Lost And Found: A Cozy Ghost Mystery (Storage Ghost Mysteries Book 2)

by Gillian Larkin

  Storage Ghosts

  Lost And Found

  Chapter 1

  “I still don’t understand, why would that man with the funny beard want a unit full of women’s underwear?”

  Frankie didn’t take his eyes away from the television screen. He said, “I’ve told you this before, he’s making the other bidders go higher so that they’ll have less money for the other storage units that come up later. Then he’s got more chance of getting them at a bargain price. Pay attention, Grace.”

  “But why would he do that? Why doesn’t he just let the other person have it?” Grace asked.

  Frankie gave a firm nod towards the screen and said, “It’s business, it’s all about making money.”

  Grace was silent for a moment as she watched the action on the screen. People nodding, some raising a finger, some even arching an eyebrow as the bids went higher. She frowned and said, “Why would anyone want that underwear anyway? It might be,” she gave a small shudder, “used.”

  “That’s the fun of it.”

  Fun? Grace gave her brother a concerned glance.

  Frankie carried on. “They can sell the underwear in a shop or online. It’s the boxes behind that people are interested in.”

  Grace squinted slightly. “But you can’t see what’s in the boxes.”

  Frankie shot her a smile and said, “Exactly! It could be anything. Treasure or rubbish. It’s like a treasure hunt.”

  Grace folded her arms. “More like a gamble, I don’t understand why people would waste their money. I bet there will be socks in those boxes, stinky old socks.”

  “Maybe, but there could be a valuable gun wrapped up in one of them, you just never know.”

  Frankie pointed the remote at the TV. “I’ve watched this one before a few times, there’s something else I want you to see.”

  Grace leant back further into the sofa. Frankie was obsessed with these TV programmes about storage auctions. He seemed to be watching them all the time. She didn’t mind, it was nice to see him enthusiastic about something again since the accident. But did he have to get her involved?

  Grace already knew the answer to that. And she already knew that she would be going to a storage auction with him the following day. She had to, for the sake of her parents.

  Frankie clicked the remote until he found what he was looking for. “You’ll enjoy this, Grace, I recorded it yesterday. Have you got any lager left? You soon went through those two cans.”

  “I went through two cans? I certainly didn’t. It was you. You come over here and eat my food, you drink my lager and mess up my shower! Get your own lager.”

  Frankie held the remote up at her as if warding her off. “Whoa! Steady on. You invited me over, remember? I’m quite happy to stay in the stockroom over the shop. And it was you who insisted that I use your shower.”

  Grace gave him a pointed look. “You needed to use my shower, you were starting to smell.”

  “I wasn’t, how could I? I had a shower last week. Anyway, I can’t get the lager, I’m fast-forwarding.”

  Grace said, “I’m sure I’m capable of fast-forwarding a programme, give me the remote.”

  Frankie pulled the remote protectively to his chest. “No way. You don’t know what you’re looking for. Get me a slice of that pizza whilst you’re in the kitchen.”

  Grace glared at her big brother as she stood up. He was looking at the TV again but she could see the sides of his mouth lifting slightly.

  She returned a minute later with the requested items. She looked down at Frankie. Oh no! She had seen that look on his face before. She turned her attention to the television. Yes, as she suspected, Frankie’s hero was on the screen.

  Frankie took the offered items without moving his eyes. He opened the lager and took a big gulp, his eyes still not moving from the screen. “Look at him, Grace, isn’t he awesome? Look at how he deals with everyone, he’s such a professional.”

  Grace sat down, she tried to keep her smile in. Frankie looked like a lovesick teenager. She said, “I’ll buy you a poster if you like, then you can stare at him before you fall asleep.”

  Still without moving his head, Frankie lifted his phone up towards her and said, “No need, I’ve got his picture on here.”

