“After seeing my room? It’s not that bad.” Frankie dashed around the table and took Jessie into his arms “What do we do now? Shall I give her the kiss of life?”
“Don’t you dare. Sit her down, she’s coming round.”
Frankie placed Jessie into a chair as if she was a delicate flower.
“You can move your arms now, her eyes are open,” Grace instructed.
Frankie moved his hands a few inches away but hovered close to Jessie.
Jessie blinked and looked from Grace to Frankie, and back to Grace. “What happened? Did I faint?”
“You did, and I caught you,” Frankie added. Grace could imagine him tipping an imaginary hat in Jessie’s direction.
Jessie sat up straight, a slight blush on her cheeks. “I’m so sorry! I haven’t fainted since ... Oh! The necklace! The suitcase!” She burst into noisy sobs.
Frankie looked horrified, he took three steps back. “What’s she doing?” he asked Grace.
“Crying. Move out of the way, I need the tissues.”
“But she’s so loud. Is that normal?”
Jessie’s wails increased in volume. Frankie jumped, he looked at Grace and indicated towards the shop. “I’d better get back to it.”
He raced away before another sob burst forth from Jessie.
Grace sat next to her and handed her a tissue. In between sobs Jessie mumbled, “Sorry ... I haven’t cried properly since ... since ... oh! The necklace! He got me a hammer necklace!”
Grace rubbed her ear. Jessie was a loud crier. Grace didn’t mind, better to get it all out.
It took Jessie five more minutes of crying. At one point she became almost hysterical and Grace took her in her arms and held her shaking body.
The crying stopped, Jessie gave her nose a huge blow and tried to smile.
“Do you want to talk about it? I presume the owner of the suitcase was someone close to you,” Grace ventured.
Jessie nodded. Then she told Grace what she already knew, how she’d met Archie, the story behind the hammer and the fateful wedding day.
Jessie said, “It’s all my fault, I should have gone to check on him earlier. If I had I might have stopped whoever it was from breaking in.” With a small grin Jessie flexed an arm muscle. “I’ve got quite a punch on me. I can’t believe someone would kill him so easily. How could someone do that? Poor Archie, my poor love. No one will talk about the wedding. Dad won’t tell me exactly what he found when he went to check on Archie, he just said there’d been a break-in. I wished we’d never booked that stupid hotel! It wasn’t my idea at all.”
“Whose idea was it?” Grace asked.
“My dad’s. The hotel contacted him about some urgent work they needed doing, another company had let them down. Dad did the work immediately, the manager was so pleased he offered Dad a discount for any future events. Well, Dad only went ahead and booked it for our wedding. Even with the discount Dad went into debt. He thought I didn’t know but I did. I saw all the extra hours he had to put in. He’s so stubborn! He wouldn’t take a penny from me or Archie. Archie did pay for my wedding dress though, he insisted on that. I got Archie’s money after he died, I’ve offered it to Dad but he won’t take it. He had some sort of grudge against Archie, I never knew why. He wasn’t the only one with a grudge against Archie.”
“Rob?” Grace said without thinking.
Jessie stared at Grace. “Yes, how do you know his name?”
“I think you mentioned it.”
Jessie nodded. “I probably did. Yes, Rob hated him. Kept telling me not to trust him, said he’d seen Archie with lots of women. I didn’t believe any of his tales, I trusted Archie completely. We invited Rob to the wedding but he refused to come. The funny thing is that the hotel needed urgent repairs doing on patio doors and Rob offered to do it. So he was there on our wedding day. It made me so sad that he wouldn’t join us. I was on my way to check on Archie that day when Rob asked me to look at the work he’d done.”
“Whereabouts at the hotel was he working?”
Jessie gave her a wry smile. “The doors that you found us at today. Rob didn’t do a good job the first time, I don’t think his mind was on his work. The hotel have been complaining for months that the doors leaked. I couldn’t face going back but Rob said I had to let the past go. Can I look at the necklace again?”
Grace picked it up and handed it to Jessie. Archie appeared and knelt at Jessie’s side, his eyes shining with love. Jessie smiled as she took the necklace. She sighed happily and said, “It’s beautiful. What a romantic thing to do. My Archie was such a romantic, I miss him so much.”
