Mirabelle sounded as if she was having a discussion at a social event. Did she expect Grace to reply? Mirabelle began to walk up and down in front of the fireplace, a frown on her face as if mulling something over in her mind.
Grace took in her surroundings. Della’s eyes were closed but Grace could see her chest slowly rising. A strange wailing sound came from Connie. Grace looked at her just as she started to turn grey again. Anna was sobbing away, tears streaming down from under her glasses. Grace had to do something, she couldn’t let Della die, no matter how horrible she was.
Mirabelle turned on her heel and clicked her fingers. “Of course! You could be one of Della’s customers. You certainly look as if you like sweets. Yes, that’s it. Anna, listen, you need to remember this story. This woman came here looking for sweets and she got into an argument with Della. There was a fight and they both died. I’m not sure how yet but I’ll think of something.” Mirabelle pointed the syringe at Grace. “Of course, you’ll have to die by being injected with this, it’s a quick way to go. Is there anything you want to say before you go?”
Grace tried not to flinch at the nearness of the needle. She quietly said, “You’re a cold-bloodied murderer. You drugged and killed an old woman all for the sake of money. You won’t get away with it.”
“If you’re not going to say anything helpful then be quiet,” Mirabelle said. She tapped the syringe again and moved closer. “It won’t hurt much if you keep still.”
Grace had no intention of keeping still. In one swift movement she moved sideways and reached for her handbag. She swung it up and aimed it at Mirabelle’s hand. She misjudged the distance. The heavy sweet filled handbag whacked into the side of Mirabelle’s head. Mirabelle collapsed onto the floor and the syringe rolled out of her hand. Grace darted forwards and kicked the syringe away. Mirabelle’s eyelids fluttered and then her head flopped to one side.
Anna whispered, “Have you killed her?”
Grace knelt down and checked her pulse. “No, she’s okay. Anna, phone for an ambulance. And the police.”
Anna came over to Grace’s side. “Are you sure she’s not dead? I don’t like dead people.”
Grace took Anna back to the chair and sat her down. “Everything’s going to be all right now, Anna, but we need an ambulance for Della.”
Anna began to cry again. Grace took her phone out and made the necessary calls. She almost stopped in mid sentence when she saw what was happening to Della.
Grace quickly finished her calls and put her phone away. She glanced at Anna. The poor woman was in her own world, rocking herself back and forth on the chair and muttering to herself. Grace hoped that she wouldn’t notice her talking to Connie.
Grace knelt down next to Connie and hissed, “Connie! Snap out of it! Look at what you’re doing. You’ve turned grey again and now it’s all over to Della!”
Connie blinked and came out of her trance. “Oh! My poor baby! What have I done?”
Connie threw herself on Della’s body. Grace watched as the grey mist slowly turned pink. Connie’s colour came back too. Connie looked up from her sobbing. “Grace! She’s breathing normally again. I must have done something to save her. Della, my precious baby!”
Grace’s legs felt weak. She collapsed onto the nearest seat. It looked like Della was going to be okay, Grace wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. Mirabelle was still out for the count and Anna was mumbling to herself. Grace heard a distant siren. She tried to compose herself. She’d need to speak to the police about what had been going on. She hoped Anna would back her up. She’d need to support Anna too.
Grace’s eyes began to sting. She wanted to go home, to run away from all of this. What was she doing here? Why had she got herself involved in this awful mess, and with this awful family? What was the point of helping someone like Connie when all along she knew about the drugged sweets? Connie had known that Frankie had been eating those sweets and she never said a thing. Grace thought bitterly that Connie hadn’t deserved her help.
She couldn’t do this anymore. Murdered ghosts, and all kinds of ghosts, could sort themselves out in future. She’d had enough.
Chapter 39
“You can’t avoid me forever!” Pearl cried out.
Grace fastened her trousers. “Do you really have to follow me into the bathroom? Can’t I have some privacy?”
“No. I’ll wait in the kitchen for you.”
Grace grumbled to herself as she flushed the toilet and then washed her hands. When she walked into the kitchen Pearl was sitting at the table with her arms tightly folded and a stern expression on her face.
“I’ve got to get back to the shop,” Grace told her and attempted to walk past the table.
She jumped as Pearl thundered, “Grace Abrahams! You aren’t going anywhere until you’ve talked to me. Get your bottom in that chair now!”
Grace considered making a run for it but she knew there was no point, Pearl wouldn’t leave her alone.
Grace reluctantly sat opposite Pearl. “What do you want to talk about?”
Pearl unfolded her arms and pointed at Grace. “Lose the sulky attitude, you’re not a teenager. It’s been two weeks since you solved Connie’s murder and you’ve hardly said a word to me about it.”
“I did tell you about it! I told you that Della pulled through and that the police arrested her on drugs charges.”
“And you told me about Mirabelle being arrested for Connie’s murder and Della’s attempted murder. I’m glad you convinced Anna to speak up for herself. You did a god job.”
