Lockwood & Co. The Secret Of Penelope Fittes

Chapter Eighteen

Lockwood took a step towards Kipps and hissed, "Kipps! What does that mean?!"
He pointed at his sister.
But Kipps observed the scene only with tired eyes:
"Just watch..."
And so we observed the ghost fog, which showed us the scenario like a film in front of us. At first I thought the scene would only be shown figuratively, but suddenly Kipps' voice sounded:
"Jess! Please don't do this!"
I heard a laugh and saw Jessica approach the tree.
"Oh Quill! Don't be a buzzkill and come with me!"
Her voice sounded as bright as a bell and very similar to Holly's. Lockwood jerked next to me when he heard his sister's voice. The pain I saw in his eyes as he observed the whole thing was nearly as bad as the fear I felt when I thought about my inevitable meet with Raziel. I silently grabbed his hand tighter. Jessica had now begun to climb the tree, whereby she slipped again and again in some places.
The real one, as well as the ghost-Kipps, both seemed hyper nervous. But the real Kipps knew how the scenario would end here, the ghost Kipps and everyone else in the room didn't.
"Jess, please stop!"
"Why?"
Again her high laughter sounded, which ended abruptly when she slipped with both feet and fell from the tree into the depth. She hit the ground hard.
"Jessica!"
Shocked, I saw Kipps approaching her and squatting on the floor worriedly.
The ghost fog began to evaporate, but I could still see Kipps giving Jessica a kiss on the forehead with tears streaming down his face. Then the fog disappeared and didn't show up again. It seemed as if Raziel wanted to give us time to talk.
I looked to Kipps, who was still looking pale as chalk at where he and Jessica had been before. Lockwood also looked there, but his face was completely expressionless, which shocked me even more.
A few minutes of silence followed until Holly finally cleared her throat:
"Could someone please explain that to me?"
As if these words had loosened Kipp's rigidity, he turned to us: "What else is there to explain? You've seen it all!"
George stood next to Holly: "Seen it, yes, but a simple question is not answered: Why? Why and how do you know Lockwood's sister, Kipps?"
Kipps sighed and turned away again. Lockwood finally moved beside me again:
"You're right, George... A simple question with a simple answer..." he replied soundlessly, "Jessica and Kipps were a couple until her death. This happened just before she died, about two months ago. She fell from the tree and broke her arm. Nothing major...", he exhaled once, "That's how Kipps and I met."
I looked at them alternately: "Wow, the whole thing had already started perfect...", I said dryly, "But why did she want to climb the tree?"
This time Kipps replied: "Because that was our tree! This is where we first met! It just had a magical meaning... Surely you have a place like that, don't you?"
Kipps looked at Lockwood and me a little desperate. I shrugged my shoulders:
"Well, the kitchen at Portland Row isn't exactly romantic now..."
"But something or somewhere where you first really realized that you were more than just friends...?"
I looked at Lockwood and knew right away that we both didn't have to think long:
"Combe Carry Hall."
George looked at us in surprise: "Why there? Nothing happened!"
Lockwood shrugged his shoulders: "You were knocked out pretty quickly, too. George..."
Before we could continue our somewhat funny conversation, Raziel contacted us again:
"It's all very touching, but I'd say we're continuing now..."
Immediately the dark blue fog reappeared and materialized before the next victim.
This time it was Holly...

..........*****..........

With an anxious whimper she withdrew from the wall of fog.
This time he showed a room. At first glance, I would have said it was a normally furnished office. Only there were far too many people in it. I recognized the wine-red suits with the lion seal of Rotwell.
There were at least six young men who all persuaded with a condescending look at a young, pretty woman: Holly.
I turned to the real one and saw that she was already afraid of what was going on. Suddenly the people started talking:
"Come on, Munro! Come with us. This is much more exciting than spending the whole day here in the office!"
Holly looked calm and calmly put away the pen she had just used:
"I told you yesterday that I am not trained in this field and therefore cannot accompany you."
The boy, who had already spoken before, puffed contemptuously: "You are a coward! That's the reason! You just don't dare leave the house at this hour and face danger. Instead, you sit here in the office doing some stuff no one really needs. You are just of no use in practice, because you simply cannot do anything and you will never be able to do anything!"
The ghost Holly watched him silently, but the boy was not ready yet: "You are completely unnecessary for the agency! It's a miracle they hired you!"
And with these words he left the room, followed by his gang, and the picture began to dissolve.
Holly had fallen to her knees in the meantime. The tears ran down her cheek and the fog sloshed leisurely towards her. I had no idea what would happen if the fog enveloped her, but I preferred not to know.
I ran towards her, sank to my knees as well and just took her in my arms. She thankfully pressed herself to me:
"Th-that's so bad for m-me... because th-that's what it confirmed... what i-i was most afraid of..." she sniffed, "... that i'd never be needed, that i'm unnecessary..."
"Be Quiet!" I interrupted her, "This guy was a real jackass! You don't have to listen to him because he has no idea! You are extremely important to our agency, because without you we would never have made it this far!"
I never thought I'd say this to Holly and mean it. Inside, I patted myself on the shoulder.
I stood up and held out a hand to Holly, "Come on, Holly!" She grabbed it and I pulled her on the feet.
When I turned to the fog, I saw with satisfaction that it had disappeared again. Next, I noticed George's surprised look and threw a warning one back at him to tell him to shut up.
But George could never return anything. Because before him the wall of fog built up again...

..........*****..........

"Oh, no!" wheezed George and staggered back. Before even one of us could say anything, we already had a picture:
I saw a kitchen with two people. One of them was a ten-year-old George. As a child he looked exactly like he does now: a slabbery sweater, a little chubby with round glasses. In one hand, he was holding some map.
I couldn't assign the other man. He was extremely tall and extremely muscular. When he saw George, he immediately began to smile.
He got up and came up to little George. But then he saw the chaos of notes in George's hands and his gaze immediately hardened:
"What have you got there, son?"
Wait a minute! Stop!
This big guy with muscles, the complete opposite of George, was his father?!
I turned to the real George, who watched the scenario with serious eyes.
"You haven't been looking at your ghost stuff again, have you?"
There was something threatening about the voice. The ghost-George flinched.
"I-I...so...y-yes, I did..."
His father puffed. "That's what I thought! Why can't you be normal and do something with me like go to the gym! Look at you! You're a disappointment to the whole family!"
"But Father..."
"Shut up! I don't want to see you today!"
Towards the end, the voices became duller and duller until they finally faded away completely.
This time it was Lockwood who went to George, "Are you okay, George?"
He had narrowed his eyes and clenched his hands to fists. But when he heard Lockwood, he opened his eyes. It was still quiet for a few seconds, then George replied as if he were the calmness himself: "Surprisingly yes. I've relived that before, it's not so bad from that point on...", he smiled tormentedly, "...but it still hurts."
Lockwood laid a hand on his shoulder: "I'm glad you didn't listen to your father back then, George! Because without you, Lockwood & Co would never have existed!"
George grinned slightly: "And without me our donut stock would never be full."
Lockwood laughed quietly. I also followed the conversation with a slight smile until I saw the fog again from the corner of my eye.
"You are stronger than you appear. Nevertheless, there are still two people in this room who have probably experienced the worst of life. And on top of that, these events are pretty similar..."
The dark blue smoke rushed through the room. As Raziel had said, there were only two people left to choose from: Lockwood and me.
He chose Lockwood...