by Adele Abbott
“I won’t say a thing. And look, if he keeps bothering you, let me know, and I’ll put him straight.”
“Thanks, Jill. Anyway, I suppose I’d better get going.”
As soon as I’d finished my tea and muffin, the twins were standing by my table.
“Are you ready, Jill?”
“It looks like you two are.”
“We’re really excited about choosing the fish tank.”
“Have you taken measurements?”
“Yeah. We’ve got all the info we need. Come on, let’s get going.”
“Where are we going, anyway?”
“Everything Aquatic.”
***
“Good afternoon, ladies.” The man behind the counter greeted us with a smile, and a flourish of the hand. “I’m Bill Fishman, the owner. What can I do for you today?”
“Fishman? You don’t by any chance know the owner of Everything Rodent, do you?”
“I don’t think so.”
“You’ll never believe this. He owns Everything Rodent, and his name is Bill Ratman. And you own Everything Aquatic, and your name is Bill Fishman.”
“So?” He shrugged.
“Surely, you see the coincidence?”
“You mean because we’re both called Bill? It’s a pretty common name.”
“No, not that. I mean—”
“Jill! You’re embarrassing us.” Amber glared at me. “Stop harassing the man.”
“We need a large tank to put in our tea room,” Amber said. “My sister and I own Cuppy C.”
“I know it well. Your cupcakes are to die for.”
That brought a smile to the twins’ faces.
He continued, “The large tanks are down at the far end of the shop. Feel free to browse, and give me a shout if you have any questions.”
“Look at these!” Amber’s face lit up when she spotted the giant tanks.
“I think you want the ones over there.” I pointed to some slightly smaller ones to our right.
“No, these look perfect.” Pearl joined her sister.
“Are you sure? They’re huge. You’d better check the dimensions.”
Amber had at least had the foresight to bring a tape measure with her. She held one end while Pearl walked to the far side of the tank. “Ninety.”
“That should be okay.”
“Are you sure?” I said. “It looks awfully big.”
“Positive. Let’s just check the width.” Pearl took the other end of the tape again. “Fifty-five.”
“Perfect.” Amber gave the thumbs up.
I stood back and took a long look at the tank. I just couldn’t see how it would possibly fit inside the shop. “Are you sure those dimensions are correct?”
“Absolutely. They’ve been checked and double-checked.”
Just then, Bill Fishman came over to join us. “Seen anything you like?”
“We’ll take this one.” Pearl tapped the glass.
“The Supreme? An excellent choice if I might say so. That will give your customers something to talk about.”
“It’s very big,” I said, but by now, no one was listening.
Chapter 20
Something about the Lolly Jolly situation didn’t ring true. On the one hand, Lolly insisted that her boyfriend had continued to stalk her, but on the other, Winky’s posse said he’d been nowhere near her. They couldn’t both be right. If it had been just Winky following the boyfriend, I might have had my doubts. That cat was easily distracted. But it had been his whole gang; they surely couldn’t all have got it wrong, could they?
Although I hadn’t told Lolly of my intentions, it seemed pointless to waste time following the boyfriend any longer. If he really was stalking her, then I needed to put a stop to it. A quick word in his shell-like ought to do the trick.
He was living in a bedsit in Westcliff House. From the outside, the place looked run-down; inside it was ten times worse. The lift was out of commission, and if the dog-eared notice taped to the door was anything to go by, it had been for a long time. Several of the lights on the stairs were out, and many of the windows were boarded up. Inevitably, he lived on the ninth floor, so by the time I reached his door, I was pretty much gasping for air.
I pressed the doorbell, and to my surprise, it actually worked.
“Yes?” The young man who answered the door was wearing jeans, and a string vest.
“Nick Long?” I managed to say, in between wheezes.
“Yes?”
“I’d like to ask you a few questions.”
“Who are you? What’s this all about? If it’s to do with the rent, I’ll have it next Friday.”
“I’m not here about the rent. I wanted to talk to you about Lolly Jolly.”
“That psycho? Are you a friend of hers?”
“Yes—err—no—I’m a private investigator.”
“I don’t want anything to do with her. Does she know where I live?”
This was not the response I’d been expecting.
“Do you think I could get a drink of water?” My throat felt like it was on fire.
“Sure. You’d better come inside.”
To my surprise, the rooms were tidy. Dirty and grubby, but very tidy.
“Thanks.” I took a drink. “How long has the lift been out?”
“Ever since I’ve been here. You said you wanted to talk about Lolly?”
“I believe you are—err—were her boyfriend?”
“We went out for a short time. No more than a month. That’s all.”
“How did you meet?”
“It was one of those dating apps. I noticed her home town was Washbridge. I was born here too, so I thought we’d at least have something in common to talk about. Biggest mistake of my life.”
“It didn’t work out, then?”
“I knew after the first date that I’d made a mistake, but I couldn’t shake her. She drove me crazy with her antics, and she was always singing stupid songs. And of course, she never had any money. Every time we went out, she’d either forgotten or lost her purse. In the end, I couldn’t stand it any longer, so I told her it was over.”
