Tick Tock (Storage Ghosts) (7 page)

Eddie
put his jacket on and smoothed it down. “Don’t forget about me getting all
those businesses. I turned Clare’s dad’s shop into a fruitful bargain shop,
people like cheap and cheerful. I think I’ll do the same with this one. Any
more questions before you go?”

Grace
stood up, she wasn’t going to make this easy for him, she’d struggle to the
bitter end. “What’s in the tea? And the coffee? Poison?”

Eddie
considered this for a moment. “I’m not sure of the chemical name, some chap
makes it for me. It has the effect of strong alcohol. Isn’t it a shame that
your dad drove after having a cup of tea with me? Mind you, I did know his
plans for the evening, I’d had him followed for weeks. It’s so sad that they
died on your birthday. Why don’t you sit down, Grace, it makes it easier for me
to shoot you.”

Fury
exploded inside Grace. She picked up the red book. “You murdered my parents!
Just to get their shop!”

“Yes,
and your point is?” Eddie said. “People have murdered for less. I’ll let you
into a secret, shall I?”

He
came round to Grace and held the gun against her head. Eddie softly said, “I
like killing people.”

Grace’s
world seemed to slow down. She took in the sight of Clare, a life ruined by
grief. She squeezed the red book, her own parents’ debts recorded there along
with goodness knew how many more. She felt the cold metal against her head.

She
was surprised that she wasn’t feeling any fear. What she felt was rage, a rage
that was rushing up through her body, making her breathing shallower. She’d
felt this before when she’d seen Eddie’s men beating Frankie up.

She
slowly turned her head towards Eddie so that the gun rested in the middle of
her temple. She gave him a steady look and said, “I’m not dying today, Eddie.”

There
was a creak as a cupboard door above Eddie opened. The big old tea pot that
Grace had used as a weapon previously flew out of the cupboard and crashed down
on Eddie’s head. His eyes flickered in surprise. He fell to the floor. The gun
dropped from his hand and Grace instinctively kicked it away.

The
tea pot landed on the floor. Grace picked it up, the tea pot was still in one
piece. Grace touched the blood on the bottom of it.

In
a groggy voice, Clare said, “What have you done?”

“I
think I’ve killed Eddie Tominski.”

Clare
smiled. “Good.” She fell forward onto the table.

Chapter 16

“So,
Miss Abrahams, the tea pot just flew out of the cupboard and hit Mr Tominski on
the head?”

Grace
nodded.

The
policeman wrote something down in his notebook. “And how did you get blood on
your hands?”

“I
picked the tea pot up,” Grace said. “We’ve gone over this twenty times. Have
you found my brother yet? Is Clare okay? And Eddie, Mr Tominski, is he ...
dead?”

She
hoped not. She could imagine Eddie coming back to haunt her for the rest of her
life.

The
policeman closed his book and gave her a stern look. “I can’t tell you anything
else at this point. You’re a suspect.”

Grace
sighed and leaned back against the hospital seat. She’d phoned the police as
soon as she could after the accident. Was it an accident? It must have been,
she hadn’t physically picked the tea pot up and bashed Eddie with it. She
quickly dismissed the thought that she had somehow willed it to happen.

An
older policeman appeared in the corridor. He looked at the younger man, and
with a firm nod of his head, indicated for him to leave them.

The
young man did so. The older policeman sat next to Grace and gave her a kind
smile. “We found your brother, and his friend, Big Bob I think his name is.”

Grace
let out a sigh of relief. “Are they okay?”

The
man nodded. “Dehydrated and hungry, but okay. They’re being checked over at the
moment. It took us a while to find them, Mr Tominski had a lot of lockers. I
don’t care if you did hit Eddie with a tea pot, he had it coming. I’ve known
him for years, knew he was up to something but I could never pin anything on
him.”

“Is
he dead? Will I go to prison?” Grace asked quietly.

The
man shook his head. “Unfortunately, he’s still alive. He’s the one who’s going
to prison. We’ve got all the evidence we need now. I can’t believe he’s capable
of murder. I don’t know why I’m surprised, I’ve seen it all in my life. It’s
amazing what humans do to each other. You’re free to go.”

The
man stood up. Grace said, “What about Clare?”

“She’s
had her stomach pumped, she’s going to be fine.”

“Can
I see her?”

“I
can’t see why not, have a word with the nurses. We’ll be in touch to get
statements.”

He
walked away. Grace stood up, she wouldn’t be happy until she saw Clare for
herself. And she needed to find Frankie. She’d been waiting all night for news
of him.

She
was allowed into Clare’s room. Clare had a tube attached to her arm. She smiled
when she saw Grace. She eagerly said, “Is he dead?”

Grace
sat down on a chair next to the bed and said, “No, but he’s going to prison.
The police have got his red book, his poisoned basket and his gun. How are
you?”

Clare
looked up at the ceiling. “I’m not sure, I’ve been holding onto my anger for so
long I can’t remember how to feel anything else.”

“I
know what you mean. Losing our parents was bad enough, but knowing they were
murdered makes it much worse. It’s going to take us a long time to get over
this.”

Clare
turned watery eyes towards Grace. “I’m not sure I can.”

Grace
put her hand over Clare’s and said, “We’ve just taken down an evil snake of a
man, we can do anything!”

Clare
laughed.

Grace
carried on, “You need to talk about your feelings, and so do I. Why don’t we
talk to each other about it? I could do with a friend.”

Clare
smiled. “That sounds a good idea. You can help me get my life back. Thank you,
Grace, for believing me about Eddie.”

Grace
squeezed her hand. “No problem. I need to go and find my brother and then I’m
coming back, okay?”

