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

Lily
cried out, “You have to see the room now! You have to help her!”

Grace
whispered, “I can’t! It’s booked.”

Lily
gestured towards the dancing room. “The bride and groom are busy, they won’t be
going to the honeymoon suite for ages.”

Grace
looked back over her shoulder. The icy glare from Ms Berry sent a chill down
her back. Lily saw who Grace was looking at and said, “I’ll deal with her.”

Lily
swooped through the air and landed at the side of Ms Berry. With a smile on her
face she gently moved her hands down Ms Berry’s back. Ms Berry seemed to go in to
a trance, just like the bidders did at the auction that morning. Knowing that
the trance wouldn’t last long Grace spun on her heel and ran past the frozen Ms
Berry and down the nearest corridor.

Lily
was at her side a second later. “This way!”

Grace
followed Lily towards a set of stairs. They went up two flights and then turned
left. Grace stopped when they came to a door which held a plaque that confirmed
they’d arrived at the honeymoon suite.

Checking
that no one was around Grace said, “Now what? How are we supposed to get in?”

Lily
giggled, her hand flew to her mouth as if trying to keep it in. “I know how to
get in. The lock is faulty. Turn it quickly to the left twice and it should
open.”

Grace
was about to ask Lily how she knew that but thought better of it. Her heart was
already racing at the thought of breaking in to a room. She wanted to get in,
have a look around and then get out as quickly as she could.

Grace
grabbed the handle and did as Lily advised. There was a click and the door
opened.

“Phew!”
Lily said. “I’m glad they haven’t fixed it yet. I didn’t know if that old trick
would still work.” She gave Grace a bright smile and then ran into the room.

Grace
frowned. Who was Lily? And how did she know about the lock?

Grace
entered the honeymoon suite. Her feet sank into the carpet. She remembered what
Archie had said about the thickness of the carpet and, just for a moment, Grace
was tempted to take her shoes and socks off and wiggle her toes in to the
luxury fibres.

No.
She didn’t have time for that.

Grace
closed the door behind her and stepped further into the room. Her mouth dropped
open. Wow! The things that money could get you. She gazed at the magnificent
pictures that hung on the flocked-velvet wallpaper. She stared at the enormous
four-poster bed. Was that a king-size? It looked bigger. What did you call a
bed that was bigger than king size?

There
was a door leading off the room at one side. It was ajar and Grace could see
the gold taps of a bath. At the other side of the room were two sets of wooden
doors. Walk-in wardrobes?

Lily
danced around the room, holding her skirt out. “It’s a beautiful room, isn’t
it? I love it. Have you seen the balcony? There’s a lovely view, have a look.”

Grace
walked towards some French doors. The curtains were pulled back and she could
see the small balcony that lay outside. It was set with a small table and two
chairs.

Grace
sighed. How wonderful to come to a room like this after your wedding. Look!
Boxes of chocolates dotted around the room. And not ordinary chocolates that
you could get from a magazine. No, Grace had seen pictures of this brand of
chocolate in a magazine. They could only be imported from Switzerland. Grace’s
mouth watered. Now was not the time to be drooling over forbidden chocolates.

Grace
stood in the centre of the room and tried to imagine Archie standing here. How
did he die? She looked at the carpet. Had there been a loss of blood? Was this
the same carpet that Archie had stood on? Had the killer been in the room at
the time? If Lily knew about the dodgy lock then maybe someone else did too.
Grace looked again at the French windows. This room was only one storey up,
someone could have easily climbed up somehow and surprised Archie.

Oh!
Too many questions!

Grace
still hadn’t got any answers from Lily and how she knew Archie. She opened her
mouth to ask her something. “Lily, can you...?”

Lily
abruptly swooped over and placed an icy cold hand over Grace’s mouth. She
hissed, “Shh! Someone’s coming! Hide!”

Lily
disappeared.

Grace
looked from left to right. Hide? Where?

