Jacob's Coins: A Cozy Ghost Mystery (Storage Ghost Mysteries Book 1)

Storage Ghosts

Jacob’s Coins

Chapter 1

Grace
Abrahams polished the glass shelf vigorously.

Why
did it still look smeared?

She
rubbed it again.

Frankie
called over to her, “Leave that alone. It’s clean enough, you’ll end up
breaking it.”

Grace
looked at her brother and said, “It’s not perfect, it needs to be perfect. What
would Mum say?”

Frankie
studied her for a moment. “I don’t think Mum would care. She’d tell you to get
on with something else.” He looked around the shop. “Although, I don’t know
what else needs cleaning. You’ve done everything, not a cobweb left.”

Grace
frowned. “It doesn’t look clean enough to me. I don’t want to let Mum down.”

“Grace,
is there any point? You know we might have to sell the shop.”

Heat
flushed through Grace. She lifted her hand and waved her duster at Frankie.
“Don’t say that! You don’t know what’s going to happen!”

Frankie
folded his arms and sighed. “I do know what’s going to happen. Stop kidding
yourself, we’re not making any money here. And even if we were, you know where
all our money has to go.”

Grace’s
eyes prickled. She quickly turned back to the shelf. How could she have any
tears left? She mumbled, “But it’s the only thing we’ve got, the only thing
left from Mum and Dad.”

“I
know, and if there was some way of hanging onto this shop, I’d do it. There’s
nothing else to sell,” Frankie said gently. “Put that duster down and get the
kettle on. I could do with a cuppa.”

Grace
looked back over her shoulder, a small smile on her face. “What did your last
slave die of?”

Frankie
grinned and said, “Happiness. Hurry up, see if there’s any biscuits left. Or
have you eaten them all?”

Grace’s
smile grew. “That’s right, blame me for the empty biscuit tin.”

“That’s
what big brothers are for,” Frankie replied.

Grace
walked through the shop towards the kitchen. She looked at the few items that
they had left on the shelves. Some vases and plates. A table with four chairs.
And an old tea pot that had been in the shop ever since Grace could remember.

No
wonder they weren’t making any money, they didn’t have any stock.

Grace’s
heart sank. It felt as empty as the shop.

Frankie
shouted after her, “I wouldn’t mind a sandwich whilst you’re in the kitchen,
ham or egg, and don’t be stingy with the mayonnaise!”

He
was so bossy!

Grace
forgot about the empty shop for a moment as thoughts of revenge against her bossy
brother rushed through her mind.

Chilli
powder on his ham? Laxative on his egg?

Grace
grinned. Playing tricks on each other was their thing. They’d been doing it
since childhood. It was ages since they’d played a trick on each other.

She
walked into the kitchen.

When
was the last time Frankie had got one over on her?

She
switched on the kettle, her brow wrinkled as she thought.

Her
hand froze as she reached towards the cupboard.

They
hadn’t played tricks on each other since before the...

Grace
shook her head.

No!

She
wouldn’t think about it.

She
couldn’t think about it.

She
knew what would happen if she did.

Chapter 2

Grace
returned to the shop. Frankie gave an exaggerated look at his watch and said,
“That took a long time. Where did you get the tea from? China?”

Grace
ignored him. She put the tray in front of him. “Enjoy your sandwich. I put ham
and egg in it, with a bit of seasoning.”

Frankie
eagerly picked the thick sandwich up. He raised it to his mouth. He paused and
glanced at Grace. “Why are you watching me?”

Grace
shrugged. “I like to see a man enjoying his food.”

Frankie’s
eyes narrowed. He looked at the sandwich and then back at his sister. He put
the sandwich down and said, “Okay, what have you done to it?”

“Nothing,”
Grace said in an innocent voice.

Frankie
opened the sandwich carefully as if it was an unexploded bomb. He peered at the
contents. “What’s that black stuff?”

“Pepper.
And the green bits are mixed herbs, I thought it might add a bit of flavour.
Are you going to eat it or what?”

“You’ve
put something else in, haven’t you? I’d forgotten about your special
sandwiches. Come on, you might as well admit it.”

Grace
laughed. “Really, Frankie! Don’t you trust me?”

“Nope.”

Grace
put her hand on his arm, her eyes twinkled. “Honestly, I haven’t put anything
extra on your sandwich. I thought about it but I didn’t do it.”

“Is
that the truth?” Frankie asked.

Grace
nodded. “I’ll take the first bite if you don’t believe me.”

She
reached for the sandwich. Frankie slapped her hand away. “Get your own! This is
mine.”

He
picked it up and took a big bite. He grinned at Grace, his cheeks stuffed like
a hamster’s.

“It’s
great, thanks for making it. It’s good to see you smiling again. We’re getting
too old to be playing tricks on each other anyway,” Frankie said.

He
reached for his tea.

Grace’s
eyebrows arched as she said slowly, “Yes, we’re far too mature for things like
that. Enjoy your tea, dear brother.”

Frankie
slammed his cup down, tea sloshed over the sides. “What have you done to my
tea? You’ve gone too far this time! Tea should never, ever, ever be tampered
with.”

Grace
couldn’t keep her laughter in. “I’d forgotten how gullible you are. I haven’t
done anything, drink up.”

