2 A Different Shade Of Death (4 page)

Chapter 10

“One
of what?” Charlie asked.

Grace’s
hands curled into fists, she tried hard to control her rising rage. “You’re a
loan shark. I hate loan sharks.”

Charlie
let out a bark of laughter. “I’m not a loan shark! What are you talking about?”
Grace opened up the laptop and pointed to the screen. “Your site, you give loans
to people.”

Charlie
moved closer. “Yeah, for businesses, at a good rate too. I’m no loan shark.”

Grace
took a deep breath and calmed herself down. “Your website says otherwise.
Look.”

Charlie
peered at the screen. He frowned as he read the details on the site. His
eyebrows shot up as he got to the bottom of the page. “Look at that interest
rate! I never agreed to that! I’d never agree to that, it’s daylight robbery.
This isn’t the site that I remember, some parts are the same but this section
about personal loans is new. I never authorised that, someone’s put it on after
my death.”

Grace
considered his comments. He seemed like he was telling the truth . She said,
“Who had authority to change the site? Who has taken over your business?”

“Everything
was left to Amy. She took an interest in the business but she never got
involved, she always said it was too complicated for her. I wonder if she’s got
a third party involved. She could have even sold the business to someone else
if she didn’t want to deal with it.”

Grace
looked at him. “Are you sure you’re not a loan shark?”

“I
swear. Why do you hate them so much?”

Grace
looked back at the screen. “I don’t want to go into details but my dad got into
debt through a loan shark, it led to his, and my mum’s deaths. Let’s see what
we can find out about Benjamin Heath.”

Grace’s
search brought up a drawing of the man they had just seen along with pictures
and photographs of Heathville.

Grace
said, “There’s not much information about his death, it just says that he died
suddenly at home. These drawings of when the house was first built are lovely.”

Charlie
nodded. “It’s a beautiful house, I’ve admired it for years. I couldn’t believe
my luck when it came up for sale.”

“For
sale? I thought you or your wife were part of the Heath family. I’d heard that
Heathville had belonged to the same generation since it was built.”

Charlie
shook his head. “It came up for sale last year. The owner at the time was an
elderly lady called Emily Heath. She does have a son but I got the feeling that
she had to sell the house. These big houses cost a lot to run, there wasn’t a
lot of furniture there when I first went to see it. I presumed that Emily had
been selling it off to bring some money in.”

“That’s
quite sad. She must have been devastated to leave.”

“She
was but strangely relieved too. When I agreed to buy it it was like a weight
had been lifted from her shoulders. She must have noticed my concern because
she laughed and said she’d be glad to leave the bad memories behind. She
wouldn’t elaborate though, probably didn’t want me to change my mind. And
before you ask, I did give her a good price for the house.”

“I
wasn’t going to ask,” Grace lied. “I wonder what the bad memories are of.”

Charlie
folded his arms, Grace could see his mouth curling upwards. In a mock serious
voice he said, “Perhaps the house is haunted.”

“This
isn’t a joking matter. We know it’s haunted. Not just by Benjamin Heath but by
you too! I hope there aren’t any more ghosts in that house. I hope your wife
doesn’t come across any.”

“I
don’t think it would bother her, she loves the house. She’s been wanting to
live there since she was a little girl, she told me she often used to walk past
it and daydream about living inside.”

Grace
nodded at that information and stored it away. She definitely had questions for
Amy Ford.

Grace
made a final check on Frankie and Pearl before leaving the shop. Frankie was
still sleeping and Pearl was still watching over him.

Grace
decided to put the pocket watch in the shop safe. When she’d helped ghosts
before she’d taken the item that they were attached to home with her. The ghost
would then have chance to talk with her at home, this had proved useful more
than once. But Grace didn’t want Charlie in her home, there was something about
him that she didn’t like. She wasn’t entirely convinced that he had nothing to
do with high interest loans.

She
didn’t explain herself to Charlie, just bade him goodnight and left the shop.

Chapter 11

Grace
returned to the shop at 8.30 a.m. the next morning. Frankie was already up and
about. Grace noted that he looked a much healthier colour.

He
grinned at her as she walked in. “I was out for the count yesterday! I haven’t
slept like that since I went on Len’s stag night to Ibiza. I bet you thought I
was dead!”

Grace
forced a smile. “Are you feeling better? Have you got a headache? Stomach ache?
Feeling dizzy?”

Frankie
rubbed his stomach. “I had a bit of a dodgy tummy this morning, I’d give the
toilet a good twenty minutes to clear. Other than that I feel great.”

“Good,”
Grace said. “You don’t mind if I go out today? A woman came in yesterday asking
about Georgian antiques and furnishings. She wants me to go round to her house.
It’s Heathville, you know that fancy big house on the hill?”

Frankie
gave a whistle. “Everyone knows about that house. Wipe your feet when you go
in.” He looked at the rack of clothes at the back of the shop: Charlie’s
clothes. “Did I give you a reason as to why I bought these? I can’t think now why
I did. I’m sure there were other things that I wanted to bid on yesterday but
for some reason I was drawn to these.”