  Grace did smile then. The photo was of Frankie standing next to his hero, Sylvester Sylver. In the photo Frankie had such a big grin on his face that his eyes had closed, Sylvester smiled like a professional. Grace looked closer. Was there an actual twinkle radiating off Sylvester’s tooth?

  “You’ve got some unread messages,” Grace pointed out.

  “Yeah, I know. Grace, watch Sylvester. He’s the best auctioneer in this programme. I think he’s probably the best auctioneer in the world. I can’t believe we met him! Do you think he’ll be there tomorrow? Do you think he’ll remember me?”

  Grace recalled how star-struck Frankie had been when they’d met Sylvester at an auction the previous week. “I’m sure he’ll remember you.”

  Frankie’s phone beeped as another message came through.

  “You can’t just ignore your messages, I’ll read them out to you,” Grace said. She took the phone and tapped the screen.

  “No!” Frankie leant over and ripped the phone from her hands. “Don’t, Grace, please!”

  Chapter 2

  Grace studied her brother, the blood had drained from his face. He looked down at his phone as if it were a messenger of death.

  “Frankie, what is it? What’s going on?”

  Frankie shook his head and tried to smile. “Just an ex-girlfriend, nothing important.”

  He stuffed the phone into his pocket and turned back to the screen. Even the Hollywood sheen of his favourite auctioneer couldn’t bring the sparkle back in to his eyes.

  Grace knew he was lying but she wasn’t going to push him. She said, “Tell me more about Sylvester Sylver. Why has he come to England to do auctions? I wouldn’t leave California if I were him, look, that storage unit facility is right next to the beach.”

  Frankie nodded, “I asked him that. When I met him last week. He said he wanted a challenge, he knew all the buyers in America, he’s been to all the states. He said he could almost guess what would be in each locker by the state he was visiting. He told me that he wanted to see the history that England had to offer, see what treasures could be found.”

  “Sounds like he opened up to you.”

  Frankie gave a proud nod and sat up a bit straighter. “I think we could be friends. Did I tell you I’m on his email list?”

  “You did. Why does he dress like Elvis Presley? That silver shirt he’s wearing even has the collar pulled up.”

  Frankie snorted and said, “He looks nothing like Elvis Presley! He’s got his own unique style.”

  Frankie stuffed the pizza into his mouth, followed by more lager.

  Grace didn’t say another word about Sylvester, but he did look like a silver-haired Elvis, no matter how much Frankie denied it. She had expected him to burst in to song when he’d hosted the first auction that they went to.

  Thinking of auctions...

  “Frankie, what did you do with that money?”

  “What money?” Frankie studied the picture on his can of lager.

  “That money that we made from our first locker? The coins that I found? You know, those old coins that made us £23,000?”

  In an over casual voice Frankie said, “Oh, that money. I’ve got it somewhere.”

  Grace didn’t like the tone of his voice, or how he was looking too intently at his lager.

&nb
sp; “I hope the money is in the bank, you know we’ve got debts to pay off.”

  Frankie waved his hand dismissively, “I’ve got a better idea of how we can use that money, one that will make us rich.”

  Grace’s heart sank, she was used to Frankie’s dreams of riches, and that’s what they were – dreams.

  “Tell me what you’ve done with the money,” she said.

  Frankie beamed at her and said, “I’m going to invest it.”

  “In what? Stocks and shares? Oh, Frankie, don’t tell me you’ve given the money to some dodgy investment broker.”

  “Nope, something better. I’m investing the money in our new business,” he said, his chin jutting out.

  Grace’s heart sank further. She knew what new business he was talking about but she had to let him say it anyway. “What new business?”

  Frankie opened his palm towards the TV screen, “The storage auction business, I’m a natural. We’ll use our money from the coins to bid for more lockers. We’ll fill up the shop with quality items, and I just know we’ll find more valuable things like those coins, I can feel it in my water. Oh! Talking of which, I need the toilet, too much lager. Won’t be a moment.”

  Frankie jumped up and headed out of the room.

