Free Tick Tock (Storage Ghosts) by Gillian Larkin Page B

that, he’ll hear
you.”
    “You
could do much worse. In fact, you have! Can you manage those steps or shall I
give you a push?”
    Grace
glared at him. “Lay one finger on my behind and I’ll wallop you. I can manage.”
    She
clambered into the huge cab of the truck and shuffled along the seat. She
looked through the window. “Blimey, I feel like I’m sitting on top of a bus.”
She had a quick look up and down the street. She’d had a feeling recently that
someone was following her.
    Big
Bob said, “Are we ready?”
    Frankie
climbed in and slammed the door. “Ready.”
    Grace
shot a glance at the shop. She should really have nipped to the toilet before
they set off. Never mind, she could wait.
    With
a roar like thunder the enormous truck was powered up. They pulled slowly into
the traffic.
    “How
long will it take us to get there?” Grace asked.
    “Maybe
a couple of hours,” Frankie said. He gave her a secret wink and added, “You can
tell Big Bob all about your latest find. I think I’ll have a nap.” He gave an
exaggerated yawn and closed his eyes.
    Grace’s
eyes shot heavenwards as they often did when Frankie was around.
    Big
Bob appeared not to have noticed anything, he was concentrating on the road
ahead. Grace swiftly studied his profile. He was a handsome man, if you liked
men that looked like grizzly bears. He was much older than her and she had no
feelings, other than friendship, for him. The fact that he knew her dad when he
was alive made him even more of a friend. Perhaps she could get him to talk
about her dad on this journey?
    That
would be lovely but would she be able to listen without crying?
    Big
Bob interrupted her thoughts. “So, tell me all about these photos that you found.
Frankie said they belonged to some famous photographer, is that true?”
    “It
is.” Grace told him about discovering an undeveloped film in a camera bag that
they’d found in a storage locker. She had them developed and found out that
they belonged to the famous Clive T Arthur. She’d sold the photographs to a
gallery for £10,000. The money was safely in her bank. She quickly looked at
Frankie’s bulging top pocket. She hoped the money was still in her bank.
    Big
Bob nodded as he listened to the story. “You’ve got a real knack for finding
the best lockers. I still can’t get over the gold coins that you found in your
first locker.”
    “I
must be lucky,” Grace said with a small shrug.
    It
wasn’t luck at all, she’d had help from ghosts. The ghosts that were attached
to the items that were in the storage lockers. Grace had helped the ghosts, and
they had ended up helping her. There was no way she was going to tell anyone
that she could see ghosts.
    “Tell
me about my dad, please,” Grace asked, hoping to change the subject.
    Big
Bob gave a deep laugh. “Oh! The fun we had together when we toured the antique
fairs.”
    The
rest of the journey flew by as Big Bob spoke about her father. Frankie’s
pretend snores turned into real ones.
    Grace
didn’t cry as she listened, her heart seemed to glow as Big Bob spoke about her
dad. It was obvious that he thought highly of him.
    The
truck slowed down. Grace looked up and was surprised to find themselves pulling
into a storage facility area.
    She
gave Frankie a satisfying shove to wake him up.
    As
soon as Grace jumped down from the cabin she realised she had an urgent
problem.
    “I
need the toilet!” she whispered to Frankie.
    There
was a look of delight on his face as he repeated one of their mother’s
favourite sayings, “You should have gone before we set off.”
    “You
didn’t give me time! Frankie, please! I’m going to burst if I don’t go soon!”
    Grace
started to hop from foot to foot. Frankie looked around the area, he pointed
and said, “There’s one over there. Looks like a unisex one though.”
    “I
don’t care!” Grace squeaked. She did a peculiar run/walk towards the toilet
block.
    A
few minutes later she washed her hands, a