Charity Shop Haunted Mysteries

by Katherine Hayton

  Emily’s mouth dropped open in horror. “But… I…”

  “I wouldn’t worry, love,” Michael called from the window. “You think the gossip in a small town is bad, you don’t want to see what they get up to in here.” He rolled his eyes. “The rumours I’ve heard!”

  Thinking there was no time like the present, Emily escaped the room, Maude’s sad and hungry eyes following her. She walked through the centre of the retirement complex and past the nurse’s station where two women she’d never seen before were on duty.

  Gladys stood by the window and gestured for Emily to come and join her. When she gazed out through the glass, the lingering mist of light from Mr Wilmott’s exit was still floating near the side of the building.

  “I always said he’d meet up with her again, one day,” she said to Emily, taking her hand and squeezing it between both of hers. “He always shook his head, thinking he’d lost his chance, but I knew I was right.”

  “You were.” Emily stared across the grounds towards the oak tree. “I wonder if they’ll take that thing down, now.”

  “I dare say it’s already had its full of schoolboys,” Gladys said in a voice losing its tenuous hold on the present. “Grab the axe and chop it down. The headmaster should’ve kept going when he had the chance.”

  “If you’re a visitor, I hope you’ve signed in at reception,” a stern voice said from behind them.

  Emily jumped and turned, a thousand excuses ready on her lips. Then she saw who it was and relaxed. “Rebecca. I didn’t think I’d see you in here again.”

  “I’m not here in my official capacity,” the woman said, pulling up her trouser leg to reveal a monitoring bracelet with a steady red light. “But my community service overseer was kind enough to let this be one of the places I serve out my sentence.”

  Emily was taken aback. “I didn’t realise you’d already gone through the court system.”

  Rebecca laughed at her surprise. “Everything’s quicker when you plead guilty and agree to give evidence against those who don’t have the good sense to. I was held inside for a couple of nights, then fitted with this wee fella”—she flashed her ankle again—“and given a list of places I could serve my time.”

  “What good luck.” Emily shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “For you and for the residents here.”

  “It’s nice to be back here,” she agreed. “Except I keep getting asked for medication.”

  “I’ve got something for the people on this ward,” Emily said, opening up her bulging handbag and pulling out a stack of games. “These belonged to my parents and they just about played them ragged when I was younger. I hoped the residents here might find some use for them.”

  Rebecca took the boxes, sorting through the different titles with an occasional nostalgic sigh. “I’m sure they’ll love them. I’ll set a few of them up in the common room and see who takes a fancy.”

  Gladys followed Rebecca through into the room, clapping her hands in time to her steps. As Emily wound her way back through the corridors, she felt more confident about the thought of coming here in the future.

  Stoneybrook Acres would do her well enough.

  As she walked out through reception, Emily nodded goodbye to the young woman on duty, who looked flustered enough for it to be her first day.

  Halfway to the car, Michael caught up with her. “I didn’t want you to go without properly thanking you,” he said, rubbing a hand up the back of his neck. “That day up the tree, I was half-crazy. If you hadn’t talked me down…”

  “I hope you would’ve seen sense either way.” Emily folded her arms across her chest, feeling as though she was made of elbows and knees. “There’s a lot of people around here would’ve missed you.”

  “Yeah, I guess.” He paused for a second, then beamed his usual broad smile. “I’m glad to be sorted, with everyone calling me by my proper name. Another few months of that, and I swear I’d have forgotten who I was for real.”

  “I’m glad they’re not pressing charges.”

  “Oh, they still might.” Michael scrunched up his nose and scratched behind his ear. “I’m not sure what, exactly, but Sergeant Winchester warned me not to leave town.”

  “You mean, my boyfriend?”

  He burst into laughter and gave her a slap on the back. “Well, I hope not. Either way, come back soon, yeah? There’re not many folks in here who can keep up with me if you know what I mean.”

