The Last Reading (Storage Ghost Murders Book 1) (2 page)

Chapter 4

The
locker door was open. Grace noticed immediately that the items looked
different. They had been flung around the locker as if someone was looking for
something.

Grace
froze. What if the other bidder had taken the item that the ghost was attached
to? All the ghosts that Grace had helped previously had been attached to a
specific item or set of items.

That
would explain why Grace couldn’t now see the ghost of the older woman.

What
was she to do now? She looked around.

Better
start taking things out.

She
picked up a pink velvet curtain. Crikey! It was heavy. And a bit whiffy. How
old were these curtains?

“Oh!
You’re back! It’s you, the girl who can see me, isn’t it?”

Grace
looked into the corner of the unit. The ghost was standing there, wringing her
hands, her face creased with worry.

Grace
put the curtain down and moved closer to the ghost. She said gently, “Yes, I
can see you. I’m Grace. Do you need some help?”

More
wringing of the hands.

Grace
tried again. “Do you know that you’re ... dead?”

There
was never an easy way to say that.

The
woman nodded, bits of black hair wafted around her face. “I know that. But I
don’t know much else. I can’t remember much. I don’t know how long I’ve been in
here. I feel like something simply terrible happened to me. I don’t know why
though. Why would someone hurt me?” She rubbed the right side of her neck. “And
my neck is killing me. I didn’t think I’d feel pain if I’d passed over, but I
do.”

Another
bolt of pain shot through Grace’s neck. She grimaced and said, “I’m feeling
your pain too.”

The
woman’s hand fell down. “Oh, my dear! I’m so sorry. Is that my fault? Am I
doing that? What’s going on?”

“That’s
a lot of questions. Don’t worry about the pain, I can deal with it. I’ve helped
people before like you.”

“Who’ve
passed on?”

“Yes,
passed on. They’re usually attached to something in the locker. When I take
that item out the ... passed on person comes with it.”

The
woman gave her a small smile. “You can refer to me as a spirit.”

Grace
waved her arm around the locker. “Do you recognise anything?”

The
woman frowned and looked around. “It seems familiar but I don’t know why. I’m
not sure I’d have curtains like these, but I might have done. And those chairs
don’t look very comfy. I’m not sure, sorry. I can’t even remember my name at
the moment!”

Grace
held in her sigh. It wasn’t the spirit, or ghost’s fault. She’d have to take
everything to the shop and see what happened there.

Grace
explained what she was going to do. “There’s also another locker that I need to
pack up. I’ll back the van down here. You might suddenly whoosh into the back
of the van. Don’t worry, I’ve seen that happen before.”

Grace
made to turn away. The woman said, “Are you sure you’ll be okay to drive? After
what happened to your mum and dad?”

Grace
spun around. “How did you know about that? How can you know? Have you seen
them? Did they talk to you?”

The
woman held her hands up. “No! Please calm down. The information flew into my
head all of a sudden. I don’t know any more than that. But will you be okay to
drive? It’s been a while hasn’t it? And I can feel your nervousness.”

Grace
gave her a brave smile. “I’ll be fine, I have to be. We all have to move on.”

She
turned quickly away and blinked back her tears. She didn’t have time to think
about her parents. She had her grief under control, most of the time. Grace put
everything out of her mind as she got into the van. She took a few deep breaths
to steady herself.

Luckily
there was no one around to see her stalling the van a few times, and no one to
witness how slowly and carefully she drove along in front of the storage units.

There
was a slight sheen of sweat on her forehead as she parked the van and got out.
There was more than a light sheen half an hour later when she had packed the
contents of two lockers into the back of the van.

As
she predicted the woman did whoosh into the back of the van, it was when Grace
threw a pair of darker pink curtains in. She made a mental note to remember
which pair they were.

More
steadying breaths were needed as Grace set off in the van towards the main
road.

She
entered the traffic muttering to herself, “Please don’t crash, please don’t
crash.”

Everything
went smoothly.

For
a while. Until something shot up in front of her.

Grace
screamed and slammed on the brakes.

Chapter 5

The
ghost woman was inches from Grace’s face.

“Get
off!” Grace cried out. “I can’t see!”

Loud
beeps from angry motorists sounded out as they swerved past her.

The
woman was oblivious to the mayhem she had caused. She said, “My name! I
remember my name!”

Grace
pulled the handbrake on and quickly checked the rear view mirror. She ignored
the obscene hand sign from the man behind.

“Please
could you move, you’re blocking my view,” Grace said as calmly as she could.
Her heart was thudding, images of the fateful drive with her parents flashed
into her mind, she thought she was going to crash the van.

The
woman frowned and became aware of where she was. “Oh, am I in your way? I’m so
sorry.”

“That’s
okay, just don’t do that again. Why don’t you sit in the passenger seat?” Grace
wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans, her heart rate was returning to normal.

