Secret Fears - Lockwood & Co

Chapter 4

The next morning I got up very early. Holly had not yet arrived, so I showered and washed my hair for the first time in a while, and was disgusted at all the grease and dirt that had accumulated in it. After I got out, dried my hair and dressed I cut and cleaned underneath my nails before trimming my hair, and put on my work clothes. Grabbing my satchel, I darted downstairs and out the door.

"Lucy Carlisle, I'd never 'av' thought I'd see you in 'ere! And look at that clean hair! Some kinda fashion show ya'v got on eh?"

"Morning to you too Cecil." I was in a shop. An actual clothes shop. After half an hour of looking, I'd gotten myself some new, clean, presentable shirts, a skirt and a jumper, as well as new tights and shoes.

"Well blow me down, If I didn't know any better I'd say you're tryin' to impress someone, arentcha?"

"No Cecil. I just got sick of my old, patchy clothes, nothing more." I sigh as the old man price checks my clothes and hands them to me a bag. "Thank you Cecil."

"No praublem mi darling," he mock curtsies and tips his hat.

"Can I wear these home?" I ask.

Ten minutes later I was walking down the street in my new clothes; I had thrown my old ones into the fabric bin at "Cecil's: Shirts, Skirts, Shorts and Shoes." I felt like a new me as I opened the door to. . . Holly, George and Lockwood were all immersed in a meeting without me. I slammed the door behind myself with as much force as I could, and walked over to the client, a middle aged, bearded man. "Hello, I'm Lucy Carlisle, fellow agent in Lockwood and Co., nice to meet you. I am sure my colleagues have introduced you to our assistant Holly Munro?" He looked at me, confused, before regaining his composure.

"Hello Lucy. Nice to meet you too. I'm Warren. I assumed this lady here-" he gestured to Holly "was the third agent, dreadfully sorry." He was a kind-looking man and his eyes displayed genuine sympathy.

"No problem sir, it must have been a misunderstanding or miscommunication on our part," I said, and turned to glare at the boys and Holly before taking my seat. Lockwood and George were staring at me, Lockwood had quizzically furrowed his brow, and George had paused with a donut six inches from his mouth. "Good morning boys," I chirped, and got on with the meeting. I'd deal with the boys later.

Apparently, Warren had three kids with him in his house, and there was something in the paddock out back that made everyone uneasy at night. "Over the past few months, there have been chills close to the back door, scraping noises and sometimes I can even hear crying. It's bloody awful I tell you. The door and windows are all enforced with iron, but I'm still worried. I just want to be able to stop worrying," he explained. Once he went through the details with Lockwood and they organised a date for us to check it out, we shook hands and watched as Warren drove away.

"Lucy, what. . . where. . .?" George was at a loss for words. "One, where did you go? Two, what was with the over polite, chirpy attitude, and-"

"What's wrong with me being happy today?" I ask. "I do have something to ask though, Lockwood. Why did you organise a meeting without me, and not even remember to tell Warren that I was a part of your team?" Lockwood gaped at me like a codfish. "You know what? I don't care. I'm gonna go train." I knew my change of look and attitude had surprised Lockwood and Co. and I mentally hi-fived myself as I ascended the stairs and fetched my rapier.