The Death Planner (Storage Ghost Murders Book 6) (10 page)

Chapter
23

Grace
called out for both of them as loudly as she dared. She waited but neither
Pearl nor Jenny reappeared.

Frankie
called out from the shop, “Grace! Has that kettle boiled yet? I’m dying of
thirst out here!”

Grace
called out one last time. When there was no response she quickly made Frankie a
cup of coffee and took it through to the shop.

He
took it. “Thanks. I thought you’d died in there. Off you go then, Beth will be
here soon. I don’t want you staring at me, you’ll put me off.”

Grace
didn’t want to leave without making sure Pearl was okay. “I can stay, I really
don’t mind.”

Still
holding his cup, Frankie walked over to the front door and opened it. “I mean
this with affection - get out.”

Grace
picked up her handbag and resisted the urge to look back towards the kitchen.
“Fine, I’ll go. I know when I’m not wanted.”

Frankie
grinned. “People say that but it’s not true, they never know when they’re not
wanted. I’ll send you a text later.”

Grace
reluctantly returned his smile. “Okay. Good luck.”

Frankie’s
grin died a little. “Good luck? Why are you saying that? Do you think she’s
going to say no?”

Grace
quickly said, “It’s just an expression! I’m sure she’ll say yes. Bye.” She
swiftly walked away. She wasn’t sure Beth would say yes at all. She’d only
known Frankie a few days. His proposal could send her running for the hills.
Grace gave herself a mental shake and told herself this was nothing to do with
her. She had other things to deal with.

Grace
got into her car and drove towards the other side of town. She had Jenny’s
headset in her handbag and, hopefully, Jenny should be somewhere nearby. Grace
called out for her. But, again, there was no response.

Ten
minutes later, Grace pulled into the car park where Elsa’s flower van was
parked. Grace was going to have a heart-to-heart with Elsa about her departed
sister. It was going to be a difficult conversation but it needed to be done.

Grace
parked up and began to take her seat belt off. She hesitated as she saw a man
approach Elsa. He had his back to Grace but she’d already seen that view. He
raised his hand in greeting to Elsa and Grace saw the ring on his finger. She
was too far away to see if it was the same design that she’d seen on the
photographs, but she was betting that it was. Which meant that the man now
kissing Elsa on the cheek was the elusive Giles Redfern. If that was even his
real name.

Grace
stayed where she was. She watched the couple talking. Well, it was mainly Giles
that was doing the talking. Elsa nodded and smiled as she listened to him.
Giles patted her on the head and turned away from her. Grace whipped out her
phone and quickly took a few shots. If Jenny ever reappeared Grace would now
have an image of Giles’ face. Grace took in his features. He looked handsome
enough, but it was that slick kind of handsome that Grace never trusted. It was
the look of a man who knew he was handsome, the look of a man who knew he could
get away with anything.

Grace
had a decision to make. Should she go and talk to Elsa now? Or should she
follow Giles and try to find out more about him?

Giles
walked to the car next to Grace. He must have felt her looking at him because
he turned his head in her direction and gave her a slow, knowing smile. It was
as if he knew that Grace couldn’t help but stare at his amazing good looks.
Grace quickly looked away.

He
got into an expensive-looking car and roared away, music blaring from his speakers
as he drove too fast out of the car park.

Grace
waited ten seconds and then drove after him. She tailed him for another ten
minutes before he turned into a quiet street and parked outside a neat-looking
semi-detached house. Grace parked further down the road and watched him. She
picked up her phone and made a note on it to buy herself a pair of binoculars.

Giles
smoothed down his hair as he walked up the path of the house. The door was quickly
opened by a woman. Even from this distance, Grace could see the eager smile on
her face. The woman reached out for Giles but he quickly pushed her inside and
closed the door behind him.

It
was the same entrance that he’d made when he visited Elsa’s house. The swift
kind of entrance a person makes when they don’t want to be seen.

Was
Giles having an affair with that woman too?

