Murder Vows (Storage Ghost Murders Book 4) (14 page)

Archie’s
face relaxed and a small smile appeared. “She does, doesn’t she? I still love
her.”

Grace
put her hand over her mouth and whispered, “She needs our help, yours and
mine.”

Jessie
was led down a corridor by a uniformed police officer. She shook her head at
Rob as he tried to follow her. Rob sat on the same row of chairs as Grace, four
seats away. Grace picked up a leaflet on home security and pretended to read
it. She could feel the hate coming from Rob towards her.

A
long thirty minutes later, Jessie returned. She quickly wiped away fresh tears
and headed towards Grace. Rob jumped in her way and put his big hand on her
arm. Jessie shrugged him off. “Rob! I’ve already said I’m going back with
Grace.”

“I’ll
take you. Come on, Jessie, stop being stupid,” Rob said.

Jessie
turned on him. “Leave me alone!”

Rob
opened his arms out. “Don’t be like that! I want to know what Gordon said. Did
he really kill Archie?”

“I’ll
tell you later.” Jessie turned to Grace. “Can we go? Now?”

“Of
course,” Grace said.

They
left the confused-looking Rob behind and walked into the car park.

Jessie
said, “I’m going to fall apart in a few minutes but I don’t want Rob to see me.
Can we drive a few streets away?”

Grace
looked at her. “Are you going to faint again?”

Jessie
shook her head. She sniffed. “No, I’m just going to cry. I can feel it coming
like a dam about to burst. I haven’t cried for years and now I can’t seem to
stop. Hurry!”

Grace
and Jessie jumped into the van and Grace sped away. She stopped in a deserted
street and, true to her word, Jessie burst like a dam. Grace handed her tissues
and put her arm around her shoulders. Archie sat helplessly at Jessie’s other
side.

It
was a good ten minutes before her crying subsided. Jessie gave her nose a final
blow and smiled at Grace.

“I
think I’m done now. Sorry, you’ve ended up in the middle of a family crisis.
You can take me back to the shop now.”

“Do
you want to tell me what your dad said?” Grace asked, silently praying that
Jessie would say yes.

Jessie
looked down at her shredded tissue. “He said he killed Archie because he didn’t
want me to move to New York. He said he’d be heartbroken without me.” Jessie
looked up and frowned. “It doesn’t make sense, does it? He knew he could have
come over to see me and Archie in New York. We’d already made plans for him to come
over.”

Grace
remembered how Archie had described his death. She said to Jessie, “How did he
kill Archie?”

“He
said he went to check on Archie and found him asleep on the bed. His rage
overtook him and he smothered Archie with a pillow. Then he made it look like a
break-in.”

“That’s
not true!” Archie shot out. I wasn’t lying on the bed when I died, someone must
have put me there. Gordon must have found me lying on the carpet, he must have
been the one who put me on the bed. He’s covering up for someone, he knows who
killed me.”

Grace
had already come to the same conclusion. There was something that didn’t add
up. Grace said, “Why is he telling you now?”

“I’m
not sure. I did have another crying fit last night at his house, I couldn’t
help it. I wanted to tell Dad how much I missed Archie but, instead, I made up
a story about wanting to run away from everything, to have a fresh start. When
I spoke to Dad just now he said that when he goes to prison I can sell the
business and pay off his debts. Then he said I don’t have to marry Rob. He’s
never said that before.”

Grace
and Archie looked at each other. Could it be that Rob had killed Archie and
Gordon knew? Had Rob threatened Gordon, maybe threatened to kill him too if he
didn’t convince Jessie to marry him? Rob was putting his money in to Gordon’s
company – was that to buy his silence too?

So
why had Gordon confessed to Archie’s murder now? Had Rob forced him to do it,
maybe he threatened to kill Jessie?

Or,
was Gordon the real killer? If so, why did he really do it?

Grace
rubbed her head, she could feel a headache coming. Jessie noticed and said,
“Oh, I’ve gone on too long. Take me back to the shop and we’ll talk about that
quote.”

