A Deadly Lesson (Storage Ghost Murders Book 5)

by Larkin, Gillian

  Chapter 35

  Grace’s phone rang a few more times as they drove along. Grace kept apologising.

  Ted waved a hand at her. “It’s okay. Is it your boyfriend? Asking where you are?”

  Grace negotiated a roundabout before answering. “I haven’t got a boyfriend. It’s probably one of those companies that asks if you’ve been sold payment protection insurance, I get those calls all the time.”

  Ted laughed. “Me too!”

  There was a lull in the conversation, then Grace decided to take a chance. “I’m sorry again about stopping. That woman I was talking to, the older one, she’s called Julianne Quill. She’s the sister of Abbie, the girl we were talking about earlier. I won’t bore you with the details but I’ve got involved with her and her family. Did Abbie ever talk about her family?”

  “She certainly did,” Ted said, his friendly voice held a note of anger. “That poor girl, she was in tears sometimes when she came for her lesson. I had to take her somewhere quiet to calm her down before we could continue with the lesson.”

  “What was she upset about?”

  “Her family, and how they felt about her. Apparently, Abbie never heard herself what they were saying about her, but her best friend heard them. She told Abbie everything. Abbie’s mum and dad used to say that they never wanted Abbie, that they were happy with one daughter. Can you believe that? What a thing to say?”

  Having met Derek and Dorothy, Grace didn’t believe that for a moment. And having met Brooke, she knew she was more than capable of spreading such lies.

  Ted went on, “Also, it seems there was a young chap who was upsetting her. She liked him but her friend, I wish I could remember her name, said he didn’t like her and that Abbie should forget all about him.”

  Grace glanced in the rear-view mirror. Abbie looked at Grace and said, “It was all lies, wasn’t it? Brooke was telling me lies all the time. Ted used to listen to me complaining, he was a good friend.”

  “It sounds like you were a good friend to her,” Grace said. She made a right turn.

  “Friend?” Ted chuckled. “I liked to think that we were more than good friends.”

  Grace’s mouth went suddenly dry, her hands gripped the steering wheel.

  No.

  It couldn’t be.

  Her legs shook slightly as she continued to drive. All the information from the past week began to piece itself together like a jigsaw in her head. She didn’t like the picture it was making.

  She swallowed, and trying to keep her tone light, she said, “Abbie was lucky to have you to talk to, to confide in.”

  “That’s what I told her. Between me and you, I think she had a crush on me. I could see how she looked at me. She’s not the first either. That’s why Kath, my missus, doesn’t like me teaching young girls. They always seem to fall for me! It’s so embarrassing!”

  Grace looked again at Abbie. The teenage girl’s eyes were wide, she had one hand on her tummy, the other hand was raised towards Ted, her index finger pointing at him.

  The business card. Ted’s business card, it was in her handbag. That’s what Abbie was attached to, not the driving book.

  Grace couldn’t stop herself from shaking.

  Ted put his hand on her knee and said, “Are you okay, Grace? You’ve gone white, you look like you’ve just seen a ghost. Do you want me to drive for a while?”

  Grace looked down at her knees and muttered, “Yes, please.”

  Ted squeezed her knee and then got out of the car. Grace turned to look at Abbie. Abbie whispered, “It was Ted! I remember everything! He took me to secluded places and cuddled me, he made me forget my troubles.”

  Grace muttered, “Looks like you did more than cuddle.” She moved forwards and did what she had to. Ted knocked on the driver’s window. Grace lowered it, her heart thumping in her ears as she looked into the eyes of the man who had killed Abbie. She tried to smile. “I think I’m all right now. I think I have to work through my fears.”

  Ted winked at her. “Good girl.”

  He jogged back to the passenger side of the car and got in. He patted Grace on the shoulder and said, “Let’s go!”

  Grace tried not to squirm. He really was a hands-on type of man. Is that why he wasn’t allowed to teach young girls? Had there been complaints? No wonder his wife had glared at her so much earlier, and why she used to give Abbie the same look.

  Grace thought awhile about which direction to go in. There was only one place to go. She gave Ted a quick smile. “Thank you for these lessons, I really appreciate it.”

