2 A Different Shade Of Death Read Online Free PDF

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