The Last Reading (Storage Ghost Murders Book 1)

by Larkin, Gillian

  Mae shook her head. “I never could tell my own fortune. I was quite good at telling other people’s though. What was Brenda doing in my house?”

  “She didn’t say. Were you two friends? She looks like you, but older.”

  Mae laughed again. “Don’t ever say that in front of her! We’re twins, I’m the slightly older one. We used to be best friends when we were younger but it all changed when I turned 13. I started to see things that would happen to people, it was just a feeling at first but then I started seeing more. My friends loved it! I could tell them if they would end up with a certain boy. I bought my first tarot cards and started doing readings, it came naturally to me.”

  “And Brenda didn’t like it?” Grace asked.

  Mae sighed. “I think she was jealous, I had all these people who wanted to be around me all the time. I knew they wanted information out of me, I wasn’t stupid, but it was good to feel popular. It’s hard for me to make genuine friends, as soon as someone knows what I do they start asking questions. Brenda made fun of my readings and the ‘false friends’ as she called them.”

  “Did you ever do a reading for Brenda?” Grace said.

  Mae let out a laugh. “No! She said she’d rip my tarot cards up if I came anywhere near her with them. I did do a reading for her husband, Neil, about ten years ago.”

  Sadness crossed Mae’s face, she looked down at the floor.

  Grace asked, “What happened in the reading? Did you give him bad news?”

  “From what I can remember he was asking about his business, I told him to rely on his common sense. Something happened shortly after that. Neil went bankrupt. Brenda stopped talking to me. I tried to contact her several times but she ignored me. I don’t know what went wrong.”

  Pearl stood up and raised a hand. “I know what happened. You gave him some dodgy business advice, his business went bust, Brenda blamed you and never spoke to you again.”

  “That’s possible, although I didn’t give him any dodgy advice. But there’s more. A year after the reading Neil killed himself. I wonder if Brenda blames me for that.”

  Pearl put her hand down. “Probably. She might have been the one who killed you. Her resentment built up over the years and she couldn’t bear to see you alive anymore. Most murders are committed by people known to the victim.”

  Mae frowned. “But Brenda? She wouldn’t.”

  Grace said, “What was she doing in your house?”

  “I left it to her but I thought she’d sell it. I never married.”

  “But if she hated you as you think, why is she living there?”

  Mae shrugged.

  Grace remembered something. “Does Brenda wear make-up? Lipstick?”

  “Never, she used to say I was ‘tarting myself up’ whenever I wore it.”

  Grace told Pearl and Mae about the lipstick.

  “Something’s going on,” Pearl pointed out. “I think you need to talk to Brenda again. She might be our murderer.”

  Chapter 9

  Grace shook her head. “I don’t want to go back now and talk to her, I don’t know what to say.”

  Pearl said, “You have to talk to her again, you need some evidence.”

  Grace sighed. “Let me get my thoughts together, I need some time to think.”

  “If Brenda killed Mae you can’t let her get away with it,” Pearl said insistently.

  “I know. Look, let me sort some of these things out from the storage lockers. I can’t leave it all to Frankie. It’ll give me time to think.”

  “Don’t take too long,” Pearl said. She disappeared. Mae started to wander around the shop again.

  Grace didn’t want to think about the murder at all. She’d forgotten to tell Pearl and Mae about the murder occurring at St Mark’s Church. She’d tell them later.

  She looked at the dark pink curtains. She could put them in the front window, place the costume jewellery on top, it would look inviting.

  She dragged the curtains over to the window, they really did weigh quite a bit. She cleared out some plates and pans that Frankie had put there a few weeks previously. She yanked one of the curtains into place. She folded the side where the hooks go underneath and pulled it close to the edge of the window. The opposite end where the hem was looked scruffy as if the curtain had been dragged along the floor many times. Grace smoothed it out as best as she could.

  “What’s this?”

  There was a bump in part of the hem. She looked closer, the hem had come undone. Grace hoped it wasn’t a dead animal that had crawled inside, she gingerly put her hand in.

