The House Of Perplexity

Mob Mentality

Lockwood's POV

That night as we sat in the living room we decided that in the morning Holly, Lucy, and George would all go to the archives to research the coin and the mysterious P, while I split off and do a bit of my own research on the place of confusion.

I woke up as the sun was just beginning to crest the horizon and quickly threw on the disguise I would be using. I would normally dress up as a beggar if I were trying to get information, (easier to blend in to the background, and people usually never see them as threats. They won't feel cautious, so they won't hold back information.)

But, I figured since I would need to ask questions and actually be allowed in shops without drawing unneccessary attention, my efforts would best be spent dressed as a normal citizen. I put on ripped skinny jeans, a grey turtleneck sweater, and black winter coat.

I pounded down the stairs as quietly as possible so as to not wake Lucy, (George wouldn't wake if an asteroid crashed into the house) and put the kettle on for a cup of tea. Tea was pretty much the only thing I've been allowed to make since the 'Lockwood incident' as George calls it. I must say I don't understand, I mean, we eventually got the roof fixed!

I don't like taking the others with me when I do research because most people would refer to my methods as sketchy at best, but I like to think of them as unique solutions to complicated problems. I have some contacts that I would prefer everyone not know, which is why I am not taking them with me today. Some of my contacts they already know, but it's better the fewer they see.

I finished my tea and headed toward the front door. Ah, I almost forgot. I popped back into the kitchen and stuffed a bag of liquorice in my pockets.

Time to go find Flo.

Lucy's POV

"Lucy? Are you awake yet?" Holly knocked on my door. "George says we should probably  head out soon."

"I'm awake. I'll be down in a sec" I called back. I pulled on the nearest set of clothes I could find and checked in the mirror to see if I was somewhat presentable.

Hm. Not too shabby. I had ended up with grey leggings, a black skirt, and a red christmas tree sweater. I pulled on some socks and headed downstairs.

Holly was, of course, looking like a model for some Christmas magazine in a green knit dress, white tights, and black snow boots. George, on the other hand, appeared to have not looked in a mirror yet, seeing as his shirt seemed backwards and his khakis were covered in wrinkles.

"Hey guys." I sat down at the table. "What have we got for breakfast?"

"Donuts, biscuits, and tea." Holly sighed. "I tried to tell him to bring home some muffins instead of donuts, but here we are."

"If we are looking to get any research done today Lucy'll have to take her donut on the road." George set down the magazine he had been looking at and stood up. "I already got the coin from Lockwood last night, So we are all set to leave."

"Where is Lockwood?" I asked. "Shouldn't we tell him we're leaving?"

"He already left."

"Oh."

"Gosh, don't act so disappointed, Lucy," Holly said, smirking.

I scowled at her, my face heating up. "I'm not disappointed."

"Sure." George walked towards the door. Holly and I exchanged one last look before I snatched a donut and followed them out the door.

We spent the next few hours at the library scouring books and magazine articles to find as much information as possible. We did have a bit of success, for we found a possibility of what the place of confusion may be.

In a little town called Churchshire, a couple minutes out, there used to be a grand manor. Apparently, it used to house a family that went by the name Perplexity, and for that reason was called the House of Perplexity. The family consisted of a mother, father, and two children, (one boy and one girl). The daughter's name was Perplexity Perplexity (poor girl) and she was the oldest child out of the two.

Apparently, the house used to have grand parties, but stopped suddenly after a sudden tragedy hit.

"Well, it certainly seems like a place that could be haunted. I mean, look at it." Holly shivered and held up a newspaper clipping with a picture of a huge house. It looked like  a place that would be written into a classic mystery story, one where they would havr old fashioned pipes and trench coats.

"George, is there any more on this house or family?" I asked.

"I asked the librarians but they said they don't remember having any more articles on them." He frowned and looked down at our copies. "We might just have to stick with this for now until we can talk with Lockwood."

I gathered up the papers in a folder and tucked it in Holly's bag. We left the library and began the walk back to the house.

We passed through a crowded street square where vendors were setting up boothes on the road to take advantage of the beautiful sunshine.

"Papers, get your papers! It's a perplexity that we aren't sold out!" An old man waved around copies of the daily paper. Hm. That's funny. I thought. I shrugged it off and kept walking.

"Oh," a lady exclaimed as she bumped into me. "My! I am so sorry. I guess I'm in such a rush to get this bag of coins to the manor that I totally missed you. Aunt P will be so mad if I'm late." She rushed off to go finish her tasks.

It's got to be a coincidence, right? Come on, Lucy. How many people have to take bags of coins to manors for their Aunt P? Shut up, logical part of my brain!

"Lucy, you okay?" Holly shot me a concerned look. "You were making weird faces and kind of grunting."

Great. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just daydreaming, you know?"

"About what, gorillas?" George muttered. I gave him a not so nice gesture. As we walked further into the crowd, it seemed to begin pressing in on all sides.

"Um, should we turn back?"

"No, the crowd shoukd break eventually."

Suddenly, all eyes in the crowd turned to stare at us. "Why, look. A set of agents. How perplexing."

"My great-grandma P once told me to watch out for those." The crowd broke into a din of muttering, people yelling above others to be hear.

"This is getting weird" Holly shouted. "Make a break for it?" We nodded and took off sprinting our way through the people. Their voices seemed to follow us until we managed to break free of the square, when they abruptly stopped.

I looked back and all had returned to normal, leaving no traces that anything had happened. I glanced at George and saw my expression mirrored on his face.

Time to find Lockwood.

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Sorry this took me so long guys! I've been very busy, and writer's block hasn't really helped.

Hope this last chapter wasn't too awful, but it will get better.

I've still got many tricks up my sleeves. (Muahahaha) Onto the next chapter!