A Deadly Lesson (Storage Ghost Murders Book 5) Page 2

  Abbie smiled at her. “Perhaps I should have tried driving a lorry.”

  Grace laughed. She turned back in her seat and set off into the traffic again.

  A sad sigh came from Abbie. “I’m not going to pass my test now, am I?”

  Grace shot her a quick look and grinned. “You don’t need to drive. From what I’ve seen of ghosts, some of them can fly!”

  Abbie laughed. It was the first time she’d done so since they’d met.

  Grace arrived at the shop a short while later. She parked at the rear so that she could unload the boxes straight into the building. Before she got out of the van Grace said to Abbie, “I think you’re attached to something that was in that storage locker, something that’s in one of those boxes. From what I’ve seen so far, the boxes seem to be full of books. Is there a particular book you might be attached to? One from your childhood perhaps.”

  Abbie shrugged. “I can’t think of anything. Should I call out if I see anything familiar?”

  “That would help. You’ll most likely feel yourself being pulled out of the van when I move a particular object.” Grace sighed and rubbed her aching arm muscles. “Here I go again!”

  Grace realised how out of shape she was as she took one box at a time out of the van and transferred it to the shop. Grace kept checking on Abbie to see if she had moved. She hadn’t.

  Grace reached into the van for another box, she turned round and yelped in fright. The box crashed to the ground.

  Abbie was inches from her face. With a small smile she said, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you jump.”

  “That’s okay, we must have found what you’re attached to,” Grace said, the sound of her heart still thudding in her ears. She looked down at the books scattered across the yard. In a hopeful voice she asked if Abbie recognised any of the books.

  Abbie looked closer, her face scrunched up in concentration. “That one!” She whooshed over to a brightly coloured book and pointed at it. “Of course! I should have remembered!”

  Grace picked the book up and read the title – ‘Get Off Your Butt And Get In That Car!’ She raised an eyebrow at Abbie.

  Abbie laughed, “My friend, Ethan, bought it for me. It’s all about overcoming your fears about driving. There’s tips on how to remember the legal stuff like speeds and signs. It’s got lots of good reviews. I’d only got halfway through it. You can read it if you like.”

  Grace examined the back cover. The writer was making some outlandish claims. She said to Abbie, “I need to make sure you’re attached to this book.”

  Grace walked swiftly into the shop and right up to the front exit door of the shop. Abbie floated behind her. Grace smiled and nodded. “You are attached to this. You stay here and have a look around our shop. I’ll bring the rest of the books in.” Grace placed the driving book on the shop counter.

  By the time she’d returned with the last book Abbie was sitting on a top shelf at the side of the shop. She waved down to Grace and said, “I can fly! This is awesome!”

  Abbie gracefully held her arms out and swooped down to Grace. Grace grinned and said, “I wish I could do that. What do you think of our shop? Mum and Dad set it up as an antiques shop but Frankie and I fill it with things that we find at storage lockers. The shelves are a bit empty at the moment, I’m sure Frankie will bring some good things back later. In the meantime, I’ll put some of these books on the shelves and you can tell me all about yourself.”

  “I wish I could help you with the books,” Abbie said.

  “You can help by telling me about the night you died.” Grace looked closer at Abbie. “If that’s all right?”

  Abbie nodded. Grace noticed her feet were inches off the ground.

  Grace pulled a box of books closer to a shelf at the front of the shop. She started to place the books on the shelf, and Abbie started to talk.

  “I died on the night of my eighteenth birthday. I had a party at The Old Highway Man pub. Do you know where that is?”

  Grace nodded. “I’ve been a few times, it’s lovely.”

  “All my friends were there. It was our last year at school, we were all turning eighteen that year. Everyone was making plans to go to university. Not me though, I was going to take a gap year! Oh! You should see the places I was going to visit. I had it all planned out. I was going with my best friend, Brooke. She was even more excited than me!”

  “Was Brooke at the party? And that other friend you mentioned earlier, Ethan?”

  Abbie turned her head away from Grace and said sadly, “Yes, they were both there.” She turned back to Grace and gave her a wobbly smile. “And Mum and Dad were there. And my sister, Julianne, she’s ten years older than me. And her boyfriend.” Abbie began to giggle. “She gets so mad when anyone calls him her boyfriend. She keeps saying that he’s her fiancé! But Carlos has never asked her to marry him, it’s so funny!”