Grace
cringed when she saw the bedroom curtains being pulled closed. Really! It was
only 2 o’clock in the afternoon!

Grace
tapped her fingers on her dashboard. Should she go back to Elsa’s van? Or wait
it out here? She decided to wait. She wanted to find out what sleazy Giles was
up to.

She
logged on to Amazon and started to browse through the binoculars that they had
for sale. How did they ever manage without Amazon? Or the Internet? Grace read
the reviews and was quickly persuaded to buy a particularly powerful pair that
were small enough for a pocket but strong enough for any covert operation.

Oh.
Look at that. Other customers bought some bugging and listening devices too.
Perhaps she should consider those. They would come in useful. She wasn’t sure
about a laser pen, it looked fun but when would she actually use it?

She
jumped as loud music blared out. Giles had returned to his car and had started
it up. Grace could see his female friend standing at the downstairs window. She
was waving at Giles. Grace couldn’t tell if Giles returned her wave before he
sped away.

Grace
was all set to follow Giles again but another idea came to her. She jumped out
of her car before her common sense took over. She marched up to the house that
Giles had just visited and rapped loudly on the door.

The
door opened quickly. The eager look on the woman’s face evaporated as she
realised that it wasn’t lover-boy standing on her doorstep.

Grace
planted her hands on her hips and shouted, “Well? I think you’ve got some
explaining to do!”

The
woman looked Grace up and down, her mouth opened and then closed again.

Grace
tapped her foot. “Are you going to explain what you were doing with my …”

The
woman’s hands flew up and covered her face. “No! I knew this would happen one
day! You’re his wife, aren’t you? I knew you’d find out about us!”

Grace’s
resolve faltered. She hated giving the wrong impression but she had to carry
on. Keeping hostility in her voice she said, “I think you owe me an
explanation, don’t you?”

The
woman’s hands lowered and she nodded. She opened the door wider and indicated
for Grace to come in.

Chapter
24

Grace
followed the woman into the living room. She opened her mouth, ready to tell
the woman that she wasn’t Giles’ wife.

The
woman spoke first, “I knew this would happen! I knew you’d find out eventually!
How could you not? He was constantly leaving you alone, giving you all sorts of
excuses!” She wrung her hands together as she spoke. “Please sit down. I need
to get this off my chest. I’m sort of relieved that you showed up here today.
I’ve been wanting to end it with Giles for a while now. I can’t deal with the
guilt.”

Grace
decided she would tell the woman the truth in a while. She seated herself in
the nearest chair and the woman sat opposite her.

“How
did you find out? Did he slip up? Did I phone him too many times? Was it the
receipts from the hotel?” She shook her head. “I told him to be more careful.
It was like he wanted to be caught. Did he tell you my name?”

Grace
shook her head.

The
woman sighed and moved further back in her seat. “I’m Angela, Angela Hansen.
I’m not surprised that you don’t know my name. Giles can be quite devious when
he wants to.” She gave a bitter laugh. “I’ve even suspected sometimes that he’s
cheating on me too! I don’t know where he gets his energy from.” She stopped
talking and studied Grace. “You’re not at all what I expected. He told me that
you were ill, and that you needed constant care from a team of nurses. That’s
why he never left you. What exactly is wrong with you? You don’t look ill to
me.”

Grace
knew it was confession time. She opened her mouth.

Again,
Angela spoke first, “It’s all lies, isn’t it? Giles has told me one constant
lie after another. And I think I know why.” She slapped her knees. “Well! I’ve
had enough! You turning up on my doorstep is the final straw! I deserve better
than this. If you’ve come here to tell me to leave your husband alone then
you’ve wasted your time. I’ve had more than enough of Giles Winterson! You’re
welcome to him.” She made to stand up.

Grace
said, “I’m not his wife.” She waited for Angela’s reaction.

“Pardon?”

“I’m
not his wife. I’m sorry if my actions led you to believe that.” Grace tried to
smile.

