Lockwood & Co.: The Screaming Staircase

George. Cause and effect. You can’t deny the connection.’
    Lockwood nodded. ‘Even so, you shouldn’t have done it. Give me the paper.’
    I handed it over wordlessly, my eyes pricking. I was for it now. I’d made the wrong decision yet again, and this time I knew Lockwood would not forgive me. I could see it in his face. This was the end of my emploment at the company. All at once I understood the preciousness of what I’d thrown away.
    Lockwood stepped aside, his boots crunching across the salt, to stand and study the paper beneath the light. No such luck with George; he came in close, eyes behind his spectacles bulging so much they almost pressed against the glass.
    ‘I can’t believe you did that, Lucy. You’re crazy! Purposefully freeing a ghost!’
    ‘It was an experiment,’ I said. ‘Why are you complaining? You’re always messing about with that stupid jar of yours.’
    ‘There’s no comparison. I keep that ghost in the jar. Anyway, it’s scientific research. I do it under carefully controlled conditions.’
    ‘Carefully controlled? I found it in the bath the other day!’
    ‘That’s right. I was testing the ghost’s reaction to heat.’
    ‘And to bubble bath? There were bubbles all over the jar. You put some nice soapy fragrance in that water, and . . .’ I stared at him. ‘Do you get in the tub with it, George?’
    His face flushed. ‘No, I do not. Not as a rule. I – I was saving time. I was just getting in myself when it occurred to me I could do a useful experiment about the resistance of ectoplasm to warmth. I wanted to see if it would contract—’ He waved his hands wildly in the air. ‘Wait! Why am I explaining myself to you ? You just unleashed a ghost in our house!’
    ‘Lucy . . .’ Lockwood said.
    ‘I didn’t unleash it!’ I cried. ‘Take a look at all the salt. I was in total control.’
    ‘Yeah,’ George said, ‘which is why we found you spread-eagled on the floor. If you kept the ghost constrained, it was more by dumb luck than skill. That bloody thing nearly had our heads off the other night, and now—’
    ‘Oh, quit complaining. You got naked with a ghost—’
    ‘ Lucy! ’ We broke off. Lockwood was still in exactly the same pose as when we started bickering, under the ceiling light, holding the paper before him. His face was pale and his voice was strange. ‘You showed the Visitor this paper?’
    ‘Well, yes. I—’
    ‘How did you hold it? Like that? Or like that?’ He adjusted his hand grip rapidly.
    ‘Er, the last one, I suppose.’
    ‘It definitely saw the whole paper?’
    ‘Well, yes, but only for a second. Then it went crazy, as you saw.’
    ‘Yeah,’ George said grimly. ‘We saw. Lockwood, you’ve been pretty quiet so far. Can you tell Lucy that she is never to do anything like this again? This is twice now we’ve been put at risk. We need to say—’
    ‘We need to say well done ,’ Lockwood interrupted. ‘Lucy, you’re a genius. I think you’ve made a key connection. This is a crucial clue.’
    I was almost as surprised as George, whose lower jaw now resembled a gently moving swing. ‘Oh. Thanks . . .’ I said. ‘You think . . . you think this will help the case?’
    ‘Very much so.’
    ‘So shall we take it to the police? Shall we show the locket to Barnes?’
    ‘Not yet. George is right: the ghost’s reaction can’t strictly count as evidence. But don’t worry – thanks to you, I’m confident we can bring the Annie Ward story to a satisfactory conclusion very soon.’
    ‘I hope so . . .’ Baffled as I was, I was also mightily relieved. ‘But there’s something you should know. Hugo Blake’s going to be released.’ I told them about the call.
    Lockwood smiled; he seemed suddenly relaxed, cheerful even. ‘I shouldn’t worry,’ he said. ‘We’ve made the housesecure. They won’t burgle us again. All the same, I don’t think we should leave the locket here when we go down to Combe Carey. Bring it with you, Lucy – keep it around your neck. I promise we’ll deal with the matter soon. But first’ – he grinned – ‘there’s the Fairfax job. George has got some news on that.’
    ‘Yeah,’ George said. ‘I uncovered a bit about the haunting.’
    I stared at him. ‘And is it as bad as Fairfax said?’
    ‘Nope.’ George took off his glasses and wearily rubbed his eyes. ‘From what I’ve seen, it’s almost certainly a whole lot worse.’

18

    To get from the London offices of Lockwood & Co.