She
thought her heart actually stopped when she heard the rattle of the door
handle.

Chapter 8

Grace
heard a creak and then a cry of, “Over here!”

One
of the doors to the walk-in wardrobes was open, Lilly was inside and gesturing
to Grace. Grace didn’t hesitate, she raced towards the wardrobes and flung
herself inside. There was plenty of room inside. Grace swiftly pulled the door
shut and then held her breath. Lily’s eyes were as wide as the grin on her
face. Grace got the impression that she seemed to think that everything was a
game.

A
female voice shot through the quiet. “I told Old Raspberry that I couldn’t do
everything! But would she listen? No! Thinks we should jump to attention every
time she opens her mouth. Never gives anyone else’s opinion a second thought!
I’m telling you, Carol, one of these days I’m going to pack this job in!”

Through
a gap in the wardrobe door Grace saw a harassed-looking maid rushing forwards
carrying something in her hands. She placed it down, whipped out a duster and
gave it a quick once-over.

Grace
turned at the sound of Lily’s giggle. Lily said, “She forgot the champagne!”

Grace
could now see a bottle standing inside a silver wine cooler next to the bed. A
second maid entered her view. Carol?

Carol
moved the wine cooler a few inches to the right. “Keep your mind on the job,
Beth. You know how particular Old Raspberry is. She’ll probably be up here in a
minute to check that we’ve done everything right.”

Beth
disappeared from view but Grace heard her. “What’s wrong with that sour-faced
old trout? Why is she so mean? She’s always going on about hotel stuff, nothing
we do is ever good enough for this fancy hotel. She probably thinks she owns
it! She needs to get a life, sad cow.”

Carol
took out a duster and cleaned the bottle again. “Don’t be so harsh on her,
she’s had a hard time. I think the hotel is the only thing she has in her life
now. Have you got the rose petals? Are you going to put them on or shall I?”

Grace
heard a tut from Beth. “I think I can manage that small job. You can feel sorry
for Old Raspberry but I won’t. She doesn’t deserve any sympathy.”

Grace
saw red rose petals being flung on to the bed. Carol clasped her hands behind
her back as if to stop herself from rearranging the petals. Grace glanced at
Lily. She was shocked to see tears running down her cheeks.

Beth
complained non-stop as she and Carol vacated the room, firmly closing the door
behind them.

Grace
let out a slow breath. She opened the doors and stepped out. “That was close,
Lily. I’m glad they didn’t need to come in here, I’m not sure how I would have
explained myself. Lily? Are you all right?”

Lily
nodded and tried to smile. Her smile froze as something in front of her caught
her attention. She screamed. “No! I don’t want to see it again!”

Grace
turned to where Lily was looking. There was nothing there. What was Lily
seeing? Did it have something to do with Archie? Was Lily there when Archie
died?

Grace
said, “Lily, please calm down. Whatever you’re seeing, it can’t hurt you.”

Lily
looked at Grace, her eyes wide with fear. “But it does hurt me, it hurts my
heart.”

The
young woman shimmered and then disappeared. Grace waited a moment to see if she
would come back. She didn’t.

Grace
was aware of the comment that Carol had made about ‘Old Raspberry’ coming to
check on the room. She had no doubts that the maids were referring to Ms R.
Berry. Grace certainly didn’t want to be caught in this room if Ms Berry walked
in. She had a quick scan of the room but didn’t think she’d remember everything
in it.

She
left the room at high speed and made her way downstairs. Reception was ahead of
her but Grace spotted a door to the side that led to the garden. She went
through it and was soon out on to a lawned area. There were lights dotted
around the grass and it looked bewitching. Something made Grace look back over
her shoulder. She saw a balcony, was that the one from the honeymoon suite?
Grace soon got her confirmation as the ghost of Lily appeared. She gave Grace a
small wave and then vanished again.

Well,
she wasn’t going to be easy to talk to.