  Grace sank even further into the sofa, she was going to end up disappearing in to it at this rate. She felt drained, she didn’t even have the energy to remind Frankie to put the toilet seat down when he’d finished.

  Why couldn’t he use the money to pay off some of their debts? Eddie Tominski, their friendly neighbourhood loan shark, was breathing down their necks for the £50,000 that they owed. It was part of their father’s enormous debts, something they knew nothing about until after he had died, along with their mother, in a car accident. The debts had been so high that they’d had to sell the family home and belongings. All they had left was the family antique shop. Eddie had threatened to take that away too, unless they paid the £50,000. They had one week left to pay.

  Frankie’s phone beeped as a message came through. Grace looked over at where he’d been sitting, it must have fallen out of his pocket.

  What was all that nonsense about an ex-girlfriend? She didn’t know anything about that, he was up to something. Grace had no qualms about reading the message.

  She soon wished she hadn’t.

  It wasn’t a nice text, and it wasn’t the only one.

  There were many texts from Eddie Tominski.

  Nasty, threatening messages.

  He’d even put a link to a newspaper article. Grace knew she shouldn’t but she clicked on it anyway.

  Her stomach heaved as she read, ‘Local man kills himself and wife, tries to kill daughter too. Medical reports show that Mr David Abrahams was driving whilst drunk.’

  Grace had seen the article, and ones like it many times.

  It was all lies! Her dad would never have put them in danger. How dare Eddie Tominski send this to Frankie?

  A rage began to build in Grace. “I’ll show him,” she muttered to herself. “He’s taking our shop over my dead body!”

  Frankie returned to the room. “Hey! I told you not to look!”

  Grace waved the phone at him. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I didn’t want to worry you, I can deal with Eddie,” Frankie puffed his chest out. “I can take care of everything.”

  Grace saw the stubbornness in his face, she also noticed how tired he looked.

  She stood up and said, “You don’t have to do this on your own, let’s go for it! Let’s start our own storage buying business!

  Chapter 3

  Grace’s brave front soon disappeared when she saw the crowds gathered at the storage locker facility the next day. The crowd did not look friendly, even less so when Grace and Frankie walked over to join them. Grace heard mutters of, ‘Newbies,’ and ‘Time wasters.’

  She mumbled to Frankie, “If looks could kill, we’d be the walking dead.”

  Frankie gave her a wink. “Ignore them, they were new once. Remember your poker-face, Grace, and let me do the bidding.”

  Grace’s mouth twitched. Frankie had insisted on them practising their poker-faces so that the other bidders wouldn’t know when they were interested in a locker. Grace almost laughed out loud as she remembered seeing Frankie practising in the bathroom mirror the previous night.

  Sylvester Sylver walked over to the crowd.

  Grace couldn’t help but admire how the older man carried himself. He beamed at the crowd, his brilliant white smile lighting up the overcast sky. The twinkle in his eyes matched the sequins on his gold shirt, it was pulled up, Elvis style.

  Grace looked sideways at Frankie, he was returning Sylvester’s smile as if it was meant just for him. She nudged him and hissed, “Poker-face!”

  Frankie tried to regain his composure but it was a struggle. He whispered to Grace, “He remembered me! When I went into the office to sign in, he remembered my name!”

  Grace snorted, “Well, you have become his number 1 fan, or stalker if you carry on like this.”

  Sylvester began to talk. “Good morning, folks! And what a beautiful day it is! Above those clouds the sun is shining brightly. Great day for an auction! Hello to our regulars, and our new bidders, you are more than welcome!”

  Sylvester turned his smile towards Grace and Frankie.

  Grace felt a thrill run down her back, she felt like she was being addressed by royalty. She gave herself a quick shake to get rid of the ridiculous feeling.

