Archie frowned. “Is that a bad thing? About my character, I mean, not being away from Grace so long. I can see why you wouldn’t that to happen.”
Pearl threw her arms up. “There you go again! Being considerate and polite. It’s not normal.”
“Sorry,” Archie mumbled and looked down at the ground.
Grace gave Pearl a stern look. “Why are you being so mean? If Archie has all those wonderful qualities then why is that a bad thing? Why did you say you needed to warn me about him?”
“You don’t see, do you? Either of you?” Pearl looked from one confused face to the other. “Archie, I’ll be blunt. You’re gorgeous and charming. You’ve made me fall in love with you and I’m a tough old boot. I can see that Grace likes you too. Don’t look like that, Grace! No need to be ashamed of your primal urges. The point I’m making is that it’s easy for people to fall in love with you. Now, if you were getting married and a jealous ex-girlfriend didn’t like it she might feel the urge to do away with you. She might think, ‘If I can’t have him, nobody can!’. People go crazy when they’re jealous. And, on the other side of the coin, ex-boyfriends might hate the sight of you as you parade around town with their former love. They wouldn’t think twice about stabbing you in the back.”
Grace’s mouth had dropped open. She looked at Archie, he looked as stunned as Grace felt.
Pearl nodded and folded her arms “Love makes a mess of people. They don’t think straight. And you, young Archie, bring out either hate or love in people. It’s not your fault. I was half tempted last night to run away with you, to keep you all to myself. And I’m quite sure that other people have felt that way too.”
Archie tried to smile. “I don’t know what to say. I didn’t know I had that effect on people. Sorry.”
Pearl unfolded her arms and patted Archie on his chest. “Don’t you be sorry. I haven’t felt that way for years. I enjoyed it, you’re better than gin!”
Archie let out a laugh. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
The atmosphere lightened and Grace felt ready to ask Archie about what she had discovered the previous evening.
Grace pointed to Archie’s jacket pocket. “That handkerchief, it matches your tie.”
“It does. The wedding was all colour co-ordinated. Why are you asking?”
“When we went through your wedding clothes yesterday in the suitcase I didn’t see it. Did you keep it in your pocket all day? Can you remember taking it out at all?”
Archie frowned. “No, I don’t think I took it out. I didn’t want to ruin the overall effect. Are you thinking that it was taken from my body after I died?”
Pearl jumped in. “Perhaps it was used to kill you! You said that you had trouble breathing and that your throat felt sore. Maybe the killer crept up on you, whipped your handkerchief out and shoved it over your mouth and nose.”
“They would have to be strong,” Grace pointed out. “Can we have another look in your suitcase? I don’t want us jumping to conclusions if it’s tucked down the side somewhere.”
“Please do,” Archie said. “Where is my suitcase?”
Pearl looked around the shop. She let out a string of expletives. “A lot of that stuff from the locker has gone. Don’t tell me your idiot brother has sold it! Grace, you should have hidden it.”
“I did hide it. And he’s not an idiot,” Grace said.
Pearl sniffed. “He does a good impression of one. Where’s the case?”
Grace moved towards the kitchen. “I put it somewhere where Frankie wouldn’t look.”
She pulled open a door that contained cleaning equipment. Archie’s case was at the back. Grace pulled it out, sat on the floor, and carefully went through it again.
“Check the pockets,” Archie said.
Grace did so. She felt uncomfortable going through the pockets of a dead man’s jacket, especially when the dead man was watching her.
“I can’t find the handkerchief,” Grace said.
Archie lowered himself next to Grace. He put his hand on Grace’s arm. She shivered. In a calm voice Archie said, “Look in the inside pocket.”
Grace did so. She didn’t find the handkerchief.
She found something else.
Chapter 11
Grace pulled out a small velvet pouch. It was the same deep red colour as the missing handkerchief.
Grace looked at Archie and raised her eyebrows. There was such a look of sorrow in his eyes that Grace felt her heart hurt.