Grace
took a sip of her own tea, her laughter still fresh on her lips.

It
did feel good to laugh.

Frankie
gave her a playful shove. “You just wait, Sis, I’ll get you back.”

“We’ll
see.”

Grace
and Frankie grinned at each other for a moment. All thoughts of their parents
were far from their minds.

The
shop bell rang, they turned their heads towards the potential customer.

In
unison, their smiles immediately disappeared when they saw who had walked in.

Chapter 3

Grace
glared at the well-dressed man in front of her. She took in the expensive
clothes, the professionally styled hair, the confident stance of a man who was
pleased with himself. Her eyes, as always, flicked to the scar above his left
eye. She’d give her last penny to shake the hand of the person who had given
him that scar.

She
pursed her lips, she nearly was down to her last penny, thanks to this man.

The
man smiled, the smile of a shark, a loan shark who was ready for his first bite
of the day.

“Good
morning, orphans. How are you today? Isn’t it a wonderful day?” the man beamed
at them.

“What
do you want, Eddie,” Frankie said coldly.

Grace
saw that Frankie’s fists were tightly clenched below the shop counter that
separated them from Eddie Tominski.

Eddie’s
smile widened. Grace saw the glint from a tooth filling, it looked like gold.
It probably was. It wouldn’t surprise her if it used to belong to someone else.

Eddie
spoke in a jovial manner, as if they were best friends. “I just popped round to
see how my shop was doing. It looks spic and span. Is that down to you, Grace?
I might keep you on when I take over this shop, you look like you could be a
professional scrubber.”

Grace’s
nostrils flared. “This isn’t your shop! It still belongs to us!”

Eddie
chuckled. He gave her a sympathetic look. “Poor Grace. You still can’t face up
to facts, can you? This shop will be mine, just like everything else that
belonged to your father, God bless his alcoholic soul.”

Frankie
banged his fist on the counter. “Don’t you dare talk about my dad like that!”

Eddie
shrugged. “But it’s true, everyone knows it.” He frowned. “In fact, his
reputation might hurt my sales when I take over. I’ll have to change the name
of the shop, of course. And antiques are so last year.”

Eddie
suddenly stopped and let out a guffaw of laughter. “So last year! Did you hear
that? I’m so funny I surprise myself!”

Grace
looked at Frankie. She could see he was trying to control his breathing. She
knew how he felt, her own heart was filled with loathing. How she’d love to
give Eddie a matching scar above his right eye.

Eddie
stopped laughing and focused his eyes on them again. His smile disappeared.
“Joking aside, you know I’m going to take over this shop. Why don’t we sort
things out now? Save ourselves lots of hassle.”

“What
if I don’t want to sell to you? I could put the shop on the market, we could
get a decent price, it’s in a good position,” Frankie said, his hopeful tone
forced.

Eddie
shook his head slowly in mock regret. “You know that’s not going to happen. Who
would put a bid in? Who would dare to go up against me, the great and powerful
Eddie Tominski? I’m sure you’ve heard rumours about me.”

Grace
looked at the floor, she’d heard rumours alright. She looked back at Eddie and
tried to stand a bit taller. “We’re not scared of you.”

Eddie
leant closer, his aftershave almost choked her. In a soft voice he said, “Those
rumours you’ve heard, dear Grace, are not rumours.”

He
waited a few seconds as if ready to impart a punch line. “They’re not rumours
at all, they’re the truth. And you should be scared of me. My patience with you
two is running thin. You owe me thousands and I’m getting fed up of waiting.”

Eddie
reached into his pocket and pulled out a slim red book. Frankie and Grace had
seen it before.

Eddie
opened a page and ran his finger down it. “Oh, here we are, as of today’s date
the amount you owe is £50,000.”

“£50,000!
It was £40,000 last month!” Frankie exploded.

Eddie
closed the book and gave them  a shark smile. “Interest. And I’ve added a small
amount to compensate for my patience.”

Ho
looked at his watch. “I have to go. I’m going to be generous and give you two
more weeks to sort this out, you either come up with the money...”

He
burst into guffaws again. “Come up with the money! Did you hear that? Another
joke! You come up with the money or you sell the shop to me, at a discount of
course. I hope you appreciate my generosity and patience, I sort of feel sorry
for you, with having dead parents who left you with crippling debt.”

Grace
felt Frankie move forward, she reached out and grabbed his arm. Hitting Eddie
was not the answer, even though it was tempting.

Eddie
gave them a cheery wave as he left the shop.

Frankie
let out an exasperated breath. “I hate that man! Do you think we could get away
with killing him? I’ve watched lots of police shows, I think we could dispose
of his body without being found.”

Grace
shot him a look, she saw that he was trying hard to control his temper. She
joined in with his game. “But how would we kill him? That’s the best part. I’m
all for poisoning, it’s less mess.”

Frankie
took a sip of his tea. He grimaced and said, “I think poisoning would be your
thing. Did you even put a tea bag in this water? Or did you just wave it above
the cup?”

Grace
smiled. “Make it yourself next time.” She looked into her own cup, her smile faltered.
“What are we going to do, Frankie? I can’t bear the thought of losing this
shop.”

Frankie
patted her shoulder and brightly said, “Something will turn up, you’ll see.”