Grace
got in the van and drove back to the shop. She thought about Archie Goodwin.
She needed to know a lot more about his life before she could investigate his
murder further. Hopefully, he would have remembered a bit more by now.

Grace
arrived at the shop. It was deserted. Nobody living, or dead, appeared as she
called out various names.

She
went into the kitchen and put the kettle on. She realised that she hadn’t eaten
all day. There was always a tin full of chocolate biscuits in the cupboards.
For Frankie’s sake, not hers. She helped herself to a couple of biscuits.

Revived
by her snack, she returned to the shop and called out names again. There was still
no appearance of anyone.

Grace
checked her watch, nearly 9 p.m. She should be going home. She sighed as she
remembered the storage locker contents hadn’t been put on the shelves. She’d
told Frankie she would that.

“I’ll
make a start,” she mumbled to herself. She started with Archie’s clothes. “I’d
better keep these safe somewhere.” She looked at the top layer of clothes again
before she closed the lid. Something was really bothering her about Archie’s
wedding clothes.

Grace
closed her eyes and tried to let her thoughts settle down.

Her
eyes sprang open.

That
was it!

Chapter 9

For
the next thirty minutes Grace called out Pearl and Archie’s names. Neither of
them turned up.

Grace
wondered where they’d gone. Where do ghosts go anyway? She knew that Archie was
in Pearl’s care but then she had a sudden pang of concern for the poor man. Was
Pearl leading him astray somewhere? Some ghostly pub down a back alley? She
shook her head. Pearl could be brusque and speak her mind but Grace knew she’d
take good care of Archie.

Grace
decided to head for home.

When
she returned to the shop the next morning she almost turned on her heel and
walked straight out again.

“What
time do you call this?” Frankie growled at her from the kitchen table. From the
way he was nursing his coffee, and the paleness of his face, Grace suspected he
was either poorly or hung-over. She suspected the latter.

Grace
looked at her watch and declared loudly, “It’s 8 a.m. Isn’t it a lovely
morning?”

“There’s
no need to shout!” Frankie moaned. He rubbed his forehead and grimaced. “And
it’s not a lovely morning. The world ended last night.”

Grace
put her handbag on the table. “Did it? I didn’t notice. Do you want a fresh
coffee? Have you had something to eat?” She paused as she caught Frankie’s
expression. “What? Why are you looking at me like that? Has something terrible
happened?”

Frankie
banged his fist on the table and immediately winced in pain. “We lost! Don’t
tell me you don’t know?”

“I
presume you’re talking about football? Did your side lose?”

Frankie
stood up. “I don’t want to talk about it. I’ll have a bacon sandwich if you’re
making one. I wish you’d show more sympathy when something terrible happens to
me, Grace.”

Grace
looked at him. He really did look sorry for himself. She remembered the times
that Frankie and Dad watched football together on TV. They used to cheer and
groan in unison. She suddenly realised how much Frankie was still missing Mum
and Dad. She said, “I’ll make the bacon extra crispy, just the way you like it.
Go have a lie down if you want.”

Frankie
shook his head. “No, I’ve got some pricing up to do. It’s no good putting
things on the shelves if you don’t price them, you’ve only done half a job.”

For
a second Grace considered telling him she’d been too busy calling out for
ghosts. That would clear his hangover. Instead she said, “I wasn’t sure what
prices to put on, you’re better at that sort of thing.”

Frankie
nodded. “That’s true. Don’t forget the ketchup on my sandwich.”

With
that order he slouched out of the kitchen and towards the shop area. Grace
waited for a minute and then quietly called out for Pearl and Archie.

She
waited. Still no ghostly appearances. Where were they? Grace needed to talk to
Archie urgently.

Grace
made the bacon sandwiches and took them through to the shop. She listened as
Frankie grumbled about the match. He mentioned players’ names and their moves.
Grace had no idea what he was talking about, she had half her attention on
looking out for ghosts. She noticed that she couldn’t hear any humming. Had she
left Lily at the hotel?