The Death Planner (Storage Ghost Murders Book 6) (4 page)

Chapter
7

Grace
waited for Frankie to speak. He gave her a small smile and then looked at his
watch. His eyebrows rose and he looked back at Grace. His smile grew and his
attention went back to his watch.

“Frankie,
is there something you wanted to say to me?”

“I’m
just admiring my new watch,” he said, a proud note in his voice. He held his
arm up.

Grace
examined the watch which was now inches from her face. “It’s lovely. Was there
something you wanted to talk about?”

Frankie
laid his arm on the table. “I can go diving when I wear this watch. If I want
to. It’s got a two-year guarantee. And it’s got the date on it.”

“That’s
great. Was there anything else, or did you just want to talk about your watch?”

Frankie
tore his attention away from the watch. “Grace. I’ve met someone.”

“Have
you? Where?”

“At
the jewellers. I went in there for a watch and I came out with a date.” He
shook his head in disbelief. “I’ve got a date with an angel, a beautiful
angel.”

Grace
wasn’t sure what to say for a moment. Frankie was looking at his watch again as
if the very angel he was talking about was smiling back at him from his wrist.
“Where did you meet this angel?”

“I
told you, in the jewellers.”

“Where
in the jewellers? Was she a customer?”

Frankie
shook his head and finally tore his loving attention away from his new watch.
“She served me. She works there. She’s called Beth.” He sighed and looked off
into the distance. “Isn’t that a beautiful name? A name for an angel.”

“Did
you just ask her out? Just like that?”

“No.
She saw me looking at the watch and told me I had good taste. I told her I
wasn’t sure about buying it and, before I knew it, I was telling her all about
my storage locker business. She was very impressed, I could tell. She let me try
the watch on. She told me it looked good on me. I knew that but it was nice to
hear Beth say it. Once I’d bought the watch I told her I felt like celebrating.
Beth said I could take her out for a drink tonight to celebrate.”

Grace
leant back in her chair and folded her arms. She could have sworn she heard
Pearl’s voice mutter ‘Hussy’ behind her. Grace chose a kinder expression.
“She’s very confident. I wish I had that kind of confidence.”

Frankie
clasped his hands together and smiled. “She’s beautiful, out of my league. I
would never have asked her out in a million years, and you know how attractive
I am to women.”

Grace
knew for certain this time that Pearl muttered another word behind her, this
was aimed at Frankie and it wasn’t a pleasant word. Grace wished she had even a
quarter of the confidence that Frankie had. She said, “When are you going out
on your date?”

Frankie’s
clasped hands tightened and his knuckles turned white. “Tonight. She’s going to
meet me at a restaurant at seven.” He gulped. “What am I going to wear? Should
I have a shower? What aftershave should I put on?” He gulped again and beads of
sweat appeared on his brow. “How long have I got to get ready? What time is it?”

Grace
smiled. She’d never seen him looking so nervous before. She glanced towards his
watch. “You’ve got plenty of time. Yes, of course you should have a shower. And
a small amount of aftershave would be good, not the usual amount that you wear.
You don’t want to knock her unconscious.”

Frankie
released his clasped hands and pulled at the collar of his shirt. “Grace, will
you stay and help me decide what to wear? You haven’t got anywhere to go, have
you? No, of course you haven’t. I think I should wear my light blue shirt, it
brings out the blue in my eyes. It needs an iron. Can you do that whilst I have
a shower? Ta. And can you give me a lift to the restaurant? It’ll save me
having to ring a taxi.” He stood up and his hand flew to his tummy. “I think I
need the toilet first.”

Grace
winced. “Too much information. Frankie, are you alright? You seem nervous, I’ve
never seen you like this before.”

Frankie
rubbed his tummy. “I’ve got a feeling that Beth is the one.”

Grace
stood up. “What do you mean?”

“The
one I’m meant to be with. Forever. There’s something about her.”

“But
you’ve only just met.” Grace could feel her voice rising.

Frankie
shrugged. “What can I say? When you know, you just know. I’m sure it’ll happen
to you one day.” A noise erupted from him. “Better go, the toilet is calling
for me.” He ran past her and out of the kitchen door. Grace heard him
thundering up the stairs that led to his living area. The rooms above the shop
used to be storerooms for extra stock, but they had now been converted into
Frankie’s living accommodation. And their stock was now stored in various
storage lockers. The irony of it.

Pearl
appeared behind Grace. “Well! What a palaver! What do you think is going on
there with your brother?”

“I
don’t know. I’m not sure I like it. Where did Jenny go? Did you see what
happened in the vision?”

Pearl
nodded. “I saw everything that you did. That young lass was in a right state
when you snapped out of the vision. She was crying and waving her arms around.
I’ll look after her tonight. I’ve asked her to help me sort out those annoying
ghosts that want your help. It’ll take her mind off her own problems.”