Grace
started the engine. “Can we leave the quote for another day? You’ve got a lot
on your mind.”

And
so have I, Grace mentally added.

Chapter 29

Grace
dropped Jessie at the shop. Jessie got into her van and, promising to be in
touch, drove away.

Frankie’s
stern face greeted Grace when she entered the shop. She raised a questioning
eyebrow at him.

Frankie
said, “What’s going on? Why have you suddenly become involved in that woman’s
life? I thought she was giving us a quote. Have you met her before? Do you know
her family?”

Grace
moved closer to her brother. There wasn’t just noisiness etched on his face,
there was concern too. For all his bluster and bad jokes, Frankie cared about
her. He’d taken it upon himself to be a mother and father to her.

Grace’s
heart felt heavy. She wished she could tell him about her ability to see
ghosts. She’d love to explain about the murder investigation she’d got herself
involved in. She could imagine him helping her, he’d be good at questioning
people. But there again, what if he didn’t believe her? What if he thought
she’d gone mad? He might not want her working in the shop if he thought she was
seeing imaginary ghosts everywhere. He certainly wouldn’t want her going to
storage auctions with him.

“Well?”
Frankie prompted her.

Grace
told him as much as she was able to.

Frankie
folded his arms and leant against a table. “So that woman, Jessie, her husband
died on their wedding day and her dad said he murdered him. Wow, there’s a lot
going on in this town, isn’t there? I don’t understand why you’re involved.
Hang on a minute.” Frankie unfolded his arms, stood up straight and pointed at
Grace. “You got yourself involved in a murder last month. It was that woman who
owned a sweet factory. Are you running some sort of detective agency? Is that
why you go off on your own sometimes?”

Grace
shrugged. “I just seem to get involved in these things. People like talking to
me.”

Frankie
smiled. “That’s because you’re a good listener. Mum always said I was the
talker and you were the listener.”

Grace
said, “I think it’s because you were always talking that I had no choice but to
listen.”

Frankie
nodded. “That’s because I had plenty to say. I’m still like that today, I’m a
man of the world, I know a lot of things. Nothing shocks me.”

Grace
again considered telling him something that would shock him. A voice in her ear
hissed, “Don’t even think of telling him, Grace Abrahams! I can see it on your
face! He wouldn’t understand. Get rid of him, we need to talk.”

Pearl
stood at Grace’s side, hopping from foot to foot.

Grace
made a pretence of looking out of the shop window. She said, “I can see Chloe
coming out of the cafe. I think she’s coming this way.”

“No!”
Frankie ducked.

Grace
looked at him. “You can’t stay there. Go to your room, I’ll get rid of her.”

“Thanks,”
Frankie whispered. Still in a crouched position he scuttled past Grace and out
of the shop.

“He
looks like a crab, silly so-and-so,” Pearl said.

Grace
listened out for Frankie’s footsteps above her. “Right, he’s in his room. Oh,
hi Archie. Have you told Pearl about our visit to the police station?”

“He
has. Right. Listen to me,” Pearl ordered. She began to pace up and down in
front of Grace and Archie. “There’s something fishy going on. Let’s say that
Rob murdered Archie. He hated the sight of him, he was in love with Jessie,
blah blah blah. That’s enough motive for murder. He was at the hotel on the
wedding day. He used his ladders to climb on to the balcony, forced his way
into the room, hid in those walk-in wardrobes and then somehow killed Archie.
He fled the scene. Gordon came in, found Archie dead on the carpet. He knew it
was Rob. Maybe he could smell the stink that the scumbag left behind. He didn’t
want any scandal, maybe he was glad Archie was dead. Gordon put Archie on the
bed, made it look like a robbery, and so on.”

Grace
nodded. “That’s a possibility.”

Pearl
held a hand up. “Shh. I haven’t finished. Then Gordon confronts Rob and says,
‘Oi, Stinky-Face, I know you killed that Archie bloke, I’m going to tell the
coppers.’ And Rob replies, ‘Oh yeah? Then I’ll kill you or your pretty
daughter.’ Gordon panics and says he won’t tell the coppers. Rob says, ‘I won’t
kill you if you get that hot daughter of yours to marry me. And to make
everyone happy, I’ll throw in some money to stop your business from sinking.’”

