thief - lw&co [anthony lockwood]

9.

Third person

"We got it the wrong way round. It's not about us helping Annabelle. It's about her helping us." Lockwood said, walking on the large pavements of London, accompanied by the rest of his friends.

"Really how?" Lucy asked him.

"It's all about media exposure. Annabelle's disappearance was a big story." He responded.

"Since when do you care about the story of a ghost." Erin mocked him.

"Since it's far bigger than us burning a house down." He rolled his eyes. "If we solve her murder the headlines we'll get will cancel out all of our bad press." he smirked.

"I thought you said no more pet projects," Lucy mumbled.

"It's not a pet project anymore. It's the main event."

"It won't make us 60 grand." George snapped into the conversation.

"It could make us more."

"I sincerely doubt that." Erin sneered.

"Oh, come on Rin, since when have I ever dissatisfied you." He turned towards her and winked.

"You'd be surprised by how long the list is." She scrunched her nose at him.

"I mean, think of the millions of old people sat at home, with nothing to do but reminisce and read the papers. They love murder mysteries." He speculated confidently as if he already knew he was right.

"It's a bona fide front page splash. Barnes won't dare move against us."

"Leave me out of it. I don't like my name in the papers. Had enough of that crap back home." Lucy told him.

"You just need to deal with them. Leave that to me."

"No, I mean it. Keep me out of it." She stopped him in his tracks and made sure to look him in the eyes at every word she said.

"The most important thing is solving the case."

"I could name a few things a bit more important like I don't know pay our bills, not get arrested, or shut down," Erin mumbled to George.

"Wow, real positive thinking there." He mumbled back.

The group turned the corner and arrived at the British archives. It was big and square, with a lot of windows. Like must London buildings.

"This is where it all happens," George said, rubbing his hands in excitement. "Quietly. So behave yourselves. Ok?"

"What? Scared we'll ruin your reputation?" Erin mocked as they entered the building.

It only took them a few moments for them to get settled, they sat on a big table on one of the upper floors. The table was covered with old newspapers from the 80s.

Lockwood had his foot on the table reading a paper, he was glancing at Erin who seemed to only be looking intensely at the paper in her hands instead of reading it.

"This is it," George said and, all of their heads shot up. "She was in Hamlet, playing Ophelia."

"What does that tell us?" The girl next to him asks, who now seems to be uninterested in the revelation.

"Ugh. Why must I be surrounded by philistines? Wait here." George left his seat and went to the bookshelves behind them.

Surrounded by what? Erin though.

Lucy looked at the paper George was holding and read the article.

"Annabelle Ward's moving Ophelia captures the depths of tragic romance."