“And that was it?”
“I wish. She wouldn’t take no for an answer. She phoned and texted me non-stop. She’d turn up at my place of work, and at my flat at all hours of the day. She used to follow me everywhere. In the end, I couldn’t take any more, so I moved back here. But then, the other day I saw her in Washbridge. She must have followed me. Look, if you’re her friend, won’t you please tell her to leave me alone.”
Instinctively, I knew he wasn’t lying. Lolly had wanted me to follow him not to check if he was stalking her, but to gather as much information about his movements as possible. She’d used me.
“Thanks for the drink. I’m sorry to have bothered you.”
“What are you going to tell Lolly?”
“Do you still have friends in London? Is there anywhere you could stay down there?”
“Yeah, a few. I never really wanted to leave.”
“Good. Pack a bag, and get the next train down there.”
“But she’ll just follow me again.”
“No, she won’t. I’ll see to that.”
***
As I walked back along the high street, I was still trying to get my head around what Lolly had done. She’d lied in order to get me to follow her poor ex, who was desperate to escape her clutches. That young lady deserved everything that was coming to her.
Suddenly, my attention was caught by some kind of altercation outside Betty’s shop, She Sells. Being the civic-minded individual that I was, and definitely not because I was just nosey, I decided to find out what was going on.
Rolling around on the ground, fighting, were two young men. I recognised the one in the scruffy leather jacket; it was Betty’s new boyfriend, Sid. I didn’t recognise the smartly dressed young man who seemed to be getting the worst of the encounter. Looking on, was a photographer, and a woman holding a notepad and pen.
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“Jill! You have to stop them.” Betty appeared at my side.
“What’s going on?”
“Do you remember I told you that I was going to hire a male escort to do the profile for Crustacean Monthly?”
“Is that him?” I pointed to the guy on the ground with Sid.
“Yes, that’s Tarquin. We were just about to get our photo taken when Sid turned up. Can’t you do something?”
It was obvious that no one else was going to step in, so if I didn’t intervene, Tarquin would probably need a trip to A&E. I cast the ‘power’ spell, grabbed hold of Sid’s leather jacket, and pulled him off Tarquin.
“Let me go!” Sid flailed around, but he was never going to escape my grip.
“Tarquin! Get out of here!”
Tarquin didn’t need telling twice. He was on his feet, and legging it down the street within seconds. Only when he was out of sight, did I release Sid.
“What’s going on?” The reporter looked more than a little puzzled.
“Just a mix-up,” I said. “This is Betty’s boyfriend. Why don’t you go ahead and take your photos?” I pushed Sid towards Betty who scowled at me.
“Smile for the camera, Betty,” I said, and then went on my way. But not before making a mental note to look out for the next edition of Crustacean Monthly. That was one profile I couldn’t wait to see.
I’d been so distracted by the goings on outside She Sells that I hadn’t noticed the long queue on the opposite side of the street. It was only when I spotted Mrs V and Armi that I realised they must be queuing for the Ever ballroom, which was due to open at five pm. I walked over to have a word with them.
“You two are going to have a long wait.”
“It will be worth it, won’t it Armi?” she said.
“Most certainly.”
“Aren’t you and Jack coming?”
“I wanted to, but Jack had to work. Maybe another night. Have fun you two.”
***
I didn’t want to get home too early because I was worried Jack might decide we should go to the ballroom.
“Jill?” Kathy had a potato peeler in her hand when she came to the door. “Was I expecting you?”
“No, but I didn’t think I needed an appointment.”
“Come in. I’m just in the middle of peeling the spuds. You can help, if you like?”
“That would be fun, but I was hoping to have a word with Lizzie.”
“She’s upstairs.”
“How’s she doing?”
“She’s still rather quiet. I’ve asked her several times what the problem is, but she says there’s nothing wrong.”
“This might cheer her up.” I took the beanie ghost out of my bag.
“You bought that for her?”
“Don’t sound so shocked. I am her auntie.”
“Why don’t you take it up to her? Hopefully that will do the trick.”
I knocked on Lizzie’s bedroom door, and popped my head inside. “Can I come in?”
Lizzie was sitting on the bed, reading a book. “Yeah.”
“Are you still feeling glum?”
“Caroline still hasn’t come back.”
“I have good news about that.”
“You do?” Her face lit up. “What?”
“I’ve spoken to Caroline. She’s had the flu, but she’s feeling much better now. She should be back within a few days.”
“Are you sure about that, or are you just saying that to make me feel better?”
“No, I promise.” I brought the beanie from behind my back. “She asked me to give you this.”
“Caroline sent it for me?” Lizzie grabbed the beanie, and then jumped down from the bed, and ran out of the room. When I caught up with her, she was showing her new toy to her mum.
“Lizzie tells me Caroline sent it for her?”
“That’s right.” I winked at Kathy who had just finished peeling the spuds. Shame. I was just about to offer to help.
