The Lost Baby: A Ghost Mystery Story (Second Hand Ghosts Book 2) by Gillian Larkin Page A

before she died,” I said.
    Carol
frowned. “It’s weird, isn’t it? That she ordered her own funeral food, and
picked her own coffin. Like she knew she was going to die.”
    “I
think she did know. Shall we put the food out all at once?” I asked.
    “No!
They’ll stuff themselves silly if they see all this food. We’ll just put half
out for now,” Carol said. “I suppose we’d better take the champagne out as
well. Fancy that! Champagne at a funeral!”
    We
took the food and drink out into the shop area. Carol had arranged for someone
in the market to lend us some tables and chairs. We soon had the food and drink
arranged neatly.
    Carol
looked down at the table as she quietly asked me, “So, tell me about the
funeral.”
    I
smiled. “It was good, for a funeral. You should have seen people’s faces when
Elvis blasted out of the speakers! Some of Rose’s friends started to dance.”
    Carol
gave a little smile. “I would have liked to have seen that. I just can’t bring
myself to go to funerals. Not any more.”
    There
was something so sad in Carol’s tone that I didn’t say anything else about the
funeral.
    I
opened a bottle of champagne and poured a glass for both of us.
    Carol
looked shocked but she took the glass anyway.
    “To
our lovely Rose,”  I toasted.
    Carol
clinked her glass against mine and then sipped her champagne.
    As
I thought about Rose I felt a shiver go down my back. I hoped she was okay, I
knew she was dead but I didn’t know if she could be hurt any more. This ghost
business was very confusing. I hoped that nothing terrible had happened to her.
    As
I raised my glass something hideous walked through the shop door.
    I
screamed. My glass shattered on the floor.
    It
was Rose.
    But
she wasn’t our lovely Rose anymore.

 
    Chapter 3
     
    An
horrific vision glowered at me.
    I
clutched my hands to my chest. “Rose! What happened to you?”
    That
vision snapped at me, “I’m not Rose! I’m her sister, Pam. I hope you’re going
to clear that mess up. This is my shop now.”
    I
couldn’t take my eyes off Pam. She looked like Rose but with all the goodness
drained out of her. All that was left was a mean looking shell.
    Pam
looked at Carol, jerked her thumb towards me and said, “What’s wrong with her?
Is she stupid or something? Why is she staring at me like that?”
    Carol
put her glass down, “She’s in shock. You look like Rose, a bit.”
    Carol
went into the kitchen and returned with a dustpan, brush and cloth. The mess
that I’d made was efficiently cleaned up.
    Pam
wandered around the shop, looking at price tags and running her fingers across
the tops of things as if expecting to find an inch of dust.
    “We
keep everything spick and span in here,” Carol called over to her.
    “Hmm,”
Pam muttered to herself. She continued with her inspection.
    “Do
you think she really owns the shop?” I whispered to Carol.
    Carol
whispered back, “I’ve no idea. Did Rose leave a will?”
    I
shrugged.
    Pam
walked over to us. Her face was wrinkled in disgust. I wasn’t sure if that was
her normal look.
    “It’s
not much, is it? Her lifetime’s work. Our Rose used to always brag about her
shop, as if it was something special. But it’s just full of old junk,” Pam
said.
    “It’s
not junk. These are carefully selected second hand items. We restore them,” I
firmly told Pam.
    Pam
snorted, “I know junk when I see it. I’m not sure what I’ll do with this shop.
I might keep it as it is for now. See how much money it makes, if any.”
    “And
what about us?” Carol asked. “Do we still have jobs?”
    Pam
looked us up and down. She pointed at Carol and said, “I’ll keep you on.” She
then pointed at me, “I’m not sure about this one. She doesn’t seem quite right
in the head.”
    Carol
folded her arms, “If Kate goes, then I go.”
    I
looked at Carol. I was surprised, but pleased by her loyalty.
    Pam
sniffed, “Then it looks like I’ll be needing  two new members of