“Miss who? Me, I presume?”
Rob stood in the doorway, his bulky frame blocking out the light from the shop behind. He was smiling but hate radiated from his eyes. Archie immediately vanished leaving a trail of black smoke behind him.
To Grace, Rob looked every inch the killer.
Chapter 26
Rob moved into the kitchen, his eyes on the necklace dangling from Jessie’s hand. Grace didn’t miss the slight shake of Jessie’s hand. Rob pointed a stocky finger at the necklace and said, “What’s that?”
Jessie dropped the necklace on to the table. Her cheeks were red. “Nothing, nothing at all.”
Rob grabbed the necklace, it looked even daintier in his huge fist. “Looks like a hammer, what idiot would buy a necklace like this?” Rob looked from the necklace to the open suitcase. His grip on the necklace tightened as recognition dawned. “Is that Rob’s suitcase? What’s it doing here? Jessie, do you want to explain what’s going on?”
Jessie looked down at the table, her shoulders bent. All her earlier confidence had seeped away. A flush of anger swept through Grace. She’d met people like Rob before, he was nothing but a bully.
Grace stood up and put her hand out. “That necklace is mine. I’ll have it back. And this suitcase and the contents are mine too. I bought them at a storage locker auction.”
Rob’s face darkened. “I don’t believe you. You’re up to something. I bet you’re one of Archie Goodwin’s ex-girlfriends, I bet you’re after money from Jessie.”
Grace walked round the table, her hand still outstretched. In a cold voice she said, “I’ve never met Archie Goodwin.” Not while he was alive, she mentally added. “But I can assure you that necklace is mine. Hand it over.”
Rob glared at Grace. She didn’t blink. With a grunt Rob shoved the necklace into Grace’s hand. He jerked his thumb towards the suitcase. “How did that get in a storage unit?”
Grace put the necklace in her pocket and said, “I don’t know. From what I gather Archie Goodwin died on his wedding day and someone got rid of his suitcase.”
There was a flicker of triumph in Rob’s eyes. He smirked. “That was me, I got rid of his rubbish. Well, he wouldn’t be needing them any more.”
Jessie looked up at Rob, her eyes wide. “What? Why would you do that?”
Rob placed a heavy hand on Jessie’s shoulder. “I didn’t want you to deal with it. After he died I helped Sylvia sort everything out. Gordon was talking to the police and you were in no state to go back into that honeymoon suite. I was looking out for you.”
Jessie nodded as if she understood his motives, it was clear to Grace that she didn’t.
Grace said, “What did you do with Archie’s suitcase?”
Rob gave a casual shrug. “I was going to leave it at a charity shop at some point. The police returned Archie’s wedding suit so I shoved that in the suitcase too. I was driving to work one day when I saw a removal van parked at the side of a road. It was full of old furniture and rubbish. I reckoned another bit of rubbish wouldn’t make any difference. I flung the case in when no one was looking.”
Grace heard sharp intakes of breath behind her. Pearl and Archie? She didn’t blame them for sounding shocked, Rob was a callous man.
In a shaky voice Jessie said, “Why didn’t you give the case to me? I would have sorted it out eventually.”
&n
bsp; Rob pressed his hand down more firmly on Jessie’s shoulder. “What does it matter now? Archie Goodwin is dead and buried. He’s your past, I’m your future.”
Jessie gave a small nod. “Yes, I know.”
Rob looked at Grace and said, “Has Jessie told you about us? We’re getting married. Which reminds me.” Rob put his hand under Jessie’s arm and lifted her to her feet. “We’ve got a meeting with Sylvia. She wants to sort out the final arrangements. Have you finished here?”
Jessie tried to smile. “Yes, I have. Do we really have talk about the wedding? You know she goes on about me wearing make-up and perfume. I don’t want to smell like an evening in Paris, or a morning in Venice.”
Grace could see that making light-hearted talk was difficult for Jessie.
Rob put his arm around Jessie and planted a big kiss on her head. “She just wants what’s best for you. We all do. Come on.”
Rob turned her around and led her towards the door. Jessie looked back at Grace and said, “I’ll drop a quote round tomorrow morning, if that’s okay?”
