Tom patted his pockets in panic. “I haven’t got one!”
Grace opened her eyes and said urgently, “There’s one on that table behind you. Quick!”
Still holding the gun Tom turned around.
Grace leapt from her kneeling position and launched herself at him. All the pretend fights that she’d had with Frankie growing up paid off.
Tom went down like a small child.
“Get the gun!” Grace screamed at Brenda.
A gun shot rang out.
Chapter 24
“Don’t leave it there!” Pearl shouted at her. “I can see that you’re okay, who got shot? Was it that slimy postman? Don’t tell me it was Brenda?”
Grace leant back on the kitchen chair. She had returned to the shop. It was late but she couldn’t leave it until tomorrow to tell Pearl.
“The window got shot. Brenda ran over to get the gun. It was Tom’s last attempt to try and get control over us, the bullet went straight through the double glazing. I was shocked, I was half hoping the gun was a fake. You don’t expect to see postmen with guns.”
Pearl nodded. “You’d be surprised, don’t trust anyone when it comes to murder. Did the police come round? Did he confess?”
Grace squirmed in her chair.
“What is it? What did you do?”
Grace said, “We called the police. They came round in minutes. We had a recorded confession. Tom had phoned Brenda to make an appointment. The minute he came through into the living room she pressed the record button on a CD player at the side of the sofa. We got everything that he said. The police couldn’t believe it.”
Pearl leaned across the table. “What aren’t you telling me?”
Grace picked at her fingernail. “Well, you know I sat on Tom to keep him down? It seems I may have been a bit too heavy for him, he passed out.”
Pearl burst out laughing.
Grace gave her an indignant look. “The police thought it was funny too, I didn’t. A few more minutes and I could have killed him.”
Pearl eventually stopped laughing. “And what about Mae and Brenda? Have they sorted things out?”
Grace nodded. “I had to speak on Mae’s behalf but yes, they sorted everything out. Brenda’s going to carry on as a psychic in Mae’s memory. Mae told me to give her the tarot cards that used to belong to her. I could tell it was sorted out because Mae did that glowing white thing, do you know what I mean?”
Pearl nodded. “It’s when they’re ready to move on, I’ve seen it many times. It’s a good thing, you know they don’t need any more help.”
Grace smiled. “They both said thank you a hundred times! Mae moved on, I told Brenda I’d stay the night if she wanted me to but she said she was okay. Then I thought I’d better come here and let you know what’s going on. You must have wondered what happened to me.”
“I did, but I knew you’d be all right.”
“Did you? I wasn’t so sure, I was ready to give up,” Grace admitted.
“But you didn’t. You did really well for your first murder, I’m proud of you, Grace.”
Grace sat up a bit straighter. “Thank you, I’m sort of proud of myself.”
Pearl sat back in the chair. “Good. You’ll be ready for the next murder victim now.”
Grace sagged a little. “Now?”
“No,” Pearl said. “You can start tomorrow. Go home and get some sleep, you look awful. And try not to squash anyone on the way home.”
A note from the author
I love watching storage auction programmes. I’ve never been to one but I’d love to visit one of the big ones in America, I’m sure I’d be useless at bidding though – I’d be too excited.
When I watch the shows I always wonder where the items have come from, and who they belonged to. I wondered what would happen if some of the items had ghosts attached. I reached a point where I couldn’t stand it anymore and I knew I had to write some stories down, I was inspired by the variety of items that have been discovered in storage lockers. Also, I am a big fan of ‘cozy’ murder mysteries and I wanted to combine items found in a locker with a murder!
I hope you enjoyed this story. If you did could you post a quick review? Thank you, I read all my reviews and I really do appreciate them.
Grace’s next murder mystery is now available: A Different Shade Of Death
Amazon Com
Amazon UK
(It’s slightly longer than this one. I’ve taken my readers’ comments on board and I’m now working on a full length murder mystery for Grace.)
Grace’s adventures with ghosts that weren’t murdered are available as a box set, there are 5 short stories in the set:
Amazon Com
Amazon UK
You can see all my books at:
www.gillianlarkin.co.uk
You can email me at:
[email protected]
Best wishes
Gillian
STORAGE GHOST MURDER – THE LAST READING
By
GILLIAN LARKIN
KINDLE EDITION
www.gillianlarkin.co.uk
Front cover image by Vectorstock.com
Copyright 2014 by Gillian Larkin
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, electronically or mechanically without permission from the author.
The Last Reading (Storage Ghost Murders Book 1) Page 7