“Okay,”
Clare smiled again and closed her eyes.

Grace
found Frankie and Big Bob.

They
were both covered in bruises and cuts but they looked fine. They seemed to be
enjoying the attention they were getting from the nurses.

They
told her about what had happened with Eddie. Then Grace told them what had
happened in the kitchen at the shop, excluding the parts with ghosts in.

Frankie
laughed. “You and that tea pot! How did you get it down? I thought you’d never
find it in that cupboard.”

Grace
shrugged. That part was worrying her and she didn’t want to think about it. “I
think it must have fallen out, maybe you didn’t push it in the cupboard
properly.”

“Yeah,
that’ll be it,” Frankie said. “And maybe a flying unicorn gave it a push.
Doesn’t matter now. Do you know what this means, Grace?”

She
shook her head.

“We’re
free from debt! We don’t owe Eddie anything. We can keep the shop!”

Big
Bob put his arm around Grace and smiled kindly at her. “It’s a lot to take in,
isn’t it? You look tired, Grace, go home and get some sleep.”

“Are
you two coming home yet?”

Frankie
winked at a nearby nurse and said, “We might be a while, I still feel a bit
woozy.”

Grace
sighed. He was still an idiot, but she was relieved he was okay.

She
called in on Clare before she left the hospital. She promised Clare she’d
return the following day.

Grace
didn’t head towards home, there was something she had to do first.

Chapter 17

Lynne
and Tom were waiting for her at the shop.

“Is
she alright? What happened to her? Is she going to be okay?” Lynne bombarded
her with questions as soon as she entered the shop.

Grace
held her hands up and said, “She’s fine. I’ll tell you everything.”

Grace
really wanted a cup of tea but she had been told not to go into the kitchen by
the police.

She
found a chair to sit on, Lynne and Tom followed her.

They
listened as Grace explained everything to them.

“And
will you go and see her? And talk to her?” Lynne asked.

“I
will, I think we could become good friends,” Grace said. She cleared her
throat. “When I’ve helped ghosts before they sort of move on, or go to another
place. What happens next with you? Do I need to help you with anything else?”

Lynne
looked at Tom. “I don’t want to go, I want to keep an eye on Clare.”

Tom
took his wife’s hand. “We don’t need to keep an eye on her. She’s a grown
woman, she can look after herself, and Grace will help. It’s time for us to go,
can’t you feel it? I can.”

The
worry on Lynne’s face slowly trickled away to be replaced with a look of peace.
“Yes, I can feel it now. She is going to be okay, I can feel that too. But what
about Grace? Are you going to tell her?”

Grace
sat up straighter. “Tell me what?”

Tom
gave her a reassuring look. “Your mum and dad have been in touch with us. They
said thank you for clearing their names, they knew you would. And, this came
from your dad, don’t try and find their furniture in one of Eddie’s lockers.
You need to let the past go.”

Grace
shifted in her seat. “I wasn’t thinking of looking for their furniture.”

Tom
and Lynne gave her a look to let her know that her lie was obvious.

“Okay,
I won’t look. Did they say anything else? Why won’t they appear to me?”

“Calm
down, Grace. They don’t need to come back, they’re at peace. Your mum mentioned
the tea pot and said you’re not to blame yourself.”

Grace
sunk into the chair. “But it was my fault. Every time I get angry I make things
happen.”

“It’s
not you, you didn’t move the tea pot. Didn’t you see the old woman? She was in
the kitchen when Eddie was there,” Tom said.

Lynne
pursed her lips, “I’ve never heard such language, the things she was calling
that Eddie. He deserved them, but still.”

“What
old woman? I didn’t see anyone. Is she here now?” Grace looked around the shop.

“No,
I think she must come to you in times of need. Like some guardian angel, or
ghost, whatever she is. Your mum said it was her that threw the tea pot. Lynne,
it’s time for us to go. Are you ready?”

Lynne
and Tom stood up and held hands. Grace jumped up. “Wait! Did my mum and dad
tell you anything else?”

“Your
mum says you should use your gift, the one you have of seeing ghosts. But,
watch out, not all ghosts are friendly. Time to go, Lynne.”

Grace
had many more questions. She didn’t want them to go, they were a link to her
parents.

Lynne
kissed her cheek, it felt like someone had placed an ice cube there. “Thank you
for helping Clare. Take care of her, and take care of yourself. Goodbye.”

Lynne
and Tom smiled a farewell and then walked towards the shop wall. They glowed
brightly for a while and then disappeared.

Grace
stared into the distance.

Their
debts had been paid off.

Eddie
wasn’t going to trouble them anymore.

The
shop was theirs.

Her
parents were at peace.

Life
was good.

Then
why didn’t she feel happy?

And
why did she need the ghost of an old woman to protect her?

“Well,
Grace,” she said out loud. “Looks like you’ve got yourself a new career,
helping  ghosts! What could possibly go wrong?”

A
note from the author

Just
like Frankie in this story I love watching storage auction programmes. I’ve
never been to one but I’d love to visit one of the big ones in America, I’m
sure I’d be useless at bidding though – I’d be too excited.

When
I watch the shows I always wonder where the items have come from, and who they
belonged to. I wondered what would happen if some of the items had ghosts
attached. I reached a point where I couldn’t stand it anymore and I knew I had
to write some stories down, I was inspired by the variety of items that have
been discovered in storage lockers.

I
hope you enjoyed this second story. If you did could you post a quick review?
Thank you, I read all my reviews and I really do appreciate them.

Here
is the link to the first story – Jacob’s Coins:

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