The Last Laugh: A Ghost Mystery Story (Second Hand Ghosts Book 3) by Gillian Larkin

Chapter 1
     
    I
walked into the shop, the shop that I was now part owner of.
    “Good
morning, partner,” I smiled at Carol.
    “You
can stop all that cheerful nonsense at once,” Carol glared at me. “We’ve got
work to do if we’re going to make this business a success.”
    I
didn’t like the determined look on Carol’s face.
    “Can
we discuss this over a cup of tea? I’ll make it,” I offered.
    “Okay,
but don’t put too much milk in. You always make it too milky,” Carol said.
    I
went into our little kitchen, put my bag and coat away in the cupboard, and put
the kettle on.
    The
shop felt different now that I owned half of it. As lovely as it was I could
see that it needed updating.
    I
made the tea and took it through to the shop area.
    Carol
sipped hers, pulled a face and said, “It’s a bit better than your usual. Now,
let’s talk about the shop and what we’re going to do. First, the name. I think
we should change it. ‘Second Hand Rose’ is so old fashioned.”
    I
banged my cup on the counter, “Absolutely not! The name stays the same. Rose
left us this shop and we are going to keep her name!”
    “Okay,
no need to shout. Look at the mess you’ve made with your tea. You’re so clumsy,
Kate,” Carol tutted. She took a tissue out of her skirt pocket and mopped up my
mess.
    “Sorry,”
I mumbled. “I agree that we need to make the shop more modern, but I don’t want
to get rid of everything that Rose built up. She put all her life and soul into
this shop.”
    “I
know, but some of the items have been in here since I started work. Those old
tables and chairs, nobody wants them at such high prices. Should we have a
sale? Get rid of the old stuff and then we can get newer items in.”
    I
narrowed my eyes at Carol. “What do you mean newer items? This is a second hand
shop. You’re not thinking of doing away with the business altogether are you?
You’re not planning on making it a cheap and cheerful kind of shop?”
    Carol
frowned, “I don’t do cheap and cheerful. I just thought we could stock the sort
of items people are looking for. We can buy them from markets and auctions, you
can restore them, I can price them, and before you know it we’ll be making a
healthy profit.”
    “Why
do I have to restore them? I know I helped Rose but I’ll never be as good as
her,” I said.
    “I
thought you could do some of the restoring at home, for smaller items. Then you
could have more time with Emily after school and in the holidays,” Carol said.
    “Oh!
That’s quite thoughtful of you,” I said.
    “Don’t
sound so surprised! I can be thoughtful. Now, there’s an auction in Leeds
tomorrow. I thought I’d go and take a look. See if I can find some quality
items for the shop,” Carol said.
    “I’ll
come with you. It’s Saturday, Emily can come with us,” I smiled.
    Carol
shook her head, “You’ll only get in the way. I’ve got something else for you
and Emily to do.”
    Carol
handed me a flyer. I read it.
    “A
car boot sale? It starts at 5am!” I said.
    Carol
nodded, “I thought mums of young children got up early. Make sure you’re there
at 5. You don’t want to miss the good stuff.”
    “Why
can’t you go?” I asked.
    “There’s
no point us both getting up early. Anyway I like having a lie in on a Saturday,”
Carol said, thoughtfully.
     

 
    Chapter 2
     
    Emily
woke me up at 4.30am the next morning.
    “I’ve
made you a sandwich for breakfast. I don’t know how to make tea so I’ve got you
some milk,” Emily proudly shoved the breakfast towards me.
    “Why
are you awake so early,” I muttered, trying to get my eyes to open properly.
    “I’m
so excited about going to the car boots! I’ve got two pounds to spend. Can I
spend it on anything I want?” Emily said. She picked up one of my sandwiches
and began to eat it. “Will it be busy? Will there be lots of car boots for
sale?”
    I
sat up and took the other sandwich before Emily did. Jam and cheese.