A Sweet Murder

by Gillian Larkin

  A Sweet Murder

  Title Page

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  A Sweet Murder

  By

  Gillian Larkin

  Smashwords Edition

  For Tara-Jane Hogarth

  Front cover by the amazing San at:

  www.coverkicks.com

  To hear about my free books and special offers sign up at:

  www.gillianlarkin.co.uk

  A Sweet Murder

  Chapter 1

  “So, Grace, it’s going to be a different kind of auction today, there will be more commercial items and I was thinking ... Grace, Grace? Are you listening?”

  Grace tore her gaze from the passenger window and looked over at her brother. “What?”

  Frankie sighed. “I was telling you about this auction today, about it being ... you’re not listening again! What’s so fascinating out there? What are you looking at?”

  Grace pressed her face closer to the window. There must be one round here, it was a built-up area, there were lots of children about. Hang on, what’s that on the corner?

  Grace banged her hand on the door and cried out, “Frankie! Stop!”

  Frankie slammed on the brakes, the van swerved as it came to a screeching stop. Car horns blared behind them.

  Frankie looked at Grace, his face white. “What? What did you see? Have I just run over something?”

  Grace threw a distracted look at him. “What? No. I won’t be a minute.”

  She opened the door and jumped out. She ran towards the corner shop that she had spotted and disappeared inside.

  Frankie didn’t look happy as she returned to the van a few minutes later. He glared at her and slowly said, “You made me stop for a shop? Is that what the emergency was? Grace! I could have crashed the van, it’s not built for emergency stops. What did you urgently have to buy from that shop?”

  Grace pulled her seat belt around herself and fastened it. With a grin she held up a paper bag. “Coconut mushrooms! My favourite, I haven’t had them for years. I’ve had a real craving for them all morning.”

  Frankie’s eyes widened. “Coconut ... mushrooms? You nearly killed us for coconut mushrooms?”

  Grace couldn’t answer, she had stuffed four of the soft sweets into her mouth all at once. Frankie reached out for the bag, she slapped his hand away and pulled the bag protectively towards her.

  Frankie looked at her for a few seconds, his look suddenly softened. He said, “Are you feeling all right? I know the anniversary hit you hard. You can go and buy more sweets if you like, I don’t mind waiting.”

  Grace swallowed the chewed up concoction. “I’m fine, I just fancied some sweets.” She offered the bag to him. “You can have one, one – not two.”

  Frankie gave her a sympathetic smile and said, “You keep them. Let’s get going, the auction will be starting soon.”

  He pulled out into the traffic. Grace picked up another sweet and popped it into her mouth. She knew what he was thinking. He thought she was upset about the anniversary of her parents’ deaths, it was one year ago last Wednesday that they had died in a car accident. She had taken the day off work and gone to visit their graves. She had cried for a while in the safety of her home. But she was okay, she was dealing with her grief, it wasn’t on her mind all the time now. She had other things to think about.

  Another coconut mushroom found its way into her mouth. She had a niggling feeling about this sudden urge for sweets, this craving that had appeared this morning.

  Grace lurched forward as the van made another emergency stop.

  The colour had drained from Frankie’s face again. He gave her a horrified look. “You said you had a craving! I know what that means. Grace, you’re pregnant! How could you? I’m too young to be an uncle! Who’s the father? Is he going to marry you? Where does he live? I’ll go and sort him out.”

  Grace was touched by her brother’s concern, but if he paid any attention to her non-existent social life he’d know the possibility of her being pregnant was, well, impossible.

  She said, “I’m not pregnant, Frankie, calm down.”

  Frankie let out a sigh of relief. “You let me know if you’re thinking about it, won’t you?”

  Grace gave him a dutiful nod. As if!

  As Frankie pulled back into the traffic he said, “You’d better take it easy on those sweets, any more and you’ll look pregnant. You know how easy you pile on weight, you’re like a human balloon. Right, let’s talk about the auction.”

  Grace ignored his insult, he always talked to her in that way, he didn’t even realise he was insulting her. She didn’t mind, he was the only family she had left and he’d taken care of her after Mum and Dad had died. If it wasn’t for him she wasn’t sure what state she’d be in.

  Frankie wittered on about the auction. She didn’t pay him much attention, her mind was elsewhere. She reached for another sweet. Her rummaging hand couldn’t find one.

  Had she eaten them all? So quickly? That wasn’t like her at all.

  Frankie pulled into the auction site.

  Grace knew why she was feeling like this. She was being influenced by a ghost. A ghost that needed her help. And that ghost was here at this auction, located somewhere inside one of the storage lockers.

  Furthermore, Grace knew without doubt that the ghost was that of a person who had been murdered.

  Chapter 2

  Ever since the accident that had claimed her parents’ lives, and nearly her own, Grace had been able to see ghosts. She had mostly seen them inside storage lockers, they were usually attached to items inside the locker. The first ghost, Jacob, had asked for Grace’s help and since then she had been more than happy to help other ghosts with any unfinished business that they had.

