The Write Dream (Storage Ghosts) (4 page)

Grace
pulled her brother inside and shut the door. Heat flooded her cheeks, she kept
her eyes away from Marie. She said to Frankie, “What are you doing here? Aren’t
you supposed to be at the shop?”

Frankie
walked into the front room and flung himself onto the sofa. “I wanted to talk
to you but your phone’s not on.”

“Oh,
sorry, I forgot to switch it on,” Grace said. She had been too preoccupied with
her meeting with Andrew. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

Frankie
leant forward and picked up the survey sheet that Andrew had left. He read it
and smirked. “Better get yourself some new locks. Or is it all a ploy? So you
can invite young men into your home. Are you going to enquire about double
glazing next?”

Grace
folded her arms. “When you’ve stopped being immature I’d like a reply to my
question. What did you want to speak to me about?”

Frankie
dropped the paper and settled back on the sofa. “This isn’t easy for me to
admit but you were right.”

Grace
sat down. “About what?”

“About
that storage locker we bought yesterday, the one with the clothes and stuff
in.”

Marie’s
locker! A chill shot down Grace’s back. She’d forgotten to bring the boxes home
with her, she’d left them at the shop.

“What’s
happened to the items?” Grace asked quietly.

Frankie
gave her a satisfied smile and said, “I’ve sold them!”

Chapter 8

“Everything?”
Grace asked, her heart sinking like a block of cement.

Frankie
shrugged. “I think so, I can’t remember how many boxes were in that unit. I
thought you were going to unpack them.”

“Sorry,
I forgot.” Grace looked over to Marie. She was slumped against a table. It
looked like hope had drained from her. Grace knew how she felt.

Frankie
slapped his knees. “Can’t stay here chatting all day, we’ve got a business to
run. Are you coming back to help in the shop? You don’t have to, I can manage
on my own for a while.”

Grace
noticed the concern in Frankie’s eyes. She suddenly realised he hadn’t come
round to tell her about the items he’d sold, he’d come round to check on her. Though
he’d deny it if she pointed that out.

She
said, “I do want to help out, I think we’re finally starting to make a profit.
Would you mind if I took a few hours off first? I’ve got something to do.”

Frankie
grinned at her and jerked his thumb towards the security survey. “Have you got
someone else coming round? Say no more, I’ll get out of your way.”

Grace
sighed and looked towards the ceiling. Let him think what he wanted to, she had
other things on her mind.

Frankie
stood up. He looked down at her. “Switch your phone on. See you later.”

Grace
saw him out and then returned to the living room. Marie was now sitting on the
sofa, her eyes on the paper that Andrew had written on.

Marie
said, “What are we going to do now? I was hoping that once he saw my belongings
he’d know you were telling the truth. Then he would be more open to talking to
you.”

Grace
sat down. She switched her phone on. She had 3 messages, all from Frankie. His
tone was casual but Grace could hear the worry in his voice as he asked where
she was. He was a pain most of the time but it was nice to have someone care
about her.

She
turned her attention back to Marie. “Can you tell me more about Brian and
Sharon? Did they know about Andrew and his writing plans?”

Marie
nodded. “Ever since he was little he wrote stories, he used to read them out to
anyone who would listen. Brian and Sharon loved listening to him. He once wrote
a story about them having super powers, they kept that one.”

“Do
you think that he grew out of his writing?” Grace asked. “When I lost my
parents I was working at a school teaching history. After the accident I went
back but I didn’t feel the same about my job.”

Grace
didn’t mention the public breakdown that she’d had in front of everyone at
school. Frankie had said that she’d gone back to work too soon after their
parents died. Grace agreed but she’d also felt depressed by the thought of
spending years in a classroom teaching the same things every year.

Marie
put her hand over her heart and said, “I can feel it. I know he wants to be a
writer. I didn’t think ... dead people were supposed to feel anything but I can
feel his sadness about his present life. Writing brings him alive but this
security job feels like it it’s a living death for him. He’s my son, I want him
to have the life he deserves. Do you understand what I mean?”

“I
do, my dad always said that he wanted me to be happy, no matter where I ended
up. We need to find out why Andrew changed his mind. Was it money? Maybe he
didn’t have enough for university. I know people get loans to help them but a
lot of students need financial help from home too.”

“Money
wasn’t an issue. My husband left a generous amount to us in his will. I’d also taken
out a life policy when we first got married. And I had my wage coming in so I
was able to put a small amount away in savings for Andrew’s future.”

“You
said Andrew was 14 when you died, where did your money go? Did he have a bank
account?” Grace asked.

Marie
shifted on the sofa and waited a moment as if gathering her thoughts. “When I
found out about the cancer, and that there was nothing I could do, I had to
make quick plans for Andrew’s future. I had a long talk with Sharon and Brian.
They insisted on taking Andrew in. I told them about the money. Sharon
suggested that Andrew could receive the money when he was 18, in time for him
to go to university. I wanted to give them money to look after Andrew but they
both said no. I arranged it anyway. I made my will out in Brian’s name. I
didn’t want him and Sharon to struggle financially. Bringing up a teenager is
expensive! They grow every two minutes and eat enough for a family.”

Grace
felt uncomfortable asking the next question. “Did you trust Sharon and Brian to
give the money to Andrew when he was 18?”

Marie
looked shocked. “Of course I trusted them! I wanted Brian to have the money
because I knew they were struggling financially. Sharon was good for Brian, she
encouraged him to move forward in his career. Sharon was like a sister to me,
we liked the same things. Sometimes I’d buy a top and the week after Sharon
bought the same top! We were very close.”

Grace
had an uneasy feeling about Sharon. She said, “I think we need to speak to
Sharon and Brian, find out why Andrew changed his mind about becoming a
writer.”

