Free A Deadly Lesson (Storage Ghost Murders Book 5) by Gillian Larkin Page A

another jolly laugh and stepped into the kitchen. Carlos gave her a wink
as he followed Julianne in. It made Grace’s stomach heave.
    She
led them through to the living room and asked them if they would like a drink.
    They
agreed on coffee. Carlos winked again and said, “Unless you have anything
stronger.”
    Julianne
caught the wink. Her smile froze.
    Grace
went into the kitchen and filled the kettle. She whispered to Abbie, “I know
they’re your family but I don’t trust them. Go and keep an eye on them.”
    Grace
took a few minutes to make the drinks. Abbie returned and said, “They’re making
notes about your house, how many doors and windows it has. Carlos is taking
photos on his phone. You should have heard what Julianne said about him winking
at you! She’s so jealous! Carlos said he was only winking at you because he
felt sorry for you. He’s so funny.”
    “I
wouldn’t describe him that way,” Grace muttered as she put the cups on a tray.
“And what a cheek, taking photos of my home!”
    Grace
went into the living room and placed the tray on a table. “Help yourself to
biscuits,” she said.
    Julianne’s
hand shot out. Carlos grabbed it, frowned and shook his head. Julianne brought
her hand back. She laughed, a little shakily this time, and said, “I really
shouldn’t. Carlos likes his women to be curvy, not fat.”
    “I
see,” Grace said. She sat down opposite the couple and picked up two biscuits.
Abbie sat by her side. Grace took a moment to study Carlos. He was handsome in
an obvious way, his thick dark hair was combed back, his dark eyes twinkled at
her, his full lips twitched at the sides as if they were sharing a secret joke.
Oh, there goes his winking eye again.
    Grace
couldn’t resist. She pointed at him and said, “Have you got something wrong
with your eye? I’ve some eye drops that might help.”
    Julianne
gasped in shock. The twinkle in Carlos’ eyes was replaced by anger.
    Abbie
tutted. “That was mean.”
    Julianne
composed herself and put a big smile on her face. She looked the total opposite
of Abbie with her shoulder-length blonde hair and fair complexion. Grace could
see that she was pretty but her look was marred by the worry lines around her
eyes. Why was she so worried? “Grace, may I call you Grace?” Julianne began.
She didn’t wait for an answer as she continued. “We were pleased to get your
call, we love helping people who are in financial difficulties. We are often
their last hope!” Another forced laugh. “But we were also confused. We’ve
checked your mortgage payments and we can’t see that you’re behind at all. We
...”
    Grace
almost choked on her biscuit. “You’ve checked my payments! How have you managed
to do that? How did you get my details?”
    In
a cold voice Carlos said, “It’s standard procedure. Carry on, Julianne.”
    Grace
highly doubted the truth of that but she didn’t want to argue with them now,
she wanted to find out how their business was run. She said, “Oh, of course.
You’d know more about that than me. The truth is ...” She put her biscuit down
and moved forward on her seat. Julianne did the same. “The truth is that I have
a terrible gambling problem. Bingo, the horses, poker. You name it, I’ve tried
it. My debts have caught up with me and I won’t be able to pay the mortgage
soon. I don’t want to lose my home. Can you help?”
    Carlos
rubbed his hands together. Julianne smiled, glee in her eyes.
    Julianne
said, “Of course we can help. We will buy your house and let you rent it from
us at a ridiculously low figure. Its a win-win situation for us all!”
    “How
wonderful,” Grace said. She’d been in touch with two estate agents that
afternoon for a value on her house. “How much would you give me for the house?”
    Carlos
moved closer, lowered his voice and said a figure that made Grace’s eyes almost
pop out of her head.

 

Chapter 18

 
    “The
lying, cheating ...” Grace muttered to herself as she