The Death Planner (Storage Ghost Murders Book 6)

by Gillian Larkin

  Elsa gave a small nod.

  “What’s his surname?”

  “Giles Redfern. Jenny said he was using me, and that he’d never leave his wife. But he couldn’t leave her, she’s too poorly. He has to look after her. I told Jenny I’d broken up with him. I tried to, but I love him too much.”

  “Is Giles still married?” Grace asked.

  Elsa nodded again. “He sees me whenever he can. I don’t mind.”

  “Tell me about the night that Jenny died.”

  “We were really busy that day. Jenny was stressed out. I was helping with the flowers. I love arranging flowers especially at weddings. I was watching the dancing in the ballroom when I got a message from Giles. He’d booked a room for us at the hotel! He’d never done anything like that before, it was so romantic! He said that I was to meet him at 9 o’clock in the room that he’d booked.”

  Grace noted the time. It was the same time that Jenny had gone into the cloakroom.

  Elsa’s brow wrinkled. “I didn’t tell Jenny that Giles was there ’cos she’d know that I lied to her. I went to the room just before nine. He wasn’t there but I waited. He turned up about twenty minutes later. He was smiling as soon as he came into the room, he was so happy to see me!” Elsa grinned at the memory. Her smile died as she remembered something else. “Then everything changed. I heard someone shouting outside, I think someone screamed. I ran out of the room and someone told me about Jenny.” Elsa started to cry again.

  Grace passed her a tissue. “And what did Giles do?”

  Elsa wiped her eyes with the tissue. “He said he had to go. He said he didn’t want his wife finding out that he was at the hotel, she’d get upset. He left before the police arrived. I had to promise him that I wouldn’t tell the police he was there.”

  Jenny floated over to Elsa. “Get rid of him! He’s no good!” She looked over at Grace. “Ask her about my company, and the money that I left to her.”

  Grace did so.

  Elsa smiled. “Giles helped me with all of that. I’m useless at business stuff so Giles took over the running of Jenny’s company. I’m glad he did because the company was losing money! Giles had to sell it. He didn’t get much because there weren’t many buyers.”

  Jenny shook her head vehemently. “Liar! He’s a liar!”

  Grace said, “What about the money? Where did that go?”

  “Giles looks after it. He’s better at money than me. He’s put it in a bank, in joint names. He lets me have £500 every month. He’s told me that the rest is tied up in investments and stuff like that. He bought the flower van for me. I love working with flowers. Giles really takes care of me. I know that he can’t leave his wife. I don’t mind.”

  Jenny began to swoop around the room. “Liar! Cheat! He’s evil! Grace, you have to stop him!”

  Grace changed the subject. “Elsa, can you tell me about Letty? She was one of Jenny’s friends.”

  Elsa’s face lit up. “Letty! I like Letty. She went to university with Jenny, they were best friends. Letty came to work with us. Then she had to leave. I met up with her sometimes, but I couldn’t tell Jenny about it in case she got jealous. Letty loved hearing about our work. I think she set up her own business but she didn’t want Jenny to know about it.”

  Grace had another question for Elsa. “I told you that I found Jenny’s things in a storage unit. Who put them there?”

  Elsa gave her a proud smile. “It was Giles. He said he didn’t want me to get upset by seeing Jenny’s things. He’s so kind to me. He takes care of everything. Do you want some more tea?”

  Chapter 18

  Grace stayed with Elsa for another half an hour. Elsa kept asking if Jenny was mad with her. Grace assured her that Jenny wasn’t. She didn’t add that Jenny was furious about how Giles had treated Elsa. Grace tried asking more questions about Letty but it was obvious that Elsa didn’t know about Letty’s true nature. Elsa never asked why Jenny had appeared to Grace, and Grace was grateful for that. She didn’t want to have to make up another lie.

  On the drive to Grace’s house Jenny said, “I can’t believe Elsa is still involved with that money-digger! You have to find him, Grace. You have to stop him! What if he’s spent all of Elsa’s money?”

