Jacob's Coins: A Cozy Ghost Mystery (Storage Ghost Mysteries Book 1)

by Larkin, Gillian

  Frankie shrugged again. “I think we’ll be all right.”

  A frustrated sigh escaped from Grace. Why was he being so difficult? Man pride or something just as stupid. She said to Big Bob, “That’s really kind of you, we appreciate it. How long have you been coming to these storage lockers?”

  Big Bob let out a loud bark of laughter. “About a year. You wouldn’t believe the mistakes I made at first! I thought I knew what I was doing. I wasted a lot of money. Hey, would you like to walk round the rest of the lockers with me? I could give you some advice.”

  “That would be lovely, thank you. Don’t you think so, Frankie?”

  Another shrug from Frankie. “We can do.”

  “Follow me,” Big Bob said.

  The huge man turned away. Grace gave Frankie a little shove.

  “Hey! What was that for?” he said.

  “For being a man!” Grace said and she gave him another shove for good measure.

  She walked after Big Bob. She grinned, it felt good to feel a bit of anger, she hadn’t felt anything other than hopelessness for months.

  Chapter 11

  The rest of the auction continued. It went so fast that it made Grace’s head spin.

  She didn’t know where to look. She was mesmerised by Sylvester Sylver’s warm voice and friendly smile. She had no idea what he was saying at times, he seemed to sing as he called out the bids.

  The other bidders nodded and mumbled, she sort of followed the bids for a while but soon lost track of who was winning.

  Big Bob stood at their side and indicated towards the lockers and whether they were worth bidding for or not. Frankie had lost his stubbornness and paid close attention to what Big Bob was saying. Big Bob also warned them about some of the other bidders, the ones he called the ‘big players’.

  But it was the ghosts that caught Grace’s attention. They weren’t in every locker but the ones that Grace saw were getting clearer. She was even starting to hear what some of them were saying. She blushed slightly as a young female ghost swore profusely as her sewing table was sold for £10.

  Frankie tugged at her jacket. “I want to bid on something, Grace. What do you think, shall we try and get a bit of something for the shop?”

  Big Bob overheard him. “Would you like me to bid for you? You might not of noticed but some of the big players have been keeping an eye on you. As soon as you start to bid they’ll bid against you and raise the price. I’ve seen it happen before.”

  Frankie shoved his hands deep into his pockets and said defiantly, “I can do it myself.”

  Grace sighed and said, “For goodness sake! Stop trying to be so macho! Accept help when it’s offered.”

  “You’re a fine one to talk,” Frankie mumbled. He looked up at Big Bob and nodded reluctantly. “Thanks.”

  “No problem, there’s only one locker left. Let’s have a closer look,” Big Bob said.

  They moved closer to the freshly opened locker. Grace heard other people say that it was rubbish and not worth anything. Was it that bad?

  They looked in the room. It didn’t have much. It looked like a bedroom from the 1980s. There was a slim wardrobe, a chest of drawers and a single bed.

  Big Bob nodded and said, “It looks like someone moved house and forgot to come back for this. There’s nothing special, quite recent stuff and not even quality items. Not worth a bid.”

  Frankie looked disappointed.

  Grace looked closer at the bed. She turned to Frankie and said, “Why don’t you bid on it anyway? If you’re intent on staying in the stockroom at the shop you could do with a bit of furniture.”

  Frankie’s eyes lit up. “Excellent idea.”

  Grace turned back to the room and looked straight into the sad eyes of the teenage ghost who was sitting on the bed.

  Chapter 12

  Sylvester Sylver bellowed out, “Last locker of the day, folks. Who will start the bidding at £50?”

  There were jeers and outbursts of laughter.

  “I wouldn’t give you a penny for that pile of junk!” someone called out.

  Grace saw the hurt look on the ghost’s face, he looked as if he wanted to cry. Did ghosts cry?

  Big Bob pulled Grace and Frankie to one side and said, “You two need to walk away as if you’ve finished for the day. I’ll bid on your behalf but if the others know I’m doing it they’ll make my bid go higher. Walk away now.”