“Will
do,” the woman said. She moved out of Grace’s way and promptly disappeared.

Grace
sighed. She started up the engine and set off. She hoped to goodness the woman
wouldn’t suddenly appear again.

Five
minutes later Grace gratefully pulled into the parking space behind the shop.
Her legs felt wobbly as she got out.

But
she’d done it, she’d driven again.

She
felt the desperate need for a cup of tea but decided to unpack the van first.
She wanted to be ready to go again if Frankie sent her a text.

There
was no sign of the woman as Grace took everything into the shop. She placed the
contents of both lockers at the back of the shop intending to sort them out
later.

When
the job was complete she made herself a cup of tea and sank on to a kitchen
chair. The biscuit jar was close at hand so she helped herself to a few.

“A
moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips!”

Grace
looked over at an old woman who had appeared. She smiled and said, “Hi Pearl,
it’s good to see you.”

Pearl
was a ghost who was attached to the shop. Her hair was grey, short and curly.
She wore a floral housecoat over a long blue dress. Her tights always looked
wrinkled as if they were several sizes too big. Pearl had been the one who told
Grace that she would be finding murder victims at the storage lockers. Pearl
hadn’t told Grace too much about herself but she had mentioned that she could
see ghosts when she was alive, and just like Grace, she used to help them.

Pearl
grinned at her. “So, found any dead bodies? Any missing limbs? Decapitated
heads? So annoying when the head isn’t attached to the body.”

“Nothing
like that. I did find a ghost but she’s gone again. She can’t remember what
happened to her.”

Pearl
folded her arms and leant back in the chair. “Tell me everything.”

Grace
did so.

Pearl
stood up and said, “She might be stuck in those curtains, go and give them a
good shake, shake her out.”

“I
can’t do that! That’s so undignified.”

“We
haven’t got time for dignity where murder’s concerned. Come on.”

Grace
followed Pearl into the main area of the shop. Pearl stood by the curtains and
held a hand out towards them. “Go on, we haven’t got all day.”

Grace
bent down and grabbed a handful of the darker pink curtains. “Do you think she
was murdered?”

“Probably
strangled going by the pain in her neck. Put some effort into it, Grace.”

Grace
lifted the curtains and waved them about.

To
Grace’s astonishment the ghost woman appeared to fall out of them. She landed
on the floor and began to sob. “Why did it happen? Why me?”

Pearl
put her hands on her hips. “Great, a hysterical ghost. Shall I slap her?”

“No!
I’ll talk to her.”

Grace
moved forward and smiled at the ghost. She explained where they were.

The
woman stopped sobbing. “This is a lovely shop.”

“Thanks,
it used to belong to my parents.”

Pearl
pushed in front of Grace. She pointed at the ghost and barked out, “Who are
you? Where did you live? What did you do? And what can you remember about the
night you died?”

The
woman stared at Pearl, her mouth open.

“We
need answers,” Pearl demanded.

Grace
wanted to jump in and be more polite but she wanted answers too.

The
woman closed her mouth and looked at the floor for a moment. She looked back up
and clicked her fingers. “My name! I can remember it. It’s Mae Moonshine.”

“Pah!”
Pearl burst out. “That’s not a real name, try again.”

The
woman frowned and got to her feet. “It is my name, it might not be my real name
but it’s the one I remember.”

Pearl
looked Mae up and down. “Are you some sort of entertainer? Those are fancy
clothes for everyday wear. Are you a gypsy? A lady of the night?”

Grace
put her arm towards Pearl, it went right through her. “That’s enough questions
for now. Mae might remember more later. Why don’t we try going into a vision?”

Mae
frowned.

Grace
explained. “When I’ve helped ghosts before we’ve both held an item that the
ghost was attached to. We held it at the same time ...”

“Ghosts
can’t hold things,” Pearl said with a tut.

“Well,
not hold then, put their hands through the item. Anyway we’re taken into a
vision, like a scene from the past. It’s a bit like going inside a television
set, no one can see or hear us. Do you want to give it a try?”

“I
suppose so, what should we hold?” Mae asked.

“The
curtains?”

“I
still don’t think they’re mine.”

“We’ll
try anyway. Pearl, can you come with us?” Grace asked.

Pearl
shook her head. She gave Grace a solemn look and said, “You can feel the
emotions from ghosts, you can feel the pain that Mae has?”

Grace
nodded. “I can deal with it.”

“But
what about the pain someone experiences when they die? Are you prepared to feel
that?”

Chapter 6

“I
hadn’t thought about that.” Grace looked at Mae. “But I’ll have to do it. We’re
still not sure if Mae was murdered.”

Mae
let out a wail. “Oh! Something terrible happened to me! I know that!”