  Lately, Grace had helped ghosts that had been murdered. At first, she wasn’t sure if she was strong enough to deal with some of the ghosts’ issues but she had surprised herself with her inner strength. And there was a great deal of satisfaction in bringing a murderer to justice, especially those that thought they had got away with it.

  Frankie pulled into a parking space. He nodded towards the crowd of buyers waiting by the lockers. “It’s a different bunch today, more serious looking, they have more cash. We’ll have to play clever if we’re going to get anything today.” He looked back at her and tutted. “You’ve got coconut on your chin.”

  Grace quickly moved her hand over her chin. If she was at home she would have licked the flakes off. She said, “I don’t understand why we’re here. We don’t need any commercial items in the shop, I thought we were concentrating on antiques and household items.”

  “I knew you weren’t listening, I just told you in the van.”

  Frankie got out of the van, Grace did the
same. She said, “Sorry, Frankie, tell me again.”

  He locked the van and headed towards the office, Grace walked at his side. He explained, “There’s a market for second-hand stuff like office tables and chairs, people can’t always afford new stuff. I’m hoping to buy stuff cheap, get it up on the website and sell it quickly. I’ve been looking into it, there’s money to be made.” He looked back at the buyers. “Seems I’m not the only one with that idea.”

  Grace opened the door to the office just before Frankie walked into it. “Watch where you’re going,” she said. “I’m sure you’ll do well today, you’ve got a secret weapon.”

  Frankie stepped into the office. “Secret weapon? I hope you don’t mean you. No offence but you’re rubbish at these auctions. Remember that pile of crap you bought a few months ago? I was embarrassed for you. Let me do the bidding.”

  Grace remembered the ‘pile of crap’. She’d had to buy it, the ghost of a man was attached to a particular item. She helped him even though he was quite obnoxious. It seemed that death didn’t make a person mellow.

  “I wasn’t talking about me, and yes, by the way, I am offended. I meant your hero. You know how he looks out for you.”

  Frankie froze. Grace bumped into him. He slowly turned his head to look at her. In a whisper he said, “Are you saying what I think you’re saying? Don’t mess with me, Grace, I can’t take it.”

  Grace grinned at him. She felt the urge to tease him a little, just like when they were children. But no, she couldn’t do that to him. She said, “I saw him, at the far side of the lockers.”

  Frankie grabbed her arm, his look was intent. “Are you sure? Sure it was him?”

  Grace nodded. “I’m positive, he’s distinctive-looking, it’s hard to miss him.”

  Frankie released his grip. He scanned the office and frowned. He walked back to the office door and stared through the window. “I can’t see him! Grace, are you absolutely sure?”

  Grace walked to his side and in a sing-song voice she said, “He’s behind you!”

  Frankie spun around, his mouth dropped open.

  Grace studied her brother. It was fascinating to see the change come over him. Even though he was older than her, the look that he now had on his face made him appear years younger. He looked as if all his dreams had suddenly come true, as if Santa himself was standing in front of him with a sack full of toys, all with Frankie’s name on them.

  The object of his affection beamed at them from behind the office desk. “Frankie! Grace! So good to see you! How’ve you been? How’s your business doing?”

  Grace gave Frankie a sideways glance, he was obviously incapable of speech at the moment so Grace spoke for him. “Hi, Sylvester. We’re fine, thanks. How are you? We haven’t seen you at the auctions for months. Frankie was worried that you’d gone back to live in America. The auctions haven’t been the same without you.”

  Sylvester Sylver laughed, showing even more of his perfect white teeth. His tanned skin looked unreal next to his pale office assistant. His swept-back silver hair made him look like an older version of Elvis Presley. The turned-up collar of his silk blue shirt completed the effect. Grace always had the feeling that he was about to burst into song.

  He said, “I did go back to the States, they needed me to do some auctioneer work there. I loved being in the sun again but I missed you guys and your eternal optimism.”

  Grace felt her eyebrows rise. Was he talking about British people? Really?

  Sylvester tapped the side of his nose and said, “Don’t tell anyone this but I actually missed your tea! I thought I was a coffee man through and through but this little island has converted me! Is Frankie okay? He hasn’t moved. Hey! Frankie!”

  Frankie blinked and came out of his stupor. He took a few steps closer to his idol. In a quiet voice he said, “Are you doing the auction today? Are you doing more auctions? Are you living back here?”

  Grace could hear the rising panic in his voice, it was almost stalker-like.

  Sylvester appeared not to notice it, or perhaps he was used to it, being the star that he was. He looked at his watch. “We’re just about to start with the first locker. I’ll wait while you sign in.”

  Frankie gave him a grateful smile. Grace tried to control her eyes from rolling. Frankie had met Sylvester Sylver in the flesh many times, when was he going to act normally in front of him?