  She pulled something out. It was a dark purple scarf. The scarf was wrapped around something. Grace unwrapped it.

  Mae was at her side the moment she unwrapped it.

  “My tarot cards!” Mae exclaimed.

  Grace looked at the tattered box.

  “I’ve had them since I was a teenager,” Mae said with a laugh. “The things I’ve seen with these! I’ve had other packs but these are my best cards.”

  “Why are they wrapped in a scarf?”

  “To protect them against evil forces, of course.”

  Of course.

  Grace turned the cards over. Mae reached out to touch the cards.

  Something changed.

  Grace looked up. “We’re not in Kansas anymore.”

  Mae let out a gasp of delight. “Is this the vision thing you were telling me about? I must have been attached to my cards. This is really clear, it’s like we’re really here.”

  “Wherever here is,” Grace muttered. “What’s that smell?”

  “It’ll be incense. I didn’t realise you’d be able to smell anything. I know where we are, it’s St Mark’s Church. They hold a psychic fair for two days every month. I used to give readings. Can we move closer into the vision? I’ll take you to my table, it’s right near the door, I was the one that people saw the minute they came into the church hall.”

  Grace moved forward, still holding the cards. Mae had let go. She walked in front of Grace through the crowds.

  “I had no idea these kind of fairs were so popular,” Grace said.

  “People like to know what’s happening in their lives, they like to have hope. Follow me.”

  Grace could hear tinkly music, like wind chimes, coming from several directions. There was also a low sound of chanting. Stalls were placed all around the hall. It reminded Grace of the local market. But the stall owners weren’t shouting out their wares to passers-by, they were just smiling. It all seemed very friendly.

  Grace saw a stall that offered reiki healing. She paused for a moment. A young woman was lying down on a couch with her eyes closed. An older woman was holding her hands several inches above her body.

  Mae noticed her looking. “It’s to align the chakras and get rid of any blockages.”

  “Hmm.” So that’s what reiki was. Grace had a fleeting thought that she might want to try it.

  They headed closer to the main door.

  Mae’s hand shot out, she pointed towards a table. “There I am? Do I really look like that from behind?”

  They walked nearer until they were facing the Mae who was still alive. Grace saw the sad look on ghost Mae’s face. It must be awful facing your former self.

  Mae was giving a reading to a middle aged woman who had tears in her eyes.

  Ghost Mae said, “I gave her a message from her mum who had recently become a spirit, I remember that her mum was telling her to leave her bully of a husband.”

  “And you told her that? I thought you were only supposed to give good news or something.”

  “I told people the truth, even if they didn’t want to hear it. If someone got really upset I’d offer to give them a refund.”

  “Did you ever see someone’s death? Did you warn them about it?”

  Ghost Mae shook her head. “No, thankfully. I often saw illness and would tell the customer to make an appointment with their doctor.”

  The customer wiped her eyes an
d thanked the vision Mae profusely. She stood up and walked away. Another customer was waiting nearby with a hopeful smile. The vision Mae smiled and said, “Please excuse me for a few minutes.”

  The ghost Mae gave an embarrassed laugh. “Oh, I remember this. I’d drunk too many teas that day, they kept appearing on my table. I normally just sip water through the day so that I don’t need the toilet. I didn’t want to refuse the tea, I didn’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings.”

  Ghost Mae and Grace turned to follow the vision Mae.

  The scene changed.

  “We’re upstairs, just outside the toilets. There I am, hitching my dress up to go downstairs. Those church steps are so steep! I kept thinking I was going to fall down them one day!”

  A chill shot down Grace’s back and terror gripped her stomach.

  “Mae, I think this is when you died.”

  Chapter 10

  The vision Mae hitched up her long skirt in one hand and gripped the banister with her other.

  Grace wanted to turn away but she knew that wasn’t an option.

  A voice called out, “Mae Moonshine!”

  It sounded dull and slow as if it was underwater.

