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

by Larkin, Gillian

  Grace pushed her plate away. “It sounds awful. Those lockers could be full of anything, even stolen goods.”

  Frankie wiggled his eyebrows at her. “Stolen stuff that could be worth thousands. I’d love to have a go. I bet I’d be really good. I know a bit about antiques, I bet I could spot a valuable item. And I’ve got a great poker-face, no one would know that I’d spotted something.”

  Grace tutted. “As if! I can always tell when you’re lying. Can we switch it over?”

  “Not yet, and to be fair, you don’t always know when I’m lying. You didn’t know I was sleeping in the stockroom,” Frankie said. He reached for his second slice of pizza. “I wanted you to watch this.”

  “Why?” A funny feeling was settling in Grace’s stomach, it wasn’t a nice feeling.

  “I’ve been looking on the Internet, there are some storage auctions near us. I thought we could go along and see what sort of stuff people buy. You never know, we might find something awesome. We might find something so valuable that we could pay off all our debts! Imagine that.”

  Frankie looked off into the distance as he chewed his food.

  Grace had seen his dreamer’s face many times. How could she say no to him after all he’d been through recently?

  Frankie turned to look at her. “What do you say? We could go and have a look, just to look, not to buy.”

  “Just looking? Not buying?”

  Frankie nodded, his smile growing bigger by the second.

  Grace sighed. “Okay. When are we going?”

  Frankie reached for his third slice of pizza. “Tomorrow. We’ll have to set off early.” He pointed at the television. “Look what Old Purple Hair has found now! Somebody’s nail clippings! Ha!”

  Grace pressed her lips together and kept her thoughts to herself. She should have said no. An uneasy feeling was washing over her, and it had nothing to do with the unfortunate woman on the television.

  It was something else.

  Chapter 6

  As they drove to the storage locker sale the following morning Frankie chattered non-stop.

  “We might find some guns from the wars. Or some rare first editions from Charles Dickens. What if we found some Roman coins? There was a man on the news a few years ago who found coins in a field, he sold them for half a million. Imagine that, Grace.”

  Grace said, “What are you talking about? We’re not going to find anything. We’re only looking, remember, not bidding.”

  Frankie shot her a quick grin and then turned back to the road. “I know, but what if we did? What would you do with the money? Once we paid Eddie off, of course. Would you give up your job? By the way, when do you have to go back? Are you still on sick pay?”

  Grace swallowed. It hurt her pride to be receiving sick pay, but she hadn’t been given a choice. “I’ve got two months left. I’m not looking forward to going back.”

  “I thought you loved teaching, talking about all that history stuff to kids.”

  “I do. It’s not that. It’s the other staff. I know they’re going to be keeping an eye on me. Watching out for tell-tale signs. See if I’m going to have another breakdown.”

  Grace wiped her palms on her jeans. The thought of going back to work terrified her.

  Frankie said, “It wasn’t a breakdown, you know that.”

  “That’s what it was classed as, that’s what’s on my sick note. That’s what everyone thinks when they look at me. They think I’m not capable.”

  Frankie was silent as he made a right turn. “You were suffering from depression, from severe grief. You went back to work too soon.”

  “You went through the same thing but you didn’t have a breakdown!” Grace said, her voice rising.

  Frankie pulled into the car park of the storage unit. He switched the engine off and looked at her. He said, “I didn’t go through exactly the same thing. You’re not heading towards another breakdown. It’s not like you’re hearing voices and seeing spooky things out of the corner of your eye, is it! Come on, I think we have to sign in or something.”

  Frankie got out of the van. Grace watched him head towards an office building.

  She had been hearing voices. And she had been seeing spooky things, not from the corners of her eyes, but right in front of her.

  She couldn’t tell Frankie, she couldn’t tell anyone. They would lock her up for sure.

  She followed Frankie into the office.

  She knew full well that Frankie was going to bid, she always knew when he was lying - apart from when he’d been sleeping rough in the stockroom. How could she not have known about that?

  But anyway, she’d play along with his game of not buying, for now.

