See No Evil (Anthony Lockwood)

chapter 38

Violet stood in front of a clean tombstone. In her hands she held a small bouquet of white lily flowers.

Lily Sallow

2001 - 2022

"The freedom of the soul-bird death cannot take away."

Violet had paid for the grave herself. Once Barnes had been assured that Lily Sallow had no living family, he had allowed the girl to do as she pleased.

Violet hadn't been here since the burial. She had been too scared to come. It didn't feel right when she blamed herself for Lily's death. So she held herself back. But now she realized that if she never came here, she would never truly be able to move on.

Violet sat down in the overgrown grass, crossing her legs. She leaned forward to set the flowers against the tombstone.

"Hey, Lily. Um...you don't really know me, I guess. But, I mean, technically your ghost knew me. Technically. Um...I really don't know what to say. I'm better with, like, stopping dead people. Not befriending them. No, this isn't befriending. That's not right. See, I'm terrible at this," Violet rambled, leaning back on her arms.

The soft breeze blew in her face and ruffled the leaves on the trees. Violet suddenly realized just how peaceful it was here. Quiet.

Wait...it was quiet.

For once, Violet didn't have that annoying buzzing voice in her head trying to tell her vile things. She knew it was temporary and that it would come back, but she still appreciated the silence anyway.

~

Lockwood walked down the stairs at a slow pace. His body still felt so heavy and drained from how little sleep he got these days. It was hard to do much of anything anymore.

He paused when he heard a noise in the living room. Considering, George was at the library and Lucy was upstairs avoiding him, this was odd.

Lockwood grabbed his rapier from the holder and slowly made his way into the living room. He practically jumped in, holding his sword out in front of him.

"Careful there, Locky. You might poke someone's eye out with that," Flo said as she rummaged through a biscuit tin.

Lockwood's shoulders relaxed and he lowered his sword, "Flo."

Flo grinned, "The one and only. Why don't you take a seat? We have some important business to discuss."

Lockwood, curious, did as told and sat in the armchair across from her, "What's going on?"

"Well, I'm not gonna beat around the bush, Locky. Your girl Letty has been staying with me the past few weeks. She's been a hell of an assistant. I like her. And I liked her with you. She made you happy...until you went and fucked it up."

Lockwood barely even heard the insult past the first few sentences, "You know where Violet is?"

"Yes, I know her exact location right now too."

Lockwood leaned forward, "Where? Where is she right now?"

Flo tilted her head, "I don't know if that's a good idea, Locky. Might be a terrible one actually. Your girl seems to finally be getting better after her little dip in that lake. She told me about it."

Lockwood's expression dropped to a pleading one, "Flo, please."

"Yeah...but you never were one for good ideas, were you? Always the reckless one. Headfirst into trouble, right? And while I love having Letty around, I think she'll only really heal if she's with you lot. So...Fields Burial Ground Cemetery. She's visiting some gal named Lily. You leave now and you might just be able to catch her. But..." Flo pulled out her knife and waved it threateningly, "You fuck up again and I won't be so helpful anymore. Treat that girl right. Treat her better."