Read Online A Sweet Murder by Gillian Larkin - Free Book Online Page B

me
anything at all!”
    She read a bit
further, read the comments from her ‘devastated’ children. She
remembered how each one of them had talked about how to murder
their mother. She’d already spoken to Lucinda and knew she was
hiding something, she needed to talk to Vincent and Della
too.
    Grace was about
to log off when she saw another photograph. It showed Connie’s
family and, presumably, some of her employees, lined up outside the
original shop. They all looked suitably sad so it must have been
taken after Connie’s death. Grace made the image larger. There was
Vincent with a well dressed woman at his side. Could that be his
wife? Her sad face didn’t look quite genuine, she was turning to
one side as if posing for the camera. A couple of employees stood
to his other side including the young woman who Grace had seen in
her vision, the one in which her family had come into the shop. The
woman had the same pulled back hair and she seemed to be wearing
the same kind of glasses. She must have worked for the family for a
long time. She’d have a thing or two to say about the family,
unless loyalty got in the way. Grace made a note on a piece of
paper to talk to her.
    Behind Vincent
was Lucinda. To her side stood Jamie wearing a Flamingo Sweets
T-shirt. Was he an official employee? He stood a bit away from
Lucinda but the camera caught him turning his head towards her, a
smile on his lips. Did the family know about their relationship?
Did Connie approve?
    Della was on the
other side of Lucinda, her face pale and drawn. Grace shivered as
she remembered that Della had shown the most enthusiasm when
discussing their mother’s murder. Was she putting on an act? If so,
she was very good at it.
    Grace made a
note to talk to Vincent and Della, she wasn’t sure of the excuse
that she was going to use to talk to them, she’d think of something
later. She’d also speak to any employees that she came into contact
with, like that woman in the shop. Would she get chance to talk to
Jamie too?
    Grace yawned and
closed the laptop down. She really wanted to discuss the details
with Pearl. She’d go to the shop tomorrow and try to speak to her,
if she appeared that is. She also needed to talk to Connie about
how she’d died, if she could remember. When Grace had helped ghosts
before they seemed to block out details about their deaths. It was
probably a good idea for some of them.
    Grace got ready
for bed. She didn’t want another night of sleepeating so she
decided to hide her stash of sweets. She looked in her bag, she
couldn’t find any.
    Even her new
packet of liquorice twists was empty.
    She couldn’t
have eaten them all? Surely not. She’d bought loads of sweets
recently, no one could eat that many in such a short
time.
    Shaking her
head, Grace got into bed. What was wrong with her pyjamas? They’d
shrunk. It must be that new washing powder that she’d started to
use.
    Grace didn’t
dream about her family that night, she dreamt about sheep jumping
over fences, they were made out of pink and white marshmallows with
chocolate faces.
    Grace noted with
a smile that her pillow was still there in the morning.
    She was going to
speak to Vincent today, but first, she was going to talk to the
ghosts.
     

Chapter 18
     
    Frankie was in
bed again when Grace turned up at the shop the next morning. She
was glad to see Pearl standing at the foot of his bed.
    Pearl’s arms
were folded and she looked with distaste at the snoring
Frankie.
    “ Three o’clock in the morning! That’s what time this young
whippersnapper came in! Drunk he was too, staggering all over the
place. I thought he was going to throw up at one point. Serve him
right if he did! It’s disgusting. He’s far too old to be staying
out late.”
    “ He’s got a young girlfriend, I think they go out clubbing,
he’s trying to impress her with his stamina,” Grace
explained.
    “ Pah! Idiot!” Pearl turned towards Grace. “What the hell has
happened to