Archie said, “You can take it out. It’s a necklace. I had it made specially for Jessie. I was going to give it to her on our wedding night.”
Grace carefully opened the pouch and reached inside. She pulled out the necklace and held it up.
Pearl cried out, “A hammer! You got her a necklace with a hammer on it! That’s not much of a wedding present. What’s wrong with you?”
Grace cringed at Pearl’s outburst. However, she was thinking the same thing. She had been expecting some sort of love symbol, not a tool.
Archie stood up and brushed non-existent dust from his trousers. There was a grin on his face. He turned to Pearl and said, “I know it seems strange but if I told you the story behind it your lovely old heart would melt.”
“Convince me,” Pearl ordered.
Archie chuckled and began to speak.
“Shh!” Grace hissed. “I can hear Frankie! He’s coming downstairs! I’ll have to put this back.”
Pearl and Archie floated out of the way as Grace shoved the necklace back into the jacket pocket and then flung the case to the back of the cleaning cupboard.
Frankie marched into the kitchen. “That ref! What a loser! He can’t even see straight. He shouldn’t be refereeing a match! There should be laws against it.” He stopped ranting and looked at Grace. “Why are you leaning against that cupboard? And where’s my sandwich?”
There was a loud thudding noise, it came from the shop area.
“What the hell was that?” Frankie said. He went into the shop, closely followed by Grace.
The thudding was coming from the front door. Frankie strode over to it and tried to pull it open. “What’s wrong with this stupid door?”
“Has it got stuck again?” Grace said in a rush. She knew why it wasn’t opening, she’d locked it but she didn’t want Frankie to know that. “Move out of the way, there’s a knack to opening it.”
Frankie looked back over his shoulder. “I think I know how to open a door.” There was some fumbling. And some muttered curses. After a moment Frankie stood to one side and indicated for Grace to come forward.
Grace did so. She quickly unlocked in the usual fashion without Frankie seeing her. Then she made an elaborate show of bumping the door with her bottom. She cheerfully opened the door with a triumphant smile.
Frankie shook his head. “We’ll have to get that fixed. My backside is far too delicate to do what you just did.”
Grace was pushed to one side as an irate customer barged in. The customer glared at Grace and Frankie, and then stormed indignantly into the main part of the shop.
Frankie wiggled his eyebrows at Grace. This woman was one of their regulars. She never smiled, and she never spoke. But she always bought something. Frankie had already given her a nickname. He whispered now to Grace, “Looks like Chatty-Cathy has arrived.”
Grace’s laugh was stifled by the sudden appearance of Archie. He was inches away from her face. Grace tried to keep her composure as Frankie started to go on about the match again. She felt like some sort of secret agent who had to keep their face straight in the midst of interrogation.
Archie spoke in an urgent tone, “Grace! You have to go outside! Quick!”
Grace felt twinges of discomfort as she tried to contract her face into different expressions: a listening one for Frankie and a ‘What are you talking about?’ one for Archie.
Pearl appeared at Grace’s other side. Grace’s eyes widened. There was no way she could cope with another expression. It seemed
that Pearl could sense her discomfort. She pulled on Archie’s arm and moved him away from Grace. Then she returned to Grace’s side and whispered, “Archie has seen Gordon West, his father-in-law, going into that cafe across the road. Archie thinks you should go across and somehow get talking to him. I think so too. Going by that charade with the door you could use that as an excuse, get him to look at the door. He is a builder, isn’t he?”
Grace nodded her head slightly. A pause. Then Grace shook her head.
Pearl thankfully picked up her thought. “Ah, I see. If you asked him to come over and look at the door then he’d see nothing was wrong. You’d look a berk in front of Frankie, he might work out that the door was actually locked. Can you think of another reason to go over?”
Grace already had. “Frankie, we’ve run out of bread. I’ll nip over to the cafe and get your favourite.”
Before Frankie could say yes or no Grace shot out of the shop and ran over to the cafe. She noticed Gordon West’s van in the cafe’s car park. There was a telephone number on the side. Perhaps she should make a note of that later. She’d think of a genuine reason for him to visit the shop.
