Lockwood & Co.: The Screaming Staircase

Staircase? The Red Room? Come on! At last we’ve got a mission worthy of our talents! Do you want to spend the rest of your lives snuffing drab Shades in the suburbs? This is the real thing at last! It would be a crime to turn it down.’
    His reasoning, particularly the second point, did not completely convince us. George rubbed his glasses on his jumper in a passion. ‘The true crimes,’ he said, ‘are Fairfax’s outrageous preconditions. No magnesium flares, Lockwood! That’s completely mad!’
    Lockwood stretched back on the sofa. ‘It’s certainly an interesting requirement.’
    ‘ Interesting? ’ I cried. ‘It’s outrageous!’
    ‘The man’s a fool,’ George said. ‘If this place is half as dangerous as he tells us it is, it would be insanity to go in without every single weapon available!’
    I nodded. ‘No one takes on a Type Two without canisters of Greek Fire!’
    ‘Right! And this is a cluster of Type Twos we’re talking about—’
    ‘With a proven death-count to its name—’
    ‘Plus we’re not getting anything like enough time to do some—’
    ‘– research in the historical records,’ Lockwood said. ‘Yes, yes, I know , as you both keep bellowing it in my ear every thirty seconds. Will you two fishwives shut up and listen? As eccentric as he seems, Fairfax is our client, and we have to go along with his wishes. We’ll have our swords, won’t we? And plenty of defensive chains. So we’re not exactly going in unarmed.’ He flinched. ‘Lucy, you’re doing that stary thing with your eyes again.’
    ‘Yes, I am. Because I don’t think you’re taking this seriously.’
    ‘Wrong. I’m taking it very seriously indeed. We go to Combe Carey Hall, we put our lives at risk, make no mistake about that.’ He smiled. ‘But isn’t that what we do?’
    ‘Only when properly equipped,’ George growled. ‘And another thing. What Fairfax said about choosing us doesn’t make sense. There are fifteen agencies in London bigger and more successful than Lockwood and Co. Yet you don’t seem surprised that he came knocking on our door.’
    Lockwood shook his head. ‘On the contrary, I think it’sremarkable that he did so. It’s almost the most fascinating thing about the case. Which is why we should take full advantage and see what happens. Now, if that’s all—’
    ‘It isn’t,’ I said. ‘Not quite. What about Hugo Blake and the locket? Maybe it slipped your mind, but we got burgled twelve hours ago. What are we doing about that?’
    ‘I haven’t forgotten Blake,’ Lockwood said. ‘But Fairfax and his offer have to be our priorities now. He’s given us forty-eight hours to prepare, and we’ve got to make that count. Blake’s in jail. There’s no need to take the locket over to Barnes right now. Besides, I wouldn’t mind trying to crack that code before we do. It would be something else to tell the papers about – hopefully along with details of our triumph at Combe Carey Hall.’ He held up a hand as I tried to interrupt him. ‘No, Lucy, we won’t be burgled again – they’ll know we’re forewarned now. And your friend Annie Ward has been waiting fifty years for justice, so a couple more days won’t make any difference. OK, it’s time to get to work. George: I’ve a few things for you to look into.’
    ‘Obviously,’ George growled. ‘The Hall.’
    ‘Yes, and some other stuff as well. Get yourself ready, and try to cheer up. It’s research time – you should be hopping with delight. Lucy, your job today is to help me fix the house and sort through the kit. Everyone happy? Good.’
    Happy or not, there was no arguing with Lockwood when he was in that mood, and George and I knew betterthan to try. Soon afterwards, George set off for the Archives, while I joined Lockwood in the basement. And so two days of frantic activity began.
    That first afternoon, Lockwood supervised the repair and strengthening of our home defences. New locks were placed on the front door, and firm iron bars – suitable for keeping out the living as well as the dead – placed on the basement window. While the workmen laboured, he sat at the telephone, making calls. He rang Mullet & Sons, the rapier dealer, to order brand-new blades; he spoke with Satchell’s of Jermyn Street, the main supplier of agency goods in London, requesting fresh stocks of iron and salt to compensate for leaving behind our flares.
    Meanwhile I spent my time laying out our weapons and defences on the