#1Second Hand Ghosts - The Final Bet (A Paranormal Mystery) (2 page)

“Well, I can’t do it any more can I?” Rose said. “Please say you’ll help, Kate. There’s no one else I can ask.”

“I’m still not sure. What if a ghost hurts Emily?” I asked.

Rose explained, “Emily has got a sort of protective bubble around her, she won’t get hurt.”

“And what about me, do I have a protective bubble?” I wondered.

“No, but I’m sure you’ll be fine,” Rose smiled.

Just then, Emily came running into the room, her arms full of toys.

“Look at what I’ve found!” Emily threw the toys on the floor. “Where’s Rose gone?”

I looked to my side and saw that Rose had disappeared.

I felt a bit relieved. I wasn’t sure that I liked talking to ghost Rose.

But then I felt a cold draft next to my ear and Rose whispered, “Go to the shop tomorrow, there’s a ghost customer waiting for you.”

Chapter 7

Before I went to bed I explained to Emily about Rose being dead.

“Does that mean I’ve seen a ghost?” she asked.

I nodded.

Emily grinned, “I hope I see some more!”

She was sleep within two minutes.

I had a sleepless night, thinking about Rose, the dead version and the un dead version. I also felt a bit like Ebenezer Scrooge, just after being told that ghosts are going to visit him during the night.

In the morning I dropped Emily, and a bag of shapes, at school. I parked near the shop. As I walked closer I noticed a handwritten sign in the window that said ‘Shop closed due to bereavement’. Carol must have done that. I used my spare key to open the door. The lights were on and Carol was standing behind the counter looking down at something.

“I didn’t expect to see you today,” Carol said.

“I didn’t expect to see you either. Shall I put the kettle on?” I offered.

“Yes. I was just looking at the rings that the old woman brought in yesterday. They look quite valuable. I think I’ll have to get a proper valuation,” Carol held the rings out for me to look at.

I looked at the rings, they were beautiful. There was a gold wedding band and an engagement ring set with a heart shaped red stone.

“I suppose we should have a chat about the shop and what we’re going to do with it,” I said.

Carol nodded, “We should carry on as normally as we can do for now.”

She locked the rings in the safe beneath the counter. “Well, are you putting the kettle on or not?”

I went into the back of the shop and over to our little kitchen area. I looked from left to right as I put the kettle on. I was expecting a ghost to jump out at me. Every time I heard a noise I jumped out of my skin. By the time I took the cups of tea into the shop my hands were shaking.

Carol noticed, “What’s wrong with you? Have you got a hangover?”

“No I haven’t got a hangover!” I told Carol. I put the cups shakily on the counter.

“Well, watch what you’re doing with that tea, you’re spilling it everywhere,” Carol took a tissue from her cardigan pocket and began to mop up the mess that I’d made.

I decided to confide in Carol.

“You’ve worked here a long time. Did you notice anything strange about Rose?” I asked.

“Rose was a very strange person, what my mum used to call Bohemian. Can you be more specific?” Carol said. She slurped her tea, “Too much milk.”

“What I meant was, did Rose ever talk to you about ghosts?” I asked hopefully.

Carol banged her cup down onto the counter. “Don’t you talk to me about ghosts! Rose had that nonsense in her head and tried to talk to me about it. I don’t want you to be the same! There is no such thing as ghosts.”

“Then how do you explain this?” I said and I held up my left hand. The rings that had just been locked in the safe were now on my wedding ring finger.

Carol spluttered, “What are you playing at? How did you get those? Give them back to me.”

“They’d just appeared on my hand,” I explained.

I took the rings of and handed them back to Carol. She gave me a funny look and then locked the rings back in the safe.

I held up my hand. The rings were there again. I was starting to feel frightened.

Carol gasped, “What on earth is going on?”

“I think we have a ghost in the shop,” I replied.

Chapter 8

“Oh no! I’m not having this! You can deal with any dead people. I don’t want anything to do with it!” Carol announced. She grabbed her bag and coat and almost ran out of the shop.

I took the rings off my finger and locked them in the safe. Again.

I was alone in the shop.

 Or so I thought.

 My scalp felt prickly and goose bumps appeared on my arms. I felt like someone, or something, was standing behind me. I was too much of a wuss to turn around.