Gordon West was the only male in the cafe, he was sitting at a corner table. He was thick-set and had a typical builder’s look about him. A newspaper was open in front of him but Gordon was checking his phone. Grace sat at a table next to him, her back facing him. How was she going to strike up a conversation with him?
From her position Grace could see across the road to the shop. She pressed her lips together as the faces of Archie and Pearl stared back at her. She saw the urgency on their faces but they did look comical sitting in the window like two ghostly bookends ready for sale.
Grace heard Gordon giving his order to the waitress. It was a deep, growly kind of voice that smokers sometimes have. Gordon asked if he could have the all-day breakfast. The waitress agreed that he could.
Grace glanced across the road again. Pearl was giving her a look as if to say, ‘Get on with it!’
Grace thought of something. She turned in her seat, a smile ready.
“What can I get you?” the waitress interrupted.
Grace held her smile in place. “I’d like a corned beef, sausage and fried egg sandwich, to go, please. With tomato ketchup.”
The waitress looked bored as she wrote it down. “These tables are for customers who are eating in only. You can wait for your takeout at the counter.”
Grace had no intention of moving away. She politely said, “I’ll have a cup of tea whilst I’m waiting.”
There was a tut from the waitress. “It won’t take that long.”
“I’ll still have a cup of tea. Thank you,” Grace said. The waitress didn’t move. Grace added, “Milk, no sugar. Thanks.”
The waitress rolled her eyes and shuffled away.
There was a deep laugh behind her. Grace looked around. Gordon West was grinning at her. He said, “Talk about service without a smile!”
Grace nodded and returned his smile. This was perfect! He’d made the first move. All she had to do now was add some comment and then talk about having some building problems at the shop. He’d offer to have a look and ...
All her thoughts stopped as someone walked into the cafe.
Chapter 12
It was like something from a film. The woman appeared to glide into the cafe in soft focus. Everything about her was perfect, from her professionally styled wavy hair down to her designer shoes. She must have been in her late fifties or early sixties even, but her make-up gave her an attractive youthful glow. The smile on her face was genuine and she seemed unaware of the attention she was gaining from everyone in the cafe.
Grace blinked. Was she a film star? Some sort of celebrity? If she wasn’t then she should be. The woman glanced at Grace and gave her a friendly nod, her eyes twinkled. Grace couldn’t help but nod back as if they were friends. The woman walked past Grace and towards the corner table. Everyone else in the cafe was staring at the woman so Grace turned around and did the same.
Gordon West was also staring at the vision, admiration and love shone from his eyes. He stood up as the woman approached, he opened his arms
They knew each other?
The woman laughed and walked into Gordon’s embrace. They hugged and the woman laid her head on Gordon’s shoulder. Then she stood back a little and looked into his eyes. She said, “Have you been smoking today? I can’t smell anything but you’ve tricked me before!”
Gordon let out a boom of a laugh. Grace heard tea-cups rattle. Gordon said, “As if I could trick you! How long have we been married?”
Married?
Grace tried to remember the name of Gordon’s wife. She looked over to the ghostly bookends across the road. They had seen the woman in the cafe. Archie was pointing and mouthing a name.
Sylvia! That was it. Didn’t Archie say she used to be a model? That would explain her poise and elegance. Well, fancy that. Grace reckoned Gordon West had done well for himself.
Gordon pulled a chair out for Sylvia and she lowered herself gracefully. Grace suddenly realised that she was still staring rudely at the couple. She turned away. She’d picked a good place to sit, hopefully she’d be able to hear everything.
Sylvia spoke first, “Now, tell me how your day is going? More importantly, how is Jessie doing? Have you heard from her? This is going to be a difficult week for her.”
Gordon replied, “She’s tough, she’ll deal with it. You worry too much.”
“I have to worry! It’s my job. Jessie needs to show her emotions more, she keeps everything bottled up. I’ve told her she can talk to me any time but she never does. She’s like a female version of you!”