  Frankie gave a slight nod as if he’d just been given a secret mission. Then he said, far too loudly, “There’s nothing here for us, we’d better go home.”

  Grace didn’t want to leave the young boy, he looked so vulnerable. She had to trust that Big Bob would win the locker for them.

  She walked away, Frankie at her side. She heard Sylvester call out, “Okay, it’s not the best locker we’ve had today. Who will give me £40? No? £30? Come on, folks, you’re breaking my heart.”

  Frankie and Grace walked towards their van. They heard Big Bob’s voice bellow out, “I’ll give you £10 and that’s only ‘cos I feel sorry for you, Sylvester!”

  There was more laughter. Frankie stood still, Grace held her breath.

  Then Sylvester called out, “Sold! To Big Bob!”

  Grace let out her breath, she looked at Frankie. His eyes glittered. “We’ve just got a locker! Our first locker.”

  They turned around and headed back to Big Bob. He nodded at them and said, “I hope you’ve got ten pounds with you.”

  Frankie was grinning like a child on Christmas morning as he ran in to the locker. Big Bob followed him in and said, “You have to pay for your locker first, you do that in the office. Have you brought a lock to secure this back up again?”

  “No! I never thought of that,” Frankie said. “Do I really need to secure it? Will anyone steal anything?”

  Big Bob nodded sadly, “Some of these people are like vultures, I’ve learnt that from my mistakes. You can borrow one of my locks if you like.”

  “I don’t mind staying here,” Grace offered. “You won’t be long, will you?”

  “Five minutes at the most,” Big Bob said.

  Frankie looked like he suddenly remembered something. “I get to talk to Sylvester Sylver again! Do you think he’d mind if I asked for his autograph? Maybe took a photo with him?”

  “He’d love it,” Big Bob said. He turned around and headed for the office.

  Frankie followed him with a big smile on his face.

  “Might be more than five minutes then,” Grace mumbled to herself. She didn’t mind, it would give her chance to talk to the ghost who was still sitting on the bed behind her. She took a deep breath and turned around.

  She had never spoken to a ghost before. What should she say?

  Chapter 13

  “Hello,” Grace said.

  The young boy blinked at her. “You can see me?”

  “I can.”

  “How? No one else can see me, they ignore me when I shout at them. What am I doing in here? Where am I?”

  Grace didn’t know what to say. Did the boy know he was a ghost? There was only one way to find out. She said, “What was the last thing you remember?”

  The boy hugged his knees to his chest. “I was in a car with my mate, Steve, we were going to a concert.” He frowned. “I can’t remember anything else. Where’s my mum and dad?”

  Grace sat down on the bed next to the boy. “Are you sure you can’t remember anything else? How long have you been in here?”

  The boy looked down at the bed cover, he quietly said, “I’m dead, aren’t I? That’s why people can’t hear me, or see me.”

  He looked back at Grace. She nodded. “I don’t know why but I can see people who’ve died. It only started happening recently and I don’t know why it’s happening.”

  The boy considered this. “Maybe you’re supposed to help them, like some sort of superhero.”

  “I don’t think so, I’m not a hero,” Grace said. “This is a storage unit, do you know why you might be he
re? Did you live nearby?”

  The boy shrugged. “No idea, this is my stuff though. Maybe mum and dad put it here after I ...”

  He trailed off and looked at his bed cover again.

  “I’m sorry, this must be hard for you. I’m Grace, what’s your name?”

  “Jacob, Jacob Paster, not like the food but as in faster,” he said. He gave her a little grin and said, “I always have to say that about my last name, we all do in my family.”

  Grace looked around the storage unit. “We’ve just bought your things, we’re going to take them back to our shop.”

  “Do I come with you? Give you time to work out how you’re meant to help me?”

  Grace stood up. “I don’t know, and I don’t think I’m meant to help you in any way.”