“Don’t be scared, lass,” a quiet voice said. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

I slowly turned around. What if the person behind me had died in a horrible accident and was all messed up?

I faced the ghost.

He was an old man in a navy cardigan.

“Hello,” he smiled at me.

“You’re not scary at all,” I sighed.

“I’m as handsome in death as I was in real life. Name’s Frank, by the way.”

He held his hand out, then laughed and put it away. “You won’t want to be shaking my hand, you don’t know where I’ve been!”

I took a step closer to Frank. He didn’t look like he was dead. But then I noticed his eyes. Instead of being shiny and twinkly, they looked...well, dead. No life in them.

“I’m Kate. Do you need my help? I’ve never helped a ghost before.”

“I’ve never been dead before!” Frank chuckled. “Yes, I do need your help. Please.”

“Is it something to do with that elderly lady who came in?” I asked.

Frank nodded. “That was Peggy, my wife. Or widow I suppose now. Those rings she brought in?”

“The wedding ring and heart shaped one?” I said.

“Yes, those are her most treasured things. The moment I met her, fifty years ago, I fell in love with her. I knew I wanted to marry her so I put some money by each month so I could buy her the best rings I could find,” Frank said.

I smiled, “That’s quite romantic.”

“Aye, I’m romantic and handsome,” Frank winked at me. “But Peggy kept saying no when I asked her out. It took me two years of asking before she said yes, and then another two before she agreed to marry me. I had plenty of money to spend on rings by then. You should have seen her face when I showed her that heart shaped engagement ring. I’d seen her looking at it every time we went past the jeweller’s.”

I was confused. “Then why has she brought them to us? We’re a second hand shop. Why would she want to sell them?”

Frank frowned. “That’s what I don’t understand. Does it mean that she never loved me? That she couldn’t wait to get rid of her rings? I can’t bear the thought of Peggy not ever loving me. I thought we were happy together.”

“What do you want me to do?” I asked.

“Will you go and see her? Ask her why she’s selling her rings? Ask her if she ever loved me?” Frank pleaded.

I thought back to seeing Peggy the previous day.

“She’s got a bit of a temper,” I said to Frank.

“She has! She’s a right fire cracker. She might shout at you but I don’t think she’ll hit you,” Frank gave a little smile.

“When do you want me to go and see Peggy,” I asked faintly.

“Now will be good. I’ll come with you,” Frank said.

I fetched my bag and coat. It looked like I was helping my first ghost, whether I wanted to or not.

Chapter 9

Frank sat next to me in the car and gave me directions to his and Peggy’s home.

There was no easy way to say what I wanted to so I just blurted out, “How long have you been dead and what did you die of?”

“I’ve never been asked that before,” Frank smiled. “I’m not sure how long I’ve been dead but I think I had some sort of shock. My heart just stopped for some reason. I bet you’re glad I wasn’t hit by a bus and had my face all squashed!”

“I never thought such a thing,” I said. “Are we nearly there?”

Frank directed us to a road full of neat bungalows. We stopped outside number 63. When I walked up the path I noticed the flower beds were well looked after. Frank was right behind me.

I took a deep breath and knocked on the front door.

“Just a minute,” a voice called from inside. I could see a shape moving closer through the frosted glass of the door.

The door opened. Peggy looked up at me. She frowned.

“Don’t I know you from somewhere?” she said.

“I work at Second Hand Rose. You came in yesterday,” I said.

Peggy smiled, “Oh, yes. Have you got a valuation for me already? Have you brought me some money? That was quick.”

“No, I’m sorry. I’m not dealing with the sale of your rings,” I said. I put my hands in my pockets and looked at the ground.

“Spit it out. What do you want?” Peggy said, her voice rising.

“I don’t know how to say this but I’ve seen your husband, Frank. Since he died,” I muttered to the door step. I glanced at Peggy. Her lips were pressed tightly together.

I carried on, “I didn’t know I could see ghosts but apparently now I can. And your Frank asked me, to ask you, why you want to sell your rings.”

Peggy folded her arms and said, “That’s my business.”

“Frank wants to know if you ever loved him,” I said.