  In slow motion the vision Mae turned around, a smile on her face.

  Two hands reached out and pushed her.

  The smile was replaced by a look of surprise.

  Mae toppled down the stairs, still in slow motion.

  Grace heard the gasps of ghost Mae at her side. Grace’s hand flew to her mouth as she watched Mae tumble down the steps. She landed with a sickening thud at the bottom, her head twisted unnaturally to the side.

  A sharp pain flared up in Grace’s neck. She knew where it had come from now. Grace turned to where the person who had pushed Mae was standing. There was no one there. Grace tried to recall the hands. Were they male or female? She didn’t know.

  In a trembling voice ghost Mae said, “Why would someone do that to me? Oh, Grace! Look at me, down there, what an awful way to go!”

  Grace couldn’t think of anything to say. It was an awful way to go and now they knew for sure that Mae had been murdered. Grace walked down the steps and looked closer at the vision Mae. She was lying near a pair of thick velvet curtains that covered a floor to ceiling window. The same curtains that were now in Grace’s shop. Had the tarot cards fallen out of Mae’s pocket and into the hem of the curtains? Grace reached out in the hope of touching something solid. Her hands floated through the curtains.

  Ghost Mae joined her. “Grace! There’s someone coming downstairs, I think it’s the murderer!”

  Grace looked back, there was a figure but it was blurred. “The vision’s starting to fade. It must be because you’re ... taking your last breaths.”

  The whole vision began to fade and parts of Grace’s shop began to reappear.

  Grace watched in horror as the last few seconds of the vision played out.

  Ghost Mae let out a whimper. “What’s that person doing to me? Why are they touching my clothes? Grace! What’s happening?”

  The vision faded completely. Grace turned to Mae, she could feel the sting of tears forming in her eyes. “It looked like he, or she, was searching for something. What do you think it was?”

  Mae shook her head. “It might have been my tarot cards, everyone at the fair knew I’d had them for years. Would someone really kill me for my cards?”

  “They might have, they might have seen how popular you were. Mae, I just don’t know. I thought your cards might have flown out of your pocket and into the curtains. Do you think that might have happened?”

  “Yes!” A voice boomed out. Grace yelped and dropped the cards.

  “Pearl! Don’t sneak up on us,” Grace said. She picked up the cards and showed them to Pearl. “This is what Mae is attached to, we went into a vision.”

  Pearl nodded and gave her a smug look. “I know. I had a feeling something was happening so I came over here and I saw everything. It was like a small TV screen in the front window. It was a bit boring with you walking round at first. There are some weird people that go to those fairs, haven’t they got anything better to do?”

  Mae gave a sniff of indignation.

  Pearl carried on. “It got interesting when you fell down the stairs. Arse over ...”

  “Pearl! Mae died,” Grace said.

  “I know, we all die. I saw those curtains and I did see the cards flying off into them. It must have been what the murderer was looking for. But I thought I heard something else falling too, like coins or something. These curtains were in the storage locker weren’t they? The anonymous bidder that you never saw must have known they were up for sale somehow and they bought the locker. Grace, you said it looked like the locker had been searched when you went in.”

  Grace nodded.

  Pearl folded her arms and said wisely, “The murderer must bought the locker, looking for those cards. I don’t know why they wanted them but it was enough to kill Mae for.”

  Grace held the cards out as if they were an unexploded bomb. In a shaky voice she said, “You know what this means?”

  Pearl smiled. “Yes, the murderer might come here for a second look at the curtains. Get the big tea pot ready, Grace, you might need to whack someone on the head with it.”

  Chapter 11

  “I don’t want to whack anyone!” Grace exclaimed. “I don’t want a murderer coming here.”

  “You don’t want to let them get away with it, do you?” Pearl asked.

  “Well no, but I don’t want them coming here. Whoever bought the locker seemed to have a good look whilst they were there, I don’t think they’ll come here.”

