The Death Planner (Storage Ghost Murders Book 6) (13 page)

Chapter
31

Jenny
wanted to stay up all night talking about Letty and Giles. Grace listened
politely for ten minutes as she got ready for bed.

Jenny
swooped around Grace’s room, coming up with all sorts of theories about the
couple. “They could have sneaked up on me in the cloakroom and one of them
could have held me down … Maybe Letty has tried to kill me before! I had a bad
case of food poisoning once when we were at university, perhaps that was her!”

Grace
climbed into bed, her eyes began to close. She yawned and said, “Jenny, if I’m
going to help you at all, I really need to get some sleep. Would you mind
swooping about in another room? Thanks.”

Jenny
smiled. “Sorry. I keep forgetting about you needing to sleep. Good night,
Grace. Thank you for helping me. I do appreciate it.” Jenny flew through the
bedroom door leaving Grace in peace.

For
a few hours at least. Grace bolted upright in the small hours of the morning
and exclaimed, “Alwyn and Green! That’s what I was going to ask Letty and Giles
about.” She shook her head at herself and went back to sleep.

When
she arrived at the shop the next morning, Frankie was already there. He was
singing to himself as he straightened items on the shelves. He beamed at Grace.
“Good morning, Sister! How are you today? Isn’t it a lovely morning?”

“Morning,
Brother. It’s okay, I suppose.”

Frankie
waved his hand towards the kitchen. “I’ve put the kettle on. I called at a
bakers on the way here and got you a slice of apple pie. It’s that chunky one
that you like.”

Grace
gave him a suspicious look. “Are you on drugs? Are you drunk?” She moved closer
and sniffed him.

“Just
high on life, dear Sister. You go into the kitchen and make yourself a cuppa.”
He looked at her face. “You could put a bit of make-up on too in there.”

Grace
frowned. “I already have some on.” She walked towards the kitchen.

Jenny
floated at her side, her clipboard pulled close to her chest. “Oh, isn’t it
exciting! He’s so in love. The wedding’s going to be wonderful. Ask him about
venues, ask him about music. There’s so much to organise!” She looked down at
her clipboard. Worry crossed her face. “And don’t forget about the food.”

Grace
called out for Pearl in the kitchen but the elderly ghost didn’t appear. Grace
made herself a cup of tea. After a moment’s hesitation, she made one for
Frankie too. She headed back towards the shop. She could hear the chatter of
customers.

Frankie
was standing near a shelf of books. He had a smug look on his face as Grace
walked over to him. Frankie said, “You never told me you had a boyfriend.”

Grace
handed him the cup. “Boyfriend? I don’t have a boyfriend.”

Frankie’s
smirk grew as he indicated his head to the right. “There’s a man over there
who’s desperate to talk to you. He’s a bit older than you, but beggars can’t be
choosers.”

Grace
looked over to see Derek waving at her, an eager expression on his face. She
couldn’t help but smile at him. She turned to Frankie and said, “That’s Derek,
he’s a friend of mine, not a boyfriend. And for your information, he’s a lot,
lot older than me.”

“Whatever,”
Frankie said and he walked towards the counter where a customer was waiting.

Grace
made her way over to Derek. He waved his notebook at her and said, “I’ve made
some investigations about Alwyn and Green.” He looked left and right. In a
lower voice he said, “Is it safe to talk about it here?”

“We
can, but let’s go through to the kitchen. Would you like a cup of tea?”

Derek
grimaced. “I’d better not else I’ll be looking for the nearest public
convenience all day. It’s an age thing.”

Grace
led Derek through to the kitchen. She ignored the sniggering noise that came
from Frankie as he watched them leave the shop.

The
second that Derek entered the kitchen Pearl appeared. Her hands flew to her
chest. “Derek! You look even more handsome today.”

Derek
cocked his head. “Did someone just call my name?”

Grace’s
eyebrows rose. “That was Pearl. Did you hear her?”

Derek
looked to his left. “I think I did. Is she standing here?”

Pearl
looked straight back at him and said, “I am, you lovely man.”

A
spot of colour appeared in Derek’s cheeks. “I definitely heard that.”

Grace
said to Pearl, “You’d better be careful what you say from now on.”

Pearl
said nothing as she gazed at Derek. Grace asked Derek to sit down. She sat
opposite him, a cup of tea still in her hand. Jenny floated over to Pearl.

Derek
opened his notebook and said, “Shall I make a start? Or do you need to update
me on the case?”

“I’d
like to hear about what you found out yesterday too, Grace,” Pearl said. “It
looks like me and Derek are on the same wavelength.”

Grace
ignored the longing in Pearl’s eyes. It was making her feel uncomfortable. She
quickly told Derek and Pearl about her visit to Letty and Giles’ house the
previous evening. Grace could see that Pearl was dying to voice some colourful
opinions on the pair, her lips were so tightly clamped together that they had
disappeared.

Derek
shook his head and tutted. “What a dreadful carry on. If that young girl, Elsa,
needs any financial help, tell her to ring me. I don’t know if you remember,
but I used to work in a bank.” He tutted again. “The things that people do for
money. Do you think Letty or Giles killed Jenny?”