Peggy’s eyes immediately began to water, “Of course I loved him! He was my life. But I don’t think he ever loved me. How could he? After what he did?”

I looked behind me. Frank had gone.

“What did he do?” I asked.

Tears began to roll down Peggy’s cheeks. I handed her a tissue from my pocket. Thankfully, it was a clean tissue.

Peggy took the tissue and began to cry louder. I’m no good with crying people, I always want to join in with them.

“How could he do that to me! I thought he loved me!” Peggy wailed.

I moved forward and put my hand on Peggy’s arm. I quickly wiped a tear from my own eye.

“Shall we go inside? I’ll make us some tea and you can tell me what Frank has done.”

Chapter 10

Inside Peggy’s spotless kitchen I found all I needed to make a pot of tea. Peggy had stopped crying by the time I put the tea cup in front of her. I sat down opposite her at the lace covered kitchen table.

I listened as she told me about her and Frank, and how they’d first met.

“I knew I liked him the second I saw him, but I didn’t want to seem keen. He kept pestering me for years to go out with him!” Peggy’s eyes twinkled. “And when I said I’d marry him he gave me that amazing engagement ring. I’d been looking at it for such a long time in the jeweller’s shop window. I thought Frank had pinched it at first!”

“So why do you want to sell your rings, if they mean so much to you?” I asked.

Peggy gave such a big sigh of sadness that it sounded as if it was coming from her toes.

“To pay off gambling debts,” she admitted.

“Yours?” I was surprised. She didn’t look like a gambler. But there again, what do gamblers look like?

Peggy shook her head, “Frank’s debts. He’d been secretly gambling for years. I only found out about it after he died. I’ve had horrible letters and nasty phone calls from people saying that I have to pay off his debts. It’s thousands of pounds! I don’t have that sort of money.”

“So that’s why you’re selling your rings,” I said.

Peggy sniffed, “I don’t want to but they’re the most valuable things I own. I don’t think they’ll cover all the debts though. Why do you think he gambled? Why didn’t he ask me for help if he had all those debts?”

“I’ve no idea. If I see him again I’ll be sure to ask him,” I said. I was quite annoyed with Frank for not telling me about the debts.

“Did you really see him? What did he look like?” Peggy asked.

“He was wearing a navy cardigan,” I answered. I didn’t mention the dead looking eyes or that he seemed quite cheerful.

Peggy smiled, “I do love him but I’m still furious with him. The last thing I want to do is sell my lovely rings. But I’ve got to do something, those people who keep phoning are getting even nastier. It makes me feel so ...grubby.”

I decided that I must do something to help Peggy. I wasn’t sure what yet.

“Have you got anything else you could sell? We buy and sell all sorts of things at the shop,” I suggested.

Peggy stood up, “I was just sorting through some things of Frank’s. There might be something in there, might there?”

She looked so hopeful that I nodded vigorously and said, “I’m sure there will be.”

I followed Peggy to the bedroom where I saw four boxes already piled high with things. My heart sank as I could see that most of it was junk. I took the boxes to my car and put them in the boot. I looked at my watch. It was nearly time to pick Emily up. I wouldn’t have time to take the boxes to the shop.

I said goodbye to Peggy and told her I would search for treasure in the boxes.

“I’ll let you know what I find,” I smiled as I got ready to walk away.

Peggy touched my arm and said, “Thank you, you’ve helped me just by listening to me.”

I walked quickly to my car and drove away. Within 2 seconds I was crying again. I was turning into a human waterfall.

I really hoped I would be able to help Peggy.

Chapter 11

I picked Emily up from school. She was her usual chatty self. On the drive home I kept looking in my rear view mirror, expecting to see a pair of dead eyes looking at me. But Frank didn’t appear.

When we got home Emily stopped talking so much. She didn’t say a lot through tea and the rest of the evening. I asked her what was wrong.

“I don’t know, I feel sad and I don’t know why,” she said.

When I tucked her into bed she looked up at me and said, “I think I’m sad because that man is sad.”

“What man?” I asked.

“That grey looking man downstairs, on the settee. I think he’s a ghost like Rose,” Emily said.

I hoped the ghost downstairs was Frank. I didn’t want anymore ghosts turning up.