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Authors: Gillian Larkin
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last.”
Grace nodded,
she had no idea that things were bad. She looked wistfully towards
the liquorice twists. It seemed rude to take them now that she knew
how Bill felt. But she had paid for them.
Bill smiled at
her. “Go on, you may as well take them. You can have the lot as far
as I’m concerned, I won’t be paying their invoice.”
Frankie called
over, “Don’t give her any more! She’ll be the size of a house soon.
Bill, what does this mean?”
Bill winked at
Grace and walked back to Frankie, he sat down in the chair that
Grace had recently vacated. Grace said bye but the men were already
engrossed in something on the computer screen.
Grace left the
office and walked to the bus stop. She didn’t mind getting the bus
but it would be more convenient if she had a car. She opened the
sweets and put a twist inside her mouth. Yum.
Was she ready to
drive a car? She’d been driving the van for a while and was okay
with it now. But having her own car might remind her of the night
that her parents died. Dad had been driving her car on the night of
their accident.
Grace chewed on
the sweet. It hadn’t been the car’s fault that Dad had crashed.
Perhaps she should start looking at cars. Her stomach gave a lurch.
She could do it, it was time.
The bus arrived.
Grace found a seat and tucked into another sweet. She thought about
what Bill had said. Was Lucinda responsible for the rising prices?
Was she running some sort of scam with Jamie? Had Connie found out
about it?
Chapter 17
Grace would have
liked to have gone back to the shop to see if Connie or Pearl had
reappeared but she couldn’t think of a suitable reason as to why
she was there should Frankie return. Besides, she wanted to have a
good look on the Internet.
She made herself
a large mug of hot chocolate and sat down on her sofa, her laptop
open on the table in front.
There was a lot
of information on Flamingo Sweets. There was some history about how
Alfred had come over to Leeds around 1900. There was a black and
white photograph of him standing next to a market stall. Grace
presumed that was the original stall in Leeds Market. She could
just about see the chair behind him. There was a lot of detail
about how the company grew over the years, how they adapted to the
times. They made a special kind of liquorice sweet at the end of
World War Two, it was in the shape of a dove to symbolise
peace.
Grace noted the
link to the main website. She took out the card that Lucinda had
given her, it was the same website address. Grace decided she would
look at that later. She typed in Connie’s name and
‘death’.
Grace’s breath
caught as a colour picture of Connie appeared on the screen. She
guessed that Connie must be about thirty. She was wearing a bright
green dress that had little prints of bananas on it. Connie was
beaming into the camera. The article explained how Connie had
started work in the original shop that Alfred had bought all those
years ago. She had also worked in the factory with the factory
workers. She even went on deliveries to all the shops that sold
Flamingo Sweets. The article explained that Connie was a hands-on
sort of person and wanted to understand the jobs of everyone who
worked for Flamingo Sweets. It also mentioned how she raised her
three children all by herself after her husband passed away. The
children were named and mention was made of how Connie’s children
were devoted to their careers at Flamingo Sweets.
Grace thought of
Lucinda’s face earlier, the only devotion she showed was to Jamie
and their plans to get out of the business.
Grace scrolled down until she got to the bit that she was
looking for. There it was. Her eyebrows rose as she read how Connie
had died: ‘Connie Flamingo died accidentally at home on the evening
of Tuesday 16 th July. Her family were devastated by the untimely
death of their loving mother.’
Grace sighed
with frustration. She addressed her laptop, “That doesn’t tell
Grace nodded,
she had no idea that things were bad. She looked wistfully towards
the liquorice twists. It seemed rude to take them now that she knew
how Bill felt. But she had paid for them.
Bill smiled at
her. “Go on, you may as well take them. You can have the lot as far
as I’m concerned, I won’t be paying their invoice.”
Frankie called
over, “Don’t give her any more! She’ll be the size of a house soon.
Bill, what does this mean?”
Bill winked at
Grace and walked back to Frankie, he sat down in the chair that
Grace had recently vacated. Grace said bye but the men were already
engrossed in something on the computer screen.
Grace left the
office and walked to the bus stop. She didn’t mind getting the bus
but it would be more convenient if she had a car. She opened the
sweets and put a twist inside her mouth. Yum.
Was she ready to
drive a car? She’d been driving the van for a while and was okay
with it now. But having her own car might remind her of the night
that her parents died. Dad had been driving her car on the night of
their accident.
Grace chewed on
the sweet. It hadn’t been the car’s fault that Dad had crashed.
Perhaps she should start looking at cars. Her stomach gave a lurch.
She could do it, it was time.
The bus arrived.
Grace found a seat and tucked into another sweet. She thought about
what Bill had said. Was Lucinda responsible for the rising prices?
Was she running some sort of scam with Jamie? Had Connie found out
about it?
Chapter 17
Grace would have
liked to have gone back to the shop to see if Connie or Pearl had
reappeared but she couldn’t think of a suitable reason as to why
she was there should Frankie return. Besides, she wanted to have a
good look on the Internet.
She made herself
a large mug of hot chocolate and sat down on her sofa, her laptop
open on the table in front.
There was a lot
of information on Flamingo Sweets. There was some history about how
Alfred had come over to Leeds around 1900. There was a black and
white photograph of him standing next to a market stall. Grace
presumed that was the original stall in Leeds Market. She could
just about see the chair behind him. There was a lot of detail
about how the company grew over the years, how they adapted to the
times. They made a special kind of liquorice sweet at the end of
World War Two, it was in the shape of a dove to symbolise
peace.
Grace noted the
link to the main website. She took out the card that Lucinda had
given her, it was the same website address. Grace decided she would
look at that later. She typed in Connie’s name and
‘death’.
Grace’s breath
caught as a colour picture of Connie appeared on the screen. She
guessed that Connie must be about thirty. She was wearing a bright
green dress that had little prints of bananas on it. Connie was
beaming into the camera. The article explained how Connie had
started work in the original shop that Alfred had bought all those
years ago. She had also worked in the factory with the factory
workers. She even went on deliveries to all the shops that sold
Flamingo Sweets. The article explained that Connie was a hands-on
sort of person and wanted to understand the jobs of everyone who
worked for Flamingo Sweets. It also mentioned how she raised her
three children all by herself after her husband passed away. The
children were named and mention was made of how Connie’s children
were devoted to their careers at Flamingo Sweets.
Grace thought of
Lucinda’s face earlier, the only devotion she showed was to Jamie
and their plans to get out of the business.
Grace scrolled down until she got to the bit that she was
looking for. There it was. Her eyebrows rose as she read how Connie
had died: ‘Connie Flamingo died accidentally at home on the evening
of Tuesday 16 th July. Her family were devastated by the untimely
death of their loving mother.’
Grace sighed
with frustration. She addressed her laptop, “That doesn’t tell
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