Lockwood & Co. Weeping Woman

Chapter 3

Third person

By 10:30 A.M., everyone was washed up and ready to see their new client. They were a stout, elder lady who looked quite panicked. Accompanying her were two children; a little boy, maybe 6, who looked as innocent as a babe. The other was a shifty eyed girl. She was probably 13. She wore one of those grey Fitties uniforms, and her hair was a short blunt cut. The boy wore what little boys liked at the time.

"I do appreciate you seeing us on such short notice." The woman said.

"It's no trouble for us, Mrs.Roundly. Haunting are our business." Lockwood replied giving her his best smile.

"Indeed." Mrs.Roundly said, accepting some tea that had been offered to her. "But for the matter of business..."

Lucy didn't like how the girl studied absolutely everything. The girl was so jittery. Though, Lucy had learned how to make it so it wasn't obvious that she doubted the client or thought them suspicious. The little boy on the other hand looked as if he wanted one of the cookies they had placed in front of their clients. Though he didn't look the same as George.

Lucy took a moment to study their client. An elder woman who clearly look care of herself. She must have been in her mid 80's. Quickly, she studied the kids. A shifty-eyed girl. Be cautious around her. And an innocent looking boy. Ask him some questions carefully.

Turning her attention back fully to the conversation at hand, she listened closer than normal.

"Now, I myself have never seen this... thing, of course, but my grandchildren have." She turned to glanced at both of them. "Go ahead and tell them what you saw."

The little boy sat up, "It was a hazy, shadow-y, thingy that I would see in grandmother's room. It likes to eat people; it got grandfather!"

"Yes, my husband did die to this... thingy..." Mrs.Roundly clarified.

"Could you give us some more details to this 'thingy'? How tall it was, maybe?" Lockwood asked as the boy look a cookie.

"It was almost as tall as her." He pointed at Lucy, "And it looked to be a girl. When it looked at me, it had big, sharp, pointy teeth and red eyes."

Lucy, Lockwood, and George exchanged glances. It was better than 'hazy, shadow-y, thingy'.

"Did it say anything?" Lockwood asked.

The girl sat up now, but never met eye contact with anyone.

"It screamed."

"That's all?" Lockwood asked, he was kind of shocked of how little this thing did. "It didn't tell you a certain phrase or anything? Just screamed?"

"Yup. Just screamed." She squeaked out.

"So, Mr.Lockwood," Mrs.Roundly started, "Will you accept the job?"

Lockwood glanced at Lucy, then at George. They were all thinking the same thing.

"We accept the job." Lockwood said confidently.

~Time Skip~

While George was off at the archives, researching this 'hazy, shadow-y thingy' and Holly stalking up supplies for tonight (yes, they decided to go immediately), Lockwood and Madison made time to catch up on what's been happening to each other. Lucy, was being bothered by the skull.

"Your boyfriend seems to be really good friends with this stranger. Doesn't that bother you?"

"For the eighth time today, Lockwood is not my boyfriend!" Lucy snapped.

"You were practically green with envy when Holly first showed up." It pointed out, "Yet you don't seem to care now. Why?"

"It might have to be the fact that Madison's an adult." Lucy argued. "And that they haven't seen each other in over six years implying that they've known each other for a while."

"Old childhood friends? Yeach! How repulsing!" It commented.

"I'm just glad he has one..." Lucy muttered under her breath.

"Oh come now!" It remarked, "You can't possibly be jealous that he has one? Honestly, it's a good thing you don't  have any!"

Lucy whipped her head around. HOW DARE IT SAY THAT!!!!! Lucy's mind erupted. It was her fault that they were dead in the first place, and she well knew it. No need to bring it up at a time like this.

"What? You wouldn't be here now if the whole thing hadn't have happened. So, really, it's a good thing that it happened. Or do you really not like your current friends that much?" It questioned. Lucy loved her friends, she really did! Without them, she would be nobody.

But since the incident at the Wythburn Mill, and that not more than once had hr friends been in danger because of her...

By her own decisions; her friends safety came before her own.

"You are, by far, the most emotional person I've known in life and death!" It remarked. Lucy didn't reply. She had a right to feel that way to her friends! And if the damned thing couldn't understand that, then it didn't need Lucy to reply to it.

And for the record, no she wasn't jealous that her childhood friends were dead, and Lockwood had one. Of anything, she was happy for him! She just blamed herself more than anything for her dead friends... deaths...

~Meanwhile, In The Kitchen~

"You're the worst if you're gonna do that." Madison commented, sipping her tea.

Lockwood rubbed the back of his neck, "What do you suggest doing?" He said slightly irritated.

George poured himself a cup of tea and set his findings from the archives on the table next to him. "Not be a dick to her?" He suggested.

"I didn't ask you, George..." Lockwood glared at him. "Besides, I'm not that rude." George rolled his eyes.

"Please don't tell me you made her go in a haunted environment alone..." Madison asked.

"NO! Of course not!!" Lockwood defended.

"Really? What about the Charleston case?" George asked (just to be an ass).

"I didn't know Lucy had wandered off on a count of we were in the middle of seeing where in bloody Hell we were!!!" Lockwood shouted.

"George, stop being such an asshat." Madison commanded. "And Anthony, please calm dawn." She stood to pour herself another cup of tea. "Whatever happened then, happened then. Point is, is that she really is as special as you say."

"She really is..." He muttered under his breath.

"It's almost eight, I'm going to get Holly and Lucy so we can review what I've found." George said and promptly left.

"He didn't even finish his tea..." Madison mentioned before cleaning up the left over tea cups.