See No Evil (Anthony Lockwood)

chapter 28

Violet stayed far away from the river when they got to the house. When they had said the house was by the river, they really meant by the river. Practically on it. Take about 10 steps off the front porch and you're on the shore. The dock wasn't too far either. The water went deep here. She was afraid if she went anywhere near it she would fall in and sink right to the depths.

It was odd. She could feel the tingling in her fingers before she even stepped foot on the porch. Either the ghost in this house was just that strong, or it wasn't in the house.

The house itself was two stories and, despite its old age, was well kept. The house was painted an ivory white with barely a few chips in the paint here and there. It seemed so normal and beautiful. Violet imagined it would've been a very peaceful place to live if it was ever owned by normal people.

"This is the house. I haven't been here in years," William reminisced, "I mean, I saw it once after I signed the papers, but I didn't even go through the front door."

Elizabeth was quick to comfort him, putting a hand on his arm, "It's ok, William. You can do this."

"If you aren't comfortable going inside, Mr. Murphy, we can find our own way," Lockwood reassured him.

"No, it's fine. I'd like to show you guys around before curfew. Then we'll take our leave."

Elizabeth whispered something to him and then William and her began to have a quiet, intense conversation.

"Is everything alright?" Lucy asked.

William smiled, "Of course. It's just...Elizabeth wanted to know if we could observe your work. She's always been so interested in working with an agency, but she was never able to join one because her father was ill and she had to take care of him. I myself never joined an agency because my mother refused to let me go."

"That's way too dangerous," George said immediately.

Violet agreed, "Yeah. It's hard enough for us to keep ourselves safe on a job. Having you two here would be a liability...no offense."

William didn't seem offended at all, "No, of course not. It was just a thought."

Lockwood opened his mouth to weigh in but Violet glared back at him. She knew what he was thinking. He wanted to say something arrogant like they could handle protecting them, but Violet wasn't willing to risk it. She would do the job, but she refused to put bystanders in the way. That was too far.

Lockwood eventually agreed with his friends, "I apologize. It's just not something we can do. I'm sure we can tell you guys about it after though. Did you fill out the form we gave you?"

Elizabeth nodded and slowly pulled the paper out of her bra before handing it over to Lockwood, looking up at him through her long lashes. Lockwood grabbed the paper and Violet noticed that Elizabeth purposefully grazed Lockwood's hand with her own, her fingers lingering for a moment before she pulled away.

Violet had to hold in the look of complete disgust and annoyance as jealousy filled the pit of her stomach. It was bad enough when Lockwood fake flirted with girls to get them to do what he needed, but a girl so boldly flirting with him? In front of her? She didn't like that at all.

Lockwood saw her unimpressed expression and simply gave Elizabeth an awkward smile and moved to stand by Violet. He had no attraction to this girl whatsoever and no intentions of returning her subtle affections. Plus, Violet's eyes told him she would attack someone if he didn't take a step back. And he knew how strong Violet was. And scary.

"So the house," Lucy cut in, trying to steer Violet's attention.

They walked up the steps and William unlocked the door and opened it up with a shaky breath, "Wow. Exactly like I remember it. I mean, I haven't been in here since I was 9."