Pearl
leant closer to Grace and muttered, “Take her into the vision now before I slap
her, she’s one of those dramatic types, I can tell.”

Grace
grabbed the curtain, Mae stood at her side and did the same, her hand wavering
on the top of the fabric. They waited.

“Is
something supposed to happen?” Mae said.

Grace
nodded. “Either we’re not meant to go into a vision or you’re not attached to
these curtains.”

They
waited another minute. Nothing happened.

“What
do we do now?” Mae asked.

Grace
was tempted to ask Pearl for help but she wanted to figure things out for
herself. “Can you remember where you lived? Maybe you were attacked at home?”

Mae
thought for a moment. “Yes, I can. Are you going round there? Shall I come with
you?”

Grace
shook her head. “We don’t know what you’re attached to and I don’t fancy
lugging everything that we found in the locker with us.”

Also,
she didn’t want Mae disappearing and reappearing in the van as she drove.

Grace
wrote down the address.

Pearl
put her hands behind her back and began to pace up and down. “If someone else
lives there make an excuse to go in. If the house is empty, break in, watch out
for nosy neighbours. Have a look in every room, look at photos, make notes. If
there’s a diary bring it back.” She stopped pacing and looked at Mae. “Did you
see the person who won the locker first? What did they look like? What were
they looking for?”

“I
... I ...” Mae began.

“Too
many questions, Pearl. Will Mae be safe if I leave her here with you? You won’t
keep badgering her with questions?”

Pearl
looked at Grace, then at Mae, and back to Grace. “Okay, I’ll leave her alone
for now. Take a note of everything whilst you’re at the house. We’ll talk when
you come back.”

Pearl
promptly disappeared.

Grace
told Mae that she shouldn’t be too long. “Erm...make yourself at home,” she
added.

It
didn’t take long to find Mae’s house. It was tucked down a quiet side street, a
small semi-detached house.

Grace
walked up the path that led to the front door. She was about to knock when she
saw a note pinned to the inside of the bay window.

‘Customers
– please come in via the back door. Wait in the kitchen, I’ll be with you as
soon as possible.’

Grace
paused, her hand still raised.

Mae
never said what she did for a living. All sorts of images popped into Grace’s
head. She shook her head quickly, embarrassed to have such images at the ready.

She
knocked at the front door.

“You’re
too late.”

Grace
turned around to see who was talking. She didn’t want to have to deal with a
nosy neighbour.

She
instantly recognised the postal uniform of the man in front of her. He was
friendly looking, smaller than her, his large postbag hanging heavily off his
shoulder.

He
nodded towards the window note. “You’re too late. Mae doesn’t work here any
more.”

“Oh.”
Grace didn’t know what else to say.

“I
take it you’re here for a reading?”

Grace
nodded.

The
postman shook his head sadly. “Mae Moonshine was the best psychic I’d ever met.
She had a real gift. She helped me out on many occasions, helped me sort things
out in my life.”

Ah.
A psychic.

“Where
does Mae work now?” Grace asked.

The
man pursed his lips together and looked away. When he turned back Grace saw the
glint of tears in his eyes. “She passed away, six months ago. Sorry for being
upset. I thought I was dealing with the grief, it sometimes comes back at me
suddenly.”

“I’m
sorry about Mae. I know how you feel about grief, it can be overwhelming.”

The
postman nodded. “If you want to have a reading with someone I can recommend a
few. Not as good as Mae, no one ever will be. I have some cards in my pocket.”

Grace
didn’t want a reading but she thought it might be wise to know about Mae’s rivals.
Maybe one of them was responsible for her death?

The
man gave her a handful of business cards.

Grace
thanked him. “Can I ask, if it’s not too upsetting, how did she die? Was it
here?”

“No,
it was at St Mark’s Church. They hold psychic fairs every month, Saturday and
Sunday. There’s one on at the moment, you could go there.”

“Thank
you.” Grace wanted to question him further. How could she broach the topic of
how Mae died? What would he think if she asked that?

The
postman took some letters out of his sack and pushed them through the letter
box. “It’s funny, but she’s still getting post. And, according to her next door
neighbour, the back door is still left unlocked. Isn’t that weird?”

He
shot a loving glance at the house, his eyes moving upwards.

He
yelled and his hands flew to his chest. Grace looked up to where he was
looking.

He
gave a nervous laugh. “I thought I just saw Mae at the window. Aren’t I silly?
Mind you, it would be something that Mae would do, come back and haunt her own
house!”

The
postman said goodbye, pulled his heavy bag further up his shoulder and walked
away.

It
was a big bag for such a small man.

Grace
turned her attention back to Mae.

Had
the postman seen Mae’s ghost?
Had she followed Grace here?

Was
the back door really unlocked?
Grace smiled to herself and headed down the side of the house towards the back
door.