“Do
you think we should trying going into a vision again? I could come back when
I’ve dropped Frankie off.”

“No.
Let her have a rest. You have a rest too. And leave that headset thingy here.
You know if you take it home then Jenny will go home with you too.” Pearl
looked towards something behind Grace. “The silly buggers are off again with
their complaining. They’re a whiny bunch. I’d better get back to them. Take
care.” She winked at Grace and then disappeared.

Grace
carefully put the headset back in the box along with the folders. She placed
the box in the cleaning cupboard. She knew that Frankie never went anywhere
near the cleaning cupboard. He probably didn’t know it was there.

Something
fluttered to the floor as she pushed the box towards the back of the cupboard. She
picked it up. It was a business card. It had Jenny’s name on it. It also had a
company website address on it. Hmm. Grace could do a bit of online
investigating later.

Frankie
ran into the kitchen and flung a blue shirt at her. “Don’t forget the collar!”
He just as abruptly left the room.

Grace
put the business card in her handbag. When had she turned into Cinderella?

Chapter
8

Grace
drove a nervous-looking Frankie to the restaurant a short while later.

He
smoothed down his hair and said, “Do I look alright? Should I change my shirt?”

Grace
pulled up outside the restaurant and smiled at her brother. “For the fiftieth
time, you look very handsome.” She looked towards the restaurant doors. “Shall
I come in with you and meet this living angel?”

Frankie
released his seat belt. “No, you might scare her off. You’ll only stare at her
and then start asking her questions.”

Grace
bristled. “I’d do nothing of the sort.”

Frankie
reached for the door handle. “Wish me luck!”

“Good
luck. Have a good time. You can tell me all about it later.”

Frankie
gave her a wink. “If things go well I won’t be telling you everything! Thanks
for the lift! See ya!”

Grace
watched him for a moment as he walked towards the restaurant door. He pulled
his shirt down and smoothed his hair again. What kind of woman had him so
flustered? She was tempted to park nearby and then casually walk past the
restaurant and peep in.

No.
She’d leave him alone. She had a life of her own to live. Even if that life
meant dealing with a murdered ghost.

Grace
brought her attentions back to Jenny Lorrimer as she drove home. She tried to
make sense of the vision. She made a mental note of what she needed to look for
online.

As
soon as she arrived home she made herself a cup of tea and a toasted cheese
sandwich. She sat on the sofa and opened her laptop. Before Jenny began her
disappearing act, Grace had managed to get her full name and her date and place
of birth. Jenny had not been able to remember when she died, not even the year.

Grace
started by typing in the name of Jenny’s company, she had the full website
address on the company card that she’d picked up.

Nothing.
The page was no longer available. That made sense if Jenny was no longer around
to run it.

Grace
typed in reviews for Jenny’s services. She found some that dated back to over
five years ago. Grace smiled as she read how impressed people had been with
Jenny’s services. It seemed that Jenny Lorrimer had been extremely organised
and she’d even spoken to people weeks after the event to see if there was
anything they would have liked Jenny to have done different. Grace couldn’t
find one bad comment about Jenny.

Grace
zoomed in on some of the images that accompanied the reviews. There were some
of Jenny standing at the side of the person who had posted the review. Grace’s
heart twisted as she saw that Jenny was wearing her headset in nearly all of
the photos.

One
photo made Grace pause. There was someone standing at the side of Jenny,
someone who looked like a younger version of her. There were no names listed
for the photo. Did Jenny have a sister? If so, how was their relationship with
each other? Could this possible sister have something to do with Jenny’s death?
Hmm, it was a starting point.

Grace
braced herself for the next part of her search. Her hand hovered over the
keyboard.

She
swiftly stood up and decided she’d need another cup of tea before proceeding.
And a slice of chocolate cake would go nicely with the tea.

Once
she’d prepared her tea and cut a generous slice of cake, Grace returned to her
keyboard and typed in certain words.

It
didn’t take long for the information to come up.

Jenny
Lorrimer’s death.

Jenny
died on Saturday, 19 June 2010. Her body was discovered in the cloakroom of
King James’ Hotel in Horsforth, Leeds. Jenny had organised a wedding reception
that had taken place that day. It was thought she had disturbed a burglar who
was going through the pockets of coats, and through bags, that had been left in
the cloakroom. The cloakroom attendant had been on a break at the time and the
hotel staff had not arranged for another member of staff to cover her absence.
The attendant confirmed that she had left her position at 9 p.m. and had
returned thirty minutes later to discover the body of Jenny Lorrimer.

The
online details confirmed that Jenny had been strangled by the lead from her
headset. The police questioned all the wedding guests but it appears that no
one saw anything, or anyone, suspicious.