Grace
shook her head. “You didn’t say anything when you came in.”

A
look of horror washed over Frankie’s face. “Oh, Grace, I’ve just remembered. I
shouted at you, didn’t I? Acted like a right pig. I’m so sorry.”

Grace
waved her hand. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I
must have picked up a bug or something yesterday, I wasn’t myself at all.”

“No,
I don’t think you were. Doesn’t matter, we all have off days.”

Frankie’s
face wrinkled up, his hand rubbed his stomach. “Speaking of off days, I think I
need the toilet again.”

He
dashed towards the kitchen area, the toilet was located in a room at the far corner.

“Charlie
Ford, show yourself!” Grace hissed quietly.

Charlie
appeared. “Is that any way to say hello?”

Grace
glared at him. “You’re still having an affect on Frankie, stop it! And where’s
Pearl?”

“That
nosy old bat? Haven’t seen her since yesterday. I can’t help having an affect
on your brother, I can’t control it. I’m not feeling any pain today.”

Grace
was just about to say, ‘Good for you,’ but she kept the words in. Charlie Ford
was having a bad affect on her temper. She wanted this matter of his murder
cleared up as soon as possible.

Frankie
came back into the shop waving his hand in front of his face. “Made it just in
time. We need some more air freshener. You can go out now if you want, I’ll be
all right.”

“I
can stay a while.” Grace had no intention of leaving him in this state.

She
stayed for another hour in the shop. She helped Frankie price up the suits. She
ignored Charlie’s comments of how they were pricing the items too cheaply.

At
9.30 Grace collected her coat and handbag. When Frankie wasn’t looking she took
the pocket watch out of the safe and placed it into her handbag.

“Are
you sure you’ll be okay?” she asked Frankie as she prepared to leave.

He
grinned and said, “I think I’m all empty now, there can’t be anything left
inside.”

“Ring
me if you don’t feel well,” Grace said. She didn’t feel happy about leaving
him.

Frankie
walked over to the shop door and opened it for her. “Get out Grace, you’re
getting on my nerves with all your fussing. I’ll be fine. See you later.”

He
gently but firmly took her arm and pushed her through the door.

Well,
he was certainly back to his normal self, Grace thought as she buttoned her
coat. Heathville was only a ten minute walk away, she turned in that direction.

Charlie
appeared at her side. He nodded towards their shop. “Could do with a bigger
window display and a new sign. You really need to attract more customers.”

Grace
took a tissue from her pocket and pretended to blow her nose, covering her
mouth up in the process. She mumbled, “I can’t talk to you in public.”

She
put the tissue away and strode onwards. Charlie said he didn’t care that she
couldn’t speak to him, he had plenty to talk about. He had an opinion on
everything: all the businesses that they passed, the clothes that people were
wearing, even the route that Grace was taking.

“There’s
a short cut you know,” he complained.

Grace
stopped walking a few minutes later. There was no one around. She said, “We’re
here now.”

Charlie
looked up at Heathville. A horrified gasp escaped from him, his body started to
shimmer.

Grace
looked at him in concern. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

He
raised a shaking finger. “The scaffolding! Look at what they’ve done to my
beautiful house.”

Grace
looked at where the scaffolding was. There were workmen perched halfway up it.
They were aiming some sort of machine at the wall.

“They’re
cleaning the house, aren’t they? Restoring it to its original colour, it looks
good.”

Charlie’s
hands were pulling at his hair. “No! This wasn’t supposed to happen. The bricks
had darkened because of the soot from the mills. The stones had to stay black,
it was part of the history of the house. Amy knew I loved the house like that.
Why would she do this? I don’t understand.”

Grace
looked at the part of the house that hadn’t been cleaned. It was black with
soot and smoke from when the nearby mills were in operation. She felt a sudden
pang of sadness, she could understand Charlie’s despair. Although the newly
cleaned bricks looked beautiful the smoke blackened ones looked more
attractive, in a funny sort of way.

“Why
would Amy do it?” Charlie repeated.

Grace
shook her head. That was another question for Amy. From all that she’d gathered
so far it sounded like Amy had been making many changes since Charlie died.

Grace
shivered. Was it possible that the small mouse like woman could have killed her
husband?

Grace
opened the iron gate and walked resolutely up the stone path. She rapped on the
front door. She wasn’t sure how she was going to ask Amy questions about
herself and the house but she knew she had to try.

Chapter 12

Amy
was flustered as she opened the door. “Oh! Thank you for coming! The house is a
mess. Do come in, watch the floor, it’s covered in dust sheets but they’re a
bit slippery underfoot. I never caught your name yesterday.”

Grace
walked through the front door. She told Amy her name. Then she stopped and
looked around her. The sense of déjà vu was overwhelming, Grace’s legs
weakened. Charlie muttered at her side, “This is so weird, I half expect that
old man to come marching through you. Amy’s really got on with the work in
here, I didn’t know she was so organised.”