  Pearl pursed her lips and gave Grace a look. “There’s a chance that they will. Get that teapot ready.”

  Mae spoke. “It might be someone at the fair, one of the other readers. Is there a fair this weekend? If there is they’ll be too busy with readings to come here.”

  Grace relaxed a little.

  Pearl considered this. “In that case you need to go to the fair. Question people, see who looks shifty. Mind you, from what I just saw in that vision they all look three sandwiches short of a picnic.”

  Mae looked at Pearl. “You have issues, I can help you with them.”

  “Pah! I haven’t got any issues! We never had issues in my day, we got on with things. Grace, your next step is to go to the fair. You could wave those cards around, see if you can lure the murderer out.”

  Grace didn’t fancy doing that at all. The image of Mae being pushed down the stairs flashed into her mind. She would go to the fair and take it from there.

  “You can go now,” Pearl said.

  Grace stood up straighter. “Yes. I’ll do that.”

  Her phone beeped. Grace took it out and read the text.

  “Frankie needs me to come and get him, he’s bought two more lockers.”

  Pearl waved her hand. “Tell him to get the bus.”

  Grace put the phone away. It was all very well helping the dead but she still had to help the living. She remembered Frankie’s tired face. “I’ll go to the fair tomorrow.”

  She ignored Pearl’s calls of protest as she left the shop.

  Grace collected Frankie and the mountain of items that he’d bought. She had to make two journeys to get it all back to the shop.

  Frankie didn’t help by shouting out, “Watch out for the bus stop! You’re too close to the kerb! Let me drive.”

  Grace refused. She had to get over her fear of driving. She had to get over her fear of letting other people tell her what to do.

  She spent the rest of the day sorting out the new stock, she wasn’t going to let Frankie do it all.

  By 10 p.m. everything was to her liking. Frankie offered to drive her home.

  “No, I’ll get the bus, there’s one in five minutes. You get some sleep. I’ll see you on Monday.”

  Frankie yawned. “Any plans for tomorrow?”

  Grace smiled. “I’m going to the fair.”

&nbs
p; “What?”

  “Nothing. See you later.”

  Grace walked the few streets to the bus stop. The tarot cards were in her handbag. Mae appeared at her side and said, “Grace, I think we’re being followed.”

  Grace gave a slight nod and whispered, “So do I.”

  She only had to wait a minute before the bus arrived. She quickly got on. No one got on behind her. As the bus pulled away Grace looked out of the window. All she could see in the dark was her own worried face looking back at her.

  She wasn’t sure about this murder business. Perhaps it would be easier being a teacher.

  Mae sat at her side and said, “I know you can’t talk to me in front of the other passengers but I wanted to say thank you for helping me, I know you don’t have to. People must have thought I tripped over my skirt and tripped down the stairs, but now we know different. I don’t know what the murderer was looking for, but, Grace, you don’t have to help anymore if you don’t want to. I understand.”

  Grace took her phone out and typed in a text message. She angled it so Mae could read it:

  ‘I’ll help you, I’ll find out who killed you.’

  Chapter 12

  The psychic fair opened at 10 a.m. on Sunday. Grace joined a surprisingly long queue to get in. She paid a £5 entrance fee and walked into the church hall, Mae at her side.

  Grace sniffed the air, it was just the same aroma as in her vision. She could already hear the low drone of humming voices.

  Mae pointed towards a table. “Look, there’s my table, still with my purple cloth on. No one’s doing any readings there.” She gave a happy sigh. “The organisers must have left it as a tribute to my memory, how kind of them. The people here were always so kind.”

  Apart from the one who shoved you down the stairs. Grace kept the thought to herself.

  They walked further into the room. Grace recognised some local faces, some she’d only passed in the street and some that had come into the shop. They walked by the reiki healing stand. Grace looked longingly at the couch.

  Mae caught her look. “I don’t think we have time for that now. You would benefit from it in the future though, it would help you sleep better. I hope you don’t think I’m intruding but I did hear you turning about in your bed last night.”