  “I’ll find him, somehow. Tell me more about Letty. Is Letty short for something? Maybe a shorter version of Elizabeth?”

  Jenny shook her head. “No. But it’s funny you say that because Elsa is named after my grandmother, her name was Elizabeth. Letty’s full name is Letitia but she never liked it. She was named after an aunt or something.”

  Grace gave her a small nod and turned left on to a side road. “And what’s Letty’s last name?”

  Jenny thought for a moment. “Hang on, it’s on the tip of my tongue. Leigh! That’s it, Letitia Leigh.”

  Grace nodded again and pulled into her driveway. “I had a feeling that it might be. I came across her name when I was looking for party organisers online. I’ll have to show you her website.”

  Jenny was eager to look at Letty’s website and flew over to Grace’s laptop as soon as they entered Grace’s house. Grace held a hand up and said, “Don’t forget that I’m still alive and I have needs! I won’t be a moment.”

  Grace changed into her pyjamas and put the kettle on. She made a quick fruit salad and spooned some yoghurt over the top. She wasn’t in the mood for a hot meal and she decided she’d been lacking her vitamin intake of late.

  When she was ready, Grace sat next to Jenny on the sofa and fired up her laptop. She soon found Letitia Leigh’s website.

  Jenny’s hands flew to her mouth and an outraged gasp escaped from her. She lowered her hands. “I can’t believe it! The scheming … oh! The nerve of her! And look at those reviews! Those are my customers! The … oh! I’m too mad to speak.”

  “You’re going to have to,” Grace said. “Calm down and start from the beginning.”

  Jenny pointed a shaking finger towards the screen. “That website design, that’s mine! She stole it! The only thing that she’s changed is her name and contact details.”

  Grace crunched on a piece of apple and nodded.

  Jenny went on. “And those reviews are from some of my most loyal clients.” She looked closer. “All of them are my clients! She stole them too!”

  “How would she have got their details?”

  Jenny’s mouth dropped open. She looked into the distance for a moment and then turned her attention back to Grace. “I think I’m remembering more now. I told you that Letty followed me to Manchester, and that she turned up at the events that I was doing. Well, when Mum and Dad died I had no option but to move back to Leeds and take care of Elsa. Letty came to the funeral. She broke down in tears and said she was sorry for all the trouble she’d caused me. She said she missed us being friends, and she wanted to help me in any way she could. I was in a bad way, I wasn’t thinking straight. Grief does that to you, doesn’t it?”

  Grace suddenly found it hard to swallow the grape in her mouth.

  Jenny said, “I’d already thought about starting up my own business but I didn’t plan to start it so soon. Letty encouraged me to talk about my future plans. She said she would help me with everything. I was at such a low point that, against my better judgement, I said yes. She helped me set up my new business and everything went well for a while. But then money started to go missing. We employed temporary staff now and again and I thought it could be one of them. But it wasn’t just the money. I’d noticed that my paperwork had been interfered with, particularly my client lists and also the lists of suppliers I’d used. I’d spent a long time building up those lists.

  “I soon began to suspect Letty but I was too afraid to say anything. But it all came to a head one day when one of my regular clients came to me and asked if I’d organise a surprise birthday party for her husband. She mentioned one that I’d done a week ago. I told her I hadn’t organised any birthday parties for over a month and it must have been someone else. But she was insistent
that it was me because my business cards were there, and the caterer was one that I regularly used. She showed me the photos on her phone. I saw Letty in the background. She was in business attire and talking to the caterers.” Jenny looked down at her lap.

  Grace put her empty bowl on the table. “I’m assuming that Letty was setting up parties and events on her own but using your name and contacts?”

  Jenny didn’t look up from her lap but gave Grace a small nod.

  “So, what did you do about it?”

  Jenny looked up. “I had to confront her. She was using my name and my reputation. She admitted it.” Jenny shivered. “I’ll never forget the look on her face when I confronted her. I thought she’d be embarrassed. But this evil look came over her, as if she was glad I’d found out. She didn’t show any remorse. In fact, she gloated and said she’d been going behind my back for months. That had been her plan all along. She said she was teaching me a lesson for thinking I was better than her. I was in tears at that point which seemed to make Letty even happier.” Jenny wiped away a tear that had escaped. “I’m sorry for getting upset again. I thought me and Letty were friends. I felt so betrayed.”