“What’s all the noise?” I looked out the kitchen window. Normally this neighbourhood was very quiet, but I could hear loud music coming from somewhere close by.
“It’s next door but one.”
“Isn’t that the elderly couple?”
“Yes. The Connellys are as good as gold usually; we never hear a peep from them. They’ve gone away on holiday, and it looks as though they’ve let their house while they’re away. Two young couples moved in yesterday, and it’s been non-stop music ever since then.”
“I’m surprised they would trust their house to strangers?”
“Me too. They’re both very house-proud. I reckon the place will be wrecked by the time they come back. Still, they’ve only themselves to blame. They must have figured they could make a little extra cash.”
“Do they have a cat, by any chance?”
“Yeah. A big black thing. I think its name is Oscar or something like that. Why?”
“No reason.”
Hmm? I was beginning to smell a cat.
***
Stewey Dewey looked just as bad as the last time I’d seen him.
“You again?” He tried to close the door, but I wedged my foot in the gap.
“I just need a few minutes of your time.”
“I don’t want to talk about the fire again. I’ve said all I have to say.”
“Please. This won’t take long, and then I promise you’ll never see me again.”
He hesitated, but then stepped aside to let me in. The exterior of the house was bad enough, but it was nothing compared to the interior. He led the way through to what had probably once been the lounge, but which now resembled a tip. If there was any furniture in the room, it had long since been buried under rubbish. The smell made me want to retch.
“What do you want?”
“When I was here before, I got the impression that you’ve never really got over the fire?”
“You think?”
“You seem to blame yourself for Harry and Larry’s deaths.”
“I should have got them out. I could hear them shouting for help.” He hesitated. “I still can.”
“Would it help you to know that they don’t blame you?”
“Is that what you came here for?” He scoffed. “To tell me it wasn’t my fault? Don’t you think I’ve tried to tell myself that a million times? It doesn’t help.”
“What if they were to tell you?”
“Who are they?”
“Harry and Larry.”
“Okay, crazy lady, that’s enough. I’d like you to leave.”
“Just hear me out, please. I know this might sound a little weird, but I’m actually a psychic. I’m able to talk to ghosts.”
“Of course you are. It’s time for you to go now.”
“I understand why you would be sceptical, but what do you have to lose? Is there anything I could do that could make you feel any worse than you already do?”
He shook his head.
“Okay. I’m going to need you to do something for me.”
“What now?” he snapped.
“I want you to think of Harry and Larry. Close your eyes so you can picture them.”
“This is crazy.”
“Please. Humour me.”
He sighed, but shut his eyes anyway.
“Can you picture them?”
“It isn’t difficult. I see their faces every day.”
“Good. Now, I need you to invite them here.”
“Do what?” He opened his eyes.
“Please. Just close your eyes, and invite them here.”
“I invite you here,” he said, with zero conviction.
“You don’t have to say it out loud. You just need to think it, and more importantly, you have to mean it with all of your heart. Can you do that?”
“Okay, okay.”
Nothing happened.
“You aren’t trying hard enough. You have to believe. You have to mean it.”
“Alright.” His expression changed, and I coul
d see the concentration etched on his face.
“That’s it. Keep thinking those thoughts.”
Just then, Harry and Larry appeared in the room. They both gave me a thumb’s up.
“I’ve had enough of this.” He opened his eyes, saw the two men, and took several steps backwards. “No! This can’t be. I must be dreaming.”
“This isn’t a dream, Stewey,” Harry said.
“It really is us.” Larry smiled. “We have a lot to talk about.”
“I think I’ll leave you gentlemen to it.” I started for the door.
Chapter 21
The next morning when I got to the office, Mrs V was singing. At least I think that’s what the noise coming out of her mouth was.
What? Who are you calling cruel? You’d feel the same if you’d been forced to endure it.
“Good morning, Jill.”
“You sound full of the joys of spring.”
“Armi and I had such a wonderful evening at Ever.”
“I take it the ballroom was a success?”
“It’s fabulous. I’d expected recorded music, but your grandmother has a resident band down there.”
“Is there enough room for one?”
“Plenty. It’s strange. When we first got there, I didn’t think the room would be big enough to accommodate everyone, but as the evening wore on, and more people arrived, the room seemed to get bigger.” She laughed. “I know that must sound crazy.”
Oh boy. That didn’t sound crazy, but it did sound remarkably like magic to me.
“It looks like Grandma is onto another winner, then?”
“I reckon so. I heard lots of people say how much they’d enjoyed it, and that they intended to become regulars. When are you and Jack thinking of going?”
“As soon as I can talk him into it. There’s something I wanted to ask you, Mrs V. I’m working on a case at the moment where I could do with your help.”
“Ooh, how exciting! Do you want me to follow someone? I could wear a disguise.”
“No, nothing like that. I need you to buy a garden gnome.”
“A gnome?” She screwed up her face. “I hate those things.”
“Me too, but I’m trying to catch a thief who’s bringing loads of stolen goods into this world.”
