The Last Laugh: A Ghost Mystery Story (Second Hand Ghosts Book 3)

Chapter 1

I
walked into the shop, the shop that I was now part owner of.

“Good
morning, partner,” I smiled at Carol.

“You
can stop all that cheerful nonsense at once,” Carol glared at me. “We’ve got
work to do if we’re going to make this business a success.”

I
didn’t like the determined look on Carol’s face.

“Can
we discuss this over a cup of tea? I’ll make it,” I offered.

“Okay,
but don’t put too much milk in. You always make it too milky,” Carol said.

I
went into our little kitchen, put my bag and coat away in the cupboard, and put
the kettle on.

The
shop felt different now that I owned half of it. As lovely as it was I could
see that it needed updating.

I
made the tea and took it through to the shop area.

Carol
sipped hers, pulled a face and said, “It’s a bit better than your usual. Now,
let’s talk about the shop and what we’re going to do. First, the name. I think
we should change it. ‘Second Hand Rose’ is so old fashioned.”

I
banged my cup on the counter, “Absolutely not! The name stays the same. Rose
left us this shop and we are going to keep her name!”

“Okay,
no need to shout. Look at the mess you’ve made with your tea. You’re so clumsy,
Kate,” Carol tutted. She took a tissue out of her skirt pocket and mopped up my
mess.

“Sorry,”
I mumbled. “I agree that we need to make the shop more modern, but I don’t want
to get rid of everything that Rose built up. She put all her life and soul into
this shop.”

“I
know, but some of the items have been in here since I started work. Those old
tables and chairs, nobody wants them at such high prices. Should we have a
sale? Get rid of the old stuff and then we can get newer items in.”

I
narrowed my eyes at Carol. “What do you mean newer items? This is a second hand
shop. You’re not thinking of doing away with the business altogether are you?
You’re not planning on making it a cheap and cheerful kind of shop?”

Carol
frowned, “I don’t do cheap and cheerful. I just thought we could stock the sort
of items people are looking for. We can buy them from markets and auctions, you
can restore them, I can price them, and before you know it we’ll be making a
healthy profit.”

“Why
do I have to restore them? I know I helped Rose but I’ll never be as good as
her,” I said.

“I
thought you could do some of the restoring at home, for smaller items. Then you
could have more time with Emily after school and in the holidays,” Carol said.

“Oh!
That’s quite thoughtful of you,” I said.

“Don’t
sound so surprised! I can be thoughtful. Now, there’s an auction in Leeds
tomorrow. I thought I’d go and take a look. See if I can find some quality
items for the shop,” Carol said.

“I’ll
come with you. It’s Saturday, Emily can come with us,” I smiled.

Carol
shook her head, “You’ll only get in the way. I’ve got something else for you
and Emily to do.”

Carol
handed me a flyer. I read it.

“A
car boot sale? It starts at 5am!” I said.

Carol
nodded, “I thought mums of young children got up early. Make sure you’re there
at 5. You don’t want to miss the good stuff.”

“Why
can’t you go?” I asked.

“There’s
no point us both getting up early. Anyway I like having a lie in on a Saturday,”
Carol said, thoughtfully.

Chapter 2

Emily
woke me up at 4.30am the next morning.

“I’ve
made you a sandwich for breakfast. I don’t know how to make tea so I’ve got you
some milk,” Emily proudly shoved the breakfast towards me.

“Why
are you awake so early,” I muttered, trying to get my eyes to open properly.

“I’m
so excited about going to the car boots! I’ve got two pounds to spend. Can I
spend it on anything I want?” Emily said. She picked up one of my sandwiches
and began to eat it. “Will it be busy? Will there be lots of car boots for
sale?”

I
sat up and took the other sandwich before Emily did. Jam and cheese. Yum.

“People
don’t sell car boots, they bring things to sell in their car boots,” I
explained.

Emily
frowned, “Do we have to climb into the car boot to see what they’ve brought?”

I
smiled, “You’ll see when we get there. Eat your breakfast and then we’ll set off.
I don’t think it will be very busy.”

I
was wrong.

Even
though it was just getting light the field where the car boot sale was being
held was packed with cars and people. I held Emily’s hand tightly as we walked
past tables piled high with all sorts of things.

“I’ll
give you 50 pence,” a woman shouted nearby.

“Don’t
listen to her, I’ll give you 55 pence,” someone else shouted.

I
had a quick look at the tables but I couldn’t see anything that would be
suitable for our shop.

Emily
dragged me over to a table that had lots of children’s books on it. She was
soon picking books up and flicking through the pages.

I
looked around at the crowds, wondering what sort of people came to these sales.

Someone
caught my eye. A man at the other side of the field was staring at me. At
least, it felt like he was staring at me. He was wearing black sunglasses even
though the weather certainly didn’t warrant them. He had a black hat pulled
down low on his head. He looked so sinister that I’m surprised other people
didn’t stop and stare at him.

Emily
grabbed my head and pulled me down low. She whispered, “I’ve found a book that
I want. But I think you have to give the man behind the table a different
price.”

I
nodded and whispered back, “You have to haggle with him.”

Emily
faced the seller of the book.

He
held his hand out and said, “40 pence please.”

Emily
looked up at him and said, “I’ll give you 50 pence.”

“She
means 30 pence,” I quickly interrupted her.

The
man gave a little smile and said, “Okay, 30 pence it is.”

Emily
handed over her money and the man gave her the book. It was a joke book, with
500 jokes in it.

“That’s
a good book, I’ve read it myself,” a deep voice behind us said.