  “Was that the end of it? Did she then set up her own company?”

  Jenny gave Grace a wry smile. “I wish that had been the end of it. I did hear that she’d set up her own company, she stole some of my clients to do so. But some of them soon came back to me, they weren’t happy with the service that Letty provided. But it seemed that Letty hadn’t finished teaching me a lesson. At almost every event that I organised, she would show up. She’d often be in disguise and it would take me a while to find her. She’d even have the nerve to dress as one of the waiting staff.”

  “I think Pearl was right when she said Letty sounds like a stalker. Didn’t you ever tell the police?”

  “No. I should have. I thought that if I ignored her, then she would soon leave me alone.”

  “Jenny, think about the night you died. Was Letty there? Did you see her?”

  Jenny’s face creased in thought. “I’m not sure. She might have been. I don’t remember talking to her.” Jenny’s hand flew to her neck, her eyes widened. “Oh! You think that Letty killed me! No! She wouldn’t!”

  Grace didn’t say anything for a moment. Then she said, “Jenny, someone did kill you. And from what you’ve told me about Letty, there’s a strong chance that it could have been her.” Grace looked towards her laptop. “I think we need to pay Letitia Leigh a visit.”

  Chapter 19

  Jenny pulled her knees up to her chest and mumbled, “It can’t be Letty, she wouldn’t do that to me.”

  Grace needed to take Jenny’s mind off her murder for a while. She pressed some keys on her laptop and brought up some videos. “I’ve got a few things to do, have a shower and all that. Look, here’s a video of local and national events over the last five years. Do you want to watch it?”

  Jenny said quietly, “Has it got all the Olympics’ news on it? I had parties already booked for that summer.”

  Grace nodded. “And it’s got all the pictures from the royal weddings and the births.”

  Jenny smiled and released her knees. She moved closer to the laptop. Grace pressed play and then left Jenny alone for a while.

  Grace retreated to her bedroom and quickly wrote down the details of all the murder suspects. Letty was top of her list, followed by Giles Redfern. She hadn’t had time to check on him yet. What about Elsa? Was she really capable of murdering her sister? Grace didn’t think so. But she didn’t rule her out.

  Grace took a long shower and tried to put all thoughts of murder from her mind. Once those thoughts had gone, they were replaced with ones about Frankie and his new girlfriend. Was he really serious about this one? It was early days. There was no need for Grace to be concerned. A selfish thought pushed its way forward. She didn’t want Frankie to leave the shop, she didn’t want him to move on with his life. She didn’t want to be left behind, on her own.

  She gave herself a mental shake and told herself not to be silly.

  Grace returned to her bedroom and saw that she’d got a text from Frankie. She read it and her heart missed a beat:

  ‘Do you know any good estate agents? Thinking about getting a house. Have you got any spare toilet rolls? I’ve run out.’

  Grace’s hands shook as she typed a reply. No, she didn’t have any spare toilet rolls. He could buy his own. And, no, she didn’t know any estate agents. She left it at that. Looking at houses was one thing, actually buying one was a totally separate matter. There was no need for Grace to panic. Then why did it feel like the earth was moving beneath her?

  Grace spent a few more minutes upstairs and then returned to Jenny.

  Jenny was looking at the bookshelf in Grace’s living room. She was writing on her clipboard again. “You could put these in alphabetical order. Or in author order.”

  “Yes, I suppose I could.”

  Jenny floated over to Grace’s CDs and DVDs. She waved her pen over them. “These aren’t in order at all! I’m surprised that you find anything.”

  “I manage,” Grace replied. She sat on her sofa again. “Let’s have a quick look for this Giles person.” She stifled a yawn. “Then I think I’m ready for my bed.”

  Jenny came to her side and watched as Grace typed in Giles’ name.

