A Sweet Murder (18 page)

Connie looked
back at Mirabelle, her face twisted in anguish. “Mirabelle, I can’t
believe you would do that to me, I thought we were friends. Oh!
Grace! Do something about Della!”

Mirabelle
pointed the syringe at Grace. “Sit down. I wish you hadn’t turned
up today. Della was going to die and then Anna was going to tell
the police about Della’s admission of guilt. I could have convinced
her to say exactly what I wanted her to say. I needed Della out of
the way. I’d already paid off Della’s thieving sister and her
common boyfriend earlier today. All the loose ends were going to be
tied up neatly.

“
But
then you turned up, whoever you are. It would have been better if
Della had died straight after admitting that she told Anna she’d
killed Connie, then you could have told the police that. But now
you’ll have to tell them what Della said after that. That’s a
nuisance. Hmm. What am I going to do about you?”

Mirabelle
sounded as if she was having a discussion at a social event. Did
she expect Grace to reply? Mirabelle began to walk up and down in
front of the fireplace, a frown on her face as if mulling something
over in her mind.

Grace took in
her surroundings. Della’s eyes were closed but Grace could see her
chest slowly rising. A strange wailing sound came from Connie.
Grace looked at her just as she started to turn grey again. Anna
was sobbing away, tears streaming down from under her glasses.
Grace had to do something, she couldn’t let Della die, no matter
how horrible she was.

Mirabelle turned
on her heel and clicked her fingers. “Of course! You could be one
of Della’s customers. You certainly look as if you like sweets.
Yes, that’s it. Anna, listen, you need to remember this story. This
woman came here looking for sweets and she got into an argument
with Della. There was a fight and they both died. I’m not sure how
yet but I’ll think of something.” Mirabelle pointed the syringe at
Grace. “Of course, you’ll have to die by being injected with this,
it’s a quick way to go. Is there anything you want to say before
you go?”

Grace tried not
to flinch at the nearness of the needle. She quietly said, “You’re
a cold-bloodied murderer. You drugged and killed an old woman all
for the sake of money. You won’t get away with it.”

“
If
you’re not going to say anything helpful then be quiet,” Mirabelle
said. She tapped the syringe again and moved closer. “It won’t hurt
much if you keep still.”

Grace had no
intention of keeping still. In one swift movement she moved
sideways and reached for her handbag. She swung it up and aimed it
at Mirabelle’s hand. She misjudged the distance. The heavy sweet
filled handbag whacked into the side of Mirabelle’s head. Mirabelle
collapsed onto the floor and the syringe rolled out of her hand.
Grace darted forwards and kicked the syringe away. Mirabelle’s
eyelids fluttered and then her head flopped to one side.

Anna whispered,
“Have you killed her?”

Grace knelt down
and checked her pulse. “No, she’s okay. Anna, phone for an
ambulance. And the police.”

Anna came over
to Grace’s side. “Are you sure she’s not dead? I don’t like dead
people.”

Grace took Anna
back to the chair and sat her down. “Everything’s going to be all
right now, Anna, but we need an ambulance for Della.”

Anna began to
cry again. Grace took her phone out and made the necessary calls.
She almost stopped in mid sentence when she saw what was happening
to Della.

Grace quickly
finished her calls and put her phone away. She glanced at Anna. The
poor woman was in her own world, rocking herself back and forth on
the chair and muttering to herself. Grace hoped that she wouldn’t
notice her talking to Connie.

Grace knelt down
next to Connie and hissed, “Connie! Snap out of it! Look at what
you’re doing. You’ve turned grey again and now it’s all over to
Della!”

Connie blinked
and came out of her trance. “Oh! My poor baby! What have I
done?”

Connie threw
herself on Della’s body. Grace watched as the grey mist slowly
turned pink. Connie’s colour came back too. Connie looked up from
her sobbing. “Grace! She’s breathing normally again. I must have
done something to save her. Della, my precious baby!”

Grace’s legs
felt weak. She collapsed onto the nearest seat. It looked like
Della was going to be okay, Grace wasn’t sure if that was a good
thing or not. Mirabelle was still out for the count and Anna was
mumbling to herself. Grace heard a distant siren. She tried to
compose herself. She’d need to speak to the police about what had
been going on. She hoped Anna would back her up. She’d need to
support Anna too.

Grace’s eyes
began to sting. She wanted to go home, to run away from all of
this. What was she doing here? Why had she got herself involved in
this awful mess, and with this awful family? What was the point of
helping someone like Connie when all along she knew about the
drugged sweets? Connie had known that Frankie had been eating those
sweets and she never said a thing. Grace thought bitterly that
Connie hadn’t deserved her help.

She couldn’t do
this anymore. Murdered ghosts, and all kinds of ghosts, could sort
themselves out in future. She’d had enough.

Chapter 39

“
You
can’t avoid me forever!” Pearl cried out.

Grace fastened
her trousers. “Do you really have to follow me into the bathroom?
Can’t I have some privacy?”

“
No.
I’ll wait in the kitchen for you.”

Grace grumbled
to herself as she flushed the toilet and then washed her hands.
When she walked into the kitchen Pearl was sitting at the table
with her arms tightly folded and a stern expression on her
face.

“
I’ve got to get back to the shop,” Grace told her and
attempted to walk past the table.

She jumped as
Pearl thundered, “Grace Abrahams! You aren’t going anywhere until
you’ve talked to me. Get your bottom in that chair now!”

Grace considered
making a run for it but she knew there was no point, Pearl wouldn’t
leave her alone.

Grace
reluctantly sat opposite Pearl. “What do you want to talk
about?”