Grace looked down at her hands. “So, there you are, what else do you need to know? I told you Connie disappeared into a white mist as soon as Della came round properly, she hasn’t returned so I assume she’s at peace, or whatever ghosts feel when they go away.”
Pearl’s tone softened. “I know all the facts about Connie and her family. I want to know what happened to you. Your attitude has changed. When you’ve helped ghosts before you’ve been proud of yourself, you said you felt useful. You’re not like that with this case. Why?”
Grace looked up from her hands. She saw the kind look on Pearl’s face. She let out a big heart-felt sigh. “Pearl, they were horrible, the lot of them! Connie was hard-faced about the drugged sweets, she was harsh with her children, she forced Lucinda into a life she didn’t want. Della was the nastiest person that I’ve ever met. There was a moment when I hoped she’d die. What does that say about me? And Mirabelle, she didn’t show any remorse for killing Connie, all she was bothered about was money. To be honest, Pearl, I was glad to see the back of Connie. She even smiled at Mirabelle as she floated away, as if she understood why she’d done it. I felt ... grubby, I didn’t like being involved with any of them.”
Pearl put her hand out and patted Grace’s hands. Grace felt a warmth pass through them and up along her arms. Pearl said, “Tell me about Anna, what’s happened to her?”
“I sat with her as she spoke to the police. She was like a frightened mouse. She kept looking over her shoulder as if expecting Della to be there. The police understood what she had gone through, they aren’t going to charge her with anything.”
“Didn’t you go and see her last week?” Pearl asked.
Grace nodded. “I went back to the shop to see how she was doing.”
“And?”
Grace smiled. “She looked like a different person, sort of taller.”
“Like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders?”
“Yes, I suppose so. She was so much happier, she wouldn’t stop saying thank you to me. Jamie and Lucinda have been in touch with her, they said she could live with them in Brighton. Anna kept offering me free sweets but I said no. I never want to see Flamingo sweets again as long as I live!”
Pearl said, “You helped Anna. Forget about the rest of them, some people are nasty and selfish, and nothing you can do can change that. And it’s all right to wish some of them dead, I’ve done so many a time! Think about Anna, wa
sn’t it worth finding out who killed Connie just so you could help her? You’ve changed her life. Goodness knows what Della was planning for her in the future.”
Grace looked into Pearl’s eyes for a moment. The old ghost was right. She was glad that she had helped Anna.
Pearl carried on, “You need to put your feelings to one side when dealing with murder cases. You’ll come across some evil people and I’m not just talking about the murderers. Don’t let them get to you, focus on the help that you are giving. And don’t expect any thanks. Now, was there anything else that was bothering you?”
Grace squirmed in her seat. “I nearly killed Mirabelle when I hit her with my handbag. I really swung my bag at her, I was furious. It’s not the first time I’ve felt that sort of rage. Pearl, what if I have to defend myself again some day and I actually kill someone?”
“Self-defence lessons, that’s what you need. I had to learn how to defend myself and it’s time you did too. It’ll do you good to get out a bit more, meet new people. Find out today where you can go for lessons.”
“I will do. Thanks for listening to me. And thanks for forcing me to talk. I’m always keeping things to myself.” Grace stood up.
Pearl nodded. “I’m here to keep an eye on you. Now, the big question. Are you going to help any more murdered ghosts? I’ve noticed that you didn’t go to the last two auctions with your brother.”
Grace sighed again. “You don’t miss anything. I was ready to give up helping ghosts but I think I’m ready to get back to it. Oh! Frankie’s calling me. I’ll speak to you later.”
“I’ll be here.”
Frankie was waiting near the front door of the shop. The door was open and two men were bringing something huge inside.
“What’s that? Are you expecting a delivery?” Grace asked.
Frankie was reading a note. “It’s from that man, Vincent Flamingo. The one whose stuff I got back. Do you remember, you asked me to get that old shop stuff back?”
Grace nodded. Vincent had spoken to her at the police station on the night that Mirabelle had been arrested. He’d looked strangely calm and Grace wondered if he suspected that Mirabelle had killed his mum all along. She’d insisted on him having the old recipe book. Connie was no longer attached to it and Grace didn’t want to see it again.
Frankie laughed. “He’s reorganising Flamingo Sweets and said we can have one of the older vending machines.”
Grace pulled a face. There was no way she’d be ordering Flamingo sweets to fill up the vending machine.
Frankie laughed again as he read on. “He said he’s going to give us a lifetime supply of Flamingo Sweets at no cost! Awesome!”
Grace heard a cackle behind her. Pearl’s voice floated out, “What was that you said about never seeing another Flamingo Sweet?”
Grace’s eyes narrowed as she looked at the vending machine. Its days were numbered, she was planning to commit her own sweet murder.
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.
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Gillian
STORAGE GHOST MURDER – A SWEET MURDER
By
GILLIAN LARKIN
www.gillianlarkin.co.uk
Front cover image by www.coverkicks.com
Copyright 2014 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.
This is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person living or death is purely coincidental.
A Sweet Murder Page 13