Grace
said, “I don’t think they talk like that. If that happened, why has Gordon
confessed?”

“Maybe
Rob told him to. I don’t know! I haven’t got all the answers!” Pearl faced
Grace. She waved a hand at her and said, “I still haven’t finished, stop
interrupting. Right, maybe Gordon did kill Archie, bopped him on the back of
the head, flung him on the bed and tried to make it look like a break-in.
Perhaps Rob heard him or saw him from his position below the balcony. He could
have climbed up the ladder and peeped in at the honeymoon suite.”

“Why
would he do that?” Archie said.

“Oh!
Don’t you interrupt me now! He might have wanted to see where his beloved
Jessie was going to be spending her honeymoon night.”

“That’s
weird,” Grace muttered.

Pearl
ignored her. “So Rob saw what Gordon did. He told Gordon he’d keep quiet if
Gordon convinced Jessie to marry him and so on.”

“Why
did Rob ...?” Grace began.

“Will
you be quiet! There’s another alternative. Jessie killed Archie. We’ve said
before that Archie was likely poisoned. She was supposed to check on him. She
went outside with Rob before she got the chance. She could have easily climbed
up to the balcony, even in her dress. She poisoned Archie and then escaped. Rob
could have helped her. Gordon came in, saw what Jessie had done and tried to
protect her by staging a break-in. He’s protecting her still by confessing
now.”

Archie
shook his head. “No! She wouldn’t!”

Grace
said, “We’re missing something.”

Pearl
came to her side. “You’re right. And that girl is going to help you find out
what it is.”

Lily
came out of the shadows. She made her way over to Grace, swishing her dress
from side to side. She grinned and said, “Hi Grace! You’re coming with me!”

“Where?”

“To
see my mum!”

Chapter 30

Standing
outside Ms Berry’s house on a dark November evening seemed a bad idea. It seemed
even worse now that it was happening.

Lily
didn’t think so. She danced around Grace. “Mum will be so happy to see you!”

Grace
wasn’t convinced. “I don’t know why you want me to speak to her. Are you sure I
should be doing this?”

Lily
clasped her hands together. “Oh yes! And you must tell her you can see me.
She’ll believe you.”

“I
doubt that. I don’t tell people that I can see ghosts,” Grace said.

Lily
grabbed Grace’s arm. “You must! You have to! Promise!”

“Okay,”
Grace said reluctantly. She knocked again at the door. This was such a bad
idea.

“She’s
coming!” Lily jumped up and down.

Grace
looked twice at the woman that opened the door. It was Ms Berry but she looked
years younger. Her hair hung loose over her shoulders, she was dressed in jeans
and a sweatshirt.

Ms
Berry’s smile dropped the second she saw Grace. She stiffened and said, “What
do you want? Why are you here? What’s going on?”

Lily
was like a Jumping-Jack, bouncing up and down at Grace’s side. “Hi Mum! Grace,
tell her! Tell her you can see me!”

Grace
took a deep breath. She had nothing to lose–but her dignity. “Ms Berry, I’m
sorry to trouble you but I need to speak to you about your daughter.”

Ms
Berry’s grip on the door tightened. “Lily? What about her?”

“I
can see her. I can see ghosts. She wants me to talk to you.”

Grace
fell off the doorstep as the door was slammed violently in her face. She turned
to Lily and said, “I told you this was a bad idea. People don’t want to know I
can see dead people.”

Lily
giggled. “We forgot to sing the song!”

“Song?
Nope, I’m not singing any songs. Let’s go.”

Lily
threw herself at Grace. Grace took a sharp intake of breath. It was already
cold enough out here without being hugged by a freezing cold ghost.

Lily
stood back. “Me and Mum watched ghost films a lot, we loved them. I told Mum
that if I died and came back to see her I’d sing a certain song. Then she’d
know it was really me. Grace, we have to sing the song!”