  She felt Ted’s gaze on her as she drove. In a low voice he said, “I hope we can remain friends, Grace. We could meet up some time. We could go somewhere quiet now, to the place where I used to take Abbie. It’s deserted, we won’t be disturbed.

  Grace hated herself but she forced out a giggle. “That sounds great. Was Abbie your girlfriend? Don’t worry, I won’t tell your wife!”

  Ted laughed. “Abbie was one of many. One of the perks of my job. Where are we going now? I recognise this road.”

  Grace’s tone became solemn. “Oh, I didn’t realise where we were. That’s The Old Highway Man pub, isn’t it.” She slowed the car down. “And this must be where Abbie died.” She stopped the car and turned to Ted. “But you know that, don’t you? You were on this road on the night she died. You’re the one who ran her over. You saw her run out on to the road, you slowed down as you waved to her, but then you speeded up. You killed her.”

  Ted’s voice turned cold. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Why would I want to kill Abbie?”

  “Because she was carrying your child. Your wife would definitely find out about your affair this time, it sounds like Abbie wasn’t the first. Did you send Abbie a text that night telling her to come outside?”

  Ted narrowed his eyes. “You’ve no evidence. There are no CCTV systems round here, I checked before I came here that night.”

  Abbie cried out, “Grace! He did send me a text! That’s the one I got at my party! The one that upset me. He said he wanted to meet me, to talk about the baby, he said I had to get rid of it but he would support me. It was his car that I saw, it’s got L-plates all over it. I can see his face now! He smiled at me as he came closer!” Her hands flew to her face. “No! Stop! I won’t tell anyone! I won’t tell anyone about the baby!”

  “You saw her face clearly before you drove at her,” Grace said. “How could you do that? She was only eighteen.”

  Ted banged his fist on the dashboard. “She was going to ruin everything! My wife would find out! My reputation would be ruined. I had to get rid of her!” He sighed and looked at his fist. He turned towards Grace. She shivered at the hate in his eyes. He said, “It’s all in the past now. Like I said, you’ve got no evidence. If you say anything to the police I’ll tell them that you came on to me and I turned you down, I’ll explain you’re trying to spread vicious lies about me.”

  Grace pointed to the radio. “I switched on the call system, the one that’s marked ‘All Cars’. Everyone’s been listening to you.”

  Ted’s face turned from hate to rage. “No!” he lunged towards Grace.

  Chapter 36

  Grace lifted the ice pack off her hand. She winced as she gingerly touched her bruised hand.

  Pearl chuckled at her side. “Tell me again how hard you hit him. I knew those self-defence lessons would come in handy.”

  Grace flexed her fingers. “I’ve never punched someone in the face before. I can still hear the crack as his nose broke.” She shook her head. “The blood went everywhere, I didn’t know there was so much blood in a face.”

  “Serves him right. Taking advantage of young Abbie. From what you’ve said, it seems she wasn’t the only one. Tell me again what his wife said when she turned up, she must have sworn at him.”

  Grace replied, “She was really calm, as if she’d been expecting something like this. She was more concerned for my safety, kept asking me if I was all rig
ht.”

  Pearl folded her arms and leant back in her chair. “She must have known something was going on.”

  “Perhaps, but I don’t think she suspected murder. Anyway, that’s for the police to deal with now. It seems that Ted wasn’t teaching Abbie properly on purpose, that’s why she couldn’t pass her test. He wanted to spend more time with her.” She flexed her hand again. “I hope I don’t have to punch anybody soon, I don’t think my hand can take it.”

  “You did well, I’m proud of you,” Pearl said.

  “Thank you,” Abbie said from across the table. “I’m sorry I couldn’t remember about Ted, I feel like an idiot for not remembering!”

  Pearl explained, “Sometimes, memories are hidden from us, to keep us safe.” She smiled. “How’s the little one doing?”

  Abbie smiled down at her newborn son. “He’s wonderful. Thank you for helping through his birth.”

  Pearl shrugged. “That’s okay, I’ve done it before.”