  Emily didn’t, but she was also too shy to ask. As she waved goodbye, her gaze travelled over the rough patches on the lawn, small green shoots beginning to sprout up already.

  Life kept trucking on, no matter what got thrown at it.

  “Get a move on,” she warned herself, turning the key and putting the car in reverse. “You’ll be here for good soon enough. Time to get out and live it up while you can.”

  Chapter One

  Emily Curtis plonked the last box of antiques on the trestle table and stepped back to dust off her hands. Each time she made the trip to the local auction house, she could swear it took more effort than the last.

  That’s because you’re getting old.

  She snorted at the thought. Getting? She’d already gotten. With one day to go until her fifty-third birthday, it mightn’t appear too large a number, but there were many times in the past year Emily hadn’t thought she’d make it this far.

  “Are you ready to tag the items?” a man called out from behind her.

  Emily whirled around, seeing yet another new face. Since the first auctioneer’s assistant had been let go of due to questionable accounting practices, every time she came here, the business had a new employee.

  “I can’t read or write, so hopefully you’ll be able to help me out with that part.”

  A faint blush spread across her collarbone, a far cry from what the same admission would have produced just a few months ago. Every time Emily said the words aloud, they became easier to say.

  “I’d be glad to,” the man said, his ruddy cheeks and wide smile matching the enthusiasm in his voice. He tapped the nametag on his chest, “I’m Sean and I’m up for anything, so long as I get to sit down for a few minutes. They run us ragged, around here.”

  The three other patrons going about their business belied his words, but Emily smiled in gratitude. “Thanks so much. Do you mind if I look around in the meantime? There’re a few more things on offer than I’m used to.”

  “Tell me about it.” He dragged a chair up to the table and sat with a heavy sigh. “The storage unit place out on Belvedere Avenue sold off the overdue rental spaces in bulk lots. I think at least half of it’s now come through here for resale.”

  Emily nodded though she hadn’t even known Pinetar had storage spaces for rent. “Won’t the folks who originally rented the spaces get upset if they see their possessions around town?”

  “Probably.” The man bent over the goods Emily had brought in for sale. “But they can hardly complain about losing something when they didn’t pay for it. I talked to the owner a while back and he said he doesn’t even consider it until the rent’s gone past three months overdue.”

  Although the explanation was reasonable, Emily’s heart broke a little as she began to search through the tagged goods ready for auction on Friday. When she searched for antiques among the boxes back at the charity shop, at least she knew the owners wanted them to go to a good cause.

  Still, she wouldn’t like to rent out space to someone and not be paid. To leave it so long was akin to stealing.

  The first box searched, Emily moved on to the next. Another seller walked through the door, staggering under the load of two stacked crates. She kept him in her peripheral vision until he made it to the nearest table, then breathed a sigh of relief on his behalf.

  A polished, stained piece of wood caught her eye and Emily tugged at a corner, thinking it might be a small picture frame. Instead, a chunky toy came free. Similar to a Rubik’s cube in shape but with some cubes poking out further
while others were sunken into the main.

  “That’s a puzzle,” a voice said behind her and Emily turned to see Sean standing there, her itemised list in his hand. “I don’t know if it’s European or Asian or what but some of us have given it a go without success.”

  Emily held it out, turning it back and forth in the sunlight to make the stained colours glow. “How do you know if you’ve completed it?”

  “The whole thing should open up, revealing a hidden design.” Sean took it out of her hand and pressed against one of the protruding edges, smiling as it sank inward, only for another piece on the top to pop out. “I don’t know what value it has in our twenty-four-hour entertainment world, but it’s beautifully made.”

  He handed it back and Emily cradled it to her chest, possessiveness arriving out of nowhere. “Do the symbols on it mean anything?”

  Sean shook his head. “Nah. Or, I should say, if they do, I’m not aware of it. We had an office girl check it out on the internet to see if it was a language or something. Turned out to be or something.”