  Grace made a mental note of the people at the party. She hadn’t missed the sadness in Abbie’s voice as she spoke about her friends, Brooke and Ethan. What was going on there?

  Grace pulled another box over. She said, “You told me that you’d been run over, when did that happen? Was it after the party?”

  Abbie floated over to Grace’s other side, her brow wrinkled. She said, “I think it was during the party. I got some bad news, or did I hear some bad news? I can’t remember but it made me sad and I wanted to get away for a while. I went outside and was going to cross the road. There’s a bit of grass opposite the pub, it’s got a bench on it. I was going to sit down for a bit. I remember stepping off the path and ...”

  Grace paused and looked at Abbie. Abbie’s face had gone as white as a sheet, her eyes were wide with terror. She pointed a shaking finger to something behind Grace.

  Chapter 5

  “What’s she staring at!” a voice shot out.

  Grace turned around to face Pearl, the resident ghost of the shop. She was shorter than Grace with grey curly hair, she wore a floral housecoat over a long blue dress.

  Pearl had her hands on her hips, she nodded towards Abbie and said, “What’s wrong with madam here? Why’s she looking at me like that?”

  Grace looked back at Abbie. She looked frightened. Grace said, “There’s no need to be scared of Pearl. She lives at this shop, she’s a friend of mine.”

  Abbie gulped. “But she looks so angry.”

  Pearl barked out, “I always look like this, get used to it!”

  Grace frowned. The old ghost wasn’t usually this abrupt, what was wrong with her?

  Pearl folded her arms and muttered to herself. Grace moved closer and quietly said, “What’s wrong, Pearl?”

  Pearl tutted and said, “I’ve got a bad feeling brewing in my stomach, a bit like wind but much worse. Something terrible is going to happen, I can feel it in my water.”

  Grace said, “I thought you were feeling it in your stomach.”

  Pearl pursed her lips and gave Grace a scathing look. Then she said, “I’ll feel it where I want to feel it! Don’t get fresh with me, young lady.”

  “I wouldn’t dare,” Grace admitted. In a louder voice she said, “This is Abbie, she’s eighteen and she died on her birthday.”

  All the bad humour disappeared from Pearl’s face. She unfolded her arms and moved over to Abbie. She put her arm around her and said, “I’m sorry to hear that. Eighteen is no age to die.” Pearl shot a knowing glance at Grace. Grace nodded. Pearl went on, “And you think you were murdered too?”

  Abbie nodded, a tear escaped and trickled down her cheek. Pearl pulled her closer.

  Grace told Pearl what they knew about the night that Abbie died. Pearl nodded and then asked what Abbie was attached to.

  Grace had placed the driving book on the shop counter. She walked over and reached out to touch it, at the same time Abbie flew over with her arm outstretched.

  “No!” Grace yelled out.

  Too late. Grace and Abbie touched the book at the same time. The shop began to fade around the
m.

  Abbie whimpered and moved closer to Grace. Her voice shook as she asked, “What’s happening? Where did your shop go? Where are we?”

  Keeping her voice calm, Grace said, “We’re going into a vision, a scene from your past. It’s happening because we touched that driving book at the same time. Don’t worry, there’s nothing to be frightened of.”

  Abbie looked around her as a new scene unfolded. She shivered and looked at Grace with wide eyes. “I am frightened. We’re outside The Old Highway Man pub. I think it’s the night of my birthday, I recognise Dad’s car in the car park. And there’s Julianne’s and Brooke’s cars. Brooke’s dad had just bought her a new car, she wanted me to see it.”

  Grace and Abbie were standing on a grass verge in front of the pub, the sky was turning purple. Grace took note of the cars as Abbie pointed them out.

  The pub door was suddenly flung open, a young girl dashed out.

  Abbie gasped. “That’s me! Can we stop her? I mean, me? Can we shout at her and tell her to go back inside?”

  Grace shook her head. “We can’t do anything except watch. Let’s move closer. The vision you is crying. Can you remember why?”

  Abbie frowned. “Someone had said something to me. I think it had something to do with a secret. I promised them I wouldn’t tell anyone!”