“Is
this some kind of joke? If you’re not his wife then who are you?” Angela’s
eyebrows rose. “Oh! Of course, you’re his other woman. Or his other, other
woman. Take my advice, love, and leave him now.”

Grace
said, “I’m not his other woman, and from what I’ve seen of him, I’ve no intention
of being one. Can we start again? Giles, or whatever his name is, is taking
advantage of someone I know and I want to stop him.”

Angela
sat fully back, curiosity getting the better of her. “Go on.”

Grace
explained about Elsa and their conversation the previous day. She didn’t say a
word about Jenny. Grace concluded, “So, you can see why I’m worried about her.
Elsa is quite gullible and I think Giles is taking advantage of her. I didn’t
know where to find him so I followed him here. Elsa knows him as Giles
Redfern.”

Angela
held up a hand. “Elsa? That’s an unusual name. And you say she works on a
flower van? Where have I heard her name before?”

Grace
took a chance. “Have you ever heard of someone called Jenny Lorrimer?”

Angela’s
face split into a smile. “Yes! Jenny! Of course!” Her smile faded away. “Oh,
Jenny died. It was during a robbery at a hotel, about five or six years ago. It
was so sad. They never found out who killed her.”

“How
do you know Jenny?”

“I
run a catering business. I used to work in Manchester and I came across Jenny
often. She was lovely to work with, not like some event organisers I could
mention. She posted a review online after every event that I supplied food for.
Glowing reviews that gained me more customers. I heard that she moved to Leeds
to set up her own business. She encouraged me to move here too. She told me she
needed a decent caterer, one that she could rely on. I took a chance and moved
here. She was as good as her word and I soon built up a list of customers.” She
shook her head slowly. “What a waste of a life.”

Grace
hoped that Jenny was hearing these words somehow.

Angela
said, “Elsa was her sister! She did the flowers. She really had a talent for
arranging those blooms. She’s lovely too, if a bit simple. And is it the same
Elsa that’s being taken for a ride by Giles?”

“It
is,” Grace confirmed. “Jenny left Elsa a good amount of money. I suspect that
Giles knows about the money. Were you at the wedding where Jenny was murdered?”

Angela
shook her head. “No, that venue was a bit too big for me. I didn’t have the
resources to provide the services that the groom and bride required.”

“Do
you know anyone called Letty, or Letitia Leigh?”

“No,
I don’t think so. Just a minute, isn’t Letitia Leigh an event organiser too?
I’ve tried to meet up with her several times to see if she will look at my
menus. Her assistant always fobs me off and says my business is too small.
That’s how I met Giles actually. I needed some help to improve my business
skills so I went to one of those training courses at a hotel in Leeds. Giles was
an independent business adviser and he agreed to work with me.”

Grace
frowned. “How long ago was that?”

“About
two years ago. I was doing well with my business, but I knew I could do better.
Giles saw the potential in my business. We often met up and one thing … you
know the rest. I’m a walking cliché. I fell for all the lies about his wife. I
started to get suspicious about Giles’ true motives when he said could help my
business better if I signed him up as a joint partner. That would mean opening
up a joint account. He came round to see me today to … erm … seal the deal. But
one thing led to … I’m such an idiot. I should have ended it months ago.”

“It’s
not your fault. He sounds like a professional conman. It looks like you’ve got
a chance to get away from him before you lose any money.”

“Unlike
Elsa. I can’t believe he would do something so nasty to such a lovely girl!
What else is he capable of?”

Grace
left the word ‘murder’ unspoken. “I’d like to confront Giles. Do you know where
he lives?”

“I
don’t, but I can find out.” Angela smiled at her. “After all that Jenny did for
me, the least I can do is to look out for her sister.”

Grace
felt some of the weight she’d been carrying around lift from her shoulders.
“Thank you.” She gave Angela her details and left her house.

As
she walked to her car, Grace heard the beep of an incoming message. She looked
at her phone.

It
was a message from Frankie. Had Beth said yes or no to his proposal?