  Grace’s mouth suddenly watered, a dribble of saliva escaped and ran down her chin. She wiped it away and hoped that no one had noticed it. She looked around the office. She soon saw what had caused her mouth to water.

  Chapter 3

  Grace waited for Frankie to sign the bidders’ register. Her gaze was constantly drawn to the side of the room, her mouth watered alarmingly. She was faintly aware of Frankie and Sylvester talking as she wiped more dribble from the corners of her mouth.

  She wished they’d hurry up, if she didn’t get what she wanted soon she’d be standing in a puddle of her own saliva.

  Frankie nudged her. “Ready to go? What are you looking at?” Frankie turned his head. “You’ve got to be kidding! Are you sure you’re not pregnant?”

  Grace stared at the vending machine. In a voice full of awe she said, “But Frankie, look. They’ve got Flamingo sweets. I think I can see strawberry bombs.”

  Frankie let out a laugh. “Flamingo sweets! I haven’t had them in years. Get some if you want but hurry up, I’ll meet you outside.”

  Sylvester called over, “I’m ready to start, see you out there.” He went into a back room closely followed by his assistant.

  Frankie opened the office door and left, leaving Grace on her own. Grace felt the pull of the vending machine. Without taking her eyes off the machine she rummaged in her handbag for her purse. She moved forward and allowed a dribble to run freely down her chin. She knew what was causing this experience and she was more than happy to go along with it.

  She surveyed the eye-catching contents on display. It wasn’t a matter of which sweets to buy, it was a matter of how many packets she could fit in her bag.

  She checked her purse, she had plenty of coins. She noted with approval that the machine also took credit cards.

  Grace made her choice. Her face was almost touching the glass as the first packet dropped down into the tray below. She snatched the packet up and ripped the top open. She sighed with pure happiness as the first strawberry bomb landed in her mouth. The sweetness of the strawberry sugar coating made her tongue tingle. She waited as long as she possibly could then she bit into the bomb. The sweetest, tangiest strawberry juice shot out of the bomb and slipped down her throat. Grace leant against the vending machine, she couldn’t remember strawberry bombs ever tasting so sweet.

  She ate another bomb whilst she bought more sweets. Her handbag bulged as she finally felt able to walk away.

  Despite the heavy weight of her bag, Grace felt light as she made her way over to Frankie, as if all her troubles had floated away. What was in the sweets to make her feel this way? Or was she being influenced by something else?

  Frankie grinned when he saw her. “You look like the cat who’s got the cream. I can smell the strawberry on your breath. How many packets did you buy?”

  Grace pulled her handbag closer. “Just a few. I got something for you.”

  Frankie took the outstretched packet, his eyes lit up. “Banana fizzles! I love these! Thanks, Grace.”

  “Aren’t you going to have one now?”

  “I’ll wait til we get home.” Frankie shoved the packet in his pocket.

  Grace admired his willpower. She was glad she didn’t have any, she took another strawberry bomb out and put it where it belonged – straight into her mouth.

  Sylvester Sylver made his way through the crowd of people waiting in front of the lockers. Grace heard murmurs from the other bidders.

  “Is it really him?”

  “It is, I saw him on TV last night, on that American show.”

  “He looks orange.�
�

  “That’s a tan, a proper tan, from the sun.”

  “Oh. I didn’t know a proper tan was orange.”

  Frankie gave a snort of derision. “Have you heard that lot? Star-struck, that’s what they are. They’re not used to dealing with famous people, not like me. It’s embarrassing, look at their faces.”

  Grace didn’t say anything, she merely raised an eyebrow and carried on chewing.

  Sylvester’s voice boomed out. “Good morning, folks, and what a beautiful morning it is. It’s great to see so many of you here, old faces and new faces.” Sylvester threw a wink at Frankie. Grace noticed the silly look on Frankie’s face. One of these days she would bring a mirror to the auction so Frankie could see exactly what he looked like in front of Sylvester.

  The great man continued, “We’re going to open up the first locker, you get thirty seconds to look inside. Do not go in, if you do I will throw you out! And yes, I have been working out, you don’t want to mess with me. This is a cash auction, no credit, no IOUs and no paying me next week. If you don’t have the money then don’t bid! Are we ready? Let’s get the first locker open!”

  There was a cheer from the crowd. As always, it was Frankie who cheered the loudest.

  Grace felt a thrill of excitement as the first locker door was lifted. It wasn’t for the same reasons as everyone else. She didn’t care about the contents, she cared about the ghosts that might be inside the locker.

  Her breath caught as she looked inside the first locker.

  Chapter 4

  There was a ghost. And another. And another.

  The locker contained old-fashioned desks, they were lined up and facing the door. Grace smiled as she looked at the ghosts of women sitting behind each desk. They were tapping away on ghost typewriters. By their hairstyles and clothes Grace guessed they were from the late 1930s or early 1940s. They were happily chattering away as their hands flew across the keys. Grace tipped her head to the side to hear them better.