“Just let her be, you can’t change her. I don’t like seeing you in this state, Sylvia, you put everyone else before yourself. Take a day off, go to the spa.”
Sylvia laughed. “I can’t take a day off, there’s so much to organise. You know what it’s like. Anyway, I like to be busy. And you can’t expect Jessie to help, not after ...”
Sylvia was interrupted by the waitress. Grace heard Sylvia laugh again as the waitress announced the delivery of a full English breakfast.
“Really, Gordon! When was the last time you had something like this?”
There was a pause and the waitress moved away. Gordon said, “I felt like I needed a full meal. I didn’t have time for breakfast this morning. It does look too much though. Help yourself to something.”
Grace heard the concern in Sylvia’s voice as she spoke softly, “Gordon, what’s wrong? It’s not like you to miss breakfast. And don’t think I haven’t noticed you’re not sleeping well. What’s on your mind?”
There was a sigh and the sound of a plate being pushed to one side. Gordon said, “I’m trying to hold it together, for Jessie’s sake. But this is a difficult time. I keep thinking about ...”
Once again the waitress interrupted Grace’s secret eavesdropping operation. It wasn’t the one that took Grace’s order, it was another girl that now beamed down at her.
“Grace! I thought it was you! How are you?”
Grace gave the purple-haired waitress a blank look.
The waitress laughed and said, “It’s me, Chloe! I’ve dyed my hair since we last met, it used to be green. I went out with your Frankie for a while.”
Grace forced a smile. One of Frankie’s ex-girlfriends, this could be awkward.
It was awkward. Chloe went on. “When I heard that someone had ordered a corned beef, sausage and fried egg sandwich, with ketchup, I thought there’s only one person I know that would order that! Frankie Abrahams! But it’s you! Is the sandwich for Frankie?”
Grace could only nod. Chloe was very loud. All conversations in the cafe had stopped. Or it might be that Chloe was booming over the top of everyone’s voices.
Chloe looked wistfully over to the antique shop. “Me and Frankie had a great time together, a good connection. We were on the same level, you know. I miss him. He said he’d ph
one me but I think our love was too strong for him.”
Grace now remembered Chloe. Frankie had complained of a headache every time he returned from a date with her. Grace now knew why.
Chloe stared brightly at Grace and asked, “Is he single? I think it’s time we gave our love another go. I’ll tone down my love vibes. Look, I’ll write my new number down, he’s probably been trying me on my old number.”
“Probably,” Grace mumbled. She wished Chloe would hurry up and leave. She could hear Gordon talking about something. And what was that Sylvia just said? Did she mention Archie’s name?
Chloe took for ever to write her number down. Then the original waitress returned with Grace’s takeout sandwich and tea, she put them on the table. The two waitresses glared at each other, the original one tutted and walked away.
Chloe muttered, “Miserable cow. Grace, I’ve put my number down. I am seeing someone but he won’t mind if I share my love with Frankie too.”
Grace’s stomach heaved. She was finding it harder to maintain a polite smile.
“Excuse me, please.”
It was Sylvia. She smiled politely at Chloe and said, “I love that hair colour, it suits you. Would you mind if we squeezed past? Thank you.”
Chloe moved and Grace watched in despair as Sylvia left, followed by Gordon.
Now what? She could still get Gordon’s telephone number.
Grace stood up, grabbed the sandwich, pushed some money into Chloe’s hand and raced out of the shop.
She skidded to a halt as someone hollered her name.
She looked over at the person hollering. It was a furious-looking Frankie standing in the doorway of the shop.
Chapter 13
Grace looked towards the cafe car park, Gordon’s van was still there. Gordon and Sylvia were chatting by the back doors. She could rush over and ask Gordon about some building work.
An ear-splitting whistle rang out. Grace knew that sound, Frankie had tormented her many times with his whistling when they were younger. She looked back at Frankie. What was his problem?
Murder Vows (Storage Ghost Murders Book 4) Page 4