“I’m
not sure yet. I need to find out more about them. I could have another search
for photos from the wedding day, see if I can find them. Some people have the
time noted on their photos. Anyway, tell me what you’ve found out.”

Derek
looked at his notebook. “Alwyn and Green are specialist caterers. They supply
food for people with allergies and special diets.”

Jenny
began to nod her head vigorously. “The food! Yes! The food had to be right. The
food!”

Derek
raised one eyebrow. “Did I just hear another voice then? Was it Jenny?” When
Grace nodded, he chuckled and said, “Blooming heck! I’m starting to hear
ghosts! Isn’t that exciting?”

“Sometimes,”
Grace said. “What have Alwyn and Green to do with Jenny?”

“Ah,
I asked them that. They’ve got a shop in Leeds so I called in. I bought myself
some gluten-free bread.” He patted his tummy. “I always feel a bit funny after
eating white bread. They’ve got a lot of things in that shop, stuff I hadn’t
even heard of. Have you ever heard of quinoa? I told them I was making
enquiries about the wedding where Jenny died. The young chap I spoke to started
talking straight away. I could hardly get a word in! He knew about the wedding,
and Jenny. She’d ordered something special for that wedding.” He paused and
looked at Grace. “She’d ordered the exact same thing at two previous weddings.”

Grace
looked over at Jenny. Jenny’s hand was over her mouth, her eyes were wide.
Grace said, “Jenny? What is it?”

Jenny
lowered her hand. “The wedding guest! The special food! It was the wedding
guest! The one with the secret! I found out what the secret was! Oh! My neck!”

A
red mark appeared around Jenny’s neck. Her hands flew towards it and she
screamed. Pearl grabbed Jenny and pulled her close. They both promptly
disappeared.

Chapter
32

Derek
looked around the kitchen. “Did something just happen? I felt something
happening, I’m not sure what though. Is Pearl still here?”

Grace
shook her head and told Derek what had happened. “Did that man at Alwyn and
Green tell you what Jenny had ordered?”

Derek
reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. He passed it to Grace.
“There were some items Jenny needed that had to be nut-free and gluten-free.
There’s also some specially made items that she needed, some desserts and cake.
The last items appear on the three weddings that Jenny was involved with,
including the last one that she attended. Grace, I’ve had a think about this on
the way over. I think the same guest must have appeared at the same weddings.
I’ve got the names of the people who got married. And, from what just happened,
I think that guest had a secret that Jenny discovered.”

Grace
nodded along. “And it was a secret big enough to kill for. All we have to do
now is work out who that guest was.”

“Any
ideas on how we’re going to do that?”

Grace
took a drink of her tea and then put the cup down. “When I found Jenny in that
storage unit I also found some of her files. She could have the name of all her
clients in there.” She held up a finger. “She could have the name of the guest
with the peculiar allergy. What was it in particular that this person had to
avoid?”

Derek’s
mouth lifted at one corner. “Mangoes.”

“Mangoes?”

“Mangoes.
I had to ask him to check his records, but it was definitely mangoes.
Apparently, that fruit is used more than you’d think. Alwyn and Green had to
supply alternatives to the desserts just in case a tiny bit of mango made its
sneaky way into the wedding cake or other treats. They even supplied the wine
for this one guest.” Derek shook his head. “It’s a funny old world. I’m sure
these allergies weren’t around in my day.”

Grace
stood up. “That’s quite a specific allergy, it shouldn’t take us too long to
track it down. I’ll get the files, we can have a look at them now.”

Derek
stood up. “Ah, I’m sorry but I have to be somewhere else. I’ve got a doctor’s
appointment that I can’t cancel. But I could cancel it if you really need me!”

Grace
waved his offer away. “Absolutely not! You’ve done more than enough for me. I
hope it’s nothing serious.”

Derek
chuckled. “Just a check-up. Would you ring me later? Let me know how you get
on? I’ve had a great time following up this lead! If that’s the right
expression. It’s made me feel useful again. Have you got my number?”

“I
have, thank you. Of course I’ll let you know. Thank you for this information.
I’m not ruling Letty and Giles out but I’ll have to look into this new suspect.
Let me see you out.”

“No
need. I can find a door on my own. Take care as you go. Cheerio!” Derek looked
around the kitchen again. “Cheerio Pearl and Jenny! If you’re still there.”

Derek
headed towards the shop and Grace headed towards the cleaning cupboard. She
pulled the files out and opened them up. She grimaced. There was a lot of
information here.

“Grace!”
Frankie called out. “Come and give us a hand!”

Grace
sighed and shoved the files back. She was never going to get to the bottom of
this mystery! She pressed her lips together. No! She wasn’t going to be at
Frankie’s beck and call today. She pulled the files back out and picked them
up. She quickly collected her belongings and walked into the shop. Three
customers were standing in front of Frankie. He was hardly overrun. Before her resolved
weakened, she declared, “I’ve got something to do! Bye!” She sped up and almost
ran out of the shop and towards her car. She ignored Frankie’s call behind her.

As
soon as she got home she sat on the living room floor and spread the files out.
She called out for Jenny but she didn’t appear.