  Chapter 7

  Frankie was standing just inside the entrance to the office. He was staring straight ahead, his mouth open.

  Grace nudged him. “What’s wrong? What are you staring at? Have we come to the wrong place?”

  Frankie didn’t blink, he said in a whisper, “It’s him! It’s really him!”

  Grace looked at where Frankie was staring. She saw an older man, probably in his late fifties, sitting behind a desk.

  She let out a little snort of laughter. “He looks like a silver-haired Elvis Presley. He’s even got his collar turned up. I didn’t know people still had hair styles like that. Do you think that’s a real tan? He’s almost orange.”

  Frankie didn’t look away. “It’s him! It’s really him!” he repeated.

  Grace frowned. What had got in to her brother now?

  The man behind the counter looked up and smiled at them. Grace almost fell over from the glare of his extremely white teeth.

  “Hey there! Good morning to you! Haven’t seen you here before, are you new? Step closer, I won’t bite!” the man said.

  Grace smiled back at him, it was impossible not to, there was a genuine warmth coming from him.

  She stepped forward, Frankie didn’t move. Grace shot a glance at him, he was still standing there like a frozen statue. She grabbed his arm and propelled him forward.

  The silver-haired man stood up and extended a hand towards them. “Let me introduce myself. I’m ...”

  “Sylvester Sylver!” Frankie burst out. “I’ve seen you on the telly! You’re an auctioneer! A real American Auctioneer!”

  Sylvester Sylver chuckled. “That’s right, I am. It’s always great to meet a fan. And you are?”

  Frankie grabbed hold of Sylvester’s hand and pumped it up and down enthusiastically.

  Grace saw the older man wince but he had the manners not to say anything.

  “I’m Frankie, Frankie Abrahams, and I’ve seen you on the telly!” Frankie gushed.

  Grace was beginning to get embarrassed. Honestly! Talk about star-struck. She gently wrestled Sylvester’s hand away from Frankie and shook it. “We’re new to this business. We’re only here to watch, not to buy. Do we need to sign in or anything?”

  Sylvester smiled another blinding smile and said, “You certainly do, here are the forms. Good idea to watch first. Too many people leap into this business without knowing what they’re doing. They watch a few TV programmes and think they’re experts.”

  Grace pulled the forms towards her. She looked at Frankie to see if he was paying attention to what Sylvester was saying. Her brother was still staring at the Elvis like god in front of him. She sighed and filled out the forms.

  “Thanks so much! Let’s get going, we’ve got ten lockers to auction this morning, all of them full of treasure! Follow me, kids,” Sylvester said. He stepped out from behind the counter and strode towards the door.

  He held it open as a soppy-eyed Frankie stepped through. Just as Grace was about to go through Sylvester placed his hand lightly on her shoulder. In a low voice he said, “Don’t let the buyers intimidate you. They’ll smell fresh blood the second you get out there.”

  Grace gave him a grateful smile. It wasn’t the buyers she was worried about. The uneasy feeling that had started in her stomach had travel
led upwards, a headache was beginning.

  She knew something was going to happen today, she could feel it. A sudden flicker of excitement lit up in her tummy. Maybe it would be something good, perhaps their luck was changing.

  Chapter 8

  Grace followed Sylvester and Frankie over to a line of storage lockers. Frankie was walking behind Sylvester with a funny look on his face. Grace sized him up. A lovesick puppy, that’s what he looked like she decided. She grabbed his arm and pulled him closer to her. She hissed, “Get rid of that soppy look on your face, people are staring.”

  Frankie blinked a few times, his smile faded, but then it came back. “I can’t help it, Grace! It’s him. He’s my favourite auctioneer. It’s like meeting a Hollywood Star!”

  “Yes, I worked that out. But you’re going to have to calm down. Look around us, everyone’s sizing us up, like we’re some sort of bait.”

  Frankie did look around. His smile completely vanished. In a quiet voice he said, “What’s wrong with them all? Not a friendly face amongst them. It’s not like this on the telly.”