  Grace was just about to ask who Abbie was talking about when she saw the Vision-Abbie run on to the road without looking. Grace’s head snapped to the side as she heard a car approaching.

  The Vision-Abbie heard it too. She froze in mid-step and looked towards where the car was coming from. Grace and Ghost-Abbie were abruptly pulled on to the road. They stood at the side of Vision-Abbie.

  Grace put her arms out to steady herself. That had never happened before, she’d never been forced to move in a vision. What was she supposed to see? She looked to her side and saw the two Abbies, both of them staring straight ahead at the approaching car. They were both wearing identical looks of horror as the car came closer. Time seemed to slow down.

  Grace heard the car loosing speed. Was it stopping? Surely the driver had seen Abbie? The road was well lit and it wasn’t fully dark yet. Going by the look on Vision-Abbie’s face it looked liked she was thinking the same thing. Vision-Abbie’s look of horror was replaced with a look of recognition. She smiled, raised her hand and waved at the driver of the car. It was obvious that she knew the driver. The Ghost-Abbie at her side was waving her arms through Vision-Abbie as if trying to drag her away.

  A feeling of dread settled in Grace’s stomach as she realised what was going to happen next.

  Sure enough, the car began to speed up. The wheels squealed as the driver pushed their foot on the accelerator. Vision-Abbie never stood a chance.

  Grace squeezed her eyes closed. She couldn’t bear to see it. She felt her hair whip back as the car raced past her.

  There was no doubt about it – Abbie Quill had been murdered. And she’d been murdered by someone she knew.

  Chapter 6

  Grace and Abbie found themselves back in the shop. Abbie’s hands covered her face and she collapsed to the floor. Wails of grief-filled screams erupted from her shaking body.

  Pearl said, “What the hell is going on? One second you were here, and the next ... I presume you went into a vision. Bloody hell! That girl’s making a right racket!”

  Grace explained. “We saw her death. I’m not surprised she’s crying so much. The driver of the car that killed her came at her like a rocket.” She knelt down next to Abbie. “I’m sorry you had to see that, Abbie. Please, try to calm down. It’s all over now.”

  The wails increased. Pearl made a few grumbling noises, then she said, “Shift out of the way, Grace. I’ll do what you can’t.”

  Grace stood up and took a step backwards. Pearl gently pulled Abbie to her feet and wrapped her arms around the quivering girl. Abbie leant her head against Pearl’s shoulder whilst Pearl made comforting noises. After a few moments, Abbie’s wails turned to sniffs.

  The corner of Grace’s mouth lifted. Pearl might act all tough but she was a kind-hearted soul. If ghosts had souls. Grace didn’t know the answer to that one. There was a lot about ghosts that she didn’t know.

  Abbie lifted her tear-stained face and smiled at Pearl. “Thank you, I feel better now.” She turned to Grace and said, “Sorry about that, what a drama queen! Shall we talk more about my murder?”

  Grace blinked, surprised by Abbie’s complete emotional turnaround. Was Pearl some sort of magician?

  Pearl patted Abbie’s shoulder and pushed her gently away. “I think you’re all right now, young lass.”

  Grace stiffened. She didn’t miss the tremble in Pearl’s voice. She looked closer at the old ghost, her shoulders drooped and her left hand was clutching her stomach.

  Pearl forced a smile and said, “I can’t stand here chatting all day, I’ve places to go.” She grimaced as she raised her right hand in a farewell gesture and, before Grace could say a word, she disappeared.

  Grace’s scalp prickled. Something was wrong with Pearl, something serious. She never left Grace alone at the beginning of a murder investigation. Pearl had been holding Abbie tightly whilst she was crying. Had Pearl absorbed all of Abbie’s pain? Grace had seen her do that before with another ghost. Pearl must have done something because Abbie was now flying around the shop with a delighted expression on her face.

  Grace knew it was useless to call out for Pearl, she would return in her own time. Grace turned her attention to Abbie. She called out, “Would you mind coming back down to earth? I can’t talk to you whilst you’re zooming around the shelves.”

  Abbie laughed. “But it’s so much fun! I love it!”

