Free The Last Reading (Storage Ghost Murders Book 1) by Gillian Larkin Page A

follow Autumn Rose when she took
them away?”
    “Might
have.”
    “But
how did the unit come up for sale? Autumn Rose must have stopped paying the
rental fee for some reason. Ha! I bet you intercepted her post, found a letter
from the storage unit and got in touch with them on Autumn Rose’s behalf! You
then said you couldn’t afford to pay for the unit anymore. That’s it, isn’t
it?”
    Tom
gave Grace a cold look. “What are you? Some sort of psychic? Or just a freak? 
If your  psychic powers are so good tell me what’s going to happen next.” He
pulled out a slip of paper. “These are last weeks’ winning numbers. Brenda is
working out what they are. If she gets them right I know she’s got the same
talent as Mae.”
    Grace
swallowed. “And if she gets them wrong?”
    Tom
held the gun out in an obvious gesture. “Then I shoot her.”
     

Chapter 23
     
    Mae
and Brenda let out a scream at the same time.
    Grace
forced herself to remain calm. A plan was formulating in her mind. Was she
brave enough to do it?
    She
had to.
    She
held up a hand and said, “I’ll do it, I’m the one with the real talent.”
    “What?
You haven’t any talent, you just got lucky with all that stuff about the unit,”
Tom said.
    Grace
let out a big dramatic sigh. “Okay, you’ve forced my hand. Sorry, Auntie
Brenda, I knew we were trying to keep it a secret.”
    Tom
frowned. “Auntie Brenda? What are you trying to say?”
    “I’m
Mae’s secret daughter. She gave me away when I was a baby. You were right about
the pendulum, I was after it. Me and Auntie Brenda made contact a few years
ago. You weren’t the only one that Mae did a pendulum reading for, she was
really accurate with it and word about the pendulum spread. I’ve got friends in
the fortune telling business, I had a client lined up for that pendulum ready
to pay a good price. I didn’t owe my mum any favours, not after what she did
for me.”
    Grace
paused. Had she gone too far? She thought her story sounded ridiculous and far-fetched.
From the looks on Mae and Brenda’s faces they thought the same.
    Tom
waved his gun at her. “I knew it! I knew you were up to something. I knew that
Mae and Brenda had fallen out and now I know why, it’s because she gave you up!
Typical! So selfish. Get round here and do a reading. You might have a bit of
Mae’s talent, we’ll soon find out.”
    Grace
stood up and then helped Brenda to her feet. Brenda tried to protest but Grace
firmly and gently pushed her down on to the sofa.
    Grace
knelt down and confidently picked up the purple coloured pendulum. She shot a
look at Mae hoping she’d understand.
    Grace
carefully went over every number. She forced the pendulum to circle when it
came to a correct number.
    It
was easy with Mae calling out the right numbers, she read them from the paper
that Tom was holding.
    Tom’s
eyes got wider and wider. In a voice full of awe he said, “Amazing! Even better
than Mae.” He paused for a moment. “I’ll have to keep you locked up somewhere.
Not sure where though. Get up, I’ve got some plastic ties in my bag.”
    Grace
didn’t move. She closed her eyes and said, “I can see next week’s numbers in my
mind, clear as day, I don’t need the pendulum. Quick! They’re fading! Get a
pen!”
    Tom
patted his pockets in panic. “I haven’t got one!”
    Grace
opened her eyes and said urgently, “There’s one on that table behind you.
Quick!”
    Still
holding the gun Tom turned around.
    Grace
leapt from her kneeling position and launched herself at him. All the pretend
fights that she’d had with Frankie growing up paid off.
    Tom
went down like a small child.
    “Get
the gun!” Grace screamed at Brenda.
    A
gun shot rang out.
     

Chapter 24
     
    “Don’t
leave it there!” Pearl shouted at her. “I can see that you’re okay, who got
shot? Was it that slimy postman? Don’t tell me it was Brenda?”
    Grace
leant back on the kitchen chair. She had returned to the shop. It was late