  She laughed and slid her forefinger into one of the recesses. The wood was so smooth it felt closer to marble, and the shine spoke of many layers of lacquer or varnish.

  “How much is it worth?”

  Sean’s eyes narrowed, “Why? Are you thinking of bidding?”

  “Maybe.” Emily knew better than to show her actual level of interest. Despite the pang of loss it initiated, she replaced the puzzle into the box. “I’ve got a niece who likes that sort of thing.”

  The imaginary family member would be bitterly disappointed with the state of Emily’s bank account. She pulled out another item from the same container, jumping as a jack sprang out of the metal tin.

  “Ugh.” Sean shuddered. “I can’t stand the face painted on that thing. Please, put it away.”

  Although the sprung doll was a tad on the ugly side, it didn’t impart the same sense of disgust in Emily, but she folded it away and clicked down the lid. “Is this from a toy maker or something?”

  “Nothing so fancy,” Sean said, reading the card on the table. “This is from one of those abandoned storage units.” His frown deepened the longer he read. “Oh, that’s sad. I remember this young woman, she used to work in the herbal dispensary. She was killed in a car accident late last year.”

  Emily’s back jerked as though a shock of electricity had run through it. The blood drained from her face and a whine sounded deep inside her eardrum.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Just a dizzy spell.” Emily held her hand up as Sean reached for her arm. “Just give me a second and I’ll be fine.”

  He nodded and retreated a step, drumming his fingers on the table. “Can I call someone for you?”

  “No, it’s okay. I just get a bit lightheaded from time to time.” When his face still showed concern, Emily lied, “My blood sugar sometimes drops a bit low.”

  Sean’s face brightened. “There’s a vending machine in the lobby. If you need a top-up, they have chocolate bars or dried fruit.”

  “Is that my sales list?” Emily said, nodding to the clipboard in his hand.

  “Sure.” He sprung the bulldog clip and handed the top sheet across to her. “I’ve got everything listed on there. It’s a nice Wedgewood Dining Set.”

  Emily nodded and laughed. “It’s great if you don’t mind a few missing pieces.”

  “We get a lot of people through, hunting for one or two items to complete their set. I’m sure it’ll fetch a good price.”

  “Well, the battered woman’s shelter will appreciate it if it does.” Emily couldn’t resist turning to get a last look at the wooden puzzle box.

  Sean followed her gaze and gave a small chuckle. “It’ll be the third lot up for auction tomorrow if you want to come back then. If your niece is still interested, I doubt there’ll be too much competition.”

  “Maybe.” Emily chewed on her bottom lip for a second, creasing the fold of the paper in her hand. “Although, I don’t have a lot of money to spare on presents, unfortunately.”

  “This economy will be the death of us all,” Sean agreed with easy good humour. “But family’s the strongest bond we’ll ever have in our lives. Sometimes it’s worth splurging, just to bring a smile to a loved one’s face.”

  Emily thought of her only genuine family, a brother who had two years on her, very different from her invented niece. She wondered if he’d be more important to her if he’d had children—or she had, for that matter—then shook her head.

  No use wondering when there were real tasks to get done.

  She waved goodbye to Sean, who’d gone to help a new arrival, and forced herself to keep her eyes straight ahead, no matter how much they wanted to turn back and stare at the puzzle.

  “You’re being stupid and sentimental,” Emily whispered to herself as she sat and stared at the auction house door. “Better to turn around and get back to work, where you can do some good.”

  But she hadn’t stopped thinking about the puzzle box from the moment she’d set eyes on it. It had caught onto her mind more firmly than any Chinese finger trap.

  With a sigh, she gave in to the same urge that had carried her here and walked inside the hall. The neat rows of chairs laid out on the auction house floor only held a dozen people. Apart from a couple of men chatting down the back of the room, the place was deserted.

  That boded well for her item.

  Emily sat three rows back from the front, not wanting to appear too eager. She didn’t bother to check in the box to see if she still wanted the puzzle. It tugged at her soul like a fishhook, barbs holding it fast.