  She took in Jacob’s clothes. He was wearing faded denim jeans, a T-shirt and white trainers, his hair was full on the top and longer at the back. Was it classed as a ‘mullet’ style?

  “How old are you, Jacob?” she asked.

  “I’m 17. How old are you?”

  “Never you mind, when were you born?”

  “1968. Why are you so interested?”

  Grace paused for a second. “What year do you think it is?”

  Jacob looked at her as if she was mad. He said, “1985 of course.”

  Grace looked out of the locker and over to the car park, she could see the outline of her brother and Big Bob in the office. She wished she was with them, she didn’t want to tell Jacob that he had been dead for nearly thirty years.

  She turned back to him and as gently as she could she said, “Jacob, it’s 2014.”

  Jacob’s eyebrows shot up. He leapt off the bed and ran towards the locker opening. He looked up at the sky. “Cool! Where are the flying cars?”

  Grace joined him. “We don’t have flying cars. Are you okay? I’ve just told you that you’ve been dead for a long time.”

  Jacob shrugged. “I know but there’s nothing I can do about that, is there? Where are the robots? How many robot servants have you got?”

  Grace smiled. How easily the young accept reality and deal with it. “We haven’t got any of those, but we do have the Internet.”

  Jacob pulled a face. “What’s that? Something to do with fishing? Oh! I need to ask you something, and think twice before you answer, don’t just blurt it out.”

  “Okay,” Grace readied herself.

  Jacob looked straight at her and said, “Is The Boss still making records?”

  “Who?”

  Jacob clutched his chest and gasped, “The Boss, Bruce Springsteen?”

  Grace noticed the image on his T shirt. “Ah! Bruce Springsteen? Yes, he’s still going. Is that all you’re bothered about?”

  “All? It’s a big thing, Bruce is my world. Have you got any records of his?”

  Grace didn’t want to get into a history lesson with Jacob about the decline of records. The office door opened and Big Bob and Frankie started walking towards her. She told Jacob who they were.

  “Are they going to take my stuff away? What will happen to me? Do I have to stay in this locker? I don’t want to stay here!”

  Grace felt helpless. She didn’t know what was going to happen to Jacob. She didn’t know what she was supposed to do – if she was even supposed to do anything. She said, “You might be attached to this furniture somehow. If we take it back to the shop you might come with it.”

  “Talking to yourself again, Grace?” Frankie called out. “Shift out of the way, we’re going to load this stuff into the van.”

  Grace turned to give Jacob a reassuring look.

  He wasn’t there.

  Chapter 14

  Big Bob followed them back to the shop and helped Frankie take the items upstairs to the stockroom. He didn’t say anything about the near empty condition of the shop or the fact that Frankie was living in the stockroom.

  Grace looked at the furniture as Frankie arranged it around the small room.

  Had Jacob come along with the furniture? Would she have to go back to the empty storage room to see if he was there? Would she be allowed in the storage room now?

  She could hardly raise the topic with Frankie and Big Bob.

  Frankie said, “I’m going over to Big Bob’s shop to see what sort of stock he sells there. Do you want to come with us?”

  “You’re more than welcome,” Big Bob added.

  “No thanks, I’ll stay here. Perhaps I can give this place a bit of a clean,” Grace said.

  Frankie pointed to the chest of drawers. “You can sort through that, there’s something inside, I heard something moving about. But don’t throw any valuables away.”

  Grace nodded, thinking that it was unlikely that the 17-year old Jacob would have any valuables.

  She waited until she heard Big Bob and Frankie leave the shop, then she called out, “Jacob? Are you here? Can you give me a sign?” She tutted. “I sound like some sort of ghost hunter on reality TV.”

  “What’s a ghost hunter?”

  Grace jumped and clutched her chest. Jacob grinned at her, he was sitting on top of the chest of drawers. He jumped down and turned to look at it. He reached out a hand as if to open a drawer. His hand passed through the drawers as if they were made of water.