Marie
smiled. “That’s a good idea, Sharon will know. It’ll be good to see her again,
you’ll like her.”

Grace
gave Marie a concerned look. “If we find out that Andrew truly doesn’t want to
be a writer, will you be able to deal with that?”

Marie
laughed. “That’s not going to happen! I know my son.”

Chapter  9

Grace
stood in front of Thompson’s Security shop.

“Wow!
They’ve done well for themselves,” Marie said. “Very professional.”

Grace
had an unkind thought of wondering where the money had come from to build up
such a business. She pushed the thought aside. She needed to have an open mind
before she met Sharon.

She
opened the door to the shop and stepped through. Her mind immediately closed.
Sharon looked at her from across the counter and gave her a professional smile.

Grace
could tell immediately that it was false, it didn’t reach her eyes.

Marie
said, “Oh! She’s wearing the same perfume that I used to wear. I told you we
were similar.”

Sharon
quickly gave Grace a look over. Grace did the same to Sharon. Everything about
the perfectly turned out woman in front of her said ‘false’ and ‘brittle’ to
Grace. She couldn’t say exactly what it was, but there was something about her that
was making her stomach feel peculiar.

“Good
afternoon, can I help you?” Sharon asked.

Grace
moved closer. She took in Sharon’s perfect hair and make up. Her designer
clothes completed the image of perfection. Grace knew that this kind of
perfection cost money. Grace flicked a sideways glance at Marie. She was
smiling at Sharon as if greeting an old much loved friend.

Grace
spoke. “I had a security survey this morning. The young man was very helpful. I
would like to go ahead with the security plan that he wrote down.”

Sharon
nodded, her smile still in place. “Yes, that would be Andrew. He’s not very
knowledgeable, he’s still learning the business but he’s very eager to learn.
Can I take your details?”

Grace
noticed that Marie’s smile slipped slightly when Sharon spoke about Andrew.

Grace
gave her details and watched as Sharon tapped in her details on a computer. Her
perfect nails moved quickly across the keyboard. Grace was reminded of talons.
She gave a small shake of her head, she really must get rid of these unkind
thoughts. She didn’t know Sharon.

Sharon
read something online. She looked up at Grace. Her smile dropped and a
concerned look came onto her face. It also looked false, as if Sharon had
studied pictures of facial emotions and now tried to copy ‘concern’.

Sharon
said, “Your security is very poor, one of the worst I’ve ever seen. Have you
ever been broken into?”

Grace
shook her head.

Sharon
said, “Well, you’ve been lucky. These locks are terrible, low quality. I
suppose some people can only afford lower quality things. It’s a good job you
contacted us, your luck would have run out one day and you would have definitely
experienced a break in, perhaps even an assault if you were in at the time.”

Grace
frowned. She didn’t like Sharon’s sales talk, she sounded like she was trying
to scare her.

Sharon
put her head to one side as if sympathy. “You’ll need our deluxe service. It is
costly but you can’t put a price on peace of mind. I’m sure you wouldn’t want
to wake up one night and find a potential rapist standing over your bed. Or a
possible murderer waiting for you as you came home at night. Let me tell the
prices. We take all major credit cards.”

Marie
was looking at Sharon with a puzzled expression, as if she couldn’t believe
what Sharon was saying.

Sharon
passed a glossy brochure to Grace. Grace felt her eyes popping as she read the
prices. Peace of mind certainly didn’t come cheap.

The
door opened. Marie called out, “It’s Brian! Look at his head, poor thing, he
never wanted to go bald! Put on a bit of weight too, bless him.”

Grace
looked at the man. He had a kind face and the same eyes as Marie and Andrew. He
gave her a friendly nod and walked around the counter to Sharon.

He
held out a cardboard coffee cup to Sharon and said, “I’ve got you a latte, my
love.”

Sharon
arched an eyebrow at him.

Brian
smiled at her. “It’s a skinny latte of course. I know how you take your coffee
after all these years.”

Sharon
didn’t smile. “Put it down, I’m not in the mood for coffee. You should have
phoned me first.”

Brian’s
smile faded. He placed the cup down.

“Did
you get through those two surveys?” Sharon asked abruptly.

“I
did.” Brian said, he tried a smile again. It wasn’t returned by Sharon.

“And
where’s the other one? Laurel doesn’t go anywhere without Hardy,” Sharon said.

“He’s
parking the van. We thought we’d have a quick cuppa before we set off on our
next job,” Brian said. Grace didn’t miss the hopeful tone in his voice. He
almost sounded like a small child asking permission from a grown up.

Sharon
frowned at him. She tapped her designer watch with a pointy nail. “Time is
money, Brian, how many times have I told you? What’s your next job, something
big I hope.”

Brian
nodded eagerly. “It’s a CCTV job, at a shop down the road.”

Sharon
tutted. “That’s not much, make sure you mention that crime rates are rising,
mention  security shutters and alarms.”

Brian
frowned, “Are crime rates rising?”

Sharon
gave him a withering look. “They’re always rising in our business, the
customers don’t need proof, our word is enough.”

Sharon
gave a sudden start as if she’d suddenly remembered that Grace was standing in
front of her. Her sickly sweet smile reappeared and she said, “Of course, not
all our customers are as aware of risks as you are, Ms Abrahams. I can see that
you’re going to make a sensible decision following your survey. I’ll print a
contract out for the deluxe service. We could probably book you in for next
week.”

Grace
was just on the verge of telling her where to shove her contract when the door
opened again.

“Andrew!”
Marie said, her voice rising with happiness.

Grace
stiffened. He was the last person she wanted to see here.