I
turned around. It was the man in the black hat and sunglasses.

Emily
proudly held the book up to show the man. “Shall I tell you a joke?” she asked.

“That
would be lovely,” the man said. Then he leaned closer to me and added quietly,
“What do you say, Kate?”

He
looked at me over the top of his sunglasses. I’d seen ghosts before and I could
tell immediately that he was a ghost too because dead eyes stared back at me.
Dead, cruel eyes that sent an icy shiver up my spine.

I
firmly took Emily’s hand and said, “We have to go.”

We
walked briskly out of the field. I could feel the ghost watching us.

Chapter 3

When
I got to work on Monday I was amazed to see the shop full of customers.

“What’s
going on?” I asked Carol.

“We’re
having a sale. It’s brought loads of people in. I’ve finally got rid of that
disgusting Victorian table,” she smiled. “Don’t just stand there, take your
coat off and get over to the till. Someone’s waiting to buy that hideous
umbrella stand.”

I
quickly put my coat and bag away. I didn’t know how much Carol had reduced the
items by but it was working. We didn’t stop all morning.

It
finally got quiet at lunch time.

Carol
smiled as she added up the money in the till.

“We’ve
sold a lot. The shop already looks emptier,” I noticed.

“Good,
because I’ve got more stock coming in this week. How did you get on at the car
boot sale?” she asked.

“Not
very well. Emily got a joke book. I can tell you some jokes if you like,” I
offered.

“Jokes
are for simple minded people,” Carol informed me and she carried on counting
the till money.

I
saw something near the door, a brown cardboard box. I walked over and opened it
up. It was full of practical jokes.

“Has
this always been here?” I called out to Carol.

She
looked over, “I’ve never seen it before. I bet somebody’s sneaked in here when
we were busy and left this junk! I’m going to put a big sign in the window that
says we’re not a charity shop!”

“I’ll
sort it out. I think Emily might like some of these jokes,” I said. I took a
closer look, “Actually, there’s some old stuff in here and it looks in good
condition. We could have an area of the shop where we sell cheaper items,
couldn’t we?”

Carol
thought for a moment and then said, “We could try it, see if we make any
money.”

I
picked the bow up and put it under the counter.

Carol
sat down next to the till.

She
made a rude noise.

“Pardon
you!” I laughed.

Carol
looked horrified, “That wasn’t me!”

She
stood up and removed a whoopee cushion from the chair.

“Did
you put that there? Have you just got it out of that box?” she accused me.

I
shook my head, trying not to laugh.

Carol
flung the cushion onto the counter and carefully sat down. She picked up a pen.

She
screamed, “What on earth! That pen gave me an electric shock! What are you
playing at, Kate? This isn’t funny.”

I
stopped smiling, “It isn’t me playing jokes on you. There’s a ghost behind
you.”

Carol
jumped to her feet. “Oh no! Don’t you start on about ghosts again. I’ve told
you I don’t want anything to do with them. If you have to talk to them you can
do it without me! I’m off to get some lunch.”

Carol
grabbed her things and practically ran out of the shop.

Leaving
me alone with a ghost.

Chapter 4

The
ghost was a teenage boy, he looked about 18 or 19. He had annoying floppy hair
that covered half his face. It made my hand itch for a pair of scissors.

The
boy laughed, “That was hilarious! Did you see her face!”

“I
take it that was you playing tricks on Carol?” I asked.

He
laughed again, “I love playing tricks on people. Is that my box of tricks that
you put under the counter?”

I
took the box out and put it on top of the counter. The boy looked inside.

His
eyes widened, “That is my stuff! What are you doing with them? Did you pinch
them?”

“No,
I didn’t pinch them,” I said indignantly. “Somebody brought them in. I didn’t
see who it was because the shop was busy.

The
boy shook his head, “ I don’t believe it. This box should be at my house, in my
room. There’s only me and Mum at home and she’d never give my things away. I’ve
been collecting them for years.”

“Your
mum might have brought them in because you ...” I didn’t know how to carry on.

The
boy looked at me strangely, “Because I what? What are you trying to say?”

I
cleared my throat, it suddenly felt dry. I stood up straighter and said, “Your
mum might have brought them in because you died.”

The
boy suddenly crumpled and fell to the floor. I quickly sat down next to him. I
automatically put my hand on his shoulder but all I felt was cold air.

He
looked up at me, his chin trembled, “What do you mean? You said I died. Am I
dead?”

I
nodded slowly, “I’m afraid so. Didn’t you know?”

The
boy leapt to his feet and let out a great big belly laugh, “Of course I knew! I
remember dying and I remember my funeral. You should see your face!”

The
boy carried on laughing. I stood up and glared at him.

“Your
mum must have brought your things in, and she must have had a reason for doing
it,” I told him.

The
boy stopped laughing. He pushed his long hair to one side, it immediately
flopped back.

“Why
would she do that? Why would she get rid of my things? What have I done wrong?”

The
boy looked so sad and young that I felt sorry for him.

“I
might be able to help you,” I offered. “I’ve helped other ghosts. I’m Kate, by
the way.”

The
boy gave me a little smile and said, “I’m Jake. Could you talk to my mum? See
why she gave my things away.”

“I’ll
try. Give me your address and I’ll go and see her soon,” I said.

Jake
gave me the address and said, “Can I come with you? My mum’s a bit of a religious
freak and if you tell her you can see ghosts she’ll probably throw a bible at
you.”

I
sighed. I’d already offered to help Jake, I couldn’t back out now.