the spot. I think Gordon suspected
immediately from my face, his attitude changed towards me soon after that.”

“Why?”

Archie
shrugged. He waved a hand towards his face and said, “I tend to attract a lot
of attention. I used to get asked out a lot by women and I was too polite to
say no. I suppose I got a reputation as a playboy. Not true, by the way. There
was another person on Gordon’s team, Rob, he took an instant dislike to me. I
heard him and Gordon referring to me in less than satisfactory terms Rob is
about ten years older than Jessie but it was clear that he liked her.”

“Did
you ask Jessie out straight away?” Grace picked up her mug of tea. If someone
like Archie ever asked her out she would say yes immediately.

Archie
grinned. “Yes, but she resisted my charms I think she believed the gossip about
me. And it didn’t help that Rob was adding to the rumours.”

“Why
didn’t you put her straight?” Grace asked.

Archie
shrugged. “I could hardly confront her dad and Rob and call them liars. I
thought we could become friends first. And we did when she tried to kill me.”

Grace
choked on her tea. She wiped her chin and put her mug down.

Archie
explained, “She was on a ladder working on one of the old doors. I didn’t know
she was there and I barged through the door. She screamed and dropped her
hammer. Straight on to my foot. I nearly bit through my lips trying to keep my
curses under control. I saw the twinkle in Jessie’s eyes and she was trying not
to laugh, but there was also concern on her face. She insisted on taking me to
the hospital, much to Rob’s disgust. Luckily for me there was a long waiting
time at the hospital, about six hours I think. It was long enough for Jessie
and I to talk, to get to know each other.”

“And
you got together after that?”

“We
did, despite the hard looks from Gordon and Rob. I think I just about won
Gordon over but Rob and I were never going to be friends.”

Without
thinking Grace said, “He’s just become a suspect.”

Archie
looked as if he was about to disagree. He paused, and then nodded. “You could
be right. Now you know the story behind the hammer necklace.”

“That’s
very romantic. If Jessie isn’t ...” Grace began.

“The
one who killed me?” Archie concluded.

“Yes,
if she didn’t kill you I think it would be nice to give her that necklace. What
do you think?”

“That
would be lovely. And for the record, I don’t think Jessie was the one who
killed me.”

Grace
didn’t disagree. She’d dealt with enough murder cases now to know that people
were capable of lying about love.

Archie
settled back into the sofa, his hands resting behind his head.

Grace
said, “Why are you looking at me like that? That’s quite a mischievous look. Do
I want to know what you’re thinking?”

Archie’s
grin widened. “I’ve seen your laptop over there. How would you like to become a
computer hacker?”

Chapter 16

“Hack
in to what?” Grace asked in a high-pitched voice. “I can’t do something
illegal!”