  Grace added, “Thanks for doing that away from me. I’m not sure I could have dealt with seeing a ghost birth.” She looked closer at the infant. “He’s cute, looks a bit like your dad.”

  Abbie’s smile faltered. “Do you think Dad will be okay?” She looked behind Grace, her face lit up. “Oh! She’s here!”

  Grace knew who she was talking about. The ghost of Dorothy Quill floated through the kitchen table and over to Abbie’s side. She smiled down at her daughter and said, “He’s a bonny chap, my first grandchild. Can I hold him?”

  “Of course, Mum. I’m so glad you’re here. Well, not glad that you had to die, but glad that you’re here with me. You look like did before I died.”

  Abbie handed her son over. Dorothy took him and then looked over at Grace. “You knew, didn’t you? At the home, when you came to see me, you knew I was going to die soon.”

  Grace nodded. “I saw a white line around you. Abbie saw it too. Does Derek know that you’ve gone?”

  Dorothy nodded. “He had his arms wrapped round me when I went. He told me all about Ted Fairway, what an evil man he is! I hope he gets his just desserts. I told Derek it was time for me to go, I said I needed to look after Abbie, and he needed to look after Julianne. He was tearful but I think he’ll be okay. He said something about becoming a private investigator!”

  Grace laughed. “He’d be good at that. How’s Julianne? Did you see her? I need to thank her for trying to warn me about Ted. She was the one who was phoning me as I set off with Ted after speaking to her. She knew about Ted’s reputation, lots of people did. And yet, no one did anything about it.”

  Dorothy nodded sadly. “Don’t worry about that now, Grace. I can’t say thank you enough for all you’ve done. We have to go now, you take good care of yourself. Perhaps you could keep an eye on Derek, maybe he could help you with your investigations.”

  Abbie added, “Can you tell Ethan what happened between me and Ted? Tell him I was a fool to fall for him, I didn’t know what I was doing.”

  Grace promised to do so. She wasn’t sure that Ethan would understand though. She felt her eyes prickle as the cosy-looking threesome lit up and then disappeared. She sighed, “I always feel sad when they go.”

  “I know, but they have to,” Pearl said. She studied Grace for a moment. “Are you okay? Is something bothering you?”

  Grace shook her head. “It’s this whole murder business, it always makes me feel sad. I don’t feel like I’m helping much.”

  “Of course you are! You got that scumbag locked up. He could have done it again in the future for all you know. And you’ve helped Julianne and Derek. That’s not a bad idea about Derek helping you in the future. I wouldn’t mind laying my eyes on his lovely knees again.”

  Grace smiled. Then she said, “Oh! I’ve just remembered something. Frankie heard your voice the other day. How can he hear you? Can he see you too?”

  Pearl smiled and tapped the side of her nose. “That’s a mystery for another day. I have to go now.”

  “No! Explain yourself! Come back!” Grace called out. Pearl disappeared. Grace sighed and shook her head. “That woman!”

  A note from the author

  I love watching storage auction programmes. I’ve never been to one but I’d love to visit one of the big ones in America, I’m sure I’d be useless at bidding though – I’d be too excited.

  When I watch the shows I always wonder where the items have come from, and who they belonged to. I wondered what would happen if some of the items had ghosts attached. I reached a point where I couldn’t stand it anymore and I knew I had to write some stories down, I was inspired by the variety of items that have been discovered in storage lockers. Also, I am a big fan of ‘cozy’ murder mysteries and I wanted to combine items found in a locker with a murder!

  I hope you enjoyed this story. If you did could you post a quick review? Thank you, I read all my reviews and I really do appreciate them.

  To get 3 free short stories in pdf form, sign up to my newsletter at:

  www.gillianlarkin.co.uk

  You can email me at:

  gillianlarkin67@gmail.com

  Kind regards

  Gillian

  STORAGE GHOST MURDER – A DEADLY LESSON

  By

  GILLIAN LARKIN

  KINDLE EDITION

  www.gillianlarkin.co.uk

  Front cover image by www.coverkicks.com

  Copyright 2015 by Gillian Larkin

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, electronically or mechanically without permission from the author.