She
checked the paper that Derek had given her. It had three names on it, each a
bride and groom. Grace gave thanks for that small mercy. At least she wouldn’t
have to go through each wedding now to find the special request.

The
first names were Thomas Walton and Libby Russet. Grace looked through Jenny’s
files until she found their names. She jumped as Jenny appeared at her side.

Jenny
smiled and said, “Sorry for earlier. I always seem to be saying sorry. What are
you doing?”

Grace
explained about the mango allergy. Jenny frowned. “That vaguely rings a bell.
The wedding you’re looking at now is that big one in Manchester, the one that
cost over a million pounds.”

Grace
looked through the list of guests. She sighed. “There’s hundreds of them. I
don’t suppose any of them sound familiar?”

Jenny
looked at the list and shook her head. “I remember making that list of dietary
requirements but I don’t think I had names of who they referred to. Sorry.”

“I’m
going to look on the Internet for images. A wedding that big must have plenty
of photos online.”

“What
are you hoping to see?”

“I’m
hoping that you’ll see a face that you recognise. A face that you saw at
another two weddings. It’s worth a try.” Grace reached for her laptop and
opened it up. She typed in the name of the couple and hit the search button.

Grace
and Jenny stared at the first page that came up. Jenny said, “Well, I wasn’t
expecting that.”

Chapter
33

Grace
read the details. “Poor chap. Killed less than one year after his own wedding.”

“You
hear about boating accidents but never expect it to be someone you know,” Jenny
added. She sighed. “Look at his widow, all dressed in black, even the veil
covering her face. The last time I saw her she was in white, she was so happy.”

A
sudden memory came to Grace. “Do you remember that website where we found those
photos of that last wedding you went to? There was a comment at the bottom of
the page. I was going to read it but then I logged off. Let me get it back up.”

She
did so and then scrolled through all the photos again until she came to the
comment at the bottom. Grace read out the comment.

Jenny
gasped. “No!”

Grace
nodded. “The groom at the last wedding you went to, the one where you died, he
died shortly after his wedding too.” Grace searched the Internet and soon found
out how he died. “Accidental food poisoning this time.”

“The
guest at the wedding in Manchester also went to my last wedding, going by the
list of dietary requirements. That’s more than a coincidence.”

Grace
nodded. She looked at the paper that Derek had given her. “The other wedding
where you requested this particular food was for a couple called Paul Clarkson
and Belinda Skipton. Do you remember them?”

“I
do. It was a few years after the Manchester one. I had more conversations with
the groom than the bride. I believe she was working abroad a lot at the time.
In fact, I never saw the bride.” Jenny paused, her eyes widened. “Don’t tell me
that he died too?”

Grace
performed a quick search. She slowly nodded. “A skiing accident this time. Six
months after his wedding.” She looked at Jenny as she processed the
information. “This same person has appeared at all these weddings, they’ve
requested special food for the celebrations. And at each wedding the groom has
died shortly afterwards. We’re assuming it is the same person. For all we know,
this could be a coincidence.”

Jenny
began to wring her hands together. “I don’t like the sound of this. All these
husbands are dying. Do you think …” she swallowed, “do you think it could be
the wife that needed the special food? And do you think that it’s the wife who
killed the husband in each case?”

Grace
gave her a slow nod. “I’m getting an icy feeling running up and down my back. I
think we’re getting closer to the truth. Can you remember what the bride looked
like at each wedding?”

Jenny
started rubbing at her neck. The red mark had come back. “I don’t feel well. I feel
scared, like something terrible is going to happen.”

“Please,
Jenny, try to stay calm. Try to think about the bride’s face. Was there
anything in particular that you remember?”

Jenny
rubbed at her neck more vigorously. “I’m trying! I really am! I think …”

There
was a loud knock at the door. Jenny screamed and vanished.

“Great!”
Grace mumbled to herself. “If that’s Frankie trying to drag me back to the
shop, I’m going to wring his neck.” She got to her feet and immediately felt
bad about using such an expression in front of Jenny. If Jenny was still
around.

It
wasn’t Frankie, it was Beth. She stood on the doorstep with a shy smile on her
face. She held out a basket to Grace. “I hope you don’t mind me turning up
unannounced. Frankie told me that you’d left the shop abruptly. I asked him if
you were poorly but he didn’t seem to know.” She gave an embarrassed laugh.
“Men! Anyway, I thought I’d pop by and see if you were okay. I’ve brought you
some fruit.”

Grace
was touched by her kindness. She took the basket and opened the door wider.
Beth stepped in and closed the door behind her.

Grace
looked down at the basket. It was full of a variety of delicious-looking fruit,
not just apples and grapes. “Thank you. I’ll cut some up now. Would you like
some?”

Jenny
appeared at Grace’s shoulder. Her voice shook as she said, “The bride! I
remember now. She had a friendly-looking face and kind eyes. Her front teeth
were a bit wonky.” Jenny looked over at Beth.

Beth
smiled at Grace and said, “Thank you. But no. I have to be careful around
fruit.” She held her gloved hands up. “You’ll find this weird, I’m allergic to
mangoes.”