  Sylvester continued, “Most of you know the rules but I’ll say them again. You get 30 seconds to look in the room, absolutely no one must enter, not by a nose, not by a whisker. I’ll throw you out if you do! Whoever gets the highest bid wins the locker. Don’t forget that I’m the auctioneer, I get the final say, no arguments. As always, it’s cash only. No cheques, no skedaddling off to an ATM. And no payments in kind! I’m too old for that.”

  There were a few chuckles amongst the crowd.

  “Are we ready?” Sylvester called.

  “Yeah!” a cheer boomed out.

  It was Frankie.

  Grace sighed and looked at the ground. So much for a poker-face.

  The first locker was opened, the crowd made a line and moved forward.

  “Why are you smiling?” Frankie asked as they joined the line.

  Grace said, “I was just thinking how good the British are at queuing, look at everyone, patiently waiting their turn.”

  Frankie smiled back at her. “Are you having a good time, Grace? It’s good to see you smiling again.”

  He didn’t say any more but Grace knew he was thinking about her breakdown, the one she’d had following her parents’ death. She thought for a moment and said, “Yes, I do feel better. Now, let’s get our serious faces on. We’re professionals.”

  Frankie nodded. “We are, I just hope this first locker isn’t full of underwear like we saw on the telly last night.”

  They moved forward, Grace couldn’t make out the mutters of the people in front of her, were they interested in the locker or not?

  It was Frankie and Grace’s turn to look in the locker.

  G-strings and push up bras awaited them.

  Frankie and Grace burst out laughing.

  “So unprofessional,” said a voice behind them.

  Chapter 4

  They were soon shoved out of the way by the other buyers.

  Grace turned around to see who had insulted them. A big bear of a man looked down at them.

  “Big Bob!” Frankie called out. He grabbed the man’s hand and shook it vigorously.

  Grace smiled up at the man, it was lovely to see a friendly face, especially from someone who knew her father and had thought highly of him.

  Should she shake his hand too? Look professional?

  Big Bob had other ideas. He grabbed her in a bear hug, a big, warm bear hug. For a moment Grace melted into the hug. Oh, it would be great to have someone take care of her, to sort out her problems
.

  Big Bob released her and said, “You’re looking well, Grace, how are you?”

  “I’m feeling better,” Grace said truthfully. “How are you?”

  “Fine, I need to have a look at this locker, I’ll be right back.”

  He turned away from them.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” Grace asked her brother.

  Frankie grinned, “You fancy him.”

  “I do not! He’s much older than me, don’t be silly,” Grace retorted.

  Frankie smirked. “He definitely likes you, can’t you flirt with him? He’s got a good business going with these storage lockers, he knows a lot about them. He could be our back up plan if we lose the shop.”

  Grace’s mouth dropped open.

  Frankie went on. “Although, it might be better if you flirted with Sylvester Sylver, he could give us insider tips, let us know where the best lockers are.”

  “What? Are you serious? Do you really want me to...to...prostitute myself !”

  Frankie tutted. “Prostitute?” He looked Grace up and down. “You could never be a prostitute. I’m just asking you to be friendly, that’s all.”

  Grace’s hands curled into fists. Where should she hit him? His face? His arm?

  Big Bob returned. He nodded at the locker. “Rubbish, load of tat, not worth anything. Frankie, I know you want to do this on your own but would you like my help as we walk around? I could give you a sign to let you know when a good locker comes up.”

  Frankie stuck his chin out defiantly.

  Oh! He was going to get such a wallop if he said no! Grace’s fists tightened.

  Frankie caught her look and jumped a little. He recognised the rage in her face. He turned to Big Bob and said, “That would be great, thanks.”

  Grace slowly let her breath out, she took slow deep breaths until her anger dissolved. She concentrated on what Big Bob was saying.

  “If I see a locker that’s worth bidding on I’ll lift my thumb, like this,” he said. His hands were at his side, he moved his thumb slightly upwards. “Got it?”

  Frankie nodded seriously. “Got it.”