Grace nodded. “Thank you, I’ll be here.”
She watched the couple leave. Rob was almost carrying Jessie. Frankie popped his head round the door. “Was it all right to let that man in? He said he was a work colleague of Jessie’s.”
Grace folded her arms “He’s not just a colleague, he’s her fiancé.”
Frankie frowned. “Weird. They don’t look like they belong together.”
He went back to the shop.
Archie appeared. Grace wasn’t surprised to see the black cloud surrounding him. Archie’s lovely eyes had turned black too. He snarled, “You have to do something! You can’t let them get married!”
“I agree,” Grace said. “But I can’t talk to you in that mood, you’re not yourself. Where’s Pearl?”
“I’m here!” the old woman appeared. “Let me sort Archie out. Come here, young fella, give me a hug.”
Archie didn’t have a choice in the matter. Despite being smaller than him Pearl grabbed hold of Archie and squeezed him. Grace had seen Pearl do this before, she absorbed whatever was troubling a ghost. Sure enough, the black cloud evaporated and Archie returned to normal. He sank on to a chair and stared at the table.
Grace turned to Pearl. “Has Archie told you everything? About Lily and the hotel?”
“He has. Lily is the key to Archie’s murder, I can feel it in my water. Find out what happened to her. See when she died, and how she died. That gorilla that was just in here, he’s hiding something too. That young lass can’t marry him, she looks as if she’s been forced into it. Is he blackmailing her?”
“That’s a lot for me to find out,” Grace said.
“Grace!” a startled yell came from the shop. It was Frankie. Grace sped out of the kitchen and to his side. Frankie pointed a shaking finger at the window. “The pensioners are back! And they’ve brought reinforcements! They’re heading this way!”
Grace put a hand on Frankie’s shoulder and smiled. “This is what you get for having a sale on pension day. Come on, we can deal with this. Think of all the money we’ll be making.”
Frankie gulped. “I’ll try but I’m scared, they look like vultures.”
“It’s all right, I’m here to help,” Grace reassured him. Her investigations would have to wait.
Chapter 27
Jessie returned to the shop the next morning with the quote for building work. It was obvious from her pale and drawn-looking face that she had been crying again. After making sure it was all right with Frankie, Grace took Jessie into the kitchen and made her a strong cup of tea.
Jessie cupped her hands around the warm mug and gave Grace a grateful smile. “Thank you for this, I haven’t had time to make one for myself this morning. I didn’t sleep well, and then, you know how it is, I finally fell asleep thirty minutes before I was due to wake up. It’s been a bit of a rush this morning. Shall we go through the quote?”
Grace shook her head. “The quote can wait. Why didn’t you sleep well? You can talk to me, I don’t mind.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to burden you with my problems”
“I’m sure,” Grace said. She sat down opposite Jessie, her own mug in her hands. Archie and Pearl were leaning against the kitchen cupboards behind Jessie.
Jessie sighed. “I’m sorry about all that commotion with Rob yesterday. I know he means well but he can be ...”
“A selfish pig,” Pearl said.
“An ignorant bully,” Archie added.
“... over-protective,” Jessie concluded. “He seems to think that I can’t look after myself.”
“Ask her why she’s marrying him!” Pearl shot out.
Grace fidgeted in her seat. That wasn’t an easy question to throw out there.
Jessie must have caught her uncomfortable look. She said, “You must be wondering why we’re getting married.”
“It did cross my mind,” Grace admitted. She took a sip of her tea.
“I do care for him, I always have. He’s worked for Dad for years. He trained me and encouraged me to go to college to learn more. We’ve always been friends. Things changed when I met Archie. Rob didn’t trust him, but he was never willing to get to know Archie better.” Jessie shook her head. “He was wonderful after Archie died, he came to see me every day. I was touched by his kindness and when he asked me out on a date I didn’t have the heart to say no.”
Pearl whooshed to Jessie’s side and wagged her finger. “He’s a leech! He’s taking advantage! Get rid of him!”
Grace frowned. She could do without Pearl voicing her opinions, even though she felt the same way about Rob. It was clear that he’d taken advantage of Jessie when she was in a fragile state.