  Grace shook her head. She preferred the happy Abbie to the heartbroken one. Let her have a few more minutes of fun before they got down to the nitty-gritty of possible suspects. That was always a difficult subject for murdered ghosts to deal with.

  Grace picked up the driving book again and started to flip through it. A card fell to the floor. Grace picked it up and read it : Fairway Driving School

  She felt a breeze at her side as Abbie came in for a landing.

  Abbie pointed at the card and said, “That’s who I was having driving lessons with. They’re really good. Everyone at my school tries to go with them, they’ve got a huge waiting list. You should ring them.”

  Grace frowned. “Why? I know how to drive.”

  “They teach people who’ve lost their confidence with driving. Look, it says so on the bottom of the card. Why don’t you ring them? You could have a few lessons and get your confidence back.”

  Grace shrugged. “I don’t think so. Anyway, you said they were always busy.”

  “With new drivers, they might have different instructors for other kinds of drivers.”

  “I’m not sure,” Grace said.

  Abbie planted her feet directly in front of Grace. “You’re making excuses! Don’t you want to drive a car again?”

  Grace nodded and looked down at the card. Abbie’s look was quite intense.

  Abbie hadn’t finished with her yet. “Don’t you want your own car? To go off whenever you want? What’s stopping you? Ring them!”

  Grace looked up. “All right! I’ll ring them, when I get home.”

  Abbie glared at her.

  Grace laughed at her stern expression. “Okay! I’ll ring them now.”

  She did so. The phone was answered by a friendly-sounding older man. He said he had a cancelled appointment for the next morning and he could fit Grace in then. Feeling Abbie’s eyes boring into her, Grace agreed to the appointment.

  Grace ended the call, put the card in her handbag, and said to Abbie, “Happy now?”

  Abbie grinned and flew in a circle around Grace. Grace flapped her hand at her to stop. “You’re making me dizzy. Can you settle down for a minute? I need to know more about you.”

  Abbie gently floated down to the ground. Grace indicated for them to move in to the k
itchen. Abbie sat at the kitchen table whilst Grace put the kettle on.

  A few minutes later Grace sat opposite Abbie, a fresh mug of tea in her hand. Grace said, “Right, start with your family life, please.”

  Abbie looked over Grace’s shoulder, then to the left and right. “Where did that old woman go?”

  “She’s gone somewhere for a while, she’ll be back,” Grace said. She hoped Pearl would be back.

  Abbie began to talk. “I live with Mum and Dad, Derek and Dorothy. They had me when they were old, Mum was in her forties, Dad was even older than that. I wasn’t planned, Mum didn’t even know she could have babies.”

  Grace put her mug down. “I thought you said you had a sister, Julianne, isn’t that her name?”

  Abbie nodded. “She was adopted. Mum told me that her and Dad had been trying to have babies since they were married.” She pulled a face at the thought. “When they knew they couldn’t, they adopted Julianne. I think she was five or six at the time. Then five years later I come along!”

  “How did Julianne feel about you?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, there she was, an only child, getting all the attention from your parents, and then you were born. Was she jealous?”

  Abbie frowned and looked down at the table. “I think she was pleased, Mum said she was. Julianne used to dress me up like a doll, I didn’t mind. I thought we were friends, but when I got older ...”

  “Go on,” Grace said.

  Abbie looked up at Grace, a sadness in her eyes. “When I got older she used to get annoyed with me being around, especially when she had one of her boyfriends with her.” She gulped and paused. “On the morning of my eighteenth birthday we had an argument. We were in my bedroom. Julianne was furious and she said, ‘Sometimes, Abbie, I could kill you!’”

  Chapter 7

  “What was the argument about?” Grace asked.

  “I think it was to do with money. I told you I was taking driving lessons. Mum and Dad couldn’t afford to pay for them so I got a job working at a shop in town. I paid for the lessons but Dad said he’d pay half. I told him no, but he insisted. He told me not to tell Mum or Julianne, he said they didn’t need to know. I think Julianne found out somehow, that’s what we were arguing about. I told her I was trying my best to pass my test, she said I wasn’t trying hard enough and that I should just give up.” Abbie sighed and looked down at her top. In a quieter voice she added, “I didn’t know that Julianne could be so mean, she never used to be.”