  “Watch it,” a young man called out as he pushed past the men at the back. The look of disgust he threw their way was only matched by the snarls they tossed back to him.

  He shook his hair, the lanky strands audibly whipping through the air. A lattice of tattoos ran up the man’s right arm, while the left had the silvery sheen of burn scars. Emily turned away as he glanced in her direction, not wanting to be caught staring. Not quick enough to escape a hazel-tinged glare.

  “Our next item is a wooden puzzle box dating back to the turn of the century.”

  Emily sat up straighter in her seat, a faint frown creasing her forehead as she wondered how they could date the item when they couldn’t even tell the country of origin. Not that it mattered to her. She just wanted to satisfy the urge in her fingertips to touch the smooth, wooden surface again.

  The bidding started at one hundred dollars, startling Emily. Sure, the intricate details and frictionless movement of the piece lent it value, but she’d expected something less than half the price.

  “One hundred,” the tattooed young man said, holding his paddle up for good measure.

  “One ten,” she called back, a tremor of excitement making her hands shake.

  “One twenty.”

  “One fifty.” Emily lowered the paddle and swallowed hard, a trickle of sweat rolling down the side of her forehead. It was her top bid. To go there so quickly was a risk, but she didn’t want to have the man lulled into the momentum of a gradual escalation.

  “One seventy-five.”

  Emily blinked. She stared at the paddle in her hand, her teeth clenched together so hard her jaw ached. There was no way she could afford that, let alone top it. The supermarket wouldn’t accept the excuse she needed a toy puzzle in lieu of payment.

  “Sold.”

  The dizziness from the day before swept through Emily’s head again, making her feel like it was spinning up towards the ceiling. The paddle clattered onto the floor as she gripped the edge of her chair, sweat bubbling up on her brow as she came close to fainting.

  Get a grip. It’s just a wooden puzzle. You can go into the Toy Warehouse and pick up something similar in balsa wood for five bucks!

  No. Not something similar.

  Emily had never seen anything as desirable.

  Chapter Two

  When the rush of disappointment ebbed a
way, Emily stood and walked to the exit. Her foot caught on the floorboards, the rubber sole hitting at an angle so she tripped.

  “Are you okay there?” a woman asked, jumping to her feet. She looked to be in her forties, only a decade below Emily’s own age.

  “I’m fine, thank you. All the excitement of auction just took me by surprise.”

  The woman’s brow furrowed in confusion, and she stared around the almost-empty hall as though she’d missed something important. “Yeah, sure.”

  “I might just rest for a second,” Emily said, taking a seat nearby. She didn’t know why she was still talking to the woman. The stranger didn’t really care.

  Another few early morning patrons filed into the hall, taking seats wherever they fancied. Emily closed her eyes and tried to swallow back her disappointment. If she couldn’t get control of herself, she wouldn’t be able to trust herself to reach the car. She’d be stuck inside all day.

  The remaining items in the lot were sold, one by one. As the next seller’s goods were brought up to the main stand, the winners began a slow shuffle towards the cashier’s desk.

  “Wait,” a voice cried out, sharp enough to split the air.

  Emily turned, holding onto the seat back as she strained for a better view.

  The cashier stood, her arm gripped tight onto the tattooed arm of the young man who’d won the bidding. “You can’t put it on layaway.” She pointed at the enormous sign that hung above her desk. “Rules of the auction, it’s only a valid bid if you can pay.”

  As the man jerked away, another person stepped forward. Over six feet tall and with shoulders so broad Emily wondered that he could fit through a door, he appeared to be a security guard in the employ of the auction house.

  The cashier stepped back and took her seat again, giving the enormous fellow a nod. She then turned to the next in line, a woman with her cash ready to hand over, her eyes wide at the unfolding scene.

  With a lunge, Emily got to her feet and shuffled along the side of the hall as fast as she could go. That still meant the queue of payers had dissipated by the time she reached the back table.