Jessie carried on, “Dad encouraged me to go out with Rob. He said Rob was a great guy and that he would never let me down. There was also the matter of our business. I told you that Dad insisted on paying for the wedding? It put him into terrible debt, I didn’t know the extent of it until Rob told me. Oh! I felt so guilty about it. Rob agreed to put his own money in to Dad’s firm, to form a partnership.”
There was a loud tutting noise. It came from Pearl. “Oh, he’s a clever one, that Rob. Making you and your dad reliant on his money. The slimy snake.”
Jessie said, “I told Dad again about Archie’s money but he still wouldn’t take it. He said he’d rather have Rob’s money. I wish I knew why he didn’t like Archie.”
“So do I,” Archie added quietly.
There was silence for a while. Grace was working out how to ask her next question. There wasn’t an easy way to say it. “Do you love Rob?”
Jessie didn’t seem offended by the question. “I like him, I care about him. But no, I don’t love him. I loved Archie, I still do. He was the most amazing person I’d ever met, for so many reasons.” Jessie smiled. “I wish you could have met him, you’d have fallen in love with him, most women did.”
Grace glanced over at Archie, he shrugged and gave Grace a small smile.
Grace listened whilst Jessie talked about Archie. Archie moved closer, the love in his eyes matched that in Jessie’s. Grace felt her eyes prickling. They made a lovely couple, why couldn’t they have had more time together?
They both jumped as Jessie’s phone beeped. She read the text and frowned. “It’s Rob, he wants me to phone him. He’ll have to wait. Thanks for listening to me, I’ve gone on too long!”
“Can I ask one more thing? Does your dad know how you feel about Rob? Would he want you to go ahead with your wedding if he knows you don’t love him?”
Jessie pushed the mug away from herself and then gave Grace a steady look. “I have to marry Rob. Dad doesn’t need to know how I feel. Now, let’s talk about the quote. I thought we could ...”
Jessie’s phone rang. She rolled her eyes as she saw the caller’s name. She mouthed a ‘sorry’ to Grace and tapped a button. “Hi, Rob. Yes, I got your message but I was busy. What? What are you talking about?” A pa
use. Jessie’s hand trembled. “Rob! Are you sure? All right! I’m on my way.”
Jessie’s shaking hand placed the phone on the table. Her hands covered her mouth.
“Jessie, what’s wrong?” Grace jumped up and walked round to Jessie.
Jessie moved her hands. “It’s Dad. He’s been arrested. For killing Archie!”
Grace was ready to catch Jessie as she passed out.
Chapter 28
“Not again!” Frankie said as he came into the kitchen following Grace’s call. “What’s wrong with her? Are you sure we should let her loose in my bedroom? I don’t want to come home and find her lying sparked out on my bed.” Frankie nodded to himself. “There again ... What? I’m only kidding.”
Frankie knelt at Jessie’s side and held her steady in the chair. He said, “We could do with some old-fashioned smelling salts. There’s some in the cupboard. I don’t know how long they’ve been there.”
Pearl chuckled, “They’ve been there since I was alive. Don’t touch them, you’ll kill this young lass with the smell. Use one of your brother’s smelly socks, that’ll bring her round.”
Grace didn’t need to resort to any kind of smelly product. Jessie’s eyes fluttered open. “Oh, not again!” She tried to stand up, Frankie put his arm around her waist.
“Sit down, you’re in no condition to move,” Grace said.
Jessie tried to untangle herself from Frankie’s grip. She said, “I have to go. I have to speak to Dad, he’s at the police station.”
Grace said, “I’ll come with you. Frankie, can I take the van?”
Frankie was staring at Jessie, a silly smile on his face. “Of course you can. Shall I carry you to the van? I don’t mind.”
I bet you don’t, Grace thought. “You can let her go, I’m sure Jessie can manage.”
Jessie smiled at Frankie, “Thank you, I’ll be fine.”
Frankie reluctantly removed his arm. Grace swiftly gathered her belongings. She’d put the hammer necklace in her handbag. Pearl was at her side. “Get as much information as you can. Find out how he did it, and why.”
Murder Vows (Storage Ghost Murders Book 4) Page 9