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

Yum.
    “People
don’t sell car boots, they bring things to sell in their car boots,” I
explained.
    Emily
frowned, “Do we have to climb into the car boot to see what they’ve brought?”
    I
smiled, “You’ll see when we get there. Eat your breakfast and then we’ll set off.
I don’t think it will be very busy.”
    I
was wrong.
    Even
though it was just getting light the field where the car boot sale was being
held was packed with cars and people. I held Emily’s hand tightly as we walked
past tables piled high with all sorts of things.
    “I’ll
give you 50 pence,” a woman shouted nearby.
    “Don’t
listen to her, I’ll give you 55 pence,” someone else shouted.
    I
had a quick look at the tables but I couldn’t see anything that would be
suitable for our shop.
    Emily
dragged me over to a table that had lots of children’s books on it. She was
soon picking books up and flicking through the pages.
    I
looked around at the crowds, wondering what sort of people came to these sales.
    Someone
caught my eye. A man at the other side of the field was staring at me. At
least, it felt like he was staring at me. He was wearing black sunglasses even
though the weather certainly didn’t warrant them. He had a black hat pulled
down low on his head. He looked so sinister that I’m surprised other people
didn’t stop and stare at him.
    Emily
grabbed my head and pulled me down low. She whispered, “I’ve found a book that
I want. But I think you have to give the man behind the table a different
price.”
    I
nodded and whispered back, “You have to haggle with him.”
    Emily
faced the seller of the book.
    He
held his hand out and said, “40 pence please.”
    Emily
looked up at him and said, “I’ll give you 50 pence.”
    “She
means 30 pence,” I quickly interrupted her.
    The
man gave a little smile and said, “Okay, 30 pence it is.”
    Emily
handed over her money and the man gave her the book. It was a joke book, with
500 jokes in it.
    “That’s
a good book, I’ve read it myself,” a deep voice behind us said.
    I
turned around. It was the man in the black hat and sunglasses.
    Emily
proudly held the book up to show the man. “Shall I tell you a joke?” she asked.
    “That
would be lovely,” the man said. Then he leaned closer to me and added quietly,
“What do you say, Kate?”
    He
looked at me over the top of his sunglasses. I’d seen ghosts before and I could
tell immediately that he was a ghost too because dead eyes stared back at me.
Dead, cruel eyes that sent an icy shiver up my spine.
    I
firmly took Emily’s hand and said, “We have to go.”
    We
walked briskly out of the field. I could feel the ghost watching us.
     

 
    Chapter 3
     
    When
I got to work on Monday I was amazed to see the shop full of customers.
    “What’s
going on?” I asked Carol.
    “We’re
having a sale. It’s brought loads of people in. I’ve finally got rid of that
disgusting Victorian table,” she smiled. “Don’t just stand there, take your
coat off and get over to the till. Someone’s waiting to buy that hideous
umbrella stand.”
    I
quickly put my coat and bag away. I didn’t know how much Carol had reduced the
items by but it was working. We didn’t stop all morning.
    It
finally got quiet at lunch time.
    Carol
smiled as she added up the money in the till.
    “We’ve
sold a lot. The shop already looks emptier,” I noticed.
    “Good,
because I’ve got more stock coming in this week. How did you get on at the car
boot sale?” she asked.
    “Not
very well. Emily got a joke book. I can tell you some jokes if you like,” I
offered.
    “Jokes
are for simple minded people,” Carol informed me and she carried on counting
the till money.
    I
saw something near the door, a brown cardboard box. I walked over and opened it
up. It was full of practical jokes.
    “Has
this always been here?” I called out to Carol.
    She
looked over, “I’ve never seen it before. I bet somebody’s sneaked in here when
we were busy