  Jacob swore. Grace tutted again and said, “Watch your language. I thought I’d left you at the storage place.”

  “I was in the back of the van. This town hasn’t changed much, has it? Some of the shops have been here for years. There’s some fancy cars though, have you got a car?”

  Grace quickly shook her head and changed the subject. “Do you want me to have a look in the drawers for you?”

  “Yeah,” Jacob responded.

  He moved closer as Grace opened the top drawer.

  “My music!” Jacob cried out with delight.

  Grace picked up a cassette. She could see a list of songs handwritten on the front cover. “Did you make this tape?”

  “Those are my favourite Bruce songs. It was playing when,” Jacob suddenly faltered. “Whoa! I just had a memory flash, that was weird. It was playing when me and Steve were driving to see a Bruce tribute band.”

  “When was that?”

  Jacob’s hand flew to his head and he winced.

  “Jacob, what is it? Are you in pain?” Grace asked.

  “ A painful memory, never had those before. But I’ve never been dead before. It was the night that I died. I was in a car with Steve. We were late, I blamed Steve and I kept shouting at him to hurry up. We were on the motorway and he wouldn’t drive fast enough.”

  Grace looked with concern at Jacob. “Can you remember anything else? Did Steve die too?”

  Jacob’s face scrunched up as he thought. After a while he said, “I remember Steve crying out and I started to panic, but that’s it. Do you think that’s why I’m here? Stuck here as a ghost because I killed Steve? I thought people were supposed to go to heaven or somewhere when they die. Why haven’t I? I must have done something bad!”

  Jacob’s voice got higher and his form began to shimmer. Was he disappearing?

  “Calm down! You don’t know that Steve died. You don’t know that you caused the accident.”

  Jacob looked at her, sadness in his eyes. “Then why am I here? Something’s not right.”

  “Why don’t we try and find out if Steve is alive first? Take things from there,” Grace said as calmly as she could.

  “How can we do that? Have you got a phone book? He might not live in this town anymore. It’ll take ages to find him.”

  Grace gave him a little smile. “You don’t know about the magic of the Internet, if he’s out there and online, we’ll find him.”

  Jacob frowned and said, “I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “You will,” Grace said. She led him over to the corner of the room where Frankie had left his laptop. She hoped there was nothing indecent on his home page.

  She switched it on. How was she going to explain
the Internet to Jacob? She barely understood it herself.

  Chapter 15

  Grace tried her best to explain the Internet to Jacob. She could tell by his face that he was totally lost.

  “Let me show you. It’s like lots of pages all on one screen, from all around the world,” she said.

  Jacob gave her a sceptical look. “From all around the world? How can it do that? I’ve seen a computer at my school and it’s much bigger than this thing.”

  “Bear with me. You’ll like this,” Grace said. She went onto a music website and typed something in. A choice of videos came up. She pressed play on the top one.

  She watched Jacob as his mouth dropped open. “The Boss! I can’t believe it! How can he be on that little screen? Is it magic?”

  “A bit,” Grace said. “Give me the full name of your friend Steve and I’ll see if I can find him. Did he have a job? He might have a website.”

  Jacob sneered. “A website? What’s that? What do you think he is? A spider?”

  Grace persevered and got the information from him. She typed everything in, an image popped up. “Is that him?”

  Jacob peered at the image. He burst into laughter. “That’s Steve all right! He got fat! And old! Look at the state of him.”

  “He works in the next town, do you want to go see him?”

  “And say what? Are you going to tell him that you can see ghosts? And that his old pal, Jacob, is with you? He might have some horrible injury from the car crash that I caused. He might have wooden legs!”

  It was Grace’s turn to look amazed. “Why would he have wooden legs? Don’t you want to find out what happened in that car crash? It might be the reason why you’re here.”

  “And what if it isn’t? What are you going to do then?” Jacob asked, a sulky look on his face.

  “I don’t know!” Grace exploded. “I don’t even know why I’m talking to you! I don’t know why I can see you! I didn’t ask for any of this!”