Pearl unfolded
her arms and pointed at Grace. “Lose the sulky attitude, you’re not
a teenager. It’s been two weeks since you solved Connie’s murder
and you’ve hardly said a word to me about it.”

“
I
did tell you about it! I told you that Della pulled through and
that the police arrested her on drugs charges.”

“
And
you told me about Mirabelle being arrested for Connie’s murder and
Della’s attempted murder. I’m glad you convinced Anna to speak up
for herself. You did a god job.”

Grace looked
down at her hands. “So, there you are, what else do you need to
know? I told you Connie disappeared into a white mist as soon as
Della came round properly, she hasn’t returned so I assume she’s at
peace, or whatever ghosts feel when they go away.”

Pearl’s tone
softened. “I know all the facts about Connie and her family. I want
to know what happened to you. Your attitude has changed. When
you’ve helped ghosts before you’ve been proud of yourself, you said
you felt useful. You’re not like that with this case.
Why?”

Grace looked up
from her hands. She saw the kind look on Pearl’s face. She let out
a big heart-felt sigh. “Pearl, they were horrible, the lot of them!
Connie was hard-faced about the drugged sweets, she was harsh with
her children, she forced Lucinda into a life she didn’t want. Della
was the nastiest person that I’ve ever met. There was a moment when
I hoped she’d die. What does that say about me? And Mirabelle, she
didn’t show any remorse for killing Connie, all she was bothered
about was money. To be honest, Pearl, I was glad to see the back of
Connie. She even smiled at Mirabelle as she floated away, as if she
understood why she’d done it. I felt ... grubby, I didn’t like
being involved with any of them.”

Pearl put her
hand out and patted Grace’s hands. Grace felt a warmth pass through
them and up along her arms. Pearl said, “Tell me about Anna, what’s
happened to her?”

“
I
sat with her as she spoke to the police. She was like a frightened
mouse. She kept looking over her shoulder as if expecting Della to
be there. The police understood what she had gone through, they
aren’t going to charge her with anything.”

“
Didn’t you go and see her last week?” Pearl asked.

Grace nodded. “I
went back to the shop to see how she was doing.”

“
And?”

Grace smiled.
“She looked like a different person, sort of taller.”

“
Like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders?”

“
Yes, I suppose so. She was so much happier, she wouldn’t stop
saying thank you to me. Jamie and Lucinda have been in touch with
her, they said she could live with them in Brighton. Anna kept
offering me free sweets but I said no. I never want to see Flamingo
sweets again as long as I live!”

Pearl said, “You
helped Anna. Forget about the rest of them, some people are nasty
and selfish, and nothing you can do can change that. And it’s all
right to wish some of them dead, I’ve done so many a time! Think
about Anna, wasn’t it worth finding out who killed Connie just so
you could help her? You’ve changed her life. Goodness knows what
Della was planning for her in the future.”

Grace looked
into Pearl’s eyes for a moment. The old ghost was right. She was
glad that she had helped Anna.

Pearl carried
on, “You need to put your feelings to one side when dealing with
murder cases. You’ll come across some evil people and I’m not just
talking about the murderers. Don’t let them get to you, focus on
the help that you are giving. And don’t expect any thanks. Now, was
there anything else that was bothering you?”

Grace squirmed
in her seat. “I nearly killed Mirabelle when I hit her with my
handbag. I really swung my bag at her, I was furious. It’s not the
first time I’ve felt that sort of rage. Pearl, what if I have to
defend myself again some day and I actually kill
someone?”

“
Self-defence lessons, that’s what you need. I had to learn
how to defend myself and it’s time you did too. It’ll do you good
to get out a bit more, meet new people. Find out today where you
can go for lessons.”

“
I
will do. Thanks for listening to me. And thanks for forcing me to
talk. I’m always keeping things to myself.” Grace stood
up.

Pearl nodded.
“I’m here to keep an eye on you. Now, the big question. Are you
going to help any more murdered ghosts? I’ve noticed that you
didn’t go to the last two auctions with your brother.”

Grace sighed
again. “You don’t miss anything. I was ready to give up helping
ghosts but I think I’m ready to get back to it. Oh! Frankie’s
calling me. I’ll speak to you later.”

“
I’ll be here.”

Frankie was
waiting near the front door of the shop. The door was open and two
men were bringing something huge inside.

“
What’s that? Are you expecting a delivery?” Grace
asked.

Frankie was
reading a note. “It’s from that man, Vincent Flamingo. The one
whose stuff I got back. Do you remember, you asked me to get that
old shop stuff back?”

Grace nodded.
Vincent had spoken to her at the police station on the night that
Mirabelle had been arrested. He’d looked strangely calm and Grace
wondered if he suspected that Mirabelle had killed his mum all
along. She’d insisted on him having the old recipe book. Connie was
no longer attached to it and Grace didn’t want to see it
again.

Frankie laughed.
“He’s reorganising Flamingo Sweets and said we can have one of the
older vending machines.”

Grace pulled a
face. There was no way she’d be ordering Flamingo sweets to fill up
the vending machine.

Frankie laughed
again as he read on. “He said he’s going to give us a lifetime
supply of Flamingo Sweets at no cost! Awesome!”

Grace heard a
cackle behind her. Pearl’s voice floated out, “What was that you
said about never seeing another Flamingo Sweet?”

Grace’s eyes
narrowed as she looked at the vending machine. Its days were
numbered, she was planning to commit her own sweet
murder.

A note from the
author

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. Also, I am a big fan of ‘cozy’ murder mysteries and I
wanted to combine items found in a locker with a murder!

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