  Grace folded her arms and looked at Frankie. “I don’t like it, I hate people staring at me. Do you think they recognise us? From the papers? Or the television?”

  Frankie gave her a concerned look. “Doesn’t matter if they do, that’s in the past. Don’t let anyone upset you, Grace. I’ve calmed down now. I’m going to put on my poker-face, the other buyers won’t know that I’m new. Look.”

  Frankie’s features rearranged themselves into a serious look.

  Grace pressed her lips together to stop laughter escaping. A little giggle came out.

  Frankie shot her a look. “What’s so funny?”

  “You might have a poker-face but your eyebrows are jiggling about like demented caterpillars!”

  The side of Frankie’s mouth lifted a little. “My eyebrows are still excited about seeing Sylvester Sylver. Shhh! It’s starting!”

  Sylvester Sylver stood in front of the lockers. Grace was thankful to see everyone turn their attention away from her and Frankie, and towards Sylvester.

  “Good morning, folks! What an amazing day for an auction!” Sylvester began. “Now, you know the rules but I’ll repeat them. You get thirty seconds to look in the room, absolutely no one must enter. You will be thrown out if you do! And don’t let my age deceive you, I’ve thrown out many a bidder before and I’ll do it again!”

  Frankie elbowed Grace and said, “He has, I’ve seen him, it’s awesome.”

  Sylvester continued, “Whoever gets the highest bid wins the locker. I’m the auctioneer, I’m the expert, I’m the one who sees the final bid. There is no arguing with me! And it’s cash only. No cheques, no running to an ATM and no IOUs! Are we clear?”

  There were a few murmurs and nods of heads.

  Sylvester released his megawatt smile and yelled, “Let’s begin!”

  Frankie gasped. “The first locker is opening! Grace, I can’t believe we’re here. I think I might throw up!”

  Grace smiled at her brother. She was happy that he was so excited, he hadn’t been this excited about anything since the accident.

  The locker opened and people moved forward.

  “Are we looking in?” Grace asked.

  “We might as well,” Frankie said casually. “I know we’re not buying, but we can look.”

  Grace looked towards the sky and gave a little shake of her head. He was obviously lying, she was going to have to let him know that she knew about his plan to buy something.

  They moved closer to the locker.

  The people in front must have spotted something valuable because they were talking to each other in excited whispers.

  It was their turn to look.

  Frankie pointed and said, “Look at that beautiful wardrobe, that’ll be worth a penny or two. That sideboard looks expensive too, I think it’s probably two hundred years old.”

  Grace nodded. She could see the furniture. She could see something else too.

  She could see the ghost standing at the side of the wardrobe.

  Chapter 9

  Grace had been seeing strange figures for a while, since after the accident. At first she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, but she soon realised that she was seeing real things. The figures were shadow-like at first but as months passed, and Grace paid more attention, the shadows took the form of people.

  Grace knew she was seeing ghosts but there was no way she could tell anyone, Frankie had never said anything but she knew from his long looks that he still considered her a risk for another breakdown. She quite often felt on the edge of one, her doctor said the feeling would pass, that she would get stronger.

  Grace hoped so, it felt like her self-confidence had died in the accident along with her parents.

  She looked at the ghost in the locker. The figure shimmered around the edges slightly. It looked like the figure was put there as an afterthought, like a bad special effect. Grace concentrated on the vision, it came more into focus.

  The ghost was of a small woman, from her clothes Grace guessed that she must have been from the Victorian age. The woman moved closer to the wardrobe and began dusting it, she seemed to be singing as she did so. Her lips moved and Grace heard a faint tune.

  Perhaps the wardrobe belonged to her? Or had been passed down through her family?

  Grace had the sudden urge to move closer to the woman and try to talk to her. It would be wonderful to find out the history of the items in the locker.

  She took a step forward, and then stopped herself. She could just imagine what everyone would say if she started talking to someone that only she could see. Frankie would drag her away and down to the hospital in a heartbeat.