A
step ladder had been opened up a little way down the hall. A middle aged man
was halfway up it, he was scraping wallpaper off.

Amy
noticed where Grace was looking. “We’re getting rid of the old wallpaper. Can
you believe that someone has papered over that lovely wood panelling? I always
think of secret doors when I see panelling. Oh, I’m being silly, don’t listen
to me!”

Grace
smiled at her. “I know what you mean, I feel like reaching out and pushing the
panels to see if they reveal a secret room.”

Charlie
gave a snort of derision. So did the man on the ladder.

Amy
ignored the man on the ladder and Grace ignored Charlie.

They
walked down the hall. Grace looked over her shoulder at the stained glass
window that was over the door. “That’s a beautiful window, I think it’s the
first mill that Benjamin Heath built.”

Amy
said, “You’ve been doing your research. The drawing room is down here on the
left. Grace’s steps slowed as they neared the library. She said, “What’s in
this room?”

Amy
swiftly reached for the door and pulled it shut. “Don’t look in there, it’s a
mess. This way.”

She
led Grace into a large room, there were dust sheets everywhere apart from on
two small sofas and the table that stood between them. On the table stood a
teapot and assorted tea things.

Amy
apologised again for the mess. “It’ll get sorted out soon. Please, do sit down.
Would you like tea? I can organise coffee if you prefer.”

Grace
sat down. “Tea will be fine, thank you. Are the sheets covering some of the
original furniture? Did some furniture come with the house?”

Grace
didn’t miss the look of alarm that flashed across Amy’s face. She quickly said,
“No, it’s just our old stuff from our previous house.”

Charlie
sat down next to Grace. He leant forward, his hands resting on his knees. He
studied Amy’s face. “She’s lying. And she’s wearing lipstick. Why does she need
to wear lipstick? Who is she wearing it for?”

Amy
started to pour the tea. Grace took the opportunity to ask one of the many
questions that were bursting to come out of her head. “I see you’re having the
outside of the house done. I always thought that old buildings looked nice with
a bit of soot to age them. It gives a sort of nod to the industrial past.”

Amy
finished with the tea pot. She picked up a milk jug and gave Grace a
questioning look.

Grace
nodded and continued talking. “This house has been part of the town forever, I
guess some people won’t like the work that you’re having done, making it look
new again.”

Amy
put the milk jug down. She gave Grace a direct look and said, “I don’t care
what people think. Charlie, my late husband, thought the same thing. I thought
it looked messy, I don’t like mess.”

Grace
took the cup that was offered. She was taken aback by Amy’s direct tone. It was
as if Amy was ready for an argument.

Grace
said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.”

Amy
took her own cup and sat back on the sofa. “It’s okay. Charlie never listened
to my opinion. I used to walk past this house when I was younger. I imagined it
to be like some sort of palace. I can’t have my palace looking like someone’s
thrown a ton of coal all over it!”

Amy
laughed. Grace joined in uncertainly. There was almost an hysterical sound to
Amy’s laugh.

Grace
took a sip of her tea and wondered how to phrase her next question.

“You
bloody idiot!”

Grace
almost dropped her cup.

Amy
sighed and put her cup on the table. “Sorry about that. That’s the foreman, the
one that’s in charge of the builders. He’s always shouting at someone. You
wouldn’t think I was doing him a favour by giving him all this restoration business.
He looks at me sometimes as if he wants to kill me. I’ll be glad when he’s
gone.”

“It
must be hard dealing with everything on your own,” Grace said.

Amy
shrugged. She picked up her cup again. “I like it. Charlie was a good husband,
he provided for me but he was overbearing. He never listened to me. I had good
ideas about the business, he was in the loan business, but he just wouldn’t
listen.”

“Do
you run the business now?” Grace asked.

Amy
nodded. “With some help. You didn’t come here to listen to me wittering on
about my dead husband, have you got some information for me?”

Grace
reached into her handbag. She did want to hear Amy wittering on about her dead
husband but she would just have to bide her time.

She
placed two large books down on the table. “These are my history books, you’ll
find lots of information about furniture from the Georgian age. And, here, I’ve
written down some web sites for you. If you like, I can make enquiries with
local antique shops, see if they have anything available for sale now.”

Amy
took the books and started to flick through them. “That’s very kind of you.
I’ll have a look through and see if anything catches my eye. I could do with
silverware and that sort of thing. I’m not too bothered about big bits of
furniture at the moment. I do appreciate you coming over.” She looked at her
watch.

Grace
could feel her opportunity slipping away. “You said you might have something to
sell?”

A
voice boomed out behind her. It wasn’t the foreman this time.

“Who’s
this? Another one of your charity cases asking for money? Tell her to sling her
hook!”

A
man stormed into the room, anger blazed across his face. Grace recognised his
features.

Charlie
confirmed his identity. “That’s my brother. What’s he doing here?”