  A number of images came up. None of them lived locally and most of them were over the age of fifty.

  Grace asked hopefully, “Do you recognise any of them? I know you haven’t met Giles but you might have seen him in passing without realising who he was.”

  Jenny peered closer. She shook her head.

  Grace took her phone out and pulled up the photo that she’d taken of the back of Giles’ head. They tried to match them to the photos on the screen. It was an impossible task.

  Grace sighed. “He could have given Elsa a made-up name. I don’t really know where else to go with this. I could try and follow him if he turns up at Elsa’s house again.”

  Jenny nodded. “That’s a good idea. You could drive over there now and see if he’s there.”

  Grace shook her head. “I’m too tired to think, let alone drive.” She made to turn her laptop off but then paused. “Do you want to watch anything else on here?”

  “No. I’m going to have a good think about things. I feel like my mind is clearing up a bit.” Jenny looked over at Grace’s shelves. “Are you sure you don’t want to sort out your shelves? It won’t take long. I could make you a plan.”

  Grace turned her computer off and stood up. “No, thank you. I’ll see you in the morning. I’ve got the day off work tomorrow so we can have a full day of investigating.”

  Jenny gave her a hopeful smile. “I think we might find out who killed me tomorrow. Do you?”

  “Maybe. Goodnight.” Grace deliberately left her phone downstairs. She could see that another message had come through from Frankie. She was pleased that he’d met someone but, at the moment, she didn’t want his happiness to be shoved in her face. She muttered to herself as she climbed the stairs, “You’re turning into a bitter woman, Grace Abrahams!” She suddenly smiled as she imagined what Pearl would say about her feelings of self-pity.

  Despite all her worries, Grace had a good night’s sleep. She woke up with renewed vigour, determined to find out who had killed Jenny Lorrimer.

  And she was going to start by visiting the two-faced evil friend who had betrayed her.

  Chapter 20

  Grace stopped outside the office of Letitia Leigh’s business. “Wow! This is impressive. And right in the centre of Leeds too. The rent around here must be sky high.” Grace held her phone to her ear to give the pretence of speaking to someone who was … alive.

  The ghost at her side seethed with anger. Jenny clenched her fists. “That’s my logo! It was my plan to set up an office here! How dare she! Grace, march in there and give her a piece of my mind!”

  Grace carried on talking into her phone, “Look thro
ugh the window, there are people sitting at desks. They all look very young. Can you see Letty anywhere?”

  Jenny pressed her face against the window. “No. I can’t see her. Are you going inside?”

  Grace nodded and put her phone down. “If I need to say anything to you I’ll type a text, okay?”

  Jenny nodded, her mouth set in a thin line.

  Grace pushed the door open and walked into the brightly lit building. Jenny exploded, “Look at those photos on the wall! Those are the events that I organised!” She shot over to one picture. “Look! You can see the back of my head in this one.” Jenny whooshed away from the photo and flew up and down the shop. “Where is she? Where’s she hiding? I’d love to get my hands on her!”

  Grace would have typed Jenny a text asking her to calm down but she reasoned it was better for Jenny to release her anger now.

  A glamorous-looking girl in a red uniform approached her. She smiled and said, “Good morning. How may I help you today?”

  Jenny swooped to Grace’s side and hissed, “Letty’s in that office at the end! I can see her, the witch!”

  Grace said, “I’m thinking about throwing a surprise party for one of my friends.”

  “I can help you with that.” The woman moved her open hand towards her desk.

  As nice as the woman was, Grace didn’t want to talk to her, she needed to talk to Letty. “I was wondering if I could speak to the owner, Letitia Leigh.”

  The woman’s smile seemed slightly forced as she said, “Ms Leigh is busy at the moment. I’m sure I could help you.”

  Grace held her head a bit higher. “I would rather speak to the owner. I intend to spend a lot of money on the party and I want to know what my options are.”

  “What’s your budget?”

  Jenny swooped to Grace’s other side and warned, “You’d better pick a high number. You should see the prices that they’re charging!”