See No Evil (Anthony Lockwood)

chapter 5

"I didn't know that it was the source," Lucy insisted once again, "I just took it because...it's like I can feel what she feels. What she wants. It's hard to explain."

"A psychic connection," Lockwood offered.

Violet looked at the ring that was now in a box to contain it. All that trouble for such a tiny thing. She didn't blame Lucy. If she had experienced the same thing, she might have taken the ring too. But perhaps Violet was just too understanding or something.

"I literally cannot believe you stole a source from a crime scene. DEPRAC will bury us," George said.

Violet scoffed, "You're one to talk, George. Where'd you get that skull from exactly?"

Lucy gestured her hand in Violet's direction, "Thank you."

George rolled his eyes, "Please, this is ridiculous. Violet's only on your side because she has a girl crush on you, or whatever. Maybe if you stop watching her bat her eyes in your direction, you'll actually realize what's going on, Vi."

Violet pushed off the counter and approached George, "Don't go there, George. Keep your mouth shut."

"I'm just saying, everyone here can see it but you. Lucy is playing you. She's playing all of us. Open your eyes, Vi."

Violet hated that she was getting so upset by this. Lockwood trusted Violet to make the right choices and do what she thought was right. He trusted her to have their backs and keep everyone safe. So for George to say that she was delusional and knowingly putting them in danger made her upset. Why couldn't he just trust that Violet's instincts were right? Why couldn't he trust that Violet would always do what she needed to in order to keep them safe? And that's why Violet didn't push Lucy down like he did. Because Violet knew that Lucy wouldn't intentionally hurt them. She was kind and she cared.

Over the time Violet had known Lucy, Lucy had tried harder than most people ever dared to in order to befriend her. Lucy was nothing like the others. She tried and she genuinely cared. And that mattered to Violet.

Lockwood pulled Violet to the side and whispered just low enough for her to here, "It's ok, Vi. I trust you. Don't let it get to you, ok?"

Lucy glared at George, "Leave her alone. Ok, look, Annabel was stuck behind a wall for 40 years with nobody knowing and DEPRAC doing sod all. She needs our help."

George laid off Violet for the time being, "And what does she expect you to do, exactly, after all this time?"

"Solve this. Get justice."

Lockwood took a step back from Violet, "She's dead, Lucy. We can't help a ghost. We need to destroy her source and move on. Let her go."

"Come on, George. Back me up. You love a new experiment. Why throw away the chance to investigate a new phenomenon?" Lucy pleaded, trying to get another person on her side.

George crossed his arms, "Nice try but psychic connections are weak science. You felt sorry for her. You heard her death loop. End of story."

"So prove it," Lucy challenged him, "Before you destroy the ring, let me try to connect with her one last time. See what else I can feel. Let me prove to you that it is real."

"No way. It's too dangerous," Lockwood shut her down.

George finally relented, "It is almost dawn. Her ghost will be much weaker."

"No. We've only just escaped with our lives. Twice."

"Because you were unprepared. Twice. This time, we'll do it properly," George went to stand by Lucy.