  Grace stood still and watched the woman, she was giving the wardrobe a thorough clean.

  “Who’s going to give me £100 for this beautiful locker?” Sylvester called out. “Looks like it might be from the Victorian age, these are quality items.”

  The bidding began. If the Victorian woman was aware of the talking she showed no indication of it.

  There were grunts, murmurs and calls of ‘Here!’ as the auction went on. Grace looked at the bidders, she had no idea who was bidding. She glanced at Frankie, he looked as confused as she felt.

  “Sold! To the man with the overgrown beard!” Sylvester announced. “Let’s move on, folks, there’s plenty more to see.”

  A hairy-faced man moved towards the locker and pulled the door down. Grace’s last glimpse of the ghost showed the woman fluttering her duster into the air. Ghost dust?

  Frankie rubbed his hands together and grinned at her. “That was awesome! I can’t wait to join in the bidding.”

  Grace raised her eyebrows at him. “Bidding? I thought we were just looking.”

  Frankie shoved his hands in his pockets and said, “Well, there might be a cheap locker, one that has stuff for the shop, you never know.”

  “But how are you going to bid? You don’t have any money,” Grace pointed out.

  Frankie kicked at some loose stones on the ground. “I’ve got a bit, I sold my bike.”

  Grace’s hand flew to her mouth. “Frankie, no! Not your motorbike! It’s your pride and joy.”

  Frankie met her look, he raised his chin and said, “Pride and joy doesn’t pay the bills. I didn’t have a choice.”

  Grace put her hand on his arm, “I’m sorry you had to do that. I’ve still got a bit of money in savings, you should have come to me.”

  Frankie gave her a brave smile. “I can look after myself, I’d never take your money, you need it. Besides, if we get a good locker I might make lots of money and get myself an even better bike.”

  Grace matched his smile. “Well, you’d better get a good locker then.”

  A loud shout made them both jump.

  “Oi! You two! You shouldn’t be here!”

  They turned towards where the voice was coming from.

  Frankie gulped. “Is that a bear or a man?”


  “I don’t know but he’s heading our way, I don’t like the look on his face,” Grace said. She looked towards where their van was parked. Should they make a run for it?

  Chapter 10

  The bear-like man strode towards them so quickly that any thoughts of escape were useless.

  He bore down on them and blocked out the sun. His thick eyebrows moved downwards as he studied them.

  He suddenly smiled. “I thought it was you two, it’s Frankie and Grace isn’t it?”

  Frankie nodded.

  The man grabbed Frankie’s hand and shook it. “I knew your dad, he was a great fella. We used to go to antique auctions together. Did he ever mention me? Bob’s my name, but everyone calls me Big Bob, for obvious reasons.”

  “Big Bob? Yes! Dad told us about you,” Frankie said. “He said you had a good eye for antiques.”

  Big Bob released Frankie’s hand. “Yes, I do. My mum said it’s a gift. What are you doing here? I thought you were carrying on your dad’s business.”

  Frankie shrugged and said, “There’s not much money in antiques, I thought I’d look into something else.”

  Big Bob studied Frankie for a second. In a quieter voice he said, “I was sorry to hear about your mum and dad. It was a great loss. And I don’t believe for a second what the papers said about him.”

  Grace spoke, “Thank you, that means a lot.”

  Big Bob smiled at her. “I’m glad you’re out of danger, from the photos in the paper it looked like you were lucky to be alive.”

  Grace nodded, she didn’t feel lucky. There had been more than one dark day when she’d wished that she’d died in the car accident too.

  Big Bob said, “You’re right about there not being much money in antiques, there is still some but you have to find the right items. That’s why I come here, I stock up on things that I know will sell, it’s not always antiques, but I have found the odd valuable item now and again. It’s like going on a treasure hunt.”

  Big Bob reached into his pocket and took out a card, he handed it to Frankie. “Have a look at my website, you’ll see the sort of things I sell. Call round to the shop too, I do a lot of business online but I get plenty of customers in the shop too. I can always give you a bit of business advice, if you’d like it?”