Grace
looked through more information and found the most recent update, it was dated
four years ago. The police confirmed that, despite making enquiries, no one had
been arrested for the murder of Jenny Lorrimer.

Grace
sat back on the sofa and finished the rest of her cake.

So,
Jenny had been at a wedding reception when she was murdered. The vision
confirmed that. Was it really a burglar who had killed her? Maybe it was one of
the wedding guests who had been stealing items, and Jenny had caught them at it.
Or was it someone who knew Jenny and had a grudge against her? Or was it
someone who would gain something by getting her out of the way - perhaps a
sister?

It
was a lot to think about. Grace scraped the last of the cake from the plate.
She needed to have a good talk with Jenny about this last wedding. And, she’d
need to talk to her about the possible sister. And what else? There was
something else that was bothering her.

Her
phone beeped. There was a text from Frankie advising Grace that he was having a
great time and that he was taking his angel to a nightclub.

Grace
sent him a reply and wished him a good evening. She tapped her phone against
her chin. It was Saturday night. Shouldn’t she be out somewhere? She looked
around her living room. Actually, she was fine being here, enjoying her own
company. She stood up. And because she was enjoying her own company she decided
to have another slice of cake. She didn’t need to worry about any disapproving
looks or uncalled for remarks. There were certain advantages to living alone.

Before
she went to bed that night, Grace made a long list of questions for Jenny.
Maybe she could find out who killed her before the end of tomorrow. Grace knew
she was being optimistic, she had a feeling that she wouldn’t be solving this
murder any time soon.

Chapter
9

The
shop was closed on Sundays. Grace had an excuse ready for Frankie as to why she
was there when she stepped through the shop door the next morning.

Her
excuse was that she wanted to see how Frankie’s evening had gone. True, she could
have sent him a text but she wanted to see him in person. Grace pulled a face
as she walked towards the kitchen. He’d know she was lying.

Pearl
was leaning against the kitchen sink, arms folded, when Grace walked in.
Pearl’s lips curled in disgust when Grace asked if Frankie had been downstairs
yet.

“The
dirty stop-out hasn’t been home! He’s out with that hussy of a woman from the
jewellers! They only met yesterday.” Pearl tutted three times in a row. “I
don’t understand young people today. Why are they in such a rush? In my day,
we’d court for three months before we even thought of holding hands.” She
tutted again. “I blame the Internet. And video games.”

Grace
checked her phone. “I haven’t heard anything from him since last night. Shall I
text him?”

Pearl
moved away from the sink. “I’d disown him if I were you. Anyway, enough about
him, let’s talk about young Jenny. What have you found out about her? Anything
juicy?”

Grace
moved towards the kettle. “Where is Jenny? What did you two do when I left you
last night?”

Pearl
let out a small chuckle. “She sorted out those ghosts for me. She’s very good
at organising things. She made a list of everyone, and their problems, and then
sorted them out in order of importance. She told them all to be patient and,
for some reason, they listened to her.”

Grace
filled the kettle up and then switched it on. “What problems are these ghosts
having? I’m sure I can help them.”

Pearl
turned her face away from Grace and said, “Don’t give them a second thought,
they’re not your concern.”

Grace
frowned. Pearl was hiding something. She knew better than to push her.

“Good
morning!” Jenny appeared at her side causing Grace to drop the cup she was
holding. The cup landed on the carpet without breaking. “Sorry!” Jenny said
with a laugh. She hugged her clipboard to her chest and said, “It’s so good to
be working again! I’ve missed it. Pearl, is there anything else you want me to
do? Grace, how about you?”

Grace
picked the cup up and looked at the happy expression on Jenny’s face. She felt
terrible about all the questions she had ready for her. Talking about her
murder was surely going to make her lose that smile.

Grace
made herself a cup of tea and sat at the kitchen table. Pearl sat at her side,
tapped the table and said, “Sit yourself down, Jenny. We’ve got things to talk
about. Thanks for sorting those idiot ghosts out, they’ve been driving me mad
for weeks.”

“Weeks?
Pearl, why didn’t you tell me …” Grace began.

Pearl
held a hand up. “Now’s not the time, Grace.” Jenny’s smile faltered as she sat
at Grace’s other side. Pearl carried on, “Grace, tell us what you’ve found
out.”

Grace
started with the details of Jenny’s death including the date. Jenny nodded
slowly and said, “I think it’s coming back to me now. But wait, you said 2010.
What year is it now?”

“2015,”
Grace said.

“Really?
Did I miss the Olympics?”

“You
did. And a royal wedding, and two royal births,” Grace informed her.

Jenny’s
smile had completely gone. “Oh. That’s so sad. Have I been in that storage unit
all this time? For five years? Why can’t I remember that?”

Pearl
said softly, “Our minds protect us, don’t worry about your time in the unit. It
wasn’t time for you to appear to Grace until yesterday.”

“Why
did I appear to Grace?”

Pearl
explained, “I think that whoever murdered you is likely to murder again. If
Grace can find out who killed you then she might be able to prevent the next
murder.”

Jenny’s
hands flew to her mouth. “Will it be someone I know? A friend?”

Grace
picked that moment to mention the possible sister. She’d picked up the shop
laptop on the way through to the kitchen. She now opened it up and found the
image of Jenny and the woman who looked like her. She showed the image to Pearl
and Jenny.

A
tear ran down Jenny’s face. “It’s Elsa, my younger sister.” More tears flowed.
“I’d forgotten about her. My only sister and I couldn’t remember a thing about
her! What does that say about me?”

Pearl
patted Jenny on the arm. “This is how it works sometimes. Your memories have
been dormant for a long time, they’re coming back to you now. Tell us about
your sister. Elsa’s a lovely name.”

Jenny
nodded and wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. “Grace, did you find
my website? I left everything to Elsa in my will, she must be running it now.”

Grace
said, “Your website isn’t live any more. Maybe Elsa set one up on her own, in
her own name. I’ll check.” A few minutes later she said, “No, sorry, I can’t
find anything for Elsa Lorrimer. She could have got married, or set up a site
in a completely different name.”

Jenny
frowned. “That’s possible, although, how can I put this politely? Elsa isn’t
the most intelligent …”

“Three
sandwiches short of a picnic?” Pearl added helpfully. “Not the sharpest knife
in the drawer? Fell out of the stupid tree and hit every branch on the way
down?”

Jenny
winced. “She’s not that bad. She’s very trusting, and gullible. She’s got a
heart of gold and I love her to pieces.” She hesitated. “Despite forgetting
about her until now.”

Grace
said, “Did she work with you?”

Jenny
nodded. “When I finished university, I got a job with a top party planner, or
event coordinator as she liked to be known, in Manchester. We had some amazing
clients, they had a lot of money to spend. One client spent a million pounds on
his wedding! That was quite a day.”

Pearl
sniffed in disgust. “More money than sense.”

Jenny
went on, “Elsa didn’t go to university. She loved working with flowers and got
a job at a local floristry. She was happy there.” Jenny looked down at the
table. “Then something terrible happened. My parents died in a car accident.”

A
tiny gasp escaped from Grace but she didn’t say anything.

Jenny’s
head shot up. She studied Grace for a moment, her look softened. “Oh, Grace,
I’m sorry. The same thing happened to you, didn’t it?”

Grace
nodded, unable to speak.

Jenny
said, “I had to leave Manchester, I had to look after Elsa. She was only
eighteen when Mum and Dad died. I didn’t mind. I had some good references by
then and it didn’t take me long to set up my own business. And I convinced Elsa
to work with me. The owner of the florist shop wasn’t paying much. Elsa didn’t
mind but I did.” Jenny smiled. “It was wonderful, us two working together. Elsa
had a magic touch when it came to the floral designs.”

“Where
could Elsa be now?” Grace said. “Do you think she went back to work for the
florist?”

“It’s
possible. I …” Jenny froze as Frankie came into the kitchen.

Frankie
beamed at Grace. “What a night!”

Pearl
muttered an obscenity.

Grace
held her hand up. “I don’t want the details.”

Frankie
grinned. “Good, because I’m not going to tell you. Have we got any flowers
hanging about?”

“No,
why?”

“I’m
meeting Beth for lunch. I wanted to get her some flowers. That’s what you do,
isn’t it?” He looked around the kitchen. “Are you sure we haven’t got any? Have
you got some at home?”

“Flowers
don’t just magically appear,” Grace pointed out. She stood up. “But I shall go
out and buy some for you.”

“Really?
Thanks Grace.” Frankie lifted his arm and sniffed his armpit. “I could do with
a quick shower. Get some roses, that’s what women like. Ta.” He left the kitchen,
humming to himself.

“That
boy …” Pearl began, waving her fist towards the door.

Grace
said, “Going out for flowers gives me a good excuse to start looking for Elsa.
Jenny, do you want to come with me? If you do, I’ll need the headset.”

“Of
course. I can remember where the florist is.” She stood up and started writing
something on her clipboard.

Pearl
stood up and followed Grace over to the cleaning cupboard. Pearl quietly said,
“Do you think Elsa might have killed Jenny?”

Grace
whispered, “It’s a possibility.” She reached for the headset and closed the
cupboard back up.

Pearl
touched Grace’s arm. A warmth travelled through Grace. Pearl was the only ghost
who sent warmth through Grace when she touched her. Pearl said, “Be careful.
I’ve got a feeling that the murderer is close to hand. If they find out that
you’re looking into Jenny’s death, they might come after you.”

Grace
put a smile